Days 1-5
For most of my life, I have been overweight. But when I reached my 20's, it spiked. I am now considered morbidly obese. It is scary, that word "morbid". I see myself spiraling but my addiction to sugar and carbs was more important than my heath. It ruled my life. I felt out of control although I am 100% capable of fixing it. I chose to be the victim of my health issues. Every morning, I would roll out of bed, needing my sugar fix.
5 days ago, I went to an endocrine doctor. Along with my weight issues, I was pre-diabetic, and I believe I have PCOS, or Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. I have skin tags, sweat a lot, have a low metabolism, am predisposed to depression, and without going into too much detail, I have irregular periods. Part of me was hoping that this doctor could give me a miracle fix. In a way, she did. She explained to me the roles of my blood sugar, what causes my addiction to sugar and carbs, and offered to prescribe me a medication called Metformin. It basically would assist in my losing weight. I still am not sure if I am going to do this until I know I will need the help. She also described the low-carb/sugar, high-fat diet. It is similar to Keto, but not as extreme. People on the Keto diet are allowed up to 20g of carbs a day. My doctor recommended up to 100g for me. That may sound like a lot to all of you healthy people, but for a person like me who mostly ate carbs, it's a big adjustment. I left that office feeling determined, and so far, it hasn't waned.
Day 1: I had started that day with a huge (HUGE) bowl of cereal, then stopped at Dunkin' Donuts on the way to the appointment (10:45AM) to get a coffeecake muffin and a sugared out coffee. For those of you wondering, those two items alone are 134 grams of carbohydrates, 34g over what I now am aiming to stay under. Mind you, I am trying to stay far under 100g. That is my tippy top. That day, I was pet sitting for a couple of cute Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dogs overnight. It was not my house and not my food so I did my best. It was a rough night, with my stomach growling despite the fact that I know I ate an adequate amount. What I didn't realize was how my stomach was growling FOR carbs and sugar. The detox headache set in and again, it was rough.
Day 2: Since I woke up in a home that was not mine, I was limited for what I could have for breakfast. I believe I had an apple and a Kind bar, which technically has refined sugars, something I needed to stay away from. That being said, it was the best I had. For lunch, I had a big omelette with sausage, cheese, and all sorts of veggies with a side of fruit. I met a friend for lunch and we caught up. Since I moved a couple of years ago, we haven't really hung out much. Apparently he had also made a huge change in his diet, and we talked about the trial and errors of first starting out. He brought a friend along, and it seemed like fate because she was super knowledgeable about nutrition and helped me understand it all a bit more. They suggested a chickpea-based pasta from the health food store and I am so glad they did because it's been a staple of mine. The whole day was hard. Headaches, low energy, mood swings, forgetfulness, etc. I described myself to my friend as an irritable sloth.
Day 3: This was the first day that I started to feel a little better. I woke up, had an apple with peanut butter and eggs with cheese. It was a slow day, with only one dog to walk. My energy levels still plummeted unexpectedly. It was the first day that I realized I had to pay attention to what my body needs to get energy. Lunch was a Subway salad with all sorts of veggies, chicken and bacon. That's the beauty of a high fat diet: I am encouraged to eat stuff like full fat lettuce and bacon. I was not nearly as hungry as the days before and only finished about half of the salad. I started feeling depressed and gross about an hour after. It was still trial and error. This was also the day I started taking a Magnesium supplement. It definitely helps.
Day 4: I tried to make low carb pancakes. They failed pretty miserably. I had one regardless, and the apple with peanut butter. Same Subway salad, but I ate more of it this time. My energy levels were still waning but I did my barn chores and didn't have that headache. Since electrolytes are a big issue with people who recently start a diet like mine, I broke down and got low sugar Gatorade that night. Dinner was a slice of coconut flour bread that reminds me more of cornbread than anything else. I tried to have a can of minestrone, but didn't realize it had noodles in it before I heated it up. I picked at it, but because of the rest of my high-fat meals, I wasn't hungry for more.
This brings me to today. I had a much easier time with breakfast this morning. Since it is my weekend to feed the horses, I put a heaping cup of full fat plain yogurt into a Tupperware, cut up some strawberries, put some nuts in there, and hit the road. I took my Gatorade with me because I sweat like a beast, especially in this weather. I am not nearly as exhausted after one stall as I was yesterday. Part of it might have been the Magnesium, or maybe it was the Gatorade. Whatever it is, I feel almost normal today. No idea what is for lunch. Possibly canned soup again because it's quick and easy. I have realized that what I am doing is less low carb and more just trying to be mindful of what I eat. I haven't had any processed carbs or refined sugars, but still eat plenty of fruits. It is all give and take, but as of now, I don't feel deprived in any way. I think it'll all be a game of give-and-take in terms of how much to eat and when.
5 days ago, I went to an endocrine doctor. Along with my weight issues, I was pre-diabetic, and I believe I have PCOS, or Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. I have skin tags, sweat a lot, have a low metabolism, am predisposed to depression, and without going into too much detail, I have irregular periods. Part of me was hoping that this doctor could give me a miracle fix. In a way, she did. She explained to me the roles of my blood sugar, what causes my addiction to sugar and carbs, and offered to prescribe me a medication called Metformin. It basically would assist in my losing weight. I still am not sure if I am going to do this until I know I will need the help. She also described the low-carb/sugar, high-fat diet. It is similar to Keto, but not as extreme. People on the Keto diet are allowed up to 20g of carbs a day. My doctor recommended up to 100g for me. That may sound like a lot to all of you healthy people, but for a person like me who mostly ate carbs, it's a big adjustment. I left that office feeling determined, and so far, it hasn't waned.
Day 1: I had started that day with a huge (HUGE) bowl of cereal, then stopped at Dunkin' Donuts on the way to the appointment (10:45AM) to get a coffeecake muffin and a sugared out coffee. For those of you wondering, those two items alone are 134 grams of carbohydrates, 34g over what I now am aiming to stay under. Mind you, I am trying to stay far under 100g. That is my tippy top. That day, I was pet sitting for a couple of cute Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dogs overnight. It was not my house and not my food so I did my best. It was a rough night, with my stomach growling despite the fact that I know I ate an adequate amount. What I didn't realize was how my stomach was growling FOR carbs and sugar. The detox headache set in and again, it was rough.
Day 2: Since I woke up in a home that was not mine, I was limited for what I could have for breakfast. I believe I had an apple and a Kind bar, which technically has refined sugars, something I needed to stay away from. That being said, it was the best I had. For lunch, I had a big omelette with sausage, cheese, and all sorts of veggies with a side of fruit. I met a friend for lunch and we caught up. Since I moved a couple of years ago, we haven't really hung out much. Apparently he had also made a huge change in his diet, and we talked about the trial and errors of first starting out. He brought a friend along, and it seemed like fate because she was super knowledgeable about nutrition and helped me understand it all a bit more. They suggested a chickpea-based pasta from the health food store and I am so glad they did because it's been a staple of mine. The whole day was hard. Headaches, low energy, mood swings, forgetfulness, etc. I described myself to my friend as an irritable sloth.
Day 3: This was the first day that I started to feel a little better. I woke up, had an apple with peanut butter and eggs with cheese. It was a slow day, with only one dog to walk. My energy levels still plummeted unexpectedly. It was the first day that I realized I had to pay attention to what my body needs to get energy. Lunch was a Subway salad with all sorts of veggies, chicken and bacon. That's the beauty of a high fat diet: I am encouraged to eat stuff like full fat lettuce and bacon. I was not nearly as hungry as the days before and only finished about half of the salad. I started feeling depressed and gross about an hour after. It was still trial and error. This was also the day I started taking a Magnesium supplement. It definitely helps.
Day 4: I tried to make low carb pancakes. They failed pretty miserably. I had one regardless, and the apple with peanut butter. Same Subway salad, but I ate more of it this time. My energy levels were still waning but I did my barn chores and didn't have that headache. Since electrolytes are a big issue with people who recently start a diet like mine, I broke down and got low sugar Gatorade that night. Dinner was a slice of coconut flour bread that reminds me more of cornbread than anything else. I tried to have a can of minestrone, but didn't realize it had noodles in it before I heated it up. I picked at it, but because of the rest of my high-fat meals, I wasn't hungry for more.
This brings me to today. I had a much easier time with breakfast this morning. Since it is my weekend to feed the horses, I put a heaping cup of full fat plain yogurt into a Tupperware, cut up some strawberries, put some nuts in there, and hit the road. I took my Gatorade with me because I sweat like a beast, especially in this weather. I am not nearly as exhausted after one stall as I was yesterday. Part of it might have been the Magnesium, or maybe it was the Gatorade. Whatever it is, I feel almost normal today. No idea what is for lunch. Possibly canned soup again because it's quick and easy. I have realized that what I am doing is less low carb and more just trying to be mindful of what I eat. I haven't had any processed carbs or refined sugars, but still eat plenty of fruits. It is all give and take, but as of now, I don't feel deprived in any way. I think it'll all be a game of give-and-take in terms of how much to eat and when.
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