Today is Tuesday, September 20, 2016. There are 2 days of summer left in 2016. How’d that happen?
This summer went by fast, filled with heavy downs and some decent ups. I will not get into specifics, but this year is a darker shade of gray, stained by death and cancer in our families. Everyone deals and copes in their way, but I am looking forward to a fall of healing and family time.
On a personal note, my search for health progresses and does so rather well. I’ve now lost over 55 lbs, am back to my “old” skinny clothes and am feeling great!
I haven’t suffered a migraine in a while, which is something I always battle. I think the ketogenic and low-carb lifestyle I adopted helps. I intend to do some research to support this. Migraines are no fun and mine can get intense, leaving me seeing visual auras to go with head-cracking pain.
Keto
I’ve been preaching and hollering about the ketogenic diet to all my family and friends. I think this might have saved my life and that’s not an exaggeration (OK, maybe a slight one).
I was feeling tired, lethargic and had pains and aches everywhere at my heaviest. I also suffered from migraines and just felt damn bad. Perhaps I am being a little melodramatic, but I did fear dropping from a heart attack at work, so my situation was getting serious.
Still, the final push came from a trip I took with my kids to Knott’s Berry Farm here in the LA area. I rode a roller-coaster with my kid and the lap belt fit… but tight. I could still ride most coasters, but it embarrassed me. After that, I decided I would not go through that again and I would not skip rides due to my weight.
I acknowledged that the problem was me, my weight, not the coaster or lap belt. I had to change and so I did.
How’d I do it? Well, here is the basic Keto diet:
- Eat plenty of fat from healthy sources: fat from meats like bacon, butter, cheeses, avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, etc.
- Eat enough protein to sustain yourself. Keep this to 80 – 120 g depending on your weight and level of activity. Further reading: How much protein do we really need?
- Eat 20 g or lower of carbohydrates. These should be “incidental” carbs, meaning you are not eating breads, pastas, rice, potatoes, etc. The carbs will come from veggies, nuts, meats (sausages and processed meats may have added sugar), and sauces / seasonings. Again, try to keep the total daily carb intake to below 20 g.
That is how one does keto. Simple, right?
How you approach this and your creativity is what makes all the difference. For example, I now can make foods that seemed impossible to enjoy without “messing up” my diet. I make cheesecake, pizza, calzones, breads (flax seed, coconut / almond flour), pancakes, diet sodas of all flavors, ice cream, creamy iced coffees, etc.
Add to that all that you can eat (meats, fish, chicken, eggs, butter, oils, veggies, nuts) and each meal can be not only restaurant quality, but healthy.
I believe that to stick to a ketogenic diet, you have to know why you can and should not consume certain foods, how to “cheat” with minimal impact, and most importantly, why you are doing this and how it works.
I found learning about insulin, leptin and ghrelin and the critical part these hormones play on our weight and cardiovascular health empowered and motivated me. Also, learning about macro and micro nutrients and ratios is of great benefit, too.
With this knowledge, those donuts I used to enjoy every weekend just don’t seem as palatable anymore – although I will go thru craving periods that I satisfy in healthy ways.
Want more details about how I lost 55 lbs in about 6 months? Drop me a line and I’ll send you links and some sources for further reading.
To your health and to 2016!
