Down again to 202.2! Woohoo! 

 

The Great Great Dane Weight Loss Challenge Day 5

 

I am apparently doing something right because I am down to 202.6! I am super happy about that! I could be down to the 190's real soon! But I am not getting too excited and will take it one day at a time. I know all too well that the scale can be tough sometimes! Right now my body is letting the weight go. Hopefully it will continue to cooperate! I am hoping for at least a half a pound a day at this point, but heck, as long as I go down and not up, no matter how small the loss is, I'll take it!! 

The Great Great Dane Weight Loss Challenge Day 4

 Well, I was down again this morning to 203.4!! I'm so excited to have my weight respond so well to my diet this week! I haven't been perfect. Been trying to stay around 50 carbs a day and 1200 calories. I've been a little high a couple of days this week with carbs. Honestly, I think it's most likely related to hormones. So I will stick to it and work hard to drop while my body is ok with it! Fingers crossed that these larger drops last a few more days! 

The Great Great Dane Weight Loss Challenge Day 3

 Did well yesterday and stayed on track for the most part. Down to 204.2 this morning. Not sure what my magic trick is with dropping this weight, but I'm not complaining and glad it's happening! 

Going to keep working hard to stay on track and hopefully be in the 190's soon! Fingers crossed the weight continues to keep dropping!!

The Great Great Dane Weight Loss Challenge Day 2

 

Day 2 ~

Yesterday I did very well once again. It was my day off and we ran some errands yesterday which included picking up Bella's remains. 😢I did well with eating and was very mindful about my carbs and calories. 

I weighed in at 205.6. I weighed 205.2 before I left for my scrapbook retreat, so I am really happy with the drop I have had already! I am down 4.2 pounds so far! If I can keep up with this momentum, perhaps I can get down to the 190's by December! I basically need to lose about 10 pounds a month if I want to get to 172. To stay on track, I need to be at 202 by the end of this month, but if I can get a little ahead of the game, that will help me going forward. Fingers crossed! 

I do have a good plan for Thanksgiving, so things should go fairly well that day. Most of what we eat is pretty healthy so I am feeling positive about it! 

The Great Great Dane Weight Loss Challenge Day 1

 Ok, I know this sounds weird, but this is a weight loss challenge for me! I have still struggled. With my birthday, then anniversary, then Halloween and finally my scrapbook retreat I was back up to 209.8 Monday morning! I also lost my Bella dog a couple of weeks ago as well. 😔

Although we do miss our Bella, we know she had a good life and spent 10 wonderful years with us and passed at age 12. But we have something exciting to look forward to after a long challenging year. I just got the ok from my husband for us to adopt a great dane puppy in early spring!!! So I am wicked excited!

They are huge dogs so I want to be healthier so I can care for my new puppy and get out and give it proper excercise! I have wanted a great day for almost 50 years! I have met a few when I was a kid and absolutely love the breed! 

But they are big, so the costs are higher to own one and having a bigger space is a plus, even though they do well in an apartment, a large house is more ideal. I am finally at a place in my life I can adopt one! I started my challenge on Monday. I am down to 207 this morning! Woohoo!

I wanted to get as close to 172 pounds as I can by time we pick up our new pup, which should be March or later depending on when our future puppy is born and ready to be picked up! Here is to a great incentive to maybe help me finally move forward and get this weight off!

Disappointed In Myself

 I am really feeling down this morning. I am disappointed in myself. I know I could have done better this past week and now my weight has shot back up to 209.2. That is a 7.4 pound weight gain. I did well over my anniversary and only gained 2.4 pounds when I weighed myself on Wednesday. But then my birthday hit the next day and I just ate too much. Still did better then I usually do but the real problem is I have been having a hard time getting back on track. That is what too many carbs does to me. I really really need to figure this out. I'm tired of not feeling good. 

Today is a new day though. I am hopeful for a quick drop but I'm not counting on it. I have found my body does not drop the weight as quickly as it used to when I have returned from a vacation when eating lots of goodies. But all I can do is get back on track and try again. If I fall, I just need to get back up. 

I am going to try to stay positve today and get my head out of this negative place right now. I enjoyed my birthday and anniversary week. Typically hard weeks for me when it comes to eating. I enjoy by enjoying some of my favorite foods. Should I not do that? I am torn by what the anser should be. Because I should be allowed to enjoy the things I love to eat, just like I enjoy my hobbies. But I need to really figure out this moderation things. Although I don't think I really did all that bad, clearly my body thinks otherwise. It's trying to find that balance that works for my body. Nobody else, but me. Everyone is different. 

Ok, time to pick myself up and soldier on. I CAN do better and WILL do better. Onward....

Feeling Good!

 Today is my 22nd Wedding Anniversary and I am feeling great! I have noticed my pain levels have gone down some. So that is great news! I feel better all and all. My mood is better! I do think half of that is I don't have the guilt I carry when I just can't seem to get things together and the other half is just feeling better with eating better! 

Things are getting a bit easier now. My cravings have gone down a lot for carbs which is great news! I have been staying pretty low aside from my pasta night I had a few nights ago. Yesterday my carbs were at 28 which is great! Thursday I had 39 and Wednesday 12! With each day the cravings get better and better! I am at the point where I am in a good place and it's getting easier to stick with the diet. 

My weight progress is going great. I was at 201.8 this morning!! My progress the first few weeks has been great. I do believe when I started Keto the last time my calories were on the high end so my weight loss was slower at first. So this time, I am trying to stay around 1200 calories as well as keeping the carbs low so I can make good progress and good progress is happening! 

I have a wedding to go to today and then I will be going away for my Anniversary on Sunday afternoon and will be gone until Tuesday night. I am determined to do well and at least not gain much weight, if any, while I'm gone on our trip!

I would really like to see me get down to the 190's soon! I have a doctore appointment on November 25th and would really like to see myself get back to the 180's. Fingers crossed! I will do my best!

 

Couldn't Be Happier!

I could not be happier with my results so far this week! I am down to 202.8! I have dropped down a pound from yesterday alone! I have 8 days until my birthday and I'm really starting to think I can make my goal of getting to the 190's by then! 

I was a little worried about my weigh in this morning. I had a soda from McDonalds yesterday morning and was worried it was regular coke and not diet and was worried about the calories that would add if it was regular coke. I ended up dumping some of it as I wasn't sure. Then I made the decision to have my daughters left over fettucini alfredo last night. But I had very low carbs all day, I figured I would try it and see. I still was only at 53 carbs yesterday! So I did well!! And clearly, what I ate was ok, because here I am down a pound from yesterday! But let's just say I won't be eating pasta regularuly. It will be a once and awhile thing! When I go to Olive Garden I always get the chicken alfredo over broccoli instead of pasta and I love it!

I have another trip coming up. I am going away with my husband from Sunday after work through Tuesday. We are going away for our anniversary and I am determined to do well! If I can keep up this motivation, I know I will work hard to do well while I'm gone. If I can get down enough before I leave, I will do what I did when I went on my trip last time and with that, I should do great and still be able to enjoy some small treats! So now I just need to stick with it and stay on track before we go!

Having A Great Week So Far

This week is going great! This is the best I have done in a long time. I know I just started on October 1st, but I really feel good about this, this time around! I have been managing my carbs well and have been staying under 40 carbs a day the last couple of days! I am finding already that the carb cravings are beginning to decrease.Maybe for now under 40 will work for me. I will keep going with it and if I find the cravings are still an issue I will lower it more. 

I am dropping weight at a decent rate right now. I was at 204.4 this morning. My motivation is high and my determination is the best it has been in awhile. All in all, I feel good about my progress and how I am doing. Maybe that goal to get to the 190's by my birthday is not out of the question. We shall see! 

Reviewing The Last 18 Months In Hopes Of Doing Better This Year!

 I haven't really gotten into much detail of how things have been for me over the last 18 months. Most of my weight gain occured in the earlier months during this time. I really think the fact that I was pretty much heading in to post menopause by mid last year is what really has caused much of my sadness, depression and emotional eating. But I also had a lot going on and being in the emotional state I was due to menopause, that did not help. First, my daughter graduated high school in June of 2024. Don't get me wrong, I was so very proud and excited for her. But at the same time, I knew in just a few months she would be going away to college. So I found my self very emotional for a good month thinking about it. By time she went to college I was feeling better. But it was still hard watching my first born leave the nest. On top of that, my employee's husband and our handy man & friend was diagnosed with cancer in December of 2023. He was doing better but in August 2024 his cancer came back and the prognosis was not good. It was stressful for everyone at the business watching my employee and her husband go through everything they did and covering when she needed to be out. 

I had been thinking of some ideas on how to eventually stop doing the motel in a few years and creating a different business at our location down the road. While visiting a friend of mine in South Carolina in September 2024, she gave me the idea to consider looking into escape room.  In October my husband, son and I went to Lanscaster, PA for my birthday to get new bows and go to this awesome Archery Shop in Lancaster. It was a great trip, but while there we did an escape room. Well, I thought it was great! My husband and son loved it, too! So when I got home I began the planning. For 3 months straight I worked 15 hour days researching, planning and developing my business. Mind you, I have a bit of an obsessive personality. So when I get my mind set on something, sometimes it's hard for me to focus on much else. I think doing this was also a good distraction from my daughter being away from home. I opened my first escape room in mid December which was a temporary holiday themed escape room called The Great Christmas Candy Caper. By February I had my first long term room done, and by April I had all 3 of our permanet rooms up and running. Although the first 3 months were my longest days of working, at the end of December my employees husband passed away. She struggled so much and still does with his passing. So she missed a lot of work in the beginning of the year which meant it took awhile for me to get her trained on escape rooms and I was the only one running rooms for awhile. I understood what she was going through was extremely difficult, but I was getting pretty burnt out. 

The fall and winter was very stressful and I was extremely busy. Because I was working so much I did not eat the greatest at all! I also was stress eating! I continued to have to work a lot as I had to be around to help run escape rooms to ensure we were getting the income when we could. But things finally started to calm down by September of this year. Don't get me wrong, it has been worth it. I got a lot done in a short period of time and I do believe I am building something great and am determined to make it a success. My employee is finally at a place where she can cope better and really enjoys being a game master and wants to see the business succeed, too! We had a really good talk at the end of summer and things have been better ever since.  

I have tried getting back on track with my eating off and on for the last year. There has just been so much going on. I have had some physical issues that have made things hard over the last 18 months as well. I started having issues with a lot more joint paint as of last fall. I had bursitis in my knee in September 2024. My joint pain got worse then my hips really started bothering me this year. I just recently found out I have bursitis in both my hips. Most likely arthritis as well. My hips have been bothering me for months now. In July I ended up with a severe case of vertigo. The vertigo lasted for 3 days and I had awful vomitting the first day. I didn't fully recover for about a week. My heart PVC's have returned earlier this year due to stress. And I had a period after 14 months and had to have a couple of tests to make sure it was nothing serious. Cancer was a small possability and luckily I found out recently that it was not cancer and nothing serious.  It has just been a lot over the last 18 months and I am hopeful things are finally calming down so I can move forward and try to finally get back on track and lose the 40 pounds I gained over my lowest weight! 

A Good Week!

 I was surprised to see that I had not posted since last Thursday! Well, things have gone fairly well! I went toa music festival with my daughter and was traveling for 3 days. But with that I am at 206.6 which is still down! So I am happy with that! I would have been down more but I did have few extra calories and carbs over the weekend. But I kept track of everything I ate so I wouldn't have a 5 to 10 pound weight gain! I left Saturday morning with a weight loss of 206.2 and came back at 207.4. Which is a 1.2 pound weight gain. That is excellent for me when going away!! I am almost back to 206.2 and hope to be there tomorrow, then I can focus on continuing to drop! 

I still have not found a lot of time to go over my posts from when I first started Keto. I have done a little bit of reviewing but hope to do more today and tomorrow! 

A Good Start

 10/2/25 - I had a good start to my new journey I began yesterday! I am down to 209.4 from 211.8 so that makes me feel better! I just have to keep up the momentum now! I took the time to create a calender to help us plan our dinners all month. My husband really liked that idea! I found out this morning he was up to 284 yesterday but dropped to 280 this morning. He has gained more then I realized so I am glad to have him starting with me. 

My carbs were a bit high yesterday. I had 132 grams of carbs but 51 grams of that was fiber! I am trying to stay under 75 carbs right now so a net of 81 is on the high side. I will try to get that down. One thing I do enjoy having is Fiber One Cereal which is what gives me most of those carbs. Once I get through my first week I will try to limit my consumption of Fiber one to no more then once or twice a week. 

I'm going to go through my old posts and figure out what I've done for lunch and breakfast most days so I can have some better choices here at work. I think ultimately I would like to get back to under 50 grams of carbs, but if I still have cravings with that I will then consider going under 20 grams of carbs like I did to initially lose the weight. Lots to think about and see what is going to work while trying to keep my diet a little more normal and less stringent on just meats and vegetables. But we will see. I will do what I have to at this point! 

Partners In Crime

 My husband and I do not help each other with eating. We are both bad influences on our diet as we both suffer from food addiction. But I made a pact with him yesterday that we are going to start a new on October 1st! So here we are, day 1 of our commitment together. 

I for one am going to do my best to finally focus and get this weight down. Work is calming down, life is not quite as hectic so this is a good time to try to lose weight and not just maintain which I have been doing over the summer. My weight this morning was 211.8 as my husband and I had a cheat day yesterday, so I'm not surprised! But today is the first day of the rest of my life! I can do this. I just need to get back down and maintain like I have all summer long. I am getting better at maintaing my weight. Last fall I had a lot going on and that is where the largest part of my weight gain occured. I have a doctors appointment in 2 months so I am determined to get to the 180's by then. But these are only words. I need to prove it in my actions!

Wish me luck!

Time To Buckle Down

What a year it has been! I have had such a hard time getting focused over the last year. Not sure what is going on with me but I can't help but think it is hormonal! I'm not blaming the weight gain on hormones but my emotions from the hormones that is driving me to eat. I just need to be stronger then my emotional roller coaster I have been on.

This week I haven't managed to get my shit together yet. But today is a new day. I need to remind myself that my clothes are getting too, I hurt with this extra weight on me and not getting this weight off is making me somewhat depressed!

I have two months until I go back and see my doctor and I would really like to be in the 180's by then! I was 208.4 this morning. I just need to do my best and start focusing on me instead of everything else in my life right now!

Clean Slate!

 Ok, I know it's been a tough year for me. I have just had such a difficult time focusing and it's getting to be rediculous. But I've had a lot going on and I do understand why it's been difficult, but I am hopefull it can and will get better. 

My weight on 9/17 was 208.4 and I've been fluctuating up and down since. Today I am making a better effort by bringing some food options in for me to work to try out. I am still convinced that I can have healthy carbs and do this. I am still trying to work out the best method and I think I am getting there! 

I don't have a lot of time to journal today, but I will be back soon to journal about the last few months in more detail. I weighed in around 207.4 this morning. I didn't take the time to record it, but that is close enough. Now to work my way back to the 190's and go from there! 

Journal Day 12-14

Had a busy couple of days!  I had a couple of high calorie days. Gave in to some cravings I am having. I did notice some really light bleeding yesterday. I have had tiny signs of my period still about every other day since I started almost 2 weeks ago. It doesn't seem to want to go away. I think a lot of my cravings may be hormonal. I shot up to 198.4 I believe on 6/23 but I didn't record it. I had a fun day out with 2 of my employees yesterday and ended up eating a bunch of junk when I got home. I did pretty well while out with them. But I am happy to report my weight is still 198.4 this morning. It didn't shoot up more after yesterday! It may still pop up tomorrow, so we shall see. Either way, I got to get back on track today. I would like to at least try to get back to 196 before the end of the month and work on getting more weight actually off! I am doing pretty well for the summer months considering. Normally I gain! 

06/23/25 Journal Day 12

6/22/25 Calories:  2235

6/22/25 Carbs: 171 (Chips & Chocolate)

6/22/25 Fiber: 13

Weight This Morning: 

SD: Moderate

Pain: Light to Moderate: 

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good 

06/24/25 Journal Day 13

6/23/25 Calories:  1353

6/23/25 Carbs: 85 (Pizza)

6/23/25 Fiber: 9

Weight This Morning: 198.4

SD: Moderate

Pain: Light to Moderate

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good 

06/25/25 Journal Day 14

Yesterday Calories:  2582

Yesterday Carbs: 292 (Lots of stuff I shouldn't eat)

Yesterday Fiber: 9

Weight This Morning: 198.4

SD: Mild 

Pain: Pain not too bad yesterday. 

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good 

Journal Day 11

My calories were a bit high yesterday. Ended up making homemade grilled cheese for Marcus and I after cleaning the entrance room. Then decided to have breakfast for dinner and couldn't resist sourdough toast to go with my eggs! But all in all, a good day. Jumped up a little in weight this morning, but not bad! 

06/22/25 Journal Day 11

Yesterday Calories:  1886

Yesterday Carbs: 117 (Sourdough for lunch & dinner)

Yesterday Fiber: 9

Weight This Morning: 197

SD: Mild 

Pain: Light to Moderate: mild leg & shin pain last night when I first went to bed. Worked on cleaning my entrance room. Hips aren't too bad today!

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good 

Journal Day 10

Woke up to a great weigh in this morning! I'm at 196.6! Woohoo! I did have almost 1900 calories today. But I'll get into that more tomorrow! Hopefully it won't cause me to jump on the scale!

06/21/25 Journal Day 10

Yesterday Calories:  1607

Yesterday Carbs: 81 (Had Chocolate)

Yesterday Fiber: 7

Weight This Morning: 196.6

SD: Mild 

Pain: Light to Moderate: Had some shin pain and leg pain again last night, but not for long. I did work on getting my soft top on my Jeep, so on my fee a lot again yesterday! 

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good 

Journal Day 9

Had a busy day yesterday making a 100 pound chocolate bar for a promotional display at my shop. Did over 10K steps! Ate well considering! Went up a little bit today but not bad. I am chalking it up to a normal fluctuation.   

Had some leg pain last night while on my side, but again, the standing all day probably didn't help! 

06/20/25 Journal Day 9

Yesterday Calories:  1334

Yesterday Carbs: 59 (2 Pieces Of Chocolate)

Yesterday Fiber: 5

Weight This Morning: 197.4

SD: Mild 

Pain: Light to Moderate: Had some shin pain and leg pain last night, but I also was on my feet most of the day yesterday. 

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good 

The Drops Continue

I was down to 197 this morning! My lowest weight was 196.8 on 5/25/25 so it has taken me awhile to get back down, but at least I am almost there and the changes in my diet seem to be helping!

06/17/25 Journal Day 6

Day Before Calories:  2012 

Day Beforey Carbs: 128 (Ate a half a pound of chocolate walnuts!)

Day Before Fiber: 16

Weight This Morning: 197.8

SD: Elevated but manageable. 

Pain: Light to Moderate: Continue to have leg pain when sleeping on my side. 

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good 

06/18/25 Journal Day 7

Day Before Calories:  1190

Day Beforey Carbs: 51 (1 oz Piece Of Sourdough)

Day Before Fiber: 9

Weight This Morning: 197.6

SD: Elevated but manageable. 

Pain: Hips bugged me a little bit & leg pain while on my side at night continues. Mostly when I first go to bed. 

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good 

06/19/25 Journal Day 8

Yesterday Calories:  1555    

Yesterday Carbs: 128 (Had popcorn, frozen yogurt & Sun Chips!)   

Yesterday Fiber: 8

Weight This Morning: 197

SD: Moderate to high in the afternoon especially. 

Pain: Light to Moderate: Had some shin pain during the day but did not have much of an issue with leg pain when sleeping on my side. 

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good 

The good news is, I am dropping weight steadily. I did have a hiccup on Monday and ate a half a pound of chocolate covered walnuts! But I did not seem to feel any ill effects from that weight wise. I do know I need to get back on track to just eating good foods so I can see if a consistant pattern helps my joint pain. I have been kind of up and down with the carbs. I do think that certain foods do cause me to have more joint pain and make it harder for me to drop weight. Staying away from the Quest bars has been one of my better decisions. Most of the carbs I have had have been good carbs for the most part since I've quit the Quest bars. Chocolate is in my diate but in moderation, except for Monday! LOL I have had pizza once, but try to stay away from that. I have had Sun Chips twice and popcorn a couple of times but clearly none of those foods cause my weight to be at a stand still. Could any of those cause my continued pain? Possibly, but I need to do a better job staying away from those foods to know for sure! 

Pain Levels Seem To Be Improving!

I was at 198.2 this morning. So a bit of a stand still, but I am ok with that. I have had a good drop this week. I did end up having a slice of cheese pizza yesterday but steak tacos for dinner which were nice and healthy!

I did notice some leg pain last night when I slept on my side but was able to be on my side this morning with no issue. Hips were not too bad during the day and felt pretty good. I also have some gastrointestinal issues going on this morning. Nothing too bad but I wonder if that pizza yesterday may be the cause.  I try to stay away from white flour breads of any kind except sourdough bread but it was later afternoon and I had a busy day yesterday so didn't eat until almost 3pm. The pizza was calling my name! LOL

Today I will focus on keeping those carbs on the lower end of 50-75 grams per day! 

06/16/25 Journal Day 5

Yesterday Calories:  1155

Yesterday Carbs: 76 (Cheese Pizza)

Yesterday Fiber: 5

Weight This Morning: 198.2

SD: Elevated but manageable. 

Pain: Light to Moderate: Pain during the day was definately better, but had some leg pain sleeping on my side when I first went to bed. 

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good (My new ear plugs have been helping with that!)

Things Are Going Good!

 The last couple of days have been busy but have been good days! I dropped 4 pounds since my last post which is amazing! So the changes I have made with my diet are working! My pain level, especially in my hips and legs have improved a lot. I could lay on my side to sleep without pain shooting down my legs and my hip pain was mild today. There is of course pain, but much less. I expect there to be some, I just want to see if I can make it more manageable to avoid taking pain medication. 

Here is my daily journal:

06/13/25 Journal Day 2

6/12 Calories:  1356

6/12 Carbs: 57 (Mac & Cheese Bites)

6/12 Fiber: 5

Weight This Morning: 201 

SD: Medium to high

Pain: Medium  

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good 

06/14/25 Journal Day 3

Yesterday Calories:  1154

Yesterday Carbs: 77 (Chocolate Covered Pecans)

Yesterday Fiber: 14

Weight This Morning: 198.8

SD: Medium To High

Pain: Feeling A Little Better

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good 

06/15/25 Journal Day 4

Yesterday Calories:  1335

Yesterday Carbs: 68 (McDonalds Has Brown)

Yesterday Fiber: 8

Weight This Morning: 198 

SD: High

Pain: Pain in hips was much better. Wasn't getting paid down my legs when sleeping on my side. 

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good 

If At First You Don't Succeed...

 ...Try Try Again!

Oh boy, the struggle is just not ending with me lately. I think part of my problem is I lose motivation quickly due to my joint pain. I started eating these Quest snacks starting at Easter. I usually have 1 bar a day at work. I know my joint pain in my hips started about a couple of months ago and it has not gotten any better. So I am starting to wonder if the artifical sweetners in those bars are effecting my joint pain. I feel like my joint pain has been at an all time high for the last few months. The joint pain in my hips and legs has been particularly bad the last month or two. So today I am going to start taking those out of my diet. Anything with artificial sweetners accept my diet coke. At least try this for a week or two and see if things improve. I really have to stick to my guns and stay away from most artificial sweetners to see if it does make a difference. I have drank diet coke for years so for right now, I'm not ready to pull that from my diet. 

I have been up and down. I am currently at 202.4 this morning. Had a couple of trips since my last check in. Was down to 196 a few weeks ago and I hope to get back down there quickly!

Got thrown for a loop on Monday June 9th as I started my period. Haven't had a period since April 11, 2024 as far as my records show. Thought I was in post menopause. Because it's been 14 months I had to contact my doctor. I have an appointment for that on Friday. So not sure what is going on there. Either way, I'm sure it will be fine after they run a few tests. 

I know I have to continue to try to make changes if I want to feel better! All I can do is keep trying! I am trying to stay under 100 net carbs since I switched to a mix of Keto/Med Diet. But I am trying to keep it even lower for the next couple of weeks to see if that also helps the joint pain. 

Going to start keeping track of how I feel again each day:

06/12/25 Journal Day 1

Yesterday Calories:  1256

Yesterday Carbs: 94 (Quest Bar, McDonalds Chicken Strips)

Yesterday Fiber: 15

Weight This Morning: 202.4 

SD: Elevated. Surges returned about a month ago.

Pain: Medium (Hips bothering me, legs hurt if I lie on my side)

Speech: None

Mood: Good

Sleep: Slept good 

Getting Some Weight Drops....Finally!

 I am down to 196.8 this morning. I am very happy with that. I am finally making some good progress. My hope is to be at 195 by the end of the month. Fingers crossed! I am really glad my new diet plan is working!

Ok, Finally Headed In The Right Direction

I didn't do too bad yesterday. Had about 1600 calories but most importantly, I managed to stay under 100 net carbs yesterday. I was down to 198.8! I'll take it! I had a great time doing a video "Girls Night Out" with my dear friend who now lives out of the area. We were up until 1am last night, but I am already up and at 'em this morning. I basically woke up at 6am and couldn't go back to sleep, so I am sure I will feel it later today! LOL!  

Anyway, I will try my best to have a good day today and hopefully be down a little more tomorrow morning before my doctor appointment. Fingers crossed! 

Ugh! Just Can't Seem To Move Forward

 Ok, the frustration continues. I ended up going to McDonald's on Monday night after working with my husband and son at our camp mowing. I was hoping to go to the deli next door but they were closed. I still did ok, but had 1800 calories that day. Also had 1800 calories yesterday after snacking on peanuts. My snacking seems to have come back. I think I need to get those carbs down. I have mananged to do that some over the last couple of days. My weight is at 200.4. So pretty much a stand still. 

I am feeling a bit down today on top of it because I have started this new Escape Room business and I am very uncertain of how it is going to do this summer. I think everything is getting to me today. But I can't let that ruin  my hard work. I need to keep trying and moving forward. 

I will continue to keep lowering my carbs a bit and try to stay under 100 net carbs per day. I think I just have to manange what I am doing better. Onward!

A Little Struggle Getting Back On Track

I am struggling just a little to get back on track. My carbs have been way to high so today my mission is to try to keep my net carbs under 100. That seems to be the right amount and I still lose weight. I have had 177 yesterday and over 200 the day before. Not to mention I had a day on Saturday and gave into popcorn and chocolate! Considering how hard I tried while away, I don't want to come home and now sabatage my hard work. So today, it's time to refocus, get those carbs down and get back down on the scale.

I got down to 198.8 on Saturday morning only to jump up to 200 today. I can't keep doing that, so I will try harder. I do find the more carbs I eat the more my cravings go up. Especially if I indulge in the wrong carbs. Last night I had pretzels and wheat thins. I know better. I need to stay away from that stuff!

Today is a new day and I will try my best to do better!

 

Moving Forward & Getting Back On Track

I did not drop as much as I would have liked this morning, but it was a drop none the less. I am back down to 199.6. I think I am going to try to get my carbs back down. I had 198 yesterday! I would like to get back down to under 150 but and ideally under 100. I am hoping that will help!

I did well yesterday. Had under 1500 calories and tried to be careful. I have been hungry in the morning again and my guess is, it's because my carbs have been up the last few days. So hopefully lowering them will help get my hunger under control. 

My pain level has been not bad considering all the walking I have been doing! I walked 9663 steps yesterday which was great! I am trying to hit 10k everyday again if I can. I think the moving should help a lot. I have been sleeping pretty good the last few nights as well. 

Now I am just hoping I will continue to drop and get below my lowest weight from Sunday morning! Stay tuned. 

Lot's Going On The Last Few Days!!

First of all, I want to say I am very proud of how I have done the last few days. There has been a lot going on. I left for a 3 day trip to attend this massive Antiuque Show & Flea Markit in Brimfield, MA on Monday. So I got up weighed in at 200.4 from 197.6 due to Mother's Day and having those extra calories I really didn't need. I ended up eating a lot of sourdough bread after I posted later that day. I am pretty sure that is why my weight popped up as much as it did! 

So I was determined to do better. Monday I had about 1000 calories and did very well. Considering we were traveling, that was exceptional for me! The next two days I did about 15K steps per day, so we got in a lot of exercise. The first day (Tuesday) we ate at the venue for lunch so I got a hot dog. Not thrilled about it, but I needed something more than snacks for lunch and it was the lowest calorie option, that would give me some protein, that I could find. We did arm ourselves with lots of snacks to try to keep things as healthy as possible that day so that helped. We went to Chik-fil-a for dinner and indulged in a meal that was their grilled chicken nuggets and waffle fries. It was so good to sit down and enjoy some good food. My dinner alone was 1000 calories but I still mananged to only eat 2200 calories that day.  Wednesday we brought our lunch to try to eat as healthy as we could during the show. We had a delicous dinner at 99 Restaurant. My dinner ended up being a lot more calories then I anticipated so I had around 2700 calories yesterday. But still did well and feel like I ate less then I burned!

This morning I weighed 200.2! Less than when I left on Monday! Woohoo! That is always a win because I ALWAYS gain weight when I'm traveling! ALWAYS!! So a big win this time around! I feel like I enjoyed myself but didn't over do it. 

I am hopeful that I can drop back down to 197.6 quickly! I am feeling super good and ready to get back on track today and continue to lose weight! Stay tuned....

Happy Mother's Day!

 I've had a great couple of days. I went to the movies and had popcorn last night and still dropped another .2 pounds this morning. I am at 197.6. 

I am very proud of myself. I usually take my son to McDonald's Saturday mornings to hang out and have breakfast. I really wanted to eat breakfast with him but didn't want to have eggs and sausage there and I really don't like the canadian bacon. So I packed up my breakfast and brought it with me.

I got a diet coke for me and his normal growing 15 year old big breakfast. LOL! I will definately do this again! I also was very careful yesterday with my eating so I could have a small popcorn at the movies. Today I wateched everything I ate and chose to go with making dinner at home instead of doing any eating out today. My husand and son made me a nice breakfast this morning with eggs, bacon and toast. I had frozen yogurt at Yogurt City for a treat this afternoon and tonight I made homemade alfredo sauce with a half serving of pasta, chicken breast and broccoli. I also made sourdough garlic bread! So good. I have had less then 1800 calories today! Not too shabby with being Mother's Day! 

Now I shouldn't be surprised if I pop up a little tomorrow morning. I am also going away for 3 days and hope to bring a few things to eat on the trip to keep me on track such as my Quest bars! 

Feeling Great This Morning!

 Got up this morning and weighed in and I was down another pound! Woohoo! That is awesome! I wasn't expecting that, so a very nice surprise! So far I am down 1.8 pounds for the week! Much better results then I anticipated! I am feeling good about my new diet. It's so much easier to stay on and I have been really enjoying having variety back in my diet! Hopefully I can stay on this plan during my next 29 pounds of weight loss without too many hiccups! 

Notes: I worked on puzzles for my LEGO escape room and had that on the brain last night so it took me awhile to get to sleep. I'm feeling pretty good aside from the normal stiffness and aches in the morning. I have been dealing with a bit of gas now that I have fiber back in my diet. LOL! But it's been manageable and not uncomfortable at least. I am thinking once my body adjusts, that should get better. Once I got to sleep around 11:30 last night I only got up once to pee but it wasn't until 5:45am and I fell right back to sleep. So that was good. My mood has been so been so much better. I think that is a combination of the diet and also feeling better because I am back on track! Either way it's a win! 

Very Happy With My Results So Far!

 I am going to start tracking my weight loss from 5/4/25 on carefully. That is the lowest weight I have been at after dropping my "fluctuation weight" as I call it! So far I have dropped .8 pounds isnce 5/4/25. I am pretty happy with that. 

The best part is I am back to eating a lot of foods I really enjoy that are healthy for me! I had the most amazing tacos last night for dinner!! It's so nice to get back to eating a little bit more normally. Don't get me wrong, I have no regrets doing KETO, but it is not sustainable for the long term and actually not recommended. If I had a major health issue, that would be one thing, but I am fairly healthy. 

I slept really well last night. Got up once to pee and went right back to sleep! Pain levels were mild. No itching, restless leg or anxiousness. 

 

  

Moving In The Right Direction

 The last couple of days have gone fairly well. I do want to try to get my carbs down a little bit. I've been eating a lot of them, but most have been healthy carbs. I have been trying a new Quest bar everyday to find out which one's I like. I bought some to sell in my shop so I have a better option at work when I am craving chocolate! I really like them, they are so good! They at least have a good amount of fiber in them, but I do get they are processed. So I do plan to cut back on them at some point and only have them as an occasional treat or bring them on trips when we travel. I had a banana the other day and forgot how good they taste! LOL! It's been nice being able to get back to some normal eating. 

My weight went up a little yesterday morning. I was at 200 exactly but I am happy to report I dropped down to 199.2 this morning! Woohoo! I'll take it!

I slept pretty well the night before last. Last night I had a hard time getting to sleep. We did some moving of some stuff at work yesterday and that caused leg pain. Plus I was having mild restless leg going on. I ended up taking two tylenol PM and it still took me a bit to get to sleep. It was my day off  yesterday. My husband and I went out and I got a grilled cheese sandwich on homemade oat nut bread. It was so good! Yesterday I did end up resorting to eating a quick hot dog for dinner as I ran an escape room last night. Not sure if that's what did it. I really need to start trying to cut back certain foods for a few days and then try them on a normal day, rather then a day I was doing a lot of physical activity or when my carbs were higher then they are supposed to be. It makes it hard for me to determine if processed meat is giving me issues or not. All in all, I do think moderation is key, but I also want to figure out how my eating can start making me feel better. I know, I should just stop eating processed stuff, but the meat has me curious. I get it with all the other stuff, but if you choose good quality hot dogs, sausage and deli meats, does that make a difference? I mean humans have been processing meat for ions! I do try to find stuff that is all natural and does not have a bunch of junk in it. 

Better Day Yesterday

05/05/2025 - 

I had a pretty good day yesterday. Here is my food for yesterday:

Notes: Not a lot of issues last night. I seem to have leg pain in my right leg when I turn on my side when I first go to bed. But if I adjust it gets better. Hopefully that will improve with time. Especially once I start excercising again. I slept well. Woke up twice to pee. The second time was at 4am. It took a few minutes to get back to sleep but not too bad. No restless leg, anxiousness, ithcing or anything like that. I had no processed meat yesterday. I did have a Quest bar which was the most processed item I had yesterday, but I will say, it curbed my hunger until I had dinner. So I really liked that! I did have a bowl of Fiber One Cereal in an attemp to get more fiber in my diet. I have that with almond milk. 

I dropped down to 199.6. Only .02 pounds but I will take it! As long as I am going in the right direction! I've decided any loss is a win no matter how small. I've got about 30 pounds to lose so I can get into the 160's. I am not so focused on getting a huge drop by my doctor appointment. I would rather focus on getting my eating in check and eating a healthy sustainable diet. 

Busy Weekend!

 I did well on Friday with my eating. I was under 100 carbs and I was ok with that number as 23 grams of that was some much needed fiber! My goal is to try to stay under 100 total carbs per day, but that is with eating healthy carbs! I weighed in at 200 pounds Saturday morning. I slept well from what I recall and was feeling pretty good when I got up yesterday morning aside from the normal aches and stiffness until I move. 

Yesterday I did splurge a little and had some sourdough bread and a potato. Because of it my total carbs were at 140. Plus, I had one serving of bologna. I am trying to test how I feel on days I eat certain things. I also worked all day on reorganzing my kitchen so it was a physical day on top of it. 

A few things I noticed last night. I had some leg pain, not horrible when I laid in the right position. I did wake up around 3am and couldn't go back to sleep for about an hour. I had mild hand itching during that time and some anxiousness return. My hips also ached this morning right before I got up. So the issue I have here is it is hard to tell what caused any of that because I had higher carbs yesterday, processed meat and I was very active. LOL. So it will be hard to judge for sure what was the cause of the anxiousness and not being able to sleep for an hour. The pain I understand is from being so active all day, but with my dietary changes I am hoping that will also get better. So I will try to stay under 100 carbs for the next few days. I will also try a little processed meat in a few days (but keep my carbs in check) so I can determine if maybe that is the cause of some of the issues I am having. I will choose a day I am not so active as well so I can pin point issues better. I was down a little this morning at 199.8. It will be interesting to see how I do with weight loss going forward with my new plan of action. 

I am a big nerd, so doing this little experiment makes losing weight a lot more interesting to me. It's also very fascinating to see how my body reacts to certain foods. This little experiment is giving me the motivation I need to stick to the diet!