Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Not giving up on Keto

I called this post "not giving up on Keto" but I think it is probably more accurately about not giving up on yourself.  This last year has taught me a lot about self discipline, changing my mindset,  and developing healthy attitudes.  I wanted to discuss some of those things today because I think they are key to your success when you start a health initiative as I have.

1. Set one goal and master it before you add another.  Last year, I knew I needed to change many things about how I had been treating my body.  But I also knew that trying to change all of them at once was going to overwhelm me. And I am always the impatient perfectionist who wants it all now.  This time it was different.  I had come out of a situation where I didn't want to get up each day from months on end because I was mentally and physically spent.  I knew I couldn't do it all at once, so I didn't even try.  And for some reason, just committing to one thing worked.  It stuck.  I started with getting good rest.  Meaning I went to bed at a decent hour, I slept a full 8 hours (plus some!) each day.  After I got that down (and I gave myself a couple of months to know that I could be disciplined to do it), I picked up another goal, drinking water.  I have always been a big diet soda drinker.  So much so that I can now say there were days I would go without any water. I knew that was terrible and I needed to change it so I started cutting back on soda and drinking a ton of water.  I bought myself some of those fancy plastic cups (I have a Walking Dead one that I use for work!) and some Mio (no-sugar water flavors) and began.  Each morning at work, I would fill up my cup and keep refilling it all day long.  At home, to cut back on soda drinking, I started drinking a ton of tea.  Peak Diet Tea is my favorite and while it isn't water, it has a larger water content and keeps me from drinking soda.  Again, after a couple of months, it stuck.  I knew I was then ready to start my next challenge the diet.  Being committed to one thing can sound simple but developing habits is hard, especially when you try to do it all at one time.

2. The road ahead may be long but you will start feeling better far before you get to the end.  I had a lot of weight to lose, I still do. It can be daunting to think about how far I have to go to get to my goal.  I realized very early on that I was feeling better after just two weeks.  I let that feeling, the day to day improvements motivate me... not the number on the scale.  I knew each day that even if I didn't lose another pound, I would be better for what I had accomplished thus far. 

3. Celebrate the non-scale victories.  Scales are funny.  They fluctuate and do erratic things... or maybe that is our bodies.  Either way, I knew I was going to get stuck at times.  I knew progress wouldn't be as fast as I wanted it to.  But what I found was paying attention to the little things like how my pants fit, how much more comfortable I was in a chair, the definition in my face returning.  These are all signs that progress is still being made, even the scale doesn't show it.

4. Don't diet.  Make a lifestyle change.  This was key for me.  Diets are deprivation.  Regardless of what you choose to eat (low carb, low fat, etc.)  accept that this is now your way of life.  You aren't doing it to reach a certain weight... you are doing it because your body needs to live this way to be healthy.  This as a key reason I chose Keto because I knew I could do it forever if I needed to.  Even today, I recognize that I will never be a person who can eat much sugar, bread, or pasta.  I don't expect to be this low carb for life but I always expect to be lower carb.  It is what feels right for my body.  I firmly believe that there are different diets that are meant for different bodies and it just takes finding the right diet that fits your body to be sustainable for health.  My general attitude has become, I don't care how long it takes me to get to my goal, it will happen because this is my life now.

5. Talk about it (your diet, your goal, etc.)  In the past, I never told people I was dieting.  I gave into social pressures because I didn't want people to know.  I also didn't want people pressuring me or getting disappointed in me when I fell off the wagon.  Maybe it has changed as I have gotten older but I care a lot less about what other people think now.  I am not losing weight for them.  I am doing this for me and I will be vocal about it.  It encourages me to say it out loud and it helps others understand my limitations.  My co-workers sometimes go to lunch together and they all know that if I am to go with them, they have to choose a place with options.  Family members will add more green veggies for me instead of potatoes.  It's not that I expect these things from people but by telling them, they are helpful and supportive of me.  And we can all use a little support now and then.

6. Just make it through the day.  You don't have to commit to anything more than the day.  I have been eating this way for 180 days.  I have not cheated one time.  I don't want to.  Sure there are things that sound good from time to time but I don't want to.  I think it is the first start of a diet that is the hardest because that is when it is most tempting to cheat.  By taking it day by day, I kept myself from messing up.  I almost made it a contest with myself, could I make it through the day without cheating?  Was I strong enough...stubborn enough.  It worked.  I had moments where there were things I really really wanted in front of me and when it came down to it, I couldn't do it. I couldn't give up on myself like that. 

3 comments:

  1. I liked this post...I have gone today thus far without cheating..just did shopping at dillions for work..celery and 3 flavors of cream cheese spreads...

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  2. I liked this post...I have gone today thus far without cheating..just did shopping at dillions for work..celery and 3 flavors of cream cheese spreads...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's great. I only wish that I liked celery because it would be great for dipping. Unfortunately... I can't stand it.

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