5 Pounds Lighter! 5-Day Low Carb Food Journal…

I just started another Low Carb Challenge last week, which started Wednesday July 16th.

Don’t worry if you missed the join date – the group is open & active year round and you’re welcome to join us anytime if you like. 😉

Since the Challenge kicked off, I’ve lost 5 pounds lost in 6 days. Nice! People who are new to eating low carb, or not losing weight as quickly, like to see meal plans or food journals to get new ideas.

You can see Day 1 and Day 2 here. I woke up on Friday 3.2 pounds lighter after just 2 full days of eating LCHF.

I’m finally on the other side of the low carb flu too – which is a BIG bonus! 😛

I’m shooting for 70-80% in healthy fats out of my total daily calories, which I track (along with 20 Net Carbs a day – as a maximum) using MyFitnessPal with the Keto Hack. I didn’t have much of an appetite during the first week, thanks to the low carb flu, and you naturally eat less on a low carb diet too. I tend to “eat boring” when I’m at home – meaning, I eat a lot of the same foods over and over just because it’s easy. Easy is good. lol.

Again, I started last Wednesday and you can see Wednesday and Thursday’s Food Journal here. Here’s what I’ve been eating since then…

Friday (Weight 168.2)

• 2 boiled eggs creamed up w/mayo & salt plus 1/2 cup of pecan halves
• 1/2 cup of pecan halves, 1/2 cup Daisy Brand cottage cheese, 5 Sargento Colby Jack cheese cubes
• (Frozen) Gorton’s Grilled Tilapia, topped w/fresh grated parmesan & mayo to dip it in
• 4 Sargento Colby Jack Cheese Cubes & 2 fried eggs (used a tablespoon of butter)

19 net carbs, 80% Fat / 17% Protein / 4% Carbs

Saturday (Weight 169.2)

• 1/2 cup pecan halves for breakfast
• pulled pork, green beans & dill pickle slices (same for dinner)

14 net carbs, 71% Fat / 24% Protein / 5% Carbs

This was take-out from a local BBQ place.

I meant to order a “Pulled Pork plate with double green beans” – which comes as a sandwich, and I throw away the bun. They got my order wrong though and gave me two pulled pork plates, each with a single side of green beans. That suited me fine – I made lunch ANd dinner out of it. 😛

Sunday (Weight 168)

• McDonald’s: 2 fried eggs, 1 sausage
• 1/2 pound hamburger steak with mushrooms, 1/2 avocado fried
  I could only finish half of it, so I had the other half for dinner…
• 1 Michelob Ultra Beer

14 net carbs, 64% Fat / 31% Protein / 5% Carbs

Monday (Weight 167)

• White Chocolate Raspberry Quest Bar
• 1/2 cup pecan halves & 5 Sargento Colby Jack cheese cubes
• 1/4 pound hamburger steak (leftover) with a Laughing Cow Creamy Swiss Cheese Wedge
• 2 boiled eggs creamed up w/mayo & salt and 2 slices of Ham (didn’t finish, but close!)
• Cheese Chips and 2 ham rollups w/cheese wedges
• 1/2 cup of Breyer’s CarbSmart Chocolate Ice Cream

28 net carbs, 71% Fat / 23% Protein / 6% Carbs

Tuesday (Weight 167)

• 2 Mama Lupe’s Low Carb Tortillas, one with 3 cubes of Sargento Colby Jack cheese and one slice of ham, one with 1 Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge and 1 Tablespoon of Mountain Berry Sugar Free Preserves
• 2 boiled eggs creamed up w/mayo & salt + 1/4 cup of walnut pieces
• 2 eggs scrambled w/ham & cheese
• I slept 4 hours then got up around 11pm and had 2 boiled eggs creamed up w/mayo & salt + 2 slices of plain ham

21 net carbs, 77% Fat / 18% Protein / 5% Carbs

I warmed up the tortillas on a baking sheet in the oven (on 350) just for a few minutes. They were refrigerated, so I wanted to make them slightly warm, and melt the cheese on the ham & cheese roll-up.

The Mountain Berry Sugar Free Preserves are delicious!! 2 net carbs per tablespoon. I used a full tablespoon on my wrap, but definitely could have used less. It’s very rich and flavorful – definitely a nice treat!

***

I’m not a big water drinker, so I’m proud to add in that I’ve managed to drink a quart of water every single day so far. The only other thing missing from my daily lists above is the massive amounts of coffee (with heavy cream and splenda), which adds to the totals at the bottom of each list.

I’m now 167 pounds for a total of 5 pounds lost so far – as of Tuesday morning, that is. It’s 1:30am Tuesday night / Wednesday morning as I type this so I haven’t done my Wednesday weigh-in yet. Onward & upward! Er, downward – on the scale, that is. 😉 lol…

You’ll notice my scales fluctuated a bit this week, and haven’t moved for 2 days in a row now. Does that mean I’m “stuck” or I’m “in a stall”? No. It’s actually normal to lose several pounds right away when you first start eating low carb (or get back on track) and then for it to pan out for a few days. This is your body adjusting to the extreme change, the loss in water weight, and it seems (note: this is not a scientific explanation, lol) your body waits a few days to make sure you’re serious. 😛 Then things start right back up. Your body goes through a variety of cycles on a normal basis anyway, and ketosis is a new phase it needs to adjust to as well.

Keeping a journal really helps. I use MyFitnessPal. It really holds me accountable to everything I’m eating and drinking throughout the day, and at a glance I can easily see where I could do better or eat healthier or make adjustments.

Looking at my journal for this past week I know I need to add more vegetables and more variety. That, plus more food, will come easily now that I’m past the Keto Flu phase. I’m happy with the quart of water a day, I really enjoyed the beer and ice cream so no regrets there, and tracking my coffee… that’s something I need to work on. Cool.

Patience is important. People with more weight to lose will lose weight more quickly. Those with less weight to lose will find it more challenging. Certain dynamics and medical conditions make it different for each individual person as well. I lose slower since my hysterectomy last year for example, and actually have to work really hard just to maintain. The key is to love yourself, focus on becoming healthy and happy, and let your weight loss happen naturally in the process! *cheers*