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Going Keto

For cancer, diabetes, and my memory

By Denise E LindquistPublished about a year ago 3 min read
Going Keto
Photo by Total Shape on Unsplash

On the tenth of August, it will be two weeks into the ketogenic food plan. Low carbs. I was told I should eat 20 carbs per day. That is tough. I think I have been there few more than two or three days in this time. The other days were close, however.

After speaking with my daughter, who went keto for some time, she suggested not being worried about 20 grams as much as just seeing what I eat that I can fit into this plan, and finding things that do fit.

It seems that it may be a trick to go to carnivore. Really, 20 grams is not much. Try it sometime. In the last two days, I ate small potatoes. About 5 at dinner in the last two nights. It didn’t seem to change much, except I didn’t make 20 grams those days. But I have gotten hungry for certain foods.

Three friends have commented on my mood, saying, “Is something wrong?” My granddaughter pointed out how when I am not smiling, my face looks all wrinkled! 😉😂 She even demonstrated that for me.

I asked my husband if he noticed the difference in my demeanor, and after he thought for a minute, he said, “You are just the same monkey as always!”

Do I sound crabby? That is not me, but what I imagine my granddaughter is talking about. She is used to seeing me smile. That was the good thing about that comment and that face she made. It turned my frown upside down! Along with my husband not noticing.

Photo by Tolga Ahmetler on Unsplash

I am probably missing my drugs in the form of foods. Dr. Kathleen DesMaisons, the author of Potatoes, Not Prozac, once told me that when I mentioned to her that my children are now adults, I would sometimes have my dessert first. She said, “You are just getting a fix with your dessert by eating it first!”

Then, after spending a few days with her, she said, “You really have a high salt diet.” That was after I had stopped adding salt to my food at mealtime. When I told her that, she said, “You get a lot of salt in the foods you choose to eat.”

I met Kathleen after reading her book. I messaged her and she called me. I asked her how I could eat 40 gms of protein for breakfast, when there are 6 or 7 grams in an egg. I told her I can’t imagine eating six eggs for breakfast.

I know a few younger people who do, and they are regular weightlifters and weigh about 200 pounds. As you can see, this is not my first rodeo. And as I have aged, I don’t like meat as much as I once did. Then there is the allergy to beef.

My daughter gained her weight back after she followed the keto program and lost like 100 pounds. She didn’t gain it all back. She says she doesn’t feel good like she did while on keto, so that tells me there is a need for a commitment to the plan for life.

Granted, I don’t have as many years to think about as she does, and I am living in this day only in my recovery, so that helps.

Photo by Yuliia Martsynkevych on Unsplash

I would much rather coast on by this new plan; however, I wish not to get type 3 diabetes. The good news now is that in this short time, my blood sugar readings are lower. My memory is better, and I have not worried about a cancer recurrence lately.

I have a glucose monitor, and my meter says I am running around 100, in the 80s some of the time, when I was in the 140s with 120s most of the time before this change.

I suppose I could go back to my favorite food being ribs. Just not beef ribs. Now, I probably eat them once or twice yearly. Okay, I will not bore you with my new plan anymore. Just know that I am sticking to it for today. And the days do add up. It is day eleven for me today!

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About the Creator

Denise E Lindquist

Retired, working part-time as a Native American culture consultant. I have an MSE, and an ABD. I write on Vocal, and Facebook. Poetry, non-fiction mostly, and working on fiction. Wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.

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    Written by Denise E Lindquist