Right on!

Well…

I am down another pound. Freaking YES! I actually can’t believe it. I have been eating around 1600 cal a day the last three days. Of course I still need to lose a million pounds (Ok.. you have not SEEN my arse!) but I am over the moon happy.

It seems that lately I am wanting to cut back more and more. I go thru these phases. I have learned from my past though and know not to push myself TOO far. Something about the success of late seems to niggle at me to cut back more.. just cut back more. I know this is dangerous thinking. I have been here before. It’s hard though. I am so damn tired of this FAT.

Last night I made a beef tenderloin. I seared it on the outside and then roasted it on 375 for only 18 min. (I like my beef med. Rare). It was SO good! It was only 150 calories for 4oz. I ate 7 ounces! I only made a simple veggie salad to go with so my dinner was only 350 but it was so good.

I LOVE a good fresh salad. I got some nice romaine and a good Vidalia onion and tomato and cucumber also. It was a nice large salad. I added this Old Cape Cod ginger dressing to go with (found it at Walmart – I hate Walmart but that’s a different post!). Anyway I love ginger, I have a recipe somewhere I came up with when I was doing a counting calorie diet in the past. It’s got fresh ginger, grated celery, a sprinkle of apple flavor crystal lite and some other stuff.. it’s a GREAT really fresh dressing. I need to find that recipe.

Feeling really, really good about myself today. Tiffany, I will be over to check out your confessions part on your blog! That sounds FUN!

Not much more to say today. Here are a few more motivational pix from my personal collection (all body styles that are hourglass NOT rail thin!):





XOXO my lovelies!

Fasted Yesterday...

... and I am down a pound and a half this morning. I had noticed I didn't even get hungry yesterday until after 3pm and decided to just make it a fasting day. I have found lately that at certain times in my cycle I can do this more easily. It sort of came naturally yesterday. Some days I am FAMISHED and eat every 3 hours and some days I can eat very lightly. I don't totally fast very often. It's been quite a while but it was not very hard. I had a bit of hunger at dinnertime but then was very surprised to notice at about 9:30PM (we usually eat around 8pm) I was not hungry. I think I was sort of just hungry at dinner time because it's normal for me to eat then.

Today I feel good. I immediately got up and had some low sodium V8 (over 1000mg potassium in that stuff!).. I needed sustenance but didn't want to eat a huge breakfast so I had the V8 and my espresso with 2T half n half and was fine until now.. and it's almost 1pm!

Sometimes prolonging eating in the AM helps my total calories for the day and keeps my hunger down until later in the day which really helps. I am not one that buys into the fact that you HAVE to eat in the morning. It seems as soon as I eat for the day, the rest of the day I am hungry.. I don't seem to have any of the voracious hunger I had before my time on Low Carb (I am no longer doing true Atkins style LC - Just low GI) and keep a keen eye on my actual appetite. I eat fairly often but I am having snax. Like an apple with PB or cheese or Ryevita and Laughing Cow triangles or a large tomato and cucumber salad with turkey (around 150 calories).

It's a fine line, trying to eat only when I am truly hungry and only as much as I need to NOT be hungry. I have finally got down the eating slowly, and eating smallish portions. I am working on stopping before I am truly full and waiting. My sense of fullness always seems to catch up with me at about 10 minutes out. It is interesting the difference between comfortable and full. I WANT to eat too much. I WANT that feeling of being drugged sometimes. I know it's not what I NEED and so far I am walking that line. It's working so far.

How is everyone doing today?! I've been playing in photoshop, what did you think about my pink peacock?

Some musings on being “40 something”.

If you are close to my age you might remember "A Clockwork Orange".. one of my fav. movies.. He was SUCH a horrid person in this movie but I've always thought he was too damn good looking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ah.. 40 something.. whatever.. I am 46. I was thinking this morning about how
I don’t think I will ever be able to just relax and be happy with my body.. to me this always feels like “just let myself go” and be happy being overweight. I want to be in amazing shape when I turn 50.

I think about diet and nutrition and the way I feel and my appearance, constantly. I don’t think I will age “gracefully”.. I am sure I will fight and kick and scream at “old”.

I feel very young “inside”. I think it’s because Patrick and I didn’t have children. I think I have never truly grown up. I am not sure if that is good or bad but it is what it is.

I know that I will get to my goal – whatever that goal will end up being I am yet to decide. I think just happy in my own skin and svelte. I like that word “svelte”.. I don’t like “skinny”.. it makes me think of a bag of bones.

I see so many women my age that just appear to have given up. Maybe I am vain but I can't. I might be missing out on some kind of happiness, but I just can't.

You see many women that are older and look superb. They are sleek and look great. I saw this one women, she may have been 50, in a bar the other day. I had met a friend of mine for a drink and a salad.

This woman was slender and had straight blond shoulder length hair. Her makeup was simple, her clothes were classic and she looked very comfortable in her own skin. She had on jeans and black high heels, a simple sheer white silk looking tank with a gray short sleeve shirt over. She had on a long silver chain with gray pearls spaced throughout it (I am a jewelry designer and kept the image of it in my head - I am going to make myself something similar).

I thought to myself, this is the look I want. She looked approachable and yet seriously great. I bet she hardly ever eats. I know the older you get, the less you can eat and keep a nice shape. I am still lucky that I am overweight.. I can actually eat a decent amt. of calories and still lose.

The last couple of days have been great. My appetite is well under control. I ate at around 1200 cal on Sunday and 1700 on Monday. (shooting for between 1100 and 1800 a day). Today I am really not hungry yet at all.. it's already 1pm and I have not had to eat yet. I AM craving a skim milk cappuccino..lucky me that I have my own machine! I can make a lovely one with a dusting of cinnamon for only 50 calories. This is my treat often.

I am losing very slowly now. I have stopped walking. It’s so damn hot. Even early in the morning it’s already almost 90deg. I should start setting my alarm an hour early but I don’t know that I will.. ya.. sleep IS important to me. I like to wake naturally. I wake up almost exactly the same time every day.. around 6:50am. Like clockwork.

By the time I get that genius that I married up and ready (pour espresso in him~!) and his breakfast and lunch good to go.. It’s already after 9:30am. (he is HARD to wake up.. he’s a night owl, stays up till at least 2am every night.

He is one of those crazy brilliant (seriously, he is a certified genius!) people that don’t need much sleep – well he gets by fine on 5 or so hours. I don’t know how he does it but after 12 years of marriage I know he does.

Geeze I am rambling… I was talking about how late it usually is by the time I get him out the door. It’s too fracking hot for me by then. I SHOULD start working out to a video at home.. but right now I am just dieting.

I am so damn tired of looking matronly. I have got to get this weight OFF!

Don’t have bunches more to say really yet today. Lots of stuff to do around the house. Got to get to it!
Have a great day my lovely friends! More later….

OMG.. Has it really been two weeks?

Ugggg! Sorry it’s been too long since I last posted (thanks to you Tiffany my lovely friend, for giving me a push!).

I am good… I’ve had good and bad days but the good days out number the bad for sure! I am still doing fairly low carb but no longer worrying about ketosis. I am using my appetite as a gauge. When I eat too many carbs I get TOO hungry and then I know it’s time to cut back on those carbs. I am STILL not eating any junk.. no sugar, etc. I am eating lots and LOTS of salads and turkey and still love my cheese.

I think I guess I would say I am just trying to put everything I have learned into effect now. Watching portions, eating as healthy as possible, taking my time when I eat.. etc.

I have been bad about not taking supplements.. it just gets old sometimes but I always come back to them.

On the left here is a visualization pix I have on my fridge - got to love that! My head on the body I want.

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I unfortunately started smoking again a couple of months ago. No excuses really, life in general was HARD and I caved. For some reason I have always connected dieting with smoking. In the past when I smoked lots I did well dieting… I have this mind connection and now when I am cutting calories I automatically want to smoke.

I stopped again yesterday. I threw a half pack away and have got to find some other “crutch”.. I used a cinnamon stick (the real kind.. the cinnamon bark rolled up like you would use in a cup of cider) as a tool to quit last time.. I would pop it in my mouth and keep it there when I craved cigs.. it works well because you can draw air thru the hole in the cinnamon. And the sticks are about the same size as a cig. for some reason they worked for me so I am back to them.. I had stopped smoking for almost two years.


I gained three pounds on our scalloping trip. Just too much food in general. Also I think the heat made me retain water. But it’s off now and I am THANKFUL!

Tonight I am making salmon steaks that I will marinate in teriyaki sauce – it’s actually Kikkoman triple ginger teriyaki sauce. I just marinate them a couple of hours. It’s REALLY amazing. I am making lima beans (I like to cook them ALL day!) to go with.. all in all a pretty low cal and lowish carb (low GI for sure) dinner.

Will do my best to post much more often.

I just printed this out and put it on my vanity mirror.. I love this:


“Remember,
it's never too late to become the person you were always meant to be”.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! XOXO Cary~

It's a Beautiful Mornin' Ahhhh

Don't you just want to be right there, right now?
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Good Morning!

It’s a lovely morning here. The Genius I Married, and I are going to go to breakfast in a while. A few years ago, Last time I lost a good amount of weight we used to go to breakfast together each weekend. (either Sat. am or Sun. am) and he would get low fat pancakes and eggs/ham and I would get Scrambled egg beaters with lots of veggies thrown in, ham and dry English muffin (I would put jam on it).

I have not been eating bread.. well no grains really except brown rice last night.. on sushi.. for the first time in a very long time. Months actually. I have slowly been adding back carbs (called climbing the ladder on Atkins).

I am doing very well and have not had cravings.. well no horrid cravings I can’t control anyway. I am making smart choices and not eating sugar in any form. Yes I do know that all carbs turn into sugar in your bloodstream but no “sugar” like no cookies, cake, crap junk food. Lots of veggies, lean meats and some low GI fruits. I am down another few pounds… I have lowered my fat as I have upped my carbs. It feels good to me so far. I enjoyed the sushi last night VERY much!

What I am getting at is that I have been wondering about the English Muffin and jam this morning.. real bread has not crossed my lips in months nor has any sugar (as in the jam).. I am going to have it this morning. I will pay attention to how I am feeling afterwards. I think since I am having so much protein with, that I won’t have issues.

I feel like this is a good diet for me. It feels less strict and I feel a bit more relaxed about my eating.. I am not sure if this is good or bad but I will find out I am sure.

Looking forward to lots of coffee and a nice breakfast with The Genius I Married. It’s been a long time, this used to be quite a tradition on weekends for us. Good quality time together, we would sit way longer than we needed to and just talk. I can’t wait.

So onto more fun stuff!
I have a couple of pix from my motivational weight loss file to share with you. This is Renee Zellweger during her “fat” stage when shooting one of the Bridget Jone’s movies.. I LOVE the way she looks.. like a bombshell. I have always been a curvy girl and this is the body I am shooting for, I mean those boobs, that dress, OMG that RED DRESS! her shape, PERFECTION:




















Oh and here is another pix that looks like a great body to me.. of course all the photographers and rag mags were saying she looks fat.. whatever, I think she looks HEALTHY and stunning:

Tuesday already?

I love this image, I think I have posted it before.. it represents metamorphosis to me. Something I am really working on!

~~~~~~~~~~•ღஐƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒஐღ •~~~~~~~~~~


Our boat trip got rained out on the Fourth so we just hung at my parent’s house.. they live on the water so it was still wonderful and very relaxing. I ate too much (am up a pound) but not worried..

Today I had a LONG walk this morning.. I just wanted to keep going. I walked Suki early and then put him back in the house, grabbed my book on tape and headed out.. It was nice.

I am going to eat very lightly today, got to make up for the indulgence (PB and Jelly on Ezekiel and nut cookies over the holiday). Also had some pasta that was not low carb. Since I am not in ketosis any longer I didn’t have a huge water gain. Had lots of energy from the pasta but I know it’s not good for me if it’s not DreamFields.

Making a beef tenderloin and a nice salad with roasted asparagus on the side for dinner. Very low carb. Might even go back into ketosis for a couple of days just because.. although I am still not getting any cravings! I can’t believe I am eating higher carb w/o cravings. I just need to take it slowly and make smart choices.

I am making some blueberry sorbet (frozen fresh blueberries in the freezer right now) tonight.. mixing the frozen berries with a little stevia and fresh lime juice in my vitamix. For dessert tonight.. OMG this stuff is so good.. I love Summer fruits.

I have started smoking again. I know I do this when I get too “into” not eating. I use cigs as a crutch to eat less. I am just so wanting to get as much weight off as quick as I can. I logically know cigarettes are not healthy.. I will stop again soon, right now I am only smoking 5-6 a day.

I just made a huge batch of green tea for my fridge… I have been drinking it like water lately, making a large batch every morning. Also making a cappuccino in the afternoon again.. I am using half and half in the espresso and making my froth with skim milk (about a quarter cup).. a few carbs but makes the best froth. Something about these in the afternoons seems very special and almost ritualistic. It feels indulgent and I think helps me eat less in the afternoons.. not to mention GOOD especially with my sugarfree white chocolate DaVinci and a little dusting of dark cocoa.

Hi!

I have been thinking for days I needed to get in and post, It’s been too long. I am doing fantastic, better than I have (weight loss wise) in months. Our trip to AR was nice. I loved seeing my sisters and my father. I miss AR sometimes. I certainly do miss the Ozarks. The wildness of them. The way time seems to stand still there. I am sort of torn between wanting to be a city girl (I live in Orlando) and missing my “country girl” roots. Everything seems so much slower there, but I know I would get bored before too long.

Eureka is like an entire other world. Like a little European village.. Lots of gingerbread houses and hippies. Great art galleries too. Psychics and herb shops and a wonderful fringe element abounds.

Anyway it is good to be back. I feel like I am really doing well in my dieting. I upped my carbs (climbed the Atkins ladder it’s called) and am eating a few more carbs (still considered low carb, actually anything under 100 carbs a day is considered low carb).

I am eating LOTS more veggies and some starchy veggies also. More fruit – sort of a low GI style diet I guess. As I have raised my carbs a bit I also have lowered my fat. I still eat good quality cheese (my fav. right now is Uni Kaas Aged Gouda):



Of course also using butter and avo – I am eating a bit less red meat and when I do it’s a bit more lean. I am eating less calories also. I have semi fasted two days early this week (ate very lightly until dinner and than had a pretty light dinner). I am enjoying lots of salads.

A little about what I am eating (I have lost over 10# in the last three weeks).

Last night I made curry dusted chicken breast with raitha (yogurt, garlic, cucumber, garbonzo beans and tomato with cumin and ground green coriander) on the side.. I LOVED it.. I have always loved raitha.

Night before last I made teriyaki salmon with sautéed snow peas.. I sort of did a combo stirfry/sauté.. I added pam to the pan first then added chopped fresh garlic, fresh chopped ginger, red bell and snow peas and sautéed and then added some soy sauce mixed with a drop of stevia. I cooked it with a lid on for about 12 min. Right before I served it I added a teaspoon of water with a half teaspoon toasted sesame oil. (wanted to make the oil go further – it’s such a strong flavor) I topped with sesame seeds right before serving. I was surprised how good it was to be so low cal.

For the salmon .. I thawed it and poured some Kikkoman triple ginger teriyaki sauce over it and sealed it in a ziplock for a couple of hours and set it in the fridge.. turned over a couple of times.. then baked it covered in the oven 350 for 20 min.. spooned some of the sauce on top and WOW it was excellent salmon.. my fav. meal in a long time.

Monday night was an arugula cranberry salad with sesame seed encrusted goat cheese I warmed in a pan on top of the stove.. also sprinkled some pecans over the top. I have been using a Fig Balsamic



(no fat) for my dressing on most of my salads.. I get it here:

http://www.cybercucina.com/

I absolutely love this online store.

So I am doing well, enjoying more fruit and much more veggies, eating more light (it’s hot has hell here – 103 in my back yard a couple of days ago) and losing weight. I am tempted to go Raw again.. enjoyed it last summer but I am concerned about too much fruit.

I think the heat is really just making me want to eat lots of water filled summer fruits and veggies and less fat and meat. I certainly won’t give up meat and will prob. Go back to very low carb and much higher fat this winter but for now I am listening to my body and actually making progress weight loss wise.

Will try to keep posting more often.
Missed you all!!!