Challenges this Week

Hitting 20 total carbs on a daily basis has become a challenge, so I have decided to move the goal post to 30 grams per day as a target. Without testing Ketones there is no true way to know my current levels/status of ketosis or not, so I am going by feeling. Going by feel, I’m hypothesizing that I could stand a few more non-starch carbs on my exercise days. I am making an educated guess that I can handle a few more carbs on this diet based on my activity levels, and that I am not using Keto therapeutically to treat a chronic condition.

Keto Tips of the Week

Bulletproof Coffee is my tip of the week. The idea behind Keto is using fat for fuel/energy, so a coffee can be a great medium for quality fats.

*Source for Bulletproof Coffee: https://www.bulletproof.com/recipes/bulletproof-diet-recipes/bulletproof-coffee-recipe/

There are many ways to make this coffee (pictured above), the basic concept is butter and MCT (medium chain triglyceride) oil in coffee. Coconut oil is a source of MCT, so I used one spoon of that, one spoon grass fed butter and a little sea salt, used milk frother to combine. A word of caution, if you don’t use the milk frother or a blender, you get an oil slick on top of your coffee.

The drink above is 0 sugar, 0 carb, and around 230 calories if you are counting, which is significantly less than most latte/ cappuccino drinks. 

Meals

Sunday

Morning: Coffee and water.

Around 8:30 am: Coffee with grass fed butter, coconut oil, salt.

Around 9 am: 4 slices bacon.

Around 1 pm: Olives, cheese, salami.

Morning Totals:

Total Carbs: 5 grams

Protein: 40 grams

Around 3:30 pm: Roasted Brussels with grass fed butter and olive oil, roast chicken 🍗, coconut flakes with coconut milk.

Meal Totals:

Carbs: 10 grams

Protein: 25 grams

Daily Totals

Total Carbs: 15 grams

Protein: 65 grams

Monday

Morning: Coffee and water.

Around 8:30 am: Coffee with grass fed butter, coconut oil, salt.

Around 1:22 pm: Nut butter, 1 spoon coconut oil, coconut flakes, macadamia nuts, salt, coconut milk to drink.

Total Carbs: 16 grams.

Protein: 15 grams.

Around 4:30 pm: Coleslaw with cabbage slaw mix, chopped garlic, 6 slices bacon, cheddar cheese, dressed with salt and pepper, avocado mayo, sriracha sauce, apple cider vinegar; 8 olives.

Total Carbs: 10 grams

Protein: 35 grams

Evening: Herbal Tea

Daily Totals

Carbs: 26 grams

Protein: 50 grams

Tuesday

Morning: Coffee, water.

Around 8:30 am: Coffee with grass fed butter, coconut oil, salt.

Around 10 am: Green tea.

Around 12 noon: 2 servings natural peanut butter, 1 spoon coconut oil, 1 serving hemp seeds, shaved coconut, coconut milk to drink.

Total Carbs: 16 grams

Protein: 28 grams

Around 4:30 pm: Coleslaw over lettuce, greens powder, dressed with olive oil; can of salmon with 1 spoon melted butter; 8 olives.

Total Carbs: 12 grams

Protein: 55 grams

Evening: Herbal Tea

Daily Totals

Total Carbs: 28 grams

Protein: 83 grams

Wednesday

Morning: Coffee and water.

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

Around 9 am: Iced green tea with grated ginger.

Around 4:30 pm: Coleslaw with lettuce, avocado, greens powder; can of sardines; cheddar cheese with 8 olives; 2 spoons peanut butter.

Meal and Daily Totals:

Total Carbs: 26 grams

Protein: 52 grams

Thursday

Morning: Coffee and water.

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

Around 9 am: Iced green tea.

Around 12 noon: 2 servings natural peanut butter, 1 spoon coconut oil, 1 serving hemp seeds, shaved coconut.

Total Carbs: 15 grams

Protein: 28 grams

Around 4:30 pm: Coleslaw with lettuce, avocado, greens powder; can of sardines; 8 olives; 2 spoons peanut butter.

Meal Totals:

Total Carbs: 26 grams

Protein: 48 grams

Daily Totals

Total Carbs: 41 grams

Protein: 76 grams

Friday

Morning: Coffee and water.

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

Around 9 am: Iced green tea.

Around 1 pm: Chicken Jerky, 1 Whole Avocado.

Total Carbs: 12 grams

Protein: 18 grams

Around 6 pm: Grilled chicken salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onions, egg, cheese, bacon, ranch dressing.

Approximately 20 grams Total Carbs

Approximately 50 grams Protein

Daily Totals

Total Carbs: 32 grams

Protein: 68 grams

Saturday

Morning: Coffee and water.

Around 8:30 pm: Coffee with grass fed butter, coconut oil, salt.

Around 3 pm: 3 Handfuls of Cashews.

Total Carbs: Around 15 grams

Protein: Around 10 grams

Around 6 pm: Roast Pork with Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Olive Oil and Grass Fed Butter.

Total Carbs: Around 12 grams

Protein: Around 35 grams

Daily Totals

Total Carbs: 25 grams

Protein: 45 grams

Favorite Meal of the Week

Exercise

Sunday

Mowing lawn, 2.5 miles, around 1 hour total.

Monday

2.5 miles walk, around 50 minutes total, stretch and roll.

Tuesday

Morning stretch and roll.

Deadlifts 205 x 3, 225 x 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,2; Ab wheel roll, 6 sets of 6-8; pull up bar hangs.

Wednesday

2.5 miles walk, around 50 minutes total, stretch and roll.

Thursday

Goblet squat 35 x 8, 44 x 5,6,5; Kettlebell swing 53 x 10, 72 x 8,8,8; Pull up 6,6,6,5; Pushup 10,10,10,10; Total Gym row 10,10,10,12; Concentration curl 20 x 10, 10, 26 x 6, 6

Friday

Morning run, around 4.9 miles, 45:05, no rest.

This time is a full minute faster than last week, and 3 minute improvement from the start of Keto! I have a theory that one factor in my 1 minute improvement this week is my slight increase of total carbs this week, giving me more stored glycogen to chug up the hill towards the end of this run.

Saturday

Stretching and activite rest.

Benefits Noted This Week

I noticed a boost in energy during exercise this week, and I am going to correlate that to adding a little bit more carbs than previous weeks. In particular, I noticed increased energy and performance in types of exercise that would rely more on glycogen stores, such as weight lifting and running up a hill. I decided to strategically move the target of total carbs per day up from 20 grams to 30 grams, specifically to see if I may see a benefit in my exercise.

Important to note, I increased my daily carb intake by adding such items as a whole avocado, or a few spoons of peanut butter (not rice, bread, pasta, etc.).

Sleep was excellent this week! Every night was at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Sleep has been a focus area of mine for the last few months, and it is very encouraging to see it paying off.

My Compliance Grade for the Week

Given that I moved my target of total carbs this week from 20-30 grams per day, I give myself a 95% compliance. Moderate protein ranges were easily achieved, and I held firm with no processed food, grain, starch, or alcohol. I found the move to include more carbs, particularly on or before exercise days, was beneficial to my energy levels.

Looking ahead to next week, I will be wrapping up 4 weeks of Keto and reporting out about the experience. The post will include favorite meals, top tips and benefits, and challenges. Thanks so much for checking this out, I will update you soon!