Keto diet approach, Warfarin and the dreaded plateau ! How and what now?

 

Disclaimer:  If you are on warfarin (or any drug that has a specialized diet that goes with it) consult your primary physician before starting any diet program.

I recently shared my dieting experience and came clean about my weight ( like I was hiding anything) and the approach to getting it under control.  I  kid you not when the Dr. told me my blood sugar A1C1 was 8.4  I thought she was kidding I expected it to be much higher.  After all I was well aware of what I was eating and how much.

  The diet journey is a long one with a winding path that doubles back on itself at times.  I have hit a few Plateaus of no weight loss or just some how gaining pounds back.  There is nothing more discouraging than saying no to foods and the scales are not budging or moving in the wrong direction.  There are many explanations for plateaus in the diet world and to scientifically explain it does not make it any easier to get through, over and past.   Since August of 2020 I have lost 58 lbs. and have hit a few plateaus.  Here are some of the strategies that I used to mentally , emotionally and physically get through them.

1.  Nothing can take away your success up to this moment except throwing in the towel.  In other words the toughest plateau was the 55 lb. mark.  It took over three weeks to break out of this plateau.  I reminded myself  at these weigh ins that I had come along way and to continue on.  

2.  Change it up!  In other words I normally do a 16 hour fast every day.  In a plateau I change it up and maybe throw in a few 20 hour fast days or a few days that I do not fast (but still stay with in my carb. limit).

3.  If you are exercising or strength training with you diet program then you may want to break out the tape measure.  Muscle weighs more than Fat.  You may be gaining muscle and loosing inches. A win win!

4.  Your weight did not get out of control overnight and it will not get in control overnight.  In other words during my weight gain journey my weight would hold and not change periodically (thank goodness).  In my weight loss journey I can expect the same.  

5.  If you have not incorporated exercise into your weight loss plan (yet) and you are feeling like you can this my be the perfect time to walk, garden or something low impact to help you move out of your plateau.

Keto and Warfarin (blood Thinners)

The first time I expressed to my Dr. that I wanted to loose weight he exclaimed "No!"  Then offered to write me a prescription for adipex.  I am the only person in the world that asked the Doctor to help her loose weight , gets a pill and gains instead.  I did not like to pill.  I did not feel well on it. I did not take it.  I looked at many diets and  the Keto diet approach had enough room in it to accommodate the dietary restrictions of Warfarin with out starving or giving up all the foods that I like.   I urge you to work with your Doctor if you choose to try a weight loss plan on warfarin.  You will need to get your blood work more frequently to make sure that you are in your therapeutic range.  I also will give you encouragement to not give up because one more food restriction is FRUSTRATING! Especially when it is the universal diet food "Leafy Greens".  However if I can loose so can you !

There are many reasons to diet however the main reason to diet should only be You. You are your worst enemy and at the same time you have the power to make a difference!  This diet is for me.  To feel better, and live better.  You owe it to yourself to live your best life.  The true secret to diet and weigh loss is to make up your mind.  You are either going to do it or not.  Prayer helps also.  I took counsel from the Lord, on more than one occasion, on how to get myself under control.    

I hope you have found something helpful here today and hope that you are Living your best life!

Sheryl

Breaking up with food The modified Keto approach to weight loss

 

 Coming to grips with Food and My unhealthy relationship with it.

If I hit publish on this post I did it!  Lost 50 lbs!

I made a promise to the Lord that if I lost 50lbs I would share the Journey on my blog with my 38 followers.

I  found myself to be the heaviest that I have ever been at 54. I am a little over 5 foot 7 inches and weighed in at 235 pounds with a A1C1 of 8.4.  I was sluggish, tired and most activities I found to be physically challenging.  I never could get motivated physically.  I woke up tired and went to bed more tired.  Moments and even days I could not remember from the brain fog that I stayed in most of the time.  I joked at my weight referred to myself as the big girl and when the situation presented it self would stave off reality with Humor.  I had every excuse in the book of why I was fat, overweight and unhealthy. 

The biggest most destructive excuse was that I just did not care anymore about what I put in my mouth.  This was my reality.  I just did not care enough about my self to care about my eating habits. That was a tough pill to swallow.  My size was not because I loved my self too much it was because I did not love my self enough.  If you are struggling with weight and all the habits that go with it take a moment and say out loud:  " My size is not because I love my self too much it is because I do not love my self enough."  

  So many times I just wanted comfort food.  Something, cheesy, sweet, starchy , salty, creamy, crispy, cold, fruity or fluffy. Most of the time I was not sure of what dwarf I would be transformed into after the meal, snack or binge.  Happy, sleepy, dopey or grumpy you get it..

With the many relationships that I had with food I did not appreciate food for what it is really intended for and that is to physically nourish and fuel your body.  I was living to eat instead of eating to live.  Fueling my emotional needs with food instead of eating for nutrition and health.  The reality , is both my emotional and physical life suffered from the unhealthy relationship.  

How to break the cycle:

Breaking the cycle means that I have to let go of some addictions.  Sugar and Carbs are my go to crutches.  They are a bad habit and one that since 2012 (the year I developed DVT after knee surgery) I have let get out of control.  The covid pandemic has not helped with food control either.  I used to joke that all the body weight I had gained was from good food not fast food.  It was a true statement.  We do not go out to eat that often, I cook most every day making my weight even more my Fault.  I could not say I do not have time to cook instead I said I cook several meals a day and obviously enjoy them.  I could not say fresh food is not available when we have a garden.  I learned  there are many approaches to dieting and in most instances a diet is a temporary fix.  Instead I searched for a eating plan that can be a life long commitment to being healthier and feel better.  I needed a diet that did not evolve around Salad.  Being on warfarin , a blood thinner, two main meals with salads (or most anything green) every day is not going to work. I took the time to learn about insulin resistance and what it is and how to reverse it.  What foods can you eat with insulin resistance (type 2 Diabetes) and how to eat to avoid spikes in insulin the number one reason that I was heavy.    There are many many plans and a few of them want you to pay to have food delivered to your door or pay for you to get the manual on food points and how many you can have.  There are over the counter options: shakes, bars, supplements and pills.  It is overwhelming the amount of choices that you have.  To many choices is confusing, and makes it even harder to just do something. I needed a choice that did not tether me to a company, eating program or monthly fee to loose weight.  I was already addicted to foods and did not want to lean on someone, something  or a novelty eating plan that came at a price with a life long co dependence. My first big commitment was making my own rules about food and following them.

1.  If it is coming out of a fast food window then you probably should not eat it. (especially once a week)  I make it a point to research menus.  There are healthier low carb options out there.  

2.  If it is in the freezer section or in a can and  pre prepared do not eat it.  Too many ingredients means too many chemicals and preservatives and I will bet sugar has been added in more than one way.

3.   NO SUGAR and make it a point to research and educate yourself on how many names sugar has.  The first three months I did not even use a fake sugar.  I did not want the craving any more.  Even the brain registering sweet on the taste buds gives you an addiction response or in some cases an insulin response.   I even restricted fruit.  Berries are the best choice for a low carb low sugar diet.  They are high in fiber so they take longer to hit the blood stream.  

4.  No Rice, No bread, No pasta, No cake! No sugar! No snacking!   I do not even have a carb day with these.  If you are eating the right foods you will not want snacks.  Snacks were also a habit to break.

5.  Restrict carbs.  Make it an effort to learn what foods are high in carbs.  I generally get carbs from oatmeal, berries or veggies.  

6.  If you are not hungry don't eat.  There is no rule that says you have to eat three meals a day.

Once the food rules are in place I simply lived and ate one day at a time.  I started this Journey August the 16 2020.  It is Feb 17, 2021 and I have lost 51 lbs and dropped 4 sizes.  I started the first 3 months with only allowing myself 50 or less carbs a day and no sugar.  Most of the time I could come in under 20.  The most challenging part of this 3 months was figuring out what to eat.  I did have to increase my warfarin dose I was just getting to much K from veggies.  (vitamin K  reverses the blood thinner Warfarin)   I had to " not" be a Keto Purist in that I do eat oatmeal.  Yes it has carbs and really not enough fiber to bring down the  "net Carbs" (Carbs minus fiber) to make it a low carb food.  However the minerals that I am missing by restricted green foods I make up for with the oatmeal.  I have lost the 51 lbs with oatmeal in my diet almost every day. 

Intermittent fasting: I generally eat dinner at 5:00 and do not eat again for at least 16 hours some times more because I am just not hungry.  I eat my first meal after 11:00 am 90% of the time.  There are days that I am not "hormonaly" balanced and the hunger pangs come earlier and get the best of me and I will eat early. Being peri menopausal and hangry is just endangering those that live with me. 

 Intermittent fasting has been the trick to really taking the weight off and get the sugar levels in the normal range.  I did not exercise. I normally do not have a exercise routine and really did not see myself keeping to one. I was overweight to the point that to exercise would have been discouraging and I probably would have thrown in the towel.  

I still have a few more pounds to go 185 is still heavy.  Do I have a weight goal?  Nope!  Here is why:  If I had said " that I want to loose 50 lbs" means that every day for 6 months I would not have met the goal.  Instead my goal is to do better today than yesterday.  Make better choices today , feel better today.  My goal is to continue a eating lifestyle that gets me to my healthiest weight.  I want to continue feeling good .  I want to continue to pass all my health checks keep my sugar low and my blood thinners at the therapeutic range. 

I want to live the best life that I can.

I hope that you have found something in this post that is helpful and hope that you are

Living the best life that you can.

Sheryl