I still have cravings! Those chicken nuggets from McDonald’s still call my name and I have answered more than a few times. Eating out is also a challenge because honestly, we don’t know what they add to these meats. So, I need to be careful! Since I turned to Keto, I have seen my sugar rising; especially in the mornings; but during the day, for the most part, the numbers normalized. I am amazed at how insulin resistance I am. I can’t tolerate much sugar or carbs in my body… that’s just my reality and I must learn to live with it.
It is good for everybody to stay away from the standard American Diet, Puerto Rican, or Mexican Diet, etc. It is good to stay away from fast food, junk food, and so on. For some people that is all, they need to do to be healthy. However, for folks like me who struggle with diabetes and want to overcome this disease with nutrition and not medication, it is increasingly more challenging. There are levels to this:
- Creation Diets: These are diets where people eat ONLY what was created by God, which means eliminating ALL processed food and drinks. This is the only adjustment they need to make. Diets such as the Mediterranean Diet and the Paleo way of eating could be included in this category.
- Low Carbs and/or Elimination Diets:
- Keto Diet: This is the diet I have been following. You can eat meat and seafood and certain low-carb vegetables such as Colliflower and Broccoli.
- Carnivore Diet: This is an extreme from the Keto Diet. Carnivore is more aggressive in eliminating carbs and places more emphasis on eating protein and animal fat. The diet focuses on utilizing only salt to season the meat and seafood and, it eliminates all plants. Eggs and buttle are allowed. Some are very flexible and allowed cheese and heavy whipping creamers in their coffee; Tea is also allowed. The more inflexible carnivores eliminate coffee and tea also.
- Lions Diet: This diet is on the extreme side of the Carnivore Diet. These folks ONLY eat meat seasoned with salt and, they only drink water.
What all these diets have in common and, what makes them all beneficial is that they all eliminate processed food. As stated before, that is a great start and much better than any standard diet. It is better to be a Vegan or Pescatarian, etc. than to eat in our fast food restaurants… I mean, is just true.
I started Carnivore and saw amazing results in 21 days in terms of weight loss and normalizing my glucose numbers. But then, I went for a more Keto approach to eating. I am regretting that decision! Because of how insulin resistant I am, the Mediterranean or Paleo Diets are out of the picture for me. I have to say that even on the Keto Diet I have seen many spikes in my glucose, especially in the mornings; I have seen 140s, 150s, and even 160s. I must add that I failed on many occasions by eating breaded meats, breaded cheese sticks, and shrimp; these are not allowed in the Keto Diet. These bad choices have contributed to the spikes in my glucose. But that is the issue with food addicts like me; it does not take much for us to fall all the way. Food addiction is no different from any addiction.
When I was doing strictly carnivore, I did not see any spikes. From the start, I saw my glucose numbers drop from the high 300s and, on day 21, they normalized beautifully. Carnivore is easy to follow, and I did not feel as hungry. So, starting today, March 1, 2023, I am going back to eating only meats, seafood, eggs, and plenty of butter and utilizing only salt for seasoning. I will continue drinking only water, coffee, and tea.
In all, I don’t want to leave you thinking that I am lost again in food addiction again. This is a journey; we hit and miss, make mistakes, fix things, and discover what works and does not work for our individual bodies. As I find my way and, even in the struggles; the drastic changes in my way of eating have brought some amazing health benefits into my life: This is my latest update on my health:
- My diarrhea has gone away completely; it was active during the first couple of weeks when I was doing carnivore. At the same time, sometimes two or three days would go by without having a bowel movement, however, my bowel movements are completely normal now.
- I have gained about 9 pounds back, from the 30 I lost in that first month, but my body looks better, and I feel I have more muscle and less fat. My clothes still fit great!
- My appetite was very low when I started the Carnivore, but now, as I embrace a Keto approach to dieting, my appetite has increased to normal levels. I don’t know if that is good or bad because I have a very strong appetite. Part of my problem has been that I get to a point where diets don’t work for me because I am always hungry. I don’t think that is the case here, but it concerns me some. That is why I am leaning more toward the carnivore approach to eating as it is more satisfying.
- I am still sleeping well. I dream every night. So, I wake up more energetic.
- I am having major victories over Erectile Dysfunction (ED). Yes!!!! Trump was famous for the slogan “Make America great again. I just want to make Pepe great again!
Beloved, I am on the right track and will continue to press on as the journey continues…
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