Week Two

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Week 2 Recap

As any teacher knows, the first week back after a long break is hectic, stressful, and exhausting. My week back after Christmas break was no exception. However, with my preparation and planning I was able to stay on plan during the week. That's not to say that it went as planned. I had a weak moment Saturday night and had some sugary cereal while we were watching TV.  I think it knocked me out of ketosis for a few days. I didn't lose anything this week, but I maintained the 6.6 pound loss from the week before.

I had all of these plans and great recipes ready to go, but I forgot how tired I would be in the evenings. There were a couple of days that I was in bed by 7:30 pm! Since I had planned ahead and shopped for the Keto lifestyle (and not just this week's plans) I was able to be flexible. I managed to keep under my carbohydrate target every day and realized that the Reese's Puffs were not worth the stress they put me through this week.

My favorite meal was the Easy Keto Lasagna Bake. The Easy Keto Marinara Sauce was easy to make in the blender and made enough for two batches of the Lasagna Bake. I also made enough of the beef and sausage mixture to have a bag in the freezer as well. I didn't miss the noodles at all. The ricotta and mozzarella created a noodle like texture. I had leftovers that I didn't anticipate, so I got to eat it for two dinners and a lunch.

One night was breakfast for dinner and we just had eggs. The quickest dinner was the tilapia. I ended up not using the recipe that I had planned. When I realized that the blackened recipe I had picked out was higher in carbs, I decided to just use the blackened redfish seasoning I had in my spice cabinet. I served it with salad and had a quick dinner.

Photo by Raphael Nogueira on Unsplash

School Lunches

Although I had planned on leftovers for lunch all week, I had some dinners in the freezer just in case. Monday I did a salad with grilled chicken, cheese and ranch dressing. I did get to take the lasagna bake one day with a salad, but the rest of the week was frozen dinners. I found some yummy enchiladas with tortillas made from chicken and mozzarella at Wal-Mart by Real Good Foods Co. They are very filling and hold me until school is out. Their pizza snacks are a decent deal. There are two sets in each box.

Snacks

Most kids are hungry after school, so it's no surprise that teachers are too. I keep some low carb snack bars in my desk drawer and some cheese sticks in the fridge. Sometimes I still crave the crunch of chips. I discovered that plain pork rinds dipped in guacamole makes a great substitute. I get the healthy fat and the satisfying crunch.

Lesson Learned

I feel much better eating the Ketogenic way. The extra carbs and sugar I had Saturday made me feel lethargic on Sunday and full of regret. In my past weight loss attempts, something like this would have kept me down. I would have told myself that I had already screwed up on Saturday, so I would just restart on Monday. Then I would eat whatever I liked on Sunday. Before I knew it I would have forgotten about my plan to restart and just stayed in my old habits.

This time, I kept my focus on my journey. I made Sunday a new day with a fresh start and I got right back on track.