Dear diary:-)
The low carb journey continues, and it is going well. I have been allowing myself some treats as of late, to include:
- Low carb beer. Michelob Ultra has only 2.6 g carbs, and tastes pretty good. I usually have 1 a night, and thoroughly enjoy it.
- 90% chocolate. I got a dozen bars off Amazon, and have a few squares a day. Only a few carbs, and when you are not eating sweets, they actually taste faintly sweet.
- Fruit. The blueberry season (homegrown) is almost over, but I have also had a few homegrown peaches, as well as watermelon and cantaloupe. I see no harm in some fruit now and again.
- Tomatoes (Homegrown). The tomatoes are starting to ripen, and I will not be denied. Grape, cherry, medium and large. Yes, they have more carbs than greens, but they also have good fiber....and they taste great.
Besides my 2-day lapse around my backpacking trip, no rice, bread, potatoes, pasta, chips or sweets have passed my lips since April 20.
The weight continues to slowly ease down, and it looks like I have cleared 195. I have given more thought to my goal, and adjusted it up from 180 to 185....I got down to 185 last time, and I have more muscle mass now, so 180 , although doable if I wanted to push my BMI below 15, is not worth it nor, I think, sustainable. If I can get to 185 and then stay below 190 for the duration, both I and my wife would be happy:-)
Love handles - Really, at this point, the only noticeable fat I have is found in relatively small love handles. I do not know if I ever can totally get rid of them....nor do I really need to. Doing some reading indicates that to eliminate them I would need to get my BMI below 15, which might be cool if I was going to the beach but for practical purposes is too low. I figure my love handles, as well as a thin layer of fat over my stomach, probably accounts for 10 lbs, so at 185 (new goal) I will be approaching the point eliminating them, but probably not all the way. As of right now, in the morning I can often faintly see a 6-pack....I consider that OK for a 55 year old dude.
The plan is to continue, and to accept that some foods will not be in my diet ever again (goodbye nacho chips). I do have a CA trip planned to visit my mother in early August, so I may have to expand my diet a bit more than I want to, but that is life.
Bottom line, I like not having a middle-age gut, for me and for me wife (who has always kept herself in good shape).
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