Change. It Does a Body Good (v2)
/When I transitioned this blog from writing about my former career to writing about my experiences with, and understanding of, the ketogenic diet, the first post was titled "Change: It Does a Body Good." I was leaving the comfort and security of the past thirty years. It was a leap of faith—a big one. Like, a humongous pole-vault into the unknown. So I decided to approach things with an optimistic attitude.
Fortunately, the hopefulness was proved well-founded by the ensuing years. Having felt a failure for so long—a failure inside my head, not in my life—because I had been unable to lose weight. Imagine being a success in most areas, having a successful marriage, children, and career but rating oneself as a loser based on body weight.
Ha! Who am I kidding? Most of us have done that. I was among good company.
All changed when, after years of weight-loss attempts, I gave up. But I knew I was on track for a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes, and I couldn't abide the thought of having to take insulin to treat it. My search for a way to avoid led me to Dr. Eric Westman's 'white coat video.' His message rang true. It landed with me.
From that day in 2014, I've never looked back. Now, it's time to roll with change again. In truth, my life has been about perpetual, dramatic change for all the intervening years. Weight-loss, improved body-image, regained self-confidence—not to mention that my job is now talking and writing about and making videos about the protocol. I didn't see that coming seven years ago!
So, what's changing now? Loads. Of course, we know that life is change. If we're lucky, that is. When I look back to my past and reflect on who I was, how I behaved, my reactions to the world, there is not one point-in-time in which I would want to be stuck. My life morphed, and so did I.
Granted, some divergences from our path are more jarring than others—children coming into our lives comes to mind—but things shift all the time. Even subtle changes add up and become profound.
Where I currently find myself is in a place of contentment. Yes, that's right: peaceful happiness. To write this is nothing short of a sea change in itself. While I've had a great life, inside my brain, there seemed to be a slow simmer of anxiety and chronic depression. It wasn't every day, nor every week, or month. But one doesn't need to experience these feelings all the time to realize how debilitating they can be. What were the reasons for a high-achieving, gregarious, fortunate person to feel the weight of sub-surface dread?
I have no real idea.
My morbid obesity was probably a contributing factor, not only because—let's face it—who wants to be morbidly obese? But I now realize that the physiology involved when I consumed carbohydrates wreaked havoc with my brain chemistry as well as that from the neck down. I made changes, and thus, I was changed.
Now the continuum is extended. Things around have seemed somewhat settled over the last couple of years, yet they are different. My days have a pleasant rhythm to them. My Lovely Mate and I, long-married, enjoy the payoff of having made it together low these forty-plus years. I'm gratified and humbled to be making a living talking with people from the far corners of the globe about regaining control of our lives and health. It's all good.
So, what should change? Nothing should, nor does it need to. But changing it is, nonetheless. The reason I wanted to re-enter my life was to re-enter my life. That may seem obvious (as well as repetitive) but many of us get so caught up in researching how to lose weight, how the diet works, what expert says what, the minutiae of the food, etc., with hopes of making our lives better and rejoining the world. The thing is, sometimes there is so much of the former that we forget about the latter. We spend more time and energy on the process and don't recognize that we can start enjoying the results.
To that end, I am expanding this blog—and my days—with life beyond keto. Note: not life after keto. There is no after keto for me. But things that interest me that energize my creative self and have nothing to do with carb-counts are taking on a greater focus. Besides writing about and creating videos about the ketogenic diet, I'll share posts about our garden and chickens. What do we eat? What I'm reading? I'll share some of my favorite things and other Behind the Scenes things. I hope you get some useful ideas from this site. I will be enjoying the process of learning how to create quality and varied content.
Let's embrace our successes, challenges, and Life Beyond Keto.
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!
