It's been an interesting week or so. I decided some time ago to go with the flow of things and take the learning points from them, so that's what I've done again. Went back onto low carb - to lesson the pain of reaching ketosis I decided to do this with some yummy fatty food and then switch to vlc once I got there. Good plan, but then got a poorly bug, had a wickedly high temperature for a few days and was dizzy in the extreme - a hideous bug for me as I really don't do well with lightheadedness at the best of times. So vlc kind of happened as I didn't feel much like eating. All in all, lost the 9lb I gained on holiday and coming out of ketosis last time during that week.
Then something happened. I'm not sure what. I was entirely focused on acheiving a specific goal for my holidays and had decided to up my calories from vlc to around 1000-1200 a day and do some exercise. It didn't happen. Bread happened. I don't know how or why but I was overtaken by the urge to have what everyone else was having. Bread, cake, chocolate, crisps. So I did. And I did not enjoy any of it. Back to the stomach cramps, dreadful bloating, sitting all afternoon wanting to go to the loo, being absolutely full to the brim with trapped wind. Just awful. But I kept on doing it for a good few days. I could taste sugar all the time, unbearably sweet fake tasting sugar. Yuck. So then I got to thinking once again - how can I low carb in a healthy way as a life plan.
Just as a small aside to remind myself really, it may or may not have had an influence - my Dad has taken to calling me "skinny minny" and my Mum thinks I have lost enough weight now, and jokingly (I think) pleaded with me "not to go anorexic" on her. I think that flipped a switch that helped me to see how much I've lost and started the train of thought about accepting me for what I look like rather than what I weigh (still obese by the way - only just, but I'm still there all the same on the good old bmi scale). From doing the diet clubs at work I know that there is a whole range of weight:dress size ratios out there, and I really should be more accepting of where I sit in that. And so, back to the thinking.
I need to know the why of things. If I understand the reasoning behind things, I find them a whole lot easier to get on with. So, if a plan tells me I need to drink upwards of 3 litres of water a day, I want to know why. This plan is telling me that I can't drink alcohol while in ketosis, but not giving me the why of that. Not that I'm much of a drinker, but I need to understand the dangers of drinking alcohol if I'm planning that my future eating is going to be low carb based. So off I went on a trawl to find out what I could find out :). And that's when I came across Dr Michael R Eades blog. Gosh that man talks some sense about low carbing and the whole process of ketosis. I'm still reading through it all, but I've learnt so much about the mechanics of ketosis and energy supplies in the body, that I'm actually feeling like I have some control. I've discovered how to get back into ketosis quickly (my high fat flip back in from a couple of weeks ago was exactly the right way to do it, although I hadn't realised it at the time), the role of water, what insulin resistance does, what dehydration does, why I need to up my salt - all the things I kind of knew about but didn't quite understand, it all makes total sense to me now. I've been pointed in the direction of a book that will give me all the science I need to understand the full workings of the human engine and for the first time I feel back in control of me and what I am doing to my body.
Not quite got to the alcohol part yet, but it's been a very interesting journey this weekend all the same. I now totally get the similarities and differences between ketosis and ketoacidosis, I understand metabolic syndrome and how insulin locks fat into cells and patrols round to stop it getting out again (and how to change that!) amongst many other things that perhaps I would have learned more about if I'd paid more attention in biology (the krebs cycle rang a familar bell!). I've found my interest and I'm back there in the zone.
Wish I knew how I flipped out of it, perhaps it was to take me on this pathway to getting a better understanding. Perhaps this better understanding will give me a better basis for my future. Who can say at this point. All I do know is that I'm buying clothes in a 12 or 14 so I must be getting quite thin!
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