I stepped on the scale this morning and saw 189.8.  And I’m pretty darn happy about it.  When I decided to get serious about ketovore again, the scale said 197.0. Today it says 189.8.  That’s 7.2 pounds down.  Now, before anybody gets too excited and thinks I’ve discovered some magical way to lose seven pounds of body fat in a matter of days, I haven’t. I know enough about low-carb eating to know that some of that initial drop is almost certainly water weight.

But you know what?  I don’t really care.  Because right now, the number on the scale isn’t the biggest victory.  The biggest victory is that I’m thinking about food again.  And by that I don’t mean obsessing about food. I mean actually stopping and thinking about what I’m going to eat instead of simply eating whatever happens to be in front of me.  That’s a bigger change than I realized.

189.8 Is a Checkpoint, Not the Finish Line

I want to be clear about something.  This isn’t my “30-Day Ketovore Results” post.  Not even close.  I only started this restart toward the end of August. I’ve still got most of my 30-day experiment ahead of me.  So I’m looking at 189.8 as my first checkpoint.

And it’s an encouraging one.  Seeing the scale drop below 190 gives me a little momentum heading into September.  I’ve tried enough diets, eating plans, exercise programs and “I’m starting Monday” promises over the years to know how easy it is to get excited about a few good days.

The real question is:  Can I keep doing it?  That’s what September is going to tell me.

Lesson #1: Ketovore at Home Is Easy

This has probably been my biggest realization so far.  Eating ketovore at home isn’t difficult for me.  I recently made a plate with chicken, ground beef, salsa and pork rinds.  Was it gourmet?  Absolutely not.  Would anybody pay $38 for it at a fancy restaurant?  I certainly hope not.  But it tasted good, filled me up and fit perfectly into the way I’m trying to eat.  That’s the beauty of ketovore for me.

I don’t need complicated recipes.  Give me meat. Give me eggs. Give me cheese occasionally. Let me add some salsa or another low-carb food when I want it.  I’m good.  The problem starts when I walk out the front door.

Lesson #2: The Real Battle Happens Away From Home

My lifestyle puts me around food constantly.  I meet clients.  I attend meetings and events.  I go to football games.  I eat at restaurants.  I stop at coffee shops.  And there always seems to be food somewhere.  I’ve realized that one of my biggest problems isn’t hunger.  It’s opportunity.

Food is there, so I eat it.  Someone orders an appetizer for the table.  “Sure, I’ll have some.”  The waiter brings bread.  “Well, one piece won’t hurt.”  Someone wants dessert.  “Okay, let’s split one.”  And once I’ve made that first exception, it’s incredibly easy for me to turn one bad decision into an entire bad day.  That is the behavior I’m trying to change.

Lesson #3: I Need to Think Before I Eat

This may end up being the biggest lesson of this entire experiment.  My old pattern was:  See food → Eat food  I’m trying to replace it with:  See food → Think → Decide → Eat or don’t eat  That’s it.  It sounds almost laughably simple.

But that little pause changes everything.  I had a client meeting at Starbucks recently. Normally, that could easily turn into coffee plus something to eat.  Instead, I had an Americano with heavy cream.  Done.  At a football game, I ate meat instead of loading up on carbs.  I also went back for seconds.  Oops.  That’s another problem I’m working on.

But I’m learning not to turn every imperfect decision into an excuse to abandon the entire plan.  I made a good decision about what I ate and a not-so-good decision about how much I ate.  Both can be true.  Tomorrow I try again.

Lesson #4: Ketovore Food Doesn’t Have Unlimited Calories

This one hurts a little.  Apparently, declaring something “ketovore” does not magically make it impossible to overeat.  Who knew? This is one of the reasons I’m experimenting again with OMAD — One Meal a Day.  

I’ve always had an overeating problem.  And if I give myself three meals, snacks and opportunities to eat all day long, I have a lot more chances to overdo it.  OMAD simplifies things.  I’m not spending the entire day asking myself whether I should eat.  For most of the day, the answer is already:  No.  Then I have my meal.  That structure seems to work well for me, and I’m going to continue experimenting with it during this restart.

Lesson #5: I Don’t Need to Be Perfect

This might be the most important thing I’m taking into September.  I’m going to screw up.  There will probably be a restaurant meal where I make the wrong choice.  There will probably be a day when I eat too much.  There may even be a day when I completely blow it.  I’ve done this enough times to know myself.  The danger isn’t one bad meal.  The danger is what I do after the bad meal.

I’ve been guilty of thinking:  “Well, I already screwed up today, so I’ll start again tomorrow.”  Then tomorrow becomes Monday.  Monday becomes next month.  And eventually I’m back standing on the scale wondering how the heck I got there.  I’m trying something different this time.  If I make a bad decision at lunch, dinner can still be a good decision.  I don’t need a new day.  I just need a new decision.

So, I Finished August at 189.8

I’m happy about that.  Really happy.  I’ve crossed back under 190, and psychologically that feels good.  But I’m not declaring victory.  I’m barely getting started.  My next milestone is pretty obvious.185.

I’m not putting some crazy deadline on it. I’m not going to starve myself trying to see 185 by a particular morning.  I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing and see where this experiment takes me.  Keep the carbs low.  Prioritize meat and protein.  Use OMAD when it works for me.  Make better choices when I’m eating away from home.

Stop going back for seconds just because the food tastes good.  And most importantly:  Think before I eat.  I started this restart at 197.0.  I ended August at 189.8.  That’s 7.2 pounds in the right direction.  Some is water. Some may come back. The scale will fluctuate.  That’s okay.  Because I’m heading into September with something I didn’t have when I started:  Momentum.

Now let’s see what I can do with it.