Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: The Whew, I Did It! Edition

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 214.8 (-2.6 from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5"
Age: 49

I chose to view the time I was sick as a course correction. I have been very careful about what I've been eating. It's not just the avoidence of pain, though. No, when I eat low carb, I feel different. I actually feel lighter; buoyant, energetic, happy. Eating a piece of toast can ruin that feeling. So can too much sugar (which some days might be a large square of dark chocolate).

Nonetheless, I don't think I'll participate in something like this again. I'm starting to feel deprived. Now that I've reached my target weight, I just want to cut loose and eat some apple crisp, a pan or homemade brownies, and nothing but grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My focus has shifted from how I feel to what the numbers say--and that's not a healthy shift. So, I'll take the money...and run!

But not until weigh-in Friday morning. I'll have to sit tight until then (figuratively speaking, of course).

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: The Conflicted Edition

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 217.4 (-2 from 2 weeks ago)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49

Conflicted? Why am I conflicted you ask?

Because in order to lose those two pounds over the last two weeks, I had to get sick. Nasty sick with stomach pain and saying hello to the toilet type sick. (Sorry.)

And I'm kind of glad, which is a different sort of sick.

There's nothing like completely emptying your stomach in the middle of a forced 48 hour fast to clean out your system. I have started afresh: this morning, for example, I had an omelette with fried mushrooms, zucchini, onion and spinach (in coconut oil, of course!) and boiled fork-mashed sweet potato on the side.

I need to be at 216.0 on the morning of the 28th to win my bet at Roni's diet bet and I had not been going to make it the way I'd been playing fast and loose with my eating (and the scale has been swinging up and down right along with me) --I mean, really--hot chocolate and cinnamon toast as a snack before bed? --or (worse) a peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich? On top of grilled cheese for lunch? What was I doing? I don't need to revisit self-sabotage. Been there, done that. I need my new habits.

So, for the rest of the month, I'm afraid, I'm going to have to hide my dark chocolate bars and resist the bread in the bread basket. I will revisit my November meals and recreate them as best I can. It's only a week (and one day).

No. It's only my next meal. That's all I need to worry about. (Oh and cleaning out the fridge!)

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Wednesday Weigh In: The Recommitted Edition

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 219.4 (-2.6 from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49

Wow. Happy dance.

After much hemming and hawing, I joined Roni's Diet Bet. I did it after an epiphany that sometimes a goal is worth having simply for the journey it will take us on. I may or may not win the bet, what matters most is that I'll do my best.

I've recommitted to eating between 50 and100 grams of carbs a day. Mark Sisson recommends that range for weight loss. (Weight maintenance is 100 to 150, and insidious weight gain happens from150 to 225 or so. Picture red flashing lights at around 300 grams per day. Danger!)

I also set a goal for working out: 30 miles this month. I know, it's a laugh compared to the way some work out, but I don't want to over do it. Anything I do I have to be willing to keep on doing: or the weight will come back.

In fact, that's one of the reasons I have never set actual weight loss goals in the past, like lose so many pounds in this much time, or weigh 216 by the morning of February 28th . I'd rather set goals which deal with my behaviour. The number is out of my hands.  It may or may not be whatever it needs to be. But, my behaviour is definitely within my control--and I need to be careful about what I do. One of the best pieces of advice for weight loss I ever picked up was "Do only what you're willing to do, for keeps."

So, this great experiment may backfire. March might see me stalled out again, unwilling to duplicate the effort I am putting in right now--or maybe not. At the end of it all I may be energised and motivated to keep going. Spring is coming and I want to meet it sleeveless and shameless.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

A Month of Meals: February

It's that time of the month again!

No, no, not that time of the month! It's ten percent Tuesday. Or terrible Tuesday, depending on who's talking. Every month, our local grocery stores feature 10% off the total grocery bill the first Tuesday of the month.

I plan our suppers for the entire month so I can stock up on meat and pantry items. Vegetables are picked up weekly.

I will be doing my best to stick to eating between 50 and 100 grams of carbohydrates a day, so while not every single one of these recipes may be "paleo" (Chicken pot pie, I'm looking at you!) they will let me reach my goal.

I won't provide links to recipes which are not--or cannot be made to be whole30 compliant. Some recipes have no links because they actually come from cookbooks.

According to this week's flyer, the following cuts of meat are on sale:

Chicken Breasts 2.99/lb
Fresh Frying Chicken 2.99/lb
Basa Fillets 908g (2 lbs) for $7.77 (Whitefish)
Fresh Lean Ground Pork: 2.99/lb
Fresh Pork Side Spareribs 2.49/lb

Once again, lean ground beef was on sale last week for 2.99/lb. I picked up as much as they would let me which wasn't nearly as much as I wanted.

(Links below calendar. Click calender to enlarge. Sorry about the quality. We run everything off on paper already used at my husband's work.)

Code:
chicken: yellow
pork: grey
fish: basa fillets, shrimp or salmon: light blue
ground beef: pink


February 5: Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Hash, salad.
February 6: Five Spice Slow Cooker Pork Ribs (from Melissa Joulwen) roast sweet potato, broccoli
February 7: Chicken, Bacon, and Sweet Potato Hash from Paleoperiodical, broccoli
February 8: Shrimp Stirfry, egg rolls.
February 9: Home made spaghetti sauce (with ground beef) over spaghetti squash
Febuary 10: Roasted Chicken with roasted parsnips, sweet potato, carrots and rutabaga
February 11: Chocolate Chili (from Melissa Joulwen), mashed cauliflower
February 12: Chicken Pot Pie
February 13: Pork Carnitas, (from Melissa Joulwen) mashed cauliflower, broccoli
February 14: Honey-Mustard- Mayo Chicken, momma's slaw* roasted sweet potato
February 15: Cod (or Whitefish) in Leek Sauce w/ Roasted Sweet Potatoes. From Fast Paleo. (new)
February 16:  Veggie Beef Stew adapted from Stuff I Make My Husband.
February 17: Roast Chicken with roasted root vegetables
February 18: Sloppy Bobs, (from allmeatnopotatoes), roasted spaghetti squash
February 19:  One Pot Chicken Drumsticks from Nom Nom Paleo
This was new last month and utterly awesome. It was an extraordinary amount of work: but I'm doing it again, it was that good!
February 20: Czech Meatballs** braised cabbage, peroghies (new)
February 21: Madagascar Chicken mashed cauliflower, broccoli
February 22: Herb Roasted Salmon, squash, green beans
February 23: Dino Beef Stew from Melissa Joulwen
February 24: Roast Chicken with roasted root vegetables
February 25: Cottage Flower Pie and broccoli from Melissa Joulwen
February 26: Captain Chicken,** mashed cauliflower, carrots (new)
February 27: Pork Chops Diane, Sweet Potatoes, broccoli
February 28: Artichoke Chicken Carbonara from PaleOMG
March 1: Shrimp, Tilapis (Whitefish) and Cabbage Curry from Paleomom, here. (new)
March 2: Paleo Shepard's Pie, green beans.
March 3: Roast Chicken, roasted root vegetables
March 4:  Chicken, Bacon, and Sweet Potato Hash from Paleoperiodical, broccoli

Code:
* recipe from  Paleo Comfort Foods by Julie and Charles Mayfield.
**recipe from Well Fed by Melissa Joulwen. I bought myself a copy for my birthday and it came super quick!

Hope that gives you a few ideas about what to cook!