I'm a good cook. Oh, scratch that, I'm an EXCELLENT cook (at least that's what my family tells me and I am forced to agree). I like to eat, make no mistake about it.
So between these two things I find myself in a constant state of yoyo dieting/exercising. Between having five babies, working full time and having too many hobbies to juggle, I can't seem to get down to the weight I want and stay there. I got really close last year...and then found out that I was pregnant.
This time is different. No really, it is. I've found an exercise program that I've been sticking with for over two months. It's called T-Tapp and it works you from the inside out. I can feel muscles in places I've never had muscles before, it's totally crazy. I usually do the 50 minute workout (and supplement with pushups, planks or something like that). If time is extremely tight I do the 15 minute workout - no matter how busy I am there really is no excuse not to at least plug in 15 minutes.
As I've mentioned before, I'm doing the low carb thing. I've done this diet before and it worked but now I'm getting even better at it. I just whipped up a batch of cloud bread and will have a nice fat turkey and cheese sandwich for lunch later. Last night I made tacos -- with the miracle of black bean chips it was a delicious meal high in protein and veggies and low on carbs. Tonight I'm making chili relleno casserole. I've never made it before but if it turns out (and I remember) I'll post the recipe here. I've also got an idea for an Italian spaghetti squash concoction. Sometimes I make what I call 'muffin tops' and I swear they taste like cinnamon apple muffins but with a fraction of the carbs. For breakfast sometimes what I do with those is make a sandwich with sliced strawberries and whipped cream. Tastes better than french toast, I promise. I'll post that recipe below.
The other thing I do - and I'm pretty convinced that this is key - is once a week I bake something sweet (with erithrytol or stevia - usually from this blog) and snack on it all week long. This gives me the willpower to stay away from the crap that my husband brings home from the bakery (grrrr).
I'm finding my groove -- and I'm thinking that this is something I can probably do forever, perhaps loosening the reigns a teeny tiny bit once I'm where I want to be. Just enough to enjoy an occasional piece of birthday cake or a few mixed drinks or something...
I have to say, the results have been amazing. I began dieting shortly after having my baby but I wasn't really going at it very strongly until January. I had lost about 20lbs after having her, but I still had about 40lbs more to go (I wanted to get to 20lbs less than my pre-pregnancy weight). I've lost another 20lbs since January and I have another 20lbs to go...
I weigh myself every single morning -- no exceptions. Now I know this doesn't work for everybody but it keeps me accountable. I have a tendency to want to bury my head in the sand and if I eat an exceptionally large meal (even if it's low carb) I don't want to see it on the scale the next morning so I hide from it. By weighing myself every morning I hold myself accountable. It's when I don't that I gain weight.
But here's the rub. We've all heard that the numbers on the scale don't mean as much but that is just not true. If you're 190lbs you're overweight (unless you're over 6ft tall or a man, of course :P) What I'm trying to say is don't lie to yourself. If the numbers on the scale tell you that you are fat just own it and do something about it. When they say that the numbers don't mean as much they are referring to when you reach your healthy weight range, within 20lbs of your goal weight. Okay, stay with me here - I'll explain: Yesterday I weighed myself and was feeling bummed because I had gained 2 1/2 lbs. I grumbled and felt horrible. But Mondays are the day that I measure myself. I measure my waist, arm, leg, hip and belly. I document them every week so I can keep track of my progress. Well, wouldn't you know it, I somehow lost more inches this past week than I had in a single week since I've started. So that 2 1/2 lbs that showed up on the scale was not something to fret about after all. And that is why you need to both weigh yourself and measure yourself.
I guess what I'm saying is pay attention to the scale and make it hold yourself accountable. But also take your measurements because that is where the real progress is made. Since January 14th I've lost 3" in just my waist alone. It's been just over two months and I think that's pretty cool :)
So anyway, here are my tidbits of wisdom (thus far):
1. Low carb eating needs to be a lifestyle that you can embrace. Dieting doesn't work - unless you want to live a lifetime of you getting to your goal weight only to stop eating well and balloon back up and have to start all over again. Personally, I'm sick of that.
2. Find a workout that you can do almost every day. Stop making excuses and get off your but. Diet is 70% and working out is 30%. No, don't buy into the hype that if you work out you can eat whatever you want. Don't even go there.
3. Use the scale to hold yourself accountable but pay more attention to the measuring tape because that is the true tale of your success.
4. Energy drinks are my friend. I'm not going to lie.
And, hey, what works for me may not work for you. But this is my blog and if you find something that works for you then start your own! hahahaha
Muffin Tops
3 eggs
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
3 T cream cheese
2 T butter
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon
1c Erithrytol
1tsp applesauce (unsweetened)
Separate the egg whites and put aside. Mix together other ingredients. Then beat the egg whites and cream of tarter until they turn into stiff peaks (really stiff!). Fold together with yolk mixture (don't over mix!) and then spoon them onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake on 300F for about 30 minutes or so. Store in an airtight container for a few hours and they will become spongy.
They're yummy by themselves or with whipped cream and strawberries too...I bet some melted 100% cacao chocolate (with erithrytol and butter) drizzled on them would be good too...okay that's something I'll try soon!
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