Weight loss

I spent the whole of last year on the keto diet. This eating basically restricts carbohydrates while allowing fats and proteins. It is a different way of thinking to that of the past, when fats were the enemy and carbohydrates the friend.

There is always a risk to restrictive eating, that when one comes off their ‘diet’ they put all that weight back on and more. Many of my friends have had success with keto, managing to keep their weight off permanently, so I thought I would give it a go. I was reasonably successful, losing 17kg. Around Christmas I splurged, putting on a few kilos, but managed to pull myself back into the keto eating again. However, while having to travel away for a funeral, I found it too difficult hunting for carbohydrate-less food, so decided to eat normally and resume when I returned. Then I got Covid, getting quite sick in the process. That was the end of my attempts to eat that way, with my body craving carbohydrates. I succumbed to the temptations and before I knew it, I had gained eight of those lost kilos.

I was having trouble shaking the lingering fatigue following the illness, which made me feel just as I did when I had the pericarditis. I had only, in the last few months got over that, after battling the condition for more than two years. That was frustrating.

Then, worried that I was gaining too much weight, I went back onto keto. Within a day or two I had returned to my new normal. I could not believe how quickly I resumed this state of wellness. Some of the tiredness may have been from the slump one gets after eating too much sugar, but whatever the reason, keto definitely helped.

Now I am trying to regain some of the fitness I lost during the pericarditis. I am not walking far, maybe a kilometre, but I am trying to be consistent and I know that every bit helps.

The weight loss, this time around, is much slower, but I will persevere because there are still several kilos to lose.

One of the things I don’t like about keto is the fruit restriction. A small number of berries is permissible, but not much else. I have told myself that when I reach my goal weight, I will reintroduce fruit into my diet, even if it is only two or three days a week.

People say keto eating is a way of life, rather than a diet. I agree, but I certainly look forward to the day when I can indulge in the naan bread, or whatever is taking my fancy…just a special treat now and again, mind you.