This page was last updated on: 8/25/01
Juli's Low-Carb Journal |
Sunday, August 19th - Whoa! This website is soooooooo cool, I am |
(Here's where you get to eavesdrop on my low-carb progress! See what I'm eating, make sure I'm not cheating, find out what I weigh <gasp!> and psssst. . . . .you can even e-mail me with your comments!) |
almost SCARING myself here! Who knew I had it in me, huh?! Okay, today is *DAY ONE* of my re-re-re-induction! (Maybe more than that - I lost count!) |
Monday, August 20th - Well, silly, silly me! I mistakenly thought that |
yesterday would be THE perfect day to start induction again. Uh-huh - that was BEFORE the "big party" that ended up at OUR house last night! 30 + people, and a whole lotta carbs! Okay, so I can't say they jumped in my mouth, but hey - I'm cool with the responsibility, and I'm ready to start fresh! I ALSO mistakenly thought that I could just wipe out that little Sunday entry above, however, since I have so many awesome friends who have ALREADY clued in, I think somebody somewhere would miss it. So. . .I'll just 'fess up here, and START OVER! Today is, once again, *DAY ONE* - for anyone who has no clue what I'm even talking about (Charity, that was for you, hon - *wink*), pick up a copy of Dr. Atkin's New Diet Revolution (or give me a call - you can borrow mine!). Low-carb is beneficial for EVERY body type, and especially for those who have other medical conditions beyond that pesky, pesky weight thing - e-mail me if you want the specifics! Okay, for those of you who don't know me well, I do tend to ramble, so let me just apologize in advance! And DON'T say you weren't warned! From here on out I'll start each day with a current weight, give you a rundown on what I'm eating, and then do what I do best. . .ramble. . . *Goals for my 14-Day Induction Period* 1. no sweeteners, flours, caffeine or other fakes of any kind 2. ANY kind of exercise - every day (can be very minimal as in a 20 minute walk, or a very difficult 5 mile run. . .) 3. eat minimal dairy and processed meat (definitely no more than one serving per day) 4. drink between 1 to 1 1/2 gallons of water per day 5. take a multivitamin DAILY, chromium picolinate until the cravings pass 6. FOCUS ON MEAT, VEGGIES AND EGGS!!! **ANYONE CARE TO JOIN ME?** E-mail me (link at the bottom), and we can make this a joint effort! Your body WILL thank you, I promise! I am 5'7", weigh 151 as of this morning (and that's on MY scale - it's all relative, anyway, as long as you stick with the SAME scale throughout) and have a goal weight of 130. I currently wear a size 14, 12 in jeans (yeah, I like 'em tight. . ..so?) and would love to be a size 8! (So does that mean a 6 in jeans? Hmmmm. . .can't even think that far ahead yet!) Breakfast - 3 eggs scrambled in 2 tsp. butter, with tobasco & pepper (2g) (Notice here - NO COFFEE! That is very, very rare for me - the self- professed coffee addict, and while I'm okay now, I suspect I'll have a monster headache this afternoon, . .) Lunch - grilled chicken salad: 1 chicken breast over 2 c. salad, with 3 tbsp. dressing (6g) Dinner - grilled hamburger, fauxtato salad, 2 c. salad with tomato and 3 tbsp. dressing (11g) Total Carbs - 19g Exercise - 2 mile run, 22:55 Supplements - multivitamin x 2 chromium picolinate x 3 Water - 4 liters (approx. 1 gallon) WHOOOO-EEEE!!! What more can I say? That is about the most PERFECT induction I have ever produced! And just look at all thos veggies, Ms. MaryAnne! |
Tuesday, August 21st - 150 - Welp, after a near-perfect first day, I woke up with a monster headache this morning - ack! Probably leftovers from YESTERDAY'S monster headache, which I'm attributing to massive caffeine withdrawal. No worries - I just popped some Motrin, and I'm good to go! Did my exercise already this morning, which is a BIG improvement on yesterday - I ended up running those two miles at 9:30 in the evening! Yikes! I was actually tempted to run again this morning, but I have a tendency to get burned out quick, so I chose the Step Reebok workout. Whew! It's a toughie. . . Breakfast - 2 poached eggs w/ Hollandaise sauce (2g) Lunch - tuna/lettuce salad: 1 can drained tuna over 2 c. lettuce/tomato salad w/ 3 tbsp. dressing Snack - M&M's (yiiiiiiiiiiiiiikesssssssss!!!!!!) Dinner - 2 McDonald's hamburgers (no buns, had to scrape the ketchup off w/ a napkin - eeuuww!), garden salad w/ ranch dressing Snack - low-carb peanut butter chocolate Snack - frozen pizza (yikes AGAIN!!!) Total Carbs - too high to count! Mama Mia! Exercise - Step Reebok Supplements - multivitamin x 1 chromium picolinate x 2 Water - ALMOST 4 liters (approx. 1 gallon) Okay, so obviously ONE perfect day is the most this poor old girl can handle, eh? All you newbies out there - do NOT follow my example! As one woman said, "If you can't be a good example, at least be a horrible warning!" 'Nuff said! So the sugar binge above has prompted me ONCE AGAIN to review what is and isn't working for me. Obviously I can NOT be restricted to bare minimum levels - it tends to have a negative (mental) effect for me, and I go nutso! Whatever I can't have, I WANT! So here we go, moving to the Juli Phast of low-carb. In other words, the more livable version. . . 1. Low-carb treats ARE allowed! Okay, I know this is a VERY controversial subject, but in my opinion, if the TREATS (protein bars, protein shakes, artificial sweetener concoctions, etc.) are what motivate a person to stick with the plan, then low-carb sweets are better than the high-carb poison! 2. Caffeine is IN! Yee-haw! I have been both on and off caffeine, and see no noticeable difference in loss, so WHY torture myself?! Besides, that withdrawal headache was MISERABLE! Two days long, and no fun! 3. Continue to exercise, any way shape and form, DAILY. 4. Continue to drink at least 1 gallon of water a day. 5. Continue with the daily multivitamin twice a day, but nix the chromium picolinate, which I was taking for carb cravings and OBVIOUSLY wasn't working! Hee, hee! 6. Dairy & processed meats are allowed within reason. 7. STILL try to focus on veggies, meats and eggs, with are THE healthies thing to eat on a low-carb diet. And now, peeps - tomorrow is a new day, PRAISE THE LORD! |
Wednesday, August 22nd - 150 - YIPPEE!! After the weirdo day yesterday, I'm still at 150, which is a serious blessing! Thank goodness for exercise, eh? And thank God His mercy and grace is NEW every morning! Anybody who didn't read yesterday's entry (oops! it was a bit late - my fault!) needs to go check things out, or you won't understand WHY in the world I'm so lax today on my allowances. . . Let me just tell you how fun (okay, make that HUMBLING) it is to screw up in front of the. . .world? And by the way, I am SHOCKED that so many people are actually READING this! Thanks, guys - must be my tried and true, faithful and loyal buds, 'cause who else would suffer through all this? Hee, hee! I think I did forget to mention that the REAL induction phase is limited to 20g carbs per day - anyone who is starting low-carb for the first time NEEDS to stick with that number of carbs. This acts a cleansing period, removing all carbs and other toxins from your body (it's wise to repeat this occasionally), and you will also lose the most weight at this level, motivating you to CONTINUE with low-carb! That said, I will NOT continue to be as strict with my carbs. I would, of course, like to remain at or near 20g (for faster weight loss), but I WILL NOT - I repeat, I WILL NOT - beat myself up if I eat too many, I promise! Today, however, I'm feeling MUCH better already - just knowing I have a little more freedom with what I can eat (in the confines of low-carb) tends to give this obsessive-compulsive a lot less to obsess about! There are SO many different low-carb plans out there (of course, I'm an avid Atkin's fan) - Atkins, Protein Power, Carbohydrate Addicts, Sugarbusters, Schwarzbein, Somersize, etc. - but the KEY to low-carbing for life is to find what WORKS for you! I KNOW the plan that works for me - which just happens to be a lot more laid back than all the strictees out there, but MY problem is that I get impatient with the slower weight loss at this level. Thus, I try to go bare bones and restrict myself TOO much, which leads to frustration, binge, weight gain, start over. And over, and over, and over. If you don't know my previous history with LC, BOOM! You just got it! But I know that low-carbing is soooooooooooooooooo important for me, not just for the weight loss! It helps with my bizarre eating habits, helps with the mood swings (just ask Marty! hee, hee!), helps with regularity, etc. (No, I will NOT go into details on that one!) Sometimes I think that low-carb does more for me MENTALLY than physically, but the mentality of a person is so directly tied with eating and food, that it is highly beneficial to keep both in optimum working order! Thank you, LC! (Now did any of that ENTIRE paragraph make ANY sense?) On to the food. . . Breakfast - coffee w/ cream, sweetener (thank you, thank you, thank you God for coffee! okay, so this is not the BEST breakfast around, but it satisfied me, and I have the REST OF THE DAY to get those veggies in!) (5g) Lunch - 1 c. salad w/ tomatoes, 2 tbsp. dressing, 2 polish sausage (4g) Dinner - crockpot ham, broccoli salad, green beans w/ hot dressing (16g) Total Carbs - 25g (not bad, not bad!) Exercise - 30 minute walk - hills! Water - 4 liters (approx. 1 gallon) Supplements - multivitamin x 2 |
Thursday, August 23rd - 150 - Well, I'm holding steady, at least - ANYTHING is better than gaining! I'd like to see the 140's sometime soon, though. . . Like, maybe TOMORROW?! Hello?! Tonight is dinner at a friends' house (Hiya, Robin sweetie!), so I have to be careful what I eat there (is this anything new? no, I think not - Robin is used to it, as am I to her eating habits, which are exceptional, I must say), as well as the rest of the day. Hmmmmm. . .guess I shouldn't have had that cinnamon omelette for breakfast, eh? Hee, hee. . .sheepish grin. . . Ah, well. . .I'll make do! I'm bringing broccoli salad and a regular salad to dinner tonight, and Robin's making Greek shish ka-bobs (as well as couscous and dessert, the things I WON'T be eating), so everything should be allowable! And at least the carbs tonight will all be from VEGETABLES! The GOOD carbs! Yum! I'll keep lunch sparse, though, with no veggies so I can lay low on the carbs. I MUST NOT obsess about carbs, MUST NOT obsess about carbs, MUST NOT obsess about carbs! We ALL know what THAT does to me! Gotta RUN this morning! YEOUCH! Actually, I'm ready for it, and that's partly why I had the cinnamon omelette, so I'd have the extra energy boost. (Well, and 'cause it just plain ol' tastes good!) At least I'm not trying to run at 9:30 at night. . . BY THE WAY, if anyone would like recipes to anything you see here, feel free to e-mail me and I'll pass them right along to you! I have some FANTASTIC recipes, and trying new ones is kind of a "hobby," so if you're LOOKING for a recipe, ask me - I just might have it! And if I don't, I can direct you to several sources that will! Breakfast - coffee w/ cream, sweetener, cinnamon omelette (10g) Lunch - small bit of ham, broccoli salad (8g) Snack - ham (0g) Dinner - Greek shish ka-bobs, salad w/ tomatoes, dressing (16g) Total Carbs - 34g Exercise - 2 miles, 22:07 (completely uneventful, but slightly difficult run - if it wasn't difficult, then I wouldn't make any progress, now would I? That's what I tell myself, anyway. . .hee, hee!) 45 minute walk Water - 4 liters (approx. 1 gallon) Supplements - multivitamin x 2 Can a person really ever eat too many veggies? Hmmm, 'cause that's what it almost looks like. Most of my carbs for the day came from veggies, so I'm guessing that's a GOOD thing! And I do have the small comfort that many of those carbs were fiber. . .right? (Fiber doesn't count in your carb total, since the body can't assimilate it, and it doesn't affect the blood sugar in the same way that other carbs do.) Hmmmm. . .interesting. . . |
Friday, August 24th - 150 - Okay, I am READY to be out of the 150's! Unfortunately, my body's not getting the message yet. . .harumph! Can we blame it on all those veggie carbs? Good thing I worked in that extra walk. . . (The Greek ka-bobs were FANTASTIC, by the way!) Today I have decided. . .I AM HIKING TO THE TOP OF CITY CREEK! Woo-hoo! I have no kids home (they're spending the night at friends') and no place to be until 7:00. I WILL DO IT! Me and the dog. . . I've packed my fanny pack already - I'll be taking 3 liters of water, some jerky, a protein bar, and a few almonds. Nothing major, but that's lunch. I'll be having a large, protein breakfast, so that should help on the energy level. I have no idea how far it is to the top - today is a day for exploration! Okay, let me just say. . .that hike was HARD! Imagine this: hiking uphill for 3 1/2 hours, downhill for only 1 1/2. Yeah, you know it - that baby was steep! Very, very well worth it, though! Even though my legs ached all night, I felt GREAT! WOO-HOOEY!!! Now about that double dinner. . .OOPS! I actually ate dinner BEFORE going to a "going-away" party - I thought there'd be nothing but snacks there and NOTHING I'd be able to come close to! Welllllll. . .it was a barbecue, and those grilled burgers looked sooooooooooooooo good! I kept it very, very mellow, though, which I was REALLY proud of. Well, there actually wasn't much of anything else ALLOWABLE, so it was hamburgers or hot dogs. . . Of course, TWO dinners didn't seem to be enough - I got the dreaded MUNCHIES somewhere near midnight (that's when I should just get my butt to bed!) and had a protein shake. Nothing bad, but since I wasn't technically hungry, I could've gone without it. . . Breakfast - coffee w/ cream, sweetener, 4 pieces bacon, 2 eggs, hollandaise sauce (7g) Lunch - protein bar, jerky (gave most of it to the dog), cinnamon almonds (10g) Dinner - hamburger stuff, green beans w/ hot dressing (13g) More Dinner (bbq) - 2 hamburger patties, lettuce (1g) Snack - protein shake (5g) Total Carbs - 36g Exercise - FIVE HOURS of hiking!!! Water - 4 liters (approx. 1 gallon) Supplements - multivitamin x 2 |
Saturday, August 25th - 148 - YEE-HAW!!!!! YEE-HAW!!!!! And YEE-HAW!!!!! What more can I say? Whooooooooooooo-eeeeeeeee!!! FINALLY I dropped under 150, and I am THRILLED, to say the least! I think I gotta blame it on the exercise - my carbs have been up, which some think can boost a stall, but I don't know. . . Five hours of hiking has got to do SOMETHING! At least it proves I don't need to stress soooooooooooo much about the carbs - keeping most of the carbs from veggies is still a VERY, VERY good call, regardless of how many I actually end up with. Anywhoooo. . .we'll just see if I can keep this little bit of weight off, then go from there. I've already been hit with the munchies today, in the midst of massive house cleaning. . . Breakfast - mock cream of wheat (delish! one of my faves!), coffee w/ cream, sweetener (12g) Lunch - ham/lettuce salad w/ dressing (6g) Snack - low-carb peanut butter chocolate (10g) Dinner - 2 Irish sausage, green beans w/ hot dressing (10g) Total Carbs - 38g Exercise - Water - Supplements - |