Hey all,
Wanted to post some (unsolicited) advice here for anyone else who has struggled to get on keto and stick with it.
I feel like I've seen a lot of posts in the past saying something like, "I've tried keto [X] times but I can never stick with it. How many times did it take for you before you were able to stay with this lifestyle?"
I was also very much in this camp, and probably would have kept cycling through vowing to do keto perfectly --> succeeding for a couple weeks --> feel great, get overconfident --> binge on carbs because I don't have enough time with the new lifestyle --> repeat, until I took a "1% better approach."*
As an Autistic person, I'm very "all or nothing," so when the wheels started to fall off of my keto lifestyle, I said, "F*** it, I'll just start over tomorrow," and would go completely off the rails.
But all those "last suppers" add up, and were arguably the most detrimental habit getting in the way of sticking to keto and better health. So, instead of trying to be perfect right away, I got to keto in "phases."
First, I gave up alcohol.
After I stuck with that for a few weeks, I gave up ultra-processed foods.
Got that part of my diet cleaned up, so I phased out solo restaurant trips.
Alright, got some distance from that? Time to give up sugar.
Did that? Cool, take out any carbs left in your diet.
Ta-da! You're keto. And guess what? Since you've been gradually working on good habits for several weeks now, it's much, MUCH harder to throw away that progress and go back to square one, even if you have a lapse. I'm still not quite 100% keto, but even so, I've lost six pounds this month just by making small, incremental changes to get there.
Someone wrote on here once, "If you make it a lifestyle, the slow start won't matter,"** and it is SO true. Also, by getting out of the perfectionist mindset, I've been able to see the positive impact even small, 1% better changes can make. And that it and of itself has been really encouraging, and kept me motivated.
Anyway. Not sure if this will be helpful to anyone, but wanted to post this in case it might provide a new approach to someone trying to make a lifestyle change.
* For more details, read Atomic Habits. I dismissed it out of hand when it came out, but it ended up being one of the most helpful texts I read on breaking bad habits.
ETA: The author is James Clear. Sorry for the oversight!
** Sorry wise Redditor, I don't remember your handle, but I thank you for the sage advice.
“Time to give up sugar” is by far the hardest part of it.
When you do that, suddenly like 80% of everything at the grocery store you must avoid. You realize how hooked we are to sugar and big corpos, as a society.
Giving up alcohol and ultra processed foods is WAY easier!
When I gave up sugar and carbs I found myself "shopping the perimeter" at the grocery store out of necessity. There's nothing but sugar and starch on the shelves in the middle.
True. I've been giving up sugar for the last 2 years.
Idk the older I get the harder it is to eat sweet stuff. Coke gives me a headache and I feel all hot inside. This was before I even tried keto.
Partying and drinking is much harder to give up if you have a social life imo. And stuff like rice and noodles is just way more difficult than sweets and added sugars.
This is awesome, especially for those who think that it would be impossible to give up all the comfort/yummy stuff. I’m not in that category but I haven’t applied enough discipline to maintain strict keto for a while, maybe I’ll try this method to get back on track with it.
Well for myself when I watch the documentaries on white flour on YouTube we aren’t eating real food it really is baaaad That made it easier for me to say no to the white carbs and back to the almond flour etc keto style
Do you know the author? "Atomic Habits" gets me several hits on Google...
Yes!! The author is James Clear. Sorry for the oversight!
One of the quotes from that book that sticks with me is changing your mindset. “I’m not ‘trying to quit smoking’ but rather ‘I’m not a smoker’”. I’m not trying to quit eating carbs becomes I’m a keto eater.
Yes - or I don’t drink fruit juice, or eat potatoes. Somehow the statement helps.
Thanks a lot! I'll read it! 😁
I don't drink alcohol, barely never eat sugar and have a healthy life. Slim, sportive.... Doing keto for health: I feel that it makes me very good. My body feels in perfect shape when I maintain it. However, temptations are always around and the strict diet seems impossible to maintain: birthday dinners or random days when I feel more anxious make me fall from time to time. I try to keep it clean most of the time and falling 2-3 times a month. This is my best so far. If anybody can give me any advise for improving I accept them
My advice is honestly don’t sweat it. Having a cheat day for a birthday party or special event like a vacation is fine. Your body isn’t going to suddenly implode and you get fat immediately. If you’ve been cutting carbs for a long time, a few cheat days here and there is nothing really.
It’s much better for your mental health to not worry about it. It’s like going to the gym 5 days a week, but some weeks you only go 3 days. You are still healthy.
Watch Berg's video on what sugar and starch (especially industrial starch) does to your arteries. That helped me get off sugar instantly.
Currently not keto, more keto adjacent. I only did keto once for nearly 2 years.
I unintentionally did a similar approach. A year before keto and if, I was very, very sick. Also morbidly obese. I dont drink so quitting alcohol was never a thung for me.
But my starter point was cutting ultraproccesed foods and seed oils out. At the sane time reducing carbs and portion sizes using smaller dish sizes to create a psychosematic response to curb my appetite. Also adding fermented foods in. I didn't quit pasta, rice, potatos at that time but cut bread, chips, candy, sugar out or down severely. And the carbs I did do I did less of and paired with more whole foods. Good example was instead of my bowl of spaghetti being huge, and 80% pasta with a bit of meat sauce that was mostly sauce then top with parm, I did half the amount of pasta, increased the meat, onions, mushrooms in the sauce and used more of that. Then id skip dessert, and maybe have some tea with the meal. I used a smaller bowl too.
Did that for a year. In November of that year I stumbled across keto and if and did research before starting down that path around new years. Started simple. Cut carbs to 50g limit. Cut intake to 1900 cals as starter point. Cut refined carbs and potatos out completely. Stuck to 2-3 set meals maybe one snack and a 12:12 fast routine as starter point.
Then once that got too easy I cut carbs to 45g, upped my fast to 14:10, started excersising with 15-20 minutes walks. Cut intake to 1700.
Over time I got to a minimum of a 16:8 routine, less than 17 g carbs, 30-40 minute walks plus 12-15 minutes strength training daily.
Because of that approach I went from near if not over 300 pounds to 115 in just under 3 years.
Though at maintenance I had bad complications and left keto. I overcorrected and rn am around 200pounds. I'm only 5'2. Healthy weight for me starts at 130. So im around 70 pounds heavier than I should be. But thats better than 140-160 pounds overweight. I'm not saying i dont slip up for 2-3 days at a time sometimes. But I've learned how to safely manage.
My weight, as bad as it was wasn't my main issue thst started my changes. It honestly was my hashimotos getting so bad my body was shutting down. I wasn't left with a choice. I had to change or id be dead in 6 months to a year. I was that sick.
That was back in 2020-2021. I'm now 39 and at least 75-80% healthy. I've never beaten myself up when I slip up and go on a binge bender because I know with my specific issues it's not simple. I suspect I have some type of overeating disorder. But also my satiety and hunger hormones are screwed. My stomach acid levels are not the best and I have no gallbladder so absorbing nutrients isn't the best. Plus I struggle with three major psych diagnosis that come with depression symptoms and im a emotional/stress eater. All of these factors amplify the problem. It's a mix of physical health and physiological issues coupled with mental and emotional ones. So my benders are a symptom of thjngs I can't fully control. Plus add in a addictive personality and carbs being my drug of choice which only makes it worse.
Beating myself up would only make getting my crap straight harder. So I do scold myself a bit but take the "start fresh tomorrow " and "what's done is done and can't be undone, but tomorrow hasn't been done yet" mindset. I find that that way of thinking means I dont spiral and hate myself and quit. Taking it one day at a time and when I do binge thinking "tomorrow is a new day, tomorrow will be better" approach seems to keep me in the mindset to get back on track. Plus critical thinking of figuring out where I messed up and deciding to not repeat that behavior helps too.
I was also going to mention Atomic Habits.
There's a very good interview with James Clear here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn1w7Kw8x5E