Partly Stormy

We had a scary storm blow through today. It looked like night and then all of a sudden, rain came crashing down. The kids that were out on the field had to run for cover. Kids don't usually run to get out of the rain, but today it was a pelting rain and they couldn't get out of it fast enough.

I don't have much else to say today. Nothing that's of value, anyway.

Low Carb - Not Low Enough?

This past week has been tough on me low-carb-wise. Lots of temptations for celebrations. I rode my bike twice to try to balance some of the extra carbs that I ate and all that I got from that was a sore backside. I've apparently pulled a muscle and now I'm walking like an 80 yr old woman (sorry, no offense to the elderly). I got on the scale this morning and I was up a couple of pounds. Maybe the sauerkraut and lite sausage had too much sodium? Whatever, 2 pounds? Oh, it's on now.

So, this week I'm going to try going even lower on my carbs. I've noticed in my food diary on MyFitnessPal that my calories have been much lower than the 1500 I'm supposed to have but my carbs have still been more than 30 most days. My body just doesn't want to give it up. I also think I need to do some strength exercise - I need more muscles!

Riding my bike twice in one week is not enough so I need to get out there and ride. We start our summer hours at work tomorrow - 9am-3pm!! That makes me extremely happy!! I want to ride in the morning - but if you know me and have been reading long, I'm not a morning person so that will be a stretch. We'll see.

Make it a good day and don't forget to drink your water.

'Salways Sumpthin'

Isn't it funny how when you try to stick to your diet, all kinds of things seem to come along to knock you off your game. We had our end of school year party Tuesday night at the zoo. It was hot. I mean HOT. The thing started at 4 but I didn't get there until after 5pm. The food was what you'd expect - hot dogs and burgers, potato salad, beans, and booze (if you wanted it). I'm not much of a drinker these days and since I drove myself, I decided to stick with water. I ate no bun and no potato salad. It was so hot that eating was really not worth it.

After the fan fare, some of us walked around the zoo. Saw the brand spanking new baby elephant - Baylor! Soooo cute! It ran around (only 3 weeks old) playing like a 3 year old. I've never seen a baby elephant playing and running like that! The sweating was worth getting to watch it! I've got pictures that I'll post along with pictures of the giraffes and a cheetah. Too tired tonight :( Enjoy this for now:



Today at work we had our end of the year parents appreciation luncheon. Seriously, enough with the end-o-year stuff! We had BBQ from Goode Co. So dang good. I passed up the jalepeno bread but couldn't pass up the pecan pie. I knew I'd get home and ride my bike, and I did, so I don't feel too guilty. They have the best pecan pie, really.

The thing I'm finally learning about this diet thing is this - there's always going to be temptation - we just have to have a plan in place so when something comes along to try and knock us off our game, we execute the plan and move on. My plan today was choose one treat, exercise to minimize the damage, and for the rest of the day eat low carb. I did exactly that and I'm movin' on. But that's it for the rest of the week, heh.

Have a great day and take care! Are you drinking enough water?

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day, ya'll! And to my favorite Canadians - Happy Monday :)

Being Texan, we are having brisket and beans and tater salad. I'm having coleslaw instead of tater salad because of the carbs and no bread. I've done well doing low carb and the scale showed it this morning - a loss of 7 pounds my first week! Woo Hoo! Yahoo!

We used to have big family gatherings on these holidays. But now, what with certain family members getting a hitch in their craw (is that a saying?) our gathering has gotten smaller and smaller each year. So the meat was bought from a great little BBQ place and the rest is home made. I'm hungry, too, so I'm off to munch.

Have a great week and don't forget to drink your water!

I can see clearly now.

And it's not because the rain is gone, although it is gone and that was quite a storm that blew through here last night. I can see clearly now, but on Thursday I had a weird thing happen. I was at my computer at work, drinking my coffee, checking work emails and after a few minutes the center of my field of vision was gone. I blinked and blinked and told myself to calm down but I kinda freaked inside.

Anyway, to make a very long day short, the school nurse called my doctor, he said go the the ER, because who knows what this could be. A co-worker took me to the ER at 9:30am. Finally saw a physician at 11am. By this time, I told my friend to go back to work and I'd call when I needed to be picked up. The doc said everything looked good but wanted me to see an opthalmologist. So, I cross the street (by now my vision has cleared but my head hurts, I haven't had anything to eat or drink in hours and I'm feeling pretty crappy) sit through an exam with lots of lights and eye drops. Turns out I had an ocular migraine. Well, I'm thankful that's all it was. Normally, I don't run to the doctor because a) the insurance usually sticks me with more of the bill than I expect, and b) I just don't like going.

When my friend picked me up, I was getting the shakes from not having eaten. I needed something quick and fast so I got a chicken sub sandwich and ate it even though I was very nauseated. So, low carb didn't happen on Thursday but I did my best the rest of the day.

Thursday ended well, though. Some wrens built a nest in a lantern that I have hanging on my patio. We've been watching the mom and dad take care of their babies for a few weeks now and knew they would be leaving the nest any day. Well, Thursday afternoon was their big day. The two little cuties were learning to fly and we got to watch from our den window.

This is where they built their nest.

The nest inside

There's one of the little cuties (top left)

Sorry for the blurry pic, I turned off the flash so I wouldn't blind him/her.

They would hop up the wall and then fly to the ground. It was so cute!

I miss them already. I watched the parents working hard everyday, feeding and caring for their babies and cleaning the nest. It's very quiet now out there on the patio. *sniff*sniff* I think I have empty nest syndrome, lol.

My first week of 30 days of low carb eating has been great. I had a piece of cake yesterday because we had a going away party for a very good friend at work. The cake was homemade from scratch and the girl that makes them is an incredible cake baker. I don't usually care for store bought cakes, but I couldn't pass up a small piece of this cake. And after I ate it, I was okay with it, and the rest of the day was low carb all the way. I'm in control. Finally. (fingers crossed)

Hope you have a great holiday weekend. Drink lots of water and stay cool!

Staying with it.

Day 2 of SOLO (Summer of LowCarb - cute, huh?) and I'm having no cravings for bread, sweets, or anything starchy. What a relief. I have a serious addiction to bread but when I don't eat it, I always notice that I feel better. My mind seems clearer. I stepped on the scale this morning (Tues.) and I've already lost a little. I know it's water (because I've been going potty, a lot) but that also happens when I don't eat bread.

I'm not in the habit of taking pictures of what I eat so most of what I ate today got gobbled up before I remembered to take pics. Here are the two I managed to take:

Fresh blackberries and Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt. My most fav thing :D

And here we have a hamburger, sans bun. I used big lettuce leaves as a bun. Messy, but good!

I'm logging my food at MyFitnessPal.com and it's really helping keep me on track. I'm also making sure to drink lots of water. Now, if I could just get myself to bed at a decent hour, lol.

Day 1 of The Summer of LowCarb

It's day one of my 30 day locarb plan. I did good. I've added my food diary back over there on the left along with the number of pounds I've lost so far. Of course, at one point that little counter said 45 lbs lost, but that's all water under the bridge right now.

I'm not hungry and I feel like I'm in control. It really does help me to log everything I eat. My calorie count was a little low today, but I didn't get to exercise so the extra calories weren't needed. I ate small portions of fruit and veggies along with lots of lean protein. I really do know what to eat to lose weight. Why I get lazy about it, I'll never know.

A few years ago I did South Beach and one of my favorite treats was diet root beer with a little heavy cream or ff half & half. It tastes just like a root beer float! Sip it with a straw for the whole soda shop effect :D

Have a super Tuesday!

Fed Up

That's what I am. Fed up with my whole zen attitude lately about dieting. Just relax and eat smaller portions, I'd tell myself. Eat a little of what ever you want and you'll be fine, I'd say. Well, how's that been working? Not good. Not good, at all. It's time to put on the brakes and set some real rules for myself. A rigid, hard core low-carb diet is what works best for me. I want to see some fast results, too, so low-carb it is.

I'm going to post what I eat (and maybe even pictures). I'm going to write everything down. I'm going to drink a lot of water. I'm going to do this. I'm sick and tired of carrying this weight around.

Does any one use the BodyBugg or GoWearFit? I've been thinking of getting one of those types of things to help with motivation. Let me know how yours works for you if you've got one.

Have a great week and don't forget to drink your water.

Books and Blogs and Staci's Giveaway!

Not much to say today. I'm eating whatever with a side of everything. Reading The 30-Day Low-Carb Diet Solution and planning my menu for next week. Summer is here in H-town and I'm still nowhere near my goal. I'm also reading How Big Are The Pancakes? by Kathryn Krull and yearning to ride my bike off into the sunset. Someday.

Please stop by and give Anne H a big hug. She had a really tough day today (Wed.). I admire her strength and the work she does. It takes a special person to be a hospice nurse. Anne, I hope the rest of your week goes smooth as silk.

Also, if you have a chance, head over to Kelly's blog and wish her well. She's beginning her weightloss journey and could use a little motivation. Staci is spreading the word and having a giveaway of some super magazine subscriptions. Check out her giveaway here.

I was hoping to ride to work this week, but my heart is just not in it. I need a little motivation myself. Feeling  apathetic about everything. Poor Nellie, she just waits by the door...patiently.

Gearing up for Bike to Work Week - May 17-21, 2010

Love this! I'm planning on riding my bike to work at least once during Bike to Work Week. This celeb has some great reasons for riding and some very good tips, too. Enjoy!