Zero Carb eating

Today I was 266.2. Down 2.2 lbs. since yesterday afternoon, but I think it was just the time of day I weighed in.. I'm lighter in the morning, after not eating all night. So 266.2 is down 4.2 lbs., since Thursday morning. So 5 days. My blood sugar, was 130 mg/dL.. still a bit high, despite not eating many carbs, and being on diabetes meds. I have 15 days to see my doctor, and she will be happy with weight loss, but my A1C may be higher than I hoped, if they test it. I think this time, they test my lipids, which will be a good thing to see. That'll give me 3 mos. to figure out what is going on. Maybe it's all the calories, protein, or just an adjustment period.. numbers are better, but not down to 100 or less.. where I want them.

This morning, I had 6 eggs, butter, and shredded 1 oz. of extra sharp cheddar over them. Lunch is 8 ozs. of haddock, cooked in butter, and dinner is 12 ozs. of boneless pork short ribs, cooked in butter.

Not much to speak of.. whatever chest discomfort I had Saturday, was a 1 day thing. I feel awesome today.. it's been 10 days. I'm down 14.4 lbs., which is mostly water weight. My breathing is a lot better, and I am sleeping better. Going to start walking again at the local park today, because I feel good. There is a 1 mile loop, with a bench at the far end, right under a tree.. so I can walk 1/2 a mile, rest, and walk back.. other than a little wading in the pool, walking is my main exercise. It helps , and is practical. When I am struggling to walk 250 feet, it severely limits what I can do.. not just going places, but it translates to daily life.. things like washing dishes can leave me winded.. not a problem, if I am walking and breathing better. I've been lax in my walking. I pay for a gym membership at Planet Fitness, but working up to doing a few workouts each week.. more focused on cardio now.. maybe lift weights during the winter, when I can't walk outside, or " swim ".

Feeling good @ 264 lbs.

Breakfast was 8 sausage patties, cooked in a half stick of butter. Lunch was 2 large chicken thighs, and dinner is going to be 12 ozs. of ground beef. Feels like I am in a routine now.. mostly just trying for some variety, and deciding what sounds good in the morning, and cooking it. Today I am actually having ZERO carbs.. just meat. I ran out of eggs, and don't go shopping until Saturday, so just going to do sausage until then.

I had my first low blood sugar today. It happened right before lunch, so I just warmed up my chicken thighs, and my vision cleared up after I ate. I didn't bring my glucose meter, which I should have, so I didn't test how low it got. This morning, my blood sugar was 88 mg/dL, before I ate the sausage, so I will need to start paying attention, and record any low blood sugar readings, so maybe I can either cut, or stop the meds for diabetes, once my doctor is convinced I'll stick to my plan.

Weather has been rainy, and 60. So no exercise. Tomorrow, the sun is supposed to show up, and make it to 70. Looking forward to taking a walk.

Down to 263.4 today. Ate 6 eggs for breakfast, then had to go get a screw removed from my tire.. 3rd time in 5 mos., since I bought my new car. None went flat, and the tires were plugged for free, but it's annoying. Hit the library, then watched U-M play Rutgers, and the Tigers beat KC.. and ate some chicken thighs about 3 p.m.

Dinner was 3 lamb chops. Ground lamb is expensive, so I just went with the chops. Didn't seem like a lot of food, but I am full. I did have a low blood sugar today, before lunch, since I ate breakfast at 7 a.m., and lunch at 3 p.m. Was waiting the hour for my chicken to bake. My blood sugar was 57 mg/dL. It was 84 this morning, and 102 before dinner. Got it before my vision became too blurry, so no headache after it cleared up.

Decided to come to the office, and do some work at 11 p.m., and check in. It's been 2 weeks now, and weight loss has been consistent, but has slowed down, blood sugars are low, and meals are pretty boring. I mix it up, but options are limited. I got some lamb chops, and later this week, I have some beef sausage links, which I plan to have with some cheese. Other than that, it's chicken, steak/beef, and occasionally some pork or fish.

I've been eating 2500 calories a day, but thinking I may drop serving sizes a little, and see if I still feel full at 2100 calories a day.

Down to 262.4 today.. weight loss is pretty slow right now. I ate 2,179 calories yesterday, and still felt a bit stuffed. That's 300 calories less than I was eating, and I felt better, but today since I have a lot of meetings, I just boiled 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs ( 1.5 lbs. ) Breakfast was 3 XL eggs, and 2 sausage patties, diced up, and cooked in 3 Tbsp. butter. That only comes out to 1,750 calories, so I might have to add more after my last meeting after dinner. I have some cheese sitting unopened in the fridge. Maybe 1,750 will be OK.. I am a bit stuffed after breakfast. I could have cooked the thighs in butter to add some calories, but boiling them meant I didn't have to watch them, or flip them. I just waited 45 minutes, and split them into 2 bowls of 4 thighs each.. 510 calories each, according to the package.. rounded off to 12 ozs. each. No bone or skin, but they don't trim the fat at the Amish butcher's. Gives me a few more calories.

I decided to skip seasoning today, and have nothing but chicken, eggs, and breakfast sausage, and the butter w/ breakfast. Fat is down to 65%, protein 35%. I want to see how I like this, and if I feel lighter after eating this way. I feel like I am adding EXTRA butter and mayo to foods, just to hit a caloric goal. Maybe my weight loss will speed up again, with less calories?? We shall see. My Na for the day is 1,390 mg.. lower than it has been.

Won't be able to walk today, since I have so much to do. Hope to finish several projects, and I don't think I have any more meetings this week, so maybe I can stay home tomorrow, and walk in the morning, and go do something like shoot hoops in the evening.

I am down to 261.6 today. After looking at the weights on my chicken thighs, it ended up being 13.76 ozs. per meal, instead of my guess of 12. So I ate 1900 calories by the end of the day.

This morning, my blood sugar was 84, then I ate 3 XL eggs, cooked in 2Tbsp. butter, and 2 ozs. of cheddar cheese. My blood sugar before lunch was 101, and I ate 4 more chicken thighs. I baked these ones. I add 2 cups of water, so not sure how much they vary from just boiling them. I cook them at 375 for an hour, and flip them at 30 mins.. top side up at the end. That made the skin crunchy when I was eating whole thighs, but after years of eating boneless, skinless thighs from the Amish store, I like them. The skin is delicious sometimes, but I don't do a lot of things I can on this diet. I rarely have bacon for example.

Sometimes I get as much chiding from ZC people ( not here ), about not eating skin, or bacon, or lard, or saving fat from meat I cook, as I get from the average person gives me over not eating veggies, or fiber.

I'm at 66/33 fat/protein. I like eating food from animals, but not all the food available. I still like the same food I ate on low carb, but just cut out the few veggies, and berries I might have.

I'm back up to 2,325 calories today, but that is because while I was buying chicken thighs yesterday, I saw a nice 14 oz. porterhouse steak, and got it. So I'm having that for dinner, cooked in 2 Tbsp. butter.. a few extra calories.

I have been not posting blood sugar as much, because it is tending to be great. After initially not dropping low enough, it's consistently 70-110, which is where I want it. I was hoping for a few more low blood sugar reactions, to show I needed to cut meds, but so far, it's lower, but not low enough. I doubt my doctor cuts my meds, even if I have a 5 A1C, without low blood sugar reactions.. so it might take longer to show I am being consistent. Like a year, maybe. Can't say I blame the doctor though, after 3 years of higher A1C's. I did have a significant drop the last time I got tested, which they liked, but they tend to be very careful in cutting diabetes meds. Last time, I had to have over 100 low blood sugars, before they let me quit all my diabetes meds. Back then, I was eating Atkins Induction.. under 20 Total grams of carbs. Now that I am eating less than 5 grams, a day, I expected more low blood sugars. I am on less meds than I was back then, so maybe being 11 years older, makes a difference.

If I drop below 70, or pop back up over 110, I'll mention it, but if it is 70-110, that's where I want it to be eventually, even if I am disappointed to be at normal, while still taking meds. My hope is that I'll stay here for a time, and then drop again, and record a lot of low blood sugar reactions, and get proof that I no longer need meds, but right now, that isn't happening. Someone told me it was the extra protein? Maybe. The other difference this time is he 15 units of basal Insulin I inject every night. I wasn't on that. Maybe it affects me differently.

So I am just treading water on blood sugars which I find boring, so I didn't figure anyone cared. If nothing changes, I will have better blood sugar control, but still be on meds.

My hope is to hit 100 lbs. lost tomorrow. I've hit it before, and it's been 20 years, since I was at that weight, but I spent half of that at about 340-350 ( 2001-2010 ). I did get down to 242 in 2011, and off diabetes meds from 2010-2016.. so while it's a major milestone.. I've been here before. I probably need to lose another 100 lbs., but I celebrate what I can. I am also close to 20 lbs. lost as well, on this current WOE. Started on 9/11, so that would be 18 days to lose 20 lbs. Barely a lb. a day, and closer to 1/2 a lb. a day now. So I wouldn't say ZC is a miracle weight loss diet, but I'm consistent on it, and that's good. A ZC'er who has been on this for a decade, said she didn't adjust for 6 mos., and her cholesterol went up, her blood sugars were all over the place, and her weight went up and down, and then after 6 months, everything got regular. I doubt I could eat this way, and not see results. Not that I don't like what I am eating, but no results? Or up and down? I would go bonkers, and probably just try to be more consistent on a very low carb plan. Luckily, with over 100 lbs. left to lose, I have only had 1 day where I gained weight.

My next weight goal, after 261.0, will probably be to get below 242.0, which is the lowest I have been. I was there 10 years ago for a short time, but before that, it would be 25 years since I was below 240. My early 20's. At that point, I will consider it to be new weight loss, and I have plans to go buy some new clothes at that point.. maybe an early Christmas present to myself??

I'm rambling, because I have an hour to burn, until the Tigers game starts. I'm done with this though. Have a great day if you are reading this, and made it this far.

Hope you both get back on track. Covid messed me up big time. They said to buy 6 weeks of groceries.. and low carb foods other than meat, spoil in less time.. the eggs, veggies etc. I was eating closer to Keto.. but bought a bunch of canned pasta, because everyone thought we wouldn't be able to shop, and confined to our homes. That turned out to be false, and I ate the 6 weeks of groceries in about 3 weeks. I got back on track at the end of last year, did Keto off and on, until I started trying ZC. I did a few test runs of 2 weeks, and didn't cheat, so I'm hoping to be able to stick to it for the long haul.. see if I can.

Today I didn't lose any weight.. gained 2/10ths of a lbs. 259.4. No big deal after big loss yesterday.

Today, I ate 4 XL eggs w/ 3Tbsp. butter. Lunch is 4 chicken thighs, which I tore up, and added 3 Tbsp. mayo to. Dinner will just be ham, and 2 ozs. of extra sharp cheddar. it's a high salt day, but I just wanted a different meat, and ham sounded good.

I seem to have some energy today. Woke up at 6:30, did a load of laundry, and cooked my meals before I got here at 8:30. This afternoon, I'm taking a couple hours off to go for a long walk, then after work, I plan to get groceries, and go shoot some hoops, before it gets dark. I'll have to wear a hoodie, since it's supposed to be 60 degrees by 8 p.m. I only recently was able to do this.. and still have to pace myself, so my pacemaker doesn't go off @ 171 HR, but I'm playing against other fat guys, so I can do about 30 mins. before I need to rest and get my HR back down to 75, before I play again, so maybe 2 shifts, if I feel really good.

Down another 8/10ths of a lb. 257.0. I'm pretty close to dropping below a lb. loss per day.

Rainy and cold the past few days, so no walking. Just eating good, watching sports, and napping.

I had 14 ozs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs ready for lunch, diced up, and in the broth, so it would stay moist. Instead of eggs today for breakfast, I had what was basically chicken soup. I'll have the eggs for lunch, and then GB for dinner. I left a bunch of the grease, so it's not dry when I reheat it.

Despite having no gallbladder, greasy food doesn't bother me. They say some people get constipated on ZC, or other low carb diets, due to lack of fiber, and after gallbladder removal, greasy foods can lead to diarrhea, so maybe these offset each other.. for whatever reason, I feel great having a greasy meal every so often, and I'm regular, so one less issue to worry about.

New seasons for TV shows are in full swing starting today.. so I'll try to find an hour or two of shows most days.. the Pistons start soon as well, to replace Tigers games. I still need to start doing some indoor exercise, since it is getting colder, and we have rain 1-2 days a week. I pay for a gym membership. so I may have to start lifting weights 2-3 days a week to supplement my walking, when it is impossible. I dread the day, we drop below 50 degrees for good. Cold weather is usually bad for my breathing. Then I have to go to gym, or find a way to play some basketball indoors with friends who can secure a court. I really don't like the gym, but it helps me keep busy, and I feel like I want to do something physical. Focused mostly on cardio, but I want to also maintain muscle, while losing the fat. I'll do what I can.

I lost 1.8 lbs. this morning. My blood sugar was 70 mg/dL. Right at the bottom of my range.

For breakfast, I ate 5 sausage patties, cooked in 2 Tbsp. butter. For lunch, I have 2 cans of tuna, mixed with 3 Tbsp. mayo, and 2 ozs. of extra sharp cheddar. For dinner I am having 2 whole chicken thighs, with skin.. 9.76 ozs.

Yesterday, I ate dinner about 5:30 p.m. I saw a video which said that older LC dieters should not eat as late, so they can eat more at breakfast time, and consume most of their calories earlier in the day. So I had about 13 hours of no food, between dinner, and breakfast today. I added cheese to get up to 1,927 calories, but also because it gives me some food I can eat quickly, if I start getting blurry vision from low blood sugars.

I have decided to start taking Magnesium & Vitamin C tablets. After reviewing my diet, I don't think I get enough of these, eating this way, and even if I do.. a little extra won't hurt me.

Today, I only lost 2/10ths of a lb. 255.

I ate 4 XL eggs, with 3 Tbsp. salted butter. Lunch was leftover chicken. Yesterday I cooked up 4 thighs, and ate 2.5, including the skin from all 4 thighs.. planned for 2. So I had 1.5 thighs of shredded chicken, in a couple cups of broth. I drained all but maybe 2 Tbsp of the broth off, but left that, and added 3 Tbsp. of mayo, and stirred that up.. made the mayo into a creamy sauce.. it was delicious. Added 2 ozs. of extra sharp cheddar. Dinner is simple. Just 7 ozs. of GB.

This is 1980 calories for the day, but I'm following some advice, and eating more calories early, and stopping meals at 6 p.m., then eat breakfast at 7 a.m. Breakfast was 660 calories, lunch was 833, and dinner is only 487. Supposed to make a difference. I seem to lose no matter what I do, probably since I still have 100 lbs. to lose, so why not see if things make me feel better, or make a difference. I do feel hungrier at breakfast, which helps. I always eat breakfast, but sometimes, a plate of eggs at 7 a.m. is more than I want to eat. Not a problem today.

I think these experiments are basically to fight boredom, and because I am curious.. I don't really have any problem to overcome. just maybe help a little. These are issues a lot of LC'ers have, but I'm not sure if that is because they try to max out carbs, whereas I am down to basically none, so these things might be something I don't have as much of a problem with, because I am deeper in ketosis..??

Anyways, I'm bored, and experimenting. I might not see anything, but I'll give it a month on the meal shifts. It does feel weird to watch TV, and not eat at 9 or 10 p.m., but in a month, we'll see if it has ANY benefit. Or enough to continue the changes anyways.