OC Getting Back to Basics

I've spent the past 13 years on a ketogenic diet of some form. When I started, I weighed 270 lbs and it was the heaviest I had ever been in my life. I felt gross, demotivated, and stuck. When I smashed off 50 lbs in the first few months without really knowing what I was doing, it was a godsend. The next 30 lbs took me over a year, but was completely worth it.

Since then, I've wavered from extremely strict keto with 18:6 and sometimes OMAD (One Meal a Day) intermittent fasting... to promising myself that I'd get back to roughly ketogenic macros at least once a week - and sometimes failing at that.

Over the past year, I've oscillated between 230-260 lbs multiple times, and decided that it's time to get back to basics. I'm not tracking my calories, but I am monitoring the TYPES of foods I'm eating. No more processed foods - if I didn't make it, I'm not eating it. At least this way, I'm at least familiar with the ingredients and I know that it's got a whole-muscle protein and a giant pile of veggies in it. And I'm minimizing the amount that I eat at restaurants - once every 6 weeks or so. Even when I do eat outside of home, I'm making sure I order salads with a hefty serving or protein, or something from the grill (chicken, steak, fish).

It's not easy. Doing this for so long makes it really easy to let yourself "rest" and tell yourself the story that you'll get started again "tomorrow".

Today, I sit at 235 lbs. I'm on a long journey to 190, and I'm not in a hurry. It's really because of the keto community that I've been able to continually come back and check in on my relationship with food.

Right now, I'm disciplined and loving it.