Since we learned a lot about different diets during our current training, Eliane and I decided to take a closer look at the keto diet.
What started as a joke turned serious and we started the keto diet on Monday, October 8th.
What we weren't quite aware of was that our diet for the next few days would consist of 75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% carbohydrates. It was obvious that carbohydrates would be reduced, but we were initially somewhat surprised that protein would also have to be reduced so drastically. This is actually logical, though: Gluconeogenesis converts amino acids into glucose. And because we want our body to be in ketosis, glucose isn't needed in our organism at the moment.
By the way, 5% carbohydrates is really low; we've opted for a maximum of 30g of carbohydrates per day. However, 100g of broccoli already contains 4-6g of carbohydrates, and 100g of apple contains 11-14g of carbohydrates.
It quickly became clear that fruits also had to be removed from the diet and vegetables could only be consumed sparingly.
The high fat consumption does not make it any easier to find food that is edible.

Our main foods during this time are: mozzarella, nuts, cheese, fish, meat, eggs, soy flour, oil, seeds, mayonnaise and coconut milk.


The first day

I was mentally tough. Even though my hunger was limited, my mind was mulling over food all day long. What should I eat? How should I combine it so it's still tasty? How much fat do I need to consume? If I eat this tomato now, will I have not a single gram of carbs left for dinner? Is it worth saving the carbs? And so on and so forth. Towards the evening, a light disc forms, comparable to 2-3 glasses of wine.
My personal mistake was the shirataki noodles. I already knew from previous experiences that they didn't agree with me and that I found them disgusting. Now I thought it would be an easy solution. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I felt extremely nauseous all evening and throughout the night. I barely slept and was wide awake again at 4:30 a.m.


The second day

The nausea continued. I was extremely reluctant to have a breakfast of chia seed pudding. The consistency, the fat from the coconut milk, everything was weird, so I left it alone. A Babybell and a few almonds had to do. Over the course of the day, the nausea gradually improved, and I think I've reached ketosis. I also found soy flour at Migros with a carb content of 3.1, which will definitely help me make pancakes (unfortunately, extremely dry, but almost a feast compared to everything else).




The third day

Today was our first day at school while in the keto phase. At first, I thought it would be a lot easier, since Eliane and I could motivate each other. Unfortunately, things turned out a little differently. The morning was extremely difficult; I couldn't concentrate on the class at all and my mind kept wandering. We both felt like we were "slumped," similar to a hangover. Sitting gave us a lot of time to think. I was already dreading lunch again: mayonnaise, eggs, nuts, cheese, and very few vegetables. I still felt dizzy and even nauseous just thinking about all the fatty food. School was becoming more and more of a test of patience, and we repeatedly discussed quitting the keto diet. The final blow came from a comment from our classmate about why we were even doing all this. We replied: "We want to find out what it feels like." Then he said: "But you already know that on the third day." From then on, our motivation plummeted. We both knew that we would have to suffer for two days for no reason.


The fourth day

Abort!
The time has come; we've decided to abandon the project. The agony was too great. The most disgusting part of the whole thing was actually the lack of concentration at the end. Knowing that important school material was passing you by and your brain couldn't absorb any of it. For me personally, the compulsion eventually became abnormal. I tortured myself enough with anorexia; I don't want to put my body through that again. Eating was no longer fun, and my mood was completely down. I also suddenly became completely emotional and cried over completely irrelevant things.


Conclusion

The project was exciting; our bodies suffered, but our minds suffered even more. I could never imagine following a ketogenic diet for a longer period of time (more than a day ;)). The food choices are so limited, and the minimal vegetables, in particular, don't make it easy. But what I missed most were the fruit. The first bite of an apple was like a gift.

Such projects are exciting for a short time and that's exactly why we are now looking for new exciting topics, so if you have a suggestion - even extreme ones - please contact us ;)
#diet #keto #ketogenic #food #project #attempt