Monthly Archives: January 2016

First time for everything

Today was a pretty good day. Glucose right where I like it – 82. Weight headed down… Yup. A good day.

Started working on taxes this morning. That time of year. Again. Then I got some kind of wild hair. I’ve been making homemade bread with a bread machine for 3 or 4 years, and we’ve been enjoying that. But this morning I decided to break out the countertop proofer I got myself for Christmas. Bought it, then set it on the counter and was more than a little intimidated by it. I KNOW yeast breads can be difficult, and I was afraid I was stepping a little out of my league.

But I LIKE baking. So, I decided to jump in and see what happened. There’s gotta be a first time for everything…

I did pretty good with it. Took longer than I expected, but today is Saturday. Other than taxes, I didn’t have anything else to do. Granny gave me some blueberries earlier this week and I had promised Robbie I would make him muffins this morning. Cool. Bread and muffins. Yeah!

I always ALWAYS lick bowls and utensils when I’m baking. No, no, no – after I’m done with them – before they hit the sink. Why waste that little touch of heaven? Mmm-mm-mm! But although I thought about it awful hard, I just put the dirties in the kitchen sink. SCORE!! I BAKED without tasting. YES!

While the bread was rising, I started the muffins thinking to use the stove for both at the same time. Of course, it didn’t work out that way. But that’s okay. Muffins were done in time for Robbie to try them before baking the bread.

And? What was his verdict? “They’re alright.” Alright? ALRIGHT!? You gotta be kidding me! So I asked again. “They’re okay.” My response? “So, I’m going to have to taste them myself to know?” His reply “They’re okay.”

I was crushed. “Okay” isn’t what I wanted to hear. So… I BROKE my sugar fast! I had to taste one just to see if it was good or just “okay.”

To be fair, I took about 1/4 of one and tasted it. Light. Airy. Not too sweet. CONSIDERABLY better than “okay.” I am downright pleased with my kitchen endeavors today.

Even though I had a little bite of sugar today, my calories are under 800 and carbs only 56 for the day. And I got out and exercised – walked the mile and around the back with the dogs.

Ack!! I was going to take a picture of the first ever loaf… and ran it to Granny’s completely forgetting the picture. Oh, well. It was pretty dang good! Made with honey instead of sugar (yes, I’m picking nits), but I still only ate half a slice and Granny ate the other half. She’s going to freeze half of it so she can have it for later.

First week down

And my weight is down, too! I’ve lost 6 pounds in the last 7 days – 10 in 3 weeks. At least the carb watching effort is showing results. I squeezed into an old pair of jeans this morning that haven’t seen daylight since Christmas.

Not too bad. Stressed to the hilt today because of work, but I still walked at lunch (stress relief) and walked again when I got home. Can’t seem to stop the overkill at supper, but I have less than 70 carbs and 700 calories even AFTER doubling the sweet potato fries.

I always think it’s going to get calmer in a few days.

Then things get even MORE hectic! It was 3pm before I had time for lunch today! Good thing, though – it was 8:30 before I had time for supper. Supper after 6 usually isn’t a good idea, and I could probably have skipped it, but even including supper, my calories were still under 800 (carbs were 80 – not as good as before, but okay).

Beautiful end to a snowy weekend

Beautiful end to a snowy weekend

Guess what. Go ahead – guess. Still No Sugar. No artificial sweetener. Today is day 7. I’ll weigh in the morning and see what I’ve accomplished … if anything.

Cheaters never win

And I cheated today. Not on calories or even exercise. Total 770 calories – walked 3 miles plus up and down steps all day long. But I was craving SOMETHING, so I ate a small apple. Then right after work I went straight to the grocery store. BAD IDEA! And supper I had as many carbs as I’ve had all day the rest of the week. But still NO SUGAR and NO SUGAR SUBSTITUTE.

 

Another day older and deeper in debt

Thank you, Tennessee Ernie Ford. Awesome tune running through my mind right now. I am another day older – I’m NOT deeper in debt, but I’m headed to the “company store” for groceries in the morning. That could change the debt thing.

Still no sugar – no sweetener – day 5. I brew tea every morning and drink on it all day. One thing about tea – it’s good at any temperature. Start it off piping hot so it nearly scorches your mouth, and by the end of the day it feels cool. Tea and water are my liquids at the moment. If I want something SUPER cold, nothing beats ice water.

I cheated just a smidgen on my “diet” even though I didn’t have sugar or substitute. For lunch, I had steamed veggies with wild rice (lotsa carbs) and I ate my chicken as a sandwich for supper.  Still ending the day with under 50 carbs. 5 days – a total of about 254 carbs – not too shabby! Especially considering I’ve eaten meals with more carbs than that.

 

Monday Monday

Another day sugarless… and it’s getting easier. I might just be back into my “tiny clothes” by spring. “Tiny” for me is Medium or size 10. That works for a 54 yr old woman a little on the tall side – and a LOT on the round side. Currently most comfortable in XXL, but XL will work in a pinch. (And it usually does – pinch, I mean)

Problem: I haven’t fixed “real food” at home in a couple days. No problem for me, but Robbie’s not exactly thrilled. He’s a big boy – he’ll fix a sandwich or something if he doesn’t want what I fix. I’ve just got to keep on truckin’. I need to find recipes that he’s happy with like my stir fry chicken. Lots of veggies and a serving of chicken. Lots of seasoning, a little olive oil, and he doesn’t even know it’s good for him.

I have been exercising a little more. Still not back to where I was a couple weeks ago, but getting there. Not likely to get a lot better until the snow is gone. Just too rough lugging through the snow. Tonight I only made 2 trips around the fence line, and I didn’t hike at lunch at all. But my side project is almost complete, and I should be able to devote more time to ‘other projects’ soon. Maybe by Easter. That would be nice.

Kicked sugar’s butt

My 3 day sugar purge is accomplished. As I write this I’m feeling some hunger pangs for the first time since Friday, so I guess I made it. 3 days – no sugar, no sugar substitutes. I feel better than I have in months.

Lost 4 pounds. Side effects can be a good thing.

January 23

Well, I’ve REALLY felt bad for the last couple of weeks… roller coaster, yoyo, whatever you want to call it, my emotions have been in turmoil. And my BODY!! – oh, my GOSH!! I NEVER thought I could hurt so bad just from getting out of bed and walking around. My joints hurt – my muscles ache – torment just to get around and do the stuff I need to do every day. I was thinking I need to go to the dr to see if I have lyme disease or fibromyalgia or something like that.

I was afraid I would be too tempted with all the sugary stuff here yesterday, but I did not have anything with sugar… except the mayo in my tunafish salad has a little added sugar. Even the tea I had yesterday I didn’t add any stevia. This morning I’m actually able to get around without every muscle in my body aching – and I kept the back deck swept off yesterday and last night. Didn’t do a lot of physical because I’m sitting at the computer working, but did do some normal housekeeping stuff. I am telling myself I was so full of sugar that it was making my joints and muscles hurt. If I can keep that in mind when I reach for a sugary snack, I won’t have a lot of trouble passing. And I LIKE sugar – a LOT!!

Thinking about it, back when I was riding my bicycle all the time, I didn’t even hurt like I have the past month or so. Muscles sore, yeah, but not stiff and aching. And NEVER the up and down roller coaster emotions that I have had since Christmas. I am going to see if I can make a calendar and keep up with my sugar intake and how I feel as well as my diet and exercise. Might help me focus. Or not. As long as I don’t feel as rotten as I have this month, it will be worth it. Today is day 2 of no sugar, and at the moment I’m not really tempted- or missing it.

January 22

So far, so good. today I have stuck to my ‘diet’ – no sugar and no ‘sweetener’ either. As long as I don’t give in, I’ll have kicked sugar by the time I go back to work. 🙂  Haven’t had the urge to prowl but once, and stuck my head back in the computer and was good. Just wish I could have got out and exercised a little. Oh, well.

Snowy weekend

Snowzilla

Snowzilla

Blizzard, blizzard go away – nursery rhymes are a wonderful thing! And after spending 2 days in a frozen white out, today was wonderful. Sorta. Temps climbed into the low 40’s which made it MUCH easier to stand outside and shovel snow if your fingers aren’t frozen to the bone. But that also means it will be REALLY slick after temps dip into the low 20’s tonight. BE CAREFUL out there.