PictureQuotes.com
Actually, I’m feeling encouraged that I am back on track since yesterday. I am planning what I will eat using MyFitnessPal.com, trying to get as close as possible to my macro percentages again today.
We came through another tornado warning last night with no damage that I have seen so far. I’m am truly thankful. This is one of the days that we are thankful we live on top of a hill because flash flooding is forecast. I will be glad when this mini-monsoon season we’ve been having is over.
To celebrate that, I’m planning to get on my elliptical trainer in the garage after lunch and do at LEAST 15 minutes. I’m hoping that I will be able to do my ‘regular’ 35 minutes; but since I’ve been a slug lately, I don’t want to push it too hard. I also plan to do at least 30 minutes of my “Gentle Yoga” stretches before the afternoon is over.
I am again planning to bake a loaf of keto bread, plus a Twice-Baked Cauliflower Casserole” by Suzanne Ryan. My husband isn’t fond of cauliflower, but I’ll just serve him quietly and see what he says. We will have a hamburger patty and a salad, so he should have plenty to enjoy even if he isn’t fond of the casserole. We’ll see.
It feels good to have a plan and feel in better control. Fingers crossed.
Askideas.com
The Pandemic is my latest excuse for not sticking to my diet and exercise program. (I have a whole sackful of excuses – and add more at a ferocious rate.) My husband is another excuse – he doesn’t have as much weight to lose. We grocery shop together, and all kinds of things I shouldn’t eat show up at home when we put the groceries away. I have decided to stop using this as an excuse, though. I’m hoping the man will live for MANY more years, so I will just have to be stronger on avoiding his ‘extras.’
Yesterday I got disgusted with myself – FINALLY. I re-read the first part of Simply Keto by Suzanne Ryan. I am feeling re-motivated to get back on track and start losing the lard again. I am now, (starting again yesterday) tracking my food intake on MyFitneesPal.com. Suzanne tells you how to tweak the settings there so that you can follow your macro and even tweak it from time to time as needed. (Your ‘macro’ is the comparative percentages of fat, carbohydrates, and protein you should consume each day in order to try to lose the girth.) I have also decided to spend more time on KetoKarma.com, Suzanne’s website, to try to STAY motivated.
Before I fell off the wagon, I had lost 40 lbs and 43 inches. I have gained 9 pounds BACK since the Pandemic started. :0( Since it is beyond stupid to try to stay safe from the virus while simultaneously stuffing food I shouldn’t be eating into my mouth, I’m promising myself to treat myself better.
Because of my good friend and hair dresser Michael Remillard, I learned that maltitol is to be avoided. Yesterday, when I was re-reading Suzanne’s intro, I noticed that she mentioned it, too, but apparently I simply read over the top of it. It’s in a lot of sugar-free and no-sugar-added products. It can spike blood sugar and is to be avoided.
Also, because of Michael, I have discovered an ice cream I can eat when I must! The brand name is Rebel, and the flavor I think is wonderful is Mint Chip. I’m also on the lookout for Triple Chocolate. The PINT has 4 net carbs! The pint lasted me for 4 servings. Hooraaaaaay!
One of the things that Suzanne said that really resonated with me was that when you make a mistake at one meal, instead of just blowing off the rest of the day and eating whatever you want because the day is ‘blown,’ you should redouble your efforts by eating correctly the rest of the day, giving yourself a break and sticking to the plan. You don’t have to be perfect – you just need to be consistent.
Yesterday I made her “Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Bake.”
“Sausage, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Bake” by Suzanne Ryan, Simply Keto
She encourages you to throw extra low carb veggies in wherever you can, so I throw fresh spinach into her already delicious recipe. (I tried broccoli previously, but my husband didn’t care for it.) He doesn’t mind the spinach at all. :0) 6 servings. We each enjoyed a wedge of this with a big salad.
I’ve gotten pretty good at avoiding carbs. (My personal macro has me staying at 14 carbs or under daily. ) My biggest problem is adding fat. I am studying her meal plans at the end of the book this time to get a better handle on what I can choose to better reach the 70% fat in a healthy manner. I have been tending to eat too much protein, and that can throw you off, so planning my eating with MyFitnessPal will help there. I can enter what I’m planning to eat, see how that meets my requirements, and adjust BEFORE I eat a wrong thing. I am learning to pay more attention – using the tools that will help me, reading labels more carefully, etc.
Snacks and desserts are danger areas for me. I have avoided these area in Suzanne’s book, but found something I want to try after the next trip to the grocery store – “Chocolate-Covered Macadamia Nut Fat Bombs.” I love casseroles, so I’m also going to get set up to try her “Twice-Baked Cauliflower Casserole.”
Another lady I find who has good keto recipes is Kyndra of Peace, Love and Low Carb. She sends recipes to my email inbox.
Sorry if I’m talking your arm off, but as you can see, I am newly motivated. I am hopeful that by NEXT Monday, I can report that I have lost some weight, changed a measurement, or I can report on the new recipes I’ve tried.
Meanwhile, I’ll bake a loaf of my keto bread today.
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Changes, DIET!, Healthy Eating
email from Marsha Koenig
Our GPS can’t find our house – it directs you to drive into Lake Greenwood – or the Greenwood Post Office.
My Facebook account was hacked. I tried to find someone to help me, but apparently there is no actual person actually working at Facebook. If you can’t sign in, they decide you are a terrorist. I have given up.
My LinkedIn account was also hacked, just a couple of days ago. Same problem. I have given up on LinkedIn, too.
It seems that forecasts and models are just ‘best guesses.’ Mostly, at the moment I’m happy they are proving to be wrong.
I will just take one day at a time, hoping my PHONE isn’t possessed, or hacked, or whatever.
Filed under Attitude, technology
PictureQuotes.com
Excuses abound. I’m setting the excuse bar at a higher and higher level. (Everyone has to strive for something! )
The pandemic. Staying home. Cold, rainy weather. Husband asking for comfort food.
Then the real reasons – my laziness, my lack of motivation, my weakness.
All combine to add lardage when what I INTEND to do is to continue my efforts to lose the lardage and exercise regularly.
Now I am trying to re-lose previous loss in order to get where I was before so that I can enter new territory on the scales and with my tape measure.
BUT WILL SHE REALLY DO IT?
Hopefully, the answer is “yes.”
Right soon now.
Maybe tomorrow…
A.A.Milne
Today I am grateful that Arkansas is starting to reopen its economy, allowing more local businesses to carefully supply their services. This is so important to the many small business people who fall through the cracks of Federal help in times like this, too many not qualifying for loans or unemployment.
This week my husband will get a haircut and I will get a massage. AHHHHH! We have tried to do what we were able to support many of the important people in our personal lives, but going back to work will heal the wounds more quickly than anything else. I hope that this reopening is coming soon enough to get people back on their feet again with as little damage as possible.
As this reopening happens, at whatever time and pace where you live, remember that it is OUR responsibility to judge each thing we are doing, judging whether it is safe for us to do, or if we should defer it for later.
Take care. Be grateful. Be safe. Be well.
Filed under Attitude, Health Alert
When I was taking Molly out for her first morning outing this morning, this sight greeted us. If you look closely, you can see it is now growing WAY UP in the tree on the far side of the actual plant in the brick planter.
A little closer view now where you can see the glorious color.
There were big, fat bumble bees enjoying it this morning. (I don’t mind them because they need a reason to sting you, unlike the red wasps who hate everyone, but tend to dive bomb me whenever I’m not paying close enough attention. There is a lovely fragrance, too. Not overpowering, just NICE.
This blooms every year regardless of surrounding circumstance, reliably. Sometimes it is not quite so lush and fragrant, but it reminds us that nice weather is on the way, and the hope that things will get better soon!
Filed under anticipation, Arkansas, Attitude, color, Delightful Surprises, Gardening, hope
Bright Side
YESTERDAY I –
TODAY I –
am being a SLUG. I have done very little. I did almost nothing in comparison. I got a keto chili in the crock pot this morning and fixed lunch. I fell asleep in my chair. (I had the heat pad under my back in the recliner and the throw over me the perfect ‘sandwich’ of comfort.)
I am just now writing some blog posts. I feel like a slug, but I guess I needed a day of rest. It’s funny. I feel just fine while I’m working. Then it all catches up to me and I’m reminded that I’m no spring chicken anymore.
So – slug fest for me today. Maybe I’ll have more energy tomorrow….
Filed under aging, Attitude, Challenges, Changes, Housekeeping - Maintenance
Awareness 22 via Jerri St John
Filed under Attitude, Cause for Celebration, Challenges, Health Alert
Since it finally quit raining for a bit here, we are scrambling to get our yard under what passes for control around here.
My husband used the riding mower a couple of days ago to cut the grass (mostly weeds) for the first time this season. We had spread weed killer earlier, but this spring has been a perfect one for all the weeds that have ever been in our yard, encouraging them to burst forth as never before. Some of the weeds were over a foot high! It took my husband twice as long as usual to mow, but he got it done, leaving huge amounts of cut grass everywhere. The next day he used the push-around weed whacker to get big places he couldn’t reach with the mower.
That left it to me to wield the hand-held weed whacker to get what is left, trim and edge the sidewalks, around the planters, under the deck, etc.. This spring has also encouraged the weeds to come up in the rocks we have around the house. Usually we can simply spray weed killer on them, but this year they are so prolific we actually have to pull what is there first. I did the front yard yesterday. My body is complaining pretty loudly today, but I’m going to try to get the back yard done today.
laughtard
When I finish, I’ll schedule a half hour to 45 minutes of gentle yoga stretching to get these old muscles stretched out again. I’ll schedule the elliptical trainer for days when I’m not doing so much in the yard.
I’m finding it difficult during this time to stick with my keto eating plan. I love the basics of it, but find I’m craving comfort type food during this stay-at-home time. I realize it’s probably just another excuse, but I ate some Blue Bunny New Freedom No-Sugar-Added Ice Cream with my husband last night. It’s better for my husband, but it’s bad for me, as far as carbs go. It also has maltitol, which we should both be avoiding. “Being good” is difficult. Being good when my husband keeps bringing things I need to avoid into the house makes it more challenging. Being good during a pandemic is an even larger challenge.
Today I found a Low Carb Yellow Squash Casserole that sounds yummy. I’ll make that to serve with our leftover hamburger patties for our dinner tonight. I will also make a loaf of bread from a favorite keto recipe so I can have some tonight.
It’s funny what each of us considers something that is ‘necessary’ to do in times when you are encouraged to stay home and avoid unnecessary contact with other humans. Apparently washing his car at the local car wash is a necessary thing for my husband, since he has just left to do it. I’m not even sure it’s open, though it is designed to be a place where no humans are needed. We will see if he comes back with a clean car or not. Mostly, he has complied with staying home, so I’m trying not to fuss at him TOO much…
I am grateful that we are still healthy; have a warm, dry home; have food and water; and have Internet, books, TV, music, DVDs, art, pets, AND to-do lists to get us through this crisis. May we come out the other side as soon as possible and get people back to work.
Stay safe.
Filed under Attitude, DIET!, exercise, Gardening, Health Alert, Healthy Eating, Thoughts on a ________
T.L. – LinkedIn
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Lilac – Paul Militaru Photography
White Magnolia – Paul Militaru Photography
Yellow Tulips – Paul Militaru Photography
Twice Blooming Purple Iris from one of our planters yesterday.
creativeartworksblog 