If you’re participating in the Fall Low Carb Challenge, it’s time for the 10-Week Weigh-In! 🙂
You can leave a comment here if you’re not on Facebook, otherwise the Week Ten Weigh-In Thread is inside our private Facebook Group.
You can join the challenge anytime, so join in now to get a head start on the next challenge!;)
In my last food diary, I shared all of my low carb meals for Wednesday and Thursday. Here is what I’ve eaten since then, starting on Friday – which was a delicious keto date night! 🙂
Friday’s Low Carb Meals
For breakfast I was out, so I grabbed “3 sausage patties and 3 round fried eggs, please” from McDonald’s. That meal is 4 carbs.
Then for lunch I had Chunky Musli Low Carb Cereal mixed with Daisy brand cottage cheese – which makes a delicious meal!
I met Aaron for dinner on Friday night, and we went to one of our favorite little places: Main Street Brick Oven on the square in Manchester, TN.
I had a big juicy ribeye, which was supposed to be 12 ounces but they definitely cut it a little large!
I had two green sides with my dinner. The steamed broccoli above, and also a sauteed spinach with pine nuts:
There was no way I could finish all of that in one sitting! Besides, I was busy enjoying the company and conversation. 🙂 I ate about 1/3 of the steak and most of the spinach and brought the rest home to enjoy later.
Saturday’s Low Carb Meals
I had to work on Saturday and also run some errands (I work from home), so I ended up just grabbing low carb convenience foods as I went through the day.
Breakfast was a big chewy Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookie from Know Foods. 🙂
Lunch was a plain lettuce-wrapped Thickburger from Hardee’s while I was out.
For dinner I had that horrible Real Good Pizza 😛 with a side salad, then a delicious low carb candy later made with a ChocZero Dipping Cup and salted almonds. Yum!
Sunday’s Low Carb Meals
On Sunday morning I was ready for some REAL food, so I cracked three eggs and heated up 3 ounces of my leftover ribeye steak and what was left of my sauteed spinach:
For lunch I finished the last of the steak, plus the steamed broccoli:
Sunday night Aaron and I went out to dinner again, and we decided to try something different. There isn’t much to choose from between our two small towns lol – so we ended up at Mings Chinese Buffet.
Specifically for the hibachi grill. I got shrimp, chicken & mushrooms cooked on the grill with “soy sauce only, please.”
I got a few other things off the buffet too like broccoli in mayo, dilled cucumber slices, a meat stick thingy (?) some of which seemed sketchy and tasted a little sweet.
Then Aaron and I indulged in the baked crab, which was definitely imitation crab and higher carb, so between that and the who-knows-what ingredients in the other foods… we ended up curled up on the couch watching a movie for the next two hours. 😛
That’s the first time I’ve seen my couch OR my tv screen in months – longer than I can remember, lol. Ugh!
(Tip: stick with hibachi, where you know exactly what’s on your plate!)
Monday’s Low Carb Meals
Monday was a very full work day, and I had to hit the ground running early that morning – so I grabbed the last D’s Naturals protein bar and some almonds to eat at my desk.
Aaron brought me those to try, and two out of three of them were awful – very chalky, this one included. The peanut butter chocolate chip flavor was decent.
D’s Naturals is coming out with something NEW though, and they sent me a complimentary box to try & review for you.:)
After that (yucky) bar for breakfast, I was craving some “real food” – something hot. I decided to make a super quick low carb pasta dish using the Great Low Carb Penne Pasta.
I like these pastas. You can see my other low carb pasta dishes, plus my delicious low carb meatballs recipe at that link!
I didn’t have any sauce on hand, so I melted 2 TBSP of real butter with 2 TBSP of chunky salsa and mixed that up with some fried sausages. It turned out delicious! 🙂
My favorite low carb sauce is Organico Bello Marinara – but I’m out!
This is the smoked sausage I used, which is very flavorful:
The pasta is 7 net carbs per serving, and it turns out that a serving is pretty large. So I could definitely eat half a serving of that (for 3.5 net carbs) – and ended up making two meals out of my pasta dish above.
I snacked on some pecans last night, exactly one serving (30 grams) which I always weigh out on my handy little Ozeri kitchen scale. 😉
Then I remembered I had White Chocolate Dipping Cups from ChocZero, which are only ONE net carb per cup 🙂 so I dipped my pecans in one of those. That really perked up my pecans!!:) Mmm…
ChocZero is like low carb heaven! ♥
Sometimes I love reviewing new low carb foods, like the ChocZero Dipping Cups – and the pasta is good too. Other times, not so much. That low carb pizza was AWFUL, and those chalky bars: blech!
I really prefer to keep it simple with meat & greens + healthy fats, and as few ingredients as possible. That’s the healthiest way to eat, and you’ll lose weight faster & easier that way too.
Taking chances at a buffet – not so smart. 🙄 lol… but it’s so rare I eat ANYthing even remotely off plan or outside my macros that I refused to have any “food guilt” over it. Although I did have “food GUT” over it. 😛 Ugh! The tiniest bit of sugar or high carb food totally tanks me anymore.
I did like my fortune cookie though. 🙂
Not the cookie. I wouldn’t eat that even if I were eating carbs. I meant my fortune: “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” True…
I get a daily email from Tut.com called “Notes from the Universe” along those same lines that I enjoy SO much. Like that fortune or quote in my cookie, those emails encourage you to be more mindful of what you think and how you think.
That’s the biggest thing my low carb journey has taught me: to be more mindful.
From reading labels to tracking macros, I find myself much more aware – of everything. Not just mindlessly going through life, or mindlessly eating my way through the day (anymore).
That doesn’t mean I’m always making “the best choices” of course, because sometimes life is busy and hectic, and sometimes I choose to review foods I might not have picked myself. But for the most part I really like “simple” – and very simple foods.
I was thinking on that yesterday after my “sketchy” buffet meal the night before, where I indulged in foods I normally wouldn’t (higher carb imitation crab, etc)… and thought how GREAT it would be to just eat super simple meals all week. Just plain meats, plain greens, etc.
And then I got FIVE deliveries yesterday afternoon. 😛 😯
New low carb foods to try out, no doubt! haha…
I’ll unbox them later today and see what we have, and keep you posted of course.
I feel bad sharing my buffet night choices with you, but I honestly didn’t eat that much or eat horribly bad. Enough to knock me out of ketosis I think, because I still feel a little bloated. But I’m extremely sugar sensitive at this point.
I love that I don’t totally binge out or go off the rails anymore though. I finally beat that crazy binge-eating monster! 🙂
THAT feels like a huge accomplishment in my journey – a hurdle I thought I would never get over. It’s SO nice to NOT be that person anymore.
The key for me was sticking to 20 net carbs max, 70% fat – consistently. The longer I did that the less I ate, and the less I wanted to eat, or ever craved anything off plan.
It really helps to have low carb indulgences like candy and cookies and pasta that are within my numbers! There’s really no reason to ever eat OFF plan with so many great low carb options now…
I’ll close with that: keep it simple, but when you really want something – find a GREAT low carb replacement for it. That’s what it takes to make low carb a lifestyle, and finally get off the (crazy!) dieting roller coaster.
And: don’t go to Chinese buffets. 🙂
How are things going with you?
Leave a comment & let’s chat.;)
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
p.s. Don’t forget to weigh-in…
Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
Thoughts?
Iβve been following you for quite some time and I have to say that it is a relief to hear someone in the LC/Keto world talking about making eating travel and work-friendly. Plus yay for quick!
I started Keto 3+ years ago and lost 60 pounds. A few months ago my life went a little haywire and I stopped tracking and prepping foods and …fell off the wagon. I gained close to 20 back over about 8 months. Iβve started and restarted lately because I am doing what worked before and Iβm not having the same success… Iβm literally watching the same three pounds ping up and down from week to week. I use tracking, watch my macros, and and exercising (even varying what I do each week).
I thought maybe it might be too many almonds (which are my go-to for when Iβm running around), or the sugar-free chocolate that I have a couple of times a week (always 2-4 net carbs total), but I did those things before and didnβt get stuck.
I also popped over and got some Know Better Foods cookies (thanks!)… for when my non-low carb family is having all manner of junk and Iβm wanting to be .
Do you have ANY thoughts on things that might be keeping a person stuck? I looked through your past posts, but I might have missed something…
Hi April π
You said, “Iβve started and restarted lately because I am doing what worked before and Iβm not having the same successβ¦ Iβm literally watching the same three pounds ping up and down from week to week.”
I would just keep it really simple to start, meat & greens + healthy fats (20 net carbs max, 70% fat minimum) and stay consistent. The second week you may see a hold or even slight fluctuations – that’s totally normal. It’s just your body adjusting.
If you power through, that’s when you’ll really start to see results. π It’s the stop/start and the in/out of ketosis that causes your weight to fluctuate and stall out. I used to go through the same thing.
Just stick to the macros and stay consistent. Your body will have no choice but to follow suit. π It helps if you only weigh yourself once a week, or even once every two weeks – and only first thing in the morning (right after you pee).
I have been following you since 2015 and appreciate the dedication you have in bringing us together. I chose this way of eating for health reasons and of course the benefit was I did lower my blood pressure but it brought me back in shape, as I have always been an exercise participant , such as walking and weights, it helps my arthritis and keeps muscle tone….but it has improved my choices in life…thank you for keeping us in line, especially entering the food season. As I have mentioned I have been maintaining for two years, and I am a size 8 loose size 8, and find size 6 in some clothes fit, wearing size small in most clothes. I am your height and 135, but it is the shape that has changed. I do not have the tummy bloat thing or the “old age” middle thing (I am 73), so at my age it is possible to be in good health and good shape, thank you again and God Bless!
I am 9 pounds heavier than I was 10-11 months ago, and working my way back to ~135 where I was also a loose 8 / mostly size 6. It was all of the antibiotics and steroids the first 3 months of this year when I got (and stayed!) so sick that really threw my body out of whack. π
Anyway, your note reminded me how that weight and size felt. π Way to go! And kudos for taking control of your health, and achieving your goals!
I really appreciate your kind words, and your encouragement to others in your age range (70’s). That is SO inspiring! I wish I had gotten serious about my health sooner in my life (I’m 44 now), but am so glad I finally did – as I’m really looking forward to ENJOYING my prime in great health!
p.s. I’m not too far off the mark now – just filling out those size 8 jeans now, lol.
The bigger difference for me is how my body composition has changed over the last year – since I stopped doing body weight workouts.
Time to get back to building lean muscle! π You really inspired me today!!
How did you finally beat the binges and going off the rails, I’m still not there yet and I want to put an end to it, but it still happens.
Hi Patricia,
What finally worked for me was getting SICK of that dieting roller coaster. It was maddening, and frustrating, and kept me stressed.
I got consistent, no matter what was going on or how I felt or where I was, and just stuck to 20 net carbs max / 70% fat minimum. After awhile the desire to overeat or eat anything off plan just totally went away – if I remember right, by the end of a full month or so.
At first, anytime I would get the “itch” to “throw in the towel” I would think about how that always made me feel: annoyed with myself, discouraged, disappointed, frustrated, etc.
I forced myself to stop and just FEEL whatever I felt (feel the void, instead of FILL the void). It would be different if anything I ate ever fixed anything… but it didn’t. π So I would remind myself of that.
I felt stronger, had more self confidence, felt less discouraged and more ENcouraged, and that… became the new norm. π
I had to work on my head space, my mindset. And realize some truths, and accept (acknowledge) all the lies I told myself before. I wasn’t treating myself, it was self sabotage. Why? I started doing that: stop and ASK myself, be mindful of my decisions, know my reasons – which often made NO sense.
I decided I wanted to know what it would feel like to SUCCEED. Just once. I already knew what it felt like to FAIL (over and over).
I journaled through that whole experience here. A good read: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/14132/healthy-low-carb-living/
I continued “hiking it out” as I worked it out, and unraveled all of my old patterns and all of my mindset issues – including feeling UNcomfortable about succeeding, or reaching my goal: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/14598/the-number-8/
I got a little too thin last winter, in my opinion at least, then I got VERY sick – and stayed sick for 3 1/2 months, including multiple rounds of antibiotics and steroids. That totally threw my body out of whack, and I’m back up 8-10 pounds (around the same weight I was last fall, but not in as good a shape). Being sick that long got me out of the habit of of hiking and strength building (exercise). And somehow, this past year… backtracked me mindset-wise. So I’m working on that now, and working that out, and anxious to get back out in the woods where I tend to find those solutions – and find myself again. π
I started using the creamer you use in my coffee. My concern is the βcorn syrup solidsβ listed in the ingredients. Isnβt corn syrup like sugar?
Hi Joanne!
Honestly, pretty much every ingredient in my coffee creamer is a concern. It’s definitely a “frankenfood” – and my guilty pleasure. π But it’s still only 1 carb per TBSP, so it’s fine to use.
A serving of broccoli has 2-3 grams of sugar, by the way – naturally occurring.
Does the pasta reheat well? I’m looking for something that would work to bulk up soup.
Hi Jana,
It does! That little bag of low carb pasta made A LOT of noodles lol, so I have been reheating them and making more dishes: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/19453/low-carb-mfp-diaries/ It would be perfect for soups. π