The final week is here!!! Today is Day 99! Tomorrow evening, I will be enjoying my first solid meal since January 1. Woo hoo! :) I will be making scrambled eggs and bacon. On Saturday, I plan to have chicken wings. On Sunday, I plan to have a cheese omelet. After this weekend – meat, meat, and more meat. Meat is what I want. I was surprised to hear Chris say in his Day 99 video that he is planning to eat only Keto Chow and meat. That is exactly what I am planning to do! I copied him for this 100 day challenge, but I promise you that I am not copying him now. I just want meat! Is there a meaning behind the fact that he and I are both craving meat? Hmm, I will let you decide that. I have an interest in the zero carb (carnivore) lifestyle so I am moving in that direction but beginning loosely by incorporating my own guidelines/allowances as I do with IF (Intermittent Fasting or Time Restricting Eating) by allowing heavy cream in my coffee and mugs of warm bouillon throughout the day.
Here is my last official batch of shakes made with butter as the fat source. I let them rest for a minute to release some warmth before adding the lids. In truth though, the water I used was barely warm.
These buttery shakes are delicious! I am a sweets fiend so I made (left to right) Cookies and Cream, Snickerdoodle, and Salted Caramel this time around. Although I said this is the last official batch of shakes made with butter, I do plan to continue using butter as my preferred fat source in my shakes unless there is a reason to stop based upon the blood lab test results.
Along with eating meat, I am also looking forward to returning to lazy keto. No more continuous tracking of consumption. No more daily morning weigh-ins. No more daily afternoon ketone tests. No more Friday morning trips to LabCorp. (The next set of results are due in this afternoon so those should be posted on Chris’ spreadsheet very soon.) And probably no more consuming the majority of calories between 4:00 and 8:00 pm. (still debating this as it helps to avoid snacks but my blood sugar gets a little too low in the afternoon). I will continue drinking Keto Chow shakes every day. I will continue attending yoga classes. I intend to continue prohibiting snacks but know I am weak in this area.
This weekend, I will be re-stocking our refrigerator and freezer because I essentially emptied both completely before this challenge began, much to my supportive husband’s dismay. Along with happy anticipation of having groceries in the house again, my fantastic husband is really looking forward to us eating out together again. We both completely enjoy across-the-table time with each other, and we both totally miss it. Although we have gone out a few times during this 100 days, it was certainly not as often as it was before. We can and will have regular date nights again!
This past Monday, I had a quick visit at my doctor’s office for a prescription follow-up. When the doctor entered the room, he said, “Have you lost more weight?” My response was that I didn’t think so, maybe a couple of pounds. The nurse piped up and said, “Yes, she’s lost 13 pounds since her last visit in December.” Well, cool! I was not thinking about the 100 day challenge and recent weight loss nor was I considering when I had last been in their office. They were exactly right though. I have lost 13 pounds since December! That number matches mine exactly.
Interestingly, my weight seems to have settled at 122 without any intent or effort. I first reached that weight on February 22 which was Day 52 of the challenge. Now 47 days later on Day 99, I still weigh 122. Based on this fact (nearly 7 weeks at the same weight), I might venture to say that 1200 calories is maintenance for me. Or perhaps this is a “stall” and I would lose even more if I continued this journey for longer. As I transition back to lazy keto and eating animal products again, I will see what happens.
AVERAGE DAILY KETONE LEVEL
First six weeks of challenge with heavy cream: 2.0
Week 1 of science with heavy cream: 2.53
Week 2 of science with heavy cream: 2.66
Week 1 of science with avocado oil: 2.5
Week 2 of science with avocado oil: 2.83
Week 1 of science with avocado oil & MCT oil: 3.23
Week 2 of science with avocado oil & MCT oil: 3.11
Week 1 of science with butter: 2.53
Week 2 of science with butter: 2.11
Next week, I will submit one more post with a few comparison photos and some final thoughts to wrap up my time visiting here on the Keto Chow blog. See you then!
Would have been awesome to see stearic acid used as one of the fat sources – Brad Marshall’s Croissant diet uses it as a cornerstone, and it apparently goes after visceral fat. I’ve toyed w Carnivore after not losing much on Keto (I have bradycardia and a BPM of 38 on average, so to be fair to Keto my post-menopausal body is not typical of most, keeping me looking for metabolism hacks). I’m ultimately looking for that sweet spot of not feeling deprived yet seeing metabolic gains and higher energy as my BMI improves. Thanks for your commitment to the experiment!