Beverly’s Week 5
So, my wonderful husband lost 6.8 pounds in January for the DietBet challenge!! He did not “win” because he lost less than 4% of his weight but 6.8 pounds is a lot and I am so proud of him. I considered joining another keto DietBet challenge but decided that probably was not a very good idea because it is highly unlikely that I would be able to lose another 4% in a month. I am not willing to part with my cash easily. ;)
You have certainly heard many keto people talk about their concerns regarding nutrients, macros, and supplements. (Sometimes that concern is actually the thing that leads them to Keto Chow because it is nutritionally complete!) Personally, I was never before concerned about nutrients and never tracked my macros. I never even counted my carbs before starting on Keto Chow. I just knew what foods were low carb foods, and I ate those foods – as much as I wanted to eat. (Don’t knock it – I lost about 80 pounds that way!) Becoming a customer of Keto Chow though led me on a path to understanding of electrolytes, macros, and calories.
For years, I had a shoebox full of vitamins and minerals that I took twice a day without fail, but I honestly didn’t know the reason why I took most of them. After educating myself by reading everything on the Keto Chow website and all of the books and links that were referenced, I decided to enter into Cronometer an entire day’s worth of every single thing I was consuming. It was eye-opening! I realized just how many things I was over-consuming and where I was lacking. I immediately made adjustments. The supplements I take now are fish oil (1600 mg Omega 3), iron (27 mg), potassium (90 mg), and a probiotic. The most important thing for me has been the increase of sodium. Without extra sodium (substantially more than Keto Chow provides), I feel weak and shaky. Now that the Fasting Drops are in stock, I am planning to order some of those!
When I wrote my post last week, January hadn’t quite ended. I can now report that my official weight loss for January was 3.6 pounds with an initial weigh-in on January 2 of 135.6 and a February 1 weigh-in of 132. It is sooooo difficult to be excited about 3.6 pounds but I am trying to be. Losing (almost) one pound per week is great but it does not sound like much. :(
Times like this, I have to remind myself of how far I have come. I recently posted this picture on Reddit. My mother had said to me in December, “Could you have ever imagined you would look like this at 50?” Heck, no! I have been struggling with obesity since fifth grade! Her comment really hit me and made me start thinking about how I felt about myself and about my life when I was 40 and made me take this comparison photo. When I was 40, I could have never imagined so much could change in my life. Now at 50, I am so grateful to realize that big changes can occur at any stage in life.
When I was heavier and yo-yo dieting, slow/small results would have sent me on a sugar binge cycle that resulted in certain weight gain and possible derailment of further efforts for weeks or even months or sometimes years. It did not take much to make me think that efforts were not worth the results. I finally possess the maturity (hopefully) and the wisdom (only by experience) in life to continue making the same choices each day as I would have if I had lost two or three times as much last month. Being on a liquid diet is hard work though. It takes determination and commitment to face the challenges of social discomfort, hunger, lack of variety, absence of chewing motion, mourning of snacks… seeing results is what makes those challenges worth it. I am trying to remind myself that persistence will be the key.
This week, I have really struggled with “hunger”. I just want to eat! During the day at work, I feel like I think about snacks all day long. When I was at a Mexican restaurant with my husband on Sunday, I was overwhelmed by the smells and the sizzling plates. But I keep on powering through. Maybe I need to buy some sugar free gum… My meal times continue to be 4:00 pm, 6:00-7:00 pm, and 8:00 pm. And I am getting plenty of calories. But I do miss eating. Here again, I have to remind myself of previous times in life. Last time I did a liquid diet (November 2017 to February 2018), I was doing 900 calories a day. So what I am doing now is much easier than that was. (The results I saw during that time were awesome though – I lost 50 pounds in four months!)
Tomorrow morning, I am headed out of town to visit one of my sisters. I have been fretting a bit about how I am going to manage my liquid diet while being away from home for four days. Baggies of Keto Chow samples and bouillon cubes will be with me, and I will be fine. My focus and attention will be on my sister and her family rather than on the food (or lack thereof). I am so excited to go spend time with them!
I handed my mug of hot soup to my husband and made him try it first. I was still super hesitant – and I was willing to give my honest opinion here. But he liked it! So I had to take it from him and try it myself. After just a couple of sips, I added one bouillon cube which made it taste just right. We both really liked it! For what it’s worth, we decided that the flavor is “like warm milk with a hint of chicken” and agreed that this warm/savory meal option is a game changer. At that point though, it was only water, soup mix, and bouillon – I hadn’t added any fat. As I sipped on it, I tried to imagine if I would like it better with some cream or butter next time. This time though, I was adding cheese! :) If Chris can have cheese in his soup, then – by golly – so can I! I measured out 28 g shredded sharp cheddar (because that’s how much my calorie allowance permitted) and dumped it in. I have to say it was almost heavenly. After having only cold/sweet meals three times a day this entire month, I finally had a warm/savory meal in my hands. It was so good!! I never thought I would say this, but – I will actually be buying a 21-meal “week” package of this flavor. And I am excited to try the two new soup flavors that are currently being tested!
Slow weight loss can be unbelievably discouraging. I have no patience for just about anything. Results are important to see when I am working hard at something. When I weighed over 200 pounds, I lost and gained the same 30 (sometimes 70) pounds over and over. The weight loss was usually relatively quick then compared to what I am encountering now. Looking at my average weight per week, I have lost a little more than 2 pounds this month. That is a bummer – but – it aligns with the facts: female, short, middle-aged, desk job, sedentary. So I have to accept it. If I want the scales to move faster, I have to decrease my calories or increase my activity level. Since I am not currently willing to do either of those things, I will stay the course and see where it leads me.
The DietBet Challenge has ended. I enjoyed interacting with some other participants in the “activity” area of the “game”. Thankfully, I met the 4% goal with official weigh-ins of 140.6 and 134.2 (6.4 lbs lost). I want my $10 back. :) Actually, I want my $20 back – I signed my husband up too! He hasn’t done his final weigh in yet though so time will tell on the other $10. I really hope everyone who joined the challenge meets their DietBet goal. I saw this morning that there are two upcoming keto challenges listed in the DietBet games, and I am seriously considering joining both of those.
Last Sunday, my husband chose his favorite local buffet for lunch. He is so supportive of me in this project, the least I can do is accompany him out to a restaurant once in a while. It’s not super-tempting to sit in a restaurant or at a meal with other people who are eating. But it’s not super-easy either. I’m not sure how to describe it. It’s certainly not fun, that’s for sure.
Wanting more is something that makes this 100-day challenge (or any “diet”) difficult. Even though I have eaten enough, I sometimes really want to eat more. Food sounds good! I encountered an awkward situation earlier this week when a group of co-workers went out to lunch for one individual’s last day of employment. This co-worker is a friend so I wanted to go. Just as I saw when dining out last week, other people are more uncomfortable with the fact that I am not eating than I am – but I did not like having attention drawn to me.
We have been busy with a flooring project in our living room after some ceramic tiles buckled a few weeks ago. My amazing and hard-working husband did all of the difficult work but I did try to help a little bit. Have you ever had a dust storm occur inside your home? Let’s just say it is not fun but it has kept me occupied. And we now have a beautiful wood floor in that room.
Something else I did differently on the second prep day is I poured the blender contents holding three shakes into four bottles and added more water to each one so I would perhaps feel like I was getting to eat (drink) more food each day by eating four times instead of three. I have mixed feelings on if that was successful or not. I like my shakes thick rather than thin so maybe sometime I will pour the equivalent of three shakes into four bottles but not add more water to each one. A challenge like this involves some experiments and small adjustments along the way.
My husband prefers avocado oil in his shakes plus he has different macros than mine. So I end up taking notes every time I make shakes, and I often re-check my math before I start the prepping process, which is never a bad idea. After our recent dust storm, I advised my husband that I would be adding some extra dust to his shakes for good measure. ;)
