Category Archives: Mama Lupe’s low carb tortillas
Day 303: Home-made chicken salad
Total weight loss: 41 1/2 pounds
We went to the diner for breakfast, again. I had the usual grilled onion and cheese omelet with bacon.
For lunch at work, I went back to an old stand by. I love Mexican food, and I concocted a simple yummy and quick lunch. Two low carb tortillas (3g each), a handful of shredded cheese in each. This time, I also added 3 dollops of cream cheese, just for the heck of it. I microwaved them (open) for about 1 minute and a half, then added a few sliced jalapeno peppers to each and ate with a sour cream garnish. For some reason, I don’t like the peppers as well when cooked inside the tortilla, so I add them last. Quick, a bit spicy, and low carb. Yum.
I worked late and I was famished, but I didn’t feel like cooking. We passed fast food places and restaurants on the way home, but nothing appealed to me. I really didn’t want a sit-down restaurant meal, but I didn’t want a processed fast food meal, either. As we passed Big Boy, I was tempted to order a buffalo chicken salad to go, then realized that I had all the ingredients at home, and the only cooking required was the chicken tenders. I decided to give it a go.
I thawed a few chicken tenders in hot water, then sauteed them in oil until cooked, then sliced it into smaller pieces. I had one of those big plastic bowls of mixed greens that Costco sells, so I tossed some of that into a bowl, topped with chopped onions and chicken, drizzled buffalo hot sauce on top, then ate the salad with a side of blue cheese dressing. Oh, and I had no crumbled blue cheese, so I used feta instead. It was as delicious – or more – than the restaurant version!
It seems to get easier and easier to come up with quick keto-friendly dishes. I guess when you do something for nearly a year (!), you learn lots of tricks. There is no need to pay $8 or more for the carryout version when this recipe is so easy.
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 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”??
Day 116: Small meals and not much appetite
Today’s weight loss: 3 pounds Total weight loss: 23.5
Well, it appears I’m going in the right direction again. I’m not as excited about a 3 pound loss when it’s the same pounds the second time around. I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth. If I lose another 4 pounds, I’ll be at my lowest weight since starting keto. Hope next week’s numbers are just as good.
Some Fridays I work at home. Other Fridays I only have a few hours to work. Yesterday was a short day.
I had yogurt for breakfast, but didn’t have any lunch. I got off work at 1:15 and headed over to the nursing home to see my dad. I’m trying to switch up when I go to visit in hopes that he’ll be awake and aware.
He was. I buzzed his hair with an electric clipper and he fell asleep. LOL
We headed home, and I made a lunch of some Mama Lupe’s tortillas filled with Monday’s leftover chicken. I topped it with grated cheese and sour cream. It was dull.
I wasn’t hungry for dinner, so I drank a couple of glasses of water and had some cheese.
Later, ate a handful of almonds, then had a container of one of the delicious new low carb yogurt flavors from Kroger: banana cream pie. It was really good and hit the spot.
Day 81: Weigh day – bleck
Lost to date: 21.5 pounds. Today’s weight loss: ZERO
Oh well, I was kind of prepared for this zero loss since this journey has been so erratic. I have decided to have a cheat day. Whether today or tomorrow remains to be seen.
I started out yesterday with another looming deadline at work, but I took a few minutes to heat/eat my eggs and sausage breakfast.
The progress at work was slow, and I didn’t get to lunch until 3:30. To assuage my hunger, I had a quick almond snack around 1.
When I finally went to lunch, Rick and I popped in for a quick bite at Wendy’s. I had the grilled chicken sandwich and ditched the bun. It was just okay. The chicken was plump, but it didn’t have a lot of flavor.
For dinner, I was perplexed. I worked lots of over time and was already nearing a 50-hour week by the time I left work. I was tired and hungry, and still needed to do a little paperwork for Palmerworks before the end of the day. I quickly took care of that, then made 2 cheese quesadillas with Mama Lupe tortillas. I only ate one and a half.
Dessert was chocolate mousse.
Day 78: Yummy chicken tacos
Total weight loss: 21.5 pounds Next weigh-in: Sat., March 31st
I finally started the day with breakfast. I made time to heat yesterday’s uneaten eggs and sausage.
Rick and I went out for lunch again. I’ve really enjoyed taking an hour and leaving work to hang out with Rick. All of these young friends of mine that have died recently have made an impact on many of my decisions. I used to work 10 hours and eat at my desk while working. Now I say the heck with that and I leave for an enjoyable lunch with my husband.
We went to the local diner and I ordered the jalapeno chicken club. I just told the waitress to keep the bun and I enjoyed a large grilled chicken breast topped with bacon, jalapeno cheese, and tomato.
Eating a full breakfast and healthy lunch left me with no need for a snack during the afternoon. I was pretty hungry by 6 p.m., but before going home, we stopped by to visit my dad. He’s not looking very good, and obviously wanted to sleep, so we didn’t stay long.
My new bicycle seat was delivered today, so Rick helped me mount it to my bike, and I took a quick ride. It felt much better than my old seat, and I look forward to getting some exercise when it warms up a little outside.
By the time we were done, it was nearly 8 p.m. I chopped up some leftover chicken and filled 3 Mama Lupe’s shells with the chicken, onions, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. The tacos were really really good and a quick, nutritious dinner. I skipped dessert and was well under on my carb count.
Day 71: Taking stock of the past 10 weeks
Weight loss: 17.5 pounds; next weigh day: Sat., Mar 24th
I realized last night that I’m really getting the hang of this low-carb diet. It was around 10 pm, and I was done eating for the day. It occurred to me that I hadn’t entered any of my meals into the myfitnesspal.com website. I usually do it as the day progresses, so I can evaluate how many grams of carbs I have left.
I entered all the meals for the day at once, and, lo and behold, I was just about spot on for a carb count. I guess I can estimate what I’m eating pretty well at this point. More than two months into the plan, I think I’ve got it!
It also occurred to me that it’s been a very long time since I…
- Ate between meals
- Had cake, cookies, pies, or donuts
- Ate bread, bagels, buns
- Ate ice cream
- Ate pasta
- Had pizza with crust or french fries
It’s been 71 days, in fact.
I’ve found a nice pancake substitute, low carb tortillas, and pasta, rice, and potato substitutes (usually consisting of cauliflower). I’ve eaten a couple of squares of 70% chocolate. I’ve also had maybe 4 slices of low-carb bread.
This is definitely an big life change for me. And it has not been difficult at all, in terms of cravings. It has been more difficult to saunter into any restaurant or deli and easily order a meal. It takes some calculations and substitutions, but it isn’t too onerous.
And, as usual, I have to give a big shout out to Rick, who is keeping the house stocked with low-carb food items, cooking lots of burgers and chicken, and meeting me for lunches that help take the monotony out of having a salad at work every day.
Back to the food diary:
Yesterday began with eggs/sausage.
I skipped lunch AGAIN. The work deadlines keep me so busy (and I’m so OCD) that I forget to eat. I grabbed a handful of almonds at noon.
When I got home from work at 6:30, I ate the tops off of two leftover pieces of Albert’s pizza. I threw some eggs on the stove to boil, and headed to my office to work on web company issues. Then I needed to work on Dad’s affairs, again. I didn’t finish until 9 pm. I grabbed a vodka and Diet Coke and met Rick out on the deck.
While I was in my office, Rick barbecued some chicken. I cut up a couple of ounces and put it in 2 Mama Lupe’s tortillas with some cheese, salsa, and onion. They were great!
Oh, and I quickly peeled the hardboiled eggs and made up a dozen deviled eggs so I’d have snacks on hand. I ate about 4 of those as a pseudo dessert.
Day 60: Bad weigh-in; time for a cheat day!
Today’s weight loss: PLUS TWO – ACK; total weight loss: 15 pounds
Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that! I’ve been carefully counting my carbs and I’ve been under all week. My clothes are getting looser and I feel great. Why oh why did I GAIN?
I was actually UNDER carbs by about 6 yesterday, and probably didn’t drink enough water. I’ve been reading up on reasons for weight gain in keto, and I’ve found a lot about the importance of eating enough fat, avoiding being UNDER carb count, and drinking more water. I think it’s time for a re-set and a better effort.
I’ve been avoiding it, but it’s time: I’m going on a cheat day today to see if I can get my metabolism moving. I’m also going to be sure to eat enough and drink more water in the coming week. If I’m going to work the keto plan, I need to do it right. On other diets, not eating as much as the allotted amount may work, but that hinders progress on keto (or so I’ve been reading, anyway).
Yesterday started with my usual breakfast. For lunch, we met George and Beccy at the Twisted Rooster. I ordered the Diablo burger, which was topped with pepper jack cheese, jalapeno bacon, hay stack onions, and a chipotle aioli. I removed the onions because they were breaded, and most of my sauce was stuck to them, so I asked for a small dish with more. I HOPE this aioli didn’t have any weird ingredients of sweeteners, but there was no way to find out. And, of course, I removed the bun, as well, and gave Rick my fries.
The burger was good. the jalapeno bacon added quite a bit of flavor. After the bun and onions were removed, it didn’t look like much of a meal for $8, but it was quite filling – almost like eating a steak.
The bad part about a meal like this is the unknown quantity of ingredients that will mess up my carb counth. Was the spicy burger filled with any kind of high-carb ingredient? What about the jalapeno bacon? Sounds safe, because bacon is a-okay, but who knows if there is some kind of hidden carb in it? I think I’m going to lay off the unknown menu items for a bit and stick to eating at home for the next week, where I know exactly what I’m eating.
Later in the afternoon, I was working on websites and had a handful of almonds and a dish of sugar free jello. Rick felt a cold coming on and took a nap. Around 8 pm, we were both hungry, so I made a late dinner of quesadillas using Mama Lupe’s tortillas.
They turned out very well, and I was well under 20 grams of carbs for the daily count.
Day 59: More of the same
Weight loss: 17 lbs; next weigh-in: tomorrow
Yesterday began with eggs at work. For lunch, I heated leftover taco meat and assembled 2 tacos in Mama Lupe tortillas. They made for a delicious and filling meal.
I left work at a reasonable hour and had an early dinner. I used the spaghetti squash I had prepared earlier in the week as a base for Cincinnati chili. It was just okay. I think something happens to the texture/flavor of squash after a few days in the fridge.
We were out of cocoa, so I made sugar-free lime jello with cream cheese mixed in for dessert.
Day 54: Delicious low carb tortillas and surviving a birthday party
Weight loss to date: 17 pounds; next weigh-in: Saturday, March 10th
Yesterday was Saturday. We decided to eat breakfast at home. I started playing around on the computer, and by the time I made myself breakfast, it was actually brunch. I decided I get enough eggs during the week, so I cooked some “Beddar Cheddar” sausages. They were meaty and moist, and I ate a handful of almonds as a side dish.
We spent the day cleaning for our granddaughter’s birthday party. I enjoy having parties, just because it means I’ll clean the house from top to bottom — then get to enjoy how great it looks for a couple of days.
I didn’t get a chance to have lunch, and I didn’t want to waste the pizza the kids were eating by tearing off the top, so I heated up some taco meat and tried the new Mama Lupe’s tortillas I received from Netrition.com. They were really good and only 3 net carbs each.
Next was cake and ice cream time. My step-daughter Cindy made some beautiful fondant cakes and it was hard to resist. When everyone was busy filling their pieholes with rich cake and creamy ice cream, I whipped up some low-carb chocolate mousse. Of course, the adults wanted some of that, as well, so I made a huge batch. I only ate one portion, and it took away the craving for all that carb-laden dessert around me. I had a portion left over, so I froze it to see if it turns out like ice creams. Fingers crossed.
After everyone left, I sat down to watch some TV and was a bit hungry. The only problem was that my carb count was at the max for the day. I poured a big glass of zero carb almond milk, and that hit the spot.