Showing Up For Life (When You Don’t Feel Like It) + Keto Meals in Atlanta

My life is taking some very interesting twists and turns lately. Mostly just in my mind (so far) but there have been five interesting events lately that have had a HUGE impact on me… and on the new direction my life is taking – next.

For example I’ve been wanting to hike New Zealand and write a book for YEARS, and both goals have come to the forefront, possibly even doing them simultaneously!

I’ve also decided to take ballroom dance lessons, starting ASAP.

I haven’t quite known how to put all these new thoughts into words, and am definitely still processing it all, but I’ll start with this piece. 🙂

First though…

Where Are My Food Diaries?! 🤔

I haven’t been publishing my daily food diaries lately because I haven’t been eating that much – and I don’t want to set a bad example for people who are new to a low carb diet.

Especially the days (like yesterday) I’m getting by on mct oil and collagen protein bars. I wouldn’t want anyone to think that’s what “keto” normally looks like.

This week I’ve barely even had 1,000 calories most days. But of course the scales are not moving, and neither are my guts 😛 – both are on strike! lol 🙄

That’s been mainly since I took myself out to dinner on Tuesday night for this FABULOUS keto friendly meal at O’Charley’s: an 8oz prime rib with “loaded broccoli” and grilled asparagus.

It was all DELICIOUS.

In case you missed that post, green vegetables send me into a total spin with my current gut health issues…

But I just MISSED veggies 🥦 and decided it was worth the misery and took myself out to dinner. 😋 It was worth it actually! I’ve just had to rest a lot and stay in since then.

When I’m traveling though I have to stick to plain meats and very simple foods like MCT Oil, avocado, macadamia nut butter, etc – and eat light.

That works for me, and I feel fabulous keeping it super simple, and using the MCT Oil to pretty much keep it down to one solid meal a day when I need to be on the go (and at my best).

But yes, I’ll be glad when this gut health thing finally resolves itself!

Showing Up For Life (When You Don’t Feel Like It)

I was invited to speak at an event in Atlanta. I’m a business & marketing consultant by trade, and LOVE teaching and speaking on topics I’m passionate about.

But I almost didn’t go.

Why? I can’t really say. I was feeling so much pressure, and not enough pressure, all at the same time. I had been feeling stressed yet unproductive.

I kept going between pushing myself, to giving myself permission to feel NO pressure, trying to figure out which was best for me.

Basically I was just lost in a never-ending flow of conflicting thoughts and struggling to make ANY decisions at all, about anything.

Even to the point of deciding between doing the dishes or watering the plants, and giving up and going back to bed. 😛

I finally decided the trip to Atlanta was exactly the push I needed, and so I went.

And I’m SO glad I did!

It was a great opportunity to wear this new dress I ordered from Amazon. 😉

Speaking of, I just ordered it in a black floral print too. I love this dress!!

The drive to Atlanta took about 4 hours which was perfect to do some thinking, and to switch gears – mentally.

The photo above was taken at the scenic overlook at Sequatchie Valley, using a Interval Shots app on my phone that I set up on a timer.

It had been a typical late July sunny day and most of the photos turned out stiff and awkward. I wasn’t feeling it. But out of nowhere big clouds rolled in with a breeze, followed by a strike of lightning and a clap of thunder that felt AMAZING! And that is when the photo above was snapped. 🙂

Something about that moment energized me and I found myself getting back on the road in a lighter mood with more excitement about the trip and the event ahead…

Dinner On The First Night In Atlanta

I had a fabulous first day in Atlanta, fueled only on MCT oil and coffee and one pack of macadamia nut butter (and smiles!) all day long.

That evening I ran into another business owner I do some work with (normally only online) and we grabbed dinner at Bentley’s Steakhouse right there in the hotel while we caught up.

Of course the first thing to hit the table was the bread board. 😳🍞

My pick from the bread board?

This beautiful butter with smoked salt! 😍 ✔

To complement my ribeye, of course!

It paired beautifully with the 16 ounce delmonico ribeye I ordered – which was garnished with smoked salt, pickled onion, roasted garlic & tomato. 🥩 YUM!

This was one of those fancy restaurants where all sides are “a la carte” which worked out perfectly for me, since I was only going to eat the entree (the meat) anyway. 😉

Of course there’s NO WAY that I can eat a full 16 ounces of meat & fat in one sitting, lol – so of course I had about half of that left over!

I got a poolside room with a patio, so I enjoyed the other half of that steak for dinner the next evening while I sat out and watched a storm roll in…

It was just as good cold as it was hot the night before. 😉

That was an amazing ribeye!

Day Two In Atlanta

Rewinding from the leftover steak & butter for dinner, I started my morning and first full day in Atlanta making an “MCT Coffee” in my hotel room.

This is the MCT oil I use on the go. They’re portable mct packets from FBOMB and my coupon code is LOWCARBTRAVELER for our discount:

This keeps me going through long days with high energy and no crazy appetite!

MCT Oil also boosts your metabolism, increases your ketone levels, gives you instant energy, curbs ALL cravings, and puts you in calorie burning mode. 💪🔥

Also from FBOMB are these handy little macadamia nut butter packets that I always take on trips too, which are a great way to power through long days:

My discount code is LOWCARBTRAVELER

I also love those ^ for hiking, flights, road trips – and any other time you might need an all natural pick-me-up. 😉

Fortunately I felt amazingly good that day, in yet another fun amazon dress 🙂 because this is the day I spoke at the event.

It was such a great crowd. Every single person I met there was smart and friendly and full of positive energy! That awesome vibe and high energy was contagious, and even had me up on stage dancing! 💃

I cannot believe I second-guessed going to this event, and almost missed it. This was exactly what I needed!

There were so many wonderful people to meet, enlightening conversations, friends to catch up with, and SMILES… lots of smiles!!

It definitely pulled me out of my funk and out of my usual thoughts, which was a good thing. Every single person I met or spoke to lit me up inside in some way.

I walked away from that event feeling like I want more people like THAT in my life!!!

Day 3, The Drive Home & Cool Keto Gas Station Finds

I discovered some really cool on-the-go low carb snacks & foods at a gas station on the drive home, so I included some videos of those below.

First though, I decided to attend the morning sessions for the third day of the conference before I headed out…

This time in a favorite Fabletics dress instead of another one from Amazon. I’m a total Amazon junkie when it comes to fun dresses! lol

I met a girl friend for lunch before I hit the road, at one of our FAVORITE restaurants in Atlanta: Louisiana Bistreux.

I got the “Angus Ribeye Orleans” which is a grilled ribeye topped with crawfish and lump crabmeat in seasoned butter. And I ordered steamed spinach as my side:

Since I was on my way home anyway, the steamed spinach sounded great. But then I took one look at it and got a hit of anxiety about it making my drive home miserable – especially since I was planning to take a hiking detour on the way. 😉

That ribeye was HUGE (and the buttery seafood on top was amazing!) and plenty to eat anyway, so I ended up just skipping the spinach.

I am still taking the FDgard and IBgard before every meal, which does help, but green vegetables still cause me enough discomfort to avoid them while traveling. 😛

Under the black dress I had on my swim shorts 🙂 with a tank top & water shoes in the front seat of my car.

I’m almost always fully prepared to go from heels-to-hikers in two seconds flat like that. 😉 Especially on a road trip!

My intention was to hit Amicalola Falls in north Georgia as a quick detour on the drive home, but I ended up getting a late start back (spending more time with friends in Atlanta!) and it started raining about the time I got near the Blue Ridge.

Amicalola is the highest waterfall in Georgia at 729′ and is considered to be one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia.”

Stay tuned though, because that hike is about to happen!

I grabbed a coffee for the drive home. McDonald’s actually has good black coffee, and I had all my “coffee stuff” in my travel bag with me: mct oil, collagen powder, Coffee Mate sugar free hazelnut powdered creamer, etc.

I travel prepared! ✔🚗

Most McDonald’s are open 24 hours and have All Day Breakfast. Their sausage has less ingredients than the sausage I buy at the store to cook at home, and their round eggs are “real eggs” – cracked on site.

They have bottled water too, and you can pretty much always find a McDonald’s on the road. That makes staying low carb on-the-go EASY! 👍

Cool Keto Friendly Gas Station Finds…

The first cool find was KITU Super Coffee: no sugar alcohol, keto friendly, super low carb: only 1 carb, has mct oil, it’s lactose free. ✔ see the video

Have you tried these yet?

You can get it on Amazon here but you can also order single bottles on Netrition if you want to try different flavors.

More cool low carb gas station finds on the road:

I love that there are so many EASY ways to stay on the track these days, no matter where you are or what you’re doing! 🙂

I was still FULL from my humongous ribeye at lunch, so I didn’t eat anything else on the way home. Even eating super simple throughout my trip, I was feeling bloated and miserable by the time I started driving home.

The least little bit of stress of any kind (as simple as “feeling rushed”) causes a flare-up with my gut issues – and of course there’s always a bit of anxiety with public speaking.

Well, more than a bit. 😉

So I decided to just drive home and make a few enjoyable stops, one to sit by the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga in the late evening for a good hour, and otherwise get home to rest. (Which I did for DAYS after I got home.) 😉

While I skipped Amicalola Falls, I gave myself a raincheck on that one… and I’m going to try to pull it off this coming week if I can!

I’m glad I said YES and showed up…

Going to this event was SO good for me, in a variety of ways. And like I said, it was the first in a series of events that has me thinking about BIG life changes.

It’s so easy to stay in your comfort zone, even when that zone isn’t even comfortable at all. It’s easy to say NO, not only to others but also to yourself, and just withdraw – especially when you don’t feel great, or you’re going through a bit of a rough patch.

Sometimes that’s okay, and exactly what you need.

But you have to know for sure what really IS best for you at any given time.

I sat down and journaled it out, wrote down the pros and cons, the reasons I didn’t want to go and the reasons I should – and realized I was intentionally withdrawing, from life. MY life.

I chose to go, BUT… I booked a poolside room with a private balcony, as a “fail safe” in case I got there and realized it was the wrong choice, and wanted to relax alone instead.

That may sound silly to some people, but there are certain times and certain situations I go through where I totally shut down and shut things out.

This has been a difficult summer for me, and I found myself in a familiar place: wanting to crawl in a hole and pull that hole in behind me. 😛

Saying YES and showing up, even though I didn’t feel like it, was the best decision ever…

Spending time around so many wonderful people (this truly was the BEST crowd!) made me realize how much time I had spent inside my own head – which is not always the best place to be (or at least stay).

It pulled me out of my funk.

It made me consider saying YES to other things, other opportunities and events and experiences.

I came home and made a BIG decision, which resulted in a week long experiment and deep lesson in extreme gratitude and appreciation.

I’ll have to figure out the best way to tell you this next part of the story, and what’s been happening here lately, because it’s been quite interesting – and full of powerful life lessons. 😉

How are things going with you?

Leave a comment and let’s catch up!

Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler

p.s. I scored you a “double discount” on the August Keto Krate if you didn’t get one already. See this video… 🙂 *cheers*

 

 

---

🔎 Shop Low Carb / Keto at Netrition
Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER

---