Happy Monday! If you’re participating in the Summer Low Carb Challenge it’s time for the Week 4 Weigh-In in our private Facebook group, or leave a comment here on this post with your total pounds lost since June 25th.
“Happiness is a Macronutrient too”
Back in June I met Leanne Vogel of Healthful Pursuit at her book signing in Nashville, and again at the KetoCon event in Austin TX.
She said something at her book signing event that stuck with me – hard…
She said, “your happiness is a macronutrient, too!”
The context of that comment was about something totally different, and not relevant to me personally, but still – it stuck with me for some reason.
She’s an absolute pleasure in person, btw – bubbly, SMART and just plain fun. 🙂
Anyway, with that thought stuck in the back of my mind (still), something crossed my screen last night that I might have dismissed (or missed!) otherwise…
It was this tweet that said 70% of your Serotonin is made in your gut:
Food is medicine! pic.twitter.com/bmtmo4DX7A
— PaleoHacks (@PaleoHacks) July 14, 2018
I found the article where this quote was pulled from: Why Your Microbiome Is Important To Your Health by Dr. Frank Lipman, if that’s of interest to you too.
Interestingly, I had a lot of the symptoms mentioned in that article during my “mysterious weight gain” spell. That’s one of the reasons I started questioning ingredients, considering potential food allergies, etc – and why I started taking a heavy duty Probiotic. Because my “guts” were VERY distressed.
Anyway, it made me wonder if it was true, and if so – now I have more of a “chicken or the egg?” issue. 😛
I have to do some more research on that, but it would make sense that there were multiple contributing factors to my mood tank and lack of appetite and weight gain – among other symptoms.
It’s all just speculation at the moment, and honestly I may never know given the symptoms seem to be improving and I’m feeling better and dropping that weight now.
But it all left me wondering what REALLY caused my problem before, and what REALLY straightened it out…
Can being sad make you sick?
Or can being sick make you sad?
Or maybe both when they hit you at the same time? 😛
For now I’m focusing on my overall sense of well-being, which I like better than the word “happy.” I feel my best when I’m actively working toward goals, and when I have things to look forward to, and also when I’m productive.
I thrive on a sense of achievement! 😉
Anyway, I know “gut health” is a HUGE topic across the keto communities so I wanted to bring it up for discussion here and I’ll definitely be researching it more myself.
Week 4 Weigh-In
My current weight is 145.4 pounds, which means I’ve lost 4 full pounds in the last two weeks! That’s GREAT for me. Usually even a pound a week is a VERY good rate of weight loss for me at this point in my journey.
Weight 7/08/2018: 149.4 lbs
Weight 7/22/2018: 145.4 lbs
That means my “low carb snacks” here and there did NOT hinder my weight loss. 🙂
You can find 8 full days of low carb meals & Myfitnesspal logs here followed by the next 4 days of meals & macros here to see what I was eating over the last two weeks while my weight was dropping – with long holds in between.
I say that because the number on the scale only actually changed twice, once at 1.6 pounds less and the next time at 1.4 pounds less.
I intentionally chose NOT to drop the “keto snacks” or to start doing any serious cardio or strenuous exercise during the last two weeks, to see if the weight would drop with a “mood shift” alone – given my daily macros never changed before/during/after this strange gain & loss period.
I have been consistently doing easy strength-building and floor exercises at home though, and just increased my reps on those in the last 3 days which feels GREAT.
It’s super easy – but I’m really feeling it!
I didn’t want there to be any confusion on what contributed to losing these 4 pounds though. I simply felt better. That is IT. I won’t say I feel “great” or that I’m totally out of the woods with all that, but my appetite is back and I’m eating plenty again.
My guts feel better too and there’s definitely an improvement in my mood and overall sense of well-being.
It’s a work in progress. 😉
I’m all about doing clean testing. If I had started my T25 Cardio Workout back up, or started hiking twice a week again, or both, it would be easy to assume the weight loss was a result of exercise. If I had cut out “keto snacks” during that same period, it would be easy to assume those were the cause of my weight gain before.
Assumptions can get you in trouble. 😛
But can being less sad make you lose weight, or can being sad make you sick? That’s a loaded question that I think is probably YES both ways, but with way too many variables to just guess at…
That’s the reason I’m going to start up a new series of clean keto testing, along with ketone & glucose testing, so I can try to narrow down the problem – if there actually IS one.
And please let’s ALL cross our fingers it’s not a dairy issue! The idea of giving up dairy makes me want to CRY, lol. 😉
I made a great recipe over the weekend you’ll LOVE (!!) so I’ll share that with you next, and then more food diaries and updates on my ketone & glucose testing – as I’m just getting started with that and learning more about it (too).
And now that I’ve ruled out hiking/exercise in my “happy experiment” (lol), I’m planning a FUN hiking day this week to get my sweat on!! 🙂
How are things going with you this week?
Don’t forget to weigh in today…
Leave a comment and let’s chat!:)
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
p.s. I got us a 15% discount on the Blood Glucose & Ketone Meter I’m using myself. The discount is coded into that link, so you’ll get 15% off automatically.
It’s already the most affordable and most accurate ketone/glucose testing kit available for the keto community, so another 15% off is a sweet deal!
Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
I really want to start a pre:probiotic regimen bc I feel it can help for the very reasons you mentioned, however there are so many on the market I don’t know what to try. Maybe you’ll do or find one for us to try 🙂
Ditto what Patricia said!
Third vote 🙂
Agreed! Please share what probiotic you are using. 🙂
Oh – sorry ladies! I just went to Walgreens and got the one that had the highest number of units per serving.
Mine is “Finest Nutrition” brand with 10 Billion CFU. It was slightly cheaper than a different brand with the same amount.
I’ve been taking it daily with a meal for a couple of months now, but I was listening in to a session online the other night – specifically the part about “gut health” by Kyndra Holley after her bout of illness and multiple rounds of medications.
That’s exactly when all of this started for me about a year and a half ago, when I got sick and took antibiotics/steroids off & on for 4 months – so this opens up some interesting information to consider!
I’ll check with my Doc at my next appt about the Probiotic I’m taking, and if he recommends anything different or stronger or whatever.
Thank you!
You’re welcome. 😉 Next I’m going to test the new Ketologie Pineapple drink that has probiotics and ketones in it. This one: https://www.ketologie.com/collections/keto-pantry-essentials/products/ketones-probiotics-pineapple-net-wt-14-82oz?ref=29 – because I have the new testing meter and I’d like to see how it affects my ketone levels as well as adding the liquid probiotic – in a tasty summer drink. 😉
I cannot wait to see how you like that. I want to try it so badly. I’m so happy you do all this trial and error for your devoted fans, lol. You are so wonderfully awesome and beautiful Lynn. Have a fantastic day!!!
Thank you, Patricia – that made me smile. 🙂 It takes A LOT of patience to do “clean testing” and experiment with products and such – but I really enjoy discussing the options & results! *cheers*
Today’s weight is 146 pounds. When I started it was 148. I have lost 2 pounds so far. Lots of factors can affect weight lost. I usually can identify some of the causes. For me the Keto lifestyle is to improve my overall health. I try not to get too discourage if the scales are not moving in my favor. Not paying attention to how much and what types of food I was consuming, not moving and not getting enough sleep were things that were affecting my weight gain. Changing those concepts for the better has been so helpful. Daily devotion and prayer keeps me centered, joyful and happy.
I’m so glad to hear that, Pamela. 🙂
I agree with you on there being multiple factors at play. I find tracking not only keeps me focused on staying in fat burning mode, it also makes for more mindful eating. Especially when I track/log my foods BEFORE they are ordered or made. 😉
Once I got down below 150 pounds I found that 1-3 pounds a month was a good rate of weight loss for me personally. It seems like it slows way down around that point for everyone.
The last 10-20 pounds being the MOST challenging. 🙂
Question for you: what suggestions do you have for food that is high in fiber but not full of carbs? I’ve been trying to follow your summer challenge and working at getting my proteins and fats up, and carbs down — but my dilemma is fiber. And now, after reading everone’s probiotic comments, I have a 2nd question: I have been drinking Kombucha as a probiotic– what is your opinion on Kombucha?
Hi Sebrina,
Why is fiber your dilemma? Are you having a problem or issue that you feel fiber will resolve? Curious!
You want protein to be no more than 25% of your total daily calories, and fat to be at least 70% (or more). Is that what you’re tracking? Here is a simple explanation & illustration: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/7006/macronutrients/
Fiber is usually from vegetables and berries. Here’s a list of low carb vegetables, in alphabetical order and with carb counts: https://www.travelinglowcarb.com/4964/low-carb-vegetables/
I set your recommended macros in myfitnesspal. Although I don’t create a goal for fiber intake it shows a fiber recommendation. At the end of the day, my fiber intake is usually way below the recommended amount. When I tried to find high-in-fiber foods, they were also high in carbs. Thank you for sharing your low-carb veggie list.
Ah – I ignore all the goals that MFP sets (calories, fiber, etc) and simply focus on 20 net carbs max and 70% fat minimum. 😉
You do want to get enough fiber in your diet for gut health and regularity of course. Ideally: brussel sprouts (great roasted w/bacon!), spinach (use fresh baby spinach instead of iceberg lettuce in salads), broccoli, asparagus, etc. Green veggies are the best source.
I like to put spinach in anything and everything. 🙂 Like my spinach burgers: https://www.travelinglowcarb.com/6606/low-carb-spinach-burger-recipe/
Or my spinach biscuits: https://www.facebook.com/lowcarbtraveler/posts/2217794421582474 YUM! 🙂