Category: Weight/Exercise

I was having a bit of a woe-is-me type of day yesterday (I’ve been like this the past few days and it could be a few things: Shark Week coming up, not working out since last Thursday after doing so well, probably not fitting into my new bathing suit like I would have liked, and devouring 2 chocolate mug cakes in the span of a week and feeling guilt for it–someone has to taste-test the recipe! 🙄 ), AND it seemed like everything was going wrong regarding everything else in life, so I referred back to a few of my recent Instagram photos and posts on the blog to remind me that no matter how minuscule, I *have* been making progress with Keto, at least.

Weight

I weighed myself this morning on that horror of a scale and it read: 117.4 Which means that I’ve held steady, even though it *had* gone down to 115-116. And I need to realize that maintaining is GOOD. One of my main goals was to go under 119, which I hadn’t been able to do with exercising alone in about 4 years, and I have! So that’s a feat in itself!

It’s incredible how body dismorphia and anxiety always seem to creep their evil little heads out, no matter how well you’re doing. I hate it. They’ve been messing with me, like I said, and I need to kick them in the teeth!

Hair

In one of my posts in May I mentioned that I was in desperate need of a hair cut/style. Well, I finally made it out there (to Jorge’s relief 😆 ) and got it done with a new stylist! I never stray from my usual stylist because she’s the ONLY person who hasn’t screwed up my hair. Well, she was either nrver open, or had too many people ahead of me. My new girl is Marcy and her salon is Curl Up and Dye! I love the decor and the owner is just the sweetest and the best!

She made my hair feel so soft and smell so good!! Now, if I could just get my darn hair from FALLING OUT IN CLUMPS, that would be magical…

Work Outs, Goals & Acne

I’d mentioned that I never had time to work out, but for about 2-3 weeks I actually WAS working out. At…10:00pm or 10:30pm so I wouldn’t end my workouts till almost midnight! My energy levels were at an all-time high, thanks to Keto, but by the end of last week, I couldn’t get out of bed for my morning run on Saturday. It was really disappointing. Then I started helping Jorge out with some of his work, so there went the extra time to work out because by the time we got home, I was exhausted! Then on Sunday, I helped Jorge again and got home and got straight to doing laundry. It never ends!!

Plus, it’s been so dreadfully hot that even cleansing my face and wiping my sweat with a towel instead of the back of my hand caused me to get pimples (including a terrible cyst on my chin!!)! I was so upset–after going through Shark Week last month with very, very minimal new acne, something that I felt was making me feel (and look) so much better (P90X) was causing me grief!! I just can’t win! (Acne deserves a whole post of it’s own!) So, what I think I’m going to do is start working out inside the house, in the living room, instead of in the garage. Although, I will still have to do some exercises in the garage…like the chin-up bars/bands. Bleh!

My ultimate goal for working out was my new bathing suit Jorge bought me. I took “before” photos, and although I didn’t look too “bad,” I still needed to tone up a few areas (saddlebag area, belly, arms, back–the usual). But, since I haven’t worked out this week, I’m going to have to quit beating myself up and buy a cute cover-up. It’s not like it didn’t fit, and I am trying my best: simple as that!

Breakfast – Or Bulletproof Coffee

Staying up late and snoozing in the morning isn’t helping my situation. Well, maybe it is, since I’m sort of doing accidental “fasts.” I’m usually rushing out the door in the mornings so I decided to start making myself some Bulletproof Coffee, or Butter Coffee. I only tried BPC once back in 2013 when I’d first done Keto, and was just too put off by butter in my coffee that I didn’t continue making it. But I’ve done my research this time around (just Google “bulletproof coffee”). I don’t purchase anything from bulletproof.com, nor do I use MCT oil or coconut oil in my coffee (just yet; I’m thinking of using my organic coconut oil and I’d like to purchase collagen in the future, especially for the hair-falling-out-in-clumps problem) and I don’t purchase any newfangled accessories for my coffee in the shape of drops, Ketone powders or anything at all (way too expensive and pointless if you ask me! I haven’t really come by anyone who’s said “it’s life-changing!”). My recipe is pretty simple:

2 tbls. butter
1 tbls. heavy whipping cream (I love the creaminess!)
1.5 – 2 tbls. of syrup (either the Jordan S’mores or Torani Caramel)
And a 10oz.-12oz. K-cup of hot coffee

I toss everything into my Magic Bullet, blend and voila! A frothy, latte-like concoction that keeps me full till lunchtime! I have done the alternative: cinnamon and Stevia, but I much prefer the way I mention above.

Gramma’s Health

I worry about my Gramma a lot these days. Part of the reason my days run late is because I try my hardest to make it out to see her every day after work, especially after her episode with Bell’s Palsy and then later on the strange, irrational fear that she had daily. Well, it turns out the almost-hallucinating type fear of falling was due to a UTI. 2nd time that happens, you’d think we’d all figure it out, including her doctors 🙄 . I’m just glad she’s feeling more peace and that she’s getting the correct medications. It’s such a relief!

Lactose Intolerance

I mentioned back in my post Going Keto…Again that I was wary of Keto due to the “diet” including lots of cheese and dairy, and that I feared for my lactose intolerance problem getting worse. But after being “Keto” for over 3 months I can honestly say I think my lactose intolerance has been reversed, even when consuming large amounts of cheese, heavy whipping cream and the occasional Enlightened bar or Halo Top Ice Cream! Gone are the days of painful bloat all through the night due to having cheese on my burger or having a serving of ice cream. Keto’s been a God-send!

I’m anxious about my yearly exams next month! That means I get to do my cholesterol panel, and I’m really curious to know how it reads this time around. Keeping my fingers crossed that all is well and I don’t have to rely on genetics to determine my future.

There. Read it all back and I feel better already. Since I started this post, things have looked up in all areas. Just got to get the ball of positivity rolling yourself, I guess!

My poor, neglected blog! What can I say; I can barely find time to breathe. –Alright, so that’s a bit melodramatic, but it’s close to true!

I can honestly say I’ve been 100% dedicated to Keto and spend a lot of time cooking and grocery shopping (the BAIN of my existence), or reading (the same darn book “Eat Fat, Get Thin” by Dr. Mark Hyman, for a month, because: TIME), or spending time with the kids or helping Jorge with projects or you know: working or sleeping 🙄 . The usual. I’ve had little to no time to work out because I’m usually EXHAUSTED. And obviously, no time to blog 😕 .

I also recently bought some new succulents. I have to admit that I’ve been terrible at taking care of my outdoor ones 😕 . Some died!! ONLY I would kill a cactus!!

I hope I can keep them alive 🙁 !

Anyway, my days usually go something like this:

– Wake up around 6:00am or 6:30am. Snooze the alarm till 7:00am. IF I’ve already showered the night before. Otherwise I’m S.O.L. and HAVE to get up by at least 6:30am, whether I like it or not.
– Start finding clothes to wear and fight with my hair. It’s the longest it’s ever been and sometimes doesn’t cooperate when I’m going with my natural curl. (I don’t have time, nor can I justify spending $35 on my cut when I’ve got bills to pay and groceries to buy. #momprobs)
– Put my charger and phone in my bag. Go to the kitchen and make either 90-Second Bread or microwaved bacon and boiled eggs…and that’s about it 😆 ! Those are the fastest things to make, even though it usually makes me later to work! Also: make my HWC coffee with Torani Sugar Free syrups. I recently tried Bulletproof Coffee for the first time this round of Keto and it was pretty good, but my coffee itself was a really strong one, so I didnt enjoy it as much as I could have.

– Anyway. I then throw all of my breakfast items into a bag, remember to take my supplements or pack some to take to work (Magnesium/Calcium/Zinc and Potassium), then I scrounge for whatever’s in the fridge that I can take to lunch. I’ve cut down on eating out A LOT and try to make enough dinner to take as leftovers the next day. Otherwise, I’ll throw whatever’s on hand together (today for example is a spinach salad with leftover meat from Taco Tuesday, sliced almonds, queso fresco, and bacon pieces.)
– Grab the rest of my bags, kiss the kiddos if any of them are awake (today, 3 of the 5 that are with us this week were awake. Jorgie and Justin are still at their Grandma Dina’s in Austin), then I get all my shit in the car and begin doing my make-up while listening to John Jay and Rich.
-Run back inside because I forgot something.
-Back in the car, do my makeup on the way to work (at stop lights and stop signs, I’m not irresponsible!)
– Get to work (already about 30-40 minutes late), say hi to my peeps, and come upstairs. I unload all my bags, get situated with my coffee and breakfast and take photos of my food for my Keto Instagram.
Confession: Part of ignoring my blog is because I spend A LOT of time on that IG. Even my Snapchat, personal IG and Facebook are suffering. 😆 I keed, I keed. But really, I’m posting more on my Keto IG than anywhere else.
– Spend the morning catching up on things at work, usually e-mails, or doing some type of artwork for something, or shopping somewhere or uploading stuff to Facebook for work, or turning in bills, or getting signatures, or updating some file. Sounds easy enough, but then there’s phone calls and visits and tons of other shit that gets in the way. This is right now during summer. Later, when my events start, I’ll shrivel up and die from stress and sadness. Because of all this, I usually take my lunch around 1:00pm instead of noon 🙄 .
– Luckily, I’m usually not hungry till that time anyway (yay, Keto!), so it’s ok. I get my lunch together and snap some photos of it, eat really quickly because someone calls me downstairs, and finish up my work day, usually repeating the aforementioned.
– Get out of work and go straight to Gramma’s. She’d been doing a lot better after her Bell’s Palsy episode, but now she’s been overcome by anxiety in the strangest way. She keeps saying she’s scared and nervous that she’ll fall off the bed, to the point that she told us she was hysterically screaming and couldn’t control herself, which is very unlike her. She seemed confused about it and even asked me, “Why was that happening?” when I was with her yesterday. It makes me sad that she feels that way 🙁 . So I’m trying my hardest to see her everyday after work, just to calm her, even if the commute is sort of annoying due to all the construction on the expressway.
– Leave Gramma’s around 6:30pm and usually head to HEB or Walmart because we ran out of SOMETHING I didn’t get the day before 😡 .
– If I’ve shopped, I’m heading home around 7:30pm, never fails.
– Get home and change into work out clothes–though it’s usually all for show because I NEVER GET TO WORK OUT.
– Then I watch some show in the kitchen with a few of the kids (“My 600 Lb. Life”, “Catfish”, “Fixer Upper”, etc.), defrost/cook usually 2 separate meals (Keto & non-Keto for the kids–although sometimes they’ll eat our Keto meals, like cheeseburger casserole or loaded cauliflower casserole) and it’s probably about 8:30pm to 9:30pm before we all sit down to eat. Hubs arrives from work around this time 🙁 .
– Then, all the kiddos settle down and play their video games, YouTube Games or torture the cats with love and Jorge and I try and spend at least 1 hour together, on the couch, watching a show (currently, it’s “La Reyna del Sur”). OR, if the kids want to get in the swimming pool, I get to clean said pool with the sifter because we have a beautiful bastard of a bamboo tree that likes to shed all over the place 😡 . So this is probably ending around 10:00pm.
– Then, if it’s early enough, Jorge and I will catch another episode. THEN, at whatever unGodly time it is, I shower and do my nightly routine (brush teeth, mouth guard (so sexy), wash face, exfoliate if necessary, rub tea tree oil all over my face, dab Benzaclin on any existing zits (even sexier). Take my probiotic and sleep.

So there you have it. I’m sure I’ve missed some things (you know, bathroom breaks and whatnot, or detangling a child’s hair, or hugs and snuggles with the kids or cats), but that’s my day in a nutshell.

BUT YESTERDAY!! Jorge got home while I was sifting the pool for the kids and he got in to finish sifting and I found the perfect opportunity to escape and work out! Jaylen was out there with me. We did P90X Arms and Shoulders and Ab Ripper–and I freaking survived!! I did the entire hour and 15 minutes of the work out. I couldn’t make it through back when I did it in December (that was the last time I worked out hard, not just running/walking).

I’m at Gramma’s now with Mom. The kiddos left for the week with Mario 😥 . Hoping to make dinner and work out. Or work out first, then dinner. We’ll see.

[Later on:] Ended up doing 30 minutes of Yoga! Woo! My body feels like it’s been hit by a truck!

I’ll leave you with a few of my most recent Keto meals and my 1-month progress pic. 

I started Keto again April 30, 2017. I’m holding steady at 117 lbs, but I’d like to make it to 110 (I’m only 4’11”, calm down). Which is why I’d like to stick with P90X and not just running once or twice a week. This was probably the more “dramatic” change. Another is being able to wear my favorite shorts again, 1) because they fit, and 2) because the cellulite on my thighs has almost completely disappeared!!

I’ll try to keep up with the blog! Have several recipes to add!

We had a pretty low-key Mother’s Day. It wasn’t our weekend with the kids 🙁 , which sucks, since we’ve had them pretty much every Mother’s Day so far 🙁 .

Jorge and I started our weekend on Friday with a quick jog at the park. We talked about dehydrators during the day and decided “why not?” and took our sweaty selves to Walmart on the way home to purchase a pretty well reviewed and cheap dehydrator. We made some badass beef jerky!

Jorge took the next day off since he had a bad cold, but he took me to breakfast at a restaurant buffet, Los 4 Compadres, he’d been going to. Although they had a beautiful spread of fruit, but since I was just starting Ketp again, I opted for the fattier things to coincide with the diet.

To be honest, the bacon was too fried and tasted weird :(. Anyway, we got home and John gave us a surprise visit! Hadn’t seen my bro since…I can’t even remember! He came bearing gifts for Mom and me, including some cashola for my birthday and Mother’s Day, and some for Mom for Mother’s Day as well, which was a great surprise!

Then he treated us to Mooyah Burgers. I had the Ice Burger, of course.

We chit-chatted and caught up on tons of stuff. It was great hanging out with him. Felt like the old days when we’d go everywhere together and eat Kumori on the way, heh. 🙁

On the way to visit Gramma, I stopped by 5 Below and got a few work out thingies (an ab wheel and 2nd yoga mat), including some cute shorts.

We visited Gramma, then picked up Jorge at home. Mario was nice enough to share the kiddos with me on Saturday evening to celebrate Mother’s Day. My poor Emmos had gotten a cold that had creeped up on her pretty fast, and Mary took her to the night clinic with a fever 🙁 . Mary did us the favor of dropping the kids off at Cracker Barrel after the appointment, where we would be having our early Mother’s Day dinner. There, I gave Eenan his invitation to a luncheon for a scholarship he is receiving from my workplace’s education program 😀 ! To say I’m grateful is an understatement!

I knew it would be a little tough to figure out a Keto-friendly entree at Cracker Barrel, but I think I did alright.

And then the hubs ordered me one of my favorite desserts there…the Coca-Cola Cake with vanilla ice cream 😯 . My brain told me, “Eat only 1 spoonful,” but I got about 3 spoonfuls instead 😳 and shared the rest with the kiddos. Old Me would have eaten the entire thing (and boy, how I wanted to!).

The kiddos looked around in the shop after we ate and then we got home and relaxed, watching “Stitch Has a Glitch” and playing checkers <3. And Jorge and the kiddos gave me my gifts! 

Such a great night, indeed.

Jorge woke up feeling even worse the next day, and though he usually goes all out on Mother’s Day morning, I couldn’t hold it against him since he felt so miserable. So Mom, Emily and I headed to the market to pick up some barbacoa and menudo–both of which pair very well with our diet!

I dropped the kiddos off a few hours after we had breakfast with their dad 🙁 . Love those babies of mine!

We got a few gifts for Gramma on the way, including some pants (her pants always go missing 😡 !), flowers and balloons and stopped to visit her for a while. All-in-all, it was a great Mother’s Day, even though we didn’t have all the kids all together 😕 . Very blessed that my Gramma is doing so much better!