Sustainability?

(Wendy Peterson) #1

Help!! In need of support!! My mom is visiting for a month. Bought a ton of carbage. Now I feel like I’m missing out on Easter stuff. My question is, is this way sustainable for the long term? Does anyone feel like they’re “missing out” on life and they don’t get to enjoy the small luxuries? I’ve been low carb before (not high protein but not HF either) and was able to enjoy a few things now and then with no adverse effects. But with Keto if there’s any cheating involved with carbs I feel marginally hungover the next day. Does anyone here struggle with this at all? I’ve only been Keto for 3 months and feel I have to justify my choices.

(Sascha Heid) #2

You can enjoy your luxuries as much as you decide to, but when you realize that these luxuries again and again come with mostly negative consequences, then you stop seeing them as luxuries. In the end these beliefs are only habbits. You see them as luxuries now, but at some point this will change. Concentrate on the good things you have, not on the bad things you now believe you are missing out on. And should you decide to cheat once in a while accept it and move on. Struggling is not acceptance. Everything is your choice, even your beliefs.

(Michelle) #3

Hi - I think everyone is different. I never feel like I’m missing out. Just the opposite - I feel like everyone around me is missing out on scrumptious Keto food and being able to run on fat for fuel.

(Wendy Peterson) #4

Well said :thinking: Thank you.

(Jennifer) #5

My biggest addiction at Easter is the Reese’s eggs. I found a HFLC recipe that more than satisfies that one. And I just ordered in some cocoa butter and will be making a white chocolate version. There are recipes out there that have been adapted. Take a look and you will find HFLC treats for those rough cravings.

Recipe here in case anyone was curious…

http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2016/01/low-carb-no-bake-peanut-butter-bars.html

(Jaidann) #6

I too think it’s different for every one. For me, it’s very sustainable. I love the food I get to eat and truly don’t miss the stuff I don’t eat. Often times when I think I’m missing something like say … a cupcake, one bite of it is enough to remind myself and my body that it’s not so great!

(eat more) #7

I also don’t miss anything and i’m around ppl eating crazy stuff all of the time…“high end” pastries/baked goods, my once favorite pizza, and tortilla chips that i used to live off of LOL
it doesn’t even register as something i want…which i think is amazing.
i had a couple of GS cookies about a week in…not even something i am “attached” to…i just wasn’t eating enough overall and had to have them…
i have also done the “one bite” thing like @KetoFied…of cake…actually spit it out…
i came to keto because i wasn’t adulting and eating cake for lunch…i thought i loved cake…we broke up LOL

#8

Funny how I find keto way of eating decadent and luxurious. The only annoyance for me is when my fasting schedule conflicts with something else. I usually plan to avoid, but sometimes, things creep up unexpectantly.

People usually make comments of how decadent my food is. The desserts I make are super rich with butter, cream, eggs. My meals drown in herbed butter, or hollandaise sauce or deep fried in lard. It makes me chuckle how they are like “oh no, I can’t, I will just eat half, it’s too rich”…and then they are on their second helping!!

Seriously. What’s to miss? Most of the Easter chocolates and candies taste like crap. Cheap ingredients, full of chemicals that I can detect. The other stuff, like baked ham, roasted lamb and so on, is delicious. And lots of recipes to ketofy breads, cakes, etc…so, no need to feel left out. As a guest at someone’s home, you can do the “just one bite” trick. Or skip the bad foods entirely. At your home, you can make whatever you want.

(Siobhan) #9

If there’s something I REALLY missed I’ll make a keto version of it (cheesecake, ice cream, some candy), but everything else I’ve already realized is poor quality and even if high quality it’s just meh to me now.
I have taken a bite of doughnut or cake before and it’s honestly just really artificial tasting and gross. The stuff I make is way better and won’t kill me.
So yeah I think it’s sustainable for me.

#10

This is one of the ways that I knew that keto was the only sustainable way for me.

I just don’t miss feeling like crap all the time. :wink:

Edit: To put this in context, I was an obese T2DM and keto reversed this for me, so the difference between keto and non-keto has been very large for me. I also have ADD and couldn’t resolve it even with prescription medications, but keto brings it into manageable levels and I’m in the process of transitioning off the prescriptions to OTC alternatives.

(Beth) #11

@Wendy_p I want to tell you to hang in there! I was a super sugar/candy addict which is why I came to keto in the first place. I started toward the beginning of October last year. After the first couple of months of strict keto, I’ve not been strictly keto, but when I have indulged in non-keto, I get right back to it the next day. The reason I say to hang in there is just recently I realized that I no longer have any draw toward the sweets that I used to. I do have some 85% chocolate many days but it’s a different sort of draw. I can easily get by without it whereas I used to have to have something. So, keep calm and keto on, and it’ll get easier!!

(anonymous78) #12

I have watched my extended family eat what they want over Easter while I ate Keto. I am 61 and I had more energy and a better mood than any of them. What can I say :slight_smile:

(Christopher Bingel) #13

I think the missing goes away with time. Ice cream was always a weakness for me and it still is. I just try and be willful about my decisions, rather than a slave to my cravings. If I want it, I think about how it will make me feel. If it still seems worth it, then I’ll have some, but maybe only a little instead of as much as i can shove in my face.

Side note: the irony that I’m typing this post as an ice cream truck goes past my house is not lost on me.

Honestly , and i know this isn’t a popular opinion, for me a one snack/ one meal cheat had never been a big deal as long as i do it willfully. If is a result of a bad day and or lack of willpower, then i see it as a failure and i have a hard time getting back on the wagon. But if i choose to do it and do it with moderation, i just pick back up the next day and don’t worry about it.

TL;DR: If you want it, and you’re willing to accept the consequences, eat the snack. If it’s more than the snack, maybe do some soul searching first.

(Wendy Peterson) #14

Thanks everyone!! I did ok, I made a keto carrot cake from alldayidreamaboutfood.com and it was fabulous!! Was very tempted to have stuffing and cranberry sauce but didn’t. :+1:t2: The sustainability part for me is mostly the time involved in preparing food. I am away from home 1/2 the month most of the time and have to pack food for 4 days at a time. Then come home and make everything, nothing “fast food”. My kids are very active and ski race (seasons almost over) so if I’m not at work I’m in the mountains. What do you do for busy lives?? What kind of make ahead meals would you suggest? I don have 2 of Maria Emmerichs cookbooks but sometimes I need something with less prep!!

(Cathy) #15

I am in my 8th consecutive year of keto (and 3 yrs. prior to this) and I can tell you it is 100% sustainable. For me, the key is fully realizing the vast improvements to my health and how those are all tied to my food choices. AND I much prefer the keto food I do get to eat! It is a case of trading up in my opinion.

I will also say that after time, those ‘treats’ from the past no longer hold any appeal to me. It just is.

#16

I’ve been LCHF/keto for over a year now and my tastes have really changed. I don’t crave carbage or sweets, instead if I’m hungry I want something fatty. I avoid artificial sweeteners and keto substitutes for old treats, none of which hold the same appeal for me in any case, and instead focus on enjoying all the delicious fatty foods I used to deprive myself of when I was eating a more “standard” diet (I call them the wasted years). If I’m at a friend’s house or at a restaurant I might eat a bit off plan but then I get straight back on keto afterwards, because long term it’s what makes me feel at my best.

(Dustin Cade) #17

I’m able to walk through the grocery store, even down the aisles that have little to no items Keto, i’m always on the look out for new things that may pop up that are keto… the other day at the store i had my youngest boy with me, it was Saturday afternoon, the samples were out on force… there was a lady handing out ice cream samples, she offered them to us, i told her “no thank you” easy enough for me… though my 13 year old wasn’t as resolute… not to mention the crappy look i got from the lady for not letting my son have ice cream… it’s all about choice, just like i tell the kids, you guys have to decide how you want to live your life, what you put into your body, all i can give them are the tools… what they build with them is on them…

(Michelle) #18

Carrie Brown’s keto ice creams are supposed to be the best!! People rave about them beting better than regular ice creams. She explains a lot in this book about the composition of ice cream, and how to make it keto without making it a brick (i.e., being able to take it out of the freezer and eat it right away). I have this book and read it over the weekend. I plan on making some soon, so will let you know. Ice Cream is my fave treat.

https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Smarter-Ice-Creams-health-boosting/dp/149484205X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492447835&sr=8-1&keywords=carrie+brown+cookbooks

(Beth) #19

@Wendy_p, funny that you mention Maria’s cookbooks. I wonder if you have some of her earlier ones. I just heard her on a podcast yesterday talking about how now that she has kids she has a lot less time to spend on cooking and her newer cookbooks theoretically reflect that. She does a lot of stuff with slow cookers, which I still haven’t really warmed up to – I never like the stuff I make in a slow cooker. But, she also said that “fast food” is now a roasted chicken picked up at the store, and it sounds like she eats a lot of burgers done different ways (at home obviously).

I do travel hockey with my kids, and while I’m not gone as much as you are, I have learned how to figure out food when I’m traveling. If we go by car I’m able to prepare some stuff and take it with me. If we go by airplane, I hit a decent grocery store as soon we get there. This is probably nothing you haven’t already heard. I’m pretty happy repeating a lot of the same foods – maybe you are wanting more variety.

@MKChitown, I want to hear what you think of Carrie’s ice cream book!! Ice cream was never a huge weakness for me, but my kids certainly love it and if I could make a better version for them (that they like), I’d love to be able to. I love the way Carrie talks about food but for whatever reason I haven’t yet bought any of her cookbooks.

(eat more) #20

see what you did? get it? :joy:

i haven’t used my slow cooker since i got the pressure cooker tho…