Ketogenic Way of Life: A Journey to better health and healing Endocrine Issues!
ketogirl77
Posts: 7 Member
Hello everyone!
I lost 80 lbs 4 years ago when I started a Ketogenic way of life. I was 37 then. at 39 I had health/mental issues that set me back and I gained all of my weight back over a two year period, while I was healing. Now I am back to a Ketogenic way of eating/lifestyle. This time my husband is joining me. It is a big change for him, I am helping him through the keto flu right now. I hope that this time around it will be easier. I look forward to not having to cook two kinds of meals.
Health Issues
I have PCOS(Infertility), High Blood Pressure, Insulin resistance and CAH.
When I lost all the weight the first time I also regulated my hormones and was able to get off of all the medications I was on.
I had so much more energy, I had better moods. I had a regular menstruation, and my blood pressure lowered.
I can't say that I am able to heal my CAH but I am able to keep all the other issues at bay with a LCHF way of life.
One of my goals the first time around was to TTC. After 10 years of infertility treatments and doctors help, we decided to give it a rest. I was so sad and depressed. I gained even more weight and ended up 37 years old and 275 lbs at my heaviest. I had to make real and lasting changes. Conventional doctors were not helping me.
SO I went online to try and figure out what I should be doing. I took my power back and I created goals and a plan to loose the weight. Get off of the meds and try to get pregnant naturally. After all I was going to be 40 soon and then it would be harder than ever.
Enter Ketogenic diets.
I researched the science behind this diet for 6 months. I read medical journals, I watched videos on you tube. I followed people who were doing it and how they did it. I planned to ween myself off of sugars and carbs gradually so I wouldn't experience a "Keto flu" when I started full Keto.
I made meal plans, started to gather all of the ingredients that were new to me, for recipes. I started to replace snacks and foods I ate with keto foods I was learning to make.
I replaced the sugars I was used to with new ones, liquid Stevia drops, Pyure, Lakanto sugar, Sukrin.
Doing the work.
It wasn't hard, because I had been keeping a food journal for a few months as well. I wasn't concerning myself with calories or carbs at first. I was just writing it all down. I was writing down what I was feeling emotionally and how foods I ate made me feel physically. I was doing this really hard work of being accountable to myself. I was trying to get a grip on my emotional eating issues before I turned my world upside down. It was cathartic to say the least.
Saying goodbye.
I made the transition to Keto while we were also moving from our home in MA to our new Homestead in ME.
5 hours away from my husbands childhood hometown to our new Garage and 13 acres. We were building a one room apartment and an attached bathroom onto the garage. getting a chicken coop built and starting to plan for our gardens and orchards. There was a lot going on for us and I was a crazy woman weighing out all of my foods, typing in recipes to a calculator online 5 times a day!
I was cleaning, painting, packing and trying to spend quality time with friends and family before we moved away for good. It was a long process and I was loosing weight and a chapter of our life was ending.
I am hoping to be a champion for this lifestyle, for someone who needs to change their life and health. I want to help others know that after years of health issues and failure to lose weight, that there is hope.
I would love to chat with anyone who is interested in learning more about my Wholefood Keto lifestyle.
I don't do the traditional 20 carbs on Keto. I am after a more wholesome type of eating style that supports my hormones I shoot for 50 a day, but sometimes don't reach it. As someone with special dietary needs I add things like fermented garlic in honey, homegrown cabbage that I turn into sourkrout, I grow cucumbers to make homemade garlic dill pickles. I tried my hand at making a fermented sweet pickle relish this summer that is amazingly good. I plan to add it to the public recipies here soon.
Be well and be love.
I lost 80 lbs 4 years ago when I started a Ketogenic way of life. I was 37 then. at 39 I had health/mental issues that set me back and I gained all of my weight back over a two year period, while I was healing. Now I am back to a Ketogenic way of eating/lifestyle. This time my husband is joining me. It is a big change for him, I am helping him through the keto flu right now. I hope that this time around it will be easier. I look forward to not having to cook two kinds of meals.
Health Issues
I have PCOS(Infertility), High Blood Pressure, Insulin resistance and CAH.
When I lost all the weight the first time I also regulated my hormones and was able to get off of all the medications I was on.
I had so much more energy, I had better moods. I had a regular menstruation, and my blood pressure lowered.
I can't say that I am able to heal my CAH but I am able to keep all the other issues at bay with a LCHF way of life.
One of my goals the first time around was to TTC. After 10 years of infertility treatments and doctors help, we decided to give it a rest. I was so sad and depressed. I gained even more weight and ended up 37 years old and 275 lbs at my heaviest. I had to make real and lasting changes. Conventional doctors were not helping me.
SO I went online to try and figure out what I should be doing. I took my power back and I created goals and a plan to loose the weight. Get off of the meds and try to get pregnant naturally. After all I was going to be 40 soon and then it would be harder than ever.
Enter Ketogenic diets.
I researched the science behind this diet for 6 months. I read medical journals, I watched videos on you tube. I followed people who were doing it and how they did it. I planned to ween myself off of sugars and carbs gradually so I wouldn't experience a "Keto flu" when I started full Keto.
I made meal plans, started to gather all of the ingredients that were new to me, for recipes. I started to replace snacks and foods I ate with keto foods I was learning to make.
I replaced the sugars I was used to with new ones, liquid Stevia drops, Pyure, Lakanto sugar, Sukrin.
Doing the work.
It wasn't hard, because I had been keeping a food journal for a few months as well. I wasn't concerning myself with calories or carbs at first. I was just writing it all down. I was writing down what I was feeling emotionally and how foods I ate made me feel physically. I was doing this really hard work of being accountable to myself. I was trying to get a grip on my emotional eating issues before I turned my world upside down. It was cathartic to say the least.
Saying goodbye.
I made the transition to Keto while we were also moving from our home in MA to our new Homestead in ME.
5 hours away from my husbands childhood hometown to our new Garage and 13 acres. We were building a one room apartment and an attached bathroom onto the garage. getting a chicken coop built and starting to plan for our gardens and orchards. There was a lot going on for us and I was a crazy woman weighing out all of my foods, typing in recipes to a calculator online 5 times a day!
I was cleaning, painting, packing and trying to spend quality time with friends and family before we moved away for good. It was a long process and I was loosing weight and a chapter of our life was ending.
I am hoping to be a champion for this lifestyle, for someone who needs to change their life and health. I want to help others know that after years of health issues and failure to lose weight, that there is hope.
I would love to chat with anyone who is interested in learning more about my Wholefood Keto lifestyle.
I don't do the traditional 20 carbs on Keto. I am after a more wholesome type of eating style that supports my hormones I shoot for 50 a day, but sometimes don't reach it. As someone with special dietary needs I add things like fermented garlic in honey, homegrown cabbage that I turn into sourkrout, I grow cucumbers to make homemade garlic dill pickles. I tried my hand at making a fermented sweet pickle relish this summer that is amazingly good. I plan to add it to the public recipies here soon.
Be well and be love.
0
Replies
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Great post. I think with your planning and research you have eliminated many of the pitfalls of the keto diet. Obviously we need to eat - the keto program is specific to the foods to eat - carbs, fat, protein. Since this is a lifetime program - it is important that you use the program to fit YOU so that you can make this a lifelong eating program. I probably do more food prep than necessary but since we are retired I have time to look at recipes and be more innovative. Sometimes simple meals are the best - rotisserie chicken dishes (chicken from the grocery), fish, ground beef casseroles. Best wish and love to you and your husband.1
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Hello
I am new to Keto and noticed the word ‘retired’ in your post. I am nearing 60 and after two weeks of being an A* Keto student have lost 1lb. I want to cry. Is this your own experience because we are past the age of Achilles?3 -
I think you need to read and understand a little more, there is no requirement for anyone to have keto flu, unfortunately you have incorrectly directed your husband into keto, there is no need to suffer.
I really feel sorry for your husband.2 -
andysport1 wrote: »I think you need to read and understand a little more, there is no requirement for anyone to have keto flu, unfortunately you have incorrectly directed your husband into keto, there is no need to suffer.
I really feel sorry for your husband.
I did direct him to not go cold turkey from carbs, he is suffering gut issues with die off right now. This did not happen to me. Therefore I had no prior experience with this aspect. I knew it could happen, but my slow transition back to keto was easier than his overnight transitioning. I feel bad for him too....
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ketogirl77 wrote: »andysport1 wrote: »I think you need to read and understand a little more, there is no requirement for anyone to have keto flu, unfortunately you have incorrectly directed your husband into keto, there is no need to suffer.
I really feel sorry for your husband.
I did direct him to not go cold turkey from carbs, he is suffering gut issues with die off right now. This did not happen to me. Therefore I had no prior experience with this aspect. I knew it could happen, but my slow transition back to keto was easier than his overnight transitioning. I feel bad for him too....
A bit late now but maybe suggest he uses electrolyte drinks1 -
I started Keto mid-january and while I've had some set back days, I'm doing pretty well. I started with a net carb goal of 70 and did that for 2 weeks. I looked at my average carb intake, trying but not beating myself up since I was just really learning about it and I never hit 50 so I lowered my tracker to that. Now I'm set at 25 and I think it will stay there. Even if I don't meet it (which 50/50 i don't) it gives me a livable goal. Living with non-keto'ers it can be challenging but I'm making good choices for me.
Good luck on your journey!! From your home state of MA!1 -
SenseSensibility wrote: »Hello
I am new to Keto and noticed the word ‘retired’ in your post. I am nearing 60 and after two weeks of being an A* Keto student have lost 1lb. I want to cry. Is this your own experience because we are past the age of Achilles?
Hi Sense..... I am 41 at the moment, but my husband is going to be 60 soon. I know it is a lot harder to loose weight after forty for women because of hormonal changes. That was one of the reasons I chose a Keto way of life, the research shows the healing powers of Keto on hormones. I have had that experience so I know it to be true for me.
Don't get hung up on the weight loss while you are just starting. My plan is for 1lb. loss per week. I didn't put the weight on quickly and I don't think it is healthy to loose it too quickly. Hanging skin is not attractive and I do not want surgery to have it removed. It will shrink as you loose in a slower manner. Your body is going through a lot of changes and when you are in ketosis you will be exchanging fat for muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. I would do the measurements of arms, thighs, neck and waist to get a better idea of the changes happening. Weigh once a week or so but not every day. It will give you a sense of real changes. I have found that my weight fluctuates a lot on a daily basis.
This time around I have decided to just weigh weekly and measure myself monthly. My goal is to get off of medications and feel better. The weight loss is just a by product. Message me anytime. I'm here to help.
1 -
wandering44 wrote: »Great post. I think with your planning and research you have eliminated many of the pitfalls of the keto diet. Obviously we need to eat - the keto program is specific to the foods to eat - carbs, fat, protein. Since this is a lifetime program - it is important that you use the program to fit YOU so that you can make this a lifelong eating program. I probably do more food prep than necessary but since we are retired I have time to look at recipes and be more innovative. Sometimes simple meals are the best - rotisserie chicken dishes (chicken from the grocery), fish, ground beef casseroles. Best wish and love to you and your husband.
Yes!
I meal prep and bake and got a lot of recipes that I thought hubby would like pre made so his transition would be a little easier. I am not as big of a snacker. He loves chips and crackers and things like that(savory) and I like the sweet stuff.
I made a batch of fathead crackers that were really good, he liked them. I made a double batch of nograinola cereal to go on my yogurt, so good. I made fat bombs and they were a hit too. Yesterday I made fathead bagels that were a hit.
When I was Keto before I made a lot of "keto"meals/dinners that he loved. Cheeseburger casserole, crack slaw, dinner salads and deep dish keto pizza. He liked it all.
I think the hardest thing is breakfast always being the same and no sandwiches for lunch. He is getting into the lettuce wraps now, but it isn't the same as bread. He doesn't like keto breads at all really. Although the bagels were good, they are not the same at all...lol
What are your favorite go to sweet snacks? 0 -
hmichaud09 wrote: »I started Keto mid-january and while I've had some set back days, I'm doing pretty well. I started with a net carb goal of 70 and did that for 2 weeks. I looked at my average carb intake, trying but not beating myself up since I was just really learning about it and I never hit 50 so I lowered my tracker to that. Now I'm set at 25 and I think it will stay there. Even if I don't meet it (which 50/50 i don't) it gives me a livable goal. Living with non-keto'ers it can be challenging but I'm making good choices for me.
Good luck on your journey!! From your home state of MA!
Hi! yeah the 20 net carb traditional goal is a very hard one for me. I am not just trying to lose weight I also am eating to heal. So in my research I found that Carb ups or carb cycling are better for women who are still menstruating, or have hormonal issues.
https://drjockers.com/keto-carb-cycling-women/
This is an awesome article all about it....
God luck to you too!! 0 -
ketogirl77 wrote: »SenseSensibility wrote: »Hello
I am new to Keto and noticed the word ‘retired’ in your post. I am nearing 60 and after two weeks of being an A* Keto student have lost 1lb. I want to cry. Is this your own experience because we are past the age of Achilles?
Your body is going through a lot of changes and when you are in ketosis you will be exchanging fat for muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat.
While muscle does weigh more than fat, the body literally does not work this way and keto doesn't change that. Muscle has to be built, and that requires lots of protein, maintenance/surplus and a structured lifting program. Weight loss will reveal muscle over time, but muscle doesn't get magically built from any WoE.5 -
Hi. 2 months ago I weighed in at 80kg (height 160cm) and decided it was time for a change. I have PCOS and have always struggled with weight. I have been through 2 cycles of putting on 25-30 kgs and losing it and this was my third cycle. I started off the first month with regular exercise and lost only 1.5kgs. I was devastated. Despite eating around 1500 calories per day and daily intense exercise for 60-75 mins, I was still not losing weight. I lost a bit of flab around my stomach, but that was about it. I decided to give keto a try and it's been a month - maintaining a food journal with around 20-25 net carbs per day, but have just lost only 2kgs. It's very disheartening to see the lack of progress. I thought, being obese, the weight would come off easier like in the past, but it's just been close to impossible to make the needle move. Every workout is so intense, I burn up to 400 calories per session, and maintain 1200-1400 calories, but still have hardly seen any effect. It's so hard, I feel like giving up. Has anyone faced this issue? What do I do?0
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Hi. 2 months ago I weighed in at 80kg (height 160cm) and decided it was time for a change. I have PCOS and have always struggled with weight. I have been through 2 cycles of putting on 25-30 kgs and losing it and this was my third cycle. I started off the first month with regular exercise and lost only 1.5kgs. I was devastated. Despite eating around 1500 calories per day and daily intense exercise for 60-75 mins, I was still not losing weight. I lost a bit of flab around my stomach, but that was about it. I decided to give keto a try and it's been a month - maintaining a food journal with around 20-25 net carbs per day, but have just lost only 2kgs. It's very disheartening to see the lack of progress. I thought, being obese, the weight would come off easier like in the past, but it's just been close to impossible to make the needle move. Every workout is so intense, I burn up to 400 calories per session, and maintain 1200-1400 calories, but still have hardly seen any effect. It's so hard, I feel like giving up. Has anyone faced this issue? What do I do?
A lb per week is actually great progress. You have, what, maybe 30 lbs left you want to lose? 1 lb per week is kind of perfect if that's the case. These aren't keto specific, but they may help as well
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p12 -
Hi. 2 months ago I weighed in at 80kg (height 160cm) and decided it was time for a change. I have PCOS and have always struggled with weight. I have been through 2 cycles of putting on 25-30 kgs and losing it and this was my third cycle. I started off the first month with regular exercise and lost only 1.5kgs. I was devastated. Despite eating around 1500 calories per day and daily intense exercise for 60-75 mins, I was still not losing weight. I lost a bit of flab around my stomach, but that was about it. I decided to give keto a try and it's been a month - maintaining a food journal with around 20-25 net carbs per day, but have just lost only 2kgs. It's very disheartening to see the lack of progress. I thought, being obese, the weight would come off easier like in the past, but it's just been close to impossible to make the needle move. Every workout is so intense, I burn up to 400 calories per session, and maintain 1200-1400 calories, but still have hardly seen any effect. It's so hard, I feel like giving up. Has anyone faced this issue? What do I do?
A lb per week is actually great progress. You have, what, maybe 30 lbs left you want to lose? 1 lb per week is kind of perfect if that's the case. These aren't keto specific, but they may help as well
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
Wow! Thanks for sharing this ❤️.. It's exactly what I needed to stay motivated!
2
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