Results and eventual catches with ketosis

I did not weight myself last Sunday. My stomach was protesting so I returned to my daily shot of resistant starch and waited for my gut to start doing its job again before I went up on the scale. Result: -2 kg since last time! That is - minus 2.6 kg total since I started the ketogenic diet about 3 weeks ago. (EDIT: went to the loo, got my pajamas off and got on the scale again: minus another kg! So now- minus almost 4 kg since the start!) Happy girl!! :)

My exams are starting on Friday so I really don't have time to sit here and analyze my diet :( But considering all my studying at the moment, I am really pleased to be in ketosis!! I can actually focus on the studies and don't even have to take a break for food during the day. Might not necessarily be a positive thing though. I am still a bit worried that I don't eat enough. But then again - yesterday I ate heaps instead. Just eating when I am hungry and not eating when I am not kinda makes me vary my calorie intake a lot from day to day. Sometimes fasting for 24 hours and sometimes, like yesterday, eating well above my daily intake.

So well... the only issue I can think of now is the occasional waste of food. I mean, yesterday I brought a lunchbox to uni. The appetite was completely absent. So it lay there in my backpack for several hours in room temperature and then went back to the refrigerator when I came home. Now I'm not sure if I can eat it. Waste of money on that food. But if that's the only catch - then I am more than fine with that! :)

(well sure, my breath is still a nightmare but I see that as a good sign)

Good news and progress!

Some good news today! First of all: The Economist has published an article about how wrong scientists have judged fat, and that insulin (and thereby sugar) is the real bad guy. In a Swedish Facebook group about LCHF someone described our fat of fear by writing that "getting fat by eating fat makes as much sense as if you'd get sweet by eating sugar, or green by eating greens."

Then it was time for Purple Pant Check no 3 today! Last time I checked my purple pants was three weeks ago. Check this out:

Purple pants today

 

Purple pants three weeks ago

This time, the pants got up almost all the way, my bum fits as it should which I think explains the much more flattering shape of it today, and I didn't have to struggle as much to hold the zipper gap :)
At next check, they will go up all the way to the crotch and I will be able to get the zipper up a little bit!!

Now I can't wait to get on the scale tomorrow :)
Challenge today: party and going out tonight without cheating on the diet. I almost managed yesterday with the exception of some BBQ sauce on the pizza topping that I had (without the pizza bottom).

Purple pant check and the diet thing

I think a lot about how I eat, what I eat, how and what I should eat and how/what I want to eat. Strict low carb diets are ideal, no doubt about that at all. That sort of diet has made up the basis for my food habits for about 4-5 years now. That's how I lost 20 kg once!

There are a lot of variations between different low carb diets though and I have probably tried most of them. GI diet, paleo, LCHF, primal, strict, liberal, ketogenic, dairies or no dairies, fruits or no fruits. The stricter the better is what I believe in. Unfortunately, it is not very easy to stick to if you have an interest for food and cooking as I have. It is good for my body but not for the mental well being. I feel like I am missing out on life when I am on a strict diet and I can't see myself doing it for the rest of my life.

I think that I am starting to realize what kind of diet works for me, in the long run. While I enjoy trying new diets and see how they affect my body, and probably will continue doing so, I am now focusing on a diet that provides me with a good health, does not disturb miss Sugarmonster, that is enjoyable and that supports my hunger hormones. The last part is probably the most important one. I need a diet that does not trigger binges. A strict low carb diet that consist of only meat, green vegetables, fats and eggs does not work for me. I do believe that it is the best diet you can possibly be on, but it is too strict for me to be able to follow without huge binges every now and then.

When I listen to the hardcore people who are talking about peas and red capsicums as being "forbidden food" I also kinda get annoyed. That is not how I want to live! Some food is forbidden, sure thing. But my diet will consist of natural, unprocessed food. That is the most important criteria! Then there are different degrees of "goodness":

1. Meat and eggs: As good as I can afford - hormone free, free range, organic, locally produced etc.
2. Natural fats (butter, coconut oil, olive oil)
3. Green vegetables
4. Other vegetables, berries
5. Nuts and seeds - shared position with dairies (mainly cheese)
6. Fruits, roots, peas and beans, dark chocolate (>85%)

That's about all the food that I want to include in my regular diet. On an everyday basis it is only the first 3 or 4 categories that are consumed. Plus hard cheese (no lactose there). On the weekends I usually become more liberal and include some products from the other categories as well. Forbidden food has added sugar (I can allow myself natural sweeteners such as ripe bananas or honey sometimes), trans fats, lots stuff in the ingredient lists that I don't know what it is (e-numbers, preservatives etc.), palm oil and gluten. Artificial sweeteners are avoided but preferred to sugar (e.g. I bought sugarfree Strepsils for my throat yesterday).

This kind of diet allows me to experiment and give myself treats. It is considered healthy by most people. It is low carb. My stomach is working properly. I have energy. Miss Sugarmonster is usually absent. It helps keeping me aware of my hunger hormones (I feel hunger and I am capable of having normal sized portions). My blood sugar is stable. I do not binge!

This is the focus I have right now. I've never had that focus on my food habits before. It has always been about following strict rules made up by someone else about what I should eat and when. Now it is about my own functioning and learning how to get a healthy relationship with food. What works for me regardless of what other people say.

And - here's an update of how my beautiful purple pants fit a couple of days ago! :)

Still looks absolutely terrible but, I can get them over my bum anyway. And that's after only three weeks!

Mission started!

So the idea is to use this as an inspirational platform for myself to keep on going in my health mission. I have done it before and I KNOW that I can do it again!!

I managed to get into the best shape I've ever been in by losing 20 kg over... two years or so. Then the tough shit began (life happened y'know) and I gained more than 10 of them again. Now I've tried and tried to drop them again and nothing happens. So here I am exposing myself to the world to see if that helps. And I have done it before so if I manage again - then maybe I'll even be able to give some helpful advice to someone else :)

Here's the deal - these pants will fit again! Like a glove!!!