Advertising

Well hello there! It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? Well, gather round, ‘cuz I got me some thoughts.

Now that I’m back on the low carb, no gluten, and newly-implemented no dairy food plan, I’m starting to feel quite a bit better. My blood sugars are down, and my endocrinologist lowered my insulin intake by a third. At the start of the year I was taking 50 units 3x/day; no I’m down to 25 units 2x/day. That’s a 66% reduction!

Anyway, as the title suggests, I want to talk about advertising. Sure, I know there are a ton of fast food commercials, Instagram posts, modal window ads, etc. But I didn’t quite realize just how pervasive this advertising is until I started getting super intentional about my food intake. The camera shots, colors used, and even the physical appearance of the folks eating the food are all meticulously designed to entice us into eating the food not just once or twice, but continuously.

This morning the TV in the office elevator (yeah, we’re high rollers over here) was playing an Olive Garden commercial, complete with the most amazing footage of manicotti, lasagna, and bread sticks. It was 7:30am, and I’m strongly committed to treating my diabetes with low carb intake, and I’m pretty sure I drooled. At 7:30am.

The power of these images is incredible, and if I’m not on my guard, the potential euphoria of McDonald’s french fries and Jack in the Box tacos will swirl in my head all day, until I finally give in.

So what ads tempt you? Haha, just kidding! This is a no-tempting zone! However, I do want to hear about your tactics for avoiding the pull to buy ridiculously unhealthy food!

Traveling

Good news, everyone! I’m down 6.2 pounds since I last checked in! I was down a few more than that last week. But, the hotel in which I stayed while at a work conference had a Cheesecake Factory in it, so…

I’m moving to a different apartment this weekend, so I’m officially in don’t-use-any-pans-or-dishes mode. That means I’m a lot more tempted to eat fast food. Last night I caved to the craving and had Panda Express for dinner. Of course, it’s not a huge piece of cheesecake, but it was pretty darn carb-heavy. But, apart from that, I’m hangin’ in there. I’m looking forward to unpacking and using my new kitchen!

(bonus points if you get the reference in the first line)

Well Damn

Welp, it’s been a rough couple of months health-wise! I’ve gained 12 pounds (up to 265 from 253). I’ve been in a relationship, so plenty of dates out at restaurants, drinks, and homemade desserts. So, yesterday I jumped back into keto, and, wouldn’t you know it, the gal broke up with me this morning. Now, the great thing about this is I generally don’t eat a ton after a breakup, so hopefully I’ll get some of those lbs off! But, this is also a great opportunity to practice what I’ve learned about avoiding emotional eating episodes and channeling my emotion into something healthy. This afternoon’s plan: take Walter the Wonder Pup on a nice, long walk through the park.

What are your preferred methods for dealing with emotion in a healthy way?

Momentum!

Welp, after a 6 week push and plenty of ups and downs, I dropped 15 pounds! I’m down to 256 as of Wednesday morning (Wednesdays are official weigh-in days for my dad and I). For once in my life I’m not just saying “After the holidays I’ll get down to business.” Nope, this time I’m going into the holidays with momentum!

Today I fly out to California to start my Christmas celebrations. The holidays – and vacations in general – are ripe with opportunity to use the classic “I’ll start tomorrow” excuse. Now, I’m not saying I’m not planning on a couple splurges over the course of my 8 days in California (Christmas Eve dinner with my mom, Christmas day, because, well, stockings, and Thursday celebrating with my dad). But, that doesn’t mean I need to snack 24/7, grab fast food on the way to events, or get into old soda-drinking habits.

So, here’s to a fantastic Christmas season! I’ll be back soon to start chatting 2018!

End of the Year Push!

Welp, this year has pretty much been a wash. Of course, I’ve maintained my weight after losing quite a bit at the end of last year, so that’s definitely a victory! But, I was hoping for more. I definitely underestimated the impact having to build a new routine would have. Add in unexpected surgery, and plenty of travel, and, welp, the year’s weight-loss plan didn’t exactly play out as I wanted.

That being said, I’m going to finish the year out strong! There’s no reason to wait until the masses begin their annual pilgrimage to the gym on January 2nd. I weighed in at 271 pounds on Wednesday, and I’m going to lose 20 pounds by Christmas. My Dad and I set this goal together while I was visiting last weekend, and we plan on taking some fantastic  Christmas pictures next month.

So, who’s with me? Who wants to launch into the Christmas season and build momentum into 2018?!

Progress Report – 7/21/2017

Two days late, but I’m still posting! I’m even this week, staying solid at 270.9. I ate pretty poorly volume-wise, but stuck to my gluten free plan. This was my first week completely gluten free, and it went really well! It’s easier than I thought it would be, but it’s certainly not without its challenges. I’m glad I’m jumping on this now instead of ten years ago. Labels are updated, and it’s fairly easy to find gluten free options at the grocery store. Restaurants are another challenge entirely, but I’m learning!

Welp, here goes another week!

Progress Report – 7/14/2017

As you may have read in my previous post, I went gluten free this week (read: “forced to by my nutritionist”). I was apprehensive and more than a bit skeptical. I’ll be honest, the transition has been a bit rough. I’ve got a pretty decent bout of insomnia going, along with some odd cravings (who craves toast?!). But, I haven’t eaten fast food all week, and I haven’t even been thinking about it. That’s huge! I weighed in at 270.9 this morning, a 6.6 pound loss. A good chunk of that was water weight and my body freaking out a bit over the drastic diet shift. But, a loss is a loss! Here’s to getting back to where I was before the surgery and hanging right past it!

Eating Skeptic Crow

Today begins my journey of going gluten free. My nutritionist hasn’t said how long she wants me to do it for, but most of what I’ve read says you need a solid 3 months of zero gluten in order to conduct a true test of gluten sensitivity by reintroducing it into your diet. Luckily, it’s really not all that different from keto, with the exception of allowing grains. I don’t want to go high carb or anything, but I think I’ll keep integrating whole grains into my diet. Stuff like wild rice and quinoa in stir fries and whatnot. Turns out I inadvertently bought gluten free tortillas last week, so I’m good to go on that front. I’m going to make a burrito or taco salad. Ooh, maybe I’ll make and freeze up some breakfast burritos to have in the mornings. Or maybe I’ll stick with IF. The one thing is my nutritionist isn’t all about the high fat part of keto. Eating all the bacon isn’t looked highly upon, though it’s not the worst thing in the world. Ultimately, she wants me to find a balance that curbs cravings and allows me to kick my will power into overdrive.

So there you have it. This gf skeptic is now jumping on the bandwagon. What tips do you have for the newb?

Progress Report – 5/26/17

I’m happy to report it was a great week! While my weight went up a smidge – up .7 pounds to 268.8 – I stayed true to my low carb eating plan, started meeting with a nutritionist, and saw my fasting blood sugars continue to fall. I’m encouraged! This week I’d like to see my weight reflect my effort, so I’ll identify a couple key changes to make. The biggest change I’ll be making is at the request of my nutritionist – begin focusing on nourishing foods. Sure, I didn’t eat many carbs this week, but most of what I did eat was cheap and refined (i.e. plenty of cheap cheese, bacon, and ground meat). This weekend I’ll take a field trip to Whole Foods to begin familiarizing myself with nourishing, filling foods, raised ethically and healthily. I’m pretty darn excited to see what I find!

I’ve also decided I’d like to implement a “moderate ketogenic” diet. This means I’ll try to keep my daily carb intake below 50g, rather than the strict keto goal of 30g. I believe this will allow me to integrate a few carb-containing foods into my day, resulting in fewer cravings and more overall satisfaction.

In other news, yesterday I took my first walk in over a month! I’ve had to do my best to stay off my foot since the surgery, but this week my doctor said I could start putting some weight on it from time to time. So, I leashed up my new dog Walter (!!!) and explored my apartment complex. We were out for about a half hour, and we walked maybe a half-mile (partly due to my foot, and partly due to Walter’s ridiculous sniffing of everything). But, we were outside enjoying the day.

So, there you have it. Onward!

Progress Report – 5/19/2017

This has been a bit of an up-and-down week. For the most part, I’ve stuck with the keto plan, eating few carbs and staying below 1800 calories/day. But, I’ve had a few hiccups along the way. The progress I’m seeing is emotional, because, for the first time in a long while, I’m able to limit a hiccup to a single meal. In the past, if I screwed up and hit the drive-thru on the way home from work I would consider the whole day, or even the whole week a wash. This week, I screwed up and gave into my craving for a Sonic chocolate custard. While I was there I picked up a massive crispy chicken sandwich, too. That visit alone set me back almost 2000 calories. Not my proudest Wednesday night. But, instead of saying “Well, my week is shot, so I’ll just eat whatever I want until the week restarts on Friday,” I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and got back on the low carb wagon.

That’s the kind of lifestyle change I’m pursuing. Sure, I need to reduce my carb intake, stop eating fast food, and, well, stop being an idiot when it comes to giving into my food cravings. But, it’s not going to happen all at once. This is a huge step for me, and I’m pumped!

This week I weighed in at 268.1. That’s a whopping lost of .4 pounds! 🙂 Hey, I’ll take it!

The other huge benefit I’m seeing is a reduction in my fasting blood glucose numbers. Over the last few months I’ve sat in the high-200s when I wake up in the morning. This week I watched them creep down, from 279, to 255, to 215, and, yesterday, 209. That’s a drop of 70 points in just 5 days! I know it’ll fluctuate more, but I’m moving in the right direction!

So, what are you going to do to take control of your health this week? Me? I’m going to try some new low carb recipes, and finally buy the kitchen gear I need in order to make them!