Being a Saturday and coming into Spring, it really seems to be the time of year for parties and events and today was one of those days. There has been birthday after birthday party in the last few weeks, which are the times that you are tested the most on your diet goals.
At home, it’s easy to do, but being out at events, you need to watch what you are eating. It’s also very hard to count calories because you are grazing on platters and you don’t always know which brands of foods you are eating either.
Another thing about eating at functions is that you don’t want to be constantly on your phone recording every bite you eat, whilst socializing. It can be quite rude and annoying for yourself and others to do that.
What To Eat…
When you have been doing Keto for a bit, you know straight away from looking at what’s on offer what you can eat and you just stick to that. It’s pretty easy really. No Carbs. Avoid bread and crackers, limit your fruit and veg intake (depending what it is) and no cake!
The cake bit can be hard to do sometimes, especially at birthdays when cake is offered to you, and I will usually say no, but sometimes, on occasion, just do it. Strictly speaking, it’s not Keto, but you’ve got to cut yourself some slack at times. Just have a small piece and be more disciplined for the rest of the day.
Today, I wasn’t really feeling too hungry, so all I ate was a sausage (no bread) and a couple of bits of food off a platter. Cucumber and a bit of cheese or something.
Inclement Weather
As expected the weather for the party was not very kind. It was cold, windy and rainy and the party was an outdoor event at a park. Luckily, it had a large covered area, but not that the kids cared. They just played out in the rain, whilst the adults watched, because that’s what responsible adults do. Me included.
All the playing in the rain distracted my kids from eating at the party, so we included a stop at a drive through restaurant that I am going to call McDongles, for reference. That’s where things fell apart…
What Happened To Self Control?
Well, I didn’t buy any of that high-carb food from McDongles, I just bought myself a large latte for the road. I like coffee.
Coffee itself is not bad on a Keto diet but milk and sugar are. A large latte is around 18 carbs, add one teaspoon of sugar and this puts you around 22 total carbs, which is halfway to the maximum amount of carbs you should consume in a day.
Today, luckily, I have had a very low carb day and I have stayed within the right amount, so this is fine, but it’s not great to make it a habit. If you drink coffee, you should use mainly water with a dash of milk (not sure what type of coffee this is actually called) Pretty much just a “normal” coffee and you should try to use a sweetener such as stevia, instead of sugar.
Dinner Time
For dinner, I cooked a couple of small pieces of steak (200 grams), some green beans (my new best friend) and some silverbeet. I’ve recently tried to incorporate silverbeet into my diet as it is low-carb and very high in nutrients, such as electrolytes.
Silverbeet has sodium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, calcium and a bunch of other good stuff and is very low carb so is ideal for Keto, but I tried to cook it a few nights ago and I didn’t enjoy it very much.
The other night, I sauteed the silverbeet in a pan with some ghee (clarified butter) with a bit of salt. I also may not of washed it properly….The resulting product was fairly chewy and a bit gritty and not enjoyable, so it was on the list of vegetables NOT to eat on Keto.
Take Two
Sooo… this time around, I washed it and cooked it in boiling salted water, drained it, added some olive oil and salt & pepper and it was awesome. It was very soft and tasty and will now become a staple for me and hopefully fulfill the electrolyte deficiency that I have recently been worrying about. Winning…
I also cooked the steak to perfection too, so basically I made myself a simple but super healthy Keto meal tonight, that was fulfilling and only 400 cals and 4 carbs.
Below is the photo. Presentation is probably a 2/10, but the taste is a 10! Nice work, Stevie! Nailed it! (pat on own back and shake own hand)
The Numbers – Day 13
Weight (start of day): 121.7 kg (268.3 lb)
Weight Loss To Date (12 Days): 2.2 kg (4.9 lb)
Maximum calories allowed: 2560
Calories consumed: 2,415 = 145 calorie deficit
Water consumed (inc tea/coffee): 2 Litres
Fat consumed: 101g (38%)
Carbs consumed: 41g (15.4%)
Protein consumed: 124g (46.6%)
Keto Goal: Fat 70%, Protein 25%, Carbs 5%
Day 13 Round Up
In terms of my eating I have done well with calories but I will admit that I am quite liberal in my alcohol consumption on a weekend and I have made up the rest of my allowed calories with booze. My choice of poison, since being Keto, has changed though, and I moved from high carb beer (around 7-10 carbs per beer) to rum with diet cola, which makes it 0 carbs per drink.
If I am to be honest, drinking is no good for weight loss. Whilst you can avoid carbs from the actual drink, over-consumption can lead to bad choices during the night and the next day, so it’s best avoided.
Maybe, one day I will take my own advice..
Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.
