Everyone who has committed to the Ketogenic diet has surely suffered from some of the monotony that comes along with it. I thought to myself before trying it, “how hard could it be, meats and cheeses are my favorite foods anyways?” I didn’t even consider the package that all my favorite foods came in: bread.
When I first started the diet, I had little experience as to what I was supposed to be eating on a daily basis. At work, I don’t have access to a microwave most of the time, so that is out of the picture. I remember my lunches for the first week I was on the diet consisted of beef jerky and pork rinds. While I didn’t mind this at first, it quickly got old. I realized this wasn’t sustainable, and I wasn’t even really eating a healthy diet.
Something that truly saved me was bread alternatives that I could use for wraps, sandwiches, tacos, etc. I didn’t know before that their were tortillas that had an extremely low amount of carbs, and ever since then my options have been endless. I make breakfast quesadillas every weekend, have pork wraps for lunches, can make tacos, and can even use the tortillas to make personal pizzas! I would definitely look into it if you’re hesitant about putting the bread aside but want to try this diet.
Realizing that there are keto alternatives to your favorite foods is a true savior. Another guilty pleasure of mine is being able to enjoy a bowl of ice cream. It took me about a week and a half on keto until I was craving something sweet, so I did some research online and found out about different brands of keto ice cream. I tried them all; some were better than others, but they all satisfied my craving for something sweet. My personal favorite brand of keto ice cream is Enlightened: it is creamy, loaded with toppings, and relinquishes some of the desire for sugary junk foods.
Realizing that you have options for “cheating” on the keto diet is extremely beneficial for long-term success, and keeping something like this around when you’re feeling weak can keep you on track. It has done wonders for me, and has kept me feeling like I’m not missing out on too much while following the diet. I hope it can work for you too!
As someone who did keto a while back, although it was for a fairly short period of time, I can say that the best way to cheat was for sure with Enlightened ice cream. I can also agree with your part about making wraps and how that is a life saver when on keto. When I first started my diet pretty much consisted of beef sticks, cheese, and pork rinds. When I realized that there were alternative tortillas that could be used with keto it was a big life saver.
Thanks for sharing your experience again, its been super helpful to hear how you managed to push the the personal battles of the keto diet. I struggle with having good meals at work because of poor time management before hand and I just end up getting bad meal substitutes and I know that pushing myself to uphold a goal is going to benefit my health in the long run.