Top 5 Perceived Keto Roadblocks

Top 5 Perceived Keto Roadblocks

Question of the day – are you up against a keto roadblock or a PERCEIVED keto roadblock? I’m guessing it is the latter – but let’s find out! 

I came up with my top 5 perceived roadblocks to progress.  And perceived is the word that I want to emphasize.  Because for the most part, our roadblocks are perceived or self-imposed. 

Keto Roadblock #1

I have to give up foods that I enjoy

I hear you!  I remember when I was first diagnosed with Adult Onset Type 1 Diabetes I struggled a bit with this.  Actually, this was before then as it was when I was incorrectly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.  I was already eating really low carb and my doctor basically said “well just lower your carbs”.  I remember looking at her like HOW?????  I was already barely eating anything, didn’t understand keto, wasn’t eating fat, and had no idea how I could possibly do it and STILL be able to 1) eat food and 2) enjoy anything at all.

That is when I stumbled onto keto and dove head first into it.  Because that is how I do everything.  All or nothing baby! 

I started with the very basics.  Meat, veggies, and nuts.  That is it.  No recipes, just whole foods, made plain.  While it wasn’t the most fun in the world, it got me through the rough parts and into the results phase. I lost weight and my blood sugars were finally stable. 

And for the first time in a while, I felt like I could eat. 

Now I had to enter the sustainable phase.  Eating the same foods 24/7 just wasn’t how I wanted my life to be, even though I AM a creature of habit with my food. I need a little variety.  So I started experimenting with keto recipes on Pinterest.  And failed so many times that I thought I’d make a fun blog out of my failed keto recipes.  And then it turned into the creation of my own recipes and my food blog was born.

My point is that once I made it fun, I learned that I could literally create ANYTHING that I loved that was non-keto.  Bread, cake, cupcakes, cookies, all of it. 

Now, even though these things are keto, I still don’t recommend treating them like everyday foods.  They are STILL desserts and should be treated as such. 

My best advice is to go looking for recipes, be creative, and keep your mind open.  Eventually, your tastebuds even change.

Keto Roadblock #2

I won’t be able to go to social events

This is not one that I ever had an issue with, however, from what I hear from others – this is a big one.  Do you know why it was never an issue for me?

Let’s start with potlucks.  I always brought a main food and a dessert that I could eat.  And whatever I chose to bring, I made sure it was going to be a HIT.  People spent more time talking about how amazing my “diet” food was vs worrying about what I was eating or not eating.  Distraction – level 10!

And then for normal dinner parties where they were serving food – I always ate beforehand.  And here is my best advice – DO NOT CONCERN yourself with what people think.  Most people are not sitting around caring about what you eat. Often there are things that are keto that people serve by default.  Vegetables or meat are usually pretty common.

As for restaurants, there are usually keto choices.  Again – meat and veggies!

Now, the other option is giving yourself a free pass for the night.  This doesn’t mean making up for the last 3 years of eating keto all in one night.  But if you want a pass, give yourself one.

I went to a restaurant with a group of friends and I knew that there wasn’t much I could eat there as it was a sushi restaurant.  Also, I hate seafood so even if there WAS something I could eat, I had no interest.  So I ate beforehand.  I also gave up drinking a while ago.  So here I was, not eating and not drinking alcohol.  But I still went to celebrate with my friend. 

Life is about connection.  Don’t sweat the small stuff like whether or not you are eating and what people will think.

Family Dinner

Keto Roadblock #3

My family isn’t keto

This is a good one!  Guess what?  I have 5 kids and a husband who are not keto.  My husband actually is now, but that was new in the last 6 months.  But for the past few years, I was the only one who was keto.  I actually did not find it to be a problem.

I hear the complaint from moms, especially, that they don’t want to make 2 dinners every night.  There is no need to make 2 dinners! All you have to do is make a single base dinner that is keto and then add sides for the rest of the group.  I would often add potatoes, rice, fries, whatever.  It made them happy and they didn’t feel that they were eating keto. 

This does require a little bit of willpower, but it is worth it to make the whole family happy. 

Now, I didn’t do this ALL the time, only sometimes.  Often I would make a keto meal and everyone was happy.  But I got to know what they liked, didn’t like, and when they needed a side dish.

Keto Roadblock #4

My body needs carbs

Your body does not need carbs.  Carbohydrates are the ONLY “essential nutrient” that isn’t actually essential [1].  Dietary carbohydrates are unnecessary for adult humans.

The body will create the glucose that it needs through gluconeogenesis. 

I remember in one of my nutrition classes we had to write a paper on healthy carbohydrates and talk about why they were essential to the body.  I took the opportunity to discuss why they were NOT an essential nutrient.    I don’t know that my professor was all that happy with my paper, but he could not argue with it either.

The point is that while your body may need glucose for certain things (yes, this is true), your body can also make what it needs.  Period.   They do not need to come from a dietary source.

Keto Roadblock #5

My doctor doesn’t believe in keto

Ah, yes, this is a good one.  Let me first start out with the unfortunate truth – doctors are taught medicine, not nutrition.  Most have not much more than an hour or two of nutrition education in their 8 years of medical training.

The frustrating part is that people look to doctors for nutritional advice and what is regurgitated to them is simply a paraphrase of the food pyramid crap (or MyPlate or whatever) which is the same thing that got people sick to begin with.

I have even run across some diabetic doctors who scream and yell against keto because they said it can cause DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis).  There is a huge difference between ketosis and DKA yet even many diabetic doctors have no idea. 

If you are looking for nutritional advice, real holistic nutrition advice – reach out to a Holistic Nutritionist like myself who looks at the whole human vs the ridiculous blanket guidelines that the American people are fed that kill more people than it helps.

Conclusion

Stand in your own space.  Create your own lane.  Stay convicted.  And simply be confident in your choices.  If you are doing keto, chances are you’ve done at least some research.  And if you haven’t, then you’ve probably seen it working for other people so you know it does and you are curious as to how and why. 

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2129159/

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