Keto Is Life

Keto side blog, positive diet motivation, just a girl and occasionally her dog. Ask box is always open.

[theinturnetexplorer]

[keepingupwiththeketo]

Not the kind of before and after pictures I wanted to be sharing with you guys but oh well here we are. As some of you may know I struggled with keto the first half of 2019. In summer my weight started to creep up and once the fall semester rolled around I pretty much gave up on keto. I was eating meals out of the hospital cafeteria (and not the healthy options) plus I was stress eating from the stress. When December rolled around and the semester ended I found myself an extra 40 pounds heavier. I’m very disappointed that I let my weight get so out of control. I’m back on keto now and I’m hoping to have the motivation to at least get back down to my last lowest weight of 188. 150 is still the goal. Small steps.

Highest weight: 266

Starting weight: 232

Current weight: 227.6

Lowest weight: 188

Goal weight: 150

[keepingupwiththeketo]

Greetings from nursing student land!

Can’t believe I haven’t blogged since the semester started......what? it’s like I had appropriate priorities.....like I’m an adult or something?

It’s paid off in the fact that midterms grades came out and I have straight A’s, passed all my validations thus far, aced my math test, and my clinical instructor is a literal angel that tells me I’m going to be a great nurse every time she sees me.

It hasn’t been all sunshine and roses don’t let me lie to you. To achieve this wonderfulness I’ve had to cut back work to part time (which means I had to give up my permanent assignment and my floor plus......money 😢) but I’m in the process of getting a job at the hospital which will be a pay increase and more flexibility thank god.

No surprise to my keto followers in addition to my finances taking a hit my diet has taken a hit. I weighed in a 215 this am. I feel so huge I can’t stand it and I’m definitely feeling the 20+ pound weight gain in my clothes. So I’m on day 2 of keto diet and I feel pretty good about it.....I just hope I don’t slip because I’m a stress eater and the upcoming week I have a huge pharmacology test, a presentation, a homework assignment, a quiz, and clinicals.

Also I’m really starting to believe that old adage “Nurses keep the doctor from killing you”

^while studying pharma yesterday I came across this nursing responsibility, “Report to the medical provider if a patient is receiving a med with a long half life (more than 24 hours) more than once a day.” I had to read it again. I asked my study buddy “shouldn’t the doctor know?” To which she replied “they’re not as smart as you think, I worked with a doctor that used google to figure out which med to prescribe”......huh? To which she added

“They’re not gonna get in trouble if we give it”

I have an instructor that even said “know what you’re giving, why you’re giving, how to assess the patient prior, and if it still makes sense....the doctor will not be with you in court”

Starting to think I should have gone to med school......

Enjoy some photos I’ve snapped over the last few months

[keepingupwiththeketo]

Tuesday was my ketoversary (remember me feeling you all I wanted to be at a new lowest weight for my ketoversary?) well that didn’t happen but I’m ok with it. As you can see I’ve pretty much been “maintaining” since December. I’ve hovered between 190-195ish depending on how well I’m eating.

I’m having trouble getting and staying with keto these days. I think part of it is that I haven’t looked this good in over ten years. So there’s a part of me that says “this is acceptable, just stay here, you’re good” and then the other part of me is like “are you kidding, we’re huge, keto is not that hard, we could be in maintenance if you’d stop fucking cheating”

^Im kind of a bitch to myself sometimes.

Plus I’ve been talking to this guy and he’s a bigger guy (I hate that it’s so much easier for guys to get away with extra weight than it is for women) but he’s super into like “eat what you want” and “thick girls are sexy”. I’d like to say my recent cheating spree is all his fault but he is trying to understand keto and offer keto type options so in all fairness it’s totally me. I’m my own worst enemy.

Another reason that I’ve been having trouble is I’ve really been slacking in my meal prep and gotten lazy with ordering lunches instead of making them with keto goodnesses. I’ve also derailed my keto buddy too. She’s totally winning our competition btw.

I read a diet motivational quote that said something to the effect of “The closer you get to your goal, the harder you have to work.” I’m making that my motto for this next chapter of keto.

On the other side of the ketoversary spectrum I want to say how grateful I am to this diet/lifestyle. I’ve gotten so many benefits from it. I’ve gone from a size 22 to a size 13ish depending on brand and fit. I look better, I feel better, I’m healthier. NSV notice that most recent progress photo? I’m wearing shorts. I haven’t worn shorts in FIVE YEARS! More over do you know that I wore that outfit out of the house. First of all I can’t remember the last time I wore so little out if the house. Not to mention, I didn’t get that feeling of “I shouldn’t have worn this. My fat is showing. I’m too big to be dressing like this.” It was so liberating. Even when my sister in law made a snarky comment about how she put a shirt on over her sundress because she didn’t want to have everything hanging out. I was a little flummoxed at first but then I got this little fire inside like “I’ve worked really hard to feel this good and this confident. I’m not ashamed of my body.”

^That thought took me totally by surprise because it was the first time I had a thought like that in I can’t even tell you when. So powerful.

[keepingupwiththeketo]

I don’t normally post things like this(because I’m sure at least one person is bound to cuss me out for it) but I’m honestly worried about some of you.

I’ve been looking through the keto tag a lot recently looking for additional inspiration, recipe ideas and what have you and I’m seeing disturbing posts from several people who may or may not realize that they have an eating disorder.

Speaking as someone who’s had/has(because honestly it never fully goes away) an eating disorder since the age of about thirteen.

>You should not be going DAYS without eating

>You should not be eating less than 1000 calories a day

>You should not feel like you’re dying

(Personal story: When I had an ED as a teenager, I’d wake up, and take about 5 steps and collapse because my malnourished body couldn’t support my “huge” 180 pound body.) <—— This is what I mean when I say you should not feel like you’re dying.

I know some keto-ers do fasts and I will admit I did try one a while back. (Remember how I said the ED never really goes away). I didn’t research it, didn’t plan what I was “supposed” eat before and after so I don’t know if I did it right. To me, fasting for two days FELT like I had my ED back, I was tired and achy, guzzling water to shut up my stomach. Then the fact that I binged ate after it was over REALLY made me feel like I had my ED back. I haven’t done a fast since.

People die from eating disorders, they have lasting consequences.

(My ED is probably how I developed hypothyroidism (a nasty little condition with its own set of unpleasant symptoms such as hair loss and depression(in my case so severe I can get suicidal)) and probably part of the reason I gained so much weight when I stopped having an active eating disorder (because it shoots the hell out of your metabolism)

If you have an eating disorder, you need help. I don’t say that to be mean or hurtful. I’m saying it from a place of love and support. You need help. Please get help. My ask box and inbox is open if you want to talk.

If you refuse to get help, don’t want it, don’t think you need it, whatever, keep it out of the keto tag. Keto =/= an eating disorder. I’ve had one so I know. I know I’m not the only keto-er that used to have an ED and doesn’t want to see that business but most importantly, There are impressionable young people (or hell just impressionable people) on this site that may be interested in keto and they don’t need to be introduced to that kind of self destructive behavior. If you’re bound and determined to go down the dark rabbit hole of an eating disorder, you don’t need to bring anybody with you.

I’ll reiterate....PEOPLE DIE FROM EATING DISORDERS

Keep your ED in the ED tags.

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/health-consequences

[keepingupwiththeketo]

This mornings weight was 192.4......whoo hoo

I made it another day obstaining from my keto wraps and Halo Top. My keto buddy and I are officially competing on who can lose more weight and your girl is currently winning. Keto buddy is planning a cheat day and I said maybe I’d have a cheat day too to keep things even but I don’t really want to have a cheat day. I’ve gotten that really good mind over matter mindset of this is how I’m eating, I’ve been stalled in the 190s since Christmas and I really want to finally make my break through to a new lowest weight.

Food today was a massive take out salad with all the meats and only one cup of dressing.....so good. I’d been craving a triple stacker cheeseburger from Burger King for days so I picked one up on my way home and discarded the bun obvs, it was pretty satisfying.

Here’s hoping my weight goes down some more tomorrow.

[keepingupwiththeketo]

So as I’ve been mentioning I have a new keto buddy because my original keto buddy hit her goal weight and is now just maintaining. My new keto buddy was saying is she needs to go to the gym or else she’ll get all flabby and have skin hanging off and need a tummy tuck.

I’ve seen many keto progress photos where people have lost a lot of weight and are stick thin in their current picture and have captions that read “just eating keto.”

So I guess my question is for people that have lost 100+ pounds is did you guys have an issue with excess skin after the weight loss, we’re you exercising as well.

I’ve lost 75 pounds at this point with hardly any extra exercise and I don’t have any excess skin (my under arms are a little flabby, and the muffin top roll over my lower half is a little flabby but otherwise my body seems to be shrinking nicely with keto.

If anyone wants to share their experience or their advice I’d be happy to hear it.

[keepingupwiththeketo]

So today was a successful keto day in my book

Breakfast was eggs and bacon

Lunch was a turkey bacon club on a lettuce “bun”

Dinner was bunless cheeseburgers and 1 serving of creamed corn. I know creamed corn isn’t a very keto choice but it’s what my dad wanted as the dinner vegetable and I could afford the carbs today so 🤷‍♀️

Today I did some things that I don’t normally do.

I managed to make it through the day without a keto wrap, peanut butter, or Halo top.

I counted and tracked all my macros instead of just kind of guesstimating.

I also drank 90oz of water.

Looking forward to seeing how my efforts today effect tomorrow’s weight.

[cloaked-in-midnight-water]

PERSONAL ASKS

(Reminder if you reblog, you answer only the ask you are comfortable with. No one can force you to answer a question. If someone spam, block without mercy. ANSWERING IS ALWAYS OPTIONAL.)

Did you hang out with the person you like recently?

Is trust an issue for you?

Would you have sex with the last person you texted?

What are you excited for?

Did something happened tonight?

Is confidence cute/sexy?

How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust?

The last time you felt broken?

Have you had sex today?

Are you starting to realize anything?

Would you ever want to swim with sharks?

Are your eyes the same color as your dad’s?

What do you want right this second?

What would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy?

Is your current hair color your natural hair color?

Would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh?

Do you miss someone right now?

Does everyone deserve a second chance?

Honestly, do you hate the last boy you were talking to?

Are you one of those people who never drinks soda?

Listening to?

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Ever embarrass yourself in front of a crush?

Do you tan in the nude?

If you could, would you take back your last kiss?

Do you sing in the shower?

Do you dance in the car?

Ever used a bow and arrow?

Do you think musicals are cheesy?

Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?

Do you believe in ghosts?

Take a vitamin daily?

What do you wear to bed?

Ever take dance lessons?

Can you curl your tongue?

What is your favorite book?

What was the last concert you saw?

Tea or coffee?

Can you swim well?

Ever won a contest?

Opinions on sex before marriage?

Best room for a fireplace?

[keepingupwiththeketo]

Hey all,

Currently battling a nasty case of strep, so no cutesy pictures of me. Thankfully I am still staying ketoish(we all know I like to throw away the diet plan when I get sick) ——>TBH one of my coworkers started keto the same day I restarted and so I have the (we’re doing this together I can’t let her down) mentality. My weight has gone really no where in the last couple of days which is annoying because I’m barely eating. Saturday I woke up at 191.6 which I was like whew these are the numbers I deserve but then I had three egg salad wraps (on my keto-approved wraps, croutons on my salad with dinner and a slice of the wheat bread) so it was a pretty carby day but still I think 193.0 the next morning was really unfair. I’ve been leaning heavy on the wraps and I think I may need to cut them out to an extent.

Sunday my keto bae and my new keto partner were discussing water weight and how you gain water weight throughout the day and so the best time to weigh yourself is first thing in the morning. Keto bae was explaining she gains sometimes 10lbs in water weight throughout the day. I found this hard to believe although she has an excellent metabolism even without keto. I know I normally gain about 3-5 pounds of water weight a day. Out of curiosity I stepped on a scale Sunday evening and found I was 193.4. Sunday’s food consisted of berries and cottage cheese and two hot dogs, two slices of cheese, two keto wraps, and 1 serving of halo top to sooth my sore throat. (You read that correctly, I limited myself to one serving of halo top.....candy bar halo top no less.)

My weight first thing this am was STILL 193.4, I’m not very good at math but I don’t think that’s right (it’s probably accurate but I still don’t like it). A little later in the morning I weighed 192.8 and I felt a teensy bit better but still not happy.

Goals for this next week is to limit my keto wraps to one a day(they’re so resourceful it’s gonna be hard) flush my system with plenty of water and increase my vegetable intake. Hopefully by the end of the week my weight will have dipped into the 180’s

[keepingupwiththeketo]

Hey Everyone!

So I’m once again on the downward slope with my keto dieting. I know I’ve said that before but I really feel like I’m in the zone now. Plus the back and forth made my digestive system confused. It forgot how to function properly.....no bueno

I’ve been busy with all things getting ready for school, it’s gonna be interesting. It’s exciting and scary but I know it will be worth it taking my life’s work to the next level and to be able to afford the life I want for myself.

I got my first stethoscope and of course I had to listen to my own heart beat. Pretty awesome. After I bought it the sales lady says “you should store in a pocket and not around your neck”......I tell you I was like a little kid that had lost her balloon. You’re not supposed to wear it around your neck?! That’s what everyone does, it was very disappointing to me. It’s like when you went through the first few years of school and the teacher told you there was no such thing as negative numbers then you get to 5th grade and H@&$ S?!$& there are negative numbers?! We’ve been lied to......(Yes, I’m a nerd, I was shook, still not over it)

Weighed in at 192.8 this morning down from yesterday’s 193.2. Can I tell you I was really expecting a bigger drop because I thought I had done so good the day before. I didn’t even eat any Halo Top. I know it’s practically half a pound but I was just expecting....more.

My ketoversary is in a few weeks and I’d really like to be at a new lowest weight by then. Another reason to be committed. Picture of me with my hair straightened #sosickoftherain and Max having no concept of personal space and my motivation to keep it moving.

[keepingupwiththeketo]

Hello friends,

On today’s episode of “Skinny Girl Problems”, I was having a perfectly nice conversation with a male coworker about my going to nursing school when he hits me with “Your boyfriend must be really proud of you”

Time out

For those of you that have been following along.....no there is no boyfriend(which I told him)......little ole me is single as a Pringle....and kinda content that way tbh....but now things feel awkward apparently just to me because he’s still talking.

This kind of thing didn’t happen to me when I was 266 pounds.....no one was trying to date me. (And yes I am self aware enough to know that it probably wasn’t the weight but the way I presented myself and the image I had of myself that kept them away and now that I am happier and more confident and my personality is shining through I’m more approachable.)

Anyway now I’m thinking.....on the one hand, he’s a very nice guy.....and it would be nice to have a special someone, I would like to get married and have kids at some point.....how do I expect to do that without dating? On the other hand......dating a coworker? I’m a private person. I don’t want my business all over the place. Not to mention I’m a horrible person communication wise. I’m the person that will text you, you’ll text back and I won’t reply for 3 days because I forgot you texted me or I got distracted. And like I’ve mentioned, I’m about to go to nursing school spare time is gonna be a joke. Also I am just now really getting my life in order and “me in a relationship” usually doesn’t make the best life decisions.

What’s a girl to do?

[keepingupwiththeketo]

Good evening my loves,

*Drumroll please*

I got into my RN program and start this fall 💃🎉 it’s all very exciting but now there’s so much to do just to get ready for it, it’s all hoops, paperwork and expensive supplies but I know it’s all gonna be so worth it. I am so excited. I can’t even tell you how excited I am it’s gonna be great.

More good news: I weighed in at 193.0 this morning, pretty impressive considering this past weeks exploits included donuts, pizza, Chinese food, and a trip to a buffet. To put it in perspective some of those days were OMAD and some were combined with strict keto meals.......balance.

I’ve made a goal for myself to get to 160 by August because I know how hard it is going to be to maintain my weight loss let alone lose more when I’m only working three days a week and spending a lot more time sitting in classrooms and libraries near convenient but non keto snack options. I know thirty pounds in three months is a lot, I’m definitely gonna have to give up the regular cheating and be a lot stricter, but I think I should at least be able to get close to it.

Until next time enjoy a shot of my interview outfit. (The pants kind of annoyed me because they were loose everywhere but the waist. I need a pair of black size 14). Fiesta peppers (taco meat and taco cheese) delicious, hard boiled eggs that have become my breakfast staple, and two shots of the beautiful sunrise I caught the other morning while walking max.

[keepingupwiththeketo]

Weighed in at 194.4 this morning. Not too shabby considering the heinous amount of carb intake I had from the day before. Had a semi decent keto day with the exception of some cookies so we’ll see how that effects my weigh in tomorrow. In the meantime I’m going crazy waiting to find out if I’m going to be accepted into my nursing program this fall. (My interview went unbelievably well. My annoyingly supportive circle keeps telling me I have it in the bag, but I won’t believe it until I get it in writing.) I know I probably won’t be hearing back for a week or so but the wait is so excruciating.....if anyone has any distractions I’d be happy to read them.

Until next time......

[keepingupwiththeketo]

Did you miss me?

I can’t remember the last time I posted but I know it’s probably been a couple months. Eek! What have I been doing with myself?

You guys ever feel like your whole life just imploded? That’s how I felt, things were going haywire in every aspect of my life.

At the beginning of my hiatus I went on a little shopping trip bought some cute clothes and discovered I now fit into a size 13 jeans (granted they were stretchy) but still and I bought a pair of 13 jeans that were not stretchy. They “fit” but not in a “I would wear them out of the house” type way. I bought them as a goal for myself.

Then my life imploded: I was having issues with my work bestie, other coworkers, bae, and my dad. At the same time my bestie-for-evs was having her own issues and wasn’t very accessible and my paranoid self worried I had alienated her as well....oh the horror. I coped with the craziness the best way I know how: massive amounts of carby food. I gained twelve pounds! Double eek! Finally I put my foot down on the bad eating and decided to get back into keto. I had a good stretch of keto before I was slightly derailed by an unintentional bender of Jack Daniels. Triple eek! (Beware of drinking on keto my friends) I won’t go into gritty details but my stomach wasn’t right for a week.

My weight has been fluctuating (depending on how keto I am or am not eating) and hovering at 193. I weighed in at 195.2 this AM but I suspect my period is to be encountered shortly so I’m not too worried about it.

Do to a broken elevator at work I’ve been taking the stairs more and been taking Max for walks and some of my work uniforms are starting to be annoyingly loose. A coworker remarked how skinny I was getting and I disagreed (because I know what the scale says) at which point she asked of the outfit I was wearing. Isn’t that one of your new outfits that you bought after you lost the weight? I said yes and she was like yeah you’re getting skinny I just shrugged it off and as I looked at myself in the mirror of the bathroom I noticed how much my top was hanging off me! I even have had multiple coworkers tell me I should stop losing weight?!

My coworkers aren’t the only ones complaining about the fit of my work clothes. My father complained my pants were too big and proclaimed “I don’t know why you insist on wearing clothes that are too big for you” I remember when he used to complain the opposite. Under duress I purchased new scrubs and found that I comfortably fit into large size tops and medium sized bottoms?! That’s a three size drop since I started losing weight. What sorcery is this?

It’s funny how the universe does things when you’re not looking. Somewhere in all the craziness of the last two months while I was gone I applied to nursing school. I have an interview today! See outfit above along with some updated progress photos and Max being a HAM.

[keepingupwiththeketo]

Can’t believe it’s been a week since I blogged. I really am gonna try to be better. Needless to say the last week was a blur. I’m still...still....trying to get over this cold. In addition it’s been hard getting back into keto because I keep cheating so I have all these cravings now and because I still feel crappy my mind is more apt to be like “go on and have it, you’re sick and on the mend so you need extra stuff” when in reality what I probably need is to get back into keto and eat a f****** vegetable.

Remember how I told you guys last Monday that I was sore from my work out Sunday but it was a good sore? By the end of my shift Monday I was dying. I felt like someone had taken my body for a marathon ugh. I couldn’t even think about the gym Monday or Tuesday and Wednesday I could have but I didn’t want to be sore for my first ever training session.

I felt like the trainer fitslpained a little bit (I’m past “add a salad and water into your daily routine”) but I guess that’s his job. I found out that I’m 36% body fat 😢 which puts me in the “very poor” category (the very last one on the chart). I figured it out and at 266 I was 52% body fat so that made me feel better.

I was pretty proud with how I did for the exercises. He had me do walking lunges and I was sore for another two days. He told me instead of doing my beloved treadmill for cardio I should do the elliptical or stair stepper. I went for the elliptical because the stair stepper would be an accident waiting to happen for me. (Even the elliptical is risky I think).

So Sunday I dragged myself into the gym after work and I could only get 10 minutes on the elliptical before I was dying. I feel now like I should have pushed through, maybe paused had some water and then kept going but I wandered over to the weight machines and tried them out with low weight for the rest of my workout.

I went back Monday determined to conquer the elliptical but they had two different kinds (ones with moving arms and ones without) I wanted one with moving arms but they were all taken (and the people weren’t even utilizing the arms....rude) so I did the legs only elliptical for 11 minutes then switched to a stationary bike which I did not find satisfying at all. Tuesday I had my second complimentary training session and I got to try out most of the machines. The trainer wrote down the weights that would challenge me but not kill me so I can work out myself .

Wednesday was an unfortunate morning with my car being covered in half an inch of ice and one of my wipers breaking, my dad took me to work before going to his job and I ended up getting a ride home. Once I got home I had to dig out my dads car and I thought about going to the gym but vetoed it. Thursday I ended up doing a double so no gym then either. Today I was going to go to th gym after work but I used not having enough phone battery for my music as an excuse so I didn’t. I’ll definitely go tomorrow for sure

Pictures:

Max gets weird when he knows his picture is being taken and he was being a brat this day so I told him (while on the phone with my bestie) “I’m taking pictures of you so I can sell you on Craigslist” my bestie thought it was hilarious, max did not.

Max glaring at me that I called him when he went back to sleep after we had gotten up at 5 am.

Look a keto meal👀 see I can do it.

Pictures of me before my first training session (see the sick?)

I cut my hair and I was definitely feeling how the hairdresser styled it.

Sunday and Monday gym pics.

My weights been hovering around 194. I knew I would have to push myself to get to 150 but I guess I didn’t think I’d have to start pushing myself this soon. I’m ready for it I think.

[keepingupwiththeketo]

Good Morning and a happy Monday my health minded tumblrings,

This weekend was very successful for me. I woke up Saturday and weighed in at 195 (yay for my sickness weight to start dissipating. I went to the gym despite still feeling a smidgen cruddy. Like that was gonna stop me. When I started on the treadmill before I got sick I was just going at a simple pace of three miles an hour. I didn’t want to overdo it. But in the back of my mind I think I knew that I had more in me. So I decided to up my speed to four miles an hour. I made it a full ten minutes and man was I proud!

Also Saturday I signed up for my first ever training session. Eek! It isn’t til Thursday but I’m already freaking out about it. I’m really hoping it’s gonna be one of those things where I freak out about it and then it ends up being fine. (The way most things do)

For lunch I made myself one of my keto favorites, cheeseburgers wrapped in lettuce.

Saturday night my dad and I went out to eat and I was determined to eat keto so I ordered smoked chicken cottage cheese and roasted corn (of which I only ate a couple spoonfuls) Sadly the chicken was super dry and the best part of the meal ended up being the cottage cheese.

I was a tad discouraged when I weighed in at 196! I mentally threw myself on the floor and started kicking and screaming it’s not fair I ate keto! After my mental temper tantrum I convinced myself it was probably either water weight or new muscle weight.

Sunday I went back to the gym. As I went to plug my headphones into my phone I realized I didn’t have my adapter and was musicless. I actually debated canceling the entire gym sesh as I stood on the treadmill but no the gym has TVs and a music system I can put up with not my music for half an hour. I upped my speed to four again and this time I talked myself into doing 15 minutes! I could feel the sweat and it’s so invigorating you know. Maybe I should skip my music all the time....nah

For lunch I had turkey wrapped in lettuce because I knew I would be eating bad for dinner as we were having pizza and wings. I had wings, pizza, and soda. This morning I weighed in at 195! What sorcery is this?!

Now it’s Monday morning and I can tell you my dears that I am definitely sore, but the good kind of sore and now it is time to get ready for work.

Happy Monday!!!!