Snow was NOT on the menu for May 1, 2013. I don't remember menu planning that at all! It has been snowing now for a couple of hours and we're supposed to get 6-9 inches. I'm deciding on whether or not I'm willing to give up my flip flops for shoes again.
We had a "bug" of some sort go through our house the past week. It was not fun, the last little guy is getting it so now it's time to play catch-up on all the housework again.
My weight loss has stalled slightly. I keep getting frustrated but then remember that I didn't put this weight on over a couple of months so I can't except it to come off in a couple of months. But I did relook at what I'm eating to make sure I'm not getting sugar or starches in without realizing it. For example, I had made cole slaw, which is my all-time favorite food, and you'll see below I even eat it for breakfast if it's in the house, probably had more carbohydrates than I realized since I had used Miracle Whip and carrots. I keep forgetting I'm not supposed to have carrots right now.
I know my body is burning fat. I really should take my measurements because I did have a pair of pants fall right down so stuff is happening because my clothes are looking and feeling different on me. I also know that my body is burning fat for fuel because I've been monitoring ketones every day.
When your body enters into ketosis, the body produces ketones, which is a sign that the body is burning fat for fuel. Since the body is not getting carbohydrates for energy, it uses the body's own fat for energy. There are urinary ketone test strips that measure urine for ketones. I use the ketone test strips as another measure to keep me on track. They also remind me to keep drinking water because high levels of ketones are also an indication of dehydration. I saw this when I was sick for five days and it was a good reminder to drink more fluids.
Breakfast
2 eggs scrambled over cole slaw (vinegar based made with splenda instead of sugar)
Lunch
Sautéed beef cubes with mushrooms and onions in butter
Steamed broccoli
Snack
Leftover pork chop
Dinner
Grilled steak with grilled shrimp with parmesan butter
Salad with tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, onions and regular French dressing
Snack
Cheese curds
I love having something warm with something cold. The combination of grilled or sautéed meat over cold lettuce or eggs over cole slaw (weird but yummy!). I do not like chef salads but a grilled chicken breast or steak in a salad is something I could eat every night. The farmer doesn't like the vinegar cole slaw but that just leaves more for me! I also did have carrots again with dinner. We went out to eat and I just realized now that there were carrots on the salad. I think I forget about the carrots because when I did Weight Watchers in the past, carrots was one of the main staples for when you were hungry between meals or just had the munchies.
Have a snowy spring evening! :)
Lisa
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
To weigh or not to weigh
So philosophical of me!
I'm a weigher. When I'm dieting, I weigh myself daily. Sometimes I weigh myself in the morning and then again at night. I like to see the number in the morning and then a slightly higher at night and then back down in the morning. And even though I know it's not weight gain during the day or a 2 pound loss overnight, but sometimes it's nice to step on the scale in the morning and it's lower than the night before. I debate, typically with myself so its nice when I typically win, whether this is healthy or not.
Should we judge our dieting efforts on the scale alone?
I know that the scale with fluctuate. Especially as women the scale will fluctuate. How many of us haven't stepped on the scale during 'that time of the month' to see a 5 to 10 pound weight gain.
Dieting articles will tell me that this is unhealthy. I should pick a certain day and time and only weigh myself then. For me, that should be my monthly appointment with my doctor.
For me, the scale keeps me accountable. Eating too much may cause the scale to not move or worse yet, move in the wrong direction. If the scale doesn't move over the course of several days, I need to look at what's going on. Am I eating too much, taking too many cheats, time to up the exercise?
I guess when it comes to dieting, we all need to decide what's going to work. What works for me may be horrible for someone else and vice versa. If it's not something we can live with, we'll make it fail.
Breakfast
1 hard boiled egg
2 cups beef bouillon
Lunch
Sloppy Joes minus the bun (ground hamburger and stewed tomatoes)
Dinner
Salmon
Broccoli salad
I had a busy day at work so I didn't get any snacks in and breakfast was on the run. I did have several cups of coffee which made me end up drinking lots and lots of water! We didn't pick eggs last night and I didn't have any in the house so I just went with a hard boiled egg. I need to research some no-starch, no-sugar breakfast ideas outside of eggs.
Lisa
I'm a weigher. When I'm dieting, I weigh myself daily. Sometimes I weigh myself in the morning and then again at night. I like to see the number in the morning and then a slightly higher at night and then back down in the morning. And even though I know it's not weight gain during the day or a 2 pound loss overnight, but sometimes it's nice to step on the scale in the morning and it's lower than the night before. I debate, typically with myself so its nice when I typically win, whether this is healthy or not.
Should we judge our dieting efforts on the scale alone?
I know that the scale with fluctuate. Especially as women the scale will fluctuate. How many of us haven't stepped on the scale during 'that time of the month' to see a 5 to 10 pound weight gain.
Dieting articles will tell me that this is unhealthy. I should pick a certain day and time and only weigh myself then. For me, that should be my monthly appointment with my doctor.
For me, the scale keeps me accountable. Eating too much may cause the scale to not move or worse yet, move in the wrong direction. If the scale doesn't move over the course of several days, I need to look at what's going on. Am I eating too much, taking too many cheats, time to up the exercise?
I guess when it comes to dieting, we all need to decide what's going to work. What works for me may be horrible for someone else and vice versa. If it's not something we can live with, we'll make it fail.
Breakfast
1 hard boiled egg
2 cups beef bouillon
Lunch
Sloppy Joes minus the bun (ground hamburger and stewed tomatoes)
Dinner
Salmon
Broccoli salad
I had a busy day at work so I didn't get any snacks in and breakfast was on the run. I did have several cups of coffee which made me end up drinking lots and lots of water! We didn't pick eggs last night and I didn't have any in the house so I just went with a hard boiled egg. I need to research some no-starch, no-sugar breakfast ideas outside of eggs.
Lisa
Monday, April 22, 2013
I cheated a little today
I had an interesting day of food and then tonight I cheated.
Breakfast:
1 hard boiled egg
2 pieces bacon
1 cup coffee
Midmorning Snack:
2 cups bouillion
2 pieces deli-style turkey lunch meat
Lunch:
2 cups salad greens with chopped tomatoes, red onions, cauliflower and celery
2 eggs scrambled with green onion, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons Ranch dressing
Dinner:
1 cup broccoli slaw
1 salmon patty
Cheat:
1 chocolate chip cookie (for my defense, it was hot out of the oven)
When I first started the diet, the bouillion really threw me off. I didn't think I'd like it. However, my doctor said it acts to replace electrolytes while your body is going through the transition of not having any starches or carbohydrates. I'm used to drinking coffee well maybe 6-7 times a day and I wanted something warm and I've found that I really like it. Typically, I've been filling my travel mug and sipping throughout the day, refilling when necessary.
So I cheated. But I'll drink lots of water tonight and push through. I did find that after a week and a half of no sugar, that cookie was so sweet it about knocked my socks off!!
Most people would think I'm nuts for baking during a diet such like this. But this is the second time the kids and I have baked cookies since I started dieting. When I started this, I told myself that I'm on the diet, not my family. They still get a healthy carbohydrate choice at each meal.
I'll have to experiment with tuna/salmon patties because without the bread crumbs, they crumbled in the pan. I did not add an egg because I didn't want to go out in the snowstorm (on April 22!) to the chicken coop. Although when we started the cookies, I had to go get an egg anyways.
Tip: You can replace an egg when baking with half a banana mashed with 2 tsp. baking soda.
Lisa
Breakfast:
1 hard boiled egg
2 pieces bacon
1 cup coffee
Midmorning Snack:
2 cups bouillion
2 pieces deli-style turkey lunch meat
Lunch:
2 cups salad greens with chopped tomatoes, red onions, cauliflower and celery
2 eggs scrambled with green onion, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons Ranch dressing
Dinner:
1 cup broccoli slaw
1 salmon patty
Cheat:
1 chocolate chip cookie (for my defense, it was hot out of the oven)
When I first started the diet, the bouillion really threw me off. I didn't think I'd like it. However, my doctor said it acts to replace electrolytes while your body is going through the transition of not having any starches or carbohydrates. I'm used to drinking coffee well maybe 6-7 times a day and I wanted something warm and I've found that I really like it. Typically, I've been filling my travel mug and sipping throughout the day, refilling when necessary.
So I cheated. But I'll drink lots of water tonight and push through. I did find that after a week and a half of no sugar, that cookie was so sweet it about knocked my socks off!!
Most people would think I'm nuts for baking during a diet such like this. But this is the second time the kids and I have baked cookies since I started dieting. When I started this, I told myself that I'm on the diet, not my family. They still get a healthy carbohydrate choice at each meal.
I'll have to experiment with tuna/salmon patties because without the bread crumbs, they crumbled in the pan. I did not add an egg because I didn't want to go out in the snowstorm (on April 22!) to the chicken coop. Although when we started the cookies, I had to go get an egg anyways.
Tip: You can replace an egg when baking with half a banana mashed with 2 tsp. baking soda.
Lisa
Sunday, April 21, 2013
My struggle with weight loss.
Hello! I guess my last break was a bit longer than I was expecting. We had such a fabulous winter and so busy! But I guess such is life when you have little ones!
Here in Wisconsin, winter just won't quite go away. It's been snowing a bit for the last week and we're looking at snow again all this week. Quite interesting to look out the window and see a snowstorm while there is water running down the gutters from the snow on the roof melting!
I'm back to blogging but with a new little direction. I want to use my blog to keep me accountable with my diet, or healthy lifestyle, as my doctor calls it.
I've struggled with weight most of my life. In my 20s, I used weight watchers and south beach along with taking up running to lose 65 pounds and keep it off. At least until the first baby came. Each baby added a bit more weight until the last one had me at 255 pounds 6 weeks post-baby. It took me a year, but I came down to 237 pounds and there it sat. Weight Watchers, no carbs, lots of walking, diet pills, nothing would move it. A week and a half ago, I met with my doctor and am starting a new diet.
I'm optimistic. I don't want the weight to come off at once, I don't want a quick fix solution. One reason being that I also found out my LDLs (bad cholesterol) is high. Taking the weight off should/could help bring that down and I want to try that before being put on cholesterol medication at the age of 37. My doctor sat down with me, prescribed a diet and a weight loss pill and then spent an hour and a half explaining how weight loss works. It was quite eye opening.
My diet is "No-Starch, No-Sugar" until I reach my goal weight which is 70 pounds. It is very similar to the Atkins diet but I am allowed to have a limited amount of cheese each day. I also cannot eat anything processed and nothing labeled, "diet, no-calorie, or low-fat." It's all real food. I also take Phentermine each day which helps decrease appetite, improves energy, decreases hyperactive eating, helps focus and reduces carbohydrate cravings.
The first week was easy with the exception of the second day. Since I typically drink cream in my coffee and it's not allowed so I had quite the headache. The rest of the first week was easy and I was surprised that I could skip right past the breads and sweets. The first week, I lost 5 pounds.
The second week I'm finding that I'm bored with the food which makes me want to sneak. From this point, I'll have a doctor's appointment once a month but between then, I'm only accountable to myself. So I thought I'd use my blog to by accountable for me. I'll track my weight and be honest about what I'm eating. I also want to get more creative in food. My biggest downfall right now is cheese. I'm still eating more than I'm allowed but I've been really missing the creaminess.
My weight has always been a very private thing for me so I'm hoping that by just puttin' it out there, I'll have less struggles losing it!
Lisa
Here in Wisconsin, winter just won't quite go away. It's been snowing a bit for the last week and we're looking at snow again all this week. Quite interesting to look out the window and see a snowstorm while there is water running down the gutters from the snow on the roof melting!
I'm back to blogging but with a new little direction. I want to use my blog to keep me accountable with my diet, or healthy lifestyle, as my doctor calls it.
I've struggled with weight most of my life. In my 20s, I used weight watchers and south beach along with taking up running to lose 65 pounds and keep it off. At least until the first baby came. Each baby added a bit more weight until the last one had me at 255 pounds 6 weeks post-baby. It took me a year, but I came down to 237 pounds and there it sat. Weight Watchers, no carbs, lots of walking, diet pills, nothing would move it. A week and a half ago, I met with my doctor and am starting a new diet.
I'm optimistic. I don't want the weight to come off at once, I don't want a quick fix solution. One reason being that I also found out my LDLs (bad cholesterol) is high. Taking the weight off should/could help bring that down and I want to try that before being put on cholesterol medication at the age of 37. My doctor sat down with me, prescribed a diet and a weight loss pill and then spent an hour and a half explaining how weight loss works. It was quite eye opening.
My diet is "No-Starch, No-Sugar" until I reach my goal weight which is 70 pounds. It is very similar to the Atkins diet but I am allowed to have a limited amount of cheese each day. I also cannot eat anything processed and nothing labeled, "diet, no-calorie, or low-fat." It's all real food. I also take Phentermine each day which helps decrease appetite, improves energy, decreases hyperactive eating, helps focus and reduces carbohydrate cravings.
The first week was easy with the exception of the second day. Since I typically drink cream in my coffee and it's not allowed so I had quite the headache. The rest of the first week was easy and I was surprised that I could skip right past the breads and sweets. The first week, I lost 5 pounds.
The second week I'm finding that I'm bored with the food which makes me want to sneak. From this point, I'll have a doctor's appointment once a month but between then, I'm only accountable to myself. So I thought I'd use my blog to by accountable for me. I'll track my weight and be honest about what I'm eating. I also want to get more creative in food. My biggest downfall right now is cheese. I'm still eating more than I'm allowed but I've been really missing the creaminess.
My weight has always been a very private thing for me so I'm hoping that by just puttin' it out there, I'll have less struggles losing it!
Lisa
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Wow! Hello out there!
I didn't mean to not post forever and a day. I could probably use the same old excuse. The whole, we've been so busy. Well really we have but you know how you go through periods where you just need to sort through things? And then you have to adjust to the things you have sorted through?
Okay, so maybe just my head thinks I'm a total whack job. I'm good with that!
So what have we been doing?
We worked around the farm. We got some more new cattle. The farmer got a few 'girl' cows. Not sure what he thinks he's doing with girl cows but I'm nervous so I'm not asking. Ignorance is bliss right?
We gave the goats to a family looking for some as pets. While we absolutely LOVE our little girls, we do not have the fencing right now for goats. And since they were were just pets, at this point it did not make sense to put up that much fencing for pets. And they were eating all our trees in the orchard so they were spending a lot of time penned or tied up. So to be fair to them, a family had the fencing and was really looking forward to having a them as new pets.
We butchered chickens. Weights ranged between 12 and 16 pounds. I gave one to my mom and she told me it was the perfect sized turkey for thanksgiving. I still haven't told her it isn't a turkey! hehehe
We butchered turkeys. Weights ranged between 18 and 25 pounds. My freezer is very full right now with chicken and turkey.
I found a yearling doe early one morning driving to work that had a broken back but unfortunately was still alive. The county will allow you to tag them so I did and learned to skin and butcher a deer. Hhmmm, maybe something I wish I hadn't learned. Very time consuming. But we also have lots of ground venison right now.
I did lots of canning and late this fall the farmer spent many days spinning out honey.
As a family we've been busy. We had a death in the family and then an uncle who fell off a ladder onto concrete and was unconscious for 6 days (amazing the things families can talk about in a big city surrounded by weird city people in a waiting room!).
Miss Em has dance weekly and has also joined Girl Scouts. And me with my big mouth volunteered. Ack! :)
We have KOOL (our church's afterschool sunday school) and regular sunday school every week along with fall fundraisers, Church Administrative Council, and preparing for Christmas Bazaar.
I also went through a little period of self-pity. I was frustrated with not being able to lose weight and wanting to have a new house now. And blogland is not a place to be when your in self-pity. So I stepped back to sort everything out. I'm working on being thankful for my blessings. I also have to remember that we've choosen to build with cash because we do not want more debt. Next spring, the only debt we will have is our mortgage and student loan debt.
So I also spent some time doing a little sprucing up. And it truly helped. I spruced up the house a bit, some new paint to cover up some ugly tiles in the bathroom. New (to us) couch in the living room to give us more room. And finally pictures put up in our bedroom. And a new desk to organize and clean-up the computer/sewing area. All garage sale finds of course!
I also spruced myself up. New haircut and some funky color. A couple new pieces of clothes that fit my body as it is now. I also have a twice weekly "date" with a good friend to walk at the school for an hour and a half each night. It's a start. And I gave up grains...at least most days!
I've been doing lots of fun cooking and have some yummy (at least I think so!) recipes I've been wanting to share. Some that fit in my new diet, some that make me break my no grain rules for the day!
But for tonight, time to go walk!
Lisa
Okay, so maybe just my head thinks I'm a total whack job. I'm good with that!
So what have we been doing?
We worked around the farm. We got some more new cattle. The farmer got a few 'girl' cows. Not sure what he thinks he's doing with girl cows but I'm nervous so I'm not asking. Ignorance is bliss right?
We gave the goats to a family looking for some as pets. While we absolutely LOVE our little girls, we do not have the fencing right now for goats. And since they were were just pets, at this point it did not make sense to put up that much fencing for pets. And they were eating all our trees in the orchard so they were spending a lot of time penned or tied up. So to be fair to them, a family had the fencing and was really looking forward to having a them as new pets.
We butchered chickens. Weights ranged between 12 and 16 pounds. I gave one to my mom and she told me it was the perfect sized turkey for thanksgiving. I still haven't told her it isn't a turkey! hehehe
We butchered turkeys. Weights ranged between 18 and 25 pounds. My freezer is very full right now with chicken and turkey.
I found a yearling doe early one morning driving to work that had a broken back but unfortunately was still alive. The county will allow you to tag them so I did and learned to skin and butcher a deer. Hhmmm, maybe something I wish I hadn't learned. Very time consuming. But we also have lots of ground venison right now.
I did lots of canning and late this fall the farmer spent many days spinning out honey.
As a family we've been busy. We had a death in the family and then an uncle who fell off a ladder onto concrete and was unconscious for 6 days (amazing the things families can talk about in a big city surrounded by weird city people in a waiting room!).
Miss Em has dance weekly and has also joined Girl Scouts. And me with my big mouth volunteered. Ack! :)
We have KOOL (our church's afterschool sunday school) and regular sunday school every week along with fall fundraisers, Church Administrative Council, and preparing for Christmas Bazaar.
I also went through a little period of self-pity. I was frustrated with not being able to lose weight and wanting to have a new house now. And blogland is not a place to be when your in self-pity. So I stepped back to sort everything out. I'm working on being thankful for my blessings. I also have to remember that we've choosen to build with cash because we do not want more debt. Next spring, the only debt we will have is our mortgage and student loan debt.
So I also spent some time doing a little sprucing up. And it truly helped. I spruced up the house a bit, some new paint to cover up some ugly tiles in the bathroom. New (to us) couch in the living room to give us more room. And finally pictures put up in our bedroom. And a new desk to organize and clean-up the computer/sewing area. All garage sale finds of course!
I also spruced myself up. New haircut and some funky color. A couple new pieces of clothes that fit my body as it is now. I also have a twice weekly "date" with a good friend to walk at the school for an hour and a half each night. It's a start. And I gave up grains...at least most days!
I've been doing lots of fun cooking and have some yummy (at least I think so!) recipes I've been wanting to share. Some that fit in my new diet, some that make me break my no grain rules for the day!
But for tonight, time to go walk!
Lisa
Thursday, October 4, 2012
No Fail Basic Bread Dough
I love homemade bread. Typically though, my homemade bread is a big ol' fail. I've tried different recipes, oh so many different recipes. I make bread that has wonderful flavor but very rarely rises. I've tried different yeasts with no success. I've tried 5-minute a day bread, bread from scratch, and bread maker bread.
A friend from church gave me a basic bread dough recipe and FINALLY I can make bread. Her best advice was that you don't have to follow the recipe exactly, you need to make bread like you cook, follow your eyes and nose. And since I've never been one to follow a recipe, this is my style of baking. The best part, it's basically a no-knead bread.
Basic Dough for buns, etc.
1 heaping tablespoon yeast (I've made with regular, fast-acting, and bread machine yeast with great results!)
1 level tablespoon salt
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 cup warm water
4 cups flour
Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and make sure bubbles are present.
Add all ingredients. Knead gently to incorporate all ingredients. I maybe knead for about a minute.
Place into a lightly greased bowl, cover, and set in a warm area to rise. For me, I let my dough rise in the laundry room. Once dough has doubled, shape into bread pan or form into rolls. Cover pan and allow to double again.
Bake 400 degrees until golden brown.
I am in LOVE with this dough. I have not tried it with whole wheat flour so I don't know if it would need gluten added to it. My favorite variation is to add 1 cup of 9 grain mix and decrease the flour by 1/2 cup and add 1 tablespoon garlic powder.
Enjoy!
Lisa
A friend from church gave me a basic bread dough recipe and FINALLY I can make bread. Her best advice was that you don't have to follow the recipe exactly, you need to make bread like you cook, follow your eyes and nose. And since I've never been one to follow a recipe, this is my style of baking. The best part, it's basically a no-knead bread.
Basic Dough for buns, etc.
1 heaping tablespoon yeast (I've made with regular, fast-acting, and bread machine yeast with great results!)
1 level tablespoon salt
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 cup warm water
4 cups flour
Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and make sure bubbles are present.
Add all ingredients. Knead gently to incorporate all ingredients. I maybe knead for about a minute.
Place into a lightly greased bowl, cover, and set in a warm area to rise. For me, I let my dough rise in the laundry room. Once dough has doubled, shape into bread pan or form into rolls. Cover pan and allow to double again.
Bake 400 degrees until golden brown.
I am in LOVE with this dough. I have not tried it with whole wheat flour so I don't know if it would need gluten added to it. My favorite variation is to add 1 cup of 9 grain mix and decrease the flour by 1/2 cup and add 1 tablespoon garlic powder.
Enjoy!
Lisa
Friday, August 31, 2012
Summer Coming to an End
And I've been enjoying every last minute I can savor with my family before the kids start heading off to school. We've gone on walks, been to the county fair, been to the lake, and took the kids to see Thomas the Train. We've been fishing at the lake and fishing at the fish farm. We've been to the library, park, two different zoos, playgroup, and the waterpark multiple times to beat the heat. We've ran through sprinklers and splashed in puddles. We've worked on the farm, the yard, the garden, and the house. We've spent time just chillin' at the cabin and hanging out with friends. We've read books and watched movies, made projects and played games. We've cuddled and snuggled and tickled and laughed.
We're raised up animals and a garden. We're filling the freezers and I'm canning to beat the band. We've enjoyed meals straight out of the garden and cooking with the kids.
We've slowed down to savor our children. My oldest starts kindergarten and my middle has one more year of preschool. They tell me stories and it seems like they should still be little babies in my arms.
But alas, fall is just around the corner. We bought new school shoes today and had our first kids church planning meeting. It's getting time to switch gears to a little bit more structure as we roll into school, sunday school, and Wednesday night kids church. We've spoiled the little babies most of the summer by letting them sleep with us. It's been so long since they've slept in their beds I need to air out their rooms and chase away the dust bunnies.
Safe travels to all my friends this busy holiday weekend. Blessings to each of you and your loved ones. May your s'mores to ooey and goey and the lemonade sweet and cold!
Lisa
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