Category Archives: progress report
Day 25: Peanut butter pancakes
Lost: 0 Total weight loss: 13.5
No weight loss again – but no gain either. I anticipated bad news because I went over on my carbs yesterday. I guess I worried for nothing. I also finally took my measurements. I keep reading accounts of people who don’t see a loss on the scale, but see a big difference in their measurements. Time will tell.
Yesterday was Saturday, so I had some time to experiment with breakfast. I had found this recipe for pancakes at “thelowcarbrecipes.com” while browsing Pinterest. Thought I’d give them a try. By the way, there are lots and lots of great sites out there to find delicious low-carb recipes that make this diet more of a fun experiment than a hardship.
Mixing the cream cheese with the egg didn’t go perfectly…I ended up with some tiny clumps. The first pancake looked more like a crepe. However, the final 3 looked like the real thing, if a little on the thin side.
The pancakes had a nice texture, and just a tiny bit of peanut butter flavor. After tasting, I tried to think of a syrup substitute. I remembered that my friend, Walter, had turned me onto Polaner jelly, and that I had an unopened jar in the larder (I hadn’t opened it because I couldn’t think of anything to put it on, since I’m not eating toast anymore.)
Two tbsps of jelly on the pancakes, and I was in pancake heaven! I really enjoyed them. I’m not a fan of using 8 of my 20 carbs at the first meal of the day, but it will be a nice weekend treat. I washed them down with almond milk. I switched to the Silk brand when Rick pointed out that it was 0 net carbs, compared to my old brand (which had 1 gram per serving). I may as well conserve carbs when I can.
Lunch was on the run. I was putting down a tile floor at our soon-to-be sold (I hope!) rental income house. I ate my 28-almond ration and about 1/4 cup of leftover alfredo from dinner the night before. Brandon also had me taste a quiche-like recipe that Lindsey had made. Pretty good.
By 8:30 pm, I was done with the tiling for the day, and had just left the hospital, where I was visiting my dad. I was famished and on my way to trivia at Max and Erma’s. I ordered the fajitas, ignored the tortillas and salsa, and had a filling and delicious meal. I’m not sure of the carbs. I put 8 grams in My Fitness Pal, and went over my allowance for the first time in 25 days. Oh well, I don’t feel I cheated, and I needed the protein.
Day 24: Loving those almonds
Lost: 0 Total weight loss: 13.5 pounds
Fridays I work at home, but I had to go into work for a few hours. I began with my usual Rick special: eggs, sausage, Dubliner cheese, and taco sauce.
For lunch at home, I cut up a summer squash and sauteed it in coconut oil and butter, then topped with grated cheese.
The bright spot of the day was when my son let me taste my new fav
orite snack: flavored almonds, in particular the hot habanero almond. I had seen some excited postings on reddit.com/r/keto the night before: a picture of a sale aisle in a store where almonds were 2 cans for 4 dollars. Brandon and Lindsey told me it was Walgreens, and Linz had me taste the honey Dijon flavor next. The habanero almonds are 2 grams of carbs for 28. The honey Dijon are 3 grams for the same amount. Either way, I was sold.
I stopped by Walgreens and got 3 cans. I’ll be back, hopefully, before the sale is over. I counted out 28 almonds into small ziplock bags, so I’m not tempted to overindulge. I ate 56 yesterday.
Dinner was spaghetti squash alfredo, and this time, I added tons of shrimp since there are no carbs. I was at my limit by the end of dinner, so I skipped dessert and drank water the rest of the evening.
Day 23: Hey, chicken shawarma is keto-friendly!
Lost: 1.5 pounds Total weight loss: 13.5 pounds
Today’s weight loss was satisfying, and a nice start to the day. I hoped that it was a sign that today may be a little better than yesterday, when I was busy busy busy, from dawn until dusk.
I had a funeral to attend, so I dropped in work at 8 for the morning meeting, but left by 9:30. I didn’t have time to heat my breakfast at work, so I heated it and ate it in the car on the way to the funeral. It is a nice portable breakfast in a small plastic bowl with a twist top. Who needs McDonald’s breakfast?
There was a nice lunch after the service. It was also my first attempt to eat at a public gathering with a wide selection of forbidden foods. I grabbed a croissant sandwich and removed the croissant, which left me with 2 slices of ham and a slice of cheese. I topped it with a tbsp of mayo. I bypassed the hot pastas, the macaroni salad, the cold pasta salad, the bread…well, you get the idea. There was a bowl of salad greens, so I partook of that with vinegar and oil for a dressing.
I watched Rick enjoy 2 desserts while I sipped my water, but I must admit, it wasn’t difficult. I think the secret to staving off the cravings for carbs is to avoid them entirely.
The afternoon was spent trying to line up a nursing home for my dad, which was a bit stressful. Our truck was still in the transmission shop and we were waiting to hear how many more millions of dollars we’d have to fork over. I guess the $1200 we’d already wasn’t enough to get it fixed right! So, we borrowed Brandon’s car and ran all of our errands. By the time we were done, in the late afternoon, we received a call saying the truck will be ready the next day and cost ZERO dollars more. Yay!
Having not eaten a whole lot for lunch, and after stressing all afternoon, I was pretty hungry by dinner time. Somehow we began talking about a local restaurant that makes really good chicken shawarma. I instantly thought, oh, I can’t have that. Then it hit me: I can! If I avoid the rice and/or pita wrap, all that remains is chicken in a garlicky marinade/sauce made from yogurt, vinegar, garlic, tahini, and spices – with a small pickle that peeks out, as well.
Sooo…I gave Baba’s Kabob and Chicken a call and ordered carryout. It had been a pretty long day and I was exhausted. After dropping by to pick up 4 shawarma wraps and a kibbee (for Rick), I was looking forward to an enjoyable meal in the recliner watching Downton Abbey on the big screen TV.
I picked up my meal from the drive thru (and gave my sales pitch about the importance of them having a Palmerworks-designed website) and hied on home. I was a little disappointed to see how little of the carb-friendly portion remained after removing the extra large pita. It wrapped quite a few times around the shawarma. I denuded 2 and the result was a full plate, if not a very high pile of chicken. I spooned on a little garlic sauce, took my time eating and relished the flavors.
Mmmmmmm…I was quite full by the time I was finished, and I was not disappointed. Baba’s shawarma is the best in town. I admit, it was difficult not eating the pita portion; not because I’m a huge fan of pita bread, but because it was dripping with the delicious sauce from inside. I ripped off a 4×4 piece and added that to my plate. I was still under carb count by the end of the evening.
I forgot to take a picture, but this photo I found online looks about the same before I stripped it down.
Since dinner was around 5, I was hungry for a snack around 8. I took out my Greek God’s yogurt, swirled in 2 tbsps of Smucker’s natural peanut butter, and let myself believe I was eating some type of peanut butter mousse. It was good enough that I convinced myself pretty easily!
Day 22: Three weeks makes a habit
Lost: 0 Total weight loss: 12 pounds
No weight loss today. Maybe I should start weighing once a week so I get see larger numbers and feel that I’ve made more progress. I’ll continue through the one month mark and then possibly switch to weekly weigh-ins.
Yesterday completed 3 weeks on the keto plan. So far, so good. Even on days that I don’t see the scale move, or it moves UP, I really don’t get discouraged. This is an enjoyable way to eat, I have more energy, and my clothes are getting looser. What’s not to love?
I had the usual breakfast at work. The boss brought in pizza for lunch, so I had the toppings off 2 pieces of chicken with veggie pizza. I also had a small salad with oil and vinegar.
We had some errands to run in the afternoon, so I borrowed my son’s car, then I went back to work for awhile. After work, I continued trying to organize my new desk and switched around my filing system. My dad is being moved to a nursing home, so I spend a few hours filling out paperwork and researching some in the area.
Of course, I didn’t really plan dinner, we don’t have a car and the groceries are dwindling away. Fortunately, I had even more leftover taco beef. I think I should make a batch every weekend as my go-to meal in a hurry.
Three tacos on cheese shells and chocolate mousse with 1/4 cup strawberries finished off my day.
Day 21: Ups and downs
Today’s loss: +1 Total weight loss: 11
Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day and it started with a one-pound weight loss. Today, I woke up to find that pound has returned!
I see no reason why I would gain today, so I’m just going to put it down to the vagaries of life, and keep on truckin’.
Last night, I was reflecting upon how this lifestyle change is progressing. It’s really a “livable” plan. I doubt that I will be able to forgo carbs completely for the rest of my life, but I was going over some of my favorite keto recipes in my head, and I’ve enjoyed them all quite a bit. I really liked the Cincinnati chili, tacos in cheese shells, spaghetti squash alfredo… and the fried eggplant was pretty good, too. Most of these recipes taste as good as any of the carb-rich foods I used to enjoy. Some taste even better.
I had Rick’s bacon and sausage special for breakfast. Lunch was leftovers again: Cincinnati chili. After work, I wanted to take a couple of hours to finish assembling my new desk. I hadn’t had any time over the past few days. Before I got started, Rick invited me out to the gazebo in our yard for some “wine time,” but I was reluctant to use up my valuable carbs.
Instead, we looked up vodka – zero carbs. I combine it with Diet Coke, and had a no-carb drink. I only drank one, because some of the sites I found online said your body will burn the drink calories before it will burn the fat. I don’t want anything to delay the fat-burning process.
For an appetizer with the drink, I had some BBQ pork rinds with spinach and artichoke dip. Since I had staved off the hunger pangs for a bit, I went in and finished the desk.
Late dinner (after 9) was two tacos made from leftover taco beef and freshly micro’d provolone shells. Somehow my carbs were all used up by that point (I thought), so I just drank water the rest of the evening. Later, I went over the list again and found that I inadvertently put in a glass of wine. I guess while playing with the alcohol choices to see which were bad choices, I left that glass in my daily count. I ended up going to bed with 4 carbs to spare. I’m sure I’ll make them up another day.
Day 20: A hungry day
Lost: 1 pound Total weight loss: 13 pounds
The weight is steadily dropping, and I must remember to measure myself tomorrow. I’ve been reading that the weight loss may slow down, but that the inches could still keep dropping. If I don’t have a baseline, I won’t know how much I’ve lost. Of course, my clothes feel a bit looser, but it’d still be nice to see some actual numbers.
Monday was a long and hungry day. I was in meetings all morning at work and didn’t get a chance to warm up my breakfast. By 11 I was quite hungry, but I was fortunate to have taken 6 deviled eggs to work with me and I scarfed them down (3 eggs total).
Around 1 pm, I had time to warm up the leftover Cincinnati chili on spaghetti squash. I planned to eat a salad around 4, but didn’t get a chance, and ended up leaving work at 6:30 ravenously hungry.
It was trivia night, and I went straight from work to the bar. Once there, I ordered a big salad with grilled chicken, cheese and onions. I gave away my croutons and cherry tomatoes.
By 10 pm, I was home and hungry again. I had another small bowl of leftover Cincinnati chili and 2 squares of dark chocolate.
It was actually the first day that I was really hungry since I began the keto plan. I guess I need to start the day right with my egg and sausage breakfast and be sure to eat my entire lunch. Snacking on bits of food all day left me dissatisfied and wanting more.
Day 19: Cincinnati chili – another favorite adapts well to the keto plan
Lost: .5 Total weight loss: 12 pounds
Since our truck is back in the transmission shop, Rick and I were stranded at home today, and I think we both enjoyed it very much!
It was a snowy cold Michigan day, and our NY Times was delivered on time, so we each whipped up a breakfast of choice and hung out with the paper over our meals. I chose to make a 2-egg omelet of cheese and a bit of onion. I topped it with sour cream my son and his fiance picked up for us from Calder’s Dairy. Two breakfast sausage patties completed the meal.
I wasn’t hungry for lunch, so I have nothing to report.
Dinner was Cincinnati chili experimentation time. As I reported yesterday, I already made the chili part with a pound of ground turkey. All I needed to do today was cook the spaghetti squash. My son Brandon reported that he had a lot of difficulty cutting and cooking his a couple of weeks ago. The last time I made it (for spaghetti alfredo), I had no difficulty with it at all.
Well, I guess I was just lucky that time. I used the same process (micro’d one minute before cutting) but I could NOT get my knife to easily divide this squash. Perhaps it has to do with the ripeness?
Anyway, after finally severing the squash into about 5 pieces, I put them face down in a dish with 1/2 cup of water. I cooked the squash in the microwave for 6 minutes, then 6 MORE minutes, then 6 MORE minutes. Finally, it was ready to scoop out. I repeated the process with another squash, because I wanted to be sure to have enough to match the huge pot of chili, which would serve us both a few portions in the next couple of days.
While waiting for the second squash to cook, I made deviled eggs out of some eggs I had boiled while breakfast was cooking. I’m starting to get the hang of cooking ahead and making more than one meal item at a time. Rick and I each had an egg while waiting for the second squash.
When the squash was all finished, I made us each a traditional plate of Cincinnati chili: 1st layer – spaghetti (squash); 2nd layer – grated cheese; 3rd layer – chopped onions (just a few for me, carbs you know); and….no 4th layer because beans have too many carbs. I am planning to try black soy beans, but haven’t ordered any yet.
Okay, so it doesn’t look as appetizing on squash as with traditional spaghetti; however, it WAS DELICIOUS! I liked it BETTER than the traditional dish. I think the flavor of the squash blended very well with the rest of the components. This was a hit. And it was very very filling. I couldn’t eat the entire dish, and I can usually plow through one plate and even another small serving. Rick was very full as well. Must be all that great fiber in the squash.
Looking forward to leftovers for lunch and for dinner one day this week, as well.
Day 18: The best tacos I’ve ever had
Lost: 0 Total weight loss: 11.5
Saturday mornings Rick and I like to go to the local diner. It’s our “celebrate the weekend” thing to do. The keto plan works well for breakfast anywhere; as long as there are eggs and sausage or bacon, it’s easy to start the day on plan.
After a breakfast of sausage and cheese omelet, we headed out to do some errands before it was time to pick up my friend at the airport. Jo and I were due at our trivia league finals, and before leaving home, I had an early afternoon meatloaf and cheese (1/2) low carb wrap.
At trivia, I ordered a Caesar salad with some water and lemon. (And our team performed terribly)
Dinner was the highlight meal of the day. I fried some ground beef with taco seasoning and made cheesy taco shells. While I was waiting for the meat to cook, I also threw together a pot of some Cincinnati chili with ground turkey, while I was cooking today’s dinner…I’m trying to get ahead on the meal plans so I have some quick choices when I’m hungry.
When the shells were ready, I put a couple of ounces of taco beef, shredded cheese, onions, and sour cream in each taco. Then I pitted and chopped up an avocado and topped each some of that. The result was the best tacos I’ve eaten in a long time. I’m not sure if it was the cheesy shells, the fact that I used beef instead of my normal ground turkey, or the avocado topping, but they were very very tasty.
I’m still amazed that I can each rich, delicious foods like this and continue to lose weight so quickly. I guess I was “allergic” to carbs? This is by far the easiest diet to adapt to that I’ve come across. At the most, I think I’ve lusted over the idea of some steak fries. Besides that, I’d like to find some type of low-carb bread, but I’m not missing that too much so far.
Day 17: Adapting cheesy meatloaf to lo-carb version
Lost: 1 pound Total weight loss: 11.5 pounds
Yesterday I worked from home – my day job for 8 hours, then my web business for another three. I had an early breakfast of omelet with cheese and sausage, the took a short break for bbq’d pork rinds and a couple of tbsps of artichoke dip for lunch.
Did have time for dinner until I was finished tweaking a web page around 8, but Rick had baked his famous cheesy meatloaf earlier. He adapted the recipe for my keto plan: subbed heavy cream for the milk, used crushed pork rinds instead of bread crumbs, and left off the bbq sauce topping. It was tasty, but not as yummy as his usual recipe. I’m not sure which switched ingredient made it taste more like traditional meatloaf, possibly the lack of bbq sauce. We’ll have to find or make a low carb version to try.
For some reason, I wasn’t too hungry for dinner, so I just had a large slice of the meatloaf with a glass of coconut milk.
I was really under on my daily carbs/fats, etc. I spent the next couple of hours relaxing and watching Downton Abbey while munching on chocolate mousse and dark chocolate squares dipped in natural peanut butter.
Day 16: More uses for pork rinds
Lost: 1 pound Total weight loss: 10.5 pounds
Finally, the numbers continue to drop. LOL. Of course, it’s only been two weeks, so I can’t complain about a 10-pound weight loss. Especially since this has been so easy to accomplish.
Yesterday, I ate the usual breakfast, but deviated from my lunch pattern and had leftover cauliflower and one slice of eggplant.
I had a pre-dinner snack of a cup of Greek yogurt with two tbsps of natural peanut butter stirred in (YUM) because I knew the chicken would take awhile to cook.
For dinner, I decided to try frying chicken strips with pork rind coating. My son, Brandon, had some good luck with it, although he used bacon grease as a frying medium. Since I don’t have any, I used olive oil.
I pulverized one whole bag of rinds in the food processor and used almost all of them. At around $1.80 per bag, that made the entire chicken dinner come to about $5 for both of us, which isn’t bad at all. I think I’ll do as Brandon suggested and process a couple of bags in advance and just keep them on hand in a container to use as breadcrumbs.
The chicken turned out very well. Rick loved it. I thought it was a little bland, so I added Frank’s redhot buffalo sauce and dipped the “wings” in blue cheese dressing. We had the inevitable cauliflower mashed potatoes left over from the night before as an accompaniment.
No dessert tonight. Somehow I went over a little on the carbs. Rick was out of Taco Bell hot sauce and used the verde packet instead. 2 carbs! Who knew? The hot packets are zero carbs each. I also am not sure whether I was actually on track or went over by 4. It depends on which nutritional info I use for the yogurt. I’ll have to investigate the actual package when I have time.