Wednesday, June 26, 2013

slowing going down

It's not a sprint, it's a marathon.

(look at me with all the cliches lately...)

It's hard to keep on a diet in general, but harder with a kiddo, that's for sure.  And when you're stressed out and in pain, it's harder to make those good food choices.  So I am really trying to not even buy anything that isn't "healthy" and really trying to cook as much as I can.  When we go out to eat, things go poorly. ;)

I am down a couple pounds from last week, which is good.  I know I would be down more if I hadn't gone out for dinner twice last week and then went to a BBQ-and-pie party on Sunday (and then enjoyed leftovers of the BBQ Monday and yesterday!).  It's not merely calories, I know those were higher sodium days than I intended.

So we'll see how things go this week.  I don't think we have any eating-out plans this weekend, but I know next weekend with the holiday, there will be festivities.

Haven't gotten to walk as much as I'd like, but I'm really hoping that losing some weight will help alleviate some of my hip and pelvis issues.  (Hey, a gal can dream, right?)

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Review: Bluebonnet 100% Natural Whey Protein Isolate Powder

As part of my adoption of the Slow Carb Diet, one of the guidelines is to eat 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up.  It's a tall order, especially with a baby to take care of and feed as well.  So I'm turning to protein shakes to help with this one.

I picked up this Bluebonnet 100% Natural Whey Protein Isolate Powder at my local Sprouts supermarket (it was on sale!).  I got the "natural original flavor".  26 grams of protein in each serving!

It's terrible.

It's supposed to blend easily, but it doesn't for me.  I put my cold water in my cup, add the powder, and then shake for 5-10 seconds.  I get a lot of foam at the top, and still have clumps of powder in there too.  I really try to chug this as fast as I can, and still end up almost gagging about it.  It's really unpleasant.  I've tried other protein powders in the past, and this one is terrible.  I will not be buying it again!

Nutrition Facts
Calories 125
Total Fat 0.5 g
Saturated Fat 0.5 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 15 mg
Sodium 100 mg
Carb 3 g
Fiber 0 g
Sugars 1.5 g
Protein 26 g

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

diet day 2! ;)

Ahhh yes, that dreaded "d" word - "diet". It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. Or some cheesy crap like that. ;)

I made a "lifestyle change" yesterday and we'll see how it goes. I'm roughly trying to do the "slow carb diet", but I'm not going to obsess about doing it 100%. I think the big thing for me is to try to eat low-GI (glycemic index) foods, since I know I've always had blood sugar sensitivities. When I had my medical procedure last week, I had to fast due to the anesthesia, and right before the procedure, they tested my blood sugar (I had no idea they were going to do that). It was 121. 130 is diabetes, my friends. So I'm kinda "pre-diabetic" at this point, and that is super-no-bueno.

I had lost a lot of weight without much exercise, back in 2007. The key then was that I tracked everything using sparkpeople.com. But now it's 2013, and there's got to be a better way! Unfortunately, sparkpeople has an iPhone app, but it's not free so I'm not going to use it. (It's like they purposely designed their web site to be unfriendly to mobile phones as well, to force you to buy the app!) Instead, I have started using the free My Fitness Pal app. So far, I quite like it. Not only do you track your fitness (surprise!), it has a great food tracking section. You can even scan the barcode of the food's packaging to find items quickly. (Of course, you should be eating less packaged foods, but hey...) It gives you a pre-set nutrition goal (calories/carbs/fat/etc) based on your current weight and goal weight, and shows you progress as you go each day. For me, I'm not focusing on those numbers too much - I know I need to eat less than I was before this week ;) I'm also planning to eat more fiber and less carbs than they recommend.

So back to the Slow Carb Diet. It has five rules (quoting from http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2012/07/12/how-to-lose-100-pounds/) -

  • "Rule #1: Avoid “white” starchy carbohydrates (or those that can be white). This means all bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and grains. If you have to ask, don’t eat it. 
  • Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again, especially for breakfast and lunch. You already do this; you’re just picking new default meals. 
  • Rule #3: Don’t drink calories. Exception: 1-2 glasses of dry red wine per night is allowed. 
  • Rule #4: Don’t eat fruit. (Fructose –> glycerol phosphate –> more bodyfat, more or less.) Avocado and tomatoes are excepted. 
  • Rule #5: Take one day off per week and go nuts. I choose and recommend Saturday."
I've got Rule #3 down (I never drink anything but water).  I don't mind Rule #2.  Rule #1 isn't too bad, though I do love rice and potatoes ;).  Rule #4, I understand and agree but I love fruit.  So... thank goodness for Rule #5.  I am hoping I can hold to the other rules knowing that one day a week (which will be Saturday or Sunday for me, depending on our plans for the weekend), I can indulge the cravings.  

(If you're interested in more about this diet, Gizmodo has an excellent summary at http://gizmodo.com/5709913/4+hour-body-+-the-slow+carb-diet )

I do make tweaks though... I had a handful of grapes with lunch, some nonfat Greek yogurt with breakfast, a small square of TCHO chocolate as a snack.  Little things.  So I may not lose 2 pounds a day ;) but I will hopefully also be able to sustain this.  

Also, I went for a walk yesterday with the baby in his stroller.  It was only a 45 minute walk, and it was slow, and it hurt after about 10 minutes.  But it was something.  

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Still on the mend

Sorry for the radio silence over here. I'm still on the mend. I can't believe that it's been 14 months since I gave birth, but I'm still "broken". It's deeply frustrating. Later this week I finally will undergo a procedure to hopefully heal some of this pain. My weight is crazy. I am down less than ten pounds from my highest pregnancy weight (and that's really embarrassing!). But tomorrow night (over-sharing ahead!) will be the last night I breastfeed my baby, and then I have the procedure on the following day. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I can go for a nice walk this weekend without pain? I've been researching diets and I think I'm going to try the slow carb diet. I need to do something drastic and something that I think I can do while still feeding my son the foods he needs. I always have the problem of constantly feeling hungry, but maybe if I eat enough protein and veggies, I can shut off that constant hunger. Here's hoping for a lot of success soon! ;)