Mid Life Middle

Ketogenic Life Style

I have spent my whole life struggling with weight, so it’s been more than a mid-life middle. I am sure I am not a lone on that path. Having a family, running errands’, coaching teams and organizing events for school or scouts no fat should be found, right? Yet I still never lost weight, as much as I ran I should have been a bean pole. This was not a new problem I was heavy in school, went through the bullying and snide comments. Come to find out my thyroid was not working, but I did not find that out until my thirties.

As I got older I noticed that there was a lot of muscle to go with that fat. Still every diet I did I would lose the weight and gain it and more right back. Or worse I was hungry all the time and then I would break and that was the end. I came to the mind set “oh well who cares!” I am just going to live life for all its worth. My mantra then was “You only get one trip around this world, enjoy it”

Western Diet Fail

Well that might have sounded good but the older I got the worse I felt. I drank at least 16 bottles of Mountain Dew a week. Everything we ate was processed, full of preservatives and loaded in sodium, the western diet fail. I have hypothyroidism, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and worried about becoming diabetic. Well my diet was not helping me at all! The only vegetables I ate were peas, corn, carrots and potatoes! I was known for saying “I am a carnivore, not a rabbit!” Well that is the typical western diet and most American eats this way. There maybe a few more vegetables then I ate but Americans eat a lot of easy grab and go food.

I tried many different diets but in October of last year I started researching Keto. Thinking this one sounds great, bacon, meat, cheese oh yeah I can do this. Well before I get into the basics of Keto let me tell you I am down 40 pounds in four months! I am never hungry, I do not crave sugar anymore and my cholesterol test came back perfect! I have an abundance of energy and my health has improved.

Keto is not a diet; it is a way of living

So now let me explain what Keto is. It is not a diet; it is a way of living! Keto will change your body from burning sugar to burning fat. Sugar is an easy energy source and the body will go to it first. However sugar does not last long and hence we get those sugar crashes. When your body burns fat it does not store it in your arteries or your waistline. It has to work harder to turn the fat into energy so your body is more efficient. Limiting the sugar helps level your glucose, the body can produce the glucose you need.

High Fat, Low Carb

Keto is a high fat, low carb diet and by low carb the goal is staying under 20 grams a day to lose weight. High fat means high, 150 or more grams a day. When people hear this they kind of freak! Keto goes against everything that the American diet is. I seriously have a hard time finding full fat anything in the grocery store. Protein is important but unless you are really working out and you do not need to for keto protein is moderate. Women only need 40 -50 grams and men 50 to 60 grams. My fitness pal is a great way to track your numbers. I tracked the first two month but now I know what I can and cannot have. It gets easier the longer you do keto.

Keto is really simple

We have been taught that fat is bad and we should avoid it. In some aspects that is true, there are bad fats. Those are the ones that are manmade, the hydrogenated oil and oil blends. Keto is really simple; eat the items that come from the earth. Eat food as close to natural as possible. Butter is not bad for you, nor is eggs or bacon. Olive oil is much better then corn, canola or vegetable. You do have to give up some things! All bread, pasta and potatoes are loaded in carbs, so those are out. Sugar is out, this one can be tricky, because sugar is hidden everywhere. This is where reading the labels comes in handy.

Fat is good

It takes a while to adjust your mind set that fat is good. Once you have your body in ketosis (not ketoacidosis) your body will burn the fat and you will notice you are not mindlessly eating. You will not have those terrible sugar crashes. I never thought I would be able to fast and on a traditional western diet I could not. Since I started Keto I have been able to do 48 hour fast without thought. That is thanks to the fat.

Happy Ketoing

Above is my before and after, I still have 15 pound to go to reach my goal. Then I can add

a few more carbs back in to my diet to maintain. I have never seen any other diet that gave me so much control of my weight and my eating. Throughout this post I have places some resource to help you research Keto. Check them out, do your own research. I will be posting more on keto and tips to help you along and support you. Until that time check out this facebook group Ketogenic Success, they are a wealth of information and support. If you have questions I would be happy to answer just send me a message. This is one change that I am so glad I made and will never go back to the western diet. Happy Ketoing!