Category Archives: ketogenic diet
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!
Time for a B and A
I’m finally seeing some small results. It’s been 12 weeks since I first weighed in and I’ve lost 21 pounds (still not to my lowest weight after my first round of keto, but getting closer!
Left: Top weight before keto, Right: a month ago.
I’m back on the keto journey. I’ve been IF for a few weeks now: 16/8 and two meals a day. I have not gone over on carbs once in the 14 weeks since I started!
It’s all about planning. I meal prep on weekends, and I plan ahead and prepare when visiting friends. Plus, I’m steadily adding an exercise routine.
I have specific weight goal, just to stay keto for minimum one year – and I’m loving the energy, the clear mind, and the even moods. I also cut my bp meds in half cuz my bp went so low! Keto works!
18 week update = 35 pounds gone!
Well, it was good news and bad news at this follow up doctor visit.
The good news, the challenge was to lose 2 pounds per week and return in 3 months. It’ more like 4 months later due to scheduling issues, but I met the challenge thanks to the ketogenic diet plan!
Yup, in the past 18 weeks I’ve lost 35 pounds. Okay, I’m one pound short of the goal, but neither the doctor nor I care about that. The fact is I’m doing it!
Bad news: the doctor who had earlier told me that weight loss could alleviate the symptoms of atypical adenomal hyperplasia (the reason I was to have a hysterectomy), now says he never told me that. He says I still need the surgery. I plan to seek a second opinion on the matter, but, I’m still very thankful that this whole situation gave me the boost I need to get back on the keto plan.
I’m happier, healthier, and weigh 35 pounds less than I did 18 weeks ago. I rarely crave carbs, never even eat “fake” desserts, and am enjoying fitting in all of my “too-tight” clothing all thanks to keto.
One month update – 16 1/2 pounds gone!
Well, it’s a month since I posted, and first, let me say a big thank you to all of you for the kind thoughts! I’m still going strong and I’m down 16 1/2 pounds. It’s the not quickest I’ve ever lost, but it’s steady and I’ve kept between 20-23 grams of carbs per day – with very few cravings. My clothes are looser, and I keep finding more in my closet that I can wear comfortably now. Bloat gone, more energy – what’s not to love!? (No exercise yet.)
My husband has type 2 diabetes and he decided to join me after a couple of weeks, which has made me really happy (who wants to get healthy only to lose a partner because of CARBS?!). He isn’t strictly keto, but is staying under 80g per day and his sugar went from 224 to an avg of 80-100! I foresee us living/eating this way for the rest of our lives. It’s so much easier doing this as a team than having junk in the house.
Reading reddit keto subgroups daily has been a huge inspiration. I’ve also been reading (listening to) The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person
With the support of my husband, and the delicious recipes (and advice) of fellow keto redditers and this book in my arsenal, I know I can do this!
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.
Day 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.
Trouble in Keto-ville, but good news about cholesterol
My last post was a few months ago. Seems like yesterday. Here’s a rundown of the events (in terms of the keto diet and related issues).
Number one: gained weight back.
Sigh. I had lost nearly 40 pounds by late fall of 2012. I knew I’d NEVER stop eating on the keto plan. Well, I was wrong.
Slowly, over the course of a few months, I binged on carbs, went back on keto, binged on carbs, returned to the plan, binged on carbs…well, you get the idea.
I closed my eyes to the clothes that got a little more snug – as long as I could. I knew I had to weigh in, or risk gaining it all back through poor planning and avoidance issues.
So, instead of ignoring the problem, I actually WATCHED the scale indicator climb. And went back on, and went back off the keto plan.
Last month, I started getting dizzy spells. Great. I figured I yoyo-dieted my way into type 2 diabetes or worse. I am a doctor-avoider, but it was time; ten years with no check up is foolish. I have whatever I have, and I’d better well face it head on.
So, I found a primary care physician and went for an exam and blood tests. He discovered that I have extremely high blood pressure: 180 over 100. This was news to me. Last time I checked, it was 130 over 90. Well, that was quite a while ago.
I’m on meds, and the bp has gone down. I’m still getting dizzy, but I’m going to get an eye exam, since it only seems to happen at work after an hour or so on the computer. Home on weekends=fine. Or it could be stress. Whatever.
Here’s the good news for keto dieters.
I’m often told by “carb eaters” that keto is dangerous. “You eat foods with all that fat? Your cholesterol must be sky high!”
WRONG
My bad cholesterol (LDL) was high; HOWEVER, my GOOD CHOLESTEROL (HDL) WAS SOOOOO HIGH, that the overall report is excellent! The doctor gave me his blessing to continue with the keto plan, suggests I incorporate walking and get back to it. I’m going for a complete physical in about a month. We’ll see if we can conquer this dizziness issue.
I also need to conquer this diet issue. I’ve had a relatively good week. Keto breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A few bad snacks, but mostly it’s been no/low carb eating every day. I CAN DO THIS!
Graphic from http://loveabetes.blogspot.com/2013/02/what-am-i-eating-today.html
Day 8: Finally, a perfect day
And by perfect day, I mean I stayed on plan all day.
We were going to go to the diner, but we were running late, so I opted to throw together a quick omelet and microwaved bacon.
My lunch was a luxury: Rick made me some chicken kabobs (minus skewers) for me to take during the week. He is the most supportive husband a woman could ask for, especially since he actually likes bbw’s (big beautiful women). He knows I want to lose weight, and he does all he can to support me, even going out of his way to think up the plan to make chicken/veggies for my weekday lunch.
So, I reheated the chicken, didn’t have a tortilla as I had planned (too stale), and that was that for lunch.
Snack was almonds.
Dinner was at Albert’s for trivia night. I had the chicken club salad (grilled chicken), and Jim gave me one of his french fries.
Dessert was at home later: an Adkins bar.
Whew. It felt good to be back on track.
Day 4: Macaroni Grill on keto and movie night success
Thursday is date night. We keep our dates economical, and we discovered that Thursday night is a great night to go to Macaroni Grill.
First of all, they have good happy hour deals between 4 and 7 pm nightly. Wine is $3 a glass, and appetizers are 2 for $9. On Thursdays, they also have a deal where you can buy a bottle of wine half off.
Here’s how to handle this while working the keto plan:
- Order bottle of Chianti ($30, half price = $15)
- Order two appetizers that are (hopefully) keto-friendly – peppadew peppers with goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette
- Order husband a $5 sausage pizza
- Ignore bread and oil
- Drink one glass of wine and follow up with multiple glasses of water
Note that BOTH plates of peppers became mine. It was like a $9 gourmet meal.
The total bill is about $30. This is not exactly the cheapest meal one could hope for, but it’s very good for Macaroni Grill, plus half a bottle of wine goes home with us for another night. In our hey dey, we had lots of money to throw around and we would rack up a $100 check at M.Grill, so this seems like a good deal.
As for the movie night success part, see my blog about salt and vinegar almonds here.
Here’s a peppadew pepper recipe. It’s basically the peppers stuffed with goat cheese and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. YUM.
Day 3: Successfully dodging the temptations at work
Yesterday was hump day. I started the day with breakfast at home: scrambled eggs with cheese and a side of bacon.
I decided to start acknowledging the successes in each day:
- There was a workshop going on at work. I circumnavigated the donut and juice table and went to my cubicle.
- On the way to the printer, I passed the Doritos, grabbed my paper and returned to my cubicle.
- After a skype meeting with the boss, I ignored the candybar bowl and grabbed a handful of almonds from the can in my drawer.
WHEW. I made it! I may “fail” quite a bit at staying on plan, but I also succeed several times a day/week/month.
I heated up my Indian butter chicken over cauliflower for lunch.
Once home, around 7pm, I relaxed with my man and a Michelob Ultra 2.5 carb beer. For a snack, I had barbecued pork rinds. I can’t believe it myself. The thought of pork rinds used to make me gag. They weren’t so bad, especially since they are zero carb. I can see this is one of those items I need to buy in bulk from Amazon. In fact, I’m a little disappointed that Amazon no longer offers 3 packs of chili lime almonds. I can only order one pack as an add-on to any $25 order. Bring back the cheap 3-packs, Amazon! I need my daily almonds.
For dinner, I heated a Costco pot roast and made 2 or 3 days’ worth of cauliflower mashed potatoes. It’s good to be prepared!
Rick and I have started watching old episodes of the Twilight Zone on Hulu. We each had an Adkins coconut bar.
Good info about ketogenic diet with food list, menus, and advice
Found an inspiring blog with some solid keto diet advice. I especially agree with this:
One of the most effective tricks during a diet is routine. Eat the same meals over and over or plan your meals ahead for the whole week. I’ve found it effective to pre-make dishes on Sunday and have them ready for the week. That makes it incredibly easy to stick to the diet because I avoid thinking which means I avoid creativity and creativity requires decision making which leads to hard choices. Just avoid the hard choices and have it all planned and some of it ready to grab and go.
The Basic Keto Diet, a page on Mike Maunder’s blog, has about everything you need to understand the ketogenic diet principle, plus a list of foods and menu plans. It’s thorough and inspiring.
