I Control My Food ... Mostly
/Weight Loss Fluctuations (3.3.2025 to 3.9.2025)
This post will be a particularly short read. Mostly because I'm vexed, and the topic of the post is doing the vexing. To whit: foods that, while healthy and good choices for me and my constitution, require restraint and control on my part. And who wants to have to exercise self-restraint when presented with deliciousness, or maybe not even so great tasting as having a weird and unexplainable power to compel the hand to repeatedly travel to the mouth with forkfuls or spoonfuls or palmfuls of whatever that food is?
Yeh, yeh. I know. I've lost weight, gotten very healthy, and become a footnote, and also-ran, in the pantheon of people talking and writing about the ketogenic diet and the benefits of following it. I sell t-shirts and mugs that read, "Food Is Not the Boss of Me" and "I'm Stronger Than a Cookie." Those are both real and true statements. Those sentiments, as well as "I Laid off the Carbs and Laid off the Excuses," all have meaning for me. The one about the carbs and the excuses holds firm. Carbs are not my issue. (It took a few at-bats over the years for that to be true, but true it is.)
No, I am apathetic towards foods that used to haunt me. Pizza? No thanks. Tortilla chips? Pass. M&Ms? Uh, nope. But I have moments when perfectly acceptable and Page-4 listed foods make me want to break the third—and fourth—precept of the ketogenic protocol as I learned it and as I have followed it since January of 2014. Namely, don't eat if you're not hungry, and stop eating when you've had enough.
Some foods are more challenging for me to manage. I don't know why. I've given up trying to understand why. There probably isn't an answer, anyway. Some things just are. And perhaps you have some grub that stretches your resolve. One of mine is—get this—mashed cauliflower. I make it pretty straightforwardly with steamed cauliflower put into a food processor, a bit (not much) of butter, and a bit (not much) of cream. Add a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper and you have a nice accompaniment to a pork chop or chicken thigh or what have you. But I struggle to keep things to a "side" sized portion. I want to eat ALL the mashed cauliflower. All. Of. It. "What harm is that?" one might ask. That's a vegetable, and veggies are good for us!" But the way I've had success on the diet is to keep non-starchy vegetables to a maximum of about a cup (before being cooked or processed) a day. That doesn't result in much of the pulverized pabulum. But more than violating the by-the-numbers bit of following a nutrition convention, standing over a Cuisinart® work bowl, scarfing down serving spoonfuls of the lovely stuff in rapid succession is NOT being stronger than food.
It's like I used to feel before keto when I would eat food I hadn't intended on consuming, cry while doing so, and ask myself through the tears, "Why? Why am I eating this?!" I would then go back for another helping. This self-destructive behavior preceded feelings of shame and regret, two emotions that travel hand-in-hand.
I don't want to be in that mental space ever again. So, I must pre-arm myself to step away from certain foods before the stuff is in front of me.
"Get thee behind me, Satan. Oops. I mean Mashed Cauliflower! And you, too, Satan!"
If you have a mashed cauliflower type thing in your days, even as you manifest control over other foods, know that you're not alone. And know that you can wrest authority from temptation's spell.
This sounds rather biblical, doesn't it? But, while laying off carbs and putting food where it belongs in our lives isn't a battle between good and evil, it feels like it sometimes. Let's root for good.
And, as always, 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!
