Second chance

(Edith) #81

I mentioned in an earlier post that you need to have your “why.” Why are you choosing to eat this way? I am going to expound on that which is: your why needs to come from a place of self-love. Self-loathing could be a impetus to get started but self-love is what is going to sustain you.

If you mess up and punish yourself verbally, that is only going to send you into a tailspin of more anger at yourself and mostly likely make you think you don’t deserve health and “I am going to punish myself with eating whatever I want!”

Let yourself believe that you deserve better health and that it’s okay to let other know you are taking care of yourself, that you are prioritizing yourself.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #82

I find, as a carb addict, it’s actually easier not to eat any carbohydrate at all than to try to eat a limited quantity.

#83

But it’s impossible not to eat carbs… We must eat some (eating certain meats and fat only may be an exception). It may be easier when they come from our normal, very low-carb items though. Or it may be impossible. I couldn’t do keto without 40g net carbs and unlimited total in the first (on/off) years… It was too much for me so I went lower when I finally could.

If it’s about certain items, I have found abstinence way easier than moderation in many times. And not in others. It’s individual. Sometimes I need some wilder days regarding something but that’s definitely not sticking to the diet. Still the best I can do and I am fine with that. Not only amounts but frequency matters. So if it’s something I am unwilling to give up, I may enjoy it very seasonally but not in tiny, keto amounts and it still can work. For me. Maybe not for others. But too much levity is dangerous even for me. Too much strictness is a sure way to quit in an epic way real soon but that is individual too.

#84

Thanks all.

I restarted keto. I just read all your thoughts. It helps to keep them in mind. It also helps that I feel better already.

I cannot tolerate dairy and may not tolerate eggs and gluten either. Which makes my diet very restricted with keto.

But I think I’m a better person on it. More kind and stable to self and loved ones. Maybe mustering up the self love to stick to it…and to demand my child joins me on his days here, so there’s no cheats in the house, at least at first…is key.

And experimenting with nice dishes.

I just had spicy shrimps for lunch :slight_smile:

I think I, as all of us, had a very weird diet with way too much processed food. I need to learn how to cook all over. This is also a good thing to teach kid: cooking old-fashionably well.

I’m trying to make it all a fun challenge…will get my hands on some good recipes too. :slight_smile:

#85

It really helped that I cheated on dairy and turned into a depressed, raging mess. Dairy always does that. It highlighted the relevance of diet.

#86

I wonder how people elsewhere ate before… What is that too much processed food many of you are talking about? Half-ready food instead of just frying up something even for main dishes? Why? The charm of the (for me, frankly disappointing looking) halfway premade things? Lack of time/mood/energy? Not caring enough about health and joy? Or it’s just how the things are in some countries…?

It’s VERY normal here to be able to cook. The women in the choir (R.I.P. it was nice while it lasted :frowning: ) could even bake great cakes (well, tasty, complex ones, I mean, the ingredients weren’t as great) and that is very normal here too. Many even bake bread (I did that since I moved out from Mom’s place. because the available breads weren’t good enough for me at that time. it was fine before and slowly came good bakeries but right then, ew. so I made my own) and that is not as trivial as cooking something simple but maybe it’s me, cooking always came WAY, way easier than baking. I need proper ratios and ingredients for baking! A cooked food just broadcast its ingredients, a dough way less so… And the latter is sensitive…
I can imagine not eating many eggs can make even breakfasts less easy at some places. We here simply ignored stupid ideas about egg consumption, I loved it so I ate them to my heart’s content and while it became 7-8 per day on low-carb (it lasted for a dozen years at least, I didn’t take breaks :smiley: ), it wasn’t actually low earlier either. I was a stubborn hedonist, yes but surely our countries have these things differently as I didn’t need to put effort into going against something, it was perfectly normal to eat a very fatty, egg rich diet. (And a high-carb one, sadly, I didn’t even think there could be anything wrong with that as everyone ate like that.) And cooking even if one is working all day. It is just how things should be. One can cook super simple meals, of course not everyone has time or willingness to do what the stereotypical mom does when the kid comes home from the college and the mom cooks half Saturday instead of talking with the kid… It’s not always good but that type is common. Or was, IDK how moms are nowadays, I still have some vague idea about people and yep, they cook from scratch. It’s super weird for me if an adult almost never does that (and not because they are hopeless at cooking, couldn’t learn and someone else does it instead)…

You lose some of my very important items there - but you don’t (try to) do carnivore like I, keto still have many options, there are zillion plants to eat! Carefully. I never knew how to do really low-carb with plants, my vegs were so carby… Good riddance. But normal ketoers can do it and some of us can have more carbs too :wink: A little carbier thing here and there can spice up things without raising the carb intake too much.

Yes, do that! :slight_smile: There are great keto dishes! And while I already cooked and experimented A LOT on low-carb, keto brought new recipes. Carnivore brought new recipes! It’s very natural in my life as if I take away something, I may need new recipes to replace something I lost. Like, I had nutty wafers on keto. I can’t have them on carnivore so I focus on other crunchy options I didn’t or rarely ate before carnivore…
Our tastes can change too. It’s not a problem to have a very restricted diet, it’s a problem to feel too restricted on it. If I don’t miss what it outside and the diet is good and gives me everything I need and want, I am good. (I am not there yet but some occasional subtle off eating is enough. I can handle that but aim for even better in the future.)

While it may be tiresome, it may be fun too. Having fun and find new things to enjoy always made things easier for me. Sometimes, while I like my food, they aren’t exciting enough. I make new recipes or experiments then. (Or go off but that isn’t always an option and it just gets “worse” as time passes, I don’t want plants, I want something new and exciting.)

Good luck!!!

#87

Thanks! Kid just came home, so I’ll respond more later!

#88

Thanks for your extensive response!

I did actually eat fresh produce too. But our culture doesn’t really have a cooking culture. I’d eat take away at times. But also things like pasta sauce or curry sauce from a package or pot. Or sweets and baked foods from the supermarket. Simply because I was used to it. I did also eat fresh veggies and good meat, etc. But also premade sauces and all.

Partly by what I was taught, partly by lack of energy/mental health.

I actually just had a keto dinner in a restaurant. Kid and I would go out. And they were very accommodating.

I do think it’s fun to try and experiment. I’m not a very big fan of meat, so I decided against carnivore for now. I’m very curious about nice recipes. I’m trying to do a rather clean keto, with whole food only.

(KM) #89

There’s a facebook group called “Clean Keto For Health” that you might like. They are against processed foods / additives, and more geared towards plants (but not exclusively), with plenty of recipes.

#90

I’m not on social media. But thanks. I may check it out!

#91

Hope you don’t mind sharing Robin what collagen you are taking please. I’m thinking of collagen. Thank you.

(Robin) #92

I’ve used this brand for a few years now. Began with the 2 recommended scoops in my morning coffee (no taste) and now just use one scoop.
Grass-Fed Collagen Peptides 1.5 lb. Custom Anti-Aging Hydrolyzed Protein Powder for Healthy Hair, Skin, Joints & Nails. Paleo and Keto Friendly, GMO and Gluten Free, Pasture-Raised Bovine Hydrolysate. https://a.co/d/hTv5KWP

#93

Thanks Robin I will look in to that. Maybe I can order online.

#94

Arghh. I just had strawberries. Then binged on berries. Sticking to just a bit of fruit is real hard.

Ah well. I stayed with healthy food. New day tomorrow.

(Bob M) #95

Yeah, that’s one reason I rarely eat fruit. I’ll have strawberries + yogurt. One bowl, then a second, then…

#96

You made me curious. How much did you eat?

Fruit never was a problem for me, I mean, eating just a little. I had 3g carbs (or rather less) for fruit on my original keto. I am not a strict one by any stretch but I needed a lot of carbs for other things and simply couldn’t afford more - and it was super easy to fit into it. I usually did it with raspberries and banana :slight_smile: I liked lemon too. They were super easy to eat in really tiny amounts, so flavorful!

I had to figure out what not to touch. My bare minimum for certain fruits had zillion carbs while barely any for some really tasty others. So I chose well to get my daily fix (I truly needed fruit every day, couldn’t function well without, IDK why. not anymore, thankfully).

It was the same with all carby things. I had to figure out what I can handle. Eating a little of certain things is just impossible for many of us. It doesn’t matter if it’s considered keto or not. My minimum amount (where I couldn’t stop myself) of fried cauliflower gave me 40g net carbs while the same minimal, very satisfying portion of frozen banana with chocolate had at most 3g…
But there is food that is quite carby AND it’s hard to stop before I ate a lot… Of course I try to avoid them. (Not that easy when you make it every week for someone else but at least I got practice at resistance… Or more like I just talked with myself enough times and persuaded myself how horrible the idea of eating is… Sometimes you need to switch something in your brain as mere practice fails.)

I don’t see any problem in an occasional fruity day if it’s still not too much (it’s individual but even my high-carber SO who is thriving on his diet and eats fruit every day, sometimes for every meal couldn’t handle eating 1kg cherry, at once, on the tree… my body may complain way earlier but it almost never does as I simply never eat much fruit or stop when I feel I definitely had enough). But I love fruit and can’t see it as an obvious bad thing.

#97

300grams…a whole basket…which is maybe 45g of carbs. Plus two cups of strawberries. :roll_eyes: Fruit is really a no go for me.

It’s weird. My mood was more stable. But now I’m crying and depressed again. There’s reason to cry. But still.

My stomach also hurts. Which isn’t strange after a basket of berries.

#98

I checked my food…Maybe yeast in my hamburgers might be the problem…not the berries. My mental clarity got better…Then I ate…and felt horrid. I checked whether there was grain in anything. There wasn’t. But there was yeast.

#99

Yeah that’s quite much for keto… For that amount, maybe raspberries would work or a good workout before eating…
It’s way easier for me to eat tiny fruit than none but maybe you are different. And as I wrote, even I had problems with certain fruits so I avoided those.
It helps if you simply don’t have more than a little fruit… For me, just putting them into a box and storing in the freezer is a nice barrier. IDK how I can be that good with my near zero self control regarding food especially fruit but my mind works that way…

#100

I think the freezer idea would work.

I’m also still in the start up of course. So withdrawing from everything like sugar and grain and flavour.