A Lot Can Happen In 3 Weeks!

Sorry for my absence! I stopped posting because I got Covid! I was down for several days. Everything tasted weird so I had a couple of days of carbs because it was the only thing that tasted good. 

Right after that we took our daughter to college at the CIA in the beginning of September.

My husband and I ate our emotions. so it didn't go well for the diet. I was at 199.2 on 9/6. So pretty much back where I started after vacation. 

I have been working hard. On 8/23 I started archery! I've had an interest for years! I'll talk more about that in another post. But it has helped me get fit.

On 9/13 I weighed in at 190.4. So I'm making progress! We took my daughters car to her this past weekend and my weight jumped up a little from eating out. I did fairly well. I was at 192.4 this morning.  I'm hoping that will drop off quickly.  I'm just glad I'm getting back on track!! Hopefully I'll be back in the 180's very soon! Hopefully this week!! 

Full Fast Done!

 I did a full fast yesterday. I'm hoping this fast will last about 22 hours or more. I started it at 1pm yesterday. I will probably eat around 10am or so. I was right on target to where I want to be with eating yesterday and I am down to 188.4 this morning! 

I'm already feeling the effects of less carbs in my diet. It has been easier for me to fast. Even though I had a couple of higher days, but no more then 50, I can see that the lower numbers around 20 are quite effective in helping with the cravings. Plus, I've been trying to focus on getting on an exercise routine. I did over 10K steps yesterday and 90 minutes of moderate activity thanks to my archery! Hopefully I can continue in the right direction and be in the 170's again in no time!

Doing Great & Moving Forward!

Doing great this week. Went out with my family on Tuesday and ate out all day but still managed to keep my calories below what I burned and had 50 grams of carbs equalling only 32 net carbs. I do want to stay under 20 but this worked for a fun day out. I weighed in at 193 yesterday morning. So no real change even after eating more carbs and calories. 

Yesterday I had a fast day. I had 512 calories and 16 grams of carbs. I weighed in at 190.2 this morning! That is an 8.8 pound loss since Saturday! Woohoo! Almost back in the 180's!

 

Good Weigh In This Morning!

 Weighed in at 192.8 this morning! Which is awesome considering I was 199 on Saturday morning! I hope to keep up this momentum and hopefully get back to the 180's before these quick drops end! I will say I have been dealing with a lot of pain issues. Again, my feet still hurt. My back has been the worst it has been in awhile. I do fine once I move but it bothers me at night and in the morning until I get moving. I also have been having a lot of pain in my hands which has been fairly new. I've noticed it off and on over the last month or two. My shoulder also bothered me on the trip as I had a hard time with my backpack and had to carry it on one shoulder. I know some of this was the trip but I've walked a lot before and haven't felt quite this soar after. So hopefully taking myself off the carbs will help. I wanted to take the time to document how I was feeling this morning so I can track the pain  and see if it gets better the longer I'm on KETO and to see how my next trip goes when I walk a lot. I am usually tired, I just don't remember feeling as much pain. So we will see how it goes on my next trip at the end of September when I will be gone a week and most likely walking a lot! 

Great Start!

08/19/24 -  I'm having a great start so far! Weighed in at 195.6 so I am headed in the right direction. Yesterday I had under 1500 calories and 27 carbs (Net: 24) . Today I was at 1678 for calories and 30 carbs (Net 25)! That is over 20 but much better than before I left on vacation. So definately an improvement! 

Took A Side Turn - Time For A Reset!!

So as we can tell, I have not posted in awhile. Life has just been super busy and my motivation hasn't been where it needs to be. I was on vacation in Montreal this past week and decided to just enjoy the week with some delicious food! I got home Friday and took yesterday as another day to relax and enjoy. I weighed in at 199 yesterday morning.  This morning I was at 197.6. I was at 189.8 on 8/9/24. I left for vacation on 8/11/24. That is actually really good! We did do a LOT of walking while in Montreal. We visited the underground shopping area and walked 20K steps on Tuesday alone. I'm sure this has helped my vacation gain from being a lot worse!

I am super motivated at this point and am feeling very ready for change. I have noticed that my mood has been just ok, my s. drive is at the mid to low end. It's like I want to but am too tired to follow through and initiate. Most importantly I have been feeling a lot of aches and pains. I am sure some of it is from all the activity this past week but I can't help but feel eating all the carbs doesn't help! My hands have hurt, my back and my shoulders, too. My feet hurt but that is from all the walking I'm sure!

I also just feel less confident, more figity and anxious and just don't feel as good as I was during the better days on KETO. I think the confidence issue is more from me failing and not doing what I need to to get back on track. I am also questioning if my blood pressure may be up now and then. I am considering investing in a blood pressure meter. I have never had high blood pressure, but I know it can be an issue as you age. Definately something I want to consider checking more regularly to be sure I am not having an issue with that. 

I think doing 50 carbs just isn't going to work for me right now. I need to stick around 20. Preferably below that! I want to get to the 160's, which has been my goal for awhile and I have had difficuty getting there. Once I do, I may then consider 50 carbs a day once I see how I feel. I do think when I'm trying to cut my carbs initially I need to do it all or nothing. I think the more I step away from carbs in the beginning, the better start I have. I can honestly say being around the 50 carb mark made it too easy to have a little extra here and there. The beginning is always the hardest for me as I try to get away from the carbs. The craving seemed to stick around longer this time with me being around 50. Many times not really making it that low. So the lower I go the easier and quicker it is to stay away from the carbs. The cravings disappear quicker!

I am also evaluating my exercise routine. In all honesty, I don't have one right now. I found this great exercise app. It provides challenges and you get a medal at the end of the challenge. They have a great app and themes to go along with it. I just signed up today for their Scooby Doo Challenge with my family and a couple of friends. I have to walk 50 miles! It's called The Conquerer Challenge. I will post more about that when I have more time. 

I also want to start trying different things for exercise. I have cancelled my gym membership today as I never seem to get there. I am going to start trying to think of creative ways to walk during the winter months instead. I am also going to try changing things up and incorporating stength training into my routine as I know it's more important the older I get. Here are some of my ideas: 

Archery Twice A Week - Fetching each arrow one at a time for more steps. 

Strength Training Three Times A Week - Including up and down my steps, squats, push ups, Leg Lifts, Etc. 

Tae Kwon Do Once A Week - Practice Patterns

Walking Two to Three Times A Week

So far today has gone well. I haven't calculated everything yet and I know I am over 20 grams of carbs, but I do know I did really well for my first day! 

KETO Effects Journal Day 9

Calories:  1210

Carbs: 72 (Net 48)

Weight: 191.2

Surges: High!

Pain: None

Speech: None

Mood: Good

KETO Effects Journal Day 8

Calories:  1336

Carbs: 56

Weight: 191.6

Surges: Low

Pain: Back Pain This Morning

Speech: A couple

Mood: Good

Yesterday went well with calories and I am slowly edging my carbs down! I am using My Fitness Pal now to track my food as Fitbit yet again took away some options for tracking food when they got rid of the option to log your food on the computer as well as on your phone. 

KETO Effects Journal Day 7

Yesterday was a busy day. I again had way too many carbs. I had 148 carbs & 1848 calories. I really got to get a grip on my carbs. I did have a fun day out with my daughter getting some of the last remaining things she needs for college. I do think the days I have cut back have been beneficial. My surges were high yesterday. I did have a couple of word mess ups and back pain this morning after driving all day to run errands. I find long drives & using the recliner seem to be my triggers for back pain. I will be curios to see if lowing my carbs more will help with that. 

Calories: 1848

Carbs: 148

Weight: Forgot to weigh in. 

S. Drive: High

Pain: None

Speech: 2 incidents.  

Mood: Not great in the morning but better in the afternoon/evening. 

KETO Effects Journal Day 6

 At camp. Weighed 188.8 this morning. Hoping that is fairly accurate considering I'm using a different scale. Calories 1703 carbs 108. Had at least one word mess up. My carbs were high but I tried Fiber One Cereal. Has 33 grams carbs but 18 grams fiber. Figured it's a trade off. But my carbs were too high in either case! I'll definitely do better tomorrow!  I have had periods of anxious/restless sleep last night.

KETO Effects Journal Day 5

 Weighed in at 190.2  this morning.  Calories 1692 carbs 69. It's been a struggle getting my carbs down but I'm working on it. I had two incidents where I couldn't pull my words together. Pain levels were ok. Drive fairly normal. 

KETO Effects Journal Day 4

 Weighed in at 191 yesterday morning. My back wasn't too bad considering I worked in my carport and did a lot of physical work yesterday. No word issues that I can recall. Sex drive was normal. Not low or high. 

KETO Effects Journal Day 3

I wasn't perfect but ate better today! Had 75 carbs and 2474 calories. I Weight 193 this morning. I woke up with back pain but I did drive a lot yesterday. 

Worked on cleaning more of my carport and filling up our truck with more trash. Then loaded my car with more LEGO to take to work. I'm feeling pretty good considering. Just a bit tired from the heat.  The sex drive kicked in tonight! No word issues that I can recall.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll do even better! Onward!

KETO Effects Journal Day 2

 First, let's see how I felt in the last 24 hours when it comes to aches & pains, sex drive, word issues & mood. Well last night I noticed my hip ached pretty good going up the stairs and so did my hands. Sex drive wasn't bad last night. I was actually in the mood. Sex drive was still good this morning. My mood has been pretty even.  I could only recall having a word mess up once today. 

When  my sex drive was in overdrive, I'm assuming from premenopause, I would get these surges. When I had a really high sex drive we would have sex 3 to 5 times a day! Yeah, I know it's a lot. LOL! Anyway, I am only mentioning this because I seem to be having mild surges today. I will refer to surges a lot in my journal. 

Had a horrible carb day today. Had 152 carbs! Way more then I should have. Didn't do well when I got home. My calories were not too bad considering at 2225. I at least tracked what I ate today. Tomorrow I will do better. I have a busy day ahead with cleaning out my carport and reogranizing my LEGO room! I'm looking forward to the ladder. It is way past due as I am moving all my LEGO's & new sets I haven't built yet to work!Weighed in this morning at 194.6. No real movement but my scale was acting up! 

Let's hope tomorrow I do better and start getting back on track! If at first you don't succeed, try try again!

Time For A Reset! Keto Effects Journal Day 1

It's been a busy couple of months! I've enjoyed more carbs than I should have but I am ok with it! I've enjoyed my summer thus far.

I weighed in at 194.6. A bit high but I just came back from 2 weeks at my camp. I'm confident I'll drop a big chunk of that in no time. 

I've maintained for 2 years now for the most part. Now it's time to actually see how my low carb diet is benefiting me outside of weight loss!

I've spent all my life trying to lose this weight and now that I found a diet I can maintain it's time to focus on healthy habits and the benefits of choosing healthy eating! 

Memory issues and Alzheimer's/Dementia run in my family. I switch my words a lot. When I eat more carbs, it seems worse. My joints seem to ache more and my mood isn't as good. I'm also going through premenopause. One symptom I have had with premenopause is high sex drive off and on. But I'm not sure how much the sex drive is premenopause or some of the effects of the keto diet or a combination of both. Including my better mood! Believe me it's a good thing and I'm hoping the keto diet has played a roll with my better mood and higher sex drive. It's seems to slump when I eat more carbs.

So I want to keep a daily journal of how I'm feeling to get a better idea of how the diet is effecting me in positive ways. I think once I can clearly track how beneficial this diet is to my health outside of weight loss I will be more encouraged to stick to it and not allow myself really heavy carb days. Everything in moderation right! 

When I eat a lot of carbs it seems to cause these negative symptoms but I've never documented it to be sure. This time I am going to write a daily journal so I can track how I feel on good and bad days. I have to do this even when I fall off the wagon. It's the only way to know for sure the positive effects the diet is having on my body.

Yesterday I had a ton of carbs to get it out of my system. One thing I do know is my cravings for carbs gets worse the more I eat them. I also ate something that didn't agree with me and I was up at 1:30 am with bad stomach cramps. I feel better today! I don't think it was any of the carbs I ate but some cream cheese that wasn't quite right.

My goal for the first 2 to 4 weeks is to be under 50 grams a day. I want to see if I can notice much difference between 20 and 50 carbs. So I'm starting with 50. 

Today I had 68 carbs and 1588 calories. Coming off carbs can take a few days to hit my goal but I'll get there. Tomorrow I'll work harder to stay under but I don't think today was bad for my first day of getting back to focusing on the real reason I chose the Keto diet, the many health benefits! 

KETO Ice Cream Using The Ninja Creami Deluxe

Keto Vanilla Ice Cream (24oz Size Pint)

6 Eggs

6 Tbsp Butter (Melted)

1/4 Cup Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup

1/4 Tsp Xanthum Gum

1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Scramble Eggs in a dry pan. Just enough to be cooked. Place eggs in a blender and add melted butter and remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth. Add to 24oz pint container. Freeze for 12 to 24 hours. Choose the full option on your Ninja Creami Deluxe and the choose "Lite Ice Cream". This will blend for 4 minutes. Should come out smooth. You can respin if need be to get it creamier. 

 

A Much Needed Update!

 As usual life has just been crazy! But I figured it was about time I update my blog since it's been a month today since my last post. Lot's to report, so let's get started!

My lowest weight was 174.8 on May 11th, just a couple of days after my last post. I started off strong before leaving for our candy show trip!

The candy trade show turned out to be way more difficult than I thought it would be when it came to trying samples. So my plan to try very little did not happen. We were getting samples thrown at is each and everyday. We did make an effort to at least share a sample even though many vendors tried to had us each one! LOL! Eating out was a challenge as well as we were all tired and sometimes are options were minimal. Within a couple of days of our trip I just gave in and enjoyed the week!

I got back from the candy show and gained 15 pounds! I was 189.8 on 5/18/24! But I dropped over 9 pounds by 5/22/24 and was down to 180.4. I reached 177.6 pounds by 5/31/24. Since then I have been going up and down between 183 & 178. Memorial Day weekend was my first hicup and than I had a few things at work that caused me a bit of stress and now I am super busy with my daughters graduation from high school this weekend and my sons middle school graduation next week! To say I am a bit overwhelmed is an under statement. I am slightly sad with the constant reminder this week that my daughter leaves in September for college. All of this has been a contributing factor for me wanting to eat all the time. Even though I know it is a lousy excuse and I just need to learn to deal with my emotions in another way, it's hard. It's difficult to change habits you have relied on all of your life. But I still try my best and usually end up with temporary hiccups rather then long term one's that cause me to gain all my weight back. 

My focus this week is to get back on track, which I have done a few days off and on, but keep my focus so I can get back to my lowest weight in the next month. As always, I will try my best!

Continuing To Chip Away At The Pounds!

I am continuing to drop pound by pound. I was at 175.6 this morning! So my progress continues! I did well last Saturday when I was out with a friend. I ate less then I burned calorie wise. But I had a lot of sodium so of course my weight jumped up but just for a brief time as I got right back on. I had another girls day out with another friend on Tuesday and did really well. Walked over 12K steps & ate only 1332 calories and had less then 50 carbs. I also went to the gym on Monday. Didn't go yesterday as I was beat with driving over 8 hours on Tuesday and walking those 12K steps. My friend cancelled this morning to go to the gym and I chose not to go, too. I'm still a bit tired and need to catch up on more rest before my trip. 

I have successfully fasted on Sunday & yesterday since I last checked in. I do think that fasting contributes to my weight going down and a decent pace. My hope is to fast one more day before we go on my trip on Sunday. I think the only way I am going to get these last few pounds off is to fast a couple times a week. That seems to be the most effective for me. Fasting is also a lot easier for me while doing the Keto diet. So fasting & Keto really do go hand in hand. It's much easier for me to fast when I am sticking to my Keto diet as the Keto diet really helps with craving junk. 

I don't have a weigh in from 2 weeks ago exactly, which was April 25th, but I do from the 27th. I was 180.8 and I am now 175.6 which is 5.2 pounds! That is excellent!! It's always a good when I can lose 10 pounds in a month! I am hoping to continue on this path and keep going down 2.5 to 3 pounds a week! 

Now I just need to stay focused and see how far I can get before I leave on Sunday! 

Food Logs From Saturday 4/27/24 - Thursday 5/2/24

 Here is my food logs from Sautrday 4/27/24 to Thursday 5/2/24:

Having A Great Week!

My week has gone very well. I am down to 177 pounds this morning! Woohoo! That is down 3.8 pounds since Saturday which is awesome!! I had another successful fast yesterday. I think to help my weight come off I will try to plan at least 2 fast days a week. This past week my fast days were a little wonky with one being Saturday. But next week I will plan for Monday & Thursday if my body is agreeable. LOL! Sometimes I just need to do it when I know I'm not hungry at dinner and go with it. So scheduling them ahead of time isn't always necessary. Just seeing how I feel on a day to day basis sometimes works better. So we shall see! 

I've been to the gym 5 days this week! Which is amazing! I also have had 4 days with over 10K steps since Saturday. So I'm doing well with getting those steps in! Eating wise I have mananged to keep my carbs under 20 three of the last 6 days. The other 3 days I was under 50. So I am slowly getting back on track to getting under 20 grams again. My water intake has been good but I did fall short a little yesterday. 

All in all I feel really good about my progress and hope I can manage to lose a few more pounds before my trip! Tomorrow I am headed out for a fun day out with a friend and have a plan for eating out. I will most likely indulge in some popcorn tomorrow if we head to the movies. But that will be my only treat before I leave on my trip in the next week!  

Hopefully This Is A Downard Trend!

I was down again this morning. Feels good to continue to drop. Hopeully I can keep up the momentum! I'm down .8 from yesterday which is great! Like I've said before, it's always good to keep dropping a couple of days after my fast. Then I know the weight loss is real and not just a fluctuation. 

I am super motivated right now! 6 pounds to get to my lowest weight again and less then 9 pounds before I get into the 160's! I will do my best to get there!

I've decided to bring my scale with me when I go on my trip in a couple of weeks. This way I can monitor my weight. I get back from the candy show on Friday May 17th and then go see my doctor on May 22nd for my annual physical. I don't know of any better incentive then that. I would like to be back to my lowest weight or even lower before I see her. I have a feeling that knowing that I have this appointment right after my trip will help me stay on track while I'm gone! 

I did not make it to 10K steps yesterday, but I did take a walk with my kids in the afternoon. I just hit over 7K steps. I was meeting a friend at the gym this morning, but she had to cancel due to being tired from a long day of travel yesterday. But I was already on my way to the gym and did 30 minutes on the treadmill this morning. So that was still a win!

My goals for the week are to get plenty of exercise. At least once a day. Keep my water intake up and stick to below 20 grams of carbs everyday going forward! I've been doing closer to 50 lately, so it will be good to get back on track!  I do think taking out those few extra carbs benefit me in many ways.

A few things I do notice when I do more then 50 carbs and usually over 100 is I get more moody, my joints begin to hurt more and I crave more carbs! So staying around 20 will be all the more beneficial going forward.  I would like to stick under 50 as much as possible to avoid the moodiness, joint pain and the cravings! 

I'm looking forward to what this coming week will bring! Have a great week!

A Successful Fast!

 I managed to have a successful fast yesterday. I had no problem fasting after lunch. I will try to wait until 11am to eat this morning. I droped another 1.4 pounds which is great news! I would have hoped for a little more with my fast, but I'll take it! The best news is I am back into the 170's again. 

I also did over 11K steps yesterday! I had a great day over all. This week my goal is to stay focused and hopefully drop a couple more pounds! I have 2 weeks as of today before I leave for my candy show in May. My hope is to get as close to 172 as possible! I know I have over 7 pounds to go, but it is possible if I can stay focused and my body cooperates! 

My New Weight Loss Motivator!

I have been looking around for some nice outdoor cargo pants and happened to find 2 brand new pairs of cargo pants at the thrift store yesterday! They were only $10 bucks a piece! But....they didn't fit! I liked them so much I decided to make them my motivator to help me get back down to my lowest weight and then some!  I don't have too far to go and hope I can get into them once I lose about 20 pounds or so! I have a 4 inch gap to make up! Fingers crossed!!

My 2 new pairs of Cargo Pants! I'm pretty sure I got a great deal on these!

As you can see, they don't button now, but hopefully they will in the near future!!

I fell in love with these Cargo Pants! I can't wait to get into them!

 

I'm Back! Sorry For Being MIA!

I am finally finding a moment to get back on and post! I know I haven't posted since April 11th. Life has just been a little busy. I've had a lot going on and a lot of challenges over the last couple of weeks. Right after my last post I went to my daughters college event at the Culinary Institute Of America in Hyde Park. She will be attending school there in the fall. They had such delicious food to sample there!! But I did ok. Then my Scrapbook Retreat was the following weekend and I got through that ok, too! Right after the Scrapbook Retreat we headed to my camp this past Monday and returned home last night! 

I am pleased to say I was at 180.8 this morning! I think I have done extremely well considering all the events I have been to in the past couple of weeks! My lowest weight on the 11th was 179.2. So I am not too far off track! Yes, it would have been nice to lose some weight over the last 2 weeks, but I am not complaining.  I am just glad I pretty much maintained at this point!

I have a major challenge ahead of me for the month of May. I will be attending the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Indianapolis, IN. The show is 2.5 days long and we will be gone from May 12-17. I am going to utilize my kids for tasting so I will only taste items if absolutely necessary! I have 2 weeks to get as much weight off as possible before we head out!

I have a new incentive to help motiviate me to get back to 172 and continue to lose the rest of my weight beyond that and get to my ultimate goal of 145 pounds! I will share this new incentive in my next post! Stay tuned!!

Down Again!

I was pleasantly surprised to be down again this morning. Just .4 pounds but I'll take it. Especially with all the trouble I had in March with fluctuating! It's always nice when my weight continues to go down a day or two after a fast. Then I know the loss was not temporary!

I did give in and had some chocolate yesterday. I was craving it all day. I also was really tired yesterday afternoon and went to bed at 8:45pm! There is a bug going around and I am hoping I am not getting it! Fingers crossed as I am going to a college event with my daughter this weekend. Today I will make sure I stay out of the chocolate! 

Finally Back In The 170's!! Woohoo!

I am so excited to report that I am finally back in the 170's as of this morning! I am so happy about that. My weight has been 180.6 for the last couple of days, so not much movement. I was able to successfully fast last night and I think that helped my weight finally drop. Since my last weigh in in March I am down over 4 pounds which is great progress! Let's hope I don't hit another brick wall and I can get a few more pounds off this month! 

Finally I Have Broken Through This Plateau!

 Yay! Finally under my lowest weight reached in March! Woohoo! I'll take it! Hopefully the 170's are in my near future!!

04/06/24 - Down Again This Morning!

Down again this morning! Hopefully this is a good indication that I'm breaking through my plateau! Fingers crossed!!

I ate good yesterday but didn't do anything special so maybe my hormones are finally giving me a break! Lol! Who knows, but I'll take this loss! My lowest weight in March was 181.4. Hopefully I will get below that number soon. For now I will celebrate my small victories.

After Easter Check In

 I finally found some time to check in tonight. It's been an interesting week so far with my weight. I'm glad to report my weight is actually under what I was right before Easter. This is the lowest I have been since 3/27 when I was 182.6. I did great over Easter! I had a couple of servings of chocolate and a nice brunch as my main meal that day. I was really good all this week. My weight still decided it needed to be all over the place. I was 184 yesterday! But I have been eating pretty well since Easter. Carbs have been a little high but under 50 and I'm still in moderate ketosis. I've been below my burned calories everyday, including Easter and most of the time at least 1000 calories below. 

I think I am pretty much done trying to figure out my body. I am just trying to keep eating healthy like I have been. I will try to start eating under 20 grams of carbs again starting on Monday. I bought some strawberries, as they looked really good, so I want to eat those up before trying to stay under 20 grams again. 

Here is today's weigh in:

I am happy with that and hope I can continue to head in the right direction as my period is mostly over at this point. March 27 was the last day of meals I checked in with. Here is a general synopsis of how I did:

March 28 - 975 calories 17g carbs

March 29 - 1417 calories 70g carbs (Friday Ham Dinner)

March 30 - 1136 calories 53g carbs (Out With A Friend All Day, Had Popcorn)

March 31 - 1896 calories 57g carbs (Easter)

April 1 - 682 Calories 11g carbs

April 2 - 1491 Calories 35g carbs

April 3 - 1032 calories 29g carbs

April 4 - 1278 calories 43g carbs

My high carb days were during Easter weekend but I am really proud of how well I did! I have been really really hungry this week so I am glad I've done as well as I have! Here is how my weight has been. 

3/29/24 - 183.8

3/30/24 - 183.8

4/2/24 - 183.46

4/4/24 - 185

4/5/24 - 182.4

March Totals: 

3/1/24 - 185.6

3/30/24 - 183.8

Loss Of 1.8 pounds!!

Hey, at least I lost something during the month of March rather then nothing at all or worst yet gaining! So I'm glad to at least see some type of loss for the month! Since I started on 2/24/24 I have lost 12.4 pounds as of today. 

It's interesting because when I was in the lower 180's when originally trying to lose my 100 pounds I struggled to get down to the 170's then, too. So hopefully once I hit the 170's again I will continue to drop! I don't have a lot going on that should disrupt my diet so hopefully I will enter a downward trend in the coming weeks! Fingers crossed! 

Analyze, Refocus, Succeed!

 I really need to take the time to anaylzye & refocus at this point so I can be successful! I reviewed some of my older posts and it seems that most of my plateaus were food related! Some of the signs that I am eating the wrong food is I get hungry when I get home and want to snack immediately! Well that has returned this week so clearly some of the foods I have enjoyed over the weekend and the last few days are beginning to sabatoge my progress! I was just starting to drop down again and then I went a way for the weekend! I have no regrets though. We did great with our eating and really enjoyed ourselves! The key is, if I enjoy a few of my troublesome low carb foods while on a trip, I need to be sure to cut them out of my diet immediately once I return home! Because it is nice to enjoy a few of those items but not for too long! 

Anaylze - I need to make sure I stay away from sugar free Jello, nuts, peanuts, popcorn, yogurt and cottage cheese! The 3 last foods on my list I have stayed away from. But the nuts and Jello have snuck back into my diet! I really really really need to get those foods out of my diet right now! The only exception will be Easter when we use almond flour in our biscuits & I plan to have Chocolate Covered Jordon Almonds. But Monday, they will be gone from my diet again. That's a promise!!

Refocus - I need to really stay focused on what I am eating and recognize if my habbits change. It seems I usually can spot issues once I begin to crave things again. I really do want this weight loss so I will change my diet and keep these foods out for as long as I can. I do think I can have these foods but I can't let them become a habit. They need to be a once and awhile treat, like Easter, until I lose all the weight!  Fluctuating up and down, within reason, once I meet my weight goal is fine, but I'm not going to lose weight doing that at this rate!

Succeed - I will succeed and get to my goal! I have no doubt about that. But the only way I am going to do that is if I make these changes so I can break this plateau! Hopefully this is the reason for my plateau and these changes will yield some results in the next couple of weeks! Here's hoping that April goes much better!!

The Saga Continues

I just can't win this month! I was up to 185 this morning! I didn't even record it because I was just so frustrated. I mean geez! I did have more calories than usual yesterday but nothing to warrant this weight gain. It HAS to be hormones! I am on my period and have been hungrier the last few days which is why the nibbling occured yesterday. I have to think that this is what is playing with my weight! I was at 182.6 yesterday morning! I should be going down, not up! For crying out loud! Something's got to give. I have not gotten anywhere this month! I have been trying to be patient with these fluctuations but now this is just getting rediculous! 

I will do my best to keep my diet as simple as possible.  I have been snacking on nuts & peanuts the last few days, so starting as of now, those will stay out of my diet for the next couple of days. I did have a half of serving of almonds when I got home, but no more today, tomorrow or Saturday! I've had under 1000 calories today and will stick to that at this point! I'm hopeful for a drop of some sort tomorrow! 

I do have a ham dinner planned for tomorrow night but I will stick to just the ham and veggies! Easter is Sunday and I do plan on eating a few extra carbs but plan to stay under 50 for my own good! I may attempt longer fast on Saturday as well! 

Keto Nachos!!

Keto Nachos! 

I have been wanting to try this recipe for awhile now! It's rather simple actually! I made some cheese chips to repalce tortilla chips but had all the traditional toppings for delicious nachos!

Ingredients ~ 

Chips

4 ounces cheddar cheese cut into squares about the size of a wheat thin. 

Nonstick Spray

Toppings

1 Pound Ground Beef 

1 Packet Taco Seasoning

Chopped Tomatoes

Chopped Onion

Salsa

Sour Cream

Jalapenos

& Anything Else You Love On Nachos That Is Keto Friendly!

Instructions - 

Fry up the ground beef until brown and then add the taco seasoning and continue to cook as directed on the taco seasoning package. Once done, set aside.

Spray a medium sized frying pan with cooking spray. Once the pan is warm begin frying your cheese. When the cheese begins to get golden brown, remove and set aside on parchment paper or in my case a slightly buttered paper plate. Continue to do this until all the cheese is fried. 

Layer your cheese chips on a plate, add your beef and then your favorite toppings! That is all there is to it! These were amazing!! This will definately be one of our favorite party/snack foods going forward and of course they will make a great dinner now and then, too!

The best part is they are not anymore calories then regular nachos. The cheese chips were 440 calories. But we would be replacing at least 2 servings of tortilla chips at 320 calories and a serving of cheese sprinkled on top which is another 110 calories! So essentially, this dish was about 10 calories more then traditional nachos! Pretty nice, huh?

Photos From Camp

Here are a few photos of our camp weekend. We had such an amazing and relaxing time. It was really nice to have 4 days for us to both reconnect as a couple. We both worked Thursday & Friday morning and my husband Saturday morning. I chose to go Easter shopping for my kids while he was at work. That was a fun ride as we got a foot of snow on Saturday, but no one was at Wal-Mart, which is about 25 minutes from my camp, and it was a nice peaceful drive with not too many people on the road. I have a Jeep so I had no issues and just used common sense to stay safe on the roads. 

We both had Sunday off so we enjoyed going absolutely nowhere from Saturday afternoon until we headed home at 7pm on Sunday! With no kids & no pets to take care of the evenings were so relaxing and serene at our quiet little peace of heaven in the Adirondack Mountains. 

We are looking forward to doing it again in a couple months. But next time we will do it Satruday - Tuesday so we can take all 3 days off completely from work and only work Saturday for part of the day! We are both self employed so that's not always easy, but those 3 days are slower and tend to be easier to be away! I've got my eye on May for our next getaway with just the two of us! 😉

Did Great @ Camp!

 My husband and I had a great time at camp! We did so well with our eating. I am proud of us both. We never went out to eat once but instead spent time relaxing and cooking together at camp. We had such a great time and hope to plan another 3 day trip in the next few months. 

I did go up in my weight Monday morning to 183 from 181.4 the morning I left for camp. Not too bad. I did start my period yesterday so I am guessing that is a contribuing factor. I pretty much stayed below my burn and had the highest calories on Sunday but still did well! My highest carbs was also Sunday at 44. But I am happy with how I did. 

Here are my food diaries for Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday. 

I made up for my carbs and calories quite a bit yesterday! 

My weight:

I was happy to see a drop to 182 this morning! I am so close to getting back into the 170's. I really hope I can do that before Easter Sunday! Just 2.1 pounds, that is all I need. I will do my best! 

I started going to the gym with my daughter today. Got a good 45 minute workout doing the sit down eliptical, the stepper and the treadmill. Feels good and I am already almost at 10K steps! I didn't do much exercise last week but I figured I wouldn't going to camp. The whole point was to relax! 

Coming up next...a few photos from camp & my Keto Nacho Recipe!