Beth's Real Life Journey to Success

[NewYorkGiants32]

Hope you feel better soon....have a good weekend!

[PalmTreeGal]

Good luck with the party! It sounds like the party will be so much fun but the prep not so much.

I hope your cold is on the way out. It is late in the season to be tormented with germs like that!

[seb]

Beth, I'm sorry you're suffering so with allergies. Hope everything went well with the party. My youngest DS's b'day was on Friday..

How neat that your business partners have lost weight with LC. I hope they continue with it.

My brain is fuzzy right now, so I'll be back tomorrow and hope I can concentrate better.

[Livywilltim-mom]

Dear Sweet Beth!

I am praying that you had a fantastic weekend and that you are feeling better!

Your family and friends are blessed by you All you do and share with them, it is such an inspiration to see.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please bless and hold Beth and hers in your embrace. Lessen the suffering of her allergies and guide her towards natural methods of relief. Continue to walk with her through all the stresses and anxiety. Your Will be done. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever, Amen.


BBL to check on you lovely lady!

[Low Carb Mommy]

You ladies are so special. Thank you for all the well wishes and prayers for me. I am feeling much better regarding my sinus cold. Claritin D has been my savior. That stuff works wonders. Thankfully, I started taking it before the party and I was feeling much better.

The party went over very well. In fact, it never even rained that day. The food was good (and LC) and everyone made it to the party. DD was a true princess. We even dressed her in a princess gown. She got so many nice things for her room as well as a few surprises. We have put most of the decorations up and her room looks so pretty. I can't believe my baby is 3 now. Actually she turned 3 today.

I have some great news.....I weighed on Sunday and I was back down to 132.6! I think I might be even lower now because this morning the scales said 133 after eating and drinking. I have also been exercising. Lately it has been aerobics and weight lifting. I worked out my stomach yesterday and boy is it sore! I have been really proud of myself for being diligent in that area. You know how I have struggled in that area.

I haven't been writing down my menus for the past few days. I will start back tomorrow. Here are a few pictures from the party....








Those that could eat the cake said it was VERY GOOD!


Here is what I got to eat....veggies, spinach dip w/ pork rinds, strawberries w/ homemade "cool whip". My friend who was late brought tomatoes w/ mayonnaise and bacon topping. I also had LC ice cream.

[KrystaLyn]

What a great party! The food looks good, and Kate is PRECIOUS! Looks like she had an awesome birthday

[Livywilltim-mom]

Aw, Sweet Beth!

What a gorgeous little chicken you have!! And you are one hot mama yourself! The pics are beautiful, thanks for sharing. I know what you mean about how quickly the time goes by. My baby DD is 13 and a half...how did that happen? She is taller than I am!!

I am glad you are feeling better and that you were able to enjoy the party! I am so impressed that you stayed on plan and are back down to 132!!!! That is FANTASTIC! You are my HERO!

Can't wait to see your menus...I want to be inspired with my planning and cooking again.

Peace dear friend!

[seb]

Beth~what beautiful pictures of both you and DD. She is such a little princess. And, you did a great job keeping things LC. Looks like your weather is much better than ours.

Glad you were feeling better for the party.

Congrats on your weight being down Hard work and perseverance are what it's going to take for us to get to goal, but I know that we can do it!

[NewYorkGiants32]

You and your daughter look so pretty! My oldest daughter just turned three in March, she is totally into the princess thing too.

What kind of exercises are you doing for your stomach (if I may ask) I need some ideas.

[monet0329]

.. What a lil Angel you have there Beth.. just as sweet as pie .. I am happy you felt better for the big occasion,.,.. looks like everything went as planned.... good for you for not having any of that beautiful cake.. did you even lick your fingers.... we all know , I would have..

I love your front porch.. the flowers just set it off.. .. I love my porch.. do you sit out there a lot? or do you have time with all the lil ones?..

Have a Beautiful day hun..

[Low Carb Mommy]

Krysta~Hey girl! Good to see you here in my journal! Cute hat!

Jaime~

And you are one hot mama yourself!

Thanks! I can't even imagine DD at 13 yet. I do hope she is a little taller than me. It is horrible to try to find clothes being so short...everything gets hemmed.

Sue~Thanks for your encouragement....yes, hard work and perseverance are our middle names right now.

Jennifer~I started taping Denise Austin every day. When she works your stomach, she works it!! I am pretty sure she has a DVD that just focuses on stomachs. If I did it every day maybe I would look like her after having children.

Monet~

did you even lick your fingers.... we all know , I would have..

YOU CAUGHT ME! Yes, I did. Kinda hard to serve cake and not get it all over your fingers. I licked them without even thinking about it. As soon as that sugar hit my tongue, it was like I had eaten something sour...mouth puckered up...WOW!


Checked my weight this morning....still the same...thank you Lord. I am so sore from my workouts and doing a major cleaning on my house. I never really cleaned up from the party good. Also, I had to finish up in DD's room. One thing led to another and I was cleaning out her drawers and putting up things she had out grown. I am really ready for summer so I can do more of these projects. After all that cleaning all afternoon, there was still my regular chores.....dinner to cook, kids to bathe and get in the bed, clothes to wash, etc. I was exhausted and too tired to really sit down and eat myself. I kinda just nibbled at what I had fixed.

Menu to me was not so great yesterday...but I will post it anyway.

B~Atkins shake
S~Atkins bar
L~McDonald's-1/2 of a Double Quarter Pounder sans bun and ketchup, tea w/ splenda
S~Pork rinds
D~Lemon Pepper chicken, turnips, LC yogurt w/ homemade whip cream


I am realizing that when I go to reach for a snack that I really need to have more choices. This WOE really takes preparation. While grabbing a bar is easy, it is not the best choice. Neither is pork rinds. So, don't do as I do, do as I suggest...OK! So, off to the store to find more things to have that I can grab. I would love it if anyone would list their favorite snacks here to give me some ideas.

Gotta run. School just called and said DS#3 was sick. Guess I know what my day will be like. UGH!

[seb]

Morning Beth.

Glad you weight is the same. I'm sure that with all this exercise you're getting it will go down even more soon.

I love to snack on almonds and they keep me satisfied a long time. I'm finding that almonds, string cheese and celery, radishes and cukes with dip are good things to have on hand for snacking. I buy almonds and Costco where they have good deals on them, then I just stash them in the freezer.

Sorry about DS being sick. Give him lots of hugs and kisses.

[Low Carb Mommy]

I love almonds too Sue. Almonds are so good they are hard to stop!

Boy, today has been one of those hard days when eating LC seems like a chore. It started out when I poured my daughter a bowl of Coco Krispies. I just wanted to take that spoon and eat a big bite. Do you ever wake up with the thought that you just want to eat a big bowl of cereal for breakfast? Well, this was one of those mornings. I did resist but I didn't like it. Then, this afternoon I had an ice cream attack. I had LC Rocky Road. I don't know how many cups I ate. I just scooped it and had me a big ole' LC milk shake. I ate it until I could feel the cold coming up in my throat. I am not allowed to buy that ice cream again any time soon. I have had it every day since the party! UGH!

I am trying to figure out what has brought on all of this. I really think it is just stress. I have been so tired and irritable the last few days. Maybe I am PMSing. My children have been driving me crazy!!! Even right now my DS#3 is whining for me to come see something. Come....come...come now (while pulling on my arm while I type)!!!!! I am sick of the whining! They are relentless. They know just the tone to set me off. I just feel like I need a break!! Maybe I just need to take one. I'm sure all moms know what I am talking about......the pulling on you....the whining....the bossing of get me this get me that....the not listening when you ask them to do something....the fussing with siblings....I could go on and on. They are all things that will just drive you to wanting a big bowl of Coco Krispies!!! Forgive my whining here. I am just tired of my job right now.

No plans this weekend.....thank you Lord. I need to rest. Hopefully I will be in a better mood come Monday. Right now I am singing the song....I wanna get away....get away....get away.

PS. I hope you don't think I am a bad mommy.....

[seb]

Hey Beth, why don't you come to Washington State and visit me? We'll make room for you in this old house because it sounds like you need a break!

How about a date night with DH sometime this weekend?

I understand about the whining and always wanting something out of you. It's been a while ago, but I do remember. It does get better though.

Your day is better than mine, eating wise it looks like. I just downed a few peanut butter cookies that my mom made. At least your treat was LC.

Praying that your day goes better and that you have a wonderful relaxing weekend.

[NewYorkGiants32]

Originally Posted by Low Carb Mommy

I love almonds too Sue. Almonds are so good they are hard to stop!

Boy, today has been one of those hard days when eating LC seems like a chore. It started out when I poured my daughter a bowl of Coco Krispies. I just wanted to take that spoon and eat a big bite. Do you ever wake up with the thought that you just want to eat a big bowl of cereal for breakfast? Well, this was one of those mornings. I did resist but I didn't like it. Then, this afternoon I had an ice cream attack. I had LC Rocky Road. I don't know how many cups I ate. I just scooped it and had me a big ole' LC milk shake. I ate it until I could feel the cold coming up in my throat. I am not allowed to buy that ice cream again any time soon. I have had it every day since the party! UGH!

I am trying to figure out what has brought on all of this. I really think it is just stress. I have been so tired and irritable the last few days. Maybe I am PMSing. My children have been driving me crazy!!! Even right now my DS#3 is whining for me to come see something. Come....come...come now (while pulling on my arm while I type)!!!!! I am sick of the whining! They are relentless. They know just the tone to set me off. I just feel like I need a break!! Maybe I just need to take one. I'm sure all moms know what I am talking about......the pulling on you....the whining....the bossing of get me this get me that....the not listening when you ask them to do something....the fussing with siblings....I could go on and on. They are all things that will just drive you to wanting a big bowl of Coco Krispies!!! Forgive my whining here. I am just tired of my job right now.

No plans this weekend.....thank you Lord. I need to rest. Hopefully I will be in a better mood come Monday. Right now I am singing the song....I wanna get away....get away....get away.

PS. I hope you don't think I am a bad mommy.....

Wow! I can totally relate to what you are going through. It is like you were reading my mind. I forgot, do you have three or four kids? I know for me, all my cheats are due to the stress of the kids. It is like I rather "take it out on myself" than them, if that makes sense? We are not bad Moms because we need a break, we are human!!
I hope tomorrow is better for you.

[iabowhunter]

Hi Beth!

Originally Posted by Livywilltim-mom

And you are one hot mama yourself!

AGREED!!!!

Happy birthday to DD and congrats to you for staying away from the cake. My wife brought home doughnuts last night. I think she hates me. I'm not eating them though.

Sounds like you and DH are in need of a date night. I know my wife and I are.

Hope you have a great weekend!
Phil

[Low Carb Mommy]

Well, I am doing much better today. DH came home and said we were going out. He must have read my mind. We had a nice dinner. I wish I could say that I was good but I wasn't. I was very bad....Rolls w/ butter, seafood fondue w/ bread, and warm brownie w/ ice cream and fudge for dessert. The only thing legal was my steak and vegetables. Worst thing about it...I don't regret it one bit. I did kinda feel sick after eating so much. For me at that moment though, I think it was the right thing to do. Stressing over food last night was the LAST thing I needed to do. Seriously, as bad off as I was if anything else stressful had come my way, I might have been headed for the crazy house . I had fun...it's over...no cravings...I don't have to spend the rest of the weekend feeling deprived and cheating until I feel comforted. Don't get me wrong...I don't suggest this all the time but when you are at a place like I am... where you have lost the weight...have been disciplined for so long....a good cheat can sometimes be just what you need. I would NEVER advise anyone to do this that is in the middle of losing the weight. You are not strong enough at that point. I NEVER cheated when I was in the middle. Everyone knows their on strength. If I have to deal with cravings later today then I am prepared and have the willpower to do so.

Enough of that....just wanted to check in and let everyone know I was OK. I appreciate all of your comments and hugs. Thanks for letting me be so vulnerable. I hope what I have said won't send a tidal wave of cheating. Stay strong!! Please! Now off to go workout. No excuses today!

[seb]

So glad you got to go out with DH. And, you got the cheats out so no more cravings.

Hope you don't get too many cravings, but how about a good strong cup of coffee or tea if you do. That always helps me.

[Livywilltim-mom]

Dear Beth,

I can totally relate to needing a break! I think we should both go and visit Sue next time we are "mommy stressed!"

I pray that you have a calm, peaceable week

Hugs

[seb]

Morning Beth. How is your week going? Hope it's been a good one so far.

[Low Carb Mommy]

My week has been going pretty well...little bit hectic. I have also been having some computer issues lately. Sorry I have been absent. We had a man come and check it out last night. He thinks I might have a virus so I am taking it to his office today. I just wanted to check in with everyone before unhooking.

I have been staying on plan. My cheat didn't cause any cravings that I couldn't handle. I weighed myself on Monday and still weighed the same...132.8. I seem to fluctuate between there and 134 depending on fluid and bathroom issues. Because I have been so busy lately, I haven't done my aerobics. It's OK because I have been more active all day every day than my 30 minute tape. Yesterday, I had to stop for a minute because I was pushing myself so hard to get my house in order before the computer guy got here that I got dizzy. I was sweating and everything. I thought man am I getting a workout here!

Tonight we are having some friends over and I am fixing LC lasagna. I can't wait. It's one of my favorite LC meals. I had found a pasta sauce that only has 4 carbs per 1/2 cup and a marinara sauce that has 2 carbs per 1/2 cup. This sauce is so good! It's called Mama Thomas...100% natural. It's made by Thomas Gourmet foods. I am so disappointed though because the Ingles that I shop at discontinued it. When I saw the sign I stocked up. Now I only have one pasta sauce left and two marinara. I will have to find it somewhere else or go to their website...thomasgourmetfoods.com. Anyway, we will also have salad and some sort of dessert. I haven't figured it out yet.

I have been trying to cook more lately. We had been so busy that we were going out to eat every day. The kids only have a few more weeks of school and then I will be free from traveling up and down the roads. I am looking forward to having more time to cook and do other projects! This week I cooked a pork butt roast w/ collard greens and fried squash. It was really good. I just put the roast in the crock pot w/ seasoning and let it cook all day. I love my crock pot. The squash I dipped in an egg wash and then in almond flour mixed with Parmesan and then fried it in EVOO. Everyone loved it. Other meals for the week...boneless thighs w/ BBQ sauce, lasagna, cabbage & hamburger, & salmon w/ lots of different veggies and salad.

I am hoping that one of my friends calls me today. We have been planning a Saturday girls day out. She is suppose to let me know if she can break away. We are planning on doing some shopping, eat, and see a movie. I think the movie "Made of Honor" is in our radar. It's a perfect girl movie!

Well, gotta go for now. Hope everyone is doing well. I will try to get around to check on all of you. Take care!

[NewYorkGiants32]

Hi Beth...glad to hear from you. That movie looks soo cute. I forgot the lead actor's name, but he is really good, I like him a lot.

Here is the recipe to the peanut butter shake (from Mandy) it is soooo good and filling!!
8 oz unsweetened choc Almond Breeze
2 TB cream
2 TB natural PB (unsalted is best)
2 eggs
2 TB cocoa powder
1 packet sweet 'n low
Davinci's/Splenda to taste

Just throw it in the blender and you're set!