Over the Moon: Maxi's Low Carb Adventure!

[Maximoon]

It's a good morning here in sunny Arizona. I am in a much better, more positive mood today, thank God. Things just seem brighter today than they did this weekend. I'm looking forward to a good week.

OK, I have decided that Monday is my new official weigh in day. I think last time I weighed I was 154.5 or so. Today I am 153 flat, so I claim a victory! I guess I am officially in the LOW 150s now. The 140s are so close; I can't wait to get there but I feel it will take another couple of weeks since I am so close to goal. I am also changing my goal to 145 today. But if I don't get there exactly, that's alright with me. I've made peace with that. I just think I would feel my best if I were in the 140s. That would put me solidly in a size 6-8 and I think that's ideal for my medium framed, tall body type. Plus it would be only 10 pounds from my wedding weight, which was 135 (too skinny for me now post-kid and post-hysterectomy). Glad that I have a plan!

Also, I have made some interesting discoveries with my eating and calories. I am actually doing, without realizing it until yesterday, naturally falling into somewhat of a JUDDD pattern. I seem to have a DD (maybe a MD officially) around 800 calories and then eat more the next day, probably around 1600, like an UD. This has happened recently, like over the past week. I want to see how this changes things, if it does.

Regarding the exercise, I'm going to the library this afternoon to pick up a couple of exercise CDs. My goal for the week is to do it three times plus a morning of tennis on Thursday. Next week I'll aim for five solid days of exercise. I'm going to rock it out!

So, since today is my natural DD, I think this is what is going on:

B: One diet coke

L: rest of my leftover sausage, mushroom, cheese, and egg scramble from
yesterday (approx. 400 cals at the most)

D: 2 pieces of "naked" pork tenderloin and 1/2 a cucumber (I'm estimating
around 400 cals)

I may also take a walk this morning before it gets too hot too. It's that time of year when it gets into the low to mid 100s by 2 p.m. YUCK! I know that it will only get worse until late October or so.

Have a great day! I may check in later and report how the rest of my day is going.

Love, Max

[Maximoon]

I had to check back in for the day because I have some changes in my planned schedule to report. I had a cheat night tonight. I was just so hungry, cooking supper, and I started to munch, so I turned it into my cheat meal. I feel slightly guilty about it, but not too much. So what did I have?

Dinner: 3 pieces of thin pork tenderloin, dipped in egg and flour and fried; a bowl
of cauliflower puree (cauliflower and chicken broth); a small piece of smoked gouda cheese; (and here's the true cheat part) an English muffin toasted with butter. The bread tasted spectacular in particular. It was a lot of food, but I hardly ate today.

I don't know if my "JUDDDING" is going to work for me. I don't do well on very low calories and skipping meals. I'm not sure. We will have to see if I have continued weight loss the way I am going. Maybe I'll have it as a back-up.

So tomorrow will be back on the horse with LC. I guess my body really does need one cheat meal a week at least. I had two last week and I still lost (not that it's an excuse).

Here's to a GREAT night!

Love, Maxi

[Taragh]

Hey Maxi,

I've certainly seen worse binges than that! Don't worry! Your body must have wanted more after all the exercise! When I'm working out, I try to eat more often, so I don't end up eating a ton. Also my carbs aren't as low as some peoples (15-60), which I think helps when you're exercising!

You're doing so well! Soooo close! Hang in there

[Maximoon]

Thanks for the encouragement, Taragh! I love it when you check in with me!

Well, as expected, last night's "cheat" was no big deal. I'm back on plan today with no problems. Tonight is a night out at a party, but I am determined to stay the course.

I saw my wonderful OBGYN today for my yearly "well woman" appointment. She was pleased as punch when she saw that I had already lost 12 pounds so far. I was happy that I weighed in today at the office at 152 on their scale. I LOVE THAT SCALE! Plus more good news: last year I was 158, so I am down (on their scale) 6 pounds from last year's appointment.

My doc is also a big fan of the LC lifestyle. She says that she believes that I am very sensitive to the carbs and that a low carb, high protein diet is the way I should eat for life. It's great to get medical support for what I am doing. She herself has done South Beach many times, and she lives in SB phase three for maintenance.

So what have I do today as far eating goes? I know I am low in calories again, but I just haven't been hungry. Here we go:

B: water, nothing else (I know, I know---I need to eat something)

L: water, nothing else (I know, I know---this is bad)

Snack: 1 skinless chicken breast (on the bone)

D: ??? LC fare at the party

I'll check in later with a report on the party and what I consumed. At least now that I can't drink because of the anti-seizure meds, I don't have to worry about consuming any liquid calories, right?

Have a great afternoon everyone!

Love, Max

[Taragh]

And I love checking in! I'm going to be away for a few days, but I'll be back Monday (incase you start to think I've gone AWOL!).

Now Maxi... That isn't much food... If your head is anything like mine, your saving so you can eat more at the party??? You don't want your metabolism to slow down! Even just some little snacks to graze on!

It's great your Dr supports LC. LC is a bit taboo here, people see it as extreme, the products aren't readily available. Not like the amazing stuff that seems to be available in the States. When I told my ma I wasn't eating potato she was mortified! Haha!

Have a wonderful weekend, talk soon x

[Happy2be]

YAY for such a great report at OB!!! Doesn't that feel awesome!!!

Keep your eyes on the yummy low carb foods tonight and not on the yucky foods!!!

[ChristineCQ]

Great progress so far!!!

[Maximoon]

Thank you Taragh, Happy, and Christine for your encouraging posts! Feel free to visit anytime!

Taragh, you are right! I am not eating enough. Today the combination of too much caffeine and not enough food gave me the jitters and heart palpitations this afternoon. I feel better after making some dinner, but it was pretty uncomfortable. I guess I'm to the point that I have to MAKE myself eat more regularly, even snacking like you said. Good advice!

So what did I eat last night at the party? I did stay low carb. I had a salad with a bit of balsamic dressing, cherry tomato, and sliced sausage. It was yummy and satisfying. It did irk me that everyone was celebrating with champagne, which I love, but I couldn't have any. Poor me, right? I need to get over it.

Today's report for food intake is sad, as I mentioned. Here's what I did:

B: 2 Coke Zeros and 2 black coffees

L: cauliflower soup (cauliflower pureed with chicken stock)

D: 1 piece of pork, a bit of blue cheese, and 1/2 a steak

Lots of water, at least! I will do better with my eating tomorrow; that is my goal, especially to eat more (well, something) for breakfast. I am also going to pick up my exercise videos from the library.

Today was a busy day. I am tired tonight, and I am looking forward to catching up on the LCF blogs this evening, while putting my feet up and relaxing.

More tomorrow!

Love,
Maxi

[ChristineCQ]

Great job at the party!! Socializing is definitely my weakness. As for breakfast, have you considered making a smoothie? Maybe some protein powder, cream, egg, and SF syrup or something? I used to make mine coffee-based, but not everyone can tolerate that much caffeine at one shot.

Who, me, jittery???

[Maximoon]

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Christine: thanks for your idea with the smoothie; I may just give it a shot! I know I need to eat breakfast, and sometimes I just can't stomach eggs that early in the day (which I know is weird). Anyway, it's part of my daily goals to eat in the morning, so I will keep working on it.

I have a scale confession to make today; I know my weigh-in day is officially Monday, but I "cheated" and got on it today. I was pretty shocked to see my lowest weight yet, 151.5! However, I'm not sure it that was a genuine whoosh or not. I am going to recheck tomorrow, and then I will see if it was a fluke or not. Last time I weighed, I was 153, so that's a lot to lose at once. I am a natural skeptic, so we'll see. But at least the scale seems to be going in the right direction! (I will wait, however, to change my stats until I see it again)...

So, how have I done eating today after a bad day yesterday? MUCH better, I am pleased to report. Here we go:

B: 1/2 spinach and feta omelette with 4 slices of tomato (good b-fast, yay!)

L: 6 chicken wings and a handful of celery sticks

D: 1/2 steak with blue cheese melted on top

LOTS of WATER and NO caffeine today! I was fortunate that my heart flutters from all of the caffeine yesterday calmed down and I was able to sleep peacefully. But it scared me a bit, I admit it. It was a warning to be sure that I eat enough and avoid TOO much caffeine (I do love it though).

So things are good today. I feel encouraged, like I am moving the right direction. Rock on, toward the weekend!

Love, Maxi

[ChristineCQ]

Great progress! If you are down that far one day, you're bound to be there again in short order, even if you bounce up and down for a few days! Keep up the great work!

[Maximoon]

Thanks! I'm hoping this new weight will stick! I'll report in tomorrow a.m. for an update.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I am starting my new exercise schedule on Monday. We didn't have time to pick up the DVDs at the library today. But I'm going to try to get some good walking in this weekend since it's supposed to cool down a bit (into the low 90s/high 80s). It will be nice to get a little break from the 100s!!

I am just so happy that I did a much better job with my eating today than I did yesterday. That makes me very satisfied.

Have a great night everyone!

Love, Maxi

[Happy2be]

YAY!!! Sounds like an awesome day!!! Can't wait to hear if that new weight stuck!!! I'm sure it did. You are doing wonderful!! KUTGW!!

[ChristineCQ]

Good for you, Maxi!!! Good luck with the exercise, too!

[Maximoon]

Happy Saturday! I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful holiday weekend!

I've had quite the adventure over the past day. Before I get into that, let me report that I checked yesterday and I am indeed 151, so I am claiming that new weight. I will update my stats today. That puts me at 1 pound from my original goal of 150, and a mere (but I'm sure will be hard-earned) 6 pounds from my newest goal of 145. I can do it! I'm so close to the 140s!

So here's the adventure I had yesterday. I've been in the hospital since Friday afternoon; I just got home about an hour ago. Basically, as a result of my taking the water pill that my OBGYN prescribed for me (to counteract that extreme swelling I get from my HRT), my potassium level, which always tends to be on the low side anyway, fell dangerously low to the point that they had to admit me overnight to monitor my heart rate and rhythm, which was irregular for most of last night. Thankfully, with repeated infusions of potassium, both IV and oral, it returned to normal this morning. It was SCARY though. The ER doc told me if it had been any lower, there was a good chance that I could have gone into a cardiac arrest.

Today I'm just tired (only slept 2 hours in the hospital because they kept waking me up to draw blood samples) but I am relieved that the problem has been fixed. They also sent me home with some heavy-duty potassium supplements that I need to take as long as I am taking the water pill. I'm going to see my OBGYN next week to talk to her about it. I'm just thankful today that my heart has calmed down and I feel so much better.

Therefore, my eating has been all over the place since yesterday's events. But from what I can recall, this was yesterday (Friday):

B: 2 eggs, hard boiled

L: 1/2 feta and spinach omelette, plus 2 small slices of Canadian bacon

D: 1 chicken breast sandwich with dill pickles and one (the bottom part) half
of a hamburger roll

Today:

B: 1 hamburger patty with swiss cheese, lettuce, onion, pickles, and tomato
with one (the bottom part again) half of a hamburger roll

Snack: a few crumbles of blue cheese and 3 spoonfuls of ricotta

L: broccoli and a small baked salmon piece

D: a couple of fried eggs?

Lots of water! And the docs in the hospital told me that since I tend to have heart palpitations anyway, I shouldn't be having any caffeine, so there goes my Diet Cokes and (real not decaf) coffees!

So that's it for today. I'm going to get caught up on the LCF blogs this afternoon. A special hello goes out to my friends Christine and Happy for checking in on me over the past day! Talk to you all soon!

Love, Maxi

[ChristineCQ]

Oh my, Maxi!!!! Sorry to hear about this "adventure" but so glad you're ok!!! Sounds like a very close call!

Take care of yourself and get some rest!

[DesertGurl]

Well here you are! I didn't know you had a journal, so glad I found it.

I'm sorry for your hospital adventure, but I'm so glad everything worked out and you are ok!

Hope you'll be enjoying the fabulous weather we're having. I went outside this morning and had to think if this was really AZ.

Be well!

[Happy2be]

Oh my gosh. I'm glad that you are ok. What an ordeal that was.

Yay, on 151!!!! Only 6 more lbs to your goal weight!!! Thats awesome!!! WOO HOO!!!

[Maximoon]

Happy Sunday, everyone! Let me say, first and foremost, thanks to my friends for checking in on me and offering support! I love to read your comments and it's great to have you all posting on my blog. Please keep doing it---you're inspiring me!

I am feeling much better today. My heart has really calmed down. Today was also the first morning of my taking the potassium that has been described by my hospital docs. I need to go back and see my OBGYN this week to check if the water pill I am taking is really necessary or if I can take something else to address the HUGE swelling I get from my HRT. I would hate to have to mess with my hormones since they have worked so well for the past few years. But we'll see what the doc says and go from there.

I did hop on the scale this morning, curious to see how my hospital adventure affected my weight. I was up a pound to 152. My guess is that it may just be water weight from all of the IVs they pumped into me. I'm going to give it a day or two and then check in. But I am still claiming 151 since I saw it for two days in a row recently.

Today is a pretty quiet day, mostly at home doing the laundry, which I (strangely) enjoy. We have dinner tonight with friends. It will be a pretty much a high carb meal, but I am due for a bit of a break, so I'm going for it. I'll just try and be sure that I am strictly LC for the rest of the day.

So I don't have a lot to report this morning food wise, but here's what I have thus far:

B: A good LC one! 2 eggs with 3 strips of bacon

L: ??? have to report in...

D: dinner...???

Time to check in on other people's blogs and say hello! Everyone have a great one!

Love, Maxi

[Maximoon]

Hello again everyone!

I'm just checking in to report my meals for the rest of the day. Let me tell you; the remainder of my day is a cheat day because I haven't had one in a while. I feel that I need those for my sanity, so I can keep up the LC on most other days. Sometimes they even give me a jump start on the scale!

So:

B: eggs and bacon, as I reported

L: 6" Subway sandwich on wheat bread with turkey, tomatoes, dill pickle, red
onion, and cucumbers

SO FAR, SO GOOD (except the bread)

THEN...

Snack(s): a few spoonfuls of ricotta with blue cheese sprinkled in; the rest of
a container (probably about 1/3 a cup) of Cajun chicken pasta;
1 Subway chocolate chip cookie with a schmear of PB!

D: We are going out to a friend's house...so steak, potatoes, fennel, figs,
and bread pudding for dessert! YUM!

Tomorrow is my weigh in day, but after all that, I may put it off for a day or two before I check in. We'll see what my mood is in the morning.

Well, it's time to get ready for our night out. Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend!

Love, Maxi

[ChristineCQ]

Hope you enjoyed your evening, Maxi! Happy Memorial Day!

[Maximoon]

Happy Memorial Day, all! Hope everyone is having a fantastic day!

Well, I did enjoy my pig-out last night (especially the bread pudding), but I'm sure I'll pay for it. I admit I'm scared to get on the scale. I am going to wait for a couple of days at least. It's time to really get back on the LC program today. Tomorrow (I know I've been saying this for the past few days) I am FINALLY going to the library to get my work-out DVDs so I can get started with my "firm up the bod" program. I seem to be a little jiggly, so that will be a good thing.

Today is a low key (more laundry) day, with some LC cookery thrown in. I am going to make my cabbage soup (chicken stock, red onion, cabbage, turkey sausage) so I will have that to snack on this week. I am also going to try and cut back on the amount of dairy, especially cheese, that I have been having. I really hit the blue cheese hard this past week. The whole wedge is almost gone! I think that might be slowing me down a bit.

I also started on my potassium pills yesterday. They made me feel a little bit sick to my stomach. But, I am sure to take them with food, which is what the doc recommended. I know I need to take them.

So what's on the eating schedule today?

B: 2 pieces of smoked salmon with cream cheese rolled up inside

L: cabbage soup

D: probably cabbage soup again, but I will report in later

Everyone enjoy today! Have a wonderful holiday!

Love, Maxi

[DesertGurl]

Hey Maxi! Happy Memorial Day to you!

Glad you enjoyed your night out, sounded fun! Definitely stay away from the scale for awhile, back to the drill and all will be fine in a few days!!

Warmed up on us alittle today, didn't it? At least its not 115!

Enjoy your day!

[Maximoon]

Hello again,

Thanks for checking in, Danielle! It is great to hear from you!

I've decided to change up my eating a little bit today, so here's the update...

B: 2 pieces of smoked salmon with cream cheese rolled up inside

Snack: 2 sausage patties

Snack: 2 pieces of sliced tomato

D: 2 more sausage patties with 1 fried egg

LOTS OF WATER TODAY! I was lazy so I did not make my cabbage soup today. Maybe tomorrow...we'll see. I have a busy day planned, so I don't know if I'll have much time.

Have a great evening everyone!

Love, Max

[ChristineCQ]

Your salmon sounds delightful!!!

[Maximoon]

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed the long holiday weekend. Except for the hospital trip at the beginning, it was a good one for me. Until I got on the scale this morning. I am up 3 pounds to 154. YUCK. Looks like I get to work my way back down to 151 and lower again. It feels that I will never get out of the 150s. But, considering being pumped full of fluids for 24 hours in the hospital, as well as my cheat day, I guess that would be the likely explanation for the increase. I refuse to be discouraged, but I admit that I am just a bit disappointed. Oh well, back on track!

I think I will make my cabbage soup later today; I have some stuff to do this morning, so it will be in the afternoon. For now, this is what I have to report:

B: my typical smoked salmon with cream cheese rolled up inside (I agree it's
yummy, Christine! )

L: ?

D: likely cabbage soup

I'll check in later to report the rest of my day. Everyone take care!

Love, Maxi

[Maximoon]

Hello again, all...

Well, my eating plan for today has TOTALLY changed. DH decided that he wanted Chinese for lunch today. I tried to be good, as low carb as possible. I didn't touch the eggroll or the crab puff (I love both) or the fried rice. I stuck to the shrimp and broccoli.

Plus I am lazy today and don't feel like making my cabbage soup today. Maybe I'll do it tomorrow afternoon. We just bought the cabbage, so it's not like it's going bad or anything. I did have the energy to cook up the chicken that had to be cooked in the fridge. I am going to do something with it; I already took half and mixed it with celery slices and a bit of mayo for a good, simple chicken salad. That may just be dinner for me.

So let's look at my amended meal plan for today:

B: the traditional cream cheese and salmon

L: shrimp and veggies, Chinese style

Snack: two spoonfuls of chicken salad, 1 celery stick, and 1 piece of sausage

D: rest of the chicken salad, more celery on the side

On a related note, my DH, who is clearly not on board with LC eating, decided he wanted to make chocolate chip waffles for he and my DS yesterday. I LOVE semi-sweet chocolate chips, especially when you put them in a spoonful of creamy peanut butter...YUM! I resisted all day yesterday, but the darn things are calling my name today. It will be interesting to see if I can resist. Hopefully I can!

Also, I did go to the library today, but they didn't have any exercise DVDs. I guess I'll have to take my cheap self to the store and actually buy one.

Tomorrow should be a fun day. We are going to visit a local olive mill and find out how olive oil is made. They also have a nice Italian eatery on site with some rather good LC options, which I appreciate. I'm looking forward to getting out of the house for a while.

Well, that should be it for today. Everyone enjoy your Tuesday! Tomorrow is hump day already, yipee!

Love, Maxi

[kare30bear]

Hi Maxi! I wanted to thank you for stopping by my journal and wishing me well.

I just read through your journal as well and LOVE it! I especially like reading what people eat on a daily basis and I can relate to a lot you have gone through.

I'm sorry to hear that you had a hospital scare, I hope you are feeling better now.

I have the issues with the Diet sodas also, I used to drink more soda than water, now I make it a snack item, but I have to reach 1/2 of my daily water intake b4 I'm "allowed" to drink it now and I add in an extra 16 oz of water to compensate for it. (I'm weird like that, but it works for me.)

Sounds like you have a great doctor that you can talk to about your LC lifestyle...that must really help.

I have problems staying away from the scale also. I officially weigh in once a week, on Mondays, (that's the only number I actually record) but I do peak at it almost daily. It stresses me out sometimes, but I get curious about how I did through each day passing, I like to analyze.

I like how you set up mini goals and reassess them once you've hit them, I bet that is less overwhelming I should think about doing that. I've been bobbling up and down in the 150's since restarting LC in April, it does get frustrating but at least I feel good and am actually exercising (which I HATE).

You are not alone and you are doing SO incredibly well!! You're going to see that goal just keep at it how you have and it'll all work out!!

Take care, talk to you soon!

[ChristineCQ]

Sorry the library wasn't a success; have you tried your local thrift stores?

[Maximoon]

Happy Wednesday all!

First of all: Karen---great to hear from you! I appreciate your comments. I too have enjoyed reading your journal, and I will continue to do so. Feel free to check in with me anytime!

Secondly: Christine---good suggestion with the thrift store! I'll look into it when I am out and about town. Hope you are doing well and beating the heat.

And now, here's the story today. I cheated (again) and got back on the scale today and I'm down to 153, which is good. I hope I see 151 again soon. I guess I'm still recovering from the hospital and the cheat day. It stinks to see how fast the scale goes up from those events. I'll just try to be as patient as possible. The 140s are just around the corner, I know that!

We had some fun at the olive oil farm that I mentioned yesterday. I say some fun because it wasn't as nice as we hoped for. There was very little walking around the groves; pretty much, we could only see them from a rather far distance. The tour was OK too. What bummed us in particular was that the food wasn't that great at their little restaurant, although tasting the various olive oils was entertaining. Oh, well.

So the rest of the day will be doing a little cooking, making my meatballs (they aren't LC so I stay away from them) for DH and DS later today. I have some leftover chicken breast that I may shred and put into some low sodium chicken broth and make some soup. I also like my chicken soup with a squeeze of fresh lemon on top right before eating. It's refreshing!!

Anyway, here's my menu for today:

B: my typical smoked salmon and cream cheese roll-ups!

L: a small chicken caesar salad, no croutons

Snack: the rest of my chicken salad

D: chicken soup I just mentioned (see a chicken theme here for today?)

That should take care of it.

I hope everyone is doing well today. It's the middle of the week! Yipee!

Talk to you all later!

Love, Maxi