Observations of a Low Carb Dieter
As one who loved his carbs, going keto was a bit of a challenge to mentally work up to. What is more beautiful than a bacon cheddar burger with jalapenos and lots of lettuce? The wonderful combination of a hand formed patty, some siracha mayo on a toasted bun, some crunchy fries with a little sambol for dipping, served with a cold beer…awesomeness. Or perhaps crunchy fried boneless chicken thighs with queso and bacon wrapped in a fresh flour tortilla. Dee-licious!!! Yeah, I liked me some carbs.
Enter, stage right, a buddy of mine who is not just pro keto...he is a keto evangelist. For years he had been bugging me to try it.
My weight was not good, I was carting around about 20 pounds more than when I was in college. Low energy too. Keto? He finally sold me. It took a couple of weeks to get my body into ketosis. The first couple of days were pretty tough…and I was grumpy. Mostly because I wanted to eat things that I couldn’t have.
Still, after a couple of days it was okay.
Admittedly, I was aggressive. I tried to stay under 10 grams of carbs and sometimes was near zero. Once I got into ketosis, after a week or two “stall” the weight fell off at a slow but consistent basis.
One thing that I didn’t expect was that once my body adapted to low carb, I can eat or not. Even if I don’t eat all day I rarely get that gnawing hunger.
Most days I don’t eat until the afternoon and usually it is just a snack. A small or medium dinner and I am pretty much done.
After a few weeks of hardcore keto, I dropped out of ketosis but stayed with a low carb diet. Not often doing more than 30 grams…usually 20 or less.
Energy is very good. I walk with a spring in my step and have that “humming” feeling almost all the time. I sleep better. Due to the weight loss, my back is better too. The weight is still falling. I am down about 17 pounds without really trying. Energy is still quite good. Yes, I admit...I steal a few fries from my boy and will use occasionally use corn chips to shovel in some crawfish queso but generally I eat very little carbs. Nor do I crave them. When I do sneak something, like a nibble of bread, it is almost always disappointing.
Two beers...no way. The second one bloats me like a puffer fish. Low carb beer is pretty much water and isn’t worth it. Cauliflower pizza crust is awesome, but I admit that I miss real pizza. It has been months but I might have to try some fried chicken. I miss red beans and rice. But overall, I like the way I am eating. One thing that I didn't expect...everything tastes sweet. A cherry tomato is dessert. I couldn’t eat pasta sauce if I had to. Red wine used to be a necessity for me but now only the biggest, most tannic cabernet or dries Fume’ Blanc will do. Margarita? No way.
A large meal just isn’t possible for me anymore. Just last week, after forgetting to eat all day, I took my family out. My wife and I shared 10 buffalo chicken wings and a cup of queso. I thought I was going to explode. In the old days that would have been an appetizer.
Is low carb right for you? I can’t say. What I can tell you is that if your experience is like mine, you will lose weight, feel better and will not really want to consume too many carbs.