I have an hour commute to and from work, so I tend to listen to podcasts for entertainment. One that I listen to a lot is “Unf*ck Your Brain.” The host, Kara Loewentheil, believes you need to change your thoughts for positive self-esteem – not your body. As a proud feminist, this made me think about how I reconcile my feelings about promoting keto and society’s interference with women’s bodies. To me, it comes down to motivation of diets vs. keto.
Difference of Diets vs. Keto
One of the biggest differences between diets and keto in my mind is all about motivation. Sure, people turn to keto because they want to lose weight and that’s why they start it. But, they are also often the people who fall off the wagon and don’t stick to it. Just like I used to try to diet and could never stick to it.
When I was at my heaviest, it wasn’t a surprise when I needed a size 18 pant or caught a look at myself in a mirror. People kept telling Bill and I that we should lose weight – as if we weren’t aware of our size and the health concerns that go with that. But none of that motivated us to do anything.
The Diets
We tried a lot of different diets, and we researched even more that we never actually tried. Bill had some success with Atkins, but we just reverted back to our old habits. We went to nutritionists, and they told us to eat smaller portions of whole grains, vegetables, and lean proteins. We did it for a week or so and would get hungry, so it went out the window.
Sometimes we’d get fed up with how we looked and felt, and get healthy foods. Out went the junk food and in came the whole grains. We’d look at each other and make a commitment to “do better.” I would usually cave first – as soon as I had a craving for chocolate or ice cream. If I’d have a bad day I would think that I “deserved” a treat. Food was my crutch. It wasn’t like I turned to alcohol or drugs – I just wanted a freaking chocolate bar. Was that so bad?
The Idea of Deserving with Diets vs. Keto
Turns out, I was wrong because I actually deserved to feel better about myself by changing the way I coped with stress. When I had a bad day, I deserved to be able to handle it in a way that wouldn’t make me feel worse about myself. Instead, I would eat the chocolate and then hate myself for giving in and eating the chocolate. It was a horrible cycle.
When we started keto, our motivation was different. At first, it was about Bill’s health, and that was what kept us on track. But, as we moved through the process, I realized that it wasn’t the weight loss that was motivating. It was the fact that I had broken the cycle. That’s what keeps me on keto.
When I was dieting, I didn’t think I deserved to feel good about myself. Because I was overweight, I hated my body, and I hated myself for not having enough willpower to change it. Diets always made me feel worse about myself – not better. We started keto with the intention of keeping Bill healthy. Now, I do keto to keep feeling good – because I know I deserve that. Not only do I have energy, I have lost weight, and I feel in control of food for the first time in my life.
A Final Thought about Diets vs. Keto
Sure, some people treat keto as a diet. For us, it was more than that. It was a way to stay healthy and a way to find love for ourselves. That sounds pretty cheesy, but it’s also true. I wouldn’t change our way of life for anything. Does that mean I’m promoting a weight-loss program? Maybe – but for us it is more.
Wendy
