239.0

Breakfast: 28 grams cashews

Lunch: 1 tin Polar Herring in Tomato Sauce

Snack: cup of coffee with 39 grams heavy cream and 8 drops EZ-Sweetz liquid splenda

Dinner: 1.80 oz (cooked weight) beef (all fat removed) cooked with 29 grams butter, 10.44 oz (raw weight) green cabbage and 0.95 oz sour cream (mixed in after cooking), salt and pepper

I read all of the blog eatlowcarbhighfat.com last night. It is the blog of a Swedish man who has lost over 200 lbs (over HALF of his start weight) on a low carb high fat diet. If you are interested in trying LCHF, his blog is very informative. It really made me think I should be trying to go a little lower on carb / protein and higher on fat. I will still try to minimize my total nutrition (calorie) intake at the same time. My goal is of course to lose my excess weight in a quick, healthy fashion, while not struggling unduly with hunger. (I think that excessive hunger would be an indication that my body is not able to readily access my excessive fat stores). I think if I am eating correctly (for MY body's metabolic / physiologic issues), my body should be able to start using this excess fat. The less struggle it is, the greater indication there is that I am eating in a manner that benefits my excess insulin response to carbs. I tried to eat higher fat today (I added 29 grams of butter to my beef & cabbage mix while cooking it tonight when I wouldn't have done that during the last month).

My daily totals:

996 calories, 79.1 grams Fat, 33.9 (-8.3 grams Fiber) = 25.6 g NET carbs, 44.4 grams Protein

70%F, 13%C, 17%P

241.2

Not sure what is up with my weight. I am going to assume it is progesterone that has me retaining water.

Breakfast (11:15am): Coffee with 46 grams heavy cream and 8 drops EZ-Sweetz

Lunch: 17 g butter, 9.74 oz cabbage, 3.95 oz raw ground beef (80/20), 2.01 oz celery and 1.31 oz sour cream

Dinner (7:30pm): 2.22 oz radish, 8.43 oz raw turnip, 115 grams drained canned tuna (in water), 27 grams mayo and 18 grams green onion

Daily totals:

1,119 calories, 83.7 grams fat, 37.4 g (-12.7 g fiber) = 24.7 g NET carbs, 57.5 grams protein

66%F, 12%C, 21%P

239.8

Fast blood sugar: 106.

Breakfast (2:45pm): 28 grams cashews & cup (black) Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Tea

Lunch 4:30pm: 2.93 oz (cooked weight) 80/20 ground beef, with 2.47 oz (raw weight) celery, 5.82 oz (raw weight) cabbage and 2.75 oz sour cream, 8 grams tallow (beef fat used to saute the celery and cabbage in).

Snack (5:40pm): Hot Cocoa made with 5 grams Hershey's Cocoa (baking) powder, 41 grams heavy cream, 9 drops EZ-Sweetz liquid splenda and water. (Make a paste with about half the cream and the cocoa powder and then add the remaining heavy cream, water, liquid splenda and a few grains of salt then heat in the microwave). I think I put a little too much liquid splenda in it. It wasn't necessary to use as much as I did.

Dinner (8:30pm): 3.10 oz raw wgt ground 80/20 beef, 2.19 oz celery, 5.79 oz cabbage and 1.8 oz sour cream

Daily Totals:

1222 calories, 96.9 g Fat, 41.1 grams (-12.3 grams Fiber) = 28.8 grams NET carbs, 52.1 grams Protein

70%F, 13%C, 17%P

241.0 *sigh*

I really thought I might get back under 240 today... Maybe tomorrow?

Lunch (3:00pm): Can of Polar Herring Fillets in tomato sauce (251 calories, 6.0 carb) and 2.75 oz raw turnip. Drink = Water

I get my Polar Herring Fillets in tomato sauce (6 oz tin) at my local Walmart. I think I paid around $2.00. They are quite good. I used to always eat straight kippered herring, but tried these one day when I was feeling adventurous and I like them better. They are incredibly satisfying. Amazon carries them if you can't find them in your local Walmart. They are great for taking on road trips or just keeping on hand in case you don't want to cook (like I didn't want to today). I feel like small fish (like canned herring or sardines) are a lot healthier for you because you eat the bones (more calcium) and they don't have the heavy metal problems that larger fish do (because they are lower on the food chain). Not to mention they are a great source of Omega-3s. I find though that people either love or hate things like sardines, herring, blue cheese, liverwurst, etc. They are all really strong flavors. I love stuff like that, but know a lot of people who don't.

If you've never tried raw turnip, do. It's wonderful. Almost the same sort of flavor/texture as a daikon rashish (which I also love). I have heard you can mash them like potatoes, although I have never tried them cooked. The ones I have there on my plate amount to 2.75 oz (peeled raw weight) and have only 18 calories (4.1 carbs). Something like that can really round out a low carb meal for me. It will provide the crunch/texture that things like bread or chips used to provide.

Snack (4:00pm): 28 grams cashew nuts & cup of (black) Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Tea

Dinner (6:00pm): 1 1/3 cups homemade chicken broth, 5.29 oz homemade stew from the other day, 45 grams cheddar & 0.99 oz sour cream

Snacks (8:00pm): 50 grams walnuts and 100 grams Oscar Meyer Liverwurst

I was REALLY struggling before I ate the walnuts and liverwurst. I was having lots of mental images of eating off plan foods... so eventually made the conscious decision that I needed to eat more on plan foods so I wouldn't eat something high carb. I think I did pretty well. I did not really want to eat the liverwurst, but in the end, I did find it satiating. (We need to go to the store to get groceries, so my options felt like they were really limited).

Daily totals:

1571 calories, 120.1 g Fat, 55.8 g (-11.1 g Fiber) = 44.7 g NET carbs, 75.4 g Protein

67%F, 14%C, 19%P

240.8

Lunch (3:45pm): 4.27 oz (cooked wgt) boneless skinless chicken breast shredded mixed in 2 cups of (defatted) homemade chicken broth with 4.41 oz (yesterday's homemade Veggal/lean only chuck/tomato sauce stew mix) with a pinch and a half of xanthan gum to slightly thicken it. Fitday puts this soup/stew concoction at 397 calories (30.1 g carb & 43.4 g Protein). I think that it is a really high estimate on the carbs and high on the calories by about 100... but I will go with it. I think the carbs are probably closer to 20 at most.

As I finally took some current pictures today, I will add them to the blog to record what I look like today at 240.8 (109.2kg).

Dinner (7:45pm): 19 grams butter cooked with 7.16 oz (raw wgt) cabbage, 118 g Oscar Meyer Lil' Smokies (Beef), and 1.94 oz sour cream

My after dinner tea is Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time Tea:

This tea is really good because I can drink it without even wanting to add any artificial sweetener. I feel if I could get off of artificial sweeteners it would really help my efforts to keep my insulin low (and thus lose weight without experiencing hunger).

Daily totals:

1,051 calories, 68.6 g Fat, 46.6 g (-10.3 g Fiber) = 36.3 g NET carbs, 62.4 g Protein

59%F, 17%C, 24%P

Today I picked up The Art and Science of Low Carb Living (by Volek & Phinney):

from my local library (they had to get it for me via inter-library loan). I have read a lot of low-carbers recommending it on their blogs and was super excited that it finally came in for me. I will review it after I am finished with it in a day or two.

Today was an easier day (ease 3.5/10). Getting my carbs down to a lower number always seems to make the day go a little easier. I am eager to get back into the 230's. Those photos were kind of a shock to see. In my head, I am much thinner than that. I guess it is good to get the visual reminder on here, as disturbing as it is.

I am fortunate to have a very loving, supportive husband who doesn't make a big deal about my weight. Unfortunately, that allows me to forget sometimes how heavy I am. We do not have any full length mirrors in our home (we live in the smallest house in the world I think), and so I can go days without seeing my full length reflection.

I also wanted to note I haven't been drinking soda for the last week. I am trying to stick with more hot and cold ice tea and water. I think I feel better when I do that. I am going to occasionally have a soda as a treat, but will try to no longer drink it as a regular beverage.

243.0

I ate about 3 cups of very salty homemade chicken broth thickened with xanthan gum around 3am (I stayed up late working). So I think my weight may have been up from that. It was delicious. The xanthan gum really gives it a thick viscosity (kinda like eggdrop soup), that is really satisfying.

Lunch: 1.5 cups homemade chicken broth (fat was skimmed off) with about 2 oz cooked white boneless skinless chicken, 1.66 oz frozen green peas, 5 grams xanthan gum and 2.15 oz sour cream

Dinner: Homemade stew made with 3 cans vegall, (lean only) chuck, and small (8oz?) can of tomato sauce. Of this I ate 16.65 oz (fitday came up with 315 calories and 36.6 grams carb, which seems pretty accurate, as one can of vegall has 35 carbs). Into this I mixed 2.86 oz sour cream and 1.38 oz homemade meatloaf (the remaining meatloaf from yesterday).

Fitday's estimated total (this probably isn't as accurate as some of my other days, but I think it is pretty close):

1,155 calories, 53.4 g Fat, 89.0 g (-12.1 g Fiber) = 76.9 g NET carbs, 77.5 g Protein

41%F, 31%C, 28%P

Wow, those ratios really put into perspective how far off today was from what I would like it to be. Calories were ok, but I definately needed my fat to be higher and my carbs to be lower... protein was OK, although I would prefer it be even a little lower than that. I have got to get my ratios right. I have struggled each day since going to the Chinese Buffet. Obviously I need to get my ratios more in line, so I can quit struggling.

Today marks 23 days that I have been tracking my food and blogging each day. I have averaged 1,121 calories per day.. which I consider to be excellent. Per fitday, when I started at 253.8 I was using 2740 calories per day and now at 243.0 I am using 2672 calories per day. At goal (140) I should in theory use 2,024 calories per day.

243.0

I was up this morning due to the tremendous amount of food I have been eating. I am hoping tomorrow will be back down to 241-ish, but will just continue on to do my best regardless of what the scale says.

Breakfast: coffee with 39 g heavy cream and 8 drops EZ-Sweetz liquid splenda.

Lunch: 109 g canned beanless Hormel Chili with 45 grams cheddar and 1.06 oz sour cream

Dinner: 3.39 oz (cooked wgt) homemade meatloaf (made without any starch filler, but included onion, ketchup and egg), 1.55 oz sour cream, 12 grams mayo and 22 grams green onion.

The meatloaf was fitday's calorie estimate for "meatloaf". I don't know how accurate it was, but today was sufficiently low in carbs that I think it was pretty accurate. (It calculated 196 calories and 6.2 grams carb for the 3.39 oz serving I ate).

Mainly, I am just grateful to be back on plan (lowish calories, lowish carbs). I didn't struggle at all with hunger today. I have to remember to have a high calorie / low carb day like I did yesterday if I choose to have another off-plan meal. I think I will continue to do so occasionally (ONLY as special meals at restaurants or family get-togethers - NEVER as a regular at home meal).

Daily total:

865 calories, 70.1 g Fat, 21.4 g (-2.3 g Fiber) = 19.1 g NET carbs, 37.8 g Protein

72%F, 10%C, 18%P

Ease of day 3/10.

I am eager to weigh in tomorrow morning and see where I am at.

242.4

Okay, I struggled ALL day long. Of course this is from elevated insulin levels from the China Buffet yesterday. I ate: 8.18 oz (raw wgt) boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked in 20 g lard, 10 grams paprika, 2.06 oz raw onion, 16.33 oz raw green cabbage and 5 grams xanthan gum. Then served with 6.37 oz sour cream mixed in. I ate this for lunch a snack and dinner.

Snack of 56 grams cashew nuts

Snack of salad consisting of 4.16 raw bean sprouts, 3.21 oz iceberg lettuce, 3.74 oz radish and 46 grams blue cheese dressing (marie's)

Snack of 188 (1 can) black olives

Snack of 15 grams butter with 31 grams raw onion, 3 large eggs, 30 grams cheddar cheese and 23 grams mayo.

So basically I ate all day long and fought eating high carb all day. By the end of the day I had eaten way higher carb than I wanted because of the quantity of food. All choices weren't bad, if it had been a lower calorie day, it would have worked.

Totals for day:

2,440 calories, 190.0 g Fat, 98.4 g (-32.0 g Fiber) = 66.4 g NET carbs, 104.2 g Protein

68%F, 15%C, 17%P

So, overall, I consider the day a success. Eating all that doesn't lead to weightloss. Supposedly I burn 2,740 calories per day, so it wasn't technically a gain day.

240.6

(It is 4:43pm now). We went to the Chinese buffet and just got home now. I tested my blood sugar twice (~1 hour PP) and tested 175 and 169. The scary thing is my husband just tested 178. That's very upsetting to me as he will not watch it I am sure. I had:

4 eggrolls (2 pork & 2 vegetable)

~2 cups stir-fried green beans

~2 cups stir-fried mushrooms

~1.5 cups imitation crab salad

~2.5 cups sweet and sour pork

10 grapes

2 pieces of melon

Fitday gave a total of:

1,827 calories, 92.2 g Fat, 172.1 g Carb (-21.2 g Fiber) = 150.9 NET carbs, 88.7 g Protein

I ate nothing else today.

45%C, 36%C, 19%P

About 3-4 hours PP I was at 137. Right now (midnight) I am at 116. Obviously the LCHF ketogenic plan keeps my bloodsugars in a MUCH better range.

The calories are all estimates. I of course have no idea how much anything actually weighed or how many calories were in it. I tried to eat a lot of the stir fried green beans and mushrooms as I love both and neither seem to have a lot of sugar. The fruit was incredibly sweet. It made the fruit some of the best fruit I have ever eaten, in fact.

I just took a shower (11ish pm) and weighed in at 243.8, so I am hoping that tomorrow doesn't show too much carb/sodium bloat.

We ended up going because the power company came out in several boom trucks and worked on something down the street and shut off our power for a couple hours. All in all, right now, I am not sad that we went. I just hope to not suffer too many cravings over the next couple of days. It was interesting to monitor my blood sugar after eating. I hope that as I continue to lose weight, I can eliminate my T2 symptoms and even the metformin.

241.2

I'm up a little. I am trying to not let it bother me. I know that there are normal body fluctuations. In fact, I bet I don't get back under 240 for a maybe the next 5 days. I would be quite surprised if it lasted longer than that though. I've got to just keep plugging along.

Made a dish last night and ate it twice today. The recipe included:

12.06 oz raw skinless boneless chicken breast

5.22 oz mushrooms

0.78 oz cooked bacon

47 g green onions

4.95 oz sour cream

It was very good. I ate it for Lunch and Dinner.

Snacks included 20 g cashew nuts and then later 5 oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

I struggled at several points today. I think the higher protein levels may have been a trigger. I am going to aim to have a more moderate protein intake tomorrow.

Daily totals:

1,016 calories, 62.8 g Fat, 24.3 (-4.3 g Fiber) = 20.0 g NET carbs, 90.5 g Protein

54%F, 9%C, 37%P

I would say that difficulty of day was 4.5/10.

I am currently cooking a chicken cabbage paprikash kinda dish that I plan on eating tomorrow. It is going to be a stew consistency that I thicken with xanthum gum. I am trying to pro-actively prepare for the next day, to prevent poor decisions. I am dying to get back into the 230's!

241.0

I expected to be back up in a weight a little this morning, but I was somehow still a little disappointed. It felt good to be in the 230's and now I am back in the 240's. I guess I just have to have more patience. If experience has taught me anything, I might hover around this week for even a week before dropping back down, and then have a sudden and rather large loss.

Lunch (2:30pm): Light Flatout wrap with 56 g liverwurst, 1.5 oz lettuce and 6 g spring onion.

Snack (5pm): 28g cashew nuts

Dinner (7:45pm): 1.52 oz cooked bacon, 3.56 raw mushrooms, 1.59 oz cooked pork shoulder, 25 g green onions and 2.50 oz sour cream. (This was DELICIOUS and very filling).

Daily totals:

997 calories, 75.9 g Fat, 36.2 (-12.3 g Fiber) = 23.9 g NET carbs, 54.4 g Protein

65%f, 14%C, 21%P

Today was pretty good, food craving wise. I had a couple moments of struggle, but each day seems to be a little easier, with greater lengths of time in which I totally forget about food. (Which is unheard of when I am eating a regular # of carbs american diet).

239.8

I was shocked at today's weigh-in. I cross country skied yesterday, so I expected to be up at least a pound or two because of muscle tears holding water. I fully expect to be back in the 242-243 range tomorrow (although it will be disappointing). I am sure it is just because I nearly fasted yesterday. I am so happy that I was able to stay on track to some extent. Although my carbs were to high, ultimately the calorie restriction still keeps insulin levels much lower than they would otherwise be, and based on my ketosis breath, I am fairly confident I didn't knock myself out.

Breakfast (12:30pm): 5.22 oz (cooked weight) pork shoulder (broiled in chunks to try to render off a lot of the fat)

Snack: 28 g cashew nuts

Dinner (5:15) Light Flatout wrap with 2.22 oz (cooked weight) pork shoulder, 16 g mayo and .15 onion

Daily Totals:

997 calories, 73.4 g Fat, 28.8 (-10.4 g Fiber) = 18.4 g NET carbs, 63.2 g Protein

63%F,11%C,26%P

244.0

I went out of town on Friday afternoon. I did really well in keeping the food total down, although I ate more carbs than I normally allow. I did very well considering the circumstances.

Lunch (around 2pm): Light flatout wrap with 20 g mayo, 2.61 oz deli turkey, lettuce and 2.93 oz tomatoes

Dinner (around 6pm): ESTIMATES ONLY: 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup black beans cooked, ~12 blue corn tortilla chips, ~ 1/4 cup raw salsa, 1 cup mixed greans salad dressed with lime

After dinner drinks: ~2 shots tequila with 1/4 lime, 1/10 orange

Approximate daily totals:

934 calories, 37.5 g Fat, 97.7 g (-21.1 g Fiber) = 76.6 g NET carbs, 32.8 g Protein, 18.6 g alcohol

34%F, 40%C, 12%P, 13%A

The next day (Saturday, March 2, 2013) I was unable to weight. I ate about 3/4 cup (cooked) steel cut oats and 1/4 cup unsweetened frozen blueberries.

Later I ate about 6 cashew nut halves

Approximate daily totals:

183 calories, 6.5 g Fat, 26.6 g (-4.1 g Fiber) = 22.5 NET carbs, 6.3 g Protein

30%F, 58%C, 12%P

Obviously this wasn't very much food for the day, but I didn't know how to get out of eating more carbs without saying I was going to eat at my parents and then later at my parents declining food, saying I had already ate.

244.6 again.

Breakfast (12:30pm): 2 Low Carb Waffles (recipe on Feb 22's post) with 2 fl oz SF Mrs Butterworth's Maple Syrup

Hunger before eating 8/10. Satiety after eating 8/10.

Lunch (4:30pm): Light Flatout wrap with 3 oz deli turkey, 20 g mayo, 1.06 oz tomato, a little iceberg lettuce and mustard

Dinner: 2 cups Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and 2.96 oz deli turkey

Daily Totals:

1,001 calories, 68.0 g Fat, 47.3 (-12.1 g Fiber) = 35.2 g NET carbs, 62.7 g Protein

58%F, 18%C, 24%P

Day was 3/10 ease of staying on plan

244.6

I was really happy to see 244.6 on the scale this morning. I didn't expect it after yesterday's struggle. Last night was hard. Sometimes when I am tracking my food intake, I get this strong compulsion to eat a lot and not track any of it. I should have maybe "allowed" myself more calories earlier in the evening when I saw it was going to be so difficult. It's funny though to me... I can't pinpoint anything in the prior days consumption that triggered such huge cravings. Is it possible part of an apple each day did that? I just don't know.

Lunch (don't remember what time): 7.16 g (raw wgt) tilapia with 10 g. mayo (+light sprinkling of paprika,parsley and lemon juice), salad made of 1 can green beans (228g), 15 g mayo and 9 g onion (+5 drops EZ-Sweetz, a splash of vinegar and black pepper to taste)

Snack (4:30pm): 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Dinner (9:00pm): 4.6 oz (80/20, raw weight) ground beef cooked in a patty with 1/4 egg and 25 g raw onion mixed in the patty. Salad made of 1 can of green beans (237g), 8 g raw onion and 23 g mayo (+5 drops EZ-Sweetz, a splash of vinegar and black pepper to taste)

Satiety was 9/10 after each meal/snack I ate today. I didn't have food fixation/thoughts in the evening either. It was a good day!

Daily totals:

997 calories, 65.7 g Fat, 27.7 (-13.1 g Fiber) = 14.6 g NET carbs, 76.5 g Protein

59%F,10%C,31%P

Was the day so much easier because of the lower carb count? I don't know. I think I am going to start noting the ease of the day (mentally struggling to stay on plan/eat 1000 calories) on a 1-10 scale. 1 being not a problem at all and 10 being the hardest day ever to stay on plan.

Today was a 2.

245.8

Got up at 9am. Fasting blood sugar at 10:20 - 112. I am surprised and dissappointed to see it is still so high each morning. I guess all I can do is continue to eat the correct things. I have thought about adding a few small walks to see if that would help bring it down. I snowed last night, so I don't know about today. Perhaps next week some time... as it's supposed to start warming up.

Breakfast (11:30am): 2.93 oz cooked bacon, 73 g fuji apple. (This meal totaled 482 calories, so I am quite full).

Hunger before eating 8/10. Satiety after eating 9/10.

Blood sugar (1:22): 2 hours PP 120.

Lunch (2:45): Light Flatout Wrap with 56 grams tomato and 55 g liverwurst

Snack (5:30): 28 g Cashews

Later snack (6:00): 13 g cashews

Dinner (7:30) 232 g canned drained green beans, 285 peeled raw cucumber, 9 g raw onion, 45 g mayo, 5 drops EZ-Sweetz liquid splenda, rice vinegar (2 splashes worth), pepper to taste

Obviously I am really struggling since this afternoon. I don't know what the problem is. I almost when to the Chinese Buffet with my husband (decision made before eating cashews)... after eating the cashews I got my head about me and decided not to go. But, I am still struggling and will probably for the rest of the night, based on how I feel.

Daily Totals:

1405 Calories, 108.1 g Fat, 63.1 (-20.2 g Fiber) = 42.9 g NET carbs, 59.2 g Protein

67%F/17%C/16%P

245.6 =)

Got up around 10:45am. I had trouble sleeping last night and finally got up around 1am and took 2 diphenhyramine HCL (generic sominex or claritin). It worked to put me to sleep but then I wake up all groggy and have a hard time getting started for the day. I stayed up late watching The Walking Dead. (Comes on at 10pm here). I want to quit taking the sleep aids, but I am having such a hard time being on any sort of normal sleep time without them. They always make me so groggy though in the morning.

Fasting blood sugar at noon: 108. Not very good. I would like to be consistently under 100, but I can't get it under. I am upping my dose of Glucophage 1000 XR to twice a day, from once a day. I will continue to monitor and see if it makes a good difference. I have been it for about 4-5 months now I think.

I was pleased with this morning's weigh in.

Breakfast (1:30pm): 1.45 oz cooked bacon and 97 g (about 60% of a sm-med fuji apple) raw apple. (Note I wanted to eat the whole apple, but felt that would definately be to many carbs at one sitting. I made sure to start eating the bacon before I ate the apple slices as well (per Dr. Bernstein's recommendations). The 97 grams of apple is 13.4 g carbohydrates per Fitday. Because the bacon contained more fat and protein than that, I hope I will be safe to eat part of an apple like this occasionally. I will monitor how I feel throughout the rest of today to see if it will work. I put the rest of the apple in our refrigerator in a Ziploc and will have it tomorrow if it doesn't look too sad by then. I hate to throw out part of an apple, especially when it is as delicious as this one was. Unfortunately the only way to buy small apples in this area, is to buy them in the 3 lb bags... but I couldn't eat that many apples to make that work either.

Hunger before eating 7/10. Satiety after eating 7/10.

Lunch (4:30pm): Green Bean Salad (1 can green beans, 30 g cheddar, 1.02 oz cooked bacon, 25 g mayo, 15 g onion + black pepper). This salad was delicious with the bacon. I cut the bacon into small pieces with my kitchen scissors. Great flavor and was perfectly filling. (Not to full but just right). I am worried somewhat that it will be difficult for me to make it tonight, as I only have about 240 calories left available today (if I don't want to get over 1000 calories). I am starting to get a good idea of what to eat each day, at what times, to be able to handle 1000 calories per day without too much hunger or food fixation.

Hunger before eating 8/10. Satiety after eating 8/10.

Dinner (6:00pm): Light Flatout Wrap with 44 grams Braunschweiger.

Hunger before eating 7/10. Satiety after eating 7/10.

Daily Totals:

999 calories, 72.8 g Fat, 45.5 (-16.9 g Fiber) = 28.6 g NET carbs, 50.6 g Protein

63%F/17%C/20%P

I am going to have a cup of hot tea with lemon juice and EZ-Sweetz now.

246.8

Got up at 9am (it's Sunday). Fasting blood sugar at 11am (now) is 112.

Lunch (noon): 5.61 oz (raw) tilapia fillet with 11 g mayo, light parsley, light paprika and 2 lemon slices (I put this in a tin foil pouch and baked it at 375 F for about 30 minutes). Ate with a green bean salad made of 246 g canned drained green beans, 19 g mayo, 6 g onion, a splash of rice vinegar and pepper to taste. This lunch was fantastic. I am definately going to have it again. The tilapia fillet was from a pack of flash frozen ones that are individually vacuum sealed. I love those. They are reasonably priced and stay nicely frozen without freezer burn a long time in the freezer. I ate the fish with some fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Hunger before eating 7/10. Satiety after eating 8/10.

Snack (4:20pm): Light Flatout Wrap with 60 g braunschweiger and 62 g tomato

The braunschweiger and tomato made a taste wrap sandwich. I think it would be good mixed in a bowl with really thinly sliced iceberg lettuce as well. I may try that tomorrow for lunch.

Hunger before eating 7/10. Satiety after eating 7/10.

Dinner (7:30pm): 9.77 oz raw cucumber, 69 g raw tomato, 30 g cheddar, 25 g. blue cheese dressing

Hunger before eating 7/10. Satiety after eating 7/10.

Today was a fairly easy day for some reason. I didn't think it would be when I ate my first meal at noon (I normally like to eat later than that). I think I am finally getting into a good strong ketosis. I am hopeful for the coming week. I hope tomorrow will show something in the 245 range... but I understand that there are a lot of things that can change your weight and all I really have control of is what I eat. The weight loss will happen when it happens.

Totals for day:

1000 calories / 68.4 g Fat / 46.3 (-19.0 g Fiber) = 27.3 g NET carbs / 63.4 g Protein

59%F/17%C/24%P

247.0

So I'm up a bit. I kinda expected to be up today for some reason. I wonder if it was the gluten, the sorbitol, the extra calories, all the liquids I drank before going to bed? I inhaled something in the middle of the night and woke up coughing. I coughed so hard I threw up. Gross.

I didn't take temp or blood sugar this morning. I got up early and have been working since then. (It's 11:20am now). I'm not really hungry yet, so I am going to try to delay eating for a while. I seem to do better when I have more calories available to eat in the evening, as that's always my hard time of day to get through.

Breakfast (it's 12:45pm): cup coffee with 1.66 fl. oz. heavy cream and 11 drops EZSweetz liquid splenda

Lunch (it's 4:05pm): 11.04oz raw broccoli, 2.01 oz cooked bacon, 30 g mayo, vinegar and 6 drops EZSweetz and pepper (Broccoli bacon salad)

Hunger before eating 8/10. Satiety after eating 7/10.

Dinner (it's 6:30pm): 2 cups Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze Almond Milk with 10 drops vanilla extract and 8 drops EZSweetz liquid splenda, 0.95 oz cooked bacon

Hunger before eating 7/10. Satiety after eating 8/10.

Totals for day:

1001 calories, 82.5 g Fat, 26.5 g (-10.1 g Fiber) = 16.4 g NET carbs, 42.9 g Protein

74%F/10%C/17%P

Protein seems a little low today, but yesterday was a pretty high protein day, so I suppose it averages out. The Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze is pretty filling. I think I will continue to get it. I hope the nutrition label is correct. It sure seems more caloric-ally dense than listed on the nutrition label. I will just have to monitor my weight loss while using it, I guess.

Today was a busy day of working. I feel good emotionally and hopeful about my diet. My stomach seems to maybe have shrunken a little, so I am having an easier time at 1000 calories. (Or maybe I am in ketosis now and that is making it easier for my body to access my body fat stores). Either way, it doesn't seem as hard as it did a few days ago. I still have to consciously restrict my eating, but I do not seem to be suffering the hunger pains that I have in the past while eating higher carb 1000 calories per day. I will continue to log and monitor how I feel.

246.4

Morning fasting blood sugar 102.

So, I made the Low Carb High Fat Waffle Recipe ("BettyR's Amazing Waffles" from lowcarbfriends forum):

8 oz cream cheese

2 oz heavy cream

4.84 oz cheddar cheese (1 cup weighed)

3 eggs

2.24 oz (1/2 cup) Bob's Red Mill vital wheat gluten

1 tsp baking powder

0.5 tsp baking soda

It made 8 waffles and I ate two. I will freeze the remaining 6 waffles to have on future breakfasts and just heat them up in my toaster. (I have the small square 2 at-a-time waffle iron... meaning the same size as frozen commerical waffles). I used 2 fl. oz. of Mrs. Butterworth's Sugar Free Maple Syrup. The syrup has 8 carbs of which all 8 carbs are sugar alcohols (sorbitol). The syrup tastes wonderful. I got a 24 oz container at my local grocery store on sale for $2.49. I now wish I had picked up two, as they are normally almost $5.00. I also had 3 cups of Ocean Spray diet cranberry juice (5 calories per cup). This was a bigger than normal breakfast and I feel wonderfully full.

This meal calculated out to the following on fitday:

529 calories, 39.7 g Fat, 20.7 g carb (of which 8 g. are sugar alcohols), 28.7 g. Protein

I will wait till later and note how the sugar alcohols impacted my satiety and hunger levels.

Hunger before eating 8/10. Satiety after eating 9/10.

Lunch (4:00pm): can of Hormel Beanless Chili

Dinner 7:00pm): 6 oz (raw wgt) tilapia fillet cooked with 15 g mayo and lemon slices (baked in foil packed in oven). My husband made this and it was amazing. The best fish I have ever eaten in my life.

Totals for day:

1270 calories, 76.7 g Fat, 54.2 (-8.0 sugar alcohols -5.7 Fiber) = 40.5 g NET Carb, 96.0 g Protein

This was a higher calorie, protein and carb day than I would have liked. I ate the fish because it looked so wonderful and I was hungry. I am ok with how today went. I will try to stay at 1000 calories, lowish carb tomorrow. I am pretty stoked with how my weight has been coming down and want it to continue.

247.4

247.4 lbs this morning... the same as yesterday. Morning waking temperature was 97.7 and fasting blood sugar 103. I am having a diet root beer now (11am). It's beautiful outside today. Very sunny although it's still pretty cold out (low 40s?).

Lunch (1:45pm): 4 oz (raw wgt) chicken breast BLSL, 3 g. coconut oil, 30 g cheddar, 20 g mayo, 86 g. iceberg lettuce and 45 g. frozen peas

Hunger before eating 7/10. Satiety after eating 7/10.

Today is my birthday. I wanted to go out to Chinese, but didn't feel like I would be able to get back to my diet easily, so I am not having birthday cake or eating out. My husband understands how hard it is for me to diet, so he was supportive of whatever I wanted to do. He is really wonderful about my weight/dieting.

I am glad tonight will be the end of the chicken breast that I cooked up in coconut oil (I cooked 23.8 oz with 18 grams of coconut oil up the other day and have been eating 1/6 of it in each of my meals). I am tired of having it and am ready to be done with it. I am going to make up a broccoli bacon salad (no raisins) tonight and split it up into containers for the next few days. I also hope to get a good recipe for the LCHF waffles and get those made up. I bought some jalapenos yesterday as well, to make cream cheese jalapenos with. I hope the peppers are kinda mild. They were smoking hot last time I made them, so I've been leary to try again. They are really large ones. I tend to like to make something and have it for several days and then I get tired of it and move on to something else. It makes it easier to figure out what I can have calorie/nutrition wise and I don't have to think about food as much.

It's possible I might have a higher calorie day today (same carbs/protein). I don't want to lose weight so quickly I get hair thinning. I have dieted for a long time before at 1000 calories per day though and don't feel like this is "too low".

Dinner (4:30pm): Flatout wrap with 4 oz (raw wgt) BLSL chicken breast, 22 g cheddar, 22 g mayo, 12 g mustard

Hunger before eating 8/10. Satiety after eating 7/10.

Snack (8:30pm): 2 cups unsweetened almond breeze (vanilla)

Totals for day:

994 calories, 67.3 g Fat / 31.6 - 14.3 = 17.3 g NET carbs / 73.0 g protein

58%F/12%C/30%P

I am proud of sticking to it today. =)

247.4

I managed to hold out last night and not eat the 2 boiled eggs. It was really, really rough.

Fasting blood sugar this morning(1 hour after waking) was 99.

Breakfast (2pm): 4 oz (raw) BLSK chicken breast, 3 g. coconut oil, 30 g. cheddar, 21 g. mayo, 16 g. onion, 38 g. iceberg lettuce, 45 g. frozen peas, salt & pepper

Hunger before eating 8/10. Satiety after 7/10.

Dinner (5:45pm): 4 oz (raw) BLSK chicken breast, 3 g. coconut oil, 30 g. cheddar, 15 g. mayo, 2.47 oz raw tomato, 6 g. iceberg lettuce, Flatout Wrap, 6 g. mustard, 10.34 oz cucumber

Hunger before eating 8/10. Satiety after eating 9/10

Totals for day:

963 calories / 60.2 g Fat / 38.5 (-14.7 g Fiber) = 23.8 NET g. Carb / 74.4 g Protein

53%F/15%C/31%P

We went to the grocery store this afternoon and I picked up some Bob's Redmill Vital Wheat Gluten, some Wheat Bran, Xanthum Gum (thickener for soups/stews/gravies), raw almonds, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, bacon, raw broccoli and TVP. I have been wanting to make some LCHF homemade waffles and LC breaded fish sticks. I picked up some sugar free Mrs. Butterworth's Syrup this last week (that has sorbitol as the sweetener). I am interested to find out how it works on some low carb waffles. I plan on making up a big batch of the waffles and freezing them, so I have them ready to put in the toaster when I want some. I would like to figure out a way to do the same with tilapia fish stick (homemade), but not sure how that would work. I also am concerned with how to count the calories for the fat if I home-make fried LC fish-sticks. It will be a guess at best. Although, maybe I can weigh the pan with oil before cooking and after to get a total fat count for the fish-sticks and then figure out the total batch and do the math for each individual serving. I plan on using lard (non-hydrogenated) to cook them in.

Today so far has been easier... although I did feel like I had a bit of hypoglycemia going on when we were out shopping earlier, and chose to stay in the car with the dogs instead of going into a store with my husband.

248.2

Fasting blood sugar reading 11am 108. Consistently higher than I would like. I will continue to take measurements for a few more days. I haven't tested in a couple of months.

I am super pleased with this mornings weigh in. Just gotta keep plugging along.

Breakfast (noon): 1.59 oz heavy cream with coffee and 10 drops EZ Sweetz

Hunger before 7/10. Satiety after 8/10.

Lunch (2:15pm): 4oz raw chicken breast (BLSL)with 8 oz mixed oriental veggies, 47 grams sour cream and 3 grams coconut oil

Hunger before 7/10. Satiety after 8/10.

Snack (4:15pm) 30g Roasted Sunflower Seeds

Hunger before 7/10. Satiety after 6/10.

Dinner (5:30pm): 4oz raw chicken breast (BLSL)with 8 oz mixed oriental veggies, 48 grams sour cream and 3 grams coconut oil

Hunger before 8/10. Satiety after 6/10.

I think I ate dinner too early and am worried that I am going to struggle for the rest of the night. I hope not. I was just too hungry to wait any longer. I feel good today... as if I am already a little lighter. I feel like the face carb bloating is down and my jaw bones are more evident. If I can't manage to go without eating for the rest of the night because of excessive hunger, I plan to have 2 hard boiled eggs. Hopefully I can make it without them though. Daily Totals as of now (without eggs):

997 calories / 65.5 g Fat / 42.7 - 14.5 = 28.2 Net Carbs / 69.6 g Protein

57%F/16%C/27%P

(next day note: I did not eat any more yesterday. It was HARD, but I made it).

250.6 again

I have been on this weird schedule lately where I can't go to sleep at night and have been routinely getting up at 11am-noonish. I don't care for it. My husband hates it... but I can't seem to get out of it. I am going to try to get back on an earlier schedule. (We work from home, so can set up our own time schedule).

Fasting Blood Glucose 2:15pm 113. Yikes

Breakfast (2:40pm): Cup coffee with 1.48oz heavy cream and 10 drops EZ Sweetz

Lunch (4:30pm): 1.62 oz cooked boneless skinless chicekn, 30 g cheddar, 16 g onions, 45 g frozen peas, 21 g mayo, and 26 g sour cream

hunger was 8/10 before eating and satiety was 7/10 after eating

Snack (6:30pm): 30 g walnut pieces hunger was 7/10 before eating and satiety was 6/10 after eating

Dinner (7:30pm): 252 g Cottage Cheese (4%) hunger was 7/10 before eating and satiety was 7/10 after eating

It is now 9:30pm and I took a tylenol pm about 15 minutes ago and I plan to be in bed at 10pm. Hopefully I can get back on schedule tonight.

Today's Totals:

996 calories / 74.4 g Carb / 22.8 g (-4.0 g Fiber) = 18.8g Carb Net / 61.8 g Protein

65%F/9%C/26%p

Today was definitely easier than yesterday. I don't know if I should attribute that to the lower carb count or to having a higher calorie day yesterday. Regardless, I am grateful it wasn't as tough as yesterday was. I need to cut back on the diet soda. I've been drinking way more than I should. I always seem to use it as a crutch when I am restarting LCHF.

250.6 Yesterday's weigh-in

Yesterday:

12:15am (midnight) Flatout wrap with meatballs, onion, mayo & mustard

11:30am meatballs with mustard

3:30pm Flatout wrap, cheese, chicken, sour cream + guacamole

8:30pm Green beans, mayo, onions and lettuce

10:00 pm Hormel Beanless Chili and cheddar cheese

Ending nutrition: 1768 calories, 115.4 g Fat, 94.6 (-36.3 g Fiber) = 58.3 g Net Carb, 107.6 g. Protein

Obviously this was way to high in Carbs, which may have contributed to my massive hunger all day. I think I was about an 8/10 to 10/10 hunger before each time I ate and only about a 5/10 satiety after each time I ate. Kinda frustrating. My energy was low all day and I didn't feel like I had any energy to do things. I think the Flatout wraps are OK in moderation... I should have only had 1 in a day and it would have probably been better to eat something zero carb rather than the Hormel Chili at 10pm. I was really struggling at that point. I think I had been fighting myself for at least 5 hours at that point. All in all, I actually am pretty ok mentally with how yesterday turned out. I would have liked it to be lower carb. I am ok with the calories/fat/protein. I will attempt in the future (when having such a hungry day) to allow myself to go ahead and eat some zero carb food. My error was in trying to stop eating for the day and then succumbing to something higher carb than I would have liked. (Although not a horrible choice, considering).

Note: Everything was weighed on my digital gram /ounce (to 3 decimal places) kitchen scale and input into Fitday.

251.8

Today:

Breakfast (12:30pm):

12 oz coffee with 1.69 oz heavy cream and 10 drops EZ Sweetz Liquid Splenda

Was quite hungry before eating and 7/10 satiety after.

Lunch (3:30pm):

125 g iceberg lettuce, 23 g. blue cheese dressing, 1.47 cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, 30 g. cheddar cheese

HUNGRY before eating, satiety was 3/10 after eating salad (wasn't enough protein or something)

Snack (5:30pm):

Polar Kippered Snack in Tomato Sauce (1 tin) (251 calories worth)

Hunger was 9/10 before eating and satiety was 8/10 after eating

Snack (7pm): 2 cubes beef boullion (to prevent Charlie Horses)

Dinner (8:15pm) 3.00 oz (cooked weight) lean ground beef and 3 tsp mustard

Hunger before eating was 7/10 and satiety was 9/10 after eating

Totals for the day:

985 calories / 73.8 g Fat / 16.4 g Carb (2.0 g Fiber = 14.4 g Carb net) / 64.8 g Protein

I read all of my previous posts on this blog last night. It made me really sad to read them. I have been fighting my weight for the last 25 years. Even when I was at 140 in my early 20's, I was really unhappy with how much I weighed. It makes me sad that I put so much thought and energy into how much I weigh, and yet I make no progress. It's really pitiful. I don't want to think about it this much for the rest of my life. It was hard at several points today. Before eating the herring I thought I had eaten all my food for the day and I was HUNGRY. I didn't think I would make it. Then I realized in fitday that I had been pre-calculating what to eat and had put some stuff in there that I hadn't actually eaten. After that, it was pretty easy. I feel cautiously optimistic about eating LCHF again.

253.8 - Wow, it's been a long time since I posted.

253.8 - Today was another Day 1, the start of another run at low carb / ketogenic eating. I know it works. I've successfully lost weight and felt MUCH better many times eating low carb. Each time I have had a taste, a meal, or a "break" that derailed me. I don't question whether I could lose all my extra weight with low carb eating. I question whether I am capable of sticking with it for the long haul. Each time I go off low carb I gain back all the weight I've lost and struggle for weeks/months/a year with trying to get back to it. I know I need to look at it as something that I stick with every day regardless of whether it's a holiday whatever to be successful with losing the weight and keeping it off.

Since it's been almost a year since I posted on here, I will note that I think I did 2 or 3 runs of low carb since this time last year (of at least 2 weeks or more). My lowest weight during the last year was 238.8 in late September 2012 and my highest was 260.6 in mid August 2012. Mainly I was in the upper 240's and lower 250's though (excluding the low weights from successfully low carbing and the high weights that proceeded each stint).

Today:

Breakfast: (at 1pm, quite hungry before, quite satisfied after)

12 ounces coffee with 1.59 oz heavy cream and 9 drops of EZ Sweetz (liquid splenda)

Lunch: (at 4pm, starving (had gone to Walmart and was famished when I got back), quite satisfied after eating Light Flatout wrap with 2 pieces of Oscar Meyer bologna, 1 slice Kraft American cheese, 20 grams mayo, 24 grams lettuce, 29 grams tomato, 6 grams onion

Dinner: (at 7:30pm (hunger level 7/10 before eating, moderately satisfied after) 183 grams iceberg lettuce, 30 grams cheddar, 27 grams blue cheese dressing, 1.48 oz cooked chicken breast

Drank about 1 Liter of Diet Shasta through the day

Totals:

997 calories/ 80.3 grams fat / 33.6 total grams Carb (21.7 Net carbs) / 45.8 g. Protein

Percentages 69%F / 13%C / 18% P

Protein was lower than I *think* it should be. Carbs were good. Fat was made up of too much seed oil (canola in the blue cheese dressing, seed oil in the mayo). I feel pretty okay for it being the 1st day back on low carb. I feel like I *could* eat some more, but am not really hungry.

Pills taken: Birth control pill, 1000 mg SR Metformin, 225 mg Magnesium Citrate, 5 mg Biotin, 1 gummy (1/2 dose) children's vitamin

Notes: No headaches today. Energy low (this is normal lately).

250.0

Ok. So I gave up the 800 calories a day idea already. I don't believe it is in my best interests to do it. I really need to do something I can stick with long term. I have lost the weight and regained the weight enough times to know that I need to find a way of eating I can live with for life. Hopefully I would lose weight gradually. I doubt I will ever get down to the weight I would like to be (136) and not be actively restricting calories (being hungry a good part of the day) to maintain it - low carb or not. I am tempted to go lower calorie, to lose weight faster, but here is what I would like to promise myself:

I will stay low carb / primal with high fat dairy.
I will try to eliminate fake sugars (artificial sweeteners). Letting go of sugar is hard though and I will not yell at myself for using it for a crutch here in the beginning.

I will try to do some exercise as I lose weight and it feels better.
I will try to sit in the sun for brief (<10 minutes) each day.

I DID calorie track today and ended up with a 200 calorie deficit. Better than nothing for sure. I also feel like I am getting off the sugar swings / insulin swings right now, so I will cut myself some slack. I WILL eat low carb primal though and try to lower my calorie consumption as time goes on. I will not be under 200 by the 4th of July... but it would be nice to be at least down to 235 (1 pound a week) or even down to 220 (2 pounds a week). Both are quite doable without much deprivation.

Day 1 - Made it. :)

I just finished my tilapia and am having a cup of licorice herbal tea. I made it. :) I started thinking about different things (meaning other than fish) I wanted for dinner and realized it meant I needed to eat the fish NOW if I wanted to stay on track. I will have to remember that tomorrow. It's easy for me to wait to long and then get hungry enough that I make poor choices.

I don't have any big plans for tomorrow other than making some cream cheese jalepino poppers (just baked jalepinos with cream cheese inside). I am going to make them for breakfast (for my high fat meal). They are freeking delicious. I might even make them tonight and them just put them in the refrigerator overnight, so they are ready to go. Other than that, I will probably have chicken and cauliflower... not sure what else. Maybe some liver? I should go to the store and pick up some lean beef steak.

Feeling really pleased with myself. I need to remember how good it is to feel hope about this situation that has plagued me most of my life.

It's been a long time! 251.0

Wow. I haven't posted on here in forever. I am going to try to regularly post and see if I can't see some trends. Since I last posted in July of 2011, I saw a high of 261 something (naked a.m. weight). At the start of 2012 I started working diligently on it and over the course of 5ish weeks got down to 247ish and then I've hung around 250-252ish (with carb bloat weight) since then (the last 5 weeks). I am ready to get very strict again.

I am going to do 800 calories per day. Shoot for 80-110 grams protein, under 20-25 grams carbs and the rest in fat. I am going to try to make sure one of the meals has most of the fat, so my gall bladder will definately have enough fat to make it flush out EACH day. (Since I have had gall bladder issues in the past and they are exacerbated by low calorie diets). Theoretically, if I am able to maintain this sort of eating, I should be able to get under 200 by the 4th of July. That is a size 16. Doable and I would feel a lot better physically. I am going to be really strict and plan to try to be paleo/primalish (not atkinsy - meaning low/no dairy, no artificial sweeteners). I am drinking diet mountain dew today and will lay off of it when this bottle is done. (The first day is the roughest for me).

I am curious to try the 30 day primal challenge and see if it would be something I can stick with long term. I still haven't found the answer. I liked how I felt when I was Zero Carbing, but I have been unable to stick with it (I have tried MANY times in the 20 months).

Today I had:

1pm: 3 egg/ 1 1/2 strip bacon with salsa egg scramble

5:30pm: 3.7oz lean pork loin and 13.2oz english cucumber

later on I plan on having 6oz tilapia.

I feel good right now, but know I am going to struggle later on tonight. I've GOT to get some of this weight off though. I feel 20 years older than I should. :(