Happy Monday! I woke up almost a pound lighter this morning, which always makes a great start to the week. ๐
I stayed in this weekend, and I was eating low carb alone and getting caught up on some writing work.
Below are ALL of my low carb meals & snacks for Saturday & Sunday, plus my MyFitnessPal diaries so you can see how I logged everything.
On Friday Aaron came over and worked from my home office with me and we โate aloneโ together (lol). You can see Fridayโs low carb meals here. We made a healthy โwhole foodsโ LCHF breakfast together, then we got low carb Mexican take-out later.
He also came over and did some baking a few days before, so we had Low Carb Blondies and Low Carb Brownies on hand for easy snacks & treats.
I said treats/snacks, but the way we make them theyโre more like a meal!;)
Saturday is when I taught our last Low Carb Class, so it was nice to have low carb foods on hand already that I could just โgrab & eatโ without any fuss in the kitchen. Meaning: no cooking, which I always love. ๐
Iโll show you what I ate this weekendโฆ
My Low Carb Meals on Saturday
I had a busy start to the day, so I grabbed a handful of raw pecan halves early that morning. When I say โa handfulโ what I really mean is: I measured out exactly one serving (30 grams) on my kitchen scale โ and logged them. ๐
I had breakfast later in the morning, and just warmed up a Low Carb Cream Cheese Pecan Blondie with fresh sliced strawberries. Delicious! More like a dessert than breakfast, and GREAT with coffee. ๐
For lunch I had some Low Carb Spinach Bread made up in the fridge, so I just tossed 3 of those in the oven and had them warm with kosher cream cheese on top. ๐ Yum!
Since Iโm eating alone, I usually make a whole batch of the low carb breads, then patty them out so I know how many servings to add into the MyFitnessPal Recipe Calculator โ then I bake what I want, and put the rest of the patties in the refrigerator and bake them fresh when I want some.
I usually just wrap them in parchment paper, and then use that to bake them on too โ like this:
You can see a variety of my low carb bread recipes here including blueberry shortbread and garlic cheese bread. Those types of foods are great to have on hand for a quick meal or something to grab on the go! ๐
For dinner I made my favorite โlow carb cerealโ which is also gluten free โ and has perfect LCHF macros. Itโs 1/2 cup (60 grams) of pecan pieces, 1/4 cup Daisy brand cottage cheese, and 4 small diced strawberries.
It comes to 5 net carbs and 85% healthy fats.
Thatโs one of my FAVORITE low carb meals because itโs easy, requires zero cooking, itโs all โreal foodโ and pecans are a great source of healthy fats.
I also had 6 mugs of coffee on Saturday, each with 1 TBSP of Coffee-Mate Powdered Sugar Free Hazelnut Creamer (1 carb per TBSP).
Hereโs my MyFitnessPal Food Diary for Saturday:
Net Carbs: 21
Total Carbs: 42
Calories: 1928
Protein: 52 grams
84% Fat / 11% Protein
Water: 64 ounces
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My Low Carb Meals on Sunday
I skipped breakfast Sunday morning. Not intentionally, I just wasnโt hungry and enjoyed some coffee and quiet time.
Then for lunch I finished off the last of my fresh baby spinachโฆ and fried 4 eggs to go on top.
I fried the eggs in 2 TBSP of real butter, and drizzled the rest of the melted butter over the fresh spinach. That was delicious! ๐
I wasnโt really in the mood for dinner either.
Then I remembered there were low carb brownies in the fridge! ๐
A big beautiful double-batch of fudgy Low Carb Peanut Butter Walnut Brownies!
I also had some fresh strawberries, and figured I would โadd some food colorโ to my day (which is ALWAYS a good idea!) โ green from the spinach, red from the berries. ๐
I grabbed some mozzarella string cheese too, so hereโs my plate:
I couldnโt finish it all. I ate about 3/4 of the brownie, 3 of the strawberries, and only one of the cheese sticks. ๐
I also had 5 mugs of coffee on Sunday, each with 1 TBSP of Coffee-Mate Powdered Sugar Free Hazelnut Creamer (1 carb per TBSP).
Hereโs my MyFitnessPal Food Diary for Sunday:
Net Carbs: 14
Total Carbs: 26
Calories: 1135
Protein: 43 grams
78% Fat / 16% Protein
Water: 24 ounces
Exercise: 20 Tricep Dips and 10 Modified Chin-ups
The Free Plugin I Use to Get Net Carbs in MyFitnessPal
LCHF Macros: A Simple Explanation & Illustration
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I know it can be tough sometimes if youโre eating alone (no accountability), and it can be tough if youโre cooking for a family โ or eating out with friends that arenโt low carb.
I get that. Iโve been in ALL of those situations.
I found it easy enough to cook low carb when the kids were home, or when my friends are over these days โ just by making a meat & green and then adding a healthy starch to the meal for everyone else. Or when friends are over now, weโre all adultsโฆ so we can cook together and make it work!
Eating alone can be tough too, especially because itโs too big a bother to mess up the whole kitchen for one person. And because I end up having to eat leftovers for days, lol.
Either way, all ways, whether youโre alone or not, eating out or eating in, it really just boils down to a choice. You have to eat anyway no matter where you are or who youโre withโฆ so itโs just a matter of deciding WHAT to eat. Thatโs itโฆ
I got my arm workout in yesterday! ๐
Iโve been SO out of the habit with my exercise routine lately, and my big goal right now is to get back to my daily strength training. Just simple things I can do at home in short time.
Yesterday I did 20 Tricep Dips and 10 Modified Chin-Ups. Why? To tone my jiggly upper arms, because I have a trip coming up next month and I would LOVE to wear a new sleeveless dress I haveโฆ without being embarrassed of my arms. ๐
I honestly donโt think I would have MADE myself do it, if I hadnโt asked you to hold me accountable! So thank you.:):)
Smaller muscles, like your arms and calves for example, are SO easy to tone up FAST. And those muscles SHOW more than any others, so you can make a big difference in your appearance in short time with quick/easy muscle building exercises at home. ๐
How are things going with you?
I would LOVE to hear how things are going on your end. What are you struggling with, how is your weight loss going โ any questions? And: are you working out or toning up TOO?
Leave a comment & letโs chat.;)
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
p.s. I am working on A LOT of fun & exciting updates here on the blog, so for now you can still watch all 5 low carb classes for any price you want โ until I get the new page set up for them, then theyโll be a set price.
And I havenโt mentioned this yet, but there will be a surprise bonus coming SOON for those of you that are registered for the classes. ๐ So stay tuned for that!
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Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
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I need to be toning my arms too! Little exercises every day AmyโฆI need to add this to my running because these armsโฆhave been flabby for far too long ๐ Good job LynnโฆI hope to keep hearing youโre doing that to keep me motivated too! You rock! P.S. Come visit me ๐
That is SO going to happen one of these days, Amy. ๐ And THANK YOU. I need that kind of accountability, to MAKE me get in the habit and do this daily. I want sexy arms!! ๐ ๐ lol โ so now Iโm going to say โDo it for Amy!โ (on the days I donโt feel motivated to do it for myself, ha).
Arms are SO easy. I was amazed how fast mine toned up and got definition last year when I was doing little things like tricep dips or pushups or climbing. I regret not keeping it up ๐ but I feel inspired to see those results again, and even better this time!
Well ya got a partner in motivation crime with me on this one lolโฆlets do this! Tonight I will make sure to do some arms. And maybe again tomorrow morning when the coffee is brewing ๐ like you used to say. Lets do it! Iโve got this!
I am brewing half a pot of coffee now, and youโve inspired me โ Iโm going to go ahead and GET IT DONE! It only takes 5 minutes or so to knock out some good tricep dips & pushups. ๐
Hereโs to sexy arms we can show off! ๐ ๐ *cheers*
CHEERS! Whoop whoop ๐
Those breads are such a great idea Lynn! I love them because they are solid food, and eating just salads can become pretty bring and unsatisfying after a while, especially considering that protein should be a lot lower than what I thought earlier. Iโve ordered 2kg of almond powder, so looking forward to experimenting with your recipes. The spinach breads will be the first to try I think, but I love the look of your brownies too! ๐
What is your view on coconut flour? Do you add it to any of your meals/ bakes? I have quite a bit, but am worried that it may have a bit too much sugar for low carb meals.
The exercises are such a great idea! I am not a gym person, so anything in the frsh air, or โon the goโ suits me just fine! ๐ What a lovely surroundings to exercise in too! I use 5kg weights to tone my arms, but will be adding the triceps dips to the routine.
I have already started promoting your plan to my family and relatives in Russia. They are keen to learn more, so I will keep โeducatingโ them as I learn about it myself, and maybe will create a blog in Russian at some point. My cousin who lives in Siberia has not even heard about it yet! Doctors found a tumpur in her stomach (she is under medical investigation now), so I said that the first thing she should do is stop eating carbs in order to stop the fermentation process.
I am feeling very excited about my new lifestyle, and the potential to improve my own health and the health of my family! The longer it goes, the more determined I am to make it a life-time habit rather than one of those dieting episodes Iโve been through so many times.
Thank you for all the shares, and the inspiration you provide! ๐
I started out thinking I was just going to โdiet to lose weightโ too โ but as you can see (more than 6 years later, lol) it has become such an easily sustainable lifestyle with SO many benefits!
The low carb breads ARE great, because sometimes you really DO want something more substantial. Plus itโs a good thing to make (whether biscuits or cheese sticks or smaller โthick crackersโ) for favorite things like: herb cheese spread, spinach dip, salsa, etc. ๐
I havenโt worked with coconut flour but there are TONS of low carb recipes that use it. From what I understand it requires a lot more liquid than almond flour recipes โ so there is that to consider.
I have 5 pound hand weights too, and should use them more. But I find using my own body weight in most cases is easier โ because I donโt always have my weights handy. And if you clicked the link โฆ you saw I do Tricep Dips pretty much anywhere I can find a bench or a large rock or even a fallen tree that is the right height. ๐
Thank you for the tips re the dips Lynn! ๐ I need to start making them myself to make sure that they are not loaded with stuff I donโt want them to have.
By the way โ I love your new header! It makes the site look and feel much more โaliveโ and interactive.
Thank you! ๐ ๐
I should develop another habit โ to proofread everything before clicking the โsendโ button! ๐
Oh no โ then you would make me look bad. Because I make errors all the time, and everyone here is very nice and just overlooks it. ๐ haha
Good point Lynn! ๐ Perfectionism is the reason I am not moving as fast as I want to. I need to take your advice and just get things done! ๐
If I put too much thought into anything, I would never get ANYthing done -lol. Because I tend to freeze up if it requires that much planning or overthinking! ๐
Thatโs why I donโt do meal planning, and why โgoing low carbโ worked so well for me. I could just jump right in, and itโs easy to maintain without requiring much forethought or any real โperfectionโ about it. ๐
Your posts are so helpful!! I absolutely LOVE the cottage cheese with pecans and berries!! Ive been eating it for breakfast every day!!
Iโm still struggling to get on track and STAY on track eating this wayโLCHF. I seem to do well for a day or so, then i cave and eat junk. Ugh! Iโm learning to just start with the next meal/snack and move forward! Baby steps, I guess!!
So thankful for you and your blog! Have a great week!
Thank you, PattyAnn. ๐ Try this: Commit to 5 full days. Just five. Thatโs easy enough, right? At that point you should be in ketosis โ and your cravings and appetite will practically disappear. Then it gets EASY. ๐ Try it, 20 net carbs max, for just 5 days only โ and see!