Changing Habits

This little restart is going good so far, and is once again proving to me that I don't have to feel "ready" to commit before just giving it a go. I don't know if I have ever started a diet with less interest than I did this time, but once I had one good day I told myself I want to see where it goes. I owe it to myself to stick with it, and I have. I am really really challenging myself this week to stay the course because I am in PMS and the cravings for salt and fat are so so intense during this week. I am reminding myself that letting PMS be an excuse to not control what I eat will quickly lead to me feeling stuck in the same old place. I weighed myself yesterday just to see and there was a gain, which confused me but I know the monthly hormonal changes can effect how much water I hold. I am setting a goal for myself to use the scale out of interest but to not let myself get worked up about it no matter which direction I'm going in. I promised myself I would give keto a try until mid-November because that will have been a year since I began. Granted, I wasn't on course that whole time. Ar any rate, if I stay on track this time, that will be about 4 months. I imagine I will notice a change by then, more than just 8 pounds lost. I don't have a specific weight goal in mind because I don't know what my perimenopausal body is going to do, I just want to have results that make me feel good. I did a little research and found a great video about what I think could be wrong with my hip and low back. Its called lower cross syndrome,and it's common for people who sit a lot. This makes sense since I got my first desk job a year ago and I have never before had back pain. Basically, from sitting a lot, your hip flexor muscle (which runs from your hip to your low back) gets short/tight and that makes your lower abs and glutes weak which makes you have anterior pelvic tilt. The physical therapist that made the video gave ways to stretch the hip flexor and strengthen the abs and glutes. I did those exercises last might and this morning I did not have pain when walking my dog, and we stayed out longer than usual because it felt so much better than it had in weeks. I know consistency is key, so I am going to challenge myself to do this every day for 6 weeks, then incorporate it into my regular strength training. I have been doing good with food. I am sticking to salad and diet soda when we eat out, for the most part. I did get am amazing ahi tuna steak on Saturday. It came with a side salad, a potato choice, a dinner roll and perfectly cooked asparagus in oil and a hint of balsamic. It killed me but I took the dinner rolls and homemade potato chips home for my kids and just are the ahi and asparagus. The ahi had a pineapple slice and tomato-based salsa on it and I ate them. I probably could have done without the pineapple, but it goes so well with the ahi. And I am still having signs that I am in ketosis. I ate one of those chips, just to have a taste, and while I was craving salty, fatty chips so bad all weekend, I felt really proud of myself that I was able to have that one chip and leave the rest alone. I think the more habits I break the easier they will eventually be.