Yep, my husband and I are “semi-Keto” if that makes sense. He has high BP, high cholesterol and is borderline diabetic. He is not grossly overweight and has generally healthy lifestyle/eating habits. Our Dr. is perplexed because he shouldn’t have these numbers. Cutting out bread, grains, and watching the sugar has been amazing for him, he’s lost some weight and his numbers are all much better, BUT he is taking 6 or 7 pills everyday and he hates that. We are hoping keeping to this diet will allow him to get to numbers where the pills can be eliminated.
As you say tho; the labels can be misleading and “Keto Friendly” seems to be the newest fad, same as “Low Fat” where they amp up the added sugar to make it palatable. I’m learning to read labels and we get 3 Keto meals delivered twice a month, which is helping me to put together better meals for us the other days. Having a nice little garden helps too.
As for picky eaters, 2 of our grandkids live with us and their diets are so bad; Pop Tarts (yes they are delicious). processed cereals/cereal bars and frozen waffles comprise the majority of their diet along with “chicken” nuggets and that horrible fake Mac & Cheese. They do love berries, melons and apples and cheese & will drink milk but most proteins are a no-go.
Honestly, it’s because it’s “easier” for their parents to just give them what they like. But we do make them try a little bit of new foods, and it’s interesting to see what they like now. My grandson LOVES smoked salmon & granddaughter will eat raw red peppers, even without a dip! We’re trying :)
“Yep, my husband and I are “semi-Keto” if that makes sense.”
Makes perfect sense to me. Carbs are clearly the worst foods to eat if you’re diabetic or heading that way, due to the carbs spiking blood glucose levels (which is why it’s interesting that the recommended foods for diabetics are laced with carbs*). So, if one needs to cut carbs say 90% to get to Keto, it would seem reasonable, at least to me, that cutting carbs 80% (as you’re doing), for example, is far better than simply following the high carb guidelines and doing nothing nothing other than drugging yourself to counteract the effects of the foods. In fact I just learned that a friend of mine, who had a doctor who was willing to question the ‘official view’, told him 30 years ago that he was pre-diabetic. He told him to do the 80% or so carb reduction...and so he has done so since, and he never got diabetes, at least so far. He may not even be on meds.
*the UK guidelines pretty much show just how bad the ‘official advice’ is. In the US, the advice is the same, but they weasel-word it better (eat whole grains, boatloads of vegetables, and crap like that - knowing that they’ll have to eat carbs, and lots of them to get their daily calories) and don’t show it blatantly as the UK. Note how bread just stands out, and there isn’t a piece of red meat to be found - the closest they get is a small piece of chicken. It starts making sense that people have to wait 2 years for a knee, when they’re spending all their time getting people fat and sick, and then ‘treating’ them.
*here’s a link to the UK guidelines, and note that the doctor quoted is saying this is great for diabetes. It’s almost like a person’s lungs are seared by smoking 2 packs of Marlboro’s every day, so the official advice is to change to a ‘healthier’ brand and so smoke 3 packs of Winston’s every day instead.
https://diabetestimes.co.uk/eatwell-guide-updated/
As far as your Keto meals, if it’s that infrequent, I certainly wouldn’t worry about them. It’s more when they become the primary foods, rather than eating unprocessed foods, that would get me worried.