06.29.2015- advice need. :)

carimiller7391

Good morning ladies and gents!!! Hope everyone is doing well this morning.

As most of you know, I was/am fighting a bout with depression right now. I started taking my meds as my doc suggested... 4 times a day and added my B12 and D3 back into my diet. Well, although I'm not 100% I feel MUCH better then I did last week. WOOHOO. I did not think that was going to break before vacation, but now I am actually looking forward to vacation. YEAH ME.

Here's my dilema. I fly out on Friday the 10th for 9 days in Las Vegas. I just started trying to revamp my eating to a LCHFMP (low carb, high fat, moderate protein) eating plan. Should I put this on hold, as I'm probably not going to have the best options available to me in Vegas and go on maintanence for that 9 day period (Some of the vacation I will be at a huge party with lots of alcohol)..... and just truly make the best decisions I can, or should I really try to hold true to my eating plan for then. What would you do??? How have you managed vacation this early in a new WOE?? I'm not overly concerned about the alcohol.... it's more the food.

Thanks in advance for your advice. It's always appreciated.

FIT_Goat

There will always be an excuse to not fully commit, if you look hard enough for one. I've done many vacations without cheating, and I promise that my way of eating is more restrictive than yours. Vegas has great buffets and outrageous servings of meat (just get them with a low-carb veggie).

There's no reason you couldn't do just fine on the diet. Maybe not if you're trying to restrict calories at the same time. But, you could at least stick to the principles of this way of eating even if you're a bit higher on your intake than you'd prefer. Best of all, by sticking to the principles, you're going to minimize any setbacks the excess could cause.

carimiller7391

Thanks!!! I was wondering if I should try on say maintanence instead of trying to lose weight at the same time. I've been trying to lower carbs each week starting last Wednesday at 75g a day and lowering by 10 each week until I hit 20g a day. Maybe I could stay between 50-75g for vacation. How does this sound??

I know Vegas has loads of meat and seafood options out... Just not sure without a kitchen what kinds of stuff I can grab for the room. Any suggestions??

deksgrl

I don't see any reason why you can't stay on plan there. As FIT_Goat says, lots of buffets where there will be lots of choices. And the restaurants should have no problem honoring special requests for special diets.

FIT_Goat

In the room? Depends on if you have a fridge and microwave. With a fridge and microwave: eggs, bacon, cream (heavy, sour, whatever) makes a fine hearty breakfast, which can be prepared in the microwave (cook the bacon between paper towels). I'll eat my meat raw. So, there's that for me. Honestly, though, how much food would you be eating in your room if you weren't doing low carb?

DAM5412

I agree with the above, your carb levels give a lot of leeway to stay on plan. Eat fat at every meal, that's usually the great equalizer for me for satiety. If you can stay on track as much as possible, then your journey will be that much easier.

As for snacks, stick with low carb non-sweet options. Pork rinds, nuts, cheese sticks/cubes, slim jims or jerky. all except the cheese are shelf stable. Eggs, cream cheese, olives, creams and even deli meat are great snacks.

Have a great time in Vegas, and know that with the amount of walking you're going to do (most of those hotels are massive), you are going to burn off a lot of those 'extra' calories.

GSD_Mama

LV is very keto friendly, I would be living in breakfast and dinner buffet. If you are planning to have a seret treat, make sure to have a small portion, as was mentioned before, if you're not ready to commit you still can make right chiices. You will walk a lot and do sight seeing so I wouldn't worry about calories.
Have fun and don't spend all your money on one slot!

CoconuttyMummy

deksgrl wrote: »

I don't see any reason why you can't stay on plan there. As FIT_Goat says, lots of buffets where there will be lots of choices. And the restaurants should have no problem honoring special requests for special diets.

I agree with Deksgrl & Fit_Goat. You'll do great. Enjoy your hold, stay on plan and come back looking and feeling great

Twibbly

Also, remember that every time you stick food in your mouth, it's a new decision. If you break down and have a sugar-filled drink or pastry, it doesn't mean your whole day is shot, may as well eat whatever. You can choose at any time to eat poorly or eat awesomely.

azcowgirrlup

Vegas is easy to eat lchf. You can stay on plan and have a great time.

deksgrl

What amenities will your room have? And how much time are you spending there? When I go on vacation, we don't spend a lot of time in the room, it is for sleeping, or resting during down time and showering and changing. We get meals out, unless we specifically plan for a place with at least a fridge and microwave.

Will you have a car or can you take a taxi to go out to the grocery store and buy some things? If you are staying on the strip, I can't think of a grocery within walking distance. You could buy an inexpensive styrofoam cooler and keep ice from the ice maker in it to keep veggies and cream cheese, etc.

Twibbly

deksgrl wrote: »

Will you have a car or can you take a taxi to go out to the grocery store and buy some things? If you are staying on the strip, I can't think of a grocery within walking distance. You could buy an inexpensive styrofoam cooler and keep ice from the ice maker in it to keep veggies and cream cheese, etc.

There's a Walgreens by the Venetian. That's the closest thing to a grocery store I can think of.

These might help:
http://gamboool.com/grocery-store-near-the-las-vegas-strip
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g45963-c72033/Las-Vegas:Nevada:Grocery.And.Liquor.Stores.html

carimiller7391

Thanks so much for the great advice. The first 4 days will be full of site seeing, the last 5 are more of a convention, so won't be leaving the hotel much. Was more worried about snack ideas as I know I can manuever the buffets, but was more worried about breakfast/snacks. I believe there is a target type store not far from where we are staying. Either way, I Will do the very best I can to stay on plan and like @twibbly said, every food put in my mouth is a choice. I choose to stay on plan.

deksgrl

You could easily keep on hand the coconut oil to make bullet proof coffee for your breakfast. I haven't tried it but a lot of people say it keeps them full until lunch. If you look through the threads here you will see a bunch of threads about it.

minties82

I would skip breakfast and snacks and just have a massive load of meat once or twice a day.

Kitnthecat

I think BPC is a great idea. I'd even get a cheap blender to take with me and make it in my room. Making great choices at the buffets makes sense too. I'd skip the snacks completely since snacks can get out of control. If you have a fridge though cheese etc might be good to have on hand, as well as the suggestions above.

But I'm also wondering if you have thought about trying and Omega 3 fish oil supplement. The average SAD diet is overloaded with Omega 6 fatty acids, so we usually need more Omega 3 to balance things out. It is also great for brain function and mood balance. I take Webber naturals Omega 3 daily.

KnitOrMiss

Although if you're going to do BPC and want to feel full, you'll need to experiment with it before you go. The first week or so I did it, I was still always hungry with it, and it took me about a week to adjust. Also, if I have 100-150 calories of "something" with it, it will keep full HOURS LONGER, so worth experimenting with before you go. Also, I don't know if you have one there, but Trader Joe's supposedly has 1 oz packets of coconut oil so that you can travel with them....

Oh, and cheap blender not necessary...

Bullet Proof On The Go
For anyone who has been following my conversations lately, I've been doing Bullet Proof Coffee (needs too much added for a person like me who doesn't like coffee) and Bullet Proof Tea (my fave is Irish Breakfast Tea! or double bags of boring normal Lipton Hot Tea)...

Here is my latest method, with which I'm totally in love:

I have taken to doing mine in a water bottle so I can be mobile with it. I measure out 2.5 oz of heavy whipping cream and 1 TBSP of coconut oil. I shake the crap out of it until the cream is essentially whipped (feel no movement in the bottle when shaking it. I do this while my tea is brewing, but you could easily do it with your coffee. Then, I add in a few ounces of my hot beverage, and shake until I hear the coconut oil stop "thumping" and feel the temperature of the bottle drop a bit. Then I add about half of my remaining hot beverage and shake for all I'm worth. Then the final bit, and again, shake until you get that visible froth. It takes a little effort, but it's a arm workout, right?

My coconut oil stays well suspended, just as if I'd made it with a blender. I might be able to do more and/or add butter, but I upped my heavy cream to compensate. It adds a few carbs over the others, but is much easier for "on the go." I've done this now 4-5 business days and am very happy with the results.

P.S. I now use this method with my LOADED TEA which includes the raw eggs and it works beautifully there, too.

m_puppy

Don't take a break. If you think drinking alcohol is a must while you're out there, shoot for zero carb versions. My push for you to keep going with this is because of your depression. People are in the middle of doing some very interesting studies about depression being caused by inflammation and what may be leading to that inflammation in our diets. I'm not an anti-gluten advocate or anything. I struggle with bouts of depression throughout the year. Being in ketosis has limited those bouts and the length if they do occur. I still have an occasional low but it isn't months and months long. Now it may last a day, sometimes only a few hours. This isn't all from ketosis. But I think limiting carbs allows me to remain above water long enough to find solutions to not let myself go under water for too long. Before there is no way I could have had that. Do it for your mental health!

carimiller7391

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I've decide to take a bit of everyone's advice. I don't do BPC. Can't stand the taste of coffee. I will, however, be trying the tea Carly suggested. Also, I have NO INTENTIONS of giving up this way of eating so I am sticking to eggs, cheese, bacon, sausage for breakfast, a meat for lunch with a salad or in the salad, almonds and cheese as a snack as needed, and a meat with maybe a sauce for dinner with veggies. I feel that if I need to have a "treat" I'd be able to have a taste, but not the entire thing. Like someone pointed out, I'm going to enjoy the sight seeing and friends and convention... not to eat.

Thanks for putting it into perspective for me.