Kicking out of Ketosis.....

     Yikes!  I missed my deadline.  ​We're heading to Waianae today, and I've been scrambling to prepare everything for leaving our little Birch Bay house.  I even prepared food and put it in the freezer so keto-friendly food awaits us when we return.  I'm having great success on keto, mostly because of this kind of preplanning.  I always have things prepared and waiting to combat eating compulsively, especially those things that might kick me out of ketosis.  In any case, we got everything done in Birch Bay and are on our way to Oakland to catch our connecting flight to Honolulu.  We were worried we would not get off due to the weather, but thankfully, we are in the air following deicing.  However, because of the delay, we might miss our connecting flight.  I certainly hope not.  We'll find out soon.  But, back to ketosis.  I think I've kicked myself out of ketosis several times, which prevented consistent weight loss.  In fact, I did not lose weight for several weeks.  I was getting kind of worried because I'd given myself eight more months to get to my goal weight, which initially was 165 lbs.  It is really slow going, and I'm not sure I will make it!  This is pretty disappointing because I gave myself two full years to drop 30 pounds.  That means I must lose 2.5 pounds a month to meet my goal.  When I was young, losing two and a half pounds was easy.  However, at my age, losing anything takes a long time, and it's very easy to gain weight.  Therefore this week, I began stepping up my game.  Along with everything I've been doing, I'm closely monitoring my caloric intake, so I don't exceed 1500 calories daily.  Most studies claim that strict control of calories is unnecessary on the keto diet because it is consistent with the food we are designed to eat, including proteins, fats, and vegetables, with few or no simple carbs and certainly nothing processed.  Because the diet triggers satiety hormones and suppresses hunger hormones, I should feel full more quickly and, consequently, eat less.  However, even though l feel satisfied, sometimes I want snacks and might be overdoing it, so I'm tracking the calories.  I'm also practicing portion control.  Happily, the adjustments I made this week are paying off.  According to the scale, I've dropped two pounds this past week, and I am pleased about that since it's been a while since I've lost anything.  Therefore, I'm proud of myself this week and hope to report more good news in the next blog!