President of the "Falling off the Bandwagon" Club!

(Samantha Ziegler) #1

Hey All!

I’m really upset and angry with myself so I’m writing this post and using the emotions as fuel. I have done keto a few times since 2013 and have always had excellent results. Loved my weight loss, clear mind, excellent sleep, etc. THEN, something pops up like family coming to stay and visit with us, holidays, work events, etc and I have NO self control. I always end up back to eating a regular crappy diet, gaining all of the weight back, and then some. You would think I have learned my lesson by now…

We moved to Colorado at the end of 2017 and the craft beer scene is killing me. I’m enjoying it far too much. Between that and all of the fabulous Mexican food my husband and I have been spiraling. He loves keto as well (and we have no kids) so doing it daily is pretty easy as long as we prep on Sundays. We are just both bad influences on each other and once we fall off the bandwagon we fall hard.

I just joined a boxing/mma gym and I am in love with it. I can go on my lunch break or after work easily, and I’ve been consistently going for two months now. I’m also getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Getting my diet back on track should really be the last piece of this puzzle.

Anyways, if you’ve fallen off and are looking to get back on you’re not alone. I’m here, president of the club. All members welcome. We know what we need to do. This needs to be a lifestyle, not some fad diet!

#2

I think you are revealing an important aspect of the keto WOE Samantha.

Wagon falling is probably rife in any community of people who take an interest in nutrition. But the psychology of shape shame and admitting a lesson learnt from a mistake oppresses us into silence.

The addictions, cravings, guilt, self criticism and social pressures are all wonky hurdles the wagon fallen must face and on stumble as they/we try to get back on it.

Horse falling has also been alluded to in brave posts in these forums. And for those who ride the highest horses, the fall and floor can be hardest. We all start this thing inspired and convinced we will never fail, never fall. It feels so good after all. We look back down the path and think, “I’m never going back there”. And then just as we turn forward again the tree branch hits. A heavy fall may result in a personal reassessment on eating that high horse, along with a side of claims (claims to oneself and the community of how perfect one will be in the lifestyle or woe. Perfect woe) and, for dessert, one’s hat. Then, having wasted that time, dust off and continue on toward better health on-foot and under one’s own steam. The weight bearing movement, especially with the self applied guilt load, will be beneficial and is an irresistible form of resistance training.

My best guess is that falling off keto and finding a way back to it might actually be the most common manifestation in the community. The silent deep sea of souls watching those nearer the light exclaim their joys and progress, and in so doing dragging us up with them on a tide of hope.

We are all just slip sliding (like the ice skaters on the Titanic’s rink in a stormy sea) between the clear consequences and ill health of disfunctional eating and the golden glow of weight loss goals, nutritional wisdom, better bio-markers and extended health span beckoning on the horizon. Maybe?

Welcome back to the surface and thanks for your post to inspire others along toward their healthiest aspirations.

It's that time in January - Falls from wagons and high horses
(Samantha Ziegler) #3

Thank you so much for the thoughtful reply! I appreciate it :slight_smile:

I agree, I believe falling off the wagon happens to a majority of people who try to take an interest in nutrition or a specific diet. We can chalk it up to a good thing, a learning experience if you will. There’s no wondering what will happen if you just allow yourself to have a cheat meal or a cheat day, if you have strayed from the diet you know what will happen.

I like to think of a diet relapse as a stepping stone. Especially if you keep coming back to it. It’s a lesson learned. And like you said, using the people who are thriving on the diet to be your motivation is perfectly fine. We need those types of people. And maybe one day, we can be that tide of hope for someone else.

#4

:heart:

(Susan) #6

Welcome back to Keto. It looks like you know what to do by now and that you realize the truth that it is a lifestyle and not a diet, so I wish you all the best in getting back on track and getting healthier in the very near future!

(Samantha Ziegler) #7

Thanks for the edit! I appreciate it and it’s nice to be reminded to be kind to yourself.

I would not be a friend to someone who talked to me the way I talk to and think about myself. I’m going to spend this time and energy feeling happy to be back in this community and getting closer to my goals!

(Polly) #9

This podcast series might offer you some helpful insights.

(Kay) #10

I’m a member of the on & off the wagon club :wave:

I’m back on since last week and it’s going ok so far. For me I think my ADHD has a big part to play in my staying (or not staying!) focused. Also as you said any big event or thing which interrupts the usual pattern has potential to send me off plan. I’m slightly concerned as got my family over this eve for a meal, but as I’m cooking I can make it as keto as possible with carby options for them- which I will stay away from!

This journey has plenty of stepping stones, we need to be kind to ourselves and learn from each, even the steps ‘back’. I know I feel so much better in myself when on keto and my general mental clarity is better too. Welcome back, we can do it!!!

(Marianne) #11

I hear you. I love Mexican - and probably twenty other foods that are addictive to me. I just can’t have them, not unless they fit the components of how I should eat (although I can’t do a lot of things like peanut butter or keto baked goods - too afraid to go there). Small trade-off for what I’ve gained, and that is not meant to be a judgement. Having a food addiction, I feel I am just a bite away from a binge, depending on what rabbit hole I let myself go down.

I am struggling with something similar - my love of champagne. I discovered it post-keto, and am having trouble moderating how many times a week I indulge.

As for going off, it happened; you can get it back if you want. Clean keto is always there waiting for you, whenever you are ready. We are all on our own personal journey and time line. Your’s is specific to you - but we are here to support, whatever stage you are in.

Good luck!

(Jenn) #12

I couldn’t have read this post at a better moment! I’ve been struggling all week with these same feelings after letting an early season flu bug derail me. I ate every carb in sight for a week. Surprise, surprise, I felt even crummier.

Back on the wagon with you :slight_smile:

(Erin Macfarland ) #13

@creamcheeseplz welcome to Colorado! I’m a native going back five generations so I think it’s the best place on Earth to live! And yes. You are correct- we have world class beer in every direction here. And, I am a beer lover. I have many friends in the industry and love going to breweries when I have the chance. Having been keto for about 6 years, I am pretty impervious to being tempted by “falling off the wagon” at this point. Figuring out your why when it comes to making a big dietary change is crucial. I watched too many family members lose their lives to diabetes. So I have no problem eating ribeye and avoiding that fate. My approach for enjoying some beer on occasion is to have it after a long run or a tough workout. And I only ask for one or two ounce pours. I’m lean and active and am a lightweight when it comes to drinking, and I hate how I feel when I have too much. So I focus on enjoying a couple small pours and I’m good. But you have to know your weaknesses…if you can’t keep from having a few 16 Oz beers, it might be best to abstain completely. And this is Colorado…there’s always the dispensary! :joy:

(Robert C) #14

One thing you may want to give some serious thought to is whether you are really just calorie restricting while eating foods from an “approved” Keto food list (versus Keto the right way - eating fat to satiety - never feeling hungry - confident metabolism has increased greatly - absolutely sure you are deep into fat adaptation and monitoring with a ketone meter). Another way to calorie restrict is to over exercise, making your body conform to a net low calorie environment instead of more food intake to offset the extra exercise calorie burn (to keep metabolism up).

The pattern of eating your old way and gaining back weight and extra weight is much more likely to happen if you damaged (slowed) your metabolism on a low calorie daily intake - even if on Keto foods and is classic yo-yo dieting.

Gaining all back and more is unlikely to happen to a person that goes back to their old diet from deep ketosis and that is deeply fat adapted because their metabolism would be so high that the old diet would just add a few pounds - not quickly get back to the old weight and then more.

(Samantha Ziegler) #15

Thanks! We love living here!

I’ll admit, portion control with alcohol has always been hard for me but when I see results from the diet that helps me keep the drinking in check. I love your approach to drinking beer! I always thought you had to order a 16oz beer, but asking for a sample or small pour is a great idea! Thank you so much, I will have to try that. At least I can have a couple of sips of my beloved pumpkin beer.

(Samantha Ziegler) #16

Hi! Thank you for replying!

I am one of those people who will track calories and not include the calories that I burned when working out. So yes, I am always eating at a caloric deficit off of keto. Like you said, this is probably what has slowed my metabolism leading to extra weight gain. I need to break the cycle of yo-yo dieting.

On keto I will usually track a meal to clearly see my macros but normally I’m so satisfied that I never worry about eating “too much”. I also like tracking macros when starting keto to see how many grams of carbs I personally can eat while still being in a state of ketosis.

(Samantha Ziegler) #17

Yes! I’m so glad you saw this when you needed it. We got this! :smile:

(Robert C) #18

This might be the problem given your history.

A traditional dieter might feel “satiated” when monitoring calories because they are getting near their planned calorie intake. At around that time, the brain overrides or misinterprets satiety signals (or a lack of satiety signals) with the idea “this should be enough” or “this is not too much”. Cutting off calories when the body would really rather continue to top-up on macros and nutrients.

It (calorie monitoring) can cut the other way too. Say true satiety has been reached because you are in the middle of dinner after a later-than-usual lunch. But, your calorie counting is at 500 out of a planned 1000 calorie dinner. Again, the brain message might be “you need to stick to plan or you’ll go to bed hungry” but really, you’re shuttling excess food into your fat stores unnecessarily.

In Keto, one of the things you may naturally do to allow weight to fall off is meal skipping. If you are just not hungry - why not just burn some fat for a while. But calorie monitoring will drive you to have some sort of meal to follow a plan - and just starting that meal drives hunger more (i.e. eating makes you hungry).

Given a possibly broken metabolism and a “bad” habit (calorie monitoring) you may want to consider rebelling against yourself. A couple of months of extremely low carb (i.e. only monitor carb grams) and intentional over eating (well beyond what you eat now and even over when you include exercise) to let your metabolism adjust to that higher intake. It is very difficult to gain weight on less than 20 grams of carbs - even if over eating. Once the metabolism is fixed - meal skip to burn fat.

This is much better than your current cycle of the break the metabolism, eat the old diet and gain it all back and more and then try Keto again.

#19

I feel ya! I was there. I truly understand ALL the bad food traps out there. From cravings, to social events, to being on vacations and feel you ‘deserve’ treats etc. All the mind traps are hard to avoid. We all feel them.

It took me about 3 years of low carb into extreme low carb to gain some insights for me personally. What worked and what did not. I did it all, calorie count, macros, all the nonsense.

No one can macro their body truly LOL In that it is SO complex on how the body functions down to the smallest pathways that we pretend we can ‘control’ our body with calorie counting and more.

The day I gave up all that dieting info junk was the day I thrived.

I only felt my best on extreme low carb. Being a born natural meat lover I walked into Carnivore very easily.

I ate all I wanted. Any time. On some days I ate so much meat but never gained one ounce. I realized this plan meant I could eat eat eat and eat and be happy and satisfied. Once I was more keto adapted my food intake naturally cut back itself. I fell into natural fasting cause I was just not hungry. I could very easily say NO to a ton of situations with food in my life that the old me would just say any excuse to eat that food. Now I just didn’t want it.

It takes time tho! Took me about 6 months on Carnivore to truly start gaining real control over my food intake and how I rolled thru life with the social events and more.

What I did was challenge myself. I said I would put 110% of my focus on no cheats and I didn’t. Oh yea I even screamed some nights I was so mad I couldn’t eat the crap others could. But what I focused on instead was all the time the other’s were eating their crappy meals and having conversations about how crappy they felt in life, achy joints, sluggy feelings, too tired to enjoy life like when younger etc…I realized this wasn’t me anymore. My Carnivore ways fixed my sleep, no bloats, always feel light on my feet even after a giant ribeye steak :slight_smile: and other’s around me would shrink after eating. Too bloated to move. Too tired to take a walk. Had to ‘rest’ after their junky food.

It dawned on me more and more. Who did I want to be? I wanted health. It all started wanting weight loss and to improve things like being a tired slug, feeling aches that didn’t need to be there from being overweight etc…….so one day it flipped. I stuck to Carnivore not by my challenge to myself, not to vanity lbs. needing to be lost, not by willpower, not by guilty feelings of eating etc…all that was gone.

I now eat my meals cause I thrive. I eat and thrive. I don’t count one calorie. I don’t do macros or supplements or nothing. I eat my fill as much as I need when I want it. I follow what my body asks for and I am happy as a clam. I love my surf/turf meals. Meat and seafood are what I desire cause being a true meat eater I fall right into this category very well.

So keep trying. All the time. We all go backward sometimes. I sure did. But when I challenged myself and looked hard around me at other’s and how food is taking from their lives literally, I didn’t want to be one of them anymore.

My family is regular eating. I am the Carnivore. I see immediately that after a meal of a big old steak and some bacon wrapped shrimp for me I could go on a long hike, get out the kayak and paddle for hours…the family just ‘go rest’ cause they have the steak and shrimp also, combined with mac and cheese and rolls and corn on the cob. That extra junk they eat and love is what puts them on the couch. I am ready to move move move cause my energy level is thru the roof and they are slugs.

In fact it makes me mad sometimes LOL I eat and want to hike, bike, or whatever and they have no interest…they need to ‘let their food settle’ and I just laugh now a bit cause I see it. I see what the crap does to them and what I want no part of anymore.

I want a thriving healthy life. I can eat all I want as I need. No muss, no fuss and I feel wonderful!

Alcohol just naturally dropped away more and more for me. Being Carnivore I just can’t handle it. I can get drunk/light headed very quickly on alcohol now…so 1 drink is my limit mostly. Which is a good thing, cause alcohol is just poison to your body anyway. So it was nice that longer I was on plan the natural feeling of not wanting alcohol was interesting and a great addition for me. If I can get a little fun buzz from 1 drink now, why drink 3-4 drinks when my body doesn’t need it…hey it works for me now.

It takes a while to desire the big changes. To hold them. To keep them in your life…to go from diet thinking to lifestyle long term eating change for most. Keep trying cause one day the click/flip happens for a lot of us if we accept what changes must happen. I used to fight to get carbs back…how can I eat big junky crappy carbs and be so healthy. You can’t. I think once I put down the excuses and didn’t allow them anymore from pretending I could have it all and feel wonderful was the day I clicked more in putting in effort to make my eating change lock in for life.

I realize now I don’t want to go back. I gained so much in great benefits I just can’t go back anymore. I look at carbs as poison to my body as alcohol is truly and I just avoid and make sure I eat the best meats and seafood in my life and I thrive on that.

Best of luck to all of us :wink: Any and all big eating plan changes in our lives usually won’t happen overnight…we are all so individual and we must find the plan that works for us and not against us. There isn’t a one size fits all eating plan for most of us but one thing we do know, when we find a good, sweet spot for our personal eating and we get results and feel great, you are there…don’t give it up :wink: Drop the excuses. Learn to say no more excuses in my life regarding food BECAUSE I don’t want that anymore. I had to play a ton of mind games on me in the beginning and chat positive to myself and all that and it was annoying as heck…but it helped me a lot. I now thrive on my plan, love the benefits I feel, eat when and how much I want when I want and don’t have to put ‘work’ into my eating anymore.

I hope everyone hits their sweet spot and thrives…we all want it…we just have to do it…best of luck!

(Rebecca 🌸 Frankenfluffy) #20

:raised_hands::trophy::raised_hands:

(Samantha Ziegler) #21

In Keto, one of the things you may naturally do to allow weight to fall off is meal skipping. If you are just not hungry - why not just burn some fat for a while.

Yes! After a while on keto I usually find myself not eating until lunch time. It ends up being about a 16 hour fast (from dinner to lunch time the next day), and it’s easy.

(Samantha Ziegler) #22

Wow! Thank you for the awesome reply!

It takes a while to desire the big changes. To hold them. To keep them in your life…to go from diet thinking to lifestyle long term eating change for most.

You are spot on. I believe that falling off and getting back on are stepping stones towards making this a lifestyle change. Just because you “fail” once doesn’t mean you can’t get right back to it and try again. There are no limits when it comes to the number of times you have to try this before it sticks, but finally at some point you have to want it bad enough.

It will click for all of us in our own time. Posts like yours motivate me, so thank you!! :slightly_smiling_face: