There are many versions of keto the include higher-carb days. I think it really depends. The main thing is that you can't be high-fat and high-carb. That's a disaster waiting to happen.

I eat pizza regularly. I either eat only the toppings (a personal favorite - I make this several times a week for lunches and such) or I make a low carb version of crust (fathead is a good one) that even my carb-o-saur SO will eat.

I use spaghetti squash or go with broccoli or something as a base for pasta sauce. There are some zoodle (zucchini noodle) and zucchini lasagna recipes on my list to try. Just last night, I made Alfredo sauce from scratch with Cajun shrimp. I put mine over steamed broccoli, my guy used noodles. I find it far more filling without the noodles. He had to eat twice as much as I did to feel full, AND he added Italian bread, too.

There are low carb versions of cake and ice cream. Even on a "regular eating" plan, those things should all be limited to treats occasionally, not the daily fare in massive portions that modern society eats.

Personally, if I had to guess, the reason you're struggling now so much is because you feel deprived and have not made a way to fit in your own personal favorite indulgences into your current eating plan. Think outside the box. Go for the flavors and spirit of your favorites - or avoid those and make new favorites!

I find that the longer I'm low carb in general, the more my taste buds change. I never used to like onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, and the like. I could barely tolerate cream cheese or butter unless melted. Now those things are mainstays in my dietary plan...

And I am the world's worst about willpower. I don't have any. Sincerely. Yesterday I ate two chocolate squares at my desk (all I had left for the week) because I was tired, craving sweets, not caring, etc. I knew I didn't need them. I knew I wasn't overly hungry truly... But I chose to eat them anyway. Set yourself up for success by limiting access to things you might overconsume in a weak moment...

And the feeling of lacking willpower and self control - make sure you've had your fasting insulin checked (different than blood sugar, not an automatic test). It creates an eating impulse, then feeling hungrier after you start eating, never feeling full, but storing fat situation that metabolically challenges many of us here...

As for the feelings of "super ugly" and all that, you might want to consider some therapy or self-reflection... That negativity focused on your sense of self might be undermining all your efforts for feeling like "never" or "always" or that you don't deserve it, etc. I had to learn to love all of myself at my heaviest (319 pounds, 5'4" tall) before I could start to make progress on the weight, health, or any of it... Once I did that, and realize that while I don't have to like or love everything about myself physically, I do have to accept it and love myself as a whole...it was very difficult, and some days still is, because I'm nowhere near a healthy weight yet, but I'm a work in progress...

As for hubby being no longer on board, get him on board with not bringing in your trigger foods and such around you. If he has to consume them, ask him to eat them when he's at work or what-have-you. That's not unreasonable as a request. Explain to him that you want to be healthier to have a long life ahead of you to love him longer (or annoy him longer, depending on the nature of your relationship). Explain to him how much you're struggling, and that you need him in your corner, even if he chooses not to walk the path himself, etc.

If you are interested, I have a post I wrote about Motivation and Determination, and why willpower is a lie.

(hugs) and good luck to you!

Thank you, @slimzandra ... I try to just share from the heart...

And I second that...works in progress we ALL are! Each moment, each choice, each bite - is a chance to better ourselves.

Fasting Insulin is the name of the test (mine reported on the lab report as "insulin level"). Like the do a fasting blood sugar test. But it tests your insulin levels when you've fasted. You don't need any extra blood generally, though if she didn't run it Monday, by Thursday any extra blood was likely discarded. If you have access to your lab results online, you could look for any test with insulin in the title. If not, just call and ask your doc's nurse. Tell her you want your fasting insulin levels. You have have a poor insulin test and normal blood sugars, vice versa, both poor results, or both great results... They're kind of like cousins - related, but not directly driving each other up the walls...

You're welcome. Even without testing, there are a bunch of things you can start doing to help with the reactions. Eliminate sugars and most sweeteners. Find any foods that when you eat them you end up hungrier and minimize those. Pair anything with sweets or carbs with fats for more efficient processing, etc. Look up insulin resistance and start educating yourself.

As for the doctor who should have know, I absolutely love my PCP. She's been great. But she never thought to test my insulin, because my glucose numbers were good. She was convinced it was my thyroid, thought that didn't show up on my tests either, for a long time. Turns out she was wrong about the insulin, right about the thyroid. What's hilarious to me is that my endocrinologist ordered the test based on a single conversation. Then when my PCP saw the results, she FLIPPED OUT...

So it isn't an automatic thing... If you like your doctor otherwise, I'd stick with her. But if she spouts old trite phrases, not personalizing it to you yourself - and/or she doesn't listen to your concerns, I'd absolutely switch doctors if you can. Getting an endocrinologist is preferred, if you can do so, as they handle all the miscellaneous things that tend to break our metabolisms...

Good luck, and be proactive. Educate yourself, because your doctor simply might not really know the up to date studies, etc.

Astharteea wrote: »

Oh, I guess you kinda answered my question I posted on the other thread. So endocrinologist it is. I just always thought I should see a nutritionist or dietician (?) never thought of an endocrinologist.

Your endocrinologist might send you to a specific registered dietitian, but the endocrinologist deals with the hormonal/chemical/internal side of it. S/he can also give you basic dietary advice or suggest a program. I'd do that before I worried about a dietitian. I think it is the dietitian who has to go to school, and nearly anyone can become a nutritionist without training. Add to that most of them are still running off studies and data that are 30-50 years out of date, and you'll be better off with the endocrinologist sending you to a dietitian who adheres to modern ideals of different dietary plans for different people!

I have read that once you go low carb for an extended period of time then you cant go back.. Putting on weight is easier than before, apparently. I wished I save the article I read

I went off keto for a loooong time. I kept trying to get back and did not have success. But I kept trying. And, now, it's finally clicking. It's been about a year of struggling. *Sigh*.