Cutting the Carbs in the NEW YEAR!!!

[lil_earthmomma]

It's 2010 and a new year to become healthier, happier people!!!

I'm planning on doing a sugar/sweetener free challenge for the next 30 days. Anyone want to join me?

I will still eat fruit and will even be trying out some baking sweetened solely with fruit!

I'm still loving the primal lifestyle, loving being grain free and ready for a new challenge. Christmas showed me just how addictive sugar is and how I start out well but then I'm like I little kid running down a steep hill! Studdenly I have lost all control and can't. stop. eating. the sugar!!!

Anyone else with new year's resolutions?

[crunchy_mama]

Hello! Still here, had a crazy NYE and NY, fil ended up in the hospital for emergency surgery due to a brain bleed. He is having a miraculous recovery though and going from lucky to be alive to should regain all his functioning! He should get out in 5-7 days, currently in the ICU but should be moving to a less intensive unit today.

Anyway,so a rough day there for everyone. On the diet and exercise front I obviously didn't get any done as we were in the hospital- although a lot of pacing w/ the baby. Only a few hours of crappy sleep all night in the waiting room, so when we came home last night no way I was up for exercising! Thankfully due to the lc and if'ing I made it just fine as options for "safe(df and gluten free) food was very limited.

My January Goals!
1)Weight- currently down to 133.4(lowest since baby #3 was born- YA!)- would like to see that at 129 or lower by the end of the month
2)Waist- currently at 30 in(lowest since baby#3 as well today! YA!)- want that to be 29 in or less
3) Strength-10 real pushups- sigh my strength is utterly pathetic right now but I am hoping that comes back to me real soon!
4)Endurance- get back to 100% my regular schedule- get too wore out these days!
5) Exercise complete the 30 day Shred along w/ my weekly Yoga- hope to start practicing pullups as well along w/ at least weekly family walks/hikes

My 3 month goals-
Weight down to 120 (prepregnancy I was 117 but I am allowing a few pounds due to the massive increase in breast size and milk )
Waist 27 in
Strength- 25 standard pushups-2 pullups- 1 min plank
Endurance-Able to do P90x Plyo full speed w/ no breaks and starting some sprinting
And of course in my own clothes! My last 2 pregnancies it was taken 4 months to lose the weight, but another couple months to get back to the same size, this time I want to have the weight gone and be back to regular size by the 4 month mark!
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JTAMom- So, glad to hear the weight is back down! Ya!!! See it was just bloat!!! On the cake I LOVE me some chocolate raw vegan cake- it is what I requested for my baby shower this time. All kinds of deliciousness, but no bloat, sickness or guilt! You mix some dates, cocoa, nuts(walnuts are especially good) puree until smooth and then top with some berries- YUMM! O!

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lil_earthmomma- I well understand sugar addiction! The positive part is you are finding out what works for your body and what doesn't.

I will kind of join your challenge- but modified. I find that having baked goods around period is a trigger for me- even naturally sweetened w/ fruit. So, I restrict them to 1x a week for Sun am b-fast. Dark chocolate and (limited) fruit only on carb up days(I can eat it w/out binging unlike some other things!) So, I want to stick w/ that as it works the best for me. I want to continue doing the carb cycling and IF'ing as that works the best for me.

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On the if'ing I just got to say I am in love w/ this! It is working so well. I still don't have a particular schedule just going by how I feel. However, I feel much more stabilized in mood and energy and love not feeling like I am chained to having to eat all the time. LIke I said at the hospital I could wait until there was a safe lc option and wasn't starving. Before I thought the hypoglycemia was under control with eating every few hours, but it wasn't. Getting the gluten out helped a lot but going even lower on the carbs and If'ing I don't feel it at all, it is amazing.

Oh, and while thinking on what works for me and trying to figure out how help myself stick to it the best I have came up with this. I love keeping paleo, but trying to be 100% is shooting myself in the foot. However, having my carb up days leaves wonderful leeway room so I can get by w/out deprivation! So, on those days I will partake in some non-paleo higher carb treats like perhaps some beans or maybe some potatoes sometimes- and more fruit. Also, Sunday is my "feast" we will be continuing w/ our nice big breakfast- now that generally means a grain free muffin or waffles w/ some meat etc.

Anyway, hope all are feeling well and motivated!

[Violet2]

I'm in. My biggest downfall is no one else low carb's and DD gets to eat all this yummy fruit. If I lose and need to maintain, I can eat some fruit, but to lose I have to be super strict LC.

My menu for the next few weeks for me (it's easier if I just eat the same thing):

Cottage cheese, cheese or eggs for breakfast

Salad with chicken for lunch.

Snacks: salami, cheese, nuts, sugar free mints

Protein and veggie for dinner (this will change daily).

V

[babygrant]

I'm here....sorta kinda.

I was doing so well for a few days and today has just been bad. I honestly cannot stomach another egg, bacon, sausage. Lunch for me is fine because I just have a big salad.....but I'm not a huge fan of meat. I felt really good when I was LC, but I don't know. I just ate a chocolate drop cookie (know the ones made of oats and chocolate) and now I have a stomach ache and feel like I have a big brick in my stomach.

I've also gone dairy free with my son....but the dairy-free doesn't seem to be doing much so I think we'll be going gluten free and reintroduce the dairy. I don't know....we'll see.

For now I think I'm just going to try keeping my carbs below 50 grams and calories between 1500-1700. See how things go. I'd really like to lose the 70 lbs I want to lose by my birthday on September 10th. Then I want to get some....boudoir photos done for my hubby.

I think a few of you post on marksdailyapple forums (hehe, how many CLW posts do you see from regular people on a non-parenting forum?).

[babygrant]

Originally Posted by lil_earthmomma

Christmas showed me just how addictive sugar is and how I start out well but then I'm like I little kid running down a steep hill! Studdenly I have lost all control and can't. stop. eating. the sugar!!!

OMG yes! And I"m stupid enough where I fall on my face at the bottom of the hill, get right back up, climb back up the hill and run back down. I know what's going to happen when I get to the bottom...but doesn't stop me from doing it.

[JTA Mom]

Originally Posted by babygrant

OMG yes! And I"m stupid enough where I fall on my face at the bottom of the hill, get right back up, climb back up the hill and run back down. I know what's going to happen when I get to the bottom...but doesn't stop me from doing it.

That's me too these past few weeks! And especially yesterday, with the peanut butter fudge. Curse you, peanut butter fudge!!!


Crunchy_mama, I am so glad your FIL is doing better! What a way to ring in the new year.

What you just said about IF intrigues me. Do you have any set rules you go by? Or is it just a thing of 'no acceptable food available, so don't eat' type of thing? And thanks for the raw chocolate cake recipe! I have a bunch of dates in my fridge too. Do you think it would work with Almonds? They're the only nut dh isn't allergic to.

Currently back on low carb. It's interesting, but I've noticed when I 'cheat' it's never a whole day thing. It's a meal/snack that's off track. The other meals/snacks are on track. That's good, right? Of course, getting in 50+ carbs in one meal makes me retain water like crazy! Having a cup of rice and a cup of potatoes yesterday really did me in today. Back up a couple pounds.

One thing I've noticed is that getting in my liquids is super important. If I don't get in at least 8 cups of liquid, any veerance in carbs makes me retain like crazy OR I don't lose anything. If I hit 12cups +, I can have small cheats without the huge gain OR I lose weight nicely. Interesting correlation.

Babygrant, I noticed a lot of pork as your meats. Maybe that's it? Also, have you tried shaking up the spices? A Jamaican jerk chicken is a totally different taste sensation than an Indian curry chicken, which is again, totally different than a Chile-Lemon Mexican chicken. It helps relieve the boredom. I mean, if you think about grains, how many ways can one eat wheat? In crackers, bread, pasta, cereals, cake, cookies. I mean, if you think about it, the average person can have 5+ servings of wheat a day. But, due to different preparation methods, they taste totally different.

For example: Person A eats some Cheerios (wheat) for breakfast. Snacks on some triscuts (wheat), and then has a lunch made up of a sandwich (wheat), snacks on a couple of snickerdoodles, then has a dinner of pasta with meat sauce (wheat again) and for a special treat, some chocolate cake (wheat). So in a day, they've had wheat for ALL of their main meals AND snacks. Boring. Except the preparation methods make it interesting. We just need to apply the same concept to low carb/paleo eating.

Ami

[babygrant]

Originally Posted by JTA Mom

Babygrant, I noticed a lot of pork as your meats. Maybe that's it?

Actually the only pork I do is bacon and sausages....but blah, they are making me nauseated. We eat a fair amount of venison as DH is a hunter, and we have a surplus of deer sausages. Lunches and dinners are ok.....but i'm just stumped as to what to have for breakfast other than eggs and bacon/sausages.

[JTA Mom]

Originally Posted by babygrant

Actually the only pork I do is bacon and sausages....but blah, they are making me nauseated. We eat a fair amount of venison as DH is a hunter, and we have a surplus of deer sausages. Lunches and dinners are ok.....but i'm just stumped as to what to have for breakfast other than eggs and bacon/sausages.

I've had leftover 'meat pizza' for breakfast. That was really yummy. But then again, I always liked regular leftover pizza for breakfast too.

Hmmm, breakfast ideas.

There are the egg muffins on the previous thread. I haven't had the time to make them yet, but they look like a nice enough change to 'shake things up', especially with different herbs/spices in each of them.

How about a crustless quiche? Still eggs, but totally 'different'.

I also like a meat & veggie stirfry as breakfast. To be honest, I never really liked 'traditional' breakfast foods for breakfast, so some leftover cubed meat or leftover roast, warmed up and topped with an over-medium egg is divine, for me. I also like things like salmon cakes (canned salmon, crushed pork rinds, spices & some mayo for binding), 'warm' salads (like spinach salad with hot bacon fat drizzled over it, cooked 'greens' topped with some meat, etc) and if the previous night's dinner was exceptionally good (and there are leftovers) I'll have those.

Here's a forum I visit to get menu ideas from: http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=96

I just linked you to the recipe section, specifically breakfast ideas.

Here's a compilation of the lowest carb ones (Atkins Induction friendly recipes): http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=126133



hth!

Ami

[babygrant]

Thank you!!!

[Violet2]

Cottage cheese works for bfast too. Or any leftovers you have in the fridge. Also, salsa on eggs really spices them up. I get bored with eggs too and sausage isn't really a high quality protein, although I do like it.

I made the egg muffins tonight using spinach, feta and parmesean. Hmmm. Messy recipe. Not sure if it's worth it to use the muffin pan. Might be easier to just make a casserole/quiche.

I also made pumpkin/banana/cherry/flax muffins for Dh and DD and am quite jealous about it.

V

[ryleigh'smama]

Hi everyone! I am still going on this journey of lc/primal eating. I had some cheese and crackers after drinking a bit on NYE....but I am recovered. I got to the gym 6 days out of the last 7, which helped a ton. I am still at 131 lbs, I suppose I should be thankful I didn't gain over the holidays. My goal is 125, I want to reach it by my bday in March. I know....6 lbs in 2.5 months should be doable...but really, I have wanted to lose the last 5-7 lbs for months now. I was at 129 for awhile, went back up to 133, now at 131...my body LOVES it here.

Okay, my plan:

~Eat lc/primal
~Continue IFing...I also really feel good doing it. I don't do long fasts, it is usually after dinner (7ish) I stop eating, and don't eat again until I'm REALLY hungry in the morning/afternoon (I usually eat by noon).
~Get to the gym/do a video/run at least 5 days/week (right now, when I am working I average 3 days/week).


I think that's it. I want to eat more seafood and veggies. We have a half of a grass fed organic cow in our freezer...which is awesome, but I am ready for some variety.

[lil_earthmomma]

Some people have been asking about intermittent fasting so I thought I'd post my experience. Feel free to chime in other IF'ers!

I don't set a time for my IF's as I am an eating disorder survivor and feel I could easily get into a mode of deprivation. This is personal, so do what's good for you!

I naturally dropped to two meals a day when I started eating primal. I just wasn't hungry which was a HUGE change from my 6,7, 8 mini meals a day and still hungry when eating tons of carbs.

Now I often only eat once a day. A new study that www.marksdailyapple.com sites, http://www.nature.com/nature/journal...ture08589.html

found that fasting makes us more active, on a chemical level! I thought that was so cool because I've been feeling so sluggish eating all of this carby crap all day! I feel so much better, more awake, more energy, more motivation! Now I know why!

For non egg breakfast foods that are low carb and high protein, what about baking some coconut flour muffins? The egg content, plus you could add protein powder would make them very nutritious!

[crunchy_mama]

On IF'ing I don't set a clock either. I can be a bit neurotic as well. I and it seems to work best for me to sometimes just push back b-fast and not eat until lunch. Sometimes I have skipped supper because I didn't feel really hungry. I decided it was insane to make myself eat when I wasn't hungry. Anyway, just one day at a time here, if I feel like I need to eat all day then I do but keep it paleo items and on the lower carb. However, I have decided that if I want an apple sometimes by golly I am going to eat one, that is crazy.

anyway- yesterday
b- eggs and bacon w/ emergen C
l- leftover soup- mostly homemade broth w/ a bit of coco milk- some cabbage a little bit of tomato and leftover chicken
l2- blt's sans the bread(wrapped in lettuce w/ homemade mayo- YUM!
snack- apple
supper- all natural hotdog dipped in a bit of mustard and a HUGE plate of kale and onions

exercise- 30 day shred- day 4- I can already tell an improvement in my endurance and strength!

today is carb up day- wil lbe making coco muffins for bfast(w/ bacon of course becsause I am in love w/ it right now and some more protein!)

[RollerCoasterMama]

subbing. tomorrow is day one. I'm in a house with NO food (I just moved in so nothing bad hiding to sabotage me!!).

Give me your LC (preferably traditional food versioins) staples. Today is grocery/menu planning day! Since it's just me and DS, I'm kind of tempted to do a big roast each week to eat from for a few days and mix it up other ways.

Any tips welcome!!

[crunchy_mama]

my staples:
grassfed meat every variety- liver and othr organs
grassfed tallow-lard-coco oil
all manner of low starch veggies

fClo
fermented foods are great but I lack the time and energy right now

[Violet2]

IF sounds interesting I don't know if I can do it. LC tends to make me hypoglycemic where I must eat on a regular schedule or feel like I'm going to pass out from low blood sugar.

I have missed meals here and there due to decreased appetite when LCing or being too busy to eat while parenting and it has been okay--less so with the parenting induced meal skips. If my body and blood sugar are ready for it, I can do it but I can't force IF--does that make sense? There's a sweet spot for my body where IF is possible.

Anyway...

Menu today:

3 egg 'muffins' (that's the other drawback to this recipe, they are SMALL)
Taco salad with ground turkey, salsa, cheese and a dab of sour cream
Cornish game hens with rosemary and garlic and some kind of veggie.

[425lisamarie]

I have pretty strenuous workouts and have to control my blood sugar so purposeful IF doesn't work for me, but I would LOVE to support the no sweets! I have been sweet free so long I can't remember LOL. I eat fruit, but nothing past that. I had 6 pounds of fresh yummy grapes that I processed for sweetner. I pureed some and cooked it down after straining for liquid, and I made a bunch of raisins which was fun and they are so yummy. I eat apples, dates, bananas, and raisins, mostly. Oh and my dad is going to Wenatchee valley soon to bring me back my 25 pounds of pears. Every year he goes there a couple times and gets me apples/pears from a fresh orchard

i wasn't purposely "grain free" but not eating any grains except a small amount of buckwheat or oats in one meal in the morning. Yesterday I decided to add extra flax seeds and almonds to my pancake and I was actually more full, and it was after 12 o'clock and I noticed I wasn't starving yet. Normally I get insatiably hungry, but this time I just felt the need to eat, not ready to fall over lol. I am going to continue this for one week and if I notice a difference I'm not even eating them in the am.

I really have a mission to be as strong and fit as I can naturally and so very different then most of the people I know who are athletes. Sometimes people ask me about what I eat and they are completely shocked to find out how whole I eat and how much fat LOL

I'm working on eating some more meat, because it feels REALLY good when I do. I really love turkey, lamb and fish. I have a whole turkey waiting to be processed and ground but I'm afraid it will take me so long. I really am loving grinding my own meat but i only have the kitchenaide attachment, and I don't know how long it would take to process a whole turkey. I may have to look in to a separate grinder.

ETA: I don't watch my carbs at all, just grains. I eat lots of potatoes and sweet potatoes, along with fruit and starchy veggies like peas/carrots.

[lil_earthmomma]

Originally Posted by RollerCoasterMama

subbing. tomorrow is day one. I'm in a house with NO food (I just moved in so nothing bad hiding to sabotage me!!).

Give me your LC (preferably traditional food versioins) staples. Today is grocery/menu planning day! Since it's just me and DS, I'm kind of tempted to do a big roast each week to eat from for a few days and mix it up other ways.

Any tips welcome!!

We eat like this when busy. We do it with roasts, whole chickens, and even pork loin.

I love that every day can be a completely different meal, with very minimal effort. Day 1 Roast Chicken, Day 2 Crepes with Chicken and broccoli, Day 3 Chicken stirfry, Day 4 Chicken Soup!!!

It's great!

So my staples are:

Chicken, whole roasters and tons of chicken thighs (bone in skin on!)
A variety of Beef cuts
Pork tenderloin, bacon, ground pork
Seafood! Right now we're loving halibut, and we always have shrimp for awesome quick protein.

In the fridge:
Broccoli (because my boys love it!)
Baby spinach and mixed greens (we eat salad daily, sometimes twice a day)
Eggs eggs eggs
Butter
fresh salsa (instantly jazzes up eggs or chicken!)
heavy cream

In the Pantry:
Coconut flour
Almond flour
onions
garlic
coconut milk
CO
nuts: almond, pecan, hazelnut

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by lil_earthmomma

We eat like this when busy. We do it with roasts, whole chickens, and even pork loin.

I love that every day can be a completely different meal, with very minimal effort. Day 1 Roast Chicken, Day 2 Crepes with Chicken and broccoli, Day 3 Chicken stirfry, Day 4 Chicken Soup!!!

It's great!

So my staples are:

Chicken, whole roasters and tons of chicken thighs (bone in skin on!)
A variety of Beef cuts
Pork tenderloin, bacon, ground pork
Seafood! Right now we're loving halibut, and we always have shrimp for awesome quick protein.

In the fridge:
Broccoli (because my boys love it!)
Baby spinach and mixed greens (we eat salad daily, sometimes twice a day)
Eggs eggs eggs
Butter
fresh salsa (instantly jazzes up eggs or chicken!)
heavy cream

In the Pantry:
Coconut flour
Almond flour
onions
garlic
coconut milk
CO
nuts: almond, pecan, hazelnut

Thanks! I guess I was vague...I meant a roasting SOMETHING! Mixing it up each week! (LOVE roast chicken and everything you can do with it---pork roast, beef roast, soups, all that!) I just need to PLAN! I've been moving, selling the house, prepping for divorce, so the planned eating has fallen to bits. Just planning will make a huge difference!!! Maybe DS will quit thinking the only person that rings the doorbell is the pizza guy! :P

Thanks for the pantry list! Starting with nothing, it's much easier to get off to a good start!

[JTA Mom]

Yesterday was great in terms of diet. However, I didn't get to the gym. Dh didn't get home till 9:30 and by then I was so pooped! I really need to figure out a way around that. We're a one car family too, so when dh is gone, there's really no way to get to the gym. Unless I want to drag a 2yr old for 3 miles in the cold.

Hmmm, basic pantry items?

Meats: Any, especially those one sale! I do get some processed ones (mainly salami or pepperoni), but the majority is roasts, fish fillets, shrimp, stew meats, etc. Ham was recently on sale for 67c/lb, so we got a big ham. Still have one big turkey in the freezer too.


Dairy: Dh & Ds get whole milk and a variety of cheese. I got them a block of sharp cheddar and a block of Monterey Jack and sliced some and cubed some. Ds is in love with cube cheese.

Non-dairy: I have some coconut milk in the cupboard, but don't use it much. I used to have some Almond milk as well, but it's too expensive to buy. I make my own, but then I'm stuck with a gallon that HAS to be finished within the week.

Veggies & fruits: I have lots of greens (romaine, collards, mustards) for salads as well as cooked greens, cucumbers & tomatoes, cauliflower, onions, garlic, eggplant and zucchini, cabbage, avocado. I'm really lucky I live in an area where Eggplant is still 99c/each and zucchini is 99c/lb still. I am going to have to expand the veggies soon though because they are getting boring. If I could be a bit higher carb, I'd add in some winter squashes (butternut, acorn) and fruit.

For Ds and Dh, I buy mandarins/oranges, apples, and if there's a good price, maybe some berries. At my carb level, I can't really have any right now.

And that's it. It's meats & veggies for me, fruits & dairy added for ds & dh. I've actually seen our grocery bill stay the same. I'm eating a lot less naturally (not forced) and I'm not spending money on the fillers like rice, potatoes, cookies, candies, etc.

Ami