No processed foods

After 4 days of going keto, I stopped because I was feeling very nauseous.

I don't know if this is because of:
1) the "keto flu" which I guess is very common when people switch from being a sugar burner to a fat burner, or
2) if my body just couldn't handle digesting that much fat (apparently fat can be hard for those with any kind of compromised digestion to handle), or
3) if I was eating too many foods made with cow's milk (which I am very sensitive to). I couldn't think of much else to eat that was high in good fat.

I also realized I might have been eating too much: apparently many people in ketosis only need to eat 1-2x per day.

So I took a step back and am re-evaluating what to do.

My goal is to get my A1c down to the 4-6% range and to feel healthy.

A couple years ago, I stumbled across this blog and I emailed the writer about how she got her A1c down to a normal (4-5%) range. Here is what she told me:

"I don't follow the Bernstein diet to a T, I have a bit more carbs than he recommends, but not much more.  The thing I do that helps me use very little insulin is to exercise for 30 minutes once a day and then eat no processed foods.  So I don't eat any deli meats or crackers or cereal of any kind...nothing with flour in it unless it's almond or coconut flour.  I eat a lot of vegetables and veggie soup and juices (just green vegetable juice).  I do eat fruit because I seem to do well with it.  But I don't have too much.  I have a hard time with a low carb diet, too so I include fruits and sweet vegetables into my diet to help me manage my hunger and energy levels.  I find that as long as I stick with fruits and vegetables I do pretty well." -Sysy

So I think I will try this. It is very similar to Paleo and going ketogenic, but gives me a little different focus.

Since I like lists, here is my new list of DIET DOs and DON'Ts:

1. Exercise 30+ minutes per day
2. Eat no processed foods (i.e. NO deli meat, crackers, cereal, flour).
3. Eat lots of vegetables, vegetable soup, green vegetable juice.
4. Eat fruit, but not too much.
5. Eat only 30-50g carbs per day (about 15g per meal).

FYI: One of my favorite snacks right now is this - baby carrots and hummus - which has 12g of carbs in one serving (3oz of carrots and 2 Tbsp of hummus):