Hello.
There comes a point in this adventure where we need to talk about the affects the Keto Diet is having on our body and mind.
Let me address the physical first. With a really Bad Back, it can be difficult to stand in the kitchen long enough to prepare some of these meals. Mine is particularly finicky about standing in one area for too long and it starts to spasm and seize if I don’t take breaks. So I really need to manage the cooking process in segments in order to keep from really hurting myself.
As well, I have really Bad Feet (bilateral plantar faciitis), and they are not happy about standing – EVER. No matter what shoes I buy or any orthodics that are prescribed, the dogs just hate being used. And we’ve been through every therapy known to man (to date); barring any surgical procedure to fix them. NOTE: Three Podiatrists say, sure we can do the surgery. But your feet are so bad that the problems WILL come back. And could be worse! NO THANKS.
So that leads to more issues with standing in and around the kitchen for any length of time.
I know, those are some big negatives. And people might think “oh when you lose weight that pain will go away or lessen” – And they would be wrong. I first developed the plantar faciitis during the first few years in the military – when I weighed a mere 130lbs. And the back issues started at a time when I weighed about 160lbs. All I can hope for really is to be more mentally prepared for more activity.
Now some of the Pros of Keto are:
Reduced appetite: Check – we don’t feel nearly as hungry
Improve cognition: Maybe – insomnia really makes it hard to judge this one
Greater endurance performance: Not Sure – I haven’t really tested this one
There are others but I don’t see a significant change outside of some measurable items that definitely show improvement in their numbers.
During this time I did not experience any Keto Flu or any real Mood Swings due to the change in diet. Everything for me has gone pretty smoothly.
Now for the Mental side of things.
It can be really frustrating being the only person in the family doing Keto. You have to share the kitchen. Which can get everyone upset about the log jam. And it really sux having to wash dishes and utensils just to get through everyone fixing their meals.
And as mentioned above with the pain from back and feet, it can be challenging to get motivated to actually head to the kitchen and start the preparation/cooking.
But in the end, we have made a LIFE Change that will hopefully get us to a better place both physically and mentally.
Overall, there were a few ups and downs going through the menus and finding a good plan to start with. And I do feel better overall, it’s just hard to pinpoint one particular area that is the root benefit.
Hopefully as we go through week 4 (we only eat dinner – and it’s big), and start into our own menu plan with week 5, we can start noticing a more significant difference in our mood and pain levels.
Anyway, sorry for the longish post.
Have a great day and thanks for tuning in.