Are We Still On The Keto Diet In 2024?

And just like that, we are in the second month of the year, inching closer to the third. To jump right into it, the buzzing question is, "Are we still on the keto diet in 2024?

The simple answer is YES, but with tweaks for me, which I am more than happy to share moving forward. If you've adopted the keto diet, you must know by now that it's a lifestyle. It isn't a means to an end, which I must admit was my initial approach for weight loss in 2018 when I started following this WOE (Way of Eating). Last year, I gained a newfound appreciation for how I've benefited health-wise, mentally, and physically from sticking to a healthy keto diet plan. 

I want to go back to the beginning and share a little about my journey while explaining the keto diet rules, what to eat on the keto diet, the keto diet weight loss process, and give my personal keto diet review. 

I'll break it up into different posts while sharing my take on keto diet recipes and keto diet foods in Kenya. Best yet, I'll go a step further and provide a free keto diet plan for beginners and offer regular updates about my 6+-year journey of intermittently following this lifestyle. 

Keto Diet Explained

Simply put, the keto diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet. It means upping your intake of healthy fatty foods (avocados, butter for cooking, lard, etc.) and drastically lowering carbohydrate consumption.

I believe anyone reading this has a basic understanding of the different food groups. I'll go the layman route here and break it down according to what I've personally done. For starters, I no longer eat the following food items that fall under the "carb spectrum."

Wheat (chapati, mandazis, cakes, basically anything made using wheat)

Rice (both brown and white)

Maize meal (Ugali)

Potatoes

Legumes (Beans et al)

I switched to solely using butter for cooking and getting my carbs from vegetable sources. However, I have recently changed this a bit, and I follow a carb-cycling approach because I started strength training (lifting heavy) last year, which is an entire post of its own!

I'll also get into macronutrients, how to track them, and why you should track them to reach your weight loss goals in a different post.

My Keto Diet Review

I have an entire post explaining how I got started with keto in 2018, and to sum it up, in 4 months, I lost 22kgs, and by the end of the year, I had lost 30kgs in total.

I was strict the first four months, losing the most weight in that time frame. Walking was my only form of exercise, and I made sure I hit 10K steps daily. I did HIIT workouts now and then, but walking was my primary focus. 

I did know about macros and tracking them, but again, I only strictly did it for the first four months. Full disclosure, 2018 was challenging for me, and I underate on most occasions.

Intermittent Fasting (IF) also pushed my results by helping me learn how to control hunger and, in general, just eat less. 

So, I wouldn't say that I did keto the right way at the time, hence why I kept piling back the weight I lost. I still went on and off keto between 2019 and 2020. I finally decided that I was tired of the back and forth with losing and adding weight, but it really wasn't until 2022 that I found my rhythm, particularly with exercise.

Again, let me go into all that in another post, but to sum it up, yes, I am still on keto, not strict. I have a "cheat meal" every Saturday, mostly popcorn, and every now and then (say once a month), I'll enjoy my all-time favorites, chapati with ndengu (green grams/ mung beans) and ice cream.

I'm currently on a weight loss journey and do far, I've lost 15Kgs since October 2023. Taking it slow and steady and loving every bit of it. I only got back on Keto in January 2024, but like I said, I lean more towards low carb than keto.

In short, keto works. You can achieve long-term success if you follow the right approach. It took me a while to figure it out, and thankfully, I went through all the ups and downs to get to a point where I have a better understanding of nutrition and how to incorporate keto into my lifestyle for weight loss/ maintenance.

Keto Diet Foods in Kenya

I often bulk-shop protein, butter, and other condiments. I buy veggies every other week, and in terms of meal prepping, I prepare veggies weekly or daily, in the case of salads. Again, I'll dedicate a post on my keto diet meal prep and tips on where to get the best deals on different food items.

There you go. Hopefully, this answers most of the questions, and I promise to address other things in future posts, including sharing an updated keto diet meal plan. 

As usual, I would love to hear about your wellness journey. Let me know in the comments if you are on keto and what exercises you are doing in 2024.