Wednesday, November 27, 2013

MORE GARDENING

 I am looking at some changes to the way I am doing Nutritional Ketosis but .......

Right now I am only just managing to keep close to my eating plan let alone make any changes no matter how small.

It may not sound like a lot of gardening but today I spent about 4 hours working outside. Both John and I are weary. The rain has come. We welcome the rain. We've had a dry spring so it is needed and we will get a good rest before we get into the garden again. 

Mum laid out the garden and we have difficult clay soil with a thin layer of good soil. Mum was determined to develop a cottage garden with lots of colour. The local conditions meant this would be a high maintenance garden. Add into the mix the neighbours vigorous ivy which has gone rampant through the fence line and under the driveway into the rest of the garden and some awful grasses with tough underground runners. Today was spent pulling grass, getting rid of more ivy and planting a border with what we hope will be a suitable perennial. We are gradually turning it into a lower maintenance coastal garden. It would be so nice to have a couple of thousand dollars, or five, to bring in landscapers, rip everything out and start again. As it is, with the place for sale we are doing what we can to keep it presentable and low budget.

My own garden is suffering from neglect. I can only manage so much at a time.

An email from friends who live in Hawaii has me all excited. We might see them next week. In fact they might be staying downstairs at the Beach House for a few days. Now I'm dreaming again about our next trip to Hawaii. SmileSadly it's on hold until the beach house sells.

I made an egg bake with leftovers for dinner and now John is getting me a small dish of rhubarb with my first attempt at making panna cotta. Yummy! 

I've had too much coffee today. Bed will be welcome but not sure how well I'll sleep.

QUICKIE

Up-date ..... Too busy.

Plus I cooked corned beef. I really like a good piece of corned silverside but it always results in a short term weight gain.

Gardening has used up most of my energy the last few days. It's been very warm, and I have been working in full sun. Yesterday, at the family beach house we are selling, it got really hot. Daughter and I went for a swim. We made some good progress but there is still a lot to do. It's raining tonight so maybe the ground will be easier to dig up stuff tomorrow. Oh I mean today.

I'm writing this at 3 am because I can't sleep. I fell asleep early but after waking and tossing and turning I got up to have a hot drink and here I am. 

Eating is OK. Not counting as too much grazing but only LCHF

Sunday, November 24, 2013

NOW FOR DAY 2

I managed to stay very close to my plan.

Calories 941

Carbs: 15 gm: Protein 18 gm: Fat 92 gm.

I seem to need a couple of prunes or similar each day. All the fat in the world makes no difference. This might be because I have no gall bladder therefore fat is not digested the same way. I am fortunate in that I appear to have no problems with fats or any other food that could be related to not having a gall bladder. I had a cholecystectomy 52 years ago just after my 21st birthday.

No walk but I spent a couple of hours gardening in the warm sun. In the past I was not very tolerant of heat or cold. I am noticing that I am not nearly as bothered. My eldest child is now 48 and I remember struggling to hang washing on the line as early as 9 am if it was sunny. I'm beginning to understand how my hormones were all messed up during my child raising years. It's very possible that my intolerance to wheat had something to do with this. 

If only I knew then what I know now!

Couldn't we all say that.

Today's plan is to increase my calories to around 1200

20 gm Carb: 50 - 60 gm Protein: 100 gm Fat

A walk is on my agenda and a little more gardening too. 

I am really impatient to lose the next 6 pounds and I am so tired of bouncing up and down on the same 4 pounds. As yet I've not found anything that looks like an alternative to what I'm doing that I feel comfortable with either.

We'll see how my stats work out tomorrow. I'll be really disappointed if I don't like them Smile

Saturday, November 23, 2013

DAY 1 ........ AND THIS HAD BETTER NOT BE ANOTHER FALSE START

A small drop in weight but I suspect that the salty pork crackling did me no good. There are only a few pieces left.

Today I debated going for a free for all food day which would probably turn into days. Fortunately I began with a fasting ketone test. It's still only 0.6 but yesterday afternoon I had a reading of 1.8 so that must mean that generally speaking I am in nutritional ketosis. This encourages me to stay true to my general plan.

The question remains. Why am I not losing significant amounts of weight?

It might be because I am consuming too much fat for me. That's sad because I like the extra fat in my diet. 

It could be because I'm not getting regular exercise .... no excuse .... I've simply reverted to being a professional couch potato 85% of the time.

It could be that I am not eating enough leafy and low carb vegetables.

It could be that I am not being sufficiently consistent.

I do keep to my plan most of the time. I am reasonably healthy and take no medication.

Maybe today is the day I stop messing about with this and that and plan to follow my best HFLC program for 7 days without faltering.

Today is Day 1 and I begin with a Fat Fast 

900-1000 calories

I'm going to aim for the following with a little wriggle room.

6 gm Carb. 15 gm Protein. 90 gm Fat

The other thing I will do is 30 minutes minimum on the cross trainer or a longer walk outside. And Gardening is planned.

We'll see how this goes. I really want to find that sweet place where I relax into a comfortable, for me, eating protocol.

Friday, November 22, 2013

FAT FAST THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN AND PODCASTS

I had designated yesterday to be a Fat Fast but it didn't quite go according to plan.

I had my usual keto coffee in the morning. Lunch was a stick of celery stuffed with a smallish piece of blue vein cheese.

I didn't eat again until after 6 pm ...... except for the huge amount of pork crackling. Much to my surprise I did get to the point where I wasn't interested in eating more. That never happened when I was eating fresh bread or toast with butter and whatever filling or topping I felt like.

We had creamy omelets filled with a mixture of salami, bacon, tomato, asparagus and cheese plus salad. I was hungry but it was very satisfying. I topped off the day with a few nuts and prunes. 

My weight is up again. It's still within the acceptable 5 pounds of maintenance, but only just Sad

I'm going back to look over some of Diane Sanfilippo wisdom and also a look in Dave Asprey's blog after listening to their podcasts and here. They both mentioned something about what to do when you need to make a change because what you are doing has stopped working effectively. 

I could stay where I am and be content to see if I drop the odd pound now and then. I know most of my general health markers are acceptable or even excellent for my age .... But I could be better. My energy runs out. I'm not quite where I want to be.

I am searching for success and that includes waist reduction, weight reduction and increasing energy. I so wish I were 20 or 30 years younger. I would have breezed through this period of stalemate my body is giving me. Now it's much harder to keep the motivation going. My brain would really be quite happy if I gave up but then I'd get into that vicious cycle of poor choices, brain fog and fatigue for no good reason. 

I will just keep on reading and learning until I hit the right balance for me Smile

Thursday, November 21, 2013

PORK CRACKLING IS ADDICTIVE

I've missed a couple of days. Things going on which impact weight loss although not related.

Stress. We are selling my mother's house. Mum died 22 months ago. Four families have shares in the house which is absolute beach front. You walk out of your bedroom, if downstairs, across the lawn onto the beach. 50 yards and you are swimming in the Pacific Ocean, which admittedly is somewhat cold for me. We are in the process of re-listing with a different agent and I am the one who has to keep all families up to speed and collect necessary signatures. Until this week a niece was doing this but not any more apparently. I'm more than happy to do it but as most people know there is nothing like jointly owned property to expose any difficult relationships. It's going to be an interesting week or more.

Added to this is the need to spruce up the house and garden when there is very little cash available. We did most of the work 12 months ago but we need to keep things up and make sure the property is attractive. The property market in New Zealand is improving but suddenly a whole lot of properties in our price range have been listed so we have competition. The question in, 'Will it be an advantage?' We can only hope.

About my food.... it has remained good without logging every detail but my weight is fluctuating up and own over 2 kg. 

Yesterday our SuperMarket had pork crackling in the meat section. I cut it into bite sized pieces and salted it before putting in the fridge overnight. This morning I baked it in a moderate over and have been snacking ever since it cooled just enough not to burn my tongue.

This has to be treated as a once a month, or better still less frequent, treat. For me, it's worse than potato crisps, chocolate, salted, roasted nuts. I cannot get enough and once I start it's really hard to stop nibbling even though it has a natural fat content. Freshly baked crackling is so tasty and crunchy. I think it's the crunch that has me returning for another bite all the time.

Today I have a whole lot of scanning and printing then posting out to see to. It is also designated a day of gardening so it's time I started on my important jobs Smile

Monday, November 18, 2013

MONDAY STATS

STATS for Monday November 18th
Height:- 155 cms/5 ft 1 in.
Weight:- 81.5 kg/179 lbs 10 oz
Waist:- 91.5/36 ins
Hips, at belly button :- 106.5 cms/42 ins

Yesterday's food included Keto coffee, coconut, berry smoothie, savoury, (stuffed) eggs, garden salad, balsamic dressing, camembert, almonds and prunes.

Calories:- 1280
Carbs:- 28 gm/8.6% 
Protein:- 51 gm /15.7% 
Fat:- 110 gm/ 75.7%
Fasting Ketones:- 0.6

I also went for a walk:- 4.5 km/2.8 miles

It was a good day.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

SAME OLD .......

There's not a lot to say today.

My weight stays reasonably stable. GRRRR! I wouldn't be upset if I was closer to my goal weight but I am so fat and flabby.

Flabby is something I can work on while my body decides how it's going to deal with all the extra fat I still carry. I haven't done regular exercise for nearly 8 weeks. I need to get back into my almost daily time on the cross-trainer or get out and walk on the beach. The mornings are pleasant and not too hot so time for me to get moving. I did a little gardening yesterday. That is better than doing nothing.

My calorie etc stats are not available because I ate a handful of dates and nuts after dinner ..... not counting. 

Blood ketones have just moved into ketosis ... not the ideal spot but to see 0.6 is helpful. Mentally I need the ketone boost. I will feel more energetic as my numbers become more stable.

I must remember tomorrow is the day I want to record waist measurement, weight and fasting blood ketones and I might even do blood glucose at the same time although this does not seem to be an issue for me. 

I'm now getting dressed to go for a walk and we'll see how the day works out from there.

Friday, November 15, 2013

MY PLAN FOR YESTERDAY WORKED WELL .... NOW TO START A STRING OF DAYS ON MY HEALTHY LIVING PLAN

I completed my plan yesterday with success Smile It wasn't as difficult as I'd feared.

I drank keto coffee in the morning and followed up with water and my usual fruit flavoured herbal tea which has virtually no calories. I had a hard boiled egg for lunch and a piece of camembert later. I'd used my self imposed protein allowance for the day so nibbled on some Coconut Fudge, made with cocoa, coconut oil and coconut cream, that I'd found on Maria Emmerich's website

I think I'll try her Keto Crepes later today. I'll be eating more.

Calories 815
Carbs 3 gm/ 1.5% :Protein 16 gm/ 8% :Fats 84 gm /90.5% 


That helped me shed about 1.5 of the weight accumulated over the past few days. I didn't test for ketones this morning but I know they have improved. I felt fine all day and the only adverse reaction was a headache this morning which could be due to sinus congestion and nothing to do with diet.

I had another good look at my Lean For Life Workbook and decided to read it again because while it is low fat there is a lot of good stuff and it is a ketogenic diet. There are many things I can use to keep me on the right track and motivated. 

My weight loss has ceased to enthuse me. It's just too slow. My health is reasonably good. Most of the things I was concerned about have resolved or are improving,especially if I my blood ketones stay at a good level.

I would love to lose another 20 kg/44 lbs. If I look at my weight loss stats for the past year it will take me at least 4 more years to achieve. That's not very encouraging. I have to look past those stats and consider my day to day healthy living plan.

My goal must become living each day to the best of my ability and living it to the full. Weight loss is not going to rule my life. It should naturally follow my daily healthy lifestyle plan. If my weight loss is totally stalled out then so-be-it. I will be living a healthy life.

We have a stunningly lovely morning and I think I must take advantage and get into my garden before it totally overwhelms me. Smile

Thursday, November 14, 2013

CATCHING UP .... HOPEFULLY GETTING BACK ON TRACK

It's good to be back getting into my well worn track although I'm still a bit all-over the place.

The last couple of days along with my anxiety took a toll. My anxiety was wasted .... as it always is Smile The surgeon said plaque build up was not the problem. The artery was no longer strong enough to stay open on it's own so a stent was inserted. This morning John walked freely again. Cheers!!! No-one mentioned the statin word although one nurse advised John he must take a whole aspirin everyday. He's been taking a 1/2 tablet every second day otherwise he gets awful bruising and every time he gets a tiny skin abrasion he bleeds madly. He will continue with what he's been doing and I am suggesting that when he has blood tests in abut 6 months he will probably be able to stop taking all the aspirin too. I can't see the point if he's healthy. I guess they have to advise according to the set protocol ... We are being treated like peas in a pod instead of individuals. What happened to good medicine?

I am paying the price for all my anxiety and travelling. Feel slightly better now that I've had my first cup of keto coffee since Monday morning, (today is Thursday, 8 am). I had been craving sugar in my coffee and last night was looking for a high carb hit.... only nuts and chilli flavoured rice crackers available so not too much damage done.

Tuesday it was nearly 7 am when we left home. I had been up since around 5 am after sleeping poorly. I made a kumera, (sweet potato), and broccoli frittata ..... more like an American casserole, with 10 eggs, bacon and cream cheese. Because it came straight out of the oven in time to leave the house I took it all with us ... enough to feed 10 people. We had time to go to a Cafe for breakfast before going to the hospital at 11 am. We had beautifully served Eggs Benedict on gluten free toast. 

At the hospital, and after the usual being sent from here to there and hanging around, John went off to Day surgery and I went to a waiting room. The waiting was tedious, about 2 hours in a room of chatty people with TV running background interference. I tried to turn off all of this, and stay absorbed in my Michael Connelly book, which was not too hard most of the time. 

John had about 4 more hours to stay quiet. The list of care for day surgery includes food. They offered John a sandwich, "gotta have some carbs!" Fortunately I'd packed our normal lunch food of salami, olives etc. so John did not need to starve. But because food is on the list he was offered icecream and jelly which being a man he was delighted to eat Smile Once they'd made sure there was no immediate risk of haemorrhage we went to the studio flat, hospital accommodation for out-of towners, we had booked. It was OK but again I didn't sleep well.. hospital beds, plastic pillows and all that, but lovely view from large windows. Next time we will go to a decent motel. We were able to take our time yesterday morning and I had Nestlé coffee sachets and frittata for breakfast before leaving to visit my sister. She had a nice ham salad for our lunch and I was fine when we left about 2 pm, although I was feeling tired. We still had 3 hours travelling plus a stop for groceries. I began to lose the plot and felt really grumpy as John drove the twisty roads through the hills. Exhaustion was setting in, my eye was aching and it was too warm in the car. We had a lovely sunny day but the car has no AC. 

Finally we pulled in at home to find a campervan had parked up. We have advertised our place as a 'Park-Over-Property' in the absence of a campground in our area. We love meeting folk who travel but it was too much for me. I don't know where John got his energy from but I guess he was still on a bit of a high after finally getting some real relief from the discomfort in his leg.

I concentrated on putting away groceries, cooking some sausages to go with heated frittata and getting in another cup of coffee. I couldn't get into bed fast enough.

Today should be a Fat Fast. When I got up I wondered how I was going to do it but now that I've got some keto coffee into me I think maybe I can do it. But .... I will need to do at least 3 days as close to very low carb with lower than usual protein to get my ketone numbers acceptable again ... not to mention weight. This morning I recorded 3 kg/7 lbs above where I should be if I hadn't messed things up. Ho- Hum ... off to work we go Rolleyes

So that's my up-date of our last few days and a lengthy post it is too.

STRESSED OUT

Monday check in .... I forgot to take the measurements. Tomorrow will do.

I'm all over the place and it's all my husband's fault. Isn't it good to blame somebody or something else instead of taking full responsibility for your own actions and reactions. Husbands are very conveniently place to drop stuff on.

For some reason I feel quite stressed out. It has to do with hospital appointments, not for me but for my husband. That's why it's all his fault Smile I cannot be blamed for getting stressed because I don't know how to stop myself!!!!

Last week it was just a drive to the next biggest town in our area, and I incorporated a visit with a dear friend. The clinic visit was an unnecessary waste of time unless you admit to being better safe than sorry.

Tomorrow is a little different. He is having the second angioplasty, to the same leg, this year. I have to admit to a certain nervousness because I encouraged him to get off statins and stay off regardless of medical advice. What will the vascular specialists reaction be? NB John chose to not even try any of their other drugs saying he would rather have quality of life than suffer the weakness and muscle pain the statins produced in less than 6 days. Just so you know he does think for himself.

We need to leave home by 7 am tomorrow. That should give us time for a coffee stop before booking in to the clinic at 11 am. I also have a quick stop to drop off a card and flowers to my friend who is celebrating her 90th birthday tomorrow. 

We expect John to be in the hospital for about 8 hours then we have to stay handy. The hospital does have some modest, motel like accommodation so we are trying it out. We want to know what it's like if there is another time because it's about half the cost of a good motel. We'll go somewhere decent for breakfast then have time to fill in before meeting my sisiter for lunch and coming home.

All this food when not in my own home is doing my head in. I will bake a frittata today so we have some healthy food to carry with us.

I guess I'm worried about the advice the specialist is going to give my husband. If they talk about peripheral artherosclerosis being a sign of future cardiac problems I think we should insist on ultrasounds of the carotid and whatever they do to check the aorta. 

I really am not good at being assertive in the face of the training medical people have but ..... I am sure the blockage in John's leg is due to old injuries causing inflammation, in spite of the specialist saying, 'not so.' It's kind of scary to walk a different path to your medical advisor.

I have a book on kindle I'm reading so I'm going to chill out there for a while..... After I get something good to eat Smile

Friday, November 8, 2013

NOTHING MUCH GOING ON

Nothing much to up-date. My weight stays stable...... whether I like it or not Smile

Yesterday was an 'almost fast.'

Keto Coffee reigned for the morning. I had a cup of chicken broth early afternoon. Tere was a small serve of meatballs in maranara sauce left after John had eaten all he could manage so I cleaned that up.

I made some Fat Fast fudge similar to one by Maria Emerich http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/keto-fudge/ and ate a small piece along with a couple of almonds and a macadamia nut. That's about it.

My nutritionals came out looking something like this...
Calories:- 840 + chicken broth
15 gm/7% Carb: 19 gm/9.5% Protein: 79 gm/83.5% Fat

I seem to really struggle to pull my carbs much lower. Of course the maranara sauce had an impact on these numbers.

Today is a normal food day and we have pork chops for dinner. Looking forward to them.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

TRIP TO THAMES SCALLOPS FOR LUNCH

We have had a great day. We left home before 9 am. 1 hour 20 minutes to the retirement home where I visited my friend Enid. we spent over an hour chatting with my special friend who will have her 90th birthday next week.

In Thames we went to a different place for lunch. We had vouchers for the Junction Hotel, an historic hotel dating from Gold Rush days. They had a modern bar and diner. We were surprised to have such a good meal. John and I both had scallops wrapped in bacon with salad and caper flavoured crisps. The scallops were huge and juicy, 4 to a kebab stick, the garden salad was delicious and finished off with crunchy potato crisps which could only have been made in their own kitchen. The coffee was good too.

John saw the skin specialist, 40 minutes waiting then in and out. He couldn't have been more than 5 minutes and was told it was nothing to be concerned with but to check in with his GP, (General Practitioner or family doctor), in 6 months. The sore spot on his lip has completely healed after months. Wouldn't you know it! Still better to be safe than sorry especially as he was a fairly heavy smoker from 18-50 years old. Lip cancers can have a shocking outcome.

We did a little shopping spending a small fortune on essential supplements and groceries. I'd like to think that's all we'll spend for the next two weeks. I was able to get 1 litre of high quality coconut oil, expensive but a better buy than my usual shop. 

A beautiful drive back home, walking in the door in time to turn on the 6 o'clock TV news. I was so tired, maybe slightly car sick from our windy roads, that I couldn't eat anything. I've just had coffee and cream and I might have some plain yoghurt later.

Tomorrow is my 'almost' fast day.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

AN ORDINARY DAY - I LIKE THAT

  Bummer that today my weight jumped up a pound though. Just as well I am mature enough to see the bigger, overall picture ..... Well I try to be.

I am making Monday my normal measuring day, ketones, waist and weight, But that doesn't mean I won't peep in between. Thursday is my fast or very low calorie day as close tozero carb as I can go. I'm finding a workable pattern I want to stick with.

You and Sue had chicken and broccoli with or without cheese soup yesterday and I had what should have been broccoli and chicken stirfry topped with cheese which came out a bit like soup because I used too much liquid trying to get the broccoli to cook. I've made bone broth with the carcass so no problem thinking what to have for dinner tomorrow when we get back from Thames.

Yesterday I had my usual keto coffee, celery stuffed with blue vein cheese and topped with thinly sliced radish I also ate a small piece of cheddar and had the aforementioned chicken and broccoli dinner. I snacked on an HB egg and a few almonds so it was a very cheesy day.

Calorie on the button at 1202
14 gm/ 5% carbs: 64 gm/ 21%Protein: 99 gm/ 74%Fat

Today I am thinking about making a bolognese sauce which I'll have with a spinach salad and John will have mashed potatoes. We have never been great fans of pasta so that's not an issue for us.

I've been thinking about a couple of things that relate to abundance and how I respond. We have a good number of foods in the house that allow me a wide choice for my lunches. Once I would have had to eat all the perishables to prevent waste. Now I don't worry and fortunately John is eating more of them than he once did. I do so hate wasting good food so I would eat rather than leave to be thrown away when spoiled. 

Maybe I have a habit of buying more than we really need.

Same thing is happening with my clothes. They are not wearing out the way they did when I was younger. I don't know what has changed but I seem to have accumulated more clothes than I can wear. Not that I have a lot, it's just that they are mostly in pretty good condition. I have taken to wearing tidy clothes rather than shabby or well worn clothes at home. For the first time in years I have clothes that I am not going to be able to wear out. I only expect to drop 2 more dress sizes. How long will that take? Maybe 12 -18 months. 

Different problems but a similar mindset. I hate to throw out good clothes even when I know I can send them to the Op Shop to be found by someone who might need them. I'm trying to make the most of wearing things I like as frequently as possible.

Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the abundance. That's weird because compared with many people we don't really have all that much. 

An equal abundance of cash would be a fine thing Smile

Monday, November 4, 2013

NICE START TO THE WEEK

Yay! back in ketosis and another weight loss.

Last Wednesday, today is Monday, so 5 days ago was my first 'official' weigh in on my own scales after being away from home for nearly 6 weeks. 83.5 kg/184 lbs Today I am 80.5 kg/177.5 A loss of 3 kg/6.5 lbs. That's worth a drum roll Smile 

Can't find a tape measure so will start measuring my waist after we have been shopping on Wednesday. John has to go to the plastic surgery clinic for a check on a possible skin cancer. Another longish day as we have to go to Thames, 1.5 hours from home on winding roads. Hope the weather is good as it is a beautiful drive.

Fasting Blood Ketones last Wednesday 0.3 today 1.7

Now I have done the work to get where I want to be I can relax a little knowing I am in the right place to continue. Only 600 grams to be a 70s girl in kilograms. 8 pounds will see me weighing in under 160. Gosh it's a long time since I was looking at those kind of numbers. Way back before we went metric I remember being around 10 stone. That's 140 pounds, 46 years and 3 children ago. Oops! I wish I hadn't counted the years. Was I ever that young? Smile

Yesterday I consumed keto coffee, 1 cheesy muffin, roasted chicken, onion, broccoli, carrot and a few almonds.

About 1100 calories

18/6.8% carbs; 61/22.3% Protein: 86/71% Fat

I think I am slowly getting the hang of this and can begin to think about the day when I only measure and record these details once a week. I can eyeball some of the portion sizes now.

I feel so much better in myself. A combination of being in ketosis and losing the extra weight. Now to get my body moving again. That's always a challenge for me since I became a professional couch potato Smile

Maybe I need to make some kind of affirmation about myself. "I am an active woman and love it!"