Hey world! What a crazy month it has been.
We moved 3 weeks ago! Hard to believe it's been that long. We also fought a stomach bug and had to eat out for 10 days. Let's just say I lost my first diet bet - but I'm really glad I did it because I can't imagine how bad off I would have been after the move had I not been focused on something positive for the three weeks prior.
It's funny when your diet changes how much your mood changes, which I definitely felt during the move time. Goodness eating out that much is expensive, too.
We are just about fully settled in and finding some sort of groove to life in this new town. Exploring some, making friends, discovering cool things about the city and...this amazing thing I seemed to have forgotten about for awhile - COOKING!
We have a decent size kitchen in the little house we are renting. The commute to work is super easy, its 5 miles away and traffic isn't too terrible even though I'm working in the heart of downtown. We are enjoying hunting for our dream house (not terribly earnestly now, just seeing what is around) and figuring out where things are.
Y'all. I can get to 2 Publixs within 3 miles. This is big. There's also a Whole Foods here! And 3 Ross Stores. And 2-3 TJ Maxx's. And 2 Kohls. LOL! Ask me how I know. Driving around alot.
If you've stayed with me for any length of my journey you will know that my preferred method of eating is paleo. I love meat and veggies, fruit, healthy fat and volume, most of all. Paleo is how I ate when I was training regularly and at my strongest and fittest. I've struggled to find my way back there as I knew I wasn't ready for a Whole 30 per se but also knew I needed to do something with some structure in order to find my way back to healthy. It's not like turning around and going back the way you came when behind me is an angel baby, a rainbow baby, a job change, two moves and a year of providing complete nutrition to my baby boy. I can't walk backwards. But I can pull from my past experience to move ahead positively.
While I have loved my very different Whole 30 experiences (I've completed 10 total), I also know that sometimes you have to shake it up a bit.
I had been reading about ketosis and the effects of a higher fat, moderate protein, super low carb way of eating and it really peaked my interest. What's important, now matter how you choose to eat, which "way" needs to include food you LIKE. A grilled chicken and broccoli diet (even though I do love both of those things) if you don't like them, isn't sustainable. The more I read and researched about Ketosis, the more I wondered if it would do for me what it's done and is doing for a great many people.
Like many things, people sometimes take a "fad" diet or idea that becomes popular and take off down the trails doing it, well, incorrectly. I found that Mark Sisson, the author of Primal Blueprint and many other books, a long time athlete and leader in the Paleo/Primal arena, was writing a book called the Keto Reset Diet to really explain the science behind the Keto way of eating and how to do it correctly.
Some of the benefits that others have found getting into Ketosis:
- Lost weight (considerable amounts)
- Less hungry overall
- More energy
- More alert
- Sleeping better
And the list goes on. I need all of those things. But I was skeptical, really, because a high fat diet goes against everything we've been taught in the Standard American Diet (or SAD) protocols. Old habits die hard! I was also skeptical because I've always been a volume eater. I like to be able to eat alot and need to in order to be satiated. I heard about people fasting and I'm like, look, I CAN do that but I don't want to so this should be interesting...
What I have learned is that fat in and of itself (especially good fat from whole food/natural sources) doesn't make you fat. Fast food, does. Inactivity, does. The wrong combinations and not enough nutrients can, and will make you feel sick. The goal is not to always have to be super restrictive with carbohydrates. Mark explains in his book that the goal is to become metabolically flexible. Where you can have things outside of your normal diet here and there without gaining 10 pounds (my normal experience with cheat days and post whole 30 etc).
So 2 weeks ago I began a metabolic reset diet which has a target of 50g of carbs or less per day.
Y'all. That's REALLY HARD. Eventually many experience ketosis on 20g or less of carbs per day. I'm not sure how I will do that when 50 is hard to stay under. LOL! But heck, I decided to give it a try.
I've kept my calories around 1800-1900 with a ratio of 65% fat, 25% protein and 10% carb. I started at 286.6 pounds, so yeah, my calories are higher than your average friend. Don't get all caught up on the numbers. I tracked around 4 days of the last two weeks, just every now and then to see how I was doing.
Here's what I've experienced so far:
- Lost 9.6 pounds (in 13 days)
- I look different. My body shape is changing.
- Sleeping much harder.
- Skin is 100% clear and has a healthy glow about it.
- More alert and awake at work, extra productive.
- Amazingly satiated and rarely hungry.
Friends, I'm actually fasting through breakfast on most days. I may have some black coffee or if I wake a little hungry I have some bulletproof coffee (for me that's a tbsp of butter, coconut oil or coconut butter and a tablespoon of collagen blended up). There are different schools of thought on whether or not the BPC actually breaks a fast, but I am really enjoying it most days. I did not intend to fast, but have found it easier with my work schedule. Then I eat my lunch at the regular lunch time, sometimes a snack in the afternoon (raw cashews are my current jam), dinner, and am done eating by 7:30pm or 8pm at the latest. Then a 15-17 hour fast until the next day's meal. So my eating window is 7-9 hours total.
I'm not certain how much the diet change or intermittent fasting, or what is contributing to the great results so far, but I feel really good and really, truly love what I'm eating, so I'm going to keep on going. I've been trying new recipes and entertaining dairy again in my diet (so weird but it fits) and my family has really enjoyed my cooking. I will likely tweak the fasting, and my carbs will likely fluctuate as my activity increases, as well.
I walked 3 times this week! Considering I battled a migraine one night this week out of nowhere, I am pretty happy with that. Hoping to walk more next week.
Head on over to my Facebook page for a few food pictures from the week. And you can learn more about the Keto Reset by joining the Facebook group, buying Mark's book, the Keto Reset Diet, and also Mark's Daily apple, his blog.
In the meantime, no matter what way of eating you're embracing right now I hope you are loving it, it's loving you, and you find yourself in a good head space. I'm liking my current headspace, very much.
Hugs,
Clara
No comments:
Post a Comment