Week 8 results are in, and the numbers look good again. I also have my results back from my blood work. more about that in a minute. This week, I had a couple of times this week where I cheated a bit. I ate three hot dogs (1 with the bun), but they were being served at a Fall Festival I attended on Sunday, so I don't know anything about the carb content of the dogs themselves. The bun, however, probably had 20 or so grams of carbohydrates. That said, I think things still turned out okay this week as the numbers show:
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Week1 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Week 2 - 194.5 lbs, 32% body fat
Week 3 - 192.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Week 4 - 190.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Week 5 - 188.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Week 6 - 186.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Week 7 - 187.5 lbs, 29% body fat
Week 8 - 186.0 lbs, 29% body fat
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
At week 1, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5 lbs of fat.
At week 2, I weighed in at 194.5 lbs with 32% body fat, which equates to 62.24 lbs of fat.
At week 3, I weighed in at 192.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 59.68 lbs of fat.
At week 4, I weighed in at 190.5 lbs with 33% body fat, which equates to 62.87 lbs of fat.
At week 5, I weighed in at 188.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 58.43 lbs of fat.
At week 6, I weighed in at 186.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 57.82 lbs of fat.
At week 7, I weighed in at 187.5 lbs with 29% body fat, which equates to 54.38 lbs of fat.
At week 8, I weighed in at 186.0 lbs with 29% body fat, which equates to 53.94 lbs of fat.
So, last week, I lost 1.5 lbs of weight, but lowered and kept body fat at 29%. I only worked out twice, again, not nearly as often as I would like. I've started just doing a 45 minute weight routine, and have cut out the cardio as a means of building up lean mass. I will start doing the cardio again with the shortened weight routing I've talked about previously to see what effect that has on my fat loss, but it appears that the most fat loss happened when I was doing the cardio routine with the shorter weight routing. I'm at my lowest weight again, which is awesome!
After only 8 weeks on a 'diet', I've lost a total of 11 lbs. That's 1.4 lbs per week. Typical weight loss on a ketogenic diet is 1-2 lbs, so I'm still right in the middle. I actually lost just over 15 lbs of fat, so I've gained some muscle with the weight training I've been doing.
Now for the interesting stuff. My blood work numbers. Below is a chart showing my before keto, and after 8 weeks on keto blood values for the things I deemed keto-appropriate.
Results from 6/4/2018 Results from 10/24/2018
A1c on 6/4/2018 = (H) 5.7 (<5.7) A1c on 10/24/2018 = 5.2
Lipid Panel Lipid Panel
Total Cholesterol = 151 Total Cholesterol = 156
HDL - 49 HDL - 45
Trig - (H) 198 Trig - (H) 169
LDL - 72 LDL - 84
Metabolic Panel Metabolic Panel
Fasting Glucose - 120 (H) Fasting Glucose - 90
Sodium - 140 Sodium - 138 (135-146)
Potassium - 5.0 Potassium - 4.8 (3.5-5.3)
Chloride - 103 Chloride - 103 (98-110
Alkaline Phosphatase - (L) 31 Alkaline Phosphatase - 38 (L)
A1c and Fasting Glucose results are a clear positive. Fasting Glucose tells you what your blood sugar level was at the moment that your test was performed. A1c is an indicator of your blood sugar over a period of time. The higher the number, the higher indicator of diabetes. My result showed that my A1c, which was borderline high in June (3 months prior to my starting keto), but down in the normal range.
Lipids (cholesterol) numbers tell an interesting story. For 2 months, I've been eating lots of fats, some 'good', some not so 'good'. I love bacon, and eat it occasionally. I use bacon grease to fry things in quite a bit. I also made a batch of soup, and used ghee as the primary fat (in addition to whatever fat the beef had in it). This, coupled with the fact that I reduced my statin by half (from 40mg to 20mg daily), and saw a rise in total cholesterol of only 5 points. My HDL, the so-called 'good cholesterol', went down 4 points, while my so-called 'bad' cholesterol went up by 12 points. I think this is to be expected owing to the decrease in statin, and the increase in fats and meat in general. Of course, new research is showing that cholesterol numbers play ZERO role in development of heart disease on their own, so these numbers are likely moot anyway. :)
The weird one is my triglycerides. I expected them to rise, but they decreased by almost 30 points. NIH (National Institutes of Health) say that keto diets can lower these numbers, as well as LDL. They took measurements at 8, 16 and 24 weeks. However, the study participants ate only polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (those good fats I talked about earlier). It's been know for years that removing the saturated fats in the diet and replacing them with good fats such as olive and avocado oils, will do the same thing to cholesterol numbers. Not to discount the study, as they were able to accomplish both the weight loss and cholesterol goals by using a ketogenic diet!
Unfortunately, mainstream medicine has yet to fully accept the ketogenic lifestyle as an ideal way to reduce or eliminate many common ailments, but with more and more studies done by these large medical organizations, it's only a matter of time before people start to realize how healthy the ketogenic lifestyle actually is.
Scott
#keto #ketolife
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Keto Weight Loss Update - Week 7
Week 7 results are in, and the numbers look good. I was worried this week, as I had a camping trip over the weekend, and while I tried to keep my foods keto-approved, I did have a few bites of things that were out of bounds. I then had a nice trip on Sunday to Ruby Tuesday, and ate a few things that may or may not have been good. So, I stepped up on the scale, and the numbers are below:
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Week1 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Week 2 - 194.5 lbs, 32% body fat
Week 3 - 192.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Week 4 - 190.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Week 5 - 188.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Week 6 - 186.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Week 7 - 187.5 lbs, 29% body fat
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
At week 1, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5 lbs of fat.
At week 2, I weighed in at 194.5 lbs with 32% body fat, which equates to 62.24 lbs of fat.
At week 3, I weighed in at 192.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 59.68 lbs of fat.
At week 4, I weighed in at 190.5 lbs with 33% body fat, which equates to 62.87 lbs of fat.
At week 5, I weighed in at 188.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 58.43 lbs of fat.
At week 6, I weighed in at 186.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 57.82 lbs of fat.
At week 7, I weighed in at 187.5 lbs with 29% body fat, which equates to 54.38 lbs of fat.
So, last week, I gained 1 lbs of weight, but lowered my % body fat by 2%. I only worked out once, so not nearly as often as I would like, but I went camping, so I did a lot of lugging heavy things around, squatting to set things up, etc., so it looks like I burned a good deal of fat during that, and built some muscle. I'm at my lowest amount, by body fat yet, and
After only 7 weeks on a 'diet', I've lost a total of 9.5 lbs. That's 1.4 lbs per week. Typical weight loss on a ketogenic diet is 1-2 lbs, so I'm still right in the middle. I actually lost 14.62 lbs of fat, so I've gained some muscle with the working out as well.
I have a doctors appointment tomorrow to get my blood work done, so it'll be interesting to see what the dietary changes have made to my numbers. I cut my statin (for high cholesterol) and my metformin (for high blood sugar) in half, and have been taking that for a few weeks now. I hope to be off of both of them completely soon, if not immediately after this visit. The numbers will help to decide.
Scott
#keto #ketolife
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Week1 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Week 2 - 194.5 lbs, 32% body fat
Week 3 - 192.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Week 4 - 190.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Week 5 - 188.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Week 6 - 186.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Week 7 - 187.5 lbs, 29% body fat
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
At week 1, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5 lbs of fat.
At week 2, I weighed in at 194.5 lbs with 32% body fat, which equates to 62.24 lbs of fat.
At week 3, I weighed in at 192.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 59.68 lbs of fat.
At week 4, I weighed in at 190.5 lbs with 33% body fat, which equates to 62.87 lbs of fat.
At week 5, I weighed in at 188.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 58.43 lbs of fat.
At week 6, I weighed in at 186.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 57.82 lbs of fat.
At week 7, I weighed in at 187.5 lbs with 29% body fat, which equates to 54.38 lbs of fat.
So, last week, I gained 1 lbs of weight, but lowered my % body fat by 2%. I only worked out once, so not nearly as often as I would like, but I went camping, so I did a lot of lugging heavy things around, squatting to set things up, etc., so it looks like I burned a good deal of fat during that, and built some muscle. I'm at my lowest amount, by body fat yet, and
After only 7 weeks on a 'diet', I've lost a total of 9.5 lbs. That's 1.4 lbs per week. Typical weight loss on a ketogenic diet is 1-2 lbs, so I'm still right in the middle. I actually lost 14.62 lbs of fat, so I've gained some muscle with the working out as well.
I have a doctors appointment tomorrow to get my blood work done, so it'll be interesting to see what the dietary changes have made to my numbers. I cut my statin (for high cholesterol) and my metformin (for high blood sugar) in half, and have been taking that for a few weeks now. I hope to be off of both of them completely soon, if not immediately after this visit. The numbers will help to decide.
Scott
#keto #ketolife
Monday, October 22, 2018
Roraima Camping Table Product Review
As a self-described 'regular guy with a wide range of interests', I enjoy camping. I'm a Cub Scouts Den Leader for my local Pack, and just enjoy being out in nature. So, when I found Roraima was looking for people to try out their camping table, I was happy to test it out for them. They sent it to me at no cost to myself so that I could get it and see what I thought of it. As I always tell companies, you get my opinion. You don't get a free pass on anything. If I see something I don't like, I'm going to let people know about it. That said, here's my review.
The first thing I noticed when I opened the rather large box it came in was that it came in a nice nylon bag with a shoulder strap, making it easy to carry. It's quite light. More on that in a minute. As you can see, I have it sitting beside a 5 gallon bucket that contains some of my tent equipment.
When you open the bag via the drawstring at the top, you see that the bag is actually sewn into sections where the various components go, helping to keep them from flopping around inside the bag while you're walking with it. That's a nice feature that I didn't expect. When you pull out the items from the bag, you see the table top (top), the table top support rods (2nd from the top), the storage shelf/bag (2nd from the bottom), and the table base (bottom).
To be honest, I didn't read the instructions at all, based on how simple the table is to set up. The first thing I did was to unfold the base and attach the table top support rods. There are U-shaped clips that they drop into that have a metal peg that fits into a hole in the rod, making it so that the table won't fold up on you. Another nice design feature that I hadn't expected. One thing I did notice was that the base seemed a little difficult to unfold. This could be due to it being new and having never been unfolded before. It could also be an indicator of poor manufacturing, causing stress on the joints, making them hard to slide and fold. I'll hold judgement on that until I use it a bit more to make sure it's not an issue with the table.
The next thing I did was to attach the table top. In hindsight, I should have attached the storage shelf/bag underneath, as it's a bit difficult to manage once the top is on. More on that later. The table is built from multiple slats that run parallel, and are connected via elastic cords, so that you can stretch the table to insert the ends into the support rods on each end. This is another nice engineering aspect that I found pleasantly surprising.
The last thing I did was to attach the storage shelf/pouch underneath. This is the one area that the table has an issue. The shelf attaches to the legs at the top by a clip, and at the bottom by a hook and loop strap. The weight of the shelf is supported by the cross-support of the table. You can see this arrangement below:
The problem with this arrangement is that it makes getting things in and out of the shelf difficult. You can see in the final pictures at the end of this post that I have a few things in the shelf, including a roll of paper towels, which had to be inserted at an angle and I didn't dare lay it down completely, as it would be almost impossible to get back out. What I ended up doing (not pictured) is using some inexpensive carabiners that I had with me, to clip onto the table's cross support, and then hooked the shelf/bag hook onto the carabiner, thus lowering the entire shelf by about 3". This made getting things in and out much easier. It's not a deal-breaker by any means, but Roraima should consider a way of lowering this shelf for better ease of use.
I used the table briefly without the shelf as you can see below, but later decided that I wanted to add it back on with the carabiners.
Ultimately, it's a pretty nice table for camping. It's light, as I mentioned before. Really light. Part of my brain kept telling me that light=cheap, but I should know better. As a former mountain biker, current camper, etc., I know that companies spend a lot of money trying to make things light, and that in many cases, light=expensive. This table runs around $50, which is a little bit more than a cheap, white-topped folding table that you can by just about anywhere, but this is much more portable, making it ideal for camping, when every pound (and every inch of space it takes up) counts. I'd rate this table a solid 4.5 stars out of 5, with the half star taken off just for the way that the shelf it includes is difficult to use without banging into the leg supports every time you put something in or take something out. Having recently paid $40 for a white, plastic-topped folding table that is quite difficult to carry around, not to mention store, I would definitely pay an extra $10 for the storage space usage and portability that this table provides.
The basic information Amazon provides on the product is below:
The Roraima camping table is available here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077YTG9Y6
#campingtable
The first thing I noticed when I opened the rather large box it came in was that it came in a nice nylon bag with a shoulder strap, making it easy to carry. It's quite light. More on that in a minute. As you can see, I have it sitting beside a 5 gallon bucket that contains some of my tent equipment.
When you open the bag via the drawstring at the top, you see that the bag is actually sewn into sections where the various components go, helping to keep them from flopping around inside the bag while you're walking with it. That's a nice feature that I didn't expect. When you pull out the items from the bag, you see the table top (top), the table top support rods (2nd from the top), the storage shelf/bag (2nd from the bottom), and the table base (bottom).
The last thing I did was to attach the storage shelf/pouch underneath. This is the one area that the table has an issue. The shelf attaches to the legs at the top by a clip, and at the bottom by a hook and loop strap. The weight of the shelf is supported by the cross-support of the table. You can see this arrangement below:
The problem with this arrangement is that it makes getting things in and out of the shelf difficult. You can see in the final pictures at the end of this post that I have a few things in the shelf, including a roll of paper towels, which had to be inserted at an angle and I didn't dare lay it down completely, as it would be almost impossible to get back out. What I ended up doing (not pictured) is using some inexpensive carabiners that I had with me, to clip onto the table's cross support, and then hooked the shelf/bag hook onto the carabiner, thus lowering the entire shelf by about 3". This made getting things in and out much easier. It's not a deal-breaker by any means, but Roraima should consider a way of lowering this shelf for better ease of use.
I used the table briefly without the shelf as you can see below, but later decided that I wanted to add it back on with the carabiners.
Ultimately, it's a pretty nice table for camping. It's light, as I mentioned before. Really light. Part of my brain kept telling me that light=cheap, but I should know better. As a former mountain biker, current camper, etc., I know that companies spend a lot of money trying to make things light, and that in many cases, light=expensive. This table runs around $50, which is a little bit more than a cheap, white-topped folding table that you can by just about anywhere, but this is much more portable, making it ideal for camping, when every pound (and every inch of space it takes up) counts. I'd rate this table a solid 4.5 stars out of 5, with the half star taken off just for the way that the shelf it includes is difficult to use without banging into the leg supports every time you put something in or take something out. Having recently paid $40 for a white, plastic-topped folding table that is quite difficult to carry around, not to mention store, I would definitely pay an extra $10 for the storage space usage and portability that this table provides.
The basic information Amazon provides on the product is below:
- Sturdy construction with Aluminum frame, with capacity of 120 Lbs, product size is 27.56"x27.56"x27.56", Perfect height, weight, Family of 4 could easily eat off for camping.It is a great company with a folding camping chair, or great for Outdoor BBQ
- Sets up fast & folds small within 30 seconds, Folding in a carry bag with only 3 steps to put up and down. Extra mesh storage nets included, great space for preparing camping stuff,like dishes, fruits, toys and others.
- Rustproof,Fire proof, do not need to worry about too close to fire, you can even cook directly on this table, save money to buy extra camping kitchen table.
- Easy to clean , wipe all the messy stuff with a microfiber towel, Clean and tidy just so simple. Easy to carry with you in the Cars, RVs, etc
- All RORAIMA product includes a 1-year warranty with life time custom service, if you have any questions, pls feel free to contact with our custom service team. Thanks for again to buy RORAIMA products.
The Roraima camping table is available here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077YTG9Y6
#campingtable
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Keto Weight Loss Update - Week 6
Week 6 results are in, and the numbers look good. I had another trip to our local Mexican restaurant, and ate a few chips, but either stayed in ketosis, or got kicked right back in using Keto by Design as discussed in my post here.
Not sure what to make of the sugar readings, but the numbers are in, and they are pretty solid:
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Week1 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Week 2 - 194.5 lbs, 32% body fat
Week 3 - 192.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Week 4 - 190.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Week 5 - 188.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Week 6 - 186.5 lbs, 31% body fat
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
At week 1, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5 lbs of fat.
At week 2, I weighed in at 194.5 lbs with 32% body fat, which equates to 62.24 lbs of fat.
At week 3, I weighed in at 192.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 59.68 lbs of fat.
At week 4, I weighed in at 190.5 lbs with 33% body fat, which equates to 62.87 lbs of fat.
At week 5, I weighed in at 188.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 58.43 lbs of fat.
At week 6, I weighed in at 186.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 57.82 lbs of fat.
Last week, I lost 2 lbs of weight, and stayed at 31% body fat. I was only able to work out twice, so not as often as I would like. I'm at my lowest amount, by weight and body fat yet, and I expect those numbers to continue to decline as my weight drops, and I continue to exercise to prevent muscle loss. I had really hoped to drop down to 30% body fat, or lower, but alas it didn't happen. I should continue to watch my overall stats, and we'll see what happens.
After only 6 weeks on a 'diet', I've lost a total of 10.5 lbs. That's 1.75 lbs per week.
I actually lost 11.2 lbs of fat, so I've gained some muscle with the working out as well.
I have a doctors appointment in a couple of weeks to get my blood work done, so it'll be interesting to see what the dietary changes have made to my numbers. I currently take a statin for high cholesterol, and metformin for high blood sugar. I hope to be off of both of them soon, if not immediately after this visit.
Scott
#keto #ketolife
Not sure what to make of the sugar readings, but the numbers are in, and they are pretty solid:
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Week1 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Week 2 - 194.5 lbs, 32% body fat
Week 3 - 192.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Week 4 - 190.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Week 5 - 188.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Week 6 - 186.5 lbs, 31% body fat
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
At week 1, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5 lbs of fat.
At week 2, I weighed in at 194.5 lbs with 32% body fat, which equates to 62.24 lbs of fat.
At week 3, I weighed in at 192.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 59.68 lbs of fat.
At week 4, I weighed in at 190.5 lbs with 33% body fat, which equates to 62.87 lbs of fat.
At week 5, I weighed in at 188.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 58.43 lbs of fat.
At week 6, I weighed in at 186.5 lbs with 31% body fat, which equates to 57.82 lbs of fat.
Last week, I lost 2 lbs of weight, and stayed at 31% body fat. I was only able to work out twice, so not as often as I would like. I'm at my lowest amount, by weight and body fat yet, and I expect those numbers to continue to decline as my weight drops, and I continue to exercise to prevent muscle loss. I had really hoped to drop down to 30% body fat, or lower, but alas it didn't happen. I should continue to watch my overall stats, and we'll see what happens.
After only 6 weeks on a 'diet', I've lost a total of 10.5 lbs. That's 1.75 lbs per week.
I actually lost 11.2 lbs of fat, so I've gained some muscle with the working out as well.
I have a doctors appointment in a couple of weeks to get my blood work done, so it'll be interesting to see what the dietary changes have made to my numbers. I currently take a statin for high cholesterol, and metformin for high blood sugar. I hope to be off of both of them soon, if not immediately after this visit.
Scott
#keto #ketolife
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Sarki Air Fryer XL (12 t) Product Review
I was recently contacted by a company called Sarki, who makes various types of small appliances. They asked me if I'd be willing to do a product review for a thermal laminator for them. They offered to send me this laminator at no cost in order for me to look it over, review it, and post my reviews on various social media platforms that I use. I agreed, and while I was waiting to receive the unit, I started researching them, and found that they also made an air fryer. I'm a 'regular guy with a wide range of interests', and one of those interests is cooking. I've always wanted an air fryer, so I asked if I could review it as well, also for no cost, and they said YES! I was so excited, as I've read great things about air fryers in general, and have wanted to get my hands on one.
The unit they sent me turns out is one of the largest, if not the largest size of air fryer made. It's a 12 quart capacity model, but what I like about it the best is that it has a door on the front, and not a basket like many other models. I think this gives a much greater degree of flexibility on its use.
I filmed the unboxing of the unit, which includes a 6.3 quart air fry pan (pot) with an integrated stirring gear in the bottom, a three-bladed strirrer, a pizza tray (which I used as a drippings catcher (more on that below), a roasting rack, a chicken roasting rack, and even an oven mitt. I was rather impressed with the heft of the pizza pan and the air fry pan. They are both quite heavy. For my testing, as outlined below, I used the roasting rack, and the pizza pan.
I was immediately struck by the controls, which are a very nice touch panel:
The items on the touch panel are pre-programmed settings for various foods, such as french fries, fish, pizza, etc. These can be altered after they are selected. For my first test, I chose the french fries option, which automatically set 400 degrees for 20 minutes, because I was cooking some chicken nuggets. I figured that 20 minutes was too long, as my usual cook time for chicken nuggets was about 12 minutes. I changed it to 10. I fired it up, and it got hot pretty fast.
It got so hot so fast that I only let the nuggets go for 6 minutes, because I was worried that they would be too crunchy for my son to eat. I asked him when he was eating, and he said that they probably could have gone 1 more minute and would have been perfect. 7 minutes for perfect chicken nuggets is fast. Not microwave fast, but certainly fast enough for everyday use. It's faster than our convection toaster oven, which we do most of our small-scale cooking in, by the way.
My next test was some beef sausages by Kiobasa. They were frozen, so I used the defrost setting, which ran for, I believe, 6 minutes. After that was done, I set it on 350 for 7 minutes, and they came out perfect. They were hot in the middle, had a good crisp snap on the outside, and were really juicy.
I threw a quick spinach salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette on a plate with one and had an excellent, keto-friendly lunch.
Juicy and delicious!
After filming and playing with the unit, I'm rather impressed. The retail price of the unit is ~$230 and, while steep, makes it a bit of a fringe item I would think. It's not going to take over the spot in the kitchen that the microwave holds. It's just too pricey, and that's unfortunate, because I see this as having a much wider range of cooking options than the good old Radar-range. For example, I couldn't imaging cooking a whole chicken in the microwave, unless I wanted a slimy mess afterward. The same goes for thinks that are pre-cooked and frozen, such as chicken nuggets, fish sticks, etc., unless they come in special microwave-crisping packaging. The bottom line on this is that it's essentially a convection oven on steroids. It has dual-zone heating, which is activated by your selection on the panel. If you choose something that should be heated from above, the top element lights. From below, the bottom one. I didn't test it, but I assume that there's a setting that will light both elements. Overall, I'm think this is something that I would have saved my money for if I'd seen one in action at a friends house, or on TV. It might very well replace our toaster oven, as it heats faster, cooks faster, and is just cooler in general.
The basic information Amazon provides on the product is below:
The Sarki Air Fryer XL is available here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GQRG4Q2
The unit they sent me turns out is one of the largest, if not the largest size of air fryer made. It's a 12 quart capacity model, but what I like about it the best is that it has a door on the front, and not a basket like many other models. I think this gives a much greater degree of flexibility on its use.
I filmed the unboxing of the unit, which includes a 6.3 quart air fry pan (pot) with an integrated stirring gear in the bottom, a three-bladed strirrer, a pizza tray (which I used as a drippings catcher (more on that below), a roasting rack, a chicken roasting rack, and even an oven mitt. I was rather impressed with the heft of the pizza pan and the air fry pan. They are both quite heavy. For my testing, as outlined below, I used the roasting rack, and the pizza pan.
I was immediately struck by the controls, which are a very nice touch panel:
The items on the touch panel are pre-programmed settings for various foods, such as french fries, fish, pizza, etc. These can be altered after they are selected. For my first test, I chose the french fries option, which automatically set 400 degrees for 20 minutes, because I was cooking some chicken nuggets. I figured that 20 minutes was too long, as my usual cook time for chicken nuggets was about 12 minutes. I changed it to 10. I fired it up, and it got hot pretty fast.
It got so hot so fast that I only let the nuggets go for 6 minutes, because I was worried that they would be too crunchy for my son to eat. I asked him when he was eating, and he said that they probably could have gone 1 more minute and would have been perfect. 7 minutes for perfect chicken nuggets is fast. Not microwave fast, but certainly fast enough for everyday use. It's faster than our convection toaster oven, which we do most of our small-scale cooking in, by the way.
My next test was some beef sausages by Kiobasa. They were frozen, so I used the defrost setting, which ran for, I believe, 6 minutes. After that was done, I set it on 350 for 7 minutes, and they came out perfect. They were hot in the middle, had a good crisp snap on the outside, and were really juicy.
I threw a quick spinach salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette on a plate with one and had an excellent, keto-friendly lunch.
Juicy and delicious!
After filming and playing with the unit, I'm rather impressed. The retail price of the unit is ~$230 and, while steep, makes it a bit of a fringe item I would think. It's not going to take over the spot in the kitchen that the microwave holds. It's just too pricey, and that's unfortunate, because I see this as having a much wider range of cooking options than the good old Radar-range. For example, I couldn't imaging cooking a whole chicken in the microwave, unless I wanted a slimy mess afterward. The same goes for thinks that are pre-cooked and frozen, such as chicken nuggets, fish sticks, etc., unless they come in special microwave-crisping packaging. The bottom line on this is that it's essentially a convection oven on steroids. It has dual-zone heating, which is activated by your selection on the panel. If you choose something that should be heated from above, the top element lights. From below, the bottom one. I didn't test it, but I assume that there's a setting that will light both elements. Overall, I'm think this is something that I would have saved my money for if I'd seen one in action at a friends house, or on TV. It might very well replace our toaster oven, as it heats faster, cooks faster, and is just cooler in general.
The basic information Amazon provides on the product is below:
- 12QT XL CAPACITY --- 12 Quart airfryer with 6 Quart frying pan. Equips with 5 removable and QuickClean accessories, the family sized fryer can fry up all favorite snacks and foods for your friends and family with ease and less time consumed, is the best choice for your family.
- RAPID AIR CIRCULATING TECH --- New version air fryer with rapid hot air circulating system, enable your food cooking in all directions and evenly heated with little oil to no oil added. LESS FAT, MORE HEALTHIER.
- AUTO-STIR FUNCTION --- Auto stirring blade combines with unique bottom design moves the air throughout the air oven for an even, perfect cook. ONE-CLICK STIRING, WITH NO TURNING NEEDED.
- EASY VIEWING WINDOW --- ETVR air fryers feature a large see through cooking window with a working light. Let you monitor cooking progress without opening the door. Now, begins your healthy frying lifestyle with ETVR Air Fryer.
- Lifetime Warranty --- Warranty for 100% satisfaction: return or refund for any reason within 3 months , exchange or replace for any quality issue within 1 year , and lifetime for repairing and technical support. Please feel free to reach us if you have any problems.
The Sarki Air Fryer XL is available here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GQRG4Q2
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Sarki Thermal Laminator Product Review
So, I was contacted by a company called Sarki, who makes various types of small appliances. They asked me if I'd be willing to do a couple of product reviews for them. They offered to send me this laminator at no cost in order for me to look it over, review it, and post my reviews on various social media platforms that I use. Here's an overhead screen capture from the video that I made and will be uploading to YouTube soon. I got the black one here, although they also make a white one here.
After filming and playing with the unit, I'm rather impressed. For the retail price of $79'ish, I sure hoped that I would be. This thing is business-class. It will laminate using 3-5 mil pouches of varying sizes, giving a fair amount of flexibility. I purchased the package (out of my own pocket) of laminating pouches below from Amazon to do the testing, and if I decide to keep the unit, some home laminations. I wanted the maximum amount of flexibility, so I spent a little of my own money, just in case. If I decide to do a giveaway on my YouTube channel for it, the pouches will go ,too.
So, for the demonstration in the video, my inner nerdness came out. I decided to laminate a character sheet from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. I used a classic character sheet, because that's how I roll. Laminating a character sheet is excellent because during gameplay, as characters take damage, they can use dry- or wet-erase markers to keep track of things like hit points, wounds, armor class, etc. as they can often change during the game.
The laminating process with this unit is simple. You turn it on, and press the button for the thickness of the laminating pouch you're using. This button will light up. There's an LED light beside the 3mil button that will turn green when the unit has warmed up sufficiently to laminate that thickness. It only seemed to take about 30 seconds to heat up for the 3mil pouch.
Then, simply slide the item to be laminted (in the pouch) into the unit from the top, as indicated by the red flashing arrow, and the unit will pull the pouch through, laminating it as it goes. My 8 1/2" x 11" 3mil lamination took right at 45 seconds as you can see in the image below:
The finished laminated character sheet would be indestructible at the gaming table. If you know that you're playing with kids, or just dirty slobs who eat while playing, you don't have to worry about drink spillage, pizza droppage, or any other calamity that might befall your character.
In general, I have to say that I really like this product, as it's made very well. In a small office environment is where this would really shine. At home, where I have it, it will only occasionally get used, but that's okay. There are lots of things I can use it for, such as laminating phone number lists to stick in the kids' school backpacks, or if the print is small enough, in my wallet. It can be used to laminate certificates, pictures, just about anything you want to protect, but I think, if I keep the unit, that I'll use it for things like character sheets, etc.
The basic information Amazon provides on the product is below:
The laminator is available on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DVQ8X4D
After filming and playing with the unit, I'm rather impressed. For the retail price of $79'ish, I sure hoped that I would be. This thing is business-class. It will laminate using 3-5 mil pouches of varying sizes, giving a fair amount of flexibility. I purchased the package (out of my own pocket) of laminating pouches below from Amazon to do the testing, and if I decide to keep the unit, some home laminations. I wanted the maximum amount of flexibility, so I spent a little of my own money, just in case. If I decide to do a giveaway on my YouTube channel for it, the pouches will go ,too.
So, for the demonstration in the video, my inner nerdness came out. I decided to laminate a character sheet from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. I used a classic character sheet, because that's how I roll. Laminating a character sheet is excellent because during gameplay, as characters take damage, they can use dry- or wet-erase markers to keep track of things like hit points, wounds, armor class, etc. as they can often change during the game.
The laminating process with this unit is simple. You turn it on, and press the button for the thickness of the laminating pouch you're using. This button will light up. There's an LED light beside the 3mil button that will turn green when the unit has warmed up sufficiently to laminate that thickness. It only seemed to take about 30 seconds to heat up for the 3mil pouch.
Then, simply slide the item to be laminted (in the pouch) into the unit from the top, as indicated by the red flashing arrow, and the unit will pull the pouch through, laminating it as it goes. My 8 1/2" x 11" 3mil lamination took right at 45 seconds as you can see in the image below:
The finished laminated character sheet would be indestructible at the gaming table. If you know that you're playing with kids, or just dirty slobs who eat while playing, you don't have to worry about drink spillage, pizza droppage, or any other calamity that might befall your character.
In general, I have to say that I really like this product, as it's made very well. In a small office environment is where this would really shine. At home, where I have it, it will only occasionally get used, but that's okay. There are lots of things I can use it for, such as laminating phone number lists to stick in the kids' school backpacks, or if the print is small enough, in my wallet. It can be used to laminate certificates, pictures, just about anything you want to protect, but I think, if I keep the unit, that I'll use it for things like character sheets, etc.
The basic information Amazon provides on the product is below:
- ◆Fast Warm-up: Only takes 3 minutes to warm up, definitely time-saving while laminating.
- ◆2-Roller system: Hot and Cold Laminating system satisfies different pressure requirement with an amazing speed of 12.6 inch/min and makes the project material laminated in a perfect and flatten way.
- ◆Perfect size: Laminator with maximum width 13.3 inch (A3 size paper) and speed of 12.6 inch per minute. Supported thickness of laminating item is up to 0.02 inch.
- ◆Automatic shut off: Laminator will automatically turn off, if it stays idle for 20-30 mins. Which is more convenient and safe for you.
- ◆Easy-to-use Design: 4 temperature settings for cold pouch, 3 mil, 4mil, 5 mil with LED Indicators, and single operation switch, clearly show you the status of machine and quite easy for the beginner to use and suitable for applying in home, school and office.
The laminator is available on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DVQ8X4D
Keto Weight Loss Update - Week 5
Week 5 results are in, and the numbers look good. I had a scare last Wednesday, as I was feeling a little odd, with a little bit of dizziness, so I checked my blood sugar. It was about an hour after I had eaten breakfast, which consisted of 2 muffin pan frittatas, along with 4 turkey breakfast sausages. When I checked it, it was 132, which scared me a little, as there should have been no carbs in my breakfast, unless there was some that snuck in with the ham that I was eating in the frittatas, or from the dextrose in the Splenda I had put in my coffee. I started also worrying about gluconeogenesis (latin for new sugar creation), which is where the liver converts dietary (and even muscle) protein into sugars for metabolism if you aren't fat-adapted. I freaked out, quit using Splenda in my coffee and switched to a mixture of monk fruit and Erythritol, and stopped eating my breakfast frittatas. I have been keeping an eye on my sugar, and saw the next day that it had risen again.
One other thing I did to help push me into ketosis was on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I did an intermittent fast. Basically, what that means is that the night before, I didn't eat after 8pm. In fact, I didn't eat after dinner, which is usually 6-6:30pm because I wasn't hungry. Then, the next day, I didn't eat breakfast, and waited until noon to eat lunch, which means that including sleep time, I fasted for 16 hours. What makes that fairly easy is that I wasn't really hungry Saturday or Sunday morning anyway, but I also learned that bulletproof coffee does not break the fast, so even with putting my coconut oil, heavy cream, and monk fruit/erythritol sweetener in my coffee, it has no effect on a fast, so I had that, which kept me from being hungry.
Not sure what to make of the sugar readings, but the numbers are in, and they are pretty solid:
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Day 7 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Day 14 - 194.5 lbs, 32% body fat
Day 21 - 192.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Day 28 - 190.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Day 35 - 188.5 lbs, 31% body fat
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
On Day 7, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs, with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5 lbs of fat.
On Day 14, I weighed in at 194.5 lbs, with 32% body fat, which equates to 62.24 lbs of fat.
On Day 21, I weighed in at 192.5 lbs, with 31% body fat, which equates to 59.68 lbs of fat.
On Day 28, I weighed in at 190.5 lbs, with 33% body fat, which equates to 62.87 lbs of fat.
On Day 35, I weighed in at 188.5 lbs, with 31% body fat, which equates to 58.43 lbs of fat.
Last week, I lost 2 lbs of weight, and went back down to the 31% body fat I was at on week 3. I think the fasting helped to get me back into ketosis, as I noted 'keto breath' a few times during the week. I was able to work out three times, so not as many as I like, but enough. I'm at my lowest amount, by weight, of body fat yet, and I expect those numbers to continue to decline as my weight drops, and I continue to exercise to prevent muscle loss.
On a side note, I did some searching, and found a place locally that does Bod Pod measurements to get a professional body analysis, and damn, it's expensive. In general, they run $130 per reading. I'll kick that around for a while, and decide if it's something that I want to save my pennies for.
Scott
I don't have any recommendations on any good keto books this week, but I do have some internet references for anyone considering a low-carb diet. See these video resources:
Dr. Ken Berry is a no-nonsense proponent of the ketogenic diet. He's a family practice MD from Tennessee, and he holds no punches when it comes to old modes of thought regarding diet, health, etc.
KetoConnect is Matt and Megha, a couple who have been on the ketogenic diet for a couple of years, do shopping trips to various locales, do cooking demos, and have even written a keto cookbook.
#keto #ketolife
One other thing I did to help push me into ketosis was on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I did an intermittent fast. Basically, what that means is that the night before, I didn't eat after 8pm. In fact, I didn't eat after dinner, which is usually 6-6:30pm because I wasn't hungry. Then, the next day, I didn't eat breakfast, and waited until noon to eat lunch, which means that including sleep time, I fasted for 16 hours. What makes that fairly easy is that I wasn't really hungry Saturday or Sunday morning anyway, but I also learned that bulletproof coffee does not break the fast, so even with putting my coconut oil, heavy cream, and monk fruit/erythritol sweetener in my coffee, it has no effect on a fast, so I had that, which kept me from being hungry.
Not sure what to make of the sugar readings, but the numbers are in, and they are pretty solid:
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Day 7 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Day 14 - 194.5 lbs, 32% body fat
Day 21 - 192.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Day 28 - 190.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Day 35 - 188.5 lbs, 31% body fat
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
On Day 7, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs, with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5 lbs of fat.
On Day 14, I weighed in at 194.5 lbs, with 32% body fat, which equates to 62.24 lbs of fat.
On Day 21, I weighed in at 192.5 lbs, with 31% body fat, which equates to 59.68 lbs of fat.
On Day 28, I weighed in at 190.5 lbs, with 33% body fat, which equates to 62.87 lbs of fat.
On Day 35, I weighed in at 188.5 lbs, with 31% body fat, which equates to 58.43 lbs of fat.
Last week, I lost 2 lbs of weight, and went back down to the 31% body fat I was at on week 3. I think the fasting helped to get me back into ketosis, as I noted 'keto breath' a few times during the week. I was able to work out three times, so not as many as I like, but enough. I'm at my lowest amount, by weight, of body fat yet, and I expect those numbers to continue to decline as my weight drops, and I continue to exercise to prevent muscle loss.
On a side note, I did some searching, and found a place locally that does Bod Pod measurements to get a professional body analysis, and damn, it's expensive. In general, they run $130 per reading. I'll kick that around for a while, and decide if it's something that I want to save my pennies for.
Scott
I don't have any recommendations on any good keto books this week, but I do have some internet references for anyone considering a low-carb diet. See these video resources:
Dr. Ken Berry is a no-nonsense proponent of the ketogenic diet. He's a family practice MD from Tennessee, and he holds no punches when it comes to old modes of thought regarding diet, health, etc.
KetoConnect is Matt and Megha, a couple who have been on the ketogenic diet for a couple of years, do shopping trips to various locales, do cooking demos, and have even written a keto cookbook.
#keto #ketolife
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Keto Weight Loss Update - Week 4
10 Years. It's been 10 years since I was at this weight. I'm impressed, to say the last.
So, week 4 results are in, and the numbers are a bit odd. Over the past week I missed 3 of my 5 workouts again, and had a day where I ate significant amounts of carbohydrates. The morning after our night out, I took three capsules of Keto by Design (as discussed during Week 0).
That said, here are the numbers:
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Day 7 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Day 14 - 194.5 lbs, 32% body fat
Day 21 - 192.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Day 28 - 190.5 lbs, 33% body fat
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
On Day 7, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs, with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5 lbs of fat.
On Day 14, I weighed in at 194.5 lbs, with 32% body fat, which equates to 62.24 lbs of fat.
On Day 21, I weighed in at 192.5 lbs, with 31% body fat, which equates to 59.68 lbs of fat.
On Day 28, I weighed in at 190.5 lbs, with 33% body fat, which equates to 62.87 lbs of fat.
Last week, I lost 2 lbs of weight, but gained 2% body fat. Could this be a bad reading from the scale? I doubt it. Here's why - I started trying to eat high fat, as dictated by the Keto experts. They say anywhere from 60-75% fat, and 15-20% protein, with 10% or less of carbohydrates. So, my guess is that the days that I was kicked out of ketosis, I was eating high fat, and thus my body stored the extra fat. I'm not fussed, partially because I am going to start doing a better job of avoiding the carbs, and because I'm going to start pushing to work out at least 4 times a week, if not 5. I detailed my usual workout scheme last week.
Another reason why I don't think it was a bad reading from the scale is that I take my reading every week on Tuesday morning on an empty stomach, right after getting out of the shower. I have nothing to eat or drink before I get in the shower.
Anyway, what I will likely do is find a place locally that does Bod Pod measurements and get a professional body analysis, and if it's not too expensive, repeat this monthly.
Scott
I don't have any recommendations on any good keto books this week, as I've been reading and compiling recipes from my previous suggestions. See my previous posts here, here and here.
#keto #ketolife
So, week 4 results are in, and the numbers are a bit odd. Over the past week I missed 3 of my 5 workouts again, and had a day where I ate significant amounts of carbohydrates. The morning after our night out, I took three capsules of Keto by Design (as discussed during Week 0).
That said, here are the numbers:
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Day 7 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Day 14 - 194.5 lbs, 32% body fat
Day 21 - 192.5 lbs, 31% body fat
Day 28 - 190.5 lbs, 33% body fat
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
On Day 7, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs, with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5 lbs of fat.
On Day 14, I weighed in at 194.5 lbs, with 32% body fat, which equates to 62.24 lbs of fat.
On Day 21, I weighed in at 192.5 lbs, with 31% body fat, which equates to 59.68 lbs of fat.
On Day 28, I weighed in at 190.5 lbs, with 33% body fat, which equates to 62.87 lbs of fat.
Last week, I lost 2 lbs of weight, but gained 2% body fat. Could this be a bad reading from the scale? I doubt it. Here's why - I started trying to eat high fat, as dictated by the Keto experts. They say anywhere from 60-75% fat, and 15-20% protein, with 10% or less of carbohydrates. So, my guess is that the days that I was kicked out of ketosis, I was eating high fat, and thus my body stored the extra fat. I'm not fussed, partially because I am going to start doing a better job of avoiding the carbs, and because I'm going to start pushing to work out at least 4 times a week, if not 5. I detailed my usual workout scheme last week.
Another reason why I don't think it was a bad reading from the scale is that I take my reading every week on Tuesday morning on an empty stomach, right after getting out of the shower. I have nothing to eat or drink before I get in the shower.
Anyway, what I will likely do is find a place locally that does Bod Pod measurements and get a professional body analysis, and if it's not too expensive, repeat this monthly.
Scott
I don't have any recommendations on any good keto books this week, as I've been reading and compiling recipes from my previous suggestions. See my previous posts here, here and here.
#keto #ketolife
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