Yesterday was an odd day.
I felt really out of sorts with the end of the 90 Day Low Carb Challenge.
I had been looking forward to that day for so long, or using it as a focal point throughout the challenge, thinking I’d take a day or two “off” to enjoy all the foods I thought I missed or wanted to eat – then get right back on track.
But after 90 full days of eating a healthy ketogenic diet (well, except for one intentional cheat day and one other screw-up)… I just didn’t WANT any of the junk food I thought I missed so badly!
I was torn. On one hand I thought it might be wise to “get it out of my system” – go ahead and eat donuts and french fries and such and be done with it…
On the other hand… I just didn’t want it. But knowing I’d kick off another Low Carb Challenge VERY soon, it seemed smart to do it NOW. Right? I thought so. 😛
Meh. I got up and made my usual healthy low carb breakfast… I didn’t know what else to do with myself! 🙂 lol *sigh*
It’s 1/2 cup of pecans, 4 small diced strawberries and 1/4 cup Daisy Brand cottage cheese – which comes to 5 net carbs and 85% healthy fats:
That was actually a late breakfast, closer to 11am probably. Joe and I had plans in Nashville for the evening so I waited to eat again knowing we’d have an early dinner.
I had a bit of a problem…
None of my clothes fit right anymore! 😐 A good “problem” to have of course, given it’s because I’ve lost so much weight – lol. But still!
I pulled out this favorite little lightweight cotton dress because it was a sticky July evening… a dress that used to be “fitted” and hug me in a way that made me look voluptuous and curvy – now hangs on me like a shapeless sack!
The dress worked well enough for the evening, but as the night wore on it just got bigger and bigger on me 😛 lol. I need a seamstress. 🙂 Anyway…
We decided to eat at Chili’s Grill & Bar in the city. It’s a favorite spot of mine.
I had no idea what I would order.
All sorts of food ideas danced through my head!! I decided I could have anything I wanted. I considered a big fat greasy cheeseburger and fries – with dessert on top. I looked over the menu and carefully considered all the beautiful foods I normally would never allow myself to have.
I settled on the Quesadilla Explosion Salad…
A SALAD 😯 hahaha. What a lame cheat meal. 🙂 lol. I even looked up the nutrition facts from my mobile – and logged the meal in MyFitnessPal. Old habits die hard!
This salad is 74 net carbs. I’ve always wanted to try one! I usually special order a low carb version, but I really wanted to try “the real thing” just once.
It was fabulous, by the way. 🙂 I ate about 3/4 of it, so it was maybe 50’ish carbs. And I did NOT order dessert! YAY!! I was actually pretty pleased with my choice, given how MANY choices I had…
I mentioned that I usually order this “low carb style”. Here is a detailed description (with photos!) of how I usually special order a low carb version of the Quesadilla Explosion Salad at Chili’s.
Here’s another great low carb meal at Chili’s Grill & Bar too.
I was STUFFED after that HUGE salad. I was also woozy within the hour, as it spiked my blood sugar, and I felt tired (lethargic) the rest of the evening. 😛
Here’s My MyFitnessPal Diary for Sunday:
Joe and I went to see a live band at the City Winery in downtown Nashville. Here’s a fun picture of us from last night:
Getting Right Back On Track After Eating Carbs
As I was winding down last night, I thought: I might as well eat what I want tomorrow while I’m already out of ketosis. Then get back on track. I have to go through keto flu again this week anyway (ugh!).
Then I thought about how hard I worked to lose the last ~12 pounds, at a grueling 1 pound per week average, and how FAST I gain weight back. Double Ugh! 😛
I woke up 1.2 pounds UP this morning.
It stops there! I’m done.
I got up today and made a healthy low carb breakfast, and just got right back on track. This is about making a conscious (mindful, deliberate) decision:
Food or Fat?
Donuts or Hot Body?
What’s one more day going to hurt, you might ask?
I asked myself the same thing. I couldn’t come up with a good answer. Except that it would put me that much further AWAY from my goal, instead of toward it. Or that it seemed pointless. I mean, it’s just food – and tomorrow it would just be a “food memory” and kinda pointless – and I would be stuck with another pound or two to lose again. I dunno. It all seemed so pointless. 😛 It IS pointless.
The only REAL way to “get it out of your system” is NOT to binge out on it… but to QUIT it. I’ve learned that through being so consistent and on track for such a long period of time. Your cravings, your alluring affair with certain foods, completely dissipates the further you get away from it.
It’s like any addiction (or a stray cat, lol): feeding it keeps it around. 😛
So I rationalized why I should NOT binge today, instead of allowing my (fickle) mind to rationalize why I SHOULD.
So what if it’s a holiday. So what if I kicked ass for 90 full days and “deserve it.” Do I really DESERVE to gain weight and feel lethargic? No. Does a holiday have to be about food? No, never – it should be about the holiday…
I almost blew it completely. Then I reeled myself back in.
I’m proud of that decision, and SO happy to be back on track today and working toward my health & weight loss goals! THAT is something to celebrate. 🙂
What about you? How are you doing??
I hope my ramblings here proved helpful for you. Sometimes it’s as simple as being in control of your choices and stopping to MAKE deliberate choices. Other times it takes a little more “soul searching” to get and stay on track with your goals.
If you’ve been off track for awhile, or on/off and struggling to get and STAY on track, read this. I wrote it after a particularly hard time over a year ago, and it’s helped a lot of people get back to a HAPPY place with their weight loss goals (too).
I’m going to spend some time this week going through my clothes, finding a local seamstress, and hopefully finding some clothes that FIT, lol.
I’m HAPPY today! That’s a heckuva lot better than being miserable with myself. I think back on times when I thought I “deserved” a certain food or day or week. Did I *really* think I “deserved” to feel miserable and defeated and hopeless?
Because that’s what I ended up feeling… every single time. Those binges made me feel like I would NEVER reach my goals, that losing weight was hopeless for me, and I felt discouraged and disappointed in myself.
Who deserves that?! I don’t. Not anymore. Whoever that vicious woman was inside my head for so long that did that to me… she’s gone now. Long gone. The only way to get rid of her is to STOP feeding her…
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
p.s. If you participated in the Spring Low Carb Challenge and missed the Final Weigh In and the other notes & details, click here and catch up. 🙂
Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
This is about the most awesome thing I’ve read in a long time! No one can relate something this powerful unless it’s written from experience. I appreciate you!
Thank you Stephanie π π
I’m SO glad I settled on the salad, and got right back on track today. That feels GOOD. I know all too well what it would have felt like otherwise, both mentally AND physically. I hope this note helps to prevent that yuckiness for someone else! *cheers*
This is truly so inspiring. I started my low carb journey January 2015. Did fantastic until July 22, 2015. I remember the day like it was yesterday and the meal like sucked me back into the high carb abyss. Lol. Lost 50lbs by then and went on a trip to Louisville KY to watch my son play in the AAU basketball championship. I got caught up in it all and broke down and ate nachos and salsa. The whole bag and a small jar. I couldn’t stop. It was awful. I tried several time on and off over the next few months to get back on track but I failed miserably. Lasted a whole month at one point the fell back off again. So finally on March 31,2016. I made the commitment again. I had gain back 40lbs of the 50lbs I had lost. I was heartbroken. But alas, since then I’ve been going strong and have lost 20lbs for a total of 30 from my original weight and I’ve been more serious than ever! You help keep me inspired and so many other stories I read on your site. Thank you for all you do.
Wow Terri – what an inspiring story! I went through that as well, losing and gaining the same weight over and over (and over! ugh). It’s so frustrating and disheartening. Kudos to you for getting back on track and back in control of your goals!! π
Thank you for this, so so much!! I seriously screen shot part of it! When is your next challenge? Can anyone participate? Congrats on being in such an awesome place in your life!
Hi Erin π I haven’t announced a date yet, but the next Low Carb Challenge will be SOON, with a mini-challenge or two going on this summer as well! Just make sure you’re signed up at http://www.90DayLowCarbChallenge.com so you get the details. π I’m glad you’re joining us! And yes, ANYone can participate…
Hi Lyn
I can relate to your story as a food addict myself, i find myself bargaining with myself about food choices.
yesterday i had ribs with real bbq sauce but ordered the sauce on the side. I didn’t put much of it on my ribs. I just used my fork and lightly coated the ribs one by one with a small amount of bbq sauce for flavor. I was full and did not eat the carbs (corn on the cob and a corn muffin) so that was not too bad but i am sure it took me out of ketosis along with the generous helping of low carb icecream i had later on that evening
i had a low carb greek yogurt later with almonds and hot mint tea
then i ate a bunch of fresh black cherries. I love cherries and they have a very low glycemic effect on our blood sugar. BUT I had such a terrible tummy ache all night. IWAS SO MISERABLE!
I Feel so much better when i eat low carb
i guess this was my “reward meal” ugh. I need to stop thinking of food as a rewar . This was more like a punishment
so i ate a low carb breakfast of just scrambled eggs and sausage but i finally caved into eating the small chocalate-chocolate chip muffin It was the only carb i had. It really was not that wonderful as i thought and so not worth the carbs
Right now i am eating the low carb cereal of strawberries,cottage cheese and pecans…..
No bbq today. I am done too
i felt so bad yesterday and yes lethargic ugh
i am looking forward to the new challenge
i read your blog every single morning or afternoon. It really keeps me motivated
you keep it real and you do not chide us when we fail . You understand our delemma as you have experienced all of the emotions and struggles of this battle with overcoming food addictions
low carb is the answer……undeniably so!
The conversations in my head are almost comical sometimes. π Have you tried the sugar free bbq sauce yet? I love LOVE love ribs, it’s a weakness, but I’m not sure the sugar free sauce will “stick to the ribs” at all – so I’ll be curious how that tastes and works.
Yes, not a reward – more like a punishment. Exactly!
I’m glad I *only* had the salad. There were tons of other options, then and later π and I am REALLY glad to be back on my health track today. It feels GREAT!
I am definitely going to order the liw carb bbq sauce on netrition. I love bbq and there is ni reason that we cannot enjoy bbq as long as we use low carb sauce
i will let you know how it works out
maybe if i marinate the meat in rhe sauce it will help to infuse the meat with the flavors
i always add spices to my sauce to give ut more flavor. We shall see. Grilling can be a very healthy and low carb way to eat. I will prob throw some asparagus and peppers on the grill too. π
This is the one that is most recommended to me: http://www.netrition.com/cgi/goto.cgi?pid=787-0001&aid=3558 and the sugar free bbq sauce I just got myself to try. π I am anxious to test it out. I’ll keep you posted!
Try Guy’s BBQ Sauce from Netrition. It is really good.
You are doing amazing. I am so impressed…..although I get it. I am trying not to reward with food……and by trying it just means saying it and doing it. My will power has never been stronger and sometimes I am just in disbelief. After my going off plan the weekend before……I knew vacation was coming on Friday I was happy that right away I jumped back on plan last Sunday. I weighed myself Thursday before taking off on vacation. So not exactly on day 90. But I was down 10lbs. I wish it was more. But I have been a really slow loser. Only down 17 or 18 lbs since Feb 20. I think I may have to stop diet coke. See if that helps. Then keep stopping something else. Such as cheese or nuts. Etc.
We go home on Friday. So far pretty good here. I have had a few chips here and there….may 20 total in the last 4 days. We went out to eat I had prime rib and green beans. So good. But mostly been eating meat, cheese, some vegis. And the most impressive thing has been…..zero beer. Which is something that goes hand in hand at the lake. I am so proud of myself with that. Although when it is hot and sunny. I really want a beer. Sigh. See if I can make it till Friday with limited cheats/chips my favorite thing here and do my weigh in Saturday…..
I hope you’re having a GREAT time on your vacation, JoAnn! That’s the key, to focus on the FUN instead of the food. π
For beer, I love Michelob Ultra (2.6 carbs per 12 ounce bottle) and just count that in. I tend to sip instead of drink to stretch it out further, and have to eat super low carb to accommodate for it, but it’s worth it now and then!
Feeling proud of yourself and being HAPPY is so much more important than anything you could possibly eat. π
Good luck with your weigh-in on Saturday. But if it’s not the number you want to see, use that as fuel to buckle down and work that much harder! That’s what I keep doing… *cheers*
Thanks for the reminder that a food addiction is like a stray cat…funny but absolutely true…it’s going right on my fridge door.
lol Teri Ann – glad you enjoyed that bit. π I worried it might offend some! I’m just really surprised at how much stronger my willpower and resolve has become, and how much my cravings have gone away, since I have eaten low carb so consistently. Even my “cheat meal” was relatively low carb, lol.
Thank you for everything you do! I know it takes a lot of your personal time to always take pictures of what you eat and what you are doing/documenting as you go. But, I just want you to know how much it inspires me to have your posts to read each day! Something you said tonight was a huge “aha moment” for me. I have always had problems being consistent (lost 60 pounds to gain 40 back). Always thinking “I deserve this special meal, dessert etc.” I would do well for a while and then have those thoughts ” I DESERVE….” Until tonight, I really had never thought about what I was actually saying to myself- “I deserve to feel miserable, defeated, dizzy and tired” Wow! That is the real truth- rewarding myself with food is not a reward by any means. That will stick with me! I am definitely, as you said, going to STOP FEEDING that woman with those self defeating thoughts. Thank you so much!!!!
Thank YOU Carla – I really appreciate your kind words. π And I am SO glad that you found inspiration in this post. I know how tough it all is, given I go through it myself… and it’s really nice to have such an awesome group of people to work on goals and change with together. π π Here’s to becoming our healthiest, happiest selves!! *cheers*