I was already pretty heavy. Even before I was diagnosed with cancer and had gained a few pounds while recuperating from surgery (April) and radiation (June), I knew I needed to downsize in the weight category. My weight had gotten up to 238 and I could barely fit in my trusty old pair of fat pants that was a 38 in the waist.
I had planned to go look at new jeans which meant going up to a 40″ waist when I got the results from my post-radiation scan. My thyroglobulin was low, but I had three suspiciously large lymph nodes. It was great news overall, but didn’t exactly give me the warm and fuzzies. I needed to make a change.
After surgery, adjusting to thyroid meds and being treated with radiation, I didn’t really feel like being active, but I wanted to prove I was serious. I decided I needed to finish the local sprint triathlon (September). I had finished that race the previous two years and it is very special to me (was my first triathlon). After all that I had been though, this would be a major challenge with less than a couple months to train after being released from isolation(from radiation treatment).
I trained as hard as my body would allow, for the time I had, but things were moving slow and it was a bit frustrating. With the race just a couple of days away, I tried to get in as many open water swims as possible. While at the lake, I ran into my friend Bill from Coach Ritter’s swim class from the previous year. Bill is a bit older but in amazing physical condition and a super great guy.
I told him of my recent battle with cancer and he was very interested and concerned. He had a group that helped cancer survivors be more active called Move On Cancer. He gave me his business card and we promised to talk again.
Finishing that triathlon was really hard. My body was weak and out of shape. I had lost a few lbs training, but you can’t really out exercise a bad diet since I hadn’t really changed the way I ate. I finished though! Crossing that finish line was an amazing moment. I knew that I could do anything and cancer wasn’t going to stop me. I am a fighter!
In October, Bill sent me an email discussing the low carb diet that he followed. I had already been researching diets and was looking for something that could help my body fight cancer. Ideally, I wanted a diet that had a strong anti-inflammatory response and was low in gluten (gluten doesn’t typically do thyroidectomy patients any favors). I also didn’t want to be hungry all the time and wanted to eat real whole healthy foods.
After a bit more research and consulting with my doctor, I knew it was right for me. I was going to start the ketogenic diet. My version is a bit different than some. It’s pretty veggie heavy. Lots of salads and steamed veggies with maybe not quite as much fat as some, but very low carb. I started around Halloween 2017, the month after the triathlon and followed the diet to the letter. I didn’t have a cheat meal until Christmas and then went right back at it.
Starting the diet was really hard at first. The keto flu is a real thing (and preventable- I will cover that in another article) but I made it through and soon enough had no carb cravings. The most common thing I hear is I can’t go without carbs or some certain carb. The best explanation I have come across is from a podcast called 2keto Dudes that says: “If your elbow itched, you couldn’t imagine not being able to scratch it, but if your elbow no longer itched, it wouldn’t be a big deal.” I no longer craved carbs and so it is fine that I don’t eat them.
I ate what I wanted to, when I wanted to, with only two rules 1.) Good healthy-ish food. No processed crap. I’ll upset some people, but no keto cheat food; like fat bombs and Adkins bars, loaded with sugar alcohols and stuff with fake sugar. (Confession: diet soda is a weakness that I may have just now overcome). The second rule is the main one that makes the diet what it is: 2.) Low carb. I went super low carb, like sub 20 net grams of carbs.
I really only kept up with carbs but made sure my food was healthy and I was doing it to fight cancer, not to lose weight. I started feeling great and the pounds fell off.
I already upset some of the keto fans with the no fat bombs and the heavy veggie version of my diet. Now I’ll upset them even more by saying, I don’t recommend the keto diet to most people. It isn’t the easiest diet to get into and I feel you really need to stick with it for a long time to be successful. Some people aren’t looking for that. If you don’t need to lose a lot of weight or have a medical issue that it addresses, I would recommend following a well-balanced diet and sticking with it. I contribute most of my success to just sticking with it. The best diet is one you can live with as a lifestyle.
After that disclaimer though, the keto diet is amazing. It has brought amazing results to children with epilepsy, cancer survivors, used to keep deep diving Navy seals alive and prevent ultra endurance athletes from bonking. Training your body to burn fat as a primary energy source has lasting longevity benefits and does wonders for inflammation and hormone balancing.
Go do some real research on the ketogenic diet and don’t get too mixed up with fad products and foods that you know aren’t healthy.
The keto diet is very structured. If you just want to lose weight and get healthy, make a plan to eat healthy nutritious non-processed food and stick with it. If you feel you have to have some things in your life (tacos, chocolate, beer…) make sure you put that in your lifestyle eating plan to start with. Then you having that as part of your diet. You don’t want to ever “cheat” on your diet. You don’t need the guilt and it’s too easy to say “I messed up my diet with this taco, so I’m off the diet.” There is a difference between letting yourself have a cookie and binging because you had a cookie. This is your body. This is your life. You have to make a plan and stick with it to get the long term results that you want.
All the best,
Nathan (UnAthlete)
