Throwback Wednesday Edition 2

I have a healthy love for anime and really the only anime I've ever truly loved is Sailor Moon. So much so that when I was a mere 19/20 I decided to ink her crescent moon wand onto the back of my left arm. I sadly don't own any dvd's of the series since they are pretty hard to come by and if you do find them they are pretty expensive. I keep up with Sailor Moon through Reddit most of the time and awhile back someone posted a link to a person on Youtube who literally has all the episodes, movies, and specials (subs not dubs). I've been happily going through them again when I have the time and of course the person who took the time to do all of this is amazing and gets my love forever. So if you have ever been curious about Sailor Moon or have a love for it like I do then go through the video below to enjoy what I feel is the greatest anime ever!

Keto Chili

In my 2 and a half months of Keto endeavors I have gone through many a recipe in order to find new favorites or just try to find ways to make old favorites Keto friendly. Most of those recipes have come with mixed success, but that was to be expected. Coming back into the Keto world 2 weeks ago I stumbled upon a Keto chili recipe on Reddit that I immediately had to try. I'm not the hugest fan of chili, but I still like it and I know my boyfriend loves it. The recipe I used was from the So I Guess I Can Cook Now blog and I have to say it was pretty delish and was totally boyfriend approved. The recipe can be found here: Low Carb Crock Pot Chili.

I thought it would be nice to show my progress with the chili over a few pics...

Cooking up the best ingredient first: BACON!

Used the leftover bacon grease to saute the onions and garlic

Adding the ground meat and sausage into the onion/garlic mixture

Putting in the seasonings, tomatoes, sausage, and ground meat

Another shot of the above all nicely mixed together

Adding the important part: COOKED BACON!

After this it simmered in the crock pot for 6 hours.

The finished product with some cheese added!

As I stated before, this recipe was definitely approved and is now in my Keto recipe stash. It was a little high in carbs per serving due to the tomatoes, but totally worth it and gave us some yummy leftovers to boot. The photos of my progress were the best I could get out of my phone and I tried to make them as visually appealing as I could with a little editing. If you have any questions/comments please feel free to leave them below! 

Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest! (Links to the right)

Throwback Wednesday

I thought it would be fun to have a throwback day during the middle of the week to kinda give every one a pick me up to get through the rest of the week. This morning while getting ready to take my grandma to a doctor appointment I put on a playlist I have and this song popped up. Taking Back Sunday will forever be one of my favorite bands and takes me back to being a teenager. I say that like it was a really long time ago, but really it was about 10 years ago. Anyways, enjoy!

Watch "Taking Back Sunday: One-Eighty By Summer (High Quality)" on YouTube

Always Trying To Keep Calm And Keto On....Oh Is That Cookies?

So I became a Reddit junkie about a year and a half ago and one day while hitting the random button to see just what subreddits I would come across I stumbled onto Keto. A diet that cuts out almost all the carbs? Isn't that just Atkins? Well yes and no. While Atkins does want you to stick to 20g of carbs (or less) a day like Keto, Keto likes you to stick to macros (5% carbs, 65% fats, 30% protein) and consume more fat than protein. (A Keto FAQ).

I know that the idea of consuming more fat than anything is sounding alarm bells off in your brain right now, but there is plenty of research to support that the increased consumption is not harmful and can actually be beneficial. (When I refer to fat I am referring to healthy fats; IE: olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, etc.)

I read as much as I could through the info bar on the Keto subreddit before I brought it to my boyfriend who was easy enough to convince (something about copious amounts of bacon consumption did it for him). We set about deciding when to start and took a trip over to the grocery store. It was also easy enough to find good recipes and snack ideas to nix any and all cravings.

After a week into starting Keto I decided to weight myself and I was down about 7 pounds! 7 whole freaking pounds!?! It was really just the water weight leaving my body more than anything, but it was nice to see that big of a jump in such a small amount of time. A couple of more weeks and a few more pounds down later and my clothes were fitting better. It was amazing to pull things out of the closet to wear again that had gotten just a bit too tight. Now they were just right or even a little big!

As we got closer to Christmas we were already a month and half in and I was about 20 pounds down while the boyfriend was hovering somewhere between 10-15 pounds down (he didn't have as much to try and lose as I did). I was feeling better, looking better (I couldn't tell as much as other people), and the added energy was nice. Then the culmination of my boyfriend's birthday, Christmas, and New Year's all at the same time was not easy and my willpower broke. I didn't go back to my super crazy eating habits before, but what I was eating definitely wasn't helping.

So for the last 3 to 3 and a half months I had fallen off the wagon, but I was determined (as was my boyfriend) to get back on and now we are back on that wagon and about 2 weeks in. Like any lifestyle change it's never easy, but now I know that I can fall off that wagon and just as easily get back on and if I do  fall off I definitely won't go another 3 months again! Luckily I didn't gain much weight back in those 3 months (mostly a few pounds of water weight) and now after a couple of weeks back on Keto I am already a few pounds lighter than when I quit.

I know I will always struggle with my weight, it's something I've just come to accept, but Keto was the first time that it felt like I was moving in a real direction towards being healthier and feeling better. It took me awhile to decide if I wanted to share on here anything weight related, but I knew that Keto was too awesome not to share.

Now that I've introduced you guys to Keto I'll be posting a new recipe (as well as my progress) I've tried out personally every week! This week I'll be introducing you to a Keto friendly chili that I made very recently  so be on the lookout for that this Thursday! If you have any questions about Keto please feel free to leave a comment, but I highly suggest checking out the Keto subreddit along with the FAQ to see if your question may be answered. For any ladies thinking about trying this out XXKeto is another great subreddit specifically for women on Keto. There is a great supportive community there willing to help out with questions, give advice, or just dole out some encouragement!


Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest! (Links to the right)

Welcome!

For my first real post on my newly minted blog I thought it would only be right to give anyone who came across this an idea of who I am and what I'm about.

I'm a 26 (soon to be 27) year old woman who was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. I come from a fairly tight knit family that I feel very lucky to have every day. I also have a pretty awesome best friend (her blog!) and a really great boyfriend.

I currently work downtown in a hotel and while I do enjoy it to a point I am looking for something new. I'd also like to get myself back to school and would like to get a degree to be a veterinary technician. I've always loved animals and have 3 cats and a dog currently, but didn't come to the realization that I should be a veterinary technician until I was watching Grey's Anatomy one day so thank you Grey's Anatomy.

I'm pretty passionate about a few things: TV, music, makeup, nails, animals, art, Keto, books, video games, and DIY's. A lot of these will be featured quite a bit through the blog with the others being interspersed here and there. I'd mostly like to use this place to share my favorite things, how-to's, or stories with whoever may come across this blog in their internet travels.

So sit back, relax, and watch this blog for new posts weekly! Feel free to drop me a comment at any time to let me know how I'm doing and especially if you enjoyed anything you've read or seen on this blog.

You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. (Links to the right)