Darn Hormones!

Oh Progesterone, you are so fickle! I was having such a great month until that hormone arrived. It actually started to hit me the weekend before last, when ads about food- pizza and fries- were making me think about all those things. That Friday when we went to dinner I chose the place that had fresh fried pork rinds because that is the one chip-like thing that is keto friendly. I also had a cheeseburger patty on the side. Whew! crisis averted, temporarily. I did fine last week until Friday. My husband left for a weekend event on Thursday night, so when I got done with work on Friday, (which is when we always go out to eat) I was a bit lost as to what to do for food, because I didn't remember I'd need a meal for Friday dinner when I meal prepped for the week. I ended up going to the grocery store and got some about-to-expire filet mignon at an amazing price, a bag of pork rinds and a jar of tomatilla salsa. During the day, I noticed my water bottle was getting funky so I also got 3 bottles of Powerade Zero because they were on sale 3 for $5 and my older son likes them too. I figured I could drink mine quickly with dinner then have the bottle to use for water. That went well. I still stayed on track with that meal and drinking that with a meal. My son started a new diet and stopped drinking Powerade, so they sat in the fridge taunting me, all cold and flavorful! Saturday I did some shopping and got groceries. I was so hungry when I got home because we usually get lunch while we are out and I skipped it. I ate my cottage cheese lunch and had a few leftover pork rinds with it. I also had another Powerade with my lunch, but did finish it before I stopped eating. Sunday I had the third one with dinner but I just couldn't finish it during my meal, so I had a little bit in my fasting window. I also chewed 2 pieces of gum at church on Sunday because I just keep thinking my breath smells bad. The plain water really started bothering me by Monday. I tried adding lime juice to it and finally just gave in and added some liquid stevia to my water for two bottles worth. The rest of the month, I have gotten by just fine, feeling driven instead of restricted, but the last week really got to me. I didn't work out Friday but did a tough one on Saturday. Sunday I chose to rest as I needed to get meal prep done before church. I skipped Monday's workout because I was running late. I did some squats at my desk, but it wasn't a great effort. Tuesday I woke up feeling horrible! I had a sinus headache and my joints ached and I was dizzy. I took the dog out in the rain and went straight to work. About the time I was pouring my second cup of coffee and wondering why I felt so bad, I realized I had forgotten to take my morning caffeine pill! OMG, what a difference it made when I took it. Today I woke feeling like myself again, with good energy and strong mind. I had a great strength training session today and my mind felt much sharper. I have added heavy whipping cream into my coffee this week, for a little extra lift, but that means I have to wait to drink it until I break my fast. I'm OK with that. I haven't had any trouble drinking plain water today so all is good. The scale has been fluctuating between 155 and 157. I am happy to be solidly in the 150's but part of me wonders if my weight stopped dropping due to the extra heavy whipping cream. I am the type who likes a little coffee with my cream. I thought I would be able to cut back on how much I add to my coffee due to how bad it tastes black, but my brain is still hard-wired to want creamy coffee. I think I will have to eliminate it again and only use it as an occasional treat. I may just stop drinking coffee altogether. I was thinking of adding sugar-free drinks back into my eating window next month to see of my weight goes up. I may add stevia-sweetened coffee back into the mix next month, but I will eliminate the heavy cream. I am still here, mostly on track, only a few small falters. I still feel great about the progress I am making. I am doing a 24-hour fast tonight to give my gut a break and a reset! The rest of the week should be easy breezy and I'm off next week so I'm looking forward to the extra free time!