My carb count has been off pretty much this whole week.
My father’s Teamsters local holds a holiday lunch for retirees every year. He can bring one guest; this was my sister’s year but she bailed and I went instead. You place your order of either fish, beef or chicken in advance. She had ordered chicken so that’s what I had. The salads, desserts (cheesecake and assorted cookies), iced tea and water are already on the table when you arrive and the meal is brought out later.
This week, I have been eating whole avocados, mainly so that they don’t go bad, but I have since learned that they actually contain more carbs than I thought. (Update: I learned about this “dinosaur egg avocado hack” from Margaret Drisi to keep avocados fresher longer.)
Speaking of more carbs than I thought, I had to take my car in to the repair shop and I went to Panera to pass the time. I thought I was making good choices from their You Pick Two menu. You get half portions of two items, from soups and mac, sandwiches, or salad.
I selected the Green Goddess Cobb Salad with Chicken and the broccoli cheddar soup. I later realized that the salad has 12 gm carbs (I swapped out the green goddess dressing for Chile Lime Rojo Ranch, which upped my carb count by 1-2 grams). The soup contained a whopping 19 gm carbs.
At any rate, I consumed somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-32 grams with what I thought was a low carb option. Lower, maybe; definitely not keto. I have to remember to research the nutritional information in advance.
I hadn’t yet figured out my with carb counting mistake when, two days later, I went to a movie with my sister. I had a snack of pepperoni, cheddar cheese and almonds beforehand. After the movie, we went back to Panera and I ordered the exact same thing. At least both times I gave away the chips that come with the meal.
I ate a LOT on Saturday. Trying to mix things up a bit, I guess. Calories aren’t supposed to matter with keto. But I had already unknowingly jumped off the keto train, so this day of refeeding probably wiped out whatever advances I might have made by fasting the day before.
Note: When I mention a loaded salad, it just means I added in everything but the kitchen sink. Usually cheese, nuts, olives, sauerkraut (on the side), and whatever low carb vegetable I have on hand. And heavy on the ranch dressing.
December 8-14, 2019: Daily Meal Diet Diary
| Date | What I Ate | Photo |
| 12/8 | OMAD – pan-fried turnips, ground beef with onions, spinach gratin, salad, avocado, mousse w/ walnuts, wine |  |
| 12/9 | Easy taco pie, pico de gallo, steamed spinach, salad, avocado, mousse w/ walnuts |  |
| 12/10 | FASTING | FASTING |
| 12/11 | At Teamsters’ luncheon: Stuffed chicken, salad with Italian dressing, iced tea with Splenda, roasted potatoes, crunchy vegetables, two small cookiesDinner was leftover easy taco pie, pico de gallo, salad, mousse w/ walnuts, iced tea |
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| 12/12 | At Panera: Cobb salad, broccoli cheese soup, coffee w/ half & half and SplendaChicken thighs, fried turnips, salad w/ bleu cheese, pico de gallo and sour cream, walnuts, wine |
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| 12/13 | FASTING | FASTING |
| 12/14 | Snack – pepperoni, cheddar cheese slices, almonds
At Panera: Roasted chicken thigh, loaded salad, cheese, almonds, wine |
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