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Hi Mrs. Ragnar!

First of all, no disclaimer is needed, ever.  There are surgery types of all kinds represented in this group, and also plenty of NON-surgery folks.  All are welcome and we feel lucky to have your point of view represented here, too.

Regarding "ketostix" -- The purple that you see on the stick does accurately reflect the presence of ketones in your urine, but keep in mind that the production of ketones varies greatly during the day, even if you are thought to be in "benign dietary ketosis."  For instance, many people find that they produce more purple in the morning, or some in the afternoon.  Some are in ketosis and produce a constant quantity of purple sticks, and some of us go into ketosis and NEVER turn a stick purple (that would be me!). 

I would guess that if you are keeping your carbs real low, and getting a purple ketostix reading at least once a day, you can count yourself "in"!

May I recommend that you take a look at the daily CARb Accountability Thread, and take a look at what folks are eating when going for the low-carb way of eating.  It's also a good idea to post what YOU eat, so that we can help you "tweak" your eating plan, if you need it, or else to give other low-carbers a good idea of what there is to eat, out there in the big wide world.

Nice to have you on board!

Monday 1945

2 scrambled eggs and 2 ozs cheese
3 ozs honey roast spare rib and 3 ozs crispy beef
Sausage and Stilton (No laughing at the back, please!)
2 Atkins bars and 1 diabetic bar
2 packets Ryvita Minis
Coffee and fruit teas.

As you can see, Tuesday is going to be a heavy eating day!

Hello Lee,

I've given up smoked Austrian cheese with ham, as the salt content was too high.  Can't give up cheese altogether as I crave chocolate or cheese.  I haven't weighed yet this week, but am seeing my GP on Wednesday about the diabetes, so will weigh then...   

As a pre-op, I've found that going low-carb has been a good way to break old patterns and learn new ones.

1.  I've gone from an almost all-carb diet to a very low-carb one.  I slipped a few times last week, but I'm working on not beating myself up and remembering that this a new way of life, not a "diet".

2.  Since I began, I've lost about 11 lbs.  Of course, when you're MO it's hard to see it, but I can say that my pants are less tight in the waist :)

3.  ENERGY!  Oh my goodness, I have so much more energy!  My skin looks better, too.

4.  My husband and daughter have been blessed with the ability to eat anything and stay slender, so they have been fending for themselves.  However, they both make an effort to not eat high carb/high caloric foods in front of me, which I appreciate.

By watching my carb intake carefully, I found that I need to stay at or below 20 carbs a day to see weight loss.  That's been a little difficult, but I'm slowly putting the pieces together.

I had a home-alone night by myself last night.  In fact, the whole afternoon, evening, and this morning.  At first I freaked out -- what on earth was I going to do to occupy myself, when there weren't a million other demands on me?!?!  But you better believe I soon figured that one out!  Went through my Netflix queue (had to look up how to spell that!), and made myself a steak dinner with grilled asparagus, mushrooms, baked squash.  Even poured myself a glass of wine!  (Probably should have taken me back to my place for a good time, but oh well!)

This morning, made myself a nice breakfast, and will forge ahead with my day off (it's President's Day in the US). 

If you really are reading the food list, you'll notice that I'm adding back in limited fresh fruit, and nuts.  Decided to slow (or even stop) the weight loss, because I'm lookin' kinda gaunt otherwise.

B:  Eggs hollandaise with spinach and lox; freshly brewed coffee with full cream; strawberries.
S:  Pickled herring in cream sauce
L:  Turkey pastrami and a freshly picked green salad with hothouse cukes and tomatoes
S:  Fried cheese in mild ajvar
D:  grilled ahi, with roasted eggplant, peppers, tomato (It's good to live in sunny California!)


Howabout you, folks?  How's your day shakin'?