Working Toward a Healthier Life

[canihugyou]

How do people say ‘I love you’ so monotonously easy? I say it with accompaniment of earthquake and thunder and blood ink from the deepest realm of my soul.

[healthypenguins]

I didn’t do a weigh-in until a week and a half after starting keto due to not having a scale. I weighed the last two Sundays, and am 10 pounds down from where I started already.

I recalculated my macros today, and it’s looking good. I was having a problem reaching my protein count before, but after filling in the food I plan to eat today, I came out perfect on carbs, and 1 gram over each on protein and fat. Hopefully every day will be like this.

[healthypenguins]

After only eating food I’ve cooked this month, I allowed myself a couple of meals out. First, I had a breadless cheesesteak from the place I work.

Then today, I had a bunless burger at Whataburger, and it was fantastic.

[healthypenguins]

It’s been a couple weeks, and I wasn’t really experiencing the loss of hunger some people said would happen. I think this is because I was still on a schedule where I ate 3 or more. Today I at breakfast for lunch about 1, and didn’t realize until after 10 that I hadn’t eaten anything else except for a Quest bar and 3 chocolate squares while I was at work. 

I came home and ate dinner, plus another Quest bar and some chocolate, and still came in under my macros today. If I do this more, I’ll have to up what I eat during meal times to balance it out.

[paleoketofitness]

Non weight related benefits of keto/lchf: No knee pain. As soon as I eat *normal* amounts of carbs (yup, I have slipped up a few days this summer) my knees are agony, especially to rest on. And as soon as I go back to a maximum of 20 g carbs a day, it goes away.

As if I needed another reason to stay keto 😜🙌

[healthypenguins]

My knees (and back) had been hurting a bit before starting keto last week. I’ve noticed a bit of a difference in that as well, especially in my knees when climbing stairs. 

[healthypenguins]

Today for lunch I decided to make a 1 pan skillet meal, using chicken and a frozen cauliflower/broccoli blend. It turned out really well, although the sauce was more like a soup (but delicious!)

I cut up and fried a piece of bacon, then added butter and 2 cut up chicken thighs. I ended up adding 2 tbs chicken stock, 2 tbs heavy whipping cream, and 2 ounces of cheese as well. Next time I think I’ll leave out a tbs of the chicken stock to make it thicker.

Also, with the help of this meal, I will actually be slightly over my protein for today! (After I eat the second portion for dinner). I have been struggling with meeting my protein since I started, so this is helpful.

[healthypenguins]

Keto on the go

I didn't have time to eat at home this morning, so I prepped to take something with me. Made bulletproof chai with 16 ounces of brewed chai, 1 Tbs of coconut oil, and 1 tbs of heavy cream. Also threw a packet of Truvia in there. I prepped a homemade protein box last night to take with me, with a boiled egg, a piece of cheese, a serving of sliced deli turkey, and a few pieces of celery.

[healthypenguins]

Grocery Haul Part 3

Went and bought some of the last few things that seem to be a necessity to the keto life (coconut oil, and Truvia), as well as some meat and restocking a few other things. My total today came in at $32.71. I had a budget of $30, and bought a couple things off-list, so I’d say I did pretty good.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Aldi: 17.22 -Eggs .69 -Pork Sausage 1.99 -100 Calorie nut packs 2.99** -Heavy Whipping Cream 1.69 -Organic Coconut Oil 4.99 -Whipped Cream Cheese 1.49 (This has 1 carb per serving, vs 2 carbs for --regular cream cheese, with only a .20 difference) -Sharp Cheddar block 1.69 -Colby Jack block 1.69

**I was super excited to find the nut packs. They’re Fit&Active brand, 100 Calorie packs with only 1 net carb per pack. Perfect serving size. They had Almond, or Almond & Walnut Mix, which is what I bought. 

Dollar Tree: $5.00 (This was a spontaneous stop, but worth it!) -Frozen Pork Chop 1.00 -Frozen Ribeye 1.00 -Frozen Ribeye 1.00 -Frozen Broccoli and Cauliflower 1.00 -Frozen Stir Fry Veggie Mix 1.00

The was individually wrapped and frozen. Probably wont’ be the best, but works on a budget to get that protein and fat in. The veggies were a deal for a 16 oz bag, so I’ll most likely be going back to see what else I can find.

Fiest Mart (Local store): 10.49 -Truvia Sweetener Packets 3.69 (I intend to buy liquid stevia, but this was in my current budget.) -Bacon 1.89 - Boneless Chicken Thighs 4.91

The meat was on sale today, so I scored a pack of 10 fresh boneless thighs for just under $10. That should hold me for the week, at least!

[healthypenguins]

Chai Adventures

Made my first attempt at a keto friendly iced chai latte today. It didn’t turn out too bad, but would be much better once I have a sugar substitute.

This is what I used: 2 Chai tea bags 2 cups water 2 Tbs Butter 2 Cups Almond Milk

I brewed the tea and then melted the butter in, and blended it together with the almond milk. It’s not bad, but I think I could have either used less milk, or brewed the tea longer for a stronger flavor. Also, I added 1 tsp of raw sugar to add a slight bit of sweetness, because I don’t have a substitute, meaning 1/2 tsp of sugar per 8 oz. I plan on adding coconut oil to this recipe once I buy some as well.

[healthypenguins]

Went Shopping!

Today I checked out some things at Sprout’s and Trader Joe’s. I only had $14 to spare, so I didn’t get much. (Including the coconut oil I planned on buying.) I’ll be making a second trip for meat and a few other things tomorrow.

Sprouts: 2 small Hass Avacados (1.00) Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond/Coconut Blend (2.99)

Trader Joe’s: Classic Hummus (2.99) Water with Electrolytes 1L (1.19) TJ Brand Unsalted Butter Quarters (2.69) Spiced Chai Tea bags (2.49)

I wanted to buy Kerrygold butter, but I’m on a pretty tight budget this month so it doesn’t quite make the cut. I went with TJ brand instead, because it’s cheaper, but still not a bad butter. They had a cheaper hummus as well that I almost bought, but didn’t because it was less Keto friendly.

[healthypenguins]

Day 3

Most of my meals were the same today as the last two, but I managed to eat only Keto approved foods today! (I did go over my carb count by 3g, but hey, we’re making progress! I also ate way under my calorie count without feeling like I was starving, or dying.

Tomorrow I’m going out to find some keto essentials, and as I’m not really a coffee drinker, try making bulletproof chai. 

[healthypenguins]

Dinner (round 2) The no filler salmon patties with a dijon mustard/Worcestershire sauce and celery with cream cheese.

[healthypenguins]

Pre oven baked salmon patties.

[healthypenguins]

So this is what my first few meals have looked like.

Before grocery shopping: I ate what I had on hand, which was a can of tuna mixed with mayo, salt, and pepper one a single tortilla I had left, with a slice of cheddar cheese.

After shopping: Meal 1: Proscuitto wrapped mozzarella sticks (cut my own from the block I bought), with roasted Brussels sprouts I had in the freezer.

Cheat Snack: I was craving something sweet bad yesterday, so I ended up making a smoothie with a few strawberries and frozen bananas I had leftover. I figured if nothing else, it would get rid of them.

Meal 2: Two turkey/cheddar sausages with cottage cheese

Meal 3: 2 eggs, 1 slice of Proscuitto, 1 mozarella stick (cut from block)

Meal 3: My roommate brought me a Chic-fil-a breakfast sandwich and a soda, so I cheated and indulged in the sugar. Also had two pieces of celery with cream cheese and real bacon bits wrapped in 1 slice of deli turkey each. 

I plan on cleaning out what I have left in the kitchen that doesn’t fit the Keto lifestyle (by either eating it, or giving away things that I can). And on Friday hopefully I can add to my food supplies.

[healthypenguins]

So while working on meal prep ideas and a shopping list last week, I somehow ended up neck deep in posts about the Ketogenic Lifestyle and low carb/high fat eating. 

Apparently I decided to try it out, and this is what my shopping list looked like yesterday when I went to Aldi.

-Eggs -1 Block Mozzarella Cheese -Prosciutto -Slice Deli Turkey -Celery -Cream Cheese -Cottage Cheese -Kirkwood Smoked Turkey and Cheddar Sausage (6 pack)

This was all barely over $16, and probably enough for most of the week. So it looks like it was good for my wallet as well.

Post with meals I’ve had so far will come soon.