247.8

242.6

So last time I had asparagus it was a shooting migraine and this time it was a horrible stomach ache. Could they both be reactive responses or does the allergy always manifest with the same body response?

Breakfast: 49 grams heavy cream, coffee & 8 drops EZ-Sweetz

Lunch: I made the following concoction and am eating about half: 4.20 oz raw celery, 4.97 oz raw cauliflower, 13.51 oz raw weight 80/20 ground beef, 1 can green beans, 4.00 oz sour cream and 1.99 oz cheddar cheese

240.8

Lunch (noon): 5.43 oz (raw weight) asparagus with 16 grams butter and 5.22 oz (cooked weight) t-bone (weighed without bone).

Snack (2:10pm): Coffee with 51 grams heavy cream, 8 drops EZ-Sweetz, a few drops of vanilla extract

Dinner (6:00pm): We got Chinese food from the Golden Harvest. I got an eggroll, sweet and sour chicken and fried rice. I also ate some chicken broccoli and chow mein and regular coke (not diet). I was STUFFED.

What I want to note for myself (for future reference) is that my stomach hurt like a son of a bun ALL afternoon and night long. Accompanied by horrible watery diarrhea ALL day. Was it the asparagus? The book "The Plan" says that asparagus is one of the more reactive foods. I remember feeling bad after eating asparagus last time and writing it in the blog, but don't remember the specifics. My abdominal pain was both right and left sides, the entire area from my lower ribs all the way down. The was some bloating, a LOT of stomach gurgling as well. I will go back and see if I specified the same thing last time I ate it.

I have another 3/4 lb of asparagus left and am now scarred to try it. I am going to try to have a LCHF non-reactive food day and then probably try it day after tomorrow.

240.6 (@ 11:45am)

:)

I am super happy that I have been able to get back on track the last two days. It looks as if I have lost all my water weight now, as well. In fact, I imagine my weight will go up tomorrow, as I don't think I should be quite this low again, this fast.

Last night I ate a LOT of French Grey Sea Salt. I had this twinge the day before yesterday that let me know that I could be in for night leg cramps (Charlie Horses) if I didn't pay attention to my minerals. I usually use "Morton's Lite Salt" which has a lot of potassium, but even though I bought a new container a couple months ago, I can't find it for the life of me. I refuse to buy a new one though (because I am stubborn like that), because the moment I buy a new one, I will find the one I already bought. Anyway, the French Grey Sea Salt (McCormick brand), seemed to take care of whatever salt/potassium issues I was having. I also think that it probably has some good minerals in there. Anytime I find the salt essentially delicious to eat (by itself), I think it is a good indicator that I should eat it and that I am low on something. I have tried some bouillon in the past (I have some great beef bouillon in fact), but I try to avoid MSG (headaches) and bouillon always seems to have a lot of MSG in it.

240.6 would mean I am only really up about 5 pounds since my low. That's a lot, but also not nearly as bad as it could be. I am right at 20 pounds below where I was Jan 1st 2012. That's pretty slow progress I guess. (1.25 pounds per month), but I CAN tell even as slow as the weight loss has been. I am hopeful to stay on track for a good long time (months or longer I hope!), and take off another good portion.

Breakfast (noon): coffee with 50 grams heavy cream and 8 drops EZ-Sweetz.

Lunch (2:10pm): 8.11 oz julienne sliced baby zucchini sauteed in 16 grams butter. 5.82 oz (cooked weight) chopped pork shoulder (really fatty pieces picked out and fed to my dog) mixed with 1.93 oz sour cream, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

This was surprisingly good. I wanted to make it with the stroghanof ground beef mushroom sauce I was eating a lot of a few weeks back, but I remembered I had the cooked pork shoulder in the refrigerator I needed to eat (so it wouldn't go bad). I prefer the ground beef mushroom sauce I was making in the past, but this WAS good. Unfortunately, I am already at 850 calories for the day, so not sure how much I can restrict my calories tonight. I'd rather eat higher calorie and not risk falling off track because of too high of hunger. I might head to the restaurant supply (Cash and Carry) and pick up another big box of mushrooms and a cabbage. The julienne slicer (I ordered off of ebay from China for $1.99 including shipping Item# 400407393591 green version - although I just looked at the price is now $2.69, but still a good value for this item) works great on the zucchini. I am also going to try it on carrots (in moderation with another veggie). I've also seen it used (online) with bell peppers or daikon radish, that would be low carb and delicious. I even think sauteed turnip would be excellent. I really find that the vegetables are what make this way of eating doable for me. You really have to come up with a way to add veggies that not only add volume to your meal, but also make it taste fresher and not so meaty and heavy. I think that is one of the biggest tricks to making this way of eating work. You can see in the picture above of my lunch, that the sauteed zucchini ended up being a good 1/2 of my meal at least. Not counting the butter that I sauteed the zucchini in (as I could have sauteed in a little water if I wanted to, to keep my calories a little lower), the zucchini was only 48 calories (7.2 carbs - 2.5 grams fiber = 4.7 NET carbs). As I love a LOT of different vegetables, I probably have more hope of success with this way of eating than other people do.

Snack (5:15pm): 3.81 oz jalapeno cheese

Snack (7:45pm): Hot cocoa made with 4 grams Hershey's baking cocoa powder, 10 drops EZ-Sweetz, 53 grams of heavy cream, hot water, a tiny pinch of salt and a couple drops of vanilla extract.

Daily Totals:

1,240 calories, 100.8 grams fat, 16.8 grams (-3.3 grams fiber) = 13.5 grams NET carbs, 69.3 grams protein

72%f, 5%c, 23%p

Before bed I again ate a bunch of French Gray Sea Salt. It tasted really good, so I probably needed it.

245.4 (9:00am)

Wow! I actually managed to not binge on crap food last night! It was my first day back on track in weeks. I am soooo excited to think I might be able to get back in ketosis and stay there. =)

Breakfast: coffee with 51 grams heavy cream and 7 drops EZ-Sweetz

Lunch: Can of kippered herring and salad made with 1 can of green beans, 100 grams of raw cauliflower, 19 grams mayo, splash of rice vinegar, a couple drops of EZ-Sweetz, garlic powder, pepper and salt

Dinner: 4.87 cooked weight pork shoulder (lean and fat eaten).

Daily totals:

1,008 calories, 76.2 grams fat, 17.9 grams (-7.9 grams fiber) = 10.0 grams NET carbs, 63.2 grams protein

68%f, 6%c, 26%p

Today was about as spot on with nutrition percentages and grams as I think I could get. I am very happy with those numbers. I cooked the pork in our new convection oven / microwave. I cooked with the convection setting for 2 hours at 300 F for a 23.5 oz piece of pork shoulder. It turned out really well, but took quite a bit longer than I thought it would. I will use this method in the future. I have quite a bit left over for the next couple of days too. I sprinkled it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, hungarian paprika and 2 drops of liquid smoke and then put a little bit of water in with it, so it wouldn't dry out too much.

246.0 (@ noon)

I have had the best of intentions every day for the last (3?) weeks and then have failed each day. I am going to try REALLY hard today to get back on track. I don't have any family functions to attend in the near future and I really want to get to feeling better again and losing some weight.

Breakfast: Coffee with 50 grams heavy cream and 8 drops EZ-Sweetz.

Lunch: 30 grams summer sausage and 87 grams Brie cheese

Snack 7:45pm : English cucumber with salt. (I forgot to weigh it, but will find the average for this type on the net).

Snack (9:30pm): 2 Cups unsweetened almond milk

Final Daily Totals:

683 calories, 56.6 grams fat, 16.5 grams (-5.9 grams fiber) = 10.6 grams NET carbs, 28.8 grams protein

73%f, 10%c, 18%p

(it is the next day now... I am so happy that I was able to finish the day without binging on a bunch of carb junk. I feel like this might be a new start!)

247.6

Breakfast (11am): 50 grams heavy cream, coffee & 7 drops EZ-Sweetz

Lunch (2:45pm): 67 grams Brie cheese

Snack (3:15pm): 40 grams summer sausage and 5 grams dijon mustard

Snack (3:30pm): 79 grams cashews

245.8

Breakfast (11:00am): coffee with 50 grams heavy cream and 9 drops EZ-Sweetz.

Lunch (3:45pm): took a lb of ground pork shoulder and spiced it with cayenne, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cumin and red pepper flakes. I then mixed in about 5 ounces of cream cheese (about 5/8 of a block) and spooned it into 6 large jalapeno peppers that had been split in half and cleaned. I am now baking the peppers and will have them later. For lunch I had the pork/cream cheese mixture (about 1/4 - 1/3 of the mixture) on top of iceberg lettuce with about 1/2 a cup of salsa. That was really good and filling.

Per fitday, if I can keep to eating the peppers tonight and nothing else I will end the day at:

1,923 calories, 150.6 grams fat, 48.4 grams (-8.4 grams fiber)= 40 grams NET carbs, 99.4 grams protein

70%f, 9%c, 21%p

I have been having a heck of a time getting back to low carb. I will be happy with today if I can stick to just having the jalapenos tonight. Although the calories are high, they are fine for slow weight loss.

245.0 @ 11:30 a.m. - New scale arrived today. =)

Well, I have been eating whatever the heck I wanted since March 23rd. I had a few controlled days in there, but most were a free-for-all. I was 236.0 on March 23rd. I have gained 9 pounds in the last 17 days, but I think (hope!) that I have 3-4 pounds of water weight...

Breakfast: 50 grams heavy cream, 8 drops EZ-Sweetz and coffee.

Snack (4pm): 28 grams cashew nuts & cup (black) sleepytime herbal hot tea

Snack (5:30pm): 3.42 oz raw turnip

???

My husband broke one of the plastic feet on my digital scale yesterday, so I ordered one from Walmart yesterday afternoon. It hasn't shipped yet, so I don't know yet when to expect it. So... no weight for a while. I had a headache/migraine allllll day long. I took 2 fast release ibuprofen and 2 diphenhydramine HCL around 2 and slept till 6pm. I have had a headache since then though. (It normally works to eliminate the headache for me). I still feel kinda sick to my stomach from the headache, but hopefully can get rid of it tonight.

243.4

Breakfast (10:30am): Coffee with 50 grams heavy cream and 7 drops EZ-Sweetz

244.4

This was another out of control day. It started with an avocado (weighed), then got 2 Banh Mi Sandwiches from a Vietnamese Sandwich shop in the valley. They were soooo dissapointing. I had such high hopes, because I had such amazing ones, when we lived in Oklahoma. I also had another frozen cheeseburger with mayo and pickles, a cinnamon hard candy, probably other stuff I don't remember as well.

I am REALLY going to try to get back on track today (this is the next day). I am not going to restrict calories at all for 4 days. Then I should be in ketosis and can start restricting calories.

243.0

10:30am: 1 mile walk at the Rotary Pond with my two dogs. Then I dropped a book off at the library.

Noon: coffee with 50 grams heavy cream, 7 drops EZ-Sweetz, and tiny pinch of salt (reduces coffee bitterness)

Snack (1:00pm) 28 grams cashews. I think the picture is interesting, because it shows how few nuts you get for 1 serving (163 calories, (8.4 - 0.9 fiber = 7.5 NET carbs). I am pretty good about almost always weighing out my nuts (in grams). I would say I weigh them about 95% of the time within the last few months. It's just way to easy to overeat anything that is added fat. The funny thing is, is with a low carb high fat diet, you need to eat more fat. But, I find that if I don't measure my fats, I ended up eating way too many to end up with any sort of weight loss. I am hoping with time, that I get a whole bunch of meals that I know what they come up to, and won't have to strictly measure in the same way. Anyway, what is interesting to me, is I went on a one mile walk this morning with my two dogs. Fitday says that I burned an extra 44 calories (base calories for sedentary day for my weight 243 is 2671, but adding in 22 minutes of 2.5 miles per hour walking plus 23 hours, 38 minutes of sedentary lifestyle = 2715 calories expended for the day). I would have to walk over three miles to account for that little itty bitty tiny pile of cashew nuts. THAT is why exercise doesn't work for weight loss. I am not walking because I think it will lead to weight loss. I am walking because it is supposedly good at improving insulin resistance. I also find that taking a walk around a pond in the beautiful spring morning sunshine is good for my mood (endorphins and such). I will never ever again in my life do cardio in an attempt to lose weight. I find that exercise definitely increases my appetite a LOT. In fact, I think exercise probably hurts weight loss.

Lunch (2:30pm): Light flatout wrap with 67 gams cream cheese, 9 grams jar jalapenos, 2.19 oz baked ham, pepper and garlic powder

After wrapping and cutting

Ugh. Embarrassing to write. It all went out of control again last night. It was a "binge" I think. Wonder bread sandwich with mayo and jalapeno cheese. Frozen cheeseburger with added mayo and pickles. Enchilada with spanish rice and sour cream. Homemade chocolate shake. TWO baked potatoes with garlic sauteed in butter, shredded cheese and sour cream.

I eventually went to sleep feeling like I was hungry and stuffed at the same time. I should have checked my insulin at that point. I would be curious to know what it was.

244.0

Breakfast 10am: coffee with 52 grams heavy cream, 7 drops of EZ-Sweetz and a tiny pinch of salt.

10:30am - We (my two dogs and I) went for a 1 mile walk.

Lunch (2:30pm): 6.10 oz green cabbage, 5.71 oz raw cauliflower, 1.83 oz baked ham, 31 grams mayo, 5 drops EZ-Sweetz, splash of rice wine vinegar, garlic powder, salt & pepper

I'd eaten over half of it before I remembered to take a picture...

Snack (4:50pm): 4.80 oz California avocado with a tsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt

Dinner (5:50pm): 1.90 oz baked ham

Daily Totals:

1,000 calories, 83.3 grams fat, 33.0 grams (-17.6 grams fiber) = 15.4 grams NET carbs, 37.7 grams protein

73%f, 12%c, 15%p

I am sure I am going to be hungry for the rest of the night and experience SERIOUS carb cravings. I am just going to have to be strong.

(This is the next day). I wasn't strong. I had a bunch of little candy bars, a frozen cheeseburger with mayo and pickles, a piece of apple pie, navy beans with ham and cheddar cheese... I think that is all.

243.0

lunch (2:00pm): 5.50 (cooked weight) ham with 6 tsp dijon mustard

Later... it AGAIN went out of control. I had chips and salsa, macaroni and cheese with peas (boxed mac), a frozen cheeseburger with mayo and pickles added and more of the apple pie. UGH. (it is now the next day and I am up another pound). I can gain weight sooo quickly when I go crazy.

241.4

Breakfast: 50 grams heavy cream with coffee and 7 drops EZ-Sweetz

Lunch (2:00pm): 4.59 (raw weight) oz raw ground beef, with 2.72 oz raw onions, 4.23 oz green cabbage and then mixed with 1.34 oz sour cream, salt & pepper

Dinner (5:30pm): 2.86 oz (cooked wgt) ground beef, 3.21 oz salsa, 17 grams jalapeno cheese & 0.88 oz sour cream

9pm, I went off the rails and ate refried beans, bbq ground beef, cheese, sour cream and salsa with corn chips (a LOT) then ate about 1/5 of an apple pie crisp (commercial). I don't know what the calories or weights were. (This is the next day I am typing this). Not cool. I've got to get it back together.

242.0

Lunch: 8.03 oz ground beef (raw weight) with 3.63 oz celery, 11.15 oz mushrooms and 3.77 oz sour cream

Snack: 56 grams cashews

Dinner: 7.65 oz (raw weight) petite sirloin (lean only) grilled. ~6 oz (I forgot to weigh the asparagus) asparagus and 18 grams butter.

Snack (11:45pm): Light flatout wrap with 29 grams mayo, 54 grams bologna and 39 grams cheddar cheese Daily totals:

2,274 calories, 170.4 grams fat, 61.9 grams (-19.2 grams fiber) = 42.7 grams NET carbs, 138.0 grams protein

65%f, 11%c, 24%p

Protein was way to high today. I am okay with the calories. The day after a off carb day is not a good day to try to restrict your low carb calorie intake. I wouldn't have eaten the cashews if I had known my husband was going to grill the steaks... but overall, I am just happy to be back on track. I salted my food really heavily today, to try to prevent muscle cramps and I am trying to drink a lot of water to get my body hydrated. The migraine last night was probably somewhat prompted by dehydration. I am hopeful to have a normal day tomorrow (1000 calories, 20-35ish carbs, 50-60 protein).

Today my husband fixed my little 94 Geo Metro (it had an ignition issue), then we took it to the car wash. I love that little car, so am really happy to be running around in it again. (We got it last year. I had been wanting one for a long time, because it gets great mileage and doesn't have any of the stupid electronics they put in a prius or whatever these days).

240.4

Lunch (1:00pm): light flatout wrap, 23 grams mayo, 56 grams oscar meyer bologna, 41 grams cheddar cheese

Snack (4:30pm): 4 grams cocoa powder with 100 grams heavy cream, a few drops vanilla extract, a tiny amount of salt and boiling water

I am struggling soooo much right now. No calorie restriction efforts tonight. I am just going to try to keep my carb and protein count where it should be.

We went to Golden Corral last night (this is the next day that I am updating this post). I had a ton of mashed potatoes, chips and guacamole, imitation crab salad, carrot cake, a couple of chocolate chip cookies, a couple of spring rolls, a piece of fried catfish, a couple pieces of pineapple.

Later, when we got home, I ate a lot of chips and salsa, oreos... I think I ate something else as well. It was a lot of food.

I had a migraine in the middle of the night. It was horrible. Definately not worth the fun or joy of getting to eat a bunch of junk. It was one of the worst migraines I've had in a long time. I had heart burn as well. Just... yuck. The food wasn't very good. The body just really didn't like what I fed it.

I of course didn't keep track of calories, I am guessing it I totaled out at 4440.

239.8

Lunch (3:15pm): 4.30 oz (raw weight) ground 80/20 beef with 6.03 oz mushrooms, 3.21 oz celery, 1.76 oz sour cream, salt and pepper

Snack (5:45pm): 28 grams cashews

Dinner: 177 grams Hormel Beanless chili with 49 grams jalapeno cheese and 1.23 oz sour cream

Snack (8:45pm): 16 oz cabbage with 34 grams butter

Daily totals:

1,404 calories, 105.0 grams fat, 62.7 grams (-17.7) = 45.0 grams NET carbs, 62.6 grams protein

66%f, 17%c, 17%p

236.4

Lunch (3:00pm): 7.02 oz asparagus with 20 grams butter. 3.74 (raw weight) 80/20 ground beef cooked with 1.16 oz raw onion, 3.60 oz mushrooms, 8.99 oz raw green cabbage, then mixed with 1.62 oz sour cream, salt & pepper

Snack (6:30pm): 133 grams jalapeno jack cheese

King size reese's. 5 oz tortilla chips, 3/4 can refried beans, 2 chicken eggrolls, 2.5 oz cheese, 4 oz sour cream, 4 oz salsa, 1 & 1/2 cups rice meat broccoli stuff, 1/4 cup sweet and sour sauce

Daily totals:

3,508 calories, 209.7 grams fat, 281.9 grams (-42.6 grams fiber) = 239.3 grams NET carbs, 139.8 grams protein

53%f, 32%c, 16%p

I obviously went off the rails last night. I at least wrote everything down, although some were estimates after the fact... (but I think the estimates are really close).

238.6 (but weighed 6 hours earlier than normal)

Fasting blood sugar - 108.

Breakfast: 1.47 oz Bacon (cooked weight)

Lunch (4:20 pm): 4.20 (raw weight) 80/20 ground beef cooked with 6.53 oz mushrooms and then tossed with 1.69 oz sour cream, salt and pepper to taste. Served with 7.05 oz (raw weight) asparagus with 11 grams butter.

This hamburger, mushroom, sour cream, S&P concoction is very similar in flavor to a stroganoff. I would like to get a julienne peeler that I can use to make zucchini "noodles" that I would saute and serve this concoction over. That would be quite delicious. It's amazing to me how low calorie my days have been, while having such decadent plates of food. I haven't been having the potato / bread cravings I usually have when I eat low carb. I think it is just that small increase in fat that I have done this time. What's funny though, is how little sour cream, heavy cream or butter I add to a dish to really increase the calories. For example, with this meal the asparagus was 50 calories and the butter was 79 calories.

I wanted to note that last night in bed I had joint pain in my ankles. Am I sensitive to asparagus? Need to notice over the next couple days of the rest of the asparagus gives me joint pain.

Dinner (7:15pm): 50 grams heavy cream with 4 grams Hershey's Baking Cocoa Powder, 10 drops EZ-Sweets, 5 drops imitation vanilla flavoring, a tiny pinch of salt and hot water. Served with 20 grams (1/2 serving) of Sugar Free Dark Chocolate (90 calories worth)

Daily totals:

1,076 calories, 87.2 grams fat, 21.8 (6.8 grams fiber) = 15.0 NET carbs, 8.5 grams Sugar alcohols, 51.7 grams protein

69%f, 7%c, 5%SA, 19%P

236.0

Lunch (4:30pm): 8.40 oz asparagus with 15 grams butter. Then 4.09 oz (raw weight) 80/20 ground beef cooked with 3.21 oz celery, 6.00 oz sliced mushrooms and mixed with 1.62 oz sour cream.

This was the most delicious meal I have fixed since I have started this diet. It was amazing. I cooked the asparagus by putting it in a bowl with about 1/4 cup of water and steaming it in the microwave (with a plate on top) for about 5 minutes. Then I added the butter when I plated it. The hamburger, celery, mushroom, sour cream combo was also very very very good. This meal came out to 612 calories, 46.0 g fat, 19.5 (-8.2 grams fiber) = 11.3 grams NET carbs, and 32.6 grams protein. Fabulous stats and soooo tasty.

We went to the store this afternoon. We got 67 lbs of boneless pork shoulder ($0.99 per pound!!) that I am going to make homemade sausage out of. Store bought sausage always gives me a stomach ache from the nitrates. So this will be a lot cheaper and a lot healthier. I got a 2.5 lb package of mushrooms for $5.49!! and asparagus for $0.99 per pound! (I have never got it that cheap in my whole life)! I also got a head of cauliflower for $1.29. So I am set for a while with great veggies and I LOVE it when we can stock up on meat for a cheap price. I have a meat grinder and so we are going to grind the pork shoulder up with it and package it in individual quart freezer bags. If you don't have a stand alone freezer, you should think about buying one. We bought one off of Craigslist for about $80. It paid for itself very quickly. We buy a lot of a meat any time we find a great sale and package it up into single meal sizes (there is just my husband and me). At any given time we normally have 50-80 lbs of beef hamburger, 20-30 pounds of chicken, 20-30 pounds of pork (shoulder, steaks, bacon, sausage, etc) and 4-5 pounds of beef steak. Beef steak is the hardest thing for us to find on a good sale. I am hoping that on father's day we can really hit the beef steak sales, as most stores seem to think everyone grills in the backyard for father's day. Right now though, I am very happy to make my veggie meat (that I eat almost every day) with either hamburger or chicken. I think making them with sausage will be a nice combo as well. Two years ago, I did a zero carb diet (all meat diet) for 50 days. During that time I ate a ton of beef steak and kinda got burned out on it. So it's not a big deal for me now to make my veggie meat mixes with a cheaper cut of meat. This way of eating doesn't need to be any more expensive than the standard american diet (SAD) if you shop sales and plan your meals. I think a family of 4 or 5 could eat just as cheaply as a SAD eating family if they use a freezer and buy a lot of in season low carb vegetables. Maybe my veggie-meat mixes don't appeal to most people though. I don't know. To me, they are quite delicious and by adding different combos of veggies and different meats I come up with a lot of different variations. Mainly though, after eating them, I feel happily full, but never feel gross full.

A lot of people complain that Atkins or low carb or whatever is too based on meat, but I think you can see from my food logs that it actually isn't any more meat. It a lot more veggies than I normally eat and a lot more sour cream and heavy cream. About the same amount of cheese as I used to eat, I think. More nuts than I used to eat. (We got salted roasted cashew (pieces) today at our local store that has bulk bins for $2.88 per pound).

My husband and I live a very frugal, modest lifestyle and we can really keep our food costs down by buying in bulk and repackaging. We also bought a 5 pound bag of shredded cheddar/mozzarella blend today. We split that up as well into 4 (1) quart freezer bags. Cheese freezes well, if you push all the air out of the freezer bag before you freeze it that you can and then temper it in the refrigerator before you want to use it. The 5 pound bag of cheese was $12.54. If you have never purchased food at a restaurant supply, or felt that your family was too small to buy in bulk, you should reconsider. =)

Dinner (7:15pm): 3.99 oz (raw weight) 80/20 ground beef cooked with 2.93 oz celery, 6.00 oz mushrooms and then mixed with 1.62 oz sour cream, salt and pepper to taste.

Daily totals:

1,029 calories, 78.7 grams fat, 26.7 grams (-10.3 grams fiber) = 16.4 grams NET carbs, 56.6 grams protein

68%f, 10%c, 22%p

I took a Melatonin tonight to see if it would help me get back onto a normal sleeping schedule (it's 7:22pm now).

I also wanted to say again how helpful celery can be for bulking up your LCHF meals with very little carb cost. I throw it in with the raw meat and slice it as thin as I can, so it can get nice and tender. When cooked like that, it doesn't add the crunchy stringy aspect you tend to think about with celery. It's not too different than cabbage when cooked like that.

237.6

I was happy to see I am back down to my lowest weight (for this go around). That took 5 days (!!!) to get the weight back off after one out of control day. I need to remember that. I should look and see how long it took after I had the Chinese food. It looks as if it took 4/5 days that time as well. I will really have to keep this in mind. I DO know that I will go off plan at times though... and I probably need to keep that as a reasonable possibility in my head so this doesn't seem such a chore, because honestly, I am pretty satisfied most days and enjoy not being so food fixated.

Brunch (noon): 4.02 oz raw 80/20 hamburger, 1.87 oz celery, 1.21 oz green pepper, 2.75 oz mushrooms, 2.75 oz spinach and then mixed with 1.94 oz sour cream and a pinch (literally) of xanthan gum.

Today marks 5 weeks (with 2 real "off days") that I have been on plan. I have come down 16.2 lbs (of which 3 to 4 pounds is water weight).

Snack: 32 grams peanut butter

Snack: 3 Baby Bell Cheeses

Dinner: Hot cocoa made with 50 grams heavy cream, 4 grams hershey's cocoa baking powder, 10 drops EZ-Sweetz liquid splenda, tiny pinch of salt and hot water. (GOOOD!!!)

Daily totals:

1,044 calories, 86.6 grams fat, 21.7 grams (-6.6 grams fiber) = 15.1 grams NET carbs, 51.0 grams protein

73%f, 8%c, 19%p

I'm kinda struggling tonight (it's 9:15pm now), but I really would like to see a new low tomorrow, so I'm trying not to have any more food tonight. If it gets to hard I might have a piece of cheese... but if I do I will revise this post later.

My body is starting to feel thinner. Probably no one else could tell I've lost weight, but I can. =)

238.4

Breakfast (1:15pm): 3.77 oz California avocado with cup of hot orange pekoe tea with 5 drops EZ-Sweetz and a tsp lemon juice

Lunch: 4.23 oz raw 80/20 hamburger cooked with 2.57 oz sliced mushrooms, 5.22 oz green cabbage, 1.87 oz raw spinach and then mixed with 1.73 oz sour cream

Dinner (6:30pm): 3.00 (cooked wgt) 80/20 hamburger mixed with 1.19 oz salsa, 16 grams cheese, 2.12 oz spinach and 0.92 oz sour cream (this was like a taco spinach salad... I should have taken a picture).

Daily totals:

1,020 calories, 76.7 grams fat, 30.9 (-14.8 grams fiber) = 16.1 grams NET carbs, 58.1 grams protein

66%f, 11%c, 23%p

I think these ratios and amount of food was spot on. I felt good all day long. Not too much hunger, I was really satisfied after each of my meals and I was happy with the fiber as well. Each meal felt like there was a satisfying amount of vegetables and the sour cream really makes it seem rich. I have thought about limiting my dairy and seeing if I feel a lot better eating without it, but I think I will continue on with these sort of meals for the time being.

239.4

I felt kind of heavy before I weighed myself this morning, so I am hopeful that tomorrow will have 237 or 238 weight.

Lunch (3:50pm): 9.14 (raw weight) boneless skinless chicken thighs cooked with 2.79 oz mushrooms, 1.16 oz (frozen) green bell peppers, 8.01 oz green cabbage, then mixed with 22 grams green onion and 3.99 oz sour cream. This was a delicious lunch. 659 calories though, so I will have to try to limit what I eat this evening. My protein is really close to what I want to end up at today, so I will have to either have avocado, nuts, cheese or maybe coffee with heavy cream to finish out the day.

I bought about 14 lbs of the boneless skinless chicken thighs ($0.99 per pound!) and portioned them out into 2 thighs in each freezer baggy and froze a whole bunch. I also picked up a couple avocados and will have one of them this evening. They were super delicious last time I got them, so I hope these ones are as good.

Dinner (9:40pm): 4.06 oz California avocado with a squeeze of lemon and pinch of salt (yum!)

Daily totals:

851 calories, 56.6 grams fat, 33.7 grams (-15.4 grams fiber) = 18.3 grams NET carbs, 58.4 grams protein

58%f, 14%c, 28%p

241.2

Breakfast: 28 grams cashews

Lunch: 227 grams Beanless Hormel Chili with 37 grams cheese and 1.66 oz sour cream

Snack: Light Flatout Wrap with 22 grams mayo, 54 grams bologna (2 slices) and 96 grams tomato

Dinner: 3.92 oz meatballs (cooked weight) in canned spaghetti sauce (only the sauce that cling-ed to the meatballs after pulling them out of the pot), with 29 grams cheese and 1.38 oz sour cream

Daily totals:

1,527 calories, 113.6 grams fat, 55.3 grams (-14.2 grams fiber) = 41.1 grams NET carbs, 81.2 grams protein

65%f, 14%c, 21%p

I was kinda surprised to see how high my calories ended up today. I didn't really feel like I ate that much... but I guess I did! I don't feel like it was a "bad" day though. The fat grams are fine (although higher than I shoot for) and the carbs were fine as well. If anything the protein was maybe a little higher than I would like. I HAVE been adding more cheese and sour cream to stuff recently, with the intention of raising my fat percentage, but it does make it hard to keep my calories as low as they had been.

240.6

Morning fasting blood sugar 143!!! I also had acid reflux to the point I woke up and thought I had thrown-up. GROSS! Lesson learned. (I hope!!!)

Lunch (3:20pm): 172 grams (about 40% of a can) of Hormel beanless chili with 40 grams jalapeno jack cheese & 1.23 oz sour cream

Snack: 42 grams jalapeno jack cheese

Dinner: 13 grams butter, 3 large eggs, 1.16 oz raw spinach and 34 grams jalapeno jack cheese

Daily totals:

983 calories, 73.3 grams fat, 23.4 (-2.9 grams fiber) = 20.5 grams NET carbs, 56.9 grams protein

66%f, 9%c, 24%p

Exactly where I would like the nutrition percentages to be today. I drank about 1.5 liters of diet cola as well. (Not what I would like to do, ideally... but I felt like it would really help me get back on track today, which it did). We went to the store and I picked up some more eggs, almond milk, heavy cream, the jalapeno jack cheese (YUM BTW), some frozen spinach and mushrooms and a bunch of diet soda.

237.6

Wow. I had a bad day diet wise.

Breakfast 252 grams cottage cheese.

Lunch: 45 grams cashew nuts

Snack: Light flatout wrap with 43 grams cheese, 0.99 oz sour cream, 2 tbsp salsa

Snack: 41 grams cheddar cheese

Snack: 14 grams cheddar ruffles

Snack: "Shake" made with 26 grams designer whey vanilla protein powder, ice cubes and 55 grams frozen raspberries

Snack: 131 grams cheddar ruffles

Snack: 92 grams Peanut M&Ms.

Snack: 115 grams Peanut M&Ms

Snack: 1 Cinnamon Hard Candy

Snack: 2 1/2 Servings Chicken Stove Top Stuffing

Snack: 5 Bite Size Butterfinger Candy

Daily totals:

3,392 calories, 170.3 grams fat, 355.0 grams (-31.4 grams Fiber) = 323.6 grams NET carbs, 131.0 grams protein

44%F, 41%C, 15%P

So that's what a binge looks like... It's embarrassing to write out. I am proud that I recorded it though. It's interesting to see what it actually adds up to. That's like 8 days worth of carbs in one day. Also, double the fat and protein than I normally want to eat as well. To tell the truth, I could go eat a bunch more junk too. Tomorrow is going to be HARD as a result, I am sure. *sigh*

I took my blood sugar about 30 minutes PP and it was 118.

238.2

My scale isn't giving me consistent weights anymore. I am going to change the battery. When it has a good battery it is pretty consistent. I got a 238.2, a 238.0 and a 239.0! Normally it is really consistent if you get on and get off again and again.

Either my back or my kidneys hurt this morning. Not sure what that's about either. I slept good. I wondered if all that soda I drank yesterday while playing Skyrim (1.5 liters of diet coke!) made my kidneys hurt.

Breakfast: 3.70 oz raw California avacodo.

Lunch: Soup made with 3.88 oz cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, 2.5 cups homemade chicken broth, 2.57 oz celery, 1.76 oz mushrooms, 1.23 oz raw spinach, 29 g heavy cream and 1.98 oz sour cream

Dinner: 27 grams cashews and "Wired" Low calorie (20 calories) energy drink

Snack (11:00pm): 46 grams medium cheddar cheese

I broke the coffee pot today, so that's sad. I played a lot of Skyrim as well. Pretty laid back Saturday. =)

Daily totals:

1163 calories, 76.1 grams fat, 57.5 grams (-10.8) = 46.7 grams NET carbs, 70.5 grams Protein

56%F, 19%C, 24%P

Higher in carb that I should have done. I'll see if tomorrow is a struggling day as a result. Today was pretty easy. 2/10 for ease of staying on track?

239.2

I really was kinda surprised not to see a lower weight this morning. I have been really good. It is what it is though. The dieting has gotten a lot easier... and if I lose slowly, it is better than not at all.

Today makes 4 weeks that I have been LCHF. I have lost a total of 14.6 lbs, of which about 3 lbs was water weight, so I think about 11.6 pounds of fat. That is almost 3 lbs per week in fat loss. That's really good! I guess I won't be dissappointed that I am not lower than I am today.

Breakfast (1:30pm): coffee with 38 grams heavy cream and 9 drops EZ-Sweetz liquid sucralose

Lunch (4:15pm): 1 California Avacado (3.92 oz without peel or nut)

Dinner (6:30pm): 3.56 oz (raw weight) 80/20 ground beef cooked with 2.72 oz celery, 0.88 oz raw onion, 3.39 oz green cabbage, 19 grams butter and 1.31 oz sour cream

I am drinking a 1.5 Liter Diet Pepsi today (I haven't had soda for a couple weeks I think). I got my Skyrim (xbox) game in the mail and started playing it today. (Fun!!!!)

Snack (9:15pm): 28 grams cashew nuts

Daily totals:

996 calories, 88.2 grams fat, 30.5 grams (-12.3 grams fiber) = 18.2 grams NET carbs, 28.3 grams protein

77%F, 12%C, 11%P

Protein was lower than I intended it to be today.

I bought some beef kidneys and heart today and I am going to try to make a stew with them. I am curious how they will turn out. If it ends up yucky, I can always feed it to my dogs.

I am still not getting tired of the beef / cabbage meal that I have been having pretty much every day. I love cabbage. I have also found, that by using about 1/2 to 1/3 celery, you don't really alter the delicious cabbage taste, but it brings down the carbs a bit.