I started the Keto Diet a couple of months ago.
Do you know what the Keto diet is? I did not before I started it. I have now learned that it is basically a no carbohydrate/high protein diet.
The first few days on it were really tough. I felt sluggish to be sure.
But after a while, I realized that I had lost my craving for food, particularly late at night. Before Keto, I would love to have something before I go to bed. My favorite at that time of night has always been a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, ideally on Wonder Bread.
Sure enough after a couple of months I have lost 15 pounds. Not bad.
I am still on the Keto diet however. The reason is that I want to lose another 15 to 20 pounds. So far I am not having much success in losing the next 15 or so pounds. We will see.
But, let’s talk about the food that I can’t eat with this diet.
No more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Wonder Bread.
No more grilled cheese sandwiches on sourdough bread. No more Peanut M&M’s. No more dried apricots. And on and on and on. No more tuna melts. No more toast or bread on any sandwiches whatsoever. No more grapefruit juice for breakfast. No more navel oranges. No more apples. No more carrots with hummus.
I am keeping track of what I am eating on an app entitled Senza. I enter everything that I eat, and the app totals the calories, carbs, proteins and fats.
There have been some real surprises. For example, I thought blueberries would be wonderful on Keto, but no. not at all. 4 ounces (or half a cup) of blueberries has 63 calories and also 14 carbs. My daily allowance of carbs is 25. 14 represents 56% of my entire day’s carbs allowed.
Now I search long and hard in grocery stores for Keto friendly food. I have found, much to my delight, Keto ice cream. Yea! I have found Keto Chocolate Chip cookies. Yes!! 4 mini cookies have a total of 5 carbs and no sugar.
The reality is that the diet is difficult to keep when you are traveling and visiting friends.
I am not sure whether it is the Keto diet or what else, but lately I have been experiencing a tremendous desire to stop at a DQ (Dairy Queen). When I see a DQ on the side of the road, I immediately and dramatically steer the vehicle I am in to the DQ. Then I wait patiently in the drive thru line to order my mint chocolate chip Blizzard. Yes, siree.
Postscript. As I look back over my blog post I just realized that I have spent most of the time writing about what I can’t have with the Keto diet. Most paragraphs are full of M&Ms, chocolate chip cookies, Blizzards, ice cream, PB&J’s, blueberries, etc. I guess this tells me that I still have an egregiously enlarged sweet tooth – Keto or not.
Looks like a lot of Cholesterol? I’m so short I’m always on a diet. Now I eat for breakfast: scrambled eggs on a flour tortilla i fry it in a little olive oil, or oatmeal. I’ve been going to Trader Joe’s, they have salads already made, in bags with lettuce etc and then the dressing is in another bag. Then maybe I’ll have an avocado or a chicken breast. I don’t eat anything after 3:00pm …I have to loose 3lbs, very hard…
Having recently survived triple bypass surgery, I am on a Pritikin-style diet that is opposite your Keto diet. I eat mostly vegetables and fruit, no added sugars to anything. No salt. No saturated fats. Lots of fish, lean chicken and very little red meat. I have lost 35 pounds since January, but I envy your dietary flexibility!
Congratulations on your 15 lbs! That’s quite an accomplishment, on any diet. By the way, I dislike that word ‘diet’. Can we change it to ‘way of eating’. May I make a suggestion Neil to get you back on your path of losing the next 15 … try Noom. I think you would like it, more your way of thinking, they encourage eating fruits and vegetables….not so much Wonder Bread, but they don’t say you can’t have it…everything in moderation! Read about it Noom.com.
I’m with you on this journey to trim down. My accomplishment 7 pounds so far. But…I get it! Travel is not so easy on the waistline and DQ always turns my head! Maybe, next month I’ll get back on target…. Here’s to mutual success!
Actually, Keto is a lifestyle not a diet. On Keto you have low carbs with moderate protein. Carbs 20-50 depending on if you need to get healthy. Protein is normally 3-6 ounces or a good measurement is the size of you palm. When you get healthy the weight will come off. Congratulations 🎉 on the 15 pounds.