Journal de shawnacrutchfield, 25 août 15

It's the spaghetti squash. Got you one day over the 20 carbs limit and one day too dangerously close. Might have thrown you out of ketosis. It's water weight. And I told you the % you must do, Saturday for example you had WAY more protein than fat, almost like for a Dukan diet. Now you'll have to work anywhere from 2 to 4 days to get back in ketosis. 

I forgot - yes, in other words, it is fantastic to lose 5 lbs in a week. You'll get there! We all have ups and downs and sometimes even when you do everything "by the book" you can get stuck in a plateau. The secret is to not give up. 

five pounds lost and two pounds gained is still progress, moving in the right direction. Keep concentrated on the progress and don't sweat the little occasional gains. 

Thanks, guys. Yes, I'm going to get stricter with myself. Considering a week ago (yesterday) I was eating Twizzlers for lunch, I've come a long way. The sweet cravings aren't too bad, I'm not hungry all the time. I've definitely been on worse diets! But I'm not looking at it as a "diet," more of a permanent change. Yes, for now, I miss my mashed potatoes, but reminding myself it's not forever helps. Kind of like AA, taking it one day at a time. lol  

You have already come a long way in one week. And yes, this will be a lifestyle change. By the way, went grocery shopping today and got some rutabagas and turnips to make "mashed potatoes" They're excelent. I think I'll make some "gravy" with xanthan gum as sweetener, as I have chicken broth - I've boiled my chicken for the week yesterday. 

You are off to a fantastic start! Try not to let yourself get too concerned about the up and down variation. It has helped me to concentrate on the bigger picture, the long term, downward trend, rather than the blips here and there.