Keto Straight Talk

How about a little Keto straight talk???

As we are about to start a new year, many take this time to start thinking about their health and make “resolutions” to improve certain things about themselves.

I would not be surprised if more exercise equipment sells at this time than any other time of the year.

And, many diets are started at this time also. Which makes this a wonderful time to start your keto journey if you have not done so already.

As I have pondered over what I could possibly say to someone just starting out, or even to someone who is already there and maybe struggling just a bit, that would help them the most.

I don’t want to get all technical about it, nor do I want to “sugar-coat” it. I want this to be Keto straight talk. Remember, what I share with you is what has worked for us.

The first thing I want to say to you is, keep it simple.

I see so many people on social media posting things, wondering if they have done something to remove themselves from being in ketosis, and will even buy strips to check and see if they are in it or not. I just want to say, we have never used any strips for this! Do I think they are necessary? We seem to have done ok without them.

Another thing I see many concerned about is tracking their macros. There are apps that will help you do this if this is something you want to do, and there is no judgement from me if you do. I did try this for 2 days, but I found it to be very stressful trying to keep up with it all, so I gave up on that one. Have we done ok without doing this?? Seems like we have.

I know we have to eat protein (meats, eggs), and I know we have to add some fats (butter, sour cream, cream cheese), and I don’t worry about calories. The only thing we have watched are the carbs. We try to stay at or below 20 net carbs per day. Most days, especially in the earlier days, we were normally around 10 net carbs per day.

I keep a set of carb cards on my fridge that have helped with foods that I was not real sure about, like veggies and such.

For those who don’t know this yet, here is your tip for finding the “net” carbs: Take your total carbs for a food, minus the fiber, minus any sugar “alcohol” (not regular sugar, it will say sugar alcohol), this will give you your net carbs. Some do count the entire carb amount, but most do the net.

And, while on this subject, think about what you are eating. If I see a keto sweet that is, say 5 net carbs, and I try to stay under 20 net carbs in a day, do I really want to waste that many carbs on that one item? I can always find something on the keto sweet side that has less net carbs than that one. But, if you choose to go ahead and have it, just remember you may want to reduce elsewhere during the day.

My next bit of advice for keto, do not expect your substitute foods to taste like your regular high-carb foods. Example, mashed potatoes. You will see recipes and such for a mashed potato replacement, like mashed cauliflower. NOTHING, I repeat, NOTHING is going to taste like mashed potatoes. We do eat some hearts of palm products that are similar, but they do not taste like potatoes, nor is the texture like potatoes. Believe me, you need to know this. All we have done is added a low-carb food that we can eat. I don’t want you to get all excited thinking you have found a “miracle food” just to find out it is nothing like you thought it would be. Your breads will be different, your cakes will be different….. You are using different ingredients, they will be different. But, we have found that the more we do this, we don’t mind the different. We don’t let our minds get burdened down with the knowledge of foods that we can no longer eat. These foods are the reason we had/have issues!! We have gladly given them up! Do we miss them? Yes! Do we want our issues to come back? NO! But, with saying this, not all of your foods will be different. You still have your meats, you still have some of your veggies, you still have your berries. If you don’t like the odd foods that you see others eat, don’t eat them. Stick to the keto friendly foods that you already know and love.

I am going to close this Keto Straight Talk out with this; if you eat something that you should not have eaten, don’t be too hard on yourself. In the beginning, we were very strict with our foods. Now that we have progressed a decent amount, we have a cheat meal here and there. I’m talking some high-carb foods. I’m talking a hamburger and french fries!!! But, this is not everyday, not even every week. One thing I don’t do, I don’t do sweets! Remember, I am a diabetic that is off all meds! I do not play with that. I have plenty of keto sweets I can make and enjoy without going there! But, if you find yourself ready to pull all of your hair out from wanting some french fries, eat some french fries. And, the next time you eat, make it keto. Just try not to do it often. The less you do it, the better your progress will be.

Remember to keep it simple.

Happy New Year!!!

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