Here is my Low Carb Food Diary for Day 80 of the “Get Lean For Summer!” 90 Day Low Carb Challenge. It’s NEVER too late to join if you haven’t already!
Note: I haven’t set a date for the next 90 Day Low Carb Challenge yet, but the group stays open & active year round. Join in and stay tuned…
My weight has dropped two days in a row, finally – after an 8 day hold. But I almost had a total meltdown yesterday.
This morning I woke up weighing only 144 pounds. Another new all-time low on my weight loss journey!
I’m feeling leaner than ever, and really starting to FEEL the muscle tone from all the exercise I’ve been doing the last few months. But sometimes your focus switches from how far you’ve come… to how far you still have to go. And that mental shift can really tank you. 😛
I’ll share how I powered through it, and my AWESOME workout – which was another fun hike! But first, here’s what I ate yesterday…
Day 80: Wednesday’s Low Carb Meals
I had my usual “Low Carb Cereal” for breakfast: 1/2 cup pecans, 1/4 cup Daisy brand cottage cheese and 4 small diced strawberries. It’s 5 net carbs and 85% healthy fats.
Joe and I headed out to go hike Greeter Falls and hit the swimming hole just before noon, so we stopped at Hardee’s to grab lunch on the way.
I got a (very messy!) Low Carb Thickburger – plain w/cheese, mayo & tomato:
I had all sorts of ideas for dinner. Some good, some bad – lol. 😛 I was totally wiped out though, and just grabbed 1/2 cup of pecan halves and some colby jack cheese.
That may not SEEM like much food for dinner, but it’s high fat and high calorie foods (620 calories) so it completely satisfied.
After that I just wound down and went straight to bed – at 7:30pm 🙂 lol…
Here’s My MyFitnessPal Diary for Wednesday:
Calories: 1533
Net Carbs: 14
Total Carbs: 27
Protein: 52 Grams
83% Fat, 13% Protein
Exercise: Hiking + 10 Tricep Dips
FitBit Steps: 8,645
Water: 64 ounces
The hike was a GREAT workout! Fitbit recorded it as “66 floors” lol…
I came home from Greeter Falls feeling exhausted, hungry… and disgusted with some of the photos of me. 😛
Truth: I just wanted to order a big fat pizza – with donuts on top. 😐
Here is just ONE of the pictures I did NOT like. You can click on it for a larger version so you can see what I mean. Yes I DO realize I have come A LONG WAY, but we all have those moments where we realize just how much further we have to go…
I’m proud of my progress, don’t get me wrong. But this is not the worst of the pictures, and I’ve seen myself in a bikini recently -lol.
I was just exhausted. I’m really pushing myself hard to get in GREAT shape, and I have my moments where the “distance to success” seems SOOO far away.
I thought about my options: go backward or go forward.
I thought about my food options too, and grabbed the pecans & cheese – because thinking on an empty stomach is never smart. 😛
Then I got up and pushed myself to do a set of Tricep Dips on the back deck:
Sometimes commitment is hard. Sometimes your motivation fails you.
Those are the moments you just have to power through.
The alternative (letting myself get back OUT of shape and gain my weight back)… did not appeal to me at all. As disgusted and blah as I felt over “how far I have to go”, I knew it was nothing compared to how disgusted and miserable I used to feel…
And I knew it would pass. 🙂
I slept 8 full hours last night, which is rare for me. I really WAS exhausted, lol. I woke up to that lower number on the scale, and renewed motivation… to work on my core!!!
In the most perfect timing, I got a new core workout thingy in the mail this week. It’s not something I’ve ever heard of before, but they sent it to me for review.
So in addition to my Ab Carver Pro, I’ll be testing that out too. Stay tuned, I’ll share all the details with you – good or bad, lol.
How are things going on your end?
I always look forward to hearing from you!
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
p.s. I’m not “hard on myself.” I’m seriously committed to getting in amazing shape this year. I’ve worked SO hard to get where I am now, and I am NOT letting up until I get to find out what it FEELS like to be “lean & fit!” 🙂 I’m on a MISSION to meet the happiest, healthiest version of myself…
Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
You are looking great. Don’t be too hard on yourself. You are young and it will come.
I have a long ways to go started at 248 on January 18, 2016 and on April 27, 2016 was 234. I go back to the doctor today for a yearly pap smear so I will weight again and hopefully see some results. To be truthful, I am a little nervous although I know I have stuck to it pretty good except I did have Redd’s Blueberry Ale last night. It was so hot here in NC that I needed to cool down (good excuse huh)? Keep doing what you are doing :-).
It was HOT here in Tennessee yesterday/last night too. 😛 I hope you get positive results at your weigh-in today!
It’s such a process, but it is a long-term journey toward becoming both healthier AND leaner. Not just losing weight, but creating healthier lifestyle habits – and experiencing great results by doing so.
I keep that in mind when the scales annoy me. 🙂
Losing 14 pounds the first quarter was great! Are you happy with your loss so far, including today’s weigh-in? A few tweaks may help you lose more, if you want to toss some ideas around…
Don’t you just hate photos that make us unhappy with ourselves?! I have discovered that one of my two full-length mirrors, makes me look much slimmer than the other one. Guess which one I chose ALL the time now! LOL
You are a beautiful and healthy gal.
Thank you, Karen 🙂 It doesn’t help that with the summer heat I’m wearing less clothes – and even bathing suits, lol. That reveals so much more haha.
Overall I am VERY happy with where I am in the process, and how far I’ve come, but just when you are on a “happy high” something brings you down to earth again. 😛 Humble is good – it just made me want to work that much harder!!
Hi Lynn….WOW those falls are so beautiful!!! I need to pack up and move to Tennessee haha. Im in hot, humid FLAT Texas lol. We do have a condo in New Mexico and when we get up there, we hike the mountains. When you have beautiful scenery to look at, it doesnt seem like working out 🙂 My husband and I walk our neighborhood every night and we’ve been going about 9p the last few weeks with this heat. And theres a tree that has these 3 small owls in it every night, the are sooo cute (im an owl lover) and I seriously walk faster just to get to the last part of our walk and see that tree lol. My husband will be talking about his day at work and Im usually like…uh-huh…yea…uh-huh…im not even listening…thinking about those sweet little owls…shhh dont tell him 😉
Your arms and legs are looking so good!!! Your legs are getting in amazing shape! You inspire me to keep pushing through!! And why in the heck does it take our middles last to disappear??? Its like when you lose, it starts at both ends first, your feet and head and works its way to the middle, the last part…grrr!!! But, one think i’ve learned from you is consistency pays off…keep on keeping on and the results will come :))
Hugs girl and thank you for your blog♥
lol Diana – that’s so true!! At least I’ve been working on the middle consistently, so I know the results will come. 🙂 I’m loving my Ab Carver and now that I’m able to do 11 reps a day consistently, it’s time to ramp that up!!
Your owl story gave me a big smile. 🙂 With our usual downtown walk it’s the water fountain, and the river walk… it’s the dam and railroad tracks. It’s nice to have favorite spots to get out for an evening walk!
I think Machine Falls was my favorite waterfall hike of the year so far, but Greeter Falls was beautiful too. I’ll get a “photo tour” up as we went to the Blue Hole, above the falls, did some rock climbing, and hiked down below too. The water is way down in TN right now, but it’s still gorgeous!
Lynn Terry I need you to live next to me. I joined the 90 day low carb challenge the beginning of June and I failed. I can’t seem to get passed this phase where I feel like I can do anything and then when I don’t lose even one pound, I start eating things I shouldn’t. I wish you were doing the low carb challenge again as soon as this one is done. That way, I could follow you from day one, and just maybe, it would help me along the way. It seems my carbs are always high according to myfitnesspal and that is frustrating. I feel like I would have to starve myself in order to lose at this point. Keep up the good work, you are looking trimmed and toned.
Hi Penny – thank you! 🙂
Note: You have NOT failed… until you’ve quit for good. 🙂
My success during this particular challenge has been due to ONE thing: ignoring the scales and powering through the “stalls” – like the 8 days straight this past week when my scales did NOT move (except to go UP a quarter pound, lol).
That consistency and commitment is what is really making a difference. 🙂
It does sound like you need to do some tweaking. You want to stick to 20 net carbs max, and 70% fat minimum – in order for it to work.
I do NOT starve myself though, I get well over 1200 calories a day most days, sometimes as many as 2,000. It’s just a matter of eating lower carb foods usually!
This past week has been tough. I had temptations. A lot around me. I resisted for the most part. I never completely go on a binge ever now if i eat one thing higher carb in a day
i think i have become bored with some of my meals and i have really not got off plan but a day or two on this challenge…..the final week is stressing me out and somehow that makes it harder to resist foods that i crave
My weight is staying the same. I had no gains
today i ordered a Chicken salad sandwich on a huge croisant roll. I knew i did not want to eat the croisant roll so i put just the chicken salad on a plate and mixed some pecans in with it. Yum
i also cut a a couple of fresh cherried and mixed it in also
I love the sweet and savory mix along with the crunch of the pecans in the chicken salad. I ate it with a few chicharrones for an extra crunch. (Like potato chips)
This hit the spot. I love chicken salad
i saw on TV that there is a individual size fritata made by Jimmy Dean. It is advertized as low carb but i need to read the label first.
i just need to try some new low carb foods……90 days is a long time (for me) to be good. Lol. We are only human but i am trying. 🙂
I so get it, Gigi – 10 days out and I’m thinking I need a break, lol. But then… I don’t know what I would do with it. 😛 haha. I’m SO close to getting where I want to be!!
I was having that conversation with myself just last night: “A break from what?” is what I asked. Maybe just thinking about it so much or something. It’s not like I crave junk food – although I quickly would if I started nibbling any at all!
Variety appeals to me too. I’ve been eating at home & cooking some lately because I got a little bored with my usual take-out options. I’ve been getting creative even, which is fun for a change lol.
That may be what’s making it harder for you lately – the limitations, missing your kitchen & usual conveniences, etc. I get that for sure! I always just remind myself of the alternative: going backward. Ugh…
I agree with you Lyn. This is a way of life for me now. I have no plans of changing this after the challenge is over. I lost 9 lbs so far on this challenge and though it does not seem like much, it has made a big difference in how i look and feel. Besides that i know i have lost inches…..I can wear a 12-14 in pants or a sixteen depending on the manufacturer two and a half years ago i was a size 22w- 24 waist or bigger in plus size. My biggest size was 26-28 W. And sometimes 32.
I think this is why my weight loss is so slow now after losing 150 lbs in 2 1/2 years.
I am not always as diligent as you are with counting carbs and tracki g everything
it is so hard for me to stay at 20 net carbs a day. I know most days i am at least at 30 carbs a day
i know i could really stay 20 carbs or under but i do not care for a lot of meat or eggs anymore
i eat little meat but i enjoy cheese and yogurt and nuts which are all higher in carbs yet i have lost all my weight before just eating low carb yogurt and a big salad everyday
your low carb cereal is a staple for ne and a much needed change from all the meat and eggs
i love to have berries and veggies
i see you are incorporating more veggies in your diet lately.
I think besides losing weight with the jeto diet that it is important to add greens and berries for their phytonutrients and micro nutrients
i love addi lemon to my water or food
we need that citric acid and Vitamin C
i DO want to try some of the recipes
I have not made the crepes or low carb breads that id love to try
i do not have an oven here or i would try the bread. It looks yummy
i could go very low carb or do the egg diet to shock my system to losing fast but i believe that starving (unless it is Intermittent fasting) causes rebound weight gain……in fact i know this from my past experience…..i always ended up fatter after these very low calorie diets.
i had a few days of eating one thing a day off plan but never did i use that as an excuse to binge
my next step is to buckle down and get some serious toning up and exercise in every day
i hate the way my body looks. (Sans clothes. Haha)
I have a lot more fat to lose. I am still overweight. I am finally well under 200 lbs and though it may seem really big to you i am 188 now. So i have 38 lbs to go. I am tall and have a large frame
i look like i weigh less than i do
my good friend said i do not need to lose anymore
she was shocked to see me and how much i have lost
i had not seen her since two years ago at my heaviest.
But i know i do need to lose a lot more
she kept telling me that her doc said that liw carb was unhealthy and that we need carbs
i told her that i do eat carbs but just healthy carbs. It is so hard to get people to understand this. ALL I KNOW IS THAT IT WORKS FOR ME. 🙂
I feel the same way about my body, Gigi. I’m not at all happy with what was under all my fat, lol. Ugh! That’s why I’m on a mission to work out consistently right now. 🙂
I am short, and short waisted too (all legs!) so the weight sits pretty heavy around the middle on me. Of course those are the last pounds to go, too – the midsection. 😛
A lot of people believe “we need carbs” but that’s only because they are unaware of the option to switch to healthy fats for energy. You have two choices: carbs & sugar or healthy fats. Your body and brain actually function best on healthy fats!