With rain predicted for most of the day, we all decided to forgo our last night in Starrigavan Campground and move down the road just a bit to the Sitka Sportsman's Association RV Park. I was reluctant to move, but the full hook-ups would be nice on a rainy day, and they have pretty good Wi-Fi.
Esther & Steve pulled out first and made their way over to the new location. Linda & I went into town and filled up our propane tank before back-tracking to the RV park.
"RV Park" is stretching it. Like many Alaska RV Parks, it's basically a parking lot with hook-ups and it's $37/night. But at least this one is paved and has an ocean view.
It's a self-register, self-pay place with a phone to call the owners with any questions and to get the bathroom and Wi-Fi codes.
Keto-fying the RV
Not long after pulling in and parking, Linda started cleaning out cabinets.
Many that have been reading this series of posts have guessed that we are now on the Ketogenic or Keto diet. Though our friends Don & Deb back in Benson, Arizona were on the Keto plan and we considered it at the time, we hadn't done quite enough research and we were concerned about giving up some of the foods we loved.
At the Butterfield RV Park in Benson where we wintered, Dr. Douglas Payne (no relation), the head of the KETO Center, which is about 40 miles away, would come and do workshops. But our schedule never matched up with his appearances, and we just kept missing them. So, we never really understood the concept that well, and though there were a lot of great things we could eat, we didn't realistically think we could give up foods we'd become used to.
Anyway, it wasn't our intent to start a diet of any kind, and though we could stand to lose some weight, we weren't going to put that kind of pressure on ourselves during this Alaska trip. However, Esther & Steve have been living the Keto lifestyle (more than just a diet) for two years now, and they look and feel great. So, to make it easier to coordinate meals, we decided to give it a try.
Since they've been doing it for so long, they are highly educated on how it works, the science of it, and how to be successful on it. On one hand, it takes some serious sacrifice, but on the other hand, the many of the things we are supposed to eat now are perfect for us. And we are finding that there are in fact, tasty substitutions we just weren't aware of.
I don't want to get too far off on this tangent, but basically Keto is a high fat, moderate protein, low carbohydrates way of eating. The ranges in a Keto plan are something like this:
High Fat – 60%-80% of total calories come from fat.
Moderate Protein – 15%-35% of total calories come from protein.
Low Carbohydrate – 5% or less of total calories come from carbohydrates
I don't like calling it a diet, because our intent isn't to diet, but rather just to try something different and learn why Keto eating is gaining such popularity.
Basically, we're cutting out almost all carbs and sugars. The theory is that our bodies have always used carbs and sugars and turned them into glucose our body uses for energy. However, if you cut them out, our bodies will go into a state of "ketosis" in which ketones are created from fat and our bodies will use those for energy rather than glucose.
From WebMD:
Everyone has ketones, whether you have diabetes or not. Ketones are chemicals made in your liver.
You produce them when you don't have enough insulin in your body to turn sugar (or glucose) into energy. You need another source, so your body uses fat instead.
Your liver turns this fat into ketones, a type of acid, and sends them into your bloodstream. Your muscles and other tissues can then use them for fuel.
Note: Keto is NOT for diabetics, as diabetics can build up too many ketones in their bodies and that can be life-threatening.
From a practical standpoint, this means that we cut out breads, grains, pasta, sugary snacks and desserts, and starches like potatoes and corn. Even foods with natural sugar are off limits or highly restricted - no more bananas, raisins, dates, oranges, etc.
We have to read labels and determine the number of carbs or "net carbs" (carbs minus dietary fiber). "Low fat" and "no fat" items aren't good, and many things we've been told are healthy over the years (made with vegetable oil) are absolutely not. When you start reading labels, it's pretty amazing to discover the amounts of sugar and vegetable oils and preservatives are in everything, including so many items that are supposed to be "healthy".
Conversely, foods we've been told will kill us due to fat content are embraced - bacon, eggs, butter, cheese, lard, meats with the fat still attached, etc. Those are all good for us in the proper ratios. Fats combined with too many carbs is bad as the body continues to use the carbs and the fat isn't consumed to produce energy. Too much protein and not enough fat can also be problematic, as too much protein can also turn into sugar that prevents the body from going into or staying in ketosis. This is what I have to be careful of as I love my protein.
We've been easing into this over the last three weeks, and from prior posts you can see that we've been eating very well. Last week, Linda removed a bunch of stuff we can't have from our cabinets, put it in a bag, and we gave away as much of it as possible on the last ferry ride. Today, she went through and eliminated everything else. Straying the least little bit from the plan can take you out of ketosis and the wrong combinations of fats, carbs, and proteins can cause you to gain weight quickly, so eliminating all temptations was something we both agreed we needed to do.
It was a little painful to watch since we stocked up on a lot of carb and sugar heavy foods before crossing into Canada, but we're "all in" at this point since we're losing weight without really trying, we're eating great, and we're learning that there are many things we can use to enhance flavors that we simply didn't know about. "Sugar free" used to mean "tasteless" to us, but that's not necessarily the case.
We can still have baked goods if they are baked with almond flour or coconut flour. Esther made us a wonderful brownie cheesecake one night, and Linda's bacon-maple cheesecake was also made to be Keto-friendly.
Cooking things in butter, olive oil, or coconut oil is great. Vegetable oils are bad.
Most non-starchy veggies are good and olive oil on salad is perfect. Add cheese and bacon, and you forget about croutons.
Like butter and olive oil, heavy whipping cream becomes a staple as does cream cheese, sour cream, and sweeteners like Truvia and other non-sugar sweetening options.
Avocados are great sources of good fat, and the ability to eat bacon and eggs a lot is a big selling point for me. We can have berries such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries, and most cheeses are good, especially hard cheeses.
Beans, except for green beans, are high in carbs, so they pretty much get eliminated. While they have protein and other good stuff, eating them quickly puts you over your daily carb limits on Keto.
Pasteurized milk has too much sugar and too many carbs, and I love milk; but we've found that unsweetened almond milk with vanilla does the trick. Some of the other almond milk or coconut milk products just taste awful to me. Soy is bad.
Cashews are bad, but macadamia nuts and walnuts are excellent, with almonds being on the next level. Peanuts are okay, but we have to read labels as sugar is often added. Natural peanut butter and almond butter are good, and we've found a natural peanut butter that makes me forget Jif.
Pretty much all natural meat is good and the more fat the better (i.e. ribeye steak, pork belly, dark meat poultry, etc.). Fish and shellfish are good and fatty fish like salmon is even better.
I'm liking what I'm reading about the various health benefits of Keto and the science behind it. But it's certainly weird to slather butter on everything and to say to a waiter "Tell the chef not to trim the fat. Oh, and if he has some lard back there, use that to cook it in".
In a way, I'm going back to my roots growing up on the farm where we butchered and processed our own meats, my Mom cooked with lard, and we grew our own vegetables and many fruits. Our milk was straight from our cows and was un-processed and un-pasteurized. Our diet was pretty Keto-friendly then and almost all our food would be considered "organic" now.
Since then, as an adult, when I've wanted to lose weight, I've always cut out bread and dough, so that's not too hard for me. And I also use to cut out fried foods, but fried foods are fine on Keto when cooked in the proper fat - it's the breading that is usually the problem. Oh, but you can do wonders with pork rinds which are good as Keto snacks or can be crushed and turned into a Keto-friendly breading. There are other options as well.
Linda has weaned off her french vanilla creamer for her coffee, and she is now using whipping cream and butter. Butter coffee is a big thing in the Keto world.
More of our food has to be prepared and "processed" by us (well, by Linda) so there is a bit more time involved and more dishes get dirtied. But, Linda likes being creative, and she enjoys the challenge of making something tasty and Keto. Her Ninja Foodi provides many cooking options.
Going to a restaurant can be challenging, and I despise being a pain by asking too many questions and making special requests. Mexican restaurants, Italian restaurants, and Chinese restaurants can be especially difficult, but there is usually something that can be eaten pretty much anywhere - a cobb salad, burgers without buns, a taco salad (don't eat the crunchy bowl it's served in), meat/cheese/veggie combos, soups, etc. But we have to be careful with sauces and what the food is cooked in. We're still learning, but we prefer eating at home anyway. Still, when we go out, I hate being one of "those" people, so we try to look at our options online and make some selections before we get to the restaurant.
Okay, that's enough of that. I didn't intend to get too far on that tangent, but I guess I wasn't very successful. To learn more, there are now tons of websites, books, and other reference materials that explain the science of Keto, provide recipes and shopping lists, and discuss everything you may want to know. Being a skeptic and a researcher, I've put in quite a bit of time doing my homework, but there is a lot to learn. Thankfully, Steve & Esther have been great in helping us get up to speed faster, and so far, we're doing very well mostly because we're very happy with what we can eat, and we're not focused on what we can't.
Anyway, part of our day was Linda emptying our cabinets and containers and re-labeling containers for Keto-friendly foods and substitutes. She then packed it all up and delivered it to our local friend, Darlene, who can use it, distribute it, or throw it away as she sees fit. Juneau, our next stop, has a Costco, and we can re-stock the pantry with appropriate items there.
While Linda was out, she did a few loads of laundry and Esther joined her for a bit.
I stayed home and used the park's Wi-Fi to got some more entries posted while it rained.
Later in the evening, Esther made a wonderful halibut stew and Steve put together a great salad.
Again, we're eating quite well, and we have two awesome, creative cooks to keep us well fed with all kinds of tasty dishes.
That's it for another day. Sorry for the rambling Keto stuff, but it seemed like a good time to throw it out there since we didn't have much else going on.
Tomorrow is also supposed to be rainy, but hopefully we'll get a break as our intent is to do some "day camping" in one of the pull-outs along the road and bide our time until we have to do our late-night ferry check-in. We're supposed to line up by 1:15 a.m. with a scheduled 3:15 a.m. departure for our 9-hour ride to Juneau. This will be the worst of our ferry boarding times, but we reserved cabins to sleep and freshen up on the trip.
One more day in Sitka, and then on to Alaska's capital. Until next time.
I have a friend that is a bad diabetic, he went on the keto diet lost 85 pounds and is no longer taking 4 shots a day, in fact his no longer test as a diabetic.
I have 52 pounds on diet, I was pre-diabetic.
talk to your doctor before starting any diet.
Posted by: Thomas | Thursday, June 06, 2019 at 03:09 PM
The Keto info was interesting and informative. Have been curious about it. Good luck. Loving following your trips
Posted by: Patricia jackson | Friday, June 07, 2019 at 11:06 AM
Perhaps there is some little twist, but this diet, as explained, is the Atkins Diet from the early 70's. Works fine, actually quite well, and one does loose weight and can keep it off. Key is to cut out existentially ALL carbs, sugars, including fruit sugars and, unfortunately, milk.
Steak, all meats, including bacon and eggs, make it work well for some as one can eat pretty hardy and still loose weight. Almond muffins are pretty tasty.
Old is new again.
Safe travels up there.
Bill
Posted by: Bill & Linda | Friday, June 07, 2019 at 01:10 PM
I highly recommended The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung, MD. He treats Type 2 Diabetics in Toronto and has been very successful using fasting and a low carb diet.
I have been losing steadily doing intermittent fasting and one meal a day. It’s easy and I eat anything I want during a 4hr window. I’m never hungry.
I think Keto is a good way of eating if you find it sustainable long term. I just knew I couldn’t.
Posted by: Carol Beckman | Saturday, June 08, 2019 at 12:58 AM