Restocking the Kitchen
After clearing out my pantry, it was time to restock. I’ll never forget that first grocery trip — the one that became my own keto grocery list for beginners. My cart looked completely different than it ever had before. No chips, no frozen meals, no sugary snacks. Instead, I filled it with eggs, bacon, chicken, cheese, avocados, butter, heavy cream, and plenty of low-carb vegetables like spinach and cauliflower. Walking past the snack aisle, the bread section, even the cereal boxes I had leaned on for years felt strange — but freeing. For the first time in a long time, my groceries matched the kind of life I wanted to create.
The First Meals
My first meals weren’t fancy, but they were satisfying. Breakfast was often bacon and eggs, sometimes with avocado. Lunch might be a simple salad with chicken and cheese. Dinners looked like bunless burgers with roasted veggies or steak with cauliflower mash.
Keeping it simple was empowering. I wasn’t stressing over complicated recipes — I was just focusing on real, whole foods.
Transitioning with Dirty Keto
If I’m being honest, I didn’t start out eating the “cleanest” version of keto. In those early days, dirty keto made the transition easier. I grabbed bunless burgers from fast food places, had pepperoni sticks, and leaned on low-carb protein bars that weren’t exactly whole food.
And you know what? It worked. Dirty keto helped me get into ketosis without overthinking it. For me, it was about progress, not perfection.
Eventually, I began shifting toward cleaner, whole-food meals. But I’ll always credit those first dirty keto days for helping me build momentum.
Early Struggles — Keto Flu and Cravings
The first week was not easy. My body craved carbs, and I felt tired, foggy, and irritable. Standing in the kitchen at night, I caught myself wishing I could just grab a bag of chips. That was when I had to remind myself why I started — the cane, the pain, the 297 lbs on the scale.
The “keto flu” hit me with fatigue and headaches, but I pushed through. Drinking more water, adding electrolytes, and eating enough salt helped me survive those rough first days.
Small Wins That Kept Me Going
Even in those early weeks, I noticed small but powerful changes. The constant bloating I carried for years began to fade. My energy came back in little bursts. The number on the scale started to move — slowly at first, but enough to remind me that change was happening.
More than anything, I felt a spark of hope. Each meal, each day, was proof that I was actually doing this — and that this time was different.
The Hope of a New Beginning
The first steps were messy and imperfect, but they were a beginning. And that’s all I needed — a start.
In Part 3, I’ll share the first real wins that made me believe keto wasn’t just a short-term fix, but a lifestyle I could truly live.
If you’re curious about the science, this beginner’s guide to keto is a great place to start.
That first grocery trip was the start of something new. Every item in my cart was a choice to change — to replace the carbs I used to lean on with foods that would finally fuel my body the right way. It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t fancy, but it gave me momentum.
In Part 3 of my story, I share what happened after those first weeks — the results I achieved, the lessons I learned, and how keto became more than a diet. It became the way I live.
