Summer is around the corner and COVID is finally under better control.
This summer maybe the first summer in two years that I have felt comfortable about being around other people and attend social events. Aside from the fact that I still have some hesitation/social awkwardness when being around others which before COVID was a non-issue, I also would like to lose 10 pounds that have stubbornly encased my mid-section.
I pretend that it is COVID weight gain but in all honesty, I did a few months of keto right when the pandemic started in 2020 and the pounds melted away and I lost 35 pounds fast. I didn’t stay on keto long-term because in the back of my mind, it was a quick way to lose weight short-term, but not a good option long-term as it will create hormone imbalances that eventually will wreck my metabolism/base metabolic rate.
All diets long-term will do that and I knew that keto long-term would be the same. What the diet did for me was to make me look at what I was eating and how much sugar I was consuming in my diet. It helped me face my sugar addiction and made me realize the extent of my addiction. I coped with stress by eating processed sugar in large quantities in various foods and it is a big culprit of the obesity epidemic we are facing as a nation. Keto also permitted me to eat foods that I had previously avoided like butter and cheese which helped me stay sated, so I was not reaching for diet snacks filled with a lot of sugar. I had a huge love for bread and pasta, and it allowed me to crave it less often.
However, being on keto long-term is not an option for me as I know that cutting out an entire food group is not healthy option long-term. Carbohydrates allow your thyroid to function normally, allows you to sleep well and overall keeps your metabolism and your body ticking in homeostasis. It can be used short term as a jump start but will never produce the same results as the first time you do it on a long-term basis. I have realized that for me staying low carbohydrate, avoiding processed sugar as much as possible and eating Whole Foods along with some moderate exercise at least 4 times a week will be the best path for losing the 10 pounds I am aiming before July. Now why even this simple plan is difficult for me to institute at times is another discussion.
