3 months in and falling off the horse

(Kayleigh Allman) #1

Hello all! I’m not new to the Keto Diet itself, but this is the first time I’ve actually cracked down and made sure I was doing everything right. I only had 2 “cheat” days in those 3 months (and honestly, they didn’t really knock me out of ketosis either so they weren’t that bad) and everything was going well until about 3 weeks ago when I started going under a lot of stress and wanted to eat everything carby in sight. This is also when I started to get weird about my macronutrients and carb amounts (I would stay at 15 or under and if I went over I obsessed. My relationship with food right now isn’t really good). My family is predispositioned to having eating disorders, so I was starting to show signs of developing one, so my family decided I needed a day where I didn’t count anything, etc.

One day has turned into 3 days and I gotta say, I feel like crap. My running performance has gone downhill (I was able to run for over an hour straight and now even 30 minutes is hard) and my body I feel like is under a lot of stress due to this. Everyone keeps bringing in junk food or makes food that isn’t keto and that makes it incredibly challenging to get back on the horse as I’ve found once you have that first cheat day, it’s hard to get back on track lol. My family is also talking about starting the whole30 and I’m interested in combining it with the ketogenic diet.

A little bit about me (basically background)
I’m 17, a senior in high school, I work most days (in a fast food place so the temptation is literally everywhere) and I started the keto diet to help get me ready for the military lifestyle. I enjoy it, but I’m not gonna lie it’s hard for someone as young as myself with peers the same age that doesn’t understand why I eat the way I do and encourage me to eat junk almost every day.

If there are any recommendations for helping getting back on board or trying something different (such as the Whole30) I would love to know!

(Jenny) #2

my daughter is 19 and doing lazy keto (in other words not counting macros and being cas about it)…if you can hang in there until you are fat adapted your hunger and vulnerability to carbs and sweets will go way down. we all have stress and you have to learn to cope with that for successful weight loss. I work a cubicle job and there are constantly treats, pastries and baked goods there. whole 30 or paleo may be a good fit for you, but I would recommend transitioning onto that from keto after successfully losing weight. (if your goal isnt weight loss, try whatever food plan sounds good and see how you feel!) here’s something regarding stress:

(Carl Keller) #3

It has to be really difficult for you to be surrounded by so much unhealthy food and temptation. I live with others who fill the cupboards and fridge with cookies, chips, cakes and cookies. I see this stuff at arm’s reach all the time and what keeps me from wanting to indulge is anger. It’s a calm anger and it doesn’t boil my blood but it keeps me focused. The anger is directed at all the corporations that sell us poision for profit. It’s directed at all the health organizations who took money from those corporations and lied to all of us that the products they endorsed were healthy and safe to eat. This is what I see when I look at junk food and it makes it very unappetizing to me.

If I were you, I would try to see if there are any local keto groups, maybe even on facebook. There’s one in my city with quite a few members. So maybe you can find some local support and new friends to help you not feel so alone in your journey to eat healthy.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #4

Yep. Perfectly normal. It should come back sometime between week six and week eight. Your muscles are re-learning how to metabolize fatty acids instead of glucose, and the changeover takes several weeks. Don’t sweat it; just relax. Your performance will come back.

BTW, since you are still a teenager, be sure to ignore the protein recommendations on these forums. They are for adults, not for growing teens. Until your growth spurt has ended, get lots of protein and eat as little carbohydrate as you can manage. Eat fat to satisfy your hunger. Don’t stint yourself.

As long as you keep your carb intake low, your body will be able to access your fat store with no trouble, and your appetite will be a reliable guide to how much to eat. Teen girls aren’t quite as bad as teen boys, but you should stilll be eating enough to put a strain on your folks’ food budget.