Monday, February 29, 2016

Carbs in Medicine and Reducing My Protein

I gained weight last week.  I really didn't want to post that, hence the delay.  But, I need to be honest.  I blame it completely on being sick.  I've been pretty much better since last Wednesday.

When I noticed I was getting sick, the first day, I had three Chicken Cup of Soup and a can of chicken broth.  That day, and the next two days, I was eating AirBorne, Vitamin C, and taking DayQuil/NyQuil every 4 hours.  The next three days I took Dayquil/Nyquil about twice a day but backed off on the rest.  That is a lot of carbs overall!  (As a side note, I overdid it on the Vitamin C/Airborne because both my urine and snot were turning orange despite staying hydrated.)

Airborne: 12 carbs per 4 chews
Dayquil/Nyquil: 12 carbs per dose
Vitamin C Tablet: 2-4 g each depending on what you read online.

Of those, only the Airborne tells you on the label that it has carbs in it.  In any case, every day for a week I was blowing the my carb count way out of the water.  But I was still trying to eat a high fat/high protein diet.  High carbs plus high fat equals weight gain!

And it that was not enough, to avoid carbs I have been consuming 110-130 g of protein a day since the beginning of February with the exception of last week.  Last week, I kept it between 79-104 g per day.  Only one day for up to 104 g, otherwise the highest day was 96 g.

I've read numerous articles (including scientific ones) and forum threads about excess protein being turned into glucose which as a sugar would be processed by the body before fat.  Some sources say yes, some say no.  Some of the sources support the idea of limiting protein for Ketosis and some say it is not proven.  I am on the fence, but 110-130 g is really more protein, and thus more calories, than my body needs regardless of what is happening to the excess protein.

If I manage to stick to this week's menu plan, my daily protein intake will range between 78-95 grams.  Per my nutritionist, I should be getting 85-90 g a day.  So this will be much closer to what she recommends and I am interested to see how it will effect my weight loss this week.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Cold Record

Just out of curiosity, I went back through my email and blog to review any time I said I was sick.  I've listed the day the illness begun, though because each one last 1-2 weeks, it feels like I have been sick all winter.

November 03, 2015

November 20, 2015

December 21, 2015

January 25, 2016

February 18, 2016

I can't do this anymore.  I am going to have to stop seeing all family members until Easter.  Since Easter is at the end of March, hopefully this means, I can make it through March without being sick.  Those nephews and my mom are so contagious.

I don't even know what to do about my husband's gallbladder surgery.  It is tomorrow and I am supposed to be in the waiting room.  But how can I go sit in the waiting room for 3-5 hours coughing like this?  I don't want to get other people sick and possible infect someone with an already ill relative.  This is so frustrating.  I can't help but be a little mad at my family.  I know they don't get me sick on purpose, but it feels like it is all their fault.

Cold Magnet

I can't even believe it, but I am getting sick again!  The last post where I said I was sick was 1/31/16, it is now 2/19/16.  And again.  What is going on with me?  I was just getting to the point where the residual nasal drainage and random cough were disappearing.

I feel like the only way I am going to stay healthy at this point is to live in a bubble.

Every single time I come across a sick person I get it.  I babysat my nephews on Monday.  Drippy noses all round.  There you go.  And just in case I didn't get it then, my Mom babysat them on Tuesday, and I saw her on Tuesday and Wednesday night.  My husband wants me to stop seeing my nephews, like all together, except maybe in summer.

I am so tired of being sick.  I seem to have no immune system since my surgery.  It has never been this bad before.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Busy as a Bee

It's been so busy this last week, and this week looks busy , and the next week... and then nothing!  The family I babysit for and I have decided to part ways at the end of February.  I made the decision.  The mom is going down to per diem and I was not having any luck finding something that would only be 2 days a week.  So I told her that I would have to look for a job that has more days and therefore would not work for her.  She was understanding about it and happy I gave her three weeks notice.

This week I will be tutoring one of my nephews, working two days, having a beekeepers meetings on two days, and on Friday, my husband is having his gallbladder removed.  Looking forward to a long day at the hospital.  Plus, Tuesday is the last day of my ninth month since surgery!!  Nine months out, I can hardly believe it!  I am going to have to take a picture or two.

This week I re-tried on my size 26 jeans and they fit!  I am so happy about this!  It seemed to take forever to go from size 28 to size 26.  Forever!  Three full months.

I am still plugging away at my keto diet.  Not losing as fast as one could hope, but I am still losing.  Yesterday was so hard, I had major cravings.  It didn't help that I had to wait an extra long time for my last meal.  I was so hungry by the time I could eat.  The, even though I was full, I could not stop thinking about eating more.  I didn't give in to the cravings, but I seriously considered going to bed early just to get away from them.

Okay, well I've got to go before I am late for Church.

Friday, February 5, 2016

Keep going body!

I would really, really like to meet my next goal of 225 lbs by the end of February.  That gives me approximately 3 weeks to lose about another 7 lbs.  I need to lose at least 2.4 lbs a week to achieve this.  I don't know if this is realistic for me.

On the weeks I am losing, it is generally anywhere from 2-4 pounds a week.  But for the past three months, for one or even two weeks each month I have been plateauing or losing 0.3, which feels like the same thing.

I hope that this ultra low carb thing I am doing will keep me headed in the right direction and forestall any of my body's plans for plateauing.  At least for this month.  A girl can hope right?

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Exercise Plan: Walk

I haven't put too much though into my exercise plan beyond walking.  Last week, before the cold sucked all my energy away I was doing pretty good.  No extreme walking, but I don't want to injure myself either.  I did get up to 3.5 miles per hour on the treadmill at one point for about ten minutes.  It was difficult enough that I don't think I am ready to go any faster.  After warming up I can consistently walk at 2.5-3.0 miles per hour and not feel like I am dying.

On the days I didn't work, I was walking 1.25 miles twice for a total of 2.5 miles a day.

On the days I worked, I was walking 1.25 miles once for a total of 1.25 miles a day.

I try to go faster so it doesn't take as long.  Let's face it, there are a lot of things I rather be doing than exercising.  While typing this, I was interested in seeing how my speed compares to the data of the internet.  I found that according to Wikipedia, the average preferred walking speed is 3.1 miles per hour.  So I am still under average if that is correct.  I also read in multiple places that 4 miles per hour is considered a brisk walk.  Frankly, if I were to try for 4 miles per hour I would have to be running.  I can barely stay at a walk at 3.5 miles per hour.  My legs just don't go that fast in walk mode at this point.

I also read that the speed you go doesn't matter, but rather how long you have your heart rate elevated.  Therefore you need to go fast enough to elevate your heart rate.  This is why I have been trying to walk twice on the days when I can.  It is healthier and will burn more calories.  This article was a pretty interesting read.

Finally, I found this article on at Livescience.com about a study involving walking speed and life expectancy.  It says, "Those who walked 1 meter per second (about 2.25 mph) or faster consistently lived longer than others of their age and sex who walked more slowly, the study showed."

What I am taking away from all this is that I need to walk at least 2.25 mph, but even higher if that is what it takes to get my heart rate up, and the longer I walk the better.

I'd like to start going back to my Friday morning Zumba class, though if I get a new job that will not be an option.  Other than walking, I know I should be doing some resistance training.  I am so weak I can't even do a set of 10 without majorly struggling on some muscles.  Maybe I need to get some easier bands.