10 days of plateau, finis!

I've tried to share my experiences with this diet as honestly and openly as possible- the successes but also the challenges. Well the last week and half has been a challenge. I have some observations that may be helpful to someone else, maybe even to future me.

Going 2-3 days without any loss wasn't completely unheard of for me before, but day 4 was a killer. For the most I have been following keto pretty strictly. Sure, there's the occasional carrot shred that enters my cole slaw, once in awhile my protein sneaks up over 70, but my carbs are never over 20 and I avoid non-keto foods pretty well. When something is working for months, it's confusing and a little scary if t suddenly doesn't work.  As my week unfolded, I found I was becoming a little grumpy about the whole thing. I started to forget all the great things keto was doing for me- beyond/besides weight loss. The fact my allergies were gone. My inflammation at nil (no more puffy carb face, even during a stall.) My lifelong gastro issues non-existent. All of that was completely gone from my mind and all I could see was that number on the scale that seemed to never move more than a quarter pound up and down all week long.

I did a lot of googling on ways to break a plateau. I considered everything from carb loading (maybe if I ate a chocolate cake it would end?) to a 72 hour fast (yep, fasting is a legitimate thing people do with healthy results to reset everything.) I cut back on dairy because I read that can cause a stall. I didn't see immediate results though. I added morning exercise, and that felt really good! But I was still stalled for 2 more days. Finally yesterday, I enjoyed my morning work out on an empty stomach (except coconut oil coffee), and then intermittent fasted all day- opting for one meal instead of 3. I managed to stuff 1400 calories in at that meal between food, an after dinner coffee with whipped cream treat, and a cocktail so my caloric intake was normal (for me).

What I didn't do was cheat or give up on this WOE. I didn't have a strong desire to either. Interestingly, I felt very hungry the last few days- and I think I tapped into it last night when it hit me I wanted to eat from an emotional place. As a lifetime emotional eater I understand the link between how you feel emotionally and what you put in your mouth, but I hadn't realized that a stall could in itself actually cause the kinds of emotions that make you want to stuff face. I resisted and I'm glad.

I don't know if it was just time, or if the morning fasting work out and OMAD (one meal a day) did the trick, but today, what would have been day 10 of the stall, was glorious with the scale finally down 1.5 lbs. These are my take aways about handling a stall:

1. Don't panic.
2. Shift focus from weight loss to health benefits of this way of eating.
3. STICK TO THE PLAN. Eventually, it will work again.
4. Shift things around within the plan. Change eating time, play around with work outs. Eliminate foods that might be triggering stalls.
5. Stay positive. You're doing good things for your body (see #2) and your body is healing a lifetime of bad food choices, give it time and patience.

Finally, there must always be food on this blog so here's a little food porn for the day.

I've shared the keto english muffin recipe before, it's so versatile and easy though you can get creative. Yesterday I made dinner muffins or rolls with them. My family thought they tasted like a cross between a corn muffin and a roll. Everyone loved them!

I doubled the single serving recipe found here. Then after mixing I sprayed these little sauce bowls with pam spray, and poured into them. Nuked for 90 seconds as usual, and then stuck under the broiler (flipped over halfway) to brown both sides. Perfect for sopping up roast beef gravy!

Anyway.... today's sign out? Even in a stall- keto on!