My husband and I began our Ketogenic lifestyle journey about two years ago…maybe a bit longer than that. When I say journey, I do mean journey. As with many lifestyle changes, it hasn’t always been easy, and we both still have moments, days, weeks, and even months (thank you, Covid, for the quarantine, where I began to eat my feelings again) where we make unhealthy choices. All in all, though, I have lost 55 pounds and kept it off…and I have the energy I can’t remember ever having before!
I struggled with my weight my entire life. I grew up with a dad who, although I know his heart was in the right place, restricted the family from having processed sugar. I would get to eat it at a birthday party or as a special treat on the holidays, but nothing more than that…or so he thought. Instead of keeping away from it, I would sneak sugary sweets. It even got to the point where I would steal from stores or I would gorge out on it at a friend’s house, which would end in an entire night of puking. My aunt’s house was my favorite place to hang out with my cousin because we got to eat Captain Crunch cereal straight outta the box! Sugar was an obsession for me and I craved it all the time.
This addiction continued well into my 20s and 30s. Married at 20 and 21, respectively, my husband and I ate up carbs like we should’ve been drinking water. This was even after my husband had a terrible scare and I had to take him to the emergency room to find out that he definitely had diabetes. We were given a tiny bit of advice (in the early 2000s in Texas, if you didn’t have insurance, you were basically a nobody in the eyes of healthcare professionals) about what to eat, but that was all. We met with a dietician one time and were basically told to cut down on the potatoes, rice, and pasta, to eat servings of meat no bigger than our fist, and only buy food that was 12g of carbs or less when we went shopping. Cut down on potatoes, rice, and pasta?! That’s all we could really afford on our full-time college/work salaries!! So, our new diet didn’t last long. We simply couldn’t afford it. Heck, we rarely ate meat anyway – it was too expensive to buy. Life moved on while Hubbster and I got less and less healthy and lost more and more energy.
One day, Hubbster told me, “I want to try a new diet. It’s Keto…” and he went on to explain it to me. Honestly, I thought he has lost his mind. Plus, we had two children now and we were living on teacher salaries – how in the heck could we afford it?! he promised that he wouldn’t let it overkill our budget, so I told him to dive in. I scoffed and rolled my eyes a lot…until…
…HE LOST 35 POUNDS IN 3 MONTHS! AND HE HAD TONS OF ENERGY! ~ SAY WHAT?!
I finally jumped on board and never looked back. Ha! Who am I kidding? I dreamed about sweets and thought about sweets ALL THE TIME. After all, I was the person who, if I was ever craving sweets, I wouldn’t go to the store, I would make whatever it was I wanted – I love to bake!
After several half attempts at Keto, I decided to knuckle-down. I removed ALL of the sugars and flours from our cupboards and replaced them with Keto-friendly options. I began pouring over websites and researching how Keto baking is so much more different than regular baking. I began to recreate my favorite recipes to be Keto-friendly. I am now very proud to say that I have at least a handful of killer sweets recipes that I have perfected through much trial and error. Of course, I still have my moments where I make the conscious choice to make an unhealthy eating choice, but I know what I’m doing to myself when I do. I no longer eat something without any knowledge of what I’m doing to my body. If anything, that has been the best part of this lifestyle – knowing everything I need to know to make healthy food choices.
One thing that some people can’t believe is that Hubbster and I have done this with no additional “Keto” supplements. The only additional thing I added to my day has been powdered MCT oil. I can’t stand the liquid when it floats on top of my coffee each morning, so powdered it is. It keeps me regular (you know what I mean) and helps my general digestion every day. This lifestyle change can be made by anyone, it’s not just for people with money. I can’t wait to start sharing some of my very favorite Keto recipes with you all!
Below are the basics of the Keto diet. It isn’t for the faint of heart and truly only the first month is a bit torturous, but it’s oh, so worth it! Of course, don’t start a diet without first consulting your doctor. I am NOT a professional healthcare provider, so all of the information provided here is my personal opinion about the Keto diet and my personal story of how it helped me. There is absolutely no guarantee that this will work for you. Please do your research before jumping into any new diet or lifestyle without the guidance of a doctor.
