That Crazy Keto Thing

 Hi guys! Wow it’s been quite a while since I last updated this silly little blog. Seems to be the trend haha.  Nothing major has changed since my last update, except this crazy diet I’ve been doing for the past month. Okay, it’s not crazy, and it’s not really a diet, it’s more of a lifestyle change... a way of eating. Most people haven’t heard of the Ketogenic diet, but after a few friends told me how awesome it was, I couldn’t resist giving it a try. I’ve never been much into dieting, but I wasn’t very happy with how I looked and felt and decided it was time for something to change. I’ve always been pretty active... I go to the gym a couple times a week, I play hockey at least once a week, and I rarely just lay around unless I’m not feeling good.

 After a lot of research and cleaning out my pantry, I decided to give it a try. I should’ve started blogging this from the very beginning, but I didn’t really think about it until some friends suggested it mainly just to share my recipes on making normal foods keto friendly.  I’ve never really made up a recipe on my own, but I take recipes I find on the internet and tweak them until I’m happy with the outcome.  This also isn’t going to be just about food. Well, I’m definitely going to be talking about food a lot, but also my journey through this lifestyle change, and sticking to my old blogging style roots... talking about adventures, projects, and anything I feel like writing about! :)

 So about this keto thing.  I’m not gonna tell you everything about it, there’s Google for that, but it is a high fat, moderate protein, low-carb diet. You also can’t eat sugar, or very minimal sugar. And it works. I started on Feb 7th and as of now I have lost 16 lbs. Not only have I lost a little weight so far, but I also feel a lot better overall. I have more energy, I’m sleeping better, and I just feel healthier in general.  Cutting out carbs and sugar hasn’t really been that hard for me, thankfully. Most things that I was eating before, I can eat now but just with a little switch up of ingredients. Instead of normal flour, I use almond or coconut flour. Instead of sugar, I use natural sweeteners like stevia, monkfruit, or erythritol.  There’s a recipe called ‘fathead dough’ that has been my saving grace for my love of bread. You can make pizza crust with it, breadsticks, sandwich bread, biscuits, the possibilities are endless. I’ll share that recipe in a later post. 

I’m also going to Oahu for a week in a few days! It was kind of a last minute, spur of the moment trip to clear my head and relax before the crazy summer tourist season starts.  I’m going to spend A LOT of time surfing.  I took a surf lesson last year when I went to Maui, and it was so fun and exhilarating! I really want to try surfing here in Alaska but I know I need to practice a little more in warmer waters before I tackle these crazy cold Juneau waters (with a wetsuit of course). 

Anyways, happy Friday folks! 

Time to DETOX!

Well I have everything I need, finally, to start the Master Cleanse tomorrow. I'm excited and kinda nervous at the same time. I'm wondering how I'm gonna handle all the food cravings, especially working in a restaurant, but I know I can manage. It's all about the will power, right? 

Anyways, to those not familiar with the Master Cleanse, here is a short description:

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After years of eating fast food, sodas, processed foods, and having a daily intake of all those harsh chemicals in our everyday food, sometimes your body needs to hit the 'reset' button. What the Master Cleanse is exactly, is flushing those bad toxins out of your body. Some people do it for weight loss, some for detoxifying the body of years of harmful buildup. 

The recipe is quite simple. You take an 8oz glass of warm water (non-flouridated), add 2tbs organic lemon juice, 2tbs organic grade B maple syrup (it is extremely important that it's grade B), and 1/10tbs organic cayenne pepper (or more if you can handle it). You MUST drink a minimum of 6-12 glasses per day, the more the better and more effective it is.

Long story short, the lemon juice breaks down all those toxins, the cayenne pepper acts like little 'scrubbers' to loosen those toxins up more, and the maple syrup gives you the energy and nutrients you need on a daily basis to continue an active lifestyle.  

But you don't want your body to absorb all that bad stuff again, right? This is where it gets a bit, um, gross. You basically have to flush it all out somehow, so that's where the herbal laxative tea at night and the salt water flush first thing in the morning comes in. I hate saltwater, but I'm gonna suffer through it. If you absolutely cannot STAND saltwater, the option of drinking another laxative tea in the morning as well is acceptable, although it isn't as effective as the saltwater flush. The saltwater flush mixture is 32oz of pure non-flouridated water (yes, that sounds like a LOT of water to chug at once) and 2tsp (or 1tbs) of celtic sea salt (no iodine). Basically, be prepared to stand by a toilet for the next hour after drinking the saltwater flush, because what it's doing is flowing through your body and flushing out all those toxins that the lemonade mix breaks down for you. Don't worry about overdosing on salt, the saltwater flush is the same density as blood, so your body doesn't absorb it, it just flows through you. 

In a nutshell, do the saltwater flush first thing in the morning, followed by the first glass of lemonade about 30 min afterwards. Continue to drink as much lemonade as possible, whenever you feel hungry, throughout the day. Drink a cup of the herbal laxative tea at night. Repeat the process for 10 days. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT eat or drink anything other than the lemonade, water, and herbal laxative tea (some versions permit you to drink organic mint tea as well).

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If you need more info, which if you are really going to do it, you DEFINITELY need to study up on it more, then go here: www.themastercleanse.org

Also, buy this book: The Master Cleanser

I'll be updating this blog daily about my experience! 

Happy Cleansing!