An Honest Keto Journey

I’m back!  It’s a new day, fresh start, and a new food focus!  Don’t worry, I’ll never abandon my love of Southern food and goodness.  It’s just going to be a little bit adapted, going forward.  Think of it as a way to keep myself and my husband focused on moving forward in a healthier way of life for us.  After all, being newly married, it’d be nice to be able to be around to torture each other for years to come.

With that being said, let’s jump on in to our Keto journey.  We started it back in February 2018.  It was something that my husband came to me and said “If I want to try Keto, will you give me 30 days of dedication to it?”.  He knew that the 30 days would be a challenge for us both, as we both had been counting calories prior to this, and the pizza and doughnuts were calling our names HARD lately.  Calorie counting was definitely not for us.  I was skeptical, but agreed.  We were in it together.

We honestly never experienced the “Keto Flu” that everyone and everywhere warns you about.  I’m not sure why, but we think it might have been that we were already starving our bodies by calorie counting, and when we introduced the fats and “whole” foods, our bodies were super stoked to get sustenance.  It also could have been that we drank a heck of a lot of water and made sure we took in adequate electrolytes to prevent the flu.  It could have been anything, but we think it was a combination of everything.

Over the next 6 months, up to our wedding, we each lost 50 pounds.  I’d like to say it was without effort, but even though we weren’t crushing it in the gym multiple times a week, it was still a LOT of effort.  Meal plans, grocery shopping, making sure you were well prepared for that late night craving that a glass of water just wasn’t going to cure, etc.  Don’t let anyone tell you Keto is an easy transition.  You have to train yourself and adapt your processes in your daily life to MAKE IT WORK.  It ends up being one of those things where you have to give yourself no other choice than to make it work.  If you don’t…it won’t work for you.

The things that are satisfying on Keto:

• Waking up ready to face the day after an amazing night’s sleep
• Not having that brain fog that starts after you return from lunch at work
• Being more productive at life and during every single day, not just workdays
• Feeling accomplished when your scale and measurements start going down
• Fitting into that clothing you had been saving in the back of your closet through 5 different moves and never packed it away
• Sharing Keto with others (even if they find it annoying)
• The way the gut is “fixed” so to speak, aka there’s no longer lactose intolerance in our household, even with all of the dairy we consume
• Learning the science behind it all
• THE SCALE GOING DOWN (did I already say that?)

The things that are NOT satisfying on Keto

• The first 2 weeks working through your cravings
• That monthly craving for Mexican or Chocolate that one has EVERY month during a certain time
• Struggling to develop a routine for success
• Other people not understanding the Keto way of eating
• Getting hooked on expensive Keto products from health food and vitamin stores
• Frustration from others when they have to cook something differently because you’re coming over for dinner
• Being told that you’re going to damage your heart with all the fat you’re eating
• Peers judging you or not supporting you through your journey
• People not taking the time to understand the Science behind it
• THE SCALE GOING UP when you’re not staying on track – it WILL go up when you’re off plan

Y’all, Keto is not a journey to go into lightly.  It’s a dedication in every aspect of your life…for as long as you want to continue on the journey.

We dropped off of Keto the night before the wedding.  Homemade Groom’s Cake by my Mom and I…hello!  Even more cake the day of the wedding – secretly designed by my new husband that I didn’t see until our reception.  We then honeymooned at Universal Studios, ate tons of delicious foods, including gorging ourselves on everything it seemed at the Chocolate Emporium.  Then the Honeymoon was over (only travel wise folks), we came home, gave ourselves a weekend to eat at the restaurants we had been missing.  We had pizza, pastries, pasta, hot dogs, Chinese and more Chinese.  Did I mention Chinese, because yes, it didn’t last just that weekend.  We continued to enjoy our bit of freedom longer than that weekend, and I think our Chinese delivery driver knew we were off the wagon since he hadn’t seen us in a few months and was now seeing us twice a week, okay, maybe three times a week.  Willpower – 0, Food – 1 (and then some!).

Since January, this year, we’ve been trying to reboot ourselves back into Keto.  We’ll go a week, and the weekend would come hard.  We’d give ourselves one carb each, and then that would turn into a carb-filled meal, and then a lack of caring about the rest of the weekend.  Then on Monday, meal prep and everything was good to go for yet another week of trying to jump start back into Keto.  We would stay on it a good amount of time, and then fall off the wagon, yet again.

It’s been a constant struggle, but we do seem to have our routine back over the last few weeks.  To a point where I feel like it’s time to include you on our journey.  We’ve almost made it a month now to where we’ve been strict Keto.  For us, strict Keto is less than 20 Net Carbs a day.  We find joy in eating Mexican Cauliflower Rice with Sausage, Grilled Chicken with air fried Brussels Sprouts, Hamburger Steak with Onions, Mushrooms and Gravy, Spaghetti/Alfredo using Konjac Noodles, and now we’ve added in the breads from Thin Slim Foods to give us that bit of extra indulgence when we need a push to remain on track.

If I could give anyone advice on Keto, and this is coming from someone that isn’t going to fluff it up for you, here is what I would tell you.

• Don’t let others discourage you.  You have a hard journey ahead of you, and you need to do it for yourself.  It’s YOUR way of eating.
• Get ready to enjoy a boost of energy and be rid of that sluggish feeling going through your afternoon.  Trust me, the energy boost is real!
• Your mind will be able to function more.  Studying for something big, working on a big project, etc.?  The mind seemingly functions more fluidly.
• As a woman, ignore all of the diet advice we’ve been given growing up.  If you don’t, Keto will never work for you.  Why?  Because we eat a LOT of natural fat.  It sounds bonkers, but check out the science behind Ketones and fat.  You’ll be quite amazed!
• Be supportive of others on their own journeys.  They might not be doing Keto or the level of Keto you’re doing, but you’re all going through changes and working towards a better “You”.  The more we can do together, the better!
• Buy cookbooks, make a Keto Pinterest board, tear recipes out of magazines!  Do whatever you need to do to be prepared.  Preparation and Planning are the most pivotal pieces to doing Keto.
• DON’T BE AFRAID TO TRY SOMETHING NEW!  Butter in my coffee – a year ago I would have turned my nose up and told you how gross you are. (Okay, so I actually did do this to a long-time friend of mind, and I see how wrong I was!)  Now, Butter in my coffee – amazingly tasty, and almost adds some caramel undertones to the coffee.  So smooth!

With the new direction of the blog, I hope you find it inspirational, enjoyable, and above all…honest.  I look forward to sharing so much with everyone, and the husband will be making appearances as well.  Exciting!

If you’re currently in your Keto journey – I’m proud of you!

If you’re currently thinking about Keto – I’m proud of you for exploring new options!

If you’re on your own journey – I’m proud of you for just doing something for a better “You”!

Much Love!