Embracing the old with the New Healthy Eating Lifestyle

I like trying out different kinds of diets and want to know what is the best for my body. As a pastry chef, it can be very challenging to say no to all different kinds of tasty desserts or what the next kitchen brings over to try. Like appetizers or array of different gourmet foods to sample. I'm a sucker for gourmet cheeses with artisan breads. (OMG!) But, it sticks to me like glue. Straight to my thighs. Sadly...

I've tried the vegan lifestyle. Which was very wholesome and cleansing. I really loved creating different desserts and savory dishes with just plant base ingredients. However, I did notice after the second year I wasn't feeling my best. I do mean health wise. My hair started to stop growing and it was even falling out. Well this can't be good, right? But I just didn't feel 100% though. Don't get me wrong the vegan diet was a great experience and I do use that experience in to my work. Especially, with people who have dietary needs.

However, I kept hearing the buzz about the Keto diet. At first I didn't get it. We have been taught that high fat is bad for you. Which raises your cholesterol and so on. So it wasn't computing with my brain. But I kept reading about people loosing so much weight in a short period of time and they felt great! I was intrigued by that. Eating high healthy fats like avocados, egg yolks, grass fed beef, bacon/sausage, organic meats, ghee, animal lard, etc. are considered to be very beneficial and nourishing for the body. I know this sounds very odd because we were taught the opposite. But do a little research on ghee alone. It actually lowers you bad cholesterol and raises the good. I will have to do a article on just ghee and animal fat just alone. My husband was still recovering with his digestive illness. So we both decided to do the Keto diet together.

In the first month or so (plus, while I'm working around delicious foods) I lost about 15 lbs. without any exercise.

On a side note, I just want to quickly say, I'm not super overweight just wanted to loose about 15-20 lbs.

But anyways, I didn't feel hungry all the time either. Also, I only eat in a 6 hour window. I guess you can say I mesh two diets in to one. I do intermediate fasting with Keto. It works wonderfully. I skip breakfast. Which is super easy to do when you get up at 3:00 am or 4:00 am to work. I eat my first meal of the day at 11:00 am and then I eat dinner at 4:00 pm. I typically finish around 5:00 pm.

I use to do the Omad diet when I was a vegan. You have a longer fast and eat just 1 meal a day. So in other words, all the calories you would typically eat in a day, you would eat all in one sitting in a 2 to 6 hour window. I would eat 1,200 calories for dinner. But all plant-base foods. It was wonderful! So satisfying and so full! I actually did loose weight on that diet as well. The theory on the Omad diet, is less insulin spikes the easier on the body. Plus, during the mini fast your body helps repair any damage or healing that is necessary within the body. So therefore, your body isn't using the energy to digest foods but using energy to regenerate cells within the body.

I personally liked doing the Omad diet for cleansing purposes. Which let my body rest and repair any damage that was necessary. It did give me energy. Plus, after training your stomach to eat 1 meal a day. It was pretty easy to do. Plus, I did get more things accomplished in my day because I wasn't eating 2 more meals a day.

Now after doing the Keto diet, I've pretty much almost reached my target weight of 120 lbs. I started exercising every other day. Which is accelerating my weight loss even more. However, I am of course gaining some muscle tone from the exercise. Which has slightly bumped my overall weight. But of course, I'm happy about gaining muscle but not fat.

So overall, I would have to say my current diet is considered a intermittent fast with low carbs (keeping it under 50 grams of carbs/sugar) a day. For Keto diets it would have to be 25 grams of carbs/sugar a day for fast weight loss and to stay in true ketosis. As of right now, my body feels the best at this type of diet. I still do vegan meals now and then. But I do eat a high fat and low carb diet meals twice a day.

I have been really trying to take care of myself not just because I want to look great. That's a bonus. But I want to create healthier habits for my life because I don't want to be a victim of type 2 diabetes like some of my family members from being over weight. I want to have a good quality life and enjoy different foods. Plus, maybe have a cheat meal one or twice. But keeping myself grounded and healthy matters so much to me. So I can be there for my husband and my family as long as I'm on this earth.

So I hope this inspires you to start eating healthier and thinking more about your future of having a higher quality life. If you want to check out some healthy recipes, join my mailing list for my newest recipes. I hope you follow me on this healthy eating journey.

Sincerely, The Healthy Pastry Chef