I’ve mentioned it a few times now, but for the past 60 days (actually 62, but who’s counting!) I’ve been running a ketogenic diet, which is a very low carbohydrate diet. No, it’s not paleo. No, it’s not Atkins (though Atkins is a low carb diet that has phases of ketogenesis). While there are similarities, the core difference with keto is that carbohydrate levels are kept very low. Typically under 20-40 grams per day. You really don’t appreciate how low this is until you try it and you realize everything you most likely consume on a daily basis contains carbs.
Any way, there are plenty of resources out there to learn more about ketogenic diet if you’re interested and don’t already know enough. The point of this post is to talk about how I’ve been doing, sixty (60) days into it. This is not my first round of keto (and surely won’t be my last) but this time around, I’m committed to staying the course and achieving the best health and fitness of my life.
I began this particular stint of the ketogenic diet sixty days ago, weighing in at 201.8 lbs and ~20.3% body fat as measured by my scale. Ready? Drum roll please! I currently weigh 189.0 lbs with ~17.5% (scale) / ~16.2% (Omron). I’m giving two body fat percentage measurements now because I recently purchased an Omron handheld body fat measurement device. I think these are a bit more accurate than the scales, but I suppose I have no real proof for that. I could just be biased because I get lower measurements for body fat using the Omron. <grin>
Measuring body fat using at-home bio-electrical impedance devices like my scale or the handheld Omron device aren’t terribly accurate. The important part is the trend and any lasting magnitude of change! As you can see from the numbers, in just two months, I’ve dropped over 12 lbs of weight and ~4% body fat. That’s pretty damn good! Keep in mind that I’ve also been lifting weights consistently. I have not been doing a lick of cardio, just trying to include more active activities, like kayaking, beach volleyball, and hiking. I HATE running, either outside or on a treadmill, so I’m not doing it this time around.
Time for some pictures!
It might be hard to see a ton of difference between the shots above, but that’s largely because I’ve been doing both fat loss and muscle building at the same time! A very difficult thing to do. But focus closely on some of the “problem areas,” as you’ll see the progress clear as day. For example, the “pouch” area just below the belly button: in my 5/19 shots, you can easily see the outline of the fat pocket, but in the 7/20 shot, the pocket is virtually gone!
Another area is in my arms. Focus on my forearms, and you can see in the 5/19 shots, they are soft and have zero vascular definition. In the 7/20 shots, things are tighter and you can clearly see vascular definition! In my shoulders and neck, you can see the change from a softer appearance to a more defined one. My face is also leaner on top of it all! And it’s all thanks to the ketogenic diet, for real guys!
OK, so now that you’ve seen my progress thus far… where am I heading? Well, my current goal is to get around 12% body fat. I’ll accept victory if I can get this as a trending measurement from my Omron device. If I can sustain this rate, then I should be able to attain this within the next 60-90 days! How exciting! =) Wish me luck, and stay tuned guys.
