Need some help = good things Keto has done for some of you

[Robert_Johnson]

I did notice something else that might be worth mentioning.

I have this ability, besides being verbose😉, to keep track of time uncannily. If I didn’t have to check my blood sugar so often I might think I was a machine. I will wake up sometimes and just know the time. And it’s never at the same time, it’s just odd hours, and for different reasons. Dog barks, car driving down our street really slow, or just the house settling or the pipes making noise. And I’m never off more than +/- 5 minutes. I’ll wake, think it must be about 0320, and it’s 0323. It’s like my super power.

Now, those of you über geeks out there will know something else must go with time. C’mon, it’s always relative. It’s like beer and pretzels, chevy’s and apple pie (old commercial) it’s Time and Space. And that’s the second part of the same super power I guess. I’m really damned good and eye balling if something will fit or not. Like driving my car through a gateway not intended for vehicles, but it looks like I have an extra inch on each side to spare. Or pulling into a parking space and getting the bumbler [WTF? Bumbler? Really Siri? ‘Bumper’. I’m gonna just start leaving in all the Siri autocorrect retyping my comments, if nothing else it’s great comic relief. I’m gonna start putting this next to all of them if I catch them.] right even with the front line, or park straight and even between the spaces.

When I was a kid in 4th grade I won an award in class being the only kids to guess how long one minute was. Teacher had us all stand there with our eyes closed and sit when we thought it was one minute. After ten seconds I already hear some kids sitting, I snickered and stood my ground. After 30 seconds the entire rest of the class was watching me stand there like an idiot. Teacher said I sat down exactly at 60 seconds.

Now I’m on Keto. That’s been magnified. The wife wants me to get up 10 minutes before her to turn on the space heater in the bathroom for her. I don’t even use the alarm. I just wake up at 4:50 when I know she’s getting up at 5:00. Or the wife wants to move some furniture around. We’ve never moved it through the interior doors. They are slightly smaller than the front door it came in through. I eye it, look in the other room at the doorway, and proclaim it will fit, but we need to rotate it 45 degrees, and it will be snug.

Something else I’ve been really good at and that has improved as well is troubleshooting. Whether it’s PC repair, other electronics like TVs or appliances, I’ve always been able to put my mind to it, and figure out the problem. Often, not even at the machine when it comes to me. Simply using deductive reasoning. I would even have dreams about work, fixing problems in my sleep, that had me perplexed at work. Next day at work, use what I dreamed about, and it would work.

Those too, on Keto magnified.

Lengths of my posts on Keto, magnified🤠
My overall happiness MAGNIFIED.
I’m detecting a trend here.

[gnomesb]

Like your super power. I wish I had it. Time seems to be speeding up on me and I don’t have a clue that three hours have passed etc when working and now that I am not eating every three hours, the day can disappear without me raising my head up to notice the time.

Re: spacial intelligence - I wonder if that is a man thing? My dad has this ability - he’ll look at a space and measure it in his head while I have no idea without a measuring tape. Jealous

[Ellie_Baum]

Sorry to see this. I missed this when I responded before. How is he?

[Robert_Johnson]

Ouch, how did I miss that!?! How is he doing? Is he hospitalized?

Assuming he is out of the woods now, and in no life or limb threatening conditions, sounds like a perfect teaching time. Don’t brow beat though. Make the occasional reference how alcohol can effect judgment.

My Dad, and maternal Grandpa, were both alcoholics. I think as roll models they were responsible for me not drinking. I have, on rare occasion, have imbued, but I proclaim myself as a non drinker.

Prior to having kids, It could drink with friends maybe as often as once or twice a month. Then, with kids, I couldn’t see ever having a drink, not one. My thoughts were if my brain was fogged by alcohol, how could I possibly keep my family safe. Typically, when I’m at a large gathering whether it be a church picnic or a family get together, I’m the only one it seems to notice where all the kids are and where all the dangers are, and being responsible to keep the kids away from the roads, rivers, ponds, or BBQ grill. Talk about stress. It could drive a person to drink🙄

[stacy]

@SchultzsMom I hope your husband is recovering well and has a positive change of heart about his health going forward. We all deserve to be healthy and happy.

As others have suggested, take good care of yourself first. Your example will inspire him, I think.

Quick summary of my benefits on keto. I started in 2013 and I am 55.

• Body fat percentage very low, about 16% — I am at my high school weight of 165 lbs
• Lots of energy throughout the day, no afternoon “slump” after eating
• Much improved mental clarity
• Rarely get sick, and even then it is very minor and brief
• Just generally happier

Best wishes to you and your husband!

[Annika1]

Well, I have a similar situation. My husband is also an alkoholic, but he doesn´t think he is yet. He drinks around 5 days a week (that I know of), a lot of beer. He is overweight and has backpain and shoulderpains and a very bad stomach. I know he could get healthy very fast with the right diet and some exercise. When I met him he was so fit and healthy.

He also said he would like to do better after new year but I know that´s not going to happen. I told him that I love being in ketosis. I´m smarter, I´m thinner, I´m stronger and more healthier. I don´t have any pain anywhere but I used to have pain all over. I´m superalert all day and so on. It will take time but he has to get there!!!

[Robert_Johnson]

I think the winning part of most conversations in getting people I know to at least try it (with full understanding about the Keto flu) was to tell them “IM NEVER HUNGRY” and “I CAN EAT AS MUCH AS I WANT, AS LING [*long ] AS IT ISNT CARBS”. Those two things on their own are opposite of ‘dieting’ which is what keeps most people from attempting to do something about it.

I know I tried limiting my calorie intake, didn’t work, always hungry. I tried several different diets that the USAF hospital at one of my duty stations recommended, one being the Navy’s “hot dog diet” (this was pre-internet. But I’m sure it was still hogwash.) Fad first we’re always about eating one type of food all the time like that, gets old very fast leaving one craving everything else pretty quickly, and giving up.

[kbird]

I’m sorry to hear about your husband’s injury. I hope he recovers quickly.

I live with a 1-bottle-per-night wine drinker. No amount of setting an example seems to change that. As you’ve probably discovered, no amount of loving conversation changes it (more than temporarily). Arguments and snarky commentary definitely don’t, though I admit guilt to succumbing to my frustration over it. I think each person has to hit his or her own bottom, whatever it may be (loss of health, a relationship, a job, etc.).

All I can do is take care of me and continue setting an example of a better way.

I’ll add a +1 to the folks who have said being in ketosis reduced the desire for alcohol.

I never drank excessively (by U.S. standards, anyway), but I did drink more than I should have (1-2 beers/night) for a number of years. That had a predictable negative impact on my weight and many other health factors. I felt self-conscious about it because I had a hard time getting past happy hour each night without opening one.

That changed when I went keto the first time in 2015. I had no alcohol for many months and didn’t miss it. Regular, moderate drinking crept back in when I went back to basic low-carb eating (wine instead of beer). And some of the weight came back with it. Going back to a ketogenic diet again this fall had the same effect as before (little or no interest in alcohol after adaptation). I still have an occasional glass of wine, but it’s becoming less and less frequent—not even one per week.

Knowing what feeling good really is, I notice when I ingest something that makes me feel crappy (before keto, feeling generally crappy was baseline normal). Alcohol makes me feel less than ideal and measurably impacts my sleep. That alone would be a deterrent, if I still needed one.

I wish you and your husband the best.

[devhammer]

40-50 lbs lost, and kept off for more than a year.

Instead of having to force myself to exercise, I WANT to exercise.

No more cravings for carbs, and on the few occasions when I indulge (very rarely, and not something I recommend), it’s easy to jump right back on the horse.

And the food is great.

Keto is how I live.

[Keto_Newbie]

Sending a virtual hug

Be extra kind to yourself as you deal with the stress, in whatever form that means for you - an extra bath, an early night, a quick walk somewhere pretty all by yourself with no one else to think about, or calling a friend to book lunch with in the next week. … or ordering some fun keto stuff online to make a treat like keto cookies or fathead pizza.

Sorry if this seems like I’m trivialising the issue, since none of this will solve the current situation.

My rationale is that we all need those little voices to remind us of examples of what we can do for self-care and self-kindness, at a time when we are really involved with caring for someone else. You likely have some of those encouraging folk around you. But an extra reminder from an anonymous forum member? Why not

So hang in there! And balance all the selflessness with proactive kindness to yourself after such a stressful night. You deserve it

Xo

[ourtown]

Sometimes hitting bottom can be a wake-up call. It was for me.

[Kman]

Keto kicked alcohol cravings for me. I work outside in south florida and would constantly crave beer after working in the heat. My carb, sugar and alcohol cravings went away.

[devhammer]

My husband is an alcoholic he stopped drinking for about 12 years when he was in his late 20’s, he went out to eat with his ex-wife for his 40th birthday and decided to have a beer. Fast forward, he stopped drinking for almost 20 months but started drinking again. I love him for who he is and he has to make the decision on his own to stop drinking, however I do not buy him beer, and I AM always available if he ever needs me to pick him up if he has had too much to drink.

I missed this part with my earlier reply. Unfortunately, until the drinking is dealt with, I wouldn’t count on any other changes in the direction of good health. And as you observe, only he can make the decision to stop drinking.

What you can do for yourself (and in part for him) is look for a local Al-Anon meeting. They are all about supporting those who have loved ones suffering from alcoholism. You need support, and they can help provide it. I’m sure that going after the dietary stuff feels like it’s more possible than dealing with the drinking, but ultimately neither are going to be in your control right now, so the best thing you can do is get help in coping with the situation.

I wish you all the best.

[SchultzsMom]

It is overwhelming to see how supportive you all are. I am just keeping to my keto, still lost 4 pounds since Sunday! I am right now doing what I need to do for me, spending as much quality time with my boy Schultz as I can, and taking one day at a time. He does need to make the change, keeps saying the New Year will be different. Told me yesterday on the way home from the hospital, I promise you I will stop for the New Year, I told him not to promise me anything he needs to promise himself and do it for him not me. I told him I am not doing Keto for you, I am doing it for me, I made the promise to myself not to anyone else.

Though if anyone has a recipe for a Keto Thai Peanut or Almond Sauce I will take, thinking about some zucchini noodles as a “mock” pad thai. If I could I would send you all some Maine lobster! Keto style dip it in butter.

[kbird]

Here’s a keto pad thai recipe: https://www.ruled.me/keto-chicken-pad-thai/
I’ve never made this, but have made and enjoyed other recipes from ruled.me
I like your idea of the spiralized zucchini. It has more nutritional value than shirataki noodles.

Also, googling “keto thai peanut sauce” returns pages of results to choose from. “Keto” before pretty much any kind of thing I want to cook returns a surprising number of recipe results. It’s been super helpful to have so many people creating and publishing recipes for keto.

[Saphire]

Interesting about reducing alcohol on keto. I am not a big drinker, I will have something alcoholic maybe once a month at most, sometimes months will go by normally not just on keto. I will have a couple of drinks at a wedding or other party if I am not driving.

I hosted a party last week and normally would have had a few drinks. I did have two pure vodka with ice and lemon and lime, have gotten used to drinking it but I barely even wanted the second one. I did not feel it added anything to the celebration

[Robert_Johnson]

Lol… oh, be careful. I did the same and found a recipe for avocado deviled eggs. I made 6. I followed the recipe precisely too, as I’m not a cook. But I can follow directions. They were nasty. I think there are people out there with click bait websites with just about any topic you can think of. From now on it’s got to be from a trusted source for me. This forum will be highly rated. I have done my own version of the “philly cheese bacon wrapped meat loaf”. I say version because I couldn’t roll it, and it was more like a layered soup. But it was good.

[kbird]

Yeah, I’ve run across a lot of recipes that looked like they would be awful based on the ingredients. I skip those. There’s also a lot of stuff labeled keto that may be low carb, but has very little nutritional value. I skip those, too. I am a cook, so I mostly scan the search results for ideas and low-carb substitutions that I might not have thought of.