In the evergreen attempts to wrangle our weight and health and gain control of our lives, there have always been companies, services, and so-called influencers (how the heck did that become a living?) hawking products and tools that will supposedly get us to our goals—finally. Yes, we can look back over the decades and find examples of pills that allow you to 'sleep away the fat,' rubber garments so we can sweat our way to a slimmer self, food delivery services guaranteed to get results, and books to tell how to fast. (Huh? A book that takes 150 pages to explain: Don't eat. That's like buying an app to help us follow time-restricted eating. Won't a watch do?) Oh, and the latest are alleged 'Keto Gummies' which are concoctions of apple cider vinegar and cane sugar. C'mon, y'all.

I begrudge no one making a living. But preying on the insecurities and desperation of people trying to get healthy is wrong. Sell widgets or what have you, but not useless gimmicks and click-bait scams. And let's you and I not fall for these things.

BEYOND KETO (with Casey)

    The photo above represents more than on “unexpected effects” of my experience with the ketogenic protocol. At least three things visible in the pic would have been beyond what I thought I’d ever do, what ever would be happening to me and around me. Wait. Four things. Four! This was during the first ‘Go Keto with Casey Cruise.’

•     That’s Thing One: Going on a cruise was never on my bucket list. It wasn’t even on my wish list or my ‘maybe it would be fun’ list. Yet there I am.

•      Thing Two: I was wearing shiny red, high-heel pumps. What? High heels? Red?! I couldn’t have fit in those shoes prior to keto, let alone be able to walk in them.

•    Thing Three: That one must be obvious, decided while a few members of the GKwC group were chilling the Martini Bar on the ship that I’d kick my heels up—literally.

•     Thing Four: I had the nerve to even host an eponymous cruise. I had no idea if anyone had interest in such a thing. Did it seem too ‘who does she think she is?’ It had been suggested to me by the pretty woman whose hand is wrapped around the back of my elevated ankle. (Lisa is a travel consultant as well as a friend of GKwC.) It was a well-attended and fun event and one of my fondest memories.

   And it was something that I’d never ventured to do before. This is another benefit Beyond Keto.

😉

I've been asked to create and provide meal plans. MyLovelyMate even suggested it. But there's a risk in that. And the risk isn't to me, but to anyone who thinks they should eat what and how much I eat. It's the same reason I don't share my weight. Even a person born on the same day as I, same height, same gender, same number of children, and so on, may be perfectly fine and happy at a higher or lower weight than I. We need to rely on listening to our bodies and hunger cues, not follow a chart or list made up to work for someone else's body. And food delivery services? I'll confess that, knowing myself as I do, if I received a week's worth of food, with breakfast, lunch, and dinners nicely laid out in my freezer, I'd eat all of them, hungry or not. Heck, in my darker days when trying to lose weight, I'd have eaten the entire shipment by mid-day Wednesday. You see, it's our disordered thinking and problematic relationship with food that is primarily at issue. Turning to a piece of paper or website to determine whether and how much to eat adds to the problem because many of us might consider meal plans to be instructions, not suggestions.

It's better the we learn the general framework of foods that won't cause insulin spikes and plunges and are nutritious and satiating. At the risk of repeating myself for the one-millionth time, here is how I learned and have practiced the ketogenic protocol for now over 11 years:

• Keep carbohydrate intake to 20 grams or fewer a day. (total carbs, not net carbs. Net carbs just mean more carbs.)

• eat fatty sources of protein, limited amounts of non-starchy vegetables (optional), and limited amounts of full-fat dairy (also optional)

• don't eat if you're not hungry (most challenging)

• stop eating when you've had enough (second most challenging)

No written plan, app, or chart can tell you when you're truly hungry or have eaten enough and should stop. No gummy will help you change from a sugar-burner to a fat-burner. We must wrest control of our food choices away from others and back where it should have always been: within ourselves.

And you guys do as you like and whatever works, but I won't be buying rubber garments to perspire the pounds off.

Eww. Just eww.

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!