Keto Update 4

It's been two weeks since my last Keto/weight loss update so it's time for an update. I hid the columns from 1/1/18 to 2/17/19 on my spreadsheet as it was becoming impossible to read (yes there is more than a 1 lb loss between 260 and 234 haha) and I wanted to make it easy to see this week's changes as well as totals. Here we go...

5.6 pounds guys... in two weeks I lost 5.6 pounds! That's awesome news and I'm absolutely thrilled. Even better I went down almost a full point on the BMI scale AND lost inches. I did go up in my chest measurement but I think that I just mis-measured last time as it was exactly what it was the previous measurement day again. That means I've now lost 31.6 pounds and 21.2 inches total. I would really like to get to 50 pounds down by Gaufest in June but I'm trying to not to set unreachable goals (that would be at least 2 pounds per week every single week until then which is not guaranteed even if you are eating perfectly, on any diet plan). Instead my goal is to continue my progress towards 50 pounds gone by the end of the summer and if I get close before then I will adjust the goal to a larger number (such as "below 200 by the end of summer"... for the first time in a decade. That would be beyond wonderful to get there.)

For the last two weeks:

• Favorite Food: Sliced English Cucumber and Homemade Ranch Dip
  • I'm a texture girl and have been missing 'crunchy' foods quite a bit. I haven't found a good keto 'chip' out there (though I did make some cheddar crisps last week which were a good crunchy snack food) for dipping but cucumber and zucchini do a great job and are cheap. For those about to suggest celery, unfortunately I cannot have it. Instant migraine. Random, I know.
• Cravings: Peanut Butter M&M's
  • Those things were showing up everywhere and are my, hands down, favorite candy of all time. To combat this I bought some super dark chocolate chips (meant for baking) and a jar of peanut butter. One tablespoon of peanut butter and a few chocolate chips to assuage that craving for sweets and specifically the chocolate & peanut butter combo without completely blowing my day out of the water. Was it the 100% best thing for me to eat? Probably not... but it fit my macros and kept me from falling back off the wagon on stressful days so I'll take it. 

Another thing that I'm tracking is how well my weight loss correlates with what's going on in my life as those might be useful once I have more information. If I lose a lot less weight when I feel my sleep has been horrible than when its been ok or great then I will know that I need to focus more on that for instance. On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest...

Compliance/Remaining "Keto": 9
Energy: 6
Sleep: 5
Stress: 6
Cravings: 2 ​​

Quick Keto Meal Idea:
For lunches this past set of meal preps I've done a number of lettuce wraps: salsa chicken, beef taco, tuna salad, ham and cheese, etc. It's a quick and simple way to eat something you would normally have with a lot of carbs- like tacos or sandwiches- or to mix up the same ingredients in a new way. A few pieces of leaf lettuce and leftovers packs a lunchbox in minutes which is definitely something I can get behind. 
Try some of the following...

• tacos
• salsa chicken
• fajita
• tuna, chicken, egg or crab salad
• lunch meats and cheeses
• leftover Chinese take out (meat and veggie dishes, avoiding starchy items)

What other fillings for lettuce wraps do you do in your household? Let me know!

​Until next time,