Low Carb, Keto Taco Lettuce Wraps 🌮


So... going low carb again. I love and live for carbs- pastas, potatoes, breads, sweets. I love them! But... they don't love me.


I had weight-loss surgery a couple of years ago, and while it wasn't completely "botched" and has been mostly successful, I also am not 100% sure it was done correctly. If done correctly, the patient should not be hungry at all after surgery. They say that you should go through almost an "anorexic" period. I was ravenous when I woke up from surgery, and have been hungry ever since.


Over time, I learned to control my cravings and my portion sizes, and had a lot of success losing weight. I lost 150 lbs in 2 years and went from a size 22 (maybe even a 24) down to a size 6.


Then I decided to have another baby, and honestly- I ROCKED that pregnancy! I was really good about watching my portion sizes, while still making sure I was eating enough for the baby and didn't gain too much weight.


But then, the unthinkable happened- we had trouble during labor and delivery. He almost died making his way into the world, and then once he was here, he was in the NICU for 2 weeks and on oxygen for 1 month after. His birth was very traumatic for me, and afterwords, I wasn't producing very much breastmilk at all. They asked me in the hospital if I had any hormonal imbalances, and I told them I had been diagnosed with PCOS once upon a time ago. They said that could hurt my milk production, and that I would have to work twice as hard. Then they asked what I was eating and drinking. I told them, explained my weight-loss surgery and that I couldn't eat or drink very much, and they said- "Well, you're going to have to if you want to make the breast milk he so desperately needs." So I went into "survival mode" for my son, and started to snack like crazy so I could produce. He wouldn't latch (not a huge surprise since my daughter wouldn't), so I had to pump ALL THE TIME to be able to keep my production up. Pump, snack, NICU run, barely sleep. Pump, snack, NICU run, barely sleep. This was my routine, and then once he came home, it was- pump, snack, take care of baby and 4 year old, barely sleep. And then I started working again (once my 6 weeks of maternity was up) and it was- pump, snack, work, pump, snack, work, come home and take care of babies, barely sleep. I did that for 5 months, and now, I can't get off the merry-go-round.


I feel like I have "awakened the beast", and my hunger is out of control again. I went from 145 (pre-pregnancy) to 180 (at the end of pregnancy), back down to 160 (right after having him), and now I am stuck in the high 160's bc I can't stop snacking (mostly junk food) and my portion sizes are out of control.


I need to regain control so that I don't lose all of the wonderful progress I worked so hard to make happen.


So- to make that happen I need to 1) probably do a liquids-only fast to "jump-start" the weight loss since I am stuck and 2) go back to low-carb for a while to maintain that jump-start, and 3) watch my portion sizes.


So I'll get going on the liquids only starting this weekend, but in the meantime, I can get going on low carb/keto to get in the habit of cooking without carbs for a little while. I will never completely cut anything out (bc I know that is ridiculous and does not merit long-term results), but I need to give my body a little bit of a break and help it get started on the path back to health.


So to do that, I started by making these low carb, keto taco lettuce wraps.


They are delicious and super easy!


Here is the recipe and I will keep everyone updated on my progress and recipes. Enjoy!


Comments

Popular Posts