Keto or Low-Carb. Discuss

Way back in 2012 when Jason was in end-stage cancer treatment we both went on a ketogenic diet--true keto with lots of MCT oil. I went bat-shit insane and had horrible gastric issues with it so I just modified it to be low-carb so I didn't have to make two meals. But now I am back 20 pounds up from where I was two months ago and I am desperate. I have been craving pure sugar and carbs and it is killing me.

Is it possible to have the benefits of a ketogenic diet with a low-carb version instead, or is it just not something that works right?

With my trip next week I can use it as a jumpstart to getting back to healthy eating again. I know that I need to exercise more, but I am wondering if I can alter my diet enough to make myself have better results than just calorie cutting and basic nutrient tracking.

One thing I am doing is switching to a plant-based milk so that I don't binge on cereal anymore. Moomilk (as I have dubbed it) is a major draw for me, whether in cereal or drunk with hot chocolate. By changing to plant milk I can have my tea with milk but not have the tendency to crash my healthy eating. Back when I was trying to figure out if I had milk intolerance/allergy I tried all the milks on the market, which had much less options at the time. Oat, rice, almond, hazelnut, coconut, soy. Done it. Hated it. Fast forward to today and I found what is dubbed a barista creamer style almond milk. Oh dear Lord, yum. It works wonderfully in my tea, has less calories than moomilk, and doesn't have the draw to eat with carbs of various types.Yeah, it's more expensive than moomilk, but I don't care. Now I just need to figure out if I have truly found the holy grail of plant milk, or if there are better ones out there even than this one. (For reference, this was Califa barista almond creamer).

This means that I am going though mugs of tea like...well...water. Which I guess is okay. One thing I even managed with a little caffeine hit was to get in some exercise. It wasn't much but it was good to get moving. Plotting out my hiking for next week may need to be altered with how sedentary I have been lately, so I am going to work myself up and see how it goes. No treadmill out there!

One Week.

 

Haggling, while rarely practiced anymore, can be a great thing! For a little more than the previously planned vacation I now have a spot that I know ahead of time near all the amenities needed. I should have asked for less because I didn't think to check the price, but so it goes. Everybody is happy.

Cabin. Woods. Relaxing. One week from tomorrow, after all wrap-up from our work event is complete, I will be hanging out at a cabin in the woods and enjoying myself being away from...most of everything. I do have internet, but no phone. I can be gotten a hold of, but people know mostly to leave me alone. And then there are the trails.

I like hiking. Day hikes, at least for now. The longest I have done was a little over 5 miles of up and down and left me dead, but oh so happy (and almost ran us out of water!). Fast forward to the last two months of inactivity. I am so done. I am so not here mentally. I need a break. I took two short hikes at two locations and did okay, but was definitely out of shape, but it felt good to get back outside. This is a photo of some of the cactus that we avoided on the trip. The dog was tired too after our 1-2 mile hikes, but not enough to need his ramp up into the car. Having said that, I have altered where I am going for my vacation to be nearer to designated hiking paths so I don't get my rear lost in the middle of nowhere. I'm hoping that there isn't snow on the trails, but it is supposed to be in the 50s and 60s, so it should be fine for hiking in the middle of the day without a problem. If there is, I'll deal as needed.

The two reasons that lead me to this second (known) spot is that it is comfortable for me and the dog and it is near hiking and trees. And it is beautiful. And well kempt. And quiet. Yeah. I like it, despite the skunk that tried to make himself known last time I was out there. I know that there are maintained trails at the preferred place. There may be a little mud/leftover snow in parts, but that is fine and I just plan for the extra time, warm things, and other needs. I am so done. I am so not here mentally. I need a break. 

So I'm officially taking the time off work to restart they healthy journey that I tossed to the wind these past two months. Less sugars, since I know that the biggest part of my eating habits that needs to change is how many simple sugars I eat. Not soda, thankfully, though that would be an easy one to deal with. No, this time it is sweet treats and basic (whole wheat and white) bread. I would kill for some bread and jam right now just thinking about food.

And what does that mean I will be eating? I have a giant list of me-approved foods for the journey along with some pitfall-reducing planning. If all goes to plan on the move of locations I will have a little harder time since there are food places galore within the surrounding 20 miles, those that are open in the shoulder season. I also am limiting my milk intake since it leads to massive amounts of cereal intake. I loathe most of the regular milk substitutes for moomilk (I'm especially looking at you, oatmilk), but I found a massively awesome barista version of Califa Almond Milk that is rich and great in tea but not good enough to use in cereal. Tweaking diets is difficult. Sometimes more that others.

Stroganoff with Noodles? Pfft. Keto Safe!

 

You know that stuff called stroganoff that you eat with noodles (or rice, you heathens)?  I have the holy grail of recipes now that doesn't even require starch to go with it. It makes those old canned soup varieties a thing of the past. You have to like shrooms though. And if you are on a low-carb or keto diet it fits in perfectly.

2 lbs sliced mushrooms
1 Tbs.oil
1 medium onion, diced medium-fine
2-3 (or 4 or 5) cloves of garlic, minced (or powder to taste)
1 Tbs. Better than Bouillon Beef (mixed with...)
1 c. water
1 lb small chunks/trips of beef or in my case venison
Salt and pepper
Sour Cream (light works just fine)

In a huge skillet cook down the mushrooms with oil until they are turning dark and no longer look raw at all. Add onions and cook till onions are translucent. Add water/bouillon and meat. Cook till meat is cooked through and tasty. Serve with sour cream. Devour.

I think I ate almost half the batch by myself. Oops. Given that there are twice as much shroom to meat ratio I don't think that's really a problem.

Reasons to Be Thankful

Even When Life is Really Rocky

I'm struggling a little right now. For various reasons my brains are deciding that now is a good time to go off the deep end. I am hoping that I can hold it together through the next two weeks until my vacation kicks in. This week is work's St. Patrick's Day Celebration and it is the biggest (and only) event of the year. In addition to the event we also have a newsletter hitting doorstops this week as well to up the donations. 

I will survive. 

One method that I am thinking about using is severely limiting my sugar intake. Not keto, since that threw my body into all sorts of hell the month I was on it with Jason. Just cutting out the extra sweets and added sugars that seep into EVERYTHING. Fruit? Fine. Milk? Not so sure, but probably fine. Ketchup? Not without some serious changes. Luckily, it is easy to find acceptable foods labeled with the keto category. I still haven't decided on when to start this, but probably over vacation so the first week of sugar-withdrawal is under controlled conditions with limited access to extra sweets and pastries to undo my progress.

I may not thrive over the next two weeks, but I will survive this just like in past years. Also like in past years I have the annual I-am-done-with-this-shit vacation following the event. Due to unforeseen circumstances my last vacation will probably have to be either me taking my tent out for a week or just chilling at home. Either works well for me and is better for my pocketbook. 

Speaking of tents, the campgrounds are open for the year! I need to gear up everything and get it triaged for spur-of-the-moment trips out where work can't reach me. And so that I at least have bear spray with me this time. Just because that seems prudent now that I know there are brave bears in the area. I think I may have already lost my camp kitchen table before I even had a chance to use it! Bah! I don't want to spend an additional hundred bucks for something that I won't use often since I am usually in developed campgrounds. But it irks me that I would lose something so quickly. That is what I get for not coating the black case in reflective tape!

And now I am going to sit back and take stock of what I have to be thankful for instead of wallowing in my own self-pity. Wallowing does no one good. Maybe 5 minutes of walking will lead to more.

Of Weight, Hikes, and Work

 My Turtle Made a Friend

I'm having a nice trip to Starbucks to write and take a break from TV, dog, and people who need things. I didn't go home this last weekend due to being needed at work. Also have a meeting tonight as well, but it is the last one for a while. I like being able to get out of the house again. Till the next wave. *Sigh* This is the new normal, as it were. 

I apparently have some miscommunication between my mouth, my feet, and my waistline. It's been almost three months of gaining weight. Now I am back up to 215 from a low of 195 those months ago. This sucks. On top of that I haven't had the willpower to get off my arse and exercise. The combination of too much/unhealthy food plus lack of movement are becoming my downfall. I am back in larger pants and having trouble with hikes again--though admittedly the last hike was far more strenuous than previous ones. And it's not just a case of laziness. I am having to drag myself out of bed and Get Stuff Done every day, so something has to give. In this case the food and exercise was what gave in.

Maybe Saturday's hike can be a kickstart for the near future. Or not. I don't know. What I do know is that I still am in a funk and not really into moving or doing anything other than eating. At least I am back on getting emailed/texted work done in a timely manner (read: instantly rather than a day or more later). My coworkers were worried about me--definitely time to reevaluate my mental state. But they are all very understanding and interested in getting me back up and running and back to my normal useful self.

Speaking of work, we have our 71st annual St. Patrick's Day (Corned Beef and Cabbage) Celebration of Faith and Service. No dinner this year, like in past years due to Covid. That means only a week and a half till the event and DUN da DAH! two and a half till my vacation, and boy will that be good. There are no vacations between late October and mid-March. Too much happens during that time and this year I am not dropping all of my vacation time at the very last minute like last year. (Shameless plug: gscnm.org) Knowing that if I need to duck out of work early I can at the last minute takes off a load of stress from my shoulders. I just need to not use that privilege too much and run myself into trouble. Yay for understanding bosses! 

And that is the update for the time being. The tea is all gone, as is the coffee cake. Yes. I go to a coffee shop to have tea. Bite me. For some reason it is easier to write with ambient noise that doesn't affect me and I can focus on just typing. 

 Till next time: What gets you motivated?

A Whole Lotta Up

 

My good boy reveling in a hike

Yesterday my mom noticed that I was restless, moody, and in more of a funk than even the most recent usual. She suggested I go on a hike since I'm now cleared to walk with Link again. Dog and I decided (because he has a say in this and wanted a longer car ride) to go across town to the opposite mountains. 

I should have known what I was in for with the twisty turny road to get to the trail. 

Up. Lots of up. 

I'm glad I had my CamelBak with me, but if I'm going to make this a habit I need to get a bigger reservoir to be safe on water for both of us. We got in 2.25 miles in up and back before the wind got bad later in the day. Link was a well-behaved boy and only shied away from the 6ft tall man in a hat with a walking stick. I kept getting asked what type of dog he was--a mutt. And a very good boy. 

We're both sore today after the scrambling over rocks. Even were up high enough to see leftover snow in the shade

This was the first time I'd been on a hike in two months. Maybe longer. And it felt good. I've gained twenty pounds in two months.

Maybe this can kickstart getting back into the groove of things.

Head, Meet Desk

Lately I have been making several mistakes at work, things that under normal situations I would never have made. The past two months have been like this. It coincides with the time leading up to and after surgery as well. Some of it is probably stress, as we have an annual event coming up later in the month, but that can't be all of it.

So I'm stressed. A lot. And it is affecting my performance at work enough that my boss offered me time off to deal with whatever I needed to do. I appreciate it, I really do, but it makes me nervous that it is that obvious that more than a little something is wrong.

Between rapid weight gain, slugness, and overall just not...me?...I am sick of this. I don't know how I lived for so long before like this, but something has got to give and I need it to be something quick.