When I got serious about it, I used an app to track my carb intake. I did that to learn which foods had higher carbs, because I didn't know. Then I went through my pantry and threw out the garbage foods. I got used to eating low-carb, but I wasn't always ketogenic. I did lose a lot of weight, and got down to about 15 pounds above my ideal weight. That's where I stalled for many years, but I was comfortable enough so it wasn't stressful, I just didn't try to get lower.

The next big change for me was deciding that "food is not reward, food is not entertainment." Because, I used food both ways my entire life. Recognizing that, and changing my mind about it finally helped me drop the foods I was using as "comfort food", and not miss them.

I've been solidly ketogenic for the past five years, although that was never a goal for me, it just happened as a result of eating extremely low-carb. I've also been at my ideal weight.

My diet has been virtually unchanged in that time. I haven't ate out since the pandemic, I've made all of my own meals. This is exactly what I eat every day:

Morning: a small handful of baby carrots with some roasted cashews, and coffee.

Main meal (lunch): Spinach, onion, brussel sprouts, tomato, broccoli, heated in a bowl in the microwave with a small amount of water and corn starch to make a simple sauce. Add parmesan cheese and spices to taste. Chicken thigh, pan-fried in olive oil on top.

Evening meal: frozen blueberries with a sprinkle of instant coffee, some milk, some roasted cashews, some cinnamon, and a sprinkle of sugar. Plus a square of 85% chocolate.

Snack is only roasted cashews and/or carrots.

That's it, that's everything I eat*. I'm not bored by it because food is not entertainment. I like everything I eat, and I eat everything I buy, zero food waste. Tomorrow is the end of my week, and my fridge and freezer will be virtually empty. I know where everything is in the store and I shop once a week, it takes 20 minutes. I don't even need a list, and I know about how much I'll spend each time, barring needing something like spices or other things I don't buy every week.

*I "cheat" once a year around the holidays. I get a four-pack of pumpkin spice muffins.