Baby Steps

Well, I thought I'd check back in with an update.

 

I didn't gain the 20 pounds overnight, I guess I can't expect to lose it overnight, either.  So I will just take it in baby steps.  

Anyway, I am officially down 5 pounds so I have 15 more to go.

I have pretty much been sticking to 2MAD (2 meals a day) with IF (Intermittent Fasting) and it is working.  Slowly.  But it is working.  

I have set a goal to be back down to 120 by my birthday.  It won't be easy.  I have Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas to get through before my birthday.  But if I pull it off, I will be able to start the new year with my weight back on track again.

Although, I went back and looked at my weightloss totals the first time around and it took me about 3 months to lose these last 15 pounds back in 2019.   However, I wasn't eating 2MAD with IF.  I think I can drop it quicker this time.  I sure hope so, anyway.

I hate to admit this, but I have added diet soda back into my diet.  It helps me with IF because the more liquid I drink, the fuller I feel.   I drink diet Mt Dew on my breaks at work.  And push the water when I'm out on the floor.  I am trying to make myself drink a bottle between breaks.  I do better some days than others. It depends on what I'm running.  Some machines keep me hopping and I just don't take time to stop and drink the water.  But the more I can drink, the less room I have left for food, right?

I am also back on my Protein Shakes.  I realize this is very dirty Keto.  But they do fit my macros and they also help keep me feeling full.  I don't drink them every day, but as I mentioned above, some machines are just harder to run and sometimes I just feel like I need a little more to keep me going.   And hey, it's working. The scales are finally beginning to move in the right direction again. 

I guess I'm not officially doing true IF; with true fasting I think the only thing you can have outside of your eating window is water, black coffee, tea and other non-caloric beverages.  Giving up my evening meal and trying not to eat after 1:30 pm is my version.  

So on work days, my eating window is about 5:30 am with my first cup of coffee and until about 1:25 pm when my lunch break is over.  

On my days off work I will still have my coffee in the morning, but I usually don't eat anything until noon or after.  Some days I am able to push eating late enough in the day that I can get by with just eating one meal but other times I will eat a light lunch and then an early evening meal.  I still limit my eating window - the hours just shift a bit.

Anyway, I hope I get to hop back on here again real soon to let you know I'm down another 5 pounds.  Actually, my next "baby step goal" is 5.2 pounds.  I want to be 129.8 so I can tell myself I am finally back in the 120's again!

I may pop back before then though, with some new recipes.  We've got a few new ones I've been wanting to share.  

The Struggle is Real

It’s been a couple of months since I made my last post.  So, today I decided maybe I should post a bit of an update. 

Yes, I am still struggling.  

But hey, I follow Ally McWowie on Youtube and she's in the same boat as me.  If you have not, I suggest you look her up!  She's currently doing a "lose weight with me" series as she is stuggling with getting back on track, too.  

Funny thing is, at first, for me Keto worked.  It just did.  I couldn’t figure out why it didn’t work for everyone because it just worked so easily for me.

But then, I cheated.  And I did not get sick. 

When I first started Keto I was under the impression that if you went Keto and then cheated – you would get sick.  So for the longest time, I did not cheat. 

Not knowingly, anyway.  I am sure there were times when we ate out that I ordered something that I thought was Keto, but in reality they probably added something that wasn’t “keto friendly” ...  or, they cooked in the wrong kind of oil, or something.   But for the most part, everything I ate was Keto Friendly. 

But after I cheated and didn’t get sick – cheating became too easy. 

“I had a rough day at work today.”

 “It’s the weekend, I might as well enjoy it!”

“Everything else I ate today was Keto friendly, this won’t hurt too much.”

And so on.  

I had all kinds of excuses to ‘get off track’ and "I’ll get right back at it tomorrow."

But then tomorrow, I’d get off track again.  Eventually, “cheating” became too much of a habit.  The pounds slowly crept back on.

I officially hit the point where I had gained 20 pounds.  So instead of saying I lost 62 pounds on Keto, I actually was down to only having lost 42 pounds!  Ugh! 

So, diet mode gets serious again.   

I’ve been trying to do IF (intermittent Fasting) on my days off work ... or, here lately, my DAY off work.    The past 3 weeks I have worked 60 hours a week.    

So I also have in my head, “Hey, you worked 12 hours 6 out of 7 days this week.  You deserve this!  Just look at how many steps you took – you’ve already worked it off!”

Can you tell which is my day OFF work?

Yes, unless we go for a bike ride, I will readily admit that I do not  move much on my days off work,  I'm in my recliner - playing on my computer or my phone.  Or soaking in the tub.  We might do a bit of shopping  but not enough to get a whole lot of steps in.

But anyway, the point of this blog is Yes.  I have been TRYING to get back on track.  I do slip up. But I am finding that maybe working 60 hours a week is a good way to get me back on track.  I just need to make myself stick to  my Keto Friendly Breakfast.   And my Keto Friendly Lunch. 

This week,  I am going to try and skip my evening meal.  I feel like I need my Breakfast and Lunch to get me through the work day - but when I get home at 7:30 PM, by time I take a bath - It is too late to be eating.  I just need to have a cup of tea or something - and pretty much call it a night.

So - let's see if this plan will work.   Check back and I'll let you know how it's working....

PS  So tomorrow, we have about $50 worth of CHOCOLATES coming in from the grandkids school fund raising event.  I bought about $50 in candy (stupid me) and $50 in kitchen dishes and storage.  Why didn't I just buy all non-food items?  Anyway, my goal is to eat NONE - just let the hubby have them.  

So help keep me on track!  Ask me - how much of that darn candy did I eat?