There it is- the "K" word! In case you're wondering, yes that word now applies to me! I have been
fortunate enough to be at a healthy weight most of my life but over the past few years, I have developed some health interferences that have left me just not feeling like myself.
I'm just going to come out and be real about this. As I have become "of age" (in reference to entering middle age) I have struggled with inflammation problems, edema, anxiety probably from the result of fluctuating hormones, and yes, weight gain! I don't go to the doctor and I don't to take medication so I researched and googled natural supplements to ease these aging symptoms. I also started a workout routine last Summer but saw little change. I felt that the only thing I could do was just accept these things as a part of growing older but quite truthfully, they really suck!
I had heard about this keto lifestyle and have had many friends share their success stories so I did tons of research. When I learned that I would get to eat nuts, boiled eggs, any and all berries, gourmet cheeses, dark chocolate, and chicken tenders, I became intrigued as my diet consists mostly of all of these things. I could totally do this! It's just that there were many other things I would have unplug from my diet should I follow this plan. I would need to do without most of my endless consumption of chips and salsa at the Mexican restaurant, sandwiches on Hogie rolls, pizza crust and sadly my Jarritos (it's this Mexican soda that comes in many flavors and goes good with chips and salsa).
So the story begins. I started with a 24-hour fast and little by little eliminated carbs from my diet over a period of about a week. I am constantly on the hot pursuit of information and have probably done over 100 different searches on Google most of which start with "How many carbs in..." I had no idea that there were so many hiding places for carbs and how careful I actually needed to be to reach my goal and staying under 50 grams of carbs per day!
I have replaced chips and salsa with celery and peanut butter. I now enjoy salami and provolone rolls, and eat lots of cashews. If there is pizza in my house, I peel off and eat the cheese and take the crust outside for the birds. I even was able to replace my soda with a drink called Zevia. It is made from the the natural sweetener Stevia plant, it comes in many flavors and tastes like regular soda. It's a bit more expensive so I try to get it when it's on sale.
Among the information from my endless research, I have also read that if you eat a ketogenic diet one of the disadvantages is not being able to enjoy going out to dinner as often. Since I like to write about traveling and eating, I have also wondered how my new lifestyle would effect my experiences. Regardless, I made the decision to prove this information to be wrong!
My experiences would not be limited. Maybe just a little different. I have learned that going keto involves a little more creativity with eating.
And the journey continues as we had approached my favorite week of the year which is always Thanksgiving. Each year we drive 10 hours from Atlanta to St. Louis to visit family. When we get there, we go to our favorite brewery and then we drink craft beer at the brewery, eat pizza and cook meat all day the next day. Besides that, we don't really do much else. That's kind of the point of the trip. It is also why
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| 4 types of meat for TG : Sausage, turkey, tri-tips and ribs. |
the the 10-hour drive! .
Here we go!!!
For your enjoyment: Rockin' The Paradise-STYX
