2 month old Newbie - So happy to have discovered Keto!

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(Patricia Ingraham) #1

Hello all!

I am a 62 year old nutrition enthusiast! I started my journey back in the late 70’s when Shaklee vitamins were the thing. I went through the soy craze very faithfully, and then in the early 90’s I discovered the Weston A Price philosophy. For the past few years I have gone paleo and just discovered keto a few months ago when googling some recipes.
I maintain a healthy weight but have had problems with inflammation in the form of arthritis and occasional brain fog. I have been aware of sugar and refined carbs being a no no but didn’t realize that my favorite veggies sweet potatoes, butternut squash, beets and carrots would be. I have cleaned out the cupboards, refrigerator and freezer and look forward to conquering my health issues.
The main reason I am so excited about discovering keto is for my 62 year old husband Robert who was diagnosed with type 2 diabeties almost 15 years ago. I have only known him for 4 1/2 years and during this short time have seen the doctors increase his insulin several times and of course with this came weight gain. Being the health conscious person I was this bothered me very much. I had seen online that others were being healed of type 2 but from what I saw it looked complicated, and even though I had improved Roberts eating habits some what I knew he was a person of habit and one to listen to what the doctor and diabetes nurse were telling him. But, then when I saw what he could keep eating on the ketogenic diet and how easy it looked, I felt this may be the answer for both of us. He decided to ease into it slowly once he got permission from his doctor to go low carb.
We have been into keto completely now for about 1 1/2 months. I haven’t noticed a big change for myself but didn’t expect to because there wasn’t much to change. Robert has been able cut his insulin injections in half and has lost about 7 pounds. He says he is still hungry all the time so I keep pushing the salt and fat intake. But I am concerned he is still eating too much for too many hours in the day. He says I keep changing the rules when I suggest something new. He is a long time person in recovery from alcohol, drugs and nicotine. But I‘m feeling this hurdle may be his hardest to get over. I myself am working at being more patient with him.
Thank you Carl and Richard for all the work you are doing. I just caught up with your 2 Keto Dudes podcasts yesterday. Through them I have learned so much and have been introduced to so many others in the ketogenic world. I have been saturating my mind with as many YouTube videos, podcasts, books, Facebook pages and blogs on the subject as I can. The “piece de resistance” has been The Magic Pill movie which I saw this weekend. A must see for everyone!
I will be making this forum a regular stop on my internet days. Any suggestions for us would be much appreciated. In the meantime we will try to Keep Calm and Keto On!

Patricia

(Rob) #2

Congratulations on the progress so far. Reducing exogenous Insulin so fast is great. I wish I could persuade my insulin dependent T2 friend to even attempt it.
Keto is a revelation and has almost magical properties in reversing chronic disease. BUT - it takes time, has multiple levers on top of the pure dietary guidance and has some optimal sequencing for most people.

It is important not to be hungry so he should feed as much as he needs while adapting. Better to do that from fat but it is OK to use protein too as long as the carbs are keto low. The latest Bikman video from 2018 Breckenridge shows that we need not fear protein.

I’m sure he is vs. optimal keto IF but I couldn’t IF for at least 6-8 weeks and even then I’m not perfect. Focus on the diet side first and then you can move to the eating intervals. Some go the other way around but that sounds much harder.

A good reason to introduce the incremental levers slowly… focus on the basics until he is comfortable. You can trial the new things and show him that they are effective or at least painless.

This is my definite primary source for keto… because the crowd here brings the best (and worst, for a laugh/cry) of the keto and keto related universe here lickety split! There are gurus out there with their own particular flavors but the incredible diversity of keto experience (we are all snowflakes) makes the breadth of the forums the essential resource - amongst the 22,000 members, there are at least some like you who have had your problems and have worked through solutions.

(Patricia Ingraham) #3

Thank you Capnbob, lots of great advice!!
I will be passing this on to my Bob.

(Rob) #4

We Bob’s need to stick together!

#5

I’m only 6 weeks into keto, so you’re more old hands at it than me! It sounds like your Bob has done amazingly well overcoming alcohol, drugs & nicotine- that’s a massive achievement in itself! And to have stuck to keto with you, to be able to reduce his insulin already is also great news. I don’t know your Bob of course, but from thinking of my Dad & my hubby, pushing too much would make them quit altogether, so I’d say focus on his achievements, & go easy on the IF for now. It’s clearly working for him so far… It’s great that you can do this together, I’ve been trying to encourage my hubby to join me, but he’s still sceptical!

(Patricia Ingraham) #6

Hi Jules, Thank you for your response! It’s great to have a forum like this to toss things out there and then get something back. I read Robert your reply and he gave a little “yup” to your statement about pushing him too much. But he would also be the first to admit that without my little reminders and support he wouldn’t be able to do this thing called keto.
So I would say don’t give up on your husband. Maybe letting him hear more of Carl and Richard’s experiences would help. Robert gets a kick out of Butter Bob (and the song) on YouTube! There’s usually something out there that they can connect to!