Slow going...

...but it's all ok.

I had a bit of an accident on Sunday... No, not a carb-accident. I injured my foot. Actually, it is embarrasing to say that a porch swing, with myself and another person in it, crashed onto my foot. Now, this has really inspired me to wanna drop some poundage, cause I never wanna be the cause of another porch swing crash.

So, my foot hurts, I've been mostly immobile. Of course, with a family, it is hard to be completely still. After a set of xrays, the doctor has concluded that there are no broken bones. Good and bad. I'm not broken, so there is no reason for anyone to take care of me... but I'm in enough pain that I can't do much. ::sigh::

Well, on with the show, anyway. I'm planning on making a cheesecake this evening. And a few other things, like a roast chicken for dinner tomorrow, some egg muffins for the week, and I'm going to cook up some chicken breasts and divy it out into portions. Like last time, I am thinking that I still have a portion-control issue. But fortunately, I have a food scale. I bought this just before I jumped off the wagon. So, it should come in handy.

I'll upload some colorful pictures of the injured foot later.

I'm back...

...and at it again.

I started back low-carbing on Ash Wednesday. Needless to say to all you veteran low-carbers, it was HELL! I was shakey, grouchy, achey, and experienced a couple of low sugar episodes, I even pulled out the peanut butter and hershey kisses!

So today is day 8! And... I am amazingly down 5 lbs. I could literally kick my self. I have put back on part of the weight I lost in the beginning. I haven't gone back to look at where I was yet... for fear of being so depressed that I'll jump off the wagon or something.

So, here is an AMAZING idea I found...

I made egg muffins! No, not egg mcmuffins, although I DO LOVE THEM! This is how I did it.

I took a muffin pan with 12 muffin holes and criscoed them up real good.

I fried up some sausage, I used about 1/2 lb. You could use any meat you liked... be sure to check the carb content as some meat products add fillers and such, but even then it won't be much.

I chopped up a bunch of veggies... peppers, mushrooms, onions, asparagus, olives.

I mixed up 12 eggs in a bowl.

I placed about 1 Tbsp or so of meat into each muffin tin. I added veggies to each one. Not every tin contained the same veggies or the same amount of veggies. I poured the eggs into each tin. Then I topped with just a little cheddar cheese.

I popped these babies into a 375 degree oven for about 25 to 35 minutes. I let them cool and then I jiggled them out, one by one, to ensure that I left NO egg in the tin. Then I put them into a container and refrigerated them. Voila! I have breakfast for 6 to 12 days!! Easy.

The only thing I would do differently, if I had the them, is I would use silicone muffin pans or tins. I am looking into investing in this, but as of this writing, I still have the cheap muffin tins. The recipe I used recommended using paper muffin tins and doubling them and spraying them with cooking spray. I may try this next time if I do not have the silcone yet. Also, if you use silicone pans, you can add 3 additional eggs to the recipe. The muffin tins must be bigger...

So, good luck to all who are still out there and I am so glad to be back on the low-carb band wagon. I feel much better and much less achey. I even have more energy and it is only a week... I know this is not placebo! I know it is because I am putting good fuel into my body.

Knock Knock Knockin'

I am soooo close to the 40 pound mark... The week is going well, as far as my WOE. I like this low-carb 'diet'. It is simple, easy, filling. I went to Wendy's with my kids yesterday. I ordered something that I would have NEVER ordered in my former low-fat, calorie-counting life. I ordered The Baconator! With the Works! As a side, I got a salad. Add a Diet Coke and there is a square meal! (Of course, I discarded the bun.) We ate around 4:30pm. I was good until about 10pm last night. I had some leftover chicken, so I mixed it up with a little mayo, some lettuce, a small tomato... and yummy!

I found a pretty interesting blog this week. It is called Weight of the Evidence. It is kinda academic, but it is VERY informative. If you do a search on her blog for "menu planning", you find a lot of helpful ideas for low-carbing on a budget. This was very helpful for me this week.

Another helpful tool I found this week were some Sample Induction Menu for Atkins. Again, easy and simple. These menus were from their message board participants. So real-life people giving their real-life advice. Good stuff!

My foot still hurts. It isn't as bad, but I'm not about to go running on it again. Biking is good. I've just got to get out there and do it a little more often. And the weight training has been more consistent. I lift every time I go to the Y. Looking for those Kelly Ripa arms!!

I start classes on Monday. I am going into a busy season. School for me, homeschooling the kids, dieting, working out... Plus, my DH just took a job out of town, so he's gone 5 days out of the week. Feeling the pressure!

I know there are only a few of us low-carbers out here in blog land. I'd like to visit more of you and see how YOU are doing it! Leave me a comment so I can come visit. I don't have an IRL support group so much. But I think I can find it online!

Tweaking and planning...

So I REALLY like weighing every day! For a few days, I was getting discouraged... I maintained! But the last two days, I've tracked a loss. It is only 2 pounds total, but I know I am doing the right thing.

I am finding that weighing every day keeps me more aware of how I am eating. Weighing weekly, I was prone to think, "Oh, I'll have this and tomorrow I'll do better." Bad practice. And for those 5 days of plateauing, I was VERY conscious of what I was putting in my body, trying to eat only when I felt hungry and watching the carbs closely.

The biking is working! I am so glad I've found a cardio workout that I can do. My foot is a little better, but when I walk around barefooted for more than a minute or two, it really starts hurting again. So, I'm keeping the shoes on most of the time.

Weight lifting is kind of fun. I'm not going to the Y everyday like I was, but when I do, I am pumping iron, even if it is on a machine and light iron!! That beginners Pilate's class is GREAT! I can tell my core is getting stronger, too.

Last night, I pulled out my "Just My Size Yoga with Megan Garcia". I hadn't actually done this workout, although I've had this DVD for sometime now. It was a good workout to do before bedtime! It ended with a deep relaxation time and it was a great setup for a good night sleep! Before I started the DVD, I kind of had a smug attitude... Oh this will be too easy. I won't like it! I was wrong. It is a slow and deliberate program and it makes allowances for women who have a little more meat on their bones which would otherwise prevent them from performing some of the moves.

I am going to try to pull out my "Plus-size Pilate's" DVD and do it today. I'll let you know how it goes!

As an addition, I am trying to take my kids to the pool a couple of times a week. I get in, also, and I try to do a few laps. I love to swim, so going to the pool is fun, especially since I bought a new bathing suit at the beginning of the summer that I really like.

Good News/Bad News

My computer is home! Yay!

Slow progress elsewhere. Boo!

I've only lost 2 pounds since I last logged in here. I haven't been diligent, but I've atleast not GAINED! The workout has lagged also. I have hurt my foot. I thought it was just plantar faciitis and it may be, but it hurts too much to run on. I even tried to do the elliptical, but no go! I did walk (slowly) 5 miles on Saturday, but the back of my knee (on the other leg) stayed sore until yesterday! I think I am going to stick with bikes for now. It doesn't irritate my foot and isn't too hard on my knees right now. I feel like I am just a mess.

Last week, my kids and I had a play date with my friend from the Y and her daughter. She showed me how she is tracking her progress. I am going to give that a try and see if it helps to motivate me. For the month of August, I have maintained! NO weightloss... another plateau??

I am really glad to be back online.

The Continuing Journey

I love low-carbing. I really do. I've even grown to love my time at the YMCA. And I really have missed it. I've only been once in two weeks... so I've got to work that discipline back into my life. It was just so much easier when I was going in the morning.

Well, if you haven't listened to Jimmy Moore's podcasts lately, he has had a couple that have just blown me away! Most recently, he talked with Eric Morrison, and this has sparked something in me. Eric is a body builder AND a low-carber... actually, he refers to his WOE as the Paleo Diet. I am doing so research into weight lifting for women. I am going to try to incorporate more of this into my routine, while still training to do a 5K.

Jimmy also recently interviewed Dana Carpender! Now, I LOVE Dana! A great friend of mine loaned me 7 Low-carb cookbooks, 3 of Dana's and 4 of Suzanne Somers, and the Dana Carpender books are so awesome. The 15-Minute Low-Carb book is actually just what it says! They recipes are easy, quick, and family friendly! My family has loved ALL the new recipes!

Well, I am going to have to send my computer to the doctor next week... so I'll be away for a week or maybe two. I hope to have great news and terrific numbers to report when I come back!!

Treadmill Running and Eating Out

I put the treadmill on 5K loop today. And I ran! I warmed up and cooled down, but the 5K part I did in 52 minutes. Hey, that is better than my April time!

Next week, my 'plans' are to do a beginners Pilates class on Monday, do C25K on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Water Aerobics on Tuesday and Thursday. I've been doing some weights... I'll probably do those on Wednesday and Friday.

Low-Carbing is going GREAT!! I am finding it easier and easier. I planned to make a Mock-kalhua cheesecake for my birthday (which was the 30th... I am now punching 42 into the treadmill when it asks my age). But I haven't gotten around to that, yet. Eating out is a little tricky, especially when you want to COUNT carbs. I went to a Mexican Restaurant with a friend last week and ordered a Fajita Salad... safe enough, right?? 23 grams of carbs!! Of course if you subtract the 7 grams of fiber, this leaves you with 16 carbs, but then you add 2 more for the Ranch dressing that you ordered on the side... and you have about your total carbs for the day if you are in induction! BOOM!! I am not on induction. I am doing Atkins OWL... and I am giving myself upto 30 carbs... so this didn't hurt too much, since I'd been very low most of the day. I am finding that I am staying closer to 20 carbs most of the time, anyway.

And in 5 days, I've lost 3 lbs. I am thinking that this is pretty groovy. I had been feeling kind of down about the slow loss since March, but it seems I've hit a stride. I am sure the Stillman's is what helped me out of the slump, but I don't plan on doing Stillman's long term.

Thanks for reading!!

Final Tally!!

Well, my goals were to get 100 miles in by my birthday, which is today!! In less than 3 months, I managed to travel 89.66 miles. I knew 100 was ambitious from where I was starting, but 100 was such a nice round number.

As far as weight loss, again I went with an ambitious yet round number. 50 pounds. In 4 months, I lost 28 pounds.

Well, I didn't make my goals, but that means I'm just going to have to set... MORE goals! Cause when you aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it!

So tomorrow I will start. I am going to do Atkins... I'm going to start by doing Ongoing Weight Loss. I am going to attempt to limit my carbs to about 30 and see how that goes. If the weight loss slows or stalls, I'll drop 5 carbs.

I am going to break up the rest of the year into 2 month segements.
So for the next 62 days, I'd like to lose about 30 more pounds. Again, an ambitious number, but I am not afraid!!

I'm going to stick with the 100 miles. So in the next 60 days, I'd like to bike, walk or use the elliptical for 100 miles. I am walking almost 3 miles a day 3x's a week, and then I try to get something in on Sunday. But my mileage is steadily increasing.

To get 30 more pounds off, I'll have to watch the carbs a bit more closely. I don't seem to loose as quickly as some on Atkins or LC, but I am thinking that it may be due to the fact that I have not been counting carbs, cumulatively, rather I've just been eating thinks which are lower in carbs. So I could be over doing it on the carbs, but the good ones, and thereby sabotaging myself.



Here goes!! By August 31st, I hope to have surpassed my goals!!!

Down Again!

I am amazed every time I step on the scale and it has dropped. I am down again!! It is slow, but steady.

I did the 3rd day of C25K. Today, I listened to Podrunner. I kinda liked it. I've used Robert Ullrey's podcast, also. It was helpful. Neither of these are really music that I normally listen to, but I don't know how to do a podcast for running! I will alternate between these two and maybe another one, until I move to week 2.

Now, I'm just wondering what to do for Sunday!

I Caved!!

I totally fell of the Stillmans Wagon!! It was hard! Too restrictive! I felt like a ravenous animal, always eating meat... My children were calling me a carnivore!! I told them if they got too close, I might become a cannibal! So what tripped me up??

BRUSSELS SPROUTS!! I ate brussels sprouts and 1/4 of a sweet potato. I just couldn't resist them! ROFL!!

I'm going back to my newly former woe... I may give Stillman's another try in the future. But for now, I gotta have some greens!!

On the bright side!! I did Day 1 of the Couch to 5K podcast!! Totally excited. I think I am going to skip onto into the C25K training. Yay me!!

Water Aerobics are Hard!!

I've added water aerobics to my list of activity. There is a class on Tuesdays and Thursdays through my YMCA. To me, it seems a lot like weight training, as the water creates a lot of resistance. I am really enjoying the class.

I think I've finally got Stillman's down. Yay. Today, I 'peed on a stick' and made it purple. I don't really know enough about this to understand all that, I just think it means I am burning fat. At least I hope that is what it means!! I am not planning on doing Stillman's long term. Most everyone seems to be doing it for 10 days at a time. Since I didn't really get into the groove until yesterday, I think I will go for 10 days rather than the initial 7 days I had said. That will put me until Thursday. So Friday, I will go back to Atkins. I also have a Stillman's book coming. It is an older, out-of-print book, but I was able to find a copy on Paperbackswap.com!

The Yoga class I was taking was canceled for the summer. I really liked the idea of that kind of strength training. So, I've ordered a stability ball and 2 DVD's; 'Plus Size Pilates' and 'Just My Size Yoga'. I really like the reviews on these DVD's. When I was taking the class, I kept feeling like I was fidgeting to keep my 'girls' from being exposed or I was unable to do some of the moves because the 'girls' were in the way!! LOL I look forward to getting these DVD's and seeing modified moves for those of us who are a little on the fluffy side!!

Still going strong!!

I've been a little inactive here, trying to get back into a groove. It is hard, but I've been maintaining!!

I am going to the Y 3 times a week and I am going to try to go on Sunday afternoons unless we do something really active and fun as a family!

If you will check the ticker, I am up to 75 miles!! This is a cumulative total of walking on a treadmill, walking outside, using the elliptical and riding bikes (both stationary and outside). So I feel like there is some good cross training going on.

I am on Week 3 of The Personal Running Trainer! It has only taken... 8 WEEKS!! But I am continuing to plug away.

Sunday, I went to they Y and punched in the 5K loop. I am glad I did although it still takes just under an hour for me to walk 3.1 miles. Not caring, persevering...

I am going to take the next 7 days, beginning today, to do an experiment. While I am happy with losing 25 lbs., I am a bit impatient. I know that I didn't get this way overnight, but I did expect a little more weight loss in three months... YES, it has been 3 months!! I am going to do "Stillmans" version of low-carb. It is an extreme low-carb plan and shouldn't be continued long term. I plan to only do it for 7 days, if I can. I don't like constipation. I do get tired of meat. I don't like change. The "promise" is that you can lose from 5% to 10% of your body weight in one week. While I don't expect THAT, I do feel like I am on a bit of a plateau and would like to push through it.

I have to confess something, since there is really no truth without full disclosure. I have really been following a low-carb plan. I haven't been counting carbs, but still, felt okay since there was consistent weight loss. For the past 3 weeks, I've been CRAVING like crazy a pizza. I've really resisted that temptation and have managed to stay on track. On Sunday, I finally decided, I want pizza and I'm having pizza!! I ordered a small Stromboli (which is really better than pizza) from a local Italian eatery and ate the whole thing by myself. I don't feel guilty. I don't have any regrets. And I am totally back on track without the constant "I WANT PIZZA" craving!! It may cause a day or two of no weight loss, but I would rather have a small slow down than a major breakdown!

Okay! That's it for today!

Half way to first goal!!

I am so exicted! I've been on vacation for the past almost week... well if you can call camping in the miserable heat a vacation... but whatever!!

I went back to the Y today, after a week off, and I am still losing! The total is 25 pounds now. I want to be down 50 by my birthday, but that may be a tough push. I'll be closer than I was when I started though!! Yea!

Today I spent 27 minutes on the treadmill and 15 minutes on the elliptical. I am still doing Week 2 of The Personal Running Trainer. I feel like I am really doing it now! I am 1/2 way to running 1 mile!!

I am way behind on logging my miles, so I am getting closer, it just isn't on my ticker yet.

Last night, we grilled out with friends. I took UnPotato Salad, zucchini marinated in Italian Dressing (we grilled it on the grill when we got there) and Mud Pie! Oh my!! I am loving Low Carbing! The Unpotato Salad was made with Cauliflower. It was yummy. And I cannot believe I've never had grilled zucchini! If you haven't done this, it is a must! The Mud Pie was a hit with everyone! and 1/12 of the pie was only about 6 carbs. YUMMY!!!

Now, I must find a Peanut Butter Pie. I know it will probably have a higher carb content, but peanut butter is a staple! You know??

All for now!

Becoming an Active Family

I have another blog where I blog about my 'life' in general. I just posted pictures of my garden. Gardening is really a workout! Today, I planted 4 more tomatoe plants, 3 cabbages and 3 lettuce plants, as well as put in half a row of okra. I work on this a little every day or so. This weekend I spent a lot of time in the garden and it was fun but I am sore!

I haven't logged in my workouts yet, but I've been walking and doing the elliptical. Today and yesterday, I did the elliptical for 10 minutes! I cannot even believe I can do that. I am still working towards doing a 5K. Today, I put the treadmill on 5K. I only walked/jogged for 30 minutes though. Every 2 or 3 minutes, I'd go into a jog for a minute, then I'd slow back down to a 3.0 mph walk. I have short legs on my 5' 4" body, so for me this is pretty fast!!

Last week, the Y had a community walk. I took my kids and we walked a mile around downtown. They enjoyed it! This weekend, my older boys went with the Scouts and rode bikes for 10 miles. They are gearing up for a weekend on the Virginia Creeper trail which has a 50 mile bike path. I would love to do this someday. Maybe my younger kids and I can do this the next time they go.

Holy Blog Hits...

I've been very busy for the last 10 days or so... I turn my back for one second and BAM!! My stats have exponentially risen...

Thanks for the mention, Jimmy! Jimmy is the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" guru of the blogosphere And he called me "one happy low-carber"! Considering that I've only been doing this since March 13, I take that as a HUGE compliment!!

Well, now I have an image to live up to... so let me tell you how I've been doing. My weight is still going down. I'm not seeing the rapid loss like some of my forum buddies over at Low Carb Friends. But I am not discouraged. Any negativity is going to be one the scales, not in my attitude!!

This WOE (way of eating) is making a huge impact on my family. My husband, who is a fit specimen of a man, has taken his belt in two notches. My 11, almost 12 year old son, who tends to be soft, like me, told me last week that his favorite pants, which were getting too tight, were now getting loose! My daughter, who is doing her own eating plan but similar to mine and is my workout buddy, has lost 12+ lbs!! I am so pround of her! And my 18 year old son, who is my picky eater, is eating almost everything I cook!

I've really revamped our menu plans. I am cooking almost all low-carb now. I told hubby that when the processed junk was gone (instant potatoes, chips, macaroni and cheese, etc...) that I would not be replacing them. He has been with me through MANY diets and just kind of groaned... Potatoes gone?? Oh no!! But I am making better stuff, like roasted red potatoes, which I am not eating yet, but they can eat them!

Let me tell you two things that YOU MUST HAVE if you plan on learning to low-carb cook. One is rice protien powder. I used this in a tuna fritter recipe... (only I substitued canned salmon). It was almost exactly like my Salmon Patty recipe, except I used the protein rice powder instead of flour. I thought they were yummy! Especially with the homemade tartar sauce! If I would have had whole grain buns, I would have served these as a sandwich. Better than a fish sandwich from McD's any day! But we just had them with a veggie.

Second thing, Xanthan Gum. I stuck a roast in the crock-pot. I ladled out most of the broth and put it into my food processor. I added the smallest spoonful of the Xanthan Gum, and 1/2 an onion and some salt and pepper and processed that stuff with the S-blade and it frothed up into an incredible gravy. I put 2 cans of mushrooms, juice and all, into the crock-pot with the gravy and that roast was delicious!!

I have a few cookbooks that I am pulling all these wonderful recipes from. They are Dana Carpender's "500 Low Carb Recipes", "15-minute Low-Carb Recipes", and "The Low-Carb Barbeque Book". A gracious friend has loaned these to me, so there wasn't the investment involved. If you don't have the funds to add to your personal library, I'll bet Dana's books are in your local library. Or click on the link above... She has a blog and an ezine that I just found!!

Two more things before I fly out of here. I've stuck to my work-out plan that I lined out earlier... almost. There has been a day off here and there. And this week I am doing Week 2 of the Personal Running Trainer! It is so hard, but there is some kind of weird adrenal rush after I work through this 20 minute program and realize that I AM RUNNING AGAIN!! I am sure I am a sight for those at my Y. But who cares! I am having fun.

And, I chose a vitamin 'regime'... I really hate picking out what to take. And following some of Jimmy's ideas, I chose the following from Netrition:

Women's Fitness Pak by Universal Nutrition. This is specifically formulated for women. There are 30 packs. 8 of them are pink packs that you take beginning on day 1 of your menstrual cycle. I am very close, so I am finishing out my other vitamins and I'll begin taking these on my day 1.

NOW Foods SAMe 200mg. SAMe is touted as a 'nervous system support'. When taking SAMe, a B-supplement should be added. This particular formulation has the B in it! That means one less pill! Yay me! I have used SAMe in the past to help with depression. Seeing as how I've been through some pretty tragic losses in the last 4 months, I am going to stay on the SAMe for now. I have a 2 month supply (60 pills), so I'll at least take these.

NOW Foods Probiotic Defense. I have a tendency to run sweet. I've battled with yeast off and on since the birth of my last baby. Diabetes is significant in my family. My great-grandfater died in his 40's from diabetes. My grandmother struggled with diabetes her whole life, but never had to take insulin. My uncle (her son) is border-line diabetic and full blown hypo-glycemic. I had a hypo-glycemic attack not long before I started low-carbing and it took about 30 minutes for me to get myself back together. I've had NO problems since I've been low-carbing, but after listening to Jimmy's lovely podcast with Doug Kaufmann, I decided a round of probiotics were in order. You can take up to 3 a day, but I am only taking 1 a day. I have to warn you... I did have a couple of "I gotta go now" episodes after taking these. But when I was battling Candida, I had similar episodes during the die-off stage.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks to all who have visited! I'd love to hear your comments or suggestions. I am such a newbie at this and am an eager learner!!