Sunday, January 31, 2010

Saturday's [not-so] Low Carb Food Menu

Menu for Saturday, January 30, 2010

- Two hot dogs with onions, cheese, mustard and low carb ketchup on an oopsie roll
- Two burgers on oopsies with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, mustard and low carb ketchup
- A slice of cheese pizza and a few bread sticks
- Cheesy spaghetti squash
- A piece of sugar free chocolate

Low Carb Menu for Friday, January 29th

Low Carb Menu for Friday 1-29-10

- Tuna salad with tomato on an oopsie roll
- Roma tomato pizza gondolas with mozz, cream cheese and pepperoni
- Cheeseburger with tomato and onion on an oopsie roll
- Cheesy spaghetti squash
- Chicken BLT with mayo on an oopsie roll
- Low carb almond ice cream bar

Friday, January 29, 2010

Low Carb Menu for Thursday

Low Carb Food Journal for Thursday, January 28, 2010

- Tuna salad with lettuce and tomato on an oopsie roll
- Cheesy spaghetti squash
- Hot pepper jack cheese burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard, mayo and low carb ketchup, on an oopsie bun
- One Roma tomato pizza gondola with pepperoni, mozz and cream cheese
- Chicken breast BLT with mayo on an oopsie roll

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Low Carb Food Menu for Wednesday

Low Carb Food Menu for Wednesday, January 27

- Tuna salad with lettuce and tomato on an oopsie
- Cheesy spaghetti squash
- Roma tomato pizza gondola
- Slice of baked ham
- Oopsie french toast with maple syrup and butter

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Low Carb Menu for Tuesday

Low Carb Menu for January 26th

- Two stuffed Roma tomato pizza gondolas with cream cheese, mozzarella and pepperoni
- Two hot dogs with diced onions, mustard and low carb ketchup on an oopsie bun
- Two BLTs with mayo on oopsies
- A thin slice of hot pepper jack cheese

Exercise: 1 mile brisk walk

It feels amazing to be back on eating low carb. I had my well women exam at the doctor today and the ten pound weight gain in one month at the doctor's office was a huge wake up call for me. I'm not going to just fat out and let it get me down.

In good news, all of my numbers are well within normal range for my blood work... I will be posting my numbers in another post.... for reference more than anything else. I have almost 100 pounds to lose, so I'm taking low carb seriously again. It will be interesting to look at my blood work numbers once I lose a significant amount of weight. Looking in the mirror will be certainly more fun, too! LOL. Really though, the aesthetic aspect of losing weight is nothing compared to me regulating my blood sugar and my knee pain subsiding.

Even with only one day under my belt, I feel so amazing. Inspired. The first day is DEFINITELY the hardest... for me at least. I have read that once you quit the bad carbs, they are out of your system within 36-48 hours, so I'm almost to that point now. I've been moving my body and I'm back to living my life without the cravings of processed crap. The good thing about carbs being addictive for me... is that when I quit them for a while... the cravings also basically go down to zero. It's truly amazing... yet it seems so simple all at the same time.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Low Carb Mexican Chicken Veggie Casserole

Ingredients:
- 3-4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast (about five-six breasts)
- Taco Seasoning
- One medium onion, sliced
- One red bell pepper, sliced
- 2 cans of green beans, French cut
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 can of Rotel tomatoes (diced tomatoes mixed with green chiles) - do not drain

  • Cube chicken in large, bite-size cunks and pan fry in a skillet in butter or oil.
  • After chicken is cooked through, toss with two tablespoons of taco seasoning and place in greased 9x13 casserole dish.
  • In the same skillet, sautee the onion and red pepper until just barely tender-crisp.
  • Drain the two cans of green beans and mix in the casserole dish with the chicken.
  • In a medium size microwaveable bowl, soften cream cheese in the microwave for a minute.
  • Mix in the can of Rotel tomatoes (do not drain) with the softened cream cheese. Just mix it with a spoon until it's an even consistency. Pour this mixture over the chicken and green beans.
  • Spread the cheddar cheese evenly over casserole.
  • Spoon the onions and red peppers evenly over cheese.
  • Bake for 30 minutes at 350.
Top with your favorite low carb mexican toppings!! I used salsa and sour cream, but lettuce, avocados, black olives and hot sauce would all be good on top of this easy. This is easy, relatively inexpensive if you can catch chicken breast on sale and it feeds a crowd...

Friday, January 15, 2010

January 15th Low Carb Menu

1-15-10 Low Carb Menu

- Meatloaf with low carb ketchup
- Spaghetti squash casserole with hot pepper jack cheese
- Two hot dogs on an oopsie roll with mustard, diced onions and ketchup
- BLT on an oopsie roll with mayo
- Green jello cheesecake

January 14th Low Carb Menu

1-14-10 Low Carb Menu

- Two sausage patties, two scrambled eggs with cheese and oopsie french toast with maple syrup
- Turkey BLT on an oopsie
- Meatloaf with low carb ketchup
- Spaghetti squash casserole

Thursday, January 14, 2010

You are only defeated if you give up.

Low Carb Observations....

Did you pig out at a buffet to the point of pain? Did you drive through your local fast food place for a little fourth meal? Oh, well! Yeah, I said it. Who gives a crap? Nobody really cares. I mean, the only thing to really suffer is your health.

Nobody cares that I spent fourteen dollars in the past three days on fast food. I'm only screwing myself over when I do this. If I think I'm being "rebellious," that is a load of crap.

I'm done with that roller coaster of fat and sugar. I woke up this morning utterly craving more.... Breakfast at my local fast food chain never sounded so good. Instead, I decided to tell myself to shut the eff up and stick to my low carb plan. I read a couple low carb blogs and a blog of this girl who follows weight watchers... that made me realize that I can say "no" to myself... It's okay if I'm having cravings for EVERY single one of my favorite high-carb foods... all at the same time!!! What goes on between my ears does not mean that I have to add inches to my waistline. I can tell the chubby girl inside me to go her room, that we are NOT deviating from the plan today. No matter what. Period. It feels kind of good. The empowerment also beats the guilty-sick feelings that my trigger foods bring to me.

The good news is this.... you are not defeated when you fall. You are only defeated when you refuse to get back up.

In other words, who cares that I had a bad couple of days? I'm back on track and I can lose weight this week still... this month... this year... this decade.... and by making good choices every day about the fuel I feed my body, I am literally adding on years to enjoy the good stuff life has to offer.

We have a gorgeous sunny day and thirty-eight degrees feels wonderful after that ultra-cold snap. My dog dragged me down the road for a mile and I loved it.

On a personal note, my morbidly obese colleague passed away last night. It's very sad... What obesity can rob from us.

Yours in cutting out the processed crap from our stomachs, minds and obsessions,
~Angie

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Day 7: Low Carb Fail

Day 7

- Mockafoni and cheese
- Meatloaf sandwich on an oopsie roll with tomato, cheese, mayo and low carb ketchup
- McDonald's chicken and fries
- Cookies
- Candy
- Popcorn

Gross!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Day Six of 21 Day Low Carb Challenge

Day Six of 21 Day Challenge - My Low Carb Menu

- Cabbage Sausage soup
- Baked pork chop with low carb ketchup
- Two cheese smoked sausages with diced onions, ketchup and mustard on an oopsie
- Two scrambled eggs with cheese, two sausage patties, oopsie french toast, fried in butter and covered in low carb maple syrup
- Low carb pumpkin bake

Monday, January 11, 2010

Day 5 Low Carb of 21 Day Low Carb Challenge

Day 5 Low Carb Menu

- Mockafoni and cheese
- Two smoked cheese sausages with onions, ketchup and mustard on an oopsie roll
- Meatloaf sandwich with swiss, tomato, mayo, mustard and low carb ketchup on an oopsie
- Meatloaf sandwich on an oopsie with onions and mustard
- Pumpkin bake with whipped cream

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Loving my doctor

Good news! I finally went to the doctor for hypertension. My blood pressure was very high back in June. I kind of ignored the problem, stayed low carb, and basically have been living in denial ever since. Well, it was a new year's resolution of mine to get back to the doctor and put my health at the top of my list. I do have health insurance, but it's the kind that covers a catastrophe, not the kind that covers regular office visits, well women exams and prescriptions. I know it sounds lame, but one of the biggest reasons that I was ignoring getting myself checked was financial. It's sad, but I think that is quite common in this country. I think that everybody deserves health care, so I just bit the bullet and went to the doctor. I also have this strange phobia about going to the doctor, but that is a whole 'nother blog.

Well, last week, I went to a clinic in a nearby town. I had gone to the place before, back when I was in college and had my dad's awesome health insurance, so I was familiar with it. This already made me feel at ease. Well, my old doc, who I really didn't love anyway, went to work at the prison!

To get on with it, I met my new doctor and I love her already! She took my blood pressure and it was only 110/64! This was amazing. I do not remember my what my blood pressure was back in June of 09, but I know that the bottom number was in the 90's. They checked me three times with multiple cuffs and could not figure out why my blood pressure was so high.

My new, cute doctor told me that it was due to me losing over 40 pounds eating low carb that my blood pressure went down. Anyway, she has me going back for fasting blood work this week because she wants to get my blood sugar and cholesterol tested. I actually excited about it! Before, I was kind of not in the driver's seat (at all) with my health, and it finally feels like I'm getting there.

I have a complete physical scheduled for the end of the month and I will get the results of my bloodwork then. I will definitely be posting the results here!
  • Supplements:
  • Alesse
  • Triple Flex (glucosamine plus chondritin with MSM)*
  • 5 HTP
  • Fish Oil*
  • Naproxen Sodium*
  • Women's Multivitamin
  • Calcium-Magnesium-Zinc plus Vitamin D
Wow! I'm on seven supplements/meds!! The ones with a star by it are the ones that I take for my degenerative arthritis in my knee.

She gave me an Rx for a higher dose of Aleve than is available over the counter, which is nice for my knee. It will also be amazing for cramps. I'm just so thrilled that I love my doctor. I think we should all get a doctor that we are comfortable with. After all, they are LUCKY to have us as a patient and they should treat us that way. In the past, I have had doctors that seemed in a hurry. I may have read forty pages of my new book when I was in the examination room, but at least I could tell that she gave a crap about me by the end of our time together.

Day 4 of 21 Day Challenge

Day 4 Low Carb

- Meatloaf with low carb ketchup
- Orange dream cheesecake
- Two smoked sausages with hot pepper jack cheese, onions, mustard and ketchup on an oopsie
- Sugar free coconut chocolate
- Pumpkin bake with whipped cream
- Low carb ice cream almond bar

I need to quit being such a sweet-a-holic. What gives? This blog is beginning to look more like a confessional than something that resembles a healthy low carb menu plan. I may have stumbled, but I'm not giving up!

The plan is more meat... more veggies... more healthy fat....

Onward & Downward in Twenty Ten!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Day 3 Low Carb Food Menu -- 21 Day Challenge

Day 3 Low Carb Food Menu ~ 21 Day Challenge

- Buttered broccoli
- Meatloaf with low carb ketchup
- Meatloaf sandwich on an oopsie with a tomato slice, mayo and swiss cheese
- Baked parmesan cheese crusted pork chop with ketchup
- Meatloaf sandwich on an oopsie with hot pepper jack cheese and mayo
- Broccoli and cauliflower with butter
- Orange dream no bake cheesecake

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Day 2 Low Carb Challenge

Day 2 Low Carb Menu - Low Carb 21 Day Challenge

- Tuna salad with tomato on an oopsie roll
- Spaghetti squash casserole
- Low carb vanilla ice cream with natural peanut butter and whipped cream
- Meatloaf sandwich on an oopsie roll with Swiss cheese, mayo and a tomato slice
- Pork chop, breaded with Parmesan cheese and low carb ketchup with mashed cauliflower, butter and a little hot pepper jack cheese

Coming off the carbs is not fun. Since we needed fat to survive back in the day, I guess it's a good thing that our bodies want to hold onto fat... which is why going into fat-burning mode [read: ketosis] feels hellish sometimes. But only at first!!! I know it's not permanent... and I can't wait to be completely feeling normal again by eating this way.

How is everybody else doing out there in bloggerland??

~Angie

Low Carb Food Menu - Day 1 of 21 Day Challenge

Day 1 Low Carb Food Menu - 21 Day Low Carb Challenge

- Two eggs, scrambled in butter with two sausage patties
- Chunky chicken vegetable soup
- Tuna salad on an oopsie bun
- Low carb vanilla ice cream
- Spaghetti squash casserole

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

21 Day Challenge - Back to the low carb basics!

21 Day Challenge!!!

Start Date: Wednesday 1-6-10 thru Wednesday 1-27-10
  • At least two servings of veggies daily!!!
  • Eat at dining room table in a candle-lit environment (just for me, yeah) with fork and knife, slowly and consciously. Eat without music, television or reading something. Eat consciously, slowly and gratefully.
  • Low carb desserts are okay...
  • Some type of cardio daily... I'm going to get back on my bike and enjoy a fun TV show during it.
This challenge comes after a drive-thru binge and candy that left me feeling like crap... More emotionally beat-up and shot-down than anything. I was having such a good day, had a lovely low carb breakfast and by late afternoon, I kind of used food to celebrate...

What was I thinking?

I'm back on track now... I even had a yummy spaghetti squash type dinner and it was amazing.

Back to the basics!!!

Now... who is with me??!?!?

21 Day Challenge - who is with me??

Low Carb Honey Mustard... Come to Mama!!!

Low Carb Menu for January 4, 2010

- Two hot dogs on an oopsie with mustard, low carb ketchup and diced onions
- Parmesan cheese breaded chicken breast with low carb honey mustard, tomato and swiss on an oopsie roll
- Half a chicken breast with more low carb honey mustard
- Low carb vanilla ice cream with natural peanut butter

*This honey mustard is definitely a keeper! I think it tastes better than Wendy's honey mustard, but not quite as good as Bennigan's. Either way, it's a lot of bang for your carb-buck. I have the recipe memorized already and I've only made it twice... It's pretty amazing.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Low Carb Menu for January 3, 2010

Low Carb Menu for January 3, 2010

- Two burgers on oopsies
- Two hot dogs on an oopsie with diced onions, mustard & low carb ketchup
- Burger on an oopsie
- Some mixed nuts (macadamia nut ~ cashew ~ almond blend)
- Low carb ice cream sundae with Carb Smart vanilla ice cream, w/ about a sprinkling of nuts from above and also some low carb caramel dip

This is the first time I have ever tried vanilla Carb Smart and wow... I am going to start measuring out the half-cup serving because it is seriously the best vanilla ice cream I have ever had. Ever. Low-carb or not low carb, this stuff is amazing. No wonder my local grocery stores are always out of vanilla!

I could be eating cleaner and I will... but I just can't beat myself up over it, especially during those first few days doing a back-to low carb. Induction can be a royal b$#%, but the more days I stack up stick with a low-carb lifestyle, the easier it gets. I guess that is much like anything we are addicted to. I really have to treat the nasty carbs really as a substance I absolutely cannot touch. As my low-carb fellow blogger Vadim says, one is too many and 100 is not enough.

It's good to be back....

~Angie

My Ticker!!

My Weight Loss Ticker:

YAY! I have a ticker now.... Check me out!


Sunday, January 3, 2010

2009 Reflections and 2010 Goals

I'm back!!!!!!!! Did you miss me??

Without obsessing too much about my deviations from my plan... I basically went off plan for every holiday. I don't feel great about it. I think it has taught me not to go all hog-wild on the holiday. It makes me feel guilty, fat, sick and that is not a good way to spend a holiday. Holidays are not about the food, contrary to popular belief. Well, they have been for me... but they don't have to be!

I have not been on the scale in what feels like an eternity. I can tell I have gained by my tight size 20 talls which were at one point getting baggy on me. Still... I started this year off in a size 24 STRETCH pants, tight 3x or size 26/28 tops and now I'm into a size 18/20 on my coat, and 80% of my tops. I even have a shirt that is a size 16/18 and I still can't believe I fit into that one!

Yesterday, I went to Good Will to shop for long-sleeved shirts at a good price... and I was so thrilled! I tried on 12 shirts and only 2 of them did not fit. One was a 2x and it was way too big. I was thrilled!!! The other was a 2x and it's way tight, but go figure. But I'm thinking the latter may have been a Junior's now that I think about it.

To get on with it, I'm back back back! Please bug me if I try not to post... I was tracking for a while there, but then that kind of slacked off with that too, which is uncool and unacceptable in my world. Which I create, by the way. I know it sounds conceited for me to say that... maybe a big egocentric, but it's true. You create your world too and you know it. It's easy to forget, somehow.

This is what I mean. I was having some end-of-the-year thoughts, as I always do, and usually, it's just another year, but this year, I feel like I have a lot to be proud of. I wondered how I actually did things this year that in the past I have sluffed off on, but I really think it all goes back to me putting the right fuel in my body, so I feel better, which makes me do better with my life in general.

This is what I am most proud of in 2009:
- Started low carb way of life on 5-30-2009 and maintained a loss of 40.0 pounds
- Quit smoking cigarettes on 8-8-09
- Got caught up 100% on my back taxes with the IRS
- Raised credit rating 40 points
- Got a dog

Now, for 2010.... Here are my goals:
- Buy my first home.
- Lose 40 pounds.
- Start 2 blogs - one on finance and one on mental health - two of my biggest passions besides LC
- Watch more movies and documentaries
- Walk dog daily once it's nice outside... and do bike until then.**
- Maybe get a date, but I'm mostly afraid of boys.
- Open etsy shop.

**Seriously guys, my Weatherbug tells me that it's 4 degrees outside, but it feels like negative 7 due to the windchill. This is Farenheit, ya'll! I love Michigan, but something tells me it's gonna be a long winter lol. Oh well, it's days like today that make 40 feel like 70.
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