Greetings intrepid foodies!
Have you ever tried a new diet that was all the craze? Did you regret it? Appreciate it?
Well, I will tell you of a big diet change my wife and I embarked on in 2021. In this personal account I will tell you what my wife and I discovered by trying the Keto Diet and whether I recommend it or not.
Let’s begin!
My wife and I began 2021 on a low note. We had suffered personal losses the previous year and we were trying to begin 2021 with a more hopeful perspective.
My wife had heard wonders about the Keto diet through YouTube sensations like Low Carb Love, Joe Duff, Keto Twins, Dr Berg and Thomas Delauer. She excitedly approached me and told me she wanted us to try it. With her diabetes in mind, the diet would be good for managing her health and preparing us to try having children again.
My first recipe attempt: Keto chocolate chip cookies out a box from Winco (local superstore). The results were okay…I tasted the first batch and just felt that without the high sugars it needed something…walnuts. Adding walnuts slowed down the baking and added a filling feeling to the less-flavored cookies.
My wife found a whole brand of Keto snacks at our local pharmacies as well as at the Walmart. These snacks were chips, crackers and cookies of various flavors made by Quest. The results were mixed…we loved the “Doritos” imitations but the desserts were less…palatable.
I found a recipe online: chili sweet potato fries. The recipe called for me to bake sweet potato strips I cut fresh myself. Once that step was underway I sautéed ground beef, onions and green chilis in a large skillet. Once the cooking was all done I sprinkled cheddar cheese and served. The results were magnanimous! It became such a popular meal for us that I recreated it several times over.
Furthermore, my wife introduced us to a new way of dining: vegetable bakes. For our next recipe, my wife roasted halved Brussel sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower florets covered with long strips of bacon. It was delicious.
I began to feel feverish and weak. In fact, I felt weak and feverish for two weeks. At the beginning I experienced persistent hunger pangs…or should I say sugar pangs…?
In any case, after the two weeks had passed I no longer craved sugar. Somehow, my body dropped the need for sugar and I no longer felt weak. My memory and concentration improved. My general attitude started to change as well: I no longer felt irritable or jumpy like I had for the previous months. Even my quality of sleep improved; like clockwork when bedtime came I rapidly fell asleep with no lingering grogginess in the mornings!
I discovered yet another recipe that changed our concept of dependence on carbs: a zero carb cheese bread. We were pleasantly surprised to see a “bread” made only with 1 egg, powdered Parmesan cheese, Italian herbs, and shredded cheese became a savory and filling treat.
My wife and I were happy with the results of the Keto Diet! We were managing her sugars, experiencing better health, experiencing better sleep and experiencing a real improvement in our quality of life.
However, when occasions like family Easter gathering and my birthday came up…we compromised. Once we indulged in carbs during those occasions things got tricky. We experienced stomach pains, a returning fever, and it became very difficult to get back on Keto.
In June of 2021 my family went through a number of changes. Sick family members needed our care and other family members moved closer. It was a great season of change for us, and we were not in the position to make many home cooked meals anymore. Instead, we began to eat out again and buy groceries that were “easy” again: bread, pasta and oats.
Over time, we left the keto diet altogether. We would try days at a time but without the same discipline and regimen.
I think a big key to the Keto Diet’s success is motivated discipline. In early 2021 we had our hearts (and stomachs) in the right place. We wanted to conceive again and manage my wife’s health. Those were worthy motivators. Should our current health problems improve we may attempt the Keto Diet again.
I, for one, would love to try that diet again. It improved my health, my mood, my concentration and my sleep. Even coming up with low carb recipes was a fun and rewarding endeavor.
My opinion of the Keto Diet: it’s worth trying. I’m not a doctor or anything…I suggest you speak with your doctor before trying it.
If you are cleared to try the Keto Diet I suggest you give it a try. It helps wean us off the overly processed sugars in almost all our foods. It also teaches discipline and reduces inflammation by promoting healthy fats, rich proteins and increasing dependency on nutrient-rich vegetables rather than processed grains.
It is my hope that as a global society we move away from overly processed and nutrient-deficient food. The earth already has so many rich proteins and nutrients our bodies need. We just need to change our ways of eating.
Thanks for reading.
EXTERNAL LINKS
https://youtu.be/qGSVAiikxFs?si=UY7HSWZFf90peQwl
https://youtu.be/Kx5q20rrXJE?si=f3DZzpz2wkANVhau
https://youtu.be/8f3FECCg3dY?si=R0RmP22A9aSltaIB
https://youtu.be/jI2-VWpiFc4?si=R96PN7T8YuWj_-Ud
https://youtu.be/ctk_om41_Tc?si=z9VpJnS8Sn3cXwPu
https://tasty.co/article/michelleno/keto-dinner-ideas
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/g40645111/keto-diet-recipes/
Intrepid Venture 