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! 

I made a delicious sweet version of my biscuit recipe tonight at camp. They were so good! Used them to make Strawberry Shortcake! But they were just as good without anything with them! Super easy and a must try!

Keto Cinnamon & Sugar Biscuits

Servings: 18 

Calories: 156

Carbs: 4

Ingredients ~

2 Large Eggs

1/2 Cup Sour Cream

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

2 Cups Blanched Almond Flour

4 Teaspoons Baking Powder

8 ounces mozzarella cheese

6 Tablespoons Splenda Or Your Favorite Sweetner

1 Tablespoons Cinnamon

Butter

Ziploc Bag

Makes: 18 Biscuits

1. Combine the sweetner of your choice & cinnamon in the ziploc bag. Shake the bag to mix. Set aside. You will have some left. You can save it for other recipes. 

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray or use parchment paper. 

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream & salt. Using a rubber staptula, mix in the almond flour, the cheese, cinnamon and sugar mixture & the baking powder. 

4. Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, place 18 mounds of the dough on the prepared baking pan. Do not flatten the mounds. 

5. Bake until golden, 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and rub butter on top of biscuits while still warm. Sprinkle cinnamon & sugar over the top of the biscuits. Serve warm. 

I decided to try this recipe at camp. We have a very small stove that doesn't regular heat very well and a limited amount of dishes. So I made these biscuits in a cast iron pie pan rather then individually on a cookie sheet. A regular cookie sheet doesn't fit in our oven here at camp. LOL! Posting this tonight was an after thought, so my pictures were taken on the fly. 

Camp Day 1

 Had a good first day at camp yesterday. Arrived about 5pm last night. I was busy at work most of the day so I didn't eat much until arriving at camp. My husband and I enjoyed a quiet evening. We cooked together, relaxed and watched some TV. We are both really enjoying this time together. Life is good! 

Finally! A Drop!

Finally dropped down to my lowest weight from last week this morning! I am back down to 181.4 and that feels great! I am very happy with that. That was my goal I mentioned just a few days ago. I was hoping to drop back down this morning before my trip to camp! 

This plateau lasted about a week. Not to bad really. I am hopeful to have a drop on the scale next Monday morning when I come back from camp. We are both looking forward to it. It should be an amazing time! 

Looking Forward To The Weekend!

My husband and I are going away to our camp starting tomorrow through Sunday. We both still plan on working Thursday & Friday but will head out early so we have time to spend time relaxing at camp. Our camp is about 45 minutes from our home & work, so not a bad commute. The plan is for the both of us to just relax with no kids or pets to take care of! The kids will stay home, my daughter will get them to school and both our kids will take care of our zoo! LOL! 

What is my plan for heading into this weekend when it comes to my diet? My husband and I both agreed that we would rather stay in and eat. So we have no plans to eat out which should really help us both stay on track. All our food needs to be brought to camp so we will stick to our favorite meats, veggies and of course eggs! As a treat I may make us some Keto Crustless Cheesecake & bring some berries to enjoy. That is our plan and we are sticking to it! Hopefully when I weigh in Monday I will have a lower number on that scale then before I left! 

Up & Down But I'm Still Feeling Good!

 Well I managed to fast from Sunday at 6pm to Monday at 6pm. My weight dropped back to 182 yesterday morning after that. I had hoped I would have gotten down to at least 181.4 but I didn't. I ate out yesterday at Texas Roadhouse. I did well with calories but my sodium could have been better and my carbs but I did do well considering I ate out. I jumped up to 182.2 this morning. Not much of a change but a clear sign my body doesn't want to let go. I haven't been getting in my typical 10 glasses of water a day. So I'm going to make sure I do that as a priority today before I have any soda. I am also going to try to keep an eye on my sodium even more. I've been better, but with eating out, that didn't help!

I still feel fantastic! So I'm not allowing myself to worry about this plateau. I will just continue to work on different things to break through it and eventually something will give. But until then, I am staying positive! My calorie intake has been perfect for me and I don't feel like I am starving, so continuing to eat with a 1000 calorie deficit below my burn everyday has not been too difficult at all. So I'll just keep doing what I am doing while making minor adjustments to help get through this plateau. 

I was in a rush again this morning so I didn't get a picture of my 182.2 on the scale. I don't know about you, but I am having a tough time with the time change this year! Hopefully that will get better! Perhaps it is the Keto Flu not helping as fatigue is a part of that. But since I am going into week 5 next week. I am hopeful that I will start feeling better there!

A New Week

My plan didn't go 100% perfect yesterday. My sodium was still around 2600 mg and I had more calories then I should have. Still under what I burned but too high to amount to any loss. We had planned a fun dinner for St Patrick's Day so I enjoyed it. I had a little corn beef and a couple slices of bacon so that didn't help my sodium levels. I weighed in at 184.2 this morning. I really didn't drop much, if at all. 

Today begins a new week! I am in my fourth week of being on Keto and I feel really good about that. This weeks challenges: I'm going to camp to spend a few days with my husband Brad starting on Thursday. It should be a fun and relaxing time for both of us. Biggest thing for us is staying on track! We do have plans to mostly eat in and I do think that will help. 

I'm not going to over analyze this weight gain but just try to keep moving forward and get that number back down. So today my main focus is to keep my calories reasonable and to stay hydrated and keep my sodium intake down! Hopefully by doing that I will drop back in the right direction. Fingers crossed I will at least be back to my lowest weight of 181.4 by Thursday morning! 

3 Weeks In & Feelin' Fantastic Despite A Possible Plateau!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I am feeling fantastic today even though my weekend weigh in's have not gone well. Yesterday I did not gain or lose and this morning I was up almost 3 pounds! I was in a rush this monring to get out the door so I didn't record my weight but I think I was 184.2. Honestly, I just lauged after seeing that number & shook my head. Then I let it go right out of my head. I'm confident it will fall back down quickly and then some! I had a busy day of cleaning yesterday but I didn't over eat. I did however have a lot of sodium. Tried some corn beef yesterday and so that was loaded with sodium. But what  was the real cause of my weight gain is really hard to say. But despite this little hiccup in my weight I feel absolutely fabulous today! 

I am going to try keeping my eating pretty basic for the next few days and see how that goes. I definately will stay away from high sodium foods in the next few days. I had lots of sodium and didn't really drink enough water yesterday. My corn beef was a test of what I am cooking tonight for the family being it's St Patricks Day. I always cook something with corn beef. I will plan to pass on the corn beef tonight or have a small serving. My carbs were a little high the last few days and I will keep them under 20 going forward this week as well. 

I did not manage to fast yesterday. Because I am most likely not adapted yet, my body is not always ready to fast when I want to. I find once I am Keto Adapted it's pretty easy to fast twice a week. But yesterday, my body wasn't having it. I have learned to listen to my body when it comes to eating. I was hungry so I ate. 

I had a busy day of cleaning for several hours yesterday. So I got plenty of exercise! That might also be why my body was asking for food! I had over 80 active minutes on my fitbit yesterday! Even though it did not count on my Fitbit as actual exercise, I sure did! 

I have now successfully been on my Keto Diet Take 2 for 3 weeks now and I am down 13 pounds (Not including my weight gain today)! Again, not including my gain this morning, I am down .06 pounds for the week! Quite mediocre, but it is what it is. I just need to keep moving forward and be glad I haven't faultered and have been sticking to my plan really well! Why am I not counting today? That weight doesn't exist in my mind. LOL I would be shocked if I don't drop back down by tomorrow, especially if I am more careful today! 

Clearly I am going through some type of plateau. A plateau can be frustrating. Just ask anyone who has tried losing weight. It's like a brick wall that is hard to break down! But I have gotten through them before. I wouldn't have lost 100 pounds if I hadn't. Whether we like it or not, it's a matter iof when not if it will happen! I have dropped a lot of weight in my first two weeks, so like I said, I do feel my body is rejecting giving up anymore weight right now. I need to be patient and give it time, the weight will start coming off before I know it. 

But what can I do to help break though this plateau? Keep my sodium at bay. Eat no more then the recommended max of 2300 mg of sodium.  At my age I need at least 1300 mg per day. Drink plenty of water. Keep my carbs under 20 grams everday. Do not eat more then my burn minus my 1000 calorie deficit. Stick to whole foods and less processed meats this week. Hopefully if I pay strict attention to all these details a decent drop is in my future! 

Friday Meals:  

Saturday Meals: 

All Over The Place

The good news is my weight went back down to 181.8. I actually weighed in real quick and then went back to weigh in after I showered to record it but realized I drank 8oz of water after I got out of the shower which caused my weight to be off from my initial weigh in. So I have no pic this morning. Here is how I did:

Weight This Morning: 181.8 Down .6

Water:  92 oz

Diet Coke: 104 oz (3 Fountain Sodas)

Exercise: None

Meals Thursday:

Not too much to report yesterday. Had a good day. I'm just trying to continue to move forward and hopefully get out of the 180's soon! Today I am scheduled to fast, so I will see how that goes. It seems my weight is all over the place this week. Hopefully that will get better next week. 

I did look back at days I jumped up in weight and there was no clear pattern. If my sodium was high or my carbs over 20 before my weight jumped up, it didn't seem to matter because other days my carbs were over 20 or my sodium was up my weight didn't do that. It's still a guessing game of why I keep fluctuating this week. My other guess is it's just my body fighting to let go of the weight after two weeks of dropping so much. Hopefully my body will learn to let go again in the coming week! Onward!

Here We Go Again

Well, I jumped back up! LOL! I am only laughing because I have dealt with weight fluctuations all my life and I'm done letting them sabatage my hard work and play with my head. So I'll let it roll off my back and keep going. I am however going to take a look at what I ate the day before I jumped up on the scale both days this week and see if I have any noticable patterns that could be the cause. If not, I will just keep doing what I'm doing. 

Either way, I did have a good day yesterday. Here is how I did:

Weight this morning: 182.4 Up 1 pound. 

Meals On Wednesday:

Water:  102 oz

Diet Coke: 72 oz (2 Fountain Sodas)

Exercise: 30 Minute Walk (2)

I did enjoy a nice ice coffee last night. Not sure if the caffeine was an issue or not with my fluctuation. I usually drink decaf but had Snickers coffee I wanted to try. Honestly, I think my decaf french vanilla is just as good! I will go back to that next time. 

I walked after work for 30 minutes last night. It was beautiful out and nice to get outside. And I managed to only have 2 sodas yesterday! That is a win!

This  morning I will spend some time evaulating my data and see if I can pin point why my fluctuations occur. I am just a big nerd, so I love doing stuff like this. LOL!

Dropping Again ~

 Was very happy with my weigh in this morning! I am headed back in the right direction. As long as my weight keeps headed down I am not concerned about a plateau. 

Here's how I Did:

Weight This Morning: 181.4 Down .8 pounds

Meals Yesterday: 

Had some delicious meals yesterday! One of my favorite ways to cook eggs is scrambled with peppers, onions & cheese! Added some sausuage for extra protein after my fast yesterday and that was my lunch! Then I enjoyed a steak dinner last night. Only had half the steak that is pictured. I was pretty full after eating about half of it. LOL. All in all, it was a good day. 

Completed A 24 Hour Fast

When I did my Keto diet faithfully last time, the one thing I tried to do was a 24 hour fast once or twice a week. So I made the decision after lunch yesterda to complete a 24 hour fast. I fasted from 11am yesterday until 11am today. My weight dropped back down this morning and a little extra dropped with it. I'm definately making progress!

Here's how I did:

Weight This Morning: 182.2 Down .8 from yesterday and down .2 from my lowest weight on Saturday. 

Meals Yesterday:

Water:  112 oz

Diet Coke: 104oz (3 Fountain Sodas)

Exercise: 45 Minutes Shoveling Snow (1)

I'm trying really hard to avoid a plateau. I have found the smaller I am the harder it is to lose. But I'm hoping that once my body adjusts and is Keto Adapted the weight will starting coming off easier. Right now, I'm just trying to keep me going in the right direction by not going up in weight or staying stagnet for too long. 

My ketones are looking great! I measured at the end of my fast but before I ate today. When you fast it helps your ketones kick into action and burn fat for energy! Fasting is known for helping you burn fat rather then glucose for energy. Which essentially is what ketosis does. 

My Body Is Finally Complaining! LOL

Well I went up a little this morning! My body is finally questioning what is up and probably going into defense mode! Lol! Obviously, when I have a stand still it's not always easy to figure out why. If I continue with getting stuck around the same weight the next couple of days I may be facing a plateau. If that is the case, I will do what I can to break through it. 

Here's how I did: 

My Weight This Morning: 183 Up .06 lbs. 

 

Sunday Meals: 

Water:  88 oz

Diet Coke: 3

Exercise: 30 Minutes Walking, Dancing (3)

On a positive note, I did get in my 3 days of exercise last week! I ate well yesterday but was surprised that my deficit wasn't enough with exercising yesterday. I thought for sure I would have been right within my budget. Oh well, I tried. LOL! 

I'm trying (and succeeding) to not get upset over my last couple of weigh ins. I know all too well from experience that my weight can fluctuate. The important thing is I don't take that information, run with it, and say screw it I'm just going to eat what I want today! Because I have let the scale play with my head in the past, decided to eat out of frustration, then regret it later. Not today!! I have honestly stuck to my plan every day and have not faultered at all! I know the minute I do, it will be more tempting to do it over and over again and that makes this process take way longer then I would like! I'm old enough and have enough experience to know I need to avoid doing that going forward.

I know I have debated about hopping on that scale everyday, but honestly I think it is good to have a daily record so I can possibly see trends and figure out what is up if I end up in a plateau. So for now, I'll continue to weigh in daily. I need to learn to not be afraid of the scale. If I know I've done everything I'm supposed to, then I need to learn not to take it so personally or get disappointed. Fluctuations are going to happen whether I like it or not. The scale is a tool, not a punishment when it doesn't go in the direciton I want it to. The key is I can't give up and keep giving it my best! Right?! Eventally the weight begins to go back in the right direction, I just need to be patient! Ok, now to remind myself of all this right after I weigh in! LOL

Found My Meter!

Uneventful day yesterday aside from finding my meter! My weight was the same so I didn't take a screen shot. 

Had a real yummy taco bowl last night for dinner. Went to lunch with a friend and had wings. Another good day in the neighborhood. 

My ketones are looking great! My keto flu symptoms haven't been too bad. Fingers crossed it stays that way. I'm hoping since I've done this before it gets easier the second time around!