Empyrean Engine

I am under 370 lbs today! Wee! This is the lightest I have been yet since starting this weight-loss journey. The weight is coming off fairly fast. That's a total of 17.6 lbs since i began on April 12th, 2018. 17.6 lbs in 19 days! That's a rate of about .87 lbs per day. I'm sure that will slow down, but I hope it doesn't slow down too soon. I'd like to meet that short-term goal of getting into the 350s as soon as I possibly can. Starting weight:  401 lbs Current weight:  368.6  lbs   ⇩ Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  359 lbs So now it's just 223.4 lbs to go to achieve my ultimate goal of weighing 145 lbs. i wonder if this is even possible sometimes. I'll take it one day at a time, one pound at a time, and hope for the best. It's going swimmingly so far. I'm really, really happy. Did I mention how happy I am and how much energy I have on this Keto diet? My word! This is amazing. i found another good doctor on the YouTube who dis

Today I am at a much lower weight than I was yesterday. Yay! Although I'm having a bit of a struggle with constipation, I'm still losing the pounds, so I'm happy. I feel uncomfortable, so I will have to explore my options. I have been watching videos on the issue all day, and there are a few things that could be causing this. Starting weight:  415 lbs Current weight:  370.4  lbs   ⇩     Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  359 lbs I have been getting really sleepy at the end of my day for the past couple of days. I may be missing something in my nutrients, but I'm not sure what. I'm still drinking plenty of electrolytes in the form of my "electrolyte juice" in my ironic pineapple (so named because it is blue, the contents do not taste of pineapple, and I can no longer eat pineapple.) I also have had a bit of a struggle with fatigue. Trying to lift my arms over my head to change clothes, for example, has been exhausting. I think I may have a

Slight up-blip today, but it's not too big of one. With that huge drop to 371 lbs, I expected it. I'm only up by .2 lbs, and that's still a victory. It didn't skyrocket. So I still consider this a victory. I'm having a bit of trouble with the porcelain fairy. She and I are not on speaking terms at the moment. I'm sure that once we patch things up, I'll drop again. I can't wait to be in the 360s. I still can't believe I'm this far under 400 lbs. Starting weight:  415 lbs Current weight:  371.2  lbs  ⇧   Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  359 lb I had tilapia filets and a large salad with an amazing avocado dressing I created and two fried eggs. I love the food I'm able to eat. I don't miss carbs in the slightest. This is so amazing. I have been buzzing with energy during my fasting periods. At work, I'm super focused. I am making fewer typos, and I'm not sure whether to attribute that to improved mental acuity or t

Victory is mine! Hi! I'm back from vacation, and I'm elated! This Keto diet has given me so much energy. We got back into town on the night of the 25th. It was my weekend, and I really only write this blog while I'm in the office -- on a break -- so I didn't write anything for the past couple of days. But I have seen so much progress on the scale! I can't believe it. Starting weight:  401 lbs Current weight:  371  lbs   ⇩ Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  379 lbs On Day 7, I was at 382.4 lbs. Today, 371 lbs! While on vacation, I lost 5 lbs. Then over the past couple of days, I dropped another 5.4 lbs. All-in-all from the date I started Keto + IF, I have lost a total of 15 lbs. That's insane. It's only been 16 days! This is amazing. Now, I need to not get too excited or expect too much. This may all be water weight. That's what others in the forum have said. We will see how it goes from here. I made a few changes to the plan while I

This is Day 7, and I have one more salad to eat after work this morning. My husband will pack it in the cooler when he comes to pick me up from work, and we are starting our road trip from here. I'll have to eat that giant salad directly from the gallon-sized zippy while in the car. I can do that. No problem. I won't be able to weigh in for the next week, though. I may not even be able to blog. I'll try. Starting weight:  415 lbs Current weight:  379.6  lbs  ⇧   Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  359 lb I have a slight up-blip, but I chalk that up to things like a bit of constipation and maybe lean-muscle building. I'm not going to panic. I'm still in the 379-lb zone. I'm good. I love how I feel when I know I'm being successful. I get tummy-flies. That's what I call the feeling of butterflies in the stomach. I am super excited. Also, I am really energized every day now. I actually feel like exercising. I have never felt like exercising w

I did it! I hit the 379-lb goal that I set for myself before leaving on vacation! I can't believe it. It was such a short time. I have lost a total of 6.8 lbs since starting Keto + IF. And more specifically, I'm doing OMAD IF. This is One Meal A Day Intermittent Fasting. That's a new term I learned. There's all sorts of sites and vids that extol the virtues of this type of diet. More importantly, there's plenty of research that makes me feel great about trying it for myself! Starting weight:  401 lbs Current weight:  379.2  lbs  ⇩  Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  359 lbs I'm astonished that this is working to be quite honest. I mean, it all makes sense to me why it is working, but I have been trying so hard for so long to see any progress in weight loss, that I just about gave it all up as a lost cause. I have often thought to myself how I am simply destined to be fat for my entire life and will most probably die an early death because of it. H

So fat is not the villain, and fat is not what makes us fat. We have been lied to, people! I have heard about this before. It's not new to me. It's taken some convincing, though, because of all the brainwashing I've been through since I was little. The real demon is carbs and sugar. And I think back at how I was eating as a child, and it was all just carbs, carbs, carbs, and more carbs! It was cheap, and everyone thought it was healthy. And now I realize that this is why I started by weight-gain journey from the age of 9 on. I've been packing on pounds and unable to lose any of them for any length of time. Now I know the truth, and I'm sad that I didn't know this sooner. Starting weight:  401 lbs Current weight:  382.4  lbs     Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  379 lbs There hasn't been any change in my weight from yesterday to today. That's fine. I'm not too worried about it. I haven't been able to make a good bowel movement

Day 4 and still going strong! It's so nice having already prepared my meals for the week. I just grab a bag, toss it with dressing in a bowl, and I'm off to the races. I cook a meat every day to feed my hubs. I had corned beef on Day 0 and Day 1. That was very satisfying. And for the past two days I have had some taco-seasoned ground beef. So yummy! Starting weight:  401 lbs Current weight:  382.4  lbs  ⇩  Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  379 lbs I haven't lost much from yesterday to today. that's fine. It's still headed in the right direction. I know I won't lose a pound daily. There are such things as plateaus. I was looking at the last post I made before the dreaded Thanksgiving of 2017, and I was at 374 lbs. I'm less than 10 lbs from that weight, and I feel confident I can get there soon. I'm hoping it will happen in the next few days, but I need to be realistic. My goal is still to be at or under 379 lbs by the time we leave for o

Well, it's Day 3 of this new Keto + IF  life. I'm feeling super energetic. I'm not feeling too, too hungry at all. I have had a bit of a "hangry" issue, though. I blew up a bit at some of my co-workers. I regret that. I have been feeling hungry, but it's not ravenous hunger. I'm able to ignore it. I also drink coffee or electrolyte water, and I'm good to go. I just have to remember to be more cognizant of my mood and circumspect regarding how I react to things. Starting weight:  401 lbs Current weight:  382.8  lbs  ⇩  Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  379 lbs I'm down more than a pound from yesterday. I'm still eating that giant salad. Dr. Berg says that this is likely water weight, but I'm not so sure. I did notice that my feet are much thinner these past couple of days, so he may be right. I'm in detox trying to rid my body of carbs. It should take 24 to 48 hours to get them out of me, and I'm on Day 3. I'm a

I've been taking in as many of Dr. Berg's YouTube videos as I can. I watch them on 2X speed to make sure I have time to view all the videos I want to view. I like getting my knowledge fast and all at once! That's kind of like how I'm getting my daily calories these days. Heh. Starting weight:  401 lbs Current weight:  384  lbs  ⇩  Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  379 lbs There is something called the "Keto flu." This is when you suffer all manner of terrible things from sleepiness to grouchiness, and from muscle aches to headaches and diarrhea. It sounds really unpleasant. As I learned from Dr. Berg's videos, though, if I keep up my electrolytes and potassium, I can avoid this. The ginormous salad is helping with the potassium, and I have found Propel electrolyte drink powder. I'm drinking that at work and during my meals. It doesn't appear to have any sugar in it. It's 0 calories and 0 carbs/sugars. After 3 days of eating th

This is Day 1 of my new Keto + Intermittent Fasting life. This is not a diet. It's a permanent change. Now, I don't plan to continue with the exact same diet in terms of food for the rest of my life. This is for weight loss. I may tweak it some as I go. When I get to maintenance, I plan to eat more like how Dr. Berg does. He is on a 2-meal-a-day schedule, and he varies what he eats. Starting weight:  401 lbs Current weight:  385  lbs  ⇩  Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  379 lbs So far, so good. I was able to easily go an entire 24-hour period without eating or being too tempted to buy something to munch on at work. I did feel hungry. I got hunger pangs around 10:00 PM and 2:00 AM as those would be the normal times I would eat something. I'd eat my lunch around 10:00 PM, and then grab a snack from the vending machines around 2:00 AM. I didn't do that.  I made it all the way to 6:30 AM! Yay! I have prepared all of my salads for the week -- 7 days

Hey readers! Remember me? You may be wondering what happened. Essentially I gave up. Here's the story: About a day before Thanksgiving last year, a friend of my husband needed a place to stay. As I may or may not have mentioned, we live in a tiny 500-square foot apartment. It's a one-bedroom. As you may imagine, a house guest is quite a burden. To further complicate matters, I was in the process of cleaning the apartment i preparation for Thanksgiving. We gave him our bedroom, as my husband and I had been sleeping in our respective recliners in the living room. That wasn't a difficult sacrifice to make, but to add to the complication of the burden and stress of having a house guest, the reason he needed a room is because he could no longer afford to live in his apartment as a roommate. So we took on providing a roof and food for this guest. Because we are in a good place financially partially because we have a tiny apartment and live modestly, we were fine helping thi