Let's go KETO!

In my journey to wellness, I have decided to finally go back to a keto (a.k.a. low carb) diet.  Why did I abandon it in the first place?  Good question!  Truthfully, I'm not really sure.  After my 2nd baby in 2009, I had my hands full with a newborn and a toddler.  I did manage to lose about 15-20 lbs of the baby weight. But then, I hit a major plateau.  No amount of dieting and exercise would break it.  It was breaking me, mentally and physically.  I even tried an egg fast for a week, but to no avail.  Obviously, I had some other issues going on (like dieting too soon after giving birth and probably some sort of adrenal fatigue due to not allowing my body to fully recuperate after 2 kids and just the stress of managing two kids under 3 years old).  I was tired, moody, and unmotivated.  At that time, I was reading Matt Stone's blog.  He recommended a full 180 degree flip of whatever strict dieting regime you are slaving yourself to.  He believed dieting made you fatter (and he is right, to some extent).  All this rang true with me.  I just needed a break (not just from dieting, but life in general).  So, I did.  And I gained all the baby weight back and stayed that way for 7 years!  The first few years were wonderful.  I didn't worry about what I ate or needing to plan my meals or worry about parties/get-togethers and all the goodies I was going to pass up.  Those were the golden years!  Every time I thought about going back to low-carb, I stuck out my tongue and wretched.  I even blamed it as the CAUSE to my inability to lose weight.  I was convinced it harmed my body, irreparably.  I thought it caused my hypothyroid symptoms (even though test results never showed hypothyroidism, not even close).  Most commonly, documented cases of thyroid issues and ketosis occur in those with diabetic ketoacidosis, which is NOT the same thing as diet-induced ketosis.
However, I DID test positive for high cortisol levels, the stress hormone, indicating adrenal imbalance. Hormones work in harmony with other hormones.  An imbalance of one hormone can disrupt them all.  High cortisol may have dampened my thyroid function, probably not the ketogenic diet.  Really, what I needed were ways to reduce and manage my stress.  Eating cake when a kid is screaming blood murder because he has an ear infection definitely helped soothe my stress.