Metabolic and Mental Health
After I Defeated a Teenage Rock Climber, His Vegan Mum Asserted I Was on Steroids.
It didn’t occur to Lucy that an older adult on an empty stomach could beat a young person drinking Red Bull until she became a keto-vegan.
Who could have thought that a rock-climbing incident might entirely change a person’s lifestyle and make her healthier and happier without compromising her diet?
Memories of a Rock Climbing Competition
I enjoy rock climbing with family and community members at weekends in our local health center. It is a recreational and great sport to keep community members healthy and fit.
Several years ago, the health and fitness center opened a rock-climbing contest among members at the weekend. I volunteered to participate as I have been doing it for years.
My opponent was Mark, a 17-year-old boy in his final year of high school.
I liked Mark as he kept me asking about computers and desiring to be a computer engineer someday. His mum Lucy was a lovely woman, but she kept arguing with me about my diet in the local sauna in a friendly way.
However, despite differing views about diet and other lifestyle choices, we never had any issues exchanging ideas except in this case.
After the results were announced and a standing ovation changed the atmosphere, Mark was fine and hugged me firmly to congratulate me in front of her mother. But Lucy got upset.
For me, competition did not matter. I tame my ego. It was just a fun event. Besides, I liked Mark like my own son.
Unfortunately, Lucy took the friendly contest result too seriously.
Then, she made a comment that confused the spectators. She asserted I was on steroids; therefore, I defeated her son.
She added, “it is unusual for a fasting man three times older than my fit son drinking a few Red Bulls before completion to beat him in rock climbing!”
With an adrenal rush, I smiled at her comment. However, there was no smile on her face. A few community members got agitated.
Finally, one of the long-term sauna friends softly commented, “We have known this man for years. He is not the type of person to use steroids. He doesn’t even smoke or drink booze.”
Lucy left the crowd saying, “Whatever! I know what I know.”
I did not take offense but got concerned about her changing attitude. Thus I waited for an opportune time to discuss her emotional comments.
I knew intuitively that something profound was bothering Lucy.
What Was Lucy’s Real Problem?
Fortunately, Lucy joined the sauna week after on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. As she looked in a better mood, I decided to open the matter gently and test the waters.
When I told her I had never used steroid hormones except for Vitamin D in my life, she smiled and said:
“I knew it. I was only teasing you. Sorry about sounding so rude, Dr. Yildiz. I was in a bad mood and did not know what I had said inappropriately. I hope I did not hurt your feelings.”
It was a great relief to me. I said no worries.
She said:
“I have no issues with you eating meat, but I cannot conceptualize how you can even do heavy workouts on an empty stomach. I know many meat-eaters, including my husband, but they don’t have your stamina. Surely, you are doing something different from them. Tell me the secret.”
I was pleased Lucy was keen to learn about athletic performance related to lifestyle choices. It was my pleasure to explain to her.
Lucy’s husband, an office worker, was a similar age to me. Yet, he usually ate hamburgers and cheeseburgers from fast food shops for lunch, cereals for breakfast, and lots of starchy vegetables with trimmed meat at dinner. However, he was overweight and couldn’t even join the jogging sessions with Lucy.
So Lucy was comparing the diet of her husband with mine, generalizing us meat-eaters. I told Lucy I don’t eat out. And I didn’t consume fast food for several decades. I also told her I hadn’t eaten breakfast, especially cereals, for many years.
I confirmed that I replaced all carbs with healthy fats. I explained the sugar paradox as my reason. In addition, I mentioned I consume organ meats like beef liver at least three times a week.
I also told her that I do at least 10,000 steps on my trampoline daily, do calisthenics every day multiple times, lift moderate weights every second day, and hold heavy weights weekly.
She finally understood that my diet, fitness, and lifestyle differed from her husband’s. She nodded her head in agreement.
When I explained the importance of fat adaption for fitness, her thoughts about steroid assertion changed.
I told her jokingly that perhaps we can call abundant ketones in my bloodstream steroids, but they are allowed in Olympic competitions.
A Transformational Conversion Began
She smiled and said, “You are right. But what are ketones exactly?”
Lucy got hooked when I explained the health and fitness benefits of ketosis. She loved the idea of BDNF for her aging brain as she did not want to get dementia like her parents.
Her mum and dad were vegetarians refraining from smoking and excessive alcohol, but they got type II diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease after their 70s. So she was keen to learn about ketosis.
Then she affectionately raised her concerns, “Dr. Yildiz, you convinced me about ketosis. But there is no way for me to eat meat. I never tried it in my life and have no intention of eating any animal products.”
She asked whether there was any other way of getting into ketosis.
This question opened a wonderful conversation. I had strong empathy and compassion for Lucy as I have some family members and friends who are vegan. I also practiced veganism and fruitarianism at a younger age.
I said, “No worries, Lucy. You don’t have to eat meat to enter ketosis.”
She curiously asked, “what do you mean?”
When I mentioned the possibility of a keto-vegan diet, Lucy’s face looked optimistic. She wanted to explore and asked me for some examples.
Even though I didn’t practice the keto-vegan diet myself, I gave Lucy a few examples from my friends and family members who used it.
I said, “Lucy, surely you can eat avocados, Macadamia nuts, walnuts, and olive oil.” She said she loved them.
Interestingly Lucy did not like eating bread, pasta, cereals, and desserts. However, she loved green leafy vegetables.
I told her she was halfway through the keto-vegan diet, which she had never heard of. All she needed was to increase healthy fats from plant sources.
Cholesterol Concerns
Lucy curiously asked, “how about cholesterol?”. I was not surprised. Almost everyone asked me this question during dietary conversations.
I informed her that plants, including avocados and nuts, do not include cholesterol. These plants include healthy monounsaturated fats,
In addition, I confirmed only animal products include cholesterol. I explained the cholesterol paradox clearly.
She was relieved but got curious commenting her husband’s cholesterol was very high concerning her.
I articulated the minimal impact of dietary cholesterol on the overall cholesterol profile giving myself, as an example eating 200 grams of animal fats, lots of beef liver, and many egg yolks in the past.
Then, my eating heavy cholesterol-containing food made sense to her as I had no cholesterol problem.
Gratefully, after solving the cholesterol problem, her interest in ketosis further increased.
Since I liked social manners of Lucy, I introduced her to my friends who had experience with the keto-vegan diet.
The ketogenic community members shared their delicious recipes with Lucy. She loved the food and started feeling much better.
Lucy’s mood improved, and her intellect got sharper. Thus, she wanted to know about her ketones and track her progress.
Lucy’s First Mild Ketosis Experience
A few months later, Lucy decided to try intermittent fasting to benefit from ketosis. Her dietician helped Lucy to address vitamin and mineral deficiencies in a vegan diet.
So she felt confident in performing intermittent fasting with guidance from her dietician and family doctor.
Interestingly, after cutting breakfasts, she said she did not feel hungry at all. So I assumed her body got leptin sensitive.
I gifted Lucy a ketone and glucose monitoring device, which I bought half-price from a sale. Lucy loved the gift. She got excited to measure her ketones and glucose daily before breaking her fast.
At the first attempt, her BHP (β-hydroxybutyrate) showed 0.6. She thought it was too low. I said anything over 0.2 nmol was noticeable by the body and brain and showed moderate ketosis.
Lucy Entered Deep Ketosis in a Vegan Diet
With this enthusiasm, Lucy even decided to skip lunch now and then. As a result, the ketones in her blood significantly increased.
When she tested around 1.7 nmol BHP, her inflammation disappeared. She said she gained abundant energy.
After daily fasts under the supervision of her family doctor, she managed to get three nmol BHB in her bloodstream. The outcome delighted her.
When I reminded Lucy of the incident at the rock climbing event, she once more apologized and understood the importance of ketosis and being fat-adapted.
Inspiringly, as a keto-vegan, Lucy managed her body to be fat-adapted. Lucy gained excellent hormonal balance on the keto-vegan diet.
As a result, even after 60, unlike her parents, she did not experience any signs of neurodegenerative diseases or other mental issues.
Phenomenal Changes in Lucy’s Family Life
Seeing the remarkable changes and health improvements in Lucy’s life, her husband (David) wanted to try ketosis. So, with the help of her dietician, who specialized in ketogenetic diets, Lucy created a plan for David.
Within a year, David made his body fat-adapted with the help of Lucy’s dietician, his wife, and supportive community members.
As a result, he lost significant visceral fat. He owed his sustainable fat loss to becoming insulin and leptin sensitive, putting his body in a metabolically advantaged position.
In addition, his testosterone and growth hormone increased. David’s hormonal intelligence increased during our conversations in the community meetings.
Sport became David’s passion. He tried to beat me in rock climbing but couldn’t do it yet. However, it is possible one day. He might beat me someday with this enthusiasm as he is lifting heavier weights than me.
Inspiringly, after the age of 62, David gained a defined body.
Lucy’s son (Mark) decided to become a keto-carnivore after completing his degree in business computing. I helped Mark to find a well-paying job in the industry. He was grateful.
Interestingly, as a lifetime vegan, Lucy supported her son but asked him to cook his own meal or help from his dad. David and Mark supported each other.
In addition, Lucy’s daughter decided to be vegan, which delighted her as she knew that no matter whether one is vegan or carnivore, one could benefit from ketosis.
We laughed when she said they had a multi-dietary home with no dull moments. Her daughter never left her mother alone, And her son always supported his father.
Lucy was happy and satisfied to have a joyful multi-dietary home giving them an inclusive sense of belongingness.
Takeaways
I finish my story with five generic lessons I learned from Lucy’s inspirational story that might give my readers perspectives.
Always give people the benefit of the doubt when faced with a challenging situation and remain compassionate toward others.
Seek clarification at opportune times.
We are all different and have different dietary requirements.
Being an open mind to dietary choices might bring new solutions.
Supporting loved ones with our capabilities can bring more happiness to our lives.
To conclude, I respect all diets. Thus, I always encourage my readers to customize their diets based on their health goals and lifestyle choices as we are individuals. Diet is a health matter.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
If you enjoyed this story and have time, you might also check my experience on other topics in the original stories that impacted my readers.
I wish I had Gone Self-Employed 40 Years Ago for Three Reasons.
Ten Hobbies Enhanced the Quality of My Life over the Past Five Decades
What Would Happen if We Set Healthy Boundaries for Emotional Maturity?
An Overweight Man Called Me “Crazy & Freak” in the Butcher Shop Today
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