Keto Day 36 - I am past the MONTH mark!

I have survived over a month following the ketogenic WOE (way of eating), and I'm feeling great!

The previous digestive issues I was plagued with for over 7 years have continued to be absent since day 2 of this new adventure, and boy am I grateful!

A friend requested that I share the recipe for some baked egg cups I made semi-recently (photo included in post); they were an improvement on some fairly bland ones I posted about previously.

Here you go, Tami!

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees, and spray non-stick spray inside your small containers of choice (ramekins, muffin tin, etc.). Whip 10 eggs, 2 Tblsp of pesto, 20 slices of hard salami (chopped into little pieces), and 1 cup of shredded cheese  (I used Mexican blend) in a large bowl. Pour contents into your little containers (it fit into 5 of my medium ramekins), and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Also, I want to brag on my wonderful boyfriend, Rick.  He made breakfast for us the other day (photos included in this post) and made my portion Keto-friendly.  He has not joined me in this way of eating, but he is very supportive of my shenanigans. Gosh, I love that man!

WARNING: I'm going to get really real about girl stuff for a second, so if you're squeemish, you might want to leave now.

No, seriously, I'm going to be very frank with what I share.

Turn away now or forever know too much about things women don't always freely discuss.

You were warned!

I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and unlike a large portion of ladies with PCOS who often don't have their periods for a long time... I struggle to get mine to go away.  A year ago, it was at its worst.  I hemorrhaged for over 2 months straight (anywhere from 2 to 6 cups of blood per day and golf ball sized clots).  I went through days where I could barely walk due to dehydration from bleeding so much and low iron levels, and ended up at an urgent care once and the ER three times because my doctor kept sending me there instead of seeing me herself.  Nothing and nobody had anything useful for me.

I ended up going to see a recommended OBGYN in town, desperate to just stop bleeding to death.  After being poked, prodded, tested, and examed, cancer and a few other things were thankfully ruled out. After high doses of Progesterone didn't stop the bleeding, I was put on a birth control pill.  That didn't work to stop or reduce anything until my OBGYN had me triple the dose for 3 days, then double it for 3 more days, then return to a normal regime. Holy hormone central, but it worked.

I have enjoyed a fairly normal menstrual cycle for the past year.  My periods are rough, but they have an ending... until I started this new way of eating.

You see, changes to one's diet can mess with one's hormones.  The ketogenic way of eating has been known to be really good for women with PCOS, because we have an extra difficult time letting go of weight.  It also is known to help get long-absent periods restarted again, and increase fertility.

I am not thinking about my fertility at this moment (future, yes, but not now), and I'm the last person who needs a period to restart! You know what has been going on? I had my period around the time I started this keto adventure... and it never stopped despite the birth control! Thankfully, it was just heavy spotting each day, so I've been patient. However, last week it changed, and it was last year's horrid adventure all over again. 

Thankfully, I thought to call my OBGYN and get her blessing to triple up on the pill again for 3 days, double for 2, and continue as normal if everything calmed down.  She approved, but said if it didn't work, I had to go see her again. Well, yesterday was day 3 of the triple dose, today is day 1 of the double dose, and I'm happy to announce that things are about 90% improved. 

I'm soooo grateful to be out of that crazy zone again.  After some reading, I believe it might have to do with dairy, which happens to be nicknamed "estrogen juice" among many of those with PCOS who are following the ketogenic way of eating.  Cheese is a very versatile high-fat and low/no carbohydrate resource... and I'm giving it up (along with all dairy products) as of this weekend.  Wish me luck!!

Keto Day 23 - Best leftovers ever!

I made crockpot broccoli and cheese frittata/casserole, and twice baked mashed cauliflower for dinner on Saturday with my amazing but non-keto boyfriend and 2 Mormon missionaries, and they could hardly believe the cauliflower dish wasn't potatoes! That's a WIN! 

You know what that dinner produced?

The best leftovers ever for Sunday after church (which what is in the photos, 'cause I forgot to take photos of the original dishes)! Recipes included in images too!

Even Mango, my crazy orange tabby cat, wanted in on the yummy food!

I'm still doing well, and my digestive system continues to cooperate better than it has in years. So grateful!

Keto Day 16 - Salami Egg Muffins!

I did some food prep and made 24 salami egg muffins today!  Each muffin has 0.6g of carbs, 8g of fat, and 9g of protein. They're yummy, fluffy, and convenient!

I sprayed 2 muffin tins (12 muffins each) with olive oil non-stick spray, put 1 slice of hard salami in the bottom of each cup, whipped together 24 eggs, poured them between all the cups, and topped each with shredded Mexican blend cheese (a cup and a half total).

I preheated my oven to 325 degrees, and put the egg muffins in for 32 minutes.

I love how fluffy they turned out! That's the perk of whipping the eggs all together instead of just cracking one in each cup.

Keto Day 10 - Be Prepared, but...

Back when I had my gallbladder still (8-ish years ago), if I was too busy to eat, I would just not eat. No big deal. Since I have no gallbladder and a constant bile drip that my body never adapted to (my doc said about 1 in 1,000 never adapt), I can't skip meals without getting very ill. 

This morning I was faced with the desire to get to work early, and the reality that I had failed to prepare food last night for today. I ate 2 string cheese sticks right after waking up (I have learned that if I don't put something in soon after rising, I get stomach issues), got ready for work, and left home with hopes of finding luck when I stopped for gas.

It's best to be prepared, but if you find yourself running out the door in the morning for work without having made breakfast or lunch, there are easy and Keto-friendly rescue options out there!

Thank goodness!

The Holiday gas station near my office had packs of cheese and meat sticks, cheese slices with salami to make "cheese sandwiches," and boiled eggs!!!  My total carbs today are good and low at 4 grams (3 grams of those are from my vitamins). My fats are on target, and my protein is only a few grams high.

Mondays are weigh-in days for the Facebook group I joined for support with this Ketogenic WOE (way of eating).  I'm down 5 pounds in 10 days.  My NSV (Non-Scale Victory) is that my jeans can now be put on and taken off without unbuttoning or unzipping them!

I'd like to also add that my mean ol' digestive system continues to work properly again with this new WOE.  That's my biggest NSV ever! 

Keto Day 2 - Not so bad...

I recently moved into a new apartment, and church starts later in the day than I have been accustomed to.  As a treat, I slept in today, and combined breakfast and lunch into one meal.  So, I guess I made brunch!

Before cooking, I ate 2 pieces of string cheese to make sure I had some fuel to function.  I opened a tube of pork breakfast sausage (super cheap at Walmart, by the way), separated it into 4 serving-sized patties, browned them in a skillet, then baked them.  One of them was eaten with brunch, and the rest went into the fridge.  While the sausage patties were baking, I made low-carb cream cheese pancakes (look them up, they're pretty tasty) topped with butter instead of a syrup.  My Ninja blender has been a wonderful resource!

After church, and when I was ready for dinner, I cooked 3 eggs in the same skillet the pork sausage was cooked in this morning. With the eggs, I added a half cup of broccoli to the skillet, and about a quarter cup of shredded cheddar cheese melted on top of the broccoli.  I also pulled out one of the pork patties from this morning, put a tablespoon of mayonnaise on it, and added that to my meal.  When I logged dinner on my fitness app to discover that I hadn't met my 20 carb goal and my fats could use some boosting, I enjoyed 2 Clausen dill pickle spears (my favorites) with another tablespoon of mayonnaise.

My indulgence today was made to bring my carbs up from 11 grams to my goal of 20 grams... a neuro drink.  It's fairly good with only 9 grams of carbs per bottle, and it was the one for sleep, which I need help with.  It was in my fridge from before I decided to dive into this new WOE (way of eating), so the temptation to mindlessly chug it is gone now...

***Disclaimer: Yes, I am a member of the LDS/Mormon church, and yes, today was Fast Sunday.  Before any judgement is made for making/eating breakfast, please understand that ever since my gallbladder was removed in 2009, fasting causes me major issues in the digestive department. It is best that I eat regular meals to keep the homeless bile in my system occupied.