Hello! 

My ketones were back up to 1.0 this morning, which was a nice surprise after they had been so low for a few days. I decided yesterday that I need to improve my stress management, and started yesteday with a guided meditation. I used to meditate daily and I really feel like it is effective in so many ways. I feel calmer, more productive and focused, and much less stressed when I meditate daily. 

I also have not been happy with my skating and feel that I do better when I am visualizing skating well and feeling confident, so I need to write out a new roller derby visualization to practice. I also have been finding myself annoyed with people when they suggest things I can do to improve. I get annoyed with people because I am already really hard on myself, and chances are I have already been beating myself up about whatever it is that I did not do well or need to improve on. That said, I know suggestions are intended to help me and I realize getting annoyed when people try to help me is not acceptable. 

The font that I have been using on this blog is pretty hard to read, so I think I am going to go ahead and use something different. 

Something else that bothers me is that I sometimes act like a know it all. I  have a hard time letting things go when I know someone is wrong. I will start out polite saying something like "I don't think that is how it works" but when they insist that it is I usually have a hard time leaving it at that instead of setting them straight. 

Work is busy right now, and I am getting ready to go play OKVD so I need to actually get pretty far ahead. 

Speaking of work- I had better get at it. 

♥
Erica

Enjoy the guided meditation I did this morning: 

Food Journal
Yesterday
----------------------------------------

breakfast 
2 eggs scrambled with green chili and cheese
2 slices bacon
1 cup fatty coffee.
( I noticed some add supplements. I take Vitamin D, Multivitamin, Potassium, Magnesium and desiccated liver) 

Lunch
not hungry

Snack
2 oz cheese (a variety of what I had small thin slices of: raw cheddar, robusto, dubliner. Yum. ) 

Dinner
5oz chicken tikka masala, less than 1/2 cup sauteed squash, 1 cup salad (mixed greens, dressing, olives, sprinkled with Parmesan) 


Calories:1238 Carbs: 16 Fat: 92 Protein: 73

Water- about 7 large glasses.

Good  Morning! 

I don't feel like I have much to say... so lets see where I go. 

I entered the food I ate last week in to a food calculator. My calories were suprisingly consistent, so that was cool. I did notice I was way under on protein, so I am going to try to step it up. I did well with that yesterday. 

I feel pretty good, but I am bummed out that I seem to be stalling. I am thinking about starting a youtube video blog because I find the vlogs I have seen about others on the keto diet to be really inspiring. I just worry because it seems like people can be pretty cruel on youtube and a lot of people seem to troll around there.

The kids made a huge mess upstairs in their rooms yesterday, so that was disappointing.  I did not see it, but when Adam put autumn to bed he said it looked like they spilled a whole gallon of water on the floor.

I made a new design yesterday, maybe I will post it on my other blog... it is a drawing of one of our cats wearing a crown :)

I am feeling a little apathetic today. I would like to feel happier. I guess the best way to do that is to get happy- I strongly believe we create our lives and are in charge of our emotions ( for the most part, of course, I have also suffered from severe depression, etc. so I know how that feels uncontrollable) .

So... lets end this post with five things that make me happy...

1. My awesome, sweet, handsome, wonderful husband
2. My Children (when they are not driving me crazy, lol)
3.  Cats. I love cats.
4. Being self employed.
5. Playing roller derby.

Life really is pretty awesome.


Food Journal:

Yesterday

breakfast 
2 eggs scrambled with green chili and cheese
2 slices bacon
1 cup fatty coffee.

Lunch- Still working on that roast chicken, Skin on 1/2 serving (4 small squares) of lillys dark chocolate (no sugar, stevia sweetened) 

Snack, Fatty chai

Dinner
1/2 cup sauerkraut (leftover from yesterday, Brats were cooked in it) , 6 uncured pepperoni slices(large) 1.5 oz Robusto cheese. 1/2 avocado

Calories: 1358 Carbs: 15 Fat: 117 Protein: 70 

I did much better on the protein !

March 12, 2014

FOODS	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Cholest	Sodium	Sugars	Fiber
Breakfast
Drinks - Black Coffee, 1 cup	2	0g	0g	0g	0mg	5mg	0g	0g
Fat - Coconut Oil, 20 g	172	0g	20g	0g	0mg	0mg	0g	0g
Kerry Gold - Grassfed Butter - Salted, 1 TBSP (14g)	100	0g	11g	0g	30mg	100mg	0g	0g
Organic Valley - Organic Heavy Whipping Cream, 3 tbsp	150	0g	18g	0g	60mg	15mg	0g	0g
Fresh - All Green Vegetable Juice, 3 oz	14	0g	0g	0g	0mg	0mg	0g	0g
Whole Foods - Organic Omega 3 Brown Egg, 2 egg	140	0g	9g	12g	430mg	130mg	0g	0g
Lunch
Whole Foods - Black Forest Bacon, 4 slices	160	2g	16g	8g	20mg	540mg	2g	0g
Earthbound Farms - Spring Mix, Organic Salad Greens, 1 cups, 3 oz (85g)	10	2g	0g	1g	0mg	48mg	1g	1g
Annie's Naturals - Organic Goddess Dressing, 2 Tbsp.	120	2g	12g	1g	0mg	320mg	0g	0g
Generic - Vine Ripe Tomato (Correct), 1 oz (91g)	5	1g	0g	0g	0mg	1mg	1g	0g
Oil - Olive, 2 tablespoon	239	0g	27g	0g	0mg	1mg	0g	0g
Snacks
Organic - Avocado, 0.5 avocado	150	2g	4g	1g	0mg	2mg	0g	2g
Generic Coffee - Black Coffee From Usda, 1 Cup	1	0g	0g	0g	0mg	5mg	0g	0g
Kerry Gold - Grassfed Butter - Salted, 1 TBSP (14g)	100	0g	11g	0g	30mg	100mg	0g	0g
Spectrum - Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, 28 g (1 tbsp)	240	0g	28g	0g	0mg	0mg	0g	0g
Cheese - Cheddar, 2 slice (1 oz)	226	1g	19g	14g	59mg	348mg	0g	0g
TOTAL:	1,829	10g	175g	37g	629mg	1,615mg	4g	3g

EXERCISES	Calories	Minutes	Sets	Reps	Weight
Cardiovascular
Skating, roller (rollerblading, roller blading)	1,486	120
TOTALS:	1,486	120	0	0	0

Hi All!

I am still loving Nutritional Ketosis, or  LCHF if you are outside of the USA.

My weight has been teetering between 231 and 234 for several days, but I think I have also gained quite a bit of muscle, so it is all good. Last week I was struggling through workouts, but over the weekend it felt like I had a breakthrough, and felt pretty awesome through two hard fought derby games. I also felt pretty good yesterday at my speed skating class.

Here are my top five favorite blogs about Nutritional Ketosis, in no real order:

1. http://www.dietdoctor.com/
2. http://www.grassfedgirl.com/
3. http://eatingacademy.com/
4. http://www.eatlowcarbhighfat.com/
5. http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/

Up next I really want to figure out how to get myfitnesspal.com set up for ketosis.

In other news, my husband, who does not need to lose weight is doing LCHF with me, and starting to sprout a 6 pack. Damn his superior genes, we should all be so lucky! ♥   I am a tad jealous that it is so easy for him, but he is a sweetheart and a very very handsome man, so I forgive him.

So, a few days of food:

Sunday
Breakfast
3 oz green juice 2pc bacon, Scrambled eggs
Snacked on some salami from whole foods during the day
drank some coffee with butter
had a cup of broth
for dinner I attempted keto pizza, which was delicious, but fell apart when we ate it. We had that with a salad.

Monday
2 boiled eggs and green juice
snacked on a few bits of cheese
2 cups coffee with cream, butter and coconut oil
dinner was a filet wrapped in bacon with a salad

Today so far:
bacon, scrambled eggs
1 cup butter/coconut oil coffee
snacked on some pepperoni from whole foods
Steak smothered in butter and mushrooms


Take Care !

♥Erica

Thoughts on Nutrition

I have sort of derailed my journal because I am reading a book "Why We Get Fat", and my mind is blown. I am going to continue to record what I am eating, and the exercise I am doing, but from this point forward I will be doing things a little differently, and my goal will be to FINALLY eat enough and stop starving myself for the sake of conventional wisdom and a lifetime of misinformation in health and nutrition. I only have a little time to read (usually the evening before bed) so I am not finished reading it yet (although I have been listening to constant debates, webinars, podcasts, etc. about the theories in the book since I started it), and I am sure I will continue to be dumbfounded by the revelations but I just can't help wanting to talk about it NOW. I mentioned earlier that I would share my opinion on what an optimal human diet is after the past 5 years of independent recreational research I have put in to it. Since I had my first child, Autumn, I have been unable to lose weight, and not through lack of willpower, determination, or effort. Because of this I have been reading as much about nutrition, fitness and weight-loss as I have time for between my children and husband, my business and playing roller derby. I am so obsessed and fascinated with it that I occasionally daydream about becoming a nutritionist. Before reading this book, I felt that the best possible human diet consisted only of raw organic produce (as local as possible) and lean, grass-fed and free range meat (basically animals that eat the diet they are intended to eat) and the portion should be ¾ live food to ¼ lean protein. I enjoy being active and felt this was necessary to be fit and healthy. I thought grains of all kinds should be avoided all together and think that sugar and white flour are poison. I also thought that occasionally treating oneself to thinks like sugar and white bread was ok. “Everything in moderation” as we have been told so many times before. I have been eating a lean low calorie diet for the past 5 years and getting plenty of exercise so I know there is more to being overweight than eating less and exercising more, and I started this blog to prove to drs, nutritionists, etc that I was doing what conventional wisdom tells us to do to lose weight. I still think organic greens, and animals that eat their natural diet are great, and more than ever I think that refined sugar and white flour are poison, to the point that even though I have always loved these things, the idea of eating them is currently revolting. I will wait until I finish “Why We Get Fat” to explain the actual changes in what I think is an optimal human diet, what changed my mind, and how Gary Taubes put the nail in the coffin for me when it comes to refined sugar, and flour, and most carbohydrates. ♥ Erica

Breakfast and Lunch

I am still feeling sick from last night. I ended up vomiting. I don't get migraines so I am not sure if that is what I had last night.

This morning I ate my two and a half eggs but skipped the juice until this afternoon. For lunch I had my plain Greek yogurt and fruit parfait and three more boiled eggs. I have been drinking my green juice this afternoon. I am still feeling sick.

Breakfast This morning and Dinner from last night... And what I am reading now...

Dinner Last Night:
3 Tacos: Home made shredded chicken, Avocado, Salsa, Lots of Greens, Cheese, In a homemade blue corn tortilla shell.

Breakfast:
2 1/2 Boiled eggs, Fresh Green Veggie Juice, and in a little while I will have some coffee.


Last night I started reading "Why We Get Fat" which my brother read a few years ago and suggested.

Which you can buy here: 

http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307474259/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392217967&sr=8-1&keywords=why+do+we+get+fat

I was planning to read a book Called "beyond paleo" that I bought a little while ago, but I couldn't find it. I bought this around the same time, and have not read it either. While I was looking for it, I realized that I have read A LOT of fitness and nutrition books in the last few years. From what I have read, it seems that vegan and vegetarian lifestyles are not really healthy (that it is possible to do it well if you are doing it for ethical reasons, but if you are doing it to be healthy there is no point) . I have only read the first chapter of this book, but it seems like that is where this book is going, Too. I think when I finish this book, I am going to go ahead and go out of my way to find a book that supports the health benefits of a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. I feel like I have a decent grasp on nutrition (and  in a future post I will explain what I think is an ideal human diet from my current research). Realizing how one sides most of the books I have read are makes me think I may not know as much as I think. Honestly, what is and isn't healthy changes so much it is hard to know what to think. 

♥Erica

Snack Entry

Afternoon snack:
Fresh green juice (and tiny bit of protein powder)  and an apple.

Breakfast Entry

•Green Juice (fresh squeezed veggie juice)
• 1/2 boiled omega-3 eggs
•Supplements (probiotics, vitamin d, flax seed oil, super- enzymes)
• In an hour or so I will drink some coffee with cream (after the juice digests a little so I don't kill the micro-nutrients)

I have been having this same breakfast for over a year. It is satisfying, and I feel wonderful from all the nutrients I get from this meal. I love the taste of green juice now, but it did take some getting used to in the beginning.

Food Journal Entries, Lunch, Snack, Dinner

Lunch: Green Juice with Protein Powder (Raw Fit, much less than suggested amount) and an apple

Snack: More Green Juice (with protein powder, much less than suggested amount) and beef jerky (locally made, made of salt and beef only) 

Dinner: Salad pictured above. It was organic spring mix and shaved carrots topped with leftover baked chicken (about 1/2 a breast) one boiled egg, and sprinkled with organic cheese. Olive oil and vinegar dressing. I also had a piece of toast and Adam made high-quality hot-chocolate and I did indulge and have a cup of that.

I feel satisfied, both with my choices and ... well... physically nourished. I would be happier if  I'd passed on the toast and the hot chocolate, but I am not disappointed in myself.