Lost My Way. And Mojo

(mich) #1

Hi everyone.
I’ve been quiet on here of late, reading posts, but not feeling qualified to comment as I have completely lost my way.

I started this WOE in May, it took about 6 weeks of tweaking to get it right and suddenly boom I felt amazing! I actually felt different in my body - I think I was fat adapted, as I’ve never felt this way.

Then came birthday month - a bit of cake here, bread roll there, champagne everywhere. I kept telling myself, this too shall pass, and I’d be back to feeling fantastic again.

And it passed, but it’s been 3 months and I cannot get the carb craving to go. It’s becoming like a diet - start brilliantly each day and end up failing later in the day. It’s not massive bingeing or eating a whole pack of biscuits, just a square of chocolate here and there, a handful of chips etc. So, controlled “cheating” - but I don’t want to cheat at all! I feel like I’m psyching myself to fail. I feel “soft” and flabby and just awful. I desperately want to get back to

I am also struggling to keep protein moderate, but I don’t think it’s doing too much harm.

I was tracking macros, but stopped for a while as I felt it was becoming obsessive. I guess I need to get back to that.

Thanks for letting me vent!

(VLC.MD) #2

I dont think I’ve ever got them right.

[quote]I was tracking macros, but stopped for a while as I felt it was becoming obsessive. I guess I need to get back to that.
[/quote]
Better than me.
I’ve entered 5 breakfasts into MFP.
But only when I’ve eaten 3 eggs.
I just cant find the time for more entry.

Make a Lunch and Dinner for tomorrow … tonight.
Eggs for breakfast +/- some bacon.
And then you are committed ?

Obviously you’ve recently done it … so you just have to DO IT. (again).

Good luck !

(MooBoom) #3

Perhaps you may like to find some keto treats that you enjoy as much as carbage and reach for those instead?

My go to’s are keto brownies (recipe in the recipes section of the forum), hunks of high quality cheese, macadamias and BPC’s.

What are yours?

(Jim Russell) #4

If you find yourself needing to snack a lot, maybe you are not eating enough at your meals.

Perhaps you could post what you are eating in the morning when you’re starting off brilliantly.

#5

I really credit fasting with helping me. It breaks the snack habit. Then when the fast is over, compared to eating nothing eating only keto seems great

(Carpe salata!) #6

Or go tangential and post what you miss about keto at breakfast time.

Believe you can do it, you did it before. Also, don’t buy the next pack of biscuits :sunglasses:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #7

I’ve been eating keto since April, and I also still crave carbs. My hope, however, is that, like my cravings for alcohol, these too will eventually subside and become more manageable. By the grace of God, I have been sober now for twenty-five years, and I did it by not drinking and not dying, lol! I believe that the same is possible with carbohydrate, and that someday, twenty-five years from now, we will have had twenty-five years of not eating carbs and, God willing, not dying.

Try a trick that helps me stay away from carbohydrate: I haven’t sworn off carbs forever, just for now. If I want to, I can always go back to eating sugar and grains—tomorrow. But for right now, I choose not to.

God bless, and keep ketoing on.

(John Somsky aka KetoGrinder) #8

My wife had a similar issue. She fell off the wagon and was eating carbage for a couple of weeks. It has taken her six weeks to get back on track.

I also like this idea from @PaulL. Just commit to being as good as you can for a week. Then do another week if you are up to it. Also remember progress not perfection. You are human and humans do all sorts of things that aren’t really in our best interest. That’s ok. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and do the best you can.

Good luck and Keep Calm and Keto On!

(mich) #9

Thank you for your replies. everyone. it’s encouraging and very supportive - thanks.

@MooBoom - I was enjoying a treat here and there (macadamias - although VERY hard to stop at a few!), keto fat bombs etc, but I found i was using them in the same way I used chocolate way back when. For instance, I used to eat 2 poached eggs, avocado and sriracha sauce on toast every morning…then have a square of chocolate, Which became 2, which became 3…
Recently I found myself having eggs and cream scrambled in butter, avocado and half a teaspoon of sriracha (love it) …and ten minutes later I’d grab a fat bomb. Not hungry, just wanting something “else”, you know?

@Jimbo I feel satiated after my meals, it doesn’t seem to last for hours, like it did before? On reflection of your answer, I think I’ve let a lot more carbs creep into my diet, ON TOP of the carbs I was consciously allowing - two coffee with milk in the morning, which I wasn’t doing before. Before I allowed one coffee with milk, then BPC, which would fill me for many hours. I’ve completely stopped the BPC!!! I’m bringing it back tomorrow morning! Thanks for the light bulb!

@Saphire I don’t feel ready for fasting - mentally or physically. I think I need to get sorted first and then bring back IF (18/6) comfortably before I think positively about fasting. But I agree Keto after nothing will be great!

@Peter I only buy the biscuits I don’t like for my family! Shortbread - blergh! I’m safe!

@PaulL Congratulations on your sobriety. I like your way of thinking - I CAN eat whatever I want, and I might do it later, but not this time!

@jdsomsky Thanks! It seems women seem to struggle more, but i could be wrong. Can’t blame this on a chromosome - having typed this post and reflected, I know I’ve been excusing myself and then getting annoyed with my lack of results!

Again, thank you all.

#10

I think it might be the carbs you are allowing triggering your cravings. One of the commentators I read or listen to (I forget whom exactly) says that if you suddenly get cravings after a meal it is something that you ate that triggered it. It might be a trigger for you rather than a general trigger

I would be really strict for a couple of weeks. No coffee with milk at all, use either BPC or coconut cream or HWC (which I have started preferring over milk anyway, add some cinnamon or no sugar cocoa powder if you prefer). I would also look at your siracha sauce. Some have more carbs than you think or carbs that trigger. I believe there is a chili sauce or paste (which is what siracha is) made by the same company that has no carbs and then some that have a couple of carbs per serving. Keep in mind that a serving might only be a tablespoon. There may be more carbs than you think. A little confused, do you eat toast or was that before keto?

I would carefully logg and also list how you feel, when you feel the craving come on, how soon and so on.

I really do not believe this is about guilt or even mojo. When keto is going well it is effortless, when it is not, it is not about will power, it is about a trigger that you do not realize.

Obviously the other is if there is some stress going on that can be a trigger too but it does not sound like that is the issue but only you can say

(mich) #11

Thank you.

I don’t “do” stress, I’m pretty pragmatic and chilled, so I don’t think that’s an issue!

The sriracha I buy contains 2g carb (1g sugar) per teaspoon - so high if you’re chugging 1/4 cup, but I measure out 1/2 tsp, so I don’t know if that would trigger anything?

Im starting to think it’s the milk that is starting my day off on the wrong foot. it’s easy to think i’m just having “a drop” when in reality it’s probably 30ml! Thanks for giving me food for thought, as it were.

#12

While I agree your brand is probably fine, at 2g per teaspoon that is 6 grams per tablespoon. If I were buying a marinade I would not buy it!

The real question is whether all carbs are created equal. I don’t know. For example, if you wanted to add a teaspoon of real sugar to your coffee, on the one hand you could and still theoretically stay in ketosis (sugar has 4 carbs per teaspoon) but you probably would not because of what it may trigger. You are correct that milk has a decent amount of sugar so when you aggregate everything it is more than you thought possibly.

This one is zero

https://www.amazon.com/Huy-Fong-Foods-Sambal-Ground/dp/B001MGEU0W/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_325_lp_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=8873N3K5V58QFM9VPHPJ

know for me I can have berries and nuts and not trigger cravings but it sometimes knocks me out of ketosis.

With macadamias, try getting unsalted, that way you are not eating them for the salt. Also, are you hydrated and managing your electrolytes? The cravings may have to do with that more than sugar

I

(Jim Russell) #13

It sounds like you probably have nailed it down to carb creep. It’s really easy to do, especially if you keep non-keto foods in the house. I bet you’re close to ketosis and a couple of tweaks will have you back in. Then the cravings should hopefully die.

And that’s how mich got her mojo back. :slight_smile:

(Mark Rhodes) #14

Oh I would agree with that! And I strongly second @PaulL as he and I share a similar allergy to booze. What I learned my first week of not drinking is still true today. If I don’t ever take the first one in this moment and not worry about later, I cannot get drunk or in our case if I do not willingly add unnecessary carbs I will not get a craving. When I am IF I have found that HWC in my coffee makes my day harder as my insulin still rises. It is best for me when IF to have my coffee black and not deal with spikes. This flatline gives me a better sense of my true hunger and not my WANTS masquerading as hunger. I also found lots of triggers in my day. I run home at lunch to visit my dogs. I could leave work, 3 minutes away and not be hungry and pull into my driveway and be ravenous! Out of my way I need to eat!! What? Where did this “hunger” come from? Cues, not need. I modified my behavior and those things passed as well.
My keto journey became easier when I got rid of keto snacks and an adherence to the clock. I got to that place by eliminating carb creep. I became a slave to the meter for a while checking BHB but for me it was worth it.

Just by asking you are beginning to make progress and I am very glad you are!

#15

There are some great tips here and I hope you come up with something to help moving forward. I am a dreadful snacker and it is not hunger, it is behaviour. That is really hard to combat. There are some things that might help.

Explore what you are actually hungry for. This can mean having some counselling sessions if you are up for that and can afford it. The chances are that if you are not hungry for an emotional food of some kind then that will ease your physical cravings. it might be that you need more mental stimulation so you are actually fighting boredom. There are a number of things that can lead to eating because that is what you instinctively turn to to satisfy your “hunger”.

Depending how sensitive your system is, those little bits and pieces of sugar COULD be impacting you a lot. Some people will be able to include them and it not affect them at all, others not so much. The sure fire way of working out which one you are is to drill right down on what you eat for a few weeks at least. Go super basic - whole foods, no sugar, no dodgy ingredients, no artificial sweeteners, no “treat” type foods. Track (not forever, just for a while to make sure your carbs are where they should be) - get your carbs reliably low and you protein within range. Ramp the fat up to where it needs to be to make sure you are satisfied after your 3 meals (and I would stick to 3, no snacks) a day. If you are genuinely hungry between meals then up the food in your meals.

Keep a journal and note what is going on around you - how well you are sleeping and how long, stress, relationships, exercise, etc.

Get to the end of the month (or however long) and see how you are doing and look back over your notes and see what changed when. That might give you some clues. You can also then add things back one at a time and see how you react. Your sensitivity will have increased and you will likely see a more marked reaction.

Just some ideas. Good luck. x

(mich) #16

NO way would I marinate with it! I’d bathe in it, though :rofl:

Idon’t think the sauce is causing an issue, as really, I have so little. I have not been game to touch a berry for fear I’ll never stop! Interesting suggestion about the macadamias and salt. I am very hydrated (2L/day) and yesterday I started to get a little peckish around 4 (I’d eaten at 1:30pm), so tried the salt on the tongue trick and was surprised to find it worked!

(mich) #17

Brilliant @Jimbo! That’ll be the title of my book!

I was very on track yesterday and feel better already, so I think I just need to be more mindful. Thanks.

(mich) #18

thanks, @marklifestyle - you made a lot of sense.

@Daisy funny you should mention mental stimulation, as I’m a SAHM and have recently been feeling quite restless. I’m starting a part-time job next week, so that may well help! Mind you, it’s at a Bakery :dizzy_face: but I am not at all concerned - I think the smell of bread should keep me satiated!! Lucky I’m a chocolate person, not a bread or cake person!

Thank you again for your responses, such a supportive community.

(VLC.MD) #19

The closer you are to the fridge … the more you open it.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #20

Or in other words, if you hang around the barbershop, sooner or later you’re gonna get a haircut!