Three Days of Low-Carb Menus

(Pork carnitas in iceberg lettuce tacos with Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, Green Valley sour cream, fresh cilantro, and lime juice)

I’m doing pretty well with my low-carb mission. Excess water weight is shedding off smoothly, as expected. I’ve also been doing my workouts in a sauna suit, which helps the cause. AF rolled into town the other day, which doesn’t help the cause. ha!

Overall I have stuck with it almost effortlessly. My biggest complaints are disrupted sleep and impaired culinary creativity. Since I reduced my carbs last week, I have no trouble initially falling asleep, but have been waking up after only 3-6 hours, wide awake. But not an energetic-wide-awake; a drowsy-insomnia-type of wide awake where you can’t fall asleep but don’t have enough energy to do anything productive. Holding up my iPad is even challenging and unappealing in this state.

I’ve been waking up ravenously hungry but have very little kitchen ambition right now. So I often end up eating something quick and simple, like a piece of salami and cheese, to avoid getting into a recipe project I don’t want to finish. I decided to save the majority of my carbs for my last meal of the day, which I hope helps soothe my sleep troubles.

January 17th menu:

The low-carb cheeseburger on a low-carb bread roll I had on the 16th was SO GOOD, I had another one the next day.

I managed to stay very low-carb on the 17th and still had an amazingly filling last meal of the day!

• 3 large eggs cooked in Pure Indian Foods ghee topped with 1 oz. Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, fresh avocado, pink Himalayan salt and black pepper
• 2 slices Paleo bread with 2 TBSP (non-Paleo) Earth Balance Coconut Peanut Butter
• 4 oz. fresh organic strawberries

4 oz. strawberries isn’t that much. But I was satisfied nonetheless because look at all of this YUMMINESS!!

January 18th menu:

(Note: When I can’t find an exact food match in the database, I’ll sometimes choose a different brand or nutritional profile that matches it or comes close to)

The 18th wasn’t exactly a stellar food day. Kind of pitiful, actually. Dustin and I went to my grandmother’s house because her laptop was having battery problems. We had to send it back to the company, so we ended up being out most of the day. We stopped at Subway to pick up a bite to eat. I got a salad and assembled it on a homemade low-carb bread roll at home. It was late by the time we got home and ate. I was exhausted, so we went to sleep early. My calories were pretty low and my stomach was pretty angry with me when I woke up. Had to eat right away!

I did better on the 19th:

I made a batch of boneless country-style pork ribs in the slow-cooker the day before. I threw in: meat, a few cans of Del Monte no salt added petite diced tomatoes, garlic powder, oregano, parsley, and a diced onion. The flavors were neutral enough to transform it into Italian, Mexican, or just about anything else you can think of with additional herbs and spices. So I had carnitas in lettuce tacos for breakfast, because that’s the breakfast of champions, right?

Totally delish! I love using lettuce for a wrap/sandwich/taco shell. And yes, I eat iceberg lettuce. I like it, that’s why.

Because I had tacos for breakfast, I had eggs for supper… again. Eggs have been my go-to meal in a pinch. They’re super easy to make and versatile.

• 2-egg Swiss cheese and broccoli omelet cooked in Pure Indian Food ghee
• 2 slices Paleo bread with Kerrygold butter
• 6 oz. fresh organic blueberries (waaay out of season; waaaaaay overpriced)
• Cup of espresso with 2 TBSP Organic Valley pastured heavy whipping cream + 2 packets Stevita

Drinking coffee (or espresso) with a meal makes me feel like such a grown-up.

I like to toast my Paleo bread really well, I think it makes it taste better and gives it a far better texture… (and helps it absorb a lot more butta!)

I’ve been torturing myself looking at all these food pics. Time to go eat my last meal and maybe some ice cream that I saved carbs for.

Tagged as: diets, eggs, low-carb, low-carb diet, menus, omelet, Paleo, Paleo bread, tacos, weight loss