rketterman

So, overall my experience was positive.  Due to some technical issues I haven't been able to check in as much as I would like.  I was also trying to track my progress on a spreadsheet, which I lost thanks to the technical issues.  

 

I've been tracking my food intake consistently and have had a good outcome.   Even with the hiccups halfway through the challenge I managed to get back on track and lost about 6.5 lbs during the 4 week period!

 

I've been taking stairs EVERY day multiple times a day.  This has been my primary source of increased activity.  Reading was the easiest part of the challenge.  I think I missed all of 1 day and that was while I was sick.  

 

I've managed to plan out 3 of the 4 "vacations" so I'll take that as a win.  I have been able to create my budget and track spending for the month and I just have to update it to finalize the month.

 

 

Sum it up: 1) Got started. 2) Got screwed up on my carb intake. 3) Got sick.  4) Had technical issues.  5) Got a promotion.  6) got back on track. 7) Ended on the high notes.  

 

I've heard a lot about the breath test and I was a bit skeptical so I passed on it.  Glad I did now.  I haven't looked for the fingerprick tests yet.  I found the urine strips when I first started keto and thought I would give them a try.  I like the simplicity for what I'm doing.  Either the strip is a shade of red or it isn't.  Once I get a bit further along I may get the blood test.  

So I didn't check in last week. Overall it was a good week. I did have some issues with my carb intake and finally figured out the issue was with the tracking software I was using.  Well, more like the options I was choosing in the software weren't as accurate as I originally thought.  So this week is about accountability and making sure that the food I'm putting in my tracker is as accurate as possible.  

 

While exercising still hasn't become a regular thing I am working on it.  I'm using the stairs at work all the time.  With a soon to be 2 year old I find it hard to make time for my exercise goals.  I will have to reevaluate things and try to incorporate this in to my next challenge.

Even small steps are progress!  Do what you can when you can.

 

  I have a toaster oven and hot plate and I feed my wife and son just fine.  You sometimes have to get creative.  You may consider getting a cheap slow cooker it can be a life saver some days/week's for me.  I use them during busy weeks for a beef roast or a pork butt.  Then I just change up the sides and sauces I serve them with. 

So I'm on track for a pretty good week this week.  Menu was planned, had to switch a few meals around because of scheduling issues but I stuck with it.  I did my meal prep for the entire week last Sunday and packed my lunch for work ahead of time.

 

My lunches were all the same-garlic butter chicken thighs and bacon, parmesan cauliflower puree.  I also had some hard boiled eggs for snacking.

Dinners were/are:

Sun -pizza for wife and son, pizza quesadilla with low carb tortilla for me

Mon-burgers, no bun for me

Tues-garlic parmesan chicken thighs

Wed-bacon and eggs

Thu-chicken salad 

Fri-fried chicken for wife and son, roasted thighs for me

Sat-chili!

I've had celery and peanut butter for snacks as needed.

 

I've realized I'm not a strict Keto diet but I'm definitely low carb.  My carb intake was a little higher than planned but my body still got back in to ketosis after the disaster that was the holiday season.  

 

My budget for the year is created and expense tracking is going well.  I'm using an simple app that I can share with my wife.  Any purchases or bills paid and we just log it before we leave the store.  

 

Reading every night before bed (currently Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard).  Definitely helps me wind down.  

 

I have some ideas for the vacations/trips, just have to talk to the wife about them before hitting the planning stage.

 

I'm not going to hit my exercise goal this week BUT I am taking stairs at work every day, every chance I get!

 

Overall I'm feeling great! My appointment on Monday went so well that I don't have to go back until next year.  Blood pressure is "beautiful" according to the doc.  So im calling this week a win overall.  

So it's only fitting that the challenge officially starts tomorrow and I have a 6 month check up first thing.  I'll be creating my general health baseline tomorrow I guess.

I sometimes have issues with checking in as well.  It's more important that you continue to work towards your goal.  I'm hoping to check in at least once a week to give a progress report.

 

“Have you tried to turn it off and on again?”

 

On again off again is the story of my life.  

 

Who am I?  I’m a father of a 2 year old boy. I’m a husband.  I’m a chef.  Life got crazy.  Like Jack Nicholson stuck in a hotel during a snowstorm crazy.  I do ok on my own but better with the support of the community.  I lost 30 lbs on my own last year but gave myself too much wiggle room so I’m here to use the challenge to keep me on track again.

 

What do I want?  To get a healthier life so I can live it with my wife and son.

 

How am I doing it?  One step at a time.

 

Eat Better: Cheeseburger in Paradise -Jimmy Buffett
Rule 1: Keto 7 days a week. 26 net carbs, 137 g Fat, 179 grams protein per day.
Rule 2: Plan ahead.  Make menus, meal prep, expect the unexpected. Track

Exercise more: Let's get physical -Olivia Newton John
Rule 1: Take the stairs at work as much as possible.
Rule 2: Exercise 2 days a week for at least 15 minutes each day

Mental health: (You Drive Me) Crazy -Britney Spears
Rule 1: Read for 20 minutes each night before bed
Rule 2: Plan some travel time for this year.  1 major vacation and 3 mini (weekend or day trips)

Level Up: Opportunities (Let's make lots of money) -Pet Shop Boys
Rule 1: Create a family budget for 2019
Rule 2: Track expenses for January

 

This may seem like a lot to some but really most of the goals under each category work hand in hand with the exception of the mental health section.

 

So I'm sure there are people here that track Ketones in some way shape or form.  What is your go to method and why?  

 

Me, I just use the strips.  I'm not concerned about my exact level at the moment just that I'm in ketosis.  

On 3/6/2018 at 6:23 PM, kittykitty93 said:

I love Brandon Sanderson, have you gotten into Mistborn?

Sent from my Z815 using Tapatalk
 

Not yet but I did just read The Rithmatist and The Way of Kings.  LOVED Both of them.  

Sooooooo...this has been a rough week.  I was away from home for the first few days of the week with horrible internet connection.  Horrible.  Worse than dial-up.  Seriously. 

 

Point being, my tracking app wasn't utilized because of the lack of internet (it's required to search for the foods I'm inputting) and I didn't consider using anything else until too late.  The good news is I got to walk/exercise while I was away. 

I see lots of Saturday morning memories here with x-men, captain planet, etc.  But I have some very fond memories of these after school shows. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Kitchen Manager asked me "What are your thoughts on stupid questions?" 

What he expected: "There's no such thing as a stupid question."

What he got: "There's no such thing as a stupid question. Only stupid people asking questions."

 

For example:  I was working at a restaurant when a guy (who had worked there for about a year) asked for my help making jello.  Really complicated stuff.  A gallon of boiling water and a packet (restaurant size obviously) of jello (all were citrus flavors).  He asks "Can we make grape?"  My answer: "No! We don't have grape"  He replies: "Sure we do.  It's right here." I'm perplexed because I have never seen grape jello in our restaurant.  He hands me a pack of chocolate pudding mix.

So tracking is going well and my soda consumption is doing ok.  I need to get the exercising thing going in the right direction.  I have time before work in the morning so I will fit in some time there. 

 

I started prepping some things for next week since I had a short shift at work tonight.  I'm planning on doing a chicken parm casserole next week that uses spaghetti squash.  We will see how it turns out.  On another note I did find a recipe for meatballs of a sort this week.

 

Low Carb Sausage Meat Balls (makes 32 small meat balls)

1 lb Pork Sausage

1 cup Cheddar Cheese

3/4 cup Carbquick or Almond Flour

1 eggs

1.5 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

2 tsp Garlic

 

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Mix all of the ingredients together until well combined. 

2. Portion out using a 1 oz scoop (1/8 cup).  Roll them into smooth balls and place on a nonstick cookie tray. Bake at 350F for 16-18 minutes

 

Portion size: 3 meatballs. Only 1.5 net carbs per serving. 

 

 

Picture will come later.  While I did like these they had a bit of a "biscuit-y" taste because of the Carbquick I used.  I think I will cut that back or use Almond flour the next time.  I was using these as a breakfast item just to test them but I feel like these would be much better in a pasta dish or on a meatball sub.  The flavors of the sausage were missing but they weren't bad. Also, because I was using this as a side item for my breakfasts I made the serving size fairly small but if I used them in another dish I think I would use more per serving.   

 

 

 

On 9/15/2017 at 2:16 PM, PaulG said:

 

Now I'm curious. Sucralose isn't a surfactant, it doesn't contain carbon dioxide or any other gas, so it shouldn't bubble or make noise on its own.

 

What kind of things were you doing where you noticed hissing or bubbling?

I have also noticed this with splenda.  It's one of the things that turned me off about it. It reminded me of baking soda and vinegar the way it acted when put in liquids. 

 

I use stevia myself.  I managed to find dried stevia leaf (as opposed to the processed white powder) and actually use it when I brew my tea.  I have a Mr Coffee tea brewer and add a little dried stevia leaf in with my loose leaf tea.  It has a much better flavor in my opinion.  It does take some experimenting to get the taste just right because I like it sweet but not Southern "here's some diabetes with your tea" sweet. 

On 8/26/2017 at 8:54 AM, Garris said:

 

Pleas keep in mind my 85 year old grandma told me this one;

 

There are three old ladies sitting on a park bench.

 

a man comes by walks in front of them,turns quickly, opens his coat and flashes them.

 

now the first old lady has a stroke, the 2nd old lady has a stroke and the third old lady can't quite reach .

I have a similar joke, told to me by my elderly aunt.

 

An couple of old ladies are sitting on a park bench when an old man runs by opens his jacket and flashes them. 

 

The first old lady says "WHO WAS THAT?!"

 

The second old lady says "I don't know but whatever he was wearing sure needed ironing."

On 9/19/2017 at 5:27 PM, fireandlight said:

I too, remember those 6 week challenges. There was much to learn when I came back after about 2 years of flailing about on my own...

 

Welcome back! Best of luck with the challenge!

Yes, I've been a hit and miss kind of situation over the last few years.  Things have changed but not too bad.  Still seems like a great support system with lots of information.

 

 

So heres a (not so) quick update.

 

1. I have a problem with starting a project and not finishing it.  I joined Nerd Fitness several years ago and only used it from time to time.  When I would leave NF I would end up falling off the wagon, so to speak.  I really need to work on this and having a 4 week challenge will help me be accountable I think. One of my biggest issues is that if I'm not seeing results I'm not sticking with it.

 

2. I am following a low carb diet (though not a clean eating version just yet) because, if done correctly, I will see results pretty consistently and quickly.  I started restricting my carb intake about 2 weeks ago and I'm down 5 lbs (not too fast but quick enough I'm noticing).  A few years ago I was tracking my food intake and found that I was consuming between 300-400 carbs a day.  When I attempted the paleo diet I was consuming about 80 carbs per day.  This, combined with regular exercise, was allowing me to lose weight.  The problem wasn't with the diet but with my resources.  I moved and couldn't go to the gym and in turn thought I couldn't exercise regularly.  I got back into my old habits. 

 

3. One of my goals (eventually) is to transition my "sloppy low carb" (as I'm calling it) to a "clean low carb" and then to the Paleo diet again.  I'm not doing clean eating yet simply because I have become accustomed to breads again.  I want to transition them out eventually but not cold turkey.  I have purchased a product called CarbQuik which is a low carb baking mix that can be used like Bisquick.  This will allow me to have pancakes, biscuits, and other breads until I can start phasing them out. I'm not following the Atkins approach which emphasizes extremely low carb intake in the beginning and adding carbs as you go.  Instead, I am doing my own take on it for a few weeks.  I'm restricting my intake to 50 MOST days but will allow myself UP TO 80 if I feel I can't meet those numbers for a given time period. 

 

4. For example, I was visiting my in-laws for the last few days and they are a meat and potato kind of family.  I don't have anything against that but I don't feel that I can ask them to make changes just for me.  So, preparing for my visit, I used the carbquick to make pancakes, made a sausage based meatball, and purchased sugar free syrup as well as some greek yogurt.  This allowed me to keep my carb count fairly low for breakfast and lunch.  I snacked on cheese and peanut butter if I got hungry between meals.  Then, for dinner I could allow myself a few extra carbs and could still be within my guidelines.  The challenge was to not over do it on dinner.  This is our big meal of the day so it's usually things like pasta (lasagna this week) or meat, beans, and potatoes.  Fresh, home made bread is always on the table so yeah.  Challenging but manageable if I prepare in advance. 

 

Anywho, I'll stop boring you now.

 

 

23 hours ago, Wobbegong said:

Next you'll tell us there was no Rebel Guild back then, Grandpa! Just kidding. Things changed a lot when Level Up Your Life came out (although I think the switch to 4WCs from 6WCs happened before that?) 

What is it you whipper snappers say these day "I used to be an adventurer, then I took an arrow to the knee."  Lol.  

 

I do think I may prefer the 4 weeks over the 6 week challenges. They seem more...idk...manageable. 

So, I've been around the forums for a while, though I keep disappearing into the void and slowly I must climb back to the top. And back in my day we had 6 week challenges that we had to walk up hill both ways to get to, in 12 feet of snow but still I've decided that this needs to happen. 

 

The last 2 years have been rough on me in regards to my health but the last 6 months have been some of the worst I've dealt with in terms of finances, career, and over all life stuff.  On the plus side, my wife and I now have a wonderful 7 month old son who keeps me going.  He is my big why!  So lets get down to business. My main focus this time around is nutrition.  As a chef I know the general concepts of diet and nutrition. I know what I should do but I also know what my taste buds like and often times they don't coincide with one another. 

 

My goals are as follows:

1. Track my food-this seems like it's a no brainer for some (and pointless for others), but this is one thing that I feel I MUST do.  Every challenge.  Period.  Its the only way I can be sure that the food I'm eating is meeting the diet/lifestyle I choose and that I'm reaching my other goals. (7 points a week)

2. Cut back on the soda-Since moving (again) I have fallen back on the wagon.  I once went an entire year with no soda (until I started working in fast food) now I want to get back to that.  My current intake is about 2 bottles a day which is an improvement over a few months ago.  My plan is as follows:  Week 1- 2 bottles a day (not an improvement but not getting worse). Week 2-1 bottle per day. Week 3- 3 bottles for the entire week.  Week 4- Soda free. (7 points a week.  1 point subtracted for each day I don't meet my goal)

3. Try 2 new recipes and create 2 new recipes-these must be "diet-friendly" in order to maintain my long term goals.  I will find 2 recipes that I want to try and I will create 2 recipes for myself.  This averages to 1 recipe a week.  These will be worth 2 points each.  Doesn't have to be anything fancy, just something yummy. 

 

Level up your life goal:

1. Read for 10-20 minutes each night before bed.  I have a great book I want to read.  I'm assuming it's great.  I keep hearing it's great.  It's called Level Up Your Life. I've read the first couple of chapters and I like it but I find that I'm not setting time aside to read.  (7 points per week)

 

Bonus Level:

1. I'm including one "hidden" bonus level in this challenge.  Exercise.  Given my current living situation I don't have much room to exercise BUT thanks to a certain blog I know of I found a simple workout I can do in my bedroom.  It's a small start but it is a start.  So-exercise some days and take short walks on others (at least 5 days per week).  Nothing too specific but I'm just trying to get back into the groove here.  (5 points per week)

 

Grading system:

 

Week 1: (22/28)

Tracker (6/7)

Soda (6/7)

Recipe (2/2)

Read (5/7)

Exercise (3/5)

 

Week 2: (8/28)

Tracker (2/7)

Soda (3/7)

Recipe (0/2)

Read (1/7)

Exercise (2/5)

 

Week 3: (0/28)

Tracker (0/7)

Soda (0/7)

Recipe (0/2)

Read (0/7)

Exercise (0/5)

 

Week 4: (0/28)

Tracker (0/7)

Soda (0/7)

Recipe (0/2)

Read (0/7)

Exercise (0/5)

 

 

My family is now back in WV and working on getting our life back together so to speak.  The last few months have been terrible for us but we are slowly getting things going in the right direction.  My goal is to not be a part of our states statistics.  Eat better, hike some trails (start small though) and reign in all the chaos that has been surrounding me lately-those are my current goals.  Maybe we could do something next year if things work out.

We got a case from a different farm this week and apparently they weren't up to the quality we were used to.

Work thoughts (for when it's slow at work):  "Could 'Let the bodies hit the floor' and 'It's raining men' be about the same set of events?"

SHUCKING OYSTERS!  The oysters we got this week are extremely brittle and the shells were breaking before they opened.  Considering I was trying to serve oysters on the half shell this wasn't good. 

I'm originally from WV!  Moorefield to be exact, moved to Fairmont for college (worked in Morgantown for a while).  I moved away for a few years but I'm headed back in that direction soon I think. 

I broke down and got a few lbs of beef.  The idea of meatballs as a convenience food has had me wanting to play around with some ideas.  So this week on my days off I'm going to be meatballing it up.