When It's Time to Give Up

I start to write this on the 2nd day of my Carnivore Cure elimination diet journey. While it's quite early, I already have thoughts on how I feel and how to progress going forward.

Last night was rough. After "splurging" on some food that isn't very good for me the day before I started the elimination diet, and having increased my carbs and sugar consumption more than intended for the whole 2 months prior, I found myself going through what I assume is part of the withdrawals. Not only did I have a small headache the entire day, as I did the first time I went keto, I ended up achy and with chills in bed as I was trying to fall asleep. I legit felt like I had the flu. I didn't have flu-like symptoms the first time I went keto, so this was a surprise to me. I know the keto flu is real, but didn't expect it to hit me so hard. My Oura ring also noted I was exhibiting major signs of strain on my body. I was given a readiness score of 31 and proof of an elevated body temperature. Overall, I didn't sleep very well, but I'm not necessarily overly fatigued, however, I can tell there's a strain on my body.

I also believe that I didn't eat enough on my first day of the elimination diet. It wasn't intentional, I just didn't plan and schedule correctly. I woke up today feeling hungry, so I knew I needed to pack breakfast, even if I don't always pack one. Sure, part of the point is to lose weight, because excessive weight is a symptom of poor metabolic health, but figuring out which foods help my healing, which ones hinder my healing, and which ones are fairly neutral is the real goal, so I need to make sure I'm eating enough to fuel my body and feel my best. I don't want to mess up my metabolism (more than it might already be) by not eating enough.

...part of the point is to lose weight, because excessive weight is a symptom of poor metabolic health, but figuring out which foods help my healing, which ones hinder my healing, and which ones are fairly neutral is the real goal...

I also ended up having diarrhea on day two. What sucks more than that alone, is that it happened within two hours of lunch at work. I despise these kinds of bowel movements at work. They suck at home, but are worse when out and about. Luckily, I know where the more private restrooms are located at my workplace, and sometimes I can make the distance. Interestingly, my fecal matter didn't smell as bad as I would expect. I'm not saying it didn't smell, it just didn't smell like I was expecting based on prior experiences. After this episode, I was tired and my afternoon energy crash came. More than likely, I had too high of a fat to protein ratio and my body couldn't process it properly (because it's not adapted to it yet).

And here's where it's easy to say, "I don't want to do this anymore". And if I'm being completely honest, a part of me wants to give this up and go back to eating all the different meats and foods whenever I want. I want to be low-carb, but eating only beef for a week is rough, yet, I'm trusting the process and I'm pausing and choosing to focus on why I am doing this in the first place. If you've been on a health or weight loss journey for nearly any amount of time, you've probably heard the importance of your 'why'. Though it's cliché, it's critically important. Because when you doubt yourself, when you have external pressures, when you feel alone, when you feel weird, when things don't go to plan, and all the other negative things that happen physically, socially, and emotionally when we make a healthy lifestyle change, your 'why' is what will keep you strong.

But we need to have a strong why for it to be truly effective. For example, someone might say, "I want to lose weight." Let's ask, "why?"

"So I can look good."

"Why do you want to look good?"

"So I can feel better about myself."

"Why do you want to feel better about yourself?"

"So I can have more confidence."

"Why do you want more confidence?"

"So I can do more things."

"Why do you want to do more things?"

"Because I don't want to end up regretting not living the life I always wanted just because it was hard for me to get around".

Feeling better about ourselves and having more confidence can do a world of wonders, but it's usually not enough. Having a deep, emotional connection that you can name is important to keeping on the path when things get hard.

Having a deep, emotional connection that you can name is important to keeping on the path when things get hard.

I continue to write this 5 days into the elimination diet, and I have to report that my headache didn't break until dinner time on day 3. It was like a breath of fresh air coming out of that initial slump. All this is to say, just because it's hard, that doesn't mean it's time to give up. One might argue, when it comes to getting and staying healthy, you can never give up. Yes, we will adapt our way of living and eating along the way to fit our bio-individuality, but that's very different than giving up. As a woman, I won't be surprised if what I eat now changes a bit as I enter different phases of life. They say that pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause impact a woman's hormones, so there's an expectation to change the way I eat or exercise. That's not to say it'll be a complete 180, like going vegan or back to the standard American diet, but it might mean more or less fat, more or less protein, or changing the type of fat or protein I consume. I want to be flexible and heal my relationship with food and strive to live the best life I can live.