Today marks 3 months on keto for both me and my husband. He chose The Magic Pill on Netflix one day, and was intrigued. We’ve tried a couple of things together to lose weight in the past, but we’ve never been successful at fully committing. But a WOE that allows you to eat steak and bacon? He was in. And if he was in, I was ALL in. A WOE that I wouldn’t have to coax him to follow? Is this a trick? Is there a down side?
We started that Monday, which happened to be my birthday. We seem to have had a pretty average reaction to keto (if there is such a thing). We both lost weight right away (that water thing that magically keeps you motivated that crucial first week.) The scale victory has been a great thing, of course. For reference, he has lost 24 lbs to date. I’ve lost 22. (I’m pretty stoked that he isn’t too far ahead of me.)
I’ve been pretty amazed by my NSVs. Within the first two weeks, I really noticed the lack of pain. I am 47 and have been feeling more and more pain in my joints, specifically my knees. I just attributed this to the 283 lbs I’ve been lugging up and down stairs (261 today - 
). I’ve also had pretty severe lower back pain that is aggravated by sitting for too long and any repetitive motion. I never expected that I would be able to manage that with diet. It boggles my mind today that I can easily bend down to pick things up off the floor. So, so grateful to have found this WOE when I did so that I don’t have to resign myself to just getting older with pain.
However, my biggest NSV is sharing this new WOE with my sons. We have 18 and 16 year old boys (men - SO not ready to admit that we’re at that point already). My 16 year old is a junior in high school this year and very active in theater. He’s also carrying extra weight, weighing in about 200 lbs on a 5’10" frame. He landed a leading role in last year’s show in a sidekick/character role. And we had discussions regarding how his weight is going to keep him from the leading man type roles. Nothing wrong with character roles and all that, and he was brilliant in the show. I just know the entertainment field is tough no matter your shape and talent. He also started working at Chick-Fil-A, so I was very concerned with his access to milkshakes and french fries every shift.
I know through all I’ve learned here over the last 3 months that this isn’t my fault, but it is very difficult to not feel some responsibility for teaching him the wrong things especially when I’m obviously doing things wrong myself considering my own weight. I was very conscious of the irony of trying to give him advice about controlling his weight knowing that I had not been able to do so myself. But then along came Keto. I did not encourage either of them to join us. I am very aware that what you eat is a very personal choice. Both of my sons work and drive, so there is only so much I can do to control their diets even if I wanted to. But my husband I got started, and I simply made a keto meal for the family. If they ate with us, they ate keto. And we all enjoyed the food big time.
In late July we had scheduled a family trip on a Disney cruise to Alaska. This was to celebrate my oldest graduating high school this year. We had planned it for a year, and here we had only been keto for 6 weeks or so. Husband and I decided we would make the conscious decision to enjoy the cruise, the food, the whole package without worrying about it. We ate what we wanted and had an amazing time on our first cruise ever.
We had two amazing NSVs on this trip. First, husband gained 8 lbs in the 10 days we were on vacation. I gained 6, but we both lost all we had gained within four days of getting home. Woot!! Although that may be, technically, a scale victory, for me it was a major NSV in that we got right back to keto as soon as the plane touched down at home. I had secretly been very concerned that somehow my husband would not be as interested in continuing after a lapse. And if he didn’t, it would be so much harder for me to continue on. But I’m so excited to say that we had no issues getting right back to it. And that is a victory in that we now know this is very manageable for us for the long term. We can choose to enjoy a special occasion here and there, and know we can get right back on the keto path.
The second is my favorite. Right before our trip, my youngest announced that he was going to go full keto himself. I encouraged him to wait until we got back, and sure enough he jumped right in with us. We looked closely at carb counts for Chick-Fil-A menu items and quickly identified a couple for him to have for his free meals. He quickly decided the grilled nuggets wouldn’t work for him. They weren’t a favorite, so he talked more and more about “when he was done with keto” and could eat “normal” again.
Of course, as we all know, there is no going back. One of the things that surprised me on the cruise (but shouldn’t have) was how quickly I was hurting again after eating ALL the desserts. I know this will truly be a long term WOE for me no matter how long it takes to make my weight goals. But how to help my son to see that? I told him that if there was something he wanted to eat, he should eat it. Just understand the consequences and look for balance. On his own, he started more closely checking out the carb counts for various things. He determined he could have regular chicken nuggets without going over his carb allowance for the day. He has found a way to make it work for him without feeling like he’s missing out. He doesn’t eat as many vegetables as I think he should.
He occasionally has pizza with friends (maybe once or twice a month), and more often than not skips lunch at school since finding something without carbs is a challenge. He makes himself a keto meal when he gets home and has lost 15 lbs in the month since he started. (freakin’ teenage metabolisms…) I’m just so proud of him for finding his way.
One of the funniest moments of this was one evening when he hopped on the scale and was pretty excited he weighed the same amount as his older brother. This prompted his brother to check his own weight to see. Turned out his brother had lost 4 lbs from just eating keto with us. I can’t even tell you how tickled I am that my whole family is benefiting from this WOE. But even more, I feel so much better as a parent that I have helped my kids to find a way to manage their weight, to be healthier, and to be in control of that aspect of their lives. My youngest, my husband, and I have also started following Body by Science and working out together.
It’s an amazing path we are walking, and I have learned so much and been so encouraged on these forums. I’ve been visiting every day here and sharing what I learn with my family. I figured 3 months in is time to start giving back. Thanks to everyone who shares their stories. My husband now has three co-workers on keto too, so we are definitely getting the word out through living the example. KCKO!
