But I Smile Anyway…

I was so good a while back.

I followed the Slimming World weight loss programme and I lost nearly 2 stone.

A photo shoot with my family had scared me into realising I needed to lose weight.

Sure, it was a lovely photo, but that rounded face, that chin… no, that wasn’t the Ritu I expected to see in the mirror!

Coupled with my mother gently telling me that I should get things under control now, as it only gets harder when you get older… That was all I needed to get myself into gear.

Over just under a year, I controlled my eating and tried to add a bit of extra physical activity into my life, over and above the rushing around at school on a daily basis, and I lost all the weight I wanted to.

I was 9st 3lb for the first time in a LONG WHILE!

I could have carried on as I was. The diet was very easy to follow. I wasn’t missing out on anything. If anything that was too low a weight, so I decided that if I hovered between 9st 7lb and 10st that would be fine…

But those snacks. Those sweet treats. Those savoury bites…

They called.

And often instead of just one, or a little, I was having two (or even three!😱)

I crept up to 10st and beyond…

It was with total horror that I stepped on my scales the other day and I had hit 11th again!

I needed to do something, but paying for the pleasure of Slimming World didn’t appeal. I knew how to eat their way, but I wasn’t feeling it…

I started browsing Pinterest and found several recipes that mentioned the Keto Diet.

Researching it, I thought it sounded like something pretty tough, but good in the long term, because of the health benefits.

What is the Keto Diet?

From OurPaleoLife.com

Confused? I was, a tad, so I carried on reading up about it in various places.

The health benefits swung it for me though.

From Pinterest

And it was also good at stabilizing Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) which I suffer from. The healthy heart effect was important as there is a strong history of heart disease in Pops’ side of the family. Diabetes was another trigger point, as both my parents have mild diabetes, developed in their later years. Mood stabilising, and energy levels increasing? Yes, please!

But there are things you have to adhere to…

The food ratios…

From Keto Connect

Great. Now I would have to start reading labels better than before.. but guess what, there’s an infographic for everything!

From Pinterest

The things you can eat… The things you can’t eat…

From Nutrition Advance

No bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, or SWEET STUFF!!!!!!

Then I read about this…

From Best Infographics

Great… so I would suffer from flu and all sorts of stuff that could be rather unpleasant, including bad breath! I remember this being a big issue on Atkins, which was more a no carbs, all protein and fat version of this diet.

Do I do it?

Well, I could only try.

So I jumped on the Keto bandwagon, only I feel the need to tweak things to an extent, so I’m logging my food journey on Instagram, with the hashtag #kindaketo.

I’ve managed a meal out at Pizza Express and made a few Keto-friendly meals. It’s only been 2 days, but I have definitely felt some benefits, in that I haven’t snacked. And I do indeed feel full for longer!

I miss the amount of fruit I usually eat, but not the naughty things so much.

I discovered that fresh mint leaves and hot water makes an excellent warming drink.

I can still make pancakes, but with coconut flour instead!

And I shall experiment today, attempting to make Cloud Bread, or Oopsie Bread which is gluten-free, and extremely low carb!

From Pinterest

Could I do this long term?

I’m not sure, but I can only try it out.

I think if this diet can help me kick my snacking and sugar addiction then it will be the best thing for me. After a few weeks, I will chill out and see if I can keep my diet generally better.

I’ll let you know if it works!

A great website full of info and recipes is the Diet Doctor, full of great, free advice!