Before I begin, I want to make a disclaimer. There may be links here that could potentially generate a profit, but is of NO COST to you. Also, yes I am a Registered Nurse, but I am NOT giving you medical advice and in some would say that I am not an expert on keto. This is my personal story.
Simple appeals to me greatly. Busy, also describes my world well, so fitting in certain things, at times just take way too much work.
That being said, many of you may know about my keto journey, as I call it and I am equally sure there are many that do not. My total weight loss to date is 51lbs, and I only had 64lbs that I wanted to lose.
I weighed 193lbs at the start of the journey and went from a size 16 pants to a size 8 and dropping from an L/XL shirt to a SMALL.
As an Acute Care Nephrology Nurse, I perform hemodialysis treatments for patients in the hospital. So if a dialysis patient gets sick and needs to go to the hospital, they are still able to receive their lifesaving treatment.
FREE HEALTHCARE FOR 2020
I also recently won an award because of my journey and my company is paying my healthcare premiums for 2020! They only choose 50 teammates throughout the entire company, so to be chosen was truly an honor. It also made me even more proud of how far I have come.
That is HUGE and I am SO EXCITED about it. The flip side is, I don’t plan to use it. But wow!
THE BEGINNING
I started following a simple version of the ketogenic diet. At that time, I partially had read the book by Dr Don Colbert, MD – The Keto Zone (which I highly recommend for anyone interested in the ketogenic way of eating).
I started my keto journey on February 13, 2017. We were leaving on our annual family vacation a few short days later, so my knowledge started very slow. Therefore, I utilized the limited information that I had obtained and just began.
I keep saying – START HERE, GO ANYWHERE. Sometimes we just have to pick somewhere and start.
In the beginning, I determined to stay under 20 carbs, read LOTS and LOTS of labels, and cut out ALL sugar.
For a period of time, I even stopped drinking diet soda. For anyone that knows me, knows this was a big deal, but I was serious!
I counted everything. Ordering burgers without buns, ditching the side of fries – and by the way, do y’all know how extremely, hard that is when you’re on vacation with bunch of boys that love to eat? And this started before FIVE GUYS began making burger bowls!
I didn’t count calories or macros. Although the keto diet is LOW CARB, MODERATE PROTEIN, HIGH FAT – nor put much regard to my protein intake in the early days.
My net carb intake was strictly 20 or less and I was much more mindful of my food choices and like I said before. I cut out the sugar.
SUGAR IS OUT OF HERE!
Now when I mention cutting out the sugar. There are four “keto-approved” sweeteners – STEVIA, ERYTHRITOL, XYLITOL, and MONK FRUIT. I already was diet soda drinker, so the sweeteners do not bother me. My husband, Brad, hates them all, lol.
Holy cow though! Have you ever just taken the time to read labels? There is sugar in EVERYTHING! Why is there sugar in dill pickles? Seriously, some things make ZERO sense as to why companies put sugar (or any for that matter) in items!
By the end of the year, I was down to 142lbs. At this juncture I am in a maintenance mode. So I fluctuate a little, but have actually decided in the last few weeks to continue on and get back to it hard core.
TO SUMMARIZE
First, just START. Everything starts with a decision. Next, stay with 20 CARBS OR LESS. Cut out sugar – NO SUGAR. Use only the 4 approved as mentioned before and follow your body cues.
I WILL get to my goal and you can too! If you want/need help please comment! It would be my pleasure to help you along your own journey!
Let’s do this TOGETHER!