Monday
Another 0.7 kg down this week, to 72.9 kg. Still heading in the right direction.
I had a hard week. I got quite depressed, although the only external factor was being at a bit of a loose end on holidays too long with nothing to aim for until TAFE starts again. But the depression was like a brain fog, I sat around all day and didn't want to do anything. No energy, no motivation. Tim took the kids bowling, putt putt (mini golf), played board games with them. I didn't join in anything. I spent a lot of time just sitting, reading or staring at the TV. I was a bit sad but mostly just empty, like I was waiting for my life to start.
The obvious first possibility of culprit was the Duromine (phentermine). It's not a particularly common side effect but it does happen. Forum advice was that tryptophan can help with serotonin production, but tryptophan is not readily available in Australia. I was pretty much decided to stop taking the Duromine but tried one other thing first. I've been eating low carb, it does help me lose weight but it has messed with my mood in the past, notably in the six week hell before my wedding, after which my husband said I was never allowed to go low carb again. I was miserable and grumpy the whole time. Not even sure why I even tried it again - oh yes I do it's because the weight loss forum I'm on pushes it pretty hard. I'd been low-carbing since the New Year, three weeks now.
On the weekend I increased my carbs a bit, while still keeping calories low. And guess what. My mood improved immensely. I feel totally back to normal after two days of the occasional slice of toast, roast potato, or bunch of grapes. And eating that way didn't even seem to hurt the weight loss, most of this week's 0.7 kg loss was dropped over the weekend.
The Blood Sugar Diet that I am doing is Mediterranean and doesn't actually mention carb limits, it talks about using rice, pasta etc in small amounts as a taste rather than the main part of the meal. A lot of the recipes included have carby vegetables and beans etc. But a lot of the people on the forum (some now successfully in maintenance for over a year) are evangelical about the benefits of super-low carb and I guess I got caught up in that a bit. I never went super-low, but even low was too low for me. It probably caused my dizziness last week too.
Showing posts with label low carb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label low carb. Show all posts
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Sleep, beautiful sleep
Sunday:
Mostly these days I get around 6 hours sleep a night, 7 if I am lucky, and often need a nap during the day. Yesterday I was feeling tired and a bit unwell all day, went to bed early last night, and slept TEN HOURS! How awesome is that! I was doing a little internal happy dance about it this morning.
Not quite so happy about continuing tiredness throughout the day. I had no interest in breakfast and just had a cup of tea, and a nap. I did have lunch, then another nap while Tim took the kids out. When I woke from that one I was feeling much better ... and very hungry. Unfortunately I dove into high calorie foods. Chocolate, cheese, cashews, and a couple of bites of a lemon cupcake my husband made yesterday (I managed to throw the rest away). Not great choices! I should have prepared myself a proper healthy snack.
I had a normal dinner but ended up with my highest calorie count this week, and over my self-imposed limit. Not very happy with myself about that. And no exercise. Well tomorrow is Monday, always a good day to refresh and restart.
And I got a lot of sleep!
Mostly these days I get around 6 hours sleep a night, 7 if I am lucky, and often need a nap during the day. Yesterday I was feeling tired and a bit unwell all day, went to bed early last night, and slept TEN HOURS! How awesome is that! I was doing a little internal happy dance about it this morning.
Not quite so happy about continuing tiredness throughout the day. I had no interest in breakfast and just had a cup of tea, and a nap. I did have lunch, then another nap while Tim took the kids out. When I woke from that one I was feeling much better ... and very hungry. Unfortunately I dove into high calorie foods. Chocolate, cheese, cashews, and a couple of bites of a lemon cupcake my husband made yesterday (I managed to throw the rest away). Not great choices! I should have prepared myself a proper healthy snack.
I had a normal dinner but ended up with my highest calorie count this week, and over my self-imposed limit. Not very happy with myself about that. And no exercise. Well tomorrow is Monday, always a good day to refresh and restart.
And I got a lot of sleep!
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Inside Out
Tuesday:
Is it Tuesday? School holidays don't follow our usual daily pattern, so I get lost sometimes.
We went to the movies this morning, firstly doing a lap inside the shopping centre as a bit of a walk. We saw "Inside Out" which was really good. Luckily kids' movies these days tend to appeal to parents as well, because I rarely see anything else!
We went to a Thai restaurant for lunch and ordered two dishes between the three of us, one served with rice and one served with rice noodles. I didn't eat any of the starches, sticking to chicken and vegetables (and yummy sauces of course). I had a chocolate bar in the movie.
Then we did some grocery shopping and came home.
I've been feeling pretty depressed, last night and today. Part of it is thinking about dad's death, and partly these persistent germs (I have a sore throat again) but partly it is FogDog's fault! He is the latest of the bloggers I follow to give up sugar and suddenly lose weight (13 pounds in 13 days) with no cravings after the first few days -- not just no cravings for sugar but for any food. We used to be on the same page about the whole sugar thing, but now he writes:
"I've read a lot of literature on the evils of sugar. I've always held the belief that anything is OK as long as it is in moderation. I'm not so sure about that belief anymore."
I guess I don't want to believe this is true for me. I mean, I don't eat that much sugar, right? I just looked up that the average for someone from the US is 76.7 grams of added sugar per day, not including juice. Since my treats are usually savoury and I cook nearly all meals from scratch; most days I would have 10-20 grams of added sugar, primarily in my tea and in chocolate. I've already given up all the yummy starches that I love. You want me to give up tea and chocolate as well! So unfair.
But it seems to work for so many people. And nothing I try does.
I have tried giving up sugar a couple of times; last year along with dairy, alcohol, soy and grains, for Whole 30. I didn't make it to 30 days. I felt depressed for eight days and much better when I gave up and ate a few chocolate chips, so make of that what you will. I always feel horrible when I go low-carb, so it's hard to separate out the effect of withdrawal from processed sugar.
... I left it there instead of continuing a rant about how much life sucked and why was everyone being mean to me by giving up sugar. About an hour later I suddenly connected several of my sentences together.
"I've been feeling pretty depressed, last night and today."
"I've already given up all the yummy starches that I love."
"I always feel horrible when I go low carb."
Seeing any connection?!
When I had this epiphany I was already feeling quite a lot better, oddly enough after eating a couple of tablespoons of All Bran as recommended by the Glycaemic Load book guy to keep fibre levels up. Hmm, any relevance there? You think?!
I felt an immediate huge emotional relief on top of already feeling less depressed after the All Bran. I wasn't just randomly miserable, it was my well established inability to handle low carb diets! (NB, it was nothing to do with sugar as I was still having my usual amount of sugar -- how I feel without sugar specifically is yet to be established.)
Clearly I need to be vigilant about getting enough carbohydrate while I cut out starches. It's tricky. I'm not allowed the most carbohydrate-rich foods and I don't like pumpkin or sweet potato, so I need to keep up the levels of other vegetables and fruit. And All Bran. Otherwise I'll be turning to more sugar and caffeine to prop up my mood.
Report card:
Diet: Ok. A bit too much chocolate (I think to combat depression).
Breakfast: Bacon. Orange. Tea. It was a fairly small serve of bacon, two short rashers, but I shouldn't have it more than once a week (my doctor said once a year!). But I struggled with breakfast already and now I've cut out toast and all cereals it doesn't leave much that I want to eat first thing. I don't want eggs every day, I need to make sure I have some leftover meat available at least some mornings.
Morning: Toblerone chocolate bar. Cheese.
Lunch: Thai chicken and vegetables in peanut sauce.
Afternoon: All Bran. One square of dark chocolate (melted over the All Bran to make it edible, it was pretty good actually, like a little chocolate and fibre cookie). Tea.
Dinner: Bolognaise with zoodles (zucchini noodles) and cheese.
Exercise: Ok. A short walk.
Water: Good.
Sleep: Poor.
Mental health: Poor.
Is it Tuesday? School holidays don't follow our usual daily pattern, so I get lost sometimes.
We went to the movies this morning, firstly doing a lap inside the shopping centre as a bit of a walk. We saw "Inside Out" which was really good. Luckily kids' movies these days tend to appeal to parents as well, because I rarely see anything else!
We went to a Thai restaurant for lunch and ordered two dishes between the three of us, one served with rice and one served with rice noodles. I didn't eat any of the starches, sticking to chicken and vegetables (and yummy sauces of course). I had a chocolate bar in the movie.
Then we did some grocery shopping and came home.
I've been feeling pretty depressed, last night and today. Part of it is thinking about dad's death, and partly these persistent germs (I have a sore throat again) but partly it is FogDog's fault! He is the latest of the bloggers I follow to give up sugar and suddenly lose weight (13 pounds in 13 days) with no cravings after the first few days -- not just no cravings for sugar but for any food. We used to be on the same page about the whole sugar thing, but now he writes:
"I've read a lot of literature on the evils of sugar. I've always held the belief that anything is OK as long as it is in moderation. I'm not so sure about that belief anymore."
I guess I don't want to believe this is true for me. I mean, I don't eat that much sugar, right? I just looked up that the average for someone from the US is 76.7 grams of added sugar per day, not including juice. Since my treats are usually savoury and I cook nearly all meals from scratch; most days I would have 10-20 grams of added sugar, primarily in my tea and in chocolate. I've already given up all the yummy starches that I love. You want me to give up tea and chocolate as well! So unfair.
But it seems to work for so many people. And nothing I try does.
I have tried giving up sugar a couple of times; last year along with dairy, alcohol, soy and grains, for Whole 30. I didn't make it to 30 days. I felt depressed for eight days and much better when I gave up and ate a few chocolate chips, so make of that what you will. I always feel horrible when I go low-carb, so it's hard to separate out the effect of withdrawal from processed sugar.
... I left it there instead of continuing a rant about how much life sucked and why was everyone being mean to me by giving up sugar. About an hour later I suddenly connected several of my sentences together.
"I've been feeling pretty depressed, last night and today."
"I've already given up all the yummy starches that I love."
"I always feel horrible when I go low carb."
Seeing any connection?!
When I had this epiphany I was already feeling quite a lot better, oddly enough after eating a couple of tablespoons of All Bran as recommended by the Glycaemic Load book guy to keep fibre levels up. Hmm, any relevance there? You think?!
I felt an immediate huge emotional relief on top of already feeling less depressed after the All Bran. I wasn't just randomly miserable, it was my well established inability to handle low carb diets! (NB, it was nothing to do with sugar as I was still having my usual amount of sugar -- how I feel without sugar specifically is yet to be established.)
Clearly I need to be vigilant about getting enough carbohydrate while I cut out starches. It's tricky. I'm not allowed the most carbohydrate-rich foods and I don't like pumpkin or sweet potato, so I need to keep up the levels of other vegetables and fruit. And All Bran. Otherwise I'll be turning to more sugar and caffeine to prop up my mood.
Report card:
Diet: Ok. A bit too much chocolate (I think to combat depression).
Breakfast: Bacon. Orange. Tea. It was a fairly small serve of bacon, two short rashers, but I shouldn't have it more than once a week (my doctor said once a year!). But I struggled with breakfast already and now I've cut out toast and all cereals it doesn't leave much that I want to eat first thing. I don't want eggs every day, I need to make sure I have some leftover meat available at least some mornings.
Morning: Toblerone chocolate bar. Cheese.
Lunch: Thai chicken and vegetables in peanut sauce.
Afternoon: All Bran. One square of dark chocolate (melted over the All Bran to make it edible, it was pretty good actually, like a little chocolate and fibre cookie). Tea.
Dinner: Bolognaise with zoodles (zucchini noodles) and cheese.
Exercise: Ok. A short walk.
Water: Good.
Sleep: Poor.
Mental health: Poor.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Low carb
Tuesday:
So, after my depressing weigh-in this morning I sat around for quite a while feeling sorry for myself. Even after I got off my butt, I still felt pretty miserable all morning. It's not just that I'm still fat, it's that feeling of failure. How can you fail over and over again for years without feeling like a failure? I read all these other blogs where people are losing weight so I know it's not impossible, so why can't I? What is wrong with me?
There is a motivational poster going around that is something like "Losing weight is hard. Being fat is hard. Choose your hard." Today I felt like I could reword it "Be miserable because you can't eat whatever you want. Or be miserable because you are fat. Choose one. Or why not both? Feel like you are denying yourself AND be sad about being fat as well!" Pity party much? Well, days like this have happened before and no doubt they will come again. I eventually just got on with it.
I did do some actual thinking as well as just wallowing in misery. Still not giving up. Still not ready to just settle for this size. And anyway, it's better than gaining weight which is probably what would happen.
I've chosen to go the lowish-carb route. It's hard to stick to (as is any restriction whatsoever), but on the other hand at least I know I lose weight. Mainly I cut out anything processed, because all that stuff is just highly refined carbohydrates. Concentrate on stuff that I could produce myself if I had a big enough farm. "Things that your grandmother would recognise" doesn't exactly apply because both my grandmothers were of the plain meat and three veg school and they probably never saw Chinese, Thai, or Mexican food in their lives. They wouldn't have heard of most of the spices I use. But it is basically the right sentiment. Nothing that has been "invented" in the past 50 years or so. And limited "natural" carby stuff as well. But not too low, because that seriously messes with my mood. Today so far I have had all real foods, 959 calories and 40.3 grams of carbohydrate. I expect to go a bit higher in both most days, that just happens to be all I needed to fill me up today. I wasn't at all hungry between meals. If I get hungry this evening I will have some raspberries and yoghurt (which I make myself so I know it has nothing bad in it, just milk and cultures).
There was one large chocolate biscuit left and I was a bit scared of it so I gave it to Jasmine for dessert. Aiden doesn't like chocolate, he had a cupcake that daddy made on the weekend. I still have to resist the remaining cupcakes - I haven't had any - but I feel much safer without the yummy wafer biscuit calling me.
After a late breakfast the kids volunteered to do some extra housework for half an hour extra computer time so I allowed that and we all did a bit of work, then we went for a half hour walk outside, then had a healthy lunch of various leftovers - I had some homemade tomato soup, a slice of roast beef, and some salad - then I did a bit of deskwork (trying for an hour a day during school holidays), then we watched the Foxtel movie du jour "The Lego Movie" which the kids had seen before with daddy but I hadn't. It was ok. As soon as it was over the kids ran off to play with Aiden's huge collection of Lego.
Managed to keep the TV off most of the day which was great, but actually I'm a bit disenchanted with Foxtel already after 48 hours. There isn't that much on it I want to watch that isn't on my 20 or so free TV channels, apart from quite a lot of kids' movies. I'll see how I feel after Game of Thrones finishes. There are a couple of series that I would try but they only seem to have the most recent episodes available so I can't go right back to the start, unless they have a special "box set" like they do with Game of Thrones.
Report card:
Diet: Great.
Exercise: Good. My foot started hurting again after the walk so I'm being careful.
Water: Fantastic.
Sleep: Great.
Mental health: Very bad for most of the day, ok now.
So, after my depressing weigh-in this morning I sat around for quite a while feeling sorry for myself. Even after I got off my butt, I still felt pretty miserable all morning. It's not just that I'm still fat, it's that feeling of failure. How can you fail over and over again for years without feeling like a failure? I read all these other blogs where people are losing weight so I know it's not impossible, so why can't I? What is wrong with me?
There is a motivational poster going around that is something like "Losing weight is hard. Being fat is hard. Choose your hard." Today I felt like I could reword it "Be miserable because you can't eat whatever you want. Or be miserable because you are fat. Choose one. Or why not both? Feel like you are denying yourself AND be sad about being fat as well!" Pity party much? Well, days like this have happened before and no doubt they will come again. I eventually just got on with it.
I did do some actual thinking as well as just wallowing in misery. Still not giving up. Still not ready to just settle for this size. And anyway, it's better than gaining weight which is probably what would happen.
I've chosen to go the lowish-carb route. It's hard to stick to (as is any restriction whatsoever), but on the other hand at least I know I lose weight. Mainly I cut out anything processed, because all that stuff is just highly refined carbohydrates. Concentrate on stuff that I could produce myself if I had a big enough farm. "Things that your grandmother would recognise" doesn't exactly apply because both my grandmothers were of the plain meat and three veg school and they probably never saw Chinese, Thai, or Mexican food in their lives. They wouldn't have heard of most of the spices I use. But it is basically the right sentiment. Nothing that has been "invented" in the past 50 years or so. And limited "natural" carby stuff as well. But not too low, because that seriously messes with my mood. Today so far I have had all real foods, 959 calories and 40.3 grams of carbohydrate. I expect to go a bit higher in both most days, that just happens to be all I needed to fill me up today. I wasn't at all hungry between meals. If I get hungry this evening I will have some raspberries and yoghurt (which I make myself so I know it has nothing bad in it, just milk and cultures).
There was one large chocolate biscuit left and I was a bit scared of it so I gave it to Jasmine for dessert. Aiden doesn't like chocolate, he had a cupcake that daddy made on the weekend. I still have to resist the remaining cupcakes - I haven't had any - but I feel much safer without the yummy wafer biscuit calling me.
After a late breakfast the kids volunteered to do some extra housework for half an hour extra computer time so I allowed that and we all did a bit of work, then we went for a half hour walk outside, then had a healthy lunch of various leftovers - I had some homemade tomato soup, a slice of roast beef, and some salad - then I did a bit of deskwork (trying for an hour a day during school holidays), then we watched the Foxtel movie du jour "The Lego Movie" which the kids had seen before with daddy but I hadn't. It was ok. As soon as it was over the kids ran off to play with Aiden's huge collection of Lego.
Managed to keep the TV off most of the day which was great, but actually I'm a bit disenchanted with Foxtel already after 48 hours. There isn't that much on it I want to watch that isn't on my 20 or so free TV channels, apart from quite a lot of kids' movies. I'll see how I feel after Game of Thrones finishes. There are a couple of series that I would try but they only seem to have the most recent episodes available so I can't go right back to the start, unless they have a special "box set" like they do with Game of Thrones.
Report card:
Diet: Great.
Exercise: Good. My foot started hurting again after the walk so I'm being careful.
Water: Fantastic.
Sleep: Great.
Mental health: Very bad for most of the day, ok now.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Out of kilter
Thursday:
My day was a bit out of kilter. We decided this morning to sell our little puppy (I expect it to take a few days or even weeks, so he is still here at the moment) and even though it was primarily my decision and I think it was the right one, it was still a bit upsetting. I was feeling stressed, guilty and sad - and of course tired - all day.
I got out to the shops later than I'd planned. My fridge is now overflowing with healthy meat and vegetables again, but I had a few things to do and I ended up being out way past my usual morning snack time. It was approaching lunchtime and I hadn't eaten since breakfast and I'd been up since 6am. I was really hungry. Being a low carb day, my snack was supposed to be protein, fat and veggies. I ended up having some beef jerky (it was BBQ flavoured and had 5g of sugar which I didn't realise until after) and a punnet of strawberries - berries are fruit of course but pretty low carb. It wasn't ideal, but I think I did ok considering. Better than something from the food court.
Lunch at home, much later than usual, was also messed up, as I hadn't been able to buy what I'd planned to have and hadn't got an alternative. I ended up having some cheese and cashews, a big bowl of tomato soup and a carrot.
I'd had lunch so late I didn't have an afternoon snack. Dinner was barramundi (fish) with lemon pepper, cucumber and carrot sticks, and a stir fry of celery, leek, snow peas, baby corn and cashews.
That is only four meals/snacks today when I am supposed to have five. I will have another snack before bed if I'm hungry, but I don't like eating late. That is, of course I do like eating late at night, that is why I am obese, but I don't think I should.
I am actually really proud of myself, underneath all the other feelings. I was all unsettled and emotionally uncomfortable and hungry and tired and I was right there at the shops, surrounded by a million unhealthy choices, but I didn't turn to food. I did the best I could and did a reasonable job of sticking to my plan today. I refused to take comfort in a packet of chocolate biscuits. Good job, Natalie.
My day was a bit out of kilter. We decided this morning to sell our little puppy (I expect it to take a few days or even weeks, so he is still here at the moment) and even though it was primarily my decision and I think it was the right one, it was still a bit upsetting. I was feeling stressed, guilty and sad - and of course tired - all day.
I got out to the shops later than I'd planned. My fridge is now overflowing with healthy meat and vegetables again, but I had a few things to do and I ended up being out way past my usual morning snack time. It was approaching lunchtime and I hadn't eaten since breakfast and I'd been up since 6am. I was really hungry. Being a low carb day, my snack was supposed to be protein, fat and veggies. I ended up having some beef jerky (it was BBQ flavoured and had 5g of sugar which I didn't realise until after) and a punnet of strawberries - berries are fruit of course but pretty low carb. It wasn't ideal, but I think I did ok considering. Better than something from the food court.
Lunch at home, much later than usual, was also messed up, as I hadn't been able to buy what I'd planned to have and hadn't got an alternative. I ended up having some cheese and cashews, a big bowl of tomato soup and a carrot.
I'd had lunch so late I didn't have an afternoon snack. Dinner was barramundi (fish) with lemon pepper, cucumber and carrot sticks, and a stir fry of celery, leek, snow peas, baby corn and cashews.
That is only four meals/snacks today when I am supposed to have five. I will have another snack before bed if I'm hungry, but I don't like eating late. That is, of course I do like eating late at night, that is why I am obese, but I don't think I should.
I am actually really proud of myself, underneath all the other feelings. I was all unsettled and emotionally uncomfortable and hungry and tired and I was right there at the shops, surrounded by a million unhealthy choices, but I didn't turn to food. I did the best I could and did a reasonable job of sticking to my plan today. I refused to take comfort in a packet of chocolate biscuits. Good job, Natalie.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Sticks may break my bones
Wednesday:
You'll be glad to know I'm not going to keep taking photos of all the food you've already seen, only of new things.
I woke at about 5:30, which I often do these days, and couldn't get back to sleep. Tim got up to take Thor out about 6, and then I could hear Thor's little hooves clattering over the kitchen linoleum as he chased his ball around for the next hour. I finally dozed off shortly before I had to get out of bed so I woke all groggy. Not the best start but I had my breakfast (peanut butter toast, tea, cucumber and tomato) and helped get the kids ready for school.
Not raining today! Yay! There was a frosty wind that felt like it was coming straight from snowy mountains, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. Out we went, walking the kids to school then continuing on.
Apparently on the coast there were gale force winds today. I guess we got the dregs of that.
In a way I think low carb days are easier than high carb days. It is easy to plan meals with little or no carbohydrate, but I find it much more difficult to have a day with carbs but almost no fat. How do you eat carbohydrate with no fat? Toast without a spread? Potato without oil? Fruit without ... well ok you don't need fat on fruit.
I'd been really stuck on my novel the past few days, only writing a few hundred words each session. I'm right near the end, but I wasn't sure how the final confrontation was going to play out. But I had some inspiration in the bath last night. Baths and showers are both great for that, as are long walks and long drives. So I did some good writing this morning. And found that chapter ten was over but the book wasn't. Another two, I think, to get it done. Content can take a lot more pages than you expect. At least another chapter for the big finale, and then a final chapter to wind down. I wasn't originally going to have a winding down chapter - I was going to end with a bang. But my writers' group said they always want to know what happens to the characters after all the trauma, and they need a chance to say goodbye.
I had the last of the chicken soup, plus a cucumber and a carrot, for morning tea.
For lunch I had some tuna (in springwater) and made some roasted tomato soup. I was going to have some cheese as well, for fat content, but couldn't fit it in. Also didn't need tea.
Afternoon was more soup, and the cheese I didn't have at lunchtime.
Dinner was steak with onion and mushrooms, asparagus, and various salad vegetables.
The fridge is getting really bare again! I am eating so many vegetables. I wish I had a bit more variety but there aren't that many vegetables I like. I try new ones occasionally. Shopping tomorrow, I'll be able to stock up on cucumbers and baby carrots. I've still got lots of tomato soup left which is a nice change for a big serve of vegetables.
Another good day carb cycling. No difficulties or cravings today.
Starting today, every blog I've visited has words underlined in their post that go to advertisements. I don't click on them, of course, but they are distracting. And a couple have had little video ads pop up at the side, when they never have before. Is anyone else experiencing this? It is really annoying.
You'll be glad to know I'm not going to keep taking photos of all the food you've already seen, only of new things.
I woke at about 5:30, which I often do these days, and couldn't get back to sleep. Tim got up to take Thor out about 6, and then I could hear Thor's little hooves clattering over the kitchen linoleum as he chased his ball around for the next hour. I finally dozed off shortly before I had to get out of bed so I woke all groggy. Not the best start but I had my breakfast (peanut butter toast, tea, cucumber and tomato) and helped get the kids ready for school.
Not raining today! Yay! There was a frosty wind that felt like it was coming straight from snowy mountains, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. Out we went, walking the kids to school then continuing on.
Thor was pulling hard and hurting my hand - I think he is actually quite scared of the wind - so I wasn't really enjoying it. Then something blew into my eye and it was burning and I couldn't see through the river of tears and mascara. Then a big stick fell on my arm (gum trees are notorious for dropping branches). I wasn't really injured but it hurt! And I decided I'd had enough walking for one morning. Blindly limped home. Well, ok, I didn't limp because it was my arm that got hurt not my leg. And I was only half blind. But I'm trying for dramatic impact. Imagine me limping home through sleet, handkerchief to my weeping eye, using my little puppy to guide me! Total one kilometre, less than 15 minutes, not quite the long walk I had planned.
Apparently on the coast there were gale force winds today. I guess we got the dregs of that.
In a way I think low carb days are easier than high carb days. It is easy to plan meals with little or no carbohydrate, but I find it much more difficult to have a day with carbs but almost no fat. How do you eat carbohydrate with no fat? Toast without a spread? Potato without oil? Fruit without ... well ok you don't need fat on fruit.
I'd been really stuck on my novel the past few days, only writing a few hundred words each session. I'm right near the end, but I wasn't sure how the final confrontation was going to play out. But I had some inspiration in the bath last night. Baths and showers are both great for that, as are long walks and long drives. So I did some good writing this morning. And found that chapter ten was over but the book wasn't. Another two, I think, to get it done. Content can take a lot more pages than you expect. At least another chapter for the big finale, and then a final chapter to wind down. I wasn't originally going to have a winding down chapter - I was going to end with a bang. But my writers' group said they always want to know what happens to the characters after all the trauma, and they need a chance to say goodbye.
I had the last of the chicken soup, plus a cucumber and a carrot, for morning tea.
Afternoon was more soup, and the cheese I didn't have at lunchtime.
Dinner was steak with onion and mushrooms, asparagus, and various salad vegetables.
The fridge is getting really bare again! I am eating so many vegetables. I wish I had a bit more variety but there aren't that many vegetables I like. I try new ones occasionally. Shopping tomorrow, I'll be able to stock up on cucumbers and baby carrots. I've still got lots of tomato soup left which is a nice change for a big serve of vegetables.
Another good day carb cycling. No difficulties or cravings today.
Starting today, every blog I've visited has words underlined in their post that go to advertisements. I don't click on them, of course, but they are distracting. And a couple have had little video ads pop up at the side, when they never have before. Is anyone else experiencing this? It is really annoying.
Monday, September 1, 2014
First day of spring
Monday:
First day of spring. A bit cloudy and cool, but we are getting there.
After writing my post after dinner last night, I started to feel a bit queasy and headachy. Peppermint tea didn't help, nor did a hot bath, and by the time I went to bed I was very nauseous and felt like I had a dagger stuck in my right eyebrow. But some time curled in the dark did the trick and I was fine this morning. Don't know whether it was residual tummy bug or overload of vegetables fermenting or carb flu.
It's another low carb day. There are four different cycles. I was originally going to do the Classic cycle: low/high/low/high/low/high/free day which seemed to give the best chance of not feeling sick from low carbs. But the iPhone app thing only uses the Turbo cycle: low/low/high/low/low/high/free day. Of course it will be harder doing two low carb days in a row. I will monitor how I feel as I go.
I started the day with peanut butter on toast with cucumber and tomato and my cup of tea, and water with a squeeze of lemon. Btw, I eat high-fibre low-GI white bread from our local bakery. I've tried many times to transition to wholegrain bread but end up having one slice then the rest of the yucky loaf sits in the freezer for months until I throw it out. So this is my compromise. Not supermarket bread.
Morning tea was some tasty cheese (that is not as much cheese as it looks, it's in thin flakes), a baby carrot and some kale "chips". I didn't like the kale all that much and ate about half of it. Some bits might have been overcooked, other bits were rubbery. Kale isn't big in Australia, you couldn't even buy it in most shops a year ago, but I know other people like baking it in the oven. Not for me.
Lunch was cream of chicken soup and some asparagus. I usually make the soup with a flour and butter roux which makes it seem creamy. Since it's a low carb day I used only a tablespoon of flour for the whole thing. It meant the soup didn't thicken up at all and was more of a broth with bits of chicken in it. Still tasted nice.
And dinner was bolognaise (lean beef mince, tomato, onion, mushrooms, garlic and chilli) on a bed of zoodles (zucchini strips) with some tasty cheese. Yummy dinner.
I am really enjoying taking photos of all my food even if the family are giving me funny looks.
This afternoon I found myself craving chocolate. Or lollies. Or a hot chocolate. So sugar, I guess. Got through it ok.
First day of spring. A bit cloudy and cool, but we are getting there.
After writing my post after dinner last night, I started to feel a bit queasy and headachy. Peppermint tea didn't help, nor did a hot bath, and by the time I went to bed I was very nauseous and felt like I had a dagger stuck in my right eyebrow. But some time curled in the dark did the trick and I was fine this morning. Don't know whether it was residual tummy bug or overload of vegetables fermenting or carb flu.
It's another low carb day. There are four different cycles. I was originally going to do the Classic cycle: low/high/low/high/low/high/free day which seemed to give the best chance of not feeling sick from low carbs. But the iPhone app thing only uses the Turbo cycle: low/low/high/low/low/high/free day. Of course it will be harder doing two low carb days in a row. I will monitor how I feel as I go.
I started the day with peanut butter on toast with cucumber and tomato and my cup of tea, and water with a squeeze of lemon. Btw, I eat high-fibre low-GI white bread from our local bakery. I've tried many times to transition to wholegrain bread but end up having one slice then the rest of the yucky loaf sits in the freezer for months until I throw it out. So this is my compromise. Not supermarket bread.
Morning tea was some tasty cheese (that is not as much cheese as it looks, it's in thin flakes), a baby carrot and some kale "chips". I didn't like the kale all that much and ate about half of it. Some bits might have been overcooked, other bits were rubbery. Kale isn't big in Australia, you couldn't even buy it in most shops a year ago, but I know other people like baking it in the oven. Not for me.
Lunch was cream of chicken soup and some asparagus. I usually make the soup with a flour and butter roux which makes it seem creamy. Since it's a low carb day I used only a tablespoon of flour for the whole thing. It meant the soup didn't thicken up at all and was more of a broth with bits of chicken in it. Still tasted nice.
After lunch I started feeling very queasy again, and quite gassy. I think it's probably all the extra vegetables playing havoc, but it does seem to happen after the fattier meals. I have fat with each meal on a low carb day, but it's not that much. Certainly not more than I usually have! So I'm not sure what is going on there. I recovered quickly this time.
I picked up the kids from school but had some bad news there. Quite a few families walk their dogs up to pick up the kids but apparently that is not in line with government regulations and the vice principal told me that dogs will no longer be allowed on school grounds. He was patting Thor regretfully as he told me! Not sure what this will mean for afternoon walks.
Afternoon snack was some lean roast beef left over from last night, with a Lebanese cucumber and a baby carrot. The roast beef was really delicious, it seemed even better than yesterday.
And dinner was bolognaise (lean beef mince, tomato, onion, mushrooms, garlic and chilli) on a bed of zoodles (zucchini strips) with some tasty cheese. Yummy dinner.
I am really enjoying taking photos of all my food even if the family are giving me funny looks.
This afternoon I found myself craving chocolate. Or lollies. Or a hot chocolate. So sugar, I guess. Got through it ok.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Photo log
Sunday:
Jasmine's big dance concert was last night. It's a pretty big deal for the dance school, with sold out shows in Canberra Theatre. This year they did two shows instead of one, a matinee with the big kids plus the tiny ones, and the evening show was the big kids again plus the medium-sized ones like my daughter. I was kind of sad that I didn't get to see the tiny tots, they are so cute in their little bee costumes or whatever, always out of time and facing the wrong way. By contrast, the older teenagers are full time dance students and could be candidates for So You Think You Can Dance.
There was kind of a storyline that strung all the performances together, but not really. Jasmine, as you can see, was a cowgirl (hat and make-up not pictured) and had nothing to do with anything as far as I could tell. The bit where she came on, I thought the scene was in an Arabian marketplace. With cowboys. Oh well, whatever. I enjoyed the show.
I took some "before" photos of myself this afternoon (at least, my husband took them). I don't like them much, but they accurately portray what I look like, I guess. Just not in my own head. The side view is something I don't see on a regular basis and was an unpleasant surprise. I made sure I didn't suck my stomach in, these are supposed to show what I look like "before". I have also taken some body measurements.
Front view:
And side view:
And here is my food for the day, a low carb day. Breakfast, two poached eggs on one slice of toast with butter, a Lebanese cucumber and a really delicious flavourful small tomato. Cup of tea. Sugar is not an approved part of my diet. I have cut down to half a teaspoon and I'll work on it. I do poach a good egg, if I say so myself.
Morning tea. Tasty cheddar cheese - I didn't eat all of it. Another Lebanese cucumber and small tomato. I hadn't been shopping yet and the vegetable choices were very limited! It was that or an onion.
Lunch after shopping trip. What I call Rainbow Stir Fry, one of my "on a diet" favourites. Strips of chicken breast with julienned snow peas, carrot, capsicum, shallot and baby corn. With garlic, soy and oyster sauce.
My lunchtime cup of tea, showing how much sugar.
Afternoon snack, Mexican chilli/lime flavour mixed nuts (they have 1.4 grams of sugar for the packet, which I decided was ok) and two baby carrots.
Then I lightened my hair colour. I've never done this myself before, and I've only had it done at the hairdresser a few times. All my life I've been blonde, but since having children my hair has gone darker. I recently had it lightened at the hairdresser but couldn't see any difference! Waste of money. So I decided to spend $14 at the chemist and do it at home. I like the result, it's a nice golden blonde and quite noticeably different (to me, anyway). The circles under my eyes aren't really quite that bad, it's the indoor lighting. They are there though.
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Dinnertime! It was odd not having any roast potatoes but I told myself I could have them on my high carb days. I had roast beef (nowhere near all of this, I ate about one and 3/4 slices not three), onion, broccoli, asparagus and a vegetable medley consisting of onion, carrot, zucchini and celery (I also didn't eat all of that, it's put away for tomorrow). I love my roast vegetable medley; cut up so small it gets caramelised all over in the oven. Drizzle of homemade gravy with a pinch of flour in it. The glisten on the vegetables is olive oil.
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Day one completed. The two times I didn't finish my food, I obviously served myself too much and I need to be more careful with my portion sizes. I didn't weigh or measure anything. At the end of the day I got curious. The plan is based on portions (using your hand as a guide) not weight, but wanted to know if I was within my target range of various nutrients. I used another carb cycling site to get some guidelines - I wrote them down days ago and I can't remember where I got them from.
Target calories: 1200 (for a low carb day). Actual approximate calories: 1250. Excellent!
Target carbs: 36-90 grams. Actual carbs: 63 grams. Perfect!
Target fat: 18-36 grams. Actual fat: 62 grams. A bit high, due to full fat cheese and the nuts probably. But I don't think it's high for Chris Powell's plan. And it's exactly right according to my Calorie King app.
Target protein: 180 grams. Actual protein 90 grams. I think 180 grams must be for bodybuilders! I had a palm-sized portion with every meal and snack.
Target fibre (national guidelines): 25 grams. Actual fibre: 23 grams. Pretty close - especially considering so little starchy carbohydrate. One slice of toast and a hell of a lot of vegetables.
Water: I had six glasses. Still need to work on that.
Exercise. Nil. Yesterday I went for a walk with the family and couldn't keep up at all and felt horrible afterwards, still getting over being sick I guess. Today I was very tired after doing the grocery shopping on a Sunday which meant having to park a long way from the doors and pushing around a wobbly trolley. Does that count? Surely it counts as the 5 mins minimum requirement. I'll do more tomorrow!
And how do I feel? Full! Very full all day. Do you see how much vegetable I ate? Ten servings! Two with every meal and snack! And protein every time too. I didn't miss carbs at all. The not-eating bit wasn't a problem, just fitting in all that vegetable matter was. Feel a little bit bloated, might take my tummy a few days to get used to it. Overall very happy with day one. Just wish I was up to exercising.
Jasmine's big dance concert was last night. It's a pretty big deal for the dance school, with sold out shows in Canberra Theatre. This year they did two shows instead of one, a matinee with the big kids plus the tiny ones, and the evening show was the big kids again plus the medium-sized ones like my daughter. I was kind of sad that I didn't get to see the tiny tots, they are so cute in their little bee costumes or whatever, always out of time and facing the wrong way. By contrast, the older teenagers are full time dance students and could be candidates for So You Think You Can Dance.
There was kind of a storyline that strung all the performances together, but not really. Jasmine, as you can see, was a cowgirl (hat and make-up not pictured) and had nothing to do with anything as far as I could tell. The bit where she came on, I thought the scene was in an Arabian marketplace. With cowboys. Oh well, whatever. I enjoyed the show.
I took some "before" photos of myself this afternoon (at least, my husband took them). I don't like them much, but they accurately portray what I look like, I guess. Just not in my own head. The side view is something I don't see on a regular basis and was an unpleasant surprise. I made sure I didn't suck my stomach in, these are supposed to show what I look like "before". I have also taken some body measurements.
Front view:
And side view:
And here is my food for the day, a low carb day. Breakfast, two poached eggs on one slice of toast with butter, a Lebanese cucumber and a really delicious flavourful small tomato. Cup of tea. Sugar is not an approved part of my diet. I have cut down to half a teaspoon and I'll work on it. I do poach a good egg, if I say so myself.
Morning tea. Tasty cheddar cheese - I didn't eat all of it. Another Lebanese cucumber and small tomato. I hadn't been shopping yet and the vegetable choices were very limited! It was that or an onion.
Lunch after shopping trip. What I call Rainbow Stir Fry, one of my "on a diet" favourites. Strips of chicken breast with julienned snow peas, carrot, capsicum, shallot and baby corn. With garlic, soy and oyster sauce.
My lunchtime cup of tea, showing how much sugar.
Afternoon snack, Mexican chilli/lime flavour mixed nuts (they have 1.4 grams of sugar for the packet, which I decided was ok) and two baby carrots.
Then I lightened my hair colour. I've never done this myself before, and I've only had it done at the hairdresser a few times. All my life I've been blonde, but since having children my hair has gone darker. I recently had it lightened at the hairdresser but couldn't see any difference! Waste of money. So I decided to spend $14 at the chemist and do it at home. I like the result, it's a nice golden blonde and quite noticeably different (to me, anyway). The circles under my eyes aren't really quite that bad, it's the indoor lighting. They are there though.
Dinnertime! It was odd not having any roast potatoes but I told myself I could have them on my high carb days. I had roast beef (nowhere near all of this, I ate about one and 3/4 slices not three), onion, broccoli, asparagus and a vegetable medley consisting of onion, carrot, zucchini and celery (I also didn't eat all of that, it's put away for tomorrow). I love my roast vegetable medley; cut up so small it gets caramelised all over in the oven. Drizzle of homemade gravy with a pinch of flour in it. The glisten on the vegetables is olive oil.
Day one completed. The two times I didn't finish my food, I obviously served myself too much and I need to be more careful with my portion sizes. I didn't weigh or measure anything. At the end of the day I got curious. The plan is based on portions (using your hand as a guide) not weight, but wanted to know if I was within my target range of various nutrients. I used another carb cycling site to get some guidelines - I wrote them down days ago and I can't remember where I got them from.
Target calories: 1200 (for a low carb day). Actual approximate calories: 1250. Excellent!
Target carbs: 36-90 grams. Actual carbs: 63 grams. Perfect!
Target fat: 18-36 grams. Actual fat: 62 grams. A bit high, due to full fat cheese and the nuts probably. But I don't think it's high for Chris Powell's plan. And it's exactly right according to my Calorie King app.
Target protein: 180 grams. Actual protein 90 grams. I think 180 grams must be for bodybuilders! I had a palm-sized portion with every meal and snack.
Target fibre (national guidelines): 25 grams. Actual fibre: 23 grams. Pretty close - especially considering so little starchy carbohydrate. One slice of toast and a hell of a lot of vegetables.
Water: I had six glasses. Still need to work on that.
Exercise. Nil. Yesterday I went for a walk with the family and couldn't keep up at all and felt horrible afterwards, still getting over being sick I guess. Today I was very tired after doing the grocery shopping on a Sunday which meant having to park a long way from the doors and pushing around a wobbly trolley. Does that count? Surely it counts as the 5 mins minimum requirement. I'll do more tomorrow!
And how do I feel? Full! Very full all day. Do you see how much vegetable I ate? Ten servings! Two with every meal and snack! And protein every time too. I didn't miss carbs at all. The not-eating bit wasn't a problem, just fitting in all that vegetable matter was. Feel a little bit bloated, might take my tummy a few days to get used to it. Overall very happy with day one. Just wish I was up to exercising.
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