Teachers on keto

missbis

Any teachers on keto in this group? Looking for friends to share stories and advice, like how do you drink water throughout the day while holding it until you can finally go to the bathroom!? You know what I'm talking about! Also, field trips--do you bring your lunch? Teacher Appreciation Week--do your colleagues think you're ungrateful when you don't partake in the doughnuts and bagels that the admin graciously bought for you? How do you handle the judgment?

Thanks! High school teacher here.

FIT_Goat

Last year I was a floater. So, I could just use the bathrooms when I needed. This year, I will have a normal room again. I'll be paired with a teacher through a connecting door. I expect they will cover for me if I need to pee. For the most part, I just hold it.

Teacher appreciation week was hell. I happened to be going through an extremely stressful period, that week, and sweets are my normal go-to stress relief. I was doing my best to not go back down that route. And what happens? Candy in my box every morning. Donuts, bagels, even McDonald's breakfasts brought in by admin or PTO. A big pile of apples in the break room. Come to think of it, there was not a single food item that was provided that I ate. I did have a couple people ask about it, I just said that I was still working on my weight and was avoiding flour and sugar. They didn't push. I also gave my candy away to the first teacher who would take it (not hard to find).

As for food, I bring my lunch every day. I have been officially banned from eating my lunch in the workroom behind the media center after I brought in some smoked kippers and stunk the whole place to high heaven. Same for sardines and everything else. I did bring in my George Foreman grill to fry up some steaks, pork chops, etc. I don't think I'll bring it back this year. Other people were using it and never cleaned it. It got to be more of a hassle than it is worth. I also tend to fast until 1-3pm anyway, so if I don't eat it doesn't bug me.

We had a "Got Milk" initiative at our school during the year. They had the kids drink a little heavy cream to get a nice thick mustache for photos. The best part? After it was over, I got the health teacher to give me the extra containers of heavy cream. I ended up with 5-6 of them. That was awesome.

If anything, my colleagues are a bit disappointed. A few years ago, I started a tradition. The first half-day of the school year was "Jalapeno Bagel Day." It happened that I read a book with my class, and then I made them the bagels mentioned in the book as a half-day treat (elementary school). I moved around grades, and the county made it a policy that all food given to children had to be purchased from stores and not cooked at home, and it was no longer something that I could do with my students. But, so many teachers would stop by when I was doing it (I made regular bagels, Jalapeno, and some other stuff... plus had breads, butter, cream cheeses... we went all out)... that I continued to do it just for teachers. As soon as the kids left, on the first half day, my room would be a gathering spot for home made bagels and coffee. Well, this year, I had given up bread and sugar (before going full blown keto) when the half-day rolled around. In order to prevent relapse, I had to get rid of all my paraphernalia. So, I have no flour, no yeast, no sugar, etc. at my house. I didn't make bagels. I forgot to mention this to anyone. The end of school rolls around and I am up in my office, suddenly there are random roaming packs of teachers popping in asking where the bagels were. I told them I was sorry, and explained why. Still, I felt a little bad. I hadn't realized how people got used to it.

Edit: I have other stories. But, these were the couple that first came to mind.

missbis

Wow, frob23... I don't know what I'd do if other teachers expected me to make them food like that! Probably chicken out. Good for you for sticking to keto. I wasn't on keto during TAW this year, but I was eating healthier and losing weight nonetheless. We had doughnuts three days in a row. Even the teachers who eat doughnuts were sick of them! I had one to "treat" myself in the morning. Then I had a particularly bad 7th period and went to eat another. Stress eating is my thing, and it was oh so convenient to go to the teacher's lounge to grab some sweets! Other than that, it's not too hard to abstain because we don't get any goodies other than TAW and homecoming week. I'm a little worried about not being able to use the restroom. Every other hall at my school has a designated teacher bathroom except my hall! Makes it very hard to go, unless you ask a reading coach or someone on their planning to cover you. I guess I will have to experiment to see how much I can drink and how long I can go without using the restroom.

FIT_Goat

I am thinking of trying to start a "Carnivore Club" at my school. There were a few teachers who were interested in my diet last year. There is already a club that does baked good gatherings months (cupcakes, cakes, pies, etc.) for members. They take turns where some members of the group bring in treats for everyone else in the group to enjoy. I refused to join. Not because of keto, for other reasons (the group was intended to support any teachers in need when they had a death or sickness but they only bother if the person has paid dues... and it has since become a "food" group and not what it was intended to be).

The school I teach at is horrible for junk food. Every team meeting has candy or high-carb snacks. Once a month, my old team used to do a pot-luck. That was also high carb. There are constant cupcakes, pizzas, and so on being brought in for birthdays and whatever.

I think it would be great to have a group that brings in keto-type foods every other month or do. I doubt I would get enough people to make it worth the hassle though.