Wednesday

151.0 again today, here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• salami (8 slices, I think)
  
• green beans with bacon
  
• steak (8-oz sirloin)
  
• peanuts - about 10 nuts
  
• about 1/2 cup homemade stirred custard, made with honey (shooting for the homemade eggnog recipe again, and falling short)
  

That was it.  I woke up hungry today but didn't dare eat, because Lee has a physical and can't.  I've had a piece of cheese since arriving at work. Trace ketosis at bedtime again last night.  A couple of things may be at work.  1) I've stopped exercising, since the plank challenge was killing my weak shoulder - probably need to restart something, and 2) we are back to skipping breakfast.  I think the bacon and eggs first thing are useful for weight loss.

Tuesday

151.0 this morning.  Any idea why?  Not me.  Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• pork sausage patties
  
• pecans
  
• a small bag of beef jerky
  
• LCHF crust pizza
  
• 5 dark chocolate coconut almonds
  
• 1 tsp honey
  

I guess the fat content is low - still showing only trace ketosis in the evenings.  And I feel a bit inflamed - my nose was stuffed up overnight and my feet feel swollen this morning - which I would attribute to the beans and ice cream on Sunday.  So maybe that's it. I've got salami with me today to eat as needed, and am thinking Taco Salad or similar something for dinner.

Sleep could have been better - I had a hot tsunami hit at 3:30 am - seriously hot and soggy and awful - and couldn't get back to sleep until well after 5:00, which isn't much help given the alarm goes off at 5:30. I will keep plugging.

Monday

Unexpectedly, I weigh 149.4 this morning.  I say that because the pattern of late is for me to weigh less - a lot less - on Saturday morning and to watch the numbers rise until the following Thursday, about.  That wasn't the pattern this week at all, and I weigh less today than all weekend.  I'm also surprised a bit because we ate pretty crappy yesterday.  Just goes to show how nobody really understands human metabolisms.  Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• pork sausage
  
• shredded pork BBQ
  
• cole slaw
  
• coconut-flour based pumpkin bread with pecans
  
• cashews
  
• probably cheese
  
• chili with beans and chicken
  
• peppermint stick ice cream
  

The beans worried me - no option but to eat them, out of politeness.  My stomach seems to be mostly okay this morning, but not perfect.

Sleep was utter crap last night, but not related to the honey.  Stress, rather.  I won't say more, but I wasn't able to get to sleep until after 11, and the alarm hurt a lot this morning.  For the record, once I got to sleep, I stayed that way.

Friday

I stressed high-fat eating yesterday, and was still at "trace" ketosis last night.  Not sure what to make of that.  150.6 this morning, with slightly swollen ankles, and a full gut.  It's less full now.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• salami
  
• cheese
  
• cashews (ultimately 2 handfuls)
  
• meat loaf
  
• mashed cheesy cauliflower
  
• walnuts
  
• 1 square maltitol-sweetened chocolate
  
• 1 tsp honey
  

I'll stick with my approach again today, and hope that I can get the ketosis back up.

Sleep was good again.  I was up later than usual for work, took the honey on the way to bed, and thought it might take a while to get to sleep.  In the event, less than 15 minutes.  I woke up at 4 and wasn't able to get back to sleep after that, unfortunately; I started thinking about work. I'm still very alert and rested, though, so I can't really complain.

Oh. Duh.

I omitted a key item consumed yesterday; may well have an impact on weight.

• a bottle of hard cider
  

Yesterday wasn't so much stressful as infuriating, and Elizabeth got me a hard cider to help me feel better.  Did it?  I don't know.  It tasted pretty good.  Anyway, it probably didn't help with any weight-loss/maintenance.

Thursday

150.8 this morning.  No obvious reason.  Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• pecans
  
• double quarter pounder with cheese, no bun
  
• cheese - 1 piece of Gruyere
  
• philly cheesesteak stuffed pepper - with roast beef, onions, mozzarella
  
• guacamole eaten with pork rinds
  
• 3 pieces of maltitol-sweetened chocolate
  
• 1 tsp honey
  

I was in trace ketosis at most yesterday evening.  For what it's worth, I slept like a log, which was awesome.  One waking for a calf-cramp; I got up, put magnesium oil on it, and went back to sleep.

I'm working from home today and am going to take advantage of that to eat heavy fat.  I think that might be the issue.

Wednesday

Slept straight through from 9:30ish to 4:00 am last night - very nice.  I feel quite a bit more alert this morning than I did yesterday, as well.  So that's good.

For some reason, I weigh 150.2 this morning.  I do not get this pattern at all.  Down on and because of weekends, up mid-week.  Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements, slimmed down
  
• cheese
  
• beef jerky (1 small bag)
  
• coconut - the last of it, about 1/3 cup
  
• 6 oz sirloin with blue cheese crumbles
  
• a whole lotta southern-style green beans
  
• 1 square dark chocolate with maltitol
  
• 1 tsp honey
  
• a handful of cashews
  

The order of the honey and cashews as a small experiment to see if eating after honey interfered with it.  Apparently not. 

I don't really see anything that would have caused me to gain a pound yesterday; my fingers are swollen, but my feet don't appear to be.  Same thing last week - weird.

Tuesday

I got a pretty good night's sleep last night - weird dreams included - and I should feel rested this morning.  Instead, the alarm jolted me out of sleep, I fell back asleep for part of the time between 5:30 and 6:00, and I'm groggy as hell this morning.  Not sure what to make of that.  I will note that I had more sugar than usual after dinner, above and beyond the honey, so it may be that.  149.2 this morning; here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• most of the usual supplements (streamlined a bit)
  
• 1 egg-custard with mushrooms, bacon, and cheese
  
• pecans throughout the day
  
• salad with leftover pot roast, garlic sauce, feta, and hot sauce
  
• 1 square Lindt's 85%
  
• a serving of pumpkin custard with about 2 TBSP sweetened whipped cream
  
• 1 tsp honey
  

So, not a lot of food - I wasn't much hungry all day and was in small ketosis at bedtime, which matches with that.  We had dessert near 8 pm, so it would not have cleared digestion by the time I took the honey at 9, and that's all I can think that would have done it.  Since we finished the custard, I won't be having late desserts any more, and will be able to tell if things sort themselves out again.

Monday

Stayed on track this weekend, although Friday's sleep was sub-par, to say the least.  I'm not entirely sure why, but since I slept pretty well Saturday night, and really well last night, it's not worrying.  Eating was also good; I think ketosis has settled in for real.  I really don't have much of an appetite and my energy is good.  148.6 this morning - and I saw 147.8 yesterday.  In general, I think the weight loss pattern this go-round is different from 3 years ago - it's more fits and starts.  What's keeping me on track is the other benefits of being in ketosis - the mental clarity and the energy, in particular.

Here's yesterday:

• bacon
  
• tea with cream
  
• anti-inflammatory supplements (I think) - fish oil and magnesium and maybe something else
  
• cheese
  
• a handful of cashews
  
• pot roast with a few carrots, and sauce thickened with potato starch
  
• brussels sprouts sauteed with bacon and pecans
  
• pumpkin custard and whipped cream (some maple syrup and sugar involved in these)
  
• 1 tsp of honey
  

That was it.  I also restarted the 30-day plank challenge - I got to the 60 second point and started collapsing at 20 seconds, so decided to go at it slower.  2 days on each time, and incrementing only 10 seconds, with a rest every 6th day.  Did 2 days at 20 seconds so far, and will do 30 seconds tonight.  Lee is sticking with the original plan, which puts him at 90 seconds today.  We shall see how that goes.

Not much else going on - a nice, puttery weekend.  Got things done, but nothing huge.

Friday (we hope)

The reason I'm not sure it's really Friday is that the morning host on the show that serves as our morning alarm clock was working today - and he usually takes Fridays off.  So, confusing. In any event, I'm working from home, so if it's the wrong day, people may be frustrated trying to find me.

150.0 today; I guess I can't regard it as a stall any more.  My fingers are a bit swollen, so there's still some inflammation I'm fighting. Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• cheese
  
• pecans
  
• coconut flakes
  
• tomato soup (from Primal Palate)
  
• salad with blue cheese dressing
  
• more cheese
  
• cashews
  
• two dark-chocolate covered chunks of coconut
  
• 1 tsp honey
  

We had breakfast today - scrambled eggs and bacon. I'll be eating high-fat stuff again today, and sneaking a Paleo snack into a movie tonight. Not sure what will be for dinner yet - our meat supply has dwindled mightily.

Sleep continues to be effective, if a bit broken up.  I had calf fasciculation last night before bedtime, so hit them both with Magnesium oil before bedtime, and it mostly worked - I did find myself rolling over oh-so-carefully a couple of times, but didn't have to leap out of bed abruptly. And one of those hot flashes that mimics "time to get up" around midnight again. But for all that, I feel rested this morning. And that is seriously huge.

Thursday

Stalling or something.  150.6 this morning, despite being up peeing 3 times overnight.  I feel thinner, though, based on how my clothes are fitting, so I may be leaning out and seeing the muscle development that appeared to be a side effect of the honey.  Maybe.  Or maybe I'm delusional. 

Sleep continues to be better than expected.  Last night, we had dogs awake at 12:30 am, I woke up for a hot flash at 3:11, and was a little bit restless after that, but slept through the restlessness, if that makes any sense.  I'm getting the benefits of solid sleep, even if it's not as solid as one would hope, or something.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• turkey sausages
  
• salami
  
• taco salad (lettuce, taco meat, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, salsa)
  
• pot roast
  
• green beans with ham and tomatoes
  
• butter (2 of those little tubs)
  
• 1 square maltitol-flavored chocolate
  
• cheese
  
• 1 tsp honey
  

I managed, finally, to get through the 45-second plank after dinner last night - I think I'd had my arms in a bad spot in the morning.  Not that it was easy, mind you.  And today is supposed to be 60 seconds.  I haven't tried it yet. Tonight some time.

For all that I seem to be a bit stalled, I am not feeling like giving up on the stricter low-carb eating at the moment.  I like the mental benefits of ketosis - they're providing some counter to the menopause-driven fog I've been in.

Wednesday

This has been and continues to be a very long week.  I'm not sure why - perhaps the malaise that accompanies the time change got pushed back a week, or something.  In any event, it is quite the slog.

However, I am still sleeping well - I got 6 straight hours last night, and was able to go back to sleep really quickly after that waking.  More dreaming, but no recollection of what I dreamt of.

150.8 this morning.  I will be keeping an eye on things; it occurs to me that the unlimited energy I get when in ketosis has dissipated somewhat, although for sure, I'm in ketosis - Moderate at bedtime last night.  It feels like water, though.  I'm quite achy this morning, and my ankles are a bit swollen.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• turkey sausages
  
• pecans
  
• chicken soup
  
• cheese
  
• a handful of cashews
  
• one square of maltitol-sweetened chocolate
  
• a teaspoon of honey
  

That was it.  I think I need more variety or something.  I have had a piece of cheese this morning and have some salami with me, and I think we're having chicken for dinner tonight.  I feel like I might need to add guacamole to the chicken or something - I guess that would be okay. I think maybe the fat content this week is lagging a bit.

Tuesday

Better sleep last night than the night before - it was interrupted at least twice by hot flashes or hip pain, but I was able to get back to sleep so fast that I can only recall turning on the iPod, but not actually listening to it.  I call that success.  More dreaming as well - the only one I recall, though is a dream that I was Grok-squatting in the kitchen and finding it easy. I cannot actually recall any point in my life when I was able to squat at all, and I sure would like to be able to, but dreaming about it is just weird. I am still waking very refreshed, which is just awesome.

150.6 this morning; it will be obvious why. Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• two pieces of cheese
  
• double quarter-pounder with cheese, no bun (no, that's not it)
  
• hot and sour soup
  
• beef with garlic sauce (ding-ding-ding! we have a winner!)
  
• two pieces of cheese
  
• a teaspoon of honey
  

The beef part was fine.  The problem was the garlic sauce, which was glutinous and so sweet as to render dinner into dessert.  I didn't finish it, but the damage was done - and I'm sure it was also salty. Chinese food never helps with weight loss - as I was eating it, I was hoping the worst would be a stall. Oh well. My ankles are a bit thick this morning, and I'm pretty sure it's all water. Turkey sausage for breakfast today, and a bag of pecans to go on with, and soup for dinner, already made.

Lee has joined me on the 30-day plank challenge.  45 seconds this morning, and that hurt!

Monday

Good weekend; I was able to continue the VLCHF eating approach even when faced with a Mexican restaurant dinner last night.  And, even better, I got a full night's sleep Saturday night - no waking episodes that I can recall - and if I can't recall them, even if they occurred, they don't count.  Last night, not so much; I was fighting the hot flashes multiple times, and we had an attack of cat - she'd been unable to be on our bed the previous 2 nights because Elizabeth's dog was there, and spent last night laying where my feet wanted to be, walking up and down the bed, and generally disrupting things. Even so, the quality of sleep I got between waking episodes was good.  Sticking with the honey.

148.8 this morning, which is down from yesterday and up from Saturday (which was 148.6). Encouraging, to say the least.  Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• ham, cheese, and tomato omelet
  
• bacon
  
• salad with blue cheese dressing
  
• cup of green chile
  
• cheese, I think
  
• chicken fajitas with pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole, no tortillas
  
• 1 teaspoon of honey
  

I think we're having chicken soup tonight, after a gym trip.  

In addition to all this, I've been doing a 30-day plank challenge, and have completed day 5, which was a plank of 40 seconds.  Today is a rest day, and then we're up to 45 seconds tomorrow.  Not easy, and I've not noticed the strength gains from the honey there, anyway.  Maybe in getting out of chairs; that seems easier to me just now.  

So, things are going well.

Friday

Was sleep good last night?  I think it was better than it could have been, but not objectively good.  I woke up again sometime between 10 and midnight as if it were morning, had a hot flash, and went to the bathroom.  Back to sleep - pretty easily.  Woke up sometime between then and 4 am with a leg cramp (forgot the magnesium oil - won't do that again!), and got back to sleep pretty easily. Woke up at 4:10 after another vivid dream (which have been a bit rare until the past day or two), and was pretty much up from then until the alarm went off at 5:30. I don't know if that last bit is good or bad.   could maybe explain it as time-change related, except before the honey, I think the alarm itself was waking me, and I've been able to sleep in on weekends until it got light (it is definitely NOT light at 4 am). Again, I had the sensation on waking that I'd had good sleep, even with the interruptions. So, the honey is holding on the positive side, I'd say.

150.4 again this morning.  I think I'm not surprised.  Here's my eating for the day:

• scrambled eggs
  
• turkey sausage
  
• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• cheese - 2 pieces throughout the day
  
• coconut - boredom eating, I think
  
• Qdoba naked burrito - shredded beef, cheese, salsa, sour cream, guacamole
  
• salami
  
• a handful of cashews
  
• honey
  

The coconut wasn't part of the plans for the day, and I don't think the cashews were either. And the honey might have been more than 1 tsp - I used a normal silverware teaspoon, and it sort of overflowed.

Thursday

Well that was just weird.

I took the honey at 8:21 last night, prior to bedtime, but not immediately before it.  When we shut off the news and I tried to sleep, at first, I couldn't.  I was fidgety and hot and uncomfortable; my pajamas were velcroing themselves to the sheets, and I decided, after about 15 minutes of squirming in hot and sweaty discomfort, that the honey wasn't going to help me.  I put something on the iPod and got to sleep.  I recall waking once, around 2 am, but being able to get to sleep again pretty quickly.  

Around 4:30, I woke up again with this amazing feeling of well-being. I had the sense that the sleep I'd just woken from was different somehow, richer, if that makes any sense.  I'd been dreaming a lot, and vividly, to boot, but felt as thought I'd spent the entire night in delta sleep - is that the one where you're just unconscious?  No aches or pains anywhere.  And I have a lot of energy this morning and don't feel achy or groggy the way I have been for quite a while.

It's only been one night, and could definitely be the placebo effect, but I sure hope it's not. 

150.4 this morning.  I was in Heavy ketosis last night.  Wouldn't dare touch alcohol right now.  Here's yesterday:

• scrambled eggs
  
• turkey bacon (3 links)
  
• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• a small handful of small green olives
  
• grassfed beef patty (1/3 pound)
  
• zucchini spiral noodles with sour cream, butter, and parmesan
  
• two pieces of cheese
  
• 1 tsp of raw local honey
  

Obviously, I'll try the honey again for tonight - and probably nightly for a week. 

I'm doing something else that may prove interesting.  Somebody posted a 30-day plank challenge on Facebook, which I think I'll try.  Started last night at 20 seconds, which turned out to be a pretty darn long time.  I think it adds 5 seconds a day, 6 days a week, until you reach 270 seconds (4-1/2 minutes).  I would like better core strength, so it's worth a shot.  But I did it rather late last night - just prior to having the honey - and I think I will try to do it earlier in the evening, so it doesn't interfere with any sleep benefits.

Interesting updates from today

First, this from Seth Roberts' blog has me all a-flutter, and I mean to have a teaspoon of honey just before bed tonight.  From what he says, the effect is pretty much immediate, and the strength increases in his standing-on-one-leg chart are seriously blowing my mind.  I would love it if this were to work. Just getting off the occasional Advil-PM would be wonderful. Near as I can tell, a single teaspoon would be only 6 grams of carbs, which shouldn't bust my ketosis, and might help with muscle mass.  I'll report out on anything I find.

Second, I did a quick search to see if getting bloody freezing (not directly related to the sweat evaporating after a hot flash) during perimenopause is normal.  Yup, apparently it's not unheard of. And while I was reading about how it was one of the many joys of the Change of Life (tm), I saw a reference to joint pain and weak legs.  I don't think I've made note of it here, but my knees pretty much had given out on me until I started specifically working on strengthening them - a graphic illustration of this is that I had to lower myself onto a toilet with one hand on the seat to control the pace of the drop. Obviously, squats have been completely impossible for me, and that is still driving me mad. I have fixed the basic problem, but never associated the weakness, or the knee pain, or my more recent hip pain (and maybe even my shoulder issue) with menopausal stuff.  Never.  Now, it sounds like the gift that keeps on giving has given even more.  Guess I should be glad that I'm not suffering from random electric shock sensations or tingling in my extremities (other fun possibilities available to the middle-aged woman).  Yikes.  Just effing yikes.

So, honey at bedtime for the next week or so, and I may even assist with the knees and hips by doing it.  That would be awesome.

Wednesday

Sleep last night was strange.  One of the dogs was unwell around 3:30, I think, and I got up to deal with that, but up to that point, I had been asleep but aware that I was freezing.  Huddling into the covers, even burying my head in them, trying to get warm.  Nasty.  I'm still cold, although I had a hot flash in the middle of being cold while on the way to work - and they don't help; I feel cold even as I warm up and break out into a sweat.  Ugh.

150.8 today, so whatever was going on yesterday was a blip, I guess.  I was in Moderate ketosis, approaching Heavy, last night.  Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream (twice)
  
• no supplements
  
• two pieces of cheese
  
• pecans - about 2/3 cup throughout the day
  
• vegetable soup with beef
  
• salami
  
• two more pieces of cheese
  
• one square of maltitol-sweetened chocolate
  

That was it.  The appetite reduction effect of ketosis has kicked in, I think, and I'm feeling much less inclined to eat at night again.  Very grateful for that.  I'm trying hard not to get wedded to the weight loss, because I think it's possible that it will stop because of hormones, but I'm glad to reclaim the freedom of being able to look at candy and the like as not-food.

We still haven't made it to the gym.  So be it.  Maybe tonight.

Tuesday

152.2 this morning.  Do I have any idea why?  Who knows.  Perhaps the scale was propped up on the floor molding yesterday.  Annoying.  Still, much less than I was on Thursday last week, so I shouldn't complain.  And I was in Moderate ketosis last night.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• 3 turkey sausage links
  
• the usual supplements
  
• 4 pieces of cheese throughout the day
  
• Paleo shepherd's pie (cauliflower topping, so low carb)
  
• one square of maltitol-sweetened dark chocolate
  

I can say that toward the end of the workday, my feet were swollen, and I feel like I might have a digestive issue working right now.  Whatever the reason, I am continuing to eat as high-fat, very low carb as I can.  Soup tonight for dinner - leftover roast beef, vegetables, stock.  Probably not a high-fat item, so I will make blue cheese dressing when I get home, and have a salad as well.  

I have noticed a reduction in appetite, which is good.  Planning on continuing a moderate fat fast today; I've had 2 pieces of cheese so far, and have pecans with me, and I turned down lunch for a lunch meeting.

Sleep was not good - lots of hot flashes yesterday and a lot of restlessness overnight that may or may not have been related. My hip was hurting as well.  We didn't make it to the gym last night for various reasons.  I hope we make it tonight.

Monday

Oh, how I do love being in ketosis.  I got so much done over the weekend, it was crazy.  Saturday involved shopping and a high-school football game nearly 90 miles away, and dinner at home (taco salads); yesterday I made a valance for the kitchen window, altered a skirt, fixed the neck of Elizabeth's new dress so it wouldn't gap open when she sits down, washed walls and scrubbed countertops, did a bit of laundry, watered plants, made dinner for last night and another for tonight.  I had that fidgety energy that ketosis gives me, and just went to town with it.

151.0 this morning, thank you very much.  Finally got the water out.  I am going to stick with this very low carb approach for the indefinite future - once I laid out all of the things that had become "okay to eat" in the past 2 years or so, it was obvious that, while hormones might have played a role in a 10-pound gain, they weren't the prime suspects.  

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• bacon
  
• cheese
  
• salami
  
• walnuts (probably 1 handful total)
  
• roast beef (pastured rump roast)
  
• green beans
  
• salad with vinaigrette dressing
  
• two squares of maltitol-sweetened dark chocolate (supposedly 2 net carbs for 3 pieces)
  
• a handful of cashews
  

That was it. Lots of individual items, I guess, but in reasonable quantities (e.g., the salami was 4 slices total).  We are having Paleo shepherd's pie for dinner tonight - with the cauliflower topping. And going to the gym, probably first. 

Sleep is still a bit cruddy; even with an Advil-PM last night I woke up a couple of times.  Hot flashes come and go - either I'm getting used to them, or they are becoming less frequent.  Still annoying, though.

And it's return-to-standard-time week.  Usually this about kills me, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. I don't feel draggy so far, which may be a good sign.

Friday

Is it inappropriate to say I spent yesterday peeing?  Because I kind of did.  152.8 today - so 2.2 pounds of water weight lost.  I ate as close to zero-carb as I could.  Survived Halloween without eating any of our Halloween candy.  Here's the breakdown:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• 6 total pieces of cheddar cheese
  
• about 1/3 cup of coconut flakes
  
• salad with blue cheese dressing
  
• a little cottage cheese
  
• roast beef
  
• green beans
  
• bacon bits
  
• butter (2 tiny tubs)
  
• 2 squares of 85% Lindt
  

That was it.  Carbs would have been in the coconut flakes (1-2 grams total there), the salad, the green beans, and the chocolate.  I think I was down in the 20s, and that was the goal.  So a good thing.

Sleep was not so great.  I felt some calf fasciculation in the evening, so hit my calves with Magnesium oil at bedtime.  No calf cramps overnight, but one did hit in the arch of my left foot around 3 am.  A few night sweats on top of that, and I'm pretty achy this morning.  

I did some thinking yesterday about slippage in how I've been eating over the past 2 years or so, and there's enough there to account for 10 or so pounds, I think.  I'm going to work very hard to get back to where I was when losing the weight originally. I know I am fighting some hormone issues, but I think if I ramp up the fat and am really strict on the carbs, things will calm down a good bit.  I want to get back to where I was when commercial ice cream was too sweet - because it hasn't been that way for quite a while.

Fat-fasting today as much as I can, although I don't know what dinner will be yet. I'll come up with something.