How Long Did It Take for Me to Truly Control My Eating? 🤔
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The ketogenic protocol is a lovely thing. One gets to eat delicious foods, and the principles are straightforward:
keep carbohydrate intake to 20 grams/day or fewer (total carbs, not net)
if it's not on Page 4, don't eat it
don't eat if you are not hungry
stop eating when satiated
The tenets noted above are as I learned and have practiced them for over 10 years. Nothing has changed from the earliest posts I made about how my life changed after I laid off the carbs and laid off the excuses. The food (listed on famous Page 4) is easy to understand. It notes fatty protein sources and limited amounts of non-starchy vegetables and full-fat dairy, which are not compulsory. One can learn it in a snap.
There are, however, those sneaky third and fourth bullet points. "Don't eat if you're not hungry. Stop eating when you've had enough."
Ay ay ay.
There is so much more to our relationship with food than needing fuel. (And not for nothing, but doesn't it seem weird to elevate food to relationship status? I mean, it's food for crying out loud. *shrug*) For better or worse, those of us privileged to have ample food supplies have lost our key hunger signals. Our 'off buttons' have gone on the blink, and we can keep eating without regard to satiety—and sometimes without regard to propriety. Have you seen how some of us look whilst scarfing down humongous portions? It's not a good look, folks!
Anywho, addressing the question posed in the title of this post, in the 10+ years of my 'keto experience,' when did I know that I was 100% in control of food?
It was about six weeks ago.
No kidding.
While I haven't strayed from the 'lay off the carbs' part of the ketogenic diet since I started following it on January 8, 2014, the quantity of food I eat has changed over time. Please note that this is still in keeping with the four dictates. Nowhere are we instructed how much to eat, merely to eat how much we need and not more. So, as I lost weight, aged (!), and morphed into a different stage of life (double !), I required less fuel. But up until recently, I was still sometimes eating out of habit and not from hunger. It was a realization that came to me when I was at home for a few weeks alone, my husband having traveled to Colombia, South America. As I write this, I'm now here as well. But he came before me to tend to our little coffee farms. So, while I was at home solo, I practiced paying close attention to how much I was eating compared to how much I had been eating previously. It became clear that habit had more to do with my food routine than hunger. Oops! What would "Go Keto with Casey" say?
So I returned to 'pushing the peckishness,' resulting in eating less frequently and less volume. And I suffered not a whit because of it. No misery, no deprivation. Also, no chagrin at having done what I knew better than doing. Eating more than needed isn't a sin or a crime. It's also not a virtue.
What did the revelation and subsequent tweaks to my eating habits change?
Very little.
The number on the scale has stayed the same. I wear the same clothes I have worn for the last several years, and my health is just as stellar as before. So, "what was the point?" you might rightly ask. Why not go on as I had been? Everything was cool before, right? And, after all, We're not talking about a vast difference in quantities of chow. It has been a bit less food a bit less frequently.
The point was that I now feel different, better. I'm now even more the mistress of my fate. And I don't have the somewhat weight-down feeling that I did before. I feel lightened, internally and emotionally.
If you are a novice or an old hand at managing what and how much you eat, know that there are always, and I mean always, opportunities and reasons to revamp our routines. They might be cosmic or common, substantive or subtle. As with most things, this protocol is not 'set it and forget it.' We must pay attention, keep asking more of ourselves, and then expect more for ourselves.
As always, I'll remind you: if I can do this, you can do this. I promise.
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!
