Beth's Real Life Journey to Success

[monet0329]

Good Morning Ms. Beth.. ..

I love Oatmeal as well.. had me some this am.. me and Kayden..hehe.. no I shouldn't be having it.. I am no way near that time.. but.. it was cold.. and I wanted it.. .. and besides.. they say it's good for your heart.. so I can at least do SOMETHING right?

well.. the Boss just pulled in.. so I better scat..lol.. have a great day.. love yaa

[seb]

Originally Posted by Low Carb Mommy

Sue~I haven't tried the Steel Oats yet. I think when I looked at them early on they were just too high in carbs. How do they compare to oatmeal? The oatmeal I ate was the old fashion oats. I just love oatmeal. I was really surprised that my weight didn't go up after I ate it. I may try it again this week. Cross your fingers that I can add it back with no problem!

I still think exercise is the key. I just can't get consistent enough with it to test my philosophy. Why is it so hard?

I'm not sure how the carb count of steel cut oats compares to old fashion oats. I also love oatmeal, and the steel cut oats just seem more substantial and "meatier" than regular.

I think exercise is hard because I haven't made it a priority. When I was exercising on a consistent basis, it was something I looked forward to every day so I made it a priority.

[lisabinil]

Originally Posted by seb

I'm not sure how the carb count of steel cut oats compares to old fashion oats. I also love oatmeal, and the steel cut oats just seem more substantial and "meatier" than regular.

I think exercise is hard because I haven't made it a priority. When I was exercising on a consistent basis, it was something I looked forward to every day so I made it a priority.

It's the effect on the glycemic load or index that makes the steel cut oats a better choice. They are not as processed as the instant pkgs or even rolled oats and since they take your body a longer time to digest they don't spike your blood sugar as rapidly. I would have them with a fat such as butter or cream or a protein such as a boiled egg to also help slow the insulin spike. It's a YMMV thing-some can't have oatmeal in the mornings as it brings on hunger and cravings due to the insulin spike.

[Low Carb Mommy]

Thanks for clearing that up Lisa. I have often wondered why people leaned more toward steel oats rather than old fashioned oats. I will have to get some. I had some oatmeal this morning (1/4 uncooked made 1/2 cup cooked). I also ate 2 eggs with it. We will see how I react to it.

I got to working on some of my projects yesterday. It feels good to get some things done around here. The boys practicing late is working out for my good. I still feel bad for them leaving the house at 7am and getting back at 9pm. They don't seem to mind it. They are having the time of their lives. Their first game is Friday.

My weight went up(133.8) a little this morning but so did my water(47.2%). I really need to drink a lot today to flush out my system. I have been terrible about drinking my water. As the weather gets colder it is harder for me to drink a lot of water. I would rather drink coffee or tea.

Menu from yesterday:

B~Protein spinach shake=2.5
S~few mac. nuts=1
L~IHOP-Chicken spinach crepes w/ very little hollandaise sauce=15 (these were VERY good but the crepes I found out have a little flour. I checked fitday and 1 crepe was 7 carbs. The total carbs were probably more but this count made me feel not too bad about eating them )
S~2 squares of Lindt=2.5
D~Salad w/ feta cheese & gyro meat w/ ranch=5

T~26

Ketone stick this morning: trace
Water yesterday: 64 oz.
Exercise yesterday: active with projects (not acceptable I know!)

[seb]

Glad you got some of your projects done yesterday. Your boys really do have a long day. But, if they are loving it, then good for them.

I could herbal tea as water as it has no carbs or caffeine. My plan today is to drink lots of herbal tea. I just have gotten so sick of water. And yes, when it's cold out water is just not appealing to me.

[Low Carb Mommy]

Sue~I think I will really enjoy the different flavored teas this winter. I looked for the flavors you spoke of yesterday but couldn't find them. I will keep looking. I did buy one called Vanilla Caramel Truffle made by Lipton. It doesn't say anything on it whether or not it is decaf..

Good morning everyone! Hope everyone is feeling great this morning. We had some really low temperatures last night. It was in the 20's. Right now it is 37. Thank the Lord for heat! DD woke up early this morning so I was able to go ahead and get on the treadmill. I also exercised last night (1.5 miles)....excuse me while I brag on myself!

I got so busy yesterday I didn't get back on here until late. I am trying this year to start looking for Christmas presents early. I usually wait until the last minute. I just love Christmas!

I ate the oatmeal yesterday. I couldn't tell any difference in the way I felt. I didn't' get hungrier or anything. I also lost a little weight this morning (133.4). My water was even up (47.2....46.4 yesterday) and my fat has gone from 33 to 31.5 in the last couple of days. Don't you just love all these numbers I am giving you? It REALLY helps me.

Menu from yesterday:

B~1/2 cup cooked oatmeal(11.5), little egg salad(1.5)=13
L~Swiss Mushroom Hamburger w/o bun(1), salad(3), ranch(3)=7
S~Chocolate PB Crunch Atkins bar(2), CCD milk(3), 1 tsp. pb(.6)....so, I was having a choc/pb craving =5.6
D~10 wings(0), hot sauce & ranch(3)=3
D~Another Atkins bar=2

T~30.6

Ketone stick this morning: trace
Water yesterday: 64oz.
Exercise: 30 minutes on treadmill...1.5 miles

[seb]

I got my teas at my local health food store. They have a better variety than any of the grocery stores here, and we've got great stores. They had all the new Celestial Seasonings holiday flavors.

You're doing great with your exercise

Looks like the oatmeal isn't bothering you. Do you use a half cup of the dry oatmeal, or is it a half cup after cooked? Do you put anything like milk or CC milk on it?

[Low Carb Mommy]

It was a 1/4 cup dry which made a 1/2 cup. I just put butter and sprinkled a little cinnamon. I used water to make it. It was very filling and yummy. I looked at the steel oats yester day. They have less fat in them and around the same carbs. I will try them after I use up the old fashioned oats. I think at this point I will only eat it once a week. I was encouraged that my weight went down instead of up.

[seb]

It's great that you're able to eat oatmeal. It's my favorite breakfast, but doesn't fill me up like eggs. Maybe eating 1 egg with it is the key.

[Low Carb Mommy]

Yes, I think it would help. I can't eat a BIG bowl of oatmeal like I used be able to do so I have to put something with it. And like lisa said it is good to add fat and protein with it. How are you doing today? Any news on your dad?

[seb]

See my journal about news on my Dad.

[Low Carb Mommy]

Going over there.

[Debralynn]

Holy Cow! A 1.5 fat loss in the last couple of days? I am impressed! KUTGW little girl! That is amazing! I might have to swap out a couple of my yogurts for oatmeal! (I just have such a hard time not putting a spoonful of brown sugar in it! Maybe with some cinnamon Davinci... Hmmm...)

Hope you have a wonderful, calm day!

[seb]

Hey Beth, I hope you're having a good day. Must be busy.

[Low Carb Mommy]

Sorry for posting so late today. I promised myself that I would not get on today until I had cleaned the house and figured out dinner. I would much rather spend my time on here. Anyways, the house is clean and I have chicken in the crock pot cooking.

Nothing much to report today. My eating has been fairly good. I am trying to adjust to not being in deep ketosis. I don't know if I will need to go down on my carbs or what but I am stuck at a trace. It seems to be much easier not to snack so much when I am in deeper ketosis. It makes me mad that I am still eating in the 20's on carbs and never seem to be making any headway. How do some of these people eat in the 50-100's and maintain? It's just not fair!

I am reading a book by Karen Linamen called "Chocolatherapy: Satisfying the Deepest Cravings of Your Inner Chick". Of course, you can see why I bought it. The title grabbed me right away. It is a spiritual book about emotional eating. She talks about what our lives would be like if, instead of trying to satiate those deeper longings with food, we stopped settling for quick fixes and tasty substitutes and give our souls whatever they might really be seeking. I just started it so I will report back anything interesting. It must be stirring some things up inside of me because I have wanted chocolate like crazy! She has also written a book called "Just Hand Over the Chocolate and No One Will Get Hurt". I'll have to get that one too.

Menu from yesterday:

B~Krysta's pumpkin shake-CCD milk(3), vanilla pp(1), 1/4 cup pumpkin(2), 1 T. yogurt(.5), pumpkin pie spice(?), ice=6.5
L~2 hamburger patties w/ cheese(2), mayo & mustard(.5), chocolate almond milk(2)=4.5
S~Almonds=3
D~Salad(3), ranch(2), grilled shrimp(1), steamed broccoli & squash(5)=11
D~1/4 Atkins bar(.5), almond milk(1)=1.5

T~26.5

Weight this morning: 133.2 (down from 133.4)
Ketone stick this morning: trace
Water yesterday: 64oz.
Exercise: weight loss challenge-1 mile on treadmill
Water: 46.8 (down from 47.6)
Fat: 32.5 (up from 31.5)

[godsbeloved79]

Hi Beth,

Just stopping by to say hello !

[seb]

Good job cleaning and cooking.

Those books sound interesting. I need some insight.

I know I can eat a lot of carbs and maintain. I just wish that when I lowered them I would lose. It just doesn't seem to happen. Hope we get this thing figured out.

[Livywilltim-mom]

Hi Friend!

No words of wisdom here. I wish I had the answer...although, I think you really hit the nail on the head with the deep ketosis thought.

Great job setting priorities and following through!

Hugs,
J

[lisabinil]

Try reading some of JuliaL's posts. She has some posts mentioning you take the weight you want to be and multiply by 10 for a sedentary lifestyle and 12for an active one. For example you want to be 125 x 12=1500-the amount of calories to maintain at that weight. You are at 133 x 12=1596. This is the calories you need a day to maintain right now. So you would probably have to go lower in calories to lose the weight. A 500 calorie deficit a day would equal 1 lb weight loss a week and this would come out to 1096 calories you should consume in a day to lose weight. There is supposedly a metabolic advantage to doing Atkins (according to DANDR) that allow us to have an extra 300? (don't have book in front of me) and can still lose. Dr. A also speaks of how you can be eating too many calories and not expending energy to burn the calories you won't lose. I plugged everything you ate in Fitday-I know this is not exact but I got over 1500 calories-you are eating to maintain. You may be one of those who can't eat as much in order to lose. JuliaL had to cut calories the nearer she got to goal to make headway and I am finding I can have higher carbs but if my calories are not lower I won't lose. I do this by eating more veggies which are lower in calories but are filling. It's really a hard thing to figure out for each of us-we are the same yet so different

[monet0329]

.. That books sounds great.. and so does Krystas pumpkin shake..lol
at least its not chocolate huh..

I didn;t have to come in till noon today.. so I cleaned house and got dinner on as well.. yaya us..

ok.. just wanted to check in on you.. say hiya.. but I have to go now.. love ya sweet lady..

[Low Carb Mommy]

Lisa~OK, I totally get it now..... it might be the calories that I am eating rather than the carbs. Veggies are higher in carbs but much lower in calories. I bet if I were to peak at a person who is eating 50 carbs in a day and see what they were eating, I might see a lot of veggies. I have never viewed it that way. Oh boy, now I have got to start looking at the calories. I know one time I checked out a steak that I like to eat at Chili's. Their rib-eye steak has 960 calories! So, things that can have 0 carbs can be really high in calories. Thanks for bringing this to my attention Lisa. I have been kinda low on my veggies lately. I read somewhere that the majority of your plate should contain vegetables. It's really hard to balance your fat and your vegetables. I would imagine that your fat is where you are really going to be racking up the calories. But we need to fat to keep us from being hungry.

My hormonal time is in full swing. Yesterday was a nerve racking day. By the evening time I was mad at everyone and only wanted to be by myself! I feel so bad when I let my hormones get the best of me and yell at my children. Since I was cleaning yesterday I wasn't able to give them the attention they wanted. They decided to act out anyway they could to get attention (they are really good at this I want to point out). I tell you they were literally climbing the walls. There was a lot of fighting b/w them and crying/screaming. I had it last night. I just went to bed I was so upset. DH was working late so I was mad at him because I was having to deal with it all by myself. I will just be happy to get through the next few days and be back to my happy self.

When I get mad, there is either a lot of cleaning or cooking. And since I had already cleaned, I started cooking. I had cooked the boneless chicken breast in the crock pot. I took half the chicken and added cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, sour cream, sliced almonds, can of mushrooms, poppy seed, and a little Italian dressing. It was delicious! Then, I took the other chicken and made a Chicken Caesar pizza. I used Linda Sue's recipe for the pizza crust and then just made the rest up. I chopped the chicken up and added some Caesar dressing(<1 carb) and real shredded Parmesan cheese. After the crust was cooked, I added the Caesar dressing (just smeared it on) and then put the chicken on top.....added more Parmesan cheese....put back in the oven to melt. It was AWESOME! You can even add the salad on top if you wanted to get creative. On top of all that, I made cheesecake pudding. It was all ready when everyone got home. Can you tell just how stressed I was?

My weight was up just a little (133.4). I had gotten on the scales early this morning and it said 134.4 . I don't know why but if I weigh right after getting out of bed it will be higher. So, I have been trying to weigh at the same time every day after I have been up moving a while. I was really mad when I saw the first number and relieved when I saw the second. My scales can determine so much for my day....hate it....but it is true. From my records, when my weight jumps up to 134 it is just confirmation to me my hormonal time is in full swing. I should have suspected it not only because it is the beginning of the month but my ketone sticks go neg. to trace as well (never mind the bad chocolate cravings).

In a few hours I will be going to my big boys BB game. Tomorrow is busy as well for me. I have a woman's conference I am going to in the morning. Then, we have another BB game. DH has a wedding to attend tomorrow evening that I opted not to go to since I don't really know them and all that is going on. I'm sure Sunday we are just going to collapse. Also, our partners in business are gone for the weekend to celebrate their anniversary. I am just praying for a quiet weekend on emergency calls.

I tried something new yesterday....HiLo cereal. It has 7 carbs per 1/2 cup. I poured some almond milk on it and it tasted really good. That was the first cereal I have eaten in over a year! I don't plan on making it regular yet but it will be a nice additional breakfast choice.

Menu from yesterday:

B~HiLo cereal(7), almond milk(.5)=7.5
S~Boars Head turkey=0
L~Egg salad(2.5), bacon(.2)=2.7
S~2 Lindt chocolate squares(2.5), pb(2), chocolate almond milk(3)=5.5 (whoa TOM)
D~Little chicken in mushroom sauce(2), 4 squares of Chicken Caesar pizza(8)=10
D~Cheesecake pudding=3

T~30.7

Ketone stick this morning: trace
Water yesterday: 32oz.
Exercise: mopping, dusting, washing clothes, vacuuming etc. etc. etc.
Fat %: 31.9 (down from 32.5)
Water % 47.2 (up from 46.8)

[seb]

Oh my Beth, sorry your day was so frightful yesterday. But, you did get some good food out of it. There is always a positive side to everything.

That pizza sounds wonderful. I'm going to have to look it up because I'm making pizza for the boys tonight. Was it a flax crust? The flax crust I have used is just too salty and I need to find something new to use. A chicken caesar pizza sounds so good.

Enjoy the boys BB game. Hope tomorrow goes smoothly for you.