This morning I stepped on the scales to see 148.8 staring back at me. I don’t even know how to process that number in my head.
While enjoying my first coffee, I scrolled back through my two full years of MyFitnessPal entries, and discovered it is my lowest recorded weight – ever.
I can’t even remember the last time I was at this low a weight. More than a decade ago, I know – around 30 years old. Wow.
I still have a lot of work to do. First of course is to maintain my weight and continue losing body fat… and then to tone and gain muscle weight.
This is NOT the time to get comfortable. I am highly motivated to see this through, tone my body, and see just how much I can accomplish! 🙂
As I was looking back over my weight entries for the last two years, and also at the reflection of my much thinner body in the mirror this morning, I realized just how lax I’ve been about my goals. I made efforts in short spurts, gained the weight back, lost it again. I worked out consistently for short periods, then got out of the habit again. Over and over, and again. It was truly eye opening.
I will not stop this time.
I AM going to achieve my goal.
And wait until you see – I can’t wait to see! – because I am going through a HUGE physical transformation. I have photos of myself from those starting entries two years ago, I’ll take photos of myself now (at “skinny fat”), and I will capture the goal in photos too – once I’m toned up and transformed into the “happiest, healthiest version of myself” which has been my goal for SO long…
Here is my Low Carb Food Diary for Day 20 of the “Get Lean For Summer!” 90 Day Low Carb Challenge. It’s not too late to join us if you haven’t already.
Day 20: Saturday’s Low Carb Meals
I had my usual low carb breakfast: 1/2 cup pecans, 1/4 cup Daisy brand cottage cheese, and 4 small diced strawberries. (5 net carbs and 85% healthy fats)
I had to run out to the store to stock up on pecans and coffee 🙂 so I stopped by Hardee’s for a Low Carb Grilled Chicken Club. Unfortunately, they screwed up my order…
I did NOT feel like going back through the drive-thru 😛 so I just rearranged the lettuce and made it work!
For dinner I scrambled up 3 eggs with 2 pieces of leftover sausage – and added 2 slices of Borden Natural colby jack cheese. That “sausage, egg & cheese scramble” made for an easy low carb meal! (1.2 carbs and 79% fats)
That was A LOT of food, and with my lack of appetite lately… I was surprised that I ate it all, but I did!
Here’s My MyFitnessPal Diary for Saturday:
Macronutrients: How & What I Track
How I Get Net Carbs in MyFitnessPal
Calories: 1621
Net Carbs: 19
Total Carbs: 27
Protein: 94 Grams
76% Fat, 20% Protein
Exercise: None
FitBit Steps: 3,538
Water: 24 ounces
Starting Weight: 154.6
Current Weight: 148.8 pounds
Weight Loss (so far): 5.8 pounds
Almost 6 pounds lost! That may not seem like much, but the less weight you have to lose the MORE challenging it is! I’m very happy to see my scales moving again. 🙂
People ask me all the time what my goal weight is. I have no idea. I am not just “losing weight” at this point, but losing more fat and also gaining muscle weight. It will be interesting to see how that plays out as a number on the scale…
How is your weekend going?
Leave a comment below, and let’s do this together. 🙂
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
p.s. You can subscribe by email below to get my Daily Food Diaries throughout the Low Carb Challenge sent straight to your inbox. That way you’ll never miss great (easy!) low carb meal ideas. 😉
Congrats Lynn! So exciting! I already fell off the wagon, Sunday donuts It was planned last night and it is hard always being the “na sayer” in my family. My young girls and husband still enjoy their donuts, ice cream, and pizza. I didn’t fight it this time. It was fun to see their excitement when we decided to get them, it’s hard to feel that I am taking their moment away. Anyway, not to take away from your great achievement, I was at the number before, I know it is liberating! Tomorrow is another day, i am hoping for a stronger resolve.
Hi Jennifer,
Life is full of moments, and they are ALL meant to be enjoyed! Don’t let the “food guilt” get you off track. Just get right back to eating healthy. π
In the future, let them have their day and their foods… and enjoy their excitement and the fun time… without having to partake in it yourself. Make YOUR day more about enjoying THEM. π
For a fun read on this topic, see: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/5686/eating-low-carb-at-buffets/ Scroll past all the beautiful foods (lol) and read what I said about passing on those…
Good morning!!
Can you substitute cream cheese or creamy swiss cheese for the cottage cheese, with breakfast? I have got to make a change…ASAP!
Thanks,
Nicole
Hi Nicole,
You could use low carb yogurt (Kroger carries one called Carb Master), or ricotta, or a splash of unsweetened coconut milk or Vanilla Atkins Shake, or yes – anything you prefer really. π Just log it according to your labels & amounts of course.
I use a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream in place of the cheese. It’s moist and sweet and delicious!
I found a great alternative for your low carb cereal. I remembered how i loved fresh mozarella cheese. It comes in a plastic package and is shaped like a small round ball. It is soft and creamy like cream cheese 70 calories per ounce. Carbs< 1gm protein 5 gms. Fat calories 50.
I bought 2–8oz. Packages from Aldis. I am going to alternate this with cottage cheese for breakfast to have with pecans or walnuts and strawberries. π
I found my scale because i will have to weigh 1 oz. Of this cheese.
Congratulations, Lynn! Such an exciting morning for you. I’ve enjoyed following your journey and am delighted to see your success. I look forward to your daily email updates. Keep on keeping on because you look fabulous, lady!
Thank you, Cindi!! π I am SO excited about getting in shape, maintaining this weight I’ve worked SO hard for, and seeing what the end result looks and FEELS like!! *cheers*
Congratulations Lynn! So happy for you! You give me so much hope! I lose very slow I have thyroid problems and snuggle for every ounce. I get a bit impatient from time to time but I know I have to be patient. Just can’t imagine where I would be without this woe. Slow and steady wins the race for me and I need to remember that even though somedays I don’t feel like I am making a lot of progress. It will come and following you has helped keep me going. Have a great day! Kudos to you!
I can so relate to that, Cyndy. My patience has been wearing VERY thin lately, lol. Sitting down and browsing through two full years of weight entries really was eye opening for me. It showed me just how far I’ve come, and that I’ve been maintaining a much lower weight lately than I ever have before. THAT was encouraging!
I’m so glad you’re motivated and inspired. That feels SO good! π *cheers*
Hi Lynn I am so happy of you! I remember when you dropped down to 149 and you got sick and you didn’t let that get you down. The medicine added weight and your body was very ill. I am so proud that you pushed through all of that, got healthy again, and now you are the lowest ever! You are so inspirational! You help me so much every day and I love how real you are and that you go through the ups and downs like us all. Keep going Lynn and do what you are doing!!!! Thank you also for teaching me about eating simple. I love the “3” item rule for each meal. That has helped me SO much! Have a beautiful Sunday!
Thank you Amy Sue π These last few months have been a real struggle, but pushing through was SO worth it! I’m so glad you’ve found some tips through all my ramblings that make it easier and more enjoyable for you. π I love simple, easy is good!
Congratulations Lynn! I’ve been on low-carb for about two months now but for the first five weeks wasn’t having much luck with weight loss or even inch loss. When I switched to the 70% that category, that’s when things started happening. I’m now at 137.5 as of today which means I’ve lost 5.2 pounds in the last three weeks. But what’s more important is that I went from 39.9 fat percentage down to 38.2%. So glad I found this challenge And all the good information you get on your website. It’s helped so much. I do have to admit I work out hard six days a week with walking and some weightlifting. i’m going to try the pecan and cottage cheese for breakfast this week so thanks for that idea!
Thank you, Annette π I’m so glad you’re seeing success with the right macros! That made all the difference for me too when I found myself stalled. I look forward to hearing what you think of the “cereal”. π
Yay!!!!! You are doing GREAT!!! Keep going to the finish line! You are almost there now.
I loved what you said about not knowing what your goal weight was and continue to lose fat and gain muscle. Then let your body be your guide
I need to remember this too. I don’t know what my ideal weight will be either but i know if you lose fat and gain muscle you will not only look leaner and toned but it will increase your metabolism to burn calories more efficiently.
Reaching our goal weight is not the end of the battle. And i have to keep telling myself that too. Maintaining our new weight will be challenging as well. It’s so easy to slip into old habits again. Its going to have to be a life time commitment for me
I have been doing low carb for over two years now so really i am used to this woe
So i decided know i can d o it this time.
Good Luck Lyn
Ps what did Hardees do to your order to mess it up?
I love their chicken club….yum. π
Hi Gigi π They put a bun on it! lol – I had to just take it off and rearrange the lettuce. π I’ve been eating low carb for 5 years this month… so it’s about time I finally got to this point! haha… and like you, it’s become habit and way of life for me. I enjoy it!
Ha ha. π i usually don’t bother asking them to give me the order bunless because i invariably get the bun anyway. Most people cannot grasp the concept of why anyone would go bunless. I just toss the bun.
Lol. π
Hi Lynn! I’m so excited for you and your weight loss progress! Congratulations! I just have one question. When I attempted low carb, a month ago, I experienced pain in my chest (sternum, the side of my ribcage, etc) and was forced to stop because of that. Do you have any solutions for that? Cheers!
Hi Tessa,
How odd. Are you sure it was related? Was it possibly indigestion or reflux?? If so, I would guess too much protein. In that case, tracking your macros and keeping protein to 20-25% of your daily calories (and eating high fat: 70% of your calories in healthy fats, minimum) would be the solution.
Also eating very simple, real foods, 3 ingredients or less per meal/plate: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/6064/3-ingredients-rule/ There’s a lot of good stuff to the science of Food Combining! π
Yay go you!!! I’m so happy that you’re hardwork is starting to finally pay off. It’s great to see you happy.
I had a mini urge to cheat yesterday while at my nephews bday party (whipped frosting and vanilla cake is my fav!!!) But…I didn’t give in. Instead I fed my piece to my little one and after a few short minutes my urge had dissapeared. *phew that was close* lol. Thankfully there were sliders, veggies, and fruit so I had some healthier options instead of cake.
So, my meals yesterday were few and quite small yesterday. I was really busy and just plain didn’t think about eating.
B: bpc, 3 scrambled eggs w/1oz colby jack cheese
L:
D: 2 sliders (no bun, just meat and cheese), about 5 slices cucumber, 2 strawberries
S: (late night) 28 almonds, 2 pieces Russell stover sugar free pecan delights
I drank about 40oz water, my net carbs were 8 and my fat was 81%.
Thank you, Justine! π
Kudos for passing on the cake!! I know how tough that can be, but it really is all about focusing on the FUN and the people – enjoying the party vs the food. Good job!! π
Question: How many calories do you usually get in a day? It doesn’t sound like you eat much, but I know the BPC helps with calories and feeling full. Just curious!
Most days I try to get in 3 meals…even of they’re small ones. And since I’ve started this challenge my calories *embarrassingly* have ranged anywhere from 1600-2200. My carbs have pretty much stayed between 10 and 20 and my fat is always over 70%.
You’re right the bpc does keep me full longer and the reason I started drinking it this way is because I absolutely love coffee and noticed that I was drinking between 5-7 cups a day. At the same time my carb count was higher (due to the Hwc in each cup) and my fat was below 70%. So I figured the smartest way to increase my fat and decrease my carbs was to have one 16oz bulletproof Coffee a day. I also did this for the fat because if I eat nuts everyday it stalls me big time, I don’t like avocado lol, and for the most part I eat eggs everyday so adding more of them is not appealing lol. I’m really curious what my weigh-in is going to be tomorrow.
That sounds perfect then, Justine – smart swaps! π
DO YOU EVER WORRY ABOUT CHOLESTEROL? I AM TRYING TO GET OFF STATINS & EAT LOWER CHOLESTEROL FOOD, BUT IT IS HARD TO GET THE COUNTS. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE & GOOD JOB–GLAD IT WORKS FOR YOU π
Hi Gail,
I recommend you read up here: https://www.atkins.com/search?q=cholesterol My cholesterol numbers, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc are all GREAT. I just had my bloodwork done. π A healthy ketogenic diet is great for the heart, but definitely do your research!
Congrats! Keep encouraging us!
I have lost 5.2 lbs. this week, I’m so excited, doing this week by week since I have a lot of poundage to go!
That’s awesome, Sherry – way to kick it off strong!! π
Congratulations, Lynn, that’s really wonderful news! You’ll keep your goals going this time, and that’s all that matters. π
Thank you, Cricket! π π *cheers*
Would like to get recipes:)
Hi Tonya,
I share all of my own meals & food diaries here. You can also google “low carb recipes” – and Pinterest is a great source too. I have a shared Recipe Board for my low carb group here: https://www.pinterest.com/lowcarbtraveler/low-carb-challenge-group-recipes/ That’s a good start! π