#tuesday posts

Arcann: I’m sorry for what you went through, and my part in it.

Vaylin: Don’t worry about it.

(puts on glasses)

It’s all Zakuul.

(WAAAAAAAAGH!)

New Year’s Resolutions

I’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions; I’m one of the multitude of people who starts out really well, but if I make it more than a week with a resolution, well, I’m doing all right! 

Towards the end of 2017, I decided I was going to do better eating -- but that that point, it was so close to the holidays, there was really no point. So, New Year’s Day seemed like a good starting off point. A friend of mine told me about the ketogenic diet, which I had heard of before, but they way she explained it made it sound so much easier. 

So, January first, I set out on my low-carb, high-fat adventure. It hasn’t been easy, and to be honest, I’ve probably blown more days than I have been successful, but I’m learning what foods I like that go along with the diet, what my go-to’s can be, and what my cheat foods are. I’ve also found some new recipes that I’m absolutely loving -- I share them towards the end of this post. 

The Carb Struggle Is Real, People. 

Did y’all know that carbs are in everything?! I mean e v e r y t h i n g. 

The ketogenic diet plan recommends 20-40 carbohydrates a day in order to reach one’s weight loss goals -- and even the high end of that is pretty low! Staying with that number and getting enough calories in a day was difficult -- I was over one or the other for the first few days. 

After doing some more research, I discovered that you can also look at the percentages of macros you’re intaking in order to achieve success with this sort of diet. (Side note: I really hate calling it a diet; I’m trying to think of it as a lifestyle change. Anyways.) I’ve seen one site that recommends 5-10% of your intake being carbs, and another that recommends maxing out at 10-12% (which is where I'm trying to stay). Protein should be 15-30%, with the remaining calories being fats -- good fats, if you can help it! 

By sticking to a 10-12% carb intake per day, 60-75% fats, and (honestly) not paying much attention to protein as long as I’m within my recommended calorie intake, I’ve successfully lost five pounds in this first week. Now, I’m pretty sure some of that is from Aunt Flo leaving town, and losing some water weight, which is what happens when you first start this diet, but I’ll take it as a good start. I started at 137 and weighed in yesterday morning at 132, but I’m not really looking to lose a whole lot of pounds -- 15ish would be my goal, absolute maximum. For me, the benefits of this diet (ahem, lifestyle change) are in losing fat. 

If you’re looking for a good starting point with the ketogenic plan, I’d recommend this calculator from the Keto Diet App to help you figure out for you where is best to start with your macros. 

Small Victories.

Besides losing that small amount of weight to start with, amidst convincing myself not to consume too many cheat foods, I’ve also set a goal of 64 ounces of water a day. With the changes that take place in your body as it transitions to a state of ketosis, hydration is extremely important. Five out of the last seven days, I've hit my water goal. My skin is clearer, I feel better overall -- all those things that I usually would roll my eyes at when other people praised high water intake. 

The weekend was most difficult, but one day, my boyfriend went to get fast food -- I stayed home and ate there. That in itself is a victory as, at the end of a long work day, I’m usually first in line for tacos or chicken nuggets. 

I’m also starting to think about working out again. Everything I have read cautions against an intense workout routine as you transition to the ketogenic diet, so I’ve been letting my everyday activity of interpreting for and keeping up with fourth graders, or getting steps at my ER job, be my workouts for now. I’m thinking next week I’ll start some light exercise, then go from there. 

I’ve also successfully overcome the worst parts of the low-carb flu; yep, that’s a thing. Symptoms include fatigue, irritability, headache, nausea ... literally it feels like you're coming down with the flu! But if you can push through it and keep up that water intake, I promise, it gets better! 

Helpful Links

Here are some recipes and helpful links that I’ve found in my short-thus-far journey into the ketogenic diet: 

Keto Macro Calculator

Keto Deviled Eggs

Keto Chicken Salad

Keto Cookie Dough Fat Bombs

Keto Me This (My keto board on Pinterest)

One More Thing ... 

One of the other things I’m trying to do better is posting on this blog! I have a posting schedule for now through the end of March, so we will see how that goes. 

Tuesdays will be reserved for a “series” a month -- in January’s case, the first four weeks of my Keto diet. Thursday will be something different every week; yes, you might actually get Con Tips - Part Two this week! 

What was your New Year’s Resolution? How’s it been going?

Hi! I’m Cailene and I’ll be your Tuesday blogger! 

I run MonsterHighHeadcanons and here’s a link to my main blog! 

I’m 20 years old, majoring in Art, and I collect MH dolls and G3 MLPs. My major EAH ship is Raven/Apple, and I plan on making gifs for this blog too! My favorite EAH character is probably Cupid, because my favorite color is pink and I already love Monster High! 

If you have any questions for me, you can send them to this blog under my name (Cailene) or just ‘Tuesday’ would be fine! I look forward to bringing you lots of Ever After High goodness to brighten up your Tuesdays! You can find my post under the tags “#Tuesday posts” or “#Cailene’s posts.”