I ate fat, and lost fat

I've been following this way of eating for several months now. The novelty of "eat fat, lose fat" should have worn off by now. Sometimes though it just smacks me in the face again with it's astonishing ridiculousness. It's so contrary to EVERYTHING we were ever told in health class, on government pamphlets, by doctors, on the tv news.

Yesterday, I had a cinco de mayo taco meal. The tacos... were made of CHEESE. Full fat cheddar cheese. Stuffed with ground beef and full fat sour cream, and fatty avocados. This morning I hit my 20 lb loss milestone. DOES NOT COMPUTE! I have read the science behind it, but it's hard reversing 45 years of bad information based on a really crappy food pyramid. I eat fat, and I lose fat. I may have a hard time wrapping my brain around the possibilities of it all, but at the end of the day it clearly works.

I have decided with this milestone I am going to try to make a significant (for me) change. I'm going stop daily weigh ins. I think it's time to stop obsessing and relying so much on the scale, and instead enjoy and appreciate all the NSV (non scale victories) in my life. Things like jeans that no longer fit, stairs that no longer feel like a chore to climb, that strange euphoria I experience every afternoon now, the thinner face that's more fun to "make up" in the mirror now, etc. I think I will appreciate these things more, if I stop obsessing so much on scale victories. I'm not tossing it out, but I'm going to take it out of the bathroom and restrain myself to only once weekly weigh ins.

Onto the food now man! Okay in the ketosphere these cheese tacos are all the rage. My opinion was, they were tasty but RIDICULOUSLY filling, and to me the cheese was a little much by the time I finished the first one. I served myself 2, and ended up only eating the "shell" of one, the other I picked out most of the ingredients and ate without the "shell". My non-keto family liked them too but I think they sort of had the same vibe. I think these would be good maybe as tiny mini tacos at a party, or mini muffin taco cups with fillings. I wouldn't say I won't make them ever again, but they won't be a regular part of my dinner line up- tbh I'd rather just eat a taco salad.

For those of you who love lots of cheese though, here you go!

I used this recipe. The process was simple enough. Keep on keto'ing!!

Test taco, was too big.

Drape and let cool, pro-tip, greasy side down so you don't have to hold it.

And ta-da, tacos. With cauliflower rice (taco seasoning and canned tomatoes added)

Babyback ginger stir fry

I wish it could be yesterday again today, so I could eat this all over again.

It started with this package of boneless baby back ribs. I spent too much time and energy trying to decide how to cook them and after realizing it wasn't going to be a lot of meat per person, a stir fry might be perfect. I threw the meat in my Instant Pot with a cup of water, about 1/4 cup of the marinade/sauce Ill share in a minute, and a bit of butter. Cooked for 10 mins on manual high and natural release, wasn't happy with how tender they were so I ended up turning on the slow cook option after that and just letting them simmer for about an hour. Finally perfect! Once done, I chopped and shredded the meat up and put it aside for dinner.

This is the marinade/sauce I tried. It's apple cider vinegar based, sugar free, gluten free and you know what else it is? DELICIOUS! I used it both in the meat pressure cooking stage AND as my stir fry sauce of choice. 

I know you're probably wondering, do I need this in my life? The answer is yes, yes you do. 

By now you all know I am 1. dedicated 2. obsessive 3. passionate 4. stubborn but also 5. LAZY. So of course I find a bag stir fry veggie mix to make my life easier. I saw this and it looked perfect! Brussel sprouts, kale, broccoli, snow peas and carrots. I cook for myself but also for my non-keto spouse and child, I know they like orange sauce so I got this, separated out 1.5C for me and picked out the carrots. The orange sauce comes in a separate package so I was easily able to avoid it. 

http://www.taylorfarms.com/products/stir-fry-kits/orange/#product-view

I weighed out 3 oz of the pork and stir fried it with 1.5 C of the mix, a generous splashing of the sauce, some red pepper flakes to add some fire. (The family got theirs in another pan with the orange sauce.)

Once done I topped with 1 oz of chopped macadamia nuts.

It was a flavor sensation. A party in my mouth. A peek into heaven. All that and it was perfectly keto!

I also had avocado, bacon, and sour cream for lunch yesterday. Yeah that OMAD thing? Not working on a daily basis. I think I'll be one of those every few days people. I also had some red wine, and of course coffee with heavy cream several times during the day. 

The scale is so slow this week. Down .2 Yawn. I have to remind myself 1-2 lbs a week is healthy and optimal for long term success. And hey I'm wearing a maxi dress I always refused to wear before because I looked pregnant in it so my body is changing.

Keto'ing on.

When Irish eyes are smiling

My husband's favorite meal is corned beef and veggies. Every year I dread St Patrick's day because I make it as a labor of love for him- even though I don't actually like corned beef and veggies. With my new way of eating, I of course scope out the fattiest cuts of meat I can find so when I saw a fatty corned beef brisket at the market I had to consider it. I decided I would kill 2 birds with one stone, make my husband happy and get in my fatty meat, and it would be worth it even if I didn't care for it.

Then I tried this recipe. And either my taste buds have changed or its just that good- because this was fantastic.

This is NOT a keto diet friendly recipe to be honest. Some people eat a modified diet they call "Dirty Keto" which allows for non-keto ingredients in meals as long as they're staying below their net carb limit. I actually don't do that, I stay as strict as possible. But I'm not a complete purist and I'm okay with the very occasional mis-ingredient. In this case it's a bottle of Guinness. This also calls for 1/4 C brown sugar, which I cut down to 2 tablespoons. I don't have any carby after effects this morning so as I suspected it seems to have been of minimal effect.

Oh.... and it's an Instant Pot recipe. My favorite kitchen gadget!

http://www.thekitchenwhisperer.net/2017/03/15/pressure-cooker-guinness-corned-beef-with-cabbage-potatoes-carrots/

I used the most beautiful extra seedy dijon mustard... ahhhhh....

Obviously I chose the fattiest pieces and only ate cabbage because root veggies are a big no-no on a keto diet!

The rest of the day, I ended up skipping the fast. That wine sugar hangover from the night before just kicked my arse. I had a hard boiled egg, some avocado, jalapeno and bacon for lunch, cheese and macadamia nuts for dessert. Stayed well under macros. 2 days in a row with no scale movement. Feeling great though!

Chugga chugga chugga keto choo choo.

I'm no longer obese.

At least according to the World Health Org and American Heart Assoc. My BMI index has fallen from 32 on my start date (2/20) or 33 from my highest over the holidays, to a mere "overweight" 28. Now there are lot's of flaws (in my opinion) to the whole BMI chart system. But it's a victory I'll take anyway.

My scale didn't move today. I wasn't surprised, more on that in a moment. I decided it had been awhile, since before vacation, that I measured. Now the ONLY measurement I track is around my middle at the belly button. It just seems like a pain to track elsewhere and I remember from years past I could never measure the exact right spot the second time. Results around the middle today, - almost 6 inches. I knew I'd trimmed down, but that was surprising to me. And exciting!

Okay now let's talk about yesterday. Yesterday was a pretty intense yard work day. In the hot sun. I mowed, raked, weeded, etc. I definitely burned a lot of calories. I posted last night's dinner already. Consequently I wasn't overly surprised when I felt hungry last night after dinner. I decided to just go with it- when you're feeling hungry you have 3 choices. Be miserable and hungry and go to bed hangry. Push it off as long as possible and then go crazy and eat everything in sight. Or make a smart keto snack choice, and postpone the intermittent fast. I chose the last.

Quick n easy keto microwave cheesecake

1 oz cream cheese softened

1 packet truvia

1 egg white

Dash of cocoa powder

Mix well. Nuke it for about 1 min. Allow to cool. (I used the freezer to speed it up, because... hungry.)

It wasn't bad, like a spongy cheesecake. A nice little treat. I also had some macadamia nuts. All good stuff.

And then.... I opened the wine.

My big calorie burn earlier made me a little reckless. I felt like I had so much to compensate for. So I had a glass. Not a restaurant 5 oz pour, but like... a whole wine glass full of a red blend. Then I had a second glass. 

The problem with wine is it has natural sugars. It's fine in moderation if the rest of your macros are balanced. I simply drank too much. I tracked it as 2 glasses, but went back and edited it to 3 because my pours were just too generous.

This led to these macros.... keep in mind I keep my carbs under 20 a day.

Calories- 1400

Carbs- 25 net

Protein- 59g

Fat- 79g

This morning I woke up, and I felt a mild hunger. I never wake up with a mild hunger.... except on those occasions in the past I have overdone my carbs the day before. The carbs spike your insulin, and it starts the whole "feed me more" process. Unlike last night, I am ignoring this hunger because I'm getting good at isolating "No seriously, I'm hungry!" from "I think I want food, but if I wait a bit it will pass." feelings.

Every day brings a new lesson in this WOE (way of eating) or lifestyle. Next time I indulge in wine it'll be in smaller quantities.

Keep calm and keto on!

We interrupt this broadcast....

I don't normally post food blog posts in the evening but this was so good, and I didn't follow a recipe or write it down so I wanted to get it down STAT!!

My favorite Keto dinner yet.

Alfredo chicken ala Florentine, with cheesy walnut pesto spaghetti squash. 

We chose to grill the chicken breasts, after brining for about an hour. We used this method: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_grill_juicy_boneless_skinless_chicken_breasts/

While they brined and then cooked, I steamed the spaghetti squash in the microwave- just stab that sucker a bunch of times with a knife and then cook for 10 minutes. It does all the work. You can cut it in half with a spoon afterward.

I cooked 4 slices of bacon.

Once the squash was steamed, I used a fork to pull the meat out, and mixed in a bowl with a tube of pesto, about a cup of 4 cheese parmesan blend, a handful of crushed walnuts, a big healthy swig of olive oil, and lots of salt and pepper. I put it in a pie pan and poured about 4 tablespoons of melted butter on the top, then baked at 375 for about 15 minutes.

I used a skillet with olive oil to cook chopped garlic and then added a bag of frozen spinach. After it thawed I added a handful of grape tomatoes and the bacon (which I had cut into pieces), let it simmer until the grape tomatoes split.

The alfredo was jarred. Heated it up. 

Once the chicken was done plating was easy and fun, the spinach on bottom, chicken in the middle, alfredo on top. Served alongside the squash.

I thought it was restaurant quality good!

Quick round up

Continuing on with One Meal A Day. It was a busy errand and appointment day, so I didn't have a whole lot of time to think about meal planning. At the last minute I decided on eggs benedict (without the bread for me) I also made sausage (I was careful to find sausage without sugar or corn syrup added) I ended up only eating 2 of my 3 patties, it was just too salty and bitter tasting. I also made a spinach salad with cheese and tomatoes, and since I still had lots of calories and fat macros left indulged in a bowl of whipped cream for dessert. 

Macros (including heavy cream in my coffee)

896 calories

10 net carbs

39g protein

77g fat

I'm not hungry yet today, so far this doesn't feel like a struggle- beyond trying to get ENOUGH in at my one meal a day!!

Scale moved own .4 lb today. 

23:1 Intermittent fasting AKA OMAD

I've mentioned before how fleeting my hunger has been lately. As I adjusted to this way of eating, I found I didn't want breakfast at all, so I compromised with bullet proof coffee. Lately, I haven't even wanted that.  Then lunch became a chore- and I noticed I was just getting a keto-compliant snacky plate in just to get it in, not because I was hungry. My body was prompting me toward a natural fasting period. Once this clicked I realized all those internet posts I'd rolled right by about intermittent fasting and OMAD (One Meal A Day) needed to be revisited. This way of eating is also called 23:1- fast for 23, eat for 1 hour a day. You eat one big meal, and then your body gets to burn your fat reserves the rest of the day for energy.

I'm not going to go into the science and hows and whys of it all, there are so many articles out there. Some of them are specific to keto diet, while others are actually part of other diets but they all sort of work the same way. Just pick one.
http://ninacheriefranklin.com/live-well/intermittent-fasting-control-weight-eating-one-meal-day/
http://www.omad.info/p/how-to-eat-omad.html
http://www.fitmole.org/eating-one-meal-a-day-diet/
http://www.theiflife.com/one-meal-a-day/
http://www.fitclarity.com/eating-one-meal-a-day-fat-loss-diet/

In reading experiences of people who eat one meal a day on a ketogenic diet I found a few things- don't try it until you are "fat adapted" and are in the "not hungry anymore" stage. If you force it too early you'll be ravenously hungry and susceptible to going binge crazy late at night.  There is also much discussion on the frequency of this and what works best. Some people say they do it every day. Some choose to do it every other day- stating the body gets lazy in homeostasis and stops working as hard. When you mix your eating up, OMAD one day, 2-3 the next and back and forth, your body is going to react and work harder to burn that fat. Other people have one day a week they switch it up and have multiple meals.

I've decided on a week long test period. My goal is to eat the same # of calories and the same macros I would have eaten with my standard 2 meals a day on keto. I'll just eat them in one meal. Last night's meal felt huge and filling, but I enjoyed it- a LOT.

Here's where I confess I am not exactly doing a true fast during my 23 "off". I drink coffee every morning and no that won't stop. I also often have a glass or 2 of wine before bed. Last night, I felt a little wine-hungry and I ate a cube of swiss cheese before bed. My goal is never to eel ravenous and miserable, if I feel like I really need a bite, then a cheese cube is going to happen. I woke up today feeling like normal, still not hungry. Will I make it to dinner time? We will see. Will this work for a week? Will I want to do it longer? This is an experiment, not a test- I can't fail, I can only adjust when needed and note my experiences and results.

As for last night's results, the scale was down a whopping 1.6 lbs this morning. My daily calories and macros were no lower than usual. My calories were actually a little higher than they've been lately. Within range, but still a wee but higher. Today I'll do my macros first and then my plate.

Calories- 1451

Carbs- 14 net

Protein- 60g

Fat- 102g

Food glorious food:

As for my dinner of choice. Oh my god, this was so filling!! 2 quarter pound burgers with cheese and bacon bits, a whole zucchini grilled (photo shows 1 half, after I finished my plate and realizing I had macros and calories to spare I promptly ate the other half), a fat slice of a huge tomato, avocado, extra olive oil to up my fats. Oh and a cube of swiss cheese sometime in the evening :-D

Stand fast, ketoers!