Category Archives: Almonds on keto
Day 315: Back to work after the long holiday weekend
Total weight loss: 41 pounds? (I haven’t weighed in weeks – Saturday is D-Day)
I still felt a bit under the weather, but it was time to get back to work. I only have a week of vacation left, and I don’t want to waste it lolling about the house in the winter. I foresee a beach in my future.
Since I had to make the sacrifice of getting out of bed and all, we treated ourselves to breakfast at the diner. I had the onion and cheese omelet. I keep reading that eating the same foods as a habit for each meal is good for you. I hope so, because I do that alot.
Lunch at work was a tortilla with some shredded cheese and a dab of cream cheese. Low-carb tortillas are a pretty good way to stay on keto yet still feel like I’m having my traditional Mexican food. Quick, easy, comfort food, all rolled up in one gooey cheesy tortilla. YUM.
I had some almonds for a late afternoon snack.
Dinner was the chicken with artichoke that I bought from Costco. (I love Costco!) It takes 6 minutes and tastes great with some quick caulitatoes. I know processed food isn’t good for you, but I worked all day, I was tired, and it took less than 10 minutes to have a nice warm meal. So sue me.
Dessert was 2 squares of 70% chocolate (topped with 2 squirts of Reddiwhip! – 1 gram of carbs per 2 tbsp).
Day 313: Back on track
I took a little break from blogging. Did you really want details of birthday celebrations, Thanksgiving feasts, car trips that involved fast food WITH buns? (5 hours up north on Friday; 5 hours back on Saturday – I just gave up fighting the carbs)
HOWEVER, I am back on track. Again, this prolonged no-carb trek has at least provided me with consistency and habits that I (hopefully) won’t lose. I go off, have a cheat meal, climb back on. I will have my day of reckoning soon (weigh day), but have made the decision not to weigh until I feel like myself again. Eating carbs sure has a bloating effect. My pants still fit, but not quite as loosely as before. At least I stayed in this lower size.
Sooo, after all the bad carb days of celebration and travel, I was finally back to a “normal” Sunday at home. I ate a home-made cheese and onion omelet with a few pieces of bacon for breakfast. Lunch was a few almonds and some low-carb tortilla with cheese.
For dinner, I decided to make a batch of low-carb taco soup again. It was really good the first time, and I love having things prepped and ready for the week ahead. I did forget an ingredient, but it was pretty good without the heavy cream.
Dessert was 2 squares of 70% chocolate.
I’m baaaaaack!
Day 298: Hidden carbs sabotage my meal
Total weight loss: 41 1/2 pounds
Yesterday was Friday. We started the morning at the diner, where I had my usual: cheese and onion omelet with a side of bacon. I was very happy it was Friday, but I knew I had a long day at work ahead of me. Breakfast out was my “pre-treat” to myself.
For lunch, I ate 2 Beddar Cheddars. I had almonds later for a snack.
While I was working, Rick was also working on websites and newsletters. In the afternoon, he cooked up some chicken fajitas and stopped by the grocery store for some low carb tortillas, so I could eat right after getting off work.
I don’t know what I would do without his support. He is supposedly “retired,” but each day is spent working on our web and print design business. He also took care of a million details when closing the house we sold, does the banking, grocery shopping, and most of the cooking. I might cook something twice a week. Anyway, he has been behind me 100% and goes out of his way to buy low carb foods and find me low carb dinner ideas. My husband is one in a million!
So, back to the food diary. I ate 2 servings of the fajitas, and topped them both with avocado slices and sour cream. They were delicious and low carb. The tortillas are just sliced up frozen chicken tenders with a spicy marinade from a bottle. He uses all different kinds, like Lawry’s. Oh my. I just looked at the carb count on the marinade. It says one serving is 4 grams of carbs. Well, that sounds dandy, until I read the details: the bottle contains 24 servings!!! Rick says he uses about a half a bottle, which makes 4 servings when combined with chicken and cut up peppers and onions. That means 12 servings x 4 grams of carbs = 48 total, or 24 grams of carbs if I eat 2 servings, as I did last night. That one meal puts me over carb count for the whole day. Sigh. I guess I’ll have to find some other seasoning for this meal.
There have been a few other incidents like this, where I think I’m eating something just fine, but discover later that the meal was overflowing with carbs. The Taco Bell hot sauce in a packet that Rick adds to my morning egg dish is fine. The Taco Bell verde sauce is not. Guess it pays to be more conscious of those hidden carbs!
Day 297: On again, off again
Total weight loss: 41 1/2 pounds
Thursday started off okay. I went into work a little early, because we were going to a movie after work, and I didn’t want to work too late. I took a homemade sausage/egg/cheese bowl from Rick.
I was working pretty intently, and the next thing I knew it was 1 pm. I put 4 pieces of bacon in a low carb tortilla and warmed it up. Pretty tasty. I followed that with some almonds.
I made the mistake of not eating enough to make it through the movie. I was hungry at 5:30 and bought an order of nachos from the concession stand. It was at least an historical event from the standpoint that I didn’t eat them all! I don’t think I have ever NOT finished nachos, but there were far too many for me to eat knowing how many carbs I was ingesting. And so much for saving money by not purchasing costly concession stand treats.
Next week, I’ll be sure to eat more during the day so I’m not hungry when I get there. The plan worked well for me last week.
I completed an evening of poor decision making by eating a ham sandwich on sourdough bread. Didn’t hit the spot and was a waste of carbs.
The movie we saw was “The Flight.” I don’t want to post any spoilers, but there are a few characters with alcohol and drug issues. I can empathize. Food is still ingrained in my psyche as a means to comfort. I’m proud that I keep getting right back on the plan after small failures, but watching the addicts battle for sobriety reminded me that the keto diet is not just going to solve all my weight issues. Many of my poor decisions with food are caused by ingrained habits, wrong ideas, and emotional decisions that I’ll probably be battling for the rest of my life. And, although I’ve lost the weight a little too slowly for my own satisfaction, I’m happy that I have stayed with it this long, and that I jump back on the plan daily, instead of throwing in the towel after bad decisions.
Today, I enjoyed a pleasant, albeit poor choice of nachos for dinner, but tomorrow is a new day.
Day 292: Busy Saturday – stayed on track
Today’s weight loss: 1 pound
Total weight loss: 41 1/2 pounds
Today, I did something a little different. I reweighed myself. I gained a 1/2 a pound at yesterday’s weigh in, and I wasn’t terribly upset about it. However, last night I was reading a motivational article for business owners that says one should chart small victories and I decided to reweigh this morning to see if yesterday’s gain was an anomaly. This morning I weighed one pound less than yesterday, for a net loss of 1/2 a pound since last week.
That’s more like it! Only 8.5 pounds to reach the 50 pound goal!
Saturday breakfast at the diner – cheese and onion omelet with 4 pieces of crispy bacon
We stayed inside and worked on websites all day. We have 3 currently in the works. I updated the product information for the ecart client, while Rick worked on the layout for a church and a hair salon. It was a relaxed day and we both really enjoy working on our business.
I paused for lunch around 3pm – leftover keto lasagna (yes, there is still some left! and it’s as good as ever)
Dinner – I wasn’t very hungry after my late afternoon lunch, so I just had a handful of chili lime almonds and 2 squares of 70% chocolate while watching a movie.
Day 291: Italian restaurant – chicken piccata
This week’s weight “loss”: +.5 pounds
Total weight loss: 40.5 pounds
Today was weigh-in day. I gained .5 pounds since last week. I’m not thrilled, but I’m used to the ups and downs. In order to keep my spirits up, after weighing I put on the smallest jeans I own…and they fit. That made me feel a little better.
Yesterday was Friday. Again, I had no time for breakfast. My son, Brandon, and his new bride, Lindsey, found a house they may bid on, so I called Rick and asked him to take me by on lunch. We wouldn’t be going until 1 pm, so I ate some almonds and 1/2 slice of lasagna around 11 am.
After checking out the house – which we both like very much – we went to the Senate Coney Island. I ordered 2 coney dogs and didn’t eat the buns. Rick didn’t order fries, so no temptations there.
Since I had a few long lunches this week, I needed to work until 6:30 to achieve 40 hours. When Rick picked me up after work, I was really tired and wanted to splurge and indulge in something to fill the emotional void. We debated the restaurant choices, and ended up at Angelo Brothers Italian restaurant. I had been there years ago for a Christmas party with my former coworkers at the school system. Rick had never been. I was really hoping I would find something satisfying AND low carb. I was thinking chicken marsala or some such item.
I actually did find a possibility: chicken piccata. I’d never had it before. When I visit an Italian restaurant (pre-keto), I usually go for something with lots of cheesy pasta. The ingredients listed for the chicken piccata: thin-sliced chicken breasts, garlic, butter, white wine, and mushrooms. Sounded good, so I tried it. I skipped the carb-laden sides and asked for extra mushrooms. The side salad was just a lot of iceberg lettuce, but it helped assuage the hunger while I waited for my meal. So did the glass of red wine.
I ignored the bread basket and dug into the chicken. It was so so so delicious. I checked the carb count afterward, and it ran from 5 to 20 grams per serving, so I’m not sure how well I did. I’m sure there was flour or cornstarch involved; however, I do know that I will be trying a low carb version at home, and I’ll just leave out those items. Rick took about 5 tastes of mine dinner. He loved it….even better than his pizza. The two of us will experiment with the new recipe soon. In the mean time, I’m proud of myself for picking something as low carb as possible, and not pigging out on pasta, pizza, and bread.
Once home, I had an Adkins bar for dessert.
I think I’ll go without the Adkins treats this week and see if that did impact my 1/2 pound weight gain. It’s not a real scientific experiment, but it may give me some indication if I lose a bit more next week after not eating them.
Day 289: KFC on Keto
Total weight loss: 41 pounds
Breakfast yesterday was Rick’s sausage, egg, and cheese in a bowl.
Lunch was leftover Keto lasagna.
Dinner was late. I was hungry. We took 31 bags of leaves to the curb and packed up a couple small boxes at the sold rental house. I wasn’t in the mood for a restaurant, so we stopped at KFC and I picked up a grilled chicken breast. I was thinking the cole slaw might be okay on keto. I asked for the nutritional information brochure. Nope. 20 grams of carbs and no fiber. The only side that was keto-friendly was the green beans. EEEWWW. I guess it’s obvious that I don’t care for green beans, soooo…..
Once home, I nuked a package of frozen cauliflower and made mashed “potatoes.” It was a quick and easy dinner and filled the void.
I ate NO Halloween candy, although I watched my granddaughter sort through her bag of goodies, and I watched my husband eat some of those goodies. Of course, polite Beccy offered me some of the candy, but I abstained and ate a few chili lime almonds.
Later, I ate an Adkins coconut chocolate bar, and hit the hay early. The orange frosted Hostess cupcakes that we picked up for our other two grandchildren were sitting on the kitchen island, and I avoided them by going to bed before I lost my battle. I know I don’t even like them that much. It was a totally emotional temptation.
Drank a glass of water, read a little, and drifted off with no cheat meal or snack behind me.
Success!!
Day 287: Monday – back to the old grind and trivia night
Total weight loss: 41 pounds
Well, we did it again. We went to the diner for breakfast. It was another nice relaxing outing before starting the workweek, but we do have to stop. It’s a bit extravagant on our budget.
Breakfast – cheese/onion omelet and 4 pieces of bacon
Lunch – once again, breakfast kept me full well into the afternoon. I was sure to drink lots of water, and I had an almond snack around 2.
I left work by 3:30 in order to get more done on the move before trivia started at 6. We unloaded some of Brandon’s things from the truck, but after that, neither of us felt like going over to the house. Instead, I made a list of grocery items for Rick to pick up and I worked on my computer backups and server issues while he grocery shopped.
I’m trying to plan ahead and make some interesting keto recipes. I want to bring back the sense of excitement that I had when I first started the plan. I saw one idea for making a fake lasagna using spaghetti squash. The recipe called for marinara sauce and it was a little steep in the carb grams for keto. Rick checked out tomato sauces and diced tomatoes. He found diced that were net carb zero! and sauce that had 4g of net carbs (1/4 cup, I believe). The plan is for Rick to make a marinara sauce during the day, and I’ll make the squash and layer up some lasagna after work. Fingers crossed that this turns into something edible!
Back to the journal. For lunch, I brought leftover steak and cauliflower mashed. Ended up that I had about 4 bites of each left in the bowl, so I didn’t eat much. I drank another 2 glasses of water.
I didn’t eat again until trivia at Albert’s, where I ordered my traditional grilled chicken club salad with blue cheese. I haven’t been to trivia for a couple of weeks, and I sure missed this salad. My coworker and trivia team member, Jim, ordered a basket of steak fries. Sigh. I LOVE Albert’s steak fries. I decided to ignore the basket and eat my salad, then see if I was still tempted after eating. By the time I finished, his basket was empty. WHEW!
However, there was also a bucket of Halloween candy on the table. At the very end of the game, temptation overcame me and I ate 2 mini peanut butter cups. I’ll sadly check out the carb count now. . . . .
11 grams
Well, I may not have been knocked out of keto (if I’m even back in, after eating the churros on Sunday). I’ll have to use a keto strip later to find out where I stand.
That was it for the day. Oh wait. I lied. I ate an Adkins coconut bar while watching The Good Wife.
I do have to comment on something I’ve noticed this week: my pants are getting baggy! (and I only recently achieved going down to this size). And my rings are loose. How annoying, NOT! KETO IS GREAT!
Day 286: Sunday at home – tacos
Total weight loss: 41 pounds
We stayed home today. There’s still a bit to do moving out of the sold rental house, but it was a chilly Sunday and we enjoyed taking care of business at home.
Rick and I made separate breakfasts, but ate them together. I grilled some diced onions, added 3 eggs and grated cheese. I microwaved 3 pieces of bacon to go with. The result actually tasted better than a diner breakfast and wasn’t very much trouble to make.
I wasn’t hungry for lunch, and I was busy on the phone chatting with a friend for awhile, then with my son and new daughter-in-law. By the time I was through, it was about 5 pm. I ate some almonds while I worked on some files.
For dinner, we decided to make do with what was left in the fridge. I had a pound of ground round and some low carb tortillas, so I cooked up some tacos, topped with cheese, lettuce and sour cream. They were pretty tasty. It was a big tortilla, so I only ate one.
I had an Adkins chocolate/coconut bar for dessert.
Day 284: Two more pounds (yay!); working towards 50
This week’s weight loss: 2 pounds
Total weight loss: 41 pounds
Wow. I finally hit above the 40 pound mark. Nine more pounds to 50! Keto works.
Yesterday’s food journal:
I was happy it was Friday. We’ve been really busy this week, and I looked forward to the weekend. We went out to breakfast again. I know, it’s pretty extravagant to eat breakfast out each morning, but it’s also a nice, relaxing start to our day. I enjoy my NYT puzzle and Rick reads the paper. I get some “me time” before heading off to work. We also eat pretty cheaply.
Breakfast was the usual: cheese and grilled onion omelet with a side of bacon and topped with sour cream.
Lunch: I sort of skipped lunch. These breakfasts keep me full for a long time. I was working on a deadline project. It needed to be done by 2 pm, so the boss could take it with him on a trip. I had a snack around one o’clock – some chili lime almonds and some small pieces of cheese. By the time I left work at 6, I was famished.
That was something I forgot to blog about – I bought some individually wrapped cheddar cheese portions in a large bag at Costco. I put the whole bag in the fridge at work and always have a low carb snack on hand.
On the way home from work, I decided I’d like to have another of those buffalo grilled chicken salads like I had the day before. Here’s where I found out that I had eaten more carbs on Thursday than I originally thought. Rick wasn’t hungry, so I ordered the salad as a carryout from Big Boy. I ordered the “Buffalo grilled chicken salad” with blue cheese. The server asked, “do you want the grilled chicken or chicken tenders?” Hmm. I did say GRILLED, which is what I had ordered the day before for lunch. I did point out to Rick that the chicken looked like it had some kind of coating, but the menu said it was grilled, so oh well.
Turns out I must have been eating chicken with coating which would have had more carbs. Sigh. I think it would bother me more if I didn’t see the 2 pound weight loss.
Rick built a fire in the yard, and I joined him with a drink made of 3 shots of vodka and some raspberry Sparkling Ice. It was a nice end to a long work week. I also had 2 squares of 70% chocolate with peanut butter.