Our Keto Journey – Day 1

Welcome to Me and My Chubby Adventures. 

I wanted to dedicate a special blog space to talk about weight.  More than just a weight loss journal, I want to use this space to get real about the issues of weight. I read a fantastic novel recently titled "Fat Girl On A Plane" and the author beautifully captured the physical and emotional struggle of being overweight.  This blog is my attempt to share my story in hopes that I can encourage others who are also struggling to balance their need to be healthy with the need to feel okay about yourself.  

Its no secret, my hubby and I are overweight.  Although I have been overweight most of my adult life, I was much thinner when I met my hubby ten years ago.  I had gone through a big life transition and lost a great deal of weight.  I looked and felt good, but it didn't last.

Weight is insidious; it creeps up when you aren’t paying attention. I definitely wasn't paying attention. My hubby loves food, especially the unhealthy kind. Having lots of sweet treats around the house makes it nearly impossible to resist.  My hubby is also a generous and loving person, so when I would crave salty potato chips he would oblige me by running up to the store and getting not one BIG bag, but usually two.  Again, as I have said, it’s nearly impossible for me to resist goodies when they are right in front of me.  Its pretty easy to see how the past ten years have added up to quite a few additional pounds. 

It wasn’t just the food - we are both couch potatoes. We honestly love to just snuggle on the couch and watch T.V. together. I used to jog and go workout and go hiking, I even completed a half marathon, but somehow over time it just seemed easier to stay home with Peter. Slowly but surely I began to exercise less and I packed on even more pounds.  

Generally I don’t give much thought to my weight, I tend to rely on cognitive dissonance, I know I am overweight but I just don’t really see it most days. I look in the mirror and I know I am fat, but I just ignore it.  Of course there are some moments when even I cannot ignore it. Buying a bathing suit is an uncomfortable reality, but lets be fair ladies, even when we are thin its uncomfortable to try on bathing suits. They tend to show off every flaw. Flying on a plane is another one of those uncomfortable realities. Acknowledging that the seatbelt is extended to its full length is scary; no one wants the embarrassment of asking for a seatbelt extender.  

Obviously it is time to lose some weight.  Although I am not a fan of dieting in general because they usually are not effective long term and I hate to support the multibillion dollar diet industry built on lies, my daughter was urging my husband and I to try the keto diet, at least for a month or two to help kick start our weight loss.  I was/am skeptical. I did lots of research and found lots of glowing endorsements for Keto as an effective weight loss technique, there is still little evidence that it is a truly sustainable lifestyle. Despite all of this I did not find evidence that Keto actually causes any harm so we decided to try it.

Today is day 1 of our Keto journey. Realistically I would love to lose 100 pounds, and I am pretty sure that would be a fair goal for my  chubby hubby too.  The big key to this whole keto diet is that without carbs, your body will actually begin to burn fat. This sounds good, I have plenty to burn. 

The diet itself feels very antithetical to any diet plan I had every heard of. On Keto you are allowed, even encouraged to eat fat. Yes FAT: butter, cream, bacon, etc. Eating this fat along with protein and low carb produce while not eating any foods high in carbs (bread, grains, cereals, pasta) and avoiding foods high in sugar (again carbs) causes a phenomenon in your body called ketosis which actually encourages your body to burn fat for energy. 

My first day I had my coffee and I still used my creamer even though it does have some carbs, but when it runs out I will transition to using heavy cream in my coffee, and for me I will add a drop of vanilla for flavor. I had some egg salad for lunch but not a sandwich because bread is a big no-no,  a handful of almonds for an afternoon snack and then when my hubby got home we both had a filet and some beautiful asparagus for dinner.  We both felt full and happy after dinner. So far so good. Hubby was missing his late evening snack so he helped himself to a cheese stick. 

I am not sure if this Keto diet will work, but I know I do need to get more active and get some of these pounds off.  I want to be healthy to play with my grandson and do all the traveling that I have planned so I guess the Keto diet can be a good first step. I will continue to blog my journey so you all can follow along with me.  

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