Stucked and satisfied? Why are we not all n=1?

stall
plateau
(Carolyn aka stokies) #1

Hey there world,

I have been steadily working on myself, and having fun being liberated from the bind of what is the rigid mentality of the ‘one true RIGHT way’ and gotta say… It was not easy arriving at that place. Mentally, this is as tough as the actual work of fixing food intake etc.

I am curious - is this phase of needing to get it absolutely right common among keto-ers? Or is it the last vestiges of diet mentality? I guess I was ‘lucky’ to avoid that mentality as was always athletic and unknowingly was relying on my body’s demand for sustenance and not focusing as much on quality. When the sports subsided, I had trained myself to eat at that level and FORGOT to adjust once less active :crazy_face:

Forgot? More like not being able to pay attention because was busy trying to live life and I became the last priority. Fast forward way too many years and I decided last year to try to take back power in my own life. Health first. Listening to my body cues and stop listening to ‘professionals’ who just dismissed me as being fat, lazy and lying about my attempts to adhere to their recommendations.

Sound familiar? Looking back through the years, I tracked when I felt best. It was when I was a glassblower for 6 years and ate to sustain myself in an extreme environment. I was also biking 50-100 miles a week as well. Guess I love to be able to keep moving, regardless of sport, team and competition hahaha. I also remembered how Atkins worked for me until I re-introduced carbs. That was a holy failure for me - but I also knew how I felt best at a low but high level for low carb-ers ( 40ish grams/day).

Hence the origination of my journey of self-experimentation. This is in part why I appreciated @carl and @richard 's podcast so much. They continue to recommend curiosity and exploration. If it doesn’t work, now that I am fat adapted, what is really lost? Every time something doesn’t work out is a HUGE opportunity for me to learn what makes me so unique and worth sorting through.

Maybe I am being too nonchalant or maverick with how I am now, nearly a year later, freewheeling and exploring options. I just want to encourage you to not be afraid of change, if medically safe for you. We are all unique bio-mechanical creatures, with unique chemical markers.

Happy holiday weekend for you all and I hope to get back to the trails and bike some more. My last ride was 30 miles in 2h 20m. It’s such an improvement over my times last year. 91 pounds lighter seems to be helping. Even if I am in a 3-month stall - so I will shift my focus on my gains with biking and inches shifting as my body recomps :wink:

(Windmill Tilter) #2

Well, we call it “dirty” keto rather than “relaxed” keto, so that kind of says a lot. “Dirty” keto is what lazy, unregimented, non-serious people do. No judgement there! :yum:

I think when people start calling their diet a “way of eating” you know they’re taking things a little too seriously. The hilarious thing is that less than .001% of us here on the forum are actually eating the ketogenic diet (90% fat, 6% protein, 4% carb). The rest of us are just doing our own variation of “low carb”.

People are weird. I’m weirder than most. :grinning:

(Jody) #3

What a beautiful post. I LOVE your balanced approach. I find, after fighting my body for 40+ years that I have the wisdom and experience to not grip the steering wheel so tight. It never worked for me and I lost of lot of years and caused a lot of damage to my mind and body trying. I am not at all comfortable with claiming keto, I just can’t. I eat low carb, I fast, and I’m seeing some pretty good results.

But I also get new folks need guardrails, otherwise it’s overwhelming.

(Jody) #4

BUT, if I have to say keto to stay here, I’ll do it. You folks are amazing :heart:

(Carolyn aka stokies) #5

“keto-ish” works too :wink:

(Jane) #6

Nope. You can call it whatever you want and define it however you want.

Ketogenic diet means different things to different people. For some, it just means to keep your carbs low enough to stay in ketosis. Others are focused on the other macros. And some are focused on the quality of food.

It’s all good! :+1:

(Full Metal KETO AF) #7

Where is the rule book for the official guide to ketosis hidden Don? This is absolutely the first time I have seen numbers like this. And here I thought a ketogenic diet is one where you’re burning fat and ketones as a primary source of energy.

I think you’re mistaking a cancer/epilepsy therapeutic diet meant for people with extreme health obstacles that require very high ketone levels. For dietary ketosis for other purposes such high ketone levels aren’t needed. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Windmill Tilter) #8

The Classic Ketogenic Diet is the original Ketogenic Diet that was designed in 1923 by Dr. Russell Wilder at the Mayo Clinic for the treatment of epilepsy. With a 4:1 ratio of fat to protein and carbs, 90% of calories come from fat, 6% from protein, and 4% from carb. Although a 4:1 ratio is considered the gold-standard for classic Keto, a 3:1 ratio is also included in descriptions of classic KD in most publications.

The name doesn’t really matter much. My point is that there is often pearl clutching about “dirty” keto, and completely arbitrary rules. There is only one ketogenic diet. None of us are doing it, and that is totally fine!

I think the the bottom line is to get into ketosis, and enjoy the benefits. We’re all doing our own version of “keto” just fine as long as we’re getting the benefits that we are seeking.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #9

I think we’re splitting hairs now. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Windmill Tilter) #10

Not splitting hairs, so much as we’re agreeing and I’m too obstinate to admit it… :yum:

I think @stokiesgoneketo makes a beautiful point that we often make the perfect the enemy of the good. I’ve definitely done it to myself. Whether we call it keto, or low carb/ high fat, or modified Atkins, or anything else, great things happens when we allow our bodies to heal in ketosis!

Also, @stokiesgoneketo, this was a wonderful post that reminded me that it’s ok not to get things perfect. We’re hosting Easter for our extended family this weekend and I’m going to roll with it way less self-consiously than I would have otherwise. I’m not sure how you consistently manage to write such thoughtful, and timely posts, but I’m grateful that you do…:blush:

(less is more, more or less) #11

I’ll add “CICO diet mentality.” CICO-only restriction leads us to irrational beliefs and behaviors. It works in so few people as to be essentially unhelpful advice.

I second your recommendation.

I’ll be low-carb for two years in June. Ironically, I was a firm adherent to Dr. Westman’s page 4, which many consider “lazy.” He (I’m a patient of his) has long admonished my rigidity, and, in retrospect, I see his point. When I stick to the wonderfully simplified Page 4, it all works well. The inverse is true as well. There are lots of vying theses in this nascent understanding of physiology and nutrition. Macros, ratios, electrolytes, tracking, pricking your fingers, bulletproof coffee, MCT, carnivore, etc., all butt heads. For example, when I increased my fat ratio, outside of Pg 4 recommendations, and I slowly watched my weight gain. (No waist gain, however) I cut the extra fat, all is stable.

Then there’s my daughter. She’s far higher carb than I, but far lower than she’s ever been. I still am getting used to how thin and healthy she’s become. Like most low-carb-ers, she’s not emaciated, but she, as was I, well, “puffy” before we went low-carb. Same great gal, better health. I presume her insulin response to carbs fares better than mine, so she may enjoy more than I. I maintain a strict 20 grams of total carbs a day. But that’s me.

I call it liberating.

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #12

I asked myself this as I was reading your post and thought, “Huh. I guess I don’t know since I come from a past full of eating disorders.” I’d like to think I’m following the “rules” as a health conscious individual intent on getting healthier but I have to admit, I like that there are rules and that I feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day for not breaking them which is reminiscent of my calorie restriction days. Most of them are self-imposed (there are many ways to “do” keto).

Having said that, I am very conscientious of the allure for control and power of what goes into my mouth. Am I using my power to abstain for “good” instead of unhealthy obsessive behavior now? I think about this often.

I’m currently experimenting with adding whole food with higher carbs (stepping out of Atkins induction, basically) and making an effort to see at each food item neutrally instead of thinking of it as good/bad and looking objectively at how it may affect my goals. It’s amazing that 15 years out of the worst of disordered eating I am still learning to have a relationship with food.

(Carolyn aka stokies) #13

And so very proud of that hard work you are doing <3

(Carolyn aka stokies) #14

Liberating is powerful! It is all about finding what my body responds to and not getting distracted by others “better gains/successes/losses” etc. Glad you found what worked for you!

(Carolyn aka stokies) #15

Take Easter by storm! Thanks for walking with me in my wandering thoughts and it humbles me that any of it resonates :sunny:

(less is more, more or less) #16

You don’t know the half of it. At 56, I’ve done every bloody diet. When I entered Dr. Westman’s office for the first time, I felt like Charlie Brown, and Dr. Westman was Lucy, holding the football. I’m happy to report; “not.”

(Carolyn aka stokies) #17

Hahaha love it! That is so awesome you’ve been able to work with Dr. Westman…

(less is more, more or less) #18

Yea, though I never let the good people at this forum forget it. Right, @PaulL?

#19

@stokiesgoneketo
A long road vacation and Easter Week have destroyed my year-long “Keto life” but I don’t regret the malts and fudge squares and even real hamburgers. They were pleasing and kept life in perspective.

And, as much as I looked forward to the vacation, I look forward to Monday’s return to low-carb eating and the pleasures of feeling better.

Remember, you always live life in the present. You cannot change the past but you can improve on how it affects your present. And it is the experiences of the past combined with how you live the present that control your future.

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #20

How did I only just now find you??? Du you have an accountability thread to follow?