Our Keto Journey - Day 26

Day 26 – 

Today my goal is hydration. I want to ensure that I am fully hydrated. When you do not drink enough water, your body receives mixed signals on hunger. Dehydration causes you to believe you need to eat when you really need water.  I really like that my fitbit has a tool for tracking how much water I drink.  According to my fitbit I should be drinking 64 ounces of water daily and as you can see I have not come close to that goal. To be fair I have not always remembered to log all my water, and I have not logged other drinks like crystal light or the diet green tea that I sometimes drink. 

I made myself an egg for breakfast, and really concentrated on drinking water all morning, so I had finished two full water bottles by noon, well on my way to meeting my goals. The only major downside to drinking all that water is frequently going to the bathroom. 

For lunch I wanted to be brave and test out my new spiralizer. First I looked at some websites and I found this one with an easy step-by-step video (https://pinchofyum.com/8-life-changing-ways-to-use-a-spiralizer) then I prepared a cucumber to add to a salad. 

I am excited to try even more recipes with my new spiralizer; maybe I can even try to do a veggie version of spaghetti. 

By the early afternoon I had already finished four bottles of water! At this rate I will have no problem meeting my daily goal and hopefully even exceeding it. I want to try and meet this goal every single day this week to help make this an ongoing habit.

When Peter got home I had some of the leftover Cauliflower fried rice dish from yesterday and it was even better the second day. Peter decided he wanted to make something with chicken and mushrooms and I have no idea what he did but he just started throwing things into the pan and he came up with a bizarre concoction that he called Mexican chop suey. He said it was actually very good and he even saved some for lunch the next day. 

The swelling on my ankle was down a bit, so Peter and I headed over to the Y to go workout. I skipped the treadmill and did the stationary bicycle for 20+ minutes and then I did a bunch of the weight machines.  I did some arm weights and some leg machines, and I was sweating a bunch so I know I was getting both cardio and strength training. Peter said he had a great swim.   

In the evening we relaxed watching some episodes of Drunk History and I enjoyed a glass of wine. As long as I keep it to only one glass, the 3 or 4 extra carbs are not a big deal. 

It has been really great to go on this diet journey with Peter. Being able to support and encourage each other has been so helpful, and his weight loss is really starting to show. His clothes already look looser. 

My weight loss is going much slower than Peter’s, which I honestly expected. Men always seem to loose weight more quickly than women. I think our bodies are designed to hold on to weight – after all we are designed to give birth and feed infants, so our bodies naturally like to hang on to those stores of fat. I am going to be excited to see my total weight loss after a month. I would love to just snap my fingers or take a magic pill, but I know that weight loss is a long hard journey.  

Our Keto Journey - Day 25

Day 25 – 

Today was just a relaxing day because sometimes you just need that. I actually managed to sleep in because Peter got up with the dogs. We are still dog-sitting and the sweet little visiting dog has a tendency to get up extremely early (before 6:00am) so I have been getting up early almost every day. Sleep is actually very important for healthy weight.  There are numerous studies that have shown a lack of sleep is connected to weight gain. 

I had my coffee and spent some time on my computer.  I had some pecans for a midmorning snack. 

I made myself a big salad for lunch, with lettuce, one piece of crumbled bacon and some feta cheese. It was yummy.

Later I did some house cleaning and Peter went shopping. Look at all this amazing produce. I was so excited when he brought all this home. 

In the afternoon we went swimming and Peter noticed my ankle was swollen, so at his insistence I put some ice on it. I think the walk to and from the Y might have been a bit too much for my ankle. I took today off from my workout and tomorrow I will only do the bicycle and some weights to help give my ankle some recovery time. 

For dinner we decided to try one of the new recipes out, we made our own version of Chicken Fried rice. I really wish we could have our own reality show it would be hilarious. We were making such a big mess and yelling at each other and then laughing so hard. I of course, did not follow the recipe, but I have to say it came out so good. 

We started by cutting up the chicken into small pieces and browning them. Peter wanted to use the griddle. We chopped up a whole bunch of great veggies to add to our dish. After the chicken was done we put on the broccoli, some green onions and some fresh green beans I had cut up, next we added two beaten eggs and finally we added the cauliflower rice and some bean sprouts. We used sesame oil and just some onion powder, salt and pepper. It was amazing. I would definitely make this again. 

Peter and I are having fun cooking together so I am looking forward to trying more recipes.

Our Keto Journey - Day 24

Day 24 – 

My YMCA adventure this morning was challenging, but in a good way. I dropped off the car and with my headphones on and a bottle of water in my hand I headed over to the Y. According to Google it was .8 miles and luckily there was some shade along the walk, since it was already over 90 degrees before 9am. 

Once at the Y, I spent about 20 minutes on the bicycle and then did several of the weight machines, focusing on arms.  I refilled my water bottle, sat for a few minutes answering some family text messages, and then I began the very warm walk back to the car shop. I was grateful to sit in the air conditioning while I waited for another 45 minutes for my car to finish.  I was really starting to get hungry so I was bummed that I didn’t have a Keto friendly snack with me.  When they finished with my car I still had a couple errands to finish so I ate a few of the pecans I had in my purse but was still hungry so I decided to stop at McDonalds and got one cheeseburger. I made sure to ask for no ketchup. I threw away the bun and just ate the hamburger patty so I know that was Keto friendly. It was the perfect amount so I didn’t feel hungry. 

I did a few more errands, stopped by my work to drop off some files and then headed home. I was feeling really tired and I think that was due to the heat.  I had the leftover chicken salad and then decided to go for a quick swim to cool off. 

After finishing a few chores I made myself some cauliflower rice and shrimp for dinner. I was hoping to have some other veggies with it, but we didn’t have any good options available. I need to get more vegetables when I go to the store this week. 

Peter got home a few hours later and we went outside to swim. We began talking about our dieting experience so far. We still long for carb loaded goodies, I want starches - chips & bread, and he wants sugar - candy & goodies.  Peter said he was feeling good, and he asked me how I was feeling and I realized that one of the biggest changes for me so far on this diet is that I really no longer have that afternoon lull. I always used to get so tired in the afternoon, almost falling asleep after eating lunch, but without carbs I don’t feel like that. 

I am sore from exercising and trying to get my body back in shape, but otherwise I feel good.  I am actually enjoying the challenge of trying to find Keto friendly foods and I am excited to try some of the recipes from our new cookbook. 

Our Keto Journey - Day 23

Day 23 – 

As we continue our fourth official week on Keto I have been doing more research on the diet. Our lazy version of Keto has been very effective for us so far. It does seem slightly ironic that doing something in a lazy way can be effective, but you can’t argue with results. 

Looking at a bunch of Keto websites, many of them offer 14 day or 30 day meal plans. I have never been the kind of person who can follow one of those. Some people thrive on the structure of being told exactly what to eat and when, but I usually feel suffocated by it and quite often I find myself doing the exact opposite. I do think that says a lot about my personality in general, but it is clear these meal plans are not going to work for me. 

I decided to order a couple Keto cookbooks; hopefully we will continue to find a variety of interesting Keto recipes that Peter and I can do together. The book that was most recommended on some Keto Facebook groups was Keto Clarity by Jimmy Moore. 

Several people also suggested Keto Living Day By Day. Since I had a gift card I earned doing some market research I decided to splurge and order both, as well as the spiralizer that folks recommended.  It seemed like a great use of my gift card. 

I made myself some scrambled eggs and cheese for breakfast. I made a big bowl of chicken salad for lunch, with plenty leftover because Peter called and said he forgot his lunch today so he said he will be starving when he gets home.  

Today was a good day to catch up on small chores around the house that I really needed to do. 

My car has been struggling in the Arizona heat and I have had a lot going on in the past few weeks and I decided that I needed to take a day of rest so I skipped going to the Y today. I have an early morning car appointment tomorrow so I might even walk down to the Y while they work on my car, giving me an extra bonus workout. According to Google Maps its only .8 miles, but the big challenge will be walking in the heat. I will have to make sure to hydrate well – wish me luck. I don’t feel guilty for skipping today because that sounds like a double workout for tomorrow. I do think it’s important to take a day off once in awhile, just to rest and relax, especially where there is a lot going on in your life. 

I was amazed that later in the evening when I already received part of my Amazon order. Technology is amazing. On a side note, I just love ordering from Amazon – it always feels like Christmas when you get to open a package, even if its something you order for yourself, even when its something not very exciting like allergy medicine, it is always a fun to open a package. The only main drawback is all of the cardboard and packaging. 

Anyway – here is the first part of my order:

I had ordered the Pork Rinds because several Keto websites and Facebook groups mentioned them.

I sat down and started looking through the new cookbook and marking several of the recipes that I want to make. It was interesting because several of the recipes used ground up pork rinds as a kind of breading, so I think those will come in handy. The cookbook cover says it has 130 ‘deceptively simple recipes’ and I do like that each recipe lists the Keto info for each one, with amount of carbs, fats, proteins and calories. I am looking forward to more variety in our meals; although we have been successful so far I always think its good to try new things.

Our Keto Journey - Day 22

Day 22 – 

Starting our fourth week of Keto and I am excited about our progress so far, but it is hard to see that long-term goal yet. Losing 13 pounds is a fantastic accomplishment, but we both have such a long way to go.  

I guess the old adage of not seeing the forest for the trees applies here.

I should try the technique they used on Biggest Loser, and get 13 pounds of something to hold and see how much that really is. I think it could be a good motivator. Maybe when I go to the YMCA I can pick up a 10 pound weight.  

When I get overwhelmed at the amount of weight we need to lose I think that’s a good time to use the mantra of addiction folks, just one day at a time. 

Peter finally weighed himself and WOW he has lost 23 pounds! Guys always seem to lose weight faster than women. 

So today I started with my usual cup of coffee. I had a few pecans in the morning and then I had leftover salmon and a big salad for lunch.  

I made it over to the YMCA and did 35 minute on the treadmill. It was so hot out that I was sweaty before I even started working out. 

When Peter got home we decided to be brave and try to make the Keto Chicken Enchilada recipe that two different friends had shared with me because they knew I was doing Keto.  

https://www.facebook.com/KetoDailyRecipes/videos/204369566875621/

First I made up the Chicken mix, but I used half a small can of green enchilada sauce and I checked it has zero carbs. I also mixed in just a teaspoon of sour cream to add some creaminess to the mixture. 

This time I used parchment paper and put a handful of shredded cheese into four piles that I smoothed out to a size that I thought looked good.

We baked them for the 7 minutes that the recipe said and they came out perfect.

We put the mixture on one side of the cheese and Peter helped to roll each one. 

They looked awesome. I put a small amount of sour cream on mine, but Peter added even more of the green enchilada sauce and sour cream on his. 

We had fun making these together and we both agreed we would definitely make them again. 

I have decided to get a Keto cookbook so we can try even more recipes and find some things that we both like. 

Our Keto Journey - Day 21

Day 21 – 

I’m not sure which is harder; staying on this diet or having the discipline to do a blog post every day. In addition to the daily blog posts, I am also trying to write down a food journal each day so I can see what I am eating. 

According to an article from realsimple.com 

Writing down what you eat helps you take a critical look at your food habits and make healthy changes. Here are some tips.

• Record everything you eat and drink immediately.
• Note what you're doing while you're eating―driving, watching TV, etc.
• Describe how you felt while you ate: angry, sad, happy, nervous, starving, bored?
• Be honest. It's a journal, not a newsletter, and no one has to see it but you.
• At the end of each day, examine how your emotions affected your eating.

I am not writing down the food I eat immediately, but I do try to make sure to write it down as soon as I can.  This just feels like another level of accountability to help keep me eating healthy. According to Livestrong.com keeping a food journal has four main benefits; accountability, eating balanced meals, success attaining goals, and connecting food to feelings.  

A big part of overeating for most people is equating food to feelings. I actually am opposite from most people, I do eat out of boredom sometimes, but generally when I am angry, sad or upset I tend to eat a lot less.  Understanding when and why you are eating is an important step in changing negative habits.  

Today I started with my coffee. We are using the sugar free version of creamer since it has fewer carbs, only two total carbs for a serving. After the mistakes of yesterday I want to make better food decisions today so in the morning I made myself some scrambled eggs with one piece of crumbled bacon and some shredded cheddar cheese.  

I made it to the YMCA later in the morning so I had plenty of time to get home and showered before working this afternoon. I jumped on the stationary bicycle for 10 minutes then I did the treadmill for 35 minutes.

We have officially been on this diet for three weeks now and…. Drum roll please….I have lost of total of 13 pounds!!! It is a great feeling when the weight bar slides to the right. 

Yeah! That is really encouraging and that is the kind of news that keeps me motivated.

I had to rush out to work in the afternoon, but unlike yesterday, this time I also brought a couple cheese sticks and one of those yummy nut bars so I wouldn’t get overly hungry.

For dinner I made some broccoli rice for both of us, Peter had a steak, which he enjoyed with fresh sautéed mushrooms, and I had a lovely piece of salmon. 

Feeling really good about my progress so far, I decided to celebrate and splurge my remaining few carbs on a glass of red wine. 

Three weeks and we are still on track – that really is something to celebrate 🍷

Our Keto Journey - Day 20

I decided that I needed to try a new recipe so this morning I made myself some Keto Cauliflower toast.

Here is the link for the recipe https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipes/a50033/cauliflower-toast-recipe/

It was a little strange at first, I tried to grate the cauliflower on the small grate side – this does not work. When I used the larger shred size it worked perfectly and soon I had a big pile of mush. The recipe didn’t say if it needed to be covered in the microwave so I left it uncovered. I did put a paper towel in the bottom of the bowl to help squish out liquid, but after 8 minutes there wasn’t much liquid to squish out. The recipe suggests making the piles into toast shapes and as you can see I failed completely. 

I popped them into the oven for 20 minutes and they actually looked okay, but….

As you can see they did NOT come off the tin foil. 

What I was able to peel/scrape up actually tasted pretty good. 

I am well known for Pinterest fails. The recipe actually said use parchment paper, and at the very least I should have used cooking spray on the foil. Second, I may have used a bit more cheese than the recipe called for so that might have added to the stickiness.  Overall it tasted okay so I might try again, now that I know what I am doing.  

I do feel like that kitchen disaster was an omen for the rest of my day. I really wanted to go workout, but I had a bunch of stuff I needed to get done for work, and I had an early afternoon appointment with a client for work, so I basically ran out of time. Then I forgot to pack some healthy snacks, so I was starting to get hungry. After work I went straight to an evening commitment I had without stopping to eat anything.

I spent the evening volunteering making phone calls for a candidate that I support and they had a whole table of snacks but there was not one single item on the whole table that I could have. It was full of cookies, crackers, chips, candy, etc. I would have killed for just a few almonds.  I dutifully drank my water but by the time I got home I was ravenous.  I hate to eat really late so I tried to just grab a snack, but after two cheese sticks I was still hungry so I tried a small handful of almonds.  That didn’t really work so I grabbed the bag of crisps and ate about 10 of those.  At that point I’m not sure if I was still hungry or just frustrated and hangry, but I resorted to a spoonful of natural peanut butter as my comfort food.  When I went to bed I was really frustrated with myself.  I think I can use my failures as a good lesson in what NOT to do. First – plan ahead and be prepared with healthy snacks that I CAN eat. Secondly, don’t skip meals because it makes you much too hungry later. Third, and most importantly – it’s okay to make mistakes. Messing up is not a big deal, just focus and get back on track. 

Here’s hoping tomorrow is a much more successful day!

Our Keto Journey - Day 19

Day 19 – 

So I’m totally doing what I said I shouldn’t do and I’m weighing myself daily, so naturally I have not lost anything for the past two days and I’m feeling frustrated. I know that all diets will have peaks and valleys as my body adjusts to this new normal. I guess this is even more reason why I need to workout daily to help my metabolism and burn all this fat I have.  

Once again I began my day with just some coffee and later in the morning I had a small snack of some pecans.  I am trying to concentrate on drinking more water to make sure I am adequately hydrated, and as my daughter likes to remind me, sometimes you might feel hungry when you are actually just thirsty. 

I went early to the YMCA and I did 20 minutes on the stationary bicycle and then 25 more minutes on the treadmill.  My ankle has been getting a little sore when I do the treadmill for too long so I am trying to make sure and keep variety. I also make sure to warm up carefully with some stretches and some ankle circles to help loosen those stiff ankle joints. 

I have been writing my blog each day in a word document and then pasting each entry onto my blog, along with added pictures. I have already written 29 pages so far.  I might actually think about releasing this whole story as an ebook in the future. I’m not really sure, but it is an idea to consider.  I know that many family and friends have commented that they are reading my posts and several people have talked about doing a similar diet. If my experiences could help other people that would be great. I read a few stories from people who have lost weight on the Keto diet and I thought it was helpful to hear about their experience. 

I know some people get angry when someone says, “I forgot to eat”. Like how could you ever forget to eat? But today I got so busy doing work that I looked up and realized it was almost 2:00 and I hadn’t really eaten anything, I also realized I was hungry so I headed to the kitchen. I used some leftover rotisserie chicken, which I cup up and then added some pecans, one cut up cheese stick and a small amount of cauliflower rice and mixed with mayonnaise, which came out as a super yummy chicken salad. I really like food with a variety of texture and this was crunchy and chewy and really tasted great; it filled me up. 

I do know that some people on the Keto diet do restrict their food intake to a certain eating window of time, like 10:00am-6:00pm or 12:00 to 8:00pm.  For me, since there are so few breakfast options I have found myself skipping breakfast, but it is not an intentional diet strategy. There is so much information out there are dieting approaches, and quite frankly most of them are not based on sound science, so I am hesitant to follow them. 

There is some great research on the Keto diet. I easily found two recent articles from Harvard and National Institutes of Health supporting the Keto diet as an effective means of weight loss (click on the links to read each one).

From Harvard:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/ketogenic-diet-is-the-ultimate-low-carb-diet-good-for-you-2017072712089

From N.I.H:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2716748/

I did not find the same glowing endorsements for Intermittent fasting as a dieting approach, but there does seem to be some evidence suggesting fasting can be an effective weight management tool.   

According to the popular Keto website ruled.me.com, 

There are a few approaches when it comes to intermittent fasting.

§  Skipped meals. This is when you skip over a meal to induce extra time of fasting. Usually people choose breakfast, but others prefer to skip lunch.

§  Eating windows. Usually this condenses your entire macronutrient intake between a 4 and 7 hour window. The rest of the time you are in a fasting state.

§  24-48 hour cleanse. This is where you go into extended fasting periods, and do not eat for 1-2 days.

I am not particularly in favor of any of these methods, but the website does discuss how one of these options might help if you have stalled in your weight loss.  I don’t believe I’m there yet, but I have always believed that it is a good idea to restrict eating after 7:00pm or 8:00pm because late eating is simply calories that are not effectively burned off.  Somehow I envision eating and then going to sleep with all those pesky little calories rushing straight to my hips and thighs.   

For now just choosing healthy Keto foods and trying to incorporate healthy exercise routines into my lifestyle are more than enough for me.  

For dinner, I was actually still feeling a little full from lunch so I cut up a zucchini and made more of those delicious baked zucchini and Parmesan chips. It was perfect.  I have been finding some fun Keto recipes online, but right now it is so hot out, and the last thing I really feel like doing is a bunch of cooking in a hot kitchen. Phoenix summer can be brutal like that.

Spiralizer on Amazon

I looked online at a spiralizer, and I may decide to get one.  Having more healthy food options sounds like a great thing. 

For now we are continuing to do really well maintaining our Keto diet and making good choices with out food, even if we still longingly dream about chips and donuts.