Why I decided to go low carb

There were many small events that led to me deciding it was time to take control of my weight and start living a healthier lifestyle.    I’ve tried many diets, as most people have and found that low carb worked best for ME.

There are many types of low carb diets and I’ll cover those in a future post.  But I just wanted to post a little bit about my reasons here.

Self -employed + home based (mostly) = Expanded waistline (for me)

I own my own business.  I’ve been self-employed for 20 years.  I feel really blessed to be able to say that!  But working from home, mostly on the computer led to a sedentary lifestyle.  And as the years went by, my weight went up.  Somehow I really didn’t notice it, though.  I guess that happens to a lot of people.  Then working from home, I usually wore sweat pants or yoga pants around the house.  Then one day you go to put on your jeans and find they no longer fit.  Not even if you lay down and hold your breath, you still can’t get into them.

The Reality Check

I was packing for a networking event and as I went thru my closet, nothing that was “fitted” fit any longer.  My clothes that were meant to be loose fitting, now fit so tightly that I put them in my donation basket.  I started feeling bad about that, since 3 years ago when I was following a low-carb diet for a year.  My donation basket was full of clothes that were too big for me.  Now I was wishing I hadn’t given those clothes away.  Anyway, I go to the event and people wanted to connect with me on Facebook.  My name is common so I usually send a friend request, but this time a young man wanted to connect with me and searched for me on his own.

And then it happened,

He had pulled me up on Facebook but wasn’t sure if that was me.  I felt embarrassed but I said yes that’s me.  I kept to myself, yes that’s me 50 lbs ago.   You see to me, I still looked like that woman.  To him, I looked nothing like her.  That weekend, that happened 2 more times.

Adventure Day – My Day of Reckoning

Then a week later I was at my network marketing coaching event with Ray Higdon.  When you are in his mastermind you get an adventure day.  A day of fun w/ your fellow marketers a once in a lifetime adventure, something to cross off on your bucket list.  Last time it was a day at the Dayton 500.  It was fun,  hard to get into the car since the doors are welded shut and you have to go in thru the window.  But it was awesome going around the track at I think it was 225 miles an hour!  A great event and 1 I hope to repeat next year with my family!

Well, this time it was a day at the circus. They had stations to teach us to juggle, some simple aerial acts, trampoline, and tightrope.  Because my feet were killing me and my knees were aching.  I only did the juggling and 1 aerial event instead of the 2 they had available.  At the end of the day, I knew I had to do something about this weight.  I made a promise to myself that I would start my low carb LIFESTYLE the next week when I returned home.

God sends help

I really felt it in my bones, that this was it. After this event, I would return home and get rid of the carbs in the house. And I would hit Krogers on the way home from the airport to start stocking up on cauliflower and beef!  I’m having dinner with friends when this man joins us.  Billy Funk.  And he is part of a network marketing company that helps people get into Ketosis in mins. instead of days!

As I mentioned before, I had low carb dieted in the past.  So I knew that for me, it would take 4 – 6 days before I would reach ketosis.  And for some reason, even when I’ve been really watching my carbs, my ketone level stays around small every time I test.

So I’m sitting there, having one of my last carb loaded meals with some friends when Billy joins us.  My friends and I are talking about “manifesting” your dreams and desires.  We talk business and then Billy mentions the company he is with.  Ketos.  They have a supplement that can put people into ketosis in mins. he claims.  I laugh and tell him if that’s true, I want a sample!  We talk some more and I jokingly say to my friend Sarah,  I think I just manifested Billy LOL.    The next day he gives me 4 packs to try and I pack them in my suitcase like they are glass!  Just 2 days to wait before I can try it out.

Why wait?  I need to go to the store and buy some ketosis sticks!  No point in taking the supplement if I can’t measure how long it takes to get into ketosis.   I finally make it home and do my shopping.  I decide to wait just a little longer and take the supplement in the morning.  The first thing I jump up and mix it.  YUCK.  at first, I really couldn’t stand the taste but I remember Billy talking about the stuff he mixes into his.  So I grab some crystal light and add it to it.  YUM.  So my journey began!

Lifestyle vs Diet

I say lifestyle because I’m not looking at it as a diet.  I’m not planning to do it for 3 or 4 months lose the weight and go back to eating the way I used to. Diabetes runs in my family and I knew that the meal plans given to them from their doctors were high in lean protein, low in carbs.   They were encouraged to limit their white flour intake and switch from white rice to brown rice.  But most of all they were told to eat more veggies than bread/rice / pasta,

I thank God I don’t have diabetes, but I’m pre-diabetic.  And I feel if I get things under control now, I may be able to stay that way!