Transitioning back to a Keto Lifestyle

I really love the keto lifestyle. I know there are lots of delicious things that one must part with in their original sense, however the secret is to keep your focus on all the rich things you get to eat! Also, if you’re hankering to have some sort of carby thing, chances are there is some sort of substitute recipe out there that will satisfy the craving (enter Fat Head Dough instead of wheat based pizza dough... what?!?! So good)

The second reason I really love this lifestyle is because it is one of the only ways I’ve seen dramatic and immediate improvement in my health and weight loss.

The very first time I dove into keto, I did very little research and jumped right into the deep end. Although I lost like 8 pounds in that first week, I also got the keto flu something awful and had absolutely no idea that that was even a thing. (I ended up taking a pregnancy test thinking that maybe that was the culprit to why I felt so terrible, alas no baby on board at that time). The flu-like symptoms lasted about 4 days and then the cloud lifted and I was a whole new person!

Brain-fog lifted, energy... woke, motivation--- on fire! I followed the orthodox, classic keto approach to the “T” and I dropped weight like crazy. Nearly 45 pounds in total.

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​The thing is that my hair fell out a bit, my cheeks broke out like I was a teenager going through puberty, and my breast milk dried up... luckily my second child was 16 months old  and was ready to stop nursing at the time.

After having my third kiddo and flirting with keto since he was about 3 months old, I am ready to launch back into the lifestyle, but I’m going to do it a bit slower this time. I’m going to wade in the shallow and slowly swim to the deep end. I’m entirely interested in keeping all my hair, not breaking out, definitely would like to avoid the keto flu, and most importantly keep the milk I feed my little guy with.

​So here’s how I’m doing it for the next 10 days:

Days 1-10 Keto Transition

(Please keep in mind, I am not a doctor nor a nutritionist.  I am on my own sort of bio-hacking journey and I hope it inspires you to find your health, but please do not take anything as wrote and always consult a physician or licensed nutritionist in your own journey.)

Days 1-3

• ​Take out all obvious sugar food choices in the first 3 days: sodas, desserts, candy, chocolate, even fruits, etc.
• Take out all breads, pasta and rice.
• In this initial 3 days, keep sweet potatoes in 1-2 meals a day as the only carby thing I'm eating.
• When you think of a meal, first think of what greens to eat and have them take up half of your plate: spinach, power greens, asparagus, zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, brussel sprouts, cabbage, etc.

PC: ruled.me

• ​​​Proteins should take up a 1/4 of your plate, about the size of the outside of your fist (that’s how I visualize it) rib eye is my all time favorite, but any organic, grass-fed, and finished meat or poultry will do (the fattier the better- so stick with dark meat chicken preferably)
• The last quarter of your plate is the super delicious part. The fat. Go to’s for me: avocado, some sort of sauce like a garlic aioli, remoulade, bernaise, etc. Maybe some cheese or nuts & seeds.
• DRINK A LOT OF WATER, especially because of the breastfeeding.  
• Add lots of pink himalayan sea salt to food

Days 4-7

• Pretty much the same as Days 1-3, but now its time to take the sweet potato servings down to just one meal a day.

Days 8-10 and Beyond!

• No more sweet potato. (If you’re a lady, I suggest having a few slices of sweet potato if you’re on your period.)
• Keep the greens up at every single meal (breakfast included). Go liberal with unfiltered high quality olive oil and coconut oil.
• Moderate your protein and dairy intake. (Kerigold butter is awesomeness though... it has to be said.)

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5 Key Tips for Nursing Moms on Keto

1. Drink Water

Drink LOTS of water! Seriously. You should be drinking water like it’s your job. A good rule of thumb is at least half your weight in ounces. The best thing to do is to get your favorite water bottle and figure out how many bottles of that particular water bottle you should drink everyday. This one is my favorite at the moment. (The Thermoflask) Tip: drink one entire bottle of water after waking up, before you eat anything. Breastmilk is made up of over 90% water so drinking water is really going to help you keep the supply you and your baby have worked so hard to establish. ​

2. Eat Greens

​Eat greens at every meal. I’m not talking about romaine lettuce. I’m talking the green leafy guys like spinach, baby kale, collards, broccoli, etc. You can definitely compose a salad of spinach with romaine or mixed spring leaves with romaine but don’t just do romaine by itself. At least not all the time. These leafy greens are key in helping your body replenish key vitamins in your diet which will translate to more vitamin rich breast milk and will help your bowels move all the fat and waste out. ​​

3. Eat Calories

Eat calories! The transition period is not the time to cut down on the amount of calories you eat. This is a time to help your body switch from running on sugar and carbs (glucose) to running on fat. We’ll get into exploring light intermittent fasting options while nursing on a later post, but this should only be explored well after becoming fat adapted.

4. Be Snack Ready

​I generally don’t snack but it’s always a good idea to keep nuts on you during the day in case you start to feel hungry and are either a few hours away from your next meal or are about to indulge in something carby. (Weak moments happen. Better to be prepared for success with targeted snack prep.) My favorite nuts to keep on hand in my baby bag for those times are: almonds, macadamia nuts, pistachios and hazelnuts. Some hardcore keto followers out there might disagree with my choices as pistachios and hazelnuts are not the lowest carb nuts, however, we’re trying to establish the habit of going for delicious nuts before carby things. Once we establish the habit, we can start fine tuning our choices later.

5. Flavor with Pickled Goodness

Vinegar and pickled items are your best friends! Not only will pickled onions or vinegary marinated mushrooms bring immense flavor to your salads, they will also help your body breakdown fat by helping your gallbladder produce lots of bile. Bile will aid your body in breaking down all this fat your freeing from your fat cells to move out of your body! So feel free to order that bun-less burger with cheese and bacon, but don’t forget to ask for a big lush side salad and lots and lots of pickles! (Drinking a small glass of water with a cap-ful of apple cider vinegar in the morning is also ideal, we’ll get into that in another post.)

New year, new you starts NOW! I believe in you! Let's do it!