Admittedly my dietary changes are temporary and thus make them easier to endure than something permanent.

First up, a ketotic diet was prescribed to supposedly reduce some belly fat prior to abdominal surgery. It was a high protein, moderate fat, and low carbohydrate diet. Step one: receive Ketotic, pre- and post-op diets in the mail. Panic over the idea of only 20 g of carbs per day. Step two: Buy every non-starchy vegetable in the freezer section of the grocery store. Reread diet over and over and find it is actually 40g carbs per day. Step three: Obsess over food choices. Wake up thinking about food and menu for the day. Get out scale and weigh breakfast foods. Plan Salmon for dinner.

Thoughts on day one: I spent a great deal of my mind’s time thinking about food. I think I missed on one serving of protein not having a cheese stick with my dinner. I was not hungry throughout the day much to my surprise. I saved my celery and peanut butter for my watching TV at night snack. Drinking 64 fluid ounces of water/liquid was simpler than I thought it would be.

This was my eating plan for two weeks. Luckily it came with four sample daily menus. Although I was to keep track of carbs and proteins, I figured if I did not eat the off-limit foods I would be in compliance. Giving up sugar and restless eating was the hard part as well as eating all those eggs for breakfast every day! I did enjoy having deli roast beef wrapped in lettuce and eating cottage cheese. The best meal other than grilled salmon was the beef stir-fry.

• 5 ounces lean beef (I used steak-ums cut in strips)
• 2 cups peppers, onion, and mushrooms
• 2 tsp sesame oil, a bit of garlic, and 1 ½ Tab soy sauce

The meat and vegetables were cooked with the oil and garlic in the cast iron skillet with the soy sauce stirred in for serving. I supposed this could have been served over cauliflower rice but it was plenty to eat on its own.

I was often not hungry but missed the mindless eating of anything desired. This Keto diet was making me evaluate my eating choices of what, when, and how much. That is probably a good thing regarding one’s relationship with food.

Hubby went along with this eating plan to be supportive. What a guy! For one meal we saved up our Carb allotment to have a bun with our grilled hamburgers. Overall this experience has reduced our reliance on carb heavy foods for meals and snacks.