Is The World on Board??

OK, maybe not the world, but I'm seeing this WOE more and more around me. (Just in case you don't know, WOE stands for Way Of Eating #ketophrasing) Costco dons keto friendly shopping lists. Amazon has keto friendly shopping lists. And now, a new little restaurant/shop has opened in my town. I can walk in, pick up a lunch from the keto section, a couple fat bombs and be on my way! 

I'm telling you...I was born to live in the 21st century!!!

This week was good, down 2.5 pounds but only 1 inch. Most people lose inches but barely move the scale, but of course, that wouldn't be me. But, I feel great! My clothes are starting to hang. I have very few headaches. My stomach is continuing to heal. I'm learning to listen to my body. My body is telling me to exercise. I said I'm listening, ok? I didn't say I was responding!! 😏

It does seem about every 6 weeks or so, my body says..."feed me a potato" or "feed me a sandwich" or "feed me some good ole fried chicken!" Sometimes I listen, sometimes I ignore it. Like if it says "feed me a Snickers..." well, I know THAT is the devil and NOT my body. But, Friday night I listened. Scott and I had a date night and split some interesting nachos. Waffle fries layered with cut up fried chicken breast, homemade pickles, a bit of cheese topped with a sour cream aioli and balsamic glaze. Oh. My Goodness. It was worth every cheat. 

Now, what does this mean for ketoing?? Well, I'm certain it knocked me out of ketosis, but, I'm hoping it did one of those body shock things. My body seems to react positively to them. Haven't done it in a while, so we shall see the results come Friday. (Checked my ketones this a.m. and they were high! Take that waffle fry nachos!!) 

And my last musing for this Monday is a shout out to my boy, Caleb. He ended his whole 30 journey yesterday. I am so proud of him for sticking with it for the entire 30 days and his reward was great! He lost 20 pounds in 30 days. (I hate men!) He will now be joining me on this keto journey and with his permission, I will muse a bit about him as well. We're cruising together in February and if he loses 50 pounds by them I'm treating him to a drink package. 😊 So stay tuned! But, in the meantime, let me know if you ever cheat and if so how does it affect your journey?

Until next week....keto on!

Patience and Fortitude...Ugh!

Monday Musings? Monday Miseries! But I won't give in! I won't quit! I will journey on with those 2 words that are so hard for me...patience and fortitude!

Guess you've figured out by now this past week showed no gain but no losses. Not in pounds, not in inches. It baffles my mind really how it can happen. Eating wise I had a fairly perfect week.  Followed my macros, had 3 good IF days, so yeah, how nothing??

I don't know the answer to that question, but I know my journey isn't over. What are patience and fortitude anyway? Webster says patience is the capacity or habit to bear pains or trials calmly or without complaint. The Bible tells me it's a fruit of the Spirit, so if the Spirit lives in me then patience should too.

Now fortitude is having courage in pain or adversity. See how they go together? Interestingly, I've never thought about it until now. But I see that without fortitude patience would be really hard!! It's probably why I've failed so many other times. My patience only lasts so long before the pain or the trial overcome me and I give in to my flesh! But this time I started in a different way and didn't even know it. I started with fortitude! I determined and committed to myself 1 year on this journey no matter what!!

So, with this new found patience WITH fortitude, I can press on. I can look at weeks that look like no progress and say "I'm still good. I'm still doing exactly what I said I'm going to do. And that in itself is a victory!" I can remember all I've learned and that this WOE isn't just about losing weight. It's about healing my body from the inside out. I've abused this vessel for many years, so it certainly isn't going to heal overnight.

So, my encouragement and even challenge for you this week is this - have you found your fortitude to endure the journey? When your week doesn't look like you expected do you quit or do you give yourself a little grace and find that patience deep inside yourself? It's there my friend, I'm sure of it. How do I know? Because if I can find it ANYONE can find it!!

So, give me some comments on how you endure. How you show patience and fortitude on your journey to keto on....

One Month Down, but My Lifetime to Go

I've hit the 1-month mark since starting back on the keto journey! Wish I hadn't taken the 2-month hiatus, but I did and lesson learned from it! But, I'm super excited to say that in that 1 month I have lost 7 1/2 pounds and 4 inches total from my chest/waist/hips!!

Now, if you're on this journey to lose weight fast, well, I'd say take another journey. Some people drop pounds quickly, but most stories I hear, my own included, take a little longer. Remember back, in the beginning, I said "We get healthy to lose weight, not lose weight to get healthy?" (Thanks Dr. Berg for my mantra!) I love knowing that my body is healing. My gut health is better! I was taking Nexium every day! No more! My liver is healing. I no longer have that right side pain. I have more energy and I just overall feel better.

This week I get my labs done for my yearly physical. My numbers are never bad. My blood pressure is great. My cholesterol is good, not great. My A1C has been borderline 6 for the past 2 years. I'm not going to lie though, I'm a little concerned. Why you ask? Well...after the first few weeks on keto, numbers can get a little skewed. It's that healing thing. The body is purging and detoxing and trying to learn to operate as it was designed to do. So, meanwhile, cholesterol readings may be high as the body is beginning to break off plaque and it's more prominent in the bloodstream. I'm eager to see if my 2 months off make everything like starting over. I'll know soon enough!

The last time we visited I had just returned from a mini-vacay and we talked about ketoing on vacation. Since then, I went to a youth camp for a week! Now, how in the world do you keto at youth camp?? Pizza. Hamburgers. Moes!!! The list goes on and on. But, I didn't go into the week blind. I know what they feed kids at camp. So to do this correctly I have 3 words for you:

1. Preparation
2. Preparation
3. Preparation

Seriously! Prepare! I went with peanut butter, pork rinds, BPC ingredients, nuts, cheese, celery. And I went with determination. I hung out in a hospitality suite that had a table full of chips, M&M's, brownies, cookies, fruit, bagels. But by sheer determination I did not take even a single M&M!!

So, how did I fare that week? Well, I lost 1/2 a pound and 1/2 an inch. Was I disappointed? Yup! Did I sulk? Maybe a little. I don't know why that's what happened, but I speculate I did not eat enough veggies and overall, probably did not eat enough. But, that's ok, because guess what? I stayed on it! When I was back home, it wasn't hard to get back to it. I never left it! By the end of that week, I was down 2 more pounds and 1 inch!

I really pray you are getting the point of all this. It isn't a diet. It isn't something you can hop off and on at will. It is a lifestyle. A determination that you are going to stick to it simply because you want to live a longer, healthier life. I'm 54 years old now and I know I have my best years ahead of me. So I choose health over a donut!! And you can too...

Keto on.....

Can You Keto on Vacation??

How to Keto on Vacation

Well, hopefully someone will have a magic pill to give us the resolve to do it. 😊 But, in all seriousness, the more I Keto, the better I get at it. I travel quite a bit with my husband. Typically, I just determine I’m not going to concern myself with the program and jump back on when I get home. The reality of that? It’s much harder than just staying on it while vacationing!

I’m a foodie! A lot of my travel fun is finding those little gems in the area I’m visiting. Sometimes there are specialty foods or great recipes the area is known for. That is where the hard decisions come in. How much will it affect the experience?

Let me give you a perfect example from this weekend. We visited the Taos Pueblo. The local Indian Pueblos are known for their fry bread. I made the decision early on that I was going to have some fry bread. I knew it would more than likely throw me out of ketosis, so I decided I would also have a margarita the same day. 😋

Let’s talk about that drinking. Many of us like to have some drinks while on vacation. Can I do that on Keto? Absolutely!  Pure spirits have 0 carbs! What you have to watch out for are those mixers. Obviously stay away from the fruity mixes. The biggest area most mess up is thinking there are no carbs in tonic water. WRONG! Tonic water is full of sugar, so you have to avoid that. Instead order your spirit with soda water and a lemon or lime. 0 carbs. But, there’s another issue that comes with drinking alcohol and Keto. Many of us have sluggish livers. All the years of sugar and wrong fat abuse have done some damage. But it’s damage that can be repaired by the Keto diet. So be careful with the alcohol as it can set back the liver cleansing. Nurse that one drink alllll night!

I’m no expert. I’m just experiencing like you. I have victories. I have set backs. But the most important decision I make every time is to continue on in what I’ve been called. 1 year. Giving it my best. Giving it my all. 

Keto on...

1 week down...51 to go...Keto on!!

As I sit on my lanai…in JULY no doubt…bacon in the oven, coffee next to me, I’m musing over this past week. My first week back into full-on keto. So go ahead and ask me…how was it? How are you? I know I could give you all the positive, it’s so amazing, love this way of eating vibes. And even though it is somewhat true, I’m going to lay it out as it is. But read to the end..that’s where the good news is!

Any time you decide to change your unhealthy habits, it’s never easy. If someone tells you it’s the easiest thing they’ve ever done, they are either 1. lying or 2. not really making a change. Adapting to a keto lifestyle can be a challenge. My body craved sugar! My mind loved sugar! But it is poison to the body. So, when you go off it, the body must purge the poison!

This week consisted of headaches, body aches, fatigue and even some nausea. Sound like the flu?? Well, in a small way it is. The flu is your body reacting to a virus that has attacked it. It’s doing what it can to help eliminate it. When the body can’t quite do the work on its own, we head to a doctor and get some meds to help. Keto flu is similar in that the body is trying to get rid of what’s attacked it. The sugar, the carbs, the chemicals. But, instead of going to the doc for a prescription, go to the right foods to medicate.

Seven days into it and I must say, I feel so much better! Heck, I felt better after day 1. Sugar does not make your body feel better, it makes your mind feel better – temporarily. My stomach does not feel bloated, my joints are not AS achy. These are the things I must remember and focus on as the days get tough.

Scott left yesterday afternoon. Those are the hard times for me. Times in the house alone. Lonely. Bored. Food as my friend. In order to fight a battle, one must be prepared!

1. Don’t have ANY junk in your house! It makes it easier for me to resist, but I’ve been known to get in the car and go find what I want
2. Have options ready! I had cookie dough fat bombs ready to go and they knocked those wicked thoughts right out of my body! That 7-8 o’clock time when all I can think about is popcorn and cookies! 1 fat bomb. 2 bites. All it took.  

So, be prepared to fight the battle. Be prepared for a little pain, taking a few punches, getting a few bruises. But be battle ready. Have your weapons laid out. Food prepped. Meals planned. And most importantly consistent prayers to the Commander. God wants you to live your best life, your healthiest life. Don’t leave Him out of the journey.

Now for the good news. First 7 days – 5 pounds and 3 inches lost!! I know it’s week 1 and most of that is water, but I’ll take it! I also know it’s more about keeping my health, keeping my youth and living my best. Knowing I accomplished that this week is gold!! Until next Monday my friends….keto on!!!

How Will I Feel in a Year??

Often, we don’t like to put ourselves “out there.” If we keep our goals and struggles to ourselves, then when we fail, only we know. But, unless you are an extremely self-motivated person, I’d say that doesn’t work for you. I know it doesn’t work for me.  So as I embark on this 1 year journey, I’d love to take you with me.  Selfishly, it’s to help me and keep me motivated, but I hope it helps motivate you to step into a lifestyle of health. These “Monday Musings” will be used just for that.

“It’s get healthy to lose weight, not lose weight to get healthy.” – Dr. Eric Berg

Those are the words for my motivation at this point. I’m now 54 years old. Officially in my MID 50’s. It sneaks up on you! I still remember my late 40’s and how I kept telling myself I was going to lose weight and get in shape before I turned 50. I think at 49 ½ I started trying to put that into action. The problem was I didn’t really know what to do. I tried the typical “diet” plan, started walking and eventually “running”. Did I lose some weight? Sure. Did I lose a lot? Nope. Did I secure a lifestyle? Not even close. So, I ended up right back to where I started!

I’d heard about keto several years back, even toyed around with trying it, but never fully embraced it. Then the beginning of this year, a cousin introduced me to Dr. Berg. He has many short videos that are a wealth of information. So, I jumped on the keto wagon. I had a goal – Haiti. I needed to shed some pounds and inches and feel better before I went to live on a boat for a week! It was amazing! I felt so much better. I was losing some pounds, losing more inches. Joint pain was going away, injured neck pain was much less, more energy, just over all felt better.

Then I passed the goal and failed to set the next one. I had some pizza. I had some donuts. My “crack” addiction came right back. So, this is where you come into my life. Where I tell you my goals and you hold me accountable – if you choose to accept the challenge. I have 1 year until I am 55 years old. The world has made that the official age of old. Retirement communities, restaurant discounts, AARP… I want to hit that age in the best shape of my life! Sure, I’d love to lose a few pounds, but more than that I want to be healthy.

If you would like to embark on the journey with me, I’d love to have you. I’d encourage you to first find Dr. Berg on YouTube and start at the beginning of his videos. Then google Naomi Whittle and read up on her info on Autophagy: Intermittent Fasting and Protein Cycling (IFPC).

https://www.naomiwhittel.com/autophagy-intermittent-fasting-protein-cycling-ifpc/ That’s what I’m studying now and adding to my lifestyle. And, if you feel real adventurous, watch “The Magic Pill” on YouTube or Netflix. It just might change your life!

Thanks for being here with me. Whether you join me on the keto venture, or just read and encourage me, I’m glad you’re here.

Here’s to the next year of health!!