Day 4: Exercise & Low Carb Challenge Diary

It’s Day 5 of the 17-day health challenge, and I’m feeling TONS better already. Just going down to super simple “real foods” and eliminating the low carb bars (etc)… has totally cured my cravings!

I have nothing against Atkins Bars, other than them being “frankenfood”. They don’t stall my weight loss, they’re easy to grab in a pinch, and I’ve used them plenty over the years. But NOT eating them makes such a big difference, that it only makes sense for me to ditch them.

On to the fun stuff… Yesterday I had 1349 calories, 14 net carbs, 24 total carbs, 72% fat / 23% protein, drank 48 ounces of water, and got my exercise in. 🙂

Challenge Details | Day One | Day Two | Day Three

Here’s my food journal for yesterday so you can see the yummy details:

Day Four Low Carb Food Diary

I started my day off with coffee, and then pecans & water. I had a busy work day so this was just an easy low carb “breakfast snack” until I got to a stopping point.

Pecans are a much better choice than a bar or shake! They are very low carb / high fat (LCHF), and the lowest carb/highest fat of the nut group. Walnuts pull a close second on that list if you prefer those over pecans, or just want to mix it up.

I had to run out and grab some Heavy Whipping Cream (HWC), so I picked up breakfast while I was out. I decided to order enough for breakfast AND lunch, just to make it easy. I got 4 fried eggs and a double order (4 pieces) of bacon.

I get this from a small locally owned place that’s been there for something like 50 years. Spot like that are the best place to get a “real food” breakfast!

I always order fried eggs too, vs scrambled or omelets, because I don’t know what they might put in their eggs – like milk, for example.

I ate 2 eggs and 2 pieces of bacon for “late breakfast” and then had the other 2 eggs later that afternoon. I wasn’t in the mood for the bacon again, so I fed that to Slim – my great dane. He liked that. 🙂

I left early to meet up with Ricky, and we headed to Alabama to hang out with his son & daughter-in-law – and their sweet new baby. 🙂

We all decided to get take-out from Sam’s Sports Grill. I scoured the online menu for a meal that fit into the 3IMAX rule. I decided on grilled salmon & steamed broccoli. Unfortunately, they just took salmon off the menu. 😐 More unfortunately, I was already on the phone placing my order when I learned this, lol. Rah!

I was really on the spot – so I just ordered a Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad.

It’s a “sports bar” so you can imagine how limited their low carb options are – although their food is fabulous. Anyway, I still had my baggie of pecans that I didn’t finish in the morning, so I added those to my salad – which I LOVE! Have you ever tried pecans or walnuts in a Caesar Salad?! It’s such a delicious combination. 🙂

This was obviously more than three ingredients: romaine lettuce, caesar dressing, fresh parmesan, grilled chicken – then I added the pecans for a total of 5 ingredients. That was an “oops”, but still a very simple meal. And a combination of foods I know well and eat often, so no worries about potential combo issues or stallers.

Oh – and Ricky had the baby back ribs with no sauce. I double checked that they aren’t cooked with sauce, and they assured me they were indeed dry. So I ate 3 of his unsauced ribs too. Delicious!! And only about half of my salad. I brought the rest home and had that for breakfast this morning.

Ricky made fun of me because I was worried about my salad staying fresh (I did pack it with a frozen water bottle), and not getting tipped over on the drive back to Tennessee. He suggested I should put my food in a seat belt. LOL. Funny guy. 😛 I do love my food…

Here’s how my macros worked out for the day:

1349 calories
14 net carbs, 24 total carbs
72% fat / 23% protein
48 ounces of water

For exercise I decided to run the basement stairs. I ran HARD for two solid minutes, then walked fast for five. Stairs will kick your butt! 😛 My goal is to exercise every day. No matter how short, no matter what it is – as long as I break a sweat, it counts.

I’m really looking forward to our Kitchen Organization Event! 🙂

If you’re reading this in your inbox, you’ll have to click here to see the video above.

I hope you’ll join us!

Here’s the link to join:
https://www.facebook.com/events/961574903898906/

What about you? How did your Day 4 go? Leave a comment and share your meals & macros, and the workout you did yesterday!

Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler

p.s. I have a “coffee update” for you, so stay tuned for that. Also, I’m starting a “zero carb” week on Monday as an experiment, so I’ll share my list of Zero Carb Foods with you. I’m working on that now, so I’ll share it with you as soon as it’s finished…