Category Archives: progress report

Face gains

Before and after keto – about a 50 pound difference since this photo from before I started last time to this one from last month. Lots of weight to lose, but I’m so happy I caught myself before gaining back all I lost on my first round of keto. Can’t wait to see where I am a year from now!

A change in plans – no more daily blogging about keto

If there’s anything I know about myself after all these years, I know I’m obsessive.

I want to stay on the keto plan. I want to eat perfectly every day, and I want to blog about my successes and failures in order to throw myself into this wholeheartedly.

However, I also have a lot on my plate (metaphorically) because I have a day job, a business, and a whole lot of things I want to do: write, continue to explore genealogy, travel, read, finish remodeling the house….

Instead of trying (and failing) to keep this daily food journal, I’m going to blog the highlights, issues, and new recipes or tips that I find in my daily trek through keto-land.

The blog posts may come once a week, once a month, or whenever…but they will keep coming.

As of today, I still haven’t weighed myself (I don’t intend to until I FEEL that a satisfying amount has been lost), but my clothes are getting looser, the belly fat is diminishing, and – best of all – I have tons of energy!

I feel great and I have hope that I can stay on the keto plan until I’m at my goal.

Starting all over again, Day 1

The keto plan was the answer to my weight-loss prayers: I lost approximately 40 pounds in around 6 months. And then I started fooling around…

Well, maybe I’ll have a couple of pieces of toast. How bad could it be?

Boy, that pizza crust looks great. Maybe this one time, I’ll eat the entire piece of pizza, not just the toppings.

Hmm, maybe I’ll eat what I want at this party, then I’ll get back on track starting Monday.

I regained the weight – at least 35 of those pounds straggled back on. So, I started over, and stopped, and regained. And started over, and stopped, and regained.

And…in order to beat myself up a little more, let me remind myself that – not only did I regain all that weight – I also could have been LOSING another 40 (or more) during this same time span! An 80-pound weight loss puts me into “normal” sizes and a happy happy place.

What to do? Go back to the beginning.

Strict keto, journalizing, immerse myself in the topic. I started a keto recipe site last year; keep that up to date. Live, eat, and breath the keto lifestyle. No other choice. It worked before, and it will work again.

product_BuffaloRanch1Day 1:

Breakfast – 2 scrambled eggs, one sausage patty, topped with 2 ounces grated cheddar.

Lunch – mixed greens, 2 ounces grated cheddar, topped with Wishbone Buffalo ranch dressing (2g carbs) and 14 almonds

Dinner – one small squash (cut to resemble fettucini) topped with Rick’s marinara sauce and cheddar cheese (we’re out of mozarella).

Snack – salt and vinegar pork rinds with 2 tbsp french onion chip dip.

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 193: Weight loss success!

Today’s weight loss: 3 1/2 pounds

Today weight loss: 35 pounds

Wow! Today’s weigh in made me very very happy. It isn’t a record in terms of amount lost – I haven’t weighed in 3 weeks, so a pound a week average isn’t really exciting. However, this weight loss is significant in many other respects.

First, nine days ago was the 6th month “anniversary” of starting the keto plan. I haven’t weighed since then, so I didn’t know what my 6-month loss was. Now I know: 35 pounds. That averages to nearly 6 pounds a month, which means that in one year I could be down 70 pounds, a very significant life change – and change in my body, how I feel about myself, how my clothes fit, and how much more healthy I am.

I also had certain weight loss benchmarks in my head, and today I surpassed one. Being down 35 pounds means the plan works, and it works for me. This is the most weight I have lost in years. Low-fat diets, high-fiber diets, just cutting calories, exercising more…all great ideas, but NONE OF THESE worked for me! KETO WORKS!

Yesterday’s eating journal:

I worked at my desk at home all day on the new software going out.

  • Breakfast was yogurt
  • Lunch was leftover sloppy joe from the freezer, no bun, topped with onions, a little cheese, and mustard
  • Dinner was at the local diner – 1/2 flaming cheese appetizer, and  a gyro without the pita
  • Snack – half a hamburger patty from Rick’s leftover patty melt
  • Late night snack – 2 squares of choc/peanut butter

I’m beginning to wonder if the flaming cheese is keto-friendly. Maybe it depends on the restaurant, but yesterday’s cheese looked like it had a bit of breading on it. I’ll have to keep this little treat to a minimum.

Day 151: Weigh-in…nothing to report

Today’s weight loss: 0

Total weight loss: 29 1/2 pounds

While it’s disappointing to see no progress on the scale, I keep seeing the inches coming off. After some crazy carb consumption this week, including the sad state of affairs from last night that I am about to report, zero looks GOOD. At least it’s not in the plus column. I do hope to get past the 30 mark [again] next week, tho.

I started my usual day at work with yogurt, and ate 2 beddar cheddars for lunch. I left work early because we had tons of things to do, then a wine-tasting party to attend at 6.

I knew in advance that I would be drinking wine, and, each glass being 3-4 carbs minimum meant I was basically having a cheat night, and so I did. The eating wasn’t horribly off, although I did have guac and more tortilla chips than I normally would have. The big cheat was the wine. I had 3 gazillion glasses, then switched to rum and Diet Coke, then switched back to wine. In other words, I got smashed!

So, to see no upward movement on the scale after last night’s wine carb binge, plus the evening at Hayden’s, is a good thing. Today, I get back on track!

Day 149: Staying on course and some looser clothing

Total weight loss: 29 1/2 pounds

Yesterday was hump day. I awoke feeling pretty bad about the unplanned carb meal from the night before. Then I put on my pants…they are looser! What is it about this illogical event that happens when I eat carbs? Afterwards, I seem to lose more pounds that week, or my clothes are looser.

Rick says my stomach inflates and stretched out my pants, then the next morning it deflates and the pants are now bigger. Thanks, honey. Except, I don’t put on the same pants on the second day. They are fresh from the laundry.  Nice try, tho!

So, off to work I went, puzzled but happy. I started the day with a low-carb yogurt. For lunch, I had a “blt” – low carb tortilla, 1/2 roma tomato, spinach leaves, and 5 pieces of overcooked bacon (just the way I like it!).

Snack: chili lime almonds

Delayed dinner…when I got home from work, I was dead tired, so I took a 15-minute nap. I’ve been a little more tired this week than usual. I think it may be depression due to my dad’s death. Anyway, I took the nap, then got up and went right to work on our company website. We’ve revamped it and have been about 90% done for months. Life, death, new clients, and home remodeling overtook the project. However, I want to do an advertising mailing, and the postcards are waiting to go out until the new site is up. Time to take the bull by the horns and get ‘er done!

I worked on it for hours. I worked through the hunger, so when I finally uploaded the site, it was about 9:30 and I wasn’t hungry at all! I decided to sit on the deck and have a celebration/relaxation drink. I had vodka on the rocks with a twist of lemon. Never had it before, and I forgot to check the carbs in the juice of one lemon. I’ll do that later today.

After about 1/2 hour, I decided I had better eat. Starvation is not good for weight loss. I found a small portion of leftover Cincinnati chili (when was it from? don’t want to know) put it on top of 1 cup of leftover spaghetti squash, topped it with onions and grated cheese and enjoyed a quick meal. Then I went back to work, checking links on the new site before bedtime.

Oh, and of course, I had 2 squares of 70% chocolate bar topped with natural peanut butter.

Day 130: I hit the 30 pound goal!

Today’s weight loss: 5.5 pounds!

Total weight loss: 31.5 pounds!!!

EUREKA!

Finally! I know it’s probably just me, but 30 pounds finally feels like I’m seeing some real progress. It’s just a numbers game in my head, but I’m pretty happy with today’s weight loss. After working hard to keep under carbs, it’s nice to see some big numbers. Knowing how it’s gone on this journey, however, I may gain a couple of pounds back next week. The up and down trending keeps plodding more downwards, though, and for that, I am thankful.

 

Day 110: Surviving the disappointment

Total weight loss: 20 pounds. Today’s results: +4 pounds
Next weigh-in: Saturday, May 5th

Egad, that was a huge let down…a FOUR POUND gain?

I know it’s all water weight (I can feel it!), but PULEEZ, one bad dinner and a finger-full of donut creme shouldn’t cause that much weight gain!

I’ll keep on keeping on, but knowing I lost 27 pounds was so much more gratifying than a measly 20. Nothing to do but keep going (and drink LOTS more water).

I have to say, I was tempted to just go crazy and have something off plan for breakfast. However, how much off plan can one really go at breakfast? lol

I ate a cheese and onion omelet with a side of bacon and garnished with sour cream. It was really really good. It reminded me of a cheese pierogi. I’ll have to get that again soon.

So, the bad part is, I ate breakfast so late and we became so entrenched on working on the house repairs, that I skipped lunch. I know, this is probably really messing up my metabolism. If anything, the weight gain was from not eating enough regular meals, not from one big blow out.

For dinner, I made Indian Butter chicken. It is a meal that makes me feel like I’m cheating, even when I’m not. It’s just soooo good. Served it over a bed of cauliflower “rice” of course.

I’m just going to keep sticking to this plan. The pants are still loose. What have I got to lose?

Day 62: Birthday party again

Weight loss: 15 pounds; next weigh-in: Sat., Mar 17th

I woke up the day after cheat day with no appetite and a huge stomach. I decided to have a light breakfast, so I ate a low-carb blueberry yogurt.

We attended our granddaughter Danielle’s birthday party at noon. I made some chili/cheese dip to take, but decided to use up the low-fat cream cheese I had on hand, which made it off limits for me. They served Pizza Hut pizzas, so I ate the toppings off of 2 slices.

The cake looked delicious, but I wasn’t really tempted to eat it. The Superman ice cream REALLY didn’t tempt me. LOL

Back home after the party, I worked on Ebay listings until about 8 p.m, at which time I was pretty darned hungry. Rick got out of his sick bed to bicycle up to the store for a chicken and Beddar Cheddar sausages. I ate 2 with mustard.

I hadn’t eaten much all day, so I was still hungry when Rick too his freshly barbecued rotisserie chicken off the grill. I took a small piece of the breast and whipped up some cauliflower mashed potatoes for a second late late dinner. We each had a piece of low-carb fudge afterwards. I was still 5 carbs under for the day.