The Food is Food Mentality
Food is food, right? You eat, you get energy, and you sustain life. Easy peasy, but are you healthy and thriving? In a perfect world, our immune system would be self-sustaining and medicine would be nearly obsolete. We would be a perfect weight and able to climb many flights of stairs easily. There would be no need for supplements because our diet would supply the necessary nutrients.
This is not a perfect world and the food we consume is not always the right fuel we need to thrive. Think of it as putting diesel fuel in a gas engine, it’s just not a good idea. When we eat loads of sugar and carbs we are consuming the wrong type of fuel. We are led to believe certain foods are healthy, but often it’s junk food disguised behind false labels.
Eating blindly is a vicious cycle and I struggled for years. When I was tired and sluggish after a full night’s sleep, I would fuel up on sugar and caffeine. If I had a bad day I would reach for a cookie and end up eating seven. This cycle earned me a ride on the guilt train. The next stop was, I’m too tired to cook, so how about pizza. Oh, don’t forget the breadsticks! Feeling really fat and sassy, so why not ride the train all night and have some ice cream with candy and chocolate sauce too. The cycle continued like this, I kept trying and failing but after a while, I accepted these fails as the norm.
To break the cycle I had to get serious about the fuel I was consuming. It is essential to understand the nutrition facts, the ingredients, and macronutrients. The nutrition label tells you what ingredients are put together to create the food and the macronutrients tell you how much and what kinds of energy it provides. The calories tell you where you are at on your gas gauge. If you leave the pump running when filling your car the excess fuel has no place to go but out. For humans, though it spills over the waistline of our pants. A car can only hold so much fuel, unfortunately, humans aren’t as efficient and we just get bigger and sicker. We don’t have stop valves and gauges, so we must do the work picking the right fuel sources for our bodies and be aware of when we have had enough.
I was LOW FAT brainwashed. I thought that low fat was the way to be healthy, picking baked foods over fried foods. Skipping the Snickers bar for the Granola bar. That’s why I was losing the battle day after day. I was taking in excess carbs and left feeling hungry instead of taking in good fat and feeling satisfied for hours. It’s all about checks and balances. I had to find what worked and what didn’t and honestly, I had a lifetime of what didn’t work.
Tracking Macros is the key to success on the Ketogenic diet. I have been doing this for 2 years now, so I don’t count my macros regularly anymore. I will take inventory if my pants begin to feel a little tighter or I am lacking energy. Last spring I tracked my food for a week and found that I was hitting 20 grams of carbs at only 900 to 950 calories. This is not enough calories to sustain energy, but too many carbs to maintain my weight. This is where the checks and balances come in; check = tight pants, balance = avocado, jokes aside Avocados are a great source of good fats and fiber, the magic combination of the Ketogenic diet. I have listed some resources at the end of this post including a macro calculator link.
And finally, another success I have had on this journey towards better health is I no longer suffer from eczema. I have had itchy blistered skin on my hands, torso, and legs for years. I tried every kind of lotion and steroid creams possible until I found a lotion that was working, but I had to apply and reapply constantly to keep it a bay. Once I started eating clean and low carb I no longer have to use the lotion. Also for the first time, I no longer have toenail fungus on a toe I injured years ago. I smashed my toe and had to have stitches across the toenail bed; therefore the nail never adhered correctly. I fought issues with that nail constantly often losing it completely, but with the help of some essential oils and clean eating, I have a beautiful healthy nail.
I will note that in this world of instant everything this did not happen overnight, but IT happened. With determination and willpower, it happened to me. I hope to inspire others to find a better way to fuel their bodies, so I will be sharing our favorite low carb recipes weekly, so be on the lookout for Top Three Tuesdays.
A few Ketogenetic resources:
I like how this website explains the Keto diet.
I like the Keto calculator on this website.
This article gives an overview of the different types of Ketogenic diets and types of foods you can eat and what to avoid.
This is the medical article that prompted my low carb journey.
- The restricted Ketogenic Diet: An Alternative Treatment Strategy for Glioblastoma Multiforme. This was Ava’s secondary cancer and the article goes over the benefits of a 4:1 Classic KD. It’s your typical medical journal type article, but I wanted to be sure to include it.
The Coconut Ketogenic Diet
This is an Amazon affiliated link.
