I had been eating a low carb high fat (aka Ketogenic) diet for a little over six months. I had been pretty consistent; I had been tracking my carbs. I used a meter to check my blood glucose and ketones. It did take some extra effort and planning to stick to the diet, but the concept of a ketogenic diet is fairly straightforward. I cut out sugar and ultra processed foods, I kept my carb count to <20 grams per day. I lost weight and inches. I had more energy, I felt more confident. I felt comfortable in my own skin; in the person I was. I couldn’t understand why people kept saying that the ketogenic diet was “unsustainable”. It’s a simple and straightforward lifestyle, it isn’t always easy, but it is simple.
The longer I stuck with the diet the more I started to understand where this idea of unsustainability came from. I wasn’t struggling sticking with the diet, but I did start to feel lonely. No one in my friend group was on this journey with me, my family wasn’t on this journey with me, and my coworkers indulged in sugar and ultra processed foods as regularly as the next person. After about 8 months of sticking with the ketogenic lifestyle, I began to understand why it feels unsustainable to a lot of people.
I put so much effort into making food for my family every day. I put so much effort into ensuring that I was able to eat dinner with them. No one ever warns women how monotonous it is to be the default meal planner/preparer. I get it. I work two day a week. It only seems natural to fall into the main homemaker role. But the weight of trying to prepare meals that stuck with my nutrition plan while also fulfilling the expectations of the family, felt extremely heavy the longer I stuck with the ketogenic lifestyle. The more I threw out the pastas and sugar laden ketchup and other sauces, the more heavy sighs I heard, the more eye rolls I saw. There was no gratitude from the peanut gallery. I still grudgingly prepared the chicken strips and nuggets, the corn dogs, but without the traditional ketchup with corn syrup as the main ingredient, and it wasn’t good enough. I tried making substitutions. I tried getting healthier versions. Unfortunately, I had already set a precedent from years of feeding my family the wrong way. I felt partly to blame for the nutritional preferences of my children.
I ensured everyone could eat their burritos in a tortilla, while I ate a burrito bowl. I made chicken wings and homemade sauces. I made steak and eggs. I tried recipe after recipe fail until I found the perfect combination for keto friendly brownies that tasted like the traditional ooey gooey brownie with a texture that was on point.
I led by example and tried to keep my mouth shut when my kids were warming up their cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Grandparents notoriously provide junk food at every moment possible. There is an air of “I’m the grandparent, I can do what I want to do”. I am seen as the food regulator, the one to hide treats from, the one to lie to about how much soda was given to my children.
I was fighting a losing battle at every corner. I was exhausted. I was emotional. I couldn’t understand how or why no one cared about their future health. Granted, I was the one reading all the books on metabolic health. I was the one listening to multiple 2-hour podcasts on the declining health of our country. I was the one putting in the work to educate myself on insulin resistance. No matter how hard I tried to lead by example or to educate without judgement, my family still clung to their sugar laden treats and ultra processed foods.
I realized nothing I did or said was going to change what they were going to choose to eat. They were going to eat however they wanted. It’s so disheartening to know the truth about the damage ultra processed foods and sugars are doing to our bodies, and not be able to get the buy in of my own family.
The United States ranks low in both longevity and health span. Obesity rates are climbing along with multiple chronic illnesses. As a nation, we are not getting healthier, we are becoming sicker for a longer period of time.
My heart aches because the solution to a healthier lifestyle, body, and mind are staring us in the face, we just don’t want to do the work. I am surrounded by people on a daily basis that complain about low energy, mental fog, being overweight, etc. The solution is so simple. Most people will continue to bow to their immediate gratification fulfilled by sugar and ultra processed foods instead of forging the path of long-term health and wellness.
The sad truth is, it’s the choices we make today that influence our health and well-being tomorrow, and ten years down the road. If those choices are the sugar laden treats and ultra-processed, packaged foods, the consequences may not show up for years. At that point, your doctor will prescribe you pills and drugs to help alleviate the symptoms.
At what point are we going to start focusing on prevention? At what point are we going to put down the donuts and cookies and pick up the weights? How sick does our nation need to become to start focusing on the choices we are making today?
Did I give up my ketogenic lifestyle in the face of the uphill battles I’m facing on a daily basis? Hell no. I will stay the course, even if no one else will, even if I am doing it alone. I see the importance of my daily choices. I can look to the future and say no to the indulgences today. I will stay the course because living well and staying functional, is more important to me than indulging in the moment.
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