Every day I share my own low carb meals with you here to give you easy ideas and a live example of how simple it can be to live a low carb lifestyle.
I try to include helpful tips & resources in each post too, like the USDA National Nutrient Database link I gave you the other day. That’s my go-to for looking up foods without labels!
Below is my Low Carb Food Diary for Day 10 of the Summer Low Carb Mini-Challenge so you can see what I ate yesterday, and how the macros work out.
Jump right in anytime! Even if we’re in the middle of a challenge you can get signed up to stay in the loop. 🙂 It’s free and fun, and I’ll be kicking off a NEW challenge on August 1st – so plan to join us!
Today, a quick note on weight fluctuations, and some helpful tips for that…
When Your Weight Fluctuates & Drives You Bonkers!
It’s actually very normal for your weight to fluctuate. First, you should only weigh yourself first thing in the morning right after you pee. That’s the only “true weight.”
Your weight will fluctuate up to 5 pounds throughout a single day!
If you weigh daily, first thing in the morning only, you may still see fluctuations on a daily basis. For example my weight on Wednesday morning was 140.8, then on Thursday 141.4, and this morning (Friday): 142.2 pounds.
This is the kind of thing that will drive you mad if you let it.
It’s not always something you did right or wrong.
Fluctuations are totally normal. This is why it’s recommended that you weigh once a week instead of daily. I prefer to weigh daily though, and I know most people do. 🙂
It’s good to keep an eye on your foods and macros though, to see if certain things are common culprits for you. This is why meal tracking is so beneficial.
Here’s a Helpful Video Tutorial For Low Carb Tracking.
It’s also normal to experience a brief “hold” and slight fluctuations during week 2 or 3 when you first start, or first start back (get into ketosis). That’s just your body adjusting to the initial weight loss. It happens to everyone! 🙂 The key is to know it is NOT “a stall” and to keep doing what obviously worked so well the first week or so.
See: Mysterious Weight Gain or Stalls too.
Sometimes it’s as simple as sleep quality, medications, muscle recovery from workouts, or if you’re sick – even a head cold will put things “on hold.”
As for MY fluctuations this week, I’ve discovered those are totally normal as part of my usual flow. I stick it out, stay consistent, and in the long run I’m still losing weight consistently at a rate of about a pound a week on average. Which is great considering I’m so close to a goal weight at this point!
Don’t let a 1/2 pound or even a 3 pound fluctuation tank your mood or affect your dedication. It’s not worth it! If you lose 15 pounds and gain ONE, that is not a reason to quit. 🙂 Play the long game! Eat for your health, and let your body adjust and lose at it’s own pace… because it WILL.
Sometimes it helps me to look back at older photos. THAT is inspiring!
Day 10: Thursday’s Low Carb Meals
I had my favorite low carb breakfast, yes AGAIN. 🙂 (lol) It’s 1/2 cup crushed pecans, 1/4 cup Daisy brand cottage cheese, 4 small diced strawberries, 1/8 cup (17.5 grams) of blueberries. It came to 6 net carbs and 85% healthy fats.
I had to work until a little after noon, then I threw on some shorts and packed up to head out for our big caving fitness adventure. 🙂
I hadn’t had lunch yet, so we stopped by Hardee’s on the way out of town and I got a Low Carb Frisco Burger. It’s just the Frisco Burger with a lettuce wrap instead of the bread.
If you have a Hardee’s or Carl’s Jr fast food restaurant in your area, they’ll make ANY sandwich low carb. They have a “make low carb” button on the register!
See: Seedrah.com (Hardee’s spelled backward). 🙂
After our big 3-hour caving adventure I was famished! Fortunately I brought some low carb snacks with me on the trip (which is almost an hour from where I live), so we ate at the base of Lost Creek Falls while winding down from the crazy cave hike.
I brought pecans, almonds and cheeses – all high fat low carb foods, for fast refueling. They’re also easy to pack, no prep and no fuss. 🙂
Here’s My MyFitnessPal Diary for Thursday:
How To Get Net Carbs in MyFitnessPal
Calories: 1559
Net Carbs: 18
Total Carbs: 31
Protein: 74 Grams
77% Fat, 19% Protein
Exercise: Hiking & Rock Climbing
FitBit Steps: 5,915
Water: 56 ounces
I always find the “floors” metric on my Fitbit interesting when I go hiking or rock climbing.
I looked it up and this is what I found on their site: Your tracker registers one floor when you climb about ten feet at one time. It does not register floors when you go down.
I did A LOT of climbing up AND down yesterday while caving and rock climbing, plus the hike in and out, lol. But that means 32 “floors” would be 320 feet of climbing UP alone, not including climbing down – which in many cases yesterday was just as strenuous and crazy. 😛
There are times I climb up somewhere only to question how the heck I’m going to get back DOWN, haha. This picture is blurry, but it gives you a good idea how I’m getting in such great shape lately:
I have never before in my entire adult life had the upper body strength to do the things I am doing now. THAT is inspiring, and feels absolutely amazing! So I just laugh back at my scales when they fluctuate up, because I know how I FEEL… and how much healthier and stronger my body is now. 🙂
That’s called an NSV (Non Scale Victory).
The caving adventure yesterday was AWESOME, and a serious workout. I have tons of cool photos & video to share with you, because we DID find the waterfall hiding deep in the dark depths of that cave! 🙂
Stay tuned, I’ll share a photo tour with you. I think you’ll really enjoy it…
How are things going on your end?
It’s day 11 today – did you exercise this week? What kind of low carb meals are YOU eating? Are you experiencing any challenges or struggles with your goals?
I always look forward to hearing from you! 🙂
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
Leave a Reply