Benefits Noted this Week

Energy! I have felt very high and sustained energy levels this week, at work and while exercising. In addition to energy, I have noticed that I am able to feel more full, or “satiated” while eating Keto; with this change, I have not felt the urge or craving to overate Keto/high fat foods like I have with higher carb foods in the past. I am making an educated guess that eating the right amount of (real) food to meet my energy needs is helping with my feeling of sustained energy, as compared to periodic grazing/overeating.

Challenges this Week

Keto rash! I noticed that I had a few raised red bumps on my chest, a mild rash. Listening to an early episode of the “Keto Talk” podcast by Jimmy Moore with Dr. Adam Nally, I learned that sometimes your body has reactions (such as a rash) when adjusting to Ketosis, due to temporary changes in your body’s PH (acid vs base). I cannot think of another potential culprit right now, and the rash is not causing any discomfort. I am going to monitor, and hope my body balances out and it disappears soon.

I had a challenging week at work. I will not go into details due to privacy considerations, but lets just say it was the kind of week in which an after work Scotch (or 3) would have been in order for me previously. Accompanying the after work Scotch would most likely be some form of overeating for comfort, followed by bad sleep, followed by more stress the next day (a domino effect).

The situation(s) I faced at work were not any less challenging than others I have experienced previously (far more so, actually). I have recognized and interrupted that previous pattern to the point that over consumption is not even a consideration as a way to deal with stress. So, mark this one as a challenge, and a benefit…

Keto Tips of the Week

If you are trying to eat Keto/achieve Ketosis, try making food choices that have most of their calories coming from fat. Some basic nutrition for you, here are the number of calories per gram of the three macro-nutrients:

• Carbs: 4 calories per gram
• Protein: 4 calories per gram
• Fat: 9 calories per gram

Another way you can accomplish this ratio, is adding fat from real food sources if your meal is naturally higher in protein or carbs by itself. For example, my Coleslaw; by adding some slices of bacon, cheddar cheese, and dressing with avocado mayo, I created a meal that is higher in fat content as compared to protein or carbs.

Meals

Sunday

Morning: Coffee and water.

Around 7:30 am: Coffee with coconut oil and salt.

Around 10:30 am: Wedding brunch buffet; eggs, bacon, sausage, smoked salmon, cream cheese, onion, capers.

Total Carbs: Around 5 grams

Protein: Around 45 grams

Around 5:30 pm: 2 spoons coconut oil, Keto shake, 1 cup coconut milk to drink; 1 serving hemp seeds, 1 serving shaved coconut 🥥.

Total Carbs: 9 grams

Protein: 21 grams

Daily Totals

Total Carbs: 14 grams

Protein: 66 grams

Monday

Morning: Coffee and water.

Around 7:30 am: Coffee with grass fed butter, coconut oil, salt.

Around 9 am: Iced green tea with grated ginger and lime.

Around 4:30 pm: 3 scrambled eggs with 1 spoon grass fed butter and greens powder; 4 strips bacon; 1 serving coleslaw (chopped salad mix with kale, cabbage,lettuce, carrot, chopped garlic, sauerkraut, cheddar cheese, bacon, dressed with avocado mayo, apple cider vinegar, sriracha sauce, salt and pepper); 1/2 avocado; 8 olives; handful sunflower seeds; 1 cup coconut milk to drink.

Meal (and Daily) Totals:

Carbs: 22

Protein: 62

Tuesday

Morning: Coffee and water.

Around 7:30 am: Coffee with grass fed butter, coconut oil, salt.

Around 9 am: Iced green tea with grated ginger and lime.

Around 4:30 pm: Keto Coleslaw with greens powder; 3 scrambled eggs with grass fed butter and sriracha sauce; 8 olives with 1 serving cheddar cheese; 1 serving hemp seeds, 1 serving coconut flakes; 1 cup coconut milk to drink.

Meal (and Daily) Totals:

Total Carbs: 20 grams

Protein: 58 grams

Wednesday

Coffee and water.

Around 7:30 am: Coffee with grass fed butter, coconut oil, salt.

Around 9 am: Iced green tea with grated ginger and lime.

Around 4:30 pm: Coleslaw with greens powder and sardines; 2 egg omelet with 1 serving cheddar cheese; 2 spoons coconut oil; 1 serving coconut flakes, 1 serving hemp seeds; 1 keto shake to drink.

Meal (and Daily) Totals:

Total Carbs: 23 grams

Protein: 70 grams

Thursday

Coffee and water.

Around 7:30 am: Coffee with grass fed butter, coconut oil, salt.

Around 9 am: Iced green tea with turmeric.

Around 4:30 pm: Coleslaw with greens powder and 1 serving cheddar cheese; can of sardines; 2 fried eggs; 2 spoons coconut oil; shaved coconut with hemp seeds; keto shake; coconut milk to drink.

Meal (and Daily) Totals:

Total Carbs: 23 grams

Protein: 70 grams

Friday

Coffee and water.

Around 7:30 am: Coffee with grass fed butter, coconut oil, salt.

Around 9 am: Iced green tea with grated ginger and lime.

Around 4:30 pm: 3 egg omelet with cheddar cheese and greens powder; Ruben bowl with 3 servings corned beef, sauerkraut, avocado mayo; 8 olives; macadamia nuts and coconut milk to drink.

Meal and Daily Totals:

Total Carbs: 18

Protein: 72 grams

Saturday

Morning: Coffee and water.

Around 8 am: Coffee with coconut oil and grass fed butter.

Around 10 am: Bowl with nut butter, 2 spoons coconut oil, macadamia nuts, shaved coconut, hemp seeds, salt. Coconut milk 🥛 to drink.

Meal (and Daily) totals:

Total Carbs: 20 grams

Protein: 30 grams

(Fast rest of the day)

Favorite Meal of the Week

Exercise

Sunday

Mowing lawn and weed whacking, around 3 miles, around 1.5 hours total.

Monday

Around 50 minutes of walking, 2.5 miles total, stretch and roll.

Tuesday

Morning stretch and roll.

Deadlift: 205 x 3, 225 x 3,3,3,3,3,6; Ab roll wheel 6 sets of 6-8 reps; Pull up bar hangs 6 sets.

Wednesday

Morning stretch and roll, 50 minutes waking, around 2.5 miles.

Thursday

Kettlebell swing 53 lbs x 10, 72 lbs x 8,8; Goblet squat 35 lbs x 10, 44 lbs x 6, 6; Pull up 6,6,6; Push up 10,12,12; Total gym row 10,10,10; Concentration curl 20 lbs 10, 26 lbs 10, 6

Around 5 miles walking at work.

Friday

4.9 mile run (same route), 46:20, no rest breaks.

Saturday

Around 3 miles walk at work.

Compliance Grade for the Week

This week, I give myself an overall 95%, up from 90% last week. I based this completely arbitrary number on a few factors:

1. Like last week, I have 100% compliance of avoiding junk food and alcohol.
2. As a slight improvement from last week, I did not exceed my daily protein target of 90 grams once.
3. I did exceed 20 grams of daily carbs on a few occasions, however I never went over 25 grams of total carbs in 1 day.

Overall I feel I am following the program in a way that makes sense for me, looking forward to week 3!