Our Keto Journey - November Update

It has only been two months since I stopped my daily diet blogging, but a lot has happened in those two months. 

Immediately after finishing our 100 days I headed off to Thailand for an amazing adventure and the next week I left for a quick trip to Tennessee to spend time with my grandson and celebrate Halloween with him. I did NOT stay Keto on my trips, but despite that I only managed to gain back a few pounds, which I quickly lost again. I did wonder if maybe some of that weight gain was due to retaining water after several long flights. 

Peter and I have both been a little lazy in our adherence to our low card lifestyle. I think we both needed some time off for good behavior, but we both want to continue to loose weight and it is clear that the low carb lifestyle is the most effective weight loss method.

After all my travels I was excited for November to return to a sense of normalcy, and despite the fact that I have not made it to the YMCA, I was getting quite a few daily steps thanks to working at the Botanical gardens and my other part time job. I was trying to get back to the stricter Keto eating habits, but then unfortunately I picked up a nasty cold. 

Having a cold was both good and very bad for my weight loss. I did not maintain Keto. I felt like garbage and just like my mother had taught me I ate, or at least tried to eat, chicken soup and drank as much juice as I could manage. I was also using cough drops that had sugar, so I am certain my carb count was way beyond the Keto limit, however I did loose weight due to the fact that I just did not feel like eating at all.

My cold lasted almost a week, but finally, mercifully, right before Thanksgiving I began to feel much better, which was not necessarily a good thing for our diet.

Peter and I had already discussed that we were not planning to remain Keto for Thanksgiving. This is one of those dieting minefields, and for me, not being able to enjoy Thanksgiving would make it way too hard to stick with any diet. We were invited to my brother’s house for the holiday and we gave ourselves a ‘free pass’ to eat and drink anything we felt like for the day, and it was interesting that we both ate far less than we had in previous years. All that dieting has really changed our overall eating patterns. 

The only major hiccup is that I volunteered to make pies for dessert, and I actually had lots of fun making the pies, but my sister-in-law sent several pies home with us – so there was some extra carbs for the whole weekend and yes I did regain the few pounds that I had lost while I was sick.  

Peter and I are back to low carb foods this week and hopefully we can get back to a healthy level of exercise too. My goal is still 3-4 times per week, but fortunately with my job at the garden two morning a week, that does provide a great deal of walking, especially when I am scheduled as the lead guide so I walk even more plus carry all the supplies out to the trails so I don’t feel the need to do a visit to the YMCA on those days. 

I know that we “fell off the wagon” when it comes to our diet, but that really isn’t a big deal and as long as we remain aware of our weight, it is okay to make a choice to indulge for special occasions. We just have to make sure that ‘special occasions’ aren’t just an excuse for bad eating behavior.  

We have several weeks to get fully back on track before the Christmas holiday is here. 

The path to our long-term weight loss will never be a straight line, but as long as we keep moving in the right direction we will be fine.

Our Keto Journey - October update

I wanted to give a quick update to everyone who has followed my journey so far....

Right after completing our 100 days of Keto I jumped on a plane with a friend to complete a dream trip to Thailand.Thanks to my Keto weight loss I was more comfortable on the plane, but I still have much more to lose.

 I had decided before the trip started that my Keto diet would only be followed while in the United States and that any trip abroad would be a reason to suspend my Keto lifestyle. 

I tried all kinds of amazing food including mango sticky rice 

fresh coconut ice cream 

and of course fabulous Thai food like Pad Thai 

After a week of vacation I was slightly worried that I might have gained weight, and yes I was up about 3-4 pounds when I got home but within two days I was back to where I had been. I am not sure if I was retaining water from the long flights or if I just managed to quickly regulate my system back to normal.  

Peter and I have not been strictly Keto since finishing our 100 days, but we have focused on a low carb lifestyle and making healthy choices.  We did treat ourselves to some popcorn the other night while watching a movie. It was the first popcorn we have had in over 5 months.  Making the choice to occasionally have a treat is okay; in fact it is good if it keeps us from feeling deprived. 

I have tried to continue making low-carb/keto-friendly food and this morning when Peter said we had some sausages I decided to try a recipe for Keto pancakes.  

They were great. They did not come out as light and fluffy as regular pancakes, but they were sweet and yummy and with sugar free syrup they are an amazing low carb substitute for breakfast. 

Here is the link for the low carb pancake recipe: 

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a58712/keto-pancakes-recipe/

It has now been over two weeks since we finished our 'official' Keto journey and I am down 2 more pounds.  Despite eating all kinds of interesting thai food, I was so busy and active touring sites and walking a ton each day.  Now that I am home I am working hard on continuing to make good healthy choices regarding what I eat. 

Our Keto Journey - Day 100

Day 100 - 

We did it! Peter and I made it through a full 100 days on the Keto diet and as of today I have lost 30 pounds and Peter is down 35 pounds. We both still have more to lose but this is a fantastic jump-start.

I know that the Keto diet may not be for everyone, but it really worked for us. Peter and I had a great conversation last night about our diet, what we learned during our 100 days and what our next steps will be.

The biggest lesson that we learned is that Keto does work. We were both successful at losing weight. Peter described how he thinks Keto helps get our diet back to the natural way our bodies were designed to function.  I would have to agree, but for me the biggest change is avoiding the over-processed foods and empty carbs that are so prevalent today. 

Another incredibly important part of the diet for us was having a partner to diet with. The ability to do this together, to encourage each other and support each other was so important to our success.

I know that people who are considering Keto will be skeptical, but if they can commit to a certain amount of time like we did they will find out that this diet does pay off. 

One of the things I really enjoyed about the diet was the challenge to try out new recipes and new ways of cooking. I tend to get stuck in a rut when it comes to cooking, so this was an opportunity to try new things and we both really liked all the things we were able to eat.  

I am not going to say it wasn’t challenging at times. Peter said the one thing he missed the most is not having a big cold glass of milk with his meals. For me the struggle was missing the crunch of chips and crackers that I love to eat. I did find some substitutes but they really were not the same as a salty crunchy chip. 

We both managed to lose a good amount of weight despite doing what I refer to as Lazy Keto. We did not carefully count macros, we simply tried each day to limit our carbs to 25 grams or less and ensure we were adding fats to our diet. Some days we were more successful than others and there were a couple times where we chose to not worry about carbs, but overall we stuck to our diet.

Now to the big question – what’s next? Since we both have a large amount left to lose we are planning to continue with a low carb lifestyle. I hope to loose at least 50 more pounds and Peter has said that he wants to keep going to meet his goal as well.  

We both feel healthier being on the Keto diet.  I don’t have that afternoon sugar crash that I used to have so often.  Eating better has inspired us to be more active, which is also helping us reach our weight loss goals.  

We may not be as strict about staying under 25 grams of carbs each day, but we will maintain a low carb lifestyle and if we chose to indulge on a special occasion that’s okay.  Feeling like I can never have a treat will cause me to fail. I love eggnog and I will chose to have a glass or two this holiday season, but I won’t over-indulge and have it daily. 

I won’t be blogging daily but I might still do an update on our progress weekly or even monthly.  I have been tracking my daily weight and I will continue to do that until I am closer to my goal weight. 

We will both keep encouraging each other to exercise, it is good for us and it’s a great way to spend quality time together. We both want to be around for a long time and to have the energy to play with our grandson.

Knowing that we can lose weight is incredibly motivating. It is hard work, I have to watch my portion sizes carefully to lose weight, but with all the tools and knowledge I have learned in these past 100 days, I know that I can do it. 

Our Keto Journey - Day 99

Day 99 – 

It is amazing to realize we only have one more day left in our 100 day challenge. 

I started my day with a nice calm morning; I had my coffee and then in mid-morning I ate some scrambled eggs and a couple pieces of bacon.  I did some household chores then jumped in the shower and headed out for work.  

Both work and traffic took longer than I planned but I actually wasn’t too hungry. Since I have been skipping breakfast a lot, I think the bacon and eggs kept me feeling full until I got home.

For dinner I made some salmon and Peter had a steak. I also made up some oven-roasted cauliflower.  I knew I was hungry because I ate really fast, which is not healthy. Eating too fast can mess with your digestion and often can make you eat more because you haven’t given your body a chance to feel full yet. Another helpful hint is to make sure to drink water with your meals and take a few sips between bites. 

After dinner I did treat myself to a glass of wine and one of the Atkins candy bars that Peter brought home last week. While they are not particularly healthy, they are certainly much better than a ‘real’ candy bar and they do help with that sweet craving that I still get once in awhile. Another thing I use when I have cravings is a spoonful of natural peanut butter. Even with low sugar, peanut butter has a sweetness that helps to curb cravings, but those carbs can add up quickly so its important to only have one or two spoons and then quickly put the jar away so you are not tempted. 

Our Keto Journey - Day 98

Day 98 –

This morning I grabbed some coffee and headed to work. I had a quick nut bar during my morning training and that seemed to be enough to last until lunchtime. 

 Right after my morning training I had to run an errand and then I was off to go across town to see a client for work. I had a few minutes so I decided to stop at Wendy’s and grab a quick salad for lunch. Although the chicken did have some breading, this salad was a good Keto choice for lunch. 

When I got home I had a nice healthy snack with some cheese and pecans. Nuts and cheese are both excellent choices for Keto, they are higher in good fats and protein with very little carbs. 

I am so happy the weather is finally cooling off, which adds a whole bunch of great outdoor opportunities for exercise. It was so beautiful out and Lexi politely asked me to take her on a walk, and by politely I mean she jumped up and down and stared at me. She could feel the beautiful weather too so we went on a really long walk that lasted for almost two hours. Of course the one day I know I would have exceeded my 10,000 steps I was not wearing my fitbit because I had forgotten to put it back on after my shower. We walked a path that I call the big loop; it is about four miles and both Lexi and I were tired by the time we got home. 

I wasn’t feeling very hungry when I got home so I decided to skip dinner and just had a couple more pieces of cheese in the evening. Learning how to listen to my body signals is important. If I am not feeling hungry I do not need to eat. We are so trained and accustomed to eating at certain times, but our bodies may not need food at that time. Learning to listen to hunger has been one of the really important lessons of this 100 day challenge so far. 

Our Keto Journey - Day 97

Day 97 - 

The weather has finally cooled off so after a relaxing morning with my coffee I was able to take Lexi on a nice long walk. She was very happy dog.

After the walk I cut up a cucumber and ate a piece of cheese.

Later in the afternoon I was feeling hungry and just couldn’t decide what to eat so I made some asparagus. I roasted it in the oven with a bit of Parmesan cheese on top.

Peter called on his way home and we both decided we just didn’t feel like cooking so he brought home some of the amazing cauliflower crust pizza. I do admit I had four pieces and really I should have stopped at two pieces but it was so good.  The cauliflower crust has a slightly sweeter nutty flavor, but that might just be due to the fact that we haven't really had any bread or sugary treats for so long. 

We actually looked up online and I could eat the entire pizza and have consumed less carbs than one slice of regular pizza. A regular-crust pizza averages 30 grams of carb per slice. That sparked a conversation about how many carbs we used to consume without even thinking about it. Peter and I both plan to keep with our new low carb lifestyle even after our official 100 days have past. 

Our Keto Journey - Day 96

Day 96 -  

Despite not losing any weight for the past few days I am still trying my best to stick with my new healthy eating choices. This morning I started with some quick coffee as I ran out of the house for work. 

I forgot to grab a snack and I admit that by lunchtime when we were finished I was really hungry, but I had a few important chores to do on the way home and I didn’t get back until almost 2:00pm. I was trying to think of a good fast lunch meal to make but realized I had not done the dishes last night and there were no clean pans to cook with. I was tired, hungry and grumpy so I simply grabbed some cheese and the few remaining Keto cheese crackers that Peter and I had made yesterday and I ate those along with a big glass of water.

Feeling better I did the dishes and a few other important household chores and when Peter got home I decided to make myself some of the frozen shrimp with some cauliflower rice. Peter had one of his leftover steaks. 

I wished that I had some other veggies to go with my meal, but it tasted great and filled me up. 

After dinner Peter and I went out to a democratic meeting and on the way home we were talking about our diet. Peter was commenting that for him it is easier to see the weight loss because he holds much of his weight in his belly. He can tangibly see the results as he literally tightens his belt another notch. For me it is harder to really see results since my weight is distributed all across my body so the changes are more subtle. We both agree that we are feeling better and that is the most important part.