Well, it’s been a while since I published my previous post.
So many things have happened in the meantime – my baby boy was born exactly 6 months ago, for instance – and I could go on and on about the economy or the politics in my country, but I won’t get into that, because I could pretty easily make myself – and probably others – angry. So fuck it. No complaining allowed. At least not today.
Last year, I discovered I was pregnant one day before we moved to our new house, and that process was not as enjoyable or relaxed as I expected, because I spent a great deal of my pregnancy in bed rest, so I hadn’t been truly able to invest a great deal of time in my house or any of my hobbies – writing this blog inclusive.
Lately, however, I have been able to start doing all those things I love again – playing dota and even getting ranked, and then losing the ranking because the new system they have is a real pain in the ass; painting a little bit; learning new cooking recipes… and this and this is precisely what I want to write about today, because this ‘cooking new things’ hobby of mine has been deeply affected by a recent change in my lifestyle.
Those who know me might have had the chance of tasting some of my experimental creations. For my daughter’s birthday a couple of months ago I went crazy and made this complex unicorn cake that was a total hit at the party. I now have a renewed respect for bakers and pastry chefs, and would happily pay for their services since I have experienced first-hand how time consuming and complicated it is to make a customized cake. Not worth my poorly invested time, to be honest. I’m sure a professional baker could have had the cake ready in half the time I spent, and in that same amount of time I could have produced enough translated words to pay for two cakes. It was a nice experiment, though.
About the lifestyle change I was talking about… I started having some gastrointestinal issues a couple of months ago, and after visiting a couple of specialist doctors I realized the thousands of pesos spent in medication were not going to be enough if I kept stressing out, eating, and drinking as I have stressed out, eaten and drank my whole life. I then went to talk to a nutritionist, to explore the possibilities I might have, and she suggested trying out the keto diet. Now, I was not too excited to do it, because carbs and I have been friends forever. I mean, we all have those friends who are always getting the best of you in exchange for almost nothing – not everyone? Just me? Is everyone taking advantage of me? – so I thought carbohydrates and I should stick together a little longer, but here’s the thing: my husband had been on the keto diet for something like a year or so, and he lost about 30 kilograms thanks to that and his fair share of exercise. I mean, I could not just say it was merely a fad and it wouldn’t work, because I have a perfect example of how well it works right under my roof.
So I jumped in – reluctantly – and I started feeling better after the horrible carbohydrate hang over that comes in the first 3 to 4 days after you cut your intake so drastically. I really had this huge monkey on my back, you know, the headache, dizziness and endless hunger that keeps you eating gelatin and pork grinds at all times. But eventually that stopped and I started feeling better. Much better. I felt I wasn’t as bloated anymore, and I didn’t feel as hungry. I started exploring my options, and discovering although I could not eat fruits, milk, yogurt, flour and sugar, I could find replacement foodstuff for basically all of them. I cannot assure this thing has changed my life yet. To be honest, I have only been doing it for a month now, and although I can see some benefits, I am not yet a preacher like many of the people I know who are completely into it and try to convince you this is THE.BEST.THING.EVER. I mean, I’m not there yet. I still crave a ton of things and since I am not melting – as people often say about this diet, ‘once you have reached ketosis, your fat melts away, it’s amazing and super effective’ – I am not super crazy about defending how the sacrifice is completely worth it. I don’t know, I am only eating 15 to 20 grams of carbohydrates a day and I haven’t lost much more than a kilo and a half. Perhaps I am doing something wrong. We’ll see.
Maybe in a couple of months I’ll post an update regarding this topic and I will be one of those girls who speak like they are part of the carb-free cult “Ooooooh, you must try it, it will completely change your life” but meanwhile I must admit I am feeling much better, my stomach is not giving me as much trouble as it used to and it is quite fun to be able to eat as much as you want of whatever is allowed.
Some mornings though I wish I could trade my car for a banana or a piece of chocolate, but, hey, who said change was easy?
