A little sweet, a little spice...

Tag: author on keto

Quarantine baking and more of Tori’s food updates

Author on Low Carb

Well, friends, I was wrong about low carb. After Keto didn’t seem to work on my migraines, I couldn’t see past the negatives to appreciate the positives. I lost weight and especially belly fat I’ve been trying to lose for almost a year. I’m no longer lactose-intolerant – which is actually huge because I’ve been lactose-intolerant for 20 years.

I was mainly doing low carb (meaning a lot fewer carbs than the average American’s diet, but more than in Keto so I’d no longer be in ketosis) as a transition out of Keto. Then I thought maybe I’d keep on watching my carbs and see if I could keep off the belly fat. But it somehow seemed harder than Keto.

Good news! I’ve been able to make low carb work. I eat 70 or fewer grams of carbs per day (compared to 20 grams on Keto and 225-325 grams on the average diet) and continue to focus on moderate amounts of protein and high amounts of fat, which I’d gotten used to on Keto. But the extra 50 carbs means I can enjoy more fruits and vegetables, small amounts of starches, and the occasional treat (more on that below). My weight has stabilized at below the weight on my wedding day 19 years ago, and I’ve kept off the belly fat. Also, my brain is functioning better. I’m clearer-headed, able to concentrate on writing again, and have found the motivation I’d been struggling with for the past 2 years.

And I still get to at least taste some of the treats my husband keeps making. And a taste (or 2 or 3) has been satisfying enough. I don’t need an entire slice of banana bread or more than half a brownie.

Mr. K has been baking up a storm, like many people, during the stay-at-home orders. And a neighbor gave us some of the discard from her sourdough starter, so we’ve been feeding it and making use of our discards. Our starter is now named Floyd, after the recently deceased chef, Floyd Cardoz.

During quarantine we’ve enjoyed (the kids more than me, of course) sourdough banana bread, Nutella banana bread, sourdough crepes, sourdough English muffins, sourdough brownies and regular brownies, Swedish cardamom buns, Paratha Aloo, and more. (Caveat: None of these goodies is low carb. He made them for the kids. Mostly.)

Enjoy a few pix!

On the other hand, each kid is helping my husband cook one meal per week. So they’re learning skills and I’m being fed really well, from homemade pizza (on low carb crust for me) to a Korean BBQ feast.

How are you beating stress these days? Share your baking prowess or other newfound talents in the comments!

(You can read about my Keto journey here, here, and here.)

Author on Keto Final Update

Well, it’s been almost 3 months since I began the strict low-carb/high-fat diet called Keto. I tried such a drastic measure (drastic to me, a self-professed potato chip addict and proud of it!) in the hopes that it would reduce my migraines. Keto has worked for some migraine warriors and has been touted by some headache specialists, so I tried it having done research and having given it a lot of thought – months of thought, actually.

Author on Keto

 

Bottom line: Keto didn’t work for me.

For the past year, my pattern has been to have about 4 migraine days per month for 3 months and then 10-12 in the 4th month.  That means that last April, August, and December were hell. This new pattern is after years of acupuncture got me down from an average of 11 migraine days per month, every month. The new pattern was an improvement, but those bad months were really bad.

I had 4 migraines in January, 5 migraines in February (I started Keto on February 1st), 4 migraines in March, and 7 migraines so far in April. When you consider that in April I should’ve had 12 migraines, sure, Keto made a difference. (Then again, April isn’t over yet.) And you can argue that having my normal amount in February and March was because I was still adjusting to Keto and wasn’t fat-adapted yet.

However, I’m okay with 4 a month. I’m not okay with 12 a month. So, still having more migraines in April than 4 (or even 5 or 6), isn’t worth how restrictive (and expensive) the diet is. Maybe I would’ve had a better result over time. That’s something I’ll have to live with.

My plan now is to try to stay low carb, just not as low carb as Keto. I’ve been easing my way back into carbs, increasing the number of carbs slowly and introducing one new food every few days. I like the idea of reducing my sugar intake and staying away from the starchy side dishes. I didn’t miss them, which was a surprise.

But I have to say, low carb is harder than Keto to maintain. On Keto, I knew all the things I couldn’t eat so I just didn’t eat them. Now, I can have some, but I’m supposed to watch the amount, and sometimes a whole serving of something is too much. And how do you eat just 9 potato chips?! I also don’t feel as good as I did during Keto, but it’s subtle and totally anecdotal and requires me to rely on my not-so-sharp memory. Did I really have fewer gas pains on Keto? *shrug* Did I really have better motivation on Keto or is quarantine just getting to me more this week? *shrug*

So, I’m definitely questioning whether I made the right decision to stop Keto. But it can be expensive to buy special ingredients to make Keto-friendly foods. Almond flour and coconut flour are much more expensive than wheat flour. Shirataki noodles are much more expensive than pasta and rice. And cost is more of a consideration right now than it was when I started Keto in February. Our world hadn’t yet turned upside down back then.

When we’re allowed to go about our lives outside the home again, I plan to go to a neurologist. In the meantime, I’ll do the best I can, as I always have. If Keto worked for you, I’m so happy for you and would love to hear from you. If something else has worked for you, I’d love to hear about it. Otherwise, let’s just fill the comments with love and support. We all need more of that right now.

<3 <3 <3

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