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In September I decided to join an Instagram challenge with some other keto babes and follow a #StrictSeptember keto plan. Each of us set our own goals for the month according to what strict meant to us. For me, the goals were:
1) no cheats;
2) stay under macro targets;
3) walk 4 times per week;
4) get 7.5+ hours of sleep during the week nights; and
5) don’t weigh myself.

So, now that the challenge is over, here’s how it all played out and my thoughts on each of the goals I set. I had a “pounds lost goal” that I was also working on in the background. I’m not sure why I wasn’t open about that one, but I wasn’t.

1) NO CHEATS: This was relatively easy for me as I had already spent most of August not cheating, but didn’t realize it until I reviewed my tracking app. I started the month traveling, traveled in the middle of the month, and ended it traveling as well. It wasn’t hard to find options that followed my plan in order to stay on track. (See my previous post about a work conference LOL) One of my observations about this goal was that the longer I eat a ketogenic diet, the easier it is to not cheat. I’m not craving the breads and chips anymore. I see them, I smell them, but I don’t want to eat them. Probably the only thing I wanted all month, but didn’t allow myself was a stout craft beer.

2) MACRO TARGETS: The struggle with this goal for the month was to eat enough of each of the macros within my target range. I wasn’t as successful as I had hoped. Moving forward I need to focus more on the macros at each meal. For example, some days I was within target range on fats, but proteins were way over. Another day, calories were under and fats were spot on. It certainly is an area that I need to research more about as I continue.

3) WALK 4X WEEKLY: Since June and the start of my keto journey, I have been walking with my bestie-for-the-restie each week. She lives in a nearby state so we talk on the phone as we walk. We use the Runtastic app for exercise tracking and we cheer each other on with fun sound effects and encourage each other after we post results. It has helped us both to become consistent because when we get up early and get that text from the other person … Accountability is a real thing.

4) 7.5+ HOURS OF SLEEP: To be up front… the sleep hasn’t happened. I either stay up later than I plan or get up earlier than I anticipated. It is more like an average of 7 hours per night, but I feel good and manage work/daily life fine, so I’m okay with that. I do think this is a goal I will work towards in the coming months. I know sleep is important to our overall health and to weightloss as well. Again, I’m going to continue my research on this and will report back in a future post.

5) DON’T WEIGH: (Heavy sigh)…I weighed on Aug 31 and did not weigh again until Sept 30, so legalistically, I successfully accomplished this goal. Mentally…I failed. I wanted to weigh so many times it was ridiculous. I kept the scale out and walked by it at least 10 times per day. I thought about weighing and keeping it a secret, then I realized that type thinking is what made me set that goal in the beginning of this challenge. There’s so much to unpack here with this mental struggle I have with the scale that I’m going to do a separate post (or several) about this at a later time. I’m sure it’s a topic that will be on repeat around here.

Now… the secret goal of the pounds I wanted to lose. I wanted to lose 7 lbs this month. Drum roll, please ………. I lost 5.2. I have mixed emotions about this as well, but I KNOW it’s a win. Every pound lost is a WIN. So, why does it feel like a half-win? Like it’s good but not great? Like almost but not quite? These feelings are most likely the reason I didn’t share it openly. I felt that if I didn’t make it I would be a failure at that part of the challenge. By not sharing it, I would be the only one who knew whether I failed or not. Realizing that fact is why I’ve shared it here–out in the open–out loud. So, there it is and here I am.