Days 45-47...carbs, carbs more carbs and Easter...

This weekend was hard. I don't know why especially, but it was. Nathan and I went to Station Park on Friday to do some last minute Easter shopping for our kids and our favorite sushi restaurant just happens to be there. I told myself that I'd been working really hard at staying low carb and avoiding sugar and that it'd be okay to have one roll and some grilled veggies. I knew I'd be over on my carb count by quite a bit, but for some reason in my mind I'd decided it was okay. Maybe having the lasagna and breadsticks the night before set something off in my brain...I don't know...but I was suddenly finding 40g net carbs hard again.

The sushi was amazing as always, but I ended up over 100g net carbs for the day and I haven't done that since I started 6 1/2 weeks ago. Having that many carbs 2 days in a row (especially from sources such as pasta, rice and bread) knocked me right out of ketosis and the scale started to inch up again.

Things like this are why I always set a gain cap for my group in between seasons. This season it's 2lbs. So if I gain more than 2lbs when we have our starting weigh-in tomorrow, it will change my official starting weight. Doing this helps keep me motivated to not go nuts in between seasons. And I don't feel like I've gone "nuts" in comparison to season's past...but compared to the past 6 weeks, I definitely went over the top.

Easter was wonderful. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed it as a family...but as with all holidays, I knew it'd be a struggle with food. What is it about holidays and food?? My family has always had the tradition off ham, sour cream potatoes (funeral potatoes), rhodes rolls and my Grammy's chocolate mousse for dessert. There is only one thing on that list that fits into my plans right now! The ham! So I knew we'd have to change things up.

I had Nathan cut me some ham before glazing it to cut down on sugar and it was still just as good. Instead of making potatoes, I made deviled eggs which have become an almost weekly favorite in our house! I still made the rolls, but I only made enough for Nathan and the kids to have 2 each...and I made the decision immediately that I would split one with Nathan. I ate that thing slower than I've ever ate a roll in my life, but it was SO good! For 18 carbs it better be. The tough part was dessert. I wanted to make SOMETHING...and not just something that would taste like Stevia with every bite. So I went to pinterest.

I found a recipe for Low-carb carmelitas that turned out AMAZING. You'd never have known there was stevia in them. Almond flour, coconut flour, almonds, unsweetened coconut, butter, sugar-free chocolate chips and caramel sauce....it was heaven. My girls inhaled it. Of course it was NOT low-calorie and one serving was itty bitty...but it was worth it. I had 2 servings for a total of 400 cals, but only 8g net carbs! I ate it slow and savored every bite and while I know it's not something I can have regularly due to all the artificial sweeteners...it was perfect for a holiday treat, especially since the girls had no candy in their baskets.

So now it's Monday and another week is almost over. The scale is up a bit, but I'm hoping that my Monday motivation will kick in and I'll see the # drop again tomorrow. I'm definitely feeling like I'm retaining water today. So it's time to drink lots and really keep the carbs low today after all the extras I had the past week.

It really isn't all about how the scale moves. I realize that I talk about it a lot, but there's so much more to this ketogenic thing. I feel like a completely different person. I have more energy, I'm happier, and for the most part my cravings are gone. It really has changed my life and continues to do so the longer I continue. I'm looking forward to doing my measurements again in another week-ish! I hope to see those numbers dropping too. I LOVE fitting back into my clothes!