Let’s try to think of the last time life didn’t happen. If you’re like me, It was sometime around age 11 . But we all turn to using life as an explanation why we simply throw in the towel on so many things …
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We all need medical care at one time or another. We rely on the education and experience of our doctors, physician's assistants, nurses, and others in the healthcare system to help us stay healthy and to mend us when needed. However, we risk doing ourselves a disservice if we relinquish decision-making about our well-being to someone without questioning the whats, whys, and hows. Medical professionals go through years of education and training. They have more medical facts crammed in their noggins than there are cat videos on YouTube. They deserve the respect society often pays them. There is one glaring exception, though: nutrition. Most physicians receive virtually no nutrition training in medical school (other than saturated fat causes high cholesterol, which leads to heart disease, which kills you, which is inaccurate). Apparently, Hippocrates' quote, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" was left on the metaphorical cutting room floor when the curricula were designed.
Because so many medical professionals graduated with so little instruction on food and its impact on health—other than "everyone should move more, eat less, and when we eat it should be low-fat"—patients with symptoms of chronic disease are often given that bit of lame incorrect unhelpful advice—and are then prescribed medication. It is rare the GP who recommends their patient steers clear of carbohydrates (if they've inquired at all about what the person eats). Many don't realize that for many, intolerance to carbs is what causes those symptoms: inflammation, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, skin rashes. The list goes on. Further, many doctors believe that vegetables and fruit are "free" foods, that one can't overdo them, and that they are essential to our well-being. In fact, carbohydrate, of which fruit and veg are mostly comprised, is not an essential macronutrient. Fat and protein? Indeed, they are essential. That means that we must consume fat and protein to get the amino acids required for cell life—our bodies cannot generate those acids themselves. However, we don't need to consume carbohydrates to get the required glucose. Our bodies create glucose as needed through gluconeogenesis. I wonder if your doctor knows that. Possibly so, but very possibly not.
Decades of fat being demonized have resulted in medical misconceptions ruling the day. It has become Bizarro World, with the simplest solution to many health issues being ignored and the opposite of correct information being passed on to patients. There is little doubt that the tsunami of Type 2 Diabetes that is rolling over most of the world has been caused by poor nutrition recommendations put in place decades ago, resulting in poor medical guidelines. The solution is food, and that food should be low in carbohydrates.
How did we get in this mess? It's a long story—very long— and to delve further, I recommend reading The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz, and Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. (Try not to get too ticked off as you read how egos, politics, and commerce all came together to trash our collective health.)
How do we deal with our personal situation in regards to how or medical providers may advise us? Many of us already know that laying off carbs works. We feel better, lose weight, come off of medications. Our doctors may still be on a learning curve. My approach, after years of having noted in my medical record, "Casey continues to struggle with her weight [true]. I recommend a low-fat diet and exercise." After I lost the first 25 pounds or so after starting the ketogenic protocol, I went for my annual checkup.
"Hey! I see you've lost weight! That's great. How are you doing that?"
"By doing the opposite of what you told me to do."
"… Oh … I see. … Uh, so, what are you doing precisely?"
"I'm eating very low carbs and enjoying my fill of fat and protein."
"… Okay … I'm glad you're doing well, but I'm worried about your cholesterol."
"I know you are. That's not your fault. You were taught the wrong thing."
To her credit, my doctor took no offense and agreed to order of complete NMR lipid profile. That test provides more information about the several components that comprise cholesterol rather than getting just the overall—and pretty useless—number. Spoiler alert: the results of that checkup read, "Casey, these are excellent numbers. Your overall cholesterol number is a bit high, but that's because your HDL is so high. Keep up what you're doing."
Now, that's a good doctor. Being open-minded and a bit curious are good qualities in general. When one is charged with the healthcare of others, I dare say they are a must. Ultimately, though, we need to take more of a lead in our care. Medical doctors aren't infallible, and they don't occupy our bodies. They don't know how we feel, nor can they know how much better things are when we take control of our nutrition and fuel ourselves the way we are designed to do.
The bottom line is, our health is essentially in our hands when it comes to fundamental things. We can't control many things, and tomorrow is promised to no one. Random diseases can strike us, but we can control what we put in our mouths. And when choosing to eat foods that serve us and not to eat those that don't, we do a long way to wresting control of our future. Let's make our futures as vital, pain-free, medicine-free, and fulfilling as possible.
We can do it.
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!
It is inevitable that when one embarks on a new dietary regime, the focus falls on what we weigh. That makes sense if the reason for making a change is to lose weight. This often leads to weighing ourselves—a lot. What does the scale have in store for me today? The number reflected on the device beneath our feet determines what the day will feel like. Will it be elation or ruination? That reads pretty crazy, even as I type the words.
But that is how it can be for many of us. We've become brutalized by an inanimate object (one that we paid for, no less!) Sometimes we even ignore non-scale improvements if we haven't lost any weight. So what if our joint pain is gone? Big deal that we no longer feel the need to duck under our desk for an afternoon nap a là George Costanza. Hoopty-doo, when our clothes are looser. Okay, okay, our brain returns, and we now remember our home address and the name of our dog. We chuck out all the good because we want to lose weight. We want to lose weight. We want to lost weight, dang it!
This is our actual bathroom scale. It is now a tool, not a tryant.
I've written about my opinions of the tyranny of the scale before, and my position hasn't changed. A weighing machine should be factor number, oh, I don't know, seven in importance. Transformations can occur without even one ounce of variation on the blasted bathroom scale: coming off of—or preventing going on— medications; feeling better emotionally and mentally; being released from intrusive thoughts of food; being able to look back on a day and feel in charge of one's choices rather than at the mercy of them; realizing that blue jeans actually now fit rather than pinch us in all the wrong places. These are victories worth celebrating.
Decades ago, people ate what they had available and then got back to whatever chores and work required. Bathroom scales were introduced a little over one hundred years ago, in about 1917. That means that many of our grands and great-grands had no idea what they weighed. Neither did their doctors, as weight wasn't necessarily part of one's health profile. Imagine that: weight not being the first—the first—thing noted during a medical visit (other than whether we have health insurance is, of course). We are directed to step on and our weight recorded before even getting to the examining room! Yet, when was the last time a doctor asked you what you eat? The first question my vet asks is what I feed Jack. Hmmm.
There's an interesting article on the history of the bathroom scale by Kelsey Miller. Our culture has morphed from being oblivious about a number on a scale to obsessed with it in just a few generations. For some of us, since the reading on the scale determines our mood until the next time we weigh, we decide that the next time may be in a couple of hours. Then a couple more, hoping that we'll get a different answer if we keep asking the same question.
In my experience, what I weighed—which was a lot—was replaced in my motivation hierarchy with a desire to avoid taking insulin for Type 2 Diabetes. That hadn't been prescribed yet, but I reckoned the conversation with my GP was going to be part of my next annual checkup. Frankly, I had given up on losing weight. I've also written about this previously. But I feel it warrants repeating. The Summer of the Triathlons was pretty much the end of the line for me regarding attempts at weight loss. I did the "move more, eat less" thing, intently and as earnestly as I had undertaken anything. I trained for and participated in four sprint-level triathlons that year. By the end of the six months, I had lost eleven pounds and was hungry all the time. As it were, I threw in the towel, waved the white flag, surrendered, and accepted defeat.
Pick your metaphor. I was done. For some unknown and perverse reason on the part of the universe, my role in life was to be a clever, gregarious, self-deprecating fat person. I accepted that, but I didn't want to take insulin. That was my line-in-the-sand. Maybe that was a blessing for me in that the weight loss I experienced in the early days was, you should pardon the expression, gravy. Feeling better started very early and kept going. All the benefits noted above were ones I experienced. Many mornings when I came downstairs, I would update my husband on my weight loss, lack thereof, and, sometimes a tick up on the scale, I'd tell him I didn't care if I didn't lose another gram. That I'd never go back to how I ate before. That was about 40 pounds loss in. I've held pretty steady at 97.4 pounds for about four years now. And I won't go back. Ever. It would be nice to lose 2.6 more pounds so I can accurately state that I've lost an even 100 pounds since starting the ketogenic diet. I still weigh myself every morning, but the scale won't vex me again. Food is not the boss of me, nor is the scale. I've been set free.
You can be, too. 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!
In our attempts to wrangle our health and happiness to a place of confidence and success, wrest control of our lives, and make better choices, we rely on supposedly trusted sources.
It is not always easy. Frankly, sometimes it's impossible.
There are certain truths that, while not necessarily self-evident, we want to believe. We like to trust that if something appears in writing, it must have been vetted, checked for accuracy, and is honest.
Ha. That's a laugh. We all know better.
The thing is, even if we tend to be skeptical by nature, our desire to believe what we want to think can over-rule questioning a statement that beggars incredulity. We may question whether two plus two equals four, but we'll accept that a food product that boasts the word "keto" on the packaging is anything other than a valid nearly zero carbohydrate cookie. Spoiler alert: it's not.
The term keto is not regulated. Heck, it barely existed a few years ago. So, food purveyors can describe something being keto when it is, in truth, the opposite. A good rule of thumb is to assume that any item on grocery shelves that self-identifies as being "keto" isn't. Why? Because the ingredients that prepared-foods require to be shelf-stable are the opposite of low-carb/ketogenic. Think flours - even alternative ones like almond flour - are carbohydrate-dense. (You'll remember that the protocol - as I learned it and have practiced it, anyway - is to limit carb 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 not hungry; stop eating when satiated.) Nuts are not on Page 4; ergo, flours made from nuts aren't either. Making so-called "keto" cookies is not a thing. Truly. It's like selling a vegan chicken egg. Oxymorons, all around.
The thing is, we may want there to be the mythical baked good that is not carb-based. We may also want self-cleaning houses and poop-free diapers when we raise our children. There are no such things. To believe otherwise is magical thinking in the extreme.
If we need to avoid carbs, the thing to do is to - wait for it - avoid carbs. We need to lay off cookies, cakes, granolas, ice-cream, popcorn, etc., Even if the food-seller uses large, block letters reading "KETO" on the packaging. It just isn't. Their job is to try to sell us things. Our job is not to be sold a bill of goods. We are in control of our decisions, whether we like it or not.
Take the extra few seconds required to look on the back of the packaging, realize that total carbohydrate counts per serving (and check out what the vendor measures as a serving!), and make your decision based on the numbers, not on the marketing.
Don't blame keto for what the opportunists did.
Disclaimer: I’m not a medical doctor, researcher, or Ph.D. but rather 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!
There are certain topics that elicit frequent questions from people who have embarked on or are merely contemplating the ketogenic diet. Common subjects of concern or inquiry include questions regarding impacts on cholesterol, losing hair, gaining skin folds, or how to replace a favorite aunt’s recipe for strudel. Another recurring question is one that came to me recently from a reader of this blog. She put things very succinctly:
I just don’t understand how to stop the cravings?? It’s such a daily struggle!! How long did it take you to conquer this feeling??
The idea that we have - and are sometimes powerless against - cravings (a notion that food manufacturers are pleased to reinforce) is so entrenched in our psyches that we don’t question it. It’s a given: I crave, ergo, I must consume. Those who haven’t incorporated this notion into their daily lives are singular souls indeed. And I was not one of those rare folks.
That was, at least, until becoming ‘food sober’ gave me a different and, dare I write, clearer mind about some of our assumptions regarding where food has ranked in our lives as compared to where it should rank. Let’s face it, food has led us around as if we were little cockapoos and it was our haughty owner.
The question posed above led to a couple of immediate thoughts in my mind. One is that no one ever died from a food craving. Really, REALLY wanting a particular food is not fatal, nor an actual emergency. (Sorry but, “get me a danish and nobody gets hurt” has lost its humor when Type 2 Diabetes is a growth industry for pharmaceutical companies and many of us can barely squeeze behind the steering wheel of our cars.) The good news is, we can break out from the yoke of cravings and they need no longer be in the driver seat.
First and foremost, we need to recognize that sometimes when we ‘crave’ a food, it might be that we are habituated to eat it. If every day after work there is a ritual of putting down the house keys, placing the briefcase or purse on the table, heading for the fishbowl of cookies on the counter, grabbing a couple to eat (mindlessly) whilst sorting through the mail, we may think we are craving cookies if that schedule is disrupted and we’re not at home but caught in traffic. “Man, I really want a cookie!”, percolates up into our thoughts as we sit in the car. That’s more like a circadian rhythm. You always have a couple of cookies right about now. But let’s be logical about it, cookies aren’t going to do us any good, no matter when or why we usually eat them.
Second, we don’t crave what we don’t eat. Those of us who didn’t grow up on a steady diet of squid probably aren’t pining for it on a regular basis. So the trick is to stop eating the foods we tend to crave.
One of the aspects of a well-formulated ketogenic diet is that, when carbohydrate intake is reduced sufficiently, our hunger and appetite are naturally suppressed. (It really is true, I promise) Thus, we eat less. And we don’t crave what we don’t eat. It may take a few days, but it works. Physiologically, that is. If we are bound and determined to allow some foodstuff to lord over us, then that’s a conversation one needs to have with oneself. And part of that conversation needs to include advice to ‘get a grip’. A craving is not directly connected to our central nervous system. There’s no involuntary reflex of lifting a hand to mouth in response the ‘I want some fries’ craving stimulus. Eating is still a behavior. One which we can control. It’s just so much easier to do so when one is burning fat for fuel rather than burning glucose.
In short, keeping carbohydrate intake to 20g/day or fewer (total carbs, not net), eating fatty sources of protein, not eating if not hungry and stopping when satiated will get you where you want to be, craving-wise, in short order.
There may still be work to be done in the behavior department, but even that is easier to face when not having to swat away intrusive thoughts of food.
The protocol is legit. It is simple. It is safe. And you’re stronger than a cookie.
Disclaimer: I’m not a medical doctor, researcher or PhD but rather a 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!
@ Casey Durango 2024
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