Category Archives: Cheese

Day 284: Two more pounds (yay!); working towards 50

This week’s weight loss: 2 pounds
Total weight loss: 41 pounds

Wow. I finally hit above the 40 pound mark. Nine more pounds to 50! Keto works.

Yesterday’s food journal:

I was happy it was Friday. We’ve been really busy this week, and I looked forward to the weekend. We went out to breakfast again. I know, it’s pretty extravagant to eat breakfast out each morning, but it’s also a nice, relaxing start to our day. I enjoy my NYT puzzle and Rick reads the paper. I get some “me time” before heading off to work. We also eat pretty cheaply.

Breakfast was the usual: cheese and grilled onion omelet with a side of bacon and topped with sour cream.

Lunch: I sort of skipped lunch. These breakfasts keep me full for a long time. I was working on a deadline project. It needed to be done by 2 pm, so the boss could take it with him on a trip. I had a snack around one o’clock – some chili lime almonds and some small pieces of cheese. By the time I left work at 6, I was famished.

That was something I forgot to blog about – I bought some individually wrapped cheddar cheese portions in a large bag at Costco. I put the whole bag in the fridge at work and always have a low carb snack on hand.

On the way home from work, I decided I’d like to have another of those buffalo grilled chicken salads like I had the day before. Here’s where I found out that I had eaten more carbs on Thursday than I originally thought. Rick wasn’t hungry, so I ordered the salad as a carryout from Big Boy. I ordered the “Buffalo grilled chicken salad” with blue cheese. The server asked, “do you want the grilled chicken or chicken tenders?” Hmm. I did say GRILLED, which is what I had ordered the day before for lunch. I did point out to Rick that the chicken looked like it had some kind of coating, but the menu said it was grilled, so oh well.

Turns out I must have been eating chicken with coating which would have had more carbs. Sigh. I think it would bother me more if I didn’t see the 2 pound weight loss.

Rick built a fire in the yard, and I joined him with a drink made of 3 shots of vodka and some raspberry Sparkling Ice. It was a nice end to a long work week. I also had 2 squares of 70% chocolate with peanut butter.

 

Day 224: Catching up on the blog (38 pounds down)

Total weight loss: 38 pounds

You may have noticed I’ve been gone for about a month. I’ve still been on keto, I just haven’t taken the time to blog.

The month had its usual ups and downs. Lots of stress, way too much to do and solve, but the keto habit remained ingrained. I had a few cheat meals, felt some remorse, jumped back on.

Since the last blog, I’ve lost another 3 pounds. I’m always happy to lose, but always look for that next highlight…this one is, of course, the 40 pound mark. I hope to reach it by Saturday (my son’s wedding day, BTW), but if I don’t then I’ll just keep plugging away.

As I think of any highlights, or low lights, of the past month, I’ll post them and try to catch up. Yesterday’s meals were nothing great. I have strep throat and I’m on antibiotics. I just don’t have much of an appetite, but I started the day with a low carb yogurt just to have something in my stomach. Lunch was way off the wagon – 2 beef chalupas and an order of nachos from Taco Bell.

Dinner was on track: chicken kabobs on a low carb bun. I had an Adkins candy snack in the afternoon.

In the evening, I had 2 glasses of wine sitting outside on a beautiful summer evening my hubby. Oh, and some Dubliner cheese with the wine.

I’ve probably been knocked out of keto by the Taco Bell, but I didn’t eat too much for the day besides that awful meal. (It wasn’t even very satisfying? why o why don’t I remember that before I order?)

Challenges to face this week: Luncheon at Macaroni Grill, rehearsal dinner at Traffic Jam, and WEDDING! I’ve had cheat meals, and I’ve had cheat days. Is there such a thing as a “cheat week”??

Day 167: Sunday working at the rental

Total weight loss: 31 pounds

Sunday breakfast was at a new place: Thomas’s Family Restaurant. I ordered a bacon/cheese/onion omelet. I didn’t order a side of bacon, since it was already in the eggs. I wasn’t thrilled with it. I have realized that I never like an omelet that contains small, hard items. I’ll like my omelets smooth, like my men. (Rick is bald. Bad joke.)

Anyway, the NYT puzzle was pretty simple, the eggs weren’t great….and we needed to rush over to meet the electrician for some more work on the house. It is ALMOST ready for sale.

We worked for about 5 hours, then hit the Del Taco across Telegraph. I ate the usual macho beef burrito, sans tortilla. I did indulge in a churro. I have to look up the carbs, but I know it isn’t good news. (OK, I just looked: 21 grams of carbs. An entire day’s worth, but much better than I feared.)

We didn’t get home until around 7. Dinner was chicken kabobs (without skewers). I had mine on a huge low carb tortilla. It was really filling and delicious.

Dessert was two squares of 79% chocolate with natural peanut butter.

Day 152: Saturday – 2 meals, not good

Total weight loss: 29 1/2 pounds

Started the day at the diner with my man and my NYT crossword. Rick ordered the AUCE breakfast buffet, but it’s just a giant carb fest, so I demured.

I ordered a “choose your options” omelet. I chose cheddar cheese, swiss cheese, feta cheese, and grilled onions, with a side of sour cream, of course…oh, and bacon. YUM

Lunch/dinner. I wasn’t in the best condition after my deluge of wine Friday night, so I did a bit of napping. I then ended up eating lunch and dinner as a combo. If breakfast and lunch = brunch, I guess I had linner. And, linner was a bit off…4 pieces of pizza. This carb eating is getting out of control. I didn’t even add them up for the day. Let’s just say, they were over my keto allowance.

On the other hand, I drank about 15 glasses of water. Go, ME!

Day 146: Catching up

Total weight loss: 29 1/2  pounds (Gained 2 in Saturday’s weigh-in)

I’ve been remiss in keeping up my blog for the past 2 1/2 weeks or so because life became more complicated, and more depressing.

My father passed away 11 days ago. He was in the late stages of dementia from Alzheimer’s and it was a tough thing to watch. With all the nursing home visits, complicated by my having an upper respiratory infection, plus working a day job, running my web business, and trying to finish up renovating a house to sell, this blog just didn’t make it to my list of essential things to do.

However, I have been keeping to the program throughout. I’ll admit, I was tempted to have some emotional eating binges, but I really only ate carbs the day of the funeral, when I honestly didn’t care whether I ate the bun on a Big Mac, or not!

The day of my dad’s burial, my husband and I left town for an improptu trip to my dad’s house “up north” on Lake Huron. I stayed on the keto program the entire time, bu I did eat an ice cream sundae on a lark on the trip back home 3 days later.

I skipped one weigh-in (the day of the burial), and I think I did eat carbs that morning and during the drive up north, now that I think about it. However, I am pretty proud (and surprised) at how ingrained the keto habit is now. The next weigh day revealed a 2 pound weight gain, but I am still losing size. In fact, I got behind on doing laundry and had nothing to wear a few days ago, so I pulled out one pair of jeans I’ve been waiting to try to fit into, and voila!, they fit!

So, I will get back into the blogging habit now. However, I don’t really record my calories/carbs in myfitnesspal.com much since I can pretty much do this carb calculating by heart now.

Back to recording:

Yesterday was Sunday. I made some eggs with cheese and onion for breakfast. I had about 6 pieces of baked bacon with that.

Lunch was Pizza Hut – the topping from a pan pizza with cheese, sausage, onion, and jalapeno. I had two trips to the salad bar: romaine lettuce, onion, cheese, creamy Italian, and a couple of sunflower seeds on top.

I wasn’t hungry for dinner, due to the late and large lunch, so I had some almonds for a snack, and then Rick and I made some chocolate mousse. Haven’t had that in quite a while.

That’s it for Sunday. It feels good to be back on habit, and great to know that I can keep on the keto plan through good times and bad. I really hope and pray that this is a lifelong habit. I believe after the past 2 1/2 emotionally draining weeks, that the habit is ingrained and I’ll do okay.

Day 117: Saturday – the usual

Total weight loss: 24.5 pounds

Saturday morning started at the diner. I had a cheese and onion omelet with sour cream and a side of bacon.

Afterwards, we picked up supplies at Home Depot, then worked on the house for a while.

Lunch was a burrito/no tortilla at Del Taco.

I’m writing this a week later, and I can’t remember what I had for dinner!

Dinner

Day 116: Small meals and not much appetite

Today’s weight loss: 3 pounds   Total weight loss: 23.5

Well, it appears I’m going in the right direction again. I’m not as excited about a 3 pound loss when it’s the same pounds the second time around. I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth. If I lose another 4 pounds, I’ll be at my lowest weight since starting keto. Hope next week’s numbers are just as good.

Some Fridays I work at home. Other Fridays I only have a few hours to work. Yesterday was a short day.

I had yogurt for breakfast, but didn’t have any lunch. I got off work at 1:15 and headed over to the nursing home to see my dad. I’m trying to switch up when I go to visit in hopes that he’ll be awake and aware.

He was. I buzzed his hair with an electric clipper and he fell asleep. LOL

We headed home, and I made a lunch of some Mama Lupe’s tortillas filled with Monday’s leftover chicken. I topped it with grated cheese and sour cream. It was dull.

I wasn’t hungry for dinner, so I drank a couple of glasses of water and had some cheese.

Later, ate a handful of almonds, then had a container of one of the delicious new low carb yogurt flavors from Kroger: banana cream pie. It was really good and hit the spot.

Day 111: Wait a minute? I can have French onion chip dip?

Total weight loss: 20 pounds. Next weigh-in: Saturday, May 5th

Yesterday was Sunday, and I did my usual work at the computer when I woke up. I caught up on the week’s web business invoices and records. I’ve never been a breakfast person. I have to force myself to eat before 3-4 hours have passed, just because I know I must to wake up my metabolism. However, Sunday’s I go easy on myself.

Brunch was at Pizza Hut. We had tried it for it’s keto-friendliness a couple of weeks ago, and it worked out well. I ordered the personal pan pizza, salad, Diet Coke deal for $6.99. I love building a big salad at the bar, and I topped it with creamy Italian and bacon bits. The waitress helpfully suggested that she’d ask for thick toppings when I told I’d be skipping the crust.

For dinner, I reheated the Indian Butter chicken.

I was trying to think of uses for the new cheese snacks, when it hit me! I can eat chip dip. It’s basically sour cream. So, we picked some up and I ate tiny little cheesy crisps with dip while we watched some tube.

Dessert was 2 squares of 70% chocolate topped with a tbsp of peanut butter.

 

Day 110: Surviving the disappointment

Total weight loss: 20 pounds. Today’s results: +4 pounds
Next weigh-in: Saturday, May 5th

Egad, that was a huge let down…a FOUR POUND gain?

I know it’s all water weight (I can feel it!), but PULEEZ, one bad dinner and a finger-full of donut creme shouldn’t cause that much weight gain!

I’ll keep on keeping on, but knowing I lost 27 pounds was so much more gratifying than a measly 20. Nothing to do but keep going (and drink LOTS more water).

I have to say, I was tempted to just go crazy and have something off plan for breakfast. However, how much off plan can one really go at breakfast? lol

I ate a cheese and onion omelet with a side of bacon and garnished with sour cream. It was really really good. It reminded me of a cheese pierogi. I’ll have to get that again soon.

So, the bad part is, I ate breakfast so late and we became so entrenched on working on the house repairs, that I skipped lunch. I know, this is probably really messing up my metabolism. If anything, the weight gain was from not eating enough regular meals, not from one big blow out.

For dinner, I made Indian Butter chicken. It is a meal that makes me feel like I’m cheating, even when I’m not. It’s just soooo good. Served it over a bed of cauliflower “rice” of course.

I’m just going to keep sticking to this plan. The pants are still loose. What have I got to lose?

Day 106: The unplanned cheat meal at my favorite restaurant

Total weight loss: 24 pounds. Next weigh-in: Saturday, April 28th

What a day! What a meal! What did I do!?

The day started as usual with a yogurt for breakfast and some leftover salad and almonds for lunch.

It was a busy day, and after work we were going over to pack up and loan our truck to Brandon and Lindsey so they can start moving up. We left work and started over, and I said we should stop somewhere for a drink and appetizer while we waited for them to get ready.

Our big mistake was stopping at my favorite restaurant: Mexican Fiesta

Here was my plan–get one margarita and eat about 6 chips and salsa

Here is the reality–ordered one margarita; however, the waitress pointed out that one was $7 and a whole liter was only $10!

Sigh.

I had nearly the entire liter, half an order of chips and salsa, 2 cheese enchiladas, and one beef taco.

And I was drunk, as well.

I guess I won’t go to my favorite restaurant unless it’s a PLANNED cheat day.