Some truth from one of my favorite ladies

My friend Mary over at Ketovangelist has written an article this week that is just wonderful. Check it out here:

http://www.ketovangelist.com/the-militant-among-us/

Now, look I said up front that Mary is a ball buster. That's not a joke. She is a very no-nonsense lady and that's part of what I love about her. In her piece (you did read it, right?) she delivers some very hard truths that will make some folks uncomfortable, but here's the thing:

She's right!

It has been 92 days since I decided to go keto. In that time I have lost 28 pounds (as of this morning), 2 even clothing sizes, 5 percentage points in body fat, and gone from a W (that's plus-size) to a Petite. I have stopped tracking almost completely. Not calories, not protein, not fat, not even carbs. In fact, the only time I ever open a carb tracker is when I go out to eat at a new place, and that's only so I don't receive any nasty surprises. I control my pantry and fridge and I am vigilant about what goes into it, so I know that I am fine eating what I have on hand and will not knock myself out of ketosis inadvertently at home. I also have had no, as in zero, cheats. No cheat meals. No bites here and there. Nothing. Zip. Nada. 

Know why I can do all that and it still works? Because I knew when I started that this is not a diet. This is a way of living. It is a lifestyle. And it is not something I'm doing for now until I get to my goal. It is something I'm doing FOR LIFE. As in forever.

This is a hard pill to swallow. People constantly "do" diets. It's this one today and another one next month. And that's why people constantly fail. Last week I read a piece from the UK on a long-term study they did. It showed that only 1% of people who were overweight managed to ever lose that weight and keep it off in their lifetime.

One percent.

Let that sink in a minute.

That means that right now, if you are overweight you will likely (as in you have a 99% chance to) remain overweight and unhealthy for the rest of your life.

WHY???

I would contend that is because the vast majority of people "go on a diet." And what happens when people go on diets? They expect to eventually go OFF the diet and go back to eating "normally," whatever that means to them. 

Folks, let me say something you're going to hate. If you go into the Ketogenic lifestyle with the attitude that you will eventually be able to go back to the old way of eating, YOU HAVE ALREADY FAILED.

Don't fall into the diet trap. This is a way of life and it is forever. That is the ONLY way to succeed. Get your mind right, ACCEPT that this is now your life, this is the way things are, and you can kick your excess body fat to the curb. You can beat back your fatigue, high blood sugar, and other symptoms and indicators of poor health. You CAN do it and you WILL do it, but you have to be all in. Make a commitment. Make a change. Make it for life.

KOKO, my babies!

Keto Day 91, and apologies for my laziness

Morning!

I've slacked off on the blogging for way too long. Thanks to my aunt who reminded me recently that it's been a while since I posted an update.

I've been chugging along and continuing to do really well with my new lifestyle. At this point I weigh 188 pounds, have lost 27 pounds total, and have lost about 5% of my body weight. In fact, yesterday morning I measured with my calipers and I have met my goal of making it to 35.8% body fat an entire month early. All of this is very exciting, but the most exciting things are my progress pictures.

This is me in mid-May when I made my decision to change my lifestyle:

Gahhh!!!! I'm very blimp-ish here. Notice just how far my belly sticks out (it's well beyond my chest).

Now, here is me about two weeks ago, wearing an exercise shirt I couldn't fit into when I began:

There is a GIGANTIC difference there. Even though I've gone from Holy, Crap I'm Fat!!!! to just plain overweight, it's a huge improvement. I've also managed to go from wearing a plus size in pants- 20W is what I should have been wearing in May, I just refused to buy them- and shirts, I am now two even sizes down AND am wearing a Petite. I technically fit into the 14 P, but it's still a bit tighter than I am comfortable with. I'm just not the lady that's going to rock the skin tight pants with the rolls spilling over the top, so I will not wear the 14 until it fits properly and I have nothing hanging out.

Anyway, here's a sample of the delicious food I get to eat:

Chorizo Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Deli Salads (this one is made with an Italian meat trio)

Chicken breasts stuffed and topped with spinach and artichoke dip and Italian cheeses

I'm also able to eat out regularly. I've had grilled pork chops and side salads with full fat blue cheese dressing, grilled lemon pepper chicken wings, pork carnitas taco salads (skip the shell and any beans or rice) with salsa and sour cream, lettuce-wrapped burgers with cheese and bacon, the innards of several tacos with a side of broccoli and real butter, and- one of my favorites- breakfast foods like eggs (scrambled or fried) with bacon or sausage and cheese.

Look, folks, this way of eating initially looks very challenging. How on earth do you get by with no bread or rice? It seems darn near impossible. Well, not only can you eat just about anywhere, you can also ENJOY it! The above list is proof.

As far as non-food things I'm doing, I regularly drink between 135 and 152 fl oz of water daily. I've also really committed to walking more since I got my fitbit. I started off with a modest goal of 5,000 steps per day, but have worked my way up to over 13,000 steps per day on weekdays. In fact, I'm walking so much- and it's mostly effortlessly at this point- that I've been meeting that goal in the late afternoons. So I've upped my goal again to almost 15,000 steps per day. 

I've also begun a body-weight training program two to three days a week. It's pretty easy to do at home without any equipment, but is still very challenging. A minimum of two, back-to-back sets of 20 squats, 10 push-ups, 20 walking lunges, and 10 standing rows. I always do two sets, and am working my way up to doing three sets regularly. Some days I make it, others I don't, but I'll get there.

So that's my progress in the last month-and-a-half. I'm going to try very hard to not be lazy about the blog and to update something like once a week.  Until next time, keep on keto-ing on!