So, I'm Trying a Thing...

I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions--I really do believe that any time is a good time to make a positive change for yourself.  However, the start of the new year is conveniently placed after all of that holiday gorging and otherwise disruptions to the typical routine, so I have marked the beginning of the year as a start of some change for myself.  While the timing is the same, I don't have a year as my deadline or as my goal.  

That aside, I've made a change in my lifestyle.  You can probably tell by my recent drop in blog posts that it has taken some of my attention.  

Enough with the vagaries:  I'm on a ketogenic diet.  Basically, this is counter-intuitive to most healthy diet advice I've heard out there.  I mean, I'm encouraged to have extra butter.  One of the recipes in the starter plan I have had jalapeno poppers for supper one night, as in stuffed with cream cheese and mozzarella then wrapped in bacon.

Andy has not minded some of these new recipes, particularly those involving bacon.

The jist of it is high fat and low carb, like the Atkins diet only more extreme.  On average, people tend to eat between 150-200g of carbohydrates a day.  I'm aiming for around 20g.  Considering that I had been eating a Clif Bar for breakfast a few days a week that had about 44g all told, it has been a bit of a shift.  This has meant a great purging of the pantry because, truly, carbs were not only my comfort food, but they were also my safe foods for those days when I was not feeling well.  Effectively, I was taking away my own security blanket.  

Out are the pastas, breads, and potatoes; in are coconut oil, bacon, and butter.  Out with the apples and bananas; in with the avocados and cashews.  Out with the sugary treats as rewards; in with...okay, when I cheat that's still what it tends to be, but less of it, so far.  I think I miss potatoes the most.  

Otherwise, it's going well so far, actually.  With less carbohydrates in my system, my body is forced to generate energy through ketosis rather than glycolysis, breaking down fats instead of complex and simple sugars.  Originally, it was created to potentially help with epilepsy.  Along the way, I've read that it's supposed to help with inflammatory diseases and autoimmune diseases (of which Crohn's falls into both), but all that I've been able to find to support that claim has been anecdotal evidence.  However, there has been a good bit more research in terms of this diet as a weight loss kind of diet with better studies.  Some people get some flu-like symptoms in this change.  I had some nausea, but that's a symptom I've had a lot of experience working with at this point in my life.  But so far, I've actually lost about 5 lbs, but more importantly my energy levels have been more consistent--less fluctuating and crashing--and some of the rather annoying fistula activity I've put up with seems to have calmed down a bit.  

I've still got quite a few things to figure out.  I can eat out in places that predominantly serve meat, but I still need to make adjustments and do a good bit of research yet before I try anything but American fare.  This has meant a lot of new recipes to work through, too, meaning that my evenings have been taken up by either preparing for that night or for the next day.  For the most part, I don't really feel like I'm missing out on much.  I've allowed myself one cheat a week, where I can go over my carb limit intentionally (but not too much) or accidentally, if I need to use that cushion.  Planning that cheat in also seems to help with any guilt I have in not meeting my goals successfully because I'm already planning on bending the rules.  

And now the exercise that I've been trying to fit into my schedule feels at least a little more productive, too.  I can see small pieces of improvement, be it with the work I've started three months ago that I'm only seeing now, or if it is happening more recently.  In any case, I'm encouraged.  I'm going to see my main doctor in another couple weeks and will weigh his opinion into the matter, most certainly.  At the moment, though, I'm inclined to continue this path, give it a while longer yet certainly before I officially decide one direction or another.  But I am encouraged, and that is exciting.