Keto

I've tried so many 'diets' over the last few years (whole30, Nutrisystem, calorie counting) I figured what's one more?  I started the Keto diet about a month ago as an experiment as much as anything.  I had already lost the majority of the weight that I wanted to (I was shy of my goal by just 8-9 lbs) but felt like I had kind of plateaued, and I was okay with that.  

[Keto diet: eat high fat --75% of diet--and low carbs--less than 20 net grams.  The premise is that when your body isn't burning carbs for energy, it starts burning fat.  You have more energy on fewer calories.]

My sister told me how awesome Keto was, and I had talked to another friend who mentioned how much she loved it.  So I started the day after Jenna left back in March.  

In summary, I enjoy eating Keto foods, enjoy the accountability of tracking, and it feels like a bit of a game to get all my macros at the correct count by the end of the day.  I don't think I've seen as much success as others; for some reason my body doesn't want to get into deep ketosis.  

What do my meals look like:

-Bacon --lots of bacon-- and eggs with cheese

-souerkraut

-salad with protein

-shredded roast 

-turkey/cheese roll ups

-vegetables with cheese, often cooked in bacon fat

-meatballs with cheese and tomato sauce

-pizza made with a chicken/egg crust

-Guacamole and plain avocados

And then for all the delicious stuff you can eat with a few substitutes:

-almond-flour pancakes with butter, sugar-free jam, and whipped cream/cream cheese mousse

-mousse all by itself, or with berries

-cheesecake (!!)

-high-protein ice cream

-almond flour and butter cookies

Almond flour and no-cal sweeteners (stevia and erythritol) are the key to everything, along with butter, bacon, cheese, cream cheese, and heavy cream.  And this is a diet!  While it's never fun to feel restricted from certain foods, it's nice to be able to indulge in these high-fat foods and still be able to lose weight.  

How does Keto make me feel?

The first few days I felt pretty bad.  When you stop eating carbs your body goes through an adjustment, and you're usually lacking electrolytes and sodium.  I read online that you can drink some salt in plain water to help the deficiency.  That didn't end well...

I wasn't hungry, but I did have a headache and generally didn't have motivation/energy to do anything. That lasted maybe 2.5 days.  And then I felt fine, completely normal.  Eating about 1450 calories of high fat foods, I don't ever feel hungry, and have enough energy to work out.  It's amazing when you cut out high-sugar foods how many calories you have left to eat other food. (Granted, I made an alfredo sauce that's HIGH in butter and cream, and one serving was about 700 calories.  I still had another 700 calories for the rest of my food.  And it was delicious!)

Intermittent fasting

This is one other thing I've tried recently, because it's a natural fit with Keto.  I was eating 3 normal meals anyway, and not snacking in the evening, so being a little more deliberate has allowed me to eat only between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm, give or take a little.  They say if you 'fast' for 16 hours it forces your body to use even more fat reserves for energy.  I haven't really changed my calorie count, just crammed it all into 8 hours.  So far, it's not hard, but the jury is out on whether it's helpful for weight loss.  

I'll say this: the day I fasted for 24 hours was AWESOME because when I stopped fasting at 3 pm I was able to eat ice cream, mousse, berries AND a cookie.  And that was after a full meal.  That's a diet I can get on board with!

All that being said, I'm going to give Keto another 2 weeks and then I think I'll be done for a while.  My motivation to lose weight isn't that high and there are a lot of sweets I'm really missing!  Having proved to myself that I can go without sugar (or carbs in general) for 6 weeks is good enough.  Next time I feel motivated to lose weight though, I think this is what I'll go back to.

Foods I've miss:

Cinnamon toast!  (My kids eat this almost every day and it kills me a little.)

Oddly, sugary cupcakes with a lot of frosting (which I almost never eat, but it has sounded so good)

Back pain & the E.R.

As soon as we got home from Breckinridge (Dec. 3) I went to get a toy out of the car.  (Hyrum was doing the heavy lifting of suitcases).  I felt my back go out completely, and immediately sat on the garage floor.  I hobbled inside to lay on the sofa.  I knew this was going to be a repeat of what happened in 2014, although I hoped it wouldn't be as bad.  (It was.) I eventually crawled upstairs to my bed, hoping it would be more comfortable and that resting over night would help ease the insane muscle spasm in my back that left it completely useless.  

I hadn't had a real meal since breakfast, so Hyrum pulled through by bringing me peanut butter and jelly and lots of Reeses.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  (For the record, eating/swallowing horizontally without the help of gravity is not very comfortable.)

I hoped to feel some improvement within 12 hours, but it only got worse.  There wasn't a single position to lay in where I didn't feel sharp pain, not even while sleeping.  Hyrum took the kids to work with him in the morning, leaving me alone on the sofa for several hours.  I was so bored!  I couldn't get up to turn on the TV, I couldn't get food or go to the bathroom.  I just looked at the world right around me, all out of my reach.  (Thank goodness for cell phones and internet.)

When he eventually came back we all got in the car to go to the emergency room.  I really hoped to avoid it, because last time I went it was completely useless, but I really needed pain medication ASAP.

And the whole experience was awful.  I was in a wheel chair for several hours before they'd see me.  Sitting was SO painful, like my whole spine was collapsing on itself, so I eventually I just laid down on the cold dirty floor because they wouldn't give me anywhere else to go.  The next few hours involved a lot of waiting.  Doctors/nurses saying they'd "be right back" and then be gone for 40 minutes.  They gave me medicine that provided no relief and I eventually told them if there wasn't anything else to be done I wanted to go home where I'd be more comfortable.  They said it shouldn't be long, then disappeared for over 30 minutes.  I was alone, and didn't even have internet access, so each minute passed so slowly.  I essentially watched the second hand of a clock tick around over 7000 times laying on a doctor's table, waiting.  I was furious at the whole situation, so I took about 10 minutes to crawl to the door and open it and yell, "I need to see someone, NOW."  (That was actually after I knocked on the metal part of the table for 5 minutes, and apparently no one could hear it.)

The nurse came in and said something stupid, like, "Wow, that's great you are feeling well enough to get up."  (I wasn't.)  I told her I wanted to leave, so she told me the doctor would look at my chart and come in soon.  (Not sure what the doctor had been doing for the previous 40 minutes since they told me the same thing.)

Finally after six hours in the hospital I had Hyrum come pick me up, with the kids in tow, past their bed time.  He went to the pharmacy to get my muscle relaxer and pain medication.  I wondered if the whole experience would be worth it, and fortunately, the medicine helped tremendously and the next morning I felt some improvement.

After getting out of the ER (and having phone service) I called my mom to see what her plans for the week were.  There was no way I could get up (let alone take care of kids) and Hyrum had to go back to work.  I was thinking through local options and didn't have anything great come to mind.  My parents win the Best Parents of the Year award.  Within an hour they called back to say my mom would arrive late that night and drive down, ready to help the next morning.  !!!  Best news ever.

I spent the next few days watching my mom run around the house cleaning and cooking like a mad woman.  At first Hyrum was saying, "Tell her not to worry about anything, I'll take care of it."  And then when he saw all the clean laundry and home-cooked food he was probably thinking, "Nevermind, this is great!"

And unfortunately, Mila got the same sickness Siena had the week before.  She made a big, disgusting mess to be cleaned up.  And there were several potty-training accidents to be cleaned up.

On Wednesday I went to the chiropractor, because I finally felt somewhat mobile on crutches, even if it was painful.  My adjustment felt like magic.  He twisted my back into place, and all of a sudden muscles felt like they were where they belonged after a long time of not being there.  Like scattered puzzle pieces all back where they belong.  It was the first time in nearly 72 hours that I could stand with a straight back.

I had a follow-up appointment with my doctor on Thursday.  I expected the worst, and it ended up being one of the best doctor appointments I've ever had.  A training doctor, my actual doctor, and the assigned nurse were all in the room most of the time, and told me I needed to do something in the long-term to fix this problem so I don't have to feel ongoing pain.  They told me if I needed refills to just call, don't both to make an appointment (standard practice at the hospital) and happily ordered an MRI and x-rays, plus physical therapy.  I got plenty of medication and even had two moles removed on the spot because I asked what the process would be to get them removed.  Unfortunately, after walking to the radiology department, the lab for blood work, and the pharmacy to pick up a heavy bag of meds, I could barely walk back to the parking lot for my mom to pick me up.  (Using a cane.)

On Friday I had another chiropractor visit and was walking pretty well with a cane.  (Wish insurance covered it!) But I still couldn't lift or move well so we decided it would be best if we went to Utah earlier than planned for my mom to take care of us all there.  So on Saturday we all got in the car and made the drive.  Well, my mom drove and I laid in the back seat.  Hyrum bought a one-way ticket for the following week.  (It worked out great, because if I'd waited a week to drive to Utah with Hyrum, as originally planned, we would have run into terrible weather in Wyoming.)

The only hiccup was that Tiago finally got the same sickness as everyone else so he was throwing up all night, and we worried about him the whole drive.  Luckily nothing happened but he didn't feel well and actually fell asleep for a few hours (messing up our plans to stop at the Rawlins Mcdonalds playplace like we always do.)

I'm so glad I had someone to help take care of things (my kids!!) while I recovered!

October & Hyrum's Birthday & Miscarriage

We started the month watching General Conference.  It went as well as could be expected-- I heard  a few words here and there between the kids' demands.  

To celebrate Hyrum's birthday we invited over the people that work with Hyrum.  They all showed up, and unfortunately I didn't think to take a picture of his whole shop (that's what the Army calls it... it's like a department or team) together.  I also didn't think to take a picture of the food, which -- I'll go ahead and say -- was awesome.  The apple cake and cilantro/cranberry/cream cheese dip were highlights.  

While Hyrum was at work I had the kids make cards for him.  Tiago was so excited to give his card to Hyrum that he asked to do it right after the party was over (the day before his actual birthday.)  So we gave him all the cards.  The next morning he (meaning the kids) opened his presents.  His favorite present (I assume) was the Bayern soccer ball he got from my mom.  My present didn't compare, but I was okay with that since I suggested the soccer ball that he loved.  :)

We walk Tiago to the bus stop every morning (well, T-F) rain or shine.  Occasionally the kids are really sweet to each other, and share things.  

Colombia qualified for the 2018 World Cup.  It was a few nights of intense games-- then Hyrum making phone calls to various friends from different countries to discuss what might happen.  Ultimately, Colombia qualified.  As did most others who were expected to (minus Chile.)

I wrote previously about my trip to Boston.  It was quick, but fun-filled.  Hyrum watched the kids over the weekend, and wasn't nearly as exhausted as I'd hoped he would be.  He had a great time with the kids, and even took them hiking.  

Miscarriage Saga

The day after I got back from my trip (Wednesday) I had a doctors appointment, because I was almost 11-weeks pregnant.  At my 6-week appointment I had an ultrasound and everything looked normal, but when I went back in they said there was no heartbeat, and I probably lost the baby shortly after my last appointment (based on growth).  That was obviously hard to hear.  The first trimester--as always--had been so miserable (lack of motivation or desire, nausea, exhaustion, exhaustion, exhaustion, etc.)  So I was so hopeful to be almost done.  But I wasn't completely blindsided when the doctor gave me the news: I had noticed the morning sickness easing up part-way through the first trimester, and wondered why.  But I had no signs of a miscarriage so I was hopeful.  Regardless, I cried the whole way to pick up my kids from child care after the appointment.  

The doctor gave me medicine to start the miscarriage (misoprostel), but I wanted to wait until the weekend so Hyrum would be home to help with the kids.  It's hard to emotionally move past trauma (although logically I knew everything would eventually work out) when you still feel pregnancy symptoms (like waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom) and haven't actually miscarried.  We had a few things to knock out over the weekend before the 'fun' could start.  

Hyrum had a work Halloween party on Friday.  We were one of the few families all dressed up.  People have no sense of fun!  And most people didn't know who I was.  (Mrs. Banks.)  The kids got a ton of candy, we got to ride a horse-drawn wagon, and then the kids were freezing to death so we left.  

  

Since Hyrum would be missing Halloween (gone at a training), the only time we could really celebrate as a family was on Saturday.  I put together a cute lunch with kid-food I found on the internet.  My kids didn't eat more than 2 bites of a mummy hot dog and just looked at the rest.  Maybe when they're older??

And the real delay was family pictures that were scheduled for Saturday afternoon.  There was no day to reschedule so I just crossed my fingers that my body would cooperate.  I spent way too much money at Gap on the girls' outfits, but they ended up so adorable.  I'll post more pictures another day.  It was a bit windy, but we got some really pretty shots.  

So then I could finally take the medication.  It didn't kick in until the middle of the night.  It was painful and I was up half the night. (It felt like early labor pains, with nothing exciting to anticipate once it was all over.) I was able to rest on Sunday and started feeling better.  On Monday I woke up a new woman.  I felt like all the lethargy of pregnancy was gone. (!!)  I could eat, exercise, and do normal household work that I'd ignored for 2.5 months while I'd been lying on the sofa.  Then unfortunately, all the pain (and some of the blood) came back in full force on Wednesday while Hyrum was getting ready to leave for a month-long training in Louisiana.  So I basically had to suck it up and continue with life as usual, wondering what in the world my body was doing.  It eventually stopped.

I went to the doctor a few days later for a 'normal appointment' where they were supposed to take an ultrasound and tell me everything looked normal.  The doctor had changed the appointment last minute, so I had all three kids with me.  I went 2 hours early to do blood work.  So when the appointment finally came around we were ready to go home.  And it turned into one of the most traumatic appointments of my life.  The doctor started with an ultrasound, then removed a blood clot, and suddenly I was bleeding all over the room.  She told me I may need to go to the operating room and have someone come pick up my kids (that stressed me out, since Hyrum was already gone.)  Luckily the doctor was able to slow the bleeding enough with some (TMI) painful internal/external uterus massaging. But at that point I was like, "Do whatever it takes!"  I felt bad for the doctor and nurse that were in there, and I felt bad for myself. haha.  Meanwhile, my kids were sitting 2 feet away thankfully sitting still and playing on the tablet.  I felt bad for them, too.  They had quite a few questions once we finally left the hospital.

In the end, I was able to leave, again, crying the whole way home knowing I'd have to repeat the miscarriage process all over again.  (I got more meds from the doctor.)  I was frustrated that my body wasn't doing what it was 'supposed to.'  And if I wasn't going to pregnant, I wished I would just not be, instead of this long drawn out process.  To quickly summarize, the medicine didn't do anything that time around.  I was afraid I'd have to have a D&C to finish things.  But at my next appointment everything looked okay.

So life was finally back to normal.  I finally could exercise again without concern (which goes a long way for me in the 'mental stability' department.)  But by this point in the month the stress had just about done me in, and I was sad about gaining weight from over eating.  (It took so long to lose in the first place!)  I had high hopes that November 1 would bring with it a 're-set' button.

Back to normal October stuff...

We went to At Home to check out their Christmas decorations.  And the library.  (Which has so many toys!)

These pictures are actually from the hospital when we were there for a few hours before the traumatic appointment.  We entertained ourselves by coloring, eating, and buying hot chocolate from Starbucks.  The kids were cute and insisted we "share" and pass the cup to each other in a circle around the table.

Later that afternoon we went to the neighborhood Halloween activity where they got to climb into a fire truck and get free pumpkins.

Tiago loves drawing on this toy, and it's helped him improve his pen grip.  Sometimes at night he didn't want to go to sleep, so I let him stay up drawing.  I found this on the floor the next morning.

In an effort to get out of the house (finally) and distract me from life, we spontaneously drove an hour to a pumpkin patch one Saturday.  It couldn't have been better.  The kids were entertained by the slides and water pumps.  They legitimately played in the corn pit for almost an hour, without even coming to me once.  I wouldn't believe how much fun they had.  Mila, in particular, was fearless in climbing the ladder and going down the slide with the big kids.  We did a corn maze, although not much of it because who wants to get lost in a maze with little kids??  There was a hay ride.  And to top things off we bought apple pie.  Tiago declared that to be the best part of the day.  If only Mila hadn't made me carry her (and my pumpkin) back to the car it would've been a perfect day.

Whenever I bake with Tiago he tells me he needs to test the food to make sure it turned out right.  (He's being completely serious about it, too, as he eats all the cake/muffin/brownie batter.)

I totally forgot about school picture day.  Fortunately he didn't go to school with Nutella on his face.  We bought real ones but it's quicker to post this instead.

And fiiiiinally, Grandma came to save us from our boredom.  She flew out to be here for Halloween and we had a much better few days with her around.  We took her to Manitou Springs, because she'd never been and the girls really wanted to go on the arcade rides.  It was randomly a high of 30 degrees that day so we all nearly froze to death.  (A few days later we were at the playground in short-sleeves.)

Unfortunately this is blurry, but we went to brunch.  (Again, the 'regular' stops when we have house guests.)  Delicous waffles at Urban Steam!  Then we had a few hours with no plans, so we ended up at the Olympic Training Center and took a tour.  It's always inspiring to watch some of the footage of people winning awards and doing things with their bodies that shouldn't be possible.

We did a lot of this-- hanging out on the sofa while Tiago played Angry Birds on Grandma's ipad.

On Halloween I picked up donuts and pizza (Dunkin Donuts and Pizza Hut are conveniently next door to each other.)  These two pictures make me laugh because first Mila sticks out her tongue and then Siena did the same thing.  Then we put on costumes, took pictures, and went to pick up my dad from the gate.  (He'd just flown in and drove down for the night.)  He handed out candy while we took the kids around.  They only lasted 30 minutes before they were cold and tired so we took them home to eat a bunch of candy.  There was the craziest giant-baby costume walking around.

The girls also tried on these Christmas dresses my mom had made them. They'll look so cute in December!  (The candy canes and Christmas ornaments disqualify them from being worn the other 11 months of the year.)

Another fun thing I did in October was have a bunch of people over for Sunday dinner/potluck.  Several ladies in our branch had their spouses gone at the same time as Hyrum, so we got together with our kids to help pass the time.  Hyrum didn't have use of his cell phone for most of his training, so having an adult around to talk to makes a huge difference. Plus, having other women around who understand how frustrating and life-sucking the Army can be makes a huge difference.

Tiago participated in the Primary Program the Sunday before Hyrum left.  He said his short part (with a little help.)  But besides that he didn't open his mouth at all the entire time.  During the songs, he just looked around blank-faced.  The girls, on the other hand, were so excited and sang along to all the songs they knew.

We started meeting in a new church building... which means we get to meet at 10 am instead of 1 pm.  We also had a branch Halloween activity, which was a whirlwind of craziness and I didn't take a single picture (even though the kids looked adorable and everyone loved their costumes.)