Category Archives: Cheat days/meals

Day 5: The birthday party

It was Friday, and I had a good start with a keto-friendly breakfast (eggs/bacon, of course).

I was only working until 1:30, then my son/wife, niece/husband/kids and I were getting together at 3 to celebrate my dad’s birthday. My dad died last May, and his great-grandson Owen decided we should get together as usual and have a party for him. We ordered his favorite pizza, I made the cake he always baked, we watched some videos of him, and had some pictures out.

llrcakeIt was nice, and I decided to go for a cheat meal and just enjoy it. I had 4 pieces of pizza (with crust) and some lemon/lime refrigerator cake.

Breakfast and the party food was all I ate for the day. At home that evening, I was pretty hungry, and made the unwise decision to have a glass of wine. Maybe it was thinking about and missing my dad, but I ended up eating no more, but drinking a bottle of wine. Sigh. Bad decisions all around.

I’m pretty sure the carb count was astronomical. Let’s start over tomorrow.

 

Day 1: Starting fresh

You know what they say about falling off a horse…get right back on.

In total honesty (which is what this blog is about), I have screwed up my plan, gained weight back, and feel like a slug. I guess I could hit myself over the head a few times, get mired in despair at my failures, give it all up and gain it all back.

rider

OR, I can get back on the horse.

I imagine anyone reading a blog about the ketogenic diet may understand what I’m feeling. Unless you’re a weightlifter, you’re probably overweight and looking for the diet that will fulfill all your hopes and dreams of a slender new you. In that case, you’ve probably experienced the same temptations and failures that I have.

So, here we go. I’m renumbering the blogs because I’m starting over. Fortunately, I haven’t regained all of the weight I lost, and next Sunday, I will weigh in and find out what the damage is. For right now, I’m doing what I feel is best for me: forget the pounds and the angst and the self-flagellation, because none of that is going to help me remain positive and move forward.

I’m getting back on the keto horse and going for a ride.

Day One:

Yesterday was Monday. I started the day with a cheese omelet with grilled onions and bacon on the side.

For lunch, I ate 2 Beddar Cheddars and a side of almonds.

I worked until 6 and had an hour until trivia. I drank some water and waited to eat until I arrived at Albert’s on the Alley, where I ordered their delicious grilled chicken club salad with blue cheese.

Okay, here’s where I had a bit of a rough ride…the birthday cake team On a Mission offered to the league teams. I ate a piece.

That’s it. Time to get back on the horse, AGAIN.

Day 308: Monday trivia failure!

Total weight loss: 41 1/2 pounds

Monday started out fine with a nice leftover quiche breakfast. Lunch was a couple of beddar cheddars and some almonds.

Dinner. Sigh.

I was at Albert’s for trivia. I always order a really good chicken salad. Today, I blew it. I just wanted pizza. I had 4 pieces of pizza AND some steak fries. I fairly wallowed in carbs.

That’s it. I blew it and tomorrow is another day.

Day 301: Celebration lunch – keto cheat meal

Total weight loss: 41 1/2 pounds

Well we finally did it! We closed on the house we’ve been working on for more than 3 years! It was a red-letter day, and I knew I would want to celebrate with food and drink. These habits are ingrained. Rick and I had planned in advance that we’d go to Macaroni Grill, since we both love their food and chianti.

I won’t go into great detail, because this blog is about KETO, not cheating. LOL. However, we did enjoy an appetizer that can be adapted to keto easily: Peppadew peppers with goat cheese and balsamic vinagrette.

We will be purchasing the pepper soon, and trying these delish appetizers at home.

No more to report. We’re tired and happy it’s all over. Back to keto tomorrow.

 

Day 288: Oops, cheat lunch at Chinese restaurant / excellent keto-friendly lasagna

Total weight loss: 41 pounds

We finally decided not to go out to breakfast. Just too costly. Rick made my “breakfast bowl”: 2 eggs, 2 sausage patties, cheese, and Taco Bell hot sauce. He puts it in a bowl, and I reheat, chop up, and eat at my desk. MMMMMMMM. Thanks, honey.

I was going to eat 2 Beddar Cheddars for lunch, but I got a surprise lunch invite from my niece, Marsha. The AUCE Chinese restaurant that we both love is very near my workplace, so I agreed to lunch with her.

I debated if I could do a low carb lunch, or if it was too difficult with the few options that I should just do a cheat meal. I sort of did a blend of both options.

I went to the Mongolian section and made a bowl with chicken, onion, garlic, and a little crab. I asked the cook to use garlic oil – he offered spicy; I said sure. It turned out to be delicious. Unfortunately, the Mongolian counter was at the back of the store, past the crab rangoons and the tempura sushi. Sigh.

So, I sort of did a half and half cheat meal. I had a main course that was low carb, and side dishes that were coated with breading. I do think I’ll get some garlic oil and try to make my own “Mongolian” stir fry at home. It’d be pretty easy, and keto-friendly. Always looking for some fresh ideas for keto recipes.

While I was off galavanting with my niece, Rick was home slaving away over the stove – for me! He made marinara sauce with the low carb tomato sauce and diced tomatoes he found yesterday at Kroger. He also cooked a pound of ground up Italian sausage. He was preparing the ingredients for a new keto-friendly, low-carb lasagna recipe I wanted to try. I thought I’d make it pretty close to my Dad’s traditional recipe, only using spaghetti squash as the lasagna “noodles.”

I saw this idea on several low carb sites, but most of the recipes, although low carb, were too high in carbs for keto. Rick did some investigating while shopping and found that a 14 oz can of Del Monte diced tomatoes with zesty mild green chilis was 7g per can, and Kroger tomato sauce was ZERO net carbs per can. He used 2 cans of each in his recipe, with 2 tbsp of olive oil (og), and various ingredients like garlic, 1/2 cup onion (10g), and 1/2 cup of red wine (4g). The whole recipe is posted here.

After work, I cook a whole large spaghetti squash, gathered the rest of the cheeses and ingredients and assembled a lasagna. Approximately one hour later, we sat down to a delicious bubbly authentic-tasting lasagna meal. At approximately 7.4 grams of carbs per serving, it surpassed my wildest dreams. I am no cook, but Rick’s marinara sauce is really flavorful and added to cheese and pepperoni, this tasted almost like my dad’s traditional recipe!

Here’s a picture of the whole pan…

So, dinner was a hit, and I have lots of servings to warm up during the week. This will definitely be a staple of my keto diet, and I’ll be making it a couple of times a month. I have to recalculate and be sure I didn’t mistake any of the carb counts. For instance, the mozzarella cheese said less than one gram of carbs per serving. Well, if you have many servings, when does that become 1 or even 2?

We each had an Adkins coconut bar for dessert. It was kind of an up and down day in terms of the keto plan, but creating such a keto-friendly pan of lasagna was a real high point of the day.

Day 224: Catching up on the blog (38 pounds down)

Total weight loss: 38 pounds

You may have noticed I’ve been gone for about a month. I’ve still been on keto, I just haven’t taken the time to blog.

The month had its usual ups and downs. Lots of stress, way too much to do and solve, but the keto habit remained ingrained. I had a few cheat meals, felt some remorse, jumped back on.

Since the last blog, I’ve lost another 3 pounds. I’m always happy to lose, but always look for that next highlight…this one is, of course, the 40 pound mark. I hope to reach it by Saturday (my son’s wedding day, BTW), but if I don’t then I’ll just keep plugging away.

As I think of any highlights, or low lights, of the past month, I’ll post them and try to catch up. Yesterday’s meals were nothing great. I have strep throat and I’m on antibiotics. I just don’t have much of an appetite, but I started the day with a low carb yogurt just to have something in my stomach. Lunch was way off the wagon – 2 beef chalupas and an order of nachos from Taco Bell.

Dinner was on track: chicken kabobs on a low carb bun. I had an Adkins candy snack in the afternoon.

In the evening, I had 2 glasses of wine sitting outside on a beautiful summer evening my hubby. Oh, and some Dubliner cheese with the wine.

I’ve probably been knocked out of keto by the Taco Bell, but I didn’t eat too much for the day besides that awful meal. (It wasn’t even very satisfying? why o why don’t I remember that before I order?)

Challenges to face this week: Luncheon at Macaroni Grill, rehearsal dinner at Traffic Jam, and WEDDING! I’ve had cheat meals, and I’ve had cheat days. Is there such a thing as a “cheat week”??