Protein & Macros

Hi everybody--I've had several questions about setting macros lately--especially for protein, so let's chat.  Macro is short for macronutrients.  There are three main macro categories:  carbs, protein, and fat.  There are some subcategories of each macro, but we won't go into those here.   Do you really need to think about how much protein you're eating?  Well, it depends.  If you're going strictly keto, then yes.  If you're eating low carb and are losing weight and experiencing health benefits that make you happy, then that's great!  If it's not broke, don't fix it :)

My first couple months on this way of eating, I ate lots of protein.  And I lost about 20 pounds.  Twenty pounds in two months!  Those were the days! :)

Then a funny thing happened.  Well, not funny ha-ha.  Funny as in strange, weird, and this is not supposed to happen, everybody-else-is-losing-tons-of-weight-every-single-day-and-I'm-just-sitting-here-stuck.  Ugh.  Well, turns out there was a logical reason getting stuck.  Protein.  As in too much of it.

When we eat more protein that our body needs, it turns to sugar.  Exactly the thing we're all working so hard to avoid, right?!?  Sheesh.  Okay, so that meant I needed to know how much protein my body needed. 
 
And of course, because all of life is a trial and error; I then went too far to the other end and wasn't getting enough protein.  Another sheesh!  I was tired and just didn't have a good energy level.  Mary, my coach at Ketovangelist, took a look at my protein intake and suggested that I refigure my protein macro goal.  Mary has been such a help to me.  She's awesome as the Ketovangelist would say.    A couple of weeks with increased protein and I felt much better.  Much better.

You can choose among several ways to find your macros.

1. First, we can use a calculator which can be found several places online.  I have used both the ones at Maria Mind Body Health and at Ruled Me.  The latter gives a bit higher protein macro. 
2. And then Dr. Nally gives us a formula for calculating which is the current method I'm using.  For a five-foot tall woman, we need 45.5 gms protein daily.  For every inch over 5 feet, we need an additional 2.3 gms of protein.  I calculated my protein needs at the 45.5 gms for my first five feet + 2.3 x 3 (I'm 5'3" now) = 52.4.   I use this as a general guideline, I seldom hit it exactly.

So after ten months and 63 pounds down, it seems like I've finally gotten the hang of the protein macro.  Not too much.  Not too little.  Just right.   I know this seems like a lot of info and it may seem too complicated.  And you know what?? If you're losing at a rate that makes you happy, if you feel good with plenty of energy--then absolutely there's no reason to get so detailed about all this.  Lots of people lose weight and gain all kinds of health benefits without ever calculating macros or tracking.  Mark only tracks carbs and he's had an amazing recovery from diabetes.  

But if you're weight loss is slowing or stalled for several weeks or if you are feeling tired with no energy, then maybe it's time to dig a little deeper.  We want to find that sweet spot that will help us feel our best while we're successfully losing weight and also maintaining as much of our muscle mass as possible. If you're following the Ketogenic Success facebook group, there are daily discussions about the topic.  If you need a coach to help you figure it out, then get one.  It's worth it!





 

Halloween

It's a keto halloween so that means costumes, not candy!  Fran and I went to Witches Night Out, a local fundraiser to benefit services for women in Springfield.  We definitely want to go again next year.    And here's my favorite witch of all time:

I'm With Her

I don't usually talk about "serious" things here.  But I had an experience yesterday that shook me up.  I'm okay,  I wasn't harmed physically in any way.  But I felt disrespected and hurt and mad.   Here I am--60 years old--I feel stronger and more confident in myself than ever in my whole life.  But I keep thinking over and over what I could have said and done instead of what I did.
 
What should I have said to the man who stared me down and made a stupid "hmmm hmm" sound when he passed me in the grocery aisle?  What I actually did was turn around and call him an asshole as he walked away.  If he has normal hearing, he heard me.  But of course, he gave no indication of whether he did or not, he just kept walking.

I was steamed.  But I went on and finished my grocery shopping. And have thought over and over about what I could have done instead.

It seems like it's been a week for talking about how some men treat women.  And I say some because  there are millions of good men in the world who would never think about disrespecting someone in the grocery store.  My husband.  My sons.  Actually I don't know one man in my life now who would do something like that.   But I have been seeing a lot of one man who acts that way on the TV lately.

This morning, even has I was thinking about what I wish I had said and done yesterday, I listened to Michelle's speech from her appearance  in New Hampshire.    I hope you saw her or that you listen to it today.   It's even better than her speech at the convention.   I am so proud of her and I am ready to vote for her for whatever she wants to do for our country. 

After listening to her speech,  I know what I wish I had thought to say to that guy yesterday.  I could have followed him and face-to-face said what Michelle said yesterday:   "Strong men. . . don't need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful." And then I could have added (to him and to that man on TV) "It's not okay.  Stop it."  

Would it have made any difference to him?  Probably not.  Would he think twice about which woman he disrespects the next time he's in the grocery store? Probably not, but if there's ever a next time  I still want to say it.  I want to say it for me and the next woman he sees in the grocery--she might be my six year old granddaughter or  my sister or my mother or my best friend.  Or a complete stranger to me.

I don't know.  It probably wouldn't make any difference to him.  Maybe he heard me call him an asshole.  If he's had any smarts, that ought to be enough too.   

Honey Mustard Dressing

Honey Mustard Dressing-- a pinterest find this week.  I've already made two batches!

And to make it even better, be sure to make the mayo first:

1 whole large egg

2-3 Tbls fresh lime or lemon juice, or vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup extra light tasting olive oil

Place all in a quart jar and let the egg settle to the bottom.  Place stick blender at the bottom of the jar and blend without moving the stick for a couple of minutes until the mayonnaise emulsion forms. 

And if you're at Humphrey's, pick up a bag of their in-house pork rinds.  My grandma would have liked them.  Seems like a lot of the food we eat these days was her kind of food.

Dinner Rolls

Okay, so I didn't really try to stage this photo very well.  I do admire the food bloggers who take such beautiful pictures of their creations!  But photo quality aside, these were really too good tonight.  Too good as in I could have eaten several instead of just one.  Tonight was a little get together for friends who helped me practice for my upcoming event Keto With Kynda.  So we had dinner and talked Keto and it was a great time with good friends and good keto dinner rolls!

Recipe from Dietdoctor.com:
Each roll:  5 total carb, 2 fiber, 3 net carbs; 6 fat; 5 protein
1 1/4 cup almond flour
5 Tbls psyllium husk powder
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 t apple cider vinegar
1/1/4 cup boiling water

Mix dry ingredients, add egg whites, vinegar and then boiling water together for 30 seconds.  Don't overbeat.  Form into 12 roll-shaped pieces.  Bake 50-60 minutes.  They are ready when they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

When it says 50-60 minutes, believe it.  The original recipe said it made eight rolls, which were way too big and took way too long to cook.  After over an hour of cooking, I turned the oven off and let them sit inside it while it cooled off.

These aren't like a white yeasty dinner roll made with wheat flour, but they were definitely tasty slathered with butter.  I'll save them for special occasions like when my keto peeps come over for dinner.  And maybe Thanksgiving too. 

Thanks for stopping by :)

Ky Lake Fall 2016

We're home from our fall week at the lake.  This year was especially good because Judson & Rachel & BK came to stay with us a few days too.  And the weather was spectacular!

At Patti's--where I had the low carb friendly 1 inch pork chop.  The company was so good, I didn't miss the pie :)

JD & Rach

After the big Patti's meal, we all walked down to the lookout pier. 

With our Judson!

G dog and Skye went with us.  They liked not being home by themselves.  They missed running free in a fenced yard.

 JD & family at the bison park at LBL

Another great vacation.  I am happy & grateful for so many blessings