Hello again, friends!!
I make no excuses for not writing sooner....just apologies. So, let's dispense with the small talk and get right to it.
Many of you have contacted me asking how I do "this Keto thing". You've seen me post on FB about my journey and how I am losing weight and you want "in on it". Let me first be up front and honest with you. I have not gone back and read my previous posts so I may repeat myself, but that's okay. Repetition is a good teacher. I am NOT the guru of Keto. What works for one may not work for another. I have NOT sought a doctor's order and/or approval (nor disapproval for that matter) for my Keto eating lifestyle. And lastly, I am NOT the poster child for Keto OR weight loss. I am simply a woman that stepped on the scale back in December of 2018 and decided that I NEEDED to lose weight.
With that said, I've had MANY friends tell me that I don't need to lose weight. Well, like I've said in one of my previous posts, I just kept putting on weight. I'd stuff a chocolate bar in my mouth and decide that one just wasn't enough....so I'd have another one. I was able to wear clothes that disguised my excess weight but I knew I was heavier than I wanted to be. As of today's date, May 28, 2019 - less than six months since I started this journey - I have lost 19 pounds. I have gone down a size in pants and I FEEL good when I look in the mirror. I don't feel like I'm too skinny or too fat, although, I'd love to lose another 10 pounds.
I know, I said we would dispense with the small talk but I just needed to share that little bit with you. Now, let's get to the meat of the matter here (no pun intended!). I'm just going to break it down for you as to what I have done with this Keto eating (remember---IT IS NOT A DIET---it is HEALTHY EATING).
The first two weeks I was pretty religious with eating a lot of the fatty foods that people are worried about eating. For breakfast I'd have eggs (scrambled or an omelet) with shredded cheese and bacon. LOTS OF BACON. For lunch I'd eat slices of cheese and luncheon meat. For dinner I'd have salads. Salads with some sort of meat....chicken, steak, even fish. NEVER JUST LETTUCE. I mean, I'm not a stinking rabbit! You need SOMETHING substantial. And water, LOTS OF WATER. I even discovered some of those sweetened, bubbly waters like a sparkling water. Dang it. I can't recall the name right now. Anyway, those add a little pizazz to just drinking straight water.
I know, some of you are saying "No way! I can't do that." I'm saying "Yes you CAN!" If this chocoholic can, then you can, too! During those two weeks I DID find my sweets; sweets that were Keto friendly, of course. I just looked up recipes for chocolate....CHOCOLATE ANYTHING! I suppose it's like the smoker or drug addict. I just couldn't give up chocolate cold turkey, duh. I relied on the "Fat Bombs" a lot. They have chia seeds and even coconut in them so not only did I get the needed energy but they filled me up, too. I usually had one before a workout and another one again throughout the day. That recipe is in a previous blog post. Go check it out. I still make those on occasion.
I also discovered chocolate mousse. That wasn't such a good thing. As much as I enjoy chocolate, that just didn't taste good. When I found the peanut butter mousse recipe, well, I fell in love with that!
Anyway, after the first two weeks I saw that I had lost my first five pounds or so. It took about a month to lose my first 10 pounds. HERE'S A LITTLE HINT.....weigh yourself the day before you begin your Keto journey. Then weigh yourself again about two weeks in so you can track your progress. BUT THEN DON'T KEEP WEIGHING YOURSELF, and especially DON'T WEIGH YOURSELF EVERYDAY. I started doing that. Once I saw the weight falling off I got excited and weighed every day. THEN I started saying, "Well, that was easy to lose two pounds so I can eat this junk or that junk and just lose the weight again. EASY PEASY. I can do this." I didn't put the weight back on but nothing was coming off, either. So, it got kind of discouraging. Don't do that to yourself. There were times when I'd eat some ice cream or chips and salsa and weigh myself the next morning and see that I DIDN'T GAIN ANY WEIGHT. That is dangerous because then you trick yourself into thinking it's ok to eat chips and salsa again the next night or the night after that, etc. Then you fall back into the same habits that got you into your overweight, unhealthy situation. DON'T SABOTAGE YOURSELF OR YOUR PROGRESS.
So, after the first two weeks what did I do? I backed off the bacon, for sure. I still eat bacon, just not like I did the first two weeks. I started having Keto shakes for breakfast. I buy my Keto shake powder from Sprouts. It's called Dr. Formulated Keto (I think!). It comes in a red container in vanilla or chocolate. I put ice in my mixer cup, fill it 3/4 with water, add 1 tablespoon of MTC oil (a coconut type of oil) and then top it off with about 1/2 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk. I shake it up and then drink that. It's not a Krispy Kreme donut but it satisfies me.
Then for lunch I would have either more luncheon meat (fresh cut from the deli - I like it better than the prepackaged stuff) with cheese - usually Swiss cheese, or leftovers from last nights dinner.
"Last nights dinner" was baked chicken or pot roast (minus the veggies!) or even steak. We ALWAYS have a salad with dinner. I discovered dinner rolls (see previous blog post) which satisfied my bread cravings. These rolls are sooooo delicious. We also had baked asparagus sprinkled with butter or Parmesan cheese. Sometimes we would have steamed broccoli, too.
After the first two months I had lost 12 pounds-ish but was stuck. Then I read, and heard testimonials from friends, that fasting helps kick start the Keto process. So, as much as we have heard that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" I discovered that THAT isn't as "true" as we have been lead to believe. I'm not telling anyone to stop eating breakfast, of course. I'm just saying, fasting has a way of helping you help your body.
With fasting in mind, NOW I USUALLY fast until about 10:30 AM. Then I eat a string cheese and some luncheon meat as my snack. It is very satisfying TO ME. You may not agree but that's ok. This works for me and it makes ME happy. So, I can't really give you breakfast ideas because I fast more than I don't fast for breakfast. However, I've already posted my pancake recipe which my husband and 18-year old son loves. Make those and you and your family will be happy.
Here's a sample of my up-to-date eating schedule:
Fast until 10:30 (on most days)
If I don't fast then I'll have a Keto shake with the MTC oil (from Sprouts or Costco)
Morning snack - one string cheese wrapped in two pieces of luncheon meat (just regular ham, NOT honey, maple or anything fancy)
Lunch - small portion of fish or meat leftovers from dinner and a salad. Keep in mind, I put tomatoes, cubed mozzarella cheese, sometimes cut up strawberries, sliced salami and other Keto friendly veggies that are low in carbs in my salads. I never eat a boring salad.
Mid day snack - handful of walnuts with some cheese - right now I'm eating those babybel cheese wheel things. I try different cheeses so I don't get bored.
Dinner - any kind of meat, we usually do chicken because it's easiest, salad, asparagus or broccoli, and maybe a Keto friendly dinner roll.
I've found some Atkins/Keto friendly snacks that I am addicted to. The chocolate bars I've fallen in love with are similar to a Baby Ruth candy bar but they have 3 NET CARBS. Okay, we could go into the "net carb" issue but I won't. Basically, if something says there's 15 carbs in it you're supposed to look at the alcohol sugar and protein content and minus it from the TOTAL carbs and that gives you your NET carbs. I DON'T DO THAT ON EVERYTHING. If I did that then I'd end up eating more carbs than is "allowed" in order to lose weight. I just try hard to keep my carb intake below 20. "They say" anything under 20 carbs and you can lose weight, 50 carbs and you can maintain weight and anything over 50 carbs - well, you're gonna gain weight. I don't mess with the "net carb" calculations because it can get easy to overeat on carbs. Haha - I say that but in reality, I DO consider the net carbs ONLY when it pertains to those 'fake' Baby Ruth bars from the Atkins plan. Basically, just watch your carb intake.
When I've told people that I'm eating Keto I've received many different responses. The main one being, "That can't be healthy for you. You're consuming too much fat." I guess you can say I'm on a "modified Keto eating plan." Like I said, the first two weeks I was pretty good and eating the "good" fatty foods. After that, I just changed my old habits into new habits. When we go grocery shopping we don't put graham crackers or chips or cookies into our basket. We don't have a fridge filled with ice cream. Our cabinets don't have boxes of noodles or Top Ramon anymore. Our snacks consist of Cheese Whisps or Atkins bars or other Keto friendly foods. My craving for chocolate has become ALMOST non-existent (thanks to those Atkins bars for filling that void!).
I work out at least four days a week. I'm trying to get AT LEAST seven hours of sleep because sleep is when the body rejuvenates and restores itself. Lack of sleep DOES prevent weight loss and may even contribute to weight GAIN. I also try to never eat past 6 PM.
I've given you a lot of food for thought tonight and I'm sure I haven't even touched on some things you were hoping I would. Please feel free to message me on FB or comment here if you have any questions. I'll find some more recipes for you - like the crust less quiche I made. It was delicious!! There's more to Keto eating or healthy eating than just meat and cheese. It is a way of life that can enrich your life as you become more healthy. Don't give up. Just know when you've reached that plateau that you're NEVER ALONE....I'm just a message and an encouraging word away.
Here's to a happier and healthier you!!
Debbie
