What I Ate for the First 30 Days on Keto

Whether you're new to low carb or coming back to ketogenic living after a lengthy diet break, the first 30 days on Keto can be rough. 

This is because food choices are completely different from what you're probably used to eating, and you can easily feel deprived and standing outside of the norm.

I've always believed that dieting gets harder with each new attempt, regardless of which weight-loss strategy you choose, but I was very surprised to see that it wasn't that way for me this time around. 

While I haven't experienced the surge in energy and well-being that many talk about, my hunger level has not sabotaged my weight-loss efforts, thank goodness. 

Hunger is way, way down.

I did put my focus on lowering my blood sugar, rather than dropping pounds, and that might be why I was able to make it through the first 30 days without cheating.

To keep things simple, I decided to take the path of de-carbing our regular meals instead of doing a strict Old-School Atkins Induction using foods and recipes we are not used to eating.

Not having to eat salad every single day or weigh out my vegetables helped me to stay on top of my thoughts and emotions.

It has also helped to not label foods keto-friendly. Or not.

I adopted the mindset that's heavy at Reddit: Whatever fits into your macros (carbohydrate tolerance) is fine. This let me put the focus on each meal, rather than daily.

I went into this new Keto approach with no expectations other than the hope that low carb could still lower my blood sugar to safe levels. To put that into practice, I avoided the scale for the first 2 weeks.

I'm embarrassed to say it, but I started at 222 pounds.

Didn't weigh myself at all during the first 14 days.

At 2 weeks, I weighed 215; and at the end of the first 30 days I was at 213.

That's a drop of 9 pounds, which means that my maintenance plan wasn't working. Partly, because of a med I'm on, and partly because I wasn't paying attention to how much I was eating.

And yeah, I admit that I was hitting the chips in the afternoon a little too hard. Plus, hubby used to offer me a Hershey's kiss or two whenever he raided the candy jar. 

It's actually been over 60 days since I returned to a Keto level of carbs. I'm 206.4 pounds – for another 6.6 pounds down for month 2 – but I don't want to talk about that right now.

I want to talk about what I ate during the first 30 days on Keto because that's when most people give up and walk away if things aren't going as well as they hoped.

What I Ate for Breakfast on Keto

To be honest, one of the things that was worrying me before I returned to Keto was a lack of hunger. I wasn't feeling well, but I also wasn't hungry. I almost couldn't get breakfast to stay down that first morning. 

Blood test said my sugar was over 200.

I don't remember exactly what it was, but I'm thinking it was in the 225 to 235 range after breakfast.

The body was telling me that I didn't need to eat.

I'm calling what I did Keto because it didn't follow the actual recommendations or restrictions for the Atkins Diet. I ate anything I wanted but limited myself to about 20 net carbs per day.

Normally, breakfast for us is somewhat of a routine:

• Bacon and eggs
• Sausage and eggs
• Scrambled eggs with meat, potato, green onion
• Breakfast burritos
• Cereal when hubby has to leave early
• Pancakes or waffles

Obviously, some of that isn't Keto but could be if I used low-carb recipes and products.

For the first month, however, the only new recipe I tried was for Chaffles. Chaffles is a low-carb waffle, which I'll talk about in the dinner section, along with sharing the recipe, because I used it to replace our gluten-free hamburger buns.

For the first 30 days I limited our breakfast menu to:

• Bacon and eggs
• Breakfast sausage links or patties and eggs
• Scrambled eggs with leftover meats and green onions

I rotated the meals, so they wouldn't be too repetitive. I also cut the volume of my meal in half.

I used to eat:

• 2 fried eggs and 3 slices of bacon or breakfast sausage links
• 1/2 of 4 scrambled eggs with leftover meats and green onion

But since I decided to eat to appetite, my serving size dropped to:

• 1 fried egg with 2 slices of bacon or breakfast sausage links
• 1/3 of 3 scrambled eggs with meat and vegetables

Breakfast sausage links and patties contain carbs, about 2 or 3 carbs per serving. Italian sausage links are closer to 3 carbs, since they're so much bigger; but they are high cost here right now, due to Covid, so we've decided to stick to the cheaper breakfast links and patties for now.

For additional breakfast ideas, check out our post on what to eat for breakfast when you're sick of eggs.

 

What I Ate for Lunch on Keto

In addition to not being hungry for breakfast, there was also a few days where I wasn't hungry for lunch. Especially, in the beginning when my blood sugar was still high.

On those days, I simply didn't eat lunch.

The exception to this was on weekends when we were home and hubby wanted to eat.

What I ate for lunch during the week wasn't much different from what I ate for lunch on the weekend. When too busy, we didn't eat. I made an early dinner instead. When home, I served a:

• main-dish salad with homemade Ranch dressing
• burrito (I ate just the filling)
• sandwich using sliced cheese for bread
• leftover smoked ribs with a side dish
• baked chicken

During the week, when hubby was at work, I ate:

• sandwich using sliced cheese for bread (ham or tuna salad)
• leftover smoked ribs and Carbmaster yogurt
• slices of ham and cheese and Carbmaster yogurt
• main-dish salad with homemade Ranch dressing
• baked chicken thighs or legs
• 2 fried eggs with a slice of cheese on top
• bacon, jalapeno, and cheese omelet
• bacon and eggs

I took a blood sugar reading in the mid-afternoon and watched how closely it mirrored my hunger. Stress also played a role in how high my blood glucose was. Even slight worry affected the numbers adversely.

So carbs are only part of the problem.

What I Ate for Afternoon Snacks on Keto

Honestly, with the lack of hunger, snacking was extremely rare.

When the mind started talking about how to revamp Keto to include hamburger buns, rice, and chocolate cake that first week, I used diet Jello with a squirt or two of sugar-free canned whipped cream to quiet down the noise.

The Jello eliminated my cravings almost instantly.

Occasionally, I'd eat a slice of cheese or ham; but that was all.

Blood glucose ranged from 103 to 115.

For more Keto snack ideas, check out our post on 27 snacks that will help you stay on  plan.  

What I Ate for Dinner on Keto

By dinner time, my blood glucose had fallen to 98 to 105, so my appetite was back.

However, I got full much sooner than I did before.

So seconds were not an option.

Especially, since we normally have ice cream for dessert somewhere around 7 pm.

De-carbing dinner simply means leaving out the carbs I'd normally consume and not replacing them. I ate the filling I'd normally eat in a burrito, like pulled pork or chicken fajitas, and didn't add anything to replace the gluten-free spinach tortilla.

That saved me a whopping 26 carbs. 

I put Alfredo sauce over stir-fried chicken and cauliflower.

(This one didn't go well since I don't have a gallbladder anymore. It was way too much fat. If fat isn't an issue for you, check out our post on how to make your own ketogenic casseroles.)

Made a lot of grilled pork chops that I seasoned with Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning about 2 to 4 hours ahead of grilling.

I marinated chicken breast or chicken thighs in Grill Mates Garlic, Herb, and Wine marinade, and then baked them until cooked through.

I put chopped brisket or pulled pork, cheese, and avocado over a dinner-sized salad.

Sometimes I made Taco salad.

Reheated smoked ribs.

Various low-carb vegetables were:

• fried summer squash with bacon and onions
• California-mix frozen vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots)
• stir-fried vegetables we picked up at Costco
• cole slaw sweetened with liquid Splenda
• spinach pie or spinach with butter
• a side-salad with avocado and homemade Ranch dressing
• asparagus with cheese sauce 
• brussels sprouts cut in half and microwaved for 10 minutes
• pickled cucumbers with vinegar and liquid Splenda
• bell pepper slices with Ranch dressing

But I didn't make vegetables every single night. Other side dishes were:

• diet Jello with sliced strawberries and whipped cream
• guacamole with crispy pork rinds (hubby had tortilla chips)
• deviled eggs

Since breakfast and lunch were really slim on the carbs, I had a lot more room for carbs at dinner, so I decided to try my hand at cooking a Chaffle. 

A Chaffle is a cheese-egg waffle that many people within the low-carb community are using to replace the bread in a sandwich or burger. And after trying it, using the almond flour version, I gotta say that Chaffles are definitely a game-changer.

I don't know how the original Chaffle tastes or cooks up because I'm not brave enough to try that in my waffle iron, but I do recommend the type that uses almond flour.

Despite being heavy on the eggs and cheese, they cook up just like a regular waffle. Only, they are way lower in carbs. Just 3 net carbs for the whole recipe. (6 total)

Chaffle Recipe for Hamburger Buns or Sandwich Bread

Makes 2 Chaffles

3 Net Carbs Total Recipe

Ingredients:

1 ounce cream cheese or ¼ cup grated cheese

1 beaten egg

1-1/2 teaspoons oil, melted butter, or coconut oil

2 tablespoons almond flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum

Method:

Soften the cream cheese by nuking in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds. Stir until creamy smooth. Add 1 beaten egg and oil and mix well. In another bowl, mix together almond flour, baking powder, and xanthan gum. Add to wet ingredients and stir until it makes a batter.

Heat your waffle iron until hot.

I used a Dash mini waffle pan, so the waffles would be burger sized. Spray the waffle iron with non-stick spay and pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan and gently spread it out toward the edges. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes.

When done, gently remove to a plate. Spray the pan again and use the rest of the batter for the second Chaffle.

What I Ate for Dessert on Keto

Our regular routine before returning to Keto was to have a bowl of ice cream about 7 pm almost every night. I was already limiting myself to 2 scoops instead of 3.

Since Winco brand ice cream is a whopping 23 carbs per 2/3 cup serving, or more, I switched from Winco brand to CarbSmart in the carton for a total of 4 to 5 net carbs, depending on the flavor: Chocolate or Vanilla.

(Their website says they have a peanut butter flavor too, but I haven't ever seen that.)

Sometimes, I would add a few blueberries and sometimes, not.

Hubby still eats the Winco brand ice cream.

How Did I Count My Carbs?

Since I wanted this to be a permanent mental shift, rather than a temporary weight-loss diet, I honestly did not count my carbs.

I started my new life by looking at the CarbSmart ice cream carton, first.

It is advertised to be 5 net carbs, so I subtracted those carbs from the 20 net I allowed myself for the entire day – leaving me 15 net carbs to work with for snacks and meals.

If hubby worked late, we didn't have ice cream.   

Breakfast was sometimes zero carbs, and sometimes 2 to 3, so I subtracted that from the 15 carbs I had leftover, arriving at about 12 to 15 carbs for lunch and dinner.

Most servings of vegetables or other side dishes are way below 12 to 15 net carbs, so I didn't see any point in keeping tract of them on paper. If I had a salad for lunch, then I would serve a zero-carb or nearly zero-carb side dish for dinner.

If I had Carbmaster yogurt in the afternoon, I'd choose a lower carb vegetable, like spinach or asparagus for dinner.

The idea was to get my blood sugar under control, which tightened up the amount of carbs I was eating throughout the day for me. 

I also wanted a new way of eating that would allow me to do that effortlessly without having to count anything.

Meat is zero carbs, so protein now takes priority. It's the first thing I reach for when hungry.

Since I don't have a gall bladder, I have to also eat less fat. The Keto Casserole using chicken breast and cauliflower that I tried during my first 30 days didn't work out so well for me. Hubby said to try cutting the cheese sauce in half, but I haven't tried that yet.

I use vegetables and salads to make our protein-heavy meals more appetizing and varied, rather than the main portion of our meals.

What About Now?

It's been a little over 60 days now, since I started eating this way, and I'm down to 206.4 pounds as of last Sunday morning. That's 6.6 pounds for the second 30 days for a total of 15.6 pounds in 2 months.

It will be interesting to see what happens when I hit 200. Generally, that's when the body has always put on the brakes.