Eudaimonia tip #30 Keep your focus as you climb the mountain.
I’m halfway through the second week of my new lifestyle and still getting used to my new trifecta of weights, running, and Keto. It’s not the weights or the running that has me crying internally. It’s the Keto flu that has me in a quandary.
First, Let’s talk about the fun things, like working out and getting back into running. I am genuinely amazed at what determination and consistency will do for endurance. When I look at the running program and see the progression that started with 60 seconds, then 90 and now this week 2 minutes of running my mind says all sorts of nasty things like; “There is no way.” “My lungs will give out.“ “Why two minutes?” and my personal favorite “OH, Hell No.”
After my mind has gone through all of its whining and cry-baby antics, a beautiful thing happens. I run. I run for 60 seconds the first week, then 90 seconds the second week and now 2 minutes this week. The number of runs required may be altered and gradually increased as the week progresses, but the fact is I’m doing it. I’m running again, and it feels incredible.
So with my new active lifestyle filled with four days of running and five days of weight training, my body is in a constant state of soreness, but the right kind. I can feel certain things tightening and other things getting stronger, all the while I wait to become smaller, leaner, and generally healthier.
The only rub to this whole new way of life is Keto. First, I should say that after extensive research and reading on this particular way of eating, it makes sense for the body to find an alternative form of fuel, a.k.a stored fat, once the carbs/glucose stores are depleted.
As with anything transformative, there is a mountain to climb before you can stand on the peek and see the other side of the valley. I am now struggling up the hill but struggle I must!
The first week I started with 75g max carbs, which seemed to suit me well and offered me enough room to feel good during the week. However, after peeing on a ketostix, it showed trace amounts of ketones in my liver. I consulted with Nika, my summer challenge coach, and she agreed that we should drop my carbs down to 50g. 50 grams PEOPLE!
I was discouraged on Sunday when this all went down, but then Monday came to reveal that all my efforts paid off and I was two pounds down after week one! Pretty damn good. With that momentum under my sails, I was set to welcome the challenge of week two and my new macro’s ratios.
Ha. Week two. It’s been a wild ride and thanks to 20 fewer carbs per day I find that each day is lacking in energy. I know my body is now in deeper ketosis because of the Keto flu.
It’s a real thing, and I am living it. Fatigue has plagued me on Tuesday, and this morning, I woke to a little headache (my only symptoms so far), and this means I have two options. A: I can cave into my symptoms and eat more carbs, or 2: I can push past the Keto flu and see where this Keto thing takes me.
Here is the thing. I know that the Keto plan is controversial, but there is no one size fits all eating lifestyle. We are unique in the way our bodies process, store, and burn the food we consume. For me, Keto makes sense, not for the long term, but with intermittent carb cycling. Being gluten intolerant means that I had already removed most of the processed high carb foods out there, but still found a way to eat too many carbs in the form of starchy veggies like sweet potato fries, high carb protein bars, and gluten-free bread.
Eating Keto cleans up my already gluten-free lifestyle and helps me identify healthier carbs.
So yes, the Keto flu is a real thing, and it sucks, but what sucks more is being bigger than you want to be; feeling uncomfortable in your skin; and seeing a closet full of clothes that don’t fit. What doesn’t suck is finally doing something about my physical unhappiness; having control of what I put into my mouth, and knowing that as the weeks roll by, I will see results.
Photo by Tobias Aeppli from Pexels
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