I did the near-ketogenic diet for a week.
I've lost 6 lbs so far and have another 6 or so before I will reach my target. But I don't want to do it in such a way that I will just bounce back - there is a relationship to carbs and water weight I've been reading about. I'm increasing my carbs now to 65 to 75 grams per day, and the sugar to 20 to 25 grams (or less). If that doesn't continue to feel like it is benefiting me, then I'll reduce it again. I do like the feeling of eating much less sugar, bread and rice etc. I'm not sure if I can keep up eating NO bread and rice for the long term.. so starting back with one or two servings per day under the mentioned limits until I find a good medium ground.
Saturday, September 23, 2017
a birthday party
We went to a birthday party last night.
It was a long night for us, but everyone had fun!
Today I'm back at work....
Thursday, September 21, 2017
The bits
I get the day off tomorrow, but we have a birthday party to go to. I don't have a lot extra to report - have lost some weight with the near-ketogenic diet and I'm just a little away from my goal. Wondering how to work the carbohydrates back up to maintenance level.. but that will be next week.
I hope to sew some more shorts for Esme and do some laundry tomorrow while she is at school. I have a new magazine and am still listening to the e-book. Had some salmon today with plums and red cabbage in olive oil, as well as an egg. That was supper, and I did have breakfast and lunch before that. The plum was SO sweet now that I have not been eating any sugar. It was almost too sweet to eat until I cooked it with the cabbage and olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar. I still came out 60% fat today, 24% carb and 16% protein. It is so easy though to not eat the 'proper' amount of calories because I feel so full.
More to report after the birthday party!
I hope to sew some more shorts for Esme and do some laundry tomorrow while she is at school. I have a new magazine and am still listening to the e-book. Had some salmon today with plums and red cabbage in olive oil, as well as an egg. That was supper, and I did have breakfast and lunch before that. The plum was SO sweet now that I have not been eating any sugar. It was almost too sweet to eat until I cooked it with the cabbage and olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar. I still came out 60% fat today, 24% carb and 16% protein. It is so easy though to not eat the 'proper' amount of calories because I feel so full.
More to report after the birthday party!
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
menu bits
Continuing with the diet plan - and it seems to be working really well. It's difficult to plan things that have no sugar and very little carbohydrates - but its definitely not difficult not to eat those things... I don't really want the sweetness.
Esme and Mark can still have all the sugar they want - it's all around me in the house, but about the only thing I'd want is a coconut Hershey's kiss with almonds - which I had one last night before bed. Even with that yesterday was 15 grams of sugar - less than I used to eat in one breakfast 'cake' which would make me hungry again a few hours later. I do admit I was very hungry at lunch today - but I went light on the calories the past few days and the avocado and pistachios today helped catch me up.
Breakfast:
2/3 cup of coconut milk (unsweetened)
2 tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder
mixed those in a hot cup of coffee and let it combine
ate about a tablespoon worth of walnuts and a slice of swiss cheese with that
Lunch:
1/2 of an avocado
1/3 cup of black beans
2/3 cup of tomatoes
1 tortilla
handful of pistachio nuts
lots of water and coffee
Dinner :
2 brown eggs
a 2 inch square hunk of mozzarella
2 oz of turkey kielbasa (I usually cut the kielbasa into an equal # of hunks based on the weight, Mark did it this time so I tried to guess-timate)
1/2 cup of red cabbage shredded
1/3 cup of green peppers
1 tbsp of good Irish butter
1/4 cup of whole milk in coffee
I cooked the cabbage and peppers and kielbasa together, drained it, added the butter and black pepper to it and then made the eggs and cheese on the side.
Today the planner said I ended up with 59% fat, 24% carbs and 17% protein. I almost reached the calorie goal (which is a weight-loss goal of 1 lb per week), and today was 12 grams of sugar for the entire day. Carbohydrates were 70 grams - and true ketogenic diets are less than 50 grams a day - but I'm not 'doing' true ketogenic - I'm just eliminating as much as I can without having to go out and buy really specialized foods. I can see the difference.
I work later tomorrow, the past two days have been very early and lots of physical labor at work. I'll get a chance to cook something tomorrow instead of having to throw things together on the fly.
Esme and Mark can still have all the sugar they want - it's all around me in the house, but about the only thing I'd want is a coconut Hershey's kiss with almonds - which I had one last night before bed. Even with that yesterday was 15 grams of sugar - less than I used to eat in one breakfast 'cake' which would make me hungry again a few hours later. I do admit I was very hungry at lunch today - but I went light on the calories the past few days and the avocado and pistachios today helped catch me up.
Breakfast:
2/3 cup of coconut milk (unsweetened)
2 tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder
mixed those in a hot cup of coffee and let it combine
ate about a tablespoon worth of walnuts and a slice of swiss cheese with that
Lunch:
1/2 of an avocado
1/3 cup of black beans
2/3 cup of tomatoes
1 tortilla
handful of pistachio nuts
lots of water and coffee
Dinner :
2 brown eggs
a 2 inch square hunk of mozzarella
2 oz of turkey kielbasa (I usually cut the kielbasa into an equal # of hunks based on the weight, Mark did it this time so I tried to guess-timate)
1/2 cup of red cabbage shredded
1/3 cup of green peppers
1 tbsp of good Irish butter
1/4 cup of whole milk in coffee
I cooked the cabbage and peppers and kielbasa together, drained it, added the butter and black pepper to it and then made the eggs and cheese on the side.
Today the planner said I ended up with 59% fat, 24% carbs and 17% protein. I almost reached the calorie goal (which is a weight-loss goal of 1 lb per week), and today was 12 grams of sugar for the entire day. Carbohydrates were 70 grams - and true ketogenic diets are less than 50 grams a day - but I'm not 'doing' true ketogenic - I'm just eliminating as much as I can without having to go out and buy really specialized foods. I can see the difference.
I work later tomorrow, the past two days have been very early and lots of physical labor at work. I'll get a chance to cook something tomorrow instead of having to throw things together on the fly.
Sunday, September 17, 2017
bits
I'm averaging about 50% fat and the protein and carbs are wavering back and forth a bit around 25%.. and that seems to be working wonderfully for me. This would be the third day of increasing monounsaturated fats and cutting back on carbs, with as little sugar as I can get away with.
I have energy and I'm not knife-gnawing hungry before mealtimes have even arrived.. which is a very different feeling. I have to get used to that. Do I need to eat right now? Should I just eat later, or ..? I keep waiting for it to swoop down upon me like it had even during the three weeks I was not restricting carbs and sugars - trying only calorie-restriction (and naturally doing 35-45% fat, although most of it saturated). I used to be hungry two hours after I got to work - and yesterday I only drank water at my break instead of snacking. I was cleaning and moving stuff, too - so it wasn't an idle day by far.
I like this - but I'm not used to it, yet.
We'll see how it continues to develop.
Esme got really great grades on her reading and math tests. We have her parent teacher conferences tomorrow. I have today off and she has asked to invite a friend over to play games. I'm cleaning the house some, doing laundry et al.
Recipes:
These aren't out of the diet book I'm reading - just based on the foods they recommend and the ones they do not - and what I happened to have in my cabinets and freezer that would fit with the plan.
The other day I had this which was EXCELLENT
I've made it before, actually, when I needed 'something' and the fish seemed to be it.
Five of my seven dogs sat at my feet and demanded some of this.. so that tells me it's good!
Mackerel and Tomatoes (2 servings)
1 tin of boneless mackerel in olive oil (Season brand)
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
mix together and put in toaster oven on 350 until hot and steaming
Last night I made this:
Eggs and Swiss with spianch and black beans
2 Large brown eggs cooked in 1 tbsp of butter.
handful of torn up spinach greens tossed in when mostly cooked
2 tbsp of black beans, mixed in after cooked.
1 slice of Swiss cheese torn up and mixed with it all.
A few frozen blueberries on the side
Then this morning I made this:
Coconut Cocoa Greek Yogurt
4 tbsp of toasted unsweetened coconut flakes (we had in freezer, and I had an inspiration)
I toasted that in the toaster oven on low broil and stirred it until it was dry and starting to brown
2 tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder, mixed in after toasting
3 tbsp of full fat Greek yogurt
I liked the coconut yogurt, but it probably would have been better with a few tbsp of unsweetened coconut milk. It needed something 'more'... The cocoa powder was much subtler than I expected - the taste actually rounded out and hit me after I had eaten it... it might have done well to be mixed and let stand so the fat and the cocoa powder could combine some before eating.
I have energy and I'm not knife-gnawing hungry before mealtimes have even arrived.. which is a very different feeling. I have to get used to that. Do I need to eat right now? Should I just eat later, or ..? I keep waiting for it to swoop down upon me like it had even during the three weeks I was not restricting carbs and sugars - trying only calorie-restriction (and naturally doing 35-45% fat, although most of it saturated). I used to be hungry two hours after I got to work - and yesterday I only drank water at my break instead of snacking. I was cleaning and moving stuff, too - so it wasn't an idle day by far.
I like this - but I'm not used to it, yet.
We'll see how it continues to develop.
Esme got really great grades on her reading and math tests. We have her parent teacher conferences tomorrow. I have today off and she has asked to invite a friend over to play games. I'm cleaning the house some, doing laundry et al.
Recipes:
These aren't out of the diet book I'm reading - just based on the foods they recommend and the ones they do not - and what I happened to have in my cabinets and freezer that would fit with the plan.
The other day I had this which was EXCELLENT
I've made it before, actually, when I needed 'something' and the fish seemed to be it.
Five of my seven dogs sat at my feet and demanded some of this.. so that tells me it's good!
Mackerel and Tomatoes (2 servings)
1 tin of boneless mackerel in olive oil (Season brand)
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
mix together and put in toaster oven on 350 until hot and steaming
Last night I made this:
Eggs and Swiss with spianch and black beans
2 Large brown eggs cooked in 1 tbsp of butter.
handful of torn up spinach greens tossed in when mostly cooked
2 tbsp of black beans, mixed in after cooked.
1 slice of Swiss cheese torn up and mixed with it all.
A few frozen blueberries on the side
Then this morning I made this:
Coconut Cocoa Greek Yogurt
4 tbsp of toasted unsweetened coconut flakes (we had in freezer, and I had an inspiration)
I toasted that in the toaster oven on low broil and stirred it until it was dry and starting to brown
2 tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder, mixed in after toasting
3 tbsp of full fat Greek yogurt
I liked the coconut yogurt, but it probably would have been better with a few tbsp of unsweetened coconut milk. It needed something 'more'... The cocoa powder was much subtler than I expected - the taste actually rounded out and hit me after I had eaten it... it might have done well to be mixed and let stand so the fat and the cocoa powder could combine some before eating.
Friday, September 15, 2017
diet bits
I decided to embrace the higher fat lower sugar trend my numbers were showing me in the app - and I didn't even want to eat all the food I had today - which is pretty astounding. I was reading an audiobook about eating more fat to actually lose weight - and I'll try it for a few days and see if I continue to feel this good or if I need to go back to the simple calorie counter method. I didn't even make it to my calories today - even with what I planned to eat, which I didn't eat all of. And I was not starving at lunchtime (like every day for weeks) or snacking when I got home from work.
I did drink a LOT more liquid. I was thirsty, and I did a lot of physical work moving large things around at the store. I got all of my work done for the night and even some of the cleaning I normally do on the weekends. And I still had enough energy to do exercises at home without feeling like I was about to fall over dead... 50% fat for the day (good fat, from eggs, fish and avocado) 30% carb, 20% protein. The only sugars I ate today were in the tomatoes, fresh peppers and a half cup of milk. That was 11 grams for the day compared with the 59 grams they 'allow' me for the day.
We even had free pastries in the breakroom and I was so full feeling I didn't want to eat my dinner or a pastry - I just drank another jar of green tea and had my dinner at my break much later than I normally do. I'll see after three days if I want to continue this or go back to the other method which had more carbs.
I did drink a LOT more liquid. I was thirsty, and I did a lot of physical work moving large things around at the store. I got all of my work done for the night and even some of the cleaning I normally do on the weekends. And I still had enough energy to do exercises at home without feeling like I was about to fall over dead... 50% fat for the day (good fat, from eggs, fish and avocado) 30% carb, 20% protein. The only sugars I ate today were in the tomatoes, fresh peppers and a half cup of milk. That was 11 grams for the day compared with the 59 grams they 'allow' me for the day.
We even had free pastries in the breakroom and I was so full feeling I didn't want to eat my dinner or a pastry - I just drank another jar of green tea and had my dinner at my break much later than I normally do. I'll see after three days if I want to continue this or go back to the other method which had more carbs.
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