P.S. I Loaf You
Before keto I didn't really know what "too many carbs" was. I thought as long as I counted calories, what I actually ate would be of little consequence and have little impact on successful weight loss. WRONG. Two slices of whole wheat toast with eggs (maybe just the whites), a salad for lunch, hearty dinner featuring brown rice. Oh, maybe a snack of those cardboard flavored baked chips, cause ya know, they're low fat, less calories, so that MUST make them good for me.(Insert eye roll) . How young and naïve I was.
If you're serious about keto, you have to "learn what you think you know", when it comes to carbs and your macros. What you may have considered relatively few carbs (I.e. Your precious wheat toast) will not likely fit in with your new way of eating. Two slices of bread generally pack a whopping 30g of carbs. That's 30 GRAMS! That's enough carbs for the whole day, and in my opinion, could be better spent on other foods (I'm thinking lots of veggies, fancy schmancy cheese, a good quality powdered probiotic). So if you thought you were low carb before, consider this super low carb.
Oh, the cravings you'll know!
With all that being said, it can be really hard to kick the high carb cravings. If you love bread, the first month of keto can be really rough. Now, I've never been a cake person, but give some cornbread, a nice batard, or some of that brown bread from the Cheesecake Factory (you know the one), and I'm in paradise!
I used to feel so entitled to load on carbs. Especially on an extremely busy day. I didn't have time to eat three squares, so when I ate I reasoned "my calories are low, my blood sugar could drop to a dangerously low level, I can eat a large amount of carbs". Now, I intermittent fast and almost always hit my proper macros and no crashing blood sugar (what an imagination I have).
So, here's what helped me.
Have you ever seen Rhett and Links "Will it deep fry?" Here's my version: "Will it keto?" I'm a chef, right? I'm supposed to use my creativity and training to create good food. Which means with a little time and effort I can make fabulous keto versions of the foods I could potentially miss. Pancakes, waffles, sandwich breads. I could definitely keto them and stick within my macros!
Keto is BAE, but almond flour is a close second. I personally consider it to be the best flour substitute. It makes a great crust, like the one I use in my yummy veggie quiche and mini blueberry pies. Or mix it with cheese and make an incredible thin crust pizza. But it's also great for breads.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention my former arch nemesis, coconut flour. When I first started keto I made a coconut flour waffle for breakfast one morning. As I ate it I repeated the mantra "this tastes just like a 'real' waffle" in my head for several minutes before telling myself I was "full" and couldn't eat another bite. Well, the last part of that statement was true. Coconut flour is dry as dessert sand but infinitely more fun to play with due it's absorbency . But, in order to be palatable (at least to me), a good amount of fat is needed to make it "moist". I use that term loosely as I constantly endeavor to continue working with and manipulating coconut flour so it becomes even slightly obedient to me. I've had LIMITED success.
