Throw me a Keto Lifeline! Seeking encouragement

#43

HEY!

I totally agree with this statement. :slight_smile:

(The amazing autoimmune 🦄) #44

I think with all your stress, taking prednisone and I would guess not sleeping as much as you need that it is a miracle you lost in January. So congrats on losing some.

Think of it this way if you were not on Keto you probably would have gained some weight from stress and emotional eating.

So Keto for the win, I would suggest you read a few of the threads here, many people don’t lose a lot all at once, for most it is slow steady progress. Emphasis on slow.

Oh and welcome. Glad to have you on the board.

(PSackmann) #45

LB, I want to congratulate you on the steps you’ve taken to make your and your children’s lives better. Having two in two years is tough enough, without adding in the stress of an abusive marriage and becoming a single mother. If I were there I’d give you a big hug just for the strength you’ve already shown.
Now, focus on loving yourself as much as you can. Remind yourself that you deserve to feel amazing by staying on Keto. I promise, it does get better. You’ve received a lot of advice regarding eating, my suggestion is to stay as simple as possible, and cook as much ahead of time as you can, depending on your work schedule. Filling your freezer with healthy pre-cooked food will make it that much easier to stay on track.
Loving yourself includes not gauging your progress by the scale. For now, focus on your NSV’s (non-scale victories) and celebrate them daily. Don’t compare your results to others, whether it be pain relief, dropping sizes, or even improvement of moods, just focus on you. and come back to the forums often, there is a lot of good information here along with some great people

(C Kindred) #46

My favorite Celestial Tea is Tension Tamer. Good stuff! I will have to try it with cream.

(LB) #47

Thank you for this. I really do need to stop searching for a “quick fix” or “fast results”.

And you are right , Keto is not just about weightloss.

(LB) #48

I needed to hear this today. I got really stressed about a lot of things I’m shouldering due to my situation and fell off the wagon yesterday evening after a “perfect Keto day”. Today was not great either and I talked myself out of sabotaging the evening “just cuz”. I feel like some days I am Ok and other days I am tired, stressed, overwhelmed and always always always still having to hustle because two babies are depending on me. So yea…I totally stress eat or eat healthy but then stress keeps me up. I sometimes feel like I can feel the cortisol pulsating through my veins!! I am a determined and joyful person but sometimes this To Do and To Pat and To Avoid Paying lists get me and the AirBNB welcome Bar falls in a stressful
Person’s mouth :woman_shrugging:t5::slightly_frowning_face::scream:. Uggffh.

Why can’t I just be perfect and do Keto flawlessly and have the metabolism of a 22 year old :exploding_head:. Lol.
But I have no choice! My health depends on me committing to eating consistently well and I am struggling with even accepting that this is a new normal for me metabolically- let alone accepting that my current sources of stress won’t go away for some time.

But I have to remember that this is not a race or fad for me. I just wish I could not have these external factors as well! But I know that I can overcome my bad habits.

(LB) #49

Thank you for this. I actually wrote it down . “ I am not giving up on the basics no matter what”.

I need to stop being impatient. I feel like when I look and don’t like what I see, I get upset and stressed and it makes it easier to fall off or to make exceptions here and there. All for nought.

I’m trying to get mentally ready but I’m so used to tying that’s into a “race mode” or “intensity mode” versus an everlasting commitment, perhaps with no back to back dramatic result snippets.

(LB) #50

I love this. I’ve never done this. This is a list I can actually look forward to :two_hearts::raised_hands:t5:

(LB) #51

Thank you so much for your encouraging words and advice.
I definitely need to get rid of the nuts. They are such a comfort food for me and I abuse them terribly. Another poster also recommended the pork rinds and I do like them, so will have to get some. I just stopped cheese because I was breaking out more and more. After one week off cheese, my acne seems to be going away. Shame because I love it ! But I need to part with nuts. Pray for me!

Thankfully, I do have someone helping me with childcare , in addition to my awesome family. I do need to find structured ways to release my stress and have some alone time. I love prayer, going to Adoration, having time to silently reflect And I need to really make time in my crazy schedule to do it . I also plan to return to my counselor once I am settled into my new place. Support really is crucial ! I am all really glad to have found this community.

Thank you for the well wishes. I claime that I will be a success story one day ! :upside_down_face:

(LB) #52

Thank you so much .

You are right , tons of hormonal problems. And you at right that I should celebrate how far this body of mine has taken me and I should invest in it.

I appreciate the support so much

(LB) #53

Oh my…I had to look around to see if you were here with me, when you discussed the 1 Oz bag of nuts that are eating more than 1 bag at a time. That is SO me :see_no_evil:. It is a slippery slope . It may sound silly but I have managed to transfer my emotional chips eating to emotional nuts eating. Like “ I am stressed”. Grab nuts “I have a 5 hour drive for my work assignment for this week “. Grab but while driving …eat whole container. Wonder why I’m not seeing results :woman_shrugging:t5:.

The vegetable thing is interesting. So would that be like the “carnivore “ way of eating? What about stomach digestion? I am sure it would help me stay full longer and keep carbs verrrry low.

Thank you so much for your message

(LB) #54

Congrats on quitting smoking. That’s major. And I have to totally agree on the sugar free pop being much better than the cigarettes. One step at a time for us all. You inspire me

(Cindy) #55

You might be surprised, LB, about the nuts. As in, if you let them be the go to emotional chips for a while, that at some point, you find you don’t need them any more.

I think many of our emotional responses to food arise because WE make it emotional. Eat too many nuts, feel guilty about them, don’t eat them, but wish you had them, so they become more important than they really are.

That’s why I’m anti-scale so much. I think we (especially women) need TIME to change behaviors, change the way we eat, change how our body gets its nutrition. When we’re watching the scale, everything is judged on a weekly (sometimes daily) progress and these things take a lot longer than that.

When I first started eating keto, someone posted about roasted pecans. OH MY GOSH, I was in heaven. Pecans, butter, and salt. Roasting the pecans made them taste even sweeter. So for a bit, that was my indulgence. I probably ate too many, but I embraced it (and the move away from cookies and such), didn’t worry about it, etc. Now, I haven’t had roasted pecans in months. They didn’t achieve some special status in my head, they served a purpose when I needed them. End of story.

So…maybe the results you’re seeing, although not in physical measurements, will be in emotional health, happiness, etc. Maybe keep the nuts in your life ;), but add a few pieces of pepperoni to the snack. Small changes to move to where you want to be.

(LB) #56

You are so right. I need to stop comparing myself to others because given my current situation …I should have gained. I had actually gained this weight after losing the baby weight because of all the stress. So it’s a matter of perspective. Easier said than done, but I am actively working on this.

I think my Expectations of losing x amount of pounds like this or that person online is adding to my stress and making me stress eat Keto foods or just go off.

My goal for this weekend is to get grounded again.

Thanks

(LB) #57

Thank you so much :two_hearts:.

I need to get rid of my scale :grimacing:. And you are right , I need to stop comparing!

(Laurie) #58

I’m not a complete carnivore–just kind of tending in that direction.

I’ve read on these forums that vegetables aren’t necessary if you eat good meats. Of course, many people on here disagree! And some just like vegetables.

One reason I don’t eat many vegetables is that I find them a lot of work. All that cleaning and chopping, and then maybe an extra pot or bowl to wash. I’m always looking for ways to simplify my life.

Yet another reason is to keep my carbs low. Things like cheese, eggs, sour cream, spices, condiments, onions, tomato sauce, coconut milk, and almond milk contain some carbs. Even if it’s very little, it adds up. So I don’t want to pile on another 20 g of carbs in the form of salad or broccoli every day.

Aaaand, the more I eat, the hungrier I get. Eating a meal of meat plus vegetables doesn’t satisfy me; it just makes me hungry. Better to just have the serving of meat.

We are all different!

(Karim Wassef) #59

Carnivores don’t have digestive issues and don’t need fiber to be regular. Lions and wolves aren’t constipated because they’re not getting their veggies…

Plant eaters DO need fiber in order to be regular. If you eat plants, then you must enough of the right plants to help in the digestion of other plants. So if you strip fiber from your plants by selectively removing parts (like the husks) or by eating overly processed foods, then you need to supplement back with fiber to get things to work again. This even applies to healthy foods like raw cacao and coffee - too much and they can cause constipation.

Plants are complex… you can overcome their chemical effect in order to get at the goodness some of them bring. But animals are like intermediate processing machines - they turn the complex plant goodness into easily digestible meat goodness… hence acorn-fed bacon and algae-fed salmon… yummm :smiley:

(Natasha) #60

There are others who will be able to answer your ‘keto’ questions better than I can, so this is a hug…

You are really dealing with a lot, you are so strong, well done I’m proud of you. Keep going, don’t get discouraged, don’t give up, you are more than a conqueror. X

#61

I was wondering how everything is going for you in your Keto journey? Did weight loss pick up now that you’re a couple months in?

(Bunny) #62

The only way I know of to get around a weight loss stall plateau on keto and actually burn REAL body fat is to pick one day a week to eat what ever I want all day long? And resume (discipline?) my keto regimen all other days, it does work for me. And if that does not work then there are certain foods you should not be eating when you do eat what you want on that day?

The biology behind me doing this is so complex that it could easily fill a thousand page volume of books because of the delicate balance that must be maintained with T4, T3 and Reverse T3 and the sensitivity of the Leptin receptors and certain variables in the blood brain barrier etc… So this is my version in a nutshell!

E.g. When you first start keto DO NOT restrict carbohydrates to 20 grams, start out with 200 grams of carbohydrates then work your way down to 150, then to 100, then to 50, then to 30 and then to 20 on a weekly basis etc… You must give your metabolism a chance to catch up!

References:

[1] “…First, to burn fat, your body depends on two things: 1) high levels of leptin, 2) highly sensitive leptin “receptors” (which act as the “lock” to leptin’s “key”). Now for the bad news… Anytime you go on a diet and reduce your calorie intake, leptin levels plummet and fat burning is dramatically reduced. …” …More

[2]How_to_Calculate_Thyroid_Lab_Ranges.pdf (123.5 KB)