When I learned about the keto diet, it didn’t feel too different from my post-Whole30 eating habits. My typical plate was filled with mostly veggies, meat, and tofu; I drank green smoothies for breakfast; and I swore by bulletproof coffee (though I still enjoyed cocktails at happy hour and my favorite pad Thai). I’d heard that some women struggling with PCOS (like myself) found symptom relief with higher-fat, lower- carbohydrate diets — so I stocked up on all the fats and began my own 21 days of keto challenge.
Moment of pure, unfiltered honesty: my first week on the keto diet felt like a mix between repeatedly being hit with a sledgehammer and being punched in the stomach. Torture. I experienced the reality that is the keto flu, which manifested for me as several days of pure exhaustion, headaches, general grumpiness, and poor sleep. I’d read this was all part of the journey, so I took friends’ advice to up my calorie intake and drink a ton of water. But after nearly two weeks, I didn’t feel anything close to the gobs of mental clarity and energy they proclaimed.
