100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 33
Quick Sunday update, getting snacks ready for my family to enjoy while watching the game.
100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 32
Sent out the Gift Certificates to the 3 winners of the Keto Chow DietBet Challenge: Jeffrey K., Brittani L., and Skylar C. – they lost 12%, 11.9%, and 11% of their body weight, respectively – that’s pretty amazing, I “only” lost 7.7% of my body weight. I also sent out the coupons to everyone that filled out the contest form.
Miriam and I got started a little late on our morning exercise routine today, I actually had to skip part of the end because some neighbors needed help setting some stuff up. I just checked and we’re supposed to be switching to the harder videos for the P90 after next week, that should be interesting. I made a bunch of preparations for the Superb Owl watching party we’ll be having tomorrow. It’s odd, I seem to be doing a nutrition experiment every year when it comes on, at least I was last year. This year I will (again) be drinking Keto Chow, the family will have:
- Shrimp (with low carb cocktail sauce (sugar-free ketchup + horseradish)
- Some “Real Good Foods” poppers that I found at Walmart
- Meatballs in low carb BBQ sauce
- and some other stuff that I simply can’t remember right now
100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 31
Well, the DietBet is all finalized and done. Looks like each person that lost 4% or more of their body weight ended up getting a grand total of $13.41 from their $10 entry fee. what is that? A 34% return after 4 weeks? It’s not a TON of money but it’s better than nothing I guess. I did another challenge that was $30 entry and I won $36.16 and the 3rd one I did was a $100 entry and I got back $100 – I’m guessing that means that enough people “Won” that the split for each person was less than the entry so DietBet was true to their word and we got back all of the entry fee.
I’ve been going through and verifying everyone’s weights to determine the 3 Keto Chow prize winners – I’m waiting just a little bit longer for any stragglers. If you still need to put in your entry, please hurry! Here is the form: https://goo.gl/forms/ybjOvsYjG5jsNfB32
For any that have met up at trade shows: Steve is now working here at Keto Chow full-time. We have some stuff coming down the pipeline in the next few months and we need to get ready to go so we’re not slammed =). Steve thinks we need a smoker here at the office.
100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 30
Day 30. I had someone on Reddit ask how it’s been doing an all-liquid diet for the last month. Really the only issue I’ve had is that I needed to take a probiotic to deal with the digestive issues that cropped up (finally did that on day 16). Other than that, it’s gone just fine. I haven’t overeaten anything, I occasionally get hungry until I get distracted by work or something and then finally eat like 6 hours later when I remember I was “hungry” (actually more like I was BORED). I haven’t had to take vitamins, though I do still need to take magnesium due to a fun family trait of needing rather hefty supplementation of magnesium. My beard was getting longer until I trimmed it, don’t think that has anything to do with my diet though. As of yesterday, I was down 18.3 lbs since I started all this. All-in-all I think the experiment is going quite well. I did remember yesterday that I’m planning on doing some longer fasts right before the final weigh-in for the city contest. Guess I need to get working on preparation for that.
Beverly’s Week 4
When I arrived home after yoga last night, I said to my husband, “So… I have to try the Savory Chicken Soup tonight. On my last blog last week, I indicated that I was going to try it – and this is my last chance before I write another blog entry.” Yeeks! I just honestly did NOT want to try it. I had been avoiding it. I have read too many reviews, comments, and questions from people not liking it or struggling to add the right ingredients to make it taste better. That sounded like too much work and iffy results at best.
When the 2.1 flavor sample bundles were offered, I purchased four of them. My husband and I went through the new flavor samples in record time but never touched the soup; four sample packages of Savory Chicken Soup have been in the pantry since last August.
As I pulled a pan from the cabinet, I said, “Now I have to see if I can remember how to use a pan.” That made him laugh but it was true. I don’t remember the last time I even used a pan or the stove. I do not like to cook. I put 2½ cups of water in the pan then slowly added the Savory Chicken Soup powder with a whisk. With the burner on too high, I promptly scalded my soup and left a layer stuck to the bottom of the pan. :(
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!
Last week, I rejoined a beginner yoga class that I had previously attended – I had stopped going at the end of September for a petty reason. I have now been to three classes (Thursday, Sunday, Tuesday) and it feels great! I am so glad I started going again. I am not an athletic person and have never done much (any) exercise. For some reason, beginner yoga suits me well. It gives me an awareness of my body, builds a little strength, and improves flexibility and balance.
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.
I have found that I am consuming my food later in the day than ever before. Lately, my shakes have been consumed around 3:00-4:00 pm, 6:00-7:00 pm, and 8:00-9:00 pm. Some would call this “intermittent fasting” (which actually means time-restricted eating) with a five- or six-hour eating window and 18-19 hours of “fasting” (18:6). I have a difficult time claiming that I do intermittent fasting, though, because I allow myself one tablespoon of heavy whipping cream in my coffee each morning and because I often drink bouillon throughout the day to increase my sodium intake. There are a dozen differing opinions on what a person can consume during their “fasting” hours. By the standards which allow beverages under 50 calories, I am “fasting” from approximately 9:00 pm to 3:00 pm each day. My reason for doing this is not for any of the typical benefits that people claim for “intermittent fasting” but rather for the reason that it helps me keep my daily calories in check. The earlier in the day that I eat, the more total calories I will likely consume. If I can postpone eating, it is easier for me to eat less.
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.
If you want to ask me questions, you can reach me through the Facebook Keto Chow Support Group or the Reddit Keto Chow sub where I am fairly active. I love feedback and interaction. Supporting others in their journey ultimately helps me be successful in mine!
100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 29
We did our weekly Facebook Live broadcast last night. I have the video for that encoding on my laptop in UHD 4K right now, I think I need a faster computer. Maybe a Ryzen Threadripper. That sounds like a totally legitimate business expense. On the live, we talked about doing Chocolate Keto Chow hot with butter, so I mixed that up this morning, looking forward to trying it! Update: it tastes AMAZING!
Did my weigh-in for the City contest, going off what I remember, I believe they have me losing 1.58% of my body weight since last week. I grabbed the PDF table they sent out last week, turned it into a spreadsheet, and calculated where I was last Wednesday in the total loss – looks like I’m in 11th place last week with a 7.16% loss, 8.89% if you include today.
I also did my final weigh-in for the Keto Chow DietBet challenge this morning. When I started the challenge, I assumed (incorrectly) that as the organizer of the DietBet I would be able to see a leaderboard or something so I could easily determine the winners of the additional prizes we are giving out. Yeah, not so much. I have to look at each person’s public profile and see what percentage they’ve lost, one-by-one. To help accomplish this and maintain my sanity, I have a google sheets form for people to fill out right here: https://goo.gl/forms/ybjOvsYjG5jsNfB32
The form will take you through each step of getting the info I need. If you participated, please fill out the form, even if you didn’t lose the 4% and don’t think you’ll win the grand prizes, I’m going to email everyone that participated and fills out the form a consolation prize (OK, it’ll be a coupon for Keto Chow). So please do it!
100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 28
4 weeks down, just a little over 10 weeks left to go! Looks like I’m currently down 17.9 lbs since starting back on January 2. It’s still too early to tell if bringing down the amount of heavy cream and replacing it with avocado oil will make my ketones and higher. It’ll be interesting to see.
According to the packaging place, they are supposed to start production of our samples tonight and will run roughly 5000 of each flavor (except chocolate peanut butter, which is still a problem child) ideally we should be getting everything finished up within about a week from commencement. We’re also supposed to be getting the small Electrolyte Drop bottles today, Everything is (maybe) coming up Millhouse!
100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 27
Happy Monday everybody! There’s only one day left in the Keto Chow Diet Bet Challenge so get ready and remember: if you’ve been weighing yourself “unofficially” you will likely weight 2-3lbs more when wearing clothing. Speaking of which here’s how we’re going to figure out the winners of the Keto Chow gift cards:
When I started the challenge, I assumed (incorrectly) that as the organizer of the DietBet I would be able to see a leaderboard or something so I could easily determine the winners. Yeah, not so much. I have to look at each person’s public profile and see what percentage they’ve lost, one-by-one. To help accomplish this and maintain my sanity, I have a google sheets form for people to fill out. You can access that here: https://goo.gl/forms/rpoRT58qYuYtk9RH3 You’ll want to fill out the form AFTER your final weigh-in is approved, sometime after tomorrow when the challenge ends or it will not have the last official weigh-in which is the one that counts
The form will take you through each step of getting the info I need. If you participated, please fill out the form, even if you didn’t lose the 4% and don’t think you’ll win the grand prizes, I’m going to email everyone that participated and fills out the form a consolation prize (OK, it’ll be a coupon for Keto Chow). So please do it!
Alright, enough about that. Let’s talk about the Keto Chow I mixed up last night: I’m switching from 100ml of heavy cream + 15ml of MCT oil in each Keto Chow shake to 60ml of heavy cream + 20ml of avocado oil + 15ml of MCT oil. That will modulate my net carbs for each day from 10.3g down to 6.7g. It’ll be interesting to see how that affects my ketone levels. Also, the avocado oil will make the kids less likely to steal my Keto Chow from the fridge. I’ve started mixing up 5-6 just for them to have, we’ll call it “cannon fodder” =).
100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 26
Customary short Sunday update. We’re having family over for tacos tonight, I’ll be drinking Keto Chow ?
100 Days of Keto (Chow) Day 25
Not to name drop or anything =) but I just got a call from Dave Feldman who had questions about mixing up the Savory Chicken Soup Keto Chow – For any that have the same question, you go here: https://old.ketochow.xyz/keto-chow-preparation/ and then click on the orange button for the Chicken Soup instructions. Dave can call me any time he wants, though I may not answer if it’s 1 am and I’m sleeping.
Today is day 25. I’m 1/4 of the way done with my 100 days of Keto Chow only challenge and 59% of the way done with the 42 day weight loss focused segment. According to my bathroom scale, I’m currently 16.7 lbs down from January 2 following a bit of a stall last weekend. Weight loss is not linear and speeds up and slows down a lot. If I were to extrapolate out my 16.7lb loss to the remainder of the 100 days, that would be almost 70lbs and there’s no freaking way I’m going to lose that much so I’m not going to get worked up about it and set myself up for disappointment when my unrealistic goals aren’t met =)
Anyhow, I’m drinking Strawberry Keto Chow (regular) this morning and I think I have Banana and maybe some Chocolate Mint for the remainder of the day. As soon as I get done with today’s post I’m going to get a package of pork ribs going for dinner tonight. I’d do them in the smoker but:
- It’s covered in 2 feet of snow right now
- I have a bunch of stuff I need to do today and I want to just put them in the oven, wrapped in foil, and get on with my day
- I don’t want to be missing out on smoked ribs – yes I’m that selfish =P
