I need to preface this by saying that I have very little willpower. When my doctor suggested a low carb diet to me, I was glad to give it a try, but I understood that it would be difficult. Then I did the research. Then I did more research. Then I cried a little.
This wasn't going to be a diet, this was a total lifestyle overhaul and I knew if I dove in with guns blazing, I'd burn out quick and this made a lot of sense to me. So I figured I needed to start slow and never give up. Well, I did start out sort of slow. I journal my food, so I could look back and see how many carbs I had been eating. See, the problem wasn't the calorie intake. well, I guess it was. I wasn't actually getting enough calories to kick my metabolism into gear. I wouldn't eat anything until dinner. basically, I averaged about 800 calories a day and I wasn't losing weight. My metabolism basically adjusted to it. (I've been doing this for a long time.) Sometimes I'd go as high as 1200 calories and those extra calories were all sweets. Whole grained, healthy sweets, but sweets nonetheless. Keep in mind that all of this was between 4 and 10 pm, then I'd go to sleep. I'd get up, do my yoga, and run around all day on no energy and get my metabolism going. So there ya go... that's what I was doing wrong and what I still do when I fall back into my comfortable rut.
My doctor wanted me to eat 5 times a day. I laughed. Then I realized she was serious. My first thought was that if I did that, I'd have time for nothing else. Then she told me what she wanted me to eat. I haven't mentioned yet, but for the better part of my life I was a vegetarian. I still feel very new to meat. I eat the basics like beef (sometimes willingly), chicken, pork and fish. but I don't do things like sausage, jerky, liver, eggs, sushi, etc. I enjoy salads, nuts seeds, cheese... well anyway. Life change, right? So my basic guidelines were 20 grams of net carbs a day. eat 5 times a day and that was it. Anyone who has tried Keto already sees the problem.
I sat down and started trying to plan out a menu that would include meals for my daughter (14 at the time) Then I realized that EVERYTHING has carbs. One salad would throw me over my limit! No wonder why she didn't give me any other guidelines. Disheartened I tried to balance out what I could eat. My doctor suggested a handful of nuts for a snack, but they have carbs. I figured I'd take some carrot sticks, nope. Carbs. I ended up with celery. Still carbs, just not as much. Breakfast was mind boggling. I don't usually eat eggs. I ended up having a few slices of bacon and a scrambled egg. dinner wasn't a big deal because I usually bake chicken and fish, broil or grill steak. The hardest part was not having potatoes or rice with it. Then I realized I could. Just a very small amount. Still, it was enough to satisfy cravings.
I also learned how to bake to satisfy my sweet tooth. The hardest part was food prep. Food prep and withdrawal. The first few days on a keto diet are rough. If you're going to give it a go, start it on a long weekend when you're going to be around the house. I lost about 20 pounds on it. Then I failed.
I wish I could say this is a success story, but hey, perhaps it is and we're just not to the end yet. Summer came around and our schedule went out the window. With that, my meal prep and carefully planned success did as well. We found ourselves traveling and me not being prepared. We had illnesses in the family and emotional times and me not prepared. In short, I sucked at the whole keto thing.
Now that school is started back up and our lives are calming down again. I'm back to being able to prepare meals and I'm more aware of what I need to plan for. I'm hoping that means I'm planning for success.
OK, so all of that to get to my honest opinion of the Keto diet. It is hard. It shouldn't really be heard, but it is because as Americans, we are actually addicted to refined sugar and I swear it's worse than heroine. The good part about the Keto diet or just going low carb is that over time you tend to lose the sweet cravings. If you're in a similar situation as I am, then this type of diet is probably the way to go for you. If, however, you have gained weight because you are eating 3,000 calories of no-bun burgers, cheese sticks and hot wings, then you need to look elsewhere my friend. After the first few days, I felt great. I had more energy, I slept better, I was able to think a little better, I felt more focused. Except for the sweet cravings and the lack of prep time, I really liked how I felt on the diet.
I do have issues with it. I believe in balance and so to me there is always benefit from whole grains, fruits and vegetables. They are so severely restricted on Keto that there are chances of developing other health issues if you are not careful. Here are a couple hints I figured out along the way. If you have more, please send them to me and I'll gladly add them. Maybe it will help me stay on this plan longer than a couple weeks. If you're starting out, I hope this give you a little insight and maybe answers a couple questions.
Count NET carbs. This is total carbs minus fiber grams and and sugar alcohol grams. Trust me, it makes a difference. Especially when you're looking at store bought bread. (I recommend Dave's Killer Bread. It's whole grain, lots of seeds and fiber and cut thin, so a slice will bring you to about 6-7 grams of carbs depending on the variety.)
Take a multivitamin or some sort of supplement. If not, There is a tendency to lose your hair (lesson learned from experience here).
Be sure to get fiber because otherwise your digestive tract is going to get clogged up.
You must be sure to drink plenty of water so your body can wash your kidneys clean. It is a diet that is harsh on the kidneys, so care must be given to pay special attention to them. If you have issues with your kidneys already, I would run it by your doctor before you try anything as drastic as a keto diet.
Just another interesting tidbit... It doesn't work as well on men. If you follow Ayurveda at all, it tends to benefit a more Kapha dosha. While some men do fall into that dosha, not many are in that category. If you're not sure of your dosha, you can check yours here.
I've found some great keto recipes. If you think they should be on here, let me know.
Love and light my friends!