Consciously Uncoupling With A Diet

Canada was great. It was good to get away and hang out with new and known people in another environment. Did I stick to my strict Ideal Protein diet? No. I did not. I had beer, whiskey, potato chips, potato salad, coleslaw, macaroni salad, 1-1/2 hamburger buns, cheese, a piece of bread, cold cuts, imitation crab, carrots, a few bites of pizza, a large piece of candy, and a little bit of raspberry vinegarette. All of those things are not part of the IP protocol. At worst, I knocked myself out of ketosis until follow the protocol strictly for 5 days straight. At best I did not gain weight. At the heart of it all, I had fun. I enjoyed my family. I enjoyed meeting new people. I enjoyed participating in life with kind & generous people. That made it worth it.

Maybe this is just an elaborate justification of my actions. However, I could have EASILY done this "off the wagon" stuff on my own by ordering a pizza one evening or getting a Peanut Buster Parfait from Dairy Queen in the car somewhere. I did not pig out, I did not throw it all out the window. I still had very sensible meals - salads with just oil & vinegar dressing, vegetables, & lean protein. I did not have a lot to drink. Because of the ketonic diet I've been on, any alcohol gets processed strangely by my liver. It's been used to NOT having to work in conjunction with my pancreas to produce a lot of insulin. It's been used to only metabolizing proteins and a tiny bit of carbohydrates. When you douse it with alcohol (even a little bit), it freaks out a bit and consequently, I feel the affects of alcohol 2x more than "normal" and I get really tired & light headed. So - for every ounce of spirits, I had 8oz of water and every 12 oz of beer, I had the equal amount of water. That kept me in a good zone and out of danger of getting pretty sick. My sister Anna often talks about "dumping syndrome", which is a metabolic/digestive event that happens to folks who have had gastric bypass (as she had) that causes huge issues with feeling very sick - almost like a sick to your stomach anxiety attack and a bad unsettling feeling in your digestive system. To an extent, that's what happens to me on this diet if I "cheat" with alcohol & simple carbs- and especially if I don't get enough water.

I drink a LOT of water. I have to stop to use the restroom all the time - and it drove my sisters nuts this weekend! :) Consequently, I am often low in potassium & sodium. I put salt on EVERYTHING which also causes one of my sisters to think I'm crazy nuts. And weird. Well...I just might be all of those!! :)

So I did not meet my goal of no alcohol, no carbs, no cheating. I did not cheat- I consciously uncoupled with my diet for two days. ;) and as of 6:00 tonight, I am back on track!! I don't feel bad, I don't get down on myself for "screwing up". I did not screw up. Life happened and I LOVE LIFE. I'm a child of the universe & the universe treats me well - I treat myself well emotionally & mentally. How incredibly selfish & self-absorbed it would be to get down on myself for this abandonment of my goals for a few days. A while ago, I told my self-talk mind to just suck it up and stop being such a negative nelly or such a crybaby. I'm bigger than my fears and so much bigger than any anxiety. I go with the flow because I have confidence and know without a doubt things will just work out. I'll do my part, but if I slip up, I learn and move on. I turn that slip up into a positive - I turn it into STRENGTH.

This weekend I was mostly disconnected from the world because I did not have any cell service & wireless was spotty. It was nice. I warned some good friends before then so they didn't try texting me all the time or calling to see if I was dead or something. It was kind of nice. I enjoyed life and people. I enjoyed the sensation of exploration and trusting others or my own instincts to get me to places and explore without google maps or the internet to tell me about things. Did I miss some people? Oh yes, I certainly did because there was much I had wanted to share with them. But it was good. I will have those memories to myself forever. It's something I need to do more of. It's something YOU need to do more of as well. Let's promise to make this a priority this summer: