I have struggled with my weight for the last 10 years or so. That being said, I have tried pretty much every diet out there. Weight Watchers, Atkins, Herbal Life, the Daniels Fast, and a few other things that I have blocked from my memory because of the scarring memories the food has left on my psyche. I tried portion control, but forget that, I love food. I really love food. But through my love for food and weight loss struggles, I’ve learned that dieting is more of a quick solution while, changing your eating habits all together is more long term.
Currently, my world has been turned upside down with Keto. I recently took a trip to British Columbia to see some old friends. While there, I heard about Keto at every turn.
It seemed that every person I talked to had tried Keto, and it was a main topic of conversation for the six days I was there. In fact, it was talked about so much, I decided to give it a whirl.
I knew it would be work. If you are not familiar with this diet, it is a careful calculation of your macros so that you consume 75% fat (the good kind) 20% protein, and only 5% carbohydrates. Using a calorie counter is highly recommended if you do not want to tear your hair out in frustration, or gain weight instead of lose it. It is also a great opportunity to learn about nutrition and portion control in order to create the healthy habits needed in making life changes instead of bouncing from diet to diet. This way we are able to maintain weight loss and eat nutritiously. This is not only a good lifestyle for ourselves, but also our children. Our children’s habits with food will be formed by what we do just like the other aspects of life. Giving them a strong start in this area is one of the best things we can do for them.
My husband, who has less to lose than me, decided he would join me on this escapade. We did the research, found out you can’t just eat cream cheese and lose weight, and made a list of groceries we needed to buy in preparation. We threw out the Ben and Jerry’s in the freezer, dumped the Wheat Thin crackers, and proceeded to add the smoked salmon, cashews, cottage cheese, Chia seeds, and coconut oil to the fridge and pantry.
The first day was torture. I didn’t know any recipes, and that coupled with a raging sugar and carb withdrawal was like having teeth pulled without Novocain, I began researching on Pinterest, and found thousands of recipes. My friend sent me recipes and videos and gave me a few tips to succeed such as using Bulletproof Coffee. After four days or so, the cravings started to go down, and so did the weight.
Will I succeed on this diet? That remains to be seen. But I do happen to be a diet guru and so here are a few tips if you want to diet and you have a full schedule:
- Never, ever grab. This is a recipe for nothing else but disaster. Grabbing means you wont eat enough, or the right things. It means you haven’t made what you will be using as fuel for your body, a priority. That means you must…
- Plan out your meals. I know this can be time consuming and even annoying. But it is the breaking point of success to lose weight on any diet. Make sure you know one or two meals in advance what you will be consuming so you don’t leave things up to fate. Fate and food don’t mix.
- Don’t get too hungry. Getting hungry on a diet where what you can eat is limited creates hysteria. It makes you hangry. If you don’t want to grab a handful of the food nearest you and chonk on it like a frantic person with wild eyes while people stare at you in disbelief, eat before you get too hungry.
- Drink plenty of water. This isn’t a big deal for me. I drink lots of water. Some people however hate water. There are tricks around this. Check out Good Girl Moonshine recipes. They are great for consuming large amounts of water in an even healthier way.
- Measure your food. This is also time consuming and annoying. But seriously, portion control is a huge problem in the Western world. When you are using a calorie counter app like My Fitness Pal, it’s hard to go back and guess how much of a certain food you ate. Measuring teaches us portion control and creates good habits. It also makes us aware of exactly what we are eating.
- Take one day at a time. The weight didn’t go on in a week, and it won’t come off in a week either. Depending on how much you have to lose, it will take some time. Be patient with yourself and whatever you are using to lose those pounds!
- Love yourself as you are. Learn to love your body as it is instead of hating it and using that as motivation to lose weight. Think of a different motivation, like, getting healthier to play more actively with your kids. You are awesome, extra pounds and all.
- Ask Jesus for help. Every struggle, goal, and adventure should be put in God’s hands, regardless of what it is. He cares about these things. Each day, ask him for strength to be successful in following whatever weight loss plan you have chosen.
- Read Lysa’s Book. Made to Crave, by Lysa Terkeurst, is a fabulous, down-to-earth book about the real struggles we face with food. It is her journey with the Lord through losing weight, and learning portion control.
- Save recipes. Coming up with ideas on your own that fit within guidelines can be tricky depending on what diet you are doing. Keto is one of those. I am constantly looking at Pinterest and saving recipes to try at some point. This helps me plan as well as make entering the food into my calorie counter easier. That way I don’t have to enter each individual ingredient in one at a time.
- Get moving. Find an exercise that you enjoy and do it consistently. Some fun options are dancing, swimming or even a family martial arts class.
I have found that the tips above make a difference in how well I do with anything I have tried. I hope they help you on your journey!
Our Results & Plan
So far, my husband and I have been doing the diet for three weeks. We have each lost 15 pounds, stopped craving carbs and sugar, and feel a difference in how much energy we have. We have noticed our stomachs feel flatter, and it takes less food to make us feel full. This is because our stomach is literally shrinking and it takes less to fill it up.
With lingering Thanksgiving leftovers and Christmas right around the corner, we know food will be everywhere. Because we are attempting to change our lifestyle habits, we are going to allow ourselves to eat whatever we want in moderation.
First Corinthians 6:12 says, “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” That means I can have a piece of apple pie, not the ENTIRE pie. Ahem.
I plan on enjoying this Christmas season using the tools I have gained through My Fitness Pal, and keeping portions under control. May you all have a blessed Christmas season and may the pounds not stick!
