Life Choices, Establishing Priorities, Acting Like an Adult, Headaches, Test Results

I just don't feel like myself this week.  I had Monday Misery, which is not my usual deal.  I have been grumpy, tired, and short-tempered.  Today, I have a headache, which I never get.  It is right in the dead center of my forehead and face, and completely encompasses both eyes.  The pressure is very uncomfortable.  I haven't been able to get my butt out the door to exercise this week.  I have been creaky and achy in my back and knees and neck.  I have had such high energy since starting low carb ten weeks ago.  In contrast, this week just feels so strange.  I am uncharacteristically low energy and just plain, old miserable.  Sigh.  I don't think it's the diet.  I am wondering if I'm sick, hormonal (see also, my birthday post and evil kate post), or starting up with my seasonal allergies. 

I just had a comprehensive blood screen at the doctor's and looked at my results.  Mostly everything is good and normal.  My glucose, after eating lunch, tested at 96 (which is normal for fasting blood sugar, so pretty good for midday after lunch).  My blood pressure has been consistently low.  My cholesterol is pretty good: its a little high, but the ratio is really good, and my HDL level is high. 

My estrogen count is way way up.  My new doctor confirmed my PCOS diagnosis yesterday after an ultrasound.  She said that my estrogen is elevated because I haven't ovulated in months.  So, I have started taking progesterone to induce a period, then I'll take clomid to induce ovulation.  Hopefully, this will start the old ball rolling.  Can extra estrogen make you beastly?  I am wondering.

So, the whole point of figuring out this PCOS thing, and getting my body in gear, is because I am, at least now, not ovulating and therefore infertile.  Hubby and I have been thinking about having another child. 

After going to the doctor yesterday, and talking about conception and stuff, stewing for a while, then getting Satan's own headache and being short with the wonderful daughter I already have, I began to feel that I am not ready to have another child at this moment.  I love kids.  I love my own kid to the moon and back and I am so proud of her that it makes my teeth hurt.  Part of me really would love to have more children.  The other part of me, which has been silent for a while, thinks that I should get my shit together, lose my weight, enjoy being thin and healthy, and revisit pregnancy when I am healthier overall and will have a safer pregnancy.  I also want to be able to hang out and do adult things that I have only recently been able to do… like join my friends for a movie or happy hour.  That same part has also suggested that I should think about focusing on my career.  Career and new baby don't necessarily jibe, you know.  (Not unless your significant other is willing to be a Mr. or Mrs. Mom… and mine isn't).  Both parts of me have been positively screaming "PRIORITIES, ESTABLISH YOUR FREAKING PRIORITIES", although they clearly disagree on what those priorities should be.  Is it just panic?

Let's make a list of priorities:

1. Keep a close eye on the health of my dad and grandma, and be the health bouncer in my family.
2. Spend time with my family.
3. Get healthy.
4. Get my billable hours on track at work.
5. Get City and related stuff in order.
6. Enjoy being an adult.
7. Take on a hobby.
8. Think about having another baby.
9. Think about running for office again (I really want to take a term off).

That feels right to me.  I have to sit with it for a while, but for now, this feels like what I have to do.  I feel this need to take care of and preserve what we already have, before we add anyone or anything else in to the mix.  

Why do I feel selfish and kind of sad?  Am I depressed?  I just don't feel like myself!  I am going to go back through my old blog posts, and remind myself that I am usually a happy person who feels well!!!

Ow.  The headache has moved on to the top of my head, my temples, and behind my ears, despite the acetominophen I just took.  Maybe I should wait until I feel better before I make any Life Choices.

Monday Misery.

Monday, Monday.  Can't trust that day.

 

Why do Mondays always hurt?  Like I've just gotten hit on the head with a brick, on Monday mornings, I tumble out of bed, alarmed by the alarm, stumbling around blindly, groping for the light switch, then damning the light (it also hurts), managing to trip over some item of [my] clothing left carelessly strewn on the floor, ending up in a collision with a door jamb or the door itself...  Man alive.  Mondays suck.  Its nearly 1 o'clock in the afternoon over here, and I'm still in a stupor.

 

It is not like I party hearty or do anything at all on the weekend that I would need to recover from, such that I'm rendered less acute than usual on Monday morning.  What explains all that cotton batting where my brain used to be?  Foggy.  That's what I am.

 

At the moment, I am completely zonked.  I need to be awake, too, because my job requires that I have a fully functioning brain.

 

Why the exhaustion?  It seems like this Monday has been worse than usual.  That's not all, either.  Yesterday, going to the gym was harder than usual.  I hated being on the elliptical machine, when only last week, I was crowing about dominating the damn thing. 

 

My best guess?  STRESS.  Oh, yes.  Stress with a capital S.  I am running around like a nut doing City stuff lately.  I hate being an elected official.  I am freaking out about the stuff that has been happening the past couple of weeks.  I truly am tired of this work.  In fact, I don't even want to run for reelection.  I just want to relax, take care of my family, enjoy my life, and not have meetings 4 nights per week.  I will run for reelection, however, because a decision on my part NOT to run would make my opponents dance with glee.  Would I rather be miserable and exhausted than see those schmucks dance with glee?  Apparently so!  I'm such a *&(%^!!

 

So, I should shut up and stop complaining, already.  Okay, got that.  I'm going to log in my Monday misery on this blog, just in case its diet related and I figure that out in the coming weeks.

 

In other news, my low carb chili is phenomenal.  Yummo.  I'm not kidding, its the best I've ever made, period.  And its filling and chock full of dietary fiber.  Warning, though, to you Atkins-heads... it contains black soybeans, which are low carb, but not expressly permitted on induction.

 

I recently saw the excellent and very funny documentary, "Fat Head" by Tom Naughton.  The movie discusses the lies and misperceptions that abound in our country regarding obesity, nutrition and weight loss.  It is a very comprehensive documentary that discusses these issues in an understandable and accurate way, and manages to do so in less than 2 hours.  You can watch it on Netflix.  I highly recommend it. 

 

This week, momma's gonna high tail her butt back to the gym.  No kidding, no excuses.  4 exercise days this week, period.  (1 down, 3 to go).

 

No alcohol again.  I can't discount the correlation between abstinence [from alcohol!!] and weight loss. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Healthy blueberry muffins (9 carbs each)

Blueberry muffins

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 18 mins
Servings: 12 servings
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

8 ounces stone ground wheat flour
3 ounces flaxseed meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt

4 ounces coconut palm sugar paste
1/2 cup melted butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 6 ounce container peach yogurt

6 ounces blueberries

Directions:

Heat oven to 365°. Line muffin pan with foil liners.

Miix first five ingredients in bowl until well incorporated and free of lumps.

Place next five ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth (or use your stick blender.

Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients. Stir to just combine.

Add blueberries. Sit gently to distribute blueberries in batter.

Use a scoop to evenly distribute batter into 12 muffin cups.

Bake for 15-18 minutes. Tops should be nicely browned.

When cooled, store in an airtight container. Eat within three days, or freeze for longer storage. Because the berries make these so moist, they are more susceptible to getting moldy.

This makes a seriously solid muffin, and is really good for kids breakfast with a glass of milk.

Alternate recipes: substitute 2 overripe mashed bananas for the blue berries, add some toasted walnuts.

Entire recipe is 109 grams net carbs, 9.08 grams net carbs per muffin.

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Recipe: Low carb chili with black soybeans

Low carb chili with black soybeans

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 12
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
1 large sweet onion finely chopped
1 red bell pepper finely chopped
1 green bell pepper finely chopped
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
3/4 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon each onion and garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 can tomato paste
1 carton low sodium chicken stock
1 bay leaf
3 drops liquid sweetener
1 can black soybeans, drained

Directions:
In a large stock pot, sauté the veggies in butter over medium heat, until softened and onion is translucent. Push to perimeter of pot.
Add the meat to the center of the pot, let brown. Add seasonings. Break apart meat and stir in with the veggies. Cook until meat is fully cooked.
Push the contents of the pot to the perimeter. Add tomato paste to the center, and let it sizzle and begin to adhere to the bottom. Stir to combine paste with pot contents.
Add chicken stock, bay leaf and sweetener.
Turn heat down to medium low and let simmer for 1 hour.
Add soybeans. Let simmer for another 1-2 hours.
Serve with hotdogs. Yummy.

Recipe is 67.5 grams net carbs. Each serving is 5.62 grams.

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Weigh in 3/27/11 - no alcohol this week, weight loss.

Today, I weighed in at 216.5 lbs.  This week, I lost 4 lbs, -.25" neck, -.5" bust, -.25" waist, and -1" hips. 

Since I began this WOE on January 16, I've lost a total of 15 lbs, -.5" neck, -.25" wrist, -4" bust, -4.75" waist, -4.5" hips.  This weight loss reflects me being at 18.75% of my weight loss goal.  My blood pressure is lower than its been, and I feel great.

I am happy with these results so far, although looking back at my stats, I hovered at 220 for more than 3 weeks from 3/6 - 3/20.  What do those weeks have in common?  Let's look back at my food journal, shall we?  The answer: alcohol consumption.  My aunt's birthday one Saturday, my birthday the next Saturday, happy hour and wine the following Friday and Saturday.  Not very much alcohol consumption (and none of it very high-carb) in the big picture, but there seems to be a correlation.  This week: not one drop of alcohol and a "woosh" 4 lb weight loss.  I'm going to noodle this one out and see if I can come up with some science to explain what's up.

I've got to get myself to the gym today.  This week was a tough one.  I did go with my daughter, on Thursday evening, to a kids gym and run around with her for 45 minutes, and get my cardio up.  Then, on Saturday, we went bowling, and that was some activity at least.  Today, my goal is to get my fitness on.

Ooookay.  Naked toddler interruption.  Time to do the mommy thing. :)










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The Best Fats to Get Lean

By Whitney Provost
You might think that to lose weight, you need to cut the fat out of your meals. After all, fat is higher in calories than protein and carbs, and low-fat diets have been popular since the Senate Nutrition Committee first recommended them in the late 1970s. But research shows that a moderate-fat diet (with about 35 percent of calories consumed coming from fat) will help you drop pounds permanently, feel full longer, and avoid bingeing. The trick is to eat the right kind of fat to increase satisfaction and boost weight loss. Here's why it's important to eat fat—and we offer five of the best fat sources to add to your diet.

How eating fat will help you lose fat.

In 2008, researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel found that people who followed low-fat diets lost less weight than people who followed low-carb or moderate-fat diets. The low-fat group lost an average of 6.5 pounds over 2 years, but the low-carb and moderate-fat groups lost about 10 pounds. Women did especially well on the moderate-fat diet, losing an average of 13 pounds during the study.

Fat is an important element in weight loss for several reasons:

• Fat helps your body control blood sugar and insulin spikes after eating
  carbohydrates. Better sugar metabolism means less fat storage.
• Fat slows down digestion and aids nutrient absorption. You'll stay fuller
  longer and get more health benefits from the food you eat.
• Essential fatty acids (like omega-3s) may boost your metabolic rate and
  increase fat burning.
• Fat tastes good. It also provides a "mouthfeel" that is satisfying, which
  can help you be happy with less food.

Eating more fat may also help you stick to your diet longer. In a study conducted by Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, participants got either 20 percent of their calories from fat or 35 percent of their calories from fat. After 6 months, both groups had lost weight. But after 18 months, only 20 percent of the people in the low-fat group were still following the diet, compared with 54 percent of the people in the moderate-fat group. Likewise, the subjects in the moderate-fat group had maintained their weight loss, while the low-fat group participants had gained most of the weight back.

If you reach for a box of low-fat or fat-free crackers or cookies because you want to lose weight, you may actually be sabotaging your diet. Manufacturers frequently replace fat with sugar in packaged food items to make them taste better. You think you're making a good decision by eating fat-free products, but the excess sugar and refined flour can lead to fatigue, cravings, mood swings,
and weight gain caused by the overproduction of insulin—the fat-storage hormone. As a snack, a sliced apple with some peanut butter or a salad with oil and vinegar dressing would be a better weight loss choice. The complex carbs and healthy fats will maintain your blood sugar levels, boost your energy, and keep you satisfied longer.

What kind of fat should you eat?

To get lean, you need to eat the right kind of fat. Avoid saturated and trans fats (which are found in red meat, full-fat dairy products, and many packaged foods), and instead choose monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Here are some of the best sources of fat to help you reach your weight goal.

1. Fish. Fish like salmon, albacore tuna, herring, mackerel, and sardines contains beneficial amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Most experts agree that eating two servings of fatty fish per week is safe for people who are worried about mercury or other toxins. (Pregnant women should consult with their doctors about consuming fish.) If you don't like fish, a quality supplement like Beachbody's Core Omega-3™ will give you the benefits without the fishy taste.
2. Olive oil. Heart-healthy oils like olive, canola, and peanut oil are excellent sources of fat for dieters. They have also been shown to lower bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Use them sparingly when sautéing, or drizzle them over your favorite salad or vegetables with a little vinegar and some herbs to maximize the absorption of nutrients. Moderation is important: You really only need about a teaspoon of oil to get all its benefits. Using more will add significant calories.
3. Avocados. Eat a spinach and carrot salad with a little avocado, and you'll not only get a dose of good fat, but you'll also absorb more phytonutrients like lutein and beta-carotene. Scientists
   at Ohio State University in Columbus found that more antioxidants were absorbed when people ate a salad containing avocados than when they ate a salad without this tasty fruit. One-quarter of an avocado will add flavor while only adding about 75 calories.
4. Nuts. Almonds, walnuts, pecans, and peanuts are powerhouses of good nutrition—full of antioxidants, minerals, and monounsaturated fat. The Nurses Health Study, where more than 86,000 nurses were followed for 14 years, found that those who ate nuts regularly (about an ounce per day) tended to weigh less than those who didn't. The protein, fat, and fiber make nuts more filling, which helps dieters stay on track. Plus, there's a psychological bonus to eating nuts: Because they're rich and satisfying, you probably won't feel like you're on a diet.
5. Flaxseeds. Packing the triple wallop of fat, protein, and fiber, flaxseeds are a delicious and healthful addition to any diet. You can grind them up and add them to oatmeal, yogurt, salads, or vegetables, or pretty much anywhere you want a nutty crunch. They're a plant source of omega-3 fatty acids, making them a good choice for vegetarians or the aforementioned non-fish-loving folks. Ground flaxseeds also have 3 grams of fiber per tablespoon, which helps slow digestion and keep your blood sugar stable.

Making room for fat.

Certain fats might be considered necessary for health, but that's not a cue to overindulge. At 9 calories per gram, fat is a more concentrated energy source than either protein or carbohydrates (each has 4 calories per gram). You need to be mindful of your overall caloric intake if you want to eat more fat and lose weight. But when you feel full and satisfied after eating the right kinds of fat, you'll probably find it a bit easier to manage your calories.

Related Articles
"Big Breakfasts for Big Results"
"6 Ways to Fire Up Your Metabolism"
"Salt: Taste Bud Thriller or Silent Killer?"

Questions about your workout program, diet, the latest newsletter, or anything wellness related? Chat with Steve Edwards, the overseer of Beachbody's fitness and diet development (who also serves as your Fitness Advisor on the Message Boards), in the Beachbody Chat Room on Monday, March 28th, at 8:00 PM ET, 5:00 PM PT.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM BEACHBODY.COM

3/25/11: Daily Weighing is Dangerous and I Need Fiber

So, I weighed myself yesterday, and again today. I can feel myself slip-sliding back into a daily weighing pattern. I have learned the hard way that daily weighing is dangerous and can crush your spirits! Plus, most of us yo-yo back and forth most days 1-2 pounds, and daily weighing isn't necessarily representative of your actual weight loss, your metabolic activity, or how hard you are working on your diet and exercise. But... when you start to feel that things are going well, it is soooo tempting to toe up to that scale. "I wonder if I lost even more today," is my thought. I know that I shouldn't, because I will be disappointed if I have put that 2.5 pounds back on, but I don't care. I've got a feeling I've had a "woosh" weight loss moment, and I want to know right NOW...I don't want to wait until weigh-in on Sunday!!!

Today, same as yesterday, just as I was having those thoughts, something fell out of my cabinet, landed on the electronic scale and turned it on. Yesterday it was my hairbrush. Today, my makeup bag. Am I just sloppy and my cabinet messy and overfull? Or is it divine intervention telling me, "do it Kate, weigh yourself now!" (Funny, that divine voice sounds just like my own, pound-obsessed voice). Is it a friendly, weight-conscious spirit? Are we having earthquakes or tremors in Connecticut? Is my butt so generously proportioned that I make the room shake when I walk?

Anyway, I decided to go with divine intervention, and stepped up to the scale. "Get out of town," I said aloud. Down another 1.5 pounds from the same time yesterday morning. That's four pounds since last Sunday. All this from a girl stuck in a plateau for-freaking-ever, who hasn't been to the gym since Sunday??!! Is my body listening? Is God listening? Are you there God? Its me, Kate.

216.5 - lightest I've been since I went to law school in 2002, nine years ago!!

Proof that God exists and loves us? I'm going to have to start my new branch of philosophy, y'all.

On another note, I need more fiber. I'm out of psyllium husk supplements, and I'm getting uncomfortable. I get so much dietary fiber that I can't believe that 2 caplets a day of this stuff makes a difference... but it undeniably does.

Brownies #2 - tastier and lower carb!

Brownies #2

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Servings: 9
Difficulty: Easy


Ingredients:
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) (5 oz) unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated erythritol
36 drops liquid sucralose
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten flour


Directions:
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8" baking pan with foil.
Melt the butter and cool briefly. Combine the butter, sweeteners, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir until the mixture is smooth.
Stir in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flaxseed meal and vital wheat gluten flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer.  Beat a bit longer with a wooden spoon.  Spread evenly in the lined pan.
Bake until a toothpick in the center comes out mostly clean, with some moist flakes, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool.
Lift up the ends of the foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 9 squares.
Entire recipe is 23 grams net carbs. Each brownie is 2.55 grams net carbs.


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Low carb lemon caramel mini cheesecakes

Individual low carb cheesecakes

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Servings: 10
Difficulty: Easy


Ingredients:
12 oz room temp cream cheese
1/2 cup truvia
1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
2 extra large eggs, room temp.
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 packet lemon crystals
3/4 cup room temp sour cream


Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°.
In the bowl of a food processor, blend first three ingredients until smooth.
Add eggs one at a time, blending until incorporated, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
Add remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth.
Place 10 foil liners into a cupcake pan, and distribute batter evenly.
Firmly tap the pan on the counter to force air bubbles to rise to the top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until batter is set, but still jiggly.
Let cool for 4 hours.
Enjoy.  Refrigerate.  Freeze if you don't eat it all in one day.


Carb count is 18 grams for the entire recipe, 1.8 net grams per cheesecake.


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Mid-week weighing produces surprising results.

So, today I did a little mid-week weighing, and I am down to 218!  Finally, downward movement on the scale!  Yahoo!  I am so happy to be out of the 220's - let's keep it that way....forever.  Hot damn. 

Maybe it really is appropriate to blame it on the alcohol. (And by "it", I mean my weight plateau).

Excellent article about fat and nutrition by Whitney Provost from Beachbody.com

The Best Fats to Get Lean, By Whitney Provost (Beachbody.com)

In this article, Ms. Provost talks about how it is healthy to include fat in your diet, and that eating fat helps you lose fat.  She cites a 2008 study performed at Ben-Gurion University, evidencing that people (especially women) who follow low-fat diets lose less weight than those who follow low-carb or moderate-fat diets.  She notes the important role fat plays in controlling blood sugar, and reducing the amount of fat your body stores after eating meals.  

Ms. Provost recommends that you eat the right kind of fat to get fit.  This means avoiding saturated and transfats, and choosing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.  She identifies five sources of fat that can help you reach your weight goal, including: (1) fatty fish like salmon; (2) heart healthy oils like olive oil; (3) avocados (noting that "scientists...found that more antioxidants were absorbed when people ate a salad containing avocados than when they ate a salad without this tasty fruit"); (4) nuts; and (5) flaxseeds.

My clothes don't fit... again?

Today, I am wearing my new size 16W trousers, which I bought only two weeks ago, on 3/7.  They were snug then.  Unbelievably, they are baggy now.  I looked back at my “stats” and it appears that I have lost 1.5 inches in my waist since then, and ½ inch around my hips.  I haven’t even worn the other pants that I bought that day.  I have to try them on – I may have to return them or get another size.  I was hoping to be able to wear these for a while.  Maybe some stretchier pants might work?

Measuring Obesity.

Bye-bye BMI? Tape may measure obesity better, MSNBC.com, by Linda Carroll, 8/23/06

"The best way to predict heart attack risk and other obesity-related diseases is a measurement that divides the circumference of your waist by your hips.  If you’re a woman, the waist-to-hip ratio should come out as no more than 0.8. Men have a little more wiggle room: a healthy waist-to-hip ratio for them is 0.95. This means, if your belly has bulged out enough to catch up to the size of your hips, you should start worrying about your heart, experts say.  That’s because abdominal fat is more likely than fat stored in other spots to lead to changes in hormone levels and to cause inflammation, which in turn leads to clogged arteries, says Dr. Gordon A. Ewy, a professor and chief of cardiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and director of the school’s Sarver Heart Center. So, “fat on a woman’s hips doesn’t seem to increase risk, whereas a beer belly does,” Ewy says." 


I calculated my own W/H BMI over the past 6 weeks using the Waist-Hip Ratio BMI Calculator.

Here are the results, calculated by my end-of-the week measurements:

Week 3  0.862745098

Week 4  0.848484848

Week 5  0.854166667

Week 6  0.854166667

Week 7  0.833333333

Week 8  0.831578947

The spirit cries "gazelle." The shadow yells "walrus." Article by Jennifer Graham

"Confessions of a fat runner", is a great article on running by a woman who is a self-proclaimed "endomorph".  Don't let your size hold you back!

Also, great blog about an awesome woman doing a half-marathon for charity, and she's got some junk in her trunk - inspirational!!

End of week eight - weigh in 3/20/11

I so wanted to hit 217 pounds today.  That is the number I’ve been looking for, for
WEEKS!  Instead, my weight remains unchanged, though my measurements continue to shrink.  Am I building LBM and losing fat simultaneously?  This is a possibility.   I am ready for a 4 pound weight loss.  Ugh!!  I can’t get out of the 220s, and it is really getting on my nerves!  From last week, I lost .25 inches around my neck, .5 inches from my bust, .5 inches from my waist, and .5 inches from my hips.  My clothes fit better.  Slow and steady… too slow and steady!!   All that I can say is…thank God I’ve been doing the measurements.  I would be so disappointed by this point without them showing, at least, some fat loss every week.  Maybe I need to get a device that measures BMI.  Some calipers?  Ugh!!

What's the deal?  I'm in ketosis all the time.  I eat low carb.  I exercise regularly.  My only folly is that I have the occasional glass or two of wine when I go out.  Is that enough to mess with my weight loss? 

This week, alcohol free for me.

Revised cheesecake recipe

Individual low carb cheesecakes

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Servings: 10
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
12 oz room temp cream cheese
1/2 cup truvia
1tablespoon coconut palm sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 packet lemon crystals
3/4 cup room temp sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°.
In the bowl of a food processor, blend first three ingredients until smooth.
Add eggs one at a time, blending until incorporated, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
Add remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth.
Place 10 foil liners into a cupcake pan, and distribute batter evenly.
Firmly tap the pan on the counter to force air bubbles to rise to the top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until batter is set, but still jiggly.
Let cool for 4 hours.
Enjoy.
Refrigerate or freeze.

Carb count is 1.8 net grams per cheesecake.

Brownie postmortem

I made the brownies yesterday as planned. The truvia used amounts to 3/4 cup. They were a little too dense and did not have the right texture. They needed less or no almonds, and more flour- textured product, maybe replace almonds with soy flour. Maybe a bit more truvia. Less butter. They were also too big. (What!?) Well, with all of that dietary fiber, they are a little bulky... let's just say they moved things along in a healthy, metamucil kinda way. I have had three healthy movements since eating these last night. I've been cleansed! Lol. I think cutting them into 12 portions would be better, and would spread out the carbs and fiber a bit more. To be revised!

Sweetness

I'm going to start experimenting with no carb and lower carb low GI sweeteners in low carb baked goods.

I recently bought a small tub of Thai Taste-brand natural palm sugar (paste form) at Whole Foods, in the Asian foods aisle. The tub says that it only has 3 grams of carbohydrates per 1 tablespoon (yes tablespoon) of the paste. (The granulated form seems to have more carbs in it, from what I’ve read online).

It is the best tasting sugar product I have ever eaten… hands down. The paste is a little messy, but I think it is worth it.

AM I CRAZY TO TINKER WITH DELICIOUS SWEET THINGS?  Maybe not?  I hope!  I'm trying to incorporate small amounts of it into baked goods that I make with no carb sweeteners, to make the sweetness a little more palatable without affecting the low-carb character of the dessert.  This is a low GI sugar product.  Using 1 tbsp in a recipe that makes more than a dozen servings should not be a huge deal.  (Famous last words?)  Plus, even MD Eades uses a bit of brown sugar in her low carb cookie recipes. 

Note: I read that some of the coconut palm sugar that you get in Asian markets is cut with refined cane sugar. Also, it seems that sugar from the palmyra date palm has more carbs than sugar from the coconut palm. So, check the side of the container!

Used together with Thai Taste’s green curry paste, this makes a phenomenal green thai curry. Yum Yum.  Eating it did not knock me out of ketosis.  So far so good.

3/17: Corned Beef, Its What's for Dinner (seriously, and here's how I make it)...

Corned beef and cabbage (slow cooker)

Ingredients:

1 corned beef flat cut, about 4 pounds

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 onion, cut into quarters

1 carton low sodium chicken stock

3 large carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces, washed not peeled (these are not for you!)

4 small red potatoes, washed not peeled (ditto, don’t eat!)

1 green cabbage, cut into eight wedges

1/2 stick butter, cut into cubes

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup sour cream (full fat)

2 tbsp creamed horseradish (or to taste)

*Note: I prefer to cook the corned beef the day before I want to eat it, then refrigerate, slice the next day, and warm up the slices in the buttery chicken stock (from cooking the veggies) with some leftover corned beef cooking liquid thrown in.  This technique gives the fat in the corned beef a chance to resolidify, so when you cut it, you will get nice slices and it won’t break up into bits.  If you do it all on the same day, the corned beef will be delicious, but it will shred a bit.  Using an electric knife to cut the corned beef helps keep it together somewhat.  You are going to freak when you taste the corned beef with the horseradish sauce.  It is amazing!!

Procedure:

The “Slow” Part:

1. Line the cold crock pot with a crock pot liner (you’ll thank me later).  Lay the beef in the bottom of the crock pot.  Drizzle Worcestershire and soy sauce on the beef, sprinkle beef with pepper flakes, arrange onion slices around beef.
2. Reserve ½ cup of the stock and stick in the fridge for later. 
3. Pour remaining chicken stock around the beef (not on top of it – you want to leave the chili flakes on the meat).
4. Set the crock pot to low, put the lid on, and cook for about 8 hours (or until you get home from work).

Ready to Eat:

5. After the meat is cooked, carefully remove it from the crock pot and set it aside to cool for a bit.
6. Place a large pot on the stove, set to medium heat (on your electric stove – if you are using gas, you want a solid simmer, so don’t put the spurs to it).  Add the reserved chicken stock to the pot.  Layer the carrots, then the potatoes, then the cabbage, sprinkling each layer with a little salt and pepper.  (Don’t overdo it – your corned beef is going to be salty enough!)  Dot the top with butter.  Put the lid on the pot, and let the veggies steam and get delicious and soft.  It should take about 30-45 minutes.  The carrots will take the longest to cook, so check those for doneness.  If your cooking liquid dries up too quickly, turn down the heat a bit, and either add some water, or a bit of the cooking liquid from the corned beef.
7. Mix together the sour cream and horseradish.  Note: prepared horseradish is sometimes very spicy, sometimes not so much.  Try 1 tbsp first, then add more if you want a bit more heat.  Don’t be surprised if you have dud horseradish.
8. When the veggies are done, remove from heat, and gently put on a big platter, keeping the veggies separated (because you’re not eating the carrots or potatoes, friend!) 
9. Place the beef on a cutting board, and with either a very sharp knife or an electric knife (Do you have one?  If not, get one!) slice against the grain.  I prefer thin slices.  Lay your corned beef in a casserole dish, spoon some of the buttery chicken stock from the veggies on top, or some of the beef cooking liquid on top. 
10. Serve it up, and enjoy. 

Leftovers are phenomenal (you may not have any, though).  You can make a low-carb corned beef hash for breakfast the next day, just substitute frozen cubed turnips for the potatoes, and serve with sunny side up eggs.  OMG.  So delicious!!

Brownie recipe to try tonight...

4 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate  16 g carbs

3/4 cup  butter or margarine 0 g carbs

22 packets truvia  0 g carbs

1 tbsp palm sugar 3 g carbs

3   eggs 0 g carbs

1 tsp. vanilla 1 g carbs

1 cup  flour

¼ cup vital wheat gluten 6 carbs

¼ cup almond meal 6 carbs

½ cup flaxseed meal 0 carbs

32 g carbs / 9 brownies = 3.6 g carbs ea

loosely based on baker's one bowl brownies

Patellar tendinopathy and me

Today I went to the MD because wanted to check on my knee following my "club kid" knee injury, sustained at my aunts 40th birthday party. Turns out I have jumpers knee, and she is sending me to physical therapy. On the up side, it sounds like a sporty type of injury, which is something that fat people love! During my appointment my MD noted my weight loss from the last time that i was there - 15 pounds from mid january. And my bp was really good - 108/78. Yummy notes: We had some yummy homemade Thai green curry with pork, peppers and broccoli. It was killer. Surprisingly low carb too. I learned that palm sugar, which is an ingredient in curry, has only 3 carbs per tablespoon. I think that is pretty good, considering it tastes better than brown sugar, which has 15.5 g of carbs per tablespoon. Good substitute!

Musings, hormones, and self appearance (Not Quasimodo)

Yesterday, I kicked a little ass on the elliptical machine.  Oh yes, I did.  I always thought it was way harder to do than the treadmill.  However, now that I’m old, I realize something.  It can be distinctly uncomfortable to run on a treadmill due to the concussion that running causes to my prematurely-aged feet, ankles and knees.  Ouch.  The elliptical eliminates that concussion.  Also, I realized that the action of picking up and putting down your feet makes you breathe harder.  Oof.  So, the elliptical is actually easier to do than the treadmill.  That makes me wary of whether I will be able to run the 5K in May.  I mean, if the treadmill hurts that bad, the pavement is going to have to be even worse!  I don’t want to really mess up my joints, but I do want to run.  The elliptical gets my heart racing, but it doesn’t simulate running.  What to do, what to do.  I am going to have to make an appointment with my MD anyway, so this is just one more issue that I’m going to bring up.

I had some ridiculously good corned beef and cabbage in the office cafeteria today.  I am still starving, though!  It is nearly impossible to low carb snack at the office, as I left my new bag of almonds at home, and I have no other noshes here.

I am wearing a new outfit that I just received for my birthday yesterday.  It is a dress and sweater, size XL, and both fit comfortably, I am happy to say.  I can really tell a difference in my body as a result of my weight and measurements loss to date.  I appear a lot narrower in my profile view, and the top of my butt does not look like a shelf you could rest small photographs on.  (I am slightly exaggerating).  Clothes just look better on.  When I try to squeeze in to pants that are still a little too tight, I don’t have a muffin top thing happening.  Its good.

I am not excited about my vitamins.  Part of me really wants to blow them off.  I hate taking them – ick.  They are too big, and there are too many.  But I know that I do feel better on them, and my hair and skin looks better.

I think that I am hormonal, which is surprising, and surprisingly, a good thing.  I was looking back at my personality-related posts of last week, and man, was I a hardcore, beastly, bitch of a woman.  Also, I am all broken out on my chin.  These are, traditionally, signs that I am getting my period.  However, I haven’t gotten one in a while, because I haven’t been ovulating. 

My doctor suggested, years ago, that I may have PCOS, or poly cystic ovarian syndrome, because of some of the symptoms I was having (irregular periods, facial hair, overweight despite diet changes).  She sent me to a nutritionist, who put me on a low carb diet (which I never followed).  I never followed up on it. 

Now, I’m starting to think about having another child, so I’m consulting with this new MD, who has one all of this testing on me and is taking another look at my old medical records from my last OB and primary care MD.  I stopped taking the pill back in December, and I haven’t had a period since.  The new MD says I’m not ovulating, and we’re trying to figure out why.  Since I’ve had these PCOS symptoms forever, the MD said that it was practically a miracle that I got pregnant the first time. 

Now, I feel distinctly like I’m about to get my period, which only happens if you’ve ovulated.  So, if I got my period without medical intervention, that would be a good thing. 

I’d like to believe that as I get healthier, my body is getting back on track and will be operating normally.  Boy, I’d like for it to operate normally.  I would really like to not have scalp psoriasis (I’m flared up and hating it right now), and I would like to have the ability to get pregnant (even if I don’t actually try to get pregnant right away).  I would also like to get off of these high blood pressure meds, get my cholesterol well under the recommended max for normal, not have joint pain when I run, and never have my freaking back go out again! 

I know that all of these are good goals.  The true, overarching goal, though, is to feel like a normal 31 year old, and not like someone who periodically feels like she’s 80.  I’m tired of feeling like a scaly, hairy, mean, old geezer.  (Jesus, I just make myself sound like Quasimodo sans hump!!)

Looking better in my clothes, while satisfying, is just NOT ENOUGH.  Come on, old body, get with the flipping picture!

They say its your birthday...happy birthday to ya! Weigh in...

I did not design this schedule, such that I would end up weighing in on this, my thirty-first birthday.  That was just happenstance.  I am up .5 pounds, which I believe to be a product of having my birthday party last night.  My food was all strictly low carb (love that BBQ joint), but I did indulge in some wine with dinner, and champagne later at night with just me and hubby.  It was so good.  I am a little mealy mouthed today.  Gonna weigh in again tomorrow and see if there is a correlation between bad weigh ins and "the day after".  (Note: I already know the correlation between “the day after” and gastro discomfort...a little binding…)

This was a good weekend for me…despite the fact that Friday evening started out stressful, with an angry call from a loony relative, which I met with my own brand of ferocious, righteous anger (little did he know, I was still nurturing a little "evil Kate" in my bones, to which I gave full force and effect).  That incident aside, Saturday was a good birthday weekend kickoff for me.  Family and I painted our own pottery at a local studio, home for lunch (and a failed attempt at “skillet” cauliflower pizza), then mommy went to the spa for a facial and massage.  Ah, sweet, sweet bliss!  I left that place  with legs like wet noodles.  It was just what the b-day called for, a little self-indulgence. 

Now, dehydrated and somewhat disgusting, I am going to suck down some H20 and get my booty to the gym for some “back to reality” (as if daylight savings time wasn’t enough of that).  Luckily, I have really been excited to get back to the gym after my freak, "club kid" knee injury.

Oh happy happy day (of my birth)!!

Let me introduce evil Kate...

Yesterday, i was really mean... Totally grumpy, completely frustrated, with no tolerance for anything. I have no idea what is going on. It persisted today. I am fighting it, but with little success. Everything is annoying me and i find myself smiling around clenched teeth. I am not fooling anyone! I cannot attribute it to anything in particular! I hope it cuts out before I get voted out of the house! It is seriously strange... I look back at the blog and I am usually in pretty good spirits. The diet is going well. I am low carbing consistently and I have stayed in ketosis for the past couple of weeks without interruption. I haven't been able to exercise like I have been...that kind of bums me out. Good things have happened this week, at work, at home and with city stuff. Gotta be positive.

3/8/11 - tired and injured. blame it on the ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ahl-co-hol

Exercise: I am tired today.  I hurt my knee on Saturday, and it does not feel good still.  I am a little bummed because I really want to keep up with the schedule for the Race training program that I’m on, but I’m not stupid and realize that I don’t want to really hurt myself in the process.  So, patience.  I have to go pick up the Rx my MD called in for me for some extra strength naprosyn, that should hopefully help out.  On the upside, I truly want to go to the gym.  I hate it when I’m there, but a part of me really likes that I’m getting my ass in gear and actually going on a regular basis.

Diet and Alcohol Consumption: Well, my “food” is all strictly low carb.  However, this weekend and last night I drank some alcohol.  Although I had relatively low carb beverages (wine and some martinis), alcohol is definitely not allowed on Atkins or I&N.  The Spanish ketogenic diet allows red wine, but I’m not on that diet, and I’m not really into fish enough to want to get on it.  So, I hope that doesn’t muck things up.  My weight was down on Sunday from the week prior despite my night of drinking on Saturday, but… I really exercised and busted my hump dancing on Saturday night, so I wonder if I would have had a greater weight loss on Sunday had I not had the alcohol.  There is a lot of discussion online that alcohol can really delay the weight loss process on a low carb diet.  However, I have been testing and I’m still in ketosis, which is a good thing.  

Ketosis: In fact, I’ve been in ketosis for… is it really three weeks??  Let me check… Yes.  I’ve been officially in ketosis since 2/17 (which is when I began testing), although I was probably in ketosis on 2/15, when I first started noticing the metallic taste in my mouth.  It is March 8^th.  That’s 21 days, or exactly 3 weeks.  Yikes. 

Notes: I clearly have to input into my food journal everyday, or I forget what I ate and have to put “I can’t remember” into the journal.  Jeez.  When did my memory get so bad?  You know what it is…I’m just not as into food as I used to be.  I think that I’m starting to make the transition into “eating to survive” instead of “eating for pleasure”.  Because, while I certainly find food pleasant and enjoyable, I’m definitely not into it like I was before.  Don’t get me wrong, I really wanted to eat that birthday cake on Sunday, and the brownies at brunch on Saturday, and the pasta on Sunday, but it wasn’t really a big deal to avoid it.  I did feel a little awkward on Sunday, though, eating a troth of lettuce and chicken (4 thighs…how embarrassing!!) and having to field questions about why I’m not eating pasta or cake.  My answer: “I’m eating gluten-free these days”.  Why do people pay attention to this stuff?  Generally, I fess up to low carb with family or friends (at some point, they figure it out themselves anyway, and at some point, you get invited to an event, and you need to make sure of what’s for dinner, so that you can bring your own or augment as necessary), but sometimes you just don’t want to hear people criticize the diet.  Worse, is when people tell you that it is okay for you to cheat “just this once”.  I actually looked at the diabetic uncle who carelessly made this suggestion on Sunday, pointed to his massive slice of deep chocolate cake with peanut butter cream filling, buttercream frosting, chocolate ganache and huge pieces of chocolate artfully sticking out of the top like a delicious version of a hedgehog (a truly beautiful, gourmet, designer cake), and said “Uncle John, that cake on your plate probably has at least 300 grams of pure sugar in it.  Neither one of us should be eating it.”  He was suitably chastened, and reminded that it is not pleasant to be told, in public, what you can and cannot (or should or should not) eat.  I walked into another room, had a glass of water, and watched some tube until they were done with the cake. 

Low carb pizza?

Check out this recipe from this great low carb blog i found today! **update** I made this for dinner last night and it was ridiculously good. My husband and daughter ate it, too, and we had no leftovers. I topped it with vodka sauce, pepperoni,, chicken italian sausage, mozz and parm. Oh, and I followed a suggestion on the foregoing blog and added 1/4 cup parm To the crust. Will make again!!

Weigh In, 3/6/11, end of week 6

The end of week 6 is nigh! 

Weigh In: well, I finally hit my 220 milestone.  It is good news :)  My measurements didn't change so dramatically this week, which is kind of a bummer. Maybe it is one of those things.... lose weight or lose inches, but not both at the same time?  Who knows?  Anyway, I'm glad for the weight reduction.

This weekend: was fun, and a little wild.  Saturday started off soooo healthy.  First thing in the morning, I hit the gym, did week 1 day 1 of the race training program and the full weight training circuit.  To the grocery store for some healthy food items, home to prepare a bunch of low carb stuff for the week.  Later, however, I went out with the girls for my aunt's birthday.  We did dinner and went to a club for dancing and a show.  The food was good....shrimp cocktail, strip steak, asparagus, oh my.  Delicious.  However, I did drink alcohol: 2 glasses of cabernet sauvignon and 2 vodka martinis with extra lime.  Sinfully good.  I danced all night.  I'm definitely feeling it today, with my tired, old lady knees (holy crap they hurt), my scratchy man voice, and a good dose of cottonmouth.

I will post more later, after the hangover dissipates.  Ugh.

Saturday 3/5/11 - gym, cookery, goin' out!

So, this morning I got up and went to the gym.  I did week 1, day 1 of the race training and boy, was it hard.  Its not my cardio, either - jogging is physically uncomfortable!  My feet hurt.  What's that all about?  Maybe I need to get some new sneaks, or put in some arch supports.  I'm going to go to the runner's shoe store near me and see what they say about it.  Hope they're open on a Sunday.  I'll hit it on my way to the office tomorrow.

I spent a lot of the day cooking.  I did cupcake-sized mini quiches with bacon, broccoli and cheddar for breakfast this week.  The recipe made 12 quiches, which I froze.  I also made some bigos - polish "hunter's style" sauerkraut with pork, kielbasa and bacon.  It is so good, and sooo perfect for a low carb diet, but you gotta like cabbage (and I do!!).  I've also got some of my controversial chili, which I defrosted and will incorporate into my diet this week.  I would have left it alone, but my dad had a hankering for a chili dog, and I could only defrost the entire thing of chili, not bits at a time, so there you go...

Tonight I'm going out for my aunt's 40th birthday.  Yahoo. I went shopping yesterday, and bought myself a new skirt - size 16 regular.  That's down from an 18W, and its freaking fantastic.  I'm wearing it out tonight with some boots and a black tee.  I'll be very monochromatic.  Maybe even a little goth.  We're going to bar for a drag show, but before that, we're going to a totally normal restaurant for dinner...  so I can't go all out!!

Disclosure!  I plan on having 1-2 drinks tonight.  I will be very careful with what I eat, and I'll stick with low-carb drinks, too.  But there will be alcohol involved!

Sweet Sweet Friday

Things are going well.  I'm still in ketosis.  However, although I continue to follow the diet, I do so without thought.  So, I'm not really feeling like I'm dieting anymore. 

I am having some concerns about craving.  I am not really "craving" anything as in "I'm obsessing about it and I can't stop myself from bingeing", but I can't help but want to eat some sweets.  Oh, sweetie sweetie sweetie sweets, how I lust to imbibe you!  I now have a few low-carb things in the house that I made myself, which I could consume and technically not break I&N rules... like my low carb almond macaroons and my low carb individual cheesecakes.  But I am conflicted. 

I feel guilty and I want to be good!!  I want this WoE to work.  I&N don't limit your intake of cheese, cream, or nuts.  You can have sweets as long as they are low carb and don't contain a huge amount of sugar substitutes.  My sweet treats comply with I&N... but I've been following this Atkins forum online, and I've reread DANDR 2002, and Atkins induction restricts you to 4 oz. of cheese, 3 tbsp of cream, and no nuts, daily, on induction.  No peanut butter on Atkins - but on I&N peanut butter is allowed.  I am torn, because one of the things that makes me able to stick to I&N is that I don't feel deprived because I get to enjoy the foregoing items which are prohibited at this stage of Atkins.  The problem has been that I've followed I&N well, and though I'm losing inches, my official weekly weigh ins have remained static for a few weeks now.  So, I'm torn.  DANDR 2002 promises (but will it deliver?) greater results with only slightly more restriction.  I&N is easier for me to follow and still keeps me in ketosis.  I mean, if I'm in ketosis, and I'm exercising (which I will today, God help me, its been a nutso week), the fat should be melting and the weight should be dropping.  What about the Spanish Ketogenic Diet that produces liposuction-like results (and requires daily ingestion of red wine, which is prohibited on I&N and Atkins)?  I need to make a choice about which specific ketogenic WoE I am going to follow, or I think that I risk falling off the boat entirely.  My fear about falling off the boat is not because I am craving, or because my heart is not in it - I fear carelessness and inattention will lead me astray, and I'll find myself back to where I was 6 weeks ago - uncontrollably snacking at night, with one carby snack leading to another and to another...  So, I have choices to make.

Can I just say, holy crap, I can't believe that I am at the end of the 5th week of this diet, and according to I&N, my only cheats have alcohol-related (the champagne fiasco on V-Day, one glass of wine with Pete a couple of weeks ago, and 1 martini last Saturday).  I have to give myself mad props (is that term still cool with the kids?) for sticking with this for such a long time.  I have never, ever, been so good on a diet and lasted this long.  I think the credit goes to me - but not to the thinking part of me, or the "willpower" part of me (which I have not really had to exercise), but the endocrinological parts of me, which, if the ketosis experts are right, are no longer causing my brain to shoot out the message that I am in desperate need of fried chicken and chocolate cake NOW.  I do miss these things (and I will find an excellent low carb fried chicken recipe if it kills me), but I am not fiending after them like an addict.

When it comes to food, I am a different person than I used to be.  I feared for a long time (until very recently) that I had a food addiction or compulsion that I could barely control.  I had never really felt true "hunger" (like rumblings in my belly) but I always had the intense desire to eat, which I was often unable to ignore.  Indeed, to me, "hungry" or the need (not desire) to eat has only ever been manifested by a sudden bout of dissiness or nausea.  When I ate, I never felt satisfied with the food I ate.  There were two postprandial reactions for me: either I had deprived myself and was still hungry, or I had stuffed myself to the gills and was sick to my stomach.  I&N has changed everything: I haven't felt hungry since the first week of this WoE, and I certainly haven't felt stuffed to the gills either.  I am feeling satisfied with meals for the first time ever, and I don't get that intense desire to eat anymore. 

What does this mean?  Answer: this diet has challenged my well-established perceptions about myself, and as a result, I learned a great deal about me and my body, and I no longer criticize myself for my former “failings” in weight management and control.

Race in the Park!

Okay, I have created my Race team for the upcoming CTBHI Race in the Park.  I am very excited.  I want to complete the CoolRunning couch to 5K program by that date, May 7^th, so that I can run the 5K if I want to, in lieu of (or, I suppose, in addition to, doing the 4K walk).  This is my goal.  Let’s do it!

My clothes don't fit!!?? 3/2/11

Typically, I wear business appropriate separates with blouses or a sweater to the office, and I keep a black jacket there just in case I meet with a client or end up learning at the last minute that I have to be at court. I only wear suits occasionally, usually once every 2-3 weeks.  I haven’t had to wear a suit since I began this diet on January 23^rd. 

This morning, I was trying to find a suit to wear for court this afternoon.  I picked out my favorite pantsuit and a blouse.  The pants bagged at the waist and thighs, and looked like clown wear.  The jacket was very loose.  On to my next favorite pantsuit.  Same deal.  I spent at least 10 minutes trying on every pantsuit that I had in my closet, and the pants were all too big. 

I ended up grabbing a black skirt and jacket from the back of the closet where I keep my tight-fitting clothes that I don’t want to donate just yet.  The skirt and jacket aren’t tight fitting at all, and they fit just perfectly. 

Holy shit….am I seeing more concrete proof of my weightloss?

I am down at least one dress size, all of a sudden.  I was an uncomfortable 18W last time I wore those clothes, now they are too big to wear, and I’m back to sporting 16W clothes with ease. 

The best part, I went downstairs, and put on my wool overcoat, which always fits too tightly when I have on a suit, and I rarely button it.  Today, I buttoned it over my suit and I had plenty of wiggle room throughout. 

I got compliments on my outfit this morning.  I am so pleased, and I can’t wait to go through my closet and see what else does not fit.

Water retention

Note to self:
Every time that I forget to take my HBP meds for a couple of days, I end up retaining at least 2 lbs of water. 

Make that a Food and Exercise Journal.

Keeping track of it all.  Will I ever tire of buffalo wings?

3/1/11, "which low carb diet is best for me... charting my own course"

I realized today that I've probably been overdoing it with the cheese and nuts.  I think that I&N is a little too lax on the instructions.  I&N is based on Atkins, but much more loosey-goosey on the restrictions.  I've been following the Atkins diet bulletin board, realizing that this loosey-gooseyness (is that a word?) is probably causing me to eat too many carbs and not enough protein and fat.  I've been doing the research on ketogenic diets, in general.  I'm going to try to create my own unified approach, based on Atkins and the recent studies that have come out.  I've ordered a kindle copy of the "New Atkins" and also the original "Atkins", which includes Atkins' testimony to the Senate in '73.  I'm going to think about and chart a course that works for me.  In the meanwhile, I'm going to do I&N but make sure that it doesn't violate Atkins induction rules.  That means NO PEANUT BUTTER.  Oh breakfast, how shall I eat you now??  I will puke if I have to eat bacon and eggs every day, or some variation thereon!!