Category Archives: Almonds on keto
Day 282: Back in the saddle again
Total weight loss: 39 pounds
Well, I’m getting back in the swing of things. Here’s yesterday’s recap:
Breakfast – Rick and I went out to a diner! Yes, mid-week, which is highly unusual. We’ve been under a lot of pressure selling our rental house, money leaving our pockets faster than we can make it, working on a few client sites all at once, and then both of us got the flu. usually, I go to bed late, wake up late and shower and fly out the door. On Wednesday morning, I just wanted to relax a bit before rushing off to work.
We went to a diner we hadn’t tried before. The only omelet choices had hash browns and toast with them. They also only had cheese, and I wanted to add grilled onions. I am NOT a morning person, and I had a difficult time conveying what I wanted. The cheese omelet special, add grilled onions. Hash browns also with onions, but to-go (for Rick’s next breakfast). No toast. Side of crispy bacon. This really perplexed the waitress.
My meal came: a huge plate of cheese and onion omelet, with a giant portion of hash browns and toast and a side of bacon (that was “middling” crispy). SIGH. I ignored the hash browns and toast, and enjoyed the omelet and bacon.
We probably won’t go back. There weren’t a lot of patrons, which is a sign that it isn’t a real popular breakfast spot. It seemed pricy and didn’t have a lot of options. However, my NYT crossword was completely finished in a half hour and I was relaxed and ready to greet the day.
We had some running around and paperwork to attend to on lunch, so I had lunch out, too. This time, we went to Bigg Burger. You know, I’m not a real meat eater, but when you order a burger and the bun is gone, there isn’t much left on the plate. I was really really hungry (breakfast was at 7:30, and by now it was 2:30!). I ordered a TRIPLE cheeseburger, no bun. They have lots of free toppings to choose from, so I chose mayo, grilled onions, and grilled mushrooms. They served up a great-looking presentation and I was really full when done. (where’s the picture? I AM out of the blogging habit – I forgot!). Here’s a simulated picture. LOL. Wait, you KNOW I didn’t eat that bun!
Since I took a long lunch, I didn’t get home from work until late. I was barely hungry after the “pounds” of meat I consumed at lunch, and also didn’t feel like cooking. I grabbed 4 thin sliced pieces of ham, put about 1 tbsp of cream cheese in the center of each and rolled them up. I tossed some chili lime almonds on the plate and called it a meal.
For dessert, I had 2 squares of 70% chocolate with Smucker’s natural peanut butter on top.
Day 192: Pizza lunch and some new lo-carb Indian food
Total weight loss: 31 1/2 pounds
Yesterday the entire work force got together for an emergency “fire” meeting at my boss’s house. On the way, I downed a quick low-carb yogurt and drank lots of water (I always seem to forget the importance of that).
At lunch, we were served some delicious pizza and salad. Oh yes, I forgot I DID have 2 mini donettes for a snack. It was not a good choice, but it was way way better than eating all the other bad choices that were being offered.
Back to the pizza. It was a chicken, pepper, very low sauce type, not sure what it was, but it was very good and the toppings were thick. I didn’t feel deprived not eating the crust.
I also had a small salad with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. It was 7 grams of carbs per tbsp, so I ate very little.
After the meeting, Rick picked me up and was feeling poorly. He had a really high temperature. We headed home, where I had an almond snack and worked a bit. It sure is nice not rushing over to work on the rental house.
For dinner, I had 2 beddar cheddars and some of the leftovers from Rick’s meal. He made basmati rice (which I skipped), and tried a new kind of Indian food that was very low carb. It was Passage to India brand, Korma simmer sauce, and it was very good, even all by itself in my little bowl.
Dessert was the usual fake peanut butter cup.
Day 191: Back in the keto routine
Total weight loss: 31 1/2 pounds
Well, I’m officially back in the routine. I ate no carbs yesterday, and I admit, it was a bit difficult staying true to the diet.
We’re in the midst of the house showing, with some competing bids, and a lot of stress. I worked at home again, and there’s a bit of stress there, too, since the building we work in is smoked damaged and we’re winging it as best we can. The stress, a headache, and being a bit exhausted by too much life, left me tempted to have some comfort food a few times. And by comfort food, you know I mean carbs.
But I didn’t succumb to temptation.
I ate yogurt for breakfast, almonds for snack, and beddar cheddars for lunch – no bun.
For dinner, I chopped up some leftover grilled chicken, put it on a low carb wrap, and added salsa, onion, and sour cream. I followed it with 70% chocolate and peanut butter dessert.
I’m BAAACK on track!
Day 172: Small weight loss is better than a gain
Today’s weight loss: 1/2 pound
Total weight loss: 31 1/2 pounds
Not thrilled, but still happy to be maintaining and losing size. I decided to have a cheat meal today and, hopefully, kick the weight loss up a notch.
Yesterday was Friday. I had a yogurt for breakfast and almonds for snack.
Rick came by and took me to the My Place Diner. I once again ordered a flaming cheese and a single coney dog without bun. It was a nice afternoon break. I usually worked through lunch at my desk, but I’ve decided to get out more often, because I come back refreshed and ready to get back to work, especially now that I eat low-carb lunches. Back in the day, I would eat something heavy and carb-laden and want an afternoon nap afterwards. Keto has changed all that.
We decided to skip working on the house. It was a beautiful, hot hot day, and I wanted to get to the pool. I quickly threw together some Indian butter chicken and popped it into the microwave. There is nothing easier! Water, butter, a packet and some quickly thawed chicken tenders chopped into bite-size pieces. Nuke for 22 minutes on half power, and voila!
While the chicken was cooking, I shredded half a head of cauliflower in the food processor. When the chicken was done, I put the cauliflower in for 5 minutes. Then I popped out to the pool.
A few hours later, I was soggy and happy. I joined Rick on the deck and drank two bottles of Michelob Ultra – 2.6 carbs each, then warmed up my Indian meal.
It was a perfect keto meal and great end to the day. Dessert was 2 squares of 70% chocolate with natural peanut butter.
Day 171: More swimming and more pizza
Total weight loss: 31 pounds
Breakfast: yogurt
Snack: almonds
Lunch: Beddar Cheddars
Dinner: Shawarma pizza after a delightful swim.
Both sides of the family came out to the pool yesterday. Was the temperature about 100 degrees? I think so!
Cindy and Tara brought 4 kids. Marsha and Todd brought three teenagers. The backyard was a happy oasis.
The adults were drinking high-carb pina coladas. Boy, those drinks DID look good! Marsha brought tortilla chips and black bean dip. The dip was only 2 grams of carbs per 2 tbsps. I abstained from the drinks, but laid back in my pool float drinking my 2.6 carb Ultra beer. I planned to try the dip, but I never got out of the pool!
High points of the day: skipped the pina colatas
Low point: I did eat the crust on my pizza, again. I think I may be able to blame this on the steroids I’ve been taking since Tuesday. I’m just a bit hungrier than usual.
Dessert was 2 squares of melted 70 percent chocolate with peanut butter and a big glass of water.
Day 165: Wow! A huge weight loss!
Today’s weight loss: 5 1/2 POUNDS!
Total weight loss: 31 pounds
Wow. Getting back on track works like a charm! I stayed under on my carbs ALMOST every meal. I said “no” to a lot that I was tempted to eat, and I got a few laps in the pool. I knew my clothes were getting looser, so maybe some of last week’s weigh in debacle was water weight or something.
Yesterday was Friday and I didn’t realize I had no more yogurt left in the fridge at work. I substituted with some almonds and water. YUM
Lunch was a nice outing on a sunny day. We headed to a new coney place and I ordered two coney dogs with no bun. All totaled, the bill only came to $8 with Rick having a coney, fries, and soup. We’ll be back!
I wanted to swim before dinner, but I was pretty hungry. We decided to skip paying $40 to $50 at US12, where we often celebrate the end of the work week. I usually get 3-4 drinks, Rick gets 3-4 beers, and we have steak bites, plus whatever Rick orders. I really like sitting out in the sun and watching the traffic go by, and I especially like not being at home where I can see all the things I haven’t done. LOL. It’s a plus that someone waits on us, too. HOWEVER, we went to the grocery store and picked up some low carb snack items, and I knew I had some zero carb bread at home. Oh, and I also found some 2.6 carb beer. I’m not a huge beer drinker, but summer brings out a little craving for a beer once in a while.
Once home, I jumped into my bathing suit and quickly assembled a low carb appetizer platter. I cut several pieces of the disappointing, tasteless bread into small squares and topped them with sliced tomato, and mozarella cheese. I drizzled the plate with balsamic vinegar. Then I put the rest of the squares into a bowl with 2 side dipping dishes: avocado spinach dip and spinach hummus.
I grabbed a low carb beer and headed out to join Rick on the deck. It was very very nice (and MUCH cheaper!). The added bonus was jumping into the pool when we were done eating the appies.
The grandkids came by for a swim. After they left, I was tired and hungry. I heated up a cup of taco meat, topped it with cheese, sour cream, onions and jalapenos. YUM. Dessert was 2 squares of 70% chocolate and peanut butter.
Day 161: Totally on track and some disappointing no carb bread
Total weight loss: 25 1/2 pounds
Monday morning started out with low carb yogurt. For lunch I made a bacon, spinach, and tomato on zero carb bread. The bread is really disappointing. I think I liked it just as well in a bowl last week.
I ate some almonds for a snack, since I knew I wouldn’t be eating dinner til around 7:30 at trivia.
At Albert’s, I ate the grilled chicken club salad with blue cheese. The dinner was delicious. The trivia score was not so great.
For dessert, I had a zero carb cookie. I’ll probably order these again, because they’re a nice conservative treat. I probably should investigate the ingredients, because who knows what I’m eating that makes them taste okay at zero carbs.
Day 158: The Greektown buffet and some exciting no-carb purchases
Total weight loss: 29 1/2 pounds
Friday started out with yogurt, then 2 servings of almonds for an early morning snack.
I had fulfilled my 40 hours by 1:30 pm, and Rick and I were going downtown to record my dad’s death certificate. He loves the buffet at the Greektown Casino, and wanted me to try it.
We were done with our errands by 2:30, and headed over to the buffet. I was underwhelmed. The food was just okay, but my attitude was probably spoiled because I decided to have a cheat meal and that always leaves me feeling overly full, tired, and lacking motivation. By my old eating standards, my cheat meals are saintly: I had a piece of pizza, a bit of chicken with sweet/sour sauce on rice, and some lasagna. (That is probably only the second time since I started the keto plan that I consumed pasta!)
I also had a dessert: a piece of pecan pie and a tartlet. And then I CRASHED. I honestly didn’t think I could walk back to the parking garage without falling over asleep. The food wasn’t all that tasty and once again, I had regrets for going off the plan.
I skipped dinner entirely. I was full, bloated and done eating for the day…or so I thought. Rick started reminiscing about the bacon wrapped hotdogs we used to get at the diner when we were teens (separately… we didn’t know each other that long ago). Around 10 pm, I decided to take some of my already-cooked bacon and wrap it around 2 hot dogs. I nuked them, topped with cheese and onions, and had a late night snack. I followed the dogs with a no-carb cookie from the food order that was waiting for me on the porch when we got back from the casino. The cookie was just okay, but it will be a nice option if I’m ever desperate for a cookie.
Day 157: Oops…a margarita foils my day
Total weight loss: 29 1/2 pounds
The day started off well enough, yogurt for breakfast, almonds for a snack.
For lunch, I had a warmed up KFC breast* [please see this comment] and decided it wasn’t enough. (I told you, I’ve been hungrier than usual lately. I decided to have another of my patented BLS on a tortilla. Oops, however, I forgot to bring the tortillas to work. Sigh, okay, I have now invented a different version of the bacon, lettuce, and spinach. This one is in a bowl. And it’s MUCH healthier than a KFC bowl!
I forgot to mention that I made up a pan of “baked bacon” earlier in the week, so I’ve had plenty on hand when I need it.
Thursday night is family trivia night. We play at different bars each week, and this week we were going to play at 9 pm at Applebee’s. I knew I would be starving by 9, since lunch was at 1 pm. After work, Rick and I went to US 12 for some drinks and appetizers. I had Absolut and Diet Coke with steak bites….doing great on the carbs so far.
Then I went to Applebee’s. They have this special omn Margarita’s. I said, no. Then I watched my niece Marsha drinking hers and it looked soooo good. I ordered one, then, instead of a healthy choice, I ordered the cheesy artichoke dip with chips. It wasn’t great. Why oh why do I never learn? If I’m going to cheat on carbs, I should plan it carefully and not waste my time eating something that is less that heavenly. All in all, the margarita was good; the appetizer wasn’t great. I wish I had just stuck to fajitas and water like I did the week before.
Day 156: Jar vs. home made, no comparison
Total weight loss: 29 1/2 pounds
Yesterday was hump day. Started out with a yogurt. Then I had some almonds for a midmorning snack. I’ve been pretty hungry lately, and I don’t know why, but the yogurt isn’t keeping me full until lunch anymore.
I have been sadly lacking in water consumption. I do have to come up with a plan that will help me remember to drink more water. I’ve read tricks, like drink an 8-ounce glass before each meal, plus one when you rise in the morning and another at bedtime. I am just so OC that I get totally involved at whatever project I’m working on and I forget to get a glass of water now and then. It’s a goal to strive for, because I know I lose more weight on weeks where I drink a sufficient amount.
Rick took me out to lunch. I had two coney dogs with cheese and no buns. They were good, plus it’s always nice to take a midday break from my cubicle on a sunny day.
Ah, dinner. It was quite disappointing.
I had leftover spaghetti squash, so I decided to try the new jar of Ragu alfredo sauce in a jar I picked up last week. It’s low carb, and I enjoyed the spaghetti squash alfredo I made at home, so I thought it would be a great option for a night when I was too busy to cook.
I was wrong. It tasted like bleck. It had a sort of “processed” taste, chemical-flavored? It was also very bland. I’m sure I could add some garlic or spices to the remainder of the jar and try again, but the whole meal turned me off. The net result was that I was full, I had eaten under my carb limit, but I was very dissatisfied with the meal. I like spicy food, and it just had no flavor.