It’s a Keto Christmas

Non-bookish post today. The end of the year always brings with it some time for reflection. Since doing keto during lockdown in 2020, and losing 42 lbs/18 kg/ 3 stone, my weight has tended to yo-yo and I have found myself putting on up to a stone (14 lbs) in the winter months each year, only to lose it again in the months leading up to summer. Exasperated with this recent annual pattern, I have decided to do something different this year.

Why I decided to take action

Since July I have put on 7 lbs/ 3 kgs. I found this out while doing my monthly weigh-in on December 17th and decided that I needed to take strict action. During the winter months, I have a tendency towards emotional eating. Having colds and flus generally makes me feel sorry for myself and seek comfort in carbs. Not just any carbs either, but some of the worst processed junk in the form of convenience snacks.

But when to do it?

Saturnalia was the ancient pagan festival to celebrate the sun returning back to the world, as celebrated by the Romans on 17th December. Summer is my favourite season, and as a sun worshipper, I felt it was fitting to start my keto lifestyle plan on Saturnalia.

Why keto can help stop seasonal comfort eating
I love keto because it completely suppresses my appetite. After a transition of around a week, during which time my body switches from glucose burning to fat burning (ketosis) I find that I no longer crave snacks every few hours and can manage on only 2 meals a day: after an 18 hour fast, I eat lunch at 1pm and dinner at 6pm.

If I love keto, why don’t I stay in ketosis permanently?

I honestly wish I could, but once I get back down to my target weight, I tend to start increasing the amount of carbs in my diet until they reach normal levels, as I miss pasta, rice and potatoes, etc. But, once I’m back to glucose-burning mode, I crave snacks again (glucose cannot be made by the body, hence the cravings, unlike ketosis which uses up the body’s own supply of stored fat) and the weight-gain cycle continues.

My eating plan for 2024 and the long term view:

I would love to be able to stick to a low carb lifestyle for the long haul, but I don’t have the willpower and tend to fall off the wagon a lot. So, I won’t commit to a definitive statement about that. Though, I will say that I’m going to try my best to cycle in and out of a low carb diet for maintenance as I’ve done over the past three years, and will try some intense bursts of exercise too, once I’m feeling a bit healthier – which will hopefully be soon!