Hello on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon! I love days like this, sunny, breezy, not too humid…perfect for sitting outside and enjoying life! Today I thought I would share an update as well as some helpful tips.

GOAL!!

I’m still doing well on the Keto Diet. I am loving the way I’m feeling with this way of eating (WOE). I still have not had any joint pain, no acne breakouts since stopping my prescription cream, still sleeping better and more even energy though the day. And as of almost 4 weeks ago I finally reached goal at Weight Watchers! I know it probably seems a little odd that I’ve continued with WW even though I’m eating very differently. I’ve found that this WOE is similar in some ways to Simply Filling (which is an alternate WW strategy, I’ve written about it before here if you’re interested); in particular the idea of eating whole, unprocessed foods, and eating when you’re hungry and to satiety. The meetings also still afford me the “reset” for the week and help me to keep my head in the game. It was very exciting to step on the scale and finally see that number I had been chasing for so long. Here is a picture of me and my dedicated WW leader on that evening.

The one thing I am still struggling a bit with is my workouts. They’ve improved a great deal in the weeks since I’ve started, but I feel like I’m still fighting with my heart rate on the more intense workouts (such as metcons at the gym, or races or doing speed work).  For instance I ran the Akron 8K yesterday and did great for about the first 2-2.5 miles. Then my heartrate seemed to really jump and I felt as though I spend most of the rest of the race trying to catch my breath. I ended with a final average pace of 10:03, which isn’t bad considering the number of walk breaks I took during that second half, but frustrating nonetheless since my first 2 miles were both under 9:15. But I’m not giving up. The more I read and research the more I feel that this WOE really is healthier in the long run, for more reasons than just weight loss. I feel like somewhere down the road it’s going to become very difficult to ignore the research that’s shown low carb high fat to be the way to go to fight obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, etc.

CONTINUALLY LEARNING…

Speaking of reading, I’ve finished several books that I have found to be very enlightening. The Obesity Codes, by Dr. Jason Fung; Fat for Fuel, by Dr. Joesph Mercola; The Complete Guide to Fasting, by Dr. Jason Fung and Jimmy Moore; and now I am reading The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance, by Drs. Jeff Volek & Stephen Phinney. I would recommend any of these to anyone wanting to know more about low card high fat eating and how it can impact your health. The authors of these books are considered to be the gurus in their fields and very reliable in the quality of their research. As I’ve searched different podcasts, Facebook groups and other internet sources for information, I’ve used these names as foundational points to determine the validity of the information I find.

COFFEE WITH BUTTER??

If you’ve looked into the Keto WOE at all you’ve probably run across coffee made with butter and coconut oil in some form or fashion. Sometimes called Bulletproof Coffee or Keto Coffee, it has turned this former anti-coffee girl into a total coffee junkie. Besides being creamy and delicious it is a great breakfast replacement that keeps me full for many hours. The problem is it can be somewhat inconvenient to put together as you are rushing around during your busy morning routine. But luckily for me, my saavy sister-in-law discovered this hack on Pinterest that is a game-changer: Keto Coffee pods. This makes it so much easier to put together your morning coffee! Here’s what you do!

So the way I do my keto coffee is with 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. So in order to make 12 keto coffee pods, I measure out 12 tablespoons of butter and 12 tablespoons of coconut oil into a microwave-safe bowl.

I microwave for about a minute, stir, and then for another 30 seconds or so. Your microwave time may vary, the idea is to get everything melted and mixed together.

Then I spoon out even amounts of the liquid into a silicone muffin pan. It’s important during this step that you continually stir the mixture, as it tends to want to separate. This is so you make sure you can get the ingredients divided as evenly as possible.

Once you have all the liquid divided into your muffin pan, pop it into the freezer. It will set up relatively quickly, but I like to leave it for at least a couple of hours to ensure they really get frozen through.

Then you simply pop the little pods out of each section, toss them into a ziplock bag and store in the freezer! Then all you have to do to make your coffee is to place on pod into your cup and pour or brew the coffee right over it. Add whatever else you like (I add some artificial sweetener, and to my morning cup I also add a tablespoon of MCT oil for help with waking up my brain), and blend. I have a Cuisinart blender that you can attach the cup to blend, but any sort of blender would work. It is frothy and delicious!! You can also make tea this way, and there is a wonderful cocoa recipe out there that works great with these pods too.

MEAL PLANNING IDEAS

I’ve had a couple requests from people about my meal plans, what I’m eating on daily basis, so I thought I would share a typical week here with you. I am still continually learning and tweaking, but here’s what has worked for me thus far:

Breakfast: Most mornings I just have a keto coffee; sometimes also a couple strips of bacon if I want some salt to go with my sweet coffee. I’ve also recently discovered “noatmeal”, which is very tasty. It is equal parts chia seeds and flax meal mixed together with almond milk (1:1:2 ratio of the 3), then with whatever toppings you like. Nice little replacement for oatmeal!

Lunch: I’ve not been real adventurous with my lunches thus far, most days I have a salad with a few cherry tomatoes and some feta cheese and full fat dressing. I have been enjoying creamy Italian, Caesar, homemade Italian and French dressings. I also recently discovered (thanks to saavy sister-in-law again!) Hidden Valley Southwest Chipotle Ranch which is so yum! It does have some ingredients that are a little less than desirable (vegetable oil & sugar), but as an occasional change is soooo yum! It’s great on taco salad!

Dinner: Here is where I’ve experimented a little more, and I’ve shared several of the recipes I’ve found (bacon cheeseburger casserole, bacon wrapped meatloaf, Philly meatloaf, mozzarella stuffed meatballs). I also will do steak, chicken thighs, or pork chops and just up the fat content as I’m cooking them (adding pads of butter to the steak as it’s grilling, etc). Smoked sausage has become another go-to, as it has a very nice ratio of fat to protein; be aware though, most brands contain either sugar or high fructose corn syrup (or both). The light version actually is a little more desirable in terms of the keto friendly ingredients. Hamburgers are another great option for dinner, especially if you use 80/20 or fattier meat. Hot dogs work well too, though they have the same issue as the smoked sausage in terms of the sugar added; I actually found that Giant Eagle brand hot dogs have no added sugar! I bought a package but have not yet tried them.

Snacks: hard boiled eggs, pepperoni, cheese, dill pickles, salami, celery, almond butter, keto coffee/tea/cocoa.

I hope this helps! It’s important to remember as you’re planning your meals, to try to stick as close as you can to the ratios of macros suggested. I do my best to stay close to 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carbs (around 20ish grams of carbs is typically my goal each day). That protein mark can be tricky, especially when you’re trying to figure out ways to get in more fat, as protein tends to be the vehicle for fat much of the time. I’ve added a keto coffee/tea/cocoa to my afternoons lately to try and help with this, as I know I get too much protein most days.

So that’s where I’m at as of today! I hope these tips can be helpful to you. What types of keto hacks have you found to be helpful? What about recipes and snack ideas?