Hello my FBFs! Are you ready to burn some fat in the month of December?
I’m so sorry that I have been a little MIA this past month. I cannot believe how much I have going on in my life! But not a day has passed that I have not thought about you and prayed for all of you on your own joyful journeys to physical, emotional, and spiritual health!
Are you dreading the month of December? SO MANY FESTIVITIES! So much SUGAR every which way you look (sugar is the devil, y’all!). I know, I KNOW that December will be hard. This will be my third December without sugar – and I’m excited to share with you how I do it!
Each day this month, I will add an update to this blog. By Christmas Day it will be a lengthy post that you can refer to any day of the year for strategies, recipes, and celebrations of your non-scale victories. I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love the Christmas season. Let’s dive in and celebrate the JOY of our healthy lifestyle together!
Please, check back every day for my Keto Christmas Countdown – Holiday Help! Add your own strategies, recipes, and NSVs below in the comments. I love to hear about your successes, too!
12.24.18 {1 day until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: PEACE, GRACE, & JOY! It’s Christmas Eve! Of course, I’m feeling very sentimental about this Christmas season for the many reasons I’ve shared in this blog post.
As you navigate this Christmas Carb season, I truly want you to be at PEACE with your decisions. Give yourself GRACE when you mess up. Find the JOY in each and every moment of your journey. Because it truly is a journey where you will have to make tough decisions, you may mess up, but there will always be something worth celebrating each day.
After all, these are all the real reasons we celebrate this Christmas season. Peace. Grace. Joy – may they be yours. Merry, Merry Christmas to you and yours. God Bless!
FESTIVE RECIPE: Saving my favorite main dish recipe for last! I absolutely LOVE to prepare a pork butt or shoulder this way. It’s great for a crowd, too. Crispy Skin Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder from Craig at RuledMe.Com. I serve it with this Keto Mustard BBQ sauce– so tasty and zippy. I wish I had the energy to prepare this for today – but I’m thinking I will be able to do it by New Year’s day.
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): Not having to try to hide in family pictures! Merry Christmas from my family to yours!
12.23.18 {2 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: BE GRATEFUL! Well, it’s Sunday – my favorite day of the week! Today is a big day for me. I’m getting out of the house for the first time (besides the doctor) since my surgery 9 days ago. I’m heading to our Christmas Candlelight service at my church – my favorite service of the year!
Today I am reflecting on everything I have to be thankful for and how it has impacted my joyful keto journey! First and foremost, I am so grateful that I finally found a way to eat whole, healthy foods that are compatible to my screwed up metabolism. I’m not upset about the fact that I can’t eat bread, pasta, or potatoes any longer. It did take some time to wrap my brain around this – but I’m never looking back. I’m grateful for the people in my life that have supported this journey. Yes, they like to tease sometimes, but they can’t help but notice how drastically my life has changed – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I am also very grateful that as I navigate my third Christmas being sugar free that I am FREE from the emotional battle of my former carb addiction!
If you a struggling through this Christmas Carb season, take some time to write down the things you have to be grateful for this year in your own journey to healing. I promise it will give you a new appreciation for even the smallest of things.
FESTIVE RECIPE: One thing I’m grateful for is BACON! Yep, that’s right. I’ve lost over 100 lbs. and regained my health eating lots and lots of bacon. My favorite way to prepare is demonstrated here in my Pinterest pin for Bacon Tubes.
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): Taking the time to recognize your NSVs is a great start to making your “gratefulness” list! What are you grateful for – share just one thing below!
12.22.18 {3 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: JUST ROLL WITH IT! You’re celebrating with friends and family today, and someone brings up your “weird” way of eating. Personally, I avoid any controversial conversations at a celebration. I typically will just say something like “works for me” or “it’s what I needed” or “is there bacon?!?” and then move on to another subject. If someone is super curious or interested in how they might change their health for the better, they’ll be back. One on one is the best, in my experience. Be prepared for the scrutiny and just roll on past it.
FESTIVE RECIPE: Of course, how can anyone question when you bring a display like this to your party? People eat an antipasta tray or charcuterie board all the time. This is not weird if you ask me! Here’s an example how to put one together: The Ultimate Charcuterie Plate
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): Have to reemphasize again how victorious you will feel when you coast through a social gathering sticking to your Keto or LCHF eating lifestyle and not have your focus be on food. It is so freeing!
12.21.18 {4 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: KNOW YOUR LIMITS! This goes hand in hand with do not self-sabotage, but it is worth revisiting. If you’ve read my About page, you will know that I am a huge fan of the work of Jason Fung, MD. His advice and book literally changed my life. One of his philosophies for our journeys is to “eat the cake”. If you’re at a celebration, go ahead and eat the cake if you want to. Life is about celebrations, but keep in mind these are a few occasions a year. NOT daily!
I would add to this tip to know your own personal limit. If you struggle with a small taste of sweet real carbs, then maybe eating grandma’s coconut cream cake is not for you, lest you eat the whole thing or end up bingeing for days. A Keto dessert would be a perfect solution if you want to be included in eating a sweet treat with family and friends. Personally, I find Keto desserts to be completely satisfying, so that’s the route I always take.
FESTIVE RECIPE: Speaking of Keto desserts, here’s another one of my favorites! I know it’s a little past “pumpkin everything” season, but this is an absolute winner any time of year! Low-Carb Paleo Slow Cooker Pumpkin Custard. Serve it with some homemade whipped cream made from heavy whipping cream. YUM!
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): Serving satisfying Keto foods with friends and family always brings a smile to my face. See, I’m not depriving myself of anything!
12.20.18 {5 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: MAKE NEW TRADITIONS! Thank you to my Keto friend, Melinda S., for this reminder of what I HAVE been doing the past few years. I’m making new holiday traditions that don’t revolve around food! This year has really forced my hand, too.
I’ve had quite an emotional few months and especially the past few days. So much in my life is changing – I’ll just share briefly a few things that will explain my absence for the past few days and my reasons for not blogging as often as I would like the past few months.
First, I have to start new holiday traditions with my extended family here in my hometown. My parents are closing today on our family home. It has been an emotional whirlwind getting this house ready to sell, waiting for it to sell, and packing up the house (most of which my mom accomplished sorting through on her own). As you can imagine 40+ years of living in a home brings on so many mixed emotions. Throw into the mix, my mom had a health scare requiring a biopsy and possible surgery as the closing on the house fast approached. Praise God that she received an all clear from the test results.
Since they are closing today, 5 days before Christmas!, they are also leaving tomorrow for their routine winter in Texas – because they are now homeless, but they have their 5thwheel camper to live in for the winter down south. They always waited until after New Year’s day to leave Michigan. We will be missing my parents this Christmas season and our “traditional” Christmas feasting at the family home. We always gathered there on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.
Next, my daughter just recently got engaged to her high school sweatheart of almost 7 years. They set a wedding date and she will be a wife next Christmas, with her own home to share with her new husband. This is her “last” Christmas here as our child under our roof. I’m overjoyed for them, but find myself being quite emotional about how these new traditions will play out.
Next, I had major surgery last Friday that will require a 4 – 6 week recovery time. There is one thing my Keto lifestyle could not heal without surgical intervention. I have been dealing with chronic shoulder issues for years. I have been in therapy off and on for over 5 years. It’s been very frustrating to live with the pain and not to be able to lift my arm above my shoulder. I decided to go ahead with the surgery to find relief. I’m happy to say that 6 days post-op, I am certain I made the right choice.
I have no choice but to rest and relax through this season. I did as much as I could to prepare for Christmas in advance, but now I will just be reclining on the couch and letting the holiday fall in place how it may. We are going to have a very quiet Christmas, and it will be welcome “forced” rest and peace after the few months I have experienced.
Finally, and this is the FUN news, my Keto story was discovered by a national journalist and she chose to write about it and share in the most recent edition of “First For Women” magazine! This edition released the day before my surgery – not the best timing, but it was something really fun to focus on. You can read more about that in my blog post here: See My Story In “First For Women” {Print Edition}
I’m sure you can see that all this leads me right to making new holiday traditions that don’t revolve around food. I haven’t given much thought to a feast for Christmas Eve or Christmas day. If someone makes me a plate of scrambled eggs, that’s fine by me. Instead I am reflecting on what matters most – my faith, my family, and my ability to choose joy throughout all this chaos. I’m not going to lie, a lot has been thrown at me to try to steal my joy – but I will never let that happen, especially as I reflect on all the ways that God has blessed me in this journey and has taken care of my family through these trying days.
Traditions are important, but I’m thankful mine are no longer focused on mom’s homemade bread stuffing or sweet candied yams. God promises to make all things new and I am clinging to that promise (Revelation 21:5).
FESTIVE RECIPE: IF I can find King Crab Legs on sale and IF I have the energy, I may have these on Christmas Eve. That’s a lot of “ifs”, but I thought I’d share my favorite way to prepare them. This is so easy and they turn out perfect every single time. Garlic Butter BAKED Crab Legs.
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): As I am recovering from this surgery, I am very thankful that I have my excellent health due to my eating lifestyle. I am completely convinced that my body is in the perfect condition to heal quickly!
I have to be away from social media and blogging for a long weekend! I’m sorry to interrupt this countdown, but I will be back early next week. In the meantime – STAY AWAY FROM THE CHRISTMAS CARBS!
12.12.18 {13 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: TAKE A WALK! My friend, Jackie P., reminded me of this excellent strategy. This could be especially useful when cravings hit hard or when you need to remove yourself from an office full of Christmas goodies. Walk for exercise, or just simply walk away!
FESTIVE RECIPE: Need another idea for a dish to pass? This is one of my absolute favorites – and almost everyone in my house loves it, too! Cauliflower Mac and Cheese by Don’t Sweat the Recipe.
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): Noticing the results of your exercise is awesome. More stamina, more reps, strong muscles, endurance. As I lost weight, my satisfaction in exercising soared! I love to move my body now.
12.11.18 {14 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: DO NOT SELF-SABOTAGE! As a follow up to yesterday’s tip about knowing which sugar substitutes to use, my Keto friend Melinda S. reminded me to include this tip. This is when you have to assess your emotional and mental game on your healthy journey. I KNOW this can be hard. I do NOT want you to bake Keto desserts for yourself if it is going to send you off the rails on your journey to physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness. It’s true, sometimes just that one taste of sweetness can induce cravings for days. Some people can have an occasional Keto treat, some people can not. It doesn’t sound fair – and I suggest if you are in the “can not” camp that you avoid until you get have control over the emotional and mental game. I’m living proof that this game can be won.
FESTIVE RECIPE: While I was battling against these sugar cravings in my mind, my go to was bacon. Have a craving? Eat some bacon. I always kept it prepared in my fridge so I could grab if needed. Here’s my favorite way to prepare bacon: Bacon Tubes. Bacon may not be “festive”, but bacon is life!
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): Telling people I lost 100+ pounds by eating tons of bacon is fun. I love to see the reactions on their face!
12.10.18 {15 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: KNOW YOUR SWEETS! If you’re keeping up with my updates and following me on Instagram (KetoChristine317), you’ll know I had a lot of festive functions in the past three days. I don’t bake sweet treats a lot, but I will for special occasions. If you desire to have a sweet treat you can easily fulfill that desire with a Keto dessert made with sugar substitutes. You will definitely want to read the labels in the store because not all sugar substitutes are created equal. You want to look for pure stevia and/or erythritol. Make sure it’s not a blend with real sugar (like cane sugar). My favorite sugar substitutes are from Sukrin USA. I have found I like the Sukrin Gold the best. You will need to do a lot of trial and error on your baking. I never use the recommended amount of sweetener in a recipe, I will always start by using half the listed amount. Your sweet tooth will diminish with time! I blogged about desserts more in “My Keto Plate: Meal Planning 101”.
FESTIVE RECIPE: I love cream cheese! This is perfect: Keto Cream Cheese Brownies.
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): Curing my sweet tooth is one of the very best gifts ever! I know that I can live without sweets. I know that if I want to share a dessert there are many Keto options!
12.09.18 {16 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: PRAY! It’s Sunday, so I thought this seemed like an appropriate day. This journey I’m on has required a LOT of prayer. Prayers for knowledge and understanding of how my body is supposed to work. Prayers of healing. Prayers of strength. Prayers of self-control. I’m always praying – I just thought some of you might like that reminder today. I pray for all of you, too!
FESTIVE RECIPE: This will feed a bunch! I have a friend that just endured a long hospital stay and very risky surgery. I’m doing some food prep today, too. So we will both be getting a big batch of this – Low Carb Slow Cooker Kickin’ Chili from Peace, Love, & Low Carb!
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): Being able to share Keto and Low Carb dishes with friends and family – it really does fill my heart with joy!
12.08.18 {17 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: EAT BEFORE THE PARTY! This tip comes from my Keto friend, Sharky. This is a good one if you feel like you might get a bit out of control. I implement this tip quite a bit because I have a set eating window of 12 – 6pm daily. If a meal is planned after 6pm, I might stretch out my day a bit to have the meal around 7 or 8pm, but I don’t ever eat any later than that. So sometimes that means I eat my Keto meal before I head to an evening out – and then I just won’t eat. Eat a light meal or eat your full meal – whichever works best for your circumstance, whether you need help with control or following your hunger cues.
FESTIVE RECIPE: I have a night out with the ladies of my church tonight evening (I mentioned it’s a festive month, right?). It involves bringing a dish to share. My mom just gave me my grandma’s antique egg dish, so naturally I’ll be making Keto Cheddar Bacon Deviled Eggs.
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): I made it through a Christmas luncheon with my colleagues yesterday and didn’t have any desire for the potato, salad with a sweet dressing on it, rolls, or the dessert! The best part, this is just a normal part of my life now!
12.07.18 {18 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: EAT THE FAT. Today I have another Christmas party – with my office staff. We are going to a steakhouse (YAY)! Like I mentioned earlier, a steakhouse makes navigating your low-carb choices pretty easy. We had a set menu to pick from and it was between a chicken or beef entrée. The chicken entrée would have been much lower in fat, so of course I picked the beef! I’ll skip the potato side and ask for some real butter to put on my steak and broccoli. Perfectly satisfying meal that just might be enough for the day (the steaks are large!). Fat keeps you satiated which will keep you from mindless snacking!
FESTIVE RECIPE: I’ll be skipping the desert served during the lunch, but if I was to take some cookies it would be these Keto Peanut Butter Cookies! This is one of the best substitute recipes I have found.
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): The best part about not eating a high carb dessert with my co-workers at lunch – NO afternoon carb coma. I consider this one of the best gifts to myself every single day. The ability to power through an afternoon and be productive every day is simply priceless.
12.06.18 {19 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: BRING A DISH TO PASS! Of course, if you’re attending potlucks, you’ll want to bring something to share. This is the perfect opportunity to have something available for yourself to eat and to show off some delicious low-carb dishes to impress your friends. I always get a lot of responses from people that are surprised the dish is tasty. Sometimes at parties the only thing I eat is what I brought to share, so make it count!
FESTIVE RECIPE: Speaking of potlucks, I tell people that you can find a Keto recipe for just about anything you used to eat! I’ve always loved this Cheesy Baked Dip – and now I make it but don’t bake it in a loaf of bread. I eat it with a spoon or pork rinds. The chile peppers really make this recipe delicious and I always skip the ham and add double the bacon! This dip is a real crowd pleaser!
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): I consider my new joy in cooking an NSV. I used to dread cooking. Now I actually love looking for recipes and sharing Keto goodness with friends and family!
12.05.18 {20 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: LEARN TO SAY NO! Then change the subject – quickly. You will eventually want to adapt this strategy after a few people look at you like you’re an alien from Mars. “What, how can you NOT eat ANY sugar? That’s just weird. You’ll probably die. You’re body neeeeeeeds sugar!” It’s better to just say “no thank you” and then very quickly ask them if they’ve finished all their Christmas shopping. Don’t worry – you’ll be able to easily identify people that are genuinely interested in learning more. This has been one of the more fascinating areas in my journey. I honestly love the weird responses and I love (even more) the genuine interest in my story.
FESTIVE RECIPE: We love to make these in my home – Bacon Wrapped Jalepeno Poppers. Bacon, cream cheese, zip! What’s not to love?!?
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): Saying NO and sticking to it through the whole party! That right there is an awesome non-scale victory! See? You CAN do it!
12.04.18 {21 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: DON’T EAT. Yes, that’s right! You are going to be surrounded by sugary treats all month long. In the office (it’s downright sinful how much sugar is in my coffee room during this time of year!). At the family gatherings. At the church potluck. Everywhere you turn there will be gingerbreads and sugar cookies. Not to mention the appetizers full of bread, grains, starches! By “don’t eat” I mean really, really prepare your mental game to say “no” to the sugar.
FESTIVE RECIPE: Make something like this to contribute to the festivities – something that you can eat – Keto BLT Style Dip.
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): The first time you make it through a party sugar free – you will be amazed and super proud of yourself. I promise you! Oh, and plus, I guarantee that you won’t die because you didn’t eat that sugar cookie!
12.03.18 {22 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: HAVE A PLAN for each and every day. Each and every social situation. Do not face a holiday celebration without a plan! Be proactive and set yourself up for success. The other day we went to a nice restaurant to celebrate my daughter’s engagement. I checked out the menu beforehand and decided on the lobster tail and filet mignon combo. This restaurant is a la cart, so I also knew that safe side dishes would be the asparagus, broccoli, or brussel sprouts. I have a plan every single time I’m going to be in a restaurant and it really helps me stick to “the plan”!
FESTIVE RECIPE: Speaking of filet mignon (yum!), I love to cook mine in my cast iron skillet. I never had a cast iron skillet before Keto, now I say it should be a staple in your kitchen. Here’s a good recipe: Cast Iron Steaks from Cast Iron Keto.
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): A wonderful gift to yourself when you stick to your plan while dining out is simply enjoying the conversation with friends and family. It is so freeing to have my focus on these relationships and not on a relationship with food.
12.02.18 {23 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: SET YOUR GOALS! I am a huge advocate for goal setting. It’s something I stress with my Keto crew and newbies. Set your goals today, so you can come out on the other side of December 25th with some victories. Big goals, small goals – go write them down. I’ve blogged about this here – Goals – Define Yours & Change Your Life With Keto or LCHF!
Maybe you’re just starting on your own “quitting sugar”, Keto, or LCHF journey and don’t want to go cold turkey. Set a goal to have one Christmas cookie at one festive occasion. If you’ve been Keto for awhile, challenge yourself to avoid all real sugar and make a Keto dessert to share. I’m sharing my favorite Keto dessert recipe today! Big or small, just GO WRITE THEM DOWN. I’d love to read them, too – so share in the comments below.
FESTIVE RECIPE: Here’s one of my favorite Keto desserts: Mini Keto Blueberry Cheesecakes.
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): Because you have goals, your mind will be focused. Checking off your goals is one of the best gifts you can give yourself!
12.01.18 {24 days until Christmas}
FAVORITE STRATEGY: CHOOSE JOY! Yes, I say this all the time because this is how I roll! As you think upon Christmas and the busyness of the season, I’m here to remind you to wake up every day and CHOOSE JOY. I guarantee that this will help you 100% as you face this festive season. Sticking to your healthy way of life requires a proper mindset and attitude – so commit to the joy of the Christmas season right now. The rest of my strategies will be more Keto specific, but we have to start here!
FESTIVE RECIPE: Low-Carb “Not” Chex Mix from the Cooking Keto with Kristie YouTube channel (click the “show more” tab under the video to see the written recipe).
FANTASTIC GIFT (NSV): When you choose joy, it overflows into your entire day – a gift you can pass on to others during this season, too! This season is known for joy – be an active participant!
I’ve created a free resource for you with my favorite five tips for your weight loss success. Grab it here:
5 Tips to Jumpstart Your Health and Wellness Journey
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