What is a DietBet?

I never thought to actually explain in detail what a DietBet is. DietBet is a website/app dedicated to encouraging people to lose weight by betting money on their personal success at doing so. There are two main types: Kickstarter and Transformers.

The Kickstarter is a 4-week ‘game’. You take your initial weight-in pictures and once they are approved you’re ready to go. You have 4 weeks to lose 4% of your starting body weight. Bets start at $35, however some games might have higher bets. If you are a member, you can submit your unofficial weigh-in every week to be put into a drawing for various prizes that DietBet gives away. Once that game ends, you have about 48 hours to submit your final weigh-in and have it approved. If you win, the pot is split amongst you and the other winners, with DietBet taking out a small percentage of the total pot before distribution. If you win, you always get at least the money you bet back, and a little more (depending on how many people won).

The Transformer is a 6-month game. Yup. But rather than 4% every month for 6 months, the goal is to lose 10% of your body weight by the end of your 6th month. 3% for month 1, 6% by month 2, 8% by month 3, 9% by month 4, 10% in month 5, and 10% in month 6. It works much like the Kickstarter, however the pot is split between the monthly goals and the final round, with the final round having most of the pot. To qualify for the final round, you need to have lost at least 6% of your initial weight by the time Round 6 starts. So you do not have to win every round, every month during the 6 months. And the rounds you do win will be paid out at the end of the 6-month game.

What about cheating?

The DietBet system has it’s own authentication system. For your weigh-ins, you are prompted to submit 2 pictures (only for DietBet use). The first is of the scale (with you standing on it-feet only). The second is a full body picture of you standing on the same scale. Once those pictures are submitted, a person will review the pictures and approve them (or reject them if something seems fishy). That doesn’t mean it is impossible to cheat the system, but you can’t control everyone right? And in the end the only person they’d be cheating is themselves. In cases of big bets or fishiness, DietBet may require a video submission of your weigh-in.

Is this healthy?

No one wants to lose their money, which is precisely why DietBet has come to its current popularity and effectiveness. It’s one thing to tell yourself you’re going to lose 7 pounds this month. It’s another thing to bet $35 that you will lose 7 pounds this month. It’s also rewarding to know the effort paid off (and paid back) when you win the DietBet and get your $35 back plus a little extra. However, what if you’re trying to lose the weight and it’s not coming off? Then you start panicking because you don’t want to lose the money you bet. What if you joined a $100 bet because you thought you could do it, and now you’re not so sure? You might be tempted to turn to some rather unhealthy measures to lose the weight. DietBet does try to stem this behavior. If they deem your level of weight loss unhealthy, they will not reward that with a win. They have a system set in place of how much weigh loss is too unhealthy in a month. For the kickstarter, that is more than 12% of your initial weight. For the Transformer it’s 12% (R1), 18% (R2), 24% (R3), 27% (R4), 30% (R5 & R6) of your initial weight.

Is it good?

DietBet boasts that 96% of their players lose weight and the science behind behavioral change and motivation is what drives the purpose of DietBet and leads to their players’ successes. Also, many people who have tried DietBet love it because of the community. As you play in the game, you can not only typically win prizes in game, but both give and receive encouragement from fellow players of the same game! You’re not competing against each other but rather trying to help each other reach your goals. I think DietBet can be a really great thing, depending on your personality and drive. I personally like the 6 month Transformer more because I personally find it hard to not lose steam after a few months, and this is just the kick in the rear I need. The Kickstarters are a little intense for me though, I hate stepping on the scale searching for that one number in such a crunched time period; it makes me feel anxious and unhappy. DietBet is starting to venture out into other options though. They’ve started making more varieties such as Flexible Kickstarters that give you up to 6 weeks to lose 4%, StepBets, RunningBets, Workout Challenges, MealPrep challenges and more.

Here are some screenshots from my DietBets.

This was after submitting and confirming my final weigh-in to win my first ever DietBet! It’s cut off a little, but on the far left is my initial weight when I submitted my weigh-in. On the far right is my 4% goal. And in the middle was my current/final weight.

After the 48-hour final weigh-in time, everything is sorted out and the winners are awarded their payout. This was the payout results of my 1st DietBet. The initial bet was $35. Every game is different though 😉

And this is my current Transformer. The 2nd month is almost over. As you can see, I won the first round and it tells me how much I won from the Round 1 pot (but I won’t get that payout until the entire game is completed).

Hello 2020

I have officially left my youthful decade behind me. I’m sure that sounds a little ridiculous, since I’m only 23, but by end of 2030, I’ll be 34 years old. Who knows? I could be 50 pounds lighter, married, with children, in a different country, have a job I never imagined, etc. Exciting…but also scary haha.

Anyway, December/January has been a time of exploration for me. And yes, I’m referring to my diet. Doing the DietBet did spur me into action, craving results, but kind of in a bad way. I do want to lose weight quickly, don’t get me wrong, but I also know that our bodies have a tendency to do whatever they want, despite our efforts. I don’t mind letting my body do its thing and respect the process. But the immediacy of the DietBet timer ticking down made me anxious and pushing for that number on the scale. So, I tried switching things up a lot to see what worked. And I did manage to win my DietBets. GREAT feeling. But I spiraled right after. I’m a stress-eater by nature and that honestly wasn’t stress I needed to add to myself on top of my normal stressors. I slipped out of Keto for like a solid 2 weeks. While I was disappointed in myself a little, I didn’t beat myself up.

2020 (so far) has proven itself good to me mentally. I have refocused myself and my goals. I am not striving for perfection, just a better health and a better relationship with food and my own body. After my 2-week break from Keto, I redetermined my goals. I’d always looked at my weight loss journeys in kind of a gimmicky way (even Keto). I would do a certain workout or certain eating regime for X amount of time, beat myself up when I failed to adhere to it, and stress/depress eat my way back to my original weight. However, so far this year, I’m trying to take a more wholistic approach to my health.

What do I mean? I really want to lose weight, for a number of reasons, but that has never motivated me long-term. I’m really trying to focus on health this year in general. Loving and treating myself well. The ways in which I’m doing that, for example, is by focusing more on self-care. Shameful as it is, I don’t take care of my appearance as well as I should. I’m the kind of girl who rarely puts on makeup and puts little to no effort into her skincare routine or wardrobe or perfume. Not that I’m a slob who smells and doesn’t bathe or anything like that, but to be honest, I’ve always had very low self-esteem so I’ve kinda always told myself, “Why bother? It’ll never be enough.” Sometimes, I do put on a cute outfit and makeup, etc, but more often than not, no. So, I have decided to start treating myself better this year by putting more effort into my self-care. Increasing the number of steps in my skincare routine and putting more effort into my wardrobe etc. I have not been wearing makeup more often or anything like that, but I am trying to redefine how I feel about the whole process. To see it all not as a lot of (wasted) effort, but a way that I can care for myself and express myself.

Food has also always been a trigger for me. I love love love sweets and fried foods, but they are not healthy. Though I have to admit, avoiding them for the rest of my life would be absolutely miserable. So I’m just not gonna. I do want to stick to a Keto diet for now and a long-term lower carb diet, but I still want to enjoy going out with friends and things like that. Moderation and control is key. It’s difficult not to have an all-or-nothing mindset, especially when it comes to Keto and it can be so easy to kick yourself out of ketosis. But I have to tell myself that it’s not the end of the world. Just get back into it. Honestly, I went out of town with my friend on a daytrip and we saw a Krispy Kreme. I bought myself a glazed doughnut, and I do not regret it at all. It tasted so much of home which might sound silly, but it did. And then, I went on about my day. Still eating as planned, still working out when I got home.

Speaking of workouts, I am also making a more concentrated effort to workout. I’m taking the approach that something is better than nothing. Whether or not I adhered perfectly to my diet for the day. Whether or not I feel like doing it. Whether I do a set workout program or a random 10-minute video on Youtube. Some days I workout and feel like a Boss. Other days I feel like a limp noodle. But I love increasing my strength and knowing that my body is better for it.

I’m also trying to focus on doing things that I enjoy. I’ve started reading more again, going to karaoke, studying Korean, and hanging out with friends more. Lately, I had mindlessly watched Youtube or Netflix in lieu of doing anything productive, and honestly it’s draining mentally. It just gives me an empty feeling rather than a fulfilled one.

So, that is where I am right now. Just trying to live a better life, not just chase after that number on the scale. Actually right now I am in the middle of a fast. I only intended it to be 3 days, but I’m approaching the end of my 72 hours and it has been a breeze, so I might just see how long I can go. I feel very calm and zen on this fast and I feel like it has been good to my body. Due to my 2 weeks of cheating, I probably won’t win my current DietBets but I am okay with that. You win some, you lose some. I know that as I focus more on my health and mindful eating, the weight will come off. It’s still a journey, not a race. 🙂

End of Restart Month 1

Yesterday was officially 1 month back into Keto and it really crawled by. Let’s start with the stats, shall we?

Starting weight: 95.5kg -> Current weight: 87kg

Chest: 41 -> 38

Waist: 39 -> 35

Hips: 43 -> 41

Thighs: 25 -> 23.75

Arms: 12.5 -> 12.25

SO, that’s a loss of 8.5kg (18.7 lbs), 3 inches in the chest, 4 inches in the waist, 2 inches in the hips, 1.25 inches in the thighs, and .25 inches in the arms. That’s a LOT. But, this month has been a lot of trying different things to see what works best.

My first time journeying into Keto I was shocked at how fast the weight flew off. I thought restarting Keto, my journey would look exactly the same. Of course all journeys are different, and things did not go according to my plans. The first week was as expected. I dropped water weight quickly, around 8 pounds. Then the second week came and….not much of anything happened. My weight stayed virtually the same. Even though I was doing all the things I thought were right: drinking lots of water, eating Keto, exercising, getting enough sleep, etc. What worried me the most is that my weight was stuck on the exact same number, down to the decimal. It didn’t fluctuate at all up or down for days in a row and I got antsy. So, I did a 4-day egg fast during my 3rd week to move things along. This worked and I dropped another 4.5 pounds. Coming off the egg fast, my weight stuck again. I didn’t gain back a single tenth of a kg nor lose any for the next 4 days. Every morning the scale read the exact same number (89.6). It was freaking me out tbh. Of course I know stalls are normal, but I didn’t like the lack of fluctuation at all. I’d rather gain and lose the same few pounds then just see the exact same number every single day. I even bought a new scale because I thought maybe mine was broken. (It wasn’t). At this point I wanted to give up because I was really annoyed and frustrated and couldn’t seem to find a solution no matter what I tried. I also stopped working out in case that was somehow causing the problem. Through endless Googling I ran across something that mentioned Alternate Day Fasting (ADF), which is just like it sounds. You alternate between days of eating and fasting. 36 hours of fasting and 12 hours of eating. Honestly, I didn’t know if I could do it, but it seemed like an option worth trying and there was a girl with a Youtube channel dedicated to her journey using ADF and she found it was really good for her. I’ve been doing it successfully for a little over a week now and I quite like it. It also got the scale moving and I dropped another 6 pounds, just in time to win my first ever DietBet challenge.

Honestly, I was really stressed this month. It’s the last month of school and I’m in the middle of trying to set up interviews to find a new job by February. I also had literally bet on my success in losing weight with the DietBet challenge. But I just kept going forward and doing what I could when I could. I am still eating keto on my eat days and I actually enjoy not having to cook everyday! I will probably stick with the ADF lifestyle for a little while, at least a month. I think a diet/lifestyle change needs a good 30 days to see how you like it, is it sustainable, etc. I was moderately successful at my new goals. I drank more tea and less coffee (though sometimes it was closer to I drank more tea and the same amount of coffee lol) I worked out for about 3 weeks and I plan to get back into it this coming week. I’m still working on myself and trying to improve wholistically, not just the number on the scale.

This time I won’t give up!

Here we go again

Hello it has been a little while since my last update. Why? Because I retreated back into old habits. The amazing journey I started in May….finished in August. I started letting excuses and stress pile up and used them as a reason not only to delay getting back into Keto, but being healthy at all or working out. I saw the progress slide away as my body returned to its original state. As the pounds and inches accumulated, I cowered. I stayed away from the scale, shrugged my shoulders and told myself “well I’ve always been fat”. I stopped posting on my Keto instagram page and stopped updating on this blog, because I felt like I had failed wholeheartedly and I was ashamed.

Part of me feels like a hypocrite. After everything I said and did during my Keto journey and all the growth I thought I had managed, I so easily and quickly undid all my progress. It did teach me one thing for sure: old habits die hard. The thing about Keto was that while I was in ketosis and focused, everything seemed to go so smoothly. I wasn’t really hungry, I felt good, I was motivated to workout, I was confident enough to go out with my friends and I was happy enough with my progress to resist cheating, and I was able to resist cravings most of the time. But allowing myself to cheat my way out of ketosis and then allowing excuses and reasons to pile up, pushing back my re-start date, was a mistake.

Now, it is almost like the whole process is renewed. I’ve been attempting to get back into Keto for the last couple months, and I would not even last 2 days. Then I would feel bad about myself and just eat more bad things, promising myself a fresh start the following week. But the thing is, punishing and hating yourself gets you nowhere. Sticking to a weight-loss or health plan won’t be successful if motivated by self-hate, only the desire and courage to be better and treat your body better.

So, here I am again. Humbled and (hopefully) wiser. Having gained back almost all the weight (sitting at approximately 95.5kg or about 210lbs). Today is my 4th day of my restart and I am more certain than ever that this is a diet my body needs right now.

This time, I did not suffer any kind of ‘keto flu’. In fact, by the 2nd day, I already felt slightly more energetic than usual. Without my normal and awful dietary choices, my body was already feeling less sluggish. As of this morning (of day 4) I’m already down to 93.1kg (205lbs) from flushing out water weight. I feel so full of energy today too. I went to bed a little bit after midnight and woke up an hour early this morning and worked out. I hadn’t planned to get up early, but when my first alarm went off (I’m that person: who sets 500 alarms lol), I was wide awake and ready to start my day.

What am I going to do differently?

Dietary-wise, I want to drink a little less caffeine and more tea (green probably). Kind of included in that is less artificial sweeteners (I can’t drink bitter coffee, so I load it up with keto-approved sweeteners). I also want to try to eat a little less meat. I love me some meat, but vegetables are important too, plus I can eat a bigger variety of foods if I try to switch things up a little.

Workout-wise, last go-round I didn’t start working out until around month 3. This time I’m starting early. I’m doing Autumn Calabrese’s 21 day fix from Beachbody. I really liked it last time and it made me feel really strong and it was a workout I really enjoyed. I might also throw in some fun cardio like dancing or something.

Mentality-wise, I’m not going to beat myself up anymore, or hold myself up to impossible standards. Last time, I really let myself down, I’ll admit it. As much as I told myself I didn’t have to be perfect, when I fell off track for a few days, I lost my heart and couldn’t get back into the swing of things. And the more the scale went up, the more I hated myself and the less motivation I had (crazy, right?). But for me, when I was on Keto, I had so much love for myself. I was proud of the changes I was making in my life and how great my body looked and felt. Letting go of Keto, I also let go of that feeling. Positivity, self-care, self-forgiveness, strive to be better, all that went out the window. So this time, I am going to try not to give up no matter what. Even if I backslide a little, this time I won’t let a little side-tracking shame me from following this journey all the way.

New Journey= New stats

Starting weight: 95.5kg (210lbs)

Measurements: Chest (41 inches), Arms (12.5 inches), Waist (39 inches), Hips (43 inches), Thighs (25 inches).

Seeing those inches come right back hurt. As well as not being able to fit any of my clothes anymore! But no matter, I will work them off once again. Honestly, my diet has been crazy the past couple of months, like I just threw caution to the wind and ate whatever I wanted. The self-sabotage is too real. So, I’m not surprised my body ballooned so much. Maintenance is important too!

See you soon ^^

End of Month 3 wow

May 7th to August 7th here we are! I never imagined I would get this far or feel this great. Especially my birthday was 6 days ago and I feel like I met it with a totally different mindset and as a totally different person that last year. Now I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I’m perfect or that this journey has been easy and free of mistakes. But the point is that it is a journey and that I don’t have to be perfect; I just have to keep pushing forward. Let’s take a look at the stats.

My weight as of this morning was 83.3kg (183.6lbs). Waist: 33 inches. Chest: 36 inches. Hips: 39.5 inches. Left arm: 11.5 inches. Right arm: 11 inches. Thighs: 23 inches. Body fat: 32.3%. Muscle: 31.7%.

This comes to a total of 30 pounds (13.6kg) in 3 months! -5.5 inches on my waist, 4 inches around my chest, 1 inch from my left arm and 1.5 inches from my right arm, 1 inch from my thighs, -8.7% body fat, and +3.2% muscle.

I’m personally pleased with my results this month. Especially because I reached my first goal!! Getting out of the 190’s was such a big deal for me and I haven’t bounced back up to the 190’s at all. I’ve even touched 184 this month! However, I cheated. Like a lot. I know, I know I should be ashamed. But I’m not. My mom and brother flew all the way to Korea to visit me for two weeks. Where I live, there aren’t that many food options unless you like spicy food and we don’t eat spicy food. Like at all. So I did allow myself some allowances. On and off for about 2 weeks (cough, cough). That’s a long time I will admit, but I am fat-adapted and I hopped right back into strict Keto after my birthday.

It’s kind of funny, because my first week of cheating, I continued to drop weight. That was when I reached 184 for the first time. The second week my body was like “Okay, you’re trippin now” lol and my weight started bouncing back up. Around 5 pounds, so I was back to 189. I also started working out the 2nd week of my cheating.

I started the Beachbody workout series 21 day fix with Autumn Calabrese and mannnn are those workouts effective! I also started back up with doing pole fitness twice a week. I’ve been hella sore but also committed and my body feels like it’s becoming stronger so quickly!

Jumping back into Keto after cheating, I wanted to kick it off with a 48-hour fast, but because I was working out so intensely I figured that might not be a good idea. So instead, I did a 24 hour fast and then I egg fasted for 5 days, so that I could still give my body enough nutrition and protein to power through my workouts.

I don’t plan to cheat again anytime soon. I felt like it was worth it with that particular situation, but I still haven’t lost sight of my goals. Rather, I’m trying to be realistic and sustainable. If I stress over being absolutely perfect and losing X amount of weight every month, I’m gonna burn out and get too discouraged to continue on. But because I’m making this a lifestyle, I’m just working to the best of my abilities. Pushing myself to be better, but not hating myself when I backtrack a little.

Also, I’m really starting to regret not taking a before picture. I didn’t imagine I would ever say that, because the thought of taking a picture of my fat and flab gives me the shivers, but I have come so far on the scale and in the inches. Sometimes I look at myself and how much farther I wanna go and I wonder how much bigger I looked back then? 30 pounds ago since starting this journey. Almost 50 pounds since coming to Korea.

Looking at my stats, my arms and thighs haven’t changed that much in 3 months. Also, to be fair, it took me awhile to learn how to measure myself correctly, so some of my beginning stats might not be super accurate. I do carry most of my weight in my stomach and thighs though, so I’m not surprised that most of the inches I’ve lost seem to be in the waist/stomach area. But I am happy 🙂 lol. My stomach has always always been a huge insecurity to me and to look in the mirror every week and see it shrinking? Blows my mind. Also the frame of my body isn’t very wide (like I don’t have wide hips or a big butt or big boobs), so my body just seemed to get rounder with weight, if that makes sense. Like looking at me from the front, I feel like my body doesn’t look that different width-wise because of my body frame. But if you were to look at me from the side, my body is just…thicker (?). Like my stomach and chest (but not boobs) were a lot bigger. I don’t know how to properly describe it.

The before picture was taken in February before the start of my Keto journey and the 2nd picture was taken mid-July, 2.5 months into my journey.

I actually teared up a little when I tried this outfit on and it fit so well. I remember how I felt when I first bought the outfit. The top was tight and constricting and I had to suck in as much as I could to get the skirt to button up all the way. But I wanted to buy the outfit and that was the biggest size it came in. So I bought it and stuffed it in the back of my closet. I didn’t expect it to fit when I tried it on in the second picture and I was amazed. The top was much looser and the skirt was actually a little too big around the waist and kept slipping. The skirt also was a lot longer now that I didn’t fill it out so much. My face also looked slimmer. Although I had been seeing the results on the scale, mostly when I looked in the mirror I just saw myself and how much farther I needed to go. I forgot to fully appreciate just how far I’ve come.

I still want to lose another 40 pounds, but I’m not racing towards it. Rather, I want to try to be healthier and make better decisions every step of the way.

End of Month 2

Sometimes I feel like I’ve been doing this forever and other times I feel like I just started. But it’s definitely been an amazing journey.

Let’s start with the stats.

My current weight is 84.6kg or 186.5 lbs (which is lower than I was in high school!). My waist is about 34inches. My chest is 38 inches. My arms are 12 inches. My thighs are 22 inches. My hips are 40 inches. Body fat: 32.7%. Muscle: 31.6%

That comes to a total loss in 2 months of 12.3kg or 27 lbs, 4.5 inches on my waist, 2 inches in the chest, 2 inches from my thighs, 1/2 an inch from my arms, and 2 inches around my hips. From 41% body fat->32.7% and 28.5% muscle->31.6% (though I’m not sure how accurate that is, especially since I haven’t been working out).

That’s insane!

How was the egg fast? I enjoyed it. I had some stomach problems but they went away by the 3rd day and I actually extended my egg fast to 4 days. I lost 2.1kg or 4.6lbs. The following day I weaned myself off of the egg fast by having eggs for breakfast and lunch and then having some chicken for dinner. I dropped another kilogram (2.2 lbs) as of this morning-a great end to my Month 2!

I cannot believe that I have lost almost 30 pounds in 2 months! I kinda wished I had taken progress pictures. The biggest change of course has been in my waist. My stomach is not round anymore 🙂 It’s not flat or anything like that, but it’s also no longer shaped like a watermelon. It’s hard to tell about my clothing size because I can’t fit most of the clothes in South Korean stores anyway and the sizing is weird. The clothes I do have definitely fit looser though and especially the tops that I used to be too self-conscious to wear because of my belly, I now feel comfortable in.

My goal 0 weight was to get back into my high school weight-the 190 pound range. My first real goal was to get below the 190 range, which I was soooo close to before getting kicked out of ketosis. Then I had a cheat day and my weight bounced up a little. I did a 4 day egg fast and not only reached my first goal but hella surpassed it! And this all happened in the space of a week.

Keto has definitely been a journey for me and is changing my relationship with food. I definitely don’t get as hungry anymore nor do I binge eat. Even when I’m eating something really delicious, I can hold myself back from going crazy and eat only a regular portion. Even on my cheat day, I was going to binge on some fast food, but I couldn’t because I got so full so quickly, I barely managed to eat half. And I feel good. I have energy and focus and more confidence.

It does suck sometimes when you’re hanging out with friends and you feel like you don’t have a lot of food options whereas they wanna eat fast food and snacks and everything under the sun. But, my friends have been really supportive of my diet and I have (for the most part lol) been really good at saying no.

One thing I have not been doing is working out. I hurt my back about a month ago and it has been giving me trouble since. I didn’t want to aggravate the problem by working out, but this next month I do want to give working out more effort, just nothing too strenuous on my back. I have noticed that even though my arm measurements don’t seem to be changing, I’m seeing more loose skin, so maybe my arms have gotten a little smaller? Maybe I should start weight training haha.

Well, I’m heading to my 3rd month, 62 days in so far. The end of month 3 will be just a week after my birthday. I can’t imaging the feeling of being lower weight on my birthday. I’m excited. ^.^

Egg Fast Day 3

So, I’ve finished up day 3. Am I sick of eggs? Surprisingly, no. Per day I’ve eaten about 6-7 eggs, 6-7 tablespoons of fat (butter or mayo or MCT oil) and 1-2 oz of cheese. I like the simplicity of the fast. I think it’s quick and easy.

However, I’m not sure my stomach enjoyed this fast. Today I had some stomach issues and they were not fun. Currently being on my period probably factors in as well, but it makes me glad today is the last day.

This morning I woke up to a loss of about another pound for a total of 2lbs. Tomorrow is my last weigh-in of the egg fast. It’s suggested to wean oneself off of the diet, so tomorrow for breakfast and lunch I’m just gonna eat simple egg salad and for dinner I’ll have some wings that I’ve already prepared and been anticipating. Probably a similar plan the next day as well, before easing back into my normal Keto/IF routine.

Today I had 2 fried eggs for breakfast, 2 hard-boiled eggs and 2 cheese sticks for lunch, and 2 fried eggs for dinner. I haven’t really felt hungry these last 3 days, so eating nothing but eggs hasn’t been much of a bother. In fact, if eggs weren’t so expensive, I might try out the diet for 5 days and see how I feel.

Egg Fast Day 2

Onto Day 2! It was more difficult than Day 1, mostly because Mother Nature decided to pay me a visit all of a sudden…so I had pretty bad cramps all day. Not fun. But other than that, egg fasting hasn’t been awful. Still haven’t really felt hungry despite the low calories.

What did I eat? I continued to be boring and simple. For breakfast I had two eggs fried in Ghee. For lunch I had egg salad and string cheese. For dinner I had a cheese omelet. I honestly don’t mind the egg fast. I think that if I were eating a lot of eggs per meal, I would tire of it quickly, but I only eat 2-3 eggs per meal and I generally eat my meals about 5 hours apart.

When I stepped on the scale this morning, I was 1.2 pounds down from yesterday. Tomorrow is Day 3 and therefore my last day of this fast. I gotta say 3 days feel like such a short period of time. It’s been passing by quickly. ^.^

Egg Fast Day One

I wish I could say I’ve been crushing Keto perfectly, but that would be false. 55 days in, about a week before my 2 month mark, I fell out of ketosis. I’m not sure exactly what I ate that did it, but overall I chalk it up to a lack of self-discipline. My first month on this journey, I had a laser-like focus. I obsessively tracked what I ate and my macros. I also made sure to eat cleanly-meat and veggies mostly. This second month…I got lazier with my macros and then stopped tracking altogether. I also got lazy with cooking and meal prep and ate less veggies. So, as disappointed as I was to see that I’d been kicked out of ketosis, I prefer to view it more as a wakeup call. To refocus and get my head in the game. The day I realized I was no longer in ketosis, I had a cheat day. Nothing too crazy, just some coffee with actual sugar, a sandwich with actual bread, and fries. To jump back into ketosis and as penance for my failure, I decided to do a 3day egg fast.

Now I’ve seen things around the web and Youtube about egg fasting and how it’s good for getting in ketosis or overcoming a weight-loss plateau, but I didn’t know how I felt about it. It does, however, seem to be fairly popular and some claim that the choline in eggs is really good for fat metabolization in the liver and has healthy amino acids, etc. Anyway, I think it can be hard to decide good and bad diets from online opinions. I’m naturally wary of diets that you do for X amount of days while only eating 1-3 foods the entire time. However when it comes to dieting, the most important thing is to listen to your body. Everybody is unique, and can only do what works for them personally. So, I decided to give it ago.

What exactly is an egg fast? During an egg fast one typically consumes around 6-10 eggs per day in any form. Per egg you should eat 1tbs of healthy fat such as coconut/olive oil or mayonnaise, and up to 1oz of cheese. According to rules online, you should eat at least 1 egg within 30 minutes of waking, and eat your last meal at least 3 hours before bedtime. You should eat a meal every 3-5 hours, even if you’re not hungry. Also, drink lots of water (a given). The duration of an egg fast is usually 3-5 days. It’s not recommended to be longer than that health-wise, but plenty of people do.

Plenty of people get creative with the egg fast and make all kinds of things like egg pancakes and crepe, egg frappechinos, egg loaf, etc. However I am a simple girl. Or lazy, whichever you prefer. For breakfast I ate 3 scrambled eggs seasoned with pink Himalayan salt and black pepper fried in ghee (clarified butter) and I also had green tea with MCT oil. For lunch I had two hard-boiled eggs and an americano with MCT oil and sugar free syrup. For dinner I made egg salad with literally just boiled eggs, pink Himalayan salt, and mayonnaise. My first day was completely fine. Having been so used to Keto, my body just doesn’t get as hungry as it used to. I haven’t felt hungry all day, so I don’t feel unsatisfied. I was, however, hella annoyed when I bought eggs yesterday in preparation and they were like $18 for two dozen eggs! I’ve never paid so much for eggs in my life.

First day stats. Because I weigh myself pretty much everyday, I know the day before I dropped out of ketosis I weighed 190.4 lbs (literally 1/2 a pound away from my goal zero-i.e. my high school weight). So since the start of my journey almost 2 months ago, I’d lost about 23 pounds. This morning (thank you carbs), I weighed 193.3 pounds. So we shall see what happens over the next 3 days! I’m still in it to win it. I’m not giving up on myself so easily 😉

30 day check-in

I am actually so proud of myself haha. Today marks my 30th day on the keto diet. I did not cheat at all, despite having some difficult days. Let’s start with the stats.

I started Keto May 7th, 2019. I weighed 96.9kg (213.6 lbs) and today is June 5, 2019 and I weigh 89kg (196.2 lbs). This is a net loss of 7.9kg or 17.4 pounds! Measurements are as follows:

Starting: Waist-38.5 inches. Thighs-24 inches. Arms-12.5 inches. Chest: 40 inches. Body fat%-41%. Muscle%-28.5%.

Ending: Waist-35.5 inches. Thighs-22.5 inches. Arms: 12 inches. Chest 39 inches. Body fat%-36.8%. Muscle%-29.8%

Difference: I lost 3 inches in the waist, 1.5 inches in the thighs, half an inch in the arms, 1 inch in the chest, and 4.2% body fat. I gained 1.3% muscle.

I am honestly amazed at the results. I have never ever achieved results like this. Even when I have lost weight in the past through dieting and exercising, my measurements didn’t change this much. Especially my waist. I’ve always carried most of my weight in my stomach, so honestly I figured I’d just always have a big belly. But in just a month it has shrunk a lot. Although I made a 30 day commitment, I want to try to continue this lifestyle. It’s sustainable and it works.

So how did my past 30 days go? Let’s talk about the good and bad.

The good: My body feels better. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but my body just feels lighter and more energetic. I don’t feel sluggish and uncomfortable from eating all those bad foods. I’ve also gotten better with my emotional eating. Some days I did still reach for a keto-friendly snack when I was feeling really stressed (have you ever stress-ate almonds? #thestruggle) but I have gotten much better at resisting the urge to eat sweet things when I’m upset. I’ve realized how much of my life revolved around food. I was constantly snacking or wanting to get a snack, but with Keto and Intermittent fasting, I know what I can eat and when I can eat and honestly I know this may sound weird, but it feels kind of freeing (well until cravings kick in). Also, I’m just not as hungry anymore nor do I have intense cravings usually. Somedays I do a 24 hour fast just because I feel like it and have no trouble with it. I also don’t feel the need to eat until I’m completely full anymore. I’ve also been experimenting more in the kitchen (I don’t like to cook haha) and I’ve realized that I’m fairly capable in the kitchen. My skin is also so much better. The water here in Korea has been harsh on my skin and I’ve broken out a lot, but after a month on Keto, my skin has pretty much stopped breaking out. PCOS can problems with hair growth, acne, mood swings, weight gain around the waist, and menstrual problems and I think I’ve seen some improvement in most of these areas over the past month.

The bad: Sometimes the struggle is real. I did get hit with the Keto flu for about 2 days, but it honestly wasn’t that bad. My bowels have been unpredictable (tmi). It’s not an everyday problem, but a few days a week. The first couple of weeks it was keto diarrhea and the last couple of weeks it’s been constipation. It’s a little more uncomfortable to go out with friends. They want to eat things I can’t have like fries and ice cream and if we go out to dinner, I have to veto the options that I can’t eat. Similarly, if I know I have plans to be out all day long, so I need to eat my meals out of house (honestly I usually just try to fast those days because it’s easier). Food is just not as accesible or in variety in Korea as it is in the States. My food choices are pretty limited and I can’t even order a lot of Keto-friendly stuff to ship here. Hopefully this was just a one-off, but my period came early and lasted 2 weeks. I was miserable. I do have PCOS so my hormones are all screwed up so…

My 30 days are over!!! I’m super excited to continue this journey and keep doing my best. Let’s see how long I can resist the call of carbs and sugar haha. ^^