Challenges I Still Face (even after all these years)
/Weight Loss Fluctuations (6.16.2025 to 6.22.2025)
After one has been doing something for a long time, it's easy to become complacent about the effort that went into starting that thing in the first place. How much effort did it take in the beginning? How thoughtful were we in doing what it took to get where we wanted to be? Shifting from the mindset of 'what do I need to do to achieve my goals' into entertaining thoughts of 'what can I get away with doing—or not doing? This holds for everything from maintaining a tidy house to being in a committed relationship to being a productive employee, to, well, to loads of things.
Self-satisfaction can morph into smugness. "I've got this. No more worries about [fill in the blank]."
Danger, danger, y'all.
behold the beautiful, beloved, patacones. I’ll miss them until the next trip to colombia.
While focusing on our corporeal goals may feel more shallow caompared to tending to our more spiritual needs or our interpersonal relationships. At times, it may be,but isn't all of it interwoven? Doesn't feeling better about ourselves help lots of aspects of our lives? Holistic is a trendy word lately, along with the silly bespoke, artisanal, and curated—which are just silly, particularly when those words are in commercials referring to things like expensive coffee or french fries. Anywho, an integrated approach to getting and feeling better and happier is great. However, if we slack off on any aspect of our noble efforts, others can be negatively impacted. To whit: I've been following the ketogenic protocol for over eleven years. I have long since left whistful thoughts of pizza and chips and M&Ms behind and exchanged the momentary pleasure of eating those, and other carb-bomb foods, for the long-lasting benefits of not needing any medications, supplements or other medical baggage. I feel pretty good most days.
"Food is not the Boss of Me" is more than a slogan on mugs and t-shirts that I sell. Honest and true, not only am I successful and declining those foods which don't serve me well, and doing so doesn't feel like a sacrifice or that I'm depriving myself. There are times when I'm in Colombia, as I am now, when I work to be conscientious about eating a favorite local staple: patacones. Yum. And, although we can easily find plantains (the large green banana-type plant from which the delightful patacones are made) at our home in North Carolina, we generally don't. This is my fourth trip to My Lovely Mate's homeland, and I have successfully learned my limits regarding the delicious disks of fried and salted yumminess. It has taken mental preparedness, and it's paying off.
So, what is the point of this post, which is supposedly about challenges I still face since it doesn't sound like food is to any great extent? Well, there are a couple of things I have to work on, or get back to working on. They both fold nicely into the mind/body/spirit thing (perhaps another overused trope). I find myself with what can be described as "Fat Girl Flashback." I hesitate to participate in some activities and adventures because I fear I won't fit inside the whatever, that the parasail will plummet to the ground due to my one-ton self, or that I'll embarrass my husband in front of others as they wonder how he got saddled with me. These self-doubts and negative thoughts bubble up without warning. While I am not a swimsuit model and have jiggly bits, I know intellectually that I'm not at risk of getting stuck in a turnstile and that paraglides can handle my weight (probably). But the unfriendly thoughts I sometimes have about myself do me no good. They don't enhance my life. On the contrary, they threaten to return me to an emotional place in which I have lived for decades and where I don't want to return. So, I try to get in front of the images of a rotund person in a world of svelte people. Neither of those notions is accurate. Yet they appear in my thoughts like the proverbial bad penny.
Another issue is that I've nearly abandoned my previous efforts at strength training. In the first years of my keto-infused life, my body was passably taut and muscular for a person my age. I engaged in regular and rudimentary resistance training, occasional laps in the pool, and even turns on an indoor track. Athletics has never been part of my life, but my routine paid off, and I enjoyed the shape I was in. I used to get compliments on my arms, which blew my mind. But my body composition has metamorphosed from pretty good to pretty mushy. I slowly drifted away from investing even the relatively limited amount of time dedicated to working out. Week after week, and then month after month, I found myself more dormant and less dynamic. My gradual lessening of attention to this very important aspect of my health has not been due to carb creep, as many people experience. Call mine quiescence-creep. Bit by bit I've done less and less. And, just as a relationship can deteriorate by degrees over time without concerted attention, and as our house can go from a showplace to a bit of a sty without consistent efforts, impressive triceps can become bat wings, and what had been a relatively flat tummy is now a tripping hazard.
Okay, that last one is an exaggeration, but not by much.
So, even after all these years, several of which I've lived publicly as "Go Keto with Casey," I still face struggles. And why wouldn't I? We all have those things which trouble us, sometimes for no good reason. Some of our challenges are immediately visible to others. Many aren't. Mine are half and half.
What am I to do about it all? I'll approach these foibles as I did my decades-long preoccupation with food and my fat body: with persistent, consistent effort, with the support of a loving partner, and by being honest with myself (the hardest part, for sure.) Join me as I do the work needed to get me where I want to be, feeling the way I want to feel.
Sheesh. Just when you think it's safe to take your foot off the gas, right?
Disclaimer: I’m not a medical doctor, researcher, or Ph.D., but instead, 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 affiliate links, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through those links. Thanks!
