[Sovalis]

 

Hi Everyone! 

 

I am having a moment with the colour  goldenrod yellow. It's popping up everywhere for me right now: clothes, markers, shiny rocks. I've been looking into some of the symbolism of it and the knowledge feels grounding and informative. In particular, the stone Citrine is coming to mind a lot. Citrine is supposed to be a happy stone for channelling success, creativity, and willpower. It's also supposed to be good for digestion. These are key things I want in the front of mind for this challenge, so I'm going to be keeping a citrine in my pocket to remind me of my goals for the next little while. 

 

My primary goals for this challenge are movement and nutrition:

 

-I want to continue trying to get my daily walk in with the goal of beating my 5600 step count on more than 15 days which is what I managed last challenge.

 

-I'm going to try to do one Darebee workout a day. I fully expect these to be limited to upper body stuff I can do at the shop, but something isn't nothing. 

 

-I want to explore low carb eating again with a carb range of 50-75 g net carbs in a day and a minimum of 100 g protein. Fat will be a lever to use to help with satiety, but not something I'm going to eat just for the sake of hitting that macro.

 

-I'm going to be trying to deliberately increase my fibre intake over the course of this challenge, with a goal of 25 g a day. This is a little more complicated without grains or legumes, but I've been reading and I think I can do it. Just a matter of affording it; groceries are getting more expensive up here. 

 

-I will be tracking my intake with MFP for the duration of this challenge so that I stay honest and on task. I'm not a huge fan of tracking, but the flexibility of low carb vs therapeutic Keto means I need to in order to balance variety and results. This means fighting with it when I batch cook things *sigh*. 

 

And I have my daily tracker in my Bujo for stuff like my water intake, fun/dishes/adulting, Tarot/meditation, etc, so that will be happening in the background. I plan to weigh in today and take measurements and then touch base with that again at the end of the challenge to see if the low carb is causing any change. Depending on what I find I may have to restrict my carbs further. I really hope that's not going to be necessary but PCOS is a stubborn disorder. 

 

A note about February 10-17: Dave will be home so my eating will be the best it can while still respecting if he wants comfort foods like his favourite pizza, etc, for the short window he is home. I expect to be more lax this week, but not use it as an excuse to go off the rails completely. 

 

I think that's it! Hopefully I can keep up with everything I've set out here. I'm hoping my competencies from the last challenge carry over. 😅 Thanks for being here! 💛

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following.

[Rookie]

Hahaha I'm right there with you with the tracking feels but I also think it's important for me right now so I'll be partaking. 

 

I love me some goldenrod yellow. The hoodie I'm wearing right now is that colour haha

[Everstorm]

Yasssss!  I am really loving yellows right now, too.  Maybe it's a looking forward to spring thing?  I was looking at these gorgeous flowers today (to fill in the sad hole where my pool used to be lol)

 

I love your fiber goal.  I'll be taking notes on how that works out, because I know I will need them in a future challenge.

[Salinger]

I love yellows. Oranges too. Orange and grey *swoon*

 

Here and looking forward to another challange by your side xx

[Ziraiah]

Another yellow fan here! It's a colour that makes me happy. I stopped by to say hi, I'm following your journey. ^^

[Snarkyfishguts]

This is a good time of year for some sunshine 😊 you got this!

[Ann of Owlshire]

Ooooh. Love the theme! Good luck on your goals! 

[Harriet]

A most auspicious colour! Good luck with the moving and tracking

[Sovalis]

Hi Everyone! 

 

This beautiful plant is Coreopsis "Citrine" and it stuck with me because of the gorgeous flowers Ever shared. 

 

 

Yay for sunny things!

 

I'm taking it easy today, about to start my treadmill time. I've had my coffee and a smoothie. Not sure what I'm doing for lunch, probably leftovers, and supper will be the "shepherds pie" I made yesterday. It's tasty, but it's not shepherds pie. Some low carb foods need to not pretend they're as good as the original. 😅

 

My smoothie this morning was spinach, a cup of frozen mixed berries, hemp hearts, ground flax, and a scoop of chocolate protein powder. It is the same as yesterday, minus the chia seeds which I found made everything too thick. Today's was much better in texture and still gave me 10g of fibre toward my goal. 

 

One of the minor difficulties with low carb is that you have to decide if you're doing total carbs or net carbs. Total carbs include fibre and sugar alcohols, despite those not being digested for energy by the body. Net carbs are your total carbs minus your fibre and sugar alcohol values. When I was doing Keto I did net carbs because it gave me more flexibility in counting. This time around the net carbs tracking through MFP is behind a paywall and I just don't know if I want to pay $130/yr to access that feature. Something to think about. 

 

I did get a warning on MFP that it thought I wasn't eating enough based on my inputs. It looked very stern:

 

 

I was at 1400 calories for the day so I'm not sure what it's problem was. But at least I know what it looks like now. 

 

It's exciting to see all of the other challenges entering week zero. I'm so grateful for this space. 💛 I hope you have tasty, supportive snacks today, shake your tail feathers a bit, and stay hydrated! Thanks for being here! 💛

 

PS: I think the emojis were fixed, yay!!

[Snarkyfishguts]

Those red letters are super stern!  

 

I think as long as you are feeling good and aren't hungry, then you're good. MFP can't feel what you feel, but it's nice that it's looking out for you too!

 

 

Those flowers are so cheery!!

[Everstorm]

That's so odd.  I have never gotten that message from MFP before 🤔

[Rookie]

That is very stern! 😮 Maybe it was a bug since you said you had 1400 calories and that's above the womanly calories and well within the range of man calories. 

[Sovalis]

I think I know what it was: I entered my exercise for the day just to see what it would do and it subtracted a bunch which dropped my calories to ~1000 and added room to my macros. I deleted the exercise and things went back to normal. 

 

Probably better that I don't confuse things by tracking my exercise in there. 

[Ziraiah]

That warning sounds strange indeed. But on the other hand I think the 1000-1200 kcal limit is way too low anyways. 😅 That 1400 kcal sounds way better. 

 

Do you have your own treadmill? I've always wanted one, but I don't have the space for it.

[Elastigirl]

12 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

I think I know what it was: I entered my exercise for the day just to see what it would do and it subtracted a bunch which dropped my calories to ~1000 and added room to my macros. I deleted the exercise and things went back to normal. 

 

Probably better that I don't confuse things by tracking my exercise in there. 

The calories for exercise seem very random, some seem like a lot, some seem very little. I think it's easier to just not figure it in.

 

I've just been  tracking my protein, so it looks like my calories are super low. I have to ignore the red warnings. It's sort of funny to me though, that even when I know what I'm doing it still bother me a bit. My teacher is giving me a bad grade, oh no!!!😉

[Everstorm]

14 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

Probably better that I don't confuse things by tracking my exercise in there. 

Definitely.   Most calculators for exercise seem to grossly overestimate calories, anyway.

[MaeradCase]

On 2/5/2023 at 10:24 AM, Sovalis said:

I am having a moment with the colour  goldenrod yellow. It's popping up everywhere for me right now: clothes, markers, shiny rocks. I've been looking into some of the symbolism of it and the knowledge feels grounding and informative. In particular, the stone Citrine is coming to mind a lot. Citrine is supposed to be a happy stone for channelling success, creativity, and willpower. It's also supposed to be good for digestion. These are key things I want in the front of mind for this challenge, so I'm going to be keeping a citrine in my pocket to remind me of my goals for the next little while. 

I named my New Horizons town Heliodor, which is a yellow Beryl gemstone! 💛

 

 

9 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Not sure what I'm doing for lunch, probably leftovers, and supper will be the "shepherds pie" I made yesterday. It's tasty, but it's not shepherds pie. Some low carb foods need to not pretend they're as good as the original. 😅

😂 I thought you meant the cottage pie/shepherd's pie debate, but this is also super relatable. It's how I feel toward Eggplant Parm - not bad for what it is, but terrible if you want it to be anything like Chicken Parm. 😂

[Salinger]

Hey Sov, hope you rested well. Sending a huge hug xx

[Rurik Harrgath]

I'm just here for an excuse to share my Dwarven side's penchant for pretty rocks.

 

[Sovalis]

22 hours ago, Ziraiah said:

That warning sounds strange indeed. But on the other hand I think the 1000-1200 kcal limit is way too low anyways. 😅 That 1400 kcal sounds way better. 

 

Do you have your own treadmill? I've always wanted one, but I don't have the space for it.

I do own one now. We bought it in November and it was delivered just before Christmas. I find it really helps remove my excuses about not walking (weather, conditions of sidewalks, being in the dark in the evenings), but that doesn't mean I've succeeded in making it a daily habit yet. I'm working on it. 🙂 It takes up a lot of room because we needed one rated for a higher weight because of where I'm at right now. Thankfully we have a huge living room and don't mind it dominating the space. 😅

 

22 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

The calories for exercise seem very random, some seem like a lot, some seem very little. I think it's easier to just not figure it in.

 

I've just been  tracking my protein, so it looks like my calories are super low. I have to ignore the red warnings. It's sort of funny to me though, that even when I know what I'm doing it still bother me a bit. My teacher is giving me a bad grade, oh no!!!😉

The teacher/bad grade feeling is SO REAL. I really struggle with that and it's part of what makes dealing with numbers in the context of weight loss so stressful for me. I hate being in trouble, even with fictional entities! 😅

 

14 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

I named my New Horizons town Heliodor, which is a yellow Beryl gemstone! 💛

 

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I love this so, so much. My island is called Solaris. 🏝️

 

14 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

😂 I thought you meant the cottage pie/shepherd's pie debate, but this is also super relatable. It's how I feel toward Eggplant Parm - not bad for what it is, but terrible if you want it to be anything like Chicken Parm. 😂

Yeah. My ex husband would always rant about alternative milks: "They aren't milk, call them something else!" and it cracked me up. I'm not admitting he had a smidgen of a point. 😉

 

10 hours ago, Salinger said:

Hey Sov, hope you rested well. Sending a huge hug xx

Hi Sal! I'm feeling pretty fabulous today, thank you! Big hugs back! 🧡

 

4 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

I'm just here for an excuse to share my Dwarven side's penchant for pretty rocks.

 

/cdn-cgi/mirage/118f8e7c6c695f4021eac45ae8d3ec89ac7e0c870609ab8c0682b875ed9d9365/1280/cdn-cgi/mirage/118f8e7c6c695f4021eac45ae8d3ec89ac7e0c870609ab8c0682b875ed9d9365/1280/https://www.stonemania.co.uk/images/stories/articles-photos/natural-citrine-crystal.jpg

I am 100% here for this. Bring on the shiny stones!! 

 

Hi Everyone! 

 

My goldenrod thread continues with the Golden Poppy card I pulled this morning: 

 

 

I think I've pulled the same seven cards out of this deck since I started working with it in December. Today's was new and that was exciting. 

 

I find I'm daydreaming a lot about a healthier life, which I think is a good thing. I always get this way when I feel grounded in a plan and I like it a lot. My knees aren't clicking, my hands are less grumpy, and in general my inflammation is down. I can tell that my body is responding to the lack of grains because I'm less puffy and sore. All to the good. Makes me want to keep going. My mood is also very, very good and that thrills me. I didn't think the grains were impacting my mood, but it's possible they were given the difference between the low key lack of ambition the last few weeks and my current verve. My digestion is improving, but that always takes more time to sort itself out. I can be patient. 

 

I got my new Bujo notebook in the mail today and it was so exciting to open the mailbox and see this bright, metallic blue parcel waiting for me. What a simple joy to recieve unexpectedly beautiful mail. The book itself is much larger than I expected (I'm so bad at estimating measurements), but I think it will be fun to work in and give me lots of space to play. 

 

 

The black one is my current notebook and is about the size of my handprint. I'll be done it before the end of February, I think. 

 

I had my high fibre smoothie for breakfast. I poured it into a bowl and sprinkled chia seeds on it so I could get those in without them being gummy. I strongly prefer them crunchy. My current recipe is: 60g fresh spinach, 140g frozen mixed berries, 3 tbsp hemp hearts, 2 tbsp ground flax, 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder, and 1 cup of water. Then I threw 1.5 tbsp chia seeds on top. It comes out at 15 grams of fibre, which is ~half my daily recommend amount. Much like excercise, it seems that if I front load my day I'm more likely to meet my goals. Who knew? 😋

 

Interestingly, the increase in fibre seems to help me register that I'm full. I don't usually get hungry/fullness signals (thanks PCOS), but with the smoothie I can tell I've had food and I don't want anything else after, not even a second cup of coffee. So that's different. Going to keep an eye on that. 

 

I ran some errands before work and washed floors at the shop and so have ~2000 steps already for today. So hopefully some treadmill time tonight will get my past my goal. 

 

Otherwise not much going on. Dave is home on Friday and I'm getting excited to see him. 💛

 

I'm going to sign off, this is pretty long. 😅 I hope you have confident days and a great beverage! Thanks for being here! 🧡💛

[KB Girl]

That is a very pretty notebook! 160 grams paper too! Do you plan to do crafty things with it? 

I love seeing photos from other peoples bujo's, so thanks for that

 

I do think the daydreaming is a good sign. And the mood boost- I think @Harriet is experiencing the same effects, though her diet is a bit different I think it already started for her on no-grains. 

[sarakingdom]

7 hours ago, Sovalis said:

We bought it in November and it was delivered just before Christmas. I find it really helps remove my excuses about not walking (weather, conditions of sidewalks, being in the dark in the evenings), but that doesn't mean I've succeeded in making it a daily habit yet. I'm working on it. 🙂

 

The key is to find a TV series you want to rewatch and make it the walking show.

[Elastigirl]

What an awesome update. So glad the no grains is helping your inflammation. For me, staying away from wheat, not only helps my inflammation, but I just have more energy.

Very cool that you've found a breakfast that keeps you full . The last two days I've been tracking my calories, I've noticed my fiber intake could be a bit higher. It's been about 20grams, which isn't bad, but I wonder if 25-30 would help with satiety.

[Harriet]

On 2/6/2023 at 7:16 PM, Sovalis said:

One of the minor difficulties with low carb is that you have to decide if you're doing total carbs or net carbs.

 

I've seen some people recommend total carbs if you're eating a lot of processed foods, and net carbs if you're eating whole foods. I don't think we yet know everything about how sugar alcohols affect us.

 

On 2/6/2023 at 7:16 PM, Sovalis said:

Total carbs include fibre and sugar alcohols, despite those not being digested for energy by the body. Net carbs are your total carbs minus your fibre and sugar alcohol values. When I was doing Keto I did net carbs because it gave me more flexibility in counting. This time around the net carbs tracking through MFP is behind a paywall and I just don't know if I want to pay $130/yr to access that feature. Something to think about. 

 

Cronometer is free, and you can choose whether to include or exclude fibre, sugar alcohols etc. Very easy to use, and you can see whether the entries are user added or USDA, which are a bit more reliable.

 

15 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I find I'm daydreaming a lot about a healthier life, which I think is a good thing. I always get this way when I feel grounded in a plan and I like it a lot. My knees aren't clicking, my hands are less grumpy, and in general my inflammation is down. I can tell that my body is responding to the lack of grains because I'm less puffy and sore. All to the good. Makes me want to keep going. My mood is also very, very good and that thrills me. I didn't think the grains were impacting my mood, but it's possible they were given the difference between the low key lack of ambition the last few weeks and my current verve. My digestion is improving, but that always takes more time to sort itself out. I can be patient. 

 

Yay! Those sound like great improvements! Often I don't know something is affecting me until after I cut it or add it back, because we get soooo used to our status quo.

 

15 hours ago, KB Girl said:

I do think the daydreaming is a good sign. And the mood boost- I think @Harriet is experiencing the same effects, though her diet is a bit different I think it already started for her on no-grains. 

 

That's right. I get many of the benefits already on no-grain low-carb (75-100g net carbs), with further improvements as I drop carbs & plants and add more fat & animals. Too many variables to know exactly what the cause is, though. Or there could be multiple causes.

 

15 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Interestingly, the increase in fibre seems to help me register that I'm full. I don't usually get hungry/fullness signals (thanks PCOS), but with the smoothie I can tell I've had food and I don't want anything else after, not even a second cup of coffee. So that's different. Going to keep an eye on that. 

 

Interesting! Fibre makes me feel bloated rather than satiated. So I'll stop eating from 'fullness', but I'll be hungry again soon. Volume doesn't work for me, but lots of people say it helps them a lot.