Category Archives: Keto fail
Trouble in Keto-ville, but good news about cholesterol
My last post was a few months ago. Seems like yesterday. Here’s a rundown of the events (in terms of the keto diet and related issues).
Number one: gained weight back.
Sigh. I had lost nearly 40 pounds by late fall of 2012. I knew I’d NEVER stop eating on the keto plan. Well, I was wrong.
Slowly, over the course of a few months, I binged on carbs, went back on keto, binged on carbs, returned to the plan, binged on carbs…well, you get the idea.
I closed my eyes to the clothes that got a little more snug – as long as I could. I knew I had to weigh in, or risk gaining it all back through poor planning and avoidance issues.
So, instead of ignoring the problem, I actually WATCHED the scale indicator climb. And went back on, and went back off the keto plan.
Last month, I started getting dizzy spells. Great. I figured I yoyo-dieted my way into type 2 diabetes or worse. I am a doctor-avoider, but it was time; ten years with no check up is foolish. I have whatever I have, and I’d better well face it head on.
So, I found a primary care physician and went for an exam and blood tests. He discovered that I have extremely high blood pressure: 180 over 100. This was news to me. Last time I checked, it was 130 over 90. Well, that was quite a while ago.
I’m on meds, and the bp has gone down. I’m still getting dizzy, but I’m going to get an eye exam, since it only seems to happen at work after an hour or so on the computer. Home on weekends=fine. Or it could be stress. Whatever.
Here’s the good news for keto dieters.
I’m often told by “carb eaters” that keto is dangerous. “You eat foods with all that fat? Your cholesterol must be sky high!”
WRONG
My bad cholesterol (LDL) was high; HOWEVER, my GOOD CHOLESTEROL (HDL) WAS SOOOOO HIGH, that the overall report is excellent! The doctor gave me his blessing to continue with the keto plan, suggests I incorporate walking and get back to it. I’m going for a complete physical in about a month. We’ll see if we can conquer this dizziness issue.
I also need to conquer this diet issue. I’ve had a relatively good week. Keto breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A few bad snacks, but mostly it’s been no/low carb eating every day. I CAN DO THIS!
Graphic from http://loveabetes.blogspot.com/2013/02/what-am-i-eating-today.html
Day 5: The birthday party
It was Friday, and I had a good start with a keto-friendly breakfast (eggs/bacon, of course).
I was only working until 1:30, then my son/wife, niece/husband/kids and I were getting together at 3 to celebrate my dad’s birthday. My dad died last May, and his great-grandson Owen decided we should get together as usual and have a party for him. We ordered his favorite pizza, I made the cake he always baked, we watched some videos of him, and had some pictures out.
It was nice, and I decided to go for a cheat meal and just enjoy it. I had 4 pieces of pizza (with crust) and some lemon/lime refrigerator cake.
Breakfast and the party food was all I ate for the day. At home that evening, I was pretty hungry, and made the unwise decision to have a glass of wine. Maybe it was thinking about and missing my dad, but I ended up eating no more, but drinking a bottle of wine. Sigh. Bad decisions all around.
I’m pretty sure the carb count was astronomical. Let’s start over tomorrow.
Updating by email
You may have noticed that I haven’t been keeping up on the blog lately.
I’m back on track and eating on the keto plan, but I haven’t had much time to blog. The day job, the web business, and a few weeks of travel (to Florida!) have slowed down my blogging progress.
I found this plugin that allows me to blog from email. Let’s hope that makes it easier for me to log in on the road.
I wonder how well I can show pictures of my latest recipes and meal discoveries here. Let’s try it…Here’s a bad meal that I ate at the ubiquitous Waffle House. That was part of several continued BAD vacation decisions.
Here’s to a more successful week now that I’m back in town. More to report later.