Itโs Monday, and Iโm ready for a fresh start: to hold myself accountable to a re-start, and getting more serious about my (short term) year-end goals. How about you? ๐ I had a nice slow weekend of post-holiday rest & recovery, and a really great time at my friendโs Thanksgiving get together last Thursday! And now Iโm ready to get serious about the starting over stuff I mentioned in my last note.
Thatโs going to look a little different for me than it has in the past, but also the same โ because now I know โwhat worksโ (for me), and have some experience (and success!) under my belt from before that gives me a little โcomfort & confidenceโ about it all. ๐
I got my Perfect Keto order on Saturday (that came fast!!) so Iโm all stocked up on my staples. I use their unflavored collagen powder and love their Almond Butter Brownie protein bars. ๐ซ Those hold me over WAY better & longer than any other keto bars, so theyโre a great meal replacement.
Iโm struggling with my appetite, gut health issues, energy โ so many things. Thatโs partly because of my condition, but also my sense of smell is still really messed up, and most days I canโt even want to eat meat or anything green โ which is really limiting. ๐
I start my day with a collagen coffee, then have a bar around mid morning at my desk while Iโm working, and lately Iโve just been having a low carb grilled cheese for dinner.
The bars are great as something to curb my nausea when that hits, or to have a few bites on my stomach for when I take my supplements. I canโt even always finish a bar, so I might have half then finish it later if I get a little hungry.
All that to say, as I document my journey back to the amazing health I achieved beforeโฆ my food diaries and updates are going to look a little different than they used to (for now).
But I do have TONS of low carb recipes, daily food diaries & grocery lists in my 12 years of archives here if you need some ideas & inspiration.
I would love to hear your current goals!
Whether theyโre about fitness or weight loss, or just lifestyle goals, I would love to hear what YOU most want to work on right now. ๐ Iโm really focused on short-term goals myself, baby steps even : small changes and consistent improvements.
I have a fun road trip planned for the end of the year, so my main goal is to FEEL GOOD and ENJOY IT!! ๐ฏ I havenโt been well enough to travel for more than 2 years, so this is GREAT motivation for me โ because Iโm really excited about it. ๐คฉ
After tons of trial & error, I seem to have a good combination of supplements & symptom management down. Iโm getting by at least, WAY better than last winter โ which is a huge relief. That was a seriously scary time. Itโs still hit or miss and a crazy roller coaster (with way more down time than up), but Iโm hanging in there with all the grace & patience I can muster. ๐
I just found and started taking a new supplement last week, too. Itโs called NAC (N-Acetyl L-Cysteine) โ recommended by others in my longcovid support group.
Iโm cautiously optimistic, but I have been more alert! I even managed a FULL day of socializing on Thursday without totally crashing. ๐ I may be a little TOO optimistic, because I have a lunch date with friends planned for this week too โ and itโs been quite a long while since Iโve been able to do two big things like that within a week of each other! So weโll see, lol. Wish me luck!
Letโs state our goals!
I need some accountability and motivation. ๐ I really do NOT want these next 4 or 5 weeks to just get away from me, and find myself having regrets when the New Year sneaks up on me. I plan to be DANCING when the ball drops โ not dropping with it. ๐
Iโm already eating low carb. I did enjoy my friendโs holiday meal, plus a plate the next day my daughter brought me from HER friendโs holiday meal, but Iโve been back on track since.
My โfood goalโ is to make my way back to super clean eating like I was doing before I got sick again in August (that thing that wrecked my smell buds!). The low carb bread has been a good crutch to get me by, and I can eat a few bites of sausage & eggs some days, but Iโd really like to get back to โsingle ingredient meat & greensโ style meals like I was doing before.
My other goal, and the one that is MOST important to me right now, is working my way back up to short walks. I used to run the back country, walk 4 miles in 42 minutes, and climb waterfalls lolโฆ but right now Iโd give anything to be able to walk to the end of the block and back by myself. So thatโs my first goal!
YES itโs HARD starting over.
Itโs especially hard starting over way further behind than you were before. Iโve only been back on my feet for a little over 2 months. Before that, I could only walk in the swimming pool (without falling, or fear of falling). And even in water I had to wear braces. So it feels great to be back on my feet! And without braces & support even. ๐ Physical therapy + patience worked!
Lately Iโve been taking the dogs out a lot. I took over dog duty ๐ which is one flight of stairs down and back up, and Iโm doing that at least 6 times a day, and more on days I can โ which the girls love. ๐พโบ๏ธ๐พ I have a big back yard thatโs fenced in so they walk me out and back in, and run โzoomiesโ with each other while I sit and rest in between.
I feel like Iโm going to do fine with short walks, but Iโm not totally confident in that yet. My biggest concern is the factors I canโt control. Like if I get out even just half a block away and a fire truck goes by or a car alarm goes off. Even something like a leaf blower or just anything really can send me into tremors and confusion โ and โa good dayโ can turn into a neurological nightmare just like that.
I have synesthesia now, which is a fancy word for โall my senses are mixed up nowโ โ which can actually be pretty cool sometimes, just not when Iโm trying to DO something lol.
Anyway, to start โ I broke out my faithful Gazelle Edge. Itโs a low impact workout machine where you can do an easy walk, or leverage your own body weight to do a good variety of strength building exercises. I had my daughter set it back up for me, and Iโm going to find a good series to watch on Netflix that motivates me to get on it (!) so I can practice walking โ and actually enjoy it. ๐
If you have a good Netflix recommendation, let me know! ๐
Those are my goals. Theyโre pretty easy really, very simpleโฆ
Iโd love to hear yours!
I know weโre all at different places right now. You might have a whole different set of lifestyle goals or improvements you want to make. I have others too, like financial goals, mood & motivation, business goals, and social goals even, just to name a few. Iโd really love to get out with friends more now that I can drive and walk again, so Iโm working on that as well. ๐
If you havenโt set any goals yet, or thought much about it maybe, questions I like to ask myself include: What LIGHTS ME UP? Whatโs something I MISS? What would make my life amazingly awesome right now? Whatโs something Iโd really love to change?
Sitting down with questions like that and using them as journal prompts can really inspire some good ideas & great motivation! Thatโs what inspired me to book my NYE trip, which has me taking action on my goals. Even if they are baby steps, to start!
Iโm off to rest โ and finish my protein bar ๐ butโฆ
Happy Monday! ๐
I look forward to talking goals, and working on them together!
Best,
Lynn Terry
aka @LowCarbTraveler




Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER

Hi, me too, definitely starting over today the 28thโฆ..last oct(2021) I had lost 30 lbs! I felt amazingโฆ.. now I am 30 over โฆ. What the heck? Does food( sweets) rule me? I really want to be much lighter and fitterโฆ.. HELP!
Thank for listening!
Millie
Hi Millie ๐ Iโve been eating low carb for 12 years now, but the first few years I really struggled with the off/on thing. I must have lost and gained that last 20-30 pounds at least 10 times, lol. Itโs frustrating I know! But hang in there, and keep starting over. Eventually it DOES stick. ๐
What worked for me was when I finally got really frustrated about it, and decided I just wanted to see what it FELT LIKE to BE my goal weight. And then after that I could do whatever I wanted, but I wanted to beat the self-sabotage, and get OUT of the maddening cycle of up/down on/off โ just once โ just to see what it felt like to be lean and strong. And then once I got there, I LOVED IT and never went back. ๐ It *did* stick, and it became easy!
Of course, then I got sick, which wrecked my metabolic health in every way possible. LOL โ I laugh, thinking thatโs lifeโs way of humbling me or teaching me some big fancy lesson, ha. So Iโm starting over too, but for different reasons.
As for sweets and โbad foodsโ ruling you, personally I found my cravings totally went away once I got and stayed in ketosis consistently โ and my taste buds totally changed. Those things didnโt appeal to me anymore. I still enjoy chocolate sometimes, but Iโve found sugar free chocolate I really like, and sugar free ice cream I love too. Those things make it a lot easier to stay on track!
Hi Lynn, good to hear from you and all your goals. Ive been following you for about 5 years now, and so enjoy all your inspiration! All that you said above I love, but what sticks out to me the most was when you said โdogsโ did you get another dog to make it two dogs? haha
Haha! I caught that โdogsโ too and am curious! Maybe another Dane rescue?
Thank you Janet! ๐ Ha โ NO, but I have been dog sitting for the kids while they work extra shifts & long hours. Luna Rose (my great dane) is really enjoying having a playmate ๐ especially since Iโve been resting so much. My daughterโs boyfriend has a sweet pup named Honey, and she stays with me when they work or travel โ until they move sometime this year, at least.
Itโs been nice. The girls play well together, we all sit out on the deck together (they love the morning sun as much as I do!), and today was beautiful (but I still canโt walk far) so I took them for a nice ride with the windows down so they could wave their floppy ears in the wind. ๐ They had fun, and made me laugh โ a lot! haha
I miss Slim, my old man dane. He passed in 2021, almost 2 years ago now I guess, it was 5 months after I got sick. But life goes on, and Luna and I have bonded well, and Iโm so grateful for her loving company. I think of Slim often and smileโฆ we had an amazing decade together!!
Hi Lynn Iโm so glad to see youโre making great progress! I too an struggling with getting back to low carb! I hit a plateau and give up but I truly need to stick with it because I feel so much better and my joints also! Looking forward to a new 2023 and pray for a better year
I hope your 2023 year is starting off great, Sherry!
I get it with those stalls and plateaus. They are common though, and there is something SO empowering about riding them out, and getting to the other side. ๐ It feels amazing!!
When you first start eating low carb, or start back, the first week or so go great. Your body responds really well to the changes. You go through an obvious โdetoxโ with a diuretic effect getting into ketosis and feel SO much better.
People usually lose a substantial amount of weight in the beginning, so during week 2 and/or week 3 you experience that first โstallโ where the scales STOP moving. Thatโs where most people get discouraged and quit, but itโs simply your body adjusting โ and also your body composition.
My advice is always: keep doing what was obviously working so well and allow your body to hold/adjust. OR, if you changed/added anything, just go back to what WAS working so well. ๐
I got in the habit of saying, โToday Iโm eating for my health, not for my scales.โ Because I knew that even those weeks the scale wasnโt showing me any results (ie immediate gratification)โฆ I was still eating and living healthy, and that is GOOD.
Besides, eating junk food or binge eating (my norm in the past) is a surefire to get the scales TO move โ in the wrong direction. ๐ lol โฆ And itโs also not helping me be the happiest healthiest version of myself.
Sticking it out, not for the scales, but for myself, gave me a feel-good sense of accomplishment at the end of the day! Where giving up or giving in always just left me discouraged and disappointed in myself โ which is not a good feeling.