Hi all!
I haven’t done an intro yet so thought I’d do a post about things that I’ve learnt. I’ve been keto for about 7 weeks now after having dabbled with low carb diets (amongst others!) for years. I’m about 7kg down (15lbs), lots of inches but the biggest shift for me has been mentally. I was really inspired by Gary Taubes and his book ‘Why We Get Fat’ and reading ‘The Obesity Code’ by Dr Jason Fung consolidated my opinion of this WOE.
Anyway, below are some thoughts I’ve had. I’m sure most of you will identify with them. A lot of them I learnt from @carl and @richard and some are from my personal experience. If you’re just starting out with this WOE, I hope they help!
- Most people won’t understand what no carbs means. Even those you thought were educated. E.g. You will be offered sweet potato instead of ‘normal’ potatoes. Just smile and say ‘no thanks’.
- Weight loss is not linear (see below). The scale is a liar. Don’t rely on it to measure your progress. Instead, measure yourself - waist, chest, hips etc. For reasons unknown, you can be up on the scales but lose inches. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
- Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s. Find what works for you and follow your own path.
- It is not necessary to do extended fasts. You will naturally start to feel less hungry and when that happens you will find you don’t want to eat at usual meal times. This will feel weird, especially as you’ve always been a 3-meal-a-day, can’t-skip-breakfast, ravenously-hungry-always carb-burner most of your life. Go by how you feel - if you’re hungry eat, if not, don’t. Freedom from hunger and obsessing over food is one of my favourite things about this WOE (apart from bacon).
- Sleep is important.
- Salt is important.
- Your mood will improve. You won’t have those wild swings and you’ll be able to stay calm in situations that would previously have rattled you.
- People will comment on how well you look. Maybe it’s the weight loss (though you feel you still have a long way to go), maybe it’s the clearer skin, maybe it’s this weird feeling of inner calm coming through in your manner now you have now you longer have that constant inner turmoil of trying to avoid donuts, croissants and toast. Whatever it is, take the compliment!
- Pay it forward. If someone is interested and open to knowing more, take the time to answer their questions. Point them towards Gary Taubes and Jason Fung’s works, tell them about the @dudes
- Keep it simple. You don’t need to bake keto foods or complicated dishes. Start with eggs, bacon, steak just butter, green veg if you want. You’ll soon work out what you enjoy.
- Most importantly, KCKO (Keep Calm and Keto On)
