Kat’s Musings

Tag: Weight loss

  • Forget Diet Rules: Enjoy Ray Peat’s Nutrient-Rich Approach

    Forget Diet Rules: Enjoy Ray Peat’s Nutrient-Rich Approach

    You know that heavy, bloated, “I just swallowed a brick” feeling after smashing a carb- or protein-loaded meal? Yeah, that is not happening to me anymore. So I ditched the rules and went full “Eat Whatever the Fuck I Want” — and for me, that means going Ray Peat/ paleo.

    This is not some calorie-counting prison or macro-obsessed cult. It is a pro-metabolic, bioenergetic middle finger to the standard “choke down kale” or chicken breasts for every meal bullshit. Basically it is a scientific excuse for me to indulge in my dainty way of enjoying all sorts of goodies. 

    Developed by the late biologist Dr. Ray Peat, it is all about cranking your metabolism, supporting your thyroid, balancing hormones (more progesterone, less estrogen and cortisol chaos), and keeping inflammation down.

    Peat basically said most of our problems — fatigue, stubborn fat, hormonal issues, premature aging — boil down to one thing: a sluggish metabolism. I am 100% on board with that diagnosis.

    The goal is to create a safe, energy-rich environment inside your body with easy-to-digest, nutrient-dense foods that let your cells actually produce energy instead of just being stressed. 

    The Core Rules (that I mostly follow when I feel like it):

    • Carbs are king. Simple sugars from fruit, juice, honey, and sugar. Enough of the “sugar is poison” crowd — I am loading up on orange juice, mangoes, papayas, cherries, melons, ripe berries, and apples. I adore fruits!  Fast fuel, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants. Tastes like victory.
    • Saturated fats over everything. Butter, coconut oil, ghee, full-fat dairy, cocoa butter. Seed oils (canola, soy, sunflower, corn) are straight-up toxic according to Peat. I avoid that industrial sludge (I write about this, here).
    • Smart sources of protein: This is an aspect of my diet that I do not particularly prioritize. I am not some big hulking man   Gelatin, collagen, bone broth, shellfish, oysters, eggs, and dairy. I could see myself enjoying a nice cup of bone broth for lunch. 
    • Dairy is back and might be a new favorite: Milk, cheese, ice cream — preferably full-fat and high quality. Cheese. My new obsession.
    • Root veggies and well-cooked starches. Potatoes, sweet potatoes (I LOVE ME SOME SWEET POTATO!), carrots, squash. Cooked fully so your gut will not throw a tantrum.
    • Coffee, salt, sugar (in reason), and constant fluids. My black espresso still fits. Peat loved it with milk and sugar anyway.
    • Avoid the inflammatory: Most grains, legumes, raw cruciferous veggies,  fatty fish, and all that processed garbage loaded with iron and additives.

    Peat said eat frequently — no fasting, no severe restriction — to keep blood sugar and energy steady. Here is where we clash: I still love fasting and eating like a dainty fairy princess who barely needs calories to look after her man, run the house, and do activaties like Pilates. But I am playing with the Peaty principles because they feel better for me. 

    He wants you eating to appetite, 4-6 times a day, pairing protein with carbs and fat. I love to get these protein and fats in through avocado and nut butters for dipping, but I will never eat more than once a day (plus an evening snack). Plus, he suggests cooking everything well. I will cook most things well… but tartare and sushi still hit my personal menu because rules are suggestions when they taste good.

    People on this way of eating report better energy, thyroid function, digestion, skin, hair, hormones, and way fewer cravings. Ray Peat himself lived to 86, slamming orange juice and ice cream while most diet gurus look like they are one kale smoothie from the grave.

    Critics scream it is”too much sugar,” lacks big clinical trials, and laughs in the face of mainstream advice to avoid sat fat and eat more fiber. I love that part. If the mainstream says it, I am already suspicious.

    It might not work for everyone — dairy issues, specific conditions, etc. Talk to a doctor before you go full rebel, blah blah.

    Bottom line: This is a flexible framework inspired by Peat’s work (raypeat.com has the deep dives). I am not following it like scripture — I am stealing the parts that make me feel alive, energetic, and less bloated while still indulging my sweet tooth (plus I am stealing most of my dietary “rules” from the cavemen— paleo— but with a bit more sweetness). 

    So I stopped feeling weighted down. I would rather feel light, sharp, and fueled by fruit, ice cream, and spite.

  • Embracing Life’s Chaos: Finding Meaning in Pain

    Embracing Life’s Chaos: Finding Meaning in Pain

    There was a time when I saw life as nothing more than a chaotic tangle of random events—senseless pain. I spent years fighting against the current, clenching my fists at the universe, demanding answers for every unfair event. But one day, exhausted from the resistance, I finally let go. I stopped fighting the detours and started tracing the threads that connected them. What I discovered surprised me deeply.

    Every heartbreak, every closed door, every tear-soaked “why me?” moment… none of it was an accident. They were (gluten free) breadcrumbs scattered along a path I could not yet see.

    The misery was not punishment. It was preparation — raw, necessary preparation for the woman I was becoming.

    I think about the guys who chose other girls over me. At the time, the rejection felt devastating, like a statement that I was not good enough. It cut deep. But looking back now, I see how those experiences were teaching me something important. I had been shrinking myself. I dimmed my light and apologized for my ambitions and my desires. I did this just to fit into someone else’s limited version of love. I hid who I truly was with certain friends. I also did this with family members to keep the peace or earn approval. Those painful rejections became the jumping off point that forced me to stop. They motivated me to stand taller. I reclaimed my voice. I refused to apologize anymore for wanting more. I wanted real, deep, reciprocal love and respect.

    Because I finally stopped shrinking, I created space for something better. Now I am with a man who does not just tolerate me — he truly sees me. He celebrates the parts of me that others overlooked or asked me to tone down. The beautiful truth is that I can accept love now. I finally learned to see and value myself first.

    The brain injury was terrifying. Those life-altering chapters turned out to be crucial. It became one of the most important turning points of all. It felt like the universe hitting the brakes on a car speeding toward disaster. Without that sudden stop, I honestly do not know. I would have ever slowed down enough to notice how far off course I had drifted.

     I was heading down a dark, exhausting path— chasing things that were never meant for me, ignoring the universe’s warnings. The injury forced me to pause. I had to seek the help I had been avoiding. In that healing process, I met the real me. This was the version of myself that had been buried under layers of fat: pain, expectations, and survival mode. 

    Rediscovering myself changed everything. This version of myself found the courage to take a completely different path. This path eventually led me to the man I now share my life with.

    I do not know exactly what the future holds. I feel a deep sense of trust and excitement as we step into it together. The universe has surprised me before, and I believe it will again. I am ready to see what beautiful, unexpected chapters it has planned for us — for our forever.

    It is not magic, though sometimes it feels that way. It is a pattern — one I can finally recognize when I look back (20/20 right?!)

    Every “no” was a redirection, gently (or sometimes forcefully) steering me away from what was not mine. Every scar I carry has become armor. I have plenty of those scars now, and I wear them with pride instead of shame. The universe never handed me a neat script or a perfectly mapped-out plan. It simply kept nudging me — through joy and through pain — until I stopped resisting and started listening.

    So yes… I truly believe everything has happened for a reason. Not because some distant cosmic puppet master was orchestrating every detail from above. But because I kept showing up, kept moving forward even when it hurt, and kept choosing growth over bitterness. 

    Somewhere along the way, without me even realizing it at first, the chaos began to transform. The random, messy pieces started falling into place. What once looked like pure disaster slowly revealed itself as something far more elegant. It was a kind of dance. A dance I was always meant to learn, step by imperfect step.

  • Choose Your Fighter

    Choose Your Fighter

    Transformation: from disability to housewife-in-training (throughout the years of my illness)

  • My Journey: From Veganism to Weight Loss Success

    My Journey: From Veganism to Weight Loss Success

    A friend of mine recently reminded me about the five year stint I took from eating meat. It was from twenty-twelve until twenty-seventeen. I was vegan during this period. Eating meat again reopened my eyes. This reminds me of the many “fad” diets that I have tried. 

    After initially getting sick, I had testing to find out which foods I had an intolerance to. 

    At first, we saw a woo woo type doctor. He had me place my hands on a stone. I could do only my right one obviously. He told me that the stone showed I need to stay away from anything that comes from beef. My mother bought into everything that that “doctor” was shilling. However, my father and I had a hard time believing that prognosis. So I had my blood tested by an actual naturopath. 

    My blood tests showed that I had an intolerance to dairy and chicken eggs. I was extremely overweight at the time. So, I figured that I might as well cut out all meat and fish, as well. I did not quit because meat was too heavy, or bad for the planet, or—worst of all— too expensive.

     (Now I have a conspiracy theory that the doctors doctored those tests because I was so big and so sick). 

    Being vegan did nothing for me. It definitely was not difficult for me to give up meat; but I absolutely love sushi, ice cream and cheese.  But I knew that I could no longer overindulge in these anymore (that is the issue here— overindulgence)

    I mostly had a diet of carbohydrates during those years. This was obviously before I started my gluten free lifestyle. I could eat anything fried, doughy, and all of the pasta. And I still adhered to the diet. I also ate a diet full of beans and legumes. This ultimately made my body reject absorbing bean protein. Sigh. I do miss my hummus!—This recipe is not conducive to weight loss. 

    Now I simply eat whatever I desire. Because the second that that steak hit my tongue in twenty- seventeen everything clicked back into place. As if my body had been quietly waiting, storing up all this dumb, primal hunger. No guilt. No lecture. Just… meat. Warm, real, alive on the plate.

    Now, compared to when I decided to go vegan, I can demonstrate discipline. This change has been in effect as of twenty-seventeen. I control how much I eat. This was the major difference. How much I am consuming. As I have mentioned, I managed to lose more than one hundred pounds. 

    The body is created in the kitchen, not the gym. When I initially gained more than one hundred pounds— I killed myself in the gym and my parents had me see a personal trainer, but I kept eating more of anything and everything. That is why my weight barely budged. I was extremely unhappy and this—reflected in the mirror—and ultimately reflected in my health. 

    I have learned that weight loss and body image are based on my mental state. I finally found my voice and accepted my opinions instead of following the crowd. As a result, I got happier and met the man of my dreams. I also saw my body transform to mirror my state of mind. 

     I guess what I am saying is—sometimes you quit because you are scared. Or lazy. Or—in my case—it seemed the easiest way to lose the weight I gained. At least, I thought it was. And then one day you bite into something again, and remember: “This is why I liked it.” Not because it is fancy— although I do love that aspect. Not because it is trendy. Just because it is good. And good makes me happy. Happy equals healthy.