Clean eating for a happier & healthier life
Questions a few friends a fellow bloggers/keto people asked.*
*I am not a doctor or any type of dietary specialist. This is what I've gathered from extensive research and what has personally worked for me.
"How do you eat out on a keto/low carb diet? Can You?"
It's easy! Well, for the most part. Pretty much anywhere you go, you can get something low(er) carb. Think grilled chicken, fish, steaks, steamed veggies, salads (watch the dressing and croutons), and seafood. You can get a lettuce wrap instead of a bun pretty much anywhere these days and just learn to suck up your timidness and ask the waiter for veggies instead of rice, for dressing on the side, or for no breading. You can always up your healthy fat intake by adding extra bacon & cheese to burgers, not skipping the mayo, or asking veggies to be cooked in butter if you are low on your fats for the day.
Mexican, Chinese, and Italian restaurants get a little more tricky. I struggle at Mexican places (I just love rice and chips). It's all possible, though!
Mexican: No beans, rice, or tortilla shells and chips. Get grilled chicken or steak, cheese, guacamole (still hating my avacado allergy), fajitas, and steamed veggies.
Chinese: I've yet to find a tasty, low carb option at my "fast food" Chinese places because of the breading and sweet sauce, but you could always ask for steamed veggies and chicken or steak with NO SAUCE...or make your own!
Italian: No pasta or breadsticks, of course. Again, steamed veggies with grilled chicken or a steak and a salad.
"American:" (Applebee's, Chili's, O'Charley's, Texas Roadhouse, etc. etc.) Super easy. Salads. Steaks. Grilled Chicken. Steamed Veggies. Cheese-smothered meats. Bunless burgers. Possibilities are nearly endless. Just be careful, though, if you are ketogenic and not just low carbing (~20g carbs/day). Restaurant-prepared food has TONS of hidden sugars (thus carbs) in dressings, meat sauces, seasoning, and garnishes. Ketchup? A whopping 5g of carbs per TBSP! (and you eat how many tbsp of Ketchup at a time? WAY more than one). 20g adds up quick, so just be mindful.
"What's the hardest part of this lifestyle?"
There are 2 really hard parts, neither of which is wanting food I "can't have." On a day-to-day basis I honestly don't miss the rice, cake, chips, pasta, and sugary nonsense I was once obsessed with. I do get a little emotional at parties, conferences, nights out, etc. when I have to pass on the group appetizer of loaded potato skins and pull out my pre-packed baggie of edamame and almonds (yes, I do this). I'd rather keep up my diet and still have a social life than avoid events altogether. My friends are now used to it and some of them even pack their own snacks, too!
2. The second hardest part is not always being surrounded by people who eat like you and having to work hard on willpower and avoiding temptation at those social events.
"What does a cheat meal look like for you?"

I guess I do "technically" cheat. I try to eat as clean as I can, as much as I can. It's easy for low carbers to tell themselves, "Well, I can take the bun off a McDonald's hamburger and that's like, 2 carbs!" way too many times. Well, that burger is also cooked in trans fat and is a result of mistreated animals, people, and the environment. (another blog for later) Since I try to eat clean (getting most of my carbs from veggies, and most of my fats from grassfed butter, coconut oils, and eggs) I guess a common cheat meal for me would include pork rinds. I still like to keep my carbs low; maybe I'll let them creep up to 50g instead of 20g, but usually a "Cheat" for me still keeps the carbs around 20g, but changes the "clean factor" of my food. I had a "real" cheat meal once; breadsticks and pizza from a chain and I felt HORRIBLE for days. I'll never do it again.
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"Isn't it more expensive to eat clean and healthy?"
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Yes and No. If you don't plan ahead, you betcha. Being healthy AND frugal definitely takes more planning in today's society; there's no question about that. But it CAN be done. How I get around it:
I plan my meals out for the week on MyFitnessPal.com. I compile a grocery list from those items and check the sale flyers and coupons for Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and my local Kroger. If I can't get what I need on my list at a reasonable cost, I'll swap something (asparagus for broccoli, cauliflower for parsnips, etc). Then I go and get only what I need for the week with my coupons and it's typically cheaper than how I was grocery shopping before: willy nilly throwing items in my cart and praying I could come up with enough meals before things went bad. (I told you my life took a 180) Right now, mostly due to planning ahead, (according to my Discover spend analyzer) I'm spending about 30% LESS on my grocery bills each month eating healthy.
Also, an important thing to remember: although yes; coconut oil and almond butter, almond flour and flaxseed meal are more expensive items in general, not only can you use coupons and sales, I find that my total grocery bills evens out (if it's not less money) than before because I'm no longer spending ANY money on high-carb, processed crap: doritos, cereals, granola, lunchables, breakfast bars, etc. The list goes on and on. And that amount of money (for me, anyway) was more than what I spend now on the few, more "expensive" healthy items.
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Questions & Answers
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"What's the best part of losing all that weight?"
I will answer you personally, then post it online if it's a commonly asked question!
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"Aren't you hungry?!?"
Pork rinds are typically a low carbers best friend, but I use them as a rare treat, since they clearly have some funky ingredients on that label. A typical example of a cheat meal might be Pork Rind Nachos: a plate of Pork Rinds, sprinkled with shredded cheese, real bacon bits, some shredded chicken, and some real sour cream. I also like to make almond flour cookie dough for a special treat every now and then.
1. The first hardest part is having to explain and defend this way of eating to people to clearly don't understand it and don't ever care to. The human body is such a complicated machine and it's incredibly frustrating to have people tear down the way I eat (the way my doctor told me to eat) and the lifestyle I chose based on LOTS of scientific research. Everyone is different and different lifestyles work for different people for a reason. You just have to take confidence in the fact you're doing the right thing you.
The best answer here should be "being healthy." But honestly, trumping that is SHOPPING. I avoided clothes shopping for such a long time (like years). When I went it was because I HAD to have something for work or for an event, and I was so limited in my options because of my size range. Now, instead of HUNTING for what will *hopefully* fit, I am beginning to be able to shop for whatever I want, and that's pretty great. I'm desperately hoping to go bikini shopping for the first time since JUNIOR YEAR OF HIGHSCHOOL.
No. It's as simple as that. Literally, for the first in IN MY LIFE, on a day to day basic, I am never STARVING. For the first time, I sit and focus on work, not about my next meal or what I can eat next. Sometimes I actually struggle with eating enough calories during my day because I'm so content between meals (but I always find a way to eat enough calories). It's a glorious thing, really.
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"But How? I literally cannot live without pasta!"
I guarantee you can :) Miracle Noodles. Zoodles. You can adapt. For me, it’s zoodles (zucchini noodles) hands down. They started out as a fettuccini substitute and turned into an obsession. I LOVE them. Low carb and totally adaptable: Alfredo, butter, cheese, meat sauce…the possibilities are endless. The best part? I can spiralize (see left) 10 zucchinis into noodles, pop them into Tupperware for a week’s worth of lunches, then just pop them in a microwave for 2 minutes for a quick, low carb, DELICIOUS lunch!
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