This Is Not A "Diet."

It's a huge step in anyone's life journey, if they are an overweight person like myself, to sit back and realize that permanent weight loss can only be attained by realizing that your eating habits must also permanently change.  To be able to tell yourself and anyone else that "this is not a diet" is a monumental realization.  In the past I have tried any number of diets, usually with some sort of success that never lasted long beyond the diet itself.  Fast food, pastas, ice cream (my ultimate favorite), and ridiculously oversized portions always would rear their ugly head eventually no matter the will-power I would begin any regiment with...because all "diets" tend to end at some point.  After having my third child I fully embraced that I would have to permanently, with no exceptions, cut certain things out of my life...namely carbohydrates and sugar...if I wanted to ever reach the weight loss goals I wanted to see (getting below 200 lbs).

My infant daughter is eight weeks old today, and about four or five weeks ago I began abstaining from eating all of the foods I knew I shouldn't.  I have not had a single piece of any type of grain, starchy vegetables, sugary products, fruit (except a few wild blackberries off of my property), or anything else in terms of excess carbohydrates.  My staples are meats, cheeses, and fresh vegetables (excepting potatoes, corn, peas, or other starchy/sugary veggies).  I also love healthy fats such as butter, heavy whipping cream (oh God I love this stuff, so I have to try to keep myself away from it!), and coconut oil.  Full-fat salad dressings such as really good caesar or blue cheese are high on my favorites list as well.  I have, without fail, not bent in terms of what I have eaten; at two family gatherings I ate only meat and did not have beans, cake, ice cream, or garlic bread.

The main thing that I try to focus on, rather than counting exact numbers like I should to really have a 100% "ketogenic" diet, is to keep my fat intake higher than my protein intake and keep my carbohydrate intake at a very low level (net carbs are usually about 20g or less per day I would estimate, with some fluctuations here and there but never above 30g).  The fats, once again, are easy for me to intake:  most of my favorite low carb items are higher in fat than they are in protein, and even with some items having a lot of protein I usually balance it out throughout the day by consuming fats like whipping cream or coconut oil.  I make a low carb, high protein - high fat shake almost every morning for breakfast, usually consisting of protein powder (sugar free, stevia sweetened), unsweetened vanilla almond milk (zero net carbs), maca powder (this most likely has carbs, but the amount I use is a teaspoon which can only have five grams or less of carbs), and heavy whipping cream (to increase the fat content since none of the other items have much fat).  This is a great on the run shake you can whip together in no time.  The nutrition breakdown is as follows:

Fats -- ~25g (this can be increased by using more whipping cream and less almond milk than I do)
Protein -- 28g
Net Carbs -- 2g (or, with maca powder, around 6 or 7g total).

With something quick and easy like this instead of a cereal bar or some fast-food biscuit, I can easily stick to my goals and dietary needs without being tempted to consume something else.  It is fully embracing my mantra that "this is not a diet."  I love shakes, and adding this to my every day routine was simply logical.  Sometimes, on the weekend, I will cook eggs with veggies instead, or some other more time consuming breakfast item...but I must admit that my one shake a day is so tasty that I am tempted to make another later :)

I am hoping that finding joy in what I can eat and avoiding what I shouldn't will keep my motivation high.