User Experiences

Beverly’s Week 12 (Week 6 of Science)

This entry is part 13 of 16 in the series 100 Days of Keto Chow - Beverly's Experience

Since I am currently eating my first meal of each day at 4:00 p.m., I am not calling my first meal “breakfast” and my second meal “lunch”.  My fantastic husband and I ask each other things like, “which shake is that?” or “how many shakes do you have left?” to communicate which “meal” of the day we are eating or anticipating.  I do refer to my last shake of the day as “dessert” though and probably always will.  That last shake of the day is always warmed in a big mug, and I always look forward to it.


So…  you can see…  I have not lost any weight in over five weeks.  In fact, I am up six pounds from my lowest weight.  This morning, the scales said 124.8 (down 10.8 pounds since January 2).  The first time I saw 124 was on February 17 (more than five weeks ago!).  My lowest weight was 118.8 on March 18 (down 16.8 pounds since January 2).  That was 9 days ago!  This can be flat-out discouraging and is a perfect example of why I do not normally weigh myself every day.  Those scale numbers can sometimes even affect my mood though I try to tell myself they do not matter.

But let’s look at this again.  Literally as I am writing this post, I am looking at the chart above my words and am seeing (being reminded) that I essentially lost no weight the first five weeks of this journey – so this recent five weeks of essentially no weight loss is really the same as that.  Right?  Hmm, that gives me a slightly new outlook.

Since I eat exactly the same thing every single day, there is certainly no direct connection between my morning scale weight and my daily caloric intake or food choices.  Times like these are when we dig in our heels and remind ourselves to KCKO (Keep Calm, Keto On).  I wanted that weight loss trend of Weeks 6 to 8 to continue on at the same rate.  I was excited by it!  But that is not the reality of my journey.  And I am overall still trending in the right direction so I should be encouraged by that reality and stay the course.

And I can now know/show that higher ketones for me do not equate to greater weight loss.  I am maintaining/gaining weight yet my ketones are higher now (especially after adding MCT oil) than they have EVER been.  Higher ketones do not mean faster weight loss.  Good to know!

AVERAGE DAILY KETONE LEVEL
First six weeks of challenge with heavy cream:  2.0
Week 1 of science with heavy cream:  2.5
Week 2 of science with heavy cream:  2.7
Week 1 of science with avocado oil:  2.5
Week 2 of science with avocado oil:  2.8
Week 1 of science with avocado oil & MCT oil:  3.2
Week 2 of science with avocado oil & MCT oil:  3.1

The butter phase of this challenge is going to be so much easier now that Chris has discovered that butter will not separate after being emulsified into a shake made with warm water.  With this information, I know I can pre-mix my shakes just like I have done all along.  And since Chris is sending me a bag of the Creamy Tomato Basil soup, I am excitedly planning to incorporate that flavor into my rotation!

There are only 15 days remaining on this 100 day journey!! Can you believe it???
All I can say is this:  I am ready to EAT MEAT!

p.s. If you are someone who likes charts or who is interested in the cholesterol results of the science phase, please visit Chris’ spreadsheet.  (I am “Female 3”.  The “100 Days of Keto Charts” tab is super interesting!)

100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 85

This entry is part 91 of 107 in the series 100 Days of Keto Chow

Here we are, day 85, 17/20 through my experiment! Everything is going fine on the nutrition front – nothing much to report on that. I did answer a relevant question on the keto subreddit yesterday from a person that wanted to know if they can eat the same thing every day: https://bit.ly/2JHEboZ

This morning I received my most recent blood test results. They’re interesting, to say the least. This week I was recovering from a cold AND I was using 45ml of Avocado Oil + 15ml of MCT oil in each shake. Compared to the previous 2 weeks where I was using only avocado oil, there was a MASSIVE change in my LDL (particularly small LDL) and my Triglycerides. My HDL has continued to go down (and likely won’t come up until I begin the butter portion later this week). You can get the full data from my shared spreadsheet: https://bit.ly/2HMIMUo

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSJhZxs47tBqgJOHEEoM_y2h44AO4IY3iYMcivH71AQFg-Ztdzf8D0g84t643iyyi-Bq-QhHhUMLWac/pubchart?oid=394107758&format=interactive

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSJhZxs47tBqgJOHEEoM_y2h44AO4IY3iYMcivH71AQFg-Ztdzf8D0g84t643iyyi-Bq-QhHhUMLWac/pubchart?oid=1649903602&format=interactive

By |2019-03-27T09:48:15-06:00March 27th, 2019|Categories: 100 Days of Keto Chow, Weight Loss|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 84

This entry is part 90 of 107 in the series 100 Days of Keto Chow

Back in January when I came up with this scheme of doing 100 days of only Keto Chow for all my meals, I also pre-loaded the blog post entries onto the site, complete with a header photo for each day, those have been there ever since, with the list of “draft” posts slowly getting smaller each day. After I post this one today, there should be 15 left and they all fit onto one page. I re-lost the 1.3lbs I had gained on Sunday – figured it was water.

https://youtu.be/AtWW-muN7eg

I spent much of yesterday mixing up two 21 meal prototype batches of the Creamy Tomato Basil for Beverly and for me. Now that we know you can use butter with the regular flavors (see yesterday’s post) having more savory flavors isn’t as much an issue but it’ll be nice to have as well. I’m really stoked for Friday, mmmm…. butter.

By |2019-03-26T09:37:13-06:00March 26th, 2019|Categories: 100 Days of Keto Chow, Weight Loss|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 83

This entry is part 89 of 107 in the series 100 Days of Keto Chow

Yesterday I mixed up the 12 meals of Keto Chow that will finish off the Avocado Oil + MCT Oil portion of the experiment, that’ll take me through to Thursday evening, then I start the butter segment! As part of that, yesterday we tried an experiment: We melted 3 meals worth of butter (1/2 stick per meal in this case) and got some warm water, added the butter to the warm water, added 3 scoops of Chocolate Mint Keto Chow, mixed it all up with a blender, put it into some Blender Bottles, and put those into the fridge. I wanted to see if the butter would separate out or not, my experience with the avocado oil and the immersion blender is that the blender and the acacia gum emulsifies the mixture really well so it might stay integrated. This morning Miriam checked the bottles and all of them were still completely mixed, no floating layer of solidified butter! Looks like mixing up ahead of time is a viable option, sweet!

This morning we have a “fitness challenge” starting here at the office. It’ll go for a month, half of which will be during the final phase of my 100 days. Looks like there is a max of 10 points a day for doing things like: No soda, Drink 64oz of water, 8000 steps, No desserts, 7+ hours of sleep, vegetable serving each day (I’m totally counting acacia gum!), track everything in an app like cron-o-meter, with a bonus 10 pts if you lose 3% of your weight. This will be interesting!

By |2019-03-25T09:50:46-06:00March 25th, 2019|Categories: 100 Days of Keto Chow, Weight Loss|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 82

This entry is part 88 of 107 in the series 100 Days of Keto Chow

Last night I ate an entire bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos… then I woke up and realized it was a dream. I hate those dreams. Usually, instead of actually eating them, I’m just realizing that it’s already DONE andI’m just dealing with the sucky repercussions. Anyhow! We’re having a family dinner today, lasagna for everyone but me =) Miriam made some keto lasagna for her and the girls, I’ll be having Keto Chow.

I donned my zozosuit again and took measurements, still losing lots of inches, that’s cool.

By |2019-03-24T09:15:59-06:00March 24th, 2019|Categories: 100 Days of Keto Chow, Weight Loss|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 81

This entry is part 87 of 107 in the series 100 Days of Keto Chow

It’s a bit of a lazy Saturday today, we got up late (which isn’t to say I actually slept in – my brain started running at the normal time). The 100 days is still going great, yesterday I went to dinner with my wife and our friends, I had Coke Zero while they had some wings and Prime Rib. I also did an “all day of eating” video just for fun, I eat a lot of Keto Chow every day =)

 

By |2019-03-23T10:53:24-06:00March 23rd, 2019|Categories: 100 Days of Keto Chow, Weight Loss|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 80

This entry is part 86 of 107 in the series 100 Days of Keto Chow

Welcome everyone to day 80 of my 100 day experiment/challenge! I’m now 4/5 of the way through and going strong! I’m going to be heading in for a blood test this morning. I’m doing them at a new location that’s in a hospital. I was WAY early last week but took 15 minutes to find the office, so I ended up on-time after all. I did get last week’s blood tests back yesterday and I’ve updated the spreadsheet: https://bit.ly/2HMIMUo

Yesterday evening I actually felt hungry for the first time in probably a month or longer. I think I was likely just thirsty. Often the signal for “you need to drink” comes through as “you should eat.” Still, it was interesting in that I hadn’t noticed the absence until it showed up suddenly. I’m wearing my Ketofest 2017 “coNfounder” t-shirt today, just wanted to remind everyone that the Kickstarter for Ketofest 2019 is going on right now – if you’re going to be around New England in July of 2019, you should really consider signing up. Last year was fantastic!

https://youtu.be/PhEPD_NSAT4

By |2019-03-22T11:59:32-06:00March 22nd, 2019|Categories: Weight Loss, 100 Days of Keto Chow|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 79

This entry is part 85 of 107 in the series 100 Days of Keto Chow

I’ve been informed that I need to highlight the positive aspects of doing the 100 days, which is funny because I thought I did that frequently. So here goes. So I’m on day 79 of 100 where I’m only eating Keto Chow for all of my meals. Every day people ask how many meals of Keto Chow I’m eating during the experiment, I blink at them a few times and say “3?” – Don’t know if they don’t believe me when I say “for all my meals” or what =) Sometimes they ask what I do between meals, “I don’t eat?” Not snacking between meals is one of the best parts, for me, about this whole thing. It’s a bit liberating to not be snacking on anything but diet soda (for the “keto police” that get all hot-and-bothered that I’m drinking diet soda: my average blood ketones for the last 30 days is 3.0, what’s yours? =). The sheer convenience of mixing up a bunch of Keto Chow once or twice a week and having all of my meals covered for the next several days is absolutely fantastic and one of the best parts of all of this. Last night, we were running a little late for a performance and I was able to just grab an Orange Cream Keto Chow I made previously and drank it while driving to the school. It’s also been very handy to have a liquid diet since getting a molar crowned – I gave up even trying to chew gum a few days ago because that just makes it sore. I did notice last night a return of an interesting phenomenon. In 2017 I did an experiment where I ONLY had Keto Chow for 4 weeks. No diet soda, no sugar-free gum, none of that. Near the end of it, the lack of chewing anything was starting to get old and there was the “film” that I kept feeling in my mouth – dunno if it was real or imagined but if I hadn’t had anything to drink for a while, my mouth felt like I just woke up and had a sort of film on my tongue and teeth. I’d brush or take a drink of water and it went away, a few hours later and it would be back. When I did my 42 days of Keto Chow in 2018 and was chewing sugar-free gum, I had no such experience. Not having had gum for several days, it kinda feels like that again. Interesting stuff, I figure my tooth will be fine in a few days and I’ll be back chewing gum when I feel like it.

https://youtu.be/xO4P7xgCkZk

Oh, and the weight loss these 79 days has been great too. That 1.1lbs I gained yesterday? Totally came back off this morning. I guess it’s probably time for me to don the zozo suit again and take some measurements, maybe I’ll do that Saturday morning.

By |2019-03-21T09:49:11-06:00March 21st, 2019|Categories: Weight Loss, 100 Days of Keto Chow|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

Beverly’s Week 11 (Week 5 of Science)

This entry is part 12 of 16 in the series 100 Days of Keto Chow - Beverly's Experience

My 100-day experiment of eating “only Keto Chow” continues with today being Day 78!!  We are well into the final quarter of the challenge.  When hearing Chris say in today’s video that there are 22 days remaining, I felt like “only 22 days”?  Wow, this is really almost finished.  Three weeks is nothing compared to 14!  At this point, I feel I could continue indefinitely.  This has once again become a comfortable habit and routine for me (I have done this before and for longer than this!).  However, I am certainly looking forward to incorporating a few of my favorite keto meals into each week.  My neglected husband probably can’t remember the last time we ate out together, and I know we will both be looking forward to that.  I honestly can’t remember the last time we ate out either.  We went out to eat a few times during the first month (well, he ate and I drank a beverage) but we have not been out recently.  I find myself contemplating which meal (or meals) I will enjoy that first weekend… sausage and cheese omelet, pizza toppings, buffalo wings, chef salad, cheeseburger, taco toppings, grilled chicken caesar salad?

This week was the first week of the science phase using MCT oil.  This ingredient has posed no problems or challengers for me.  I notice absolutely no difference between using avocado oil and now using avocado oil and MCT oil.  For each 3 shakes, I use 6 tablespoons of oil to get the right amount of calories for me.  So for this phase of the experiment, I am replacing 1 tablespoon of those 6 with MCT oil.  I have not noticed any change in energy level nor any digestion concerns (I am still taking a probiotic).  There is no flavor difference.  The only thing I have noticed is my daily ketone level has increased significantly.  This number is not necessarily important to me but I do find it interesting.  I have never seen readings in the 3s before.

AVERAGE DAILY KETONE LEVEL
Week 1 of science with cream: 2.5
Week 2 of science with cream: 2.7
Week 1 of science with avocado oil: 2.5
Week 2 of science with avocado oil: 2.8
Week 1 of science with avocado oil & MCT oil: 3.2



So what will the average be next week?
What will the average be while on butter?
I am curious.

My personal dietary journey this week has not varied.  I am a creature of habit (aren’t we all?).   I eat the majority of my 1200 calories between 4:00-8:00 p.m.  I do allow myself one 16 oz. coffee with 1 tablespoon heavy cream (50 calories) in the morning, and I drink bouillon pretty much any time I want to (5 calories per cube).  I drink lots of diet soda and sparkling water.  I go to yoga 3 or 4 times each week.

My weight loss remains at exactly -15 pounds as of Tuesday morning (same as last week) but I did see -16.8 pounds a day or two ago so I continue to be hopeful to keep going in that direction but I am not holding my breath.  It is very likely that my body is finding the final weight where it wants to stop losing.  I have heard that can happen.  Or maybe it is just “pausing” again before the next stretch.  Time will tell.

My dear husband is traveling on business this week so I have enjoyed a few quiet evenings alone at home watching movies he might not want to watch.  As always, I enjoy my mug of warmed Keto Chow as my last meal of every day.  I call it my daily “dessert”.  It is thick and rich – I slowly eat it with a spoon, savoring every bit.  This week, I have been loving on the Snickerdoodle flavor.  I have found that cinnamon does not mix in well if I add it right before drinking my shake so, instead, I add an extra amount of cinnamon while the shake mixture is in the blender and it’s perfect!

My husband and I have a weekend away planned for March 29.  I had been thinking in my mind all along that I would still be on oil as my fat source so I would just have my pre-mixed shakes ready to go the night before to put in my lunch box like last time we traveled.  But… uh, oh… March 29 will be Day 1 of using BUTTER as my fat source.  This will not be as easy as I thought – I can’t pre-mix shakes with butter!  So I called the hotel to inquire if a refrigerator and microwave were provided in each room.  Good thing I called because those items were NOT already included.  (Really?!)  For a fee of $20 each, they can be reserved and added to the room.  So, whatever.  I will pay another $40 per night since both items will be necessary as I will be making my shakes on-site at meal times.  I am looking forward to the two-week butter phase though.  Not only will it signal the closing of this experiment, but I think it will be delicious!

100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 78

This entry is part 84 of 107 in the series 100 Days of Keto Chow

We had an absolutely fantastic time on our Facebook live last night with our special guest Caitlyn of Cayt’s Meats and Meals, I’ll have the UHD4K recording uploaded to YouTube later today. A bunch of her followers joined the broadcast so I had to explain why I was crazy and not eating smoked meat for the first 100 days of 2019 =) We did announce at the end of the live that we’re going to double-down on this week’s “Flavor of the week” and we changed the Pumpkin Spice Caramel to 20% off. If you, or someone you know, are a “basic white girl” and loves that pumpkin spice – now is the time to stock up. Get 4 of any flavor of the 21 meal bags and there’s an additional 5% discount. I believe the expiration date on the back of the bags is August 2020.

The 100-day experiment/challenge/lunacy of eating only Keto Chow for all my meals is still going exceptionally well. My newly crowned tooth from last week is still hurting if I chew gum or drink something cold so I’m going to just lay-off the sugar-free gum for a while, again: this was good timing. Oddly enough, even though I’m eating the same amount of calories and the same food every day; the scale showed me going UP about a pound today. I’m sure it’ll come back off tomorrow (water is as water does!) but it’s interesting never the less.

On a side note: January is typically our biggest month… until March comes around which is our biggest month… until July comes around (and so forth). Anyhow, January: it’s important that we have inventory on-hand in January for the surge that comes with the new year resolutions because otherwise, it sucks. BUT, there’s a reason that companies do “inventory reduction” sales in December. As a “pass-through” tax entity (LLC filing as an S-Corp), any on-hand inventory that Keto Chow has on December 31 is passed through TO ME as straight income, just like it was cash sitting in my bank account. It’s like an awesome “bonus”… of taxes. It all works out in the end eventually since that’s money I will not be taxed on for 2019, but it’s still no fun to cover right now. Added bonus: I get to pay estimated tax on that “income” every quarter of 2019 too!

By |2019-03-20T09:03:45-06:00March 20th, 2019|Categories: Weight Loss, 100 Days of Keto Chow|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments