Ketogenic Diet and life events

So... how did lent go on the ketogenic diet?  GREAT!

I lost 10 lbs in 40 days.  Then, it was Easter and CANDY!!!!  and WINE!!! (yes, I gave up wine, too)

Then... on the day after Easter, I fell during my morning run (during the walking portion of the Couch to 5K, I was on Week 2 Day 1) and broke one ankle and sprained the other pretty badly.  Crutches and a boot.

Yes, I fell and punctured my dorsal artery! 

Hubby got me home and put ice on!

Right side looked WAY worse than left

Deciding whether to go to ER

I was trying to figure out how to get myself back to work... and my sweet girl was trying to love on me...

So sad her mommy is hurting.

... two more days later, my sweet girl, Cheyenne, went downhill FAST and was suffering, so we had to do the unthinkable and put her to sleep.  it was horrible and I find myself just sitting down and doing the ugly cry when I notice it's 7:30 and I'm "supposed" to be giving her insulin shot, or it's 5pm and her dinner time... or just sitting watching TV and not have her come nuzzle me... or making dinner and notice there's no girl to step over...

She just couldn't hide her pain and suffering anymore...

Needless to say... gaining back 4 lbs was kinda understandable.

So, to end those two horrible weeks, I am going to join KetoDiet's 60 day challenge.

I succumbed and made measurements and took my weight, but have to take "before" pictures.  I've found that doing the photos and taking measurements make it all "REAL".

Will you join me?  I promise to be better at posting recipes I've found and updates, good research I've found, etc.  Promise!!!

Bullet proof Coffee

Good Morning!! 

My Beatles mug from the Skylarks.

 Bullet proof Coffee.  The only way to drink it when trying to avoid dairy and sugar.  Well, not completely avoid dairy.  You see, it has KerryGold butter in it :)  OK... I used what I had on hand and have to admit to not having the quality coffee or oil he used.  However, I remember a few years back... before he trademarked the coffee name and started selling his own brands... the recipe was with coconut oil and MCT (which I MUST go out and buy).  Granted, smart guy that he is, he went out and made it more bullet proof and now sells all ingredients required.  But, when must use what's on hand, one uses organic coconut oil and KerryGold butter.  :)  It's nummy!!

Why start out with coffee with so much fat?  It "breaks my fast" with fat and jump starts my day toward burning ketones.

This morning, I'm heading over to the Vitamin Shoppe to get the recommended morning supplements  that I don't already have(via Maria and Keto-Adapted book) and to refill those I do and already take.  I already took my 1500mg L-glutamine, Beef Liver (yes, grass-fed), Raw B-complex, Ashwaganda, Transitions, 1000mg L-lysine and 44mg Zinc.  (yep, I put in some links... some, so you know what they are and others so you know where you can buy them)

Before I eat my "frambled eggs" (even before it was a craze with a cute name, I've love to crack 2-4 eggs directly into a hot frying pan and let them set slightly, then mix them around.  I love the flavors that aren't completely scrambled together!), I'll take my probiotics.  

Exercise.  Not today.  Probably not this week.  Well, I'll preface that with saying... Yes, I'll still do my hip and arm exercises with my patients.



So.... after writing this... I ended up getting sick to my stomach for the rest of the day.  Ate the chicken bone broth I had in my crock pot and only that... Needless to say, first day on the Keto-Adapted diet didn't go well.  Feeling somewhat better on day two.  Did not take any supplements "just in case" and am only having chicken bone broth again today.

Ketogenic Diet

Cheers!!  Last glass of wine for a month!

Wow!  It's been a LONG while since my last post.  I fell into the "same old... same old" pattern that I see other bloggers fall into once their (and mine) lifestyle becomes commonplace.  What??  Yes.  I got to the point where it was no longer fun, exciting, and/or new to photograph my food and share online.  People stopped remembering me as a fat girl and I became complacent in my "normalcy".  However, jump forward 5 years from my big life changing sickness (remember?  Gallbladder = undiagnosed celiac??) and here I am, back up within 20 lbs of my all-time-highest weight.  Ugh.

So, last winter, my hip started really bothering me more and more.  I went to the doctor and specialists and no one offered anything other than "stop running/walking" and "why won't you get surgery??... Just fix it already!"  Um... no.  Until hip surgeries have better longterm outcomes, I think I'll stay where I am.

I noticed that it's easier for me to gain the weight back if I'm not active.  So, the hubby bought me a Garmin VivoFit for Christmas (2014) and it got put to use!  Nope, didn't make my goal steps every single day, but continued to run 2-3 times a week for most months in 2015.  However, the weight still slowly crept up.  It's amazing to look back at the year and see the horrible steady incline of my weight creeping back on.  Weekly, it wasn't so bad unless I was getting close to or going over a milestone number... you know, starting a new "decade" (going up to the next "0" number) and it really got bad starting in September.

What is going on?  well, increased hot flashes and... ehem... female "issues" started taking up a LOT of my time and... oh, yeah.  I got "let go" at my job in July after returning from reserves and got a new job in September.  You'll notice the two jumps in weight gain in July and the largest one in October to now.  Hmmmmm.

Yep.  There MUST be a food connection.  At the start of 2016 I thought "THAT'S IT!!!  I'm stopping all 'gluten free' goodies, no more potatoes, no more rice!!" and that helped (as you see by the dip).  BUT, there's gotta be more to it than just returning to my 100% Paleo/Primal ways as the weight isn't just dropping off like it did back in 2011.

Yesterday, I opened up an email from PaleoDork and in it was a link to a whole bunch of FREE stuff (only good for 5 more days... that's Feb 11th, so hurry!!)!  Now, I've been around the Paleo block a few times since 2011 and have most of the things in this free bundle.  However, every now and then, I stumble across someone or something that just "clicks" for me.  Yesterday and today, all my reading has been centered on Maria Emmerich's Keto-Adapted book that was included in the PaleoDork giveaway.

Buy here at Amazon.com

I'm in love.  Her writing really speaks to me.  I've never wanted to give up sugar completely.  I mean, I don't do sugar or anything processed already.  But, I'll add a splash of vanilla syrup to my coffee in the morning (oops) and honey to my greek yogurt or marinades.  I've also taken to eating more carb-laden veggies, starchy potatoes/sweet potatoes, and fruit, fruit, fruit!!  Organic apples, blueberries by the handfuls, organic strawberries, etc.  I mean, they're organic... so, that means they're OK, right?  I guess not.  At least, if my butt and thighs are anything to go by... NO!!!

So, I mentioned health issues... yes, in the last few months, the migraines are back with low-level headaches all the time, and the joint pain is incredible!  I've even developed such pain in my thumb joints that we're looking into rheumatoid arthritis... yes, I know, another autoimmune disease to add to the celiac. I had my thyroid looked at for multiple nodules, and my belly fat is expanding to increase my jean size.  I'm NOT happy.  No, seriously.  Not just unhappy at these changes, but depressed and in a bad mood a LOT.  My poor hubby.  He gets the brunt of it.  I try to keep my mouth shut, but when he asks and asks and asks what's wrong... well.  It's not a pretty picture.

Buy here at Amazon.com

What to do.  On the Keto-adapted website, there are ways to gain Maria's one-on-one assistance, but being true to myself and with great desire to continue my over-researching ways, I'm going to try this just using her books:  Keto-adapted and the Ketogenic Cookbook (it's coming via Amazon!!).  

I also have a book sitting on my shelf from a dear friend of mine, Erin Whitmer, that she wrote with another mom, Jeanne L. Reither, after struggling for a few years to heal her son from seizures; Fighting Back with Fat.    I also have been online friends with Jaime from Cleochatra.com.  I love veggies, so never really gave too deep of thought to going truly low, low carb.  However, stuff that Maria wrote about in her book, Keto-Adapted, really smacked me in the face of realistic need for change.  I think I also like that she pushes the amino-acids I already take (L-glutamine and L-lysine) with some others that I don't, and teaches all about WHY they're important.  Needless to say, there are a bunch I'm needing to take in the morning that should assist in helping with carb cravings and headaches.  I'm excited to go to the vitamin shoppe (that's where I buy my stuff as it's local and convenient) and buy all the "new" stuff.

So, starting tomorrow... back on my journey to better health!!!  Join me??