Hey everyone. I started keto a couple-few weeks ago and have been binging on podcasts and lurking on boards. I particularly like this forum, want to introduce myself, and hop into some of the discussions.
I’m a 52 yo woman living in SoCal. Done it all…Atkins, WW (Core back in the day), paleo, W30 twice, “Potatoes not Prozac,” “Dieting is a Dry Drunk”… the list goes on. I got into kettlebells a while back and was in the best shape of my life at age 40. Now I’m in the worst. Bleh. My relationship history with food has been utterly dysfunctional, since I was a kid––carb/sugar addicted, out of control, etc––and it seems to only have gotten worse in the decades since. I hit menopause in the last year and BAM it all caught up with me: packing on fat centrally, exacerbations of fatigue, pain, brain fog, etc. I also have a history of hypothyroidism, high cholesterol, reactive airway disease, IBS, and osteoarthritis in my neck and low back. Also struggle with depression and ennui. (I feel like a caricature.) But I’m learning that these symptoms are all manifestations of the same damned thing: inflammation.
Anyway, when I saw that my BMI (I know, I know…) reached 30 a few weeks ago I said F-it, I’m going keto. I’ve been all in since. The first two weeks weren’t perfect by any means, but I’m learning and tweaking. My biggest epiphany came a couple days ago when I realized I was eating too much protein and started asking myself not “what should I have for dinner?” but what FAT should I have for dinner (and, oh, what should I have with my fat?). So today for lunch I had ghee (the very ghee pictured in my profile pic), and with my lovely ghee I had an artichoke and a smoked beef sausage. For dinner I had avocado, avocado oil, a bit of 100% cacao chocolate, herring in oil, oh and mixed greens and mushrooms. It’s making all the difference, just adopting the mindset of fat first.
I never had keto flu, I think because I was using exogenous ketones during the transition. It didn’t take me more that a few days to get into ketosis, and my pee sticks (I’ll soon graduate to a blood meter) show ketones everyday all day, even without the exogenous ketones. Already I have more mental focus, evenness, clarity and energy. I’ve lost just 5 pounds but already several inches from my waist. I feel better. All good.
Question for anyone who’s reading this:
The one thing that’s really bugging me at the moment are these weird, diffuse aches I get in my hips and thighs. They’re not cramps, but more achy, throbbing, decentralized high-pitched throbs. Like flu myalgia for those who have experienced the joy of true blue influenza. I’ve had these for 20 years at least and I thought at one time it might be fibromyalgia (which, of course, is just another expression of inflammation). They are definitely associated with food, but I can’t pinpoint which food. I thought they would resolve with the elimination of grains and processed carbs, but they seem to have gotten worse. I’m fairly certain I have given myself an ulcer from too much ibuprofen, so no more ibuprofen, but I’m taking acetaminophen several times a day just to bring a measure of relief. I’ve upped my electrolytes (Na, K, Ca and Mg; recently got Mg bisglycinate which is the only Mg preparation I can tolerate) to no avail. It’s not a DVT, varicosities, sciatica, or muscle cramps per se. So now I am considering the possibility of a dairy or egg sensitivity. I’m eliminating them to see if the pain resolves, and if it does I will reintroduce one at a time. Any ketoid (ketonian, ketopian, ketoan…) insights out there? Anyone with similar weird aches?
I very much appreciate all the wisdom, experience, common sense and humor on this board, as well as the culture of respect that’s been cultivated. Looking forward to getting to know many of you better. Cheers!
