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I havenโt slept enough (or well enough) the last couple of nights to get a true weigh. Between lack of sleep and muscle recovery from the crazy 4-hour hike on Tuesday, my weight is fluctuating up โ but just slightly.
It will take a few days for my weight to pan out, which is fine.
Itโs common to see the scales fluctuate anyway. There are so many variables that affect your daily weight.
But I definitely notice a โholdโ or slight fluctuations after a big workout, when Iโm sick, when Iโm stressed, and for sure when Iโm not sleeping well.
Iโll just give it a day or two and give you an update soon. ๐
Of course my weight dipped down just before this, so the fluctuations are minor.
Hereโs how I looked on Tuesday at my all-time lowest weight since going low carb.
I donโt feel quite that lean today, but that was a nice sneak peek to where Iโm headed on this weight loss journey. Definitely encouraging. ๐ ๐
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I had a fabulous dinner last night!
Iโm not sure how to track it, or if I tracked it correctly, but it was a new food experience and a lot of fun. Iโll share that with you, and would love your inputโฆ
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Here is my Low Carb Food Diary for Day 52 of the โGet Lean For Summer!โ 90 Day Low Carb Challenge. Itโs not too late to join us if you havenโt already!
Day 52: Wednesdayโs Low Carb Meals
I had my usual low carb breakfast: 1/2 cup pecan pieces, 1/4 cup Daisy Cottage Cheese & 4 small diced strawberries = 5 net carbs and 85% healthy fats.
Later in the morning I had a quick snack: 1/4 cup pecans and colby jack cheese. Just something quick & easy to grab on a busy day.
Later I had to run a few errands and grabbed a 1/3 Pound Low Carb Thickburger from Hardeeโs while I was out. I order it plain with cheese and mayo, which makes it zero carbs (according to the Meal Calculator on their website).
I had another quick snack late afternoon. This time: 1/4 cup (1 ounce) of almonds and a colby jack cheese stick. Easy is good!
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A Gracious Dinner Host!
I was invited to dinner last night. Iโd never met this couple, theyโre friends of a friend. My friend told them that I eat low carb and she replied โIโm not sure how low carb Gumbo is, but Iโll make a big salad just in case.โ How nice is that?! ๐
Sheโs from New Orleans, so the Gumbo was beautiful and amazing. Itโs a dish she grew up with and makes often, an โall day eventโ event, so it was a real treat!
The salad alone was PERFECT (fresh, crisp, colorful โ and simple!), so I would have been plenty content to just enjoy that โ and the great company. But never having tried Gumbo beforeโฆ I decided to have a small bowl. ๐ Without rice, of course.
She was fun, and I really enjoyed getting to know her โ and talking food. ๐ I learned that the base is chicken broth, and this Gumbo had: chicken, smoked sausage & shrimp. It was slightly spicy, full of amazing flavors, and DELICIOUS!
There was 1/3 cup of flour used in the roux, but that was for the whole pot โ which was a BIG pot. It was less thick and had more of a broth base. She also used Gumbo Filรฉ (maybe half a tablespoon) as a thickener, but that has negligible carb count.
I wasnโt really sure how to log the Gumbo and the salad, so I made my best โguesstimateโ based on a quick Google search and looking through a few entries in MyFitnessPal. We discussed it on Instagram here too. You can see how I added it in my Food Diary below. I figure close is goodโฆ
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Hereโs My MyFitnessPal Diary for Wednesday:
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I really enjoyed having dinner with friends, and especially new friends. ๐
Would YOU have eaten the Gumbo?
After seeing how simple it was, and smelling it (lol), and having a fun chat with her about the family recipe and the process of making itโฆ I decided to have that small bowl with my salad. What a fun food experience!
My โcarb radarโ didnโt go off at all. I didnโt experience any cravings last night or this morning either. So Iโm guessing it was reasonably low carb. Maybe higher in carbs than I logged it, but itโs hard to say โ and Iโm not overly concerned about it.
Now if I had eaten the rice and the cake, that would be a different story (lol).
Sheโs an amazing cook and a really neat person, which made for a fun evening. The dish inspired me too. Iโm betting there are low carb recipes for Gumbo out thereโฆ I would love to research that and see!
I should clarify too โ my weight wasnโt up today after that meal. It was up yesterday after the big 4-hour hike on Tuesday, and then the same again today. But thatโs how my weight goes: down, up, down, down, up, down, down. LOL.
At least the long term trend is DOWN. ๐
Thoughts on the Gumbo?
How are things going on your end??
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
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Oh, bless your heartโฆitโs a โrouxโ! ๐
And Iโve made a gumbo roux with almond flour. For the record, itโs NOT the same as Maw Mawโs roux, but itโs an adequate low carb substitute. Cest si bon!!
Thank you Lell ๐ haha โ I fixed that in the post. Appreciate the correction! I found the whole recipe and process so very interesting. ๐
I totally would have eaten a small portion of gumbo. I think it is part of being a gracious guest. If this is WOE for life then it may slow things down but, important in the texture of life. I probably wouldnโt have eaten a thing all day in anticipation of not knowing what was to come. That seems to work for me pretty well. I know some say to eat before you go to be less tempted, but that doesnโt seem to be my issue (I definitely have others though). Thank you for sharing the experience. It helps me to live vicariously and figure out these situations before facing them. ๐
Good point, Denise โ but I never feel obligated to eat food that is outside my preferences, no matter the circumstances. The host was aware that โI eat low carbโ and so very kind to make a salad to go with it. Which may be something she usually serves with it anyway โ it did go well together. ๐
The only reason I was game to try a small bowl is because it was a fun cultural experience, and because I felt comfortable with the lower carb count of the dish. Had it been a pasta dish or something, I would have stuck with the salad for sure, lol. ๐
Some people can be rude about it (guests and hosts alike), but this was a fun friendly atmosphere โ fortunately. Itโs nice to make new friends, be in good company, and share a meal without any weirdness about it. ๐
Mmmm gumbo!!! Hereโs a recipe for a low carb gumbo I had saved to my pinterest. It looks alot thicker than the one in your post but all the ingredients are very low Iโm carbs.
http://www.foodcoach.me/2015/12/01/bariatric-friendly-gumbo-rice-free/
My day was pretty chill yesterday and so were my meals. I even switched up my bpc from morning to evening and let me tell you it had me so incredibly full I passed out on my couch with the tv on lol.
My meals yesterday were :
B: cheese omelet, 2 pieces bacon
L: ham and cheese rolled up with a dill pickle (I cut a pickle spear into 2 and used 1 half per roll up), pork rinds
D: grilled boneless country ribs, sm salad ( romaine, 1 tbl ranch, 1 tbl grated Parmesan)
S: 2oz colby jack cheese from the block, bpc
My net carbs were 8, fat was 76% and I drank 80oz of water
lol, Justine โ thatโs funny! ๐ Thanks for the recipe too!! Are you feeling better? I hope so! *cheers*
No problem! Yes Iโm feeling a little bit better, still have a head cold but other than that Iโm feeling great.
Good to hear! ๐
Justine โ That Gumbo recipe looks delicious, but when I put all the ingredients into MFP for 8 servings, it comes to 17 carbs per serving. I wonder if itโs so high because of all the tomato products. Iโm going to work on it some more because I really want to make some gumbo.
Betsy,
The carb count is definitely higher due to all the tomato products. If I were making this dish I would cut out the tomato paste all together and use 1 large can of diced tomatoes instead of 2 large cans of stewed tomatoes. When I entered it into MFP using the changes above it came to 6.3 carbs per seving.
That makes sense. I will adjust the recipe accordinglyโฆ thanks!
Hi Lynn,
What kind of peanut butter do you buy? Mine is Natural Jif but it has 6g net cards per 2 Tbsp. Is there a lower carb peanut butter?
Laura,
I use Skippy creamy peanut butter, it has 4 net carbs per 2tbl. I think I looked at every peanut butter on that isle and it was the one with the least carbsโฆ.at least it was in the store I was at.
I get Peter Pan Natural Creamy, which is 4 net carbs per 2 TBSP โ the same as the Smuckers on this page: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/230/how-to-figure-out-net-carbs/
I think you did alright Lynn I make gumbo also I dont do the roux however I add okra to mine and plenty of shrimp sausage and chicken and i also have added cabbage. I guess its more of a soup than gumbo, but it thickens up just right for me .
Great to hear, Sandi! I was thinking it would be fine as more of a โsoupโ as well. It has ideas running through my mind for sure. ๐
Sandi โ Do you mind sharing your recipe? Iโm craving gumbo and the one posted above has too many carbs. Thx!