Ketotraction

3 months on Keto today! Down a total of 30 lbs. since 4/1/22, 22 lbs lost because of Keto. In the last month, I only cheated twice. One with a bite of roasted potatoes and the other was about a quarter cup of delicious jasmine rice. The Asian in me couldn’t hang that day. Lol 😆

Anyway, it has been fairly easy to remain strict keto as long as I’m home. The most challenging times is when I go to work events and they offer a free meal but it literally consists of ALL carbs and sugar. I’m hungry and would love to be rewarded with a free meal, but don’t participate because I’m loving how great I feel and the bottom of the closet clothes that are beginning to fit again. It’s quite amazing how badly we eat in social settings!

I’ve been craving pizza so badly and knew that making homemade pizza is not as easy as it sounds. Making the crust, baking it, getting all of the toppings and sauce prepped, putting the pizza together, baking it again… it all takes time. I sacrificed a lot of time to make this happen and I was rewarded. It was so tasty!! Definitely fulfilled my craving and happy it was still Keto!

Crust recipe by - https://www.wholesomeyum.com/recipes/fathead-pizza-crust-low-carb-keto-gluten-free-nut-free/

🤤 It takes dedication NOT to eat carbs. At an event I was at for one of my businesses a week or two ago, the groom brought me this plate loaded with delicious food. I swear that plate was POUNDS heavy! So the rice, beans, and bread I did not eat, because the health benefits of keto far outweighed a few minutes of eating delicious and mouth watering carbs. Lol (I told myself that the entire time I had that plate on my lap!!) But there was so much protein on this plate that you can’t even see in the photo - tri tip, linguica, baby back ribs, and chicken!! The groom hooked me up! 😆 There was no way I could eat all of that so I asked for a couple cups of ice from the bartender and put the cups of ice and leftovers in my little lunch bag cooler thing that I had brought with me to ensure that a Keto protein bar wouldn’t melt in the car while I was at the event. 😜 The food stayed cold until I got home and I proceeded to eat leftovers for several meals thereafter! Win!!

This was “Creamy Everything Chicken” by and I sorta screwed it up. I was following my recipe but at some point my brain started following different measurements. Anyway, long story short, I dumped too much cream cheese in and then had to try and get a lot of it out and so the creamy part was much more thick than I think it was supposed to be because the broth sorta cooked away. 🤣 It has FANTASTIC flavor though.

For just the chicken itself, their recipe claims to only have 3g net carbs. I added steam broccoli with butter for our side.

Here’s the recipe, with its intended side as well: https://emeals.com/recipes/recipe-49495-318118-Creamy-Everything-Chicken

I officially started Keto on 6/29/22. I’d say I lost about 10 pounds over the span of the month… with like 3 or 4 cheat items throughout the month. I’ve seen a MUCH better first month when I did Keto before but was 100% strict with it.

What’s interesting about cheating is that it does take time to get back into ketosis and to experience the benefits of being Keto. I cheated with some garlic fries. (Yes, it was freaking worth it because those garlic fries were sooooooo good!) I’ve been using the ketone urine strips to see where my supposed ketone levels are and I actually didn’t see a drop until 1-2 days after the garlic fries. I didn’t see my ketone level go back up to a high level again until about 4.5 days after those fries!! 😳 During those days, I also saw a stall in my weight loss.

Would I do it again? Uhhmmm, yes! (I’m telling you, those garlic fries were worth it!) Will I do it often? Nope. The benefits of keto outweigh eating bad food all of the time, but for this second adventure of Keto, I’m allowing myself cheat meals because, to be honest, I just don’t want to live my entire life without sugar and carbs. I’ll enjoy once in awhile but then get back on track so I can enjoy being lighter, feeling better, and living healthier.

This was a low carb chicken skillet by

Maybe I followed the instructions incorrectly, but somehow I overcooked everything… oops. BUT, the flavors were really delicious. I will be attempting to try this recipe again by altering the cooking steps because it definitely has potential. Chicken, cauliflower rice, and green beans. Yummy!

I can’t remember what this was called on the menu because it was a few weeks ago... It was likely a Cobb salad. Though I really wanted to eat every burger and appetizer in the place, I stuck with a salad and asked for some olive oil to get some extra fat in. It was very tasty (and very challenging not looking at the rest of my table’s food 🤤)!

BUT!!! My body is feeling better, my overall health is feeling better, clothes are getting bigger on me, weight is dropping, inches are falling… eating better is worth it. 😜

So I found this Keto dessert at Grocery Outlet and though I’d rather try and keep my carbs in my meals, sometimes a girl just needs to have something reminiscent of DESSERT. Just sayin’!!

Anyway, it tastes similar, IMO, to an Andes chocolate mint. I actually halved it and was satisfied with just half. I’d buy it again.

Some of you are strict keto and don’t do carrots. Some of you will allow for them. I’m sharing anyway.

This was a sausage and kale soup but (here is their recipe: https://www.ruled.me/sausage-kale-soup/)

According to their website, each serving is about 6g Net Carbs. It has amazing flavor and I doubled the recipe to freezer for quick meals on busy days. It reheats from frozen really well, too. Win in my book!

Sooo… what are you looking at? It’s an angus beef patty cooked in the bacon grease that was leftover from cooking the bacon, with a slice of Roma tomato, blue cheese crumbles, a tiny bit of avocado oil mayo spread on a slice of oven toasted Keto bread I found at Grocery Outlet, a couple pieces of fried onions (also fried in the bacon grease), topped with romaine lettuce. This was my burger.

The Keto bread was okay and really good toasted. I don’t like soft bread… I’m more of a crusty or toasted type of bread person. Something with density, also. I probably could have gone without the bread and just stuck with lettuce. The mayo didn’t do much so could have left that off, too. I was very full and it was sooooo good!

This New York steak with grilled veggies (asparagus, onions, yellow peppers) was delicious! It was a huge portion so I only ate half but yay for leftovers, right?!

Luna Grill had a Keto bowl that was super tasty! Didn’t look up the nutrition facts but it was fresh and satisfying.

It’s been a loooonnnnggg time… and Keto was put on hold for… too long.

Been Keto for 2 weeks now with, I admit, a couple of cheat meals, and down 8 pounds. I forgot how difficult it was sometimes to order Keto in a restaurant.

At the Lazy Dog Restaurant, there were a ton of tasty meals on the menu but most had carbs. Luckily, our fabulous waitress, Charlene, just so happened to also be Keto. She recommended the delicious Brussels sprouts appetizer, minus the croutons, and add shrimp. This dish was so good that I definitely want to go out of town again just to order this again. Love grabbing great service and when a restaurant can cater to dietary needs.

Broccoli cheddar cheeses soup for dinner!

I started dinner planning by wanting to eat broccoli. Found an recipe where I actually had all of the ingredients in our freezer or pantry. Win! Here’s the recipe: https://bit.ly/2UNhjXo

Mushroom and Cauliflower Risotto with a Paleo chicken sausage from Costco. Risotto recipe: https://bit.ly/2xYYj0n

Wow! I felt like I was cheating on this one. 🤤 Recipe from eMeals: http://bit.ly/2SOgHkG

This Chorizo Breakfast Bake was super yummy!! We don’t really eat breakfast but it was perfect for lunch. I was a little afraid at how spicy the chorizo might be but it was totally not bad at all. recipe http://bit.ly/2H5yvkw.

I just BARELY discovered cauliflower grits and it is now my favorite!! The recipe seemed a bit off with time to cook the veggies but the taste is off the hook! This is a keeper for me! Recipe via : http://bit.ly/3biBhkp

Why did it get so cold all of the sudden? Glad I prepped these last night so we can get warm during our lunch break! Sausage and Kale Soup. Recipe via http://bit.ly/2UrTYfD

This may not be such a flattering photo but damn was it good! “Grandma’s” Pot Roast w/ Mashed Cauliflower. I know carrots aren’t a strict keto ingredient but I decided to allow them anyway. I think I consumed about 1 baby carrots in my bowl. (Who’s counting?) Here’s the recipe: http://bit.ly/2v2v3nV I’m really digging the new recipes EMeals sends each week. We don’t get bored with the same meals and finding some awesome new dishes!

Holy Juiciness!! This Pork has amazing taste and so tender and moist! We forgot to put the feta on the spinach but it was soooo good without it as well. This was another meal from and it’s definitely going into a regular rotation. You guys have to try it! http://bit.ly/2RD1r9x
@ Santa Maria, California

I made 108 fat bombs! Lol They were SO good! Recipe: http://bit.ly/38NCrlH

Today is grocery shopping day and I didn’t have a lot of time to cook a meal so this was my . 2 hard boiled eggs (already cooked- thanks ) sprinkled with sea salt and pepper. About 1/2-3/4 avocado (I cut off all the brown parts... it was starting to go bad already) with Everything but the Bagel seasoning from Trader Joe’s and 2 pickle spears. I didn’t even finish it because I got full!

Instant Pot Indian Butter Chicken w/ Garlic Green Beans w/ Almonds. This was another recipe from ! I’m really loving the simplicity of emeals and finding it less time consuming looking for new recipes. Though I wish they had lunch and breakfast keto plans, dinner is working well so far! http://bit.ly/30FvQqS

Mini Pepper Nachos via
Recipe: http://bit.ly/3arJ6nn
The beef seasoning was fantastic and we may use it for taco meat in the future!

Southwest Chicken Soup and Brussels Sprouts Salad - recipes courtesy of ! Very tasty and good after a freezing day!
@ Santa Maria, California @ Santa Maria, California

Instant Pot Chili Verde by .tooth was good! Super easy, too! Recipe: http://bit.ly/2TvzAcX

Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken with broccoli on the side. Recipe by http://bit.ly/36Y4631
@ Santa Maria, California

Lunch! Broccoli salad! For some reason, a lot of things I’ve been eating lately were soft and I always craved something hard to chew on after. Does that ever happen to you? Anyway, this salad is full of crunch!