Ok, time to get real again. The job stress is hitting a crescendo right now because of a major project that’s coming online at the end of next week. On top of that, E.J’s been gone over a week and won’t be back until Friday, which is exactly when I will need to be focusing on work instead of him.
Avoiding the sugar dragon right now is not an option.
But I’m back to running 30 minutes 3 times a week, now that my knee is better, and I’m not willing to give into the extra lbs that keep trying to creep back on, just because I’m stressed. So what’s a Paleo person supposed to do to keep things under control?
Have you heard of this Keto stuff? E.J. suggested I look into it.
Keto is a cousin of the Paleo diet that’s more focused on weight loss than long term health, and basically while you give up carb-heavy veggies like sweet potatoes, beets, and butternut squash, you add back in small amounts of cheese and sugar substitutes like erythritol (Swerve). Other than that, the diets are similar to a “Primal” Whole 30. The point is to get your body into ketosis, where it starts burning fat instead of carbs for energy. And based on everything I’ve read, it seemed like it would be worth a try.
So last week I pulled up one of those “Fat Bomb” recipes off of Pinterest, just to see if I could handle the sweetener. My weakest part of the day is craving a sweet finish after dinner. The first night I had one after dinner, I tried one along with some decaf coffee to see if it would satisfy. My first impression was how “fake” and strange the sweetener tasted compared to the natural sugars I had been enjoying in maple syrup and honey. After about half an hour, I also had some very unpleasant stomach aching and a lot of intestinal discomfort. But slowly over the rest of the week, the intestinal issues subsided as my body adjusted and figured out how to digest it.
Would you believe that I dropped 3 lbs in 4 days? I’m being careful to only use cheese sparingly for flavor, and still using coconut milk as a cream substitute, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of this. Today, I made this Quiche Lorraine along with some Crock Pot southwest chicken for lunches, and it was awesome. Mom and Brendon had some for lunch today, and both pronounced it a winner.
I actually feel like I have a formula now that will get me through the next couple of weeks and I won’t automatically be gaining 5 lbs. In fact, if the last few days are any indication, I might be back to my lowest by my birthday at the end of the month.
Wouldn’t that be a nice present!!??
My trainer has me on Keto. Been doing it just about three weeks now. I think it’s been a great move for me.
How have your energy levels been? I woke up this morning with seriously low energy, even though I got plenty of sleep. Do you think it’s temporary, or is it something you struggle with long-term on keto?
Well, I posted a long reply to you, but it didn’t post…so I’ll summarize!
I did have a headache 2-3 day in, but don’t know if that was all due to keto. I’ve been doing Paleo so long it wasn’t really a hard transition for me. But since I am tracking everything now it was a real eye opener as to how many carbs I was truly eating from veggies – so now I am very picky about veggies. Also, the ONLY fruit I’m eating now is grapes and only b/c they are a crucial ingredient to my favorite chicken salad (LOL) and b/c I take them when I lift in case I need a little boost!
Also, cravings are completely gone! I wasn’t even tempted by a cheesy pizza OR the yummy breadsticks at Olive Garden! I thought I had cut out all that stuff on Paleo, but with keto I have REALLY cut it all out!
But I will add – while it wasn’t really hard to turn down the chips at Mexican restaurants I was sad turning them down b/c I LOVE them so much!!