Stress, Health, And Grilling

     This weekend has been a rough one. My mom has been in rare form and I'm at my wits end. Everything I've been doing to help get her away from sundowners, is kind of turning against me right now. This could just be a transitional phase or something, but it is so hard to deal with. The one thing that helps a little is when family calls her, but since it's the weekend, they are off, which leaves me to deal with this all to myself. I have no time to myself to get things done until she goes to sleep, and that has been  tough call this weekend as well. I give her a sleepy time tea each evening which has been helping but the last few days have been a no go. She is up right now, while I'm trying to write this, so I have one eye on this and one on her. The only time I get to myself is if I wake up very early in the morning.

     I woke up at 4:15 this morning and it still wasn't early enough, because she woke up by 5 and was roaming around the house. I knew then that today was going to be a rough one. I did manage to get my cardio in and my reading done for the day. Right now I'm working my hardest not to stress eat. I'll get to the results of this maintenance and restructuring week in a moment, but the one thing I have not beed doing is snacking of any kind, and that could end up being ruined if I stress eat tonight. The impressive thing though, that if I end up stress eating (which I know won't make things better) I will be eating fruits and nuts. Once again this week has been the absolute healthiest unhealthy week of all time.

     Now that my tragedy is over (only on the screen) I guess now is a great time to discuss about what I've been doing this week eating wise. My only goal for this week was to restructure my metabolism and give it a kickstart for some fat burning by eating a few more carbs. I was still limiting myself and worked to keep them under 50 grams. I did way better and on most days kept them below 30 grams which is my normal macro for carbs. The bulk of my carbs came in the morning from a single rice cake with almond butter. The rice cake alone was 8 carbs. That is absolute torture for me now to eat that many carbs in one item. My intake for breakfast was around the 20 carb mark which left little room for the rest of the day. Beside the rice cake and almond butter, I had strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. By the way, if feels like I discovered blackberries for the very first time. I don't remember them tasing so good. Eating whole healthy foods has definitely changed my tastebuds for the better. The fruit would measure out to a cup, and I would also have a quarter cup of Macadamia and walnuts. Oddly enough this was like the best breakfast ever.

     I also kept to a mostly vegetarian diet for the week. I only had meat three nights. I say vegetarian since I would have cottage cheese for my lunch, sometimes with hemp seeds mixed in for added protein. It was a challenge finding the right mix of vegetables so that I wouldn't go over my carb mark and still get the proper macros for the rest of the night, but I managed to do it. Although I enjoyed this week, it isn't a sustainable way of eating for me right now. I just don't have the knowledge of what vegetables I need for my proper macros yet, but I'll get there.

     With all that information in place, my goal of kickstarting and restructuring my metabolism for exceeded what I had in my head. I expected to gain weight this week or at the very best scenario, maintain my weight so that I could head into another week of some heavy fasting. I did more than just maintain, I actually lost weight at a rate that I didn't think was possible for me at this point. I weighed in last Sunday at 158 lbs. My hope was to stay around 160 with the expectation that I would exceed that. I weighed in today at 153.5. I was blown away at what had happened. I can't be sure that it was the way I was eating, because I also upped my workouts. I upped my cardio in the morning and added a cardio session at night right before I went to bed, and yes it helped me out with sleeping each night. I also pushed myself during my workouts in the evening. Oh, did I mention I do calisthenics type workouts almost every evening? I have been noticing the changes in my body as they have been increasing and as my dietary consumption has been on point. I should also say, that I did no snacking with the exception of a small fruit bowl one night after my evening workout. I also did a minor form of intermittent fasting by not eating after my last meal, which was around the 4 pm mark until the next morning at some time after 10 am. I wasn't holding myself to fasting which is why I had the small fruit bowl that one evening. I had no guilt for breaking a fast by doing it that way, and once again, I made an extremely healthy choice vs. what I would have done in the past. I only had one protein bar this entire week as well. Processed foods where out, and I really loved it.

     I think in the future I won't feel so bad when I want to have a piece of fruit, I will of course stick to the keto friendly fruits which are the berry family. Plus those blackberries are in season and the old me would have eaten an entire tub in a sitting rather than only have 4 or 5. That is an amazing accomplishment in itself. I will also be incorporating this type of breakfast in more often than not. I did make a change to it today, and eliminated the rice cake. I just scooped out a tablespoon of almond butter and a tablespoon of Pili nut butter and dipped my berries in it. Took the carb total down quite a bit and it was rather delicious. You should give it a try some time. You will love it.

     Baby Girl Gauge is having her surgery on Tuesday, and I'm losing my mind. Yes it's just another thing that's causing me stress, but I'll get through it. I'm going to find some late night time to hit the actual gym this week to relieve some of that stress. That is what my workouts are for, and right now they are the only thing holding me together. As I said earlier, I get up some time between 4 and 5 do my cardio for as long as I can, which as I said has increased a lot lately, then I read. Oh, did I mention that I finally finished a book that I've been reading for two years now? This 100 days has been fantastic. I'm starting a new book tomorrow and I have the new book by Stephen Chobsky coming on Tuesday. If you don't know who that is, he is just the author of my all time favorite book Perks of being a Wallflower. Remember when I always talked about the book and the movie? This one is a horror in the vain of his hero, that other Stephen. The King of horror himself, Stephen King. I remember reading and interview when he was talking about the idea and was finally starting on it, so I'm excited to finish this book I'm starting tomorrow and getting on to that one. Back to BGG. Her ears, well one of them, the worst one, has been bothering her again. I still had a little of one of the antibiotics left, so when it bothers her, I squirt some in and it comes her down after a while. It lasts about two days, which since I put it in today, she should be good until her surgery. I don't have the details on how long the surgery will be, do I pick her up that day, or does she have to stay overnight, so I'm stressing about all that stuff that I have no control over. I try to remind myself of that, but it still creeps into my head, amongst a ton of other things. I really need a day to myself, just one day, and I know I would be golden. Even when my mom goes out with a family member, I have to run to go grocery shopping and then get back to the house before they come back, so that is 2 maybe 3 hours tops, and I don't get really anything done during that time, because I don't have a time frame on what I can begin. I'm working my way through, but it's not easy at all, and I didn't expect it to be.

     I finished the tables on time and had a little cookout yesterday, and it was fantastic.

      That is the set up for when there is no grill going, but when the grill comes out, I move the large table in front of the chairs. I'm thinking about putting wheels on it, so that it will be easier to move from spot to spot, but that won't be for a while.

     Not a bad little set up right? I did the top in the red, which seems very noticeable, and the legs in the gold natural. I think it looks pretty good. Polyurethane to coat it from the elements so that it will last for as long as I hope it does. I'm going for a few years or so, maybe longer. I guess I should share the top of the grill so you can drool over my dinner.

     That little grill worked like a champ. It took care of two top sirloin steaks and 7 asparagus stalks. I seasoned them perfectly I might add. The reason I love this little grill, is that I can adjust the height of the grates. You might notice that the veggies are a little higher. You don't want those veggies right down on the coals. The need an indirect heat to cook properly to save those nutrients. It was a really good meal, and I'm looking forward to grilling out there again.

     I guess now is when I should mention that I'm going to take two weeks off and see how it all goes. I was thinking about this being my last post until those two weeks are up, but I do feel obligated to update you on Baby Girl Gauge, so I will wait until next Sunday to shut it down for two weeks. This time I'm going to hold to the two weeks, and not come back early this time. So for now, peace in and goodnight.

We Have A Date

     Baby Girl Gauge has her surgery scheduled. She is to go in Tuesday morning to have it done, and it couldn't' come at a better time. Just two days ago her ear started bothering her again, so she is going to finally get that taken care of, and then I'm hoping to finally sign the papers to officially make her mine. Trust me, she isn't going anywhere no matter if the papers are signed or not.

     The last few days, she has been so happy and playful. Chasing Morty around the yard, and that menacing bark I talked about on Tuesday night. What? You didn't know about that? Of course not, because my readership for the site was down so low, that only 1 person read it. Oh well that gives me more reason to want to, at the very least take a two week break from all of this.

     If you don't follow the website on the Facebook page, then you didn't see that I updated the keto cookie recipe. I made them again last night, and they were pure perfection. The only thing I did differently was the time I baked them. I only left them in for 12 minutes. I could do this because I had two large pans, and didn't have to switch baking sheets off of pans. This also helped keep them none piece. That was a problem the last time. The cookies are very soft and delicate when they come out, so they need a good 15 minutes to a half hour to cool and harder. The 12 minute mark of baking allowed them to harden but left them just soft enough to be exactly like a so called "real" cookie. I put all the same ingredients so this batch was vegan as well, and I don't know if I will ever try the recipe with an egg and diary butter. They are just so good, I don't see any reason to try anything else.

     I have to tell you that I am on a steep weight loss right now. My goal this week was to spur my metabolism and it has worked way better than I thought it would. I only expected to maintain my weight for this week. I'm not even going to give you a number yet. I will tell you that I am on the better side of reaching my latest goal weight, which as I'm approaching may not be the ultimate goal. I am not at a point where the weight doesn't matter, it is more about my appearance. Before you start wondering if I'm getting into dangerous territory in my weight loss. One look at me would tell you otherwise. The only problem with that, is that I'm not going to take any photos until I reach a place where I feel that I'm so close to my ultimate appearance, that I'm willing to share those pictures. Other than my mom (who doesn't even know who I am) and a couple of other people, no one has seem me in a week, in photo or person, so the next time I take a picture to share, it should be a pretty drastic difference from the last photos I've shared.

     At the age of 48, I am getting the body I dreamed about as an 18 year old. Not only that, I'm feeling just as good if not better than I did when I was 18. My mobility is getting better, my energy levels are up radically, and I haven't had the slightest sniff of an illness since I started doing keto. I found out today one of the reasons that is possibly happening, and it's my use of Apple Cider Vinegar. I saw a video from a doctor today talking about why ACV is actually a bit of a miracle. If you look at it, it barely has any nutritional value, but it is a catalyst for so many other things in your body. Mineral and nutrient absorption, fat mobilization, brain function, heart health, and so on and so on. I'll probably write an article about it soon and let everyone in on the drink that I have every morning. It's not the tastiest, but I have grown to love it and crave it every morning.

     Today is day 50 of the 100 Days of Discipline and I'm doing great. I posted yesterday on the group page ( I post every 7 days ) and mentioned how I really didn't expect to last longer than a week due to my addiction to diet sodas. I really thought they would do me in, but that which was the most difficult task has become the easiest. I really have no desire for any flavored water or anything like that. There is also the health benefits I get from not putting all those chemicals in my body. I have no begun reading every morning after my cardio, which has become such a breeze that I'm constantly pushing myself harder and harder by increasing times. When I read I feel more clear headed and alert, and can focus more on what I'm actually reading. It's rather incredible. I have also taken to adding an extra cardio session at night right before I go to bed. That could also be a reason for my surprising weight loss this week.

     I am on schedule to have the outdoor tables ready by Saturday afternoon. The stain went on today. I did red on the tops and golden on the legs, and I think they look pretty good. Tomorrow the polyurethane goes on, and if all goes right, they should dry overnight and be ready for some outdoor grilling on Saturday.

     I can't wait to get that polyurethane on and see them shine. It's all weather treated wood, so I really shouldn't need that kind of protection, but I'm putting it on anyway, because why not protect the protection.

     I'm still struggling with getting into the right mindset to finish The Violet Dahlia. I need to be alone so that I can get into my own head, and I can't do that right now, due to my mom. She fades real fast when no one is in the room with her for more than a half hour. She believes that she has been left alone and gets very angry, so I have to stay in the same room with her for most of the time. At night I can't get into that mindset, because at the end of the day is when your mind starts to slow down and my creative flow is pretty much gone as well. I should skip a morning of reading and put it off til the evening and give that a try for writing. It might work. I'll have to give it a try and see. I know where the story is going to go, it's just a matter of how it gets there, and I don't have that direct path yet, so that is where the problem lies. I'll figure it out.

     I'm out. It's been fun tonight despite the fact that only 1 person will probably read this, so to that 1 person, thank you so much. You are the one that is keeping me hangin on, an is the reason I will probably only take a two week break from this, just to refresh myself and see what direction this needs to go in the future. I may just not have "it" anymore, or I may be spreading myself thin. A two week breaks may be just what I need to reset myself. Peace in and goodnight.

Roar Like A Lion

     I finally truly heard Baby Girl Gauge bark last night, and it was eye opening. Morty's bark is fierce, and can intimidate people. Baby Girl Gauge is next level stuff. It is deep and menacing with pitches that rival a lion's roar. Have you ever heard a lion roar in open country? It's earth shaking. That is what her bark is like. It moves the ground beneath your feet. She is so docile and relaxed, so to hear her with that much power in her voice, was impressive.

     Did I mention that the peanut butter chocolate chip keto cookies were a massive success? They are really good and they were vegan as well. I'm going to make them again tomorrow night, since we are now out of them. My mom went crazy for theme, so they are going to be a main staple around here for as long as she loves them. I made a little chocolate treat last night. I took a bar of dark baker's unsweetened chocolate and melted it at a low temperature. I put a half cup of monk fruit in it with about a 1/8 of a cup of chopped walnuts. When I finished melting and mixing I poured out and flattened it on a baking sheet and then placed it in the fridge over night. I cut it all up into bite sized pieces this morning and gave it a try when  had my breakfast (remind me to talk about my breakfast this week so far). It was really good. Not too sweet with that wonderful dark chocolate bitterness to it. I may use more chopped walnuts when I make it again, but there is enough in the fridge to last for a week.

     Ok, back to that breakfast. I'm taking a break from the hardcore keto this week, and also the fasting. I'm still doing a sort of fast type protocol, since I finish eating around 4 and then don't eat again until after 10 in the morning. My breakfast is coming out keto friendly, but it isn't the best choice for a keto diet.

     The last 3 mornings my breakfast has looked a lot like that. Today I got rid of the peanuts and pecans in the nut bowl, and eliminated the grapes. I was getting a little bloat after breakfast and decided those were more than likely the culprits and I was right. I also didn't have the hemp seed on the almond butter rice cakes this morning. Trust me, this jacks my morning carbs up quite a bit. That means the rest of the day has to be rather carb free, and it has been working out pretty good. I've also stuck to a mainly vegetarian diet this week. I did have ground beef yesterday when I made tacos, but that was it meat wise for the last three days. I have had cottage cheese, and I have a Quest pizza today that had cheese on it, but that is it from the world of dairy. I have managed to stay in moderate ketosis which has been feeling pretty good. My ketones have been concisely above 1.3, but below 2.0, which is really right where I want to be. You want to hear the crazy thing? The whole reason I was doing my diet this way for the week, was to spur on my metabolism, and it appears to have worked. I am already down a few pounds for the week. I'll let you know how it all pans out by the end of the week, but I'm a little surprise at how well it's working out. Oh, and the reason I'm putting the hemp seed on the rice cakes, is for added protein. 3 tablespoons of hemp seed has 9 grams of protein, that is a great source of protein, that you should add into your diet if you can get ahold of some.

     I got my Sun Warrior bundle, well most of it, in the mail this week. The only thing missing is the thing I wanted the most, which is the Collagen powder. I'm looking for as many sources of collagen as I can get my hands on. If you don't know, collagen is the building block in hair, skin, and nails. Now, my skin has been unbelievably better since going keto, but anything can always be better right, and how great would it be, if I managed to grow back some hair. I have not fantasy that that will happen, but it could be possible. I'm healing all kinds of things in my body, why not broken follicles.

     These are all plant based supplements, and I've been a big fan of the Warrior Blend protein powder. I tried the CBD oil out last night for the first time. I've been hearing that it is great for sleep, and that is why I wanted it most. I have to say, that I had one of the deepest night sleeps I've had in a very long time last night. So much so that I nearly slept late. I like to wake up around 4:30 - 5, so that I can get my cardio and reading in before my mom wakes up. I only got the cardio done this morning, having woken up at 6. I may save that for nights when I'm feeling very restless, I don't want to oversleep. The Omega 3 is from algae and not from fish oil. It's the source that fish get their omega 3's. I added the liquid light to my morning ACV drink and it was fantastic. I'm saving the magnesium until I finish off one of my bottles of magnesium pills. I have been slowly increasing my magnesium and potassium intake, with some great results. My workouts last longer, and I have more energy for them. I also think this has a lot to do with my metabolism sky rocketing right now.

     I should be saving all of that for the website, but I decide to take a week of from writing articles and just promoting the articles I have up there, to see what kind of response I get from different days. I want to know what are the best days to post for readers, so this is the simplest way to do that. I'll start up with a new article next Monday, or if I find a day that works better, I may switch it to that day or days.

     I'm still thinking of what I should do with this blog. The funny thing is, that I write a post about how readership has drastically dropped off, and it is my most successful post for the past two months. Weird right? I do enjoy writing this, but if the readers aren't there, I don't really know why I should do it. It's kind of like spitting into the wind. I started this for two reasons, one to write on a more consistent basis, and with the new website, I won't have to worry about that. I have to come up with ideas for articles for at least two posts a week. Right now I'm doing three, so my writing schedule is full. The other reason was for the mental health benefit that I get from it. I get to spew everything out of my brain for a night and it has been very healthy for me. That is the one that makes it difficult to give this up. I have been thinking about just taking a break from it for a while. I've done two week breaks in the past, and have always come back early from those breaks, but maybe this time I'll do a full two weeks. I might just be burned out, and my writing may be suffering and that is why readership is down. I don't know, I don't get a ton of feedback on this, so I have to go with my own feelings. My new motto lately has been that I'll figure it out, so I guess that is what I'll do.

     I've been building those tables. It's going kind of slow, since I have to take my mom out to the garage while I do it. If I'm out there working on those and she is inside, she panics and thinks she has been left alone. I can't even take a long relaxing shower anymore without that happening, so I have to do it much slower than I normally would, but I have gotten the tables assembled.

     Tomorrow I begin sanding them to get them all even all around. I'm hoping to get them both done, so that I can begin staining on Thursday. If I can do that, then I can put the polyurethane on Friday, and it should be ready for use on either late Saturday or Sunday. The whole purpose of these tables are to grill out in the back yard. I have a very small table top grill, that will go on the big table, and the smaller table will go between the outdoor chairs in the backyard. I am going to router the edges of them to make them look real nice, but other than that, I have no plans for carving anything on them. I just want them to look outdoors classy. So far they are coming along as planned. Yes, I did plan for the slow go of it. I knew I would have limited time to do this each day, and I'm getting done with as much as I plan each day. The sanding is going to be the toughest tough. I have a lot of sanding to do, and I really don't know if I can get it done in the time that I feel I have before my mom gets antsy each day. I'm going to work my tail off to get it all in tomorrow though. I'll have more pictures for you Thursday.

     Favorite Song of the Week is here, and it's one I've already posted, but this time it's going to be a live session instead of the official video. This is in honor of this album coming out today, so if you like the song, go out and get the album. This is by none other than Brittany Howard, lead singer of Alabama Shakes. She is doing her first solo album and so far from what I've heard, it is fantastic. I really didn't expect any less from Miss Howard. This is the live session of Brittany Howard doing "Stay High". 

     That's just a great song right there, and I hope you enjoy it. It's time for me to go. I got some reading to do, since I didn't get it done this morning. I prefer reading in the morning, it seems l like my brain is much more sharp, and I absorb things better. Oh well, I'll just read and follow along tonight and get back to early riser tomorrow. Peace in and goodnight.

Bob The Builder Is Back At It

     I've been giving some thoughts to either taking a long break from this blog, or shutting it down entirely. I'm not sure what I'm getting out of it anymore, and readership is down a great deal. I do still believe that it is a healthy release for me, and it does give me that practice of writing on a consistent basis, but I don't know if that is enough, since I'm writing for the website now as well. I'll give it some more thought and let you know later on if I'm done or not.

     In my forever quest of improving my health and discovering new ways to find out just how my health is doing, I learned something very new and fantastic today. It's called the GKI. It is your Glucose Ketone Index, and without giving anything away for a possible future article, it can help you out quite a bit. I checked through the GKI to see just where I was today. I should explain a little more why today was a good day to do this. I have not been strict today, in fact the past two days I haven't been strict. I'm not going to be doing any hardcore fasting for a week at the minimum, and I'm eating more like a normal person. I'm still remain within my normal eating, but with a  little extra. For example, for breakfast I had a rice cake cut in half with almond butter on one, and peanut butter on the other. Both had a sprinkle of hemp seed on them. I also had a bowl of mixed nuts: macadamia (of course), peanuts, and walnuts. Along the side was a giant strawberry, a handful of grapes, blueberries and blackberries (those blackberries were amazing). That alone shot my carb intake up pretty high, but still under my parameters for the day. Actually when I think about it, this was the most healthy unhealthy day I've ever done. Anyway, for the GKI you have to check your glucose and your ketones, plug them into an equation and you get a solid number that tells you how deep you are in ketosis. Even with the last two days I'm in moderate ketosis. That means I'm still being fueled by fat, and that is a remarkable thing.

     I love learning new things. I have always said that you should learn something new every day, and I want to be an example of that. Today was proof that I'm still learning. Some days the knowledge isn't that big or game changing, and that is ok. Knowledge is power, and it is your responsibility to gain as much power through knowledge as you can.

     That my friends is the start of my next wood project. It isn't the pull-up bar that I want to do. I still haven't figured out how to get 10 foot 4x4s into my car. Those are 2x4x8s, so plenty of room. Back to the project though. The plan is to take that wood and turn it into two outdoor tables. One is for grilling, and the other will be a small table to go between chairs. I have a plan in my head for what I'm going to do, but as you know that always changes as I go. I will update you as I go, and I hope to be done so I can get some grilling done by the end of the week or the weekend.

     I guess that is all I have for tonight, but since no one is actually reading this, I don't feel so bad. Peace in and goodnight. 

I'm At It Again

     I'm trying out another baking recipe, and I won't be able to taste it until tomorrow. I'm right in the middle of a 36 hour fast, so what else would I do other than baking a tasty treat. I modified a peanut butter cookie recipe to make it keto and vegan. I don't know how the vegan part is going to work out. The only thing in the recipe that I didn't have a substitute for was a large egg. I used two tablespoons of vegan mayo instead. I've heard of people using mayo in cake recipes and what not, so I figured I could use that as the binder. The first batch didn't bind well, so I did the second batch a little different in how I placed them. Normally you just place a ball of dough on the sheet and it flattens as it bakes. For the second batch I flattened the balls out so they would cook more evenly and the result is below.

     If this works out, I'll put the recipe up on the website tomorrow, since I don't have an article written yet. I already have the breakdown worked out, and the macros are once again almost perfect. My only concern is the binding at this point, so I'll just have to wait and see. The second batch is cooling as I write this. I'm going to let them sit for a half hour before putting them in a container. I'll know then if they are going to hold together. If they don't I need to find a vegan egg substitute. I'll of course put the recipe up for vegan and non vegan. I know the egg would definitely make the difference if they don't hold together.

     The new TPR is up right now, and it is the debut of Guy on his own. I already got a comment on the video saying that I was missed. I thought it would be a few videos before anything like that would happen, but there you have it. Here is the video so you can check it out yourself.

     He also wrote the piece. I only went back and corrected a few things and omitted odd narrative choices. I did make him go back and rewrite it from his standard "What I did on summer vacation" essay. I think he did a pretty good job. I guess it is up to our followers to feel the same way.

     So far, the video is doing ok despite the fact that the link on Facebook has no thumbnail pictured on it. I'm not sure if that is YouTube or Facebook that is causing that, but they need to get their stuff together. It's definitely costing us views. Who wants to click on a link of a gray bar with YouTube on it?

     I'm going to make this short, because Baby Girl Gauge is staring at me and grumbling. She has been doing this a lot lately. She is craving serious attention lately. For such shy girl when she first got here, now she's a bossy little lady. Ok, I'm out, enjoy your weekend and I'll tell you how the cookies came out on Sunday, unless the recipe goes up on the site, in which case you can check it out there. Peace in and goodnight.

Closing In On 150

     I have yet to write tomorrows article. I was about to, and then someone came by the house that I wasn't expecting and ruined the whole mind frame I was in. I have an idea for the article, so I'll write it tomorrow morning. I have my unofficial deadline of 3pm. That's plenty of time to get it written, a photo picked out, and have it finished and ready to post.

     I'm starting a 24 hour fast today. In fact, I'm already a few hours into it. I break fast tomorrow with some bone broth then I have a decent meal, and then start a 36 hour fast to get me to the end of the week. I have my eyes on that 150 mark, and I'm going to get there sooner than later.

     I took my mom out for some pizza yesterday, it really messed up my macros, but it was worth it to see how happy she was. She still has no idea who I am, or at least that I'm not me, but someone that she is related to. It was a tough go at the pizza place, she is in the arena of a toddler now when it comes to eating. She either doesn't really know how to use a fork anymore, or can't see well enough to use it properly, so finger foods is the way to go most times. A whole slice of pizza was a bad idea. She picked it up and it ran off onto her lap. After I cleaned her and the floor up, I cut the pizza into bite sized pieces and gave her the fork. She discarded the fork and just went with the fingers. There weren't any further mishaps after that, so it was all good. I took the rest of the pizza home for the dogs, which they loved. We had a white pizza, despite it not be keto at all, It was a decent choice. I had two slices, with the exception of the third of a slice I gave to my mom from mine. She wanted a small piece, and the pieces were kind of big, and I had two thirds left, so I cut a third off the back end and gave it to her, so my macros aren't as bad as I have them typed into my phone. My carb total for the day was 52 grams, which is atrocious, but it isn't too bad. I should already be back in ketosis, as a matter of fact, I can feel the tell tale signs of it.

     After you are in ketosis for a lengthy amount of time, you begin to notice a certain way that you feel, and I already have that feeling. Yesterday, because of the carbs, I felt wired and jittery. I'm back to calm, cool, and collected. I'm really looking forward to theses two fasts that I'm doing this week.

     Oh, I posted the link to my website on the 100 days group page, and the President of Double Under Wonder dug it. I'm hoping to cultivate this relationship into something good for both of us. I talk about his jump ropes, which I love, so it's not hard to pitch for him, and maybe he pushes people my way as well. We both win in this. I have given a little more thought to what I would do for another 100 day challenge, and I'm leaning towards a good one. It would be no processed foods what so ever. That would mean my bars would go, the protein powders, only natural foods. Sounds easy, but it's going to be tougher than you think. That's one, I still have to come up with 2 more. Oh, and the last two days, I've gotten my reading done in the morning while I'm drinking my water and ACV after my morning cardio workout. I've also been waking up quite a bit earlier to do this, so that I have some time to myself before my mom wakes up.

     Favorite Song of the Week. Yeah I just went right into it, and I'm not apologizing for it. I posted a song from this artist not too long ago. It was the first single from her upcoming debut solo album. She is the singer for the band Alabama Shakes, and she is out of this world talented, and this song, which is kind of a throwback protest anthem type of a song, is nothing less than inspiring. I can't wait for this album to come out in just a few days. It will be out on the 20th, so you may want to add it to your music. Here is Brittany Howard with "13th Century Metal".



     That's good stuff right there, and don't even bother trying to argue with me, you are just wrong if you don't agree. Ok, that's all I have for tonight, I'll be back Thursday with something good. No, I don't have any idea what it is, but I'll find something that is good and have it for you. Peace in and goodnight.

Experimenting With Food

     I have been up to some experimenting. Not just the peanut butter cups (I'm calling them peanut butter bars for this batch), but with what I now know about food and the health benefits from eating the right foods. I'm experimenting with helping someone out with a debilitating disease. I won't go into any detail yet, because it is far too early for that, but I have seen some pretty drastic improvement. To the average person it probably would'd the noticed, but I have seen it, and it is encouraging. The idea in this is to use food as a way of elevating some of the problems from this disease. I have no dillusions of grandeur that this will cure anything. I am only hoping to make things easier for this person through healthy eating of non processed foods and good quality fats.

     That being said, the peanut butter bars are a success. I do need to tweak things a little, the chocolate for one. It still has a slight bitterness to it, but not unbearable. In fact I gave a bar to someone who isn't on any kind of a health kick and they loved it, and didn't believe that there was on sugar in it whatsoever. I will be gathering the ingredients for another batch in a couple of weeks. I will actually make cups the next time and have true numbers for you. I do have numbers for each bar this time around after cutting them up. 1 bar is a serving so per serving the breakdown reads as this: 134 calories, 2 net carbs, 12g fat, 4.5g protein. I know what you are thinking, a 134 calories seems like an awful lot. Here is a comparison for you, a Little Debbie brownie with walnuts has over 200 calories and is nowhere near as healthy, so there you go. I could have even cut them down to a smaller size. Oh, the reason I looked up the brownies, is because I cut them to a standard brownie size. They are deadly though, I have limited myself to 2 a day. The first day I had 3. I could have easily eaten the entire pan, but that would defeat the purpose of it being a dessert treat used to follow a meal.

     Oh, I do want to share this video with you of Baby Girl Gauge doing the Bully Waggle in the backyard. This is the first time I have seen her do this.

     I love a happy dog. I guess it's time to update you on the results of the 48 hour fast. Remember when I told you I was close to hitting that 50lbs mark for weightless? I blew through it. I felt really good that day and really considered going through to a 72, but I'm going to hold out until Oct. I weighed in that morning a few hours before breaking fast at 167.5. I was blown away. I was only expecting to be around 159 tops. As you may or may not know. You immediately gain weight after braking a fast. How much depends on how you break that fast. I was on a mission to take all of my knowledge to have the best results I could possibly have. I weighed in on Saturday morning at 158.5. That means with all the eating and water consumption after the fast, I gained 1 pound. That was way more than I had hoped for. I completely expected to weigh in at 160 or even 161, but I held the weight loss and locked in that 50lbs mark for lost weight. I couldn't be happier with the results of this fast, and I will take that knowledge into the next one which by the way will be a 24 hour starting Tuesday. I will also be doing another 36 starting Wednesday. Yes that is back to back fasting with a meal in between. I'm pretty excited for this and am looking forward to doing this quite often from here on out.

     People you can heal your body with food. I plan on writing an article about this very subject soon, if not this week. Here is the list of things that have changed as a result fo my new lifestyle. My psoriasis is gone, my skin is improved and feels better, I no longer suffer from migraines, my allergies are non existent,, my heart rate has gone down significantly, I no longer feel lethargic during the day, and last but not least, my anxiety and depression are so far back in my mind that I don't remember what it was actually like. That last one is huge and I attribute all of this to the keto lifestyle. I'm not saying that its a cure all, but I can't argue with the results that I exhibit myself. I'm leaner, healthier, and most of all happier, and isn't that all you really want out of life. Yes, this lifestyle is hard, and takes a lot of work, but if a schlub like me can do it and be successful, then you should be able to do it without a problem. I'm always working on recipes and options for keto meals, and will be putting them up on the website as soon as I can. The goal is to not eat dirty, which means any processed type of food. Yes you can do dirty keto and be successful, I am proof of that. The bars that I eat from time to time, the chips, the homemade peanut butter bars, are all dirty options, but they can help you get through the transformation from going high carb loaded with sugar to low carb no sugar. I'm really hoping to help people out so go check out howuketo.com

     Alright, I'm done with the shameless plug and I'm out of here. Peace in and goodnight.