2 weeks down on the 800 Gram Challenge on Keto! I’ll keep this post relatively short for reasons below, but still include my meal plan for week 3 for anyone that might need it.
800 Gram Challenge – Week 3 Summary
- What is the 800 Gram Challenge?
- Challenges faced & Lessons learnt
- Week 3 Meal PLan
What is the 800 Gram Challenge?
The 800 Gram Challenge is a nutrition challenge developed by Optimize Me nutrition founder EC Synkowski.
I’ve written a more in-depth summary of the entire challenge in my Week 1 on The 800 Gram Challenge here – so I won’t bore you with the details all over again!
Challenges & Lessons in Week 2
If you read my post from last week, you’ll see I decided not to weigh myself.
I thought I would have caved by now and bought a new scale, but I haven’t and actually haven’t even thought about it!
After religiously weighing myself almost every day for years, this is a pretty big shift for me.
The thing is, it hasn’t changed anything. I still know when I’ve eaten too many carbs because I lose energy and feel a bit bloated.
I know when I’ve eaten enough because I’m full.
I know I am staying healthy because I am eating well and exercising.
I am more in tune with my hunger and eating to satiety, and have no guilty feeling after eating an indulgent meal.
We have takeaway once a week on a Friday night, and usually I would weigh myself the next morning and feel really guilty.
No more guilt over a planned ‘cheat meal’ – the way it should be.
I have no idea what I weigh right now – and it doesn’t matter.
Lesson 2: Life gets in the way
It’s Sunday morning as I write this, and I’ve been feeling sick for the last 24 hours.
Relatively minor symptoms, but as my city is currently experiencing a spike in coronavirus cases, we are asked to get tested no matter how mild.
So I went off to get tested today. A bad headache and achey body means I’ll be skipping my planned exercise for today and potentially for a few days.
It also means instead of the market fresh food I had planned to buy this morning, I’ll be self isolating until the test result comes back.
This meant an urgent grocery delivery because we had no food in the house, and my meal plan had to be simplified quite a bit to just the food I could get delivered today.
Never mind, still plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables available to me!
I’ve also had to make the meals as simple as possible in case I’m feeling worse and not up to preparing anything complicated.
Lesson 3: They are forcing me to eat carbs.. and it’s ok
The new bonus point challenge for Week 3 is to eat at least 50 grams of white potato, lentils, corn or beans.
Yep, all carbs, all things I generally avoid.
I know what they are doing – trying to get people like me to chill out on the carb fear!
I have been reluctant and a bit annoyed, given how great I feel on a strict Keto diet, but I get it as well.
I’ll be introducing beans into my lunches and some dinners, and a bit of corn as well. I’ll still be keeping other carbs relatively low.
I’ve had small amounts of more carb-filled vegetables for a while now, especially when enjoying something like a Sunday roast – you have to have roast potatoes.
Eating them every day is different though, and I definitely notice my hunger increases when I have a higher carb day, even when they are vegetable carbs!
I will comply with the challenge though, and do my best.
My Keto 800 Gram Challenge Meal Plan for Week 3
As mentioned above, I need to keep this week pretty simple with a looming cold/flu. Hopefully it’s very minor, but better to be prepared!
I also need to incorporate 50 grams per day of potato, beans, lentils or corn, so there’s some included below.
on Sunday night, I’m cooking a big lamb roast so will use the leftovers from this for lunches Monday – Wednesday to keep things simple.
The bonus point for Week 2 is to get 50 grams of leafy greens in a day – easy! I love leafy greens on the side of just about any plate.
Week 3 Meal Plan – 800 Gram Challenge on Keto
| Day | Lunch | Dinner | Veg Count |
| Monday | Lamb & butter beans salad, feta, red onion, cherry tomatoes, salad leaves | Mustard chicken thighs, cauliflower and beans | 6 |
| Tuesday | Lamb & butter beans salad, feta, red onion, cherry tomatoes, salad leaves | Butter chicken w/ cauli rice + broccoli | 6 |
| Wednesday | Lamb & butter beans salad, feta, red onion, cherry tomatoes, salad leaves | Chicken enchilada casserole – beans, onion, capsicum, guacamole, corn | 9 |
| Thursday | L/O enchilada casserole | BBQ + cauliflower bake and grilled corn | 7 |
| Friday | L/O enchilada casserole | Takeaway Greek Lamb and salad | 6 – 8 |
| Saturday | Eggs, avo, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans | Chicken and prawn laksa with zucchini, bean sprouts, spring onion, cauli rice | 9 |
| Sunday | Eggs, avo, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans | Roast pork, potato, roast apples and onions, broccolini | 9 |
The snacks from last week worked well, so this week I’ll have:
- Celery sticks and avocado dip or peanut butter
- Berries
And if I’m feeling up to working out:
- Post workout banana protein shake
- Pre-workout banana
SAVE The 800 Gram Challenge on Keto to Pinterest for Later
Not sure how to start Keto?
Here’s some resources to help you!
- What is Keto?
- What Can I eat on Keto?
- How Much Should I Eat on Keto?
- What To Expect On Keto
- Ketogenic 21 Day Meal Plans
- Preparing for the Ketogenic Diet EBook
- Understanding Net Carbs and Total Carbs
