Keto Week 3 – Jamie’s Journey Continues!

Keto Week 3 – Jamie's Journey Continues!

Hey all, Jamie here!  If you read Jamie Goes Keto last week, you may be wondering how it's going now that we're on to week 3….

Well guys, I'll tell you.

Not super awesome.

In fact – let's just start with the bad and get it out of the way!

The BAD parts about this week on Keto:

1 . Where'd the Weight Loss Go?

This week my weight loss seems to have stalled (although I did probably still lose a pound or so).  Compared to losing about 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks (CRAZY!), that really took some of the excitement out of the whole thing.

2 . Hunger

That exhilarating feeling of not being hungry from the first couple weeks? It's not here this week. 🙁  I have to resist snacking too much on my almonds and cheese and little keto treats or I'll have so many calories by the end of the day that it won't matter how good I was about carbs.  In fact – there was a Planters Deal today on Amazon that I had to stop myself from buying….

3 . Goodbye Regularity…

My good-ole regularity stopped being so….regular.  Which – I guess I should've realized since I've started eating SO MUCH DELICIOUS CHEESE in my diet.  But still – an unwelcome side effect.

4 . I realized I'm a big dummy and I need to STOP STEPPING ON THE SCALE EVERY DAY. 

Because one day I went up 7 pounds and I totally freaked out.  Then I drank a lot of water, walked a little more, finally used the ladies room (praise Jesus!) and the next day those 7 pounds were gone.  Then the next day I went down a pound.  And…the next day I went up a pound.

Friends I'm telling you, if you can make someone hide your scale and just bring it out once a week – you will save yourself a major emotional rollercoaster.

The GOOD part about this week on Keto:

1 . I still can tell my stomach is shrinking….

Which is SO EXCITING TO ME!  I'm scared to go out and try on a smaller jean size but I also REALLY REALLY want to go try out a smaller jean size (just for fun).  But also I don't want to jinx it.  Are you with me?

 

2 . YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

The other night when I was on FB Live talking about this free coffee – some of you super-nice people said you could tell I looked skinnier just from my shoulders and face.  Which I didn't even know!  So that was awesome 🙂  (And made me distrust my scale even more.)  My mom even called me to tell me she could see a difference – yaaaaayyy!

3 . Variety

I found some awesome new recipes this week and my friend and I both made a couple.  Then we shared with each other so we had LOTS of variety.  How great are diet buddies???  SO GREAT!  I made Keto Blueberry Bread & Sausage Balls, and she made Taco Egg Cups and Fat Bombs.  Everything was yummy- but ESPECIALLY that amazing blueberry bread.  🙂

Speaking of variety – I ALSO got some new products on Amazon to help me stay on track, see me unboxing them here and find the list at the end of this post!

 

4 . This is big one friends….

I found out the Week 3 Stall is COMPLETELY NORMAL.  First of all – my long-time Keto friends told me so. (And they are smart and have done Keto for 2 years).  But also – if you google Keto Week 3, look what comes up?!?

 

Amazon Keto Favorites (Updated List!)

Coffee Sweeteners/Flavors:

Jordan's Skinny Syrup – I was lucky enough to find this at a Tuesday Morning near me, but you can also purchase on Amazon!  I love the Hazelnut but also they have a million yummy sounding flavors.  The bigger bottle is a great deal!

SweetLeaf Sweet Drops – My mom just loves her Sweet Drops in Chocolate, so I finally ordered some.  They're good!  I need about 8 drops to get my coffee how I like it.  But then I added a little splash of the Hazelnut Jordan's Skinny Syrup, and now I have chocolate hazelnut coffee that is my new favorite 🙂

Pyure Vanilla Stevia Drops – These are still good – but I needed a break from the vanilla.  I like have a few varieties to keep my mornings exciting 😉  Also the pyure drops have more of a “diet sugar” aftertaste to me that I don't love.

Sugar Substitutes:

The two most popular sugar substitutes for Keto folks are Monkfruit (which lots of people swear tastes the best for baking)

…and Swerve (which the other lots of people swear tastes the best for baking)

I bought both of them so that I could find which one I like best – and so far I've used the Swerve Granulated to make this Blueberry Bread and the Swerve Confectioner's to make the glaze.  It was REALLY REALLY AMAZING – so I give Swerve two thumbs up!  I'll try the Monkfruit next and let you know 🙂

Snacks:

Whisps – I bought Parmesan Whisps last week at Walmart because the other flavors were out.  They tasted too powdery, so I gave them away. On Mexican restaurant day I was so sad I didn't have my Whisps to eat salsa with!  So I ordered some more from Amazon, and this time I got a 2-pack that includes Cheddar and Asiago & Pepper Jack.  Excited to try these!  They're about $1 more on Amazon, but worth it if you need them to help stay on track.

By the way – you get to eat 23 of these and it's only 1 carb!

ChocZero Keto Bark: Last week everyone left comments on my Lily's Chocolate recommendation and told me to try ChocZero.  It was a little pricey (isn't everything on Keto??) but I ordered some anyway.  It hasn't arrived yet but I'll surely let you know when I do!

Lilly's Chocolate Chips

These are really pricey – but really good.  I'm still munching on my first bag three weeks in, just a little something to help me get through the day without feeling too deprived. 🙂 (These are just 2 net carbs per 60 chips!)

SlimFast Keto Peanut Butter Cups – These are still my ABSOLUTE FAVES but they are sold out all the darn time!  Amazon wants $20 for them – but you can order them for Walmart pickup for just $9.97.  They're SO GOOD and they help me get my fat in if I'm running low for the day.

 

 

Flour:

Almond Flour  (or Coconut Flour if you have a nut allergy)

OH MY GOSH I can't even tell you how much almond flour is saving me.  For a hot minute I thought I might not be able to eat bread anymore – but you can actually make coffee mug bread in the microwave with almond flour!  WHAT???  I will show you!!  Check out my Almond Flour Coffee Mug Bread Recipe here!

I use my bread circles for mini pizzas, little sandwiches, I toast it and cut it up like “croutons” to sprinkle in soups, or to add texture to other dishes, etc…  My next goal is to figure out almond flour tortilla chips 

Supplements/Strips:

MCT Oil Powder –  In my quest for regularity, I was told my multiple folks to add MCT oil to my coffee.  Other side effects include boosting your energy and clearing your brain fog.   Honestly, I DO actually have more energy after having this in my coffee for two days in a row.  The brain fog might take more than 2 days to clear 🙂  This one was an investment – but since I'm also testing things for the rest of us I thought it was worth it.

Magnesium – I'm still taking the Magnesium supplements I mentioned last time.  I've read a few things about how important it is – so I'll go with it.  I picked ones that are really hard to swallow though (Target brand), so I'm looking for a different kind.  The ones in the link get great reviews!  (Make sure to get Magnesium Citrate and not Magnesium Oxide.  They're more expensive but the body absorbs them much better!)

Ketone Testing Strips

As a newbie I had no idea if eating this new way was putting me in ketosis or not.  These strips told me I WAS in ketosis and it was such a morale booster!  Plus it will let me know when I go out of ketosis, so I can figure out what food caused it.

I've also read about people adding collagen to their coffee – do any of you do this?  Do you notice a difference in your hair/skin/nails?  I'm game to try some!

 

Need a Helping Hand?

• Our friend Jen offers this great Get Started Keto course! It's super inexpensive and she holds your hand through the whole process.
• Laurie actually is uses a diet plan that incorporates keto a couple days a week –  you can check that out here!

Now I really want to know – do you have any favorite keto foods or products that help you stick with it?  What about recipes?  I truly want to hear what they are  – please leave me a comment so I can try it out!