Half of Americans Drink Sugary Beverages Every Day

Scary stats on soda and sugary drink consumption!  I have never been able to drink carbonated beverages so soda has never been my issue.  Before I started this project, I would have the occasional sports beverage or cup of juice, but it was never anywhere near a daily occurrence or a noticeable fraction of my caloric intake.  When we were in college, my husband had a real soda addiction - he drank the equivalent of at least 2 cans of soda at lunch and dinner and more on evenings when he stayed up late to study.  Thankfully after he had to start paying separately for soda he cut it down to only a few cans per week.  My father also has an addiction to sugary beverages, although it has switched from soda to iced tea to other types of drinks through his life.  This is such an insidious addiction!  I'm so grateful that carbonation kept me from drinking these products, because I know sugar is a problem for me and I probably would be addicted too.

Late Night GChat Conversation with My Husband

me: really, really want to eat peanut butter
talk me down
Kyle: don't do it
you've worked so hard
me: but it's so sweet and creamy
Kyle: it will make you fat
and slow
me: lol
i'm playing skipbo against myself to forget about the peanut butter
Kyle: hmm, yeah, you're not crazy

Day 290, 8/30/2011

My morning weight: 130.4 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

8:20 AM: 1/2 serving oatmeal with 1 tbsp peanut butter

11:15 AM: 1 cup split pea soup

2:40 PM: 1 cup of slow cooker chili
6:00 PM: 1 hamburger with 1 slice American cheese
6:45 PM: 1 hamburger
9:50 PM: 1.5 cup zucchini sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil
10:25 PM: 1.5 tbsp peanut butter

Total nutrition data:

1444 g calories
80.6 g fat
93.9 g carbohydrates (29.4 g fiber, 14.7 g sugar)
95.7 g protein

Workout:

30-Minute Total Body Workout from 101 WTWOWW

End-of-day edit: I ate a bunch of peanut butter.  :(

Day 289, 8/29/2011

My morning weight: 130.8 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

8:35 AM: 1/2 serving oatmeal with 1 tbsp peanut butter; 2 scrambled eggs
1:00 PM: 1 cup of slow cooker chili
3:00 PM: 1 cup split pea soup
7:00 PM: 1 tbsp peanut butter and 1 slice cheddar cheese
7:55 PM PM: 1.5 cup zucchini sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil and 3 oz pulled pork

Total nutrition data:

1411 g calories
80.4 g fat
91.4 g carbohydrates (28.8 g fiber, 14.1 g sugar)
87.7 g protein

Workout:

none

Day 288, 8/28/2011

My morning weight: 131.4 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

10:30 AM: 1/2 serving oatmeal with 1 tbsp peanut butter; 2 scrambled eggs
1:55 PM: 1 cup split pea soup
3:40 PM: one low-carb tortilla with 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and 3 oz pork
7:15 PM: one hot dog with mustard
10:15 PM: 1.5 cup zucchini sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil
10:45 PM: 1 serving of deli meat (turkey and ham); 1 tbsp peanut butter

Total nutrition data:

1402 g calories
87.1 g fat
84.2 g carbohydrates (29.8 g fiber, 14.8 g sugar)
94.1 g protein

Workout:

none

Day 287, 8/27/2011

My morning weight: 131.4 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500)
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal)
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal)
4 water bottles ✘ - two before the wedding, 1 glass of water at the wedding, 0.5 water bottle after the wedding
workout ✔

What I ate:

8:30 AM: 1 serving split pea and ham soup
1:00 PM: breakfast quesadilla, with 3 slices of bacon instead of 4
4:05 PM: 1.5 cups zucchini sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil
In the evening we attended a wedding.
I ate: roasted vegetables (carrots. onions, squash, eggplant), pulled pork with a little tomato-based barbecue sauce, chicken with pepper sauce, and FOUR types of cheese!

I might have eaten over my calorie limit for the day, but I tried to keep it low-carb.  The only carbs I really had were the roasted vegetables, but there may have been too much sugar in the vegetables (especially carrots and onions) and the sauce on the pulled pork.  I skipped over berries because I thought my sugar amounts would already be too high.

two small plates

I also danced a LOT.  For an hour or hour and a half.  I'm sure I burned a decent number of calories in that activity.

jumping!

Total nutrition data:

not worth estimating

Workout:

101 Ways to Work Out with Weights 30-Minute Glutes and Abs

Day 286, 8/26/2011

My morning weight: 131.4 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

8:25 AM: breakfast quesadilla
2:00 PM: 1 serving split pea and ham soup; 3 oz pulled pork
5:35 PM: 1.5 cups zucchini sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil, with 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

8:25 PM: 1 slice cheddar cheese

8:35 PM: 2 eggs
9:05 PM: 2 tbsp peanut protein

Total nutrition data:

1287 calories
93.1 g fat
63.7 g carbohydrates (27.8 g fiber, 10.3 g sugar)
95.6 g protein

Workout:

none

Day 285, 8/25/2011

My morning weight: 131.6 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

9:20 AM: breakfast quesadilla
1:30 PM: 1 serving split pea and ham soup
5:40 PM: 7/10 whole wheat pasta with 1/4 cup low-sugar pasta sauce; 3 oz pulled pork

8:35 PM: 1/2 serving oatmeal with 2 tbsp peanut butter
9:35 PM: 2 eggs
10:25 PM: 1 slice cheddar cheese

Total nutrition data:

1417 calories
78.6 g fat
104.1 g carbohydrates (32.9 g fiber, 10.1 g sugar)
96.7 g protein

Workout:

30-Minute Endomorph Workout from 101 WTWOWW

Day 284, 8/24/2011

My morning weight: 131.4 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

9:20 AM: breakfast quesadilla
12:30 PM: 1 serving split pea and ham soup
6:10 PM: 1/4 cup walnuts
6:35 PM: 7/10 whole wheat pasta with 1/4 cup low-sugar pasta sauce; 3 oz pulled pork

9:45 PM: one hot dog
10:00 PM: 2 slices cheddar cheese

Total nutrition data:

1466 calories
93.5 g fat
90.4 g carbohydrates (30.9 g fiber, 7.6 g sugar)
91.6 g protein

Workout:

32 minute jog around campus

Day 283, 8/23/2011

My morning weight: 130.8 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

8:20 AM: breakfast quesadilla
1:25 PM: 1 serving split pea and ham soup; 3 oz pulled pork
5:45 PM: 7/10 whole wheat pasta with 1/4 cup low-sugar pasta sauce; 4 oz (raw) 85/15 ground beef

10:45 PM: 1/4 cup walnuts; 2 slices cheddar cheese
The split pea soup makes my day so much easier fiber-wise!

Total nutrition data:

1466 calories
89.9 g fat
86.4 g carbohydrates (30.0 g fiber, 5.6 g sugar)
105.3 g protein

Workout:

none

Day 282, 8/22/2011

My morning weight: 130.8 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

8:25 AM: breakfast quesadilla
1:15 PM: 7/10 whole wheat pasta with 1/4 cup low-sugar pasta sauce; 4 oz (raw) 85/15 ground beef with mustard

6:40 PM: 1/2 serving oatmeal with 1.5 tbsp peanut butter; 3 oz pulled pork
9:30 PM: 2 tbsp blueberries; 1/4 cup walnuts

Total nutrition data:

1467 calories
90.3 g fat
92.8 g carbohydrates (25.6 g fiber, 9.4 g sugar)
90.2 g protein

Workout:

30-Minute Upper-Body Toner from 101WTWOWW

Article on Relationship Shifts and Weight Gain

I saw this little article today on a longitudinal study on how marriage and divorce affect men and women's weight differently.  Women tended to gain (more) weight after marriage and men tended to gain (more) weight after divorce.  Check out the article for the proposed explanations.  I guess I'm a statistic!

Day 281, 8/21/2011

My morning weight: 130.6 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✘
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

10:30 AM: breakfast quesadilla
1:30 PM: Big Sky Grilled Bison Salad from Ted's Montana Grill with bleu cheese dressing (half, leftovers from yesterday)

6:30 PM: 7/10 whole wheat pasta with 1/4 cup low-sugar pasta sauce
6:45 PM: 4 oz (raw) 85/15 ground beef with mustard
8:45 PM: 1/2 serving oatmeal with 1.5 tbsp peanut butter
1:00 AM: 1 slice of cheddar cheese*
* I ended up with a stomachache starting at around 11:30 PM and after drinking water and putting up with it for a while I tried eating something non-carby and I guess it worked because I fell asleep for good soon after.

Total nutrition data:

1570 calories
98.7 g fat
86.2 g carbohydrates (25.2 g fiber, 9.6 g sugar)
98.3 g protein

Workout:

15-Minute Butt Blaster from 101WTWOWW

Day 280, 8/20/2011

My morning weight: 130.6 lbs - a new low!

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

half-meal at Ted's

What I ate:

11:10 AM: one low-carb tortilla with 1/4 cup cheddar cheese
12:45 PM: Big Sky Grilled Bison Salad from Ted's Montana Grill with bleu cheese dressing (half)

5:35 PM: 1/2 serving oatmeal with 2 tbsp peanut butter
7:50 PM: one serving of eggplant made delicious
11:15 PM: 1 cup squash sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil with 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
11:35 PM: 2 tbsp blueberries

Total nutrition data:

1437 calories
102.1 g fat
69.2 g carbohydrates (25.1 g fiber, 15.0 g sugar)
74.6 g protein

Workout:

none

I popped into a store with my friends to try on a few clothes.  I really liked this dress but it was too expensive.  The waist was flattering.  The color was "eggplant" and more purple than shows in this picture.  This is a size 6 (!) - I got into a 4 OK as well but it was a bit tight when sitting down.  :)

Measurements 20Aug2011

Day 279, 8/19/2011

My morning weight: 131.6 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

8:40 AM: flaxseed meal pizza

1:10 PM: 7/10 whole wheat pasta with 1/4 cup low-sugar pasta sauce; 1/4 cup walnuts
4:00 PM: 1/2 serving oatmeal with 1 tbsp peanut butter
7:55 PM: 2 scrambled eggs
8:25 PM PM: one serving of eggplant made delicious
9:20 PM: 1 slice cheddar cheese

Total nutrition data:

1485 calories
102.5 g fat
85.8 g carbohydrates (26.0 g fiber, 12.0 g sugar)
68.2 g protein

Workout:

I ran for 32 minutes along the same route I did on 8/15/2011 only in reverse.

Day 277, 8/17/2011

My morning weight: 130.8 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

8:30 AM: breakfast quesadilla
2:00 PM: 4 oz (raw) 85/15 ground beef with 1 slice cheddar cheese;

3:35 PM: one serving of eggplant made delicious

5:10 PM: 1/4 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup blueberries
6:35 PM: 7/10 whole wheat pasta with 1/4 cup low-sugar pasta sauce
10:20 PM: 1/2 serving oatmeal with 1 tbsp peanut butter

Total nutrition data:

1408 calories
92.2 g fat
86.0 g carbohydrates (25.9 g fiber, 12.3 g sugar)
77.3 g protein

Workout:

15-Minute Posture/Core Strengthener from 101 Ways to Work Out with Weights by Cindy Whitmarsh

Day 278, 8/18/2011

My morning weight: 131.4 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

9:00 AM: 7/10 whole wheat pasta with 1/4 cup low-sugar pasta sauce; 4 slices bacon
12:20 PM: one serving of eggplant made delicious
2:55 PM: 1/4 cup walnuts
7:25 PM: flaxseed meal pizza
9:15 PM: sauteed squash with Parmesan cheese

Total nutrition data:

1439 calories
107.7 g fat
73.9 g carbohydrates (25.1 g fiber, 11.9 g sugar)
61.9 g protein

Workout:

No workout tonight.  I was weirdly hungry all evening.  Next one should be a run.

Day 276, 8/16/2011

My morning weight: 130.8 lbs - I can't believe that stuck around!

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

9:30 AM: breakfast quesadilla
1:45 PM: 4 oz (raw) 85/15 ground beef with 1 slice cheddar cheese; 7/10 whole wheat pasta with 1/4 cup low-sugar pasta sauce
4:20 PM: 5 tbsp walnuts
7:35 PM:1/4 cup blueberries
8:35 PM: 1.5 cups squash with 1 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
9:35 PM: one serving of eggplant made delicious

Total nutrition data:

1498 calories
106.0 g fat
76.3 g carbohydrates (25.5 g fiber, 13.5 g sugar)
79.8 g protein

Workout:

30-Minute Total Body Toner from 101 Ways to Work Out with Weights by Cindy Whitmarsh

50 Pounds in 50 Weeks Project

All through the fall of 2010 I knew I was getting quite large.  I had to go up a dress size for some weddings we attended (back to a 12) and then even those got tight.  I started avoiding pictures, which I love to take and be in.  And then one day something just flipped in my brain and I was ready to change.  I set a goal to go from 172.6 lbs to 125 lbs in one year, starting November 12, 2010.  I called it "50 Pounds in 50 Weeks."

During November and December I tried a similar strategy to what I had used in 2008, tracking calories and macronutrients but only trying to restrict my calories.  I planned to day a day off from counting every couple weeks, but I found that really difficult because of Thanksgiving and all the holiday parties and such that occur during that season.  I took way too many days off.  I did lose some weight when I started and then I basically plateaued through all the holiday parties.

Over winter break my husband and I traveled for about two weeks seeing family.  At first I thought I would at least try portion control but I gave that up within a few days, and then I didn't even bother much with making healthy choices.

I knew I needed to regroup for when I returned home.  I read two diet books and noticed they both emphasized extreme sugar reduction and moderate carbohydrate intake.  I did some more research and decided to try following the guidelines of The Belly Fat Cure.

My sugar intake went from about 180 g/day when I first started tracking to about 60 g/day before winter break, and with the BFC I had to drop it to 15 g/day or less.  I had withdrawal headaches for about two days, but that was pretty manageable.  I did well meeting my sugar limit at the beginning but not as well meeting the fiber minimum without going over my carbohydrate limit.  I also had to rework some of my staple recipes because their serving sizes resulting in like 42 g carbs/serving.  But after a couple months I had a pretty good handle on my food and had about six BFC-compliant days per week, with the remaining non-compliance being from a small mistake.

My calorie intake dropped like a rock when I started the BFC.  Eating so much fiber, fat, and protein is amazingly filling.  Because I wasn't reaching 1200 calories/day consistently, I had to intentionally increase my calories over my hunger-driven needs.  Within about a week I was comfortable with that higher amount of calories.  I've tried to increase my calories in a few stages since then.  In the low-carb frame of mind, carbohydrates matter far more than calories.

Throughout the spring of 2011 I was hot and cold with workouts.  I knew I wanted to add in weight training, but I did it inconsistently.  One month I would work out five days per week and another month I would average one or two workouts per week.  I committed to doing a couch-to-5k program, which is three runs per week.  I did well keeping to the schedule for the first few weeks but slowed the frequency by the middle of the 9-week program.  It took me 20 weeks to complete all the workouts, but I did it in June!  Through that process I rehabilitated an old knee injury - I went from not being able to run a mile to being able to run over three miles with minimal discomfort.

Around April 2011 I developed a problem with peanut butter.  At first I had measured out my tablespoons carefully but I grew lax with peanut butter and other foods I was familiar with and could eyeball the servings.  Once I stopped measuring I let myself get sloppy and would overestimate.  Peanut butter became nearly a nightly snack - it was an easy way to get in calories and fat when I wasn't really hungry.  I ate scoops of it off large soup spoons and recorded it as a tablespoon.  Sometimes I had several scoops from small spoons, again calling it a tablespoon.  I developed a jones for peanut butter.  I knew I really had a problem when my husband and I got back from vacation in July and all I wanted to do was eat peanut butter straight from the jar.  Over 1.5 days I ate about half a large jar, again completely lying to my nutrition data records.  After that day I decided I could no longer trust myself with peanut butter and I committed to measuring it fastidiously every time I ate it.  For the remainder of July I only ate peanut butter as a sweetener in oatmeal, which was the original reason I started eating it.  One day in August I ate a tablespoon by itself.  I haven't had more than three tablespoons in any one day since I came back from that trip, and usually I only have one.  That's how I tamed my peanut butter monster.

Currently, I'm working out more frequently (4-5 days per week), alternating between running, weight lifting, and tennis.  I've added some calories back into my diet and now eat between 1300 and 1500 calories per day.  I'm losing weight slowly and with stops and starts now but I'm still on a downward trend!

My Weight Journey Until This Project

I have always been on the stocky/chubby side.  My height topped out in 7th grade at 5'1.5".  The first time I remember being aware of my weight was when I was 15 and I had to tell it to a volunteer who was figuring out what size unitards we needed for crew.  When I told her "140 lbs" she said emphatically "Good job!"  I wasn't sure if she meant "Good job on building all that muscle!" (this was at the end of an entire winter season of training and I was actually more muscular at that point that I ever was before or have been since) or "Good job on admitting your real weight to me."  I still don't know.

Through crew I became a pretty serious athlete while I was in high school.  I learned how to push myself and how to weight train.  (I also played tennis and other miscellaneous sports, but they didn't sculpt my body and work ethic the way crew did.)  My weight varied from the low 130s to about 145 lbs while in high school.  I never felt I was thin, or even a normal weight, but I also wasn't terribly self-conscious.  I knew I was very physically fit and felt I performed well athletically in comparison with my peers.  I didn't watch what I was eating much, but the culture in my family was to eat homemade foods and very little junk food (I've never liked soda and we weren't allowed to have chips, for instance).

All that work ethic rather went out the window in college.  I didn't work out regularly - just played tennis sporadically, went to the gym on and off, and weight-trained practically not at all.  I also ate pretty much whatever and however much I wanted at the dining hall for all four years, although for the most part I did not eat outside of mealtimes.  Shockingly, I graduated in 2007 at more or less the same weight that I came in at.

My metabolism really changed after college.  I lived with my parents for about seven months right after I graduated so I was back to eating similar food to my childhood.  I had a three-hour round trip commute to my job, which left no time for working out, and I no longer had gym access.  I gained weight steadily through those months and after I moved closer to work.  I was applying to grad school during that time and in the early spring went shopping for business casual clothes for my interviews.  I realized I had gone up a clothing size (to a 12), which alerted me to the fact that I had gained weight.

I embarked on a weight-loss project in the spring and summer of 2008 that was quite successful.  I went from a bit under 155 lbs to a bit over 130 lbs (size 12 to size 8).  I did it strictly through calorie-counting and frequent exercise (aerobic and weights), with days off every couple weeks.  I loved that I was able to completely control my own pantry for the first time in my life.  My goal for that project was to get to 130 lbs by the time I went on a cruise vacation with some friends in August 2008, which I more or less achieved.  Right after that vacation I moved for graduate school and the weight began to slowly creep back on.  At first it was all the free food the school was pushing on us - then it was late nights on campus doing homework fueled by dinners from on-campus eateries - then it was more frequent meals with my then-boyfriend that were much less healthy/portion-controlled than I had been eating the previous year.  I didn't gain weight very fast but all of it came back eventually.

One key point was when I got engaged in December 2009.  I had a half-hearted thought that I should try to slim down for our wedding, but that was quickly drowned out by all the work we had to do.  We had a five-month engagement that was packed with planning for our local wedding and reception as well as a long-distance reception.  Particularly as the wedding drew near, my fiance and I started eating out more frequently for convenience.  I was somewhere around 155 lbs on our wedding day.

It got even worse after we were married!  Even though I started cooking a lot more at home, I somehow felt like I had to keep up with my husband, always eating half of the the meal I had cooked.  I also was living, for basically the first time in my life, with a lot of junk food.  My husband liked to keep ice cream and chips and cookies around almost constantly.  He was able to keep those foods nearby without eating enormous portions of them every day, but I wasn't.  I irrationally thought that if I didn't chow down now that the food would be gone before I could have what I wanted.  I call the weight I gained my "love weight" because we were very happy - I wasn't stressed or anything - it was just a by-product of us moving in together.

All through the fall of 2010 I knew I was getting quite large.  I had to go up a dress size for some weddings we attended (back to a 12) and then even those got tight.  I started avoiding pictures, which I love to take and be in.  And then one day something just flipped in my brain and I was ready to change.  I set a goal to go from 172.6 lbs to 125 lbs in one year, starting November 12, 2010.  I called it "50 Pounds in 50 Weeks."

Day 275, 8/15/2011

My morning weight: 130.8 lbs - A very unexpected new low.  I definitely think it will be higher tomorrow.

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✘
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

9:20 AM: breakfast quesadilla
12:50 PM: 1 serving of oatmeal with 2 tbsp peanut butter
4:25 PM: 4 oz (raw) 85/15 ground beef, 1 slice cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup blueberries
7:50 PM: 7/10 whole wheat pasta with 1/4 cup low-sugar pasta sauce
8:50 PM: one serving of eggplant made delicious
I accidently ate seven servings of carbs today!  I sort of forgot that blueberries (5.25 g) and the eggplant dish (7.6 g) each count as a serving.  Usually I don't even get up to 6 so it's not on my mind too much.

Total nutrition data:

1383 calories
81.7 g fat
99.0 g carbohydrates (26.9 g fiber, 14.1 g sugar)
78.3 g protein

Workout:

I tried a new loop on streets near my apartment today on my run.  It took 34 minutes.  Now I can compare times if I do the loop again!

Eggplant Made Delicious

I came up with this recipe during our grocery shopping fast.  I didn't have any cheese or pasta sauce with which to make eggplant parmesan, which was the only thing I knew to do with eggplant.  Instead, I threw the eggplant together with other flavors that seemed somewhat Italian-y and came up with this dish.

It's very simple.  I heated 1 lb of spicy ground sausage (from our CSA) in a pan until the fat and grease lubricated the pan.  I added a chopped 1 lb eggplant (from our CSA) and sauteed it until the eggplant was almost completely soft and the sausage was almost totally brown, breaking the sausage as it cooked.  Then I added an 8 oz can of tomato sauce and heated through.

That's it!  It can be that simple or you can add variations.  The first time I made it I cooked the eggplant in olive oil first and also added an onion and a second can of tomato sauce.  It's very flexible.  And SCRUMPTIOUS, at least to my palate.  I love simple quick dishes like this one.

Nutritional data per serving (makes 8 servings):

212 calories

15.9 g fat

624 mg sodium

7.6 g carbohydrate

2.8 g fiber

3.1 g sugar

9.5 g protein

Skinnyclothes

I bought this shirt and skirt when I lost some weight in 2008 - I got down to about my current weight.  The skirt is a size 8 from American Eagle.  I almost always wear pants to work because of lab hazards but my jeans were still wet this morning so I went with a skirt.

I definitely can't wear it again without a belt - I was tugging it up all day.  Even my skinnyperson clothes are falling off now!

I got a couple compliments today, too, from work friends who know I'm losing weight.  They always see me in jeans so apparently the skirt let them know how much I've really lost!

Breakfast Quesadilla

This is the easiest and best food that I make for myself regularly.  I eat this almost every morning for breakfast and I can't get enough of it!  It is my own invention although I'm sure others have come up with something similar.

I fry up four pieces of bacon.

I take a low-carb tortilla and spread about 1/4 cup cheddar cheese on half.

I place the bacon on the tortilla half, then fold it over and microwave for 1 minute to melt the cheese.

Voila!!!  How can you go wrong with bacon and cheddar cheese?

This is a breakfast only a low-carber could love.  :)  Tons of fiber and fat and a decent amount of protein.  It keeps me full for about 5 hrs.

Nutritional data:
350 calories
26 g fat
1080 mg sodium
19 g carbs
12 g fiber
1 g sugar
25 g protein

Day 274 8/14/2011

My morning weight: 131.8 lbs - A new low for this project!!

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

My husband and I hosted a cookout today so that is why my food is a little wonky.
8:20 AM: breakfast quesadilla
12:20 PM: 1/4 cup blueberries
approx. 2 PM: 4 oz (raw) 85/15 ground beef hamburger with one slice of cheddar cheese, small amount of spinach salad with egg, onion, marinated steak, and balsamic vinegar dressing
approx. 3 PM: one hot dog with mustard
approx. 4 PM:4 oz (raw) 85/15 ground beef hamburger with one slice of cheddar cheese
7:55 PM: low-carb tortilla with 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

my husband manning the grill

I didn't make the salad so that nutritional data is not included below - I eyeballed and know from experience that I didn't exceed my daily calories, carbs, or sugar by eating that, and it should have put me over my minimum for fiber between the spinach and the onions.  I consumed so many calories from meat today (I love that about cookouts! just eat a burger with no bun.) that I didn't have room for carbs that didn't deliver tons of fiber, so that is why I ended up eating 2 low-carb tortillas (12 g of fiber each).  I don't prefer to do that from a nutritional variety standpoint but that was my best choice for today.

Total nutrition data: (excluding the spinach salad)

1312 calories
90.9 g fat
47.3 g carbohydrates (24.9 g fiber, 7.6 g sugar)
98.6 g protein

Workout:

none.  spent the afternoon outside and got a bit sunburned.  will definitely work out tomorrow.

Day 273 8/13/2011

My morning weight: 132.6 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

6:45 AM: 7/10 serving of linguine with 0.176 lbs bratwurst and 1/4 cup low-sugar pasta sauce
2:20 PM: breakfast quesadilla
5:45 PM: one serving of oatmeal with one serving of peanut butter
8:50 PM: sauteed squash (1 cup squash, 0.5 tbsp olive oil) with Parmesan cheese
10:20 PM: 1/8 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup blueberries, 1 slice cheddar cheese

Total nutrition data:

1488 calories
99.0 g fat
99.9 g carbohydrates (26.5 g fiber, 13.2 g sugar)
68.2 g protein

Workout:

none!  ran out of clean sports bras.  :/

Day 272 8/12/2011

My morning weight: 134.2 lbs
Holy sodium, Batman!  I think that's the reason for this big jump over yesterday.  I had about 100% more sodium and 50% more fiber than usual yesterday, plus I ate quite late at night.  I hope both will work their way out of my body over the next couple days.

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✘
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

8:50 AM: one slice of flaxseed meal pizza
2:20 PM: eggplant variation of pork sausage and bean chili - Again this was slightly over 5 g of sugar.
6:10 PM: four slices of bacon and 2 cups of zucchini and squash sauteed in the bacon grease
9:10 PM: one-quarter cup of blueberries, one-quarter cup of walnuts, and two slices of cheddar cheese - Oops!  This put me over on my sugar for the day.  I completely forgot to check.

Total nutrition data:

1404 calories
96.7 g fat
78.1 g carbohydrates (28.9 g fiber, 17.9 g sugar)
69.1 g protein

Workout:

30-Minute Upper-Body Toner in 101 Ways to Work Out with Weights

Measurements as of 8/4/2011

These are my most recent measurements, taken 8/4/2011.  I measure to the nearest 0.25".

silhouette from here

Day 271 8/11/2011

My morning weight: 132.2 lbs (a new low for this project!)

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✘
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

9:05 AM: one breakfast quesadilla
2:15 PM: one cup of pork sausage, bean, and vegetable chili (modified recipe) - This has 5.2 g of sugar so that is my BFC violation for the day.  It's hard to predict how many cups are going to come out of the slow cooker, especially when it's a new recipe!
8:30 PM: one slice of flaxseed meal pizza
9:45 PM: one can of mushroom soup

Total nutrition data:

1363 calories
85.7 g fat
102.0 g carbohydrates (40.2 g fiber, 13.3 g sugar)
65.8 g protein

Workout:

I did not work out tonight - I ended up eating way too late.  Plus I've worked out five days in a row so I figure a break is acceptable.

Flaxseed Meal Pizza

Several months ago I bought flaxseed meal hoping that I would be able to add it into some of my normal foods to increase their fiber content.  I tried one recipe, which I couldn't even choke down.  So the flaxseed meal has sat in purgatory for months.

I haven't had real pizza since I started the BFC.  I have made cauliflower pizza a few times, which is a fairly good substitute, since IMO the good part of pizza is the sauce and cheese.  I had heard a few times about making pizza crust from flaxseed meal but was very hesitant to try it because of my bad experience with the first recipe.  I am SO GLAD I did!  While still not exactly like flour-pizza, this crust is tasty and satisfying and an acceptable vehicle for sauce and cheese.

I got the recipe from here and followed it pretty closely.

I mixed 1.5 cups flaxseed meal, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tbsp of sugar, 1 tsp of oregano, and a LOT of garlic powder (probably 1 tbsp).  Then I added in 0.5 cup water, 3 eggs, and 3 tbsp of olive oil.  I mixed thoroughly and let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken.

I greased a large baking sheet and spread the dough as evenly as I could.  It was about an eighth of an inch thick.  Then I baked the dough for 18 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Ultimately it was around one-quarter of an inch thick.

I added one-quarter cup of low-sugar pasta sauce (Harris Teeter Naturals!  It's really good.) and one-quarter cup of mozzarella cheese and one tbsp Parmesan cheese to each quarter of the crust and baked another six minutes.

My resultant slice of pizza!  It tore a little bit when I was getting it onto my plate; the dough isn't as coherent as real pizza but it does hang together better than the cauliflower pizza.  It actually resembles bread!

The pizza was so delicious!!  I will definitely make this again, tempered only by the cost of flaxseed meal.  It's also much less labor-intensive than the cauliflower pizza.

Hello World

Welcome to my low-carb weight-loss blog!  I have actually kept a non-topical blog for several years but wanted to branch out into the topic of weight-loss.  Nine months ago I got fed up with being overweight and decided to make a change.  Seven months ago I adopted the low-carb lifestyle outlined in The Belly Fat Cure by Jorge Cruise and I have been successful and satisfied ever since, at least with respect to weight loss.

In this blog I will post copious details about what I'm eating and how my body is responding through my weight, pictures, and measurements.  I will post recipes that I have modified to be compatible with my low-carb eating plan along with pictures.  I will also write about my reflections on losing weight, challenges and temptations that I encounter, books and media pieces, and whatever else strikes me!

I'll reveal more about myself, how I got to this point, my motivations for losing weight, and what I've been up to for the last nine months over the next few days.  In the meantime I'll start posting the regular features you can expect of this blog.  Please leave me comments!