Ch-Ch-Ch-CHIA!

Who remembers "the pottery that grows?" I've wanted one for years! The elephant one especially (my love for elephants is a little scary lol). But I have recently been reading that Chia seeds are amazing little dudes with lots to offer! I am really not the best at explaining how amazing these are, so check it out here. 

So why am I telling you this? I am trying to find ways to incorporate Chia seeds into my diet. I really have to. You don't understand. I bought 2 lbs at Sam's Club. They must be used! lol Did I mention a little goes a long way? Most recipes only call for like... a tablespoon or two. 

I am currently playing with different versions of Chia Pudding. It's pretty basic really. You take some coconut (or almond) milk, cocoa powder, sweetener, Chia (of course) and some vanilla and mix. If you want exact portions, let me know, and I will post the actual recipe. I'm also looking at some Chia crackers... I haven't tried them yet, so idk how it will turn out. 

So what about you? Have you tried Chia? What are your thoughts?

Let me know in the comments below!

2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back

Anyone remember that song? I can't remember the rest, but that is exactly what is going on at the moment. After my last slide (and the one before) I recommitted hardcore, and actually broke my stall, I think. However, while I was at a friends house, circumstances way beyond my control became a great learning experience. 

See, I may have mentioned, I live in Oklahoma. The water from the tap SUCKS here. In my own home, sometimes it smells like bleach, sometimes like sulfur. Always nasty though. So we have filtered water. That's just what you do. So anyway, we go to a friends house, we were running late, so I didn't have a drink with me (I usually take tea). I have also been stricken with allergies for the last few weeks, so my throat is sore and I've been coughing a lot. 

Needless to say, I needed to drink something. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Water (so strongly smelling of bleach that I actually checked under the counter to make sure there wasn't a spill) and Pepsi, my arch-nemesis. *SIGH* Ya'll, I went for the Pepsi. We were there for several hours, so I actually had 3 altogether. I'm not proud, but I'm also not trying to make excuses either. It happened, and now I have to move on.

But what that did to me the next day (yesterday) is that it made me crave crap! I ended up not being prepared with my diet, and decided to eat a bunch of crud. Potatoes being the worst of it. I don't know how this will affect me, scale wise, but I am aware of it, and I need to proceed with caution. 

The next few days will be a battle, but I'm prepared to face it. But as I said, I've learned from this experience! No matter what I do, I need to have my own drink with me, that way I won't be stuck in this situation again! Lesson Learned!

I hope you all have a good Monday! Let's crush this week, shall we? Take it, and make it our own!

Slide..... Again?!

So... here we go again... another story about how my fraking willpower is non-existent. I have no clue what is going on with me guys! I start my week out smooth, and then just *BLAM* Hand me some damn carbs. I will say that this time, I didn't gain (Shocked? ME TOO!). However, I will never lose weight if I keep cheating. I started over again today. Only one slip up, but not a full on slide into carb evil.

Here's to accountability!

Middle Earth Update

So, I wasn't intending on writing anything today, since I had just posted a few days ago, but I thought "what the hell, I want to share my progress" lol. So here we go!

Strider (aka Aragorn) scouts ahead and finds an elf-stone on The Last Bridge. He believes it is a token of safety. Company crosses the River Hoarwell/Mitheithel.

I have officially reached the Last Bridge. I have 100 miles to go before I reach Rivendell, which I hope to achieve in September. 

So far, since May 1st, I have walked 358.1 miles. Isn't that just freaking astounding??? I can't even believe it! Thank you so much for coming along with me!

Weeeeee!

Did I just slide into bad habits for a few days? Yes. Did I regret it? Hell yes. 

Here's the scoop: Last Saturday, after eating LCHF all day, my hubby and I went to go eat sushi. I love sushi. I knew I had been good all day, so I could splurge my carbs on some yummy yummy deliciousness. And I did. And it was amazing. Sushi is just.... just..... mmmmmmmmmm

But then, on Sunday, after being good for the whole morning into afternoon, I had to go to a function for my daughter. It took a long time. So long, in fact, that my dear sweet hubby decided to order pizza for delivery for dinner. I was tired that day (worked from 5am to 1:30pm) and he says "I didn't know what to do, so I ordered. What are you going to eat for dinner?" I understand. He was being thoughtful for himself and the kids, and for me so I didn't have to cook. And being brain dead like I was... I said "Duh... pizza." yeah... duh.

On Monday, I was feeling sick (carbs do not sit well with me anymore), and I wasn't in a caring mood. I ate some corn bread that I had made for the facility, and I was eating this cheesecake stuff. I actually thought that was LCHF approved, because when I last made it, it was just cream cheese, heavy whipping cream and splenda... but NO! Whoever had made it had done half splenda, half powdered sugar. So, I had been unknowingly shoveling sugar in my face for hours... on top of the corn bread. I didn't care though... I was tired. For dinner, it was red beans and rice. Yes, I ate that too. 

3 days. Just 3 little days. And I gained 5lbs. REALLY!!??? 5 fucking lbs! *Spastic freak out ensued*

So... Tuesday morning, I wiped my tears, mentally slapped myself in the face and told myself to get my shit together. I started all over again with my LCHF eating. Made sure to not stray so much as an iota off my path. It was hard.... so hard to do again. This time, I got leg cramps and a little bit flu-y (is that even a word? It is now...). I didn't get that the first time round, although most do. It just really drove it home that I don't need to go through this again. 

Sure, we all slip up. We all have a little bit of what we aren't supposed to... but when you let it go for a few days, it's more than just a little slip up. It's the start of a full blown back slide. You can either let it happen, or take control. Thankfully, I didn't let my old self out of the trunk that I've stuffed the fat bitch into, and I took control. Who needs cheesecake and rice and junk? Not I!

So, it's been a week since that fateful sushi date. I've dropped the 5lbs I gained through stupidity, and hopefully I will continue my (slowly) ever downward decent in weight.

Thanks for being there to listen... if you stayed this long... it was a long post today lol, I would understand if you couldn't hang. :)

Waiting for my Woosh........

What the hell is a "woosh" you ask? Well, it's like this: Your fat cells start to lose weight, but they don't want to... so they start hoarding water, right (i.e. water weight)? And then after a while, you lose that too. Now, the thing is... this can happen several times over the course of your weight loss. 

Most people, when they start a low carb diet, or any diet really, they get a huge woosh of water weight off the top. Why is that? Well, if you go from eating fast food every day, with cokes and fries (you can possibly eat up to 2000 or more calories a day) and start eating whole foods, cut the soda and cut the rest of the junk, you will drop your calories and lose some quick weight. Most of the water is inflammation. Once you adjust to your new way of eating, your body kind of regulates, and the weight loss is more measured. 

As I have said, I have lost about 15 lbs (on low carb... a total of 23 since 1/1). I started doing a variation of low carb, there for a while, called Carb Night Solution. The idea is that your body could stall out on low carb (even though mine hadn't) and so you need to load up on carbs about 1 night a week (going from about 30g to about 300ish) and it's supposed to help you drop the pounds. I did this for a month. I lost nothing. In fact, I actually gained back about 2 lbs. So! I'm done with that!

I have been back to eating low carb/high fat, and even though it will take some time for those pesky carbs to work their way completely out of my system, I'm hoping for a woosh soon. Since I haven't seen any real weight loss in a while, it would be nice anyway! So, here's hoping!

I can't believe it!

So, I should have thought of this on Monday, but I didn't... so sue me (please don't, I'm broke). I have officially been on my LCHF (low carb/high fat) diet for 3 months. I have been trying to track the changes best I can... scale, measuring, etc. And while I have done a good job of it, seeing it sometimes takes a ton of effort. I KNOW I am looking better, because people are commenting on it. But sometimes I still feel like the shubbly person I was before. 

So today I was cleaning my room, and I found my corset that I wear during my visits to the Renaissance Fair that happens ever May. I have been feeling goofy all day, so I thought "What the hell?" Last time I wore it was the day before I started my diet. So this is a good solid indicator that I'm doing well!

*Please note, I would never EVER actually wear the corset with the grey shirt...

Needless to say, there have been some improvements. I showed this picture to my hubby and he just said "Yeah? That's what I've been telling you for weeks." OH. Well, shit... lol. Guess it's sunk in now! I still have about 30 lbs to go, but I'm excited to see the transformation on the way! I'm hoping to get there by my birthday, which is about 4 months away. That's only about 6.5 lbs a month... I might or might not make it. So long as my progress goes down, I'm happy. :)

Thanks to you all for your support! Hopefully I can support you as well as you have supported me. Thank you!