Greetings Ketolings!

#1

I’m a newbie to the forums but not a newbie to keto. I’ve been lurking and binge reading the forums for a few weeks. I’ve been ketoing since August 2016, with one pause for a trip to New Orleans over the holidays (sadly, the sazerac is not ketogenic). I was on-and-off primal for a few years before that, and did a Whole60 with some success, but didn’t get serious about consistency until my weight reached an all time high last summer. At that point I could no longer move well and got easily winded while engaging in one of my favorite forms of stress relief (tennis). A neighbor friend told me about keto a few years ago and I thought she was loony and her food choices were not appealing (liverwurst with cold butter is her go-to breakfast). I was into filling up my plate with vegetables and freely eating fruit at that time and thought eating mostly plants was essential to health.

But eating mostly plants always seemed to lead me back to the sugar, and I’ve never in my life been able to eat sugar to moderation. So, at my highest weight last summer, I felt desperate and thought I’d take a look at keto. I researched the hell out of it, then hired a keto coach. The coaching was a good investment and really helped me with accountability. Last week I graduated myself from the coaching program because I felt I’d reached the point of maximum benefit with that particular program. I’m not at my goal weight, but I’ve lost 17-20 pounds, 4% body fat measured by Dexascan, and some inches – can’t recall exactly now many right now – off my waist. There was no loss of muscle; I lift heavy twice a week. I’ve got great energy and my tennis game is better than ever. When I returned from the odyssey of eating and drinking in NOLA after the New Year, I lost the 5 pounds I gained there within a few weeks, but since then my weight has stalled – or more accurately, it has fluctuated 3-4 pounds every few days. I have a sedentary, stressful job and I’m a 51-year old woman – not the ideal circumstances for weight loss, I know. I’m considering consulting a functional medicine practitioner to explore hormone balancing.

I’m also experimenting now with different lengths of fasting, have made it up to 3 days, will try for 4 the next time my schedule allows it. This last week I’ve been doing 24 hour fasts, and don’t much care for it, as I’m hungry a portion of the day and then after my one meal I feel stupified. I’m happier with two meals a day but haven’t lost weight that way. I’m trying to talk myself into eliminating dairy and sweeteners but have not felt ready yet. I think sometimes this WOE is so restrictive already . . .

I would like to find some ketoers to get together with locally. I’m in San Jose, CA. Thanks to Carl and Richard for creating this resource.

#2

Welcome! I also tell myself I would be better off without sweeteners and with less dairy (can’t even bring myself to type “without”) but I’m not ready and that’s ok for now.

#3

Me too, I actually Googled if I could freeze my organic heavy cream and it said I can…

To be honest, technically this WOE is restrictive because it does restrict the foods that can be eaten, but it’s the quirks in my body that makes this the correct WOE for me, so it’s actually my body with the restriction.

This is something that I really struggled with for years before going strict keto very early in 2016 and I remember many of my “dietary misadventures” until I learned my lesson.

(Cathy Schroder) #4

I think that the further you get in your Keto journey, the less restrictive it seems. You just get quicker at picking what you can eat, and get used to cooking a wide variety of dishes. It just gets easier all the time.

#5

Agreed @madaboutchooks, it does get easier!

I saw someone recently say that instead of getting frustrated in a restaurant at the lack of keto-friendly foods, they’ve turned it into a game to see what they can come up with and this is a threshold that I’ve recently crossed as well. :slight_smile:

At an Italian restaurant in the US named Olive Garden, I’ve come up with a side of 2 Italian Sausages, a side of parmesean-crusted zucchini spears and Alfredo Sauce that adds up to 1,140 calories, 100g Fat (80%), 41g Protein (15%) and 16g Carbs (6%).

(Keto in Katy) #6

“Italian”

#7

@madaboutchooks, I agree that subjectivity it gets easier the farther along one is, but let’s face it, keto is by definition a restrictive diet. That’s not always a bad thing. I enjoy having a narrower field of choices at the grocery store and when determining what to put on my plate at home. I love nothing better than savoring every simple bite of a salted avocado half as my breakfast. The restrictions are still difficult in restaurant and social situations, however. I find myself looking for reasons to decline dining out invitataions just to avoid the hassle of quizzing the waitstaff about ingredients and offering explanations to my normie dining companions. Keto can be isolating, which is why I really would like to find more keto friends locally. Virtual interaction is nice but not nearly as rewarding as in person interaction.

(Michelle) #8

I guess I don’t look at it like restrictive. I am very happy I am free of sugar and carbs. I had no idea the amount of damage I was doing to myself by “allowing” myself to eat half a dessert, or to have that toast in the am, or bite into that fruit. I feel much less “puffy” and bloated. I don’t get sleepy after meals.

I like going out with friends and ordering a steak with butter. I like when people ask me what I’m doing. I like when people compliment me and ask how I’m doing it. I like to promote this way of eating when asked.

So, not restrictive at all. I’m finally free and feel great.

(Larry Lustig) #9

“Restaurant”

(Tim W) #10

I LOVE how I only have to shop 1/4 of the grocery store when eating keto, it cuts shopping time down to a few short trips a week!

(Tim W) #11

We started using IF and would follow it with binge carbs and “treats” (ice cream sunday nights) and then couldn’t understand why we were craving carbs so much afterwards (we now know it’s because of the insulin response and how it takes 2-3 days to get off the swings).

Once we started fasting longer, we noticed that sugar cravings lessened.

We used diet sodas and sugar free gum to keep us from going crazy on fasts.

After my first five day fast, I lost ALL desire for sugars AND fake sugars. The longer I go without any of those things, the easier they are to ignore. Something about cutting out EVERYTHING is easier (for us) than moderation. Fasting causes me to lose desire for sugar (real and fake), carbs, and even alcohol. “Food” for thought.

Cheers!