Accidentally Keto

#1

New hear and happy to have found this forum. Due to a recent severe allergic reaction to gluten, I had to drastically change the way I eat. On the advice of my Dr., I am now following the Keto diet.

I’m now in my 4th week and I am feeling absolutely amazing. My energy level is incredible and my digestive and cardiac symptoms seem to be behind me. As a bonus, I am down 14 lbs down so far.

I sort of got thrown in to the Keto diet by accident and am very happy so far. I realize however that this eating approach will not always be as easy as it has been for the first few weeks. I am looking forward to any advice that you can offer as I continue to adjust to this new lifestyle.

(Jane) #2

Welcome! And so happy to hear someone enjoying the benefits of keto insted of moaning how much they miss xxxx. We all miss our carbs but it gets easier over time and the benefits outweigh the short-term enjoyment.

If you need meal ideas check out this thread:

There are some pretty good keto-substitutes for some of our favorites although not being able to eat gluten will limit you to some (like using low carb wraps for pizza and enchiladas). One of my favorite “faux” dishes is to make spaghetti with finely shredded cabbage instead of pasta.

And if you haven’t heard of “chaffles” then you are in for a treat! Recipes usually use almond flour, eggs and mozzarella cheese so gluten-free.

(Jane) #3

I have been keto since Nov 2017. I started it for the weight loss and stayed for the health benefits. Never going back to the SAD (Standard American Diet) again! I do have some special days I have a lot more carbs but then I go right back to keto the next day.

(Laurie) #4

Welcome, @Midnightmoon !

I’m here for similar reasons. I started having reactions first to gluten (not severe, but bad enough), then to other grains, and various other foods. So now I’m pretty much carnivore. Feeling great, spending less on food, and lost 45 pounds. I’m not tempted to go back, because who needs the tummy aches?

You will learn as you go. If you have any questions, please ask. Good luck!

#5

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. Looking back, I’ve probably been having some symptoms for the better part of 2-3 years with my gluten issue. First it was heartburn and odd digestive issues. I had been going through the standard tests with my primary care Dr. and everything was coming back normal. I finally had two very severe reactions in early July that helped to pinpoint the issue. Now that I’m off of the grains/heavy carbs, the symptoms are 100% gone.

I’ve now been doing all of the reading I can on no carb living and I again appreciate your welcome and finding this great resource.

(Butter Withaspoon) #6

Welcome Midnightmoon! Nah… it will get easier! Feeling good lures one on to feeling even gooder. And you’ll get used to new routines, new cooking. And even if sometimes there’s a social event where you eat weird carby food, feeling a bit bleargh the next day can help you get back to the plan

(Kathy Timmons) #7

Welcome Midnightmoon,
How lucky/fortunate you are to have a Dr that recommended Keto!! You are having great success already and it will only get better! Just ask questions any time, we are all here to help.

#8

Just one quick question. I’ve been reading a lot about intermittent fasting etc. I haven’t intentionally tried to fast at this point. However, I am having days like today where I am simply not hungry and have no desire to eat. All that I’ve had since yesterday at 5:00 PM is some coffee with cream this morning.

I just want to confirm that this is normal and is it OK to simply not eat if I am not hungry, even if I’m not intentionally fasting.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #9

It happens to most of us. If you eat only when hungry, satisfy your hunger, and don’t eat again until hungry again, it is easy to fall into a pattern of eating fewer meals after a while. The key is to let the body decide how much to eat, not to try to make the decision arbitrarily.

I continued eating three meals a day for well over a year after going keto, and then suddenly I stopped wanting a meal in the mornings. Now I have a smallish meal around two or three o’clock in the afternoon, and then a larger meal for supper. There are some days when I want a lot of food, others when I want less.

I lost the link to it, but I read a study last year where they measured people’s food intake and energy expenditure. The authors’ conclusion was that there was no discernible correlation between intake and expenditure over any given 24-hour period, but that over seven or eight days the correlation was startlingly accurate. The lesson I take from that is to trust my body. After all, our ancestors managed to survive and thrive over two million years of evolution without knowing what a calorie or a macronutrient or a micronutrient was. They just ate when they could and fasted when they had to.

#10

Thank you.

(UsedToBeT2D) #11

It gets easier. For me, the first 8 months to a year, I found all kinds of Keto recipes trying to mimic the carb laden foods that I used to eat, and I compiled many recipes in a binder for easy reference. Slowly I learned what my body liked, and now I eat mostly meat, eggs, cheese, and startlingly simple whole, unprocessed foods. I don’t need the cookbook any more, and I don’t need to make the mimic foods, I just eat simple, occasionally preparing one of those recipes. It’s a journey, but worth it.

#12

I have a feeling that learning all of aspects of dealing with my gluten allergy is going to be more difficult than adopting the Keto diet itself. As I said earlier, I am absolutely loving how I feel, the lack of hunger, and the modest weight loss is a great bonus.

Getting to the ongoing gluten issue…My wife is being incredibly supportive. She is constantly trying to find new recipes for me in an attempt to keep some variety in my eating. Monday, she found this simple low carb marinade for some pork that we did on the grill. It was amazing. However, she overlooked the fact that traditional soy sauce in fact has gluten in it. Within 5 min, I was in another pretty intense reaction. Thankfully, I didn’t have to use an epi this time. A good dose of Benadryl took care of the worst of it. Two days later and I’m finally starting to feel 100% again.

It’s amazing how a food allergy/intolerance can come on you out of the blue. I certainly have a lot more to learn about it moving forward.

(Joey) #13

@Midnightmoon A belated welcome! Sounds like you’re doing fantastic by avoiding those pesky carbs and getting your health in order - as you well deserve. :vulcan_salute: