This is my Low Carb Food Diary for Day 18 of the Summer Low Carb Mini-Challenge so you can see what I ate and how the macros work out. Join in! Even if weโre in the middle of a challenge you can get signed up to stay in the loop. ๐ Itโs free and fun, and Iโll be kicking off a NEW challenge on August 1st so plan to join us!
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Iโm up almost 2 pounds this morning.
Thereโs no good reason for that. I slept great, ate super low carb yesterday, etc. Itโs just normal fluctuations.
When that happens to you, donโt freak out. Just keep eating healthy, stay on track, and let your body work things out in itโs own way โ in itโs own time. ๐
That was a lesson I had to learn the hard way. Sticking it out & staying consistent (no matter what the scales say) showed me that holds and fluctuations are totally normal. And I saw that over the course of a month, three months, etc that I consistently lost weight.
Interestingly I FELT leaner when I woke up this morning. Even measurements didnโt show a change though. Odd. Bodies are such weird things sometimes! No big deal. Iโm in a smaller size, I feel good, Iโm eating healthy, all is well!
Iโm more upset about being out of pecans this morning. ๐ LOLโฆ
Day 18: Fridayโs Low Carb Meals
I didnโt eat until 2:30pm in the afternoon yesterday. Thatโs rare for me. It was just an off day. Anyway, I decided to have my usual low carb breakfast, but with double blueberries. ๐
Itโs 1/2 cup crushed pecans, 1/4 cup Daisy brand cottage cheese, 4 small diced strawberries and 1/4 cup (35 grams) of blueberries. It came to 8 net carbs and 83% healthy fats.
For dinner I decided to cook, and make enough for several meals.
I had almost two pounds of ground chuck (hamburger meat) and a bag of Pictsweet Cut Leaf Spinach โ which is one of my favorite low carb staples!
I never really liked spinach before going low carb, but now I find myself playing โHide The Spinachโ all the time. ๐ Youโll notice I sneak it into all kinds of recipes, like my low carb biscuits and my low carb oven stew.
And of course that Shrimp & Spinach Dip I made recently was amazing!
Anyway, I decided to cook my favorite low carb spinach burgers:
Low Carb Spinach Burger Recipe
This time though, I added a deliciously fun twist! ๐
In addition to LOTS of spinach and everything in my usual recipe I linked to above, this time I added Guyโs Sugar Free BBQ Sauce to them while they cooked, which made them really nice & tasty and CRISP on the outside!
Iโm totally addicted to that low carb barbecue sauce! I got it in my first Keto Krate but you can also order Guys BBQ Sauce on Netrition here. Speaking of Keto Krate, they ship new boxes this week! Hereโs a sneak peek of whatโs in them this time.
Notice the hole in my hamburger steaks in the picture above?
Thatโs one of my favorite tips! I mentioned it in the original recipe, but poking a hole in the middle of your burger patties keeps them from puffing up while cooking โ so you donโt have to squeeze all the juices out. ๐
Anyway, the BBQ sauce was AMAZING on my hamburger steaks!!
It gave it a nice crisp outside, with a tender inside โ chock full of spinach:
Words cannot describe how delicious that was. ๐
And I had my meat & greens all in one food!
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Hereโs My MyFitnessPal Diary for Friday:
Macronutrients: A Simple Explanation Of Low Carb Macros
How To Get A Net Carbs Column in MyFitnessPal
Calories: 1032
Net Carbs: 16
Total Carbs: 25
Protein: 84 Grams
60% Fat, 34% Protein
Water: 40 ounces
I know it seems like I didnโt eat much yesterday, or not as much as usual, but both of my meals were very healthy and very filling.
I slept on and off yesterday too, then went to bed and slept 7 full hours last night, so I ate good while I was awakeโฆ and when I was hungry.
And I cooked up FOUR of those beautiful bbq hamburger steaks, so I have plenty leftover to enjoy through the weekend. ๐ YUM!
How are things going for you?
Itโs day 19 today. We have our final weigh-in for this mini-challenge on Monday morning! ๐ Thatโs also when the next 90 Day Low Carb Challenge kicks off.
YES, back to back lol.
There are a lot of people that were on vacation while we were doing this little summer mini-challenge, and others that came in late and want to start in at the beginning of a new challenge. If you need to take a day or two off in between, feel free to do that. You can start whenever you please, just jump right in anytime!
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
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Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
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Lynn, thatโs the best lesson to learn. . . just keep on going despite that @($&(@#&(@$^@ number on the metal monster. Iโm like you. When I wake up feeling leaner, it usually means the scale is up. The other test for me is the Boob-O-Meter. If I wake up with boobs, my weight is usually up. If I wake up with flaps, itโs down. ๐
I have to tell you. . . I love, love, LOVE your spinach burgers! I had one almost every day for lunch, except we make them half size as I canโt eat much at one sitting. I keep them in the freezer and I put them in my little Rival one-serving griller. Takes maybe 5 minutes from frozen state. Top with some cheese and YUM-O! So thank you big for that recipe!
Iโm glad weโre moving directly on to the next 90-day. For me, this HAS to be a lifelong change, not only when thereโs a challenge on. Besides, I probably wonโt have good results from the 20-day but I did better on the long one. I have to accustom myself to the fact that any downward trend is okay. So if I ramble a bit up and down, no biggie as long as the end is down, if only a little bit. Iโm almost 100 pounds down from my original high weight, but it keeps escaping me and every time I get close, I gain. Those first 60 pounds were done on a variety of plans and it was seriously gain 10 pounds, lose 7, gain 11, lose 8 and up and down we go. I found low carb but NOT high fat and lost 40 pounds in two years. The high fat IS the trick and thatโs where Iโll stay. Youโll hear the scream even down there in TN when I hit that 100-pound mark. . . . and I WILL hit it. Just canโt tell you when.
Ha! You just solved my two-pound-problem, Carla! ๐ Spot on with the boob-o-meter. Itโs a hormone cycle! Even post hysterectomy I still have a cycle (even men have cycles). And youโre exactly right. I got where I was stashing things in the extra space in my brassiere, but there is no extra space today! ๐ฏ haha
Fluffy socks go well in bras. Ask me how I know. . . LOL
My hysterectomy was in 1998 and I still feel the cyclic pull. I donโt think it ever goes completely away. Iโm betting thatโs exactly your two pounds, Lynn. . . . the dreaded hormones!
Itโs all good. ๐ I think itโs wise to respect the various cycles of our bodies, and the weight loss cycles as well. Your body has to have a โcatch up periodโ it seems.
Iโve also noticed my scales generally go up a bit right before they go down. ๐ Sadly these are the days people say โscrew itโ and sabotage that loss they may have seen!
Carlaโs Boob-O-Meter made me laugh out loud this morning! Lol.
LOL me too!! ๐
Me three :P.
LOL ๐
I wonder how many calories you burn laughing? ๐
Glad youโre starting a new challenge Monday! Itโs the 1st of a month and a Monday which mentally for me means a fresh start!
Yes, I saw thatโฆ and felt compelled to kick off a new challenge Monday, August 1st โ but I should have scheduled better to give myself a break in between, lol. Oh well. Itโs always nuts the first week! ๐
Oh no! NO PECANS???? LOL. that made me smile. I am thawing my strawberries while reading this. I am sooo addicted to the lc cereal AND the pecans. I never ate pecans much before except in pecan pie (go figure ๐ ) but now it is my fave nut for this cereal. I used to eat a lot of almonds but tbey are higher in carbs so i cut down on that.
i am taking Sunday off maybe for an off meal. I have been with this non stop since the beginning of your last 90 day challenge
i am trying not to be obsessed with numbers on the scale too so i have not weighed myself every day lately. I will wait till Monday.
I cannot wait to try your spinach bbq burger
and you say you canโt cook or donโt like to cook but you have some great original recipes
i guess like me, i am a good cook when i feel like it, but most of the time i do not like cooking. I rather be doing almost anything else. ๐
I am assuming you add cooked spinach and cooled to the meat first i love spinach. And the guys bbq sauceโฆโฆi love it!!
I plan on really buckling down on the new 90 day challenge. I am going to cut down on dairy and nuts and sf ice crean and bars for a while and measure everything and write every bite i eat in a journal. I think this will Really help me. Also i plan on joining an excercise class and a warm water excercise class at the Y. I have to get down another 20 lbs at least. Most of all i need to get in shape. ๐
I still havenโt gone out for pecans. ๐ I decided Iโll make blueberry crepes for breakfast tomorrow. Iโm forcing myself to get creative this weekend instead of my usual meals over and over. ๐
I agree. I would rather be doing ANYTHING else but cooking. In the kitchen, dancing or kiss, lol โ but cooking and dishes? No thanks. haha
Tracking is key, so I think thatโs a great goal for the new challenge!
P . LYNโฆ.i bet that 2lb is water weigh . You would have to eat a HUGE amount of calories to ever gain two lbs of fat in one day. It cannot be fat. I bet you will see a loss by tomorrow. Anyway i know you are not worried about it. You taught me a lesson about the scales. The scale does not show the whole picture of our progress
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Yeah and I ate super low carb and even really low calorie yesterday. I use a full body composition scale too, so I can see where itโs coming from. I just didnโt step on it this morning because I wasnโt that curious. ๐
My tummy felt off today though, so thatโs probably it. And often my scales spike up before they go down. Iโve noticed that as a pretty consistent trend.
Is there a link to a recipe for your spinach burgers?
Making a hole in the center of the burgerโฆโฆโฆBRILLIANT! ๐
Itโs here: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/6606/low-carb-spinach-burger-recipe/ ๐ The bbq sauce really made these โWOWโ instead of just fabulous!
Thanks Lyn
The BbQ sauce will def.make it a Super WOWโฆ..I bought two bottles of the BBQ sauceโฆ..i cannot wait to try this. ๐
Well I couldnโt wait to celebrate my 7.6 lbs loss on Monday and I just blew it today. Iโm having a glass of wine and half of a baked potatoe. I will probably gain 3lbs on the scale tomorrow.
I will get back on track for the new 90 day challenge. Please donโt judge me ;).
No judgments from me. ๐ I was just sitting here considering my favorite off plan meal, but decided Iโm too lazy to drive 40 minutes round trip for it. ๐ lol. Iโm having a hard time working up the desire for it anymore!
Anyway, half a potato and some wine โ ENJOY. Thatโs just part of life. Itโs not like you fell face first into an entire cake or anything. ๐
Food Guilt is worse than any food you could ever eat. Happiness, health, love, even self love, those are good things to focus on while you sip your wine. ๐ *cheers*
Oh darn I forgot to ask if your Picksweet cut leaf Spinach was in the frozen food section or the produce section? We donโt have that brand here and I couldnโt find anything that was cut up spinach which I would love, I hate the whole leaf bags.
Thank you.
The Pictsweet brand is frozen veggies. Itโs too bad they donโt carry it there! They are my favorite brand. ๐ But yes, any frozen spinach. I usually get chopped spinach โ even store brand. I love to hide it in any recipe I can. ๐
awwww thank you Lynn, youโre so sweet :), I loved your last paragraph and totally agree. And youโre right, itโs now like I ate a whole cake LOL. I just know that it will kick me out of ketosis. But such is life, you have to treat yourself once in awhile and I did enjoy it.
Back on track tomorrow.
Thanks for the spinach info, I should have read your recipe first, it would have answered my question, itโs just the package you showed looked like fresh spinach?
Thank you for your support and wisdom. <3.
Going out of ketosis is not the worst thing. Getting back in is, lol ๐ haha. Seriously, Iโm testing out ice creams and Iโve been trying to hold off โ because I know this one will kick me out of ketosis, but itโs healthy / low carb and Iโm tempted to have โpint nightโ tonight โ so I just may! ๐
Making healthy choices, wait: HEALTHIER choices is awesome. Itโs progress. Your potato and some wine, my healthier low carb ice cream, etc. I used to eat a whole fudge pie, or not a pint but a HALF GALLON of the kind of ice cream that makes you sick for days, lol.
Weโre doing just fine. ๐ *cheers*
Having the scale go up when I know Iโve eaten well always bugs me, but Iโm trying to be patient through it. I was up a pound today. ๐ Iโve been back on track about the same amount of time youโve been doing the 20 day challenge, and Iโm now down 4 pounds so thatโs nothing to be upset about. I desperately need to go to the grocery store and hopefully will make it Monday. In the meantime weโve been getting creative over here with what we have in the kitchen and garden. This morning I did a sort of modified version of your favorite breakfast with what I had on hand: 1 oz warmed cream cheese and a tablespoon of HWC topped with blueberries, walnuts and chia seeds. For dinner my husband made zoodles topped with shrimp, yellow squash, tomatoes, and basil (all from the garden except the shrimp LOL) cooked in olive oil. The rest of the family had ice cream tonight, and I decided it was time to splurge. However, I had a sugarfree caramel and some pork rinds and decided it really wasnโt a splurge I needed/wanted to make. I loved your that your binge this week was also a low-carb one. ๐
Losing 4 pounds in less than 3 weeks is GREAT, Erica! ๐ Way to go!! Your meals sound really good too. Do you use a spiralizer to make your zoodles, or do you do them by hand?
We bought the $10 spiralizer at Walmart. I really like how easy it is and love the taste of zucchini done this way even though I just think itโs ok other ways Iโve eaten it.
The MFP shows 1/2 cup cottage cheese but blog says 1/4 cup. Typo? You eat it every day haha so Iโm pretty sure should be 1/4 cup. Thatโs what Iโll go with.
Hi Cheryl ๐
When I log it, I put in โ.5โ (half) instead of โ1โ โ so it shows the correct macros for my 1/4 cup (half) serving, but it doesnโt show that on the entry for some reason.