Friday

Ugh.  I am in ketosis - verified that last night via some Keto-stix I had at home.  I am also swollen up and bloated and mildly constipated.  I do not feel particularly well.  Not pleasant.  And I gained weight yesterday - I'm at 150.8 right now.  Things are not going well.

But I have faith in ketosis.  I know it has worked in the past, so I am persevering.  Here's yesterday's eating:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• bacon
  
• chef's salad (ham, turkey, cheese) with blue cheese dressing
  
• two or three pieces of cheese (dinner)
  
• about 2 servings of coconut flakes
  

Broken down, I'd say I had maybe 20g carbs yesterday - possibly less.  I know that I'm retaining water through some sort of hormonal hell, but I don't want to contribute to it any more than I have to.  And I successfully resisted chocolate cravings last night, so that's something.

Thursday

Dammit.  Back up to 150.2 this morning, after a day of perfect low-carb eating yesterday.  Very excruciatingly annoying.  Here's the list:

• bacon
  
• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• cheese (gruyere)
  
• a bit more cheese (cheddar)
  
• more tea with cream
  
• hot and sour soup
  
• beef with green pepper, no rice (gummy-nasty sauce, though)
  
• more cheese (gruyere and cheddar)
  

High fat, low carb - the carbs would have been in the cheese (minimal) and the soup and the sauce, and that's it.  And the net result was 0.8 pounds up.  Irritating.

However, I read Peter Attia's blog entry yesterday, all about how ketosis works, and I will keep on with the very low carb stuff to get back into it; my brain was mush yesterday, probably indicative of low-carb flu, and I want the sharpness of ketosis back.

Wednesday

I don't know if I weighed myself yesterday or not.  Regardless, I'm at 149.4 this morning, so some improvement from Monday.  Here's yesterday's eating:

• ham and cheese omelet
  
• bacon
  
• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• cashews
  
• two string cheeses
  
• beef stroganoff (no starch, just meat, mushrooms, and sauce)
  
• salad with blue cheese dressing
  
• red wine
  
• two pieces of cheese
  
• and a stupid fundraising chocolate bar
  

I'm still having trouble getting those last carbs out the door, unfortunately. But it was generally a good day, so I won't complain.  No idea what we're doing for dinner tonight.  I need to plan better, I think.  The stroganoff was composed of onions, butter, mushrooms, beef stock and wine, sliced filet mignon, and sour cream, and was oh-so-good.

Monday

I suppose that a Thanksgiving weekend where one comes out only 0.4 pounds heavier than one went in should be termed a success, but I'm still bummed.  The water, it will not leave!  150.4 this morning.  I saw 149.2 one of the mornings over the weekend, but don't recall which.  I know it's hormones, but it's annoying, and rather painful, and I want it to stop.

We did the Turkey Trot on Thursday - 4 miles in just over an hour - 1:07:55, I think.  Not bad, given that we all walked together and had the dog with us - and he was very well behaved, considering it was his first walk and first (with us, anyway) experience with large crowds.  Biz was a bit lingeringly stiff, but that might have been illness - she's been fighting a cold or something for about 3 weeks, and four days' rest gave the virus a chance to win, it appears.  Lee and I were very mildly sore on Friday, and pretty much had it all gone by Saturday.

Yesterday's eating was all over the board.  Here's a list:

• scrambled eggs
  
• bacon
  
• link sausage
  
• tea with cream
  
• cheese
  
• turkey leftovers
  
• Junior Mints (oops)
  
• steak
  
• brussels sprouts with bacon and pecans
  
• red wine
  
• raspberry ice cream
  
• a handful of cashews
  

I'm fairly sure that's all of it.  Fasting today - I need to get back into ketosis, and stick with it for the rest of the year.  I have let out my ballgown in the hips, which was fairly easy - doing the same with the waist would be much more difficult, so I would prefer not to have to do that.  So today's fast is very intentional and serious, and no matter how hungry I get (stomach growling at the moment, for that matter), I'm sticking with it until dinner, which can be meat-and-veg but nothing else.  The plan is to be very low to zero carb the rest of the week.

Wednesday

Fasted yesterday.  No weight change - still 150.0.  It's all hormones, and I hate not being in much control.  Nonetheless, I will plug on.  Sleep last night was, well, adequate, I guess.  Nothing more.  I woke up at about quarter to 4 for no reason other than discomfort.  Not in the shoulder I've been slowly healing - it's been fine recently - and not in the other shoulder that produced a nasty knot yesterday morning.  In my lower back.  Go figure.  I'm still not entirely sure what that was about, but I got back to sleep, and it wasn't obviously there the next morning.

Neither of us was hungry this morning - odd, considering how little I ate yesterday, anyway.  Here's the list:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• cheese (1 piece)
  
• salad with chicken, and blue cheese dressing
  
• a peppermint-chocolate-chip shake (at Chik-fil-a)
  
• a glass of homemade eggnog
  

So, a lot of fat, a little sugar, and the rest meat-and-leaves.  In any event, I just won't eat until I'm actually hungry today - and unless that occurs while I'm out around lunchtime shopping for leggings for the road race tomorrow, not until dinnertime.

Pie-making starts tonight. I can at least get the crust started - maybe not blind-baked.  Time is so short right now.  Yikes.

Tuesday

I ate fairly well yesterday until evening, when a significant potato chip craving hit.  And I didn't put the chips in a container, but brought the bag out with me.  Bad move.  150.0 this morning.  Still stiff and swollen, but I gotta cut that sort of thing out.  Here's yesterday:

• scrambled eggs
  
• tea with cream
  
• bacon
  
• the usual supplements
  
• three almond-flour chocolate chip cookies
  
• stuffed pepper
  
• salad with blue cheese dressing
  
• raspberry ice cream
  
• 1/4 of a fundraising chocolate bar with caramel
  
• some substantial number of potato chips
  

That was it.  Sleep was okay last night, although I did have a leg cramp at some point - it didn't wake me up enough to care about what time it was, though.  Lots of dreams, which I tend to attribute to the melatonin.

Fasting this morning for convenience.  Don't know if it will last all day or not, since I have not much of anything to do today - boredom could take over my willpower.

Monday

Took Friday off and worked around the house - got a lot done in three days.  However, I also culminated my weight gain for the week at 150.4 both Saturday and yesterday.  So I guess it's a relief to see 149.0 this morning.  Nonetheless, not a good weight.

Much of it's water, and that's hormonal, I guarantee.  Right now, I ache all over, and I'm pretty sure that's all water.  Just took a couple of Advil in hopes of making it stop.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• Cracker Barrel low-carb double meat breakfast (eggs, bacon, bacon, tomatoes)
  
• cheese
  
• cashews
  
• an almond-flour chocolate chip cookie
• homemade eggnog
  
• steak (grassfed sirloin)
  
• salad with balsamic vinaigrette and blue cheese
  
• homemade ice cream (raspberry this time)
  

Wow.  Seemed a lot worse than that at the time.  I spent yesterday working with eggs and dairy.  Made a cooked custard eggnog recipe that came out pretty tasty, although not quite "eggnog" flavored - still working on what that might entail.  And ice cream - this time from raspberries and a bit of raspberry liqueur, on top of a custard base.  I much prefer the texture from the custard base than one from straight cream - not sure whether it's the egg yolk or the milk that does it, but it's quite good.

Saturday I made salad dressings - thousand island for Lee and blue cheese for me.  We had giant chef's salads for dinner that night.

Stuffed peppers for dinner tonight.  I had breakfast today, so my goal is to avoid snacks until then.  I'm hoping all the fat I had yesterday will help me by putting me most of the way into ketosis today.

Thursday

This is not fun.  Sleep continues to be crap - I woke up three or four times last night - and I'm gaining weight.  Granted, yesterday was not a fast day, but still - I'm up to 148.4 this morning.  With bulgy ankles, so it's water.  Add in cranky and achy, and I suspect I know what comes next.  Does that mean that the hot flashes are hovering over the horizon again, too?

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• double quarter-pounder with cheese, no bun
  
• small order of fries
  
• pork roast with maple dijon glaze (that mostly vanished)
  
• salad with blue cheese, walnuts, and cranberries (balsamic vinaigrette)
  
• three almond-flour chocolate chip cookies
  

I think that was it.  I was really hungry at lunchtime yesterday, which is why I grabbed McDonalds.  Probably should have skipped the fries, but they tasted amazing.  

I may know one reason for the bad sleep - the window over my side of the bed was closed tight the past few nights.  Lee's been cold, but that seems a bit extreme.  I opened it about an inch; we'll see if that allows both of us to sleep comfortably tonight.

Day off tomorrow.  I need it.

Wednesday

I'm taking off Friday from work, so of course, this week is lasting far too long.  Sleep last night was fairly awful - woke at 11:00, certain it was morning.  Also 2:38 and some time around 4:00.  The water retention has begun in earnest, too, so much so that my toes are sore, just from lying in bed.  148.0 again this morning after a partial fast yesterday - I had peanuts around 2:00 in the afternoon because I was very hungry.  Here's the details:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• peanuts
  
• cheese (a total of 3 pieces)
  
• hot and sour soup
  
• beef with green peppers
  
• a square of chocolate caramel bar (fund-raising chocolates)
  
• walnuts
  

I think that was it.  Woke up with some indigestion, so we skipped breakfast again this morning.  I might eat lunch - going out to run errands at that time, at least.  We shall see.

Tuesday

I thought I did better yesterday; suspect some of the 148.0 I saw this morning is water, and the usual delayed reaction to my eating habits.  Fasting this morning; Lee was not feeling well and it wasn't a big deal to eat or not - in fact, my stomach is mildly upset this morning, so a rest is a good thing.  Here's yesterday:

• scrambled eggs
  
• tea with cream
  
• bacon
  
• the usual supplements
  
• beef jerky
  
• the last (!) two Ghirardelli dark chocolate mint squares
  
• meatza with pepperoni, canadian bacon, and mushrooms
  
• the last half-handful of M&Ms
  

See?  Really not all that bad.

It doesn't help that they're having a "free smoothie bar" at work this morning, for some bizarre reason.  In conjunction with a book fair.  Fortunately, a smoothie doesn't even sound remotely appealing - neither did the lobster mac and cheese featured on Triple-D last night, although it had Lee going.  And I wasn't tempted by the baked goods one of my team brought to work - well, maybe I was tempted to respond with almond-flour chocolate chip cookies; I might have to make some of those tonight and bring them in tomorrow to share.

Monday

I've had a horrible, dragged-out case of the munchies for the past few days.  I have found myself with a distended stomach just after a meal, wanting to chew on something crunchy.  So, it's probably not too surprising that I'm at 147.4 this morning.  Combined with the reduction in hot flashes, I suspect that I'm going through another weird fluctuation in hormone levels - I'm also rather cranky this morning.

Not sure I recall everything I ate yesterday, so I'm not going to list it.  Lots of nuts, 3 meals (I hate weekends, because if Lee wants lunch and I don't eat, he gets mad, so I eat lunch), M&Ms (which, thank heaven, are nearly gone).  And I wanted cookies and pizza and cinnamon rolls and mashed potatoes in the worst way - and had none of them.  So I guess that's good.

Sleep is obviously improving, although I can tell I'm not over the time change just yet - I keep waking up well before 5:00, thinking it's time to get up for the day.  Hoping that this week will take care of that.

Friday

Well, that was weird.  I ate pretty crappy yesterday, and slept hardly at all (work intervened), and got on the scale with eyes averted, expecting bad news.  Instead, down half a pound - 146.0 this morning.  Some things are just mysterious, I guess.  Here's yesterday:

• scrambled eggs
  
• bacon
  
• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• 3 Ghirardelli mint chocolate squares
  
• chicken and broccoli in Alfredo sauce (cream butter, cheese, garlic)
  
• salad with cranberries, walnuts, blue cheese, balsamic vinaigrette
  
• two handsful of M&Ms
  
• a handful of cashews
  
• two pieces of cheese
  

Eliminate the chocolate, and it would have been a very good day.  And my calves were fasciculating throughout the late evening, but did not cramp outright.

We also went walking last night - I did about a mile and a half.  My shoulder is a little irritated this morning - I may need to find something else to do for a while until it's fully healed.  Maybe stationary biking.

Weekend starts today.  Not sure what we have planned, other than a visit to the vet for dog shots and something for my uncle's birthday.  Weather is supposed to be inauspicious.  Probably should braise something.

Thursday

Better eating day yesterday, for the most part - but not perfect.  I'm not sure, come to think of it, what perfect would look like.  146.4 today; glad to be holding steady at that lower number this week.  Here's the day's eating:

• scrambled eggs
  
• bacon
  
• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• cheese
  
• salad with chicken and blue cheese dressing
  
• cottage cheese
  
• meat loaf
  
• green beans
  
• broccoli with cheese sauce
  
• fudge
  
• M&Ms (1 handful)
  

That was it.  We ate dinner at Country Buffet - not a Paleo destination restaurant, certainly, but it permits a mostly-Paleo meal if done carefully, and if one looks away from seed oils and what-not.  I managed to avoid snacking during the day, and will shoot for that again today.  Had a leg-cramp at some point last night, for what that's worth.

Sleep continues somewhat dicey.  Had a fair amount of night-sweats last night, although not much during the day.  I'm sort of hoping that it's easing off again.

Chicken and broccoli with Alfredo sauce for dinner - a recipe involving meat, veg, and dairy exclusively.  Should be good!

Wednesday

Fasted until 2 pm yesterday, but was hungry and stressed, and ate jerky and one (only one) mint chocolate.  146.4 this morning, so a little improvement.  Here's the day:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• beef jerky
  
• a Ghirardelli dark chocolate mint square
  
• cheese (6 pieces altogether, I think)
  
• walnuts
  
• one handful of M&Ms
  
• one handful of potato chips
  

I think that was it.  Not at all good nutrition, but Lee had a meeting at dinner time and the evening and election results stressed me out so badly I'm surprised I didn't go buy and eat a bag of cookies or something.  Have had breakfast today, and have meetings straight through until 12:30 this morning, so I will try to keep from snacking today.  When I do, I lose weight.  And I would like to go into Thanksgiving about 3 pounds down from here, give or take.

We are doing the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving - a 4-mile run-walk thingie.  Should be fun.  Wonder if the snow will hold off?  Because if not, the Vibrams are likely to be kind of cold - and I no longer wear running shoes. Toe socks and the Sprints?  Maybe.

Tuesday

Note to self.  If I need to shop at lunchtime, I should avoid stores that sell candy.  Went to Bed Bath & Beyond for a new ironing board cover yesterday and ended up with Ghirardelli dark chocolate mint squares as well.  Ate 3.  They were very good, but unneeded.  146.8 this morning.  Here's the full picture:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• bacon
  
• 3 Ghirardelli dark chocolate mint squares
  
• a bag of beef jerky
  
• taco salad
  
• cheese
  
• two or 3 handsful of (dark) M&Ms
  
• a handful of cashews
  

Could have been worse; could have been better.  Today will be better - we're fasting.  My plan is to make it until dinner.  So, no shopping at lunchtime.

Monday

The weekend was good.  Fairly unstructured and calm, which we desperately needed.  146.0 this morning.

Here's yesterday, best I can recall.

• tea with cream
  
• bacon
  
• cheese
  
• M&Ms (more than I should have had - several handsful)
  
• potato chips (a small handful)
  
• chicken
  
• salad with balsamic vinaigrette, blue cheese, walnuts, and cranberries
  

That was it.  Spent much of the day sewing, which keeps me from eating.

Sleep has been going okay.  Not great, but not the worst ever, either.  Added a blanket to the bed over Saturday and it's probably too warm for me, but so be it.  Menopause has devolved into multiple daily episodes of sweating like a pig - disgusting, really.  Nothing seems to help, and my sense is that adding hormones to the mix would just delay it all.  Guess I'd rather get over it all now - but I would like now to be shorter.

Friday

Okay.  Fasted yesterday until dinner.  Slept better last night.  The dog stress issues are starting to settle down, we think, so I can stop worrying about that.  This has been a hellish week.  Massage this weekend, if I can get one scheduled.  And not much else.  Maybe some sewing.  Life has been just too bloody frenetic of late.

So here's yesterday's eating (resulting in 146.4 or .2 this morning - I cannot recall which):

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• cheese
  
• meatballs with spaghetti sauce with cheese
  
• salad with blue cheese dressing
  
• two handsful of M&Ms
  
• a small portion of potato chips
  
• possibly some walnuts
  

And that was it.  Back to breakfasting today, with chicken breasts of some sort for dinner.  And we'll go on from there.

Thursday

147.2 this morning.  Ate crap yesterday.  Stressed beyond belief right now, to do with dog training and the looming election.  Slept like garbage last night.  Fasting for convenience today.