My "Before" Face

So, Christmas has come and gone.  We had a good one this year, filled with family and food.  Lots of food.  I broke my promise to myself and didn't start back doing Keto before Christmas.  Thankfully, this year only has about 45 minutes left.  A new year is right around the corner.  

Tomorrow, January 1, it's Keto Time.

The Hubs and I both have a goal to lose 100 pounds this year.  I'm not brave enough to post my weight on this public blog, no matter how little of an audience I have.  I will, however, post how much I lose each week along with some progress pictures.  And, if I can find my tape measure, my measurements.  

Here's a "before" shot of my face, taken today with my friend Jennifer during lunch today.   I'm the one in the glasses with the huge face.  I'm looking forward to a thinner face next month! 

Christmas "Break", So Far

We're on Christmas "Break" here at Smith Academy.  I used quotation marks because one of my students is actually still catching up on some assignments.  I won't name names, and this isn't really as bad as it seems.  We're just doing an assignment or two each day until we get caught up.  We're almost done.  Christmastime is always  busy for us, and we fell off of our school schedule during our church's Christmas production.  The production was beautiful, but I had forgotten how much work is put into it.  All of our shows and programs are over now, so we can relax a bit and just enjoy the rest of the season.  

Chris took some time off work this week.  We've been on "vacation time"....staying up way too late and sleeping in.  A few days ago, after we stayed up late and slept in, we  actually had a productive day.  We had to get a new fridge and a new washing machine.  We took a load of junk off to the landfill.  Chris fixed the bathtub in our room.  A lot of work, but we managed to get in some shopping and dinner together as a family.  

Last night, we went to see the Christmas lights in Dahlonega.  If you're local and haven't done this, you're missing out.  The square is all lit up and it's just magical.  At least Vi and I thought so.  Chris and the boys were less impressed than us.  We got home late, piled up on the couch and watched TV until 2 in the morning.  Because it's Christmas Break!  Chris had to work today, so he didn't get to sleep in, but everyone else in the house is still out.  It's only 9:32 am.  I got up with Chris and started some chicken and dumplings in the crock pot for our dinner.  

No, dumplings aren't Keto friendly.  That's another post.  

Also, yesterday, I did something stupid.  A few weeks ago, during the Big Snow, one of my windshield wipers broke.  I forgot about it, since it hasn't rained since.  Well, it rained yesterday and I honestly thought I was going to die.  I couldn't see a thing  in front of me.  My Prozac wasn't strong enough to handle that!  I had all the kids with me and I finally just pulled into the driveway of a big, fancy house and waited for Chris to come rescue me.  Lesson learned.  

Well, I didn't get back on track the next day.  In fact, I was way, WAY off track for a week.  And I felt awful, mentally and physically.  The bottom line is that, whether I'm losing weight or not, I really do feel better when I'm following Keto.  I was just going to wait until after Christmas to get back on the wagon.  This is what I do when I'm offtrack.  I reason with myself on why it's okay to remain off track.  Yesterday, I came to my senses.  I COULD wait until after Christmas and just feel miserable and bloated for another week and a half.  And then, my birthday is 5 days after Christmas.  And then there's New Years Eve.  Then Jordan's birthday.  And so on.  There's always something, some reason to wait.  I had some kind of internal intervention with myself and today I'm back on track.  I wasn't hungry until lunch, so I didn't eat until then.  I just finished a delicious salad with Romain lettuce, a little feta, a little bacon, and a little Ranch dressing.  It was delicious.  I'm also drinking my water again.   

In all reality, I probably will eat "real" Christmas food over Christmas, but at least I'll have a grip on myself as I head into that holiday.  Which, I don't think, has ever happened before.  For as long as I can remember, I've entered into Christmas stuffed full of food and miserable, anxiously waiting and dreading December 26th because that's when I'd start being healthy again.  Such a lame struggle.  I hate it.  

Weighty Issues

Again.  It's always the weight.  I was doing so well at the beginning of this year.  My doctor and I had finally diagnosed my thyroid issue, and my medication was working.  My hair was growing back.  I was eating right, exercising, and the weight was coming off.  

Then came the burn.  It took months to heal, and I literally couldn't move without grimacing in pain.  I stayed home on the couch unless it was absolutely necessary.  While I stayed home, I ate.  And ate and ate, for 2 months.  Even after I was able to get around again, I still couldn't exercise.  For me, exercise and eating right go hand in hand.  If I slack on one, I'll slack on the other.  So, I'd take the kids to the YMCA and eat snacks while they swam.  For real.  And I gained 30 pounds. 

I had to see a plastic surgeon for my burn, and that visit turned into Panniculectomy surgery.  If you don't know what that is, click the link for the gory details.  I came out of that surgery ten pounds lighter, which was exciting.  I wasn't expecting the recovery to be as bad as it was.  I went into this surgery thinking that the recovery would be similar to my three c-sections.  It just wasn't.  Recovery took about 2 months, the first of which is just a haze of pain medication.  And food, of course.  Our friends and families blessed us with meals while I recovered, and they fed us very well.  Plus I snacked all the time, when I wasn't sleeping.  

When I finally got the nerve to step on the scale last month, I had gained 40 pounds.  Seriously, only I could wind up weighing more after having ten pounds of excess fat and skin removed.  

I went back to my PCP doctor and found out that my blood sugar was high again.  She recommended a low carb way of life.  Again.  I was doubtful, because I'd tried it before, for a whole summer, and only lost 7 pounds.  But that was before my thyroid medicine kicked in.  I contemplated trying again, and then it seemed like everyone I knew was talking about going Keto.  I took that as a sign, so I started up again a week and a half ago.  

Chris is on board too, this time.  It's definitely an adjustment for him.  A whole new way of approaching what we eat.  Low carb, high fat, moderate protein.  Lots of green veggies and meat.  Just no bread, sugar, potatoes, or fruit.  Except berries.  In moderation.  

So, I started last Monday.  I weighed myself the other day, on Wednesday, and I was down four pounds.  This post has taken me three days to compose, so I'm not sure what the posted date will show.  Today is Friday, I started this post on Wednesday.  I'll have to check for future reference.  

So, anyway, on Wednesday, about a week and a half after starting Keto, I was down four pounds.  We had co-op that day, and our Christmas potluck lunch.  I made a Keto friendly spinach dip that I planned to eat with celery from a veggie tray and some cheese and pepperoni.  There are several other Keto moms in our group, so we had some options!  However.  I wound up at the end of the line.  By the time I got to the food, all of my Keto food was gone, except for some cheese.  There was a TON of food there, so I think the problem was that kids were loading up their plates with way more than they'd ever eat.  Even my spinach dip was gone.  So, I just ate whatever.  Chips and onion dip.  Some meatballs made with jelly and barbque sauce.  And a cookie.  I did eat a few veggie sticks, and someone made a finger food that consisted of a dill pickle wrapped in cream cheese and a slice of ham...these were really good, and Keto approved.  

Oh, and I drank some apple cider, too.

I felt absolutely horrible for the rest of the night.  So tired and sluggish.  It wasn't worth it.  

The next day was a new day, thank God.  My plan is to make it to Christmas with no slip ups.  I really have to take it day by day.  Sometimes minute by minute.  Like a true addict.  Food is my drug of choice.