Weekly Weigh-In: Down 5 Pounds!

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A big drop in weight this week! While I haven't measured my ketones, I'm pretty confident I'm in ketosis and am a fat burning mama!

A big drop in weight this week! While I haven’t measured my ketones, I’m pretty confident I’m in ketosis and am a fat burning mama!

While I expected a loss this morning when I stepped on the scale, I was completely shocked that it was that big. At this point in my weight loss journey, I’m lucky if I lose 1/2 a pound in a week. But 5 pounds? Woohoo!

Clearly my decision to move towards a ketogenic diet is paying off. And so are those Julia Child recipes.

My daily caloric intake is about 70-75% fat. Not only do I have more energy than before, but it feels like I can focus a lot easier on my various projects. I suspect I’ve reached ketosis and am now a fat burning machine.

I don’t expect another 5 lbs. drop next Saturday. The big drop just means the scale is finally reflecting the changes in my body measurements. If I can stay in ketosis, I expect more fat loss, just not as large as this week’s.

 

Weekly Weigh-In: Stalled!

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Nothing gained or lost this week, yet I'm OK with that outcome. Turns out my carb counts are way off and things could've been much worse.

Nothing gained or lost this week, yet I’m OK with that outcome. Turns out my carb counts are way off and things would’ve been much worse.

After a nice little drop last week, the scale went back to her old ways. My weight is officially stalled. I’ve been stuck around 185 lbs. since the end of March, and I think I figured out why.

About a week ago I decided to lower my net carbs back down to 20g a day. I’d been eating around 40g-50g a day (or so I thought!) and figured dropping back down to 20g would kick-start the weight loss.

It’s always the little things that screw you up!
The last few days I’ve played detective and took a hard look my food log and the net carb counts of not just my food, but drinks, spices/seasonings, and recipes. Man did I screw up. Everything from my favorite seasonings to rubs to vegetable quantities was off the last few months. Read More

Review: The Big Fat Surprise

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A must read, The Big Fat Surprise is a gripping page turner. A true whodunit when it comes to our bad diet.

A must read, The Big Fat Surprise is a gripping page turner. A true whodunit when it comes to our bad diet.

It’s said the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Turns out our current dietary road started much the same. Nina Teicholz’s thriller, The Big Fat Surprise, is a fascinating page-turner. It exposes how our country embraced a diet that was supposed to save us from heart-disease, but instead led to obesity, diabetes, and a host of other metabolic diseases.

Don’t be scared off by the book’s size (336 pages plus 62 pages of footnotes) — it is a gripping read that lays out a detailed history of how our nation’s nutrition went off the rails. That’s not to say there isn’t any science in the book. There is, and Teicholz makes it easy for the layperson to understand.

There are many moments in the book where you’ll want to bang your head against the wall and shout, “What the hell?!” Many times while reading, my husband heard me raging how we’ve been deceived — sometimes intentionally — by so-called “experts,” politicians, and nutritional busy bodies who swear they only want to help. Read More

Awesome Primal Recipe: Guacamole Stuffed-Burger

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This burger taste so amazing. Suggest you make your own guacamole so you can make it chunky style!

This burger taste so amazing. Suggest you make your own guacamole so you can make it chunky style!

Behold! The Guacamole-Stuffed Southwestern Burger.  It’s a thing of beauty and the first recipe I tried since starting the Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge on May 1. Simple to make, healthy and low carb. And oh so delicious.  I ended up topping mine with some fresh salsa.

21-Day Challenge – Day 4
So far my the challenge is going very well. Like I mentioned before, I have the food down (although it’s always good to reinforce good habits!). This weekend I got in some moderate exercise with long walks. But I’m returning to my spin classes this week, so we’ll see if I can moderate my intensity.

As for the Challenge’s 8-hours of sleep, I’m not doing so bad there. I’m getting in 6-7 hours so far. I do need to stop drinking coffee after lunch so I can get to bed earlier.

It’s the setting aside play time that is alluding me. This weekend the plan was to use our hiking day reseeding our backyard. Yes, I consider working in the yard as play time. You got a problem with that!?!

But after loading and unloading a lot of bags of top soil, my husband pulled a muscle in his back. So my planned play time in the yard didn’t happen.

So now I’m doubling up on play time. Saturday is yard day. Sunday we hit Raven Rocks trail.

 

 

 

Weekly Weigh-In: Lost 1 Pound

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I lost 1 lbs., putting my weight at 186.6. My total weight loss stands at 139 pounds. Time for the final push to lose those last 40 pounds!

I lost 1 lbs., putting my weight at 186.6. My total weight loss stands at 139 pounds. Time for the final push to lose those last 40 pounds!

Wow, nearly a month’s gone by since my last official weigh-in. I never really thought about weighing myself during that time while in Texas. I was just too busy. The good news is that I made more right than wrong food choices during my trip. When I weighed in on Saturday I was down a pound. That tells me I pretty much maintained my weight while visiting mom.

Well now that I’m back home, those maintenance weeks are over. It’s time to get busy working off those last 40 pounds.

Going Primal! 21-Day Challenge Starts May 1

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Starting May 1 I’m taking The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge. Created by Mark Sisson’s of Mark’s Daily Apple (one of my favorite blogs), the challenge is designed to help you make a few foundational changes to how you approach food, exercise and life.

What Can I Eat?
Since I already eat low carb, I’ve got the food part nailed down…for the most part. I’m already eating real food (when it’s on sale!) and avoiding sugar, grains, bad fats, legumes and processed foods.

The Primal Food Pyramid is much different (and healthier!) than the junk pushed by the USDA. Source: Mark's Daily Apple.

The Primal Food Pyramid is much different (and healthier!) than the junk pushed by the USDA. Source: MarksDailyApple.com.

I’m starting to menu plan. My normal meals and snacks are pretty much on target. But Mark’s site has plenty of tasty-looking, low carb recipes I plan to try out during the challenge. Read More

Breakfast At Noon

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Conventional wisdom says you need to eat 3 square meals a day or 6 smallish snacks a day. Wrong! Image courtesy of phasinphoto and FreeDigitalPhoto.net.

Conventional wisdom says you need to eat 3 square meals a day or 6 smallish snacks a day. Wrong! Image courtesy of phasinphoto and FreeDigitalPhoto.net.

My intermittent fast ended nearly a month ago and I find myself missing it. Since Lent ended, I too easily  shifted back to eating 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. Yet, I’m not hungry when I eat. Not good. I’m letting years of bad conventional dieting wisdom (3 square meals, grazing all day, etc.) dictate when I eat. It’s become muscle memory. Ugh!

The fight to eat healthy never ends. Read More

My Fast Is Over; Down 6.2 Lbs.

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During Lent’s 46 days I was on an intermittent fast, eating only between Noon and 10:00 p.m. So how did it go? Surprisingly easy with only a few minor bumps in the road. Easy, because I never felt deprived or starved. I fully expected hunger pangs and headaches for the first few days, but neither happened.

intermittent fast resultsWeight Loss – About 1 Lbs. Per Week
During the 46 days, I lost 6.2 pounds. But if some of you worry I lost the weight because I starved myself, let me assure you that’s not the case. While I don’t track calories, my diary app – My Fitness Pal – does. On average, I consume between 1,200-1,800 calories a day. During my intermittent fast, I averaged 1,200 – 1,650 calories. Well within the range I normally eat. Read More

Weekly Weigh In: Shed 3 Pounds To Close Out Great Week

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I capped off an awesome week with a weight loss of 3 pounds. That pushes me into the 180s! The march to the 170s begins now!

I capped off an awesome week with a weight loss of 3 pounds. That pushes me into the 180s! The march to the 170s begins now!

When I stepped on my doctor’s scale mid-week, I was so happy I entered the 180s. But the next day I started worrying about my weekend weigh-in.  Ah…I hate the fact that damn scale still can do this to me. Since I talked with my doctor about setting a goal weight, I’ve got numbers on my mind. So it is understandable, but I can’t let it dominate (i.e., derail) me.

Anyway, I worried about today’s weigh-in. At 189 pounds I barely snuck into my new weight range. I could easily go back into the 190s if I didn’t keep my focus.

Well thanks to a lot of running, walking (the weather gods were kind to me), and listening to motivational podcasts this week, I kept that focus and tracked everything.  Thanks to that constant vigilance, I did some course correcting before potential problems hit (man, I love cream in my coffee). The result, I lost 3 pounds this week.

At 187 lbs., I am firmly in the 180s now…but don’t intent to stay their very long. My new mini-target is 179 lbs. Why? When my weight reaches 179, that means I’ve lost 45% of my total weight since this journey began. Just 8 more pounds then onto the next mini-target. Yay!

The last time I took an “after” photo, I was 30 pounds heavier. So I think it’s time to take new measurements and a new “after” photo. Nothing takes away the power of the scale like photography and a good old fashion tape measure.

Setting My Final Goal Weight – It’s All About Happiness

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Just had my physical and decided to chat with my doctor about setting a weight loss goal. His answer surprised me. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhoto.net and hyena reality.

Just had my physical and took the opportunity to chat with my doctor about setting a final weight loss goal. His awesome answer surprised me. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhoto.net and hyena reality.

When I went in for my physical in 2014, I weighed 215 pounds. For my 2015 physical I tipped the scales at 189. I’m down 26 pounds in a year. I set a mini-goal of getting under 190 before I met with my doctor for my physical. Needless to say, I had a big smile on my face when I saw that number.

As for sitting down with my doctor, I had one thing on my mind:  finally nailing down my goal weight. What’s a healthy weight for woman my height and age?

But first up, the blood work.

For the 3rd year in a row all my health numbers were awesome. Giving up simple carbs (quick digesting carbs) truly turned my health around. I’m off the blood pressure meds, I’ve lost 136 pounds total, and I’m no longer at risk for type 2 diabetes or dropping from a heart attack.

I’m just super! Read More