Our Keto Journey - Day 40

Day 40 – 

Wow, we made it forty days so far. We didn’t survive a flood like Noah, but we have resisted temptation for the most part and have stuck with our diet. 

I had a conversation with Peter and my daughter and I have decided to commit to 100 days of Keto. For me, saying I will stick with this for a year or indefinitely is just too big and too long and I will lose hope. 100 days is a really long time, and it should help make a big difference in my weight loss journey, but I just can’t see avoiding all carbs indefinitely. Since we have already completed 40 days that only leaves 60 days left, or two full months and that seems reasonable to me. I can do that!

This does not mean that after 100 days I will open 2 bags of potato chips and start pigging out, it just means that I will include more variety into my diet, including more fruits and veggies that we are completely avoiding right now, as well as dairy and some whole grains.  I still have a lot to lose, so even with two more months of Keto I won’t be at my goal weight.

Speaking of weight, with my very close attention to portion sizes I am starting to slowly creep back down on the scale. Portion size is something I will have to pay attention to for the rest of my life. Getting older, especially for women after menopause, causes our body’s metabolism to slow down. Even with exercise, we simply do not burn the same amount of calories as we did when we were younger. 

According to WebMD, it is our lack of estrogen that is the culprit. 

The impact of estrogen. In animal studies, estrogen appears to help control body weight. With lower estrogen levels, lab animals tend to eat more and be less physically active. Reduced estrogen may also lower metabolic rate, the rate at which the body converts stored energy into working energy. It's possible the same thing happens with women when estrogen levels drop after menopause. Some evidence suggests that estrogen hormone therapy increases a woman's resting metabolic rate. This might help slow weight gain. Lack of estrogen may also cause the body to use starches and blood sugar less effectively, which would increase fat storage and make it harder to lose weight.

https://www.webmd.com/menopause/guide/menopause-weight-gain-and-exercise-tips#1

In addition, you lose muscle mass as you get older, which lowers your resting metabolism.  Women are really fighting a much harder battle. That is why Peter is able to lose so much more than I am. I try really hard not to compare myself to Peter, and I am genuinely happy about his fantastic weight loss so far. 

I spent the day with my dad again, so my normal routine was off, but I still kept my portions small.  After my morning coffee I made myself two eggs. Then I went over to my brother’s house for the day. While I was there I snacked on some pecans and I had one of those yummy nut rolls in the afternoon. It really did the trick and filled me up. After I got home I finished off the leftover chicken and green beans from the other night, and a small amount of leftover salmon from the night before. Later I had a small handful of Crisps while watching TV. Sometimes I really like to have something crunchy and those Crisps have been perfect. 

The only bummer about today was that I just did not have time to go workout, but that’s okay. I will do my best to get back on track and head over to the YMCA first thing tomorrow morning. 

I am feeling much more positive this week, and I hope the scale will reflect my renewed enthusiasm.