Doctor Visit Coming Up

I have a much awaited doctor appointment coming up on February 4th. For the most part, my doctor had no concerns at my last appointment in February 2021,  except me continuing to lose weight and my white blood cell count was elevated. 

I really was anxious to find out how my cholesterol has held up through the keto diet. I did blood work on Tuesday to prepare for my appointment this week and got the results back today with one major concern. 

First let's look at this years and last years results:

                                02/2022            02/2021

Total Cholesterol    177                181

LDL                        125                116

HDL                        37                  45

Triglycerides           62                 102

Ratio                        4.8                4.02

As you can see my LDL itself went up very little and my total cholesterol is actually down! My best result is my triglycerides which is now 62. Well below the recommended 100.Under 70 is recommended, so even better! 

My major concern here is my HDL. It totally went in the wrong direction. My HDL was in the 20's in my 20's so it is at least not back to being that bad. BUT, I've worked hard to raise my HDL over the years. I've had it in the 50's at one point. Although the more I read, the more I see that it should really be 60 or higher. So the fact that it has dropped instead of going up is a bit of a concern for me. 

But I have to confess, I do think I know why my HDL has fallen. First, I have been relying on McDonalds breakfast sandwiches & cheeseburgers too often for my lunch and breakfast lately. You figure I eat a lot less calories these days so if I'm having McDonald's for breakfast and lunch some days, that is a huge percent of my daily calories. I also read that even just a few artificial trans fats can effect my HDL. I do know the cheeseburgers do contain trans fats. Very little, but I now know it doesn't take much to effect my HDL.

I found this great article on how I can increase my HDL:

9 Ways To Increase Your HDL Cholesterol Levels

Second, I have not been doing any cardio exercise to speak of for the last few months. I know exercise is a great way to increase HDL. It's funny because my family and I have talked about reinstating our gym membership yesterday. Then I found out my HDL numbers this morning! I think that's good incentive to get out and exercise more!

There are many things I am doing to help my HDL including losing weight, eating coconut and olive oils and following a keto diet. The thing is, I can't be lazy about it and I need to start bringing my breakfast and lunch to work! It doesn't mean I have to eliminate McDonald's completely. I just plan to not have breakfast there very often anymore. There is 1/2 trans fat in the Sausage Egg McMuffin that I love so much. Because I know there are 1.5 trans fats or more in their burgers, I will be eliminating them from my diet completely. But even with breakfast, I am going to try to avoid eating there as much as possible and only make it an occasional treat.   

My whole purpose of this diet was to get rid of as much processed foods from my diet as I could and get healthy. I really haven't done that when it comes to eating out at McDonald's. It's always been easy and I know the calories because they have all that information online. So using it while dieting has always been an option I liked. BUT, I need to keep trans fats and processed foods out of my diet as much as possible. That is the only way I will truly get healthy! 

My Two Goals ~

To try to get more healthier fats in my diet.

To exercise at least 3 times a week. 

I see my doctor on Friday to discuss my cholesterol and also inform her that I am doing a Keto Diet. Hopefully it all goes well and she likes my plan for trying to raise my HDL. Stay tuned....

                   

Keto Mackerel Cakes

My mom made what we called "Salmon Cakes" (called it that for years) for us all the time. I DO NOT like fish unless it's frozen fish sticks or these "Salmon Cakes". LOL! My mom never used salmon. She always used Mackerel so I have changed the name since making them myself. 

If you prefer salmon, you can easily use that instead of mackerel. But mackerel is a great fish to add to your diet. Be sure to check out this article on mackerel and it's benefits! 

9 Health Benefits of Mackerel

Keep in mind Atlantic mackerel is lowest in mercury levels but you will want to avoid spanish and king mackerel as there mercury levels are high. 

Normally our original recipe took a whole sleeve of saltine crackers. It took some trial and error but I found a 1/2 an once of crushed pork rinds worked perfect. That's about 1/4 cup. 

Keto Mackerel Cakes ~

Ingredients ~

1 15oz Can Mackerel

1/2 Ounce Crushed Pork Rinds

1 Large Onion Chopped

1/4 Tsp Pepper

1/2 Tsp Seasoned Salt

2 Eggs

Directions ~ 

Mix all ingredients well. Form into 1/3 cup patties. Place patties in a dry hot skillet. I sprinkle with more seasoned salt once they are in the pan for extra flavor. Fry at medium heat. Brown on both sides. Once brown  bring temperature to medium to low. Simmer for 15 minutes covered. 

I haven't been able to find mackerel locally for awhile now so I ordered a case on Amazon.

A simple way to crush pork rinds is right in the bag. I poked a couple of wholes in the bag and took a mug to crush them. Then I placed the crush pork rinds in a Ziploc bag.

New Milestone Achieved!!

 I am very excited to say that I have officially lost 75 pounds since I started my weight loss journey in November 2020! 40 pounds of that have been on the Keto diet! My next goal is to get to 172.2! That will be 100 pounds lost! Here's to more Keto friendly days! 

Today

Today

October 2020

It's Time For A New Goal!

 I have had quite the interesting week. I had my first colonoscopy on Wednesday. I had to fast for a day and a half basically. I dropped down to 198.4 Wednesday morning after fasting all day Tuesday and wasn't sure what my weight would do after a couple of days. But the good news is I was at 198 yesterday! Woohoo! 

Getting under 200 pounds was my first major goal and here I am. It feels amazing I must say! I loved that I earned this little badge on Fitbit! :)

But now it's time to set another goal for me to focus on. I was originally going set my next goal to 175 pounds. Seems like a good solid target. BUT, I decided to go with 172.2 because that would mean I would have lost 100 pounds since my journey started November of 2020!! Now to me that is a pretty exciting goal! So there we have it! Here is a clear outline of my next goal, my current weight and my ultimate goal. 

Next Goal:                    172.2 Pounds

Body Fat %:                 40%

Current Weight:            198 Pounds     

Current BF %:               44.2%  

Pounds To Hit Goal:     25.8

Ultimate Weight Goal:  144 Pounds

Ultimate BF % Goal:    25%      

I got this!     

 

I Did It!!!! Finally Back In Onederland!

 I am so excited! I did it! I am now under 200 pounds! I made it to wonderland! Woohoo!!

I treated myself today! Had a couple of breakfast sandwiches minus the bread, some yummy buffalo wings for lunch and a very small amount of Keto Chinese Rice for dinner and a couple of chocolates! I had 58 carbs today! I'm just a couple of pounds to hitting a total of 75 pounds lost since November 2020! So I didn't want to go overboard! LOL! Sunday I will get back to my 20 grams or less!

Slowly Creeping Down To 199!

 My weight has been slowly creeping down to 199 all this week. Hit 200.6 this morning! Woohoo!

201.8 This Morning!

 Woohoo!! I'm definitely feeling like 199 is in my very near future! Fingers crossed my body cooperates! LOL

Down Again!

 Down to 203! Hopefully I can be under 200 by the end of next week! That would be awesome! Crossing my fingers and doing my best! 

Chop Steak With Gravy & Onions

Here is a great Keto friendly chopped steak recipe I made for my family tonight! It has only 3.5 carbs per serving! 

Keto Friendly Chop Steak With Gravy & Onions

Ingredients ~ 

2 Pounds 85% Lean Ground Beef

2 Eggs

2 Cups Beef Stock

4 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons Flour

Salt

Pepper

1 Large Onion

2 to 4 Tablespoons Of Butter

Directions ~ 

1) Combine beef and egg and mix well. Easiest to do it with your hands. 

2) Take ground beef and form into 4 8oz patties or you can do 8 4oz patties. Season side facing up with salt and pepper. 

3) Place the seasoned side of the patties face down in a hot frying pan. Now season the other side of the patties with salt and pepper. Cook on medium to high heat to brown for about 5 minutes. Flip patties and cook an additional 10 minutes on medium to low heat. Once cooked, place patties in oven to stay warm. 

5) While the patties are cooking, slice up onion. Melt 2 to 4 tablespoons of butter in another frying pan. Add the onion and sauté until onions are soft and translucent. 

4) Add 4 tablespoons of butter to the frying pan with all the drippings from the beef patties. Melt butter. Once melted add flour and whisk until completely combined. Next add beef stock a little at a time and continue to whisk. Once you have added all the stock, season with salt and pepper and continue to stir until the gravy is nice and thick. 

Stock, flour and butter for gravy.

5) Place beef patties on a plate and add gravy and sautéed onions on top. Enjoy! 

Makes 4 - 8oz Chop Steak Servings

Nutrition Information Per Serving: Calories: 636; Fat: 46.5g; Carbs 3.5g; Sodium: 290mg; Protein: 50g

Nutrition information includes 1 8oz Beef Patty, 1/4 cup of gravy & 1/4 cup sauteed onions.

Update: See my new brown gravy recipe here: New Brown Gravy Recipe

Headed Back Down Again!

 I was excited to hop on the scale this morning and my excitement was warranted! Down to 203.4 pounds! Woohoo! That is down .8 from my lowest weight of 204.2 on New Year's Eve! So I am back to dropping weight again. It did not take me much time during Christmas or New Year's weekend to get back to dropping weight! 

I know I have said this multiple times, but it simply amazes me how easy this diet has been for me. It had definitely become a lifestyle change! I have gotten through my birthday, my anniversary, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years and have managed to lose 33 pounds! That was even with a 2 week plateau! And it was pretty much effortless. At least a lot more effortless then any other diet I have done in the past!

I am so thankful I found the Keto diet. It really has been a game changer for me.  I have embraced this lifestyle and have adapted to it very well. I can't wait to see what 2022 brings!

Back To Where I Was New Year's Eve

 I am back to 204.2 this morning! That was what I weighed the morning of New Year's Eve! That is awesome news considering I have eaten' out yesterday and the day before. You never know your carb count for sure when eating out, especially places I don't frequent everyday. I'm hopeful to fall below 204 tomorrow! Stay tuned....

Going Back In The Right Direction

Weighed in this morning at 204.6. That is down .8 from the weight gain I had the day after New Year's Eve. My ketones have been very low and I showed out of ketosis yesterday when I tested.  Today I was back to a low level of ketosis. Which is good news! 

I did very well yesterday. Had under 1055 calories and  16g of carbs!  Hopefully I can be in onederland before the end of the month! 

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! We hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve. I had a really nice night with friends and family. We played card games until midnight and then all the kids decided to run around our house in the snow in their bare feet. Something my husband did with his best friend when he was younger. LOL! They did it! What a great way to ring in the new year, huh? 

I weighed in at 205.4 this morning. I will watch that carefully to see how I do over the next few days. Not surprised by that as I ate well over 2000 calories yesterday and had just over 50 grams of carbs. I also measured my ketones this morning and was showing out of ketosis, but I hadn't even been up for two hours. Since I was having breakfast with a friend and eating earlier then usual, I had to measure early. So I'm not too concerned at this point. I'm guessing the dawn effect is at play here. I will test again in a couple of hours. 

Here is to a great 2022!!