Did you veer off of your keto plan during the holidays or did you stay the course? There is no wrong answer here. Did you give it some thought before the holidays or did it just ‘happen?’
Depending on your past, personality type, if you have addiction issues or have a metabolic disorder… these are things to consider in the future when you are determining the best way to handle the holidays and only you know yourself best.
Before living the keto lifestyle, my eating cycles went like this: get excited about a new diet... diet ‘perfectly… ‘blow it’ for the holidays (no thinking of my game plan ahead of time)… continue to binge eat after Thanksgiving was over all the way to January 1st (and of course not even try to eat healthy or exercise because why bother? It’s ‘all or nothing’ right?
Then January 1st came and woohoo! It’s back to dieting ‘perfectly’ because I am REALLY going to do it THIS time! “The problem was I didn’t have willpower before… THIS time I DO!”
Oh brother… does that sound familiar?
My outlook is SO different now. Now there is no ‘I am good’ or ‘I am bad’… I am just where I need to be in that moment. I live a healthy ketogenic lifestyle everyday… there is no other way of eating for me. I change up my plan constantly, and I make it work for ME and my lifestyle [In Unit 3: Keto Your Way, in my Facebook keto support group, I show you the many ways I mix up my keto plan].
Keto is my ‘lifestyle’ which means if I choose to go off of it for a meal, a weekend, a holiday etc… that is my choice. I do not believe I need to be ‘perfect’ and I know for sure I have not ‘ruined’ anything by going off temporarily. My body is very fat-adapted and can switch back to fat-burning very quickly.
Now I am not saying if you have an addiction or metabolic issues that you should do this… you know yourself and you must do what is best for you! I am talking to the vast majority of us that don’t have these specific issues but we have ‘emotional’ issues connected to ‘dieting.’ We get so down on ourselves for veering off of ‘the perfect plan.’ For me, I do not need the guilt anymore and if I choose to go off temporarily, I will do it. The interesting thing is that it happens SO infrequently now.
Why is that? Part of it is because I have given myself the mental permission to do so. Remember when you were a kid and your parents told you ‘NO’… what was the first thing you wanted to do? Right… so when we say ‘yes, if you want to veer off temporarily, do it’… you know what it takes to get back and just giving yourself the permission to do so actually makes it so less tempting! Seriously try this.
The other thing is that I just don’t ‘feel’ the need to veer off much at all… I LOVE keto food, and I crave it more than anything. This happens the longer you are on keto… it’s like your taste buds change and you do not crave the grains, high carbs and sugary foods that you used to.
When you have a week or two between vacations, events or holidays… when it’s so easy to say ‘why even bother’, keep this in mind: In 7 – 14 days you can get fat adapted (if you aren’t already), you can lower your blood sugar significantly, you can heal parts of your body you are not even aware needed healing, you can lose inches and fat and gain muscle… you can feel amazing in that outfit you have your eye on. You can feel good in your skin.
It’s ok to veer off your perfect keto plan… but give some thought about what you are going to do before and after. The only negative thing about ‘veering off’ is not coming back!
You got this!
Leta
~ Intentionally Bare
❗️Health information given here is based on public research and is not meant to take the place of your doctor's advice. Always do your own research and discuss it with your health practitioner before trying a new diet, supplement or exercise plan
