Survival for beginning a Ketogenic diet – first, check with your doctor about doing a Ketogenic diet. Chances are they
1.) Haven’t heard of it,
2.) Don’t believe in it when medication is so much more profitable, I mean easier, to give you, or
3.) Have heard of it but have zero knowledge or education about it.
STEP ONE: Decide this is what you want to do.
Once you’ve decided, also decide that you are no longer going to eat for emotional reasons. Celebrating, congratulating or commiserating with food is no longer a “thing”. We eat to fuel our bodies; not because it’s your birthday, your kid is going off to college, you just got a promotion, your just lost your job, your dog died, it’s Christmas/Easter/4th of July/Thanksgiving… these are all emotional reasons. We are not feeding our emotions with food. It’s over. Say goodbye.
Chips, crackers, cookies, rice, pasta, potatoes… say goodbye. These are not fuels that your body “requires”. Once you become fat adapted your body will be fueled by ketones and not empty carbohydrates. You won’t eliminate these things forever, but for the foreseeable future, you will. Adios empty, meaningless carbohydrates!
You are NEVER required to explain your diet to anyone, so don’t fall “victim” to it. I call BULLSHIT on this “excuse”. If you’re going to a family gathering or some kind of a party where you feel anxious about what will be offered, GET OVER IT. Get educated and gain the confidence that what you are doing is what is best for you. Don’t explain yourself. This brings emotions into the equation. Defending yourself can bring on anxiety, fear, insecurity – you are smart. You are resourceful. Get the answers to address the questions if you feel compelled to. I can tell you a simple answer of “I don’t put that in my body anymore” will shut up even the most persistent food-police. People are jealous and insecure themselves, and when they question what you’re doing, they are projecting. Don’t allow it. Move on from the topic.
The question of, “Why are you not eating mashed potatoes and gravy anymore, they’re your FAVORITE!” is easily answered with: “They make me feel awful. And I don’t want to feel awful anymore.”
What will you eat until you’re in ketosis? You will eat fewer than 65 grams of carbohydrates, for many, however – deep and quick ketosis will come when you eat fewer than 25 grams. Yes it’s hard, but you can do hard things.
You will feel like crap. Deal with it.. you’ve done things to your body which require “undoing”.
Make sure you are getting in your magnesium and sodium. Pickle juice is a good idea. Pink Himalayan salt is a great idea. Use it every morning. There are other nutrients and supplements you should consider, but that can come after some reading and learning that you will do.
Make sure you are using essential oils to support your emotions and tell your family you’re going to be a real pain in the ass to deal with until you get this worked out.
If you’re hungry, you’re doing it right, UNTIL ketosis is obtained. If you’re hungry after that, you probably didn’t have enough fat and protein at your last meal. YOU WILL NEED TO JOURNAL YOUR FEELINGS AND YOUR HUNGER LEVELS as a way to “get it out” and vent! DO IT. It works. Pray about it. Complain about it on social media.. whatever it takes to KEEP CONTROL OF IT, and don’t go off track. Just hold tight, the good stuff will happen.
The magic happens BETWEEN MEALS. If you have not embraced Time Restricted Feeding, or Intermittent Fasting you can skip this for now. I like a 16 hour overnight fast, and 4 hours between meals during the day. Agree with this or don’t; it’s how I do things backed by some seriously healing fasting blood sugar numbers which proved to me that it’s working. Also, lower appetite and letting my body HEAL instead of focusing on digesting food every 3-4 hours. I also have POWER in fasting. I KNOW that I can go without food when I need to. I no longer “freak out” when I haven’t eaten for a few hours, I call it a “fast” and then it becomes a game of how long I can push it. The longer, the better. Ketosis gets deeper, healing happens… (This is only true for those who are fat adapted/in ketosis/ketone fueled – NOT for those who still require glucose!)
I need to emphasize how important it is do “DECIDE” to do a ketogenic lifestyle. There are no “cheat days” in ketosis. Once you’re in, you’re in – once you’re out, you’re out.
Once you’re IN, the benefits are enormous: Appetite suppression, sugar cravings are eliminated, you don’t need to eat every 3 hours, your brain uses ketones for fuel which means you’re sharp AF, and once you plow through the keto flu, you will have energy for days.
Once you’re OUT, the bummer begins: Sugar cravings will return with a vengeance and you could even go in the opposite direction, quickly. Appetite will return and you’ll be hungry every 2-3 hours just like before. You’ll have brain fog. You’ll want to eat everything that isn’t nailed down. And most importantly, you’ll need to get BACK into ketosis. (Cheater’s recommendation: showmehowto.pruvitnow.com – KETO OS.. basically a quick drop into ketosis by putting ketones back into your blood stream. It’s a great way to get the benefits without the work, but if it’s not backed by your eating plan, it’s very temporary. Like, 3 – 4 hours. For the price, I use it when I need a jump back into ketosis.)
“You can not manage what you do not measure”
Write it down, seriously. Why aren’t you writing it down? You’ve heard it a THOUSAND TIMES, but you NEED TO JOURNAL YOUR FOOD. Why? So you can see what you’re doing to yourself! Find where your emotional blocks are, find out how you feel when you eat 2 slices of pie, 14 oreos, 3 bags of Cheetos, a bowl of brownie batter and 9 warm chocolate chip cookies. You see, you shouldn’t just journal your food, but HOW you feel when you eat it. If you’re going to do it, just own it already. “I feel like shit and I’m going to eat a bowl of brownie batter.” Just be sure that afterwards you also journal: “I still feel like shit and the brownie batter didn’t help at all.” Also, “I feel like I could take a 4 hour nap, my heart is racing and my stomach kinda hurts”.. if you manage diabetes or blood sugar levels, CHECK YOUR SUGAR after you do something stupid. That’ll teach ya! Once you see what’s actually HAPPENING in your body when you do dumb things, you can LEARN. Stop ignoring what your body is trying to tell you. IT KNOWS.
Read a book. LEARN why your body does the things it does. Here are some suggestions:
If you’ve been diagnosed diabetic (fasting blood sugar over 100 more than TWICE, or an A1C reading over 7.0) then you’ll wanna scare the crap out of yourself and read this:
https://smile.amazon.com/Diabetic-Body-Owners-Manual/dp/1412713048/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482784585&sr=8-1&keywords=the+diabetic+body
Get the BASICS in an easy to read format, here:
https://smile.amazon.com/Keto-Clarity-Definitive-Benefits-Low-Carb/dp/1628600071/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482781015&sr=8-1&keywords=keto+clarity
…and because you will get asked about your cholesterol levels, you’ll want to read this too:
https://smile.amazon.com/Cholesterol-Clarity-What-Wrong-Numbers/dp/1936608383/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482781066&sr=8-1&keywords=cholesterol+clarity
Here’s where the science comes from for OKL (Optimal Ketogenic Living):
https://smile.amazon.com/Art-Science-Low-Carbohydrate-Living/dp/0983490708/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482780957&sr=8-1&keywords=the+art+and+science+of+low+carbohydrate+living
Here’s the OKL chart:
Optimal Ketogenic Living Facebook group page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/OKL4Vitality/
Recipes from said lifestyle:
https://www.facebook.com/oklrecipes/?fref=ts
Bulletproof (this is where the coffee recipe comes from):https://smile.amazon.com/Bulletproof-Diet-Reclaim-Energy-Upgrade/dp/162336518X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482780986&sr=8-1&keywords=the+bulletproof+diet
When you’re ready for IF or TRF, read this:
https://smile.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Fasting-Intermittent-Alternate-Day/dp/1628600012/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482784342&sr=8-1&keywords=jason+fung+complete+guide+to+fasting
Women and KETO, lots of good information if hormones are an issue for you:
http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/
Trim Healthy Mama is another great way to go – however, it’s not going to be a truly ketogenic plan unless you stick with S meals, which they recommend against.
This was off the top of my head. Feel free to ask questions and once I figure out how to see them and answer them, I will update the post.
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I don’t know what I’m doing. Like, with a degree to prove it, anyway.
I read a lot and I just know what worked for me.
Since I get so many questions, I’m sharing that information here, on my “blog”.
I guess that means I’m a blogger. Blargh.
Becky Fangmann
Missouri
happilyhippiechic 