Substitutions

Week 3 is in the bag after today and I can hardly believe it has gone this smoothly. I am making a small adjustment to my food for week 4, a little less meat and more dairy. I am not the biggest meat lover so pulling back and replacing some of that with dairy will help me stay on track. I am also noticing my stomach lets me know when I have a meal that's too high in fat. I think adding some complex carbs back in is going to make things all cone together, so I just have to stick it out one more week and then I will slowly add small amounts of complex carbs (quinoa, brown rice, even a sweet potato here and there. I am looking forward to an occasional treat of strawberries or blueberries too! I am in the "middle zone" ovulation time and I typically have pretty strong cravings, low energy, and irritability during this time. All have still been true except the low energy. The cravings are normal, not extreme. I did have some pork rinds as a keto-friendly way to curb my need for salty crunch and have relied mostly on herbal teas sweetened with stevia or monkfruit for sweet cravings, but I finally broke down and bought some sugar-free pudding yesterday and it helped a lot. Still, I've caught myself being jealous of my family when they eat certain things and when I found myself feeling a little defeated I reminded myself that I could always make a keto version of these things if I really wanted that thing they were eating. The amount of effort that requires often outweighs my desire for said thing! I do think I might prep some things I can store for when the mood hits, some peanut butter balls or meatballs, I even found a simple recipe for tortilla chip substitute. I will actually be trying them this week, my lunch is loaded nachos. 😋 There is another thing that I have noticed that makes my mood a little low, I can't use food to comfort anymore. It feels like I lost a friend. I do still enjoy eating but I see it more as a tool than a pleasure or comfort. I have seen this on the show My 600 Pound Life, after they have the surgery they can't use food the same way and a bunch of them have expressed this feeling of almost grieving like a friend died or went away. I do think for me it is largely hormonal and might even be a part of my known Seasonal Affective Disorder. I have noticed that I have substituted food as my "upper" with shopping. My husband and I have been finding awesome things to decorate our living room and we have been spending a fair amount of money. For the most part we shop at second-hand, resale/consignment but we have also purchased some new things from local artists and bought a few antiques. It's our first home so we knew we'd have some shopping to do. My husband is very much into being careful with money and he's not a big shoppers, but putting our living space together lights him up and me too. I love treasure hunting! I did make the connection yesterday though, that I am feeling the urge to shop more and more since food isn't filling the same niche as it once did. One more item would make this spot in the dining room perfect, or this spot in the living room or hallway or entry. It's hard to tell if it is because it excites me or my idea that some sort of petfection is achievable through purchases. It's something I'm keeping my eye on. Transferring one bad habit to another hardly fixes what is truly broken. I do feel like I have more energy, and I can move around easier. When I'm doing my yoga certain body parts aren't in the way as much as before. I do yoga or walk every day, sometimes both if we decide to go for a walk as a family or if I need to go get something, this city is small enough that walking a few blocks makes as much sense or more than driving and trying to find parking. Overall it's going good. I will be bringing out my Happy Light today to see if some exposure helps lift my spirits without doing any shopping today. lol. We are getting blasted with a snow storm today so it's going to be a cozy day inside. I did a core-heavy yoga session this morning and have a new book to read and will do some food prep before snuggling up for a movie to end my weekend. Then, bring on week 4!