The Holidays Are Ending. May I Please Stop Eating Now?

Ah, the holidays. That time of year when our better angels aspire to treat others with just that much more patience, cheer and kindness. Decorations, celebrations and traditions. Office parties and family gatherings. And food. Dear heaven the food. Obligatory, omnipresent and sometimes overwhelming food. Those of us who are trying to lose weight or get fit or improve our health face challenges all the year round, but the month of December is the mother lode of challenges. There's no way around it, only a way through it. And I indeed ate my way right on through the weekend of Christmas.

For me, avoiding foods that are not on the approved food list is not the hard part. As I've discussed here, eating only when hungry is. I've been getting better with that, asking myself, as I stand in front of the fridge, "What are you doing, dummy?" And my weight has continued to come down, incrementally. I even set up my plan-to-be last weight loss goal. And a wouldn't-it-be-cool date for that goal of January 8, 2017. That day in 2014 was when I started following the ketogenic (low carb/high fat) diet. I had just watched the video of Dr. Eric Westman and something clicked for me.

Well, looks like a new goal date is in order because starting with Christmas Eve brunch at a the home of friends and straight into Christmas dinner with our sons and daughters-in-law, I ate like a condemned person. I kept everything very low carb. I remained in ketosis. But up went my weight. With extreme prejudice. 5.2 pounds. Considering my 'new lows' are measured in 1/10 of a pound, 5.2 is a lot. Like, a real lot.

Never fear. It will reverse. But I don't expect it will be quick. And a difference with this weight gain compared to those in my prior dieting life is that I know the reason, I know the solution and there's no questioning whether the program works. Those niggling doubts about being the only person for whom a nutrition program doesn't work, about one's body being so far gone as to be irredeemable or that there's some secret being overlooked are not there. This works. I just need to get back to the very straight forward rules: keep carbs under about 20g/day, moderate protein and .... wait for it ... eat only when hungry.

Now, let's all spend the next 51 weeks enjoying freedom from the holidays!

[See information on watching the Periscope broadcast of the support group meeting mentioned in the video below]

Yup. Biggest weight gain I've had in a while. No mystery as to why, though. For more information on the ketogenic diet see below. ☞ SEE MY WEIGHT CHANGE CHART: http://caseydurango.com/my-next-goal ☞ READ MORE AT MY BLOG: http://caseydurango.com ☞ FOLLOW MY FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/ketocasey/ PERISCOPE BROADCAST Join us for a live stream Durham North Carolina Low Carb Support Group meeting tonight: Tuesday night, January 3, 6:30 pm Eastern Time (GMT-5).

PERISCOPE BROADCAST

Join us for a live stream Durham North Carolina Low Carb Support Group meeting tonight: Tuesday night, January 3, 6:30 pm Eastern Time (GMT-5). For those who attend, there is a possibility that your image/comments will make it into the live streaming. Please let us know if that is a problem. If you would like to watch, the following iphone apps are required: Twitter,Periscope. Be sure to go to Twitter and follow @drericwestman. Then at the meeting time, the livestream will appear in the Periscope app. Thank you!


Disclaimer: I’ve been fortunate to have had the time and resources to research the ketogenic diet, also known as LCHF (low carb/high fat). The information I share is based solely on my understanding of that research. We are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths and there’s no substitute for each of us checking things out ourselves. And I’m not a medical professional in any way. Go Keto With Casey is not a medical site. “Duh,” you might say. But best to make it clear to all.  I welcome questions, comments and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, if you have something to add, go for it. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links. Thanks!

More Before & After Photos. I Was SO Fat!

I can't really write much about this now, I'll let the video speak for itself, as it were.

More befoe and after photos. I had no idea I looked like this. Thank goodness for the ketogenic diet! For more information on the ketogenic diet, see below. ☞ SEE MY WEIGHT CHANGE CHART: http://caseydurango.com/my-next-goal ☞ READ MORE AT MY BLOG: http://caseydurango.com ☞ FOLLOW MY FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/ketocasey/


 

Disclaimer: I’ve been fortunate to have had the time and resources to research the ketogenic diet, also known as LCHF (low carb/high fat). The information I share is based solely on my understanding of that research. We are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths and there’s no substitute for each of us checking things out ourselves. And I’m not a medical professional in any way. Go Keto With Casey is not a medical site. “Duh,” you might say. But best to make it clear to all.  I welcome questions, comments and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, if you have something to add, go for it. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links. Thanks!

- Casey

Keto Cheesecake

My experience following the ketogenic (low carb/high fat) diet has been that it works better for me to be pretty strict. That is, I don't incorporate 'cheats' into it. I'll write and make videos about that topic in future, but suffice to say that once it became apparent to me that I am insulin resistant - that is, if I consume carbohydrates over the barest amount my body reacts with elevated blood sugar readings and more body fat - the course of action was clear and made sense: Don't eat carbs, dummy.

So sugars and starches (which are the same thing, by the way, but we've gotten ourselves into a rut of thinking that some carbs are really bad and some are little angels) were banished from my meals. No pasta, wheat, bread. Adios to tortilla chips, popcorn and arepas (a beloved Colombian breakfast item Lovely Mate is an expert at making). Rice? Nope. Potatoes? Are you kidding? No way! And, of course, sweets had to go.

This was not as hard for me as it might be for others. Probably because I was so miserable inside my skin - at 90+ pounds heavier, my skin was none too happy, either - and was on deck to become the next person in my large family to have Type 2 Diabetes, that I had hit the proverbial 'bottom'. My 'aha moment'. My 'something's gotta give' meltdown. And my research of this, inspired by this quiet little video, got me on a path to making carbs a part of my (very fat) past.

With that, I've decided that for me, trying to make low carb versions of the foods that got me to my previous sad state was not a good idea. Pretend bread, faux candy, etc., are not something I've gotten into. For one thing, I don't want to risk having the pretend foods triggering me wanting the real thing. Methadone may work when treating heroine addicts, but I'm not willing to hazard a slice of supposedly low carb bread made from almond flour and psyllium husk sending me into a spiral, ending with a face plant into a deep dish pizza and a giant chocolate chip cookie chaser. Consequently, I don't usually partake of the Saturday morning keto-friendly pancakes featured here.

Again, this is how I roll. Lovely Mate, on the other hand, can tolerate foods that are verboten for me and remain lean and in ketosis. Nuts, for instance. They're not on the list of allowed foods but he can grab a few out of the almond jar whilst passing through the kitchen most days and be fine. And his favorite, the almond cookies I made for this video, are obviously made of nuts.

This brings up to today's recipe. It's a low carb cheesecake. The base of ground almonds and butter for the crust is not the big culprit for me but rather the fact that it's really rich (ultimately calories matter and I simply need very few in a day) and each slice has about 7 grams of carbs which is about half my daily norm. Cream cheese is allowed, but not 'free'. And once I start, limiting myself is a challenge. So.... all that is to say that some folks can tolerate more carbs and/or calories and/or trigger foods and be fine. This is for you, you lucky souls.

Also, sometimes you just need cheesecake. Recipe and nutrition info below.

A basic low carb cheesecake recipe. Hope you like it!For more information on the ketogenic diet and links to products used in this video, see below. ☞ SEE MY WEIGHT CHANGE CHART: http://caseydurango.com/my-next-goal ☞ READ MORE AT MY BLOG: http://caseydurango.com ☞ FOLLOW MY FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/ketocasey/ _______________________________________________________________ Product links: ☞ OXO FOOD SCALE: http://amzn.to/2d7wMvO ☞ CUISINART 11-CUP FOOD PROCESSOR: http://amzn.to/2dhokZ7 ☞ COOLING RACK: http://amzn.to/2d6PPI ☞ CUISINART 7-SPEED HANDHELD MIXER: http://amzn.to/2hmtaYj _______________________________________________________________ crust...

CRUST...
     •     almond meal               3/4cup (70g)
     •     butter                          1/4cup (2oz)
melt butter w/almond meal; spread out in bottom of 9" pie plate

FILLING...
     •     cream cheese              16oz
     •     eggs                            3
     •     sour cream                  1/4cup (2oz)
     •     Splenda®                      2/3cup (20g)
     •     vanilla extract              1tsp
pour into ~9" pie plate
bake at @ 350° ~45 minutes (or until golden)

Serves 8. Each slice has ~353 calories, 31g fat, 8g carbohydrate



Disclaimer: I’ve been fortunate to have had the time and resources to research the ketogenic diet, also known as LCHF (low carb/high fat). The information I share is based solely on my understanding of that research. We are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths and there’s no substitute for each of us checking things out ourselves. And I’m not a medical professional in any way. Go Keto With Casey is not a medical site. “Duh,” you might say. But best to make it clear to all.  I welcome questions, comments and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, if you have something to add, go for it. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links. Thanks!

- Casey

Thanksgiving Can Be Challenging on the Ketogenic Diet

The Latest New Low and Thoughts on Why

Consider this a bit of a drive-by post. Not a great deal of new info but I wanted to share that every day that passes feels like validation of a kind of reboot I experienced whilst my Lovely Mate was out of the country, leaving me to solely my own food needs. (You can read about that here and here). When he returned I wondered if the changes - and weight loss - would stick.

The answer is yes, and yes.

Once having stripped away the daily 'food as habit' for a few weeks, it became clear I had been eating food I simply didn't need. Now it's pretty easy to maintain this reduced-food regimen. And today's weigh-in bore out the benefit. Or one of them. There are many, unseen benefits to gaining control over food. For many of us, we've felt controlled by meals and snacks and recipes. By food, of all things. The opposite of anything that should be the boss of anyone. But here we've been, subordinates to whatever has compelled us to stuff our faces,

Not me. Not ever again.

Even I'm surprised by the continued weight loss. For more information on the ketogenic diet, see below. ☞ SEE MY WEIGHT CHANGE CHART: http://caseydurango.com/my-next-goal ☞ READ MORE AT MY BLOG: http://caseydurango.com ☞ FOLLOW MY FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/ketocasey/



I’ve been fortunate to have exposure to leading researchers, physicians and journalists regarding the ketogenic diet, also known as LCHF (low carb/high fat). We are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths. I welcome questions, comments and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, if you have something to add, go for it. Thanks!  - Casey