Tuesday is for follow ups

Follow up with Katy the Nutritionist.

I really don't feel like writing tonight. I don't know why, but driving 30 miles to and from my appointment, only to get home and realize that due to a series of events that interfered with our weekend routine we don't have all the ingredients for dinner. So then the debate... run to the store in what is now horrible traffic, go out to eat, scrounge for something else, improvise with other ingredients. Ugh, I just didn't have it in me to think about any of the above. But of course, thanks to hubby for keeping us accountable. He needed to mow the grass before it rained again this week turning our back yard into an urban jungle that our dogs would promptly get lost in. So he nudged and I went to our not so usual store that is closer to the house to see if I could finish off our grocery list this week. Back home in no time and immediately started to work on prepping dinner. Tonight: Lemon Artichoke Chicken from the Practical Paleo Cookbook. Of course we like to add zucchini to this recipe to add some more vegetable content. I usually slice up 2 zucchini and add a few to the pan with the chicken then toss the rest in the smaller cast iron with butter or ghee (even though I am allergic to dairy, I seem to be able to consume small amounts of butter and ghee gives me no trouble at all) and salt and throw them both in the oven. Its a very tart dish, so if you want to tone it down you can always serve with fresh avocado or salad or other veggies to cut the tart from the capers, lemon and artichokes. Me, I am a sensory seeking eater so strong sour or tart tastes I enjoy.

So for my checkup today with Katie (functional medicine nutritionist), I learned a lot again. First thing out of my mouth was "I really gotta pee!" and when I promptly returned from the restroom I got up on that scary scale to see what the results were of the last 2.5 weeks starting Keto. I told Katie it was darn near impossible to consume a gallon of water a day, to which she responds who on earth told me to do that? I responded that she was the one who told me in the first appointment she wanted me drinking a gallon of water a day and I immediately thought that was impossible, but by golly, I have been desperately trying! We both had a good chuckle, as she insisted she didn't remember telling me to drink a gallon of water. Whew! Now that that is settled I can focus on the rest of the important stuff. 

The scary scale reports that I am down 5# since my last visit with Katie 2.5 weeks ago and my BMI is down a point, too! This means that I lost all fat! Woohoo. Apparently my body likes keto!

Next, I learned a little more about ketones and measuring them. I use Perfect Keto test strips. While most people focus on the numbers and what that means, I tend to do better just focusing on the picture. So on the side of the bottle there are 5 levels of ketosis colors ranging from light pink to dark purple. The last two dark purple colored dots are considered large ketones, the first three light and dark pink dots are considered small to moderate ketones. 
What I need to know is what color my test strip should be? I have had a few that are almost dark purple and a few that are lighter pink, but so far ever time I have peed on the tiny little test strip they have changed some color, which means I am in ketosis and that is a good thing. So for me, it is recommended that I stay in the first three pink colors or the light to moderate range of ketones. The dark purple colors indicates large ketones and high levels of ketones in the urine. This means that your essentially creating an acidic environment in your body. So without getting into too much mumbo jumbo about acidic versus basic ph levels, the important thing to note is that the body is much happier when the body is more balanced and not acidic. Acidic ph encourages inflammation and with inflammation comes pain, and poor health. Lastly, when should I measure my ketones? Morning, afternoon, evening, once a day or multiple times? The answer was for me to measure only in the morning. So that was my take away from the ketones discussion. Here are some links for more information on measuring and interpreting ketones, but I highly recommend you consult your medical professional or nutritionist who is experienced with guiding people through keto diet so that you can achieve your goals.

https://ketosummit.com/optimal-ketone-levels-for-ketogenic-diet

https://www.perfectketo.com/a-guide-to-testing-ketone-levels/
 
So I was asked to keep a food diary, which as discussed in my previous blog post, I am terrible about keeping a journal or diary about anything! BUT, today I was prepared. I have been using the My Fitness Pal app on my iPhone to track my daily foods. I would say its about 80% accurate for my actual food intake. 20% error rate is due to app limitations and some user error as well. Otherwise, I love this app. Its been super easy to use. I could do without the main page that has articles and blog posts. I really only use the food diary and the progress tab to log my weight. According to Katie, I really only need to log my weight weekly. The last week I have been measuring and logging daily just to see what my weight was doing over the course of the week. But I totally understand. Day to day your weight can fluctuate anywhere from 1# to 3#. If your a woman, your cycle can throw that off even more. So I will try to be good from now on and pick a day to log my weight and stick to it. 

As Katie went through my meals for last 2 weeks she noted that I have been consuming a lot of pork. Of course! Bacon is my favorite! It appeals to my sensory seeking nature! Its salty, and crunchy and chewy! It's super yummy! Well, for me and for now Katie has recommended no pork. OMG! What the heck will I do now for a quick protein snack!? Why no pork? Well again, this meal plan and diet is what Katy has prescribed to me. What you do for you, may be different. So for me, because of the thyroid issues, the PCOS and I a not even sure what all else, my body still has a lot of inflammation. In my mind I am like, Holy Cow! I am gluten free, and dairy free and 80% sugar free for over last 5-10 years! So why the heck am I still struggling with inflammation? Well I don't have all the answers, and Katy tries to explain a lot and my learning disabled brain tries to absorb as much as I can to better understand. What I took away from the conversation is that pork, for many reasons is one of the top 8 most inflammatory foods, I think. It is also a common food allergen. You might think that is strange. How can you be allergic to pork? Have you ever heard of anyone having an anaphylactic reaction to pork? Well, I get it. I don't have anaphylactic reactions to milk or gluten. I totally understand the allergic reactions to some foods can be way more subtle then that. So per Katie's advice, I will phase out the pork for now. But not before I eat that 2# of freshly cooked bacon in the fridge this week! Next week we will phase out the bacon! Its only for 60 days. 60 days of no bacon, no sausage, no pork chops. Eeek! 60 days can be a long time. My favorite pig rancher Hartvickson Family Ranch will be sad, but I know Meghan will understand. I will still go see them at the Dallas Farmers Market when we go to buy our beef, lamb and eggs from JuHa Ranch and Bois d' Arc Meat Co. Its just 60 days. I can do this... just 60 days. 

Last take away from today's appointment: Mindful Breathing.
Katy: So how did you do with the Mindful Breathing Exercises?
Me: (dumb look on my face) Uhhhhhh, I was supposed to be doing what?
Katy: Why does everyone always forget the Mindful Breathing from the first session? 
Me: uhhhh, I'm not sure, but it was a lot of information to take in that first visit. 

So Katy recommends Mindful breathing exercises. Not the first time I have done things like this. But its definitely not easy for me. My idea of meditation and quiet time is sitting on the couch zoning out to old episodes of Call the Midwife or maybe Orange is the New Black on Netflix, or crocheting. Better yet, crochet and Netflix binge! 

But again, I am going to try. I need to ease into this. I am not sure that I can make this happen daily, but I will try. In a perfect world, I would be able to wake up at 5 am, quietly escape to a perfect little meditation room and do my stretching and breathing exercises in peace and quiet before my husband and dogs wake up. But lets be honest, I am lucky if I roll out of bed before 7am. Most days I am flying out the door at 7:55 and driving to the closest location I can to clock in for work. I don't even care that much that I am late all the time. I just don't have enough energy to care.  have just enough energy to get up, make a smoothie, gather up my purse, bag, keys, lunch and stumble out the door to my car. Oh wait, I forgot something inside. I always forget something. My coffee mug aka "sippy cup" as my hubby calls it, scarf, sweater, today it was a utensil for my lunch. Do you think mindful breathing will help my with my energy level? Could it help me sleep better? I think I sleep ok, but then I wake up and feel like I need toothpicks to hold my eyes open until about 10 am, so maybe I am not sleeping well. I dont really know. At this point, between the thyroid issues, vitamin deficiencies, PCOS and hormone issues and Candida issues, I have no clue what symptoms are caused by what? If I knew, I probably would not have let myself get to this point of feeling like a slug again. So back on the meditation thing. I need to start doing deep breathing daily and or meditation exercises. I feel like when I try to do this myself, I am too easily distracted, so I feel better with guided meditation videos or recordings. I had a really great one, but it was sadly lost in my vehicle when it was wrecked a year ago. So maybe I will reorder that CD or maybe I can find it on iTunes. Katy provided me some handouts with suggestions. I will have to read though those and see if I can find a quiet space in my junk room to sit and practice. I guess this is more motivation for my hubby to finish the attic insulation and get our upstairs room reconstructed so we have somewhere to stretch and meditate. In the mean time, I found this hilarious meditation on Facebook the other day...

Maybe I will start with this one... 

http://mysticalraven.com/inspirational/1652/the-hilarious-guided-meditation-for-realists-that-actually-works

Last thing: apparently, I need assistance with relaxing. He he he, no secret there. So Katy also recommended this Relax supplement that helps with balancing hormones for PCOS and also helps with relaxing. I mixed that up with a little water this evening and it was not too bad. Cherry flavored. I am not sure how relaxed I felt afterwards, but we will keep it up daily in the evenings and see how it goes.


That is about it for this update. It was still a lot of information to take in, but not nearly as bad as last time. I only got scolded for eating too much pork, processed meats and not consuming enough carbs during the day. I know, I am supposed to be eating berries and dark leafy green veggies. But its so confusing with all the Keto information out there on the web. There is a ton of conflicting information. So all I can say, is I will try to do better and follow Katie's instructions for me. If your doing Keto too, I hope you find a great nutritionist who can help guide you based on your body and needs. Its not easy to find people like Katy who are really good at nutrition from a more functional medicine approach. I feel so lucky to have found her. I don't know if I would be as successful on my own. So God Bless Katie and all the angels that put her into my life.

If your still reading, thanks for following me on this journey.
Take care,
Cece

P.S. If you want to follow Katie, she has started a blog too. She also has an Instagram page and Facebook. You can find links here on her blog...
http://katiegarrott.com/why-we-need-functional-medicine/

  

Anniversaries are for celebrating.

Happy April Fools Day, y'all! And Happy Easter for those who celebrate it!
Today is also my wedding anniversary. What a wonderful journey this has been. 1,460 days married. All totaled, 5 years together. As we were getting closer to the weekend and talking about what we wanted to do to celebrate we decided to go out to dinner at a nice restaurant. Some place new. I started wondering what the menu would be like and if there would be dishes that were keto friendly. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I don't want to be that person who has to modify everything on the menu to accommodate our meal plan. I don't want to get upset or angry or sad that I can't enjoy a special event with friends and family, just because we are following the keto plan. I have a lot of weight to loose. It could take a year or more to get to where I need to be for my health. How many birthdays, holidays and anniversaries will I have to miss out on, or sit through in misery. So I made a decision. I am not going to miss out. I mean really, how often do we go out with friends to celebrate a birthday or holiday? Its not that often. And there are weeks, even months in between where we can keep up with meal plans and shopping. So we went out to dinner last night, and we didn't stress about what we would or could eat. We just enjoyed the experience of a new restaurant, and celebrating each other and our journey. We were pleasantly surprised that the menu had several items that were very Keto friendly, so by happy coincidence our meal was pretty compliant in that respect. We had muscles cooked with bacon and butter and other yumminess.

http://feedcompanyeatery.com/

Then there was the 1/2 rack of ribs. They had a lot of pepper, very smokey flavor but were pretty good.

And then there was the pork chop with Brussels sprouts, carrots, arugula and a drizzle of some sort of raspberry glaze.

 

http://www.hgsplyco.com/

It was a lovely dinner. We shared a few whiskey drinks as well, since that was the restaurants specialty. It was a perfect spring evening, dining on the patio. Later we walked across the street to another restaurant for desert. One of the only places in town to find a gluten free and dairy free desert! I had been craving this for a while, and since it was a special occasion we decided to indulge. Chocolate chip banana bread with almond milk ice cream and caramelized bananas. Again, we sat on the patio, people watched and chatted. It was an awesome dinner and desert and I don't regret one single carbohydrate!

So that is our anniversary adventure for this year. Next year is 5 years, who knows what we will do then. But I can assure you whatever it is, we will enjoy it even if we are still following keto! I know this may not work for some, but it has worked for us this weekend. I am back on track this morning with my protein smoothie. I even measured my ketones last night, this morning and this afternoon and while they dipped a little low, they are back up this afternoon. So I am confident that I didn't loose any progress with this one meal. Tonight is dinner at friends. Thankfully, they have been doing keto and gluten free, so we know we will be able to enjoy dinner with no issues there.

So here is my weekly recap

Weigh in: 265.8 lbs
Clothing: jeans are a little looser today
Other changes: I have had a rash from Candida overgrowth that has been angry and irritated. Under my arm pits and in other cracks and creases. I have noticed this week, the rashes are settling down and not so raw and red and itchy. The other thing I noticed is that I was able to wear my wedding rings today for the first time in almost a year, maybe longer. That was a pretty sweet treat for me!

Weekend Recap:

So this week went pretty well. We meal planned last Sunday and shopped for our weekly meals. I has planned for making more snacks for this week and we kinda failed on that note, but somehow both of us managed fine this week. My nutritionist wants me drinking 2 cups of green tea per day. I will admit, I have not been doing that much. It seems as the weather gets warmer, I am not that interested in drinking hot tea. I will keep trying. Maybe I can find a good green tea ice tea recipe to keep in the fridge for hot days. Water intake probably needs to increase as well, although I will say most days I am getting in more then 8 glasses of water a day. Nutritionist says 16 glasses aka 1 gallon of water per day. I thought that was pretty crazy at first, then I start learning about Keto flu and watched my hubby get hit hard with a migraine and realized that this was Keto flu related to lack of electrolytes and lack of adequate water intake. So important to note, water intake and electrolytes are crucial when eating Keto. 

Hope you all had a very blessed holiday weekend, no matter what holiday you celebrated. 

Eat well, sleep well.

Cece

Sunday is for meal planning and grocery shopping

OK, Its 10:30 a.m. and I am starving because I slept in, and haven't eaten breakfast yet. We are sitting here meal planning and getting shopping list together. I guess this is one of those days we will be fasting for breakfast and then eating brunch??? According to keto guidelines you should fast intermittently, so I guess this morning is our fasting time. So for those of you who don't know me well, meal planning for the week is nothing new for my lovely bearded hubby and I. We have been doing this since we started Paleo over 4 years ago. I found this great meal plan/shopping list at Target once and so that is what we used to decide on meals for the week and then make a grocery list for the week. It is super handy. Now days its easy to find printable versions of this notepad on some Paleo websites. I think Nom Nom Paleo has one. You can find lots of meal planning printable here and here.

In the beginning of our Paleo journey we were on a strict budget, so we purchased 2 good Paleo cookbooks and would search the Google for more ideas. Then on Friday or Saturday we would go out to eat and would bring our books and notes with us and sit and look up recipes and decide which ones to try and then we would make our shopping list so we were ready to go on Sunday for shopping. People looked at us so strange when we pulled out cookbooks at the table in a restaurant. But I think they were pleasantly surprised when they realized what we were doing with those books and notepad. It also helps a lot that my husband is completely on board with eating Paleo and now eating Keto. I don't have to explain to him my issues with gluten causing joint pains and stomach issues. I don't have to try to explain to him that milk products of any kind give me migraines, and then sinus infections and horrible heart burn. He believes me. He gets it and he doesn't question it. It is also nice that he shares in my successes and failures.
Like this morning, brunch/lunch was a total failure! We decided to go to this taco place that has great tacos and see if we could create a keto meal here. FAIL! ha ha ha! We ordered the Migas Royale Plate. Then the poor guy behind the counter had to completely modify my plate. First, no tortillas, then there were 3 kinds of cheese we had to eliminate on the plate, then potatoes gotta go too. Then added some bacon for extra protein and fat. When our plates came out, the eggs had tortilla strips cooked into them. Duh... Migas! Oh well. We did the best we could to pick the tortillas out of the migas. At least we tried. Guess we should strike this place off the list for places we can eat Keto for now.
Eating out is so difficult sometimes. We have had to sacrifice so much when it comes to eating out and enjoying our time doing things outside the house. I am tired of being "that person" at restaurants who has to pick apart the menu to find foods I can eat. But it is our life and we are getting better. I have to say, living where we live we have a lot of great options and its nice that the Paleo craze is really starting to influence the types of new restaurants opening up in big cities. I have to say the hardest thing about living gluten free and dairy free is when we travel on road trips. But we are learning more and more each time we travel. Going home to see family we know that my Mom will have a pantry full of GF pancake mix for breakfast and maybe some GF cookie mix and GF cornbread mix. She doesn't understand all the Paleo stuff, but at least she understands the gluten free issues and how important that is for us. There is a new Whole Foods and Trader Joes just on the edge of her neighborhood, so I can easily run to the store to grab DF milk or other items we might need while we are there. Bonus, my Mom is an excellent cook and a healthy cook, so there are always lots of options for us to eat without feeling left out at any meal in her home.
When we went to Colorado for a road trip a year and a half ago, we planned ahead. We took a huge cooler packed with DF milk, GF cereal for breakfasts, GF bread and about 6 large Gourmaleo Paleo pre-made meals, fruit, snacks and a bunch of other stuff I cant remember. We were going to be getting up early and spending entire days at The Tiny House Jamboree with friends, so even though we didn't keep to a strict Paleo diet the entire time we were on vacation, we were fine with eating a little of the rails. It was also very budget friendly for us to bring more then half of our meals with us. We always get back on track when we get home from any trip.

So anyways, we have our shopping done for today. And we have taken our walk before cooking dinner. 1.15 miles this evening around the hood. Dinner was a pretty good success, and the awesome bearded hubby is now washing dishes while I finish up this blog early so I can get to bed on time tonight. Although, it really doesn't matter much if I go to bed now or in 3 hours, because inevitably I will still hit the snooze button 10 times and roll out of bet about 5 minutes before I should leave for work. Maybe I should go ahead and take my shower tonight, so that's one less thing to think about in the morning...

OK, before I go I will share with you our Dinner menu for the week.
Sunday - Skillet Chicken Sausage and Vegetables
Monday - Cobb Salad
Tuesday - Garlic Shrimp and Zoodles
Wednesday - Sheet Pan Pork Chops
Thursday - Burger Bowls
Friday - Chicken Enchilada Bowl (same as last week, yummy!)
Saturday - Date Night for our Anniversary at Feed Company

Good night y'all. Thank you for reading. Thank you for your support. God bless you all.
Cece

This was meal prep for tonights dinner. I am still learning how to add photos. So hopefully I will be able to add some more in my next blog posts. 

Being accountable to myself

So this is where I start to get serious about being accountable to myself. I am going to log some of my meals, some of my stats for fats/proteins/carbs, and report on the challenges and successes of eating out while eating Keto. Not sure yet what my organization is going to be for this, or weather I will stick with the same thing from week to week. We will just have to see how this evolves. 

So my start to Keto was this week, Monday 3/19/2018. My nutritionist asked me to start keeping a food diary. Are you serious??? I couldn't even keep up with my little Anne Frank Diary with the little lock on it when I was 8 years old, and now I have to keep a food diary??? Well, I wont bore you with every single day and every single meal... but I will do my best to give a good idea of what I am doing and if its working or not. Please, if you are more experienced with Keto, feel free to leave me suggestions and comments. But please remember, I am under a nutritionists guidance for this, and she has her own way of doing things. Also, be nice. If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all. I am by no means an expert at this or many other things in life. There is enough hate and bullying in the world. I would like this to be a positive place for me and others. So here we go...

Monday

• Breakfast: 1 cup almond milk, 1 scoop Slim & Sassy V Shake from Doterra, 1 Scoop Intest Restore Vanilla from Energy Health, scrambled egg. 

This went pretty well, although I need to use more almond milk in my shake and I am not sure about the scrambled egg. I only ate half because I was just not hungry for it. But I need to get some more fat into this breakfast. I included the link for the Doterra V Shake. I am a Doterra consultant, so I would love if you purchased from me, however you can order from whomever you like. This just happens to be the protein powder I had in my pantry this week and next week might be something totally different. According to my nutritionist, the macros for this particular shake were ok for what she is wanting me to consume, so I thought it was a good opportunity to use it up. If your curious about essential oils in general or Doterra, feel free to ask me questions or shoot me an email.

• Lunch: Chicken Swedish Meatballs from Ikea (don't laugh, its what was left over from dinner this weekend and not a normal item for us), roasted sliced zucchini,  sweet potato tots (again, leftovers gotta eat them), 1cup blueberries raw, 1 cup green tea.

This went pretty well. I know sweet potatoes are not on the menu for Keto, but they were left over in the fridge and we were trying to finish them off. 

• Dinner: Home made cobb salad, with paleo dressing. mixed greens, bacon, hard boiled eggs, chicken fingers seasoned and cooked in skillet, chopped red pepper and avocado. Here is the link for the Whole30 Paleo Cobb Salad recipe with dressing too.

This went well. I will try to find the link for this salad and post it here for you. We use Primal Kitchen Mayo which is paleo friendly. For all you taking Metformin out there, my mom says mayo gives her tummy troubles, but this mayo doesn't seem to do the same to me. It seems to be pretty safe. 

• Snacks: I had a handful of dry roasted and salted sunflower seeds when I got home from work, as well as 1cup almond milk with 1 scoop of Collagen Fuel Chocolate Coconut flavored.  (this was mostly because I was starving and didn't snack well today. The collagen fuel makes a nice sweet snack. This may become a staple in the cabinet from now on.)

So my first day went well, but of course there were things I need to work on. This was also the first day using the My Fitness Pal app to track all my foods. It was surprisingly easy to enter foods. After playing around with the app I decided to do the 30 day trial for the full version to see if it would help with measuring protein, fat and carb content in my meals. OMG, its totally worth the upgrade! I will post some screen shots here to show you how awesome it is. I love the graphs, and the macros that it shoes me. I am still learning how to use the app, but its really helpful. 
So as the week went on, my breakfast is pretty much the same. I think I ate an egg on Tuesday as well before drinking my smoothie. However, on Thursday and Friday, I opted to add a spoonful of almond butter to my smoothie instead of eating an egg. I am super sleepy in the mornings. No matter how well I sleep, I have a lot of trouble getting out of bed. So I need my breakfast during the week to be super easy and fast, otherwise my husband will have to take over making breakfast for me and he already does most of the house work and chores, so I feel bad making him get up early to make me breakfast too. 
I am a super lucky girl. I really don't deserve my husband. He is amazing and I am beyond grateful that he has joined me on this journey. What I eat, he eats. Although he does not need to loose as much weight as me, so his snacks and breakfasts may look a tad different then mine. 

I wont bore you with every detail of every day of my meals. Breakfast is mostly the same for me as stated previously, my lazy ass is still half asleep while making breakfast in the mornings. Lunches most days will be left overs from the night before. Although this week was a little different. I did eat out a couple of times for lunch and made a few mistakes in ordering, but I didn't beat myself up about it, because what is life without mistakes. Life is messy and I won't allow myself to feel guilty or unsuccessful for making one mistake or 10 mistakes on this meal plan. If you allow yourself to feel guilty every time you make a mistake while trying to make dramatic changes to your eating habits, you are setting yourself up for failure in my opinion. This is where the door opens to say to yourself, "well I messed up again, I can't do this. May as well eat that piece of cake I wanted." 
Well, that's not how I roll. I don't dwell on the mistakes. I pick myself up each time and get back on the horse immediately so to speak. That is how I learn from my mistakes and move forward. 
So here goes the rest of the week in a nutshell:

Tuesday

• Dinner: burger bowls. Simple paleo meal. Make hamburger patties, toss on your favorite salad and dress it anyway you see fit within the guidelines of paleo/keto. 

Wednesday

• Dinner: I was at a friends house working on a super secret crafty quilting and crochet project for super special new mom. So we were working late and went to dinner at one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants. I ordered what is essentially a Korean beef Bolgogi bowl (no clue if I am even spelling that correctly). I had them hold the rice and give extra veggies. This was not the worst but also not the best meal for me for 2 reasons. 1. there were carrots in the veggies which is not really a compliant food for keto and 2. the meat is prepared in an Asian sauce that I believe has some soy sauce which resulted in my feet swelling to the point I had cankles by the time I got home. Opps. Live and learn. But darn it if I don't love that menu item!

Thursday

• Lunch: crazy work day, so I ate at the same restaurant as dinner last night. I ordered the orange chicken bowl this time no carrots, no rice, add extra chicken and a fried egg. This was a way better meal for me, although the sauce is still pretty sweet tasting so probably not the most compliant thing for Keto. Again, live and learn. 
• Dinner: Keto Tuscan Chicken substitute the cream and Parmesan cheese for dairy free equivalents. This recipe is awesome!

Friday

• Dinner: Keto Chicken Enchilada Bowl This recipe was super easy and fast to make and ridiculously yummy! OMG, this recipe reminds me of my days in West Texas eating real Mexican border food! We even fried up a couple of eggs real quick to throw on top just like my friend Michelle taught me one night in her kitchen making real traditional enchiladas. This recipe won't disappoint if your looking for a good compliant Mexican dish!

Saturday

• Lunch: There is a nice new little eatery that opened up about 1 block from my house. So I ran down there to catch up with a friend who checked in there at lunch. I didn't anticipate eating there, but as I watched their food come out I decided I could make a keto meal there. This place is called Grassroots Kitchen and Oh my gerd! Its good stuff. I love that one of the chef's is also GF and DF do she understands my dietary issues. I ordered brisket, hold the corn bread, hold the sauce. Sides included collards and sauteed spinach with garlic. I could have also gotten cole slaw, but I figured most cole slaw has a spoon full of sugar in the dressing, so I opted for the safer spinach. I had a lovely lunch catching up with my former co-worker and her family and also with the chef's of this tiny neighborhood restaurant. 
• Dinner: My lovely bearded husband was busy working hard on finishing our fence all day. So by the time I got home from a fundraising party for the lovely Winker couple and their Mission trip, It was after 6pm and no one felt like cooking. So we went to eat at one of our favorite dinner spots, Mudhen. Its a locally owned farm to table restaurant. We both had the Loco Moco which is basically a burger bowl, but somehow always tastes better when someone else prepares it. 

So that's about it for today. I started out this journey at 280# about a month ago. And as of Friday morning the scale read 268.5# I know that number will fluctuate a little more before we see it stay below 270, but I am pretty happy about this baby step. If you have read this far, then I hope you will read again soon. Thank you for following me on this journey. Thank you for your support and positive encouragement. I hope you have a wonderful evening. 

God bless you and goodnight. 

Cece

I have never really done a blog. I have never even been able to keep a diary or journal. I don't know why. I am just not good or consistent with such things. But somehow now it seems that this may be the most important time in my life to try to be consistent at keeping a blog. So I am going to do it here. In public. Where the whole world can see. Maybe I will even get a follower, or two. Maybe that will help me be more accountable to myself and therefore more motivated to keep up with this. So let's begin...

Age: 41 years 11 months

Weight: 280# as of February 2018

Size 18-20 in pants and 2X tops

Mood: grumpy

Sleep: I feel like no matter how much I sleep its never enough. 

Motivation: very little

So not sure where to start, but I will give the shortest version I can on where the PCOS part comes together for me. I started my cycle at or around 11 years old. From the moment it started, I was never regular. I always suffered very heavy and painful cycles. Although, my mom suffered way worse, so in her eyes, my cycles looked normal to her. I was also always a little fluffy. Never the skinny fit girl. Never athletic. 

Fast forward many years more of the same. My weight in high school was around 160# when I had Mononucleosis and was terribly ill. I ended high school around 180# and fluctuated from 180 - 200# throughout college. During Graduate school I became very very ill almost from the start. I had migraines weekly, and lots of sinus infections (which was the norm for me growing up as well). I felt sick and dragging all the time. At one point we discovered the apartment I lived in had some significant mold issues, so I moved to a cleaner safer apartment. That was when I was so ill, no doctor could figure out what was wrong with me. 

So during college I became pregnant. No babies... Still, no doctors ever considered that my cycles, weight gain, and miscarriage could be related. 

Over the years I took birth control to regulate my periods, but they still were not normal. Some pills were better then others. But I still got pregnant while taking the pill. Looking back now, I can see that the reason I got pregnant was because the pills raised my progesterone so that I could ovulate. Unfortunately, it was not enough to keep me pregnant. 

So about 2 years ago I went to a new doctor since I was living in new city. He was the first person to ask me (without prompting) if I had ever been diagnosed with PCOS. He ordered blood work and an internal ultrasound on day 21 to see if I had any cysts on my ovaries. Well it took more then 6 months to get the results. This doctor never followed up with me. I finally walked into the office to track down my own results. They confirmed cysts on one ovary and evidence of burst cysts on the other. Awesome! Finally a diagnosis... or so I thought. The doctors notes still indicated he didn't think that I had PCOS. I walked out and never looked back. So here we are today. Last month I finally took a chance and went to a new doctor/nurse practitioner. She comes recommended by many who have PCOS. So I took a chance. OMG! I love her. She ran blood work and listened to my entire medical history and she confirmed that I do actually have PCOS! Thank you sweet baby Jesus! 

Verdict: PCOS, Hypothyroid (low T3), Significant Vitamin D deficiency and mild Vitamin B12 deficiency (I have MTFHR genetic mutation) and of course... I am obese. Big fat freaking surprise there!

So let me back up a tiny bit and give you a 10 year condensed update: I figured out through trial and error and some natural practitioners advice that I am/was/aways have been allergic to milk and eliminated 90% of milk from my diet 10 years ago and 100% 5 years ago. I also had a little birdy, aka mentor/friend telling me to go gluten free. I finally listened to her 10 years ago and was 90% gluten free 10 years ago. About 6 years ago went 100% gluten free. About 5 years ago earlier this month, I met my future husband. He had recently begun a gluten free diet as well and had huge benefits. We discussed and agreed that as soon as we moved in together (3 months later) we would live, eat and breathe a Paleo diet. We were very successful and worked well meal planning, packing lunches and sticking to 80/20 paleo diet. We have even completed a couple of Whole30 cycles in the last 5 years. None of these diet changes ever resulted in me loosing weight... I repeat. None of these diet changes resulted in loosing weight!

Back to 2018 and today. The plan. 

First my Nurse practitioner started me on some supplements and prescriptions:

Formin (aka Natrual Metformin) 2 pills with breakfast, 1 pill with dinner

2 Vitamin D supplements 4x per week

Vitamin B complex 2 pills Daily

Cytomel (aka Liothyronine) 1pill 2x per day for thyroid function

Progesterone (natrual RX) days 10-28 of cycle at night

Last week I went to the Functional Medicine/Nutritionist practitioner that my nurse practitioner referred me to see. Conveniently, they are in the same office. This nutritionist actually has an incredible understanding of PCOS and the body and how it functions! OMG! I love this lady! 

So adding to the above plan and long story short. Keto diet is recommended and the most ideal diet for almost all with PCOS to loose weight. Makes sense... probably the only time I have intentionally lost weight was when I did South Beach Diet phase 1 (which is basically Keto). But the rest of South Beach did not do anything for me. 

So here I am. Week one Keto. Its been an adventurous week. Not too difficult since the hubs and I already eat Paleo and we have absolutely no junk food in the house. We are only having to give up a few of our favorite foods like sweet potatoes, and white potatoes. We have a few favorite restaurants that have gluten free bread or dairy free gluten free deserts, so we indulge from time to time. So this week has been a learning experience. We have had some successes and some failures. I will sum it up with this: Keto when our allergic to diary is a little more difficult, but not impossible; protein smoothies and other keto smoothies are your friend and will definitely help with the sweets cravings; Fitness Pal app is worth the investment to pay for the full version so you can set your daily intake goals, track your food and it shows you graphs that help people like me visualize the successes and failures daily. 

This may be a little abrupt, but I am going to stop here for tonight and hopefully this weekend I will get back on with a little more details on how we started figuring out how to eat on Keto and I will be using this as a way to help me do some of my diet tracking. 

If you have read all the way to this point, I'm shocked and a little excited that my little journal has intrigued you this much. 

ta ta for now,

Cece