Adjustment Needed to Exit Plateau?

Humm, in May I lost 8#, in June 4#, and in July #2?? (Well, more or less--certainly nothing good is happening here at the end of July.) July has been my first month eating lunch and dinner at Garito Manor while making (or skipping) my own breakfast. Also, I pretty much haven't been logging because I'm trying to just 'live the Keto life.' I would have guessed that, if anything, I was as usual simply eating too many carbs. But I researched a bit this morning and came across a neat site--RuledMe.com, the Keto Diet and Weight Loss Plateaus. I recomputed my metrics using their rules and came up with a very similar set to what I was already using--a few more calories and a few more carbs.

So, if the metrics aren't that far off, what else could be the trouble? The article suggests a number of things to try. I wish I had an expert professional, a doctor?, who could help me decipher this stuff. I have the discipline, but the application is confusing. It seems pointless to resume logging when I have no control or knowledge of the ingredients and preparation of my food--except the 'chicken platter' which is 4oz plain ol' chicken breast and the beef brisket. So, I CAN try doing this in  August:

There is very, very little variety here. I can substitute a smaller amount of broccoli for the zucchini--actually I can substitute any vegetable they serve if I find out in advance how it compares to the zucchini. And I can substitute the beef for the chicken--except it tastes so awful without gravy...

Oh, well, we'll give it a shot.

Another Re-adjustment: Independent Living

So, I was doing well. On February 1 I moved to a new and challenging environment: independent living in New York. Independent living means you get your meals and housekeeping and some trips to stores, etc. I researched the place but really didn't know anything about Westchester County, NY, and ended up living in a place where I could not ride my bicycle or even walk much--very steep, narrow roads, lack of sidewalks and shoulders. So: no opportunity for exercise!! More challenging was the meals because I had no information or control of the preparation or ingredients. I nevertheless held my weight steady for the month, coming in at 209.

Unfortunately, because of a family emergency, I found myself essentially living in a hospital for a week, unable to control my meals in any way, and returned to my residence out of ketosis. I then spent the next several months trying to live within the constraints of the meals provided by the facility. I DID manage to not binge more than once but was unable to resist the overwhelming carbs available--sweet rolls, begels, creamcheese, dessert--and ended up gaining back seven pounds before I started back on ketosis on May 8. I had energy, so I usually walked downtown (cab back up the hill) at least once a week.

Back on ketosis, for breakfast I ate scrambled eggs with two pieces of Swiss cheese. Sometimes this came with sausage or bacon. I tried keeping heavy cream on hand in my tiny refrigerator, so was able to have cream in my coffee (the residence serves only half and half).

Lunch was difficult. I coulf have a half cup of chicken, tuna, or egg salad. I could have lunch meat--cotto salami, ham, or turkey. I could have a salad.

For dinner it was possible to get a baked quarter chicken (leg parts). The baked tilapia was disgusting. I could also get a well done hamburger patty (ick). I really stuck to the chicken because otherwise, the meals were carb heavy (pasta, rice, sauce).

Today I weigh 207 even and have crossed the 40% fat threshold in that I am at 39.8% body fat, so I guess I can't complain. However, I have zero energy.

On July 1 I'll be in a new residence facility where I will be cooking my own breakfast. Yea!! I'll be back to cooking eggs with coconut oil and eating bacon and a variety of cheese!!

I found this very interesting site which lists ways we can screw up our ketosis. Interestingly, one of them is counting calories, which, also interestingly, I had stopped doing a week or so ago. I figure I know what to eat and what n
ot to eat, and I'll just have to focus on the future, not today. However, I may just try their 1:1 coaching to see if I can fine-tune my life style.

One Month Review of New Attempt

I started a new keto diet on the first and lost 12 pounds so far. Not bad, but I stopped losing several days ago, so I am doing a re-calibration. I found this new site: http://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/# that--after calculating my metrics--told me to EAT MORE!! I was afraid that I wasn't eating enough. OK, so I plugged the new metrics into MyFitnessPal, and we'll see how it goes. Interestingly, the percentages are about the same, with a bit more protein (more in line with what I had the last time I did keto), but it adds 400 more calories to my daily consumption. I wonder how hard it will be to get enough calories and enough fat because my struggle is keeping carbs down--EVERYTHING contains carbs except coconut oil. Well, we'll see how it goes.

Devastating News!

Who'd think it? Working soooo hard to keep the carbs down. This morning I actually planned a nearly perfect day...

and then, for some reason, I took a look at the Equal sugarless gum that I eat constantly. What? Two carbs per stick?????????????????????? I probably eat 20 carbs of gum a day!!!!!!!!!! 

I immediately gave away my remaining packages of gum and made a quart of stevia-sweetened green tea. Oh my oh my. Well maybe this will improve my progress...........

adjusting protein percentage

Decided today to take another look at ketosis to verify that I'm doing it right. I'm losing weight, but it doesn't seem appropriate that I should have so little energy. So.

This is what I've been doing;

Oops! This is what Harvard Medical School had to say on a blog:

And here's the pertinent paragraph:

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is a modest 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. The RDA is the amount of a nutrient you need to meet your basic nutritional requirements. In a sense, it’s the minimum amount you need to keep from getting sick — not the specific amount you are supposed to eat every day.

To determine your RDA for protein, you can multiply your weight in pounds by 0.36, or use this online protein calculator. For a 50-year-old woman who weighs 140 pounds woman and who is sedentary (doesn’t exercise), that translates into 53 grams of protein a day.

OK, but I seem to recall that when I first set my percentages, I was told to use the weight I should be, not what I am. Sadly, therefore, when I used their 'online protein calculator' for my present age/weight, I was told 77g protein ('course it also said I should be eating about 1600 calories), but when I tried it with my age and 140 pounds, it came out 51 grams. So I think I'll go with that.

Waaaay different from 90!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be re-setting my chart, and we'll see what happens. I've been showing mild ketosis even though--according to this Medical News Today site--ketosis means 75% of your calories are from fat.

So, here is my current plan:

I think this is going to be a lot easier.

Ketosis is Mild

I've lost 10 pounds in three weeks and more importantly have achieved "mild" ketosis. So can't complain. I have used the same ol' method. MyFitnessPal allows me to display goals in percentages of nutrients, and I have selected the usual 90g protein (which is what is required by my ideal weight), and 15g carbs with the remaining calories of 1200 in fat.

I get almost all of my carbs from the vegetables in the Atkins frozen dinners. Even almonds and avocados have carbs in them; everything seems to contain carbs! So, much as I love vegetables and fruit, heck much as I love carbs! I don't get any. And here's another article on the benefits of low carbs.

I notice the same consequence as before: I have zero energy, but I don't need Prozac. Wierd.

Beef is the best thing to eat for high protein. Eggs and chicken and fillet of fish just don't cut it. Those Atkins dinners save me. I'm ready to go to The Fish Market and have a big steak of fish, but God protein is expensive.

I had a close call the other day with a temptation to go out for ice cream late in the day. Instead, I had a "snack" of cheese, salami, and olives. Finger food? Well, the temptation passed.

I also like to remember the picture of Gilbert Grape's mother. I really want to put her photo on the refrigerator.

I suspect I should up my carbs to 20, but I'm going to wait a couple more weeks.

...and ONE more time!!

After months of binging on carbs--B&J every day!!--I finally got back on the wagon. Two questions:

1. Why?
2. How long will I stay there?

Well, the Why? maybe hitting 223 on the scale, saying "wow, this is the most I've ever weighed." I always kinda feel like a little kid, cutting of my nose to spite my face. "It's not fair!" "I can do what I want!" "You can't make me!" Lots of anger and resentment. But finally my adult intelligence comes into play, and I think of Gilbert Grape's mother (Darlene Cates) again...

If you see yourself gaining a pound a day, how can you not realize that in less than a year you'll weigh 400# just like Darlene. Is B&J THAT good? Hell no! B&J really isn't even that good! (I'd started to prefer plain vanilla!!!)

My friend Bob Squared always said, to my great annoyance, "You'll feel better if you lose weight." But my problem with weight was that it has never had an effect on how I felt--psychologically. I KNEW losing weight would not make me feel better in the only way that mattered to me!!  Sweets make me feel better...at least for the length of time I feel sweetness in my mouth.So everyone knows that eating sweets makes a person feel good. (In desperation I resumed taking Prozac a month ago, so I haven't been feeling b*a*d, but neither was I ever feeling good.) Unfortunately, given the Gilbert Grape reality, I finally just decided I had to accept the need to 'suffer through it,' endure, pull up my socks, suck it up because what is, is. There's not much if anything I can do about how I feel given who I am (74, poor, single, neurotic, currently still unable to play tennis). It began to occur to me that maybe there would be something I could do about it IF I LOST 75#??

Somehow I began experiencing my PHYSICAL feelings. I still see myself as slim and strong, so that was difficult. I enjoy taking pictures of my fat self, but I don't think I ever recognize that person.

But I can't help but notice that that person can't sit on the floor to do yoga because of the knee, can't do downward dog in a Silver Sneakers SENIOR YOGA CLASS because of the knee and the toe, and hasn't played tennis (the only thing that has ever made me feel good) since January because of the knee. So PHYSICAL feelings are definitely becoming more relevant.

Goodness, I spent all those years lifting weights, but I can't lift 75#! But good grief, I'm CARRYING 75# AROUND WITH ME!!!! Maybe I really would feel better if I lost 75#...Maybe my knee really would get better if I made life easier for it by taking off some weight...Maybe I would be able to breathe more easily? 

So anyway last week, August 25, I threw away the remaining bread and the empty ice cream cartons, stocked up on Atkins frozen dinners, and started looking for ketosis again.

How long will it last this time? Who knows. I'm trying to psych myself into a world view that is not focused on eating, but that's really hard to do when I have to ensure that I get 90 g of protein and less than 20 of carbs. It'd probably be easier, ok it would definitely be easier, to not do ketosis, but I really want my muscles!! Plus I seem to remember that I actually felt better (which would mean psychologically) on ketosis. Nevertheless, the 'world view' must be long term--at least a year, which might as well be considered as permanent.

Ultimately, it may turn out that THIS is what the karmic purpose of the knee injury was: to finally get me to move past psychological feelings into the physical. Interestingly, given that my physical feelings are by definition mine alone, intensely personal, not dependent on anyone else, is that I have also been trying to become more selfish. That probably sounds weird, but I have always been a person who viewed everyone else as more valuable than myself. I'm not at all sure how or even if this is related to binging, but this year--since the knee accident in January--I see myself removing my rose colored glasses, learning that ultimately I and I alone am the only person who I can trust to be there for me. I am learning to stop waiting for someone, something 'out there.' It appears that part of that process is becoming comfortable being alone and anti-social (which I definitely am), accepting responsibility for my own boredom.

Well, enough already. Let's see how it goes...