Assorted Boids, Pleasant Peaches, and Standard American Sugar - Day 21

It was a pretty good day. I actually spent some time in "the room" going through more stuff. I actually now have ALL of the 2022 tax papers in ONE location in the house. Go me! The usual ADHD me would have some in every room up until January 30-ish or so ... 

Got some fish-related supplies listed on Facebook Marketplace. Let the Great Purge begin ... When we move, we will be taking very, very little with us. THAT is my goal!  

Got some laundry put away; did some works; fed the boids and gave them some unfrozen waters. All in all, a fairly productive kind of day. 

There's one thing I don't think I mentioned at the start of this - my use of this: 

While this is a FAR SIGHT better than the Crystal Lite Peach Tea addiction I had before the Die-a-Beet-Us diagnosis, it's still sugar. My rationalization was that it "helped" me get my water intake. Just because they don't ADD cane sugar, doesn't mean that concentrated grape juice isn't sugar enough. Stevia is just an afterthought down there at the bottom of the list. 

Anywhoo, after a good two years of all things peach flavored, including actual peaches, I think it's time for a change. I ran out of this yesterday, and have switched over to lemon and a few drops of stevia in my water. And probably 24 hours later, I can tell there's a significant difference because I have drunk/drank/drinken a LOT less water today. I was also a lot less hungry this morning before that stupendous sammich. Usually, there is at least an hour or so of significant rumbly-tumblies, and just downright hunger before lunch. Not today. 

It's too late to cancel my next delivery, I think ... Oooo let me go check. Hold please. Actually, I think I just did cancel it, so now, my water intake's flavor will be switched to fresh-squeezed (by me) lemon juice, and stevia. It's just one less thing that may cause those pesky stress cravings, and help improve the mood. 

Like that frog in the cold pot o' water, you don't know you're cooking until it's too late, when you're in the throes of the Standard American crapfest of food ... But, if you ever take a break from sugar and artificial sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup, and high-glycemic fruits, and then you go back? Froggie gets tossed into the boiling sea and feels it immediately. Sugar is the thing I have to watch out for when it comes to mental well being. Sugar is hellish.

I still love it, but it's hell. A bite here and there, fine, but the daily consumption is something I need to, want to, and will change. 

Day 21 Progress

Weight: 209

What I Et:

- The Morning Coffee 

- The second best sammich I have made on keto ... 

Leftover top sirloin, sauteed in a bit of butter to reheat, some yellow onion, and mini peppers, sauteed in olive oil, two chaffles, made with coconut flour, which made them more "bready" than the lupin flour, served OPEN FACE with a slice of provolone on one, and mayo on the other. You're welcome. 

- A few Elote almonds 

- The Afternoon Coffee 

- Three chicken tenders, grilled, with a bit of butter, and a side salad with some grape tomatoes, queso fresco, a few French-fried onions, and this dressing: 

- A few more Elote almonds 

- An Evening Coffee (stupid move ...) 

69 Days to Goal

Black House Down - Day 16

This

Turned into 

This Today ... 

That house has been there, pretty much in that condition, since we moved here 17 years ago. This is where the creepy clown bus lived, too ... 

Now we'll never know how many shoes were in the house (read the book ...) or skeletons were in the bus. 

In other news, got a new book ...

   

I've got several books that I need to actually read now. Problem is, reading makes me INSANELY tired. Audio books don't help, because then I multitask, and I don't hear 89% of what's being said/read to me. Maybe I'll just set a goal of reading at least two pages a day. If I make it a goal now, for this 12-week Year, I would need to read at least 3.5 pages per day. However, when I get through it, I get through it. I'm not in a reading race. 

It was a rather productive day on the work front. Go me. Helped that the morning meeting was cancelled, so I could work without having to stop for an hour, and then get even more distracted. 

I'd have to say that energy levels are pretty good. Yet, I still don't get much accomplished around the home front. I'm what you would call a procrastinator. I don't know why, but I am. 

I did take measurements today, head to tooes. I was watching the Keto Twins' advice on starting keto, and they brought up the act of taking NOW pictures, and taking NOW measurements, so you indeed have something to look at later on, just to see how far you really have come. There are many times when the scale doesn't move, or goes up, but the reading on the tape changes. Maybe I'll share all that on January 31, just so we can see. 

One thing I haven't started yet is the movement. Well, I am not counting the almost daily walk around the yard since it adds up to probably nothing, but at least I get SOME form of circulation. I'll get it figured out. 

That's enough for now. Thank you for stopping by. Feel free to speak ... There's a comment thingy down there somewhere. I don't bite ... all the time. 

Day 16 Progress

Weight: 208.4

What I Et: 

- The morning coffee 

- A scrap of Muenster cheese 

- One Popcorners chip 

- Chicken Piccata with Cauliflower Mash & Roasted Broccoli

Their fantasy

v

My reality

I ate approximately 75% of the meal. It was heavy ... and honestly, I didn't read what I was eating, so I did not realize that what I thought was a very heavy sauce was actually the mashed cauliflower. Oops. 

- Some Epic pork rinds and chip dip

- The Afternoon Coffee 

- Some Elote almonds 

- A taco bowl (ground beeves, taco seasoning, some chopped red onion, chopped grape tomates, Supremo Chihuahua cheese, and sour cream) 

Not sure what's up with 75% today, but that's about what I et of this meal, too. I think it's the things that are high in fat that, whilst making me full, also affect my kidney pains (read: stones). I don't know if it's related to being sans gallbladder, but really, really fatty foods (with low carbs) cause a ruckus. C'est la vida loca

- Some more Elote almonds because THEY ARE TASTY! I was a bit out of control, so I'm guessing I had approximately 2.5 servings of those things between afternoon and evening. Clearly, that is NOT a flavor I should purchase often! 

74 Days to Goal

Dead Birds, Anniversaries, and Me - Day Three

So, yeah. Day three was okay. I was a bit more peckish than normal. I don't display stress in normal human ways, though, so I will chalk it up to stress/sadness eating, and always, the day after what I call "App Day" at work, I find it difficult to get things done, work-wise. Therefore, I was nibbling mid- to late afternoon, and then, for whatever reason, because I did not learn from the previous day's dinner, I made two more chaffles to go with my leftover Butter chicken. 

One thing to note about keto cooking - keto sauces do NOT reheat well when they are nearly 95% fat/dairy based. What was a very silky, smooth, glossy, luxurious sauce the night before became an oily mess when reheated. Eww. Lesson learned. 

Carrying on with the depressing theme, day three was also our 26th wedding anniversary, but you would never have known, if I did not tell you. I don't believe either one of us is yet in a headspace to be celebratory. He has achieved a cold from his trip to Seattle last week, leaving him stuffy, drainy, and not feeling great. He has other issues he deals with. Me, I deal with my grief entirely differently than he does, and pretty much go radio silence. 

Saturday, we will celebrate. Meanwhile, he brought me a lovely bouquet of blood-red gerbera daisies, and we spent some time last night looking at the hundreds of pictures of Dio that I could find on the computer. 

In other news, I learned that birds can, indeed, meet their demise half in/half out of a tree. What I thought was a bird standing on the side of the tree was, instead, a very dead bird lodged in the tree with half of it remaining outside, with one wing sort of halfway extended. I can't even get a good picture, but it's quite a sight once you know what it is ...  

There's not a whole lot more to talk about. There is this though. It applies: 

Day Three Progress

Weight: 211.6

What I Ate: 

Coffee with HWC and a few drops of liquid stevia 

I forgot to mention that I do use stevia, but it's minimal; just enough to take the bitter edge off - maybe three drops. I did start out with a large mug, like yesterday, but some days, if it's too strong, it makes me nauseous, so I just stopped at half, which probably amounts to a normal small cup size.

1 Popcorners chip

1 less-than-a-gram piece of Muenster cheese

Factor Keto Monterey Spinach Chicken

Factor's severely altered perception

v

My reality

Blue Diamond Spicy Dill Pickle almonds - guesstimated one serving. Let me go weigh it and see if I was right! One service = 28 grams. What did I have? 38 grams. So, apx 1.5 servings, then. That's what I had. 

The afternoon coffee (with a less than scoop of collagen, HWC, and some liquid stevia drops) 

Pork rinds and far too much chip dip

Leftover Butter chicken, and two more chaffles