WOE is me!

Beginning a new way of eating (WOE) isn't simple nor easy.  It really doesn't matter which program you're choosing.  If you're looking to make a lifestyle change, and not simply a diet that you'll forget about as soon as you've reached your goal....then you've got to do some work ahead of time.  You must research the way of eating, the theory behind it, the physiology, the science, and then, finally the mechanics of it. 


A ketogenic diet  was so much different than my "normal" (we'll wait to call this former) way of eating.  Restricting your net carbs to 25 (later in the week I changed that to 20) is hard to do.  It's easy to cut the carbs that are in front of your face: bread, pasta, dessert, alcohol.  What is more difficult is understanding the hidden carbs in almost every food you eat.  Fruits and veggies have natural sugar in them, and that gives them carbs!  Spinach has carbs, broccoli has carbs, green beans have carbs!  They are EVERYWHERE.  It's like a bad dream where you can't make turn without them taking over your day.   I knew to expect this. I read almost everything I could about this diet.  What foods to eat freely, what foods to eat in moderation, and what foods to avoid (all my favorites of course!)  And still....I was not as prepared as I thought I was....I needed supplements (magnesium and potassium), I needed oils, almond flour, coconut flakes, hemp seed, raw nuts, different types of meats.  My pantry and my refrigerator look completely different than they have ever looked.  They are filled with a small fortune of healthy food just right for my new WOE.

But you know what....Keto is hard!  I had the ingredients (and bought a few on the way) and I had the research.  I've made some pretty amazing meals (anything from omelets to variations of cauliflower rice).  And I saw that scale move....nearly 10 pounds in less than 2 weeks. Sure, sure...a lot of that is water weight, I get it.  But it still moved....A LOT!  Then....Saturday came along.....

I decided it was time to freshen up my pedicure and treat my mom to her first one ever.  The new salon I picked served a complimentary drink....I couldn't resist the offer of a glass of wine, even if it was white. And that sent my day totally and completely out of control!  Kip and I went out to dinner and while my dinner selection was keto friendly (bunless cheeseburger with salsa and a side of greenbeans) my drink selection was not...one beer, led to two beers.  Then we got home and it led to opening a fresh bottle of wine.  My body wanted the carbs so badly.  Just as I was hitting keto flu, I introduced a level of carbs my body hadn't seen in over a week and it stop my process in its tracks!  Sunday was a new day and I got back on track.

Monday saw the consequences of my reverting to old habits...I gained almost 2 pounds back that I had lost!  And it's not coming off as easily as it came back on.  But, I got back on track.  I noticed my fitbit syncing with myfitnesspal was sending my macros all over the place....so I quickly removed that functionality.  Keto is hard...but when I come downstairs in the morning, I don't have to take one step at a time.  I eat a large breakfast/lunch and am usually completed satiated until dinner time.  Keto is hard...but it's becoming a bit more easy as I go along.

I'll leave you with one of my breakfast/lunches from this past week.  I took leftover grilled chuck steak and sliced it thinly (4oz), I added 2oz of sliced green peppers, and 1.5 oz of sliced onions.  I sauteed this in 2 tbsp of coconut oil  Once the onions and peppers were cooked to my liking, I plated them and fried two eggs.  Overall this meal was 555 calories, 6g of carbs, 44g of fat, 37 grams of protein.