In my last post, I mentioned going through a plateau in my weight loss journey. There have been a couple of times when I needed the Lord’s Wisdom as to why my weight loss had stalled. In each instance, He has shown me where I’d missed it and gotten me back on track.

With this recent plateau, which has lasted at least two weeks now, I’ve noticed some bad habits trying to creep back in and reverse all that God and I have accomplished in these five months. For example, my cravings for sweets have increased exponentially. It seems most of the recipes I research are for Keto-friendly desserts. Being someone who has lived addicted to sugar for the majority of my life, sweets are something I need to lay down for good – regardless if they are considered healthy or not. All I’ve done is found a way to make eating sweets OK; I have justified it, because it’s Keto. If you think about it, that’s like a recovering alcoholic drinking “near beer” and saying it’s fine, because it’s not really alcohol or has very little alcohol. If the taste is still there, it’s the equivalent of a shark getting a taste of blood. No matter how small the taste, it’s going to feed that addiction.

I’ve also been missing the “control” in my portion control. Not every time, but with this way of eating, it should never happen. Keto and low-carb/high fat is a natural appetite suppressant, so with this being an issue, I need to reevaluate.

I have been asking the Lord for Wisdom. For a while now, I’ve been hearing the phrase “Get back to the basics” in my head and in my spirit. When I started Keto, I didn’t have any fruit, sweets or flour (Keto-friendly or any kind). If you have an addiction to sweets and carbs, it’s highly recommended to stay away from any and all fruit and breads when you’re beginning, because they cause cravings. I didn’t incorporate any fruit, Keto-friendly sugars or flour until I was a couple of months in. The only fruit I have allowed myself to have throughout this journey are berries: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, because they have the lowest carb counts. However, knowing what I know now, I should have left fruit alone. I’m not saying everyone should omit fruit completely. This is what I feel I need to do. Will I eat fruit in the future? Maybe, maybe not. I’ve read more than one success story where the person didn’t incorporate fruit back in their diet after they reached their goal weight for the same reason I feel it needs to be omitted from mine (and by diet, I mean the food I eat, not a diet in the traditional sense). It triggers a sweet craving, and for those like me, that can’t happen. And, that’s OK.

So, it’s back to the basics I go! I’ll follow up in a couple of weeks to let you know how it’s going. God has always shown me where I’ve missed it, and I believe this is where He’s leading now. 

On a side note, plateaus are a normal part of weight loss. They don’t necessarily mean you’re doing something “wrong”. From what I’ve researched on dietdoctor.com, if you are doing everything that’s recommended and you plateau, just keep doing what you’re doing. It should right itself. There’s no set time of when, but more than likely, it will. I personally believe my recent plateau is the result of my choices. That’s the great thing about my Father: when you ask for Wisdom and don’t doubt that He’ll give it to you, He will.

James 1:5-8 (The Passion Translation): “And if anyone longs to be wise, ask God for wisdom and he will give it! He won’t see your lack of wisdom as an opportunity to scold you over your failures but he will overwhelm your failures with his generous grace. ⁶ Just make sure you ask empowered by confident faith without doubting that you will receive. For the ambivalent person believes one minute and doubts the next. Being undecided makes you become like the rough seas driven and tossed by the wind. You’re up one minute and tossed down the next. ^7–8 When you are half-hearted and wavering it leaves you unstable. Can you really expect to receive anything from the Lord when you’re in that condition?”

Is God amazing, or what?!