Trying not to eat my emotions

WARNING: Trigger post.
This post contains some information about a rather traumatic experience. Some of the details my be hard for some to read.

It's Friday the 13th. You would think that today is the creepy day, the day for all bad things to happen. But I think yesterday was the bad day for me. Yesterday morning started like any other. I got up and made my morning protein shake. I high tailed it out the door because as usual, I am running late and super tired and just want to crawl back into bed. I drove to one of my schools to clock in for the day. I got back in the car and doubled back a little to get to the nearest safe gas station. I pumped some gas and got some coffee. This put me exiting the station going a slightly different direction then I usually drive, but no big deal. I start driving the back streets to downtown towards my office. I got within a few blocks down the street of my destination and out of the corner of my eye I see a poof of smoke and notice a red car has crashed into a pole about 1/4 mile ahead of me. As I approach, I instinctively pull over safely and call 911. I watch as I am waiting for the operator to take my call and see the driver door fly open and a thin woman falls out of the drivers door onto the sidewalk and starts screaming in pain. Then I see the passenger side window goes down and another woman falls out of the passenger window onto the street. She also starts screaming and trying to crawl away from the car. I finish my call to 911 and immediately rushed over to where the passenger is now on the same side of the road as I am with several bystanders. I summed her up quickly, no obvious signs of blood gushing, no obvious broken bones. I asked if there was anyone else in the car and she says "yes" but cant answer any of my other questions. As I walked over to the car, I noticed the front seat is pushed all the way forward and it appears the passenger who got out of the car came from the back seat, not the front seat. Now I think there may be someone in the front seat. To my horror, there is! There was no more then about 6-10" of space between the dash board and the back of the headrest. All I could see was the back of this woman's head. The airbag was covering her face. I could see her head moving and was afraid she was trying to move intentionally. So I immediately called 911 back and told them there was a trapped passenger. Then I focused on this woman. I put my hand on her head and reassured her that I was there. I patted her shoulder gently and told her not to move. I told her I have help on the way. The horn of the car was blaring and nothing anyone could to to shut it off. It was loud and nerve wracking. I was trying hard to keep my cool and asses what I could do to help this woman. I pushed the airbag out of the way and that allowed her to breathe a little better. I realized after a few minutes, she was not consciously trying to move, but her head was moving when she breathes. I continued to talk to her and comfort her just in case she can hear me. Just in case she is scared. Just in case she can feel something anything. But I hope and pray that she can't feel a thing. You see in all those long minutes, I noticed a few things. I can see this woman's head and partial face. I can see her right arm and appears she may have a broken finger on her right hand. Its what else I can see that is so disturbing and heart wrenching. I can see her feet, or a foot, but I think its both of them. They are up by her face. Yes, I see her head and feet all squished up against the dash and airbag. So I know that this woman is folded in half. I know that even though there is no blood, this woman is critically and probably fatally injured. And I pray that she cant feel a thing. You see, I am a medical professional. I understand body mechanics, physiology and anatomy. I know that the position this woman is in, it would be near impossible to survive the impact that she has clearly suffered. Someone behind me has said, lets get this woman out, lets get this door open. But I shouted back, NO.

We are leaving her right where she is. I know that anything we try to do, may make it worse. No one else needs to see a dying woman like this. So I continued to block other peoples view of the front seat as I was bent over the woman. I continued to talk to her and stroke her head and shoulder just in case she can hear me. I did this until the paramedics arrived in the first ambulance. As soon as the first paramedic gets out of his rig, I tell him that the woman has just stopped breathing. I told him she was breathing until just this moment when they arrived. She just stopped, just now. And I got out of the way so they could do their work. I directed the two people behind me to move away and let them work, there was nothing more I could do for her. [That is me in the long blue sweater bent over at passenger door]
I turned my attention to the driver who is still screaming and trying to get up. She clearly has an open fracture on her right ankle with tibia and fibula protruding. She wasn't making much sense. She could tell me her name, Pauline, but not much else. She couldn't tell me her friends name. She didn't know the back seat passenger either. She was just giving her a ride. By now there was only one ambulance and one fire truck and they were focused on trapped passenger because she was critical. I was surprised that they managed to get her out with out having to cut the car as initially thought, and immediately on the gurney they were performing full CPR and compressions as they wheeled her into the ambulance and drove away quickly. The driver was distraught as anyone would be in that situation. She was trying to crawl away and did not want to go to the hospital. It was quite chaotic trying to keep her calm so paramedics could now focus on getting her leg wrapped up and splinted and on a backboard. She became combative a little. Paramedics were quick and gentle with her. They got her onto backboard at which time I stepped away and now turned my attention to the other passenger who was across the street. She said her name was Porsche. She didn't know these ladies very well. She was asleep in the back seat and they were just giving her a ride. She was just trying to get home. Porsche had a significant gash on her right lower leg with bone exposed. She wasn't gushing blood and it was not clear if any bones were broken, but paramedics were able to finally attend to her and get her leg wrapped up. She also tried to become combative and wanted to leave as soon as her leg was bandaged. Paramedics persisted and she was put onto a backboard with head and neck stabilized and also loaded up into an ambulance. 
Once all 3 victims were loaded up, I could breathe again. There is nothing more I can do here. I didn't really see the accident. So I cant really give a statement other then to tell officers the condition of the woman in the front seat. The scene was finally beginning to clear. The first witness to the accident and I chatted briefly and exchanged stressed but compassionate looks as not many others can understand in that moment. I felt like I needed to do more, but there were police and firefighters and ambulances all around, so nothing more for me to do but leave. When I go to the office, one of my coworkers had driven by the scene and seen me there. She was so worried and had already alerted my supervisor where I was. They were worried for me and we talked about what happened in the work room. My co-workers are all health professionals like me. We are OT's and PT's so we have seen some pretty scary stuff in our careers. No one was grossed out, all were shocked and concerned for my well being. I tried to concentrate at work, but that wasn't happening so at lunch time, I left to get something to eat and didn't come back to work. I took the afternoon off for my own mental health. As I was driving away from the office, I passed the scene of the accident again and flagged down an officer who was there investigating. He could not give me an update on the trapped woman. I still don't know her name. He just said that there was an investigation now and that other investigators would be by to take pictures and interview witnesses. I got back in my car in front of the bank and a woman came out and spoke to me. She recognized me from earlier that morning at the accident scene. She and all her co-workers actually witnessed the accident from inside the bank. She informed me that another investigator had already been by the bank to interview witnesses and review any video the bank surveillance cameras might have caught of the accident. The investigator confirmed that the trapped front seat passenger had passed away. The driver was going to be charged for her death. I can't say that I was surprised. Based on what I witnessed and my experience, I knew there was little chance that this woman would survive. Still, it was even more gut wrenching. So I continued on to look for somewhere to get some lunch. I was getting hungry. I had exerted so much energy already this morning. I was headed toward my neighborhood but could not think of a good place for a keto compliant lunch. Where do I go? All I want right now is a piece of chocolate cake. Maybe I should turn around and head to the gluten free bakery. But that is too much sugar. I don't want to kick myself out of ketosis right now. Is this what emotional eating is like? Is this what people feel when they "eat their feelings"? OMGosh! Am I an emotional eater? Wow, the hungrier I get, the more I am craving chocolate and sugar. WOW. What is the quickest, easiest place I can order a keto compliant meal. Chipotle is safe. Lets go there. Its not close by, but I gotta do what I gotta do. So I head off to get some lunch. I asked for a bowl to go, no rice, fajita veggie, chicken with extra chicken and salsa and guacamole. "Do you want chips and a drink with that, ma'am?" the guy says. YES! OMG chips sound amazing! I really want chips! "No, thank you." I answered. I payed for my meal and exited as fast as I could. I know if I stay and eat here, that I will cave and get the chips. They smell so good. I got in my car and parked in a quiet spot in front of  DSW Shoe Warehouse. I ate my lunch in quiet. I am still craving sugar, but its a little better now that I have eaten something. I am looking at the shoe store and I think to myself I really need some new shoes and I have that birthday coupon. May as well. So I entered the store and about an hour later, exited with 2 new pairs of shoes. Well, at this point I have already texted my supervisor to let her know I wont be back to work today. I am taking the rest of the day off. So since I am never in this shopping complex, I decide to take advantage. I head on over to Hobby Lobby and wonder the isles looking at yarn... my other obsession. I could spend hours here, and I did. I spent the next 2 hours wondering up and down, touching and looking at yarn. I picked out a few things including a few bows for a friends baby girl. I would have liked to buy more, but really I already have all the yarn I need at home for my current projects and much much more. I did eat a bite of dark chocolate that was in the pantry. The small piece of chocolate bar when broken down by macros was still within my daily limit for carbs, fats and proteins. So while it has sugar, it was not enough to make a huge impact on my overall daily intake. I still wish it was a cupcake. But between the chocolate and the shake, I am holding my own and fighting the urges to cheat today. Besides, this weekend is my birthday. Remember my previous post. Birthdays are for celebrating and enjoying. So I am going to get my favorite gluten free pancakes at this little cafe up north of here for my birthday splurge. I am pretty sure that this pancake platter will totally kick me out of ketosis. So I am thinking about how to handle that. I may have to buckle down next week and keep more strictly to my calories and macros. I see a lot of protein shakes in my future. 
So I headed home to let the dogs out and prep dinner for the hubby since it is his late night and I had an appointment later. I enjoyed a few minutes of peace and quiet at home. I still craved chocolate, so I finally made a Primal Kitchen Chocolate Collagen shake to take the edge off. I prepped the steak and broccolini for dinner. I covered them and left it on the counter. I am determined to stick to the diet. As much as I want a cupcake right now, I am not going to give in to temptation. I cant help but let my mind wonder to all the foods that sound so good right now. Is this what it is like for food addicts? Am I a food addict? I don't understand this. It was a stressful day. But I got through it. I did a good deed, I am fine emotionally. Just a little stressed. Why do I keep thinking about food? Why cant I just bury myself in my crochet project until its time to leave for my appointment? 
 I don't know. I don't have all the answers. I just know that I am going to do my best to just chill out and relax. I feel like if I give in for this, then where does it stop? If I say its ok to cheat today, then what about tomorrow when I have a bad day at work and some parent or teacher yells at me for something I have no control over? What about when that guy in the loud car is racing down the street, almost hits me and then honks at me as though its my fault? There is always that guy! Always a crazy driver on the streets in my neighborhood. They get my blood boiling daily. What if there was a death in the family? What if? What if...??? There will always be something that stresses us out. We have become a very reactionary culture. Something bad happens, we eat. Something good happens, we eat. Holidays, we eat. We are not the only culture to eat for every occasion. Lots of other cultures do the same. So what is the difference? Why are Asian cultures typically healthier then Americans? Because they eat healthier foods. So what does this mean for me today. It means I have to work that much harder under stress to break this habit of turning to unhealthy foods when stress happens. I feel like I succeeded today. At least mostly.

SoI knew I needed to process this incident in a healthy way. I have been trying to get motivated to work on the meditation exercises that my nutritionist has been recommending. So by happy coincidence I had already scheduled a Reiki and meditation session with a friend in the neighborhood for yesterday evening. It was a wonderful productive session. I will have to share that experience in a new blog post. 

If you are still reading this, then I want to say thank you. I know this was a difficult post to read. It was even harder for me to write. So thank you. Thank you for your support on this journey. 

I would like to send a special Thank you to my dear friend, Wes Texas who wrote a blog about this incident and a similar experience that he and his lovely bride went through. Thank you Wes! Love you like a brother from another mother! If you would like to read his blog you can find it here at  Desert Hot Air.


God bless you all and keep you safe.
Cece

To the woman who passed away in this vehicle on 4/12/2018 around 9:15 am. May God heal your wounds, wipe your tears and welcome you through the glorious gates of Heaven. May God show mercy, grace and forgiveness for the driver of this vehicle, Pauline who was intoxicated. I pray that Pauline will know God's grace and feel his love and forgiveness so that she can forgive herself for this terrible tragedy. Sending love and light to all 3 women, their families and the first responders and good Samaritans who were all involved in this scene today.

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