Friends

Weird and wonderful things have occurred since I decided to go Keto a year ago. I was frustrated with weight loss struggles while training and working out a lot. I initially lost weight with a paleo diet a few years back so Keto seemed like a logical next step. I tried it and within a few weeks was seeing some amazing results, life changing really. Effortless weight loss without hunger, increased energy, better sleep, etc. When a person experiences something like this, it’s feels so great and you want to share with family and friends. I found it very hard to keep my experience to myself. In the beginning I thought it was fine to speak to people about what I found but soon found not all are receptive to new things. Understanding that eating a high fat, medium protein, low carb diet goes against the conventional wisdom, I could see why some where/are sceptical. It’s weird but when you have a really great experience, you naturally want to tell your friends. Boy, was I wrong!

My first encounters began fairly early into this new lifestyle. Last winter I started experimenting with different nutrial options as I continued to researched low carb on the web. As I became fat adapted, I noticed that I could fuel at home with a smoothie and then go on group workouts. During runs I found I had more energy and was running faster fuelling with only water and salt. I found GU and other stuff I normally would have used unnecessary. It was quite liberating actually and I wanted to tell fellow runners. What I got was blank stares and silence. I think some thought I was crazy. I get it, it’s very hard for some to accept or even discuss something new and controversial. I wasn’t asking anyone to do what I was doing but felt obligated to at least introduce them to something they may have had no prior knowledge of. Take it or leave it but don’t be afraid to discuss it. To be fair, I did at times come off preachy and that’s on me. I would try to dial it back but was/am passionate about the subject.

So I continued to read and learn more and more about Keto. Watching tons of YouTube videos and podcasts. The more I researched, the more I felt I was really on to something, something big. During the next few months I had some success with mostly family. My wife was/is right with me and two of my sons got right into it. My youngest lost over 40 lbs and is in the best shape of his life. I even talked to a colleague at work and to make a long story short, he is no longer diabetic and off statins. But then there were the naysayers and sceptics. I had/have friends who adamantly disagree with me and call Keto a fad. I’ve had a few heated conversions on the subject and was told what I was doing was dangerous. I even had a moment were I thought I was wrong and started eating more carbs. All that did was reaffirm that Keto was the healthy choice for me as more processed carbs made me feel unwell.

So here we are today. I wholeheartedly believe now that over consumption of processed carbohydrates have led us down a very unhealthy path. I believe the nutritional advise from government agencies like the Canadian Diabetes Association and Canadian Heart Association are well meaning but simply wrong. Recommending vegetable oils over natural oils like olive, coconut, and palm is bad advise as the processed oils are shown to be toxic especially when heated. Avoiding saturated fat and restricting salt is bad advise for most people. It turns out that high cholesterol is not necessarily a bad thing and actually might be a good thing especially in older people. This is why the food guides need to be changed as they are upside down. So now you know why I’m blogging. The low carb advise is important to get out there and hopefully this will help do just that. I noticed the other a day a good sign that people are getting the message. I noticed avocados and coconut milk keep running out at my local grocery store. Go figure! Because there is very little profit potential for people going low carb, this message will come from the bottom, the people. It’s a grassroots thing.