January. The Cruelest Month? Or Just the Weirdest?

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Something weird is going on with me. Or inside me. Or maybe something is going on with the rest of the universe and it's just showing up on my scale. Because that's a thing, right? The universe conspires to consternate us, or at least me, and edge my weight up for no discernible reason. Again.

Don't misunderstand. I'm happy and content with my weight. Let me type that again. .... I'm happy and content with my weight. This is no small thing for a woman who has been unhappily overweight for over 30 years. But having started following the ketogenic diet and successfully losing more weight than I ever allowed myself to believe was possible, I'm in a good place.

My scale? It's in a weird place. Success of any sort is never without turns in the road, challenges and surprises. And even as my weight has come slowly, gradually and steadily down, it has ticked up, then down, then up, then lingered in one place. This is the life cycle of weight loss.

Over the last week or so, though, has been more 'not a straight downward trajectory' than usual. This got me to wondering. I'm in ketosis. My blood sugar is perfect. No foods not on the allowed list (except some ill-advised packets of cashews. Wrong, wrong, wrong.) But in general, I've been doing what I've done all along. So what gives?

Thank goodness I have what must be the longest running daily weight log in the surrounding seven counties. I looked back at the last time I had an unexplained weight gain after having reached a new low. Turns out it was this exact time last year. January. Could be a coinkeedink. Could be seasonal. Or could be the universe messing with me. 'Cause the universe has nothing better to do these days...

Moral of the story? If your weight loss or whatever goals you have are challenged, step back and analyze why. You owe it to yourself to not give up. Keep on keeping on, to cite a worn out phrase. Keep the faith, to repeat a more spiritual ad soulful one. 

Now, roll tape...

A couple of observations about my own situation and suggestions for others. Success is never in a straight line. For more information on the ketogenic diet and links to products used in this video, see below.

Disclaimer: I’ve been fortunate to have had the time and resources to research the ketogenic diet, also known as LCHF (low carb/high fat). The information I share is based solely on my understanding of that research. We are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths and there’s no substitute for each of us checking things out ourselves. And I’m not a medical professional in any way. Go Keto With Casey is not a medical site. “Duh,” you might say. But best to make it clear to all.  I welcome questions, comments and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, if you have something to add, go for it. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links. Thanks!

 

Missed My Goal. Shrug. I Made a New One.

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If you read this post about my bold move to set what I thought might be my last weight loss goal over the last couple of months, you will know the quest was optimistic. And the progress was pretty awful. The scale has had more ups and downs than kids at a trampoline park. And since I update my weightless spreadsheet daily, and since the target date of January 8, 2017 has come and gone, there's a new chart. Started this morning.

Now, I know some of you have just read more about math and charts than you care to, so I'll move on. The point is that missing a goal ain't nothing but a thing, as we say in the South. My weight ended up lower, albeit it much less than I had aimed for, than when I started this most recent leg of my decades-long, spreadsheet documented quest to lose weight. In fairness to myself, it was an aggressive goal. I was feeling full of myself because I had just lost 9.1 pounds over the month of October. That in itself was kind of outrageous. I hadn't lost that much in a month since starting the ketogenic (low carb/high fat) diet in January of 2014. But I had been flying solo here in the house for that month whilst Lovely Mate was out of the country. It's amazing how often we eat just because food is around or because it smells good.

"So", says I to myself, "why not go for broke, jump two segments on your massive spreadsheet and make this your last goal?" (More math talk but these goals are all based on several complex formulas that even I don't remember the reasoning behind. I just love formulas!) "And while you're at this", I continued, "make it by January 8, the anniversary of when you started this whole thing!" 

That's how I managed to set myself up with a goal to lose more weight than I had ever lost in the shortest time frame. AND go through the holidays to boot. Brilliant! What could go wrong?

Actually, nothing did go wrong. I lost a bit of weight, 2.7 pounds, not 14.3 pounds. And I went down another size in my last StitchFix shipment (see this post). All good. I simply didn't hit a goal.

My Keto Anniversary. For more information on the ketogenic diet, see below. ☞ SEE MY WEIGHT CHANGE CHART: http://caseydurango.com/my-next-goal ☞ READ MORE AT MY BLOG: http://caseydurango.com ☞ FOLLOW MY FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/ketocasey/ ☞ INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/CaseyDurango/ ☞ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/CaseyDurango

So, what now? 

A new goal, of course! This one more realistic and without me circumventing my spreadsheet's formulas. It clearly knows better than I. The new goal is to lose 5.8 pounds by March 6. We'll see how that goes.. I've missed several over the course of these three years. Missed some by a little, some by a bit more, made some with time to spare. Here's the thing, in the many years of trying to lose weight before starting the ketogenic diet, I never made one goal. Not one. I would try to lose 10 pouds. Whiff. 5 pounds? Nope. One year I just wanted to lose 1 pound a month. I put on 1.2 pounds.

So even when I 'missed' goals over these last three years, I always ended up that segment lower than I started. Always there has been progress. Slow? Perhaps. But progress. As I sit here today, lighter than I was on this day last year, much lighter than the year before that and 92.1 pounds lighter than when I started, I'll take progress for progress' sake. And if I never lose another ounce, I'm the happiest person you're likely to encounter. Keep the faith. And maybe start yourself a spreadsheet! 

Disclaimer: I’ve been fortunate to have had the time and resources to research the ketogenic diet, also known as LCHF (low carb/high fat). The information I share is based solely on my understanding of that research. We are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths and there’s no substitute for each of us checking things out ourselves. And I’m not a medical professional in any way. Go Keto With Casey is not a medical site. “Duh,” you might say. But best to make it clear to all.  I welcome questions, comments and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, if you have something to add, go for it. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links. Thanks!

Snow and Thoughts on Bulletproof Coffee

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It's currently snowing in our part of the world. Lovely Mate and I are happily hunkered down, not needing to be anywhere or do anything. It's a nice snow. Although pretty deep, it's light and fluffy. Our power is on, we have loads of streaming options for our over-the-top, world's-largest-tv and a fire going. Plenty of supplies on hand. Not the "bread, milk and toilet paper" cliche that the South is known for at first mention of snow. No, we have bacon, heavy cream, mayo, ribeye and Maker's Mark. (That last is for me. He's all about the coffee).

And in regards to coffee, I've gotten lots of comments and questions about so called 'bulletproof coffee'. It's a concoction of coffee, and usually butter and/or coconut oil and/or cream. I wrote and made a video on the topic, here. I like bulletproof coffee. It's rich and tasty and extremely satisfying due to the very high fat content. It's also extremely dense, calorically. Due to the very high fat content.

All good, right? After all, the ketogenic (low carb/high fat) diet is all about fat, isn't it? It's right there in descriptor written in the parentheses! But hold up a second. The fact that when one follows the ketogenic diet, carbs are low and fat is high doesn't mean fats are limitless. It is more to differentiate that this is not a high protein diet. Protein needs to be moderate. (For how much is moderate, there's a formula that makes my head hurt, based on weight of lean body mass in kilograms.) For me? I eat about 3-4 ounces of protein most days. All of it from fatty sources like bacon, eggs, ribeye, sausages, cheeses, etc.,

The point is, keep carbs to about 20g per day, protein moderate and the rest is, by default, fat. If one only eats when hungry, (the most challenging part for me, as I speak to here) it won't necessarily translate into loads of fat in a day. Just that the fat percentage will be higher than the other two macronutrients (carbohydrate and protein).  Somehow there's gotten to be an idea out there that one has to load up on fat, as if eating thousands of calories of fat will trigger weight loss. No, the key is to lower carbs to the point that our systems start burning body fat for fuel. If we over eat - or drink - dietary fat, our body needn't turn to our reserved fat stores for fuel.

That said, bulletproof coffee can be a boon or those who need a good meal replacement. But if you're not getting the results you want, even with low carbs, look to whether you're fueling your body from without or from within.

Now, to binge watch some tv on this cold, snowy day...

Hunkered down for a rare snowstorm. Plus, thoughts on bulletproof coffee and 'buying' ketone products. For more information on the ketogenic diet, see below. ☞ SEE MY WEIGHT CHANGE CHART: http://caseydurango.com/my-next-goal ☞ READ MORE AT MY BLOG: http://caseydurango.com ☞ FOLLOW MY FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/ketocasey/ ☞ INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/CaseyDurango/ ☞ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/CaseyDurango ___________________________________________________________________ "Butter in Coffee?"

The Holidays Are Ending. May I Please Stop Eating Now?

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Ah, the holidays. That time of year when our better angels aspire to treat others with just that much more patience, cheer and kindness. Decorations, celebrations and traditions. Office parties and family gatherings. And food. Dear heaven the food. Obligatory, omnipresent and sometimes overwhelming food. Those of us who are trying to lose weight or get fit or improve our health face challenges all the year round, but the month of December is the mother lode of challenges. There's no way around it, only a way through it. And I indeed ate my way right on through the weekend of Christmas.

For me, avoiding foods that are not on the approved food list is not the hard part. As I've discussed here, eating only when hungry is. I've been getting better with that, asking myself, as I stand in front of the fridge, "What are you doing, dummy?" And my weight has continued to come down, incrementally. I even set up my plan-to-be last weight loss goal. And a wouldn't-it-be-cool date for that goal of January 8, 2017. That day in 2014 was when I started following the ketogenic (low carb/high fat) diet. I had just watched the video of Dr. Eric Westman and something clicked for me.

Well, looks like a new goal date is in order because starting with Christmas Eve brunch at a the home of friends and straight into Christmas dinner with our sons and daughters-in-law, I ate like a condemned person. I kept everything very low carb. I remained in ketosis. But up went my weight. With extreme prejudice. 5.2 pounds. Considering my 'new lows' are measured in 1/10 of a pound, 5.2 is a lot. Like, a real lot.

Never fear. It will reverse. But I don't expect it will be quick. And a difference with this weight gain compared to those in my prior dieting life is that I know the reason, I know the solution and there's no questioning whether the program works. Those niggling doubts about being the only person for whom a nutrition program doesn't work, about one's body being so far gone as to be irredeemable or that there's some secret being overlooked are not there. This works. I just need to get back to the very straight forward rules: keep carbs under about 20g/day, moderate protein and .... wait for it ... eat only when hungry.

Now, let's all spend the next 51 weeks enjoying freedom from the holidays!

[See information on watching the Periscope broadcast of the support group meeting mentioned in the video below]

Yup. Biggest weight gain I've had in a while. No mystery as to why, though. For more information on the ketogenic diet see below. ☞ SEE MY WEIGHT CHANGE CHART: http://caseydurango.com/my-next-goal ☞ READ MORE AT MY BLOG: http://caseydurango.com ☞ FOLLOW MY FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/ketocasey/ PERISCOPE BROADCAST Join us for a live stream Durham North Carolina Low Carb Support Group meeting tonight: Tuesday night, January 3, 6:30 pm Eastern Time (GMT-5).

PERISCOPE BROADCAST

Join us for a live stream Durham North Carolina Low Carb Support Group meeting tonight: Tuesday night, January 3, 6:30 pm Eastern Time (GMT-5). For those who attend, there is a possibility that your image/comments will make it into the live streaming. Please let us know if that is a problem. If you would like to watch, the following iphone apps are required: Twitter,Periscope. Be sure to go to Twitter and follow @drericwestman. Then at the meeting time, the livestream will appear in the Periscope app. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I’ve been fortunate to have had the time and resources to research the ketogenic diet, also known as LCHF (low carb/high fat). The information I share is based solely on my understanding of that research. We are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths and there’s no substitute for each of us checking things out ourselves. And I’m not a medical professional in any way. Go Keto With Casey is not a medical site. “Duh,” you might say. But best to make it clear to all.  I welcome questions, comments and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, if you have something to add, go for it. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links. Thanks!

More Before & After Photos. I Was SO Fat!

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I can't really write much about this now, I'll let the video speak for itself, as it were.

More befoe and after photos. I had no idea I looked like this. Thank goodness for the ketogenic diet! For more information on the ketogenic diet, see below. ☞ SEE MY WEIGHT CHANGE CHART: http://caseydurango.com/my-next-goal ☞ READ MORE AT MY BLOG: http://caseydurango.com ☞ FOLLOW MY FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/ketocasey/

 

Disclaimer: I’ve been fortunate to have had the time and resources to research the ketogenic diet, also known as LCHF (low carb/high fat). The information I share is based solely on my understanding of that research. We are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths and there’s no substitute for each of us checking things out ourselves. And I’m not a medical professional in any way. Go Keto With Casey is not a medical site. “Duh,” you might say. But best to make it clear to all.  I welcome questions, comments and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, if you have something to add, go for it. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links. Thanks!

- Casey