How can I want to become ketogenic again?

#21

oh boy do I know this one :slight_smile:

eating so different at restaurants with my hubby was a hard row to sow.
the change is difficult. How many times he would say ‘try a bite of this’ and I say NO and he would literally pout.

Cause it was what we did. Our fun sharing over good foods and different foods. I so get you.

I sat him down one day and had a talk…oh boy when I say we need to talk…you should see his deer in the headlight look on that one HAHA

I told him I want change. I want to head into zero carb and I couldn’t eat like we did before. I was choosing what I wanted. And he would have to give some support cause it was what I wanted and I couldn’t take the little pouts. Told him just let me be me and eat how I want. He can do him, I would get off his case point blank about eating all the crap LOL He said deal! Cause I nagged him for sure. Don’t eat that, it will kill ya, LOL

Then my kid. We would bake brownies. Oh mommy try one, try one. It is SO hard to say no. I would take a nibble and pretend I was eating and oohing and ahhing. Older she got the more I could say to her and have her understand mommy didn’t want sugar. I still had to pretend thru a lot of it all, I made it work and she was duped I think on it all HAHA

My path wasn’t guilt on not eating stuff they wanted. My journey was more disappointment in the fact I was changing their lives also as I changed mine. How I eat could effect others? Really? But yes it did. Come on ya know?? I was doing big adjustments for me and I had to consider others also? I never saw that coming actually! But it is a real thing for many I think.

I had to come to terms with that. Instead of thinking I ruined dinner out cause I had to have my food my way etc. and make that a point I didn’t want to eat Italian and hit the BBQ place instead :slight_smile: I realized I couldn’t do it all you know. I couldn’t do every single thing in my life for my family to suit them. I had to have a ‘me time’ in there. My ‘me time’ became my eating and how I wanted it to be.

It is hard changing our thinking. I can say now my family is SO on board. I ask for one bite of something he orders and he says NO, you don’t eat that. And I wanna kill him but he is right LOL and my kid, I will if the situation truly truly is a big one will indulge a bit with her. Only if it is special.

Like we hit a Bavarian town for vacation. Known for their german monster delish fried pretzels. She was all excited and when we got our monster pretzel they dove into it. They were oohing and ahhing over it and she said, mom try a bite. I said sure!!! I got a small chunk, very small, nibbled on it and said it was delish. Wow holy cow. This pretzel is the bomb. This vacation is fun. And more…I joined in at the smallest expense I could. She was happy, I was happy.

So I think bob and weave is key in life. How can we make it work for us on a daily basis doing it as we must and want and still find that balance?

Took me a bit but now I am in a very calm place with my eating. I got the family settled in on it. I got them to let me be me and I showed them it really doesn’t effect their life as much as they think it does :wink:

just chatting off some stuff I had to deal with. Big change for oneself isn’t easy. It isn’t just the food change and more…we got real family crap to handle in there and who would think it would be a thing?? but it can be…but bob and weave thru it all. We can find our sweet spot!!

(Marianne) #22

So true.

My sugar addiction is as real as drug addiction or alcoholism. The only defense against it is to not indulge in even one bite of what reactivates it. For almost a year, I have been doing just fine. I find that lately, I am thinking about Christmas cookies (I love Christmas cookies, all kinds), and allowing myself to “binge” on “just one batch, and then get right back on” because I’ve been good for so long. This is the addiction talking. It is so insidious, my mind tries to minimize and convince me that I am an adult and that I should be able to control what I put into my mouth. I know if I were to do that, I’d figure as long as I went off “just this once,” I might as well take it as the temporary opportunity to indulge in all the other things I would like to have - like pizza, ice cream, candy, desserts, pasta, subs, etc. And the guilt, shame and powerlessness - what horrible feelings those are. It leaves you feeling so broken and vulnerable to the next time.

The reality is, there is no guarantee that I could stop just like that. There is no perfect binge that could ever be enough to satisfy the ugly compulsion. It might be weeks or months before I would be able to find my way back. Just not worth the price.

#23

Same here. It’s five years on Christmas Day.

I understand about a major life event messing things up.

I buried my dad in August 2013. I didn’t do it literally. The funeral home cremated him. Then I built him into a sand castle at the beach. He was scared of the sea but liked to look at it. The tide took his ashes away. I had promised him that I would buy a large serve of chips (fries) from the beachside chippy, then roll them individually in his ashes, and then feed them to the seagulls. He used to laugh at that in moments of lucidity. But he said I’d never do it. And I never did. Keeping promises to dead parents can be tough. He died of Alzheimer’s disease complications. He forgot his family, he forgot himself, he forgot how to walk, how to eat. Then one evening he stopped breathing. I don’t know if he forgot how. I was sitting next to him and the room was suddenly quiet.

By December 2014 I had gained a lot of weight from wild eating processed carbohydrates and developed fatty liver. So I decided to stop. I just remind myself how my dad died when all the positive benefits of low carb or Keto are just not enough to fight the addiction. It is a weird, modern way to experience a haunting.

(Bob M) #24

My dad is one reason I remain keto/low carb. I saw him degrade over time until he was a full blown Type 2 with insulin. He loved pasta and refused to give it up. He was in a wheel chair at the end and could barely walk sometime before that.

I realized later that he likely would have been much stronger and healthier eating keto than he was eating a high carb diet. I do not want to die that way.

I heard a reindeer herder from the Sami people get interviewed. His 93 year old grandfather, who followed traditional ways (lived off reindeer, with plants only for a short time in the summer), cross-country skied 20 miles, and dropped over dead at his destination. Meanwhile, his dad and mom started eating more sugar, replacing their fats with seed oils. His dad died of heart disease and his mom of cancer, 30+ years before his grandfather died.

While I will partake of carbs at times, I plan on doing keto/low carb until the nails are in my coffin.

#25

I have been considering doing this. He loves me so much and he mistakenly thinks I’m suffering while on keto. Would I love to be able to eat any sugary product and not get sick? YES! We all do. But I have to explain to him (T2D btw) that I don’t want to die because I quit caring about my health when I KNOW better. (PSA: Im not saying you don’t care about yourself if you have a metabolic disease. I’m saying > I < know better and for me it would be because I don’t care enough about my health to put it before my cravings)
Thank you for your input. :blush:

#26

Life goals right there! I hope to be a centenarian but that won’t happen with this junk I’m eating. I began this woe because I watched my mom die at 53 morbidly obese (350s) with all kinds of health problems. It was horrible. I do not want to put my kids through that and being already 45 I know it won’t happen that soon for me but if I don’t get a grapple and remember why I began…:pensive:.

#27

UPDATE: YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!! I already made a couple good decisions today. I do believe I’m about to get back to making better choices. About to make a fun food plan for the next couple weeks and see how that goes.
Have a great day everyone!!

(Katie) #28

I am sorry that you are facing a rough time and that you experienced trauma, I pray that things get better.

Is it keto that is difficult for you or not eating junk food? Eating healthy, whole foods is not necessarily keto, you could just do Paleo.

It seems like you do want to return to some sort of healthy eating. Take it in steps if that is easier. Do Paleo first, make Paleo treats to have occasionally. Transition to lower carbohydrates, and then to keto.

It does not have to be all or nothing, and just because you stop having junk foods now does not mean that it is a forever thing. I am not advocating eating those foods, I am just saying that what you do now does not have to be that way for the rest of your life.

Please do not feel guilty. The fact that you are on this forum trying to get back to a healthier lifestyle means that you are taking steps to making your life better.

(Jack Bennett) #29

He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

Once you have a meaningful “why” to do keto, the “how” will take care of itself. Maybe that’s to feel life long well-being or to see your grandchildren grow up or to be mobile enough to travel in your 70s and 80s. Everyone must figure this one out for himself or herself…

#30

Yes have the talk.

tell him that your concern is your health.

and after that, if he wants to please you and make you smile…have him take you out for a big azz steak :slight_smile: or have him bring home a bunch of seafood you guys love.

my hubby knows how to please me with meat and seafood now HAHA
(and no, don’t ya’ll go into the gutter on this please!!)

but when he treats me to my food, I gush over it. So I make sure he knows he did good by me :slight_smile: You can get your hubby on board for sure.

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #31

I’m only a year and a half in. And I’m single. But have a feeling we have some things in common. Sometimes I feel like I am focusing on my diet more than more important things. And I need to make sure of the more important things.

But really, I am doing better at meeting my obligations in both quantity and quality because my health is better. It is easier (not easy, just easier) to get out the door in the morning. People don’t tire me as easily. I’d imagine with a family to take care of I’d need that even more. Friends comment that I’m happier now. I feel like a more useful person.

But all said and done it is just food.We all gotta do what we gotta do to get through.

(Susan) #32

I totally agree with this. I have no plan on ever going off Keto (sure, I will have days that I am not following 100% Keto foods, like Mother’s Day, my birthday, Christmas, wedding days of my kids,etc). but that will just be a day off on special occasions once in a while. I plan on being Keto forever. I was so sick all the time before; and didn’t really realize how much, until I became so much healthier on Keto.

I just never want to go back to getting colds constantly, that often would develop into bronchitis or pneumonia, my asthma is almost non-existant now (I do take my daily pill still, but I haven’t used my puffers in ages). My allergies have also massively improved, all of my aches and pains are very minimal now (they only flare up when I am really active), I feel lighter (I have lost 57 pounds, and even though I still have over 100 to go, I still feel great already). I feel more alert, my brain is functioning more clearly, I sleep more soundly, I feel happier in general (my menopausal symptoms are far less annoying then they were previously to starting Keto, and are less), I just feel so much better, healthier and I feel so many benefits from the Keto lifestyle, that I know for sure I am never ever going back to SAD eating. I feel that Sugar is Poison to our bodies, and I never want to ingest it again. I feel so much better without that Toxin in my body.

I know that if you go back to Keto, the first few weeks your body will rebel and it will be difficult, But, you did it before, and I Know that you can do it again =). We will all be here to cheer you on, you can do this =). I am sure that once you are back into the lifestyle and feeling all the benefits, that you will wonder why you ever went off!

Best wishes, happy holidays =).

(back and doublin' down) #33

totally grabbing this quote! Thank you for sharing!

(Katie) #34

Another thing that I just thought of is that there is a learning curve to keto, and once you fall into a routine and get the hang of things, it becomes effortless and second nature.

(Daisy) #35

I only skimmed through some of the replies, but glad to see you’re planning to get back into it. A couple things to consider:
As others have mentioned, sugar is one of THE most addictive substances. If it’s a problem for you, as it is for so many people (myself included), abstinence is THE only way to beat it. I treat it like a drug. I wouldn’t take “just one hit” of a drug, so I’m not going to take “just one bite” of the sugar. My husband was (and still can be) like your husband. He would think he was helping me be happy by encouraging me to eat it in moderation. I finally explained it to him as I just did for you about 4 years ago and he finally “got it”. He still believes that everyone should be able to moderate, but he respects my request to not offer it to me.
Another thing I want to warn you of. Keto might not have the exact same effect for you this time. I went full keto last September and did amazing. Lost 15 lbs, gained the ability to fast for 24-36 hours, felt AMAZING! Then from thanksgiving to Christmas, I started holiday baking. It was soo much fun to bake all of these “keto treats”. In that time, I lost my fat adaption and gained almost 20 lbs. I cut the treats on Christmas Day and went back super strict keto. Got fat adapted again within 5-6 weeks, but never lost a pound and could no longer fast. I felt good, but nowhere near like I did. This went on for the next 9 months until I started carnivore/zc this past September. I’m finally losing weight and can go a bit longer without eating, though it’s still almost impossible to do more than just basic intermittent fasting. So, I just want you to prepare yourself that it “may” not look like the same keto experience you were used to. Still a million times better than SAD. But you may have to make tweaks. Don’t let it discourage you.
Good luck!!

(Bunny) #36

I do eat that stuff occasionally but the main point of a Ketogenic diet and the art of fasting (reversing disease) is education, understanding the differences between a complex carbohydrates and a simple refined carbohydrate and how much you think your body can handle when it comes to a refined simple carbohydrate, the better shape your in as far as skeletal muscle the more simple carbohydrates you can metabolize without consequence.

I do not call eating an occasional binge of simple carbohydrates ‘falling off the wagon’ it actually helps train the body to oxidize them or your body would not be craving them to begin with, what it is actually craving through the amylase enzymes in the salivary gland is Whole Foods or complex carbohydrates like fruit and resistant starches.

This whole forum is based on understanding what causes metabolic dysregulation and awareness, I use to think refined sugars and foods were the root of all evil but when you educate yourself, it is like driving a car or learning to ride a bike, you control the steering through educating yourself and bio-molecular physics does the rest.

You never forget how you got from point A to point B?

#37

Legitimate question. How do you distinguish the difference between a craving based on your body’s ‘needs’ as opposed to cravings based on some sort of psychological dependence, or addiction?

Is there any difference? Or is it just easier to justify a craving when you can assign certain health benefits to it.

(Bunny) #38

Food in my opinion cannot be a psychological or emotional dependence nor an addiction because it is necessary for the body to live, it does not come from learned or emotional cues and why we crave certain nutrients in foods out of survival instinct unlike drugs or alcohol.

You do not need drugs to live or survive?

I think certain so called behavioral scientists play on definitions for “food as an addiction” is for monetary gain or a mirror for parrots not science?

Genetics, Leptin, ghrelin, hypothalamus physiological dysbiosis are not addictions, it is more about the abundance of bad food through many generations?

Highly refined foods, chemicals, man made vitamins, non-organic soils, anti-biotics are so readily available and damage the spermatozoon and get passed on through the genomes epigenetically? Is that an addiction?

Maybe we are really talking about a congenital, epigenetic, physiological and cultural monetary gain issues for the economy rather than a psychological or emotional addiction or dependance?

Blame myself (the victim; physiologically addicted?) for the quality of sustenance society approves to provide through greed and monetary gain?

(Daisy) #39

Do you include sugar as “food”?

#40

nor one carb.

this is one of the most horrifying posts I read to date from you.
just my honest opinion on your opinion. yikes, can’t say more cause we will battle and you know I don’t wanna go there with ya LOL

in full form it is worse when I see it as a whole again. Your ? at the end of every sentence…woof! yikes!

Food in my opinion cannot be a psychological or emotional dependence nor an addiction because it is necessary for the body to live, it does not come from learned or emotional cues and why we crave certain nutrients in foods out of survival instinct unlike drugs or alcohol.

You do not need drugs to live or survive?

I think certain so called behavioral scientists play on definitions for “food as an addiction” is for monetary gain or a mirror for parrots not science?

Genetics, Leptin, ghrelin, hypothalamus physiological dysbiosis are not addictions, it is more about the abundance of bad food through many generations?

Highly refined foods, chemicals, man made vitamins, non-organic soils, anti-biotics are so readily available and damage the spermatozoon and get passed on through the genomes epigenetically? Is that an addiction?

Maybe we are really talking about a congenital, epigenetic, physiological and cultural monetary gain issues for the economy rather than a psychological or emotional addiction or dependance?

Blame myself (the victim; physiologically addicted?) for the quality of sustenance society approves to provide through greed and monetary gain?

---- just a monster wow on this!