Caribbean Keto Tribe – Here's What I Think…

Keto Worked for Me, but I’ve Fallen Off & Can’t Get Back On!

I’ve done this. I’ve seen this with a number of persons I’ve had the privilege of coaching. I’ve seen the stories members of our Caribbean Keto Tribe have shared in our Facebook Group. You start off with a fervent desire to lose weight and improve health and your energy matches this desire. Meal prep is done with gusto. You press through the initial uncomfortable days of the “keto flu” and you celebrate with joy & relief with the first 8 pound loss.

Woo-hoo! Your clothes are fitting better and your energy is through the roof, you feel positive and you just KNOW that you’ve found your key to losing weight and feeling good. Then after a few weeks, sometimes it is even a few months, you come off plan for any variety of reasons.

…And then that one cheat meal becomes a cheat weekend, which becomes a cheat week, which becomes a cheat month and before you know it, despite your most fervent desire to return to the heady glory days of your first experience with keto, you remain stuck. You remain unable to consistently eat low-carb even though the weight is creeping back on, even though your energy has dipped, even though you KNOW eating low-carb really and truly worked for you.

First of all, you are not alone!

What do the ones who win with Keto have in common? 8 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR WINNING WITH KETO

I’ve been on my own keto journey for almost 3 1/2 years now. Yes, I’ve lost weight (YAY!) and yes, my health and livity have improved significantly. I still do all the things I used to do when I was heavier (hike, road trips, cook, etc.) but the difference is that I move around with so much more ease, I enjoy food without guilt or any uncomfortable after effects, my moods are generally more stable and even, and I sleep way better. I’ve been privileged to work one on one with various people who feel that keto is the route to weight loss and wellness for them, guiding them as to what they could choose to eat in furtherance of their personal goals based on their proclivities and lifestyle, and serving as an accountability partner as they break old habits and form new ones. It never gets old seeing them come off high blood pressure and diabetes meds, hearing them report on being able to sleep comfortably again without acid reflux or sleep apnea. I never get tired of seeing their before and after pics, with them modelling new clothing with a broad smile on their faces. And I have been thinking: what do the ones who win with keto have in common? What are their critical success factors?

Three Reasons Why Keto Is Not Working for You & How to Turn it Around.

“I’ve been doing keto for a month now and I haven’t lost a pound.”

That was a comment I received from a prospective client. I immediately told her that I suspected hidden carbs as the culprit. She insisted that she ate low-carb, with the occasional fried chicken or shrimp in batter. I explained that the batter is made from wheat flour which is carb rich. She explained that she didn’t think “that little bit of flour would make a difference.” She recently shared with me a picture of her meal: fish and vegetable salad. Sounds good, right? Except that the fish was done brown-stewed style, which means it is first fried than cooked down in a ketchup rich sweet and spice sauce. Ketchup is unbelievably high in sugar. There are 11g sugar in 100g coca cola, 9 g sugar in 100g orange juice and 22g sugar in 100g ketchup.

Keto Caribbean Style? Yes we can!

So keto is in the news these days, all over it. And for those of us living in the Caribbean I can understand why some would dismiss the benefits of this diet and ignore the success stories by labeling it as “another north American fad.” Well, I live in the Caribbean, Jamaica to be precise, and I’ve been keto since end August 2017…and counting. And I’m not alone! There’s a small but growing community of us right here in the Caribbean and the diaspora who are living the keto lifestyle, eating the delicious high octane food that characterises our region. In my latest podcast episode I cover the following topics to show how we rock keto Caribbean style

How I Changed 5 Habits in order to Lose Weight on the Keto Diet

I’ve been on the keto diet for over a year and a half now. If I had a dollar for every time someone remarked to me “Wow! You have so much willpower!” I wouldn’t need to sell another low-carb bread or quiche! I don’t think that willpower has been the critical success factor for me on this journey. I have simply created some new habits that have now become my default position, the way I simply live today. I have discovered that so much of what we eat, how much we eat and when we eat, is not driven by our physiology or some biological need to survive. We do these things largely out of habit! That’s how we’ve always eaten. We always eat breakfast! Right? As I coach people in their own weight loss journeys, I’ve become interested in this whole subject of “habit” and “addiction” and change. People can and do change their habits. Sure, it takes some effort, but understanding exactly how habits work can help you target your efforts and make them count. Yes you can!