If you’re participating in the 2017 Low Carb Challenge (feel free to join in anytime!) we do weigh-ins every Monday. Here’s the Week 9 Weigh-In for the Facebook group, or you can weigh in here by leaving a comment below on this post.
Happy Monday! 🙂 I hope you had a great weekend. I look forward to hearing what you did, what you ate, and your weigh-in for this week.
I had easy low carb meals over the weekend, so I’ll share those with you.
I also got in a nice (but short!) nature hike with my great dane, Slim yesterday. He was misbehaving 😛 so we had to cut it short, but it was fun to get out for a bit at least. 🙂
Below is a complete photo tour of 3 days worth of low carb meals, plus my macros & MyFitnessPal diaries for the last three days too – so you can see how I logged those meals.
They’re all VERY easy meals & the “casserole” I made last night was really good. 🙂
p.s. I see now why I was out of pecans by this morning!! lol…
Friday’s Low Carb Meals
I had a busy work day on Friday so I kicked off the morning with a half cup (60 grams) of pecan halves at my desk. Right off the scale even, lol.
I love that little Ozeri kitchen scale. 🙂 It’s SO convenient. I use it for everything! It’s cheap – and comes in other cool colors too.;)
I finally got up and made a “meal” which was my favorite low carb cereal made with 1/2 cup pecan pieces, 1/4 cup Daisy brand cottage cheese, 4 small strawberries & 17.5 grams of blueberries.
It comes to 6 net carbs and 85% healthy fat, so it has perfect LCHF macros!
For dinner… I had breakfast. 🙂 3 fried eggs with hog jowl, which is like bacon on steroids! It was delicious, and an easy one skillet meal.
I pulled a long day, with a late afternoon nap, so I was up late that evening… and had my “cereal” again – this time with just strawberries:
Here’s how I logged Friday’s meals:
Saturday’s Low Carb Meals
Saturday was a long, quiet day at home… and I spent the entire day WRITING. I’m working on some whitepapers for my consulting business, so I kept my meals simple all day and stayed focused. 🙂
I had pecans at my desk early that morning again…
There was hog jowl leftover from the night before, so I heated that up in the skillet and made cheesy scrambled eggs to go with it for a quick lunch.
My low carb dinner was leftovers from a restaurant meal: blackened salmon with sautéed spinach & steamed broccoli.
It’s about half the salmon I had so around 4 ounces, and I just stirred it all together and dipped it in Alfredo sauce. 🙂 That was delicious!
I also had a serving of Halo Top Creamery low carb ice cream that night…
Here’s how I logged my meals for Saturday:
Sunday’s Low Carb Meals
I had my favorite “low carb cereal” with just pecans, cottage cheese & strawberries. Sometimes I get lazy and don’t thaw or dice the blueberries. 🙂
I had a second breakfast for lunch: bacon & cheesy eggs:
Later in the afternoon I went out with a friend and my great dane, Slim to Lost Creek for a fun nature walk… and grabbed a quick low carb cheeseburger from Hardee’s on the way. I ordered it plain since I was eating in the car. No dripping that way, lol. 🙂
Dinner last night was a thick pan fried pork chop with cheesy veggies. Ricky fried a piece of bacon in skillet with the chops for flavor, so I ate that too. 🙂
The veggies are just steamed broccoli & cauliflower topped with mozzarella then crumbled Cello Whisps – and baked in the oven for a nice crunchy topping. 🙂
That was delicious! It’s not really a “casserole” – just steamed veggies baked with the cheese & Whisps for something a little more fun that just plain old veggies. 🙂
Here’s my MyFitnessPal Food Diary for Sunday:
Macronutrients: Simple Explanation Of Low Carb Macros
How To Get A Net Carbs Column in MyFitnessPal
Net Carbs: 15
Total Carbs: 25
Calories: 2004
Protein: 84137 grams
70% Fat / 27% Protein
Water: 48 ounces
These FUN fitness motivation stickers are handmade by Living Life Rosie and available on Amazon here. You can get them in glossy or matte (glossy is only .50 more, so that’s what I picked!). She has other really cool handmade items too. I thought that was neat, that she makes them herself. 🙂 And just north of me in Kentucky!
I’ve been collecting fun stuff for my InnerGuide Goal Planner like stencils and doodle markers and motivational stickers. I’m VERY excited about setting and reaching ambitious health goals this year, and feeling CREATIVE about it! 🙂
Oh – and as for my own weight, it’s still fluctuating… so I’m just ignoring it. 🙄 LOL. I’m still not 100% well and having to take over-the-counter meds (sinus, cough, Advil, etc) so I think that’s the culprit. I just keep eating low carb and resting plenty…
The scales will work themselves out.;)
How are things going for you?
How are you doing with your low carb meals & macro tracking?
Any questions or struggles?
Are you feeling seriously MOTIVATED… or totally off track?
Don’t forget to weigh in below, or in the group…
Leave a comment & let’s talk. 🙂
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
All is going well. Still 110 but don’t really want to lose anymore. Doctors want me to gain some but that goes against my wants. Plan to ignore them and do my own thing. When you have been overweight since childhood and finally lose it it’s against everything I want to gain any back. Doesn’t make sense to me.
I say do what you FEEL is best for YOU, Ruth. π
I have gained 6 lbs. and can’t get it off…I was down to 120 and it’s driving me crazy…help
Hi Peggie π How can I help? How did you gain the 6 pounds, and what kind of problem are you having getting it back off?
It just seemed to pop back on…I drink an Atkins Shake in the morning which I have cut out…I know 6 lbs. doesn’t like much… but when your short you can tell it and I ‘m uncomtable in my clothes
I totally get that – I’m short AND short waisted, so I really feel it too. How are you tracking btw? Happy to help!
I’m not tracking anything I just make sure I eat less than 20 carbs daily
Try tracking just for ONE week so you can figure out the culprit. Ditch the shakes – try half cup of pecan halves instead (very filling, very high fat, easy!).
Make sure you’re doing at least 70% fat. That alone tends to stall me out – when I get under that.
I don’t really understand how to go about tracking
Hi Peggie π This is a really simple explanation & illustration: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/7006/macronutrients/ I use MyFitnessPal. It’s a free app.
You want to make sure you’re doing 20 net carbs max, 70% fat minimum. Just tracking for one week will help you figure out what’s keeping you from losing – or causing you to gain. π
Im not sure if im reading this right…were there days you went over your carb goal?
Hi Kenya π My goal is 20 net carbs max, 70% fat minimum. So no – well except one of those three days I had 21 net carbs, but I don’t sweat little stuff like that over/under.
If you’re referring to the MyFitnessPal Goals – I ignore those. π
I am a week into being back on track. Down 5 pounds. I have powered through lots of cravings including going to Cracker Barrell I looooove. Someone at work picked it. Normal meal is mac and cheese hash brown casserole and fried okra and a biscuit. I read the menu online before we went and got steamed broccoli, side salad and grilled pork chop. Woo hoo for me. I did it. I need to get back into my summer clothes and I’m gonna do it! Headache was hideous no matter what I tried so I have incentive to stay on track to avoid doing that again.
That keto flu headache is the WORST. π You did great on your meal choices! That’s what I do as well – look up the menu before I go, decide what I’m going to have there, and stick to it. I always feel SO good for doing that. π It makes for much more *mindful* choices – so you can actually ENJOY the company you’re with instead of fretting over food. π
I know you ignore calorie count, but are yours always that high? I have been drilled to calories, so ignoring them is difficult. I my calorie counts look similar to yours more days than not and worry that I will not lose weight. Are you still losing at this point or kind of in a maintenance mode?
I’m still losing, Stephanie. π If you look back through some of my daily food diaries here on the blog you’ll see that my calories vary from 1100 to over 2,000. It doesn’t seem to matter that much either way, as long as my macros are on point (20 net carbs max, 70% fat minimum).
I go through normal weight loss trends of lose, hold, hold, lose, fluctuate, hold, lose, etc. But those are common for everyone.
Hi Lynn,
Things are going well and I still feel better than I did before I started on this lchf journey. Here are my net carb g/fat % stats starting with Thursday, the day I set up FitnessPal:
Thur: 52/54 Fri: 39/68 Sat 25/64 Sun 21/73 and then today 19/69. It does take a bit of planning in the beginning, but I think I’m getting the hang of it. This morning I did feel a bit keto-fluish I think, but it would resolve once I ate something. I already feel less sluggish than before and even though there’s still some chronic pain, it just feels less debilitating. In terms of weight I haven’t loss that much yet, but I feel less bloaty and have lost maybe a pound or two. Now if only I could my bowel to calm down and stop being “irritable”…. π
Hi Catherine π Are you eating any bars, or anything with sugar alcohol? If so, that can definitely cause tummy trouble. Otherwise it may just be your body making the transition and will hopefully work itself out… Getting into ketosis is sort of like a “cleanse” π
Hi i started low carb high fat last week i dont have a gallblader and im worried about the hi fat…any opinions about it thanks
Hi Maria π I know there are many people doing a ketogenic low carb (LCHF) diet that have had their gall bladder removed. I would do some research on that, and also talk to your doctor of course. I don’t have any personal experience with it…
I’m down 10 lbs this week. YEA finally the weight is going the right way. I was diagnosed with Graves disease last month, I am having a hard time losing any weight with the trying to get my meds correect and . I have always tried to stay eating low carb but I started going gluten free/low carb a couple weeks ago and it is finally paying off.
I’m so glad to hear that, Mae! It’s NICE when you find something that WORKS for you. π Kudos for sticking it out until you found your fix!
I’m not familiar with Graves disease so I’ll have to look that up. Hopefully they’ll get your meds stabilized sooner than later so it’s one less thing to worry with. π
I found these yummy cheese chips at Costco once that looks like you threw fresh grated Parm. Cheese in muffin tins? Ate them with Marinara YUMMY
I love your cereal idea!
I enjoy my “cereal” meal. π It has great lchf macros! And yes, you can easily make cheese chips at home with parmesan or any kind of cheese. See: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/4232/low-carb-chips/ Easy!
Maria I don’t have my gallbladder either, l buy turkey bacon, turkey sausage, you will be fine!!!
Lynn l have a question, l never count net carbs, just total. Can you please tell me how can l do it? I have the app my fitness pal but l think that I have to pay for premium do have the net carbs right? Thank you!
No Cynthia – I use the free version of MFP and a free plugin: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/4448/myfitnesspal-hack/ It only works online in Firefox or Chrome though, not on the mobile app or tablet.
Net Carbs is just Total Carbs minus Fiber – so that’s pretty easy. π
I am still recovering from foot surgery (10 week recovery period). But I can walk with a boot on my foot so I’m improving. I am so proud to learn that I didn’t gain any weight when on a 6 week “no weight on foot” period. This shows me that I have overcome my stress eating and bored eating. Only 2 more weeks with the :”boot”. Will be glad to get outside to enjoy the early spring.
Total weight loss is 35 pounds, have 40 more to go. Been a slow loss but have learned so much. Hopefully weight will start falling off again when I can exercise again.
I’m so glad you’re recovering well, Kathy – and maintaining your weight loss! You’ve done GREAT so far, almost halfway there. π π That has to be a really good feeling!
I’m excited about spring too… and getting out & more active again after being so sick this winter. Here’s to some FUN outdoor exercise! π *cheers*
I did well my 1st week list 4 lbs. I had tacos for breakfast and lunch Saturday and gained 2 lb, could it have been the corn taco shells? The neat was lean ground turkey
Hi Nell π Yes, the corn taco shells will take you out of ketosis – which is a diuretic state – so you’ll immediately put on water weight when you eat off plan foods like that. You’ll want to go right back on plan to get back into ketosis again.
I stumbled upon this blog from your Instagram page. One question…I’m 55 yrs old and have been LCHF for over 4 weeks. I haven’t lost an ounce yet. Just yesterday I noticed the Ketostrips are turning pink. Does it normally take that long to get into Ketosis? I’m 4′ 11″ and weigh 139lbs. I’m following along with >20gms carbs, 14-16 oz protein and between 80-100gms total fat per day.
Hi Roseanne π Welcome!
You can’t go by grams, because some proteins are also fats, so you have to go by ratios (percentages). This is a very simple explanation & illustration: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/7006/macronutrients/
Keep it super simple and do: 20 net carbs max, 70% fat minimum.
It is not typical to not lose ANY weight in four full weeks, or for it to take that long to get into ketosis, so keep an eye on what you’re eating – and your macros – and figure out the culprit. π
I don’t have the MyFitness app, but I do track on the Carb Manager app. As I’ve looked back on the last few weeks, I see that I only get between 55-75% of total fat per day, a few days were only 45%. With that being said, I should add more fats….nuts? avocados? Butter? Bacon? Not sure where to find more fat…
I like pecans because they are very low carb / high fat – and don’t stall me. Avocado is great, and it’s even good fried / browned in butter – as a side. π
Salmon instead of white fish. Chicken thighs instead of breasts (more tender AND cheaper too!).
I love to add pecans to a caesar salad even, or you could top a salad with the browned avocado chunks instead of chicken. Lots of ideas!
I struggle with meal planning what to eat on a day to day or week basis definitely need help to start getting healthy!
Hi Brooke π
I don’t do much meal planning. Well, none really – lol. I just wing it! There are TONS of low carb foods to choose from though, whether you’re cooking or eating out. It’s basically just: meat & greens + healthy fats.
This food list really helped me when I first got started: https://www.atkins.com/how-it-works/atkins-20/phase-1/low-carb-foods You can start there, and add to it as you go, and get used to reading labels. π
My name is Annie, I struggle with My weight, I track my morning and noon meals. But on my way to work I crave for sec mcmuffin from McDonald’s and Carmel frappe. I do my breakfast at night bacon and eggs or I do oatmeal. For lunch I do veggies and some kind of meat. When I get home I do bad. I also get bloated a lot. Please help me.
Welcome Annie π
You really do NOT want to mix a LCHF diet with carbs. That can actually cause you to gain weight, not to mention promote certain health issues. It’s kind of one or the other – like running your truck on gas or diesel. π Here’s a simple explanation: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/4606/lchf-diet-explained/
If you can commit to just 5 full days of eating only 20 net carbs a day, you’ll find your cravings totally disappear. It’s also a natural appetite suppressant, so both really help – and make it EASY to maintain. π
Hi Lynn thank you for the link to add the net carbs, but l can’t no do it. I know that l have to do it in my laptop and l went step by step and even add the FIber, but nothing with the net carbs. I’m using mozilla firefox. Please help!!!
Lynn, sorry l did it, know l can seey net carbs, thank you! !
I’m so glad you got it working, Cynthia. π What a great plugin, right? Especially for free!
I know, l download the app but the net carbs didn’t appear. So l deleted and l’m using my laptop, thank you so much. You been a lot of help
I still use the app to put things in on the go, but always use my computer to track net carbs & macros more easily. You’re welcome – and thanks for the kind words, you made me smile! π *cheers*