How I Lost Weight Eating Clean Keto
Sharing everything I did to lose weight eating clean keto. Includes what foods I eat and avoid, every meal I ate, info on intermittent fasting, my exercise routine, and more!
Quick Overview of My Weight Loss Journey
Hi! I’m Natalie! So honored to have you here following along! I’m rooting for you and your health journey so much!
I’m going to share all about my weightloss journey with you, but it is so important for you to know this before we begin:
MY WEIGHT DOES NOT DEFINE MY HAPPINESS! I HAVE BEEN HAPPY AND FELT LOVED AND WORTHY AT ALL SIZES I HAVE EVER BEEN.
Having said that, I definitely feel my best, have the most energy, and look on the outside the way I feel on the inside when I am making healthy eating choices. For me, that is clean keto.
Being naturally thin does not come naturally to me. I have to make adjustments to what I eat to be a happy weight.
Here are my weightloss stats:
Highest Weight: 255 pounds (May 2017)
Starting Weight 1st Time Losing Weight: 238 pounds (March 2020)
Lowest Weight: 185 pounds (March 2020)
Weight After Baby #3: 237 pounds (March 22, 2021)
Current Weight: 221 pounds (April 2021)
Height: 5’9″
In September 2019, I set out to lose weight, feel better, have more energy, and be the best version of myself.
I lost 50 pounds in 6 months! Ultimately losing 53 pounds in 7 months.
For this first round of losing weight, I ate clean keto, did intermittent fasting and jogged 30 minutes a day. (All explained in more detail below!)
In April 2020 (right after hitting my “happy weight”) I was lucky enough to get pregnant with my 3rd baby boy (yea!), who was born in January 2021.
Pregnancy did NOT feel like the time to stress over weight (especially that 1st and 3rd trimester, ha!). I made mostly healthy choices, but also allowed for lots of indulgences. Because sandwiches and ice cream are just so delicious and feels very necessary when pregnant, ha!
I gained 51 pounds during my pregnancy, which was all 100% worth it for my sweet baby Luke.
At 9 weeks postpartum, I started feeling the desire to start getting back on track with clean keto. Mostly to have more energy to keep up with my 3 boys.
I began my 2nd round of my clean keto journey on March 22, 2021. This time I’m only focusing on eating clean keto. I’m not worrying about intermittent fasting (too hungry while breastfeeding!), and sadly I haven’t found time to squeeze in dedicated exercise (yet!). I’m still breastfeeding too!
I lost 14 pounds in the first month!
After sharing my results of my weightloss on Instagram, I’ve gotten so many questions about everything I’ve done to lose weight.
Here are the top questions I get asked about my weightloss:
Q. How Do I Start Losing Weight Like You Did?
Short Answer: You can get started any time! I’m here to help you and make it as easy as possible for you to replicate my results.
Long Answer: I have a post on The 10 Steps to Start Clean Eating and Losing Weight, which is a step-by-step guide on how to get started and keep with it!
Q. What Is Clean Keto?
Short Answer: After completing several rounds of Whole30, and becoming very comfortable in my Food Freedom, I learned what foods to avoid that don’t agree well with my digestion (no sugar, grain or dairy for me!) I shifted into keto to take my weight loss to the next level. I eat a high fat, moderate protein, low carb diet that is mainly Whole30 friendly foods. I occasionally indulge in monk fruit, grass fed dairy and alcohol.
Long Answer: I wrote a post on The Clean Keto Foods I Eat where I go more in depth into all the foods I eat, and have a printable PDF listing out every single food I eat to make it easy for you to understand and replicate!
Q. What Is The Difference Between Whole30 + Clean Keto?
Short Answer: The main focus of Whole30 is to teach you to have a healthy relationship with food, embrace healthy eating, and determine what foods make you feel great and which foods to avoid that make you feel bad. The program also wants you to be aware of all the ingredients in your food, and avoid all things processed.
The main focus of Keto is to eat a high fat, moderate protein, low carb diet to get your body into ketosis, which is when your body begins burning fat for fuel rather than carbs/sugar.
Long Answer: If you want to learn more about Whole30, I’ve got a whole post on Everything You Need To Know About Whole30. I also highly recommend all the Whole30 Books to learn the official program rules and reasons behind them.
To learn more about Keto, I learned a ton from this podcast episode, this book, this book,
Q. What Are Keto Macros? How Do I Calculate Them?
Short Answer: Macros are the ratio of fat, protein and carbs in everything you eat.
Long Answer: Here is where I share all about Keto Macros :: What They Are + How To Calculate.
Q. How Many Carbs Do You Have A Day?
Short Answer: I try to stick to under 25g net carbs a day.
Q. Do You Track Macros Closely Every Day? Or Calories? Or Ketones?
Short Answer: I tracked my macros really strictly the first 2 or 3 weeks. I can now ball park guess how many carbs and how much fat I’m eating each day. I never worry about calories or testing ketones for ketosis.
Long Answer: At the end of this post, I share more about why I now just estimate my macros rather than tracking closely.
Q. Do You Intermittent Fast?
Short Answer: My 1st round of losing weight in 2019, yes! The first 8 months I did a strict time restricted fasting, consuming my calories during an 8 hour window between 12pm-8pm. I didn’t have calories outside of my fasting window, but I would have plain tea which has 0 calories. I’ve noticed a huge increase in energy since intermittent fasting. I loved it!
Now for my 2nd round of losing weight in 2021 after having my baby boy, I’m not intermittent fasting. Mostly because I’m too hungry since I’m breastfeeding, and don’t feel the need to restrict my eating window. I’m still losing weight (I lost 14 pounds the 1st month!). I’m finding that it isn’t so much about WHEN you eat, but much more about WHAT you eat.
So try out intermittent fasting and see if it brings you joy and more energy! No right or wrong way.
Long Answer: This is a great article that goes much more in depth into the benefits of intermittent fasting, and this article goes very much in depth into the basics of intermittent fasting.
Q. What Do You Eat Everyday?
Short Answer: So much good food! I share everything I’m eating every day on my Instagram Stories, so be sure to follow me there so you can follow along!
Long Answer: I’ve kept track of everything I’ve ate the first 6 months losing weight when I lost 50 pounds. Here are the posts on every single thing I ate each day, along with time stamps on each photo for intermittent fasting:
1st Round Losing Weight in 2019/2020
- What I Ate in September 2019
- What I Ate in October 2019
- What I Ate in November 2019
- What I Ate in December 2019
- What I Ate in January 2020
- What I ate in February 2020
2nd Round Losing Weight in 2021
I also have a few What I Ate Wednesday, where I share everything I ate each with links to all the recipes AND the macro counts for each meal and the whole day. These are so helpful, especially if you’re new to starting out on keto!
- What I Ate Wednesday Posts with macro counts
Q. Do You Have “Cheat Meals”?
Short Answer: The first 6 months of my 1st round of losing weight, I had exactly 3 “indulgence meals”. And this was through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and 3 vacations. Once I reach my “happy weight” and focus on maintaining, I usually have 1 indulgence meal a week. So fun!
Long Answer: Read my post Do I Have Cheat Meals? where I share more about why I’m disciplined and avoid cheat meals, and my 5 tips for a positive approach to “indulgence meals”.
Q. Do You Have Keto Meal Plans?
Short Answer: HECK YES I DO!
Long Answer: I have over 1 years worth of weekly meal plans here on the blog, for free! Includes recipe links, a printable menu + grocery list, how much money I spent, plus photos + video of my grocery haul! Such an amazing resource!
Q. What Is Your Grocery Budget?
Short Answer: My grocery budget is around $1200 a month, which includes my monthly shipment of ButcherBox (which I highly recommend!). I buy almost exclusively organic produce. And only eat humanely + pasture raised 100% grass fed meat that I get from ButcherBox, along with wild caught seafood.
Long Answer: Every Friday morning, I share my weekly meal plan, which includes how much money I spent on groceries that week. Be sure to check them all out to see exactly how much I’m spending week after week. I also have a post on 20 Ways To Save Money Eating Organic!
Q. Do You Have Favorite Keto Foods + Pantry Staples?
Short Answer: Yes!
Long Answer: Here is my post where I take you on a tour of my keto stocked kitchen pantry, fridge, freezer and spice cabinet. I also have lists of all my favorite brands of my keto favorite foods, and at the end of that post I have a link to my post where I share all my favorite storage containers and kitchen organizers.
Q. What Do You Do for Exercise?
Short Answer: The first round of losing weight, I jogged 30 minutes every day, usually pushing both of my toddler boys in our double stroller. It’s quite the workout!
I’ve started out with simple jogging, for just 30 minutes a day. Before this, I’ve never been able to run 1 mile in my entire life. I’m serious. Not even in high school. But now, and I never thought I would say this, but I am loving jogging!
For my 2nd round of losing weight, I haven’t added in exercise yet. Still trying to find a way to do this with 3 boys! Especially since the baby isn’t sleeping through the night yet, and I’m going to choose sleep over working out. Thinking maybe a Peloton once he’s sleeping through the night? I’ll share when I find a way to work in exercise!
Long Answer: I started jogging for the first time EVER 1 week after starting clean keto in September 2019. Before that, I had never been able to jog 1 mile without stopping in my life! I used a Couch To 5K program, which is perfect for me since I was literally at a couch level of jogging, ha! I stuck with it every day, and 8 weeks later could jog 30 minutes straight, finishing 2 miles a day!
I have a whole post on my exercise routine, the jogging app that I used and all my favorite running gear. You don’t need a gym membership to exercise!
Q. How Long Did It Take You To Lose Weight?
Short Answer: My first round of losing weight, I lost 50 pounds in 6 months, between September 2, 2019 – March 3, 2020.
Long Answer: Here is where I share How Long It Took Me To Lose Weight Eating Keto, where I share my highest weight, starting weight, height, and how much weight I lost each month.
Q. How Often Do You Weight Yourself?
Short Answer: I recommend weighing yourself just once a week. That way you don’t get too focused on the numbers and obsess over them. It can be hard if the scale doesn’t move day by day.
Q. Do You Have A Goal Weight?
Short Answer: I’ve never had a specific number, just wanted to find my “happy weight” which encompasses so many more things than a number on the scale. I do prefer when my weight is in the 100’s! Haha!
Long Answer: While I don’t have a scale number goal, I did have 3 weight loss goals. I share about them in my post Do I Have A Goal Weight?
Q. Did You Get The Keto Flu?
Short Answer: Yes! I had it most of week 2 after starting keto. The good news is, it goes away and after I felt better than ever!
Long Answer: Here is where I share all about The Keto Flu. Signs and symptoms, when it starts, how long it lasts and some remedies to help you feel better.
Q. What Vitamins + Supplements Do You Take?
Short Answer: Nothing fancy, mostly just a multivitamin. Right now it’s a prenatal vitamin since I’ve been either pregnant or breastfeeding for the past 6 years, ha!
Long Answer: Here are my favorite vitamins + supplements I take every day with explanation on what each is!
Q. How Do You Stay Motivated? Tips for Success?
Short Answer: So many ways, but the top one is that when my health is in order, my whole life feels in order. This weight loss journey is about so much more than the number on the scale.
Long Answer: I have a whole post sharing about How I Stay Motivated and my 10 Tips for Success! Tons of helpful tips to help you have the same success that I have!
Q. My Weight Loss Has Plateaued/Slowed/Isn’t Fast Enough! What Do I Do?
Short Answer: Don’t give up! Stick with it!
Long Answer: I wrote a post on What To Do When the Weight Loss Plateaus, sharing my thoughts on it and 11 tips to encourage weight loss.
Q. Can I Eat Clean Keto While Breastfeeding? Or Pregnant?
Short Answer: Yes! If you want to! I’d recommend sticking with keto when pregnant and breastfeeding ONLY if it brings you joy and feels effortless. (Always consult with your doctor of course).
Long Answer: Here is where I share all my thoughts on Eating Clean Keto While Pregnant + Breastfeeding, and I also share about how I breastfed my youngest the first 3 months of my weight loss journey, and whether I had any changes in my supply during that time. Here is where I share How I Keep My Milk Supply High While Breastfeeding. I am currently 9 months pregnant with my 3rd boy (as of December 2020), and I have been eating “keto-ish” during my pregnancy. Having lots of clean keto meals, but also allowing for indulgences. I am not stressing about weight at all (and in fact not even weighing myself!) I share more about it here.
Q. I Want To Lose Weight, But My Partner Doesn’t Want To Join Me. Any Tips?
Short Answer: Yes!
Long Answer: I wrote these Tips for Encouraging Your Partner To Join Your Health Journey.
Q. Did You Have Any Hair Loss with Losing Weight Eating Keto?
Short Answer: No!
Long Answer: Here is where I share about How I Avoided Hair Loss While Losing Weight, and I share my 8 tips to keep your hair healthy!
Q. Why Did You Want To Lose Weight?
Short Answer: After having kids, I want to be the healthiest version of myself. I love them so much, and I want to be around for a longgggg time! I have some tricky genetics (breast cancer, alzheimer’s, heart disease, arthritis) and know eating clean is the best preventative medicine. I’ve never felt (or looked!) better!
Q. What Do Your Kids Eat?
Short Answer: Pretty much what we eat! My boys are very healthy eaters. We’ve always feed them what we eat, so they know no difference. I do let them have more indulgences than us! They eat fruit, have chips, have rice, beans, etc.
Long Answer: Here is a post on Everything My Kids Ate in a Month, here is a post on my Tips To Get Kids To Eat Healthy, and here is a post on my Favorite Toxic Free Kids Feeding Supplies.
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44 Comments on “How I Lost Weight Eating Clean Keto”
Just wanted to come on here and support! Love following you on instagram. Your recipes and ideas are awesome, but more importantly, you are REAL and RELATABLE! Keep being yourself! AND congratulations on losing 30 lbs! :)
Thank you so much Elisabetta! You just MADE my day! I so appreciate your support and encouragement.
You are gorgeous! But I bet you feel so much healthier now. I started Keto 9 days ago (inspired by you!) and am already feeling really good! XO
Thank you so much for the kind words Katie! I am so thrilled that I inspired you. I do feel so much healthier, it’s just amazing. I am so glad you are 9+ days out and feeling good. Keep up the good work!
You look fantastic, Natalie!! I think it’s even better that you feel so good! Thank you for motivating all of us and providing such detailed information on your journey!
I somehow found you on Instagram and am so glad I did! I love how honest and relatable you are!
Hi Alyse – I am so glad you found me on Instagram too! Thank you for the nice compliment!
Thanks for writing this! I am on the hard struggle bus of losing weight/trying to stay motivated to eat clean etc since having a baby 19 months ago, and you gave me so much inspiration! Congratulations on your success! Now I’ll be going back through and clicking all the links to the other posts. ?
Hi Sam – I am so happy you liked my weight loss post. I know the struggle bus you are on, cause I sure was on it for awhile. Don’t get down, my goodness you just had a precious baby. You’ll get there when the time is right for you! Sending all my best! You got this Sam!
Girl you are absolutely amazing!! And to share with us your journey in such detail so we can be successful too ! Wow! I’ve been enjoying your recipes and look forward to what’s new every week :)
Thank you so much for your super kind words Jas! Oh my goodness you made my day! I am so thrilled you enjoy going on my journey with me. It is incredibly rewarding to share my progress. I so appreciate you letting me know you enjoy these posts. Motivates me to continue on!
Thank you so much for being so open and honest about your success! I do have a question though- how do you determine how much (quantity) that you eat ?
Thanks so much!
Thanks so much for your question Melanie. As far as the amount of food I eat, I don’t really measure or weigh the food. I try to just eat a reasonable healthy amount without overindulging. I try to focus on nourishing my body and that has really changed how I view food intake. I post pictures of each meal in my Instagram stories so you can see that I by no means skimp on my meals. I also think intermittent fasting has helped tremendously. I consume all my meals within an 8 hour time frame. I sure hope this answers your question!
This is my New Years resolution! 40# more to go!!
I wish you all the best with your New Year’s resolution Holly. How fantastic that you only have 40 pounds to go! You got this!
thank you so much! this post and all your clean keto content is super helpful! i tried keto a few years ago (it’s how i found whole30, actually) but i remember finding it v difficult bc leeann’s book hadn’t come out yet, and while there were lots of blogs w/info – none of it was free which seemed so weird to me at the time. so to see all your content, all the work you do, and how you share it freely is just amazing and i’m really thankful! it’s so obvious that you want everyone to share your success and their own, and that’s so wonderful. thank you.
also agree about the recipes in leeann’s book, they totally turned me off and it’s why i started whole30/paleo, but i’m super inspired by you and i’ve turned this january whole30 into a keto whole30???
Thank you so much Jessica! You just made my day! I am so grateful that you enjoy my content and info on eating Whole30 and Keto. I truly love sharing my tips and it makes it all worthwhile that you are nice enough to let me know you have benefited in anyway.
I wish you continued success on your journey! Hoping 2020 is a happy, healthy year for you!
Thank you for all the info about your journey!
You are so welcome Rachael! I love sharing this information and it makes it all worthwhile when it is well received.
I cannot WAIT to immerse myself in our material. 2 spine surgeries and NON DIET worked! Keto took off 15 lbs in 6 months and then I did another 15 on snakediet electrolytes but they both STOPPED working so I figured that whole 30 may help may hormonal or thyroid issues that keep be permanently stalled.
I do OXYCISE and lose inches and tone but no weight loss and I cant do more strenuous w my back. OMAD and IF dont even work and in SO SICK of hearing that I may be eating too LITTLE calories…the constant confusion around this consumes me! Praying this is my final catalyst! Thanks SO MUCH for making this gree when people like me have spent hundreds on worthless advice and products and ha e nothing else to give.
Bless you!
Lisa
Thank you so much for your very nice email Lisa! I sure hope you enjoy reading through my blog. I just love sharing any tips and what worked for me. It sure makes it all worthwhile when it is well received.
That is fantastic that you exercise even after 2 spine surgeries. I really admire that. To me, exercise is good for the mind and body and is essential for overall well being. Also eating healthy, nourishing food is a game changer for weight loss. I really tried to focus on health and the weight seemed to just melt away.
I really appreciate you reaching out and with you so much success in you journey to better health.
Hi there, just found your website by looking for almond flour brownie recipes! Then I fell down the link hole and have been browsing ever since. Ha!
Have you had any changes in your cholesterol (if you know)? My family was on keto for almost 3 years, until my husband had a blood test. His cholesterol had sky-rocketed and he was only 29. We switched to a Mediterranean diet, but I am STRUGGLING with it. I have insulin resistance and PCOS, and I think the increased carbs are just too dangerous for my willpower. I’ve not gained any weight back (but I had only lost 10 in 3 years of keto), but I have more carb issues again, since our family again eats pasta, rice, beans, etc. My husband is doing well on Mediterranean (along with some supplements for his cholesterol), but I’m really having a hard time. I did great on keto and we loved eating the way we did. Any suggestions or advice? To make things worse, my son has autism and he’s dairy sensitive, so it’s like I need to really make three different diets and three different pantries’ worth of supplies. UGH!
I am so happy you found my site Delaney. I started my weight loss journey in September. I haven’t been in for my yearly physical so I don’t know if my cholesterol is up or down. I know I have never felt better than I feel now. This way of eating really agrees with me. I have more energy and I just overall feel so healthy. If your husbands doctor recommended him changing his diet, I would definitely follow that advice. It is a lot to make different meals for your hubby, son and yourself! My goodness I don’t know how you do that. If your cholesterol was not affected by a Keto lifestyle maybe you could just avoid the additional carbs with your meals? I know my family avoids dairy, I feel so much better without it.
I wish you success in your journey to better health. Thanks so much for reaching out!
Hi Natalie,
I just wanted to tell you how much I LOVE your blog!! All of the posts are really interesting and you are so sweet to share all the info about your weight loss, eating, kid’s eating etc.!!! I’m really focusing on getting my kids to eat healthier and I’m using lots of your tips! I’m still working on getting my blog “Sizzle Kidz” up and running and it’s all about kids learning about food, nutrition & health, mainly because I want MY kids to learn this stuff! I’m learning so much myself here! Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much for your very nice email Jill! You absolutely made my day! I am so glad you enjoy my blog. I love sharing tips and recipes and when they are well received it makes it all worthwhile.
Congratulations on starting a blog that focuses on better health for kids! What a fantastic idea. I love the name by the way! I wish you so much success. Let me know when it is up and running, I’d love to take a look at it!
You mentioned that you try to keep your carbs to 25 to 30 carbs per day. Is that total carbs or NET carbs please?
Thanks for the question Bridget! I try to keep my total carbs to 25 to 30 per day. If you have any other questions, please let me know!
Hi natalie just started Keto. I have been following you on instagram so have just subscribed. Looking forward to the journey. Love the recipes you are very inspiring so that’s all the help I need. I am 69 and have 4 st to loose so hoping that I succeed on Keto where I have failed on other diets. Let you know how I get on. I have been on keto for 3 weeks. Have lost 6lbs. I am barely in ketosis so have been tracking macros. I do find it difficult so love your daily eating blog which will help me where i might be going wrong. You look fantastic by the way. Pat
Love all these tips!!!
I sure love sharing tips and recipes and when they are well received it sure makes it all worthwhile Meghan! Thank you so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it.
Hi Natalie! I have been following you ever since I did my first Whole30 early this year when I discovered some of your delish recipes. I’ve recently decided to try out your clean keto approach to lose weight and scooped up one of the books you recommended and got the CM app to track everything. Thank you so much for all the guidance you offer to get started on this journey– I’m excited & at little bit nervous. I am trying out fasting to see if that works for me by doing the 12-8pm block. When you started out clean keto doing IF, did you eat 3 meals in a day with very few (if any) snacks OR 2 meals in a day with snacks added OR some other C option I’m not thinking of? I’m unsure what the best approach is– and/or if it matters as long as I stay within my macros for the day? I would love any advice or insights you have to share based on your experience! Thanks so much for being an amazing, positive resource with fantastic recipes & content! :)
Congratulations to you for starting your journey to better health Diana! I am so happy you have enjoyed my weight loss posts and recipes.
I am not much of a snacker so I tend to eat 3 meals a day. If I do have a snack it is very small and really not very often. I really think intermittent fasting worked so well for me. I noticed I had so much more energy and my weight loss improved. I felt that it really helped boost my metabolism.
I wish you so much success with your clean Keto plan! Thank you so much for reaching out!
Just wanted to say THANK YOU!! I’ve followed you for a couple years now and your positivity and motivation are so refreshing and honestly so helpful! Your meal plans and recipes are not only yummy but also not intimidating! Thank you thank you for everything. I’m about to start my whole30/keto journey again and I’m so glad to have you as my guide!
Wow! You just made my day Courtney! Thank you for following me these past few years! Thank you for your kind words about my site and recipes. I am so glad you have enjoyed the recipes and posts. Congratulations to you for starting your Whole30 journey. I hope 2021 is a happy, healthy year for you!
The link for your couch to 5k app is not working. Can you please repost the name? Very interested! Thank you!!
Couch to 5K
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/couch-to-5k-run-training/id448474423
WOW, 50 pounds is that much! I admire you! I have been fighting with the same extra pounds on my body for 2 years now! I take your example and also start losing weight. I just want to learn a little more about the keto diet. Tell me, was it easy for you to switch to it? Because I missed that at first, it was very difficult. But sometimes I just can’t look at myself in the mirror, I don’t like myself so much ((It’s cool that there are people like you, and you know how to motivate others! Thanks
I am so glad my weight loss story inspired you Ketamine! It was relatively easy to follow a Keto/Whole30 diet. There were times that it was very tough, but I just stuck with it. I felt so much better and healthier. For me what worked was focusing on nourishing my body and being kind to myself and the weight seemed to come off easier. Please love yourself and don’t be too harsh on yourself. It’s just weight! It will come off. Look at yourself in the mirror and admire the fabulous person you are. There is only one you! On my site I have many posts about my weight loss journey. Here is a link to it:
https://www.tasteslovely.com/category/weight-loss/
Thank you for sharing this post. I am planning to loose weight this summer. I will be running for long distances.
So glad you enjoyed the post. Congratulations to you for starting your journey to better health Saki.
You are a great body, it is very important that you share with everyone, then perhaps you will inspire other people and they will believe in themselves more and will also achieve their goal! You are cool!
Aww, thank you so much. I love to share my journey to inspire others. If I can do it, YOU can do it!
Hello! Thank you for this amazing article! “Ketogenic” is a term for a low-carb diet (like the Atkins diet). The idea is for you to get more calories from protein and fat and less from carbohydrates. You cut back most on the carbs that are easy to digest, like sugar, soda, pastries, and white bread.
Hi! Cutting back on all those carbs makes me feel so good! Thanks for being here!