This might be a long story, so sit back and relax while you read it.

A few weeks back, Sherry was complaining to me that her weight had plateaued and that no matter how well she was eating or how much she was exercising, she was’t losing any weight. The impetus for our third Whole30 a month ago was because she wanted to lose some more weight. I did the Whole30 with her and lost some weight but she didn’t lose nearly as much as she had hoped she could. That led to some dissatisfaction and disappointment on her part.

As I have been over the past two years, I did some reading about weight loss and methods people have used to safely and successfully lose weight for the long-term. A method I dabbled in and have used while on this weight loss and health journey of my own was Keto: putting one’s body into ketosis (which is not to be confused with ketoacidosis which is very bad and dangerous). Simply put, ketosis is where the body stops using glucose as energy and instead starts using fat as energy. The way one puts their body into ketosis is to nearly eliminate all carb sources from one’s diet. It’s hard to do and easy to get out of, but once in ketosis, the body literally burns its own fat for energy.

I talked to Sherry about keto, and at first, she was reluctant. She was incredulous, but more importantly, she’s grown comfortable with her knowledge of Paleo and how to make delicious and filling foods that are Paleo. If we went keto, she’d have to learn a whole new way to cook.

While I was at annual training this year, she decided to experiment with it. She started doing research and found recipes she tried. It turned out that much of the food she makes as Paleo can be easily converted to keto with minimal effort. Sure, there are things like sweet potatoes that someone on keto can’t eat, but otherwise, much of it is the same.

The end result is that Sherry has decided to go keto, at least for the time being, to drop the last bit of weight she wants to lose. In support of her, and to reduce her workload, I’m doing it with her. She did a Whole30 for me, and then went Paleo for me. Now, I’m returning the favor and doing keto with her.

Does that mean I’m changing the name of the website, or even myself? No. I plan on eating Paleo for the rest of my life, but keto is something we can do to help lose some weight that is otherwise being difficult to get rid of. As a runner, it will be interesting to see how it works for me. I have read about athletes who are keto, and it seems to work for them, but they aren’t distance runners (but then again, neither am I, really).

So, PaleoMarine is temporarily the KetoMarine. I don’t really need to lose any more weight, but if it happens while I’m supporting Sherry in this latest endeavor, then so be it. Heck, I’m still classified as overweight by BMI standards, and I’m still on the heavy side of my allowable weight in the military. Dropping another 5-10 lbs would be a welcome change.