Hellooooo,
I'm Salek! (Say-lick).
I guess you'll eventually figure out a bit more about me as we chug along with the blog, so I'll keep introductions to a minimum. (Okay I lied, I talked a lot. I'm sorry) I'm 25, married, have a cat and two obnxious birds. I swear like a sailor, enjoy video games, books, music, and a variety of activities my husband deems as "old lady hobbies." Whatever, John.
Let me start off by saying that I have pretty much done every single diet fad that has or is being marketed in today's health food industry. From low fat to low calorie, vegetarianism to lean meats, "healthy" junk food to diet pills - I have done it all; not a single attempt has brought me anything but misery and hunger, and surprise, surprise, more weight gain.
Polycystic ovarian syndrome, and insulin resisticance are the main culprits in the (now shrinking) tire around my waist, my previous lack of a menstrual cycle, and my awesome hockey playoff goatee. (Let's Go Pens!) Fourteen years of this crap, I eventually reached the "I don't give a fuck" stage, and gave up even caring about the why and how to fix it. PCOS and my weight be damned, I chose chocolate ice cream and potato chips that wouldn't satisfy me over a little weakling of a salad with icky low fat, low calorie dressing that wouldn't satisfy me either. I picked my poison, and it was sugar and carbs. I guess that was the depression talking... He's a jagoff.
Last September, being the lazy jerk that I am, I was spending my morning browsing Reddit, and was checking out the PCOS subreddit. Some of the ladies were discussing the different types of diets they were doing to combat their PCOS, and the one that caught my eye was the ketogenic diet, which is a low carb diet. The only diet I knew of that was low carb was Atkins, and I thought it was suppose to be unhealthy for you.
There was even a keto subreddit! There was SO MUCH information to read, and it was truly overwhelming. Redditors were posting their progress, non-scale and scale victories, and stating how much better they felt, and how quickly the weight was coming off. I was definitely intrigued. Eating a high fat, moderate protein diet? Was everything I was told about my diet and health a complete lie? To be honest, I LOVE fat. I never felt shame about grabbing the steak fat off a family member's plate because it tastes good. Maybe the diet would work for me? Might as well try it out once.
I started reading the google document linked in the sidebar called "Keto in a Nutshell", moved on to the FAQ, and than eventually the documentary called Fatheads. I watched Fatheads with my husband. When we finished the movie, we both decided to try the diet out and see where it would take us. Took less to convince my husband than I thought. He's a very stubborn meat and potatoes guy so I was shocked when he said he'd try it out. I didn't say a word about his decision because I didn't want him to back out in anger or frustration at me, and the diet. At least I had a diet buddy. Buddies are important!
In the first week, John lost about eight to ten pounds, and I lost five. It was all water weight, but I can't complain, my clothes fit better, and I was sleeping better. John's health issues included sleep apnea, heartburn and general gastral intestinal issues. My health issues were/are depression, anxiety, PCOS, insulin resistance. Can't forget our weight either! :3
Within a month, John's sleep apnea, heartburn, and plumbing issues disappeared. He had lost twenty five pounds. Myself, I finally got my menstrual cycle after going over a year without it, my depression went away, my anxiety lessened, and I lost fifteen pounds. I actually lost weight. Holy shit.
So, we stuck with the diet because it was working, and still is working. In February, and March of this year, I lost no weight and couldn't figure out why. I was stuck at 28 pounds lost. My husband assumed it was the jar of natural peanut butter, and whip cream I was going through every day that was stopping my weight loss. Couldn't help it. I needed it.
Turns out I was just pregnant. I was mother fucking pregnant. Me!? I never thought I'd be able to have children. We had gone seven years without contraception, and never got pregnant. The fact that I was knocked up was a cross between disbelief and excitement. I cried, I jumped for joy, and said outloud, "I'm going to be a mommy!"
Well, two days later, I miscarried. I felt like shit. Some days I still do, but I know it was not my fault. At least I know I can get pregnant now, and the baby fever has finally set in... to the "joy" of my darling husband. All the more incentive to keep on this path John and I are both taking.
Tomorrow's post is going to be geared more toward how to do the ketogenic diet, and who should try it out. If you want to do your own research, /r/keto on Reddit is very informative, along with Gary Taube's books Why We Get Fat, and Good Calories, Bad Calories.
Hope to see you! I'll probably post a recipe tomorrow as well. Aww yeah, recipes!
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