My scales went up a pound, then didnโt move for four straight days. Thatโs just a normal โholdโ of course.
I got to a point this week that I didnโt even CARE about my scales not moving anymore. Iโve been SO addicted to feeling my muscles WORK that itโs all I can think about! ๐
Then this morning I woke up 2.2 pounds lighter, weighing only 147.6 pounds.
Let me backtrackโฆ
I woke up this morning craving ****** and thinking Iโd drive by the ****** shop. I mean, my scales hadnโt moved in 4 days, I expected this to be day 5, Iโm working out like crazy, I didnโt think itโd hurt to have a little treat. (I think about these things often, lol โ like daily.)
Then I actually GOT up and thatโs when I FELT it. I slid into my (new) shorts without even unbuttoning them. I felt leaner, they felt looser. Whoah. The scales confirmed it: Iโm 2.2 pounds lighter this morning.
I had a freak-out moment.
This low weight is way outside my comfort zone. Iโm having to get used to a whole new body. The thought of putting on muscle weight, getting tone and strong, really excites me. The thought of being โskinnyโ kinda freaks me out. ๐
Change is hard. This has been my most successful challenge yet, in terms of sticking it out and really pushing myself. And now Iโm having to wrap my head around the results -lol.
Here is my Low Carb Food Diary for Day 26 of the โGet Lean For Summer!โ 90 Day Low Carb Challenge. Itโs not too late to join us if you havenโt already!
Day 26: Fridayโs Low Carb Meals
I made my low carb cerealโฆ before I realized I was out of cottage cheese. ๐ I had a vanilla Atkins shake in the refrigerator, so I decided to try that instead. YUCK ๐ lolโฆ
It wasnโt too bad I guess, but I canโt hack the โfake shakeโ taste. It was sickeningly sweet! Unsweetened almond milk would definitely be a MUCH better alternativeโฆ ๐
I ate it anyway. 25g crushed pecans, 4 small diced strawberries, 1 chopped Peanut Butter Granola Atkins bar, and the shake (not much of it) = 5 net carbs.
For lunch I had my leftovers, the extra take-out meal I got when I went out the night before: grilled chicken & roasted veggies (broccoli & cauliflower). Simple & delicious!
Later I had a beautiful low carb treat. ๐ It was 1oz of Blue Diamond almonds, 2oz of cream cheese, and 1/4 cup of plump raspberries. YUM! 8 net carbs and 80% healthy fats. Such a nice combo of creamy, salty & sweet! Mmmm
That โdessert snackโ sorta blew my carb count for the day (so worth it, lol) so when I got hungry again I just whipped up cheesy eggs. I made 3 large eggs scrambled with 2 slices of Borden Natural colby jack cheese = 1.2 carbs.
I enjoyed the โcerealโ texture yesterday, so I may get some unsweetened almond milk and try that! And of course Iโm completely hooked on berries & cream cheese. ๐ Itโs better than any cheesecake Iโve ever had!
Hereโs My MyFitnessPal Diary for Friday:
Macronutrients: How & What I Track
How I Get Net Carbs in MyFitnessPal
Net Carbs: 24
Total Carbs: 35
Protein: 87 Grams
70% Fat, 24% Protein
Exercise: Ab Carver Pro, 70 Reps
FitBit Steps: 3,586
Water: 48 ounces
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My thighs were still tight from the ambitious hike the other day, so yesterday I decided to work on my upper body and let my leg muscles rest.
I did 70 reps on my Ab Carver Pro: 30 to the front, 20 to each side. I can really feel that workout in my shoulders & triceps too, which is awesome. ๐ This time I rolled out further than I normally do, to increase the intensity of the workout. It felt GREAT!
I was surprised to see my scales move so dramatically this morning after all the nuts & cream cheese, and the Atkins bars I had spread throughout this week. Those would of course be the first things Iโd cut out or cut down on if I really wanted to lose faster. At the moment I donโt, though โ I want to gain muscle.
My sleepyhead junk food craving this morning passed once I was fully awake, of course. Iโm having my nice creamy (sugar free) hazelnut coffee, and trying to decide what to have for breakfast. My usual morning meal sounds great, but I need to run to the store. And while Iโm out I could grab some meat & eggs. Hmm โ decisions! lolโฆ
Itโs a new thing for me to accept the mental food wanderings, but realize it just sounds better than it would actually BE. And also to not sabotage my success, especially when Iโm standing there on the scale freaking out in disbelief.
I havenโt been this weight since my late 20โs, or maybe 30 years old. Iโm almost 43 now, by the way. My brand new size 10 shorts are falling off of me. I keep thinking Iโd like to have an off plan day, or even just a meal, but I keep putting it off.
Iโm pushing myself to exercise consistently. Iโm on a good roll for reaching my goal of getting in amazing shape, and ignoring my usual urge to just โtake a breakโ โ and itโs paying off in results.
Now to get used to the idea of those results. ๐ lolโฆ
What do you have planned for the weekend?
Iโm planning to stay in, enjoy the storms, work on some creative projectsโฆ and WORK OUT. I feel really good today, and ready for some serious exercise!
Leave a comment below, and letโs do this together. ๐
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 youโll never miss great (easy!) low carb meal ideas. ๐
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Iโm not losing anything. Iโm only in my second week I started on April 17th and only lost 3 lbs. the first week. What am I doing wrong. Iโm in ketosis, just a small amount. I donโt eat any pasta bread or sugar of any sort. I try to count but Iโm only eating no carb stuff. meat cheese, heavy cream, sf jello, even coffee with sf creamer. HELPโฆ..
Hi Sharon,
How are you tracking? I ask to see what your usual fat/protein ratios are most days. But also, 3 pounds the first week is great! The second week your body usually adjusts to that initial loss. But check these 4 points: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/5093/not-losing-weight-eating-low-carb/ and let me know โ weโll work it out! ๐
Sharon, thanks for your post because I am in a similar situation. I was so frustrated today that I panicked and ate carbs. ๐ More than my new usual.
Lynn, I just looked over the 4 points and wish Iโd posted like Sharon before my freak out but as they say, hindsight is 20/20.
Iโm back on my game as of right this minute. I probably just needed to let my body adjust. Ah well.
All the best to both of you.
Onward and upward.
Hi Linda ๐ I had to learn a lot of these things through personal experience too. No worries, just jump right back in! Youโll need to go through it again to get back into ketosis probably, but then youโll know to ride it out during week 2 and/or 3 this time. ๐
Congrats! It reinforces what I have always known. Consistency pays off. Itโs tempting to cave when you are doing the work and the scales donโt move but itโs better to let go of the expectations and let your body do what it needs to do. At my age the body is extra slow to let go of the weight but I have learned to not give that any attention and instead focus on how I feel. Your blog keeps me reminded of what I need to do. It is freeing not to worry about why the scales donโt move knowing. Thanks for your encouragement through you journey!
You are so right, Edith โ because that is the one main difference this time, versus all my attempts in the past: being consistent for 26 straight days, ignoring the stubborn scales (lol) and powering forward.
In the past I would indulge here and there, or have an off plan meal every 10 days or so, constantly going in and out of ketosis. NOT good โ and the results this time are proof of how easy it is, and much easier it gets when you stick it out! ๐
And thank you โ ๐
Ughโฆjust saw a mistake. Ignore the word โknowingโ in the next to last sentenceโฆtoo early for me! LOL
Congrats!!! Thatโs an awesome weight loss. Iโm hoping and praying for some results monday. Ahhhh. Lol.
So my husband (who is on LC with me caved last night). Lol. He really tried hard to get me to do the sameโฆbecause he doesnโt want to be the only one who cheats. Lol. But I didnt. He was craving a Philly steak sub from our favorite sub place so thatโs what we had for dinner. This place has the best subs in our area and itโs hard to not just indulge in their yummy sub bread. I mean really really hard. So while my hubby was chowing down on his dinner (bread and all) I carefully took every piece of meat, cheat and mushroom off of my bread. The plate of bread afterwards was so sad lol. But it was just as delicious without the bread so I didnโt have any regrets. I was proud if myself โบ
My meals yesterday were :
B : bpc, bacon and cheese omelet
L: bbq pork rinds dipped in 1 tbl sour cream (omg this was good and very hard to keep from eating the whole bad of skins and entire container of sour cream)
D: Philly steak sub w/o bread (Sliced steak, cheese, mushrooms, pickles), diet dr pepper
My net carbs were 7, fat was 76% and I drank 60oz of water. For it being the start to the weekend (which is where I usually cave big time) I think I did pretty darn well. go me!!
*cheese*
Way to go, Justine!! That achievement feels better than any food tastes. ๐ I think itโs great that your husband is getting healthy with you. And cool that he invited you to join in an off plan meal, but that it wasnโt an issue. ๐
I have certain meals and foods I really enjoy, that are worth going off plan for sometimes. I keep thinking Iโll do that, but every time I think โtoday is the dayโโฆ I lose interest, lol. What a GOOD problem to have! haha
Me too! I keep planning to have a cheat meal and then when the time comes to have it, I change my mindโฆโฆI love it!
I love it too, Tracey. ๐ Every single time I say โnah, not in the moodโ or โNO, not todayโโฆ my resolve just gets that much stronger!
โบ it definitely feels good to be able to say no and actually mean it. Iโm really happy heโs doing this with me tooโฆhe tries really hard to stay on track with me and for being a โbread fanaticโ I think he does quite well lol.
Oh I have a long list of foods I wouldnโt mind going off plan for lol
ReaWSA LYN!!! You GO girl!!!!! I had a feeling that you were going to see a big drop after all the exercise youโve been doing lately and great low carb meals
This gives me encouragement and hope that if i stay consistent with my low carb woe And exercise that i CAN reach my goals
I am so glad you didnโt go to the D#@ร+ shop. Wow that has been a big problem for me in the pastโฆ.to resist having a โDโ or two or three . i am glad that. It has just a fleeting thought. It would not have been worth the guilt and self sabatoge. Myself
WHY? do we have those ideas that we tell ourselves to justify a cheat. โWell if i am not losing then i might as well have a high carb treatโ Sabatoge!!!!! Itโs best to wait it out and the pounds lost will show like you did.
I cannot even imagine myself at 147 right low but i will get there.
I bet you are losing INCHES. I can see all the room you have in those shorts. Wowsa!!!!
Congrats and keep up the great work!
I cannot imagine myself at 147 either, Gigi. Itโs weird to look in the mirror. Itโs weird to wear my own clothes. I feelโฆ very out of sorts. lol. Iโm forcing myself to stare, accept, embrace, tone it up (it looks gross, haha), FOCUS FORWARD.
Going backward is tempting, back to a comfort zone, back to what feels comfortable โ but itโs a trick, because I was NEVER comfortable. I was miserable. I am having a million crazy conversations in my head lately, over and over. ๐
I thought seriously about that ***** this morning. I was lying in bed, happily warm and comfy, thinking โyes, today is the day, mmm.โ Then I got up and slid my shorts on and was like WHOAH. lolโฆ
For me there is never ONE *****. It would be half a dozen, with the other half eaten on throughout the day. And I wouldnโt have stopped there. I can seriously binge. You wouldnโt believe the amount of food I can consume once I get started. ๐ฏ
Oh! i DO believe it. Been there, done that. :):)
Psโฆ.Ugh. I HATE. Atkins shaked. Yukโฆโฆ. I love unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk. ๐
Yeahโฆ what was I thinking?! YUCK ๐ haha
Congrats on your progress! I am afraid to get on the scale. I kind of went off the deep end this week โ I started my period, I am sort of sick (battling something), more tired than usual, and possibly still recovering from my jiu jitsu tournament last weekend. My cravings were off the chart and naturally, I caved. I donโt think I was too bad but I still feel like a horrible person!!! Why do we do these things to ourselves? I was at an all time low on the scale and now Iโm sure Iโm back up (Iโm afraid to look). Nonetheless, Iโm signed up for another tournament for next weekend, so starting today, I must be back on track. Fortunately, I donโt have to cut too much weight, so just getting back on track and shedding whatever water weight Iโm carrying around from all the crap I ate should put me at my weight for the tournament. Today, Iโll be on track and Iโll get in a good workout. I only wish it were going to be warmer!
Itโs cool and rainy here too. I am torn between getting my rainboots out and walking Slim in the rain (he hates that, lol) โ or doing my T25 workout. The latter is winning out so farโฆ weโll see. ๐
Youโll do fine! I know exactly how you feel though. Iโve done that more times than I can count. Iโve discovered the way I feel about itโฆ is worse than the food and the weight. I have to just shake it off and focus forward. *cheers*
I saw this lady from the show โ The biggest loserโ the other day, speaking out on TV about how she lost over 100lbs. They showed her after photoโฆ..Wow she looked GREAT. Tiny tinyโฆโฆ.Guess what? After she left the Biggest loser ranch, she was talking about how she gained back ALL of her weight and then some.
It was very SAD to hear her talk about it.
I admire her for having the courage to go on National TV and talk about this.
This is common with a lot of the contestants, i hear. Most of them DO gain all their weight back. THIS makes me even more convinced that lising slow abd steady is the key to long term success
It took me over two years now to lose my weight and i still have a good 30 lbs to go but i feel like this time v i will keep my weight off
I have gone off of LC at times in thw past two years and even had a day of eating Christnas cookies one day last ye a r but i akways get back on track right away abd did not gain my weight backโฆ.i was at a standstill though and got complacent with being skinny fat.
Now since the challenge, i am highly motivated to get to my goalsโand stay there
One thing that was unsettling to me, about hearing this sad story about the lady from โthe biggest loserโ was that she said she went back home and went out drinking with her friends and thought. This new meโ-isnโt me. She felt comfortable in her old body somehow abd decided that she did not like her โ skinny selfโ this really upset me because i could clearly see that she was miserable after gaining all her weight back- plus.
I donโt want to be THAT personโฆโฆabd believe me. I have been there before. I lost fastโฆ..and gained it even faster
This time i have been losing slow abd staying consistent
We have to let our minds catch up with our weight loss so we can accept our new imageโฆ.Weight loss is not just a physical battle but a mental battle as well
We have to ask ourselves. Are we really physically hungry or are we eating out of boredom or emotional eating.
I have been having an Epiphany about myself recently about all of this. I was that emotional eater. I cannot say i an cured but this is the best i have EVER done
So, please folks, do not be discouraged over slow loss. This is the kind of weight loss that stays off. Seriously! And while you are losing you will have the time to change bad eating habits and mind sets about food
I think โthe biggest loserโ show does a big diservice to its contestants. โsee who can lose the most weight the fastest, then send them back homeโclueless on what to do, on their own to keep it off.
I am just sharing this story cause it Really upset me.
Iโve heard that story, read it online โ from some of the others, too. Itโs really sad, but itโs not the first time Iโve heard about it.
Other weight loss bloggers have talked about how the REAL struggle begins when you reach your goal โ and realize you still carry some of the same issues, dealing with the dramatic change, with how people treat you, with why you got overweight in the first place and how it defined who you are โ and who are you now? That sort of thing.
Itโs a serious mind game, such drastic change. Iโm feeling that nowโฆ Iโve mentioned before that I donโt know who I am when Iโm not struggling, when Iโm not pushing myself, when Iโm not on a mission with a big goal or challenge โ and what will that mean?
Of course thereโs the new lifestyle (and weight / body) to maintain, but itโs not the same driving challenge. I aim to treat it like a new adventure, the same way I approached the Empty Nest issue. I looked at it as a new chapter, created a new plan, and dove into THAT. It was hard, after spending my entire adult life focused on raising my two children. The same questions: who am I now? What do I DO now? etc.
I think the real challeng will begin, once i get to my goal weight And I WILL reach my goal weight. Maintaining my new weight will be a struggle as well and to stay, relatively always on a low carb woe I will have to find out how many good carbs or slow carbs i can have in a day and still maintain my weight. I will have to weigh myself daily for this part of my challenge. ๐
I went mall walking today and a lady that works there came up to me and said Hello and told me that she noticed that i was really coming down on mt weight and fastโฆ Well that really made my day. I didnโ t want to tell her that it has not really been that fast. ๐
She said that she noticed and that she knows that people trying to lise weight need that encouragement. I thanked her of course. She also said โ i noticed also that you do not use a cane anymore to walkโ i said. You are right. I do not need my cane anymore since i lost more weight. Last year this time, i had to use my cane to walk because of my bad knees.
It is amazing really and it blows my mind that i can walk without it now
My knees ache sometimes after walking but itโs not as bad as it used to be.
Anyway the fact that i can go walking now is amazing in itself
I think the lchf has helped with my chronic pain a lot and also losing weight has helped me move around more easily now.
One day i will share a before and after photo for all to see
My before pic is embarrassingโฆ..well i have various stages of my before pics. But the one at my daughters wedding in 2007 was the worseโฆ..ugh. ๐
Those photos serve as great reminders, and are so inspiring to look back on. I was looking at some of my early pics, at just 30 pounds heavier than now, and itโs shocking what a difference that amount of weight can make!
Carbs promote inflammation in the body, so eating a healthy ketogenic diet is great for chronic pain issues. I used to suffer a lot, inflammatory arthritis in my lower back due to an accident when I was 20. It was so bad some days I couldnโt even lift my coffee cup all the way to my mouth. I was in bed a lot, miserable, on pain medication on and off.
Going low carb got me back on a water ski, and back to an active lifestyle of walking and hiking. It has made an amazing difference in my life, just being out of pain! I had no idea about that benefit, until it happened. ๐
I had no idea about that added benefit of lchf either. I was pretty much. The same as you or worse maybe. I wish i had discovered this woe long ago. I knew about The Dr. Adkins diet long ago but i found it incredibly hard to stay on at that time Now that i understand it better it is not hard to stick to at all. ๐
It really isnโt hard. Especially with SO many beautiful food choices! I think one of the reasons I donโt have any desire to โcheatโ now is because I discovered berries & cream cheese, lol. ๐ YUM!