Uncertain times has to be one of the most uses phrases in recent months. And with good reason.
Like many others, I have had to limit my exposure to the current events.* I have been working hard to strike a balance between staying informed and making sure that my mental health is not negatively affected.
While I don’t always feel stressed, and I check my actual thoughts, I recognize the effects of my stress. For starters, I have been ravenous.
I am not weighing myself and I am not monitoring my blood glucose. I don’t know for sure if I have gained weight. I just know that I am definitely not losing. My clothes fit pretty much the same, although when I look in the mirror, my stomach seems bigger.
During both my procedures last week (see previous posts for details), my vitals were taken and it seems that my blood pressure has crept up to “elevated” status.
Somehow, I managed to remain keto this week. Even with dietary restrictions.
After the cyst excision, only alcohol was restricted but, for three days before the colonoscopy, I couldn’t eat nuts, salad or other vegetables. So, Sunday and Monday’s meals were keto by default.
And you have to fast the day before a colonoscopy. I know they say to refrigerate the prep solution, and they give you that flavor packet, but I already knew from experience that I could get it down much more easily if I drank it lukewarm and skipped the flavoring.
As an aside, my instructions were to drink half of the solution the day before and half the morning of, finishing two hours before the procedure.
I drank 3/4 the night before and finished in the morning. I got showered and dressed before I started and as soon as I finished I left the house and went to two stores! It was risky, but I just let the gas pains subside on their own and I made no sudden moves. I got back home and, well, let’s just say the timing was perfect.
Thankfully, the results were clean. I waited a couple of hours after I returned home and then ate a good meal. I even had a lite snack later in the evening.
Unfortunately, I went overboard with the nuts and wine (again) this week, and I didn’t exercise other than a bike ride on Monday. With the exception of 1/2 serving of grits on Friday, pretty much everything else I ate was low carb. Massive quantities, but low carb.
I am taking the next several days to tweak my regimen. What I’m doing is not enough to combat the lethargy I’m feeling.
Something’s got to give.
*In case you come upon this post in the year 2021 or later, I am referring to the upheavals of 2020. The most uncertain times I personally have ever experienced. It really seems like a rerun of the 1960’s, complete with the civil unrest and political turmoil. Now add a pandemic to the mix and you’ve got yourself some, well, uncertain times.
If you are not too traumatized to read it, here is a interesting, brief opinion piece about mental health and COVID-19.
June 14 – June 20, 2020: Daily Food Journal
| Date | What I Ate | Photo |
| 6/14 | Chicken thigh, pork rinds, Swiss cheese, coffee (can’t have veges, salad, nuts)
Whatever was in the fridge: roasted chicken thigh, tomato slices, hard boiled egg, bacon, cheese slices |
 |
| 6/15 | Brats, pork rinds
Chicken thigh, cheddar cheese, pork rinds |
 |
| 6/16 | FASTING IN PREPARATION FOR COLONOSCOPY | FASTING |
| 6/17 | Salmon, asparagus, coffee, pistachios
Cheddar cheese, walnuts, pork rinds, blue cheese stuffed olives |
 |
| 6/18 | Pecan waffle, bacon, coffee, pistachios
Almonds Brats, green beans, focaccia, almonds, pistachios, wine |
 |
| 6/19 | Eggs, bacon, grits, coffee
Almonds Walnuts T-bone steak (1/2) with Gorgonzola butter, mushrooms & onions, walnuts, almonds, Parmesan, wine |
 |
| 6/20 | 1/2 T-bone steak with Gorgonzola butter, green beans, almonds
Grilled cheese, salad, avocado, almonds, wine
|
 |
