I started my keto diet on January 9, so I’ve been doing it for just over a week.

Here are some notes on it so far.

1. I don’t get as hungry as I thought I would, and I’m not craving carbs really at all.
2. Digestion seems to be better with less pain from bloating.
3. From what I can tell, I’m not yet producing ketones in any measurable way. I’m using test strips for that. More on my impressions about this below.
4. I think I’m at about 25 net carbs per day, but I think my protein intake may be too high still.
5. I exercise almost every day. I knew there would be a cost to my endurance and strength. From what I can tell, I’m able to comfortably exercise at about 85-90% of my normal rates. My incline treadmill feels best at 18% incline instead of 21%. When riding a stationary bike, I’m generating around 170 watts instead of 200.
6. I haven’t had any “keto flu” symptoms…probably because I’m not generating ketones yet. I’ve had a mild headache and some very low energy during parts of the day.
7. I do still have a “low blood sugar” feeling occasionally, but I’d think I’d have a much worse reaction if I’m truly not in ketosis yet.

From my understanding, being in ketosis takes between 2-7 days. I’m on Day 8, and the test strips aren’t detecting any ketones – or at least a very low amount.

Since I’m on day 9 now, either the test strips are wrong or I’m doing something wrong.

The thing that occurs to me is that I’m still consuming too much protein. I’ve tried to bump up my fat intake and at least slightly lower my protein intake starting yesterday, and I’m hoping that does the trick. Today, however, I’m not feeling anything different.

The strangest part, then, is that I’m still going about my day without much discomfort. And I’m also not feeling like a complete idiot. I’d think that having only 25ish grams of carbs and exercising for 40-60 minutes per day would burn up that amount.

I’ve read that our bodies can create glucose from protein as well as carbs in an emergency. That’s my best guess.

So far, the scale has me at about 5 pounds less on a 3-day average reading.

Overall, I’d say the experience is a positive one so far, but I’d really like to see what this ketosis business is all about soon.