Contemplation

Frustration and confusion are the words of the day. I weighed in this morning at 219 and change. It has been almost two weeks on this diet and 4 lbs down. It's been 4 lbs for the last week. It's far too early for this to be a plateau, and I'm confused. I've been in the gym 6 times and played 4 hours of softball in this time frame and still only lost 4 lbs. Typically when I go on a strict calorie deficit diet I can drop 10lbs in 2 weeks with little trouble. I've given the keto diet two strong weeks, and now I'm going to give a calorie deficit diet two weeks.

I have felt great on the keto diet. I have not been hungry and I really didn't feel like I was going without. With the calorie deficit I'm sure that's going to be a little different. I'm not sure if I am going to try to maintain very low carbs, but I will definitely be sticking with good veggies and lean meats. One night a week I will still enjoy a break from the diet, but in moderation.

According to myfitnesspal my maintenance calorie intake would be 2780 calories. I think that is a little high, but I am going to try to keep my intake between 1750 and 1900 calories a day. My take on low calorie diets is not to eat foods labeled as diet (except for Diet Coke, but that's because I prefer the flavor) or low-fat, but to eat full fat and full flavored things in healthy portions. This is going to require a bit more preparation each day.  I will try to stick 200-400-800 caloric 3 meal scheduled and then 2-3 snacks that are 150 calories or less. For snacks I like a Greek yogurt, gold fish (remember that I have a 4 year old, so there are always plenty of those around. Also, it has a 55 piece serving size for under 150 calories, so it is very satisfying), or a Kind granola bar.

I understand two weeks it a bit short to be giving up on the keto diet, but I don't want to feel like I am spinning my wheels in anything I do.

Shopping list and recipe idea's for the week

Just a quick post - There was a little interest in what I am shopping for each week and then what I plan to make with everything. I went to the store yesterday and I can't wait to get this stuff cooked up.

Shopping List:

Cheese:
   Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar
   Cabot Pepper Jack
   Cabot Jabanero Jack
   Sargento String Cheese - Mozzarella and Cheddar (Can't beat the 0 carb snacks)

Note: I'm buying the blocks know because I found out that the pre-shredded variety sometimes has potato starch added to it to keep it from clumping. I, certainly, don't normally care, but while try to stay Keto it is just unnecessary.

Produce: Fresh Kale
  Baby Spinach
  Frozen Yellow Squash
  Fresh Broccoli
  2 English Cucumbers
  Dill (I buy the pre-prepared variety to save some hassle)
  Portabella Mushroom Caps
  Black Berries (Really low on the glycemic index and fairly low in carbs. I'm going to try to make a BBQ sauce out of these. I can't go much longer without BBQ chicken.)

Meat:
  2 London Broils
  Angus Skirt Steak
  Chicken Breast
  Chicken Quarters
  Turkey Pepperoni

Note: All of these meats were on sale. Unless I have a specific request I only buy the sale meat.

Misc:
  Coconut Milk
  Coconut Flour
  85% Cocoa Lindt Dark Chocolate
  16 oz Daisy Sour Cream
  24 oz Daisy Sour Cream
  Dukes Mayo
  Montreal Steak Seasoning Marinade
  Mexican Fiesta Marinade
  Large Can of San Marzano Peeled Whole Tomatoes
  Pork Rines
   
Meals and Snacks for the Week:

  Portabella mushroom pizzas
  Pan Fried Tuna Patties with homemade tartar
  Grilled Skirt Steak with cucumber sauce and sauteed squash and broccoli
  Chicken and Steak Kabobs
  Grilled Coconut and ginger marinaded Chicken
  Roasted Kale Chips
  Bacon and Cheese Deviled Eggs
  Dark chocolate dipped blackberrries
   
 I'll post the recipes after I cook up the dishes. I usually shoot from the hip when cooking, so it's a little hard to predict the exact process of each thing.

Stay tuned for the scrumptious, goodness that is on it's way.
 

First Nights of Exercise on the Plan and My Goals

   Let's talk goals for a second. I weighed in, before dinner, on day 1 at 223.4 lbs (I know, I know I carry it well, thanks Mom :-) ).  I would like to get down to 190 lbs, preferably sooner rather than later, but I am not in a hurry. I am only in a hurry to get back to a weight where I can wear 50% of the clothes in my closet. Is that too much to ask? I'm starting to think people at work might be noticing that the days in between shirt and pants rotation are getting smaller and smaller (because my waistline is not...). This morning, Friday 6/20/2014, I weighed in a 219.6, so I'm down almost 4 lbs in as many days. I know this is likely water weight, but hell if it isn't motivating. There's nothing like a little motivation to keep the diet train a runnin.
  In spite of my need for this diet, and ever expanding nerdom, I make claims to be the most in shape ~30lbs over weight person I know. Last year, I ran the Tough Mudder, twice, at 210-215 lbs (I'm roughly 6ft tall) in about 2.5 hours. I currently play in a men's rec softball league, and I train in Brazilian Jiujitsu 2-3 times per week. Now, saying all that I'm no star on the diamond or some high level grappler, but damned if I don't love a good competition. I also have a fairly nice home gym set up (my son calls it Bumblebee), and a brother-in-law who arguably could strap a Smart Car to his back and probably not notice. I am, seemingly, well set up for success, but for some reason *cough*Coors Light*cough* I can't get back under 200lbs.

The Bumblebee

 Days 3 brought on my first exercise, softball. Granted, softball can be the poster boy exercise plan of the beer gutted, beard wearing, American flag waving population (all of which I subscribe to) I still think it is good excise. Sprinting in between bases, running to catch fly balls, etc.  I was feeling weary going in to the games, we play double headers each week. I just didn't have the normal level of energy I usually come in with. I was yawning while warming up, and wishing I had a couple Gatorade bottles in my bag to give me a little sugar boost. I think I may miss Gatorade as much as I miss Diet Coke. Bah, it's probably easier for me to not talk about my lost friends, and try to fondly remember all of the good times. I digress. About 1/2 way through the first game I was really dragging butt, now that could've been because we were getting beat by 15 runs, but I couldn't have been more thankful when that game was over. It was also 95 degrees with roughly standing water levels of humidity.
  Going into the second game our, stand in, coach Josh gave a solid pep talk and we aggressively took to the batter's box and came out to a quick lead. The score in the second game went up and down, but we ended up battling back for a tie. One hell of satisfying tie it was. I felt better the second game. Maybe it was the adrenaline spike of the close game, maybe it was because I was playing well, or maybe it was because at that moment my body burned through all of its carb stores and finally started fueling from fat. I'm not sure, but I'll take ending on a high note every time.
  While I was gone my, wonderful wife prepared some cauliflower mash and thawed some chicken for dinner. Let me tell you, it was a site for sore eyes when I got home. Ravenous doesn't even begin to describe my hunger at this point. I ended up baking the chicken with salt, pepper, and adobo seasoning then turning it into a make shift cordon bleu by topping it with sliced turkey (I didn't have any ham) and Swiss cheese. It was fantastic. It might not look as good as the taco salad did from day 2, but it was equally as satisfying.

Cauliflower mash and adobo Chicken with turkey and swiss

  Also on day 3, I discovered Hillshire Farms American Craft jalapeno and cheddar sausages. These little suckers are 1 carb a piece and unbelievably tasty. I cut mine up on a bed of spinach and baby greens then topped that with the creamy Caesar dressing I mentioned previously. Highly recommend that you seek these babies out.
  Day 4, I started my day off with the heavy cream coffee, again, and I really didn't get hungry until 12:15. I was working from home, so I got a little adventurous with my lunch time meal. I started by cooking up some Jimmy Dean original sausage patties and sauteing spinach in coconut oil with a little garlic, salt, and pepper in separate pans. When the sausage was almost done, I tossed in 4 eggs with the spinach and finished it off with cheddar cheese and Chipotle Tabasco, CT as we will call it from now on. NOW, this was looking like a meal.

We call this

  I cooked the eggs to a crispy bottomed, runny yolk goodness. Lastly, I added a dollop of Daisy for creaminess, and fat, and then dove right in. Although, the coconut oil did add a little unexpected flavor it didn't take away anything overall. This was a great success. I am going to experiment with this coconut oil some more to see if I can take advantage of the unique, cooking flavor.  
  Now, this was the only meal I had before my BJJ class that evening, obligatory shout out to Capital MMA, and much to my surprise it was enough. I didn't have the feeling of emptiness going in. I lasted through about 45 minutes of hard sparring and the hour long class. I am starting to think that my body may have actually started fueling from my fat intake during that second softball game.
  This dieting concept is becoming more and more feasible. I can't wait to see where the next few days take me.

  Nerdy moment of the past few days - I spent 2-3 hours watching YouTube videos of Rodrigo Gracie. I have a seminar coming up on Sunday with him and I am just a little excited.
  

Day 2

  I woke up yesterday to my, soon to be 4 year old, son barreling into my bedroom and handing me his mother's phone. Now, I have no idea where he got the phone because my wife always sleeps with it next to the bed. When I rolled over to give her the phone and ask questions I noticed she was already up and moving. Normally my son does not come into our room, and normally my wife does not get up early. It was just a strange way to start the morning. Let's just blame it on the carbs and keep moving.

  I wasn't really hungry when I woke up, which is not unusual, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and packed up my work stuff. Tom and his wife were still in town, so I didn't make lunch and planned to meet everyone at the Peruvian chicken place near my office. I felt normal, for the most part; I was just missing my ritualistic, satisfying, and beloved Diet Coke on the commute in. For the past 4-5 years I had one every morning on the way in. Granted there are no carbs in it, but from what I read the aspartame will spike my insulin levels basically defeating my efforts. I think this is going to prove to be one of the hardest things for me to give up. 

  Lunch ended up being great. I had two quarters of some of the most scrumptious rotisserie cooked chicken around with a great side salad that had a smoked ranch dressing (it might not be smoked, but I there is just something different and amazing about this dressing). There were only a couple of carbs from the dressing and the odd slice of tomato and onion in the salad.

  I snagged some "keto" groceries on the way home. 5 dozen eggs, sausage, bacon, cauliflower, broccoli, Caesar dressing (with 11 grams of polyunsaturated fat and 1 carb per serving, this is like a keto gold mine), and a few other things. It was such a great shopping experience because there are so many things that fit into this diet. I just looked for the sale, or moderately priced stuff, and came home with a haul. 

  Dinner ended up being beef taco meat over a bed of spinach and mixed baby greens topped with ranch dressing, Parmesan cheese, two hard boiled eggs, sour cream and the omnipresent chipotle Tabasco (see picture below). 

Taco Salad

  I had another egg a little later in the evening as a snack, and a cup of coffee with some heavy whipping cream (seriously try this if you don't have another snack handy). This ended my second day on the Carb Nite Solution. Met my macros, felt satisfied, and really only craved some Diet Coke. I'm sure more cravings will hit me tomorrow, but so far, so good.

  OH, for and my daily nerd time - I ended up setting up a new Minecraft server. A couple of friends and I are getting tired of waiting for it to come out on the PS4, so I decided to set up a PC server for us. Now I just have to get them to stop calling me names for playing a PC game.

My introduction to Carb Nite

  A great friend of mine, Tom, visited this weekend with his wife. For our first dinner I made grilled chicken, roasted broccoli and baked potatoes because Tom is typically a big and healthy eater. Much to my surprise he stayed away from the potatoes but added what could only be considered a small mountain of butter and cheese to his broccoli. I was confused and this started our conversation on Keto diets and the Carb Nite Solution more specifically.
  He started to explain to me the concept of depleting your body's carbohydrate stores, and then forcing your body to eat the fat cells. This was the reason he was adding ingredients with rather high fat levels to his meal. He continued to say he eats a large amount of protein and fat with every meal. The protein is to help keep your muscles strong and the fat to give you energy. Fast forward 6 hours worth of car rides and countless times being asked to talk about something else by our wives I was mentally hooked.
  Yesterday, Monday 6/16/2014, I decided it was time to start my first day of the 10 day introduction period in the Carb Nite. I definitely felt a little weird at first. I was almost anxious to start eating for fear of screwing up. Eventually, I had 3 over easy eggs, with cheese and sliced turkey on top. Oh, and a heaping portion of Chipotle Tabasco (0 carbs and I couldn't be happier about it.) After the meal, I was full, and content. Which was a strange feeling for me after eating something that is considered a good meal on this diet.
  For dinner I ate a NY strip steak, with wilted spinach and sugar snap peas. All of which was topped with garlic butter (I have to get those fats in, you know). Again, completely satisfied. Don't get me wrong, I really could've gone for a slice of bread to soak up all of the butter and steak juice on my plate, but I resisted.
  Later that evening, while playing a rousing game of Magic the Gathering with our wizard hats on and the skyrim music playing in the background, I ended up eating 4-5 hard boilded eggs. This was arguably my favorite part of the day because I got to keep eating and I didn't feel bad. I actually felt accomplished because I hit my macro levels of protein and fat for the day and stayed under the 30 grams of crabs that I was supposed to.
  All in all, day one was a success. I'm not expecting to see any weight loss yet, but I stuck to the plan and felt good about it.