Push for Christmas 4 week challenge starting November 6th and ending 4th December? Then 4 week challenge through Christmas & New Year I will certainly need to plan in depth to succeed

Hi, Of late the threads have focused on a one week and a road trip up to Christmas challenge. I like breaking my targets into 4 week chunks, so would like to join another zoom thread, am glad you set it up.

My target for the next 4 weeks is to research and buy a breath analyser, and then use it to monitor if I am in ketosis over the next 4 weeks. – My aim being to understand where to set my daily carb targets.

The second aim for the next 4 weeks is to be able to zip up the dress I fell in love with that would be ideal for going to a “posh” Christmas event. – — If I achieve that, then I will look for a posh Christmas event to go to. 🙂

Hi JGwen
I am intrigued about the different blood glucose / keto measuring tools available as I just have the Ketostix .I understand the readings can be unreliable particularly after a few weeks low carb when the urine does not show ketone presence.

Let me know how you get on with the breath analyser. Did you rule out the KetoMojo blood analysis type devices ? My understanding is the devices are reasonably priced but the testing strips end up expensive. It also means pricking your finger all the time ! Finding our carb levels seems to be a case of trial and error and it would be useful to have some way of measuring ketones.

Good luck with the dress ! I am sure that with your tenacity and determination you will zip it up in time for Christmas ! I am staying focused up until Christmas ( and beyond I hope) You can’t get bargain tins of Roses or Celebrtions in France but Christmas and New Year is a mega gastronomic bonanza here !!!
Good luck everyone ! xx

Wendy, one of the true pleasures of being apart of this community takes place around Christmas, when
we have an opportunity to share multi cultural traditions. I’m looking forward to hearing about “how
it’s done” in France 🙂 I’m thinking cooked goose, but I may be way off?

OMG Allie goose is only part of the picture ! Think giant platters of lobster, prawns ( langoustines), crab, oysters , monkfish…..Think turkey or huge ‘chapons’ , goose and duck with foie gras , slinky pâtés and smoked salmon. Think duck breasts ( magret) with piles of roast potatoes in duck fat and glorious ceps and girolle mushrooms, salad with ‘gésiers’ ..pieces of duck gizzards ! Think ice cream yule logs called ‘bûches’ ..and I haven’t mentioned the aperitif snacks and numerous wines and champagnes !

Fortunately we don’t eat all that !! We will probably get a farm turkey and have lots of veg !!!
I don’t eat foie gras . OH will indulge in anything going though !! We have an invite to a meal on the 24th which is the sea food fest but OH and I will be celebrating alone on the 25th. My boys will be on a beach somewhere 😉

Welcome JGwen, Wendleg & Allicat
Thanks for joining me on this journey day 1 and hopefully we have all had a positive start. JGwen will be very interested in your ketosis breath analysers research. The dress is a good plan I sadly don’t get on with measuring to hit & miss but put on a pair of tight trousers or dress you can feel & see it. Start booking your posh do Now, you shall go to the ball xx
I would love to quiz you all about simple go to meals. I don’t know when to trust the book and the App is my issue. I don’t seem to get on with it. Constantly I fail to complete the meal on the app or to save the recipe so I do it all on paper so others preplanned meals is a great help.
Wendleg l also use ketosix reading your Christmas food list in France – that Christmas and New year sorted haha I guess that is how we all ended up here!!
Allicat thanks for dropping by as I am aware how much information you have to offer.
I have not focused enough on carbs in the past.
So this is my focus this week.
Good eating comes down to great planning ladies xx

Hi Wendleg,
I have gone round and round in circles when trying to work out if I should be taking ketones measurements and if so the best way of monitoring them. The KetoMojo is only available in the US, the manufacturers will not ship to other countries, and as you say the down sides to using blood monitoring is the cost of strips and sore fingers.
I did come to the conclusion a few weeks ago, that I was going to do what it takes to get to my final target size and then buy a breath monitor to try to work out what impact each food item has on me as part of working out a plan for maintenance. – My reasoning being that as part of the process of reaching my final target I will have hopefully improved my insulin sensitivity, so I would be able to cope with more than 20g of carbs by that point.
Then today I thought about how much fun (OK, I confess, gathering data is fun for me) it would be to compare my carb sensitivity now to when I reach my targets. So I decided to buy the breath monitor that is available in the UK, and said so on the forum. – This video describes the history of the main breath tester, and an example of the benefits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjXyfr1uy_I&ab_channel=LowCarbDownUnder

When I went online to look at the latest reviews, I came across this article which suggests that measuring blood ketones is not as useful as measuring ketosis in your breath. https://ketogains.com/2017/08/stopped-testing-ketones-ketogenic-diet/

I was undecided between buying one of the very cheap breathalysers from amazon, apparently the cheap testers, (not those that are of the type used by the police before anyone starts to worry, ) can be used to test for ketosis. Apparently the technique for getting a reading is the same for either unit. http://fellrnr.com/wiki/Breath_Acetone_Meters is about the 5th article I have read where people say they are getting equally consistent readings from a cheap tester. – So I have ordered one of the cheap testers today. – Apparently its 2 to 3 weeks delivery time, so it will be a while before I can report on the outcome.

My main range of meals have been limited, it is something I need to work on. I am a vegi, so combinations of – egg based dishes. – Scrambled egg sometimes with melted cheese for breakfast, or an omelet or Spanish omelet. Then there is hummus and radishes or celery. Stir fried veg with fried bean curd. Veg cooked in butter. Cauliflower or Aubergine cooked with cheese melted over it. Baked cheese.
I used fatsecret app, I found it quite easy to use the search option to find ingredients, and there is a recently used option that you can scroll through.
I must admit that having got into the swing of this way of eating after about 8 months I stopped logging what I had eaten.

Your spectacular results speak for themselves, JGwen! There is no path but forward for you, and we’re
all priveledged to share your vegetarian journey. When you achieve your goal, a seismic boom will be
heard around the world. I’m happy to be part of it 🙂

Morning fellow travelers
I wasn’t going to weigh daily but sadly that habitual yearning for a sign of success has got the better of me! Today it is good news -1lb and that prompted me to look at my statics over my journey and what a sad, although partly positive experience this has been
1st April 2016,15.4lbs
1st Nov 2018, 12.10 Looks positive but 2016 was a good year all downward until records stop in October!! (I was on my version of Newcastle )
March the results return +27lbs
2017 March -19lbs after winter hibination
Then up & down by all within 5lbs till November +6!! Birthday & wedding anniversary fall in October and school half term?
Perhaps not surprisingly winter and no weights recorded again till March & a whopping +15lbs
I think I spot a pattern!!
Positive 2018 all down then small + – 4 October loose the plot but this year November I am here!! That was really useful for me hope it helps someone else
I had thought it was all mainly a trend down but March 2018 was nearly back where I started but then the graph looks more positive.
Sorry doing this as I am trying so probably need to stop as very self indulgent, but enlightening to me. Have a good day everyone sorry again x

I hate to post this as I truly know how we all feel when we have tried so hard, done it all right sacrificed things we would love to eat and the end of the week those weight assessment machines lie to us and pluck a stupid number out of the sky!
This week I am lucky it has plucked a nice number -4 but Sunday I had gone back up to -1 so really can’t hinge too much on that but trousers feel looser, sleeping mildly better, blood sugar results are finally within normal although I would prefer to be in the lower part of normal. I am probably not eating enough and have reintroduce my teeth brushing squats & my plank before bed.
I have also started taking probiotics a tablet boots travel, & the powder that MM recommended. As I had read somewhere that those of us inclined to be overweight don’t have the right gut bacteria so thought worth a go as surely can’t harm.
I am in ketosis according to my wee sticks but could do with some help balancing my protein fats & carbs as I think when I cut carb I eat too much protein. What should the ratios be? I have seen many discussions but when I searched I couldn’t find them.
I am getting better with the app but managed to loose my soup recipe yesterday because I forgot the garlic and then lost it all!!
I still have another 2.5 stone to loose so expect it to be a little easier but those closer to there goals or who haven’t had the results they deserve this week keep going we know it will work. Dx

We all seem to be on the other post so will just put here +2.25 this week still positive for the 4 week journey but not good for my lowest point since I started. Still aiming for 11.13 but will have to have 2 amazing weeks second best will be 12.3 which is still-4 so I must keeeeep dieting!!!