Keto worked for me years ago, but this time around, it turned out to be a bad option for me to choose.
About 4 weeks in I started feeling really sick. So I went to the doctor and got some blood tests and a physical. Turns out, I am just not a great candidate for Keto. The pain was from my Gallbladder, which was not loving the high fat content of my diet. The weight loss was kicking in, but at a cost too high. The blood work also indicates that I should be on a much different diet. Low carb and high protein, but low fat as well. Basically the Mediterranean diet best describes what I am doing now.
I liked Keto because I felt full and it was really easy to meal prep for. Now meal prep takes several hours on the weekend and costs quite a bit more. Veggies and healthy meats – they are not cheap and they take time to prep. I am also pretty hungry most of the time since fat content is low, the fiber from veggies and whole grains and nuts and sees are supposed to make me feel full, but I am also not a squirrel, so there is that.
To help I grabbed a few books off of Amazon because the recipes and suggestions online are overwhelming and crazy unclear. I also hate reading between 45 columns of ads. Seriously, the recipe is broken up all over the infinite scrolling page of ads, and it’s difficult to read. Because ads seem to favor overusing AJAX that does not load inline correctly, the page is constantly refreshing – losing my place in the recipe. This non-squirrel gets frustrated really fast.
The Books
The main steps to follow the diet include:
- Each day, eat vegetables, fruits, whole grains and plant-based fats.
- Each week, have fish, poultry, beans, legumes and eggs.
- Enjoy moderate portions of dairy products.
- Limit how much red meat you eat.
- Limit how many foods with added sugar you eat.
CrossFit
I also added CrossFit back in. It’s been years … and I am really, really out of shape. All I do is walk 5 or so miles a day, which is nothing. I am hoping that between the eating and the CrossFit that I can get myself back in shape quickly and then maintain it for the rest of my life.