Week 3 (end)

Well, I've made it to week 4.. It feels like it's been an eternity. It was so easy starting out, and I really thought this would be something that gets even easier as it goes along.....but it's not. It's getting harder to fight cravings and harder to not just throw in the towel. I haven't slipped up yet, but I noticed that my last week's weight loss was significantly less than week 1 and week 3, and I believe it's because that week I was just so tired of it that I hardly weighed my foods or counted my protein. I think I just ended up eating a lot more protein and fat than the first week. Eating more calories or fat doesn't take me out of ketosis, so I still get the weight loss. But if I eat a large amount of fat, or larger than normal (for me), my body will use that fat as energy instead of my stored fat, so in the end the weight loss isn't as high. This last week I did a lot better. Made sure to only eat very lean proteins and to get my vegetables in. I'll be honest, I've been drinking way more protein shakes. I believe I said that in my last blog but it's just so damn convenient! And the bottle counts everything for me. I don't have to weigh anything or add odd servings of proteins (for example, 4 ounces for breakfast, 3.5 for lunch, and so on.) I don't have to remember what exactly I ate at each meal because all of the protein shakes are 3 ounces. It's so easy. I have also noticed though, when I supplement a lot of my meals with shakes, I'm hungrier. I'm getting the same nutrients and amounts of everything I need, but my brains knows I didn't physically eat anything. I am, however, getting back in the mood to cook. I've been craving spaghetti and meatballs for weeks, so last week I bought all the stuff to make a big meal. I made sure to get a low carb sauce for myself and the good stuff for Glenn and Bethany. I made myself turkey meatballs and of course regular hamburger meatballs for everyone else. Because I can't have pasta I planned on making ZOODLES! (For anyone that doesn't know, that's Zucchini Noodles, made with a spiralizer.) HOWEVER, I've never bought a zucchini before. I had no idea what they looked like. I saw this green thing that sort of resembled a cucumber but not exactly a cucumber and it was like $2, so I figured, "this is definitely a zucchini." Even Glenn told me it was. So I have the sauces done, the meatballs are done and in the sauces, and the garlic bread is in the oven; perfect time to make my Zoodles real quick and serve dinner. I cut my zucchini in half and am hit in the face with the smell of cucumber, which any cuke fans know is quite strong. It was NOT a zucchini. I spent $2 flipping dollars on a funny looking cucumber. See if I listen to Glenn again..... I did make "noodles" with it, however it wasn't the easiest thing to do. I Googled what a zucchini looks like and I will not make that mistake again! Thankfully, I added enough flavor to my sauce and my meatballs that it greatly masked the typically over powering flavor of cucumber. It was absolutely delicious and it hit the spot!

Whatever I've done differently this last week has paid off. This morning was my weigh in for the end of week 3 and I could not have been more pleased. I'll do a recap: Week 1 I lost 11.8 pounds. Week 2 I lost 2.7 pounds.

And this week

(drum roll)

I lost 4.5 POUNDS!

This brings my total weight loss since 2/28/2017 to 19 pounds even. I can't even begin to describe how ecstatic I am. I knew the loss would be rapid.. that's the whole point of this extreme diet, but I NEVER expected to lose 19 pounds in 3 weeks. Especially in a healthy way that gives me more energy than I've had in the last 2 years. I feel amazing. I'm finally starting to see it when I look in the mirror. My clothes are obviously big now. A week and a half ago they were fitting comfortably, not being too tight from my weight gain. Now when you look at me you can see that my clothes are too big. I'm mostly upset about my work shirt haha. We got new uniforms where I work and everyone was given one or two based on your status (fulltime, parttime, or PRN.) Since I'm PRN I only got one. Well, my one shirt broke. It was replaced at no cost to me, but I got the same size as I had before. DUMMY! It's so big, and the style of the shirts makes it hang on me awkwardly. I don't know it anyone else sees it, but I do and I hate it. But I'm not spending $26 on a new one, so I'll just have to live with it. My jeans HAVE to be worn with a belt or they sag so bad. By the time I walked from my car to my class this morning they were way below my hips. I had my hands full, so thankfully my coat was long enough to cover my exposed butt crack until I got into the classroom and could pull them up. Speaking of jeans, I've been wearing jeans daily. It's been over a week since I've worn leggings, other than at night when I get into comfy clothes. Speaking of comfy clothes! This reminds me of another change I've noticed in my body. I'M ALWAYS FREEZING! I was a little bit of a freeze baby (as we call them in my family) but typically I could warm myself up with a pair of fuzzy socks and a sweater. For the last week or so it has been IMPOSSIBLE for me to get warm. Currently I have on jeans, socks, an undershirt, shirt, and knit cardigan, as well as 2 blankets and I'm still freezing. My house is 69 degrees. That may seem cold to some of you, but last winter I never turned my heat above 68. Set at 68 degrees, I would be ROASTING in this house. It's newly remodeled and extremely well-insulated. This year, the highest I've gotten to so far is 73 degrees. Glenn complains so much because he gets so hot, but I just can't help it. I'm freezing! When I had all my blood work done previously to starting the diet, they checked me for anemia (not because I'm cold but because I had a menstrual cycle that lasted about 2 months), and my levels came back fine. So I know I'm not anemic.. I'm just losing my own personal insulation! 😂

How funny is it that I can't think of anything to say on a day to day basis and then write a book after a week! I'm all done for this week, though, I promise.

Month 1, Week 3 (midweek)

Hello everybody! I'm sorry I've been MIA lately. I've been working a lot lately and it's just really hard to find something to write everyday now that I'm in the full swing of things. I'm going to start posting once a week on my weigh in days. Last week I lost another 2.7 pounds!! Bringing my total weight loss so far to 14.5 pounds in 2 weeks! It's definitely starting to slow down now, which I knew it would. But as long as I'm still losing 8-12 pounds a month, I'll be happy! I'm supposed to alternate seeing my endocrinologist and my dietitian every month for blood work and a check in, but I don't have an appointment for this month with my endo. I'll be seeing her in May and the dietitian in April but I have no appointments for March. I think on Monday I'll call and see if I should make an appointment with one of them. I'm still in ketosis. For a couple days it was reading in the "small" amounts, but as of this morning it's back at "moderate." But again, the dietitian and the book say that any change in color is good, regardless of the levels. People achieve weight loss in small amounts the same as those in moderate or even large.

I've practically lived in protein shakes lately. They're so simple and easy and I found an approved brand that I like that actually tastes like a treat. With me not feeling hungry most of the time, it's so hard to make myself eat. I miss food, though. I miss eating my favorite things. I miss being able to snack on some Smartfood and chocolate milk when I get the munchies. But this is really helping me control my cravings and improve my eating habits. It feels like it's been months and it hasn't even been one... :( This is going to be a really long 6 months if I don't get pregnant before the end..

Alright, I'm already out of things to say and I haven't written in 8 days! Haha. Special shoutout to Donna M. for the little push I needed to blog tonight! Thanks, ma'am 💜

Month 1, Day 11

Hello! I always feel so awkward starting these things... I never know what to say haha. Anyway.... Today I thought I'd do something a little different just because at this point nothing new is happening. I'm going to list some of these changes I've noticed over the last 2 weeks that have nothing to do with side effects or pounds lost.

The first thing I noticed is that my feet/ankles are no longer swelling after work, or walking a lot. It's really nice not having to come home from work and soak my feet in epsom salt. Not worrying about my shoes getting too tight after a few hours and being uncomfortable.

Another thing I've noticed is my back doesn't hurt as much. It still hurts. But it's more sporadic. Not an all day constant pain. Mostly when I sit for long amounts of times, that's when it starts to hurt.

My energy level has doubled! I know I've mentioned that before, but it still amazes me.

I don't feel the need to turn to food for every emotion. It's no longer my crutch. Writing this blog actually helps so much. It gives me a platform to get my thoughts and feelings out so I don't have to eat them. Which is AWESOME.

My clothes are fitting much more comfortably.

I'm sleeping 100x times better. I still want to sleep all the time, but I'll never lose that lol. However, it doesn't take me hours to fall asleep. I'm dozing off within minutes of my head hitting the pillow. Waking up is still hard, but hey, we can't have everything.

This is weight related, but I'm definitely seeing the weight loss in my face. I don't see it in the rest of my body. I know my clothes are fitting better, so I MUST be losing inches all over, but I don't see it yet. My mom says she sees it, but she's my mom, she has to say nice things to me.

I feel like I had so many differences to tell you guys about earlier and now I can't think of them. I should've wrote them down.. next time!

Now again, the boring stuff:

Breakfast: 3 ounces turkey bacon, 1 egg white
Lunch: 2 ounces chicken, 2 ounces turkey burger, 8 grape tomatoes
Dinner: stuffed pepper (4 ounces of turkey burger) with tomato sauce.
Snack: jello!

That's all for today. Thank you guys, for reading :)

Month 1, Days 9 & 10

Hey guys, I apologize for not posting yesterday. It was a long day and I was just exhausted. Glenn found a treadmill online for $75 near where he works but he forgot the money yesterday. So, I had to run to Erie right after I got off work at 4. That turned into me hanging around and going with him to get the treadmill. They moved it so easily out of the sellers house and right into Glenn's work van. We assumed it would be as easy to get it to our basement... BUT OF COURSE NOT. We had to take it apart in like 3 places. It took us roughly an hour, standing outside of our back door in 50 mph winds, before we got it in the basement. I was hungry, tired and cold, so I had a quick dinner of plain, bunless turkey burgers and cucumber and I went to bed. I am super excited about the treadmill though. Now that Charmed is back on Netflix, I'll most likely go down after dinner and watch some of my favorite witches and walk.

Today I'm not as tired. I got a good night's sleep. I started my morning with 3 ounces of turkey bacon and one egg white for breakfast. Lunch was 3 ounces of sliced deli turkey, cucumber, and an ounce of low fat mozzarella. Right now I have delicious smelling stuffed peppers in the oven. I made mine with turkey burger, while Glenn gets regular hamburger. He also gets garlic bread and sour cream and chive mashed potatoes..... I really can't wait until I can eat carbs again... HOPEFULLY that's sooner than the 6 months I'm supposed to be on this diet (because that would mean I'm pregnant.)

My cravings have been INSANE lately. It's been so hard. I haven't fluffed though, and I'm really proud of myself. But it's still so freaking hard. Glenn had Dairy Queen last night and he ate it in the bedroom while playing video games and it smelled so amazing, I literally shoved my face in the bag and smelled it. I could almost taste it.. I drove by Sheets leaving Erie from getting the treadmill yesterday and it took all I had in me not to stop and get my favorite grilled chicken wrap with lettuce, tomatoes, ranch, pickles and provolone. Alas, I did not... It's going to be a long 5 and a half months.....

My ketones are still at moderate and I've had about 100 ounces of fluids today, water and iced tea (which I brew myself, unsweetened.)

Alright, youse guys. I'm done with stuff to say today. (:

Month 1, Day 8

Soooooo I know this is earlier than I usually post, but I'm just too excited to wait! Today is the beginning of week 2, which means this morning I weighed myself after successfully making it through the first week of this intense and extreme diet!!

This morning my ketone strip was a little lighter than it has been. It was darker than small, but not quite as dark as moderate... but that's okay! I'm still in ketosis. It's probably because I've been forgetting to eat all of my portions because, well, I'm just not hungry. Today was a perfect start to the week. I woke up early enough before school to make myself some breakfast and I got out of school earlier enough to come home and have a lunch at a normal time. Glenn is getting ready to lift, so as soon as he's done I'll make dinner. I'm really excited for dinner tonight. I've been trying to stay away from too much red meat, even though I'm allowed to have it as long as it's lean. It also have a lot more fat than poultry and I'm just really not risking sabotaging my progress. BUT I've earned a nice lean steak :)

On to the boring stuff!

Breakfast: 2 ounces turkey bacon, 2 egg whites
Lunch: 2 turkey burgers, equally 3.5 ounces, with a little less than half a cucumber and some grape tomatoes
Dinner: (which I haven't had yet) 5 ounces New York Strip steak, 1/2 cup broccoli

I finally bought some protein shakes for breakfast on days I can't drag myself out of bed early enough, so likely tomorrow since I work at 7:30 (I am NOT a morning person.) I also bought some spray "butter" because it literally only has 15mg of sodium per like 10 sprays. I've been seriously missing butter in my life. My inner Paula Deen is slightly happier.

Okay... so I'm sure you're probably like "OMG no one cares about this, what was your weight!?" (I made you wait on purpose 😁) I'm not going to tell you all how much I weigh.. That's nun ya business, but I will tell you that when I got on the scale this morning it was 11.8 pounds less than when I got on it last Tuesday morning!!!!!!! I'm absolute ecstatic. I never would have imagined I would lose that much in the first week. I can already tell that the weight loss has slowed somewhat, either because those first few days was all water weight or because I haven't been eating as much as I should, and because I eat so little already, not eating everything I'm supposed to can significantly slow my metabolism. So, no more of that! I'm only allowed to have 4 different kinds of protein shakes and I could only find one at Walmart, so I'll have to look around for a variety. Plain vanilla is not going to work for me. Alrighty guys, I'm out of here. I'm going to watch Glenn and Bethany pick things up and put them down. 💜

Month 1, Day 7

I just spent the last 3 hours writing a paper and taking a quiz and I just don't feel like writing anymore so this will be short and sweet. Today was a really long day. I ate all my servings and portions that I should, only short 1 ounce of protein. I did meal prep today. Cooked 2.5 pounds of chicken and made of pound of turkey burgers. I'm still at a moderate level of ketones. I had 152 ounces of fluids today, mostly water. As soon as I end this I'll have my jello and go to bed.

Tomorrow is officially the start of week 2, so I'll start my day with measuring my ketones and CHECKING MY WEIGHT! I'm really excited to see how much I've lost this week and actually record it.

Okay, I'm done. Like I said, short and a sweet ♡

Month 1, Day 6

Today has been a long day. I worked 1st in housekeeping and it's exhausting. Like I've said the last couple days, I don't feel hungry. Unfortunately because of that I'm not eating as much as I should, which isn't a lot to begin with. Tomorrow I think I'm going to get some approved protein shakes for breakfast since I HATE getting up early. Especially when I have to go in to work. So, I skipped breakfast again today, and ate my lunch at work. I would've had an early dinner when I got home at 4:30 but I took a hot bath and took an unplanned 45 minute nap in the tub. My meals today were very plain and not creative whatsoever. I'm tired. I work tomorrow morning at 5:30am and still have 2 ounces of protein I need to eat and one serving of vegetables. I'm just not hungry enough to eat anything else and I'm already ready to go to sleep (after Dirty Dancing is over.)

Other than not eating enough and being tired from work and my crazy schedule, I feel amazing. I was telling a coworker today it's amazing how much better I feel eating an average of 600-800 calories than I did eating "normal". There's no food coma, there's no "Oh my gosh, I ate WAY too much and can't move." I have energy and I feel great. That definitely is another perk that makes it easier to continue. I'm getting bored with the foods I pre-cooked for this week. Tomorrow I'll do some more meal prep and make some different things and give myself a bigger variety. I've had enough baked chicken and turkey sausage... Okay, food break down and then I'm done!

Breakfast: skipped
Lunch: 4.8 ounces of baked chicken, 1/2 cup french style green beans
Dinner: 4.7 ounces of sliced turkey, 1 ounces low fat mozzarella cheese
Snack 1: I'm going to make some turkey bacon real quick to get my protein in
Snack 2: sugar free jello before bed

Thanks again guys for sticking with me and keeping me going! It means a lot that so many of are still reading my posts and it really does help me IMMENSELY. 💜

Month 1, Day 5

This entry is going to be a little shorter, I hope. I'm typing it on my phone and it's just not as fun.

Today was a great day. I resisted temptation all night last night, even though they had chocolate chip marble bundt cake and that's like my favorite dessert the kitchen makes. I didn't give in! When I got home this morning I made breakfast and went to bed. I slept about 3 hours and then spent the evening with Bethany and Tracy in Erie. It was a lovely day. My stomach grumbled a little but overall I haven't felt very hungry (which is good.) I didn't eat lunch before going out so I had dinner around 6:30 and then a snack around 9 consisting of just the protein I was lacking from the day. I completely forgot to test my ketones today, but that's alright. I was worried I would want to stress eat today because I worked 3rd last night and work 1st in the morning and it's a very hard transition on me, even though I do it all the time. I'm usually grumpy, irritable and just plain unpleasant. Getting out and about really worked wonders. I know I'm barely eating anything but I really do feel amazing. Once in a while I'll feel a little dizzy or nauseated but it goes away quickly, especially if I take a big drink of water. I went back to Golden Dawn today and stocked up on those Zero everything Powerade's. It really helps my cravings having something sweet-tasting that I can indulge in at any time, guilt free. Alright, with that being said, here's my meal breakdown for the day:

Breakfast: 3 ounces turkey breakfast sausage, scrambled with 1 egg white, grape tomatoes, spinach, and Italian seasonings, topped with and sprinkle of mozzarella cheese. (It was PHENOMENAL.) (See photo)

Lunch: skipped

Dinner: 6 ounces of Italian turkey sausage, 1/2 cup french style green beans tossed in a splash of extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Snack 1: my remaining Italian turkey sausage (from what I pre-cooked), weighing 2 ounces

Snack 2: sugar free jello

I had 64 ounces of powerade, 48 ounces of water, and 24 ounces of tea. I am definitely NEVER lacking in fluids. I'm that type of person who always has to have something to drink, which thank goodness, because this fast can cause bad dehydration. Okay guys, I'm off to dream world 💤💤

Month 1, Day 4

Today has been one of the hardest days so far. Not because of cravings or anything, I'm doing great with managing those. I actually haven't really been that hungry today. I had class at 1 so I slept in pretty late and skipped breakfast. I ate my lunch around 2 when I got home. Tonight is my first 3rd shift since I started and I know I'm going to be hungry in the middle of the night so I saved my breakfast protein for my "lunch" break at work. I've just really felt off today. I feel a little nauseous and dizzy. I slept for about 3 hours before I got up and made dinner. It didn't help. I still feel woozy, but I'll make it through the night. I haven't had enough water today, so that could be a big part of it. I am in ketosis though! So that's good. Yesterday's test strip read "moderate" levels of ketones in my urine and this morning's was darker than moderate, closer to "large" amounts. The weight loss really is rapid... Like I said yesterday, I can't help but check my weight daily, even though I'm not recording it, and according to this morning's weight check I'm down 7.2 pounds already!! It really makes it easier to keep going when I'm seeing the results right away. I do realize that at some point that will slow down. I can't lose that much in 4 days forever. But even losing 7 pounds in a month is exciting to me! (the average during ketosis is 8-12 pounds a month). I really can't wait to get on the scale at the doctors office at my month checkup and see what it says.

Okay, I'll get to the boring part:

Lunch: 3.7 ounces baked chicken, 1/2 cup french style green beans
Dinner: 3.3 ounces Italian turkey sausage, salad with spinach, 1/2 cup tomatoes, sprinkle of mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper, and reduced fat Italian dressing.

For my lunch break I have to eat 5.5 ounces of protein to make up what I'm lacking, so I'll take some more turkey sausage maybe a small piece of chicken. And of course my celery and hot sauce. I also saved my sugar free jello for work, Normally at work on 3rd shift all I do is eat. There's always so much food and temptation, so I want to make sure I have enough that I can eat to keep me on track and away from the dark side. It's killing me that I can't eat fruit. I love fruit so much, and I just bought Glenn a bunch of fresh fruit. It was torture. I could smell it in the back seat driving home from the store. I needed something to fit in there that I can substitute for fruit, something fruity and sweet, so I found some Powerade that has 0 sugar, 0 calories, 0 fat, and less than 1 gram of carbs. They were only 79 cents at Golden Dawn so I felt it was meant to be. They aren't bad. It's no fresh bananas and strawberries, but it'll do. Well, I think I'm done with this for the day. I have to get in the shower and get ready for work. Wish me luck! This is truly going to be a test of my will. 💙

Month 1, Day 3

Hello all,

I don't really have a lot to say today. I'll start with what I ate:

Breakfast: 3oz turkey sausage, one egg white

Lunch: celery and hot sauce, 3oz baked chicken

Dinner: 1 cup green beans, 3oz chicken, 2oz turkey bacon

Snack: sugar free jello

I've been so tired all day. So tired, in fact, that I took an unplanned 4 hour nap and STILL want to just go to sleep. I'm not sure if it's simply because I'm just not eating what I'm used to or because I started my period on Tuesday and that ALWAYS makes me so tired. I'm sure it's a combination of the two. I'm just pooped. Along with being exhausted, I've been hungry all day, even if I've just eaten. I'm just hungry. But I don't really expect anything different considering I'm eating like 800 calories a day, if that. 

On a positive note, my cravings haven't been as bad today as they have been the past 2. I did test my urine for ketones today and it read "moderate", so I guess I'm already in ketosis!! This is AWESOME. I really wasn't expecting it to happen so fast. This means that my hunger should dissipate and the weight should start falling off. I did go and buy a scale before I started so I could weigh myself weekly instead of relying on the monthly checkups with my doctors. It was a good decision and a bad one haha. I'm the kind of person who, if there's a scale in front of me, I'm going to weigh myself constantly. I've controlled myself enough that I'm only weighing myself once a day, however, I'm not recording my daily weights. I will only be keeping track of my weekly weights. With that being said, if I DID record today's weight, I'd already be down 4.6 pounds. I'm excited because that's so much for 3 days, but I know that it's not extremely accurate because weight fluctuates so much and I haven't been weighing myself under the same conditions (different times of the day, before, after and sometimes during meals lol). Tuesday will be here soon, though, and I'll have an actual weight update for you all :) I'm super pumped. I think that I'm going to do very well on this. Usually for me the first week of something is the most difficult and this seems to be very easy. But I guess how hard can it be when you can hardly eat anything? 

Alright guys, my brain is fried from statistics homework and my stomach is grumbling like no other, so to avoid temptation I'm going to chug some water and hit the sack. 

Month 1, Day 2

Hello everyone! First off, I REALLY want to thank all of you for reading this. I was most definitely not expecting to get as many views as I have so far. I'm sure they'll drop down as the days go on, but I'm still super thankful!

Today was a great day. I won't lie, I'm hungry. Even right after I eat, I still feel hungry. But today it was easier to deal with than yesterday. I worked today there are so many opportunities where I work to cheat and eat HORRIBLY, BUT I DIDN'T! I'm very proud of myself.

My dietitian told me I would likely feeling fatigued and dizzy the first few days and I'm very happy to say that I do not. I have had so much energy today and overall feel really well. I do have a headache that's stuck around for over half the day, but I expect that with how little I'm eating and especially since I feel hungry. I discovered that celery and buffalo wing sauce (2 things I can have unlimited amounts of) are a wonderful combination, so I'll probably have a little snack when I've finished this post, and then my sugar free jello before bed, of course.

Here's my rundown for the day:

Breakfast: 2 strips of turkey bacon, one egg white (Side note: the hardest part of this change is getting up early enough before work to make breakfast!)

Lunch: was baked chicken, broccoli, and celery.

Dinner: WAS AMAZING! I thought I had turkey burger and was going to make burgers for dinner, using lettuce as a bun, but I realized I bought turkey breakfast sausage instead of turkey burger. So I improvised a little. I made Glenn normal beef burgers with a bun and fries, and for my grand dinner, I had ground turkey sausage on a leaf of lettuce with buffalo sauce, spinach, a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese and grape tomatoes. I seasoned the sausage with some chili powder and it was PHENOMENAL. And as a bonus, I have plenty of turkey sausage left over for breakfast to break the monotony of turkey bacon every day.

I had a total of 12 ounces of protein today and roughly 10 grams of carbs, 10 less than I'm allowed. Tomorrow evening I will test my urine for the first time to see if I'm in ketosis. I likely won't be being that it'll only be Day 3, but she said it could be 3 days to 2 weeks.

Another pat-myself-on-the-back moment - I have had 116 ounces of water today and 24 ounces of unsweetened iced tea. I normally drink a lot of water but today I have been crazy thirsty. Plus I never really measured my water intake before. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I'm supposed to drink more than the average recommended amount of 64 oz of water. But I've always gone by the "take your weight, divide by 2 and that't how many ounces you should drink daily" tip, so no biggy.

Okay friends, I'm out of things to talk about and I'm pretty sure you're tired of reading anyway, so goodnight! I'm going to pack my lunch for tomorrow and relax until bed. I'm so exhausted. 💜