Day 6 – 9 … Or … Snowed in

Most notably during the last four days: We had snow. Lots, and lots of snow. On Friday, it started snowing heavily around 2:00 pm, and by eight that night there was already a good amount of snow of the ground. Woke up on Saturday to the picture below.

Since I had lots of time on my hands, I read through a bunch of blog posts. The first few sentences in one particular post, on a blog called Beauty Beyond Bones, made me think about why I decided to embark on these two weeks of keto. Despite the fact that it’s touted as great weight loss diet, I didn’t (and still don’t) expect to lose a whole lot. Yes, the scale weight went down from 129.8 lbs to 125.3 lbs since Jan 16, but I know that some, if not most, of it is water weight and will creep back once I start eating carbs again. Still, the number is still a nice motivation.

The reason why I am putting myself through this (which is how my friend Ros describes it) is because I want to prove to myself that I can. There’s so little in life we have control over, but my body is something that I, and I alone, control. I wanted to prove to myself that I have the willpower to overcome cravings for chocolate, Starbucks coffees, bread. Pretty much everything I really like.

Sounds silly/ridiculous/stupid?

Maybe it is. But to me, it’s important. I didn’t have control over my ex divorcing me. I didn’t have control over my feelings while trying to heal, and over the self-destructive things I did. That’s not something I am proud of. I still won’t be able to control the actions of people I love, but then again I am not trying to. But I will be able to control how I react to situations, how I get through them.

So, while being on a two-week diet is a far cry from trying to pick up the pieces of the past, it’s still part of my life. To me, getting through this is an accomplishment. So whatever small things you embark on, be proud when you emerge victorious, and don’t let anyone discredit what you did.

 

 

Plan Your Cheat Day!

I know, it sounds a bit odd. After all, is a planned cheat day in a diet really cheating? While I think that this question should best be answered by a person who is more philosophically inclined than I am (my friend Timewalkerauthor, maybe), I can tell you that planning a cheat day helps me take a break from my otherwise pretty strict routine of counting calories and staying within my macro-nutrient ratios. It allows me to enjoy some of my favorite foods (chocolate included) but still helps me stay on track.

While I usually plan my daily meals from start to finish (aka breakfast, lunch, dinner), there are those days where I will start with dinner and snacks, and then plan the rest of the day around that.

For example, tonight I will have a slice of bread with guacamole and some hot chocolate. In addition, I have a dark chocolate protein bar which I can snack on throughout the day if I want something sweet. Since those items already have a lot of carbs and sugar, I will just have some baby spinach salad and grilled chicken breast with sauteed veggies for lunch. Breakfast consists of Greek yogurt with some bran (for much needed fiber) and peaches.

Now, granted, sometimes we have cravings that can’t be planned for, but if you plan a cheat day, it gives you something to look forward to, AND it takes away the feeling of depriving yourself from things you love. Give it a try!