I enjoyed your post and found it very interesting, just for your life experience and also because I can relate on several levels. I’m always more than happy to share suggestions and hope this isn’t too tedious.
I don’t like black coffee either, however, I found that I was having four coffees a day (two regular and two decaf), mainly because of the artificial sweetener and HWC I’d put in them. Now, I use less sweetener and I’ve cut the HWC by at least half if not more. HWC is very calorie dense and I found I can get by with about a teaspoon in a cup and it’s perfectly acceptable.
I don’t know if you will “feel” when you are in ketosis. I do believe, however, that if you keep the carbs well sub 20, you won’t have to think about whether or not you’re in it.
Ugh; I just love cheese and don’t buy it anymore because I overdo it. Wonderful mouth feel and a true comfort food, but it is another thing that is very calorie dense. It’s currently freezing cold here and winter is long. Don’t know if this appeals to you because of where you live, but I’ve taken to sipping hot broth every day. Very comforting and somehow calms me. I just use boxed broth (probably a no-no for a lot of people on here), and spice it up with hot chili powder, garlic/onion/curry powder, a boullion cube. Very delicious and low calorie. I may seem overly concerned about calories, however, I do not count them. Like most of us, I just know what food are high in them. Having only ten more stubborn pounds to lose, I want to keep the daily calories reasonable and sometimes maybe to a slight deficit to burn the fat on my body vs. what is in my food.
Lastly, I’ve found that if I eat enough at my midday meal and at dinner, I don’t even think about food or am tempted to eat out of boredom. Are you eating enough? Just a thought. Alcohol, however, now that I can overuse out of boredom or to give me those warm fuzzies.
Best to you!