Coffee Space 
This is a continuation of the keto journey. Previous articles:
This is the current diet progress (something I might start adding to each update as it’s easy to produce):
As you can see, I’ve kept my calorie intake roughly in check at about the 1000 calorie mark. The carbohydrates have mostly been under 20 grams also - I’m yet to drop out of ketosis.
So I’m coming up to one month-in on the restricted calorie keto diet, and I’m still not sure if it’s working. I feel more energetic, I feel lighter - but the brain isn’t so reliable. Perhaps I just feel good about taking some seemingly positive action.
Externally I only have old school weighing equipment available, which doesn’t seem to be reliable for me at all. The problem really is that I’m too heavy for them to have an kind of accuracy. I suspect I may have lost as much as 10kg, which means I will miss my 40kg by Christmas goal by quite some margin.
What’s changed then? The fat on my body feels noticeably softer, which, according to some random resources online, is supposed to mean that it’s working. Apparently when fat cells are first depleted they can initially fill back in with water, hence becoming softer. They then slowly break down as they begin to deteriorate. Until that happens I imagine it’s very easy to fill them back up.
The other unfortunate fact I need to come to terms with is that I’m going to be left with a lot of extra skin. I’ve done a lot of reading online and it seems like my skin is permanently stretched. There appear to be no real natural options for long-term stretched skin. There’s a good chance that some surgery in the future is on the cards. Having lots of additional skin is really quite dangerous, so in theory I should be able to get free surgery on the NHS (eventually).
Each day that goes by I am beginning to feel more energetic, although I burn out incredibly quickly. Beforehand, when walking to the office or walking to the local shop I would have to spend a moment catching my breath before I could do a meeting or beginning shopping. Now, though, I’m ready to go straight away.
I gave a talk the other day and I had tonnes of available energy and mind resource available during the talk, to the point where not only was I thinking about what I was talking about and what I planned to talk about, but I also was reading people’s faces in the room and making a conscious effort to make eye contact. I’ve not had quite that much raw brain power available in years.
So I am slowly but surely beginning to enjoy exercising again. Lifting weights and walking are things that are becoming easier to do. I can walk twice as fast for twice as long, I can lift twice the weight for twice the repetitions. This is quite important in preventing muscle mass loss, as well as ensuring I don’t get some kind of blood clot. (I highly suspect I had a case of DVT some years back where one of my legs struggled to get blood through it.)
One thing I found is that my muscles have been aching, which I suspect is an early sign that I need to take vitamins and electrolytes a lot more seriously. I’ve got hold of some magnesium tablets and plan to take them semi-regularly (they are quite strong, so I don’t want to overdo it).
So the progress isn’t as strong as I would hope. What can I do about it? Well, I was talking about having extra energy, the next step is to increase exercise further. I could start shopping further away (offering cheaper prices food at the same time) and generally go for walks - it’s always a good chance to listen to music or podcasts!