Four Weeks In

I thought it was time to give another update. There really hasn’t been all that much, but now I’ve got a few things to talk about, mostly, of course, about food. I’m learning a lot, and finding so many ways to make things more like what we enjoy, while still keeping within the keto guidelines.

First, let’s talk rice and pasta. These things are not part of the keto plan. Too many carbs! Yet, this week, Bruce and I had spaghetti, and we had rice with our butter chicken. Thanks to Miracle Noodles, we got to enjoy pasta and rice that felt pretty much exactly like what it was supposed to be. Mixed with sauce, or even on their own, they tasted great, too. You can read more yourself on the site, but one small quote taken from the page says:

Miracle Noodles and rice are approved for these special diets: Keto, Paleo, Certified Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Soy-Free, Certified Vegan, Certified Kosher, Blood Sugar-Friendly.

They’re naturally low in carbs and calories, Certified Non-GMO, contain no additives, and are made from the Konjac plant.

I found these completely on accident in the natural foods aisle at Walmart, and picked up a few different packets to try because they were inexpensive, and I’m not interested in zoodles. They have a decent variety too, so the next ones I’ll be trying are the fettuccine noodles with this alfredo sauce which should go really well with chicken and steamed broccoli. One-dish complete meal!

Tonight we’re having pork tenderloin, and, with Thanksgiving coming up in just over a week, it’s time to start looking at keto dishes that will be enjoyable for our non-keto guest who will be joining us. So, to go with the pork, I’ve just made mashed cauliflower. There were two different recipes and although I looked at this mashed cauliflower recipe first, I chose to go with the other option because, cream cheese! If anyone tries the one I did, be sure to read the tips she gives in the other recipe because she goes into more detail, and it’s that extra detail that made this turn out so well. I had no idea just how much liquid there is in cauliflower!

But now, for the biggest news! Unless things change, (and I’m doing my utmost to see that they don’t), I am completely off of my insulin! My last dose was Wednesday night. I was starting to have some really low sugars, so Lisa gave me permission to stop completely, especially since I’m keeping a very close watch on my numbers. Friday was a bit of a yoyo, but since then it’s really leveled out and I’m doing really well. I’m prepared to give myself a couple of units here or there if necessary, but I really am hoping that I’ve intentionally poked myself with a needle for the last time.

Bruce has really been missing toast, and he asked Lisa if he could have toast every once in a while. She said he could, so today for our one breakfast a week where we order in, we both got toast. It was wheat instead of white, which Lisa strongly recommended. That brought my level up to 9.8. Lisa said that if I go consistently above 10 then I should be doing the insulin. So, now I know that bread just doesn’t work well for me. And, I’m honestly okay with that. This surprises me, but as I think about it, I really do believe it. Bruce can have his toast on occasion. For me, I’m good without it. And this is the way we learn. I was curious, and now I know.

As far as my weight goes, my lowest was 190.0. Since then I’ve gone up and down, but not so much that I’m concerned. Overall, things are still going in the right direction, and I’ve lost ten pounds in total since August second. So I still see this as progress. Somedays I wish I’d see a bit more progress, but I also know this isn’t going to happen overnight. I have this little problem though where I want instant gratification. 😊

I still have little to no energy, and it’s really frustrating me. Of course this has gone on a lot longer than keto, but everyone always said that it would get better with keto. It hasn’t, which is the one really hard part of this. I’m trying so hard to make sure we get our meals every day, and that leaves me very little energy for anything else. I go out some days, and I feel like I spend most of that time in the grocery store. Grocery shopping online has gotten really difficult because now that I have to read labels, the info isn’t accessible to me most of the time, so I can’t get the nutritional info. I’m working with some truly fabulous people who make this part easier by reading the labels and things, but I loved online grocery shopping because I could do it whenever I wanted, and pick and choose on my own. So it kind of feels like that’s taken away a bit of my independence at a time when my independence is already being decreased because of Covid and not going out much anywhere alone now due to social distancing. So, by the end of the day, I’m pretty much done.

I said previously that Thanksgiving is coming up in a week. I’ve got the turkey, and yes, I’m actually doing a whole turkey this year again, although this time it’s not pre-stuffed. I haven’t found a keto stuffing recipe I like yet, so not totally sure what I’ll do about that. But, the potato-type dish is covered, and there was some kind of muffin or roll-like recipe that I found a while ago, but need to go searching for it again. I’ll also be making pumpkin pie since it’s October, and the time of pumpkin spice everything is here, and I just don’t want to miss out on it! But I’m still looking for one more side dish, and I’m not sure what it’s going to be. Squash is out, (yes, I know it’s like pumpkin, but it’s just not), and I’m also trying to come up with things that even non-keto people will appreciate. I want to make this gravy too, but I don’t have a very good track record with mixing this kind of thing without clumps. Normally I’d cheat and just buy a jar of gravy, but that’s not an option.

It’s time to make the pork now so I’ll stop here. I think that was about it anyway.