A friend asked for more details about my transformation and weight loss journey that started in December 2017, and to date, March 7, 2020, I have lost and kept off 65 pounds following an Ancestral/Keto lifestyle, meaning: I eat low carb, medium protein, and high good fats; I move daily (walking the dog for 45 minutes counts!); and I sleep enough to recharge my brain for optimal living.
3 Tips for Success When Starting on Keto
1. Eliminating alcohol: I quit drinking in December 2017, and for me, this was a huge part of my success story, but mostly because I was drinking a lot of wine daily, and those calories added up… Also, I wasn’t making the best food/life choices when I was sauced up.
2. Eating out: I don’t eat out much anymore, and when I do, I usually just get a salad with some kind of protein. Not eating out is mostly because my home cooked meals are better than 99% of local restaurants, and I’ve gotten REALLY fussy about where my food, especially meat, is sourced. So, that’s mostly a personal choice, but I know people who can balance restaurant meals and Keto quite successfully, but you have to be willing to be particular when you place your order (and that’s OK).
3. What’s in your house? My husband and I did a serious pantry purge when we switched to Ancestral living. We threw out or donated any foods that were not supposed to cross our lips. This was an important step that I recommend you not skip. Trust me… My parents came to visit for Thanksgiving 2018, and my dad bought some Pringles and left them in the pantry when they went home, and for me, those chips were like having crack in the house–and even after 4-pages of journaling about why I shouldn’t, I ended up eating the whole damn thang! I chalked up my relapse to a learning experience, and used it to remind myself that I can’t have stuff like that around… So, instead, my pantry contains a million types of delicious, nutritious nuts that arrive on scheduled orders so I never run out.
The crux of my journey–everyone’s is different–but mine was about getting unhealthy ADDICTIONS out of my life. Ones I wasn’t even willing to admit to myself were addictions: Sugar, carbs, alcohol, negative/nihilistic people–I’m working on digital minimalism and less screen time now.
So to answer your question about “a normal life,” you have to ask yourself what is “normal”? Is society’s definition of “normal” what YOU want, or is what society accepts as “OK” really unhealthy/less than optimal/possibly not what you want or need to be your best YOU?
I no longer take my cues from what’s “normal” but rather from: What do **I** want? I want to be healthy long-term and have an excellent quality of living, which means **I** have to WORK AT IT BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE CAN DO IT FOR ME. I want to look my best for my age. I want to EMBODY a life free of as much statism as I can muster, which means eliminating the toxic stuff that is regarded as “normal” in our lives, but that isn’t normal, acceptable, or good for us… Like the Standard American Diet (SAD!) and the entire middle part of a grocery store…
The other major change I made is getting enough sleep–we read in bed and are asleep by 10pm, and up around 5am.
Three books I found inspiring when I started this journey:
This Naked Mind by Annie Grace;
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis; and
Bright Line Eating by Susan Peirce Thompson.
I’ll tell you the secret of my success: STICKING TO THE PROGRAM. When I stopped making exceptions, and stopped “negotiating” with myself (which created a lot of cyclical/negative mind-talk) and just DID THE RIGHT THINGS, it became EASY. THAT’S how you form new and better habits. (I even stopped biting my nails–after 45 years!)
Now, getting to a place where you can do that, isn’t so easy, but those three books will lead you in the right direction. The other thing is once you get your hormones/sugar levels in balance and are eating right, you genuinely don’t get hungry/cravings anymore, and it all gets pretty awesome, easy, and ends up simply being how you live and are.
In other words: *YOU* CONTROL HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE AND IT IS A DAILY CHOICE, SO CHOOSE WISELY. ?
Keep me posted and GOOD LUCK! I’m proof positive it works!
[EDIT: This post first appeared on Facebook on February 6, 2019.]