Tag Archives: low carb

Thailand Tuesday, Week 9

Posted on by

I’m so excited I can’t even say Hi first. This week…

I lost 5.2 pounds

Um, YEAH! That’s MAJOR. That’s probably the most weight I’ve ever lost in my life. (Slight hyperbole). But in a week? Definitely up there with the most weight I’ve ever lost in a week. There were some major things that contributed to this major loss, like -

I miss you everyday, Leo!

1) Grief. I was a sad sap from Tuesday through Friday and had to force myself to eat. So, a lot of this is probably water weight, but my calories were greatly reduced.

2) I’m low-carbing it up. Before everyone gets their pitch forks and battering rams ready, I’m not going low-carb for life or even an extended amount of time. I just wanted to see what would happen if I cut out all “junk carbs” in my life like crackers, sugar, certain breads, etc. Evidently this made a major difference. I’ve been eating way more protein which is hard for me because I’m not a big meat eater, but I can feel it because I’m not nearly as snacky or hungry during the day. I’m also focusing more on “good fats” like avocado and olive oil.

So – Wow! I’m a lot closer to my Thailand Tuesday goal today than I thought I would be. Next week’s weigh in will be interesting, because there is a possibility of regain since probably a fair amount of this was just drastic calorie reduction from my lack of eating. (Interesting factoid: A couple of years ago, any extreme emotion I felt – joy, sadness, grief, anger – would lead me to eat. I knew I was changing emotionally when I found those extreme emotions would take away my hunger. Such a big change for me, but one I’d rather have. A bag of chips does not soothe a complicated life, at least not for the long term.)

But – We’ve been feeling better and looking forward to eventually giving a great home to another cat in need, just like we did for Leo. We’re not rushing it and there will certainly never be a replacement, but pets can only bring joy in our family.

How are you doing today? What’s affecting your day? I hope you’re having a great one.

Thailand Tuesday Week 8

Posted on by

Hello friends! After a couple of weeks of my bitching and moaning, I’m back with a great weigh in – this week

I lost 2.2 pounds!

Avocado and egg white. Yummy, protein-packed, good fat breakfast!

As I’ve learned, weight-loss for some people is black and white – move more, eat less. For me, it’s not so simple. If other people’s weight loss is black and white, mine is like EVERY COLOR OF THE RAINBOW. For me it’s a fine tuning process – moving more (a lot more), eating less CRAP, and focusing on the intracacies of my diet – how much protein, carbs, water, salt…. This past week, I decided to tweak my eating by not completely cutting out carbs, but by eating less of them. You all know I’m a fiend for crunchy, salty munchies – like popcorn, or crackers, or 100-calorie packs. After checking out MyFitnessPal for the past couple weeks, I noticed I was staying within my calories but eating too many little crackery/bready things. I decided to cut back and focus on lean proteins like egg whites, chicken breast, edamame and healthy fats like avocado – and boom – with my fitness schedule – down 2.2 pounds. I just might be on to something.

The scale might not be moving drastically, but I can see changes in things like the way clothes fit. I’m usually not comfortable in an outfit this form fitting – but I feel like on this day, I was able to pull it off!

So clearly at this point, it would take an unhealthy miracle to reach 20 pounds lost before Thailand, but as usual, this journey for me is not so much about the number but of improving my health, feeling better and being able to squeeze into hot jeans. (JK, kinda, on that last part). I’m looking forward to next week’s weigh in now that I feel like I’ve cracked part of the code on why my weight loss was so sluggish – we’ll see what happens! I hope you have an amazing week – I have some exciting news on Thursday related to a new fitness challenge – and April will be here tomorrow!

PS: Have I mentioned how grateful I am for YOU?! Yes, you. The person reading this. You might know me well, or you might not even know me at all, but every time I see that somebody has read my blog I am so thankful! Your support and encouragement is the best thing in the world and I KNOW I will reach my goal with your help. <3

 

Low-Carb Check In

Posted on by

I’m nearing day 3 of being off all sugar and breads/starches AND RUN FOR YOUR LIFE IF YOU HAVE BREAD BECAUSE I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN. No, actually, I’m good. I’m just all about the dramatic entry! I’m on day three and I feel good. No headaches, no weird cravings, no “flu” like symptoms – but I do feel satisfied! I’m one of those people that gets uncontrollable around carbohydrates. Put a basket of warm sourdough in front of me, and it’s gone. Even worse – put a basket of hot tortilla chips. I’ll be on my third basket before you know it. Give me a choice between a slice of chocolate cake or a slice of hot sourdough with butter – I’m all about the bread.

I've been eating a lot of eggs.

On my honeymoon, I was making random chitchat with a hippydippy lady in the hot tub (We’ll call her Crazy Hot Tub Lady) drinking wine out of a plastic hotel room cup. As she got more loose, she confessed that she was a “medical intuitive”. According to her, I needed to switch to sea salt (I did, for the hell of it), and I also needed to avoid Gluten, as it causes all of my weight gain and storage. She also said I’d have two kids and magically lose all of my weight after being pregnant… and that my first pregnancy would be rough, and that I’d end up teaching elementary-aged children. (Yep – All this after meeting for the first time in a resort hot tub)

Talking to Crazy Hot Tub Lady was made much easier by previous consumption of these.

Given that she wasn’t 1) A doctor 2) A nutritionist, I took this advice with a grain of (sea) salt (heh), but it did make me wonder some things. I always have had problems with carbohydrates – they set me off on a wild, bingey, uncontrollable feeling. Natural carbohydrates like fruit I’ve never had a problem with (but really – who gets fat from eating fruit? exactly.), but I need a BB Anonymous Meeting to keep me on track. (BB = Bread Binger) So yes. Me and carbs are like that married couple we all know, that really hates each other, but when they’re together, it hurts so good that they stay in it. Things like Weight Watchers didn’t work for me because I’d eat all my daily points in one serving of potato chips.

Day three – so far, so good. I am satisfied and I’m eating way less. What did I eat today? 2 eggs, a cup of edamame, a piece of cheese, one salad with grilled chicken, a sugar free jello, and some almonds. None of that is like “Ima stuff my face with bacon and lard for six days cuz its LOW CARB BABY! WHEEE”

Leafy Greens - YUM

I’m not getting on the scale until Friday, because I need to give my body some time to adjust. I’m also flexing induction a little bit by having natural carbs like almonds and carrots – but in very small amounts. I mainly just want to get off sugar, breads and starches – almonds and carrots aren’t going to be the ruin of me.

Have you ever gone low-carb – and if you have – flop or fantastic success?

New Noms, Day 1: Kale Chips

Posted on by

Hello bloggies! Hope you’re all enjoying a wonderful Sunday. I’m pooped from a crazy week, but looking forward to starting Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet tomorrow (Yeah, yeah, I know, spread all the controversy you like, but it works to get me back on track). I went to Costco today and loaded up on stuff like almonds, veggies, and cheese, and I’ll begin baking batches of my preferred foods tonight (like mini-fritatta for breakfast! yum!).

A few days ago a friend of mine sent me a recipe for Kale chips. I pretty much turned my nose up at it and thought, “Phooey – why would I eat baked spinach when I could eat CORN CHIPS?!”. As fate would have it, I was perusing the aisles of Whole Foods when I found myself drawn to bunches of bubbly, rough textured leaves that looked like Dinosaur food – and sure enough, it was called Lacinato Kale. I picked up a bundle for $2.49 and made the recipe today.

First, wash the leaves and then remove the ribs and stems.

I must really love you guys - No Make Up on the world wide web?!

The recipe says to tear into 3 inch pieces, but I’m a rebel and made them into strips. Then, toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and paprika. I deferred because sometimes Paprika tastes like cigarettes, so I sprinkled with 1 tsp Garlic Salt with Parsley.

Bumpy green kale, tossed with EVOO and Garlic Salt

Bake at 350 on a sprayed cookie sheet for 12-15 mins (mine took 20 minutes since my oven is lazy). The end result? Slightly charred, bubbly, brown leaves – that are YUMMY! They’re very light and have a surprisingly satisfying crunch. They’re not very flavorful, but the seasoning takes care of that.

The Finished Product

I’ll be a honest – I was a total skeptic, because usually, substituting baked veggies for something delicious (like corn chips or potato chips) is foul. (Ever heard of mashed cauliflower that *supposedly* tastes like mashed potatoes? It doesn’t. It’s freaking disgusting, and it will make you cry.)

For a new noms experiment, this wasn’t bad! Got any other funky recipe ideas for me? I’m all for trying new things… especially in the next few days when I’ll be salivating at the thought of bread. (But I can eat CHEEEEESE!)