Sunday March 18th

Hello everyone!  I think I'm going to have to change my blog picture soon because I'm beginning to think winter is over here in Maryland.  I've never seen weather this warm in March before, very strange indeed.

Last night I was home with just two of my boys and they wanted to go get some Chinese for dinner.  Now I haven't had Chinese food (which I love) since I started the BFC not just because of the white rice they serve with their meals, but also I'm pretty sure there is always some kind of sugar in the sauces they make.  Anyway, the boys really wanted to go, so I said OK I'm sure I can find something on the menu that I can eat.   Turns out there really isn't too much that looks BFC friendly.  I ended up with just the Hunan Beef & Vegetables which I ate with NO rice.  I brought Truvia for my tea, so I think I did OK.  Anyway I used to go to this place a lot and when the older waitress came to the table she commented on how she hadn't seen me for awhile.  I agreed that it had been awhile and then she said, "Yeah you lost weight".  This may sound silly, but that made me feel so good.  This little Chinese lady noticed that I had lost weight, so maybe I do look different now. Awesome!

One other thing I wanted to mention has to do with probiotics.   Now like most of you I take these every day.  Last week I noticed I was running low and while I was at the drugstore I thought I'd pick up some more.  I like to get the Ultimate Flora by Renew Life brand. This time the store didn't have them so I just picked up a different brand because I figured they were all basically the same as long as they had enough different strains, and enough active cells. So I got something called Probaclac Healthy Flora.  Well without giving out too much information over the next two days I started having a lot of problems with bloat, gas(sorry) and a little cramping.  At first I thought it was too much of the Joseph's sugar free syrup that is made with Maltitol. I've been having a TBS of that everyday in my one minute Flaxseed muffin.  So, next morning I made eggs and sausage for breakfast instead thinking that would clear up the problem. I took my vitamins and Probiotic that morning like usual.  That day things got even worse and I realized it couldn't be the Joseph's and it finally dawned on me that I had switched Probiotics.  That day I went out and got my usual stuff and switched back.  Now I'm pretty much back to normal and feeling much better.   I just wondered if anyone else has ever had a bad reaction to any brands they are taking.  From now on I'm going to only use the brands I have used in the past.

            Good Probiotic

                         Bad Probiotic   (for me anyway)                           

Today I'm off to West Virginia for the day.  My parents live there and I want to go check up on them.  I hope you all have a great rest of the weekend!

Wednesday March 14, 2010 - Warning sad post

Buddy

Hi you guys, sorry I've been missing for a couple days.  It's been a really rough week.  I think you remember me telling you that one of my dogs got diagnosed with congestive heart failure last September.  Well this weekend he took a  bad turn.  He was doing really good all week and then Friday afternoon he stopped wanting his treats, food or pills.  Saturday I was having a hard time getting him to drink water and he would only take a little out of my hands.  By Sunday he was not eating or drinking and was pretty listless.  I told the boys that this was probably it and I would have to take him to the vet on Monday.  It was a pretty sad day.  Monday the vet told me to bring him in that evening after everyone else was gone so I spent the day with him outside on our deck just reading and being there with him.  It actually felt good to do nothing for an entire day.  Ironically it was beautiful weather.  We took him in Monday night.  So sad.  He was really a great dog and super smart and loyal.  Just looking at his picture makes me sad.  He will be missed.

My other dog is missing him too.  He is a big yellow lab mix and I don't think he really understands what is going on, but who knows maybe he does.

So it hasn't been the best past month with my Aunt and dog both dying.  I'm hoping the sadness is over now and better things will come.

On the bright side the weather here has been unusually warm and sunny.  I think last winter we still had snow on the ground on March 14, but today it was sunny and get this....80 degrees outside!  What?!  I had the windows open and sandals on....very weird.  I think they said next week it would get back into the 50's so I guess I'll try to enjoy it while I can but it is very strange.

Still stuck on 163lbs as of my weigh in today.  You know how this happens for me, I get stuck on a number for weeks.  If I would start exercising again I think I could start going down again but I just didn't have it in me this week.   My youngest son made those chocolate chip cookies I posted last blog earlier in the week. We like to have a batch for his school lunches and he volunteered to make them this week.  Anyway when he was all done they looked good but a little weird, like a darker color and sort of oatmeal looking like.  Turns out he got the flaxseed meal and the almond flour mixed up (they were both Bob's Mill brand) and made the cookies with flaxseed meal.  I have to say they still tasted pretty good and came out to be a pretty healthy fiber cookie!!

I'm going to catch up with your blogs tonight when I have a bit more time.  Just wanted to check in first.  So glad to have all of you friends to share things with...the good and the bad.  Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

I thought I would give you the results of the sugar vs. Truvia cookie experiment my son did for his class at school.  To make sure he was only evaluating the sugar itself he kept all the other ingredients in the cookies the same, except for the chocolate chips. For those he used the sugar free variety for the Truvia cookies and regular chocolate chips for the regular sugar cookies.  So, in other words, the Truvia cookies were not really sugar free (because of the flour).   He asked the participants this:  What cookie did you like better and then, which cookie do you think was made with real sugar and which was made with a sugar alternative.   The results......., 60% liked the real sugar cookie better and only 50% could tell which cookie was real sugar.   That's not too bad!  Kyle was hoping no one would be able to tell the difference, but when your having people choose between two items there is that 50% guess factor also.  I think it proved Truvia to be a good alternative.

Before he made the cookies for the experiment I thought he wanted a truly sugar-free variety and I found a really good version that I made up as a sample.  These chocolate chip cookies cooked just like a real cookie in that they spread out while they baked (in fact mine spread a little too much and I think I would add a little more almond flour next time).  After they cooled off everyone in the family sampled them and thought they were awesome!  My husband asked "You sure we can eat these?" and my pickiest oldest son that prides himself on finding fault with every alternate sugar concoction  I come up with even said they were REALLY good.   I'm still staying away from them until I get to maintenance because the last fifteen pounds I want to lose are SO hard to lose!  But here is the recipe for all of you that want a cookie:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter softened
24 Truvia packets
1 egg
1 TBS vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups of ground almond flour (you might need a bit more so they won't spread so much)
3/4 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt (I also go a little less on salt,maybe 1/8)
1/2 cup Hershey's No Sugar Added Chocolate Chips

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture and mix well.  Stir in Chocolate chips.

Drop by tsp. full on to parchment covered sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350' for 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

Yield about 2 dozen cookies   They are 90 calories, 7 carbs, 0 sugar, 1 fiber per cookie

By the way I found the recipe on this blog: http://grace2882.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/chocolate-chip-cookies/

Tomorrow is weigh-in day for me.  I haven't done any exercise this week because I've been running around getting this estate stuff done.  (I know, no excuse is a good excuse).  Anyway I haven't been snacking and think I have done well on foods except for one mishap last week with a basket of Chilie's chips and salsa.  I'll let you know how it turns out this week.  Have a great day!

Happy Leap Year Day everyone!  Is the weather getting really nice out everywhere or just here?  The temperature has been going up into the sixties in the daytime and when the sun is shining it really feels like an early Spring.  Even my daffodils and hibiscus are starting to come up.  Crazy for February around here - it's usually are snowiest month!

This is Wednesday weigh in for me and I'm down one pound to 163lbs.  I'm still not snacking in between meals and was hoping for a bigger loss.   I think the problem is that I haven't been exercising as much as I should.  I'm so bad at getting exercise to be a priority.  I only worked out with the Kettle bells twice this week.  Fitting in more exercise in some way is my next hurdle.

Being the executor of my aunt's will is NOT fun!  She left her will with her lawyer and also filed at the register of wills for safekeeping.  When I tried to find her lawyer, all numbers were disconnected.  Finally found out through another source that this lawyer had died seven months before my aunt.  After more searching I found the lawyer that took over the practice, but after contacting him was told that all that practice's paperwork was stored in facilities around the county and would be VERY hard to find (in other words he doesn't feel like looking).  I contacted the Register of Wills and because she died in a different county than she filed the will in I have to send a formal letter to have the will transferred to the right county before I can go up and even try to get a look at it to make sure I'm the executor.   Anyway, it's all such a big pain.  It really makes me think of how I want to set things up for my own kids one day.

Since the weather is getting nice and everyone has been talking about making salads and such for their meals, I thought I would share a salad dressing I like to make.  If you make your own dressing and store it in the fridge, not only does it taste way better than store bought, but you can also be positive that there our no sugars or other bad ingredients in it.  This recipe is from a lowcarb cookbook by Suzanne Somers that I modified slightly.

Parmesan Garlic Dressing

6 TB Real Mayonnaise
4 TB Dijon mustard
2 big garlic cloves minced
4 TB Worcestershire sauce
4 TB red wine vinegar
4 tsp. hot pepper sauce
6 TB fresh lemon juice
6 tsp. olive oil
12 TB grated Parmesan Cheese
4-6 TB water (to thin to the consistency you like)

Just add all the ingredients in the order given and whisk together.

I modified this recipe to make a lot.  When I finish I pour it all into an empty quart canning jar with a lid and store it in my refrigerator.  It will last a few weeks in there, but I use mine up pretty quickly with all the people in my family.

This recipe is really good on a salad with grilled chicken strips on top.  Even in the winter I use the gas grill on my deck to make batches of grilled chicken for salads and wraps(low carb versions of course).

On a side note.  My youngest son said in his psychology class at his High School they had to come up with some kind of experiment that tests people preconceived ideas (or something like that).  He raised his hand and said "I believe I can make sugar free cookies that will taste just like the real sugar cookies, and no one will know which is which".  Yikes that is a tall order!  Then he committed himself to bringing in both versions on Thursday of this week (yeah, that's tomorrow).  I'm proud of him for always talking up the sugar free life, but come on.., now I need to stop everything and make two batches of cookies by tomorrow.  Well, technically he does, but you know how that goes.  So last night I did find a really good sugar free chocolate chip cookie made with almond flour.  The cookies spread out when cooking just like the real deal.  I only ate a tiny piece of one ('cause I'm not snacking), but even my picky oldest son said they tasted just like a real cookie.  I'll report back on how the experiment went after he takes the cookies in to school and if everything goes well, I'll post the recipe.  (You can save until you're ready to add snacks back in!)

Now I'm off to make a Minute Flax-seed Muffin for breakfast.  I added a tablespoon of sugar free syrup and walnuts like Kay suggested and it is delicious that way!!    Hope everyone has a great day!

Hello everyone! Thanks for all your kind words after my last post.  You guys are just awesome and made me feel so much better.
Well, diet wise I was doing so much better before all this hospital, and funeral stuff happened.  Truth time:  I didn't actually cheat but I didn't stick to my "no snacks" for the last two weeks and I definitely did not stick to my exercise plan for the last two weeks.  Also, the 85% chocolate came back into the picture.  On top of that,  I indulged in six Michelob Ultras in one week!  Ugh!  I weighed myself yesterday and I was still at 164lbs, but of course no loss.  It was a pretty stressful week so I'm not going to beat myself up too bad.  I also came down with a cold that's going around the house and have been feeling very sluggish over here myself.  My dog that had his face swell up got antibiotics that seemed to work, but, the day after my Aunt's funeral my dog got really bad. He wouldn't eat, wouldn't move much and was barely drinking.  I started thinking that this was it and was trying to prepare everyone and myself.  I sure didn't want to lose my dog right after my Aunt.  I told my boys that we would give him one more day to see if he would come around, but that it didn't look too good.   Do you know that the very next day I got him to eat some sliced hot dog, and then later that day he ate his pills, and then ate some actual dog food!  The day after that he was even a little better. And then by yesterday he was almost back to his old self again.(his "I have heart trouble" self).  Today was so nice outside that I took him out for a nice walk around the yard, and afterwards he barked for his dinner!   So I got a much needed reprieve, thank goodness!

- With all my depressing news lately I thought I'd share a couple pieces of good news. First, my oldest son (that graduated in May last year) finally found a job!  It took him 6 months and a billion resumes but he finally got a job that he really wanted. He started this past Monday at a Financial Publishing Firm down in Baltimore as their designer/web developer.  He eventually wants to live in or near the city, but right now it's a 45 minute commute for him each day.  I don't know about living in the city, for me, I like to visit the city and then head home to the country to live,  but what do I know... I'm old.  I'm very happy for him and his mood has improved 110%!  I'm also happy for me too because now he is up and out of the house early every day!!

Pip singing "House of the Rising Sun"

-My other piece of good news is that my very good friend Maureen that lives down in Atlanta, Georgia has a nephew that auditioned for that TV show called "The Voice".  I've heard about the show but had never seen it.  The first part of the show is called "Blind Auditions" and the singers get invited to come on and try out for four judges that have their backs to the singer.  As they listen to the singer sing, they decide if they feel he is someone they could work with to become the winner.  If one of the judges turns around while the singer is singing he gets to move on to the next part of the show.  If more then one judge turns around the singer gets to pick which judge he wants to mentor him.  When my friend's nephew sang ALL FOUR judges turned around!!  It was so exciting!  His name is Philip Arnold but he is going by the name Pip.  If you've watched the show, he is the one wearing the cute little bow tie.  I'm not sure how the rest of the show works, but I'm so excited for him! Oh, and he picked Adam Levine as his mentor.

So today I got the Kettle bells back out and did a small workout.  Tomorrow I'm going back to my three meals and NO snacks and see if I can get back in the good spot I was in just a couple of weeks ago.  I'm my Aunt's executor also and I am determined to not let the added stress de-rail me.  Summer is coming up and I want to feel and look good this summer!!

Hello everyone.  It's been a very rough week over here.  My aunt was taken back to the hospital on Valentines day evening.  I went right over to be with her and we discovered that she had no blood flow at all to her bad leg.  She didn't want anymore amputations done but agreed to an operation to try and get the circulation going again.  She said goodbye to me before they wheeled her in. They operated on her late that evening and successfully got the blood flowing but only to  right above her knee.  The next morning her blood pressure was dangerously low.  She wouldn't make it through another operation so I opted to take the tubes out, and put her on morphine to make her as comfortable and pain free as I could.  I called my mother(her sister) and my uncle(her brother) but they didn't want to come.  I stayed with her until she died at 7:30pm that evening.  I made her arrangements myself and buried her yesterday.  Very sad, but I'm glad she is with my Uncle now and at peace.
I will catch up on the blogs this week and I hope all of you are doing well in every way.

Thursday Feb. 9th - week 43

Hi everyone, so sorry I've been absent from the blogs this past week.  I feel like I've been having such a bad week and was so immersed in it I didn't even realize how bad it was.  I told you in my last blog that my aunt was hospitalized.  I'm her power of attorney (she has no kids) so when anything goes on with her I have to be involved.  I feel like I spent ALL last week at the hospital - waiting. I finally got her back to her assisted living late last Friday night.  Her bad leg is still hurting (they never addressed it) but at least she is hydrated again.  Just as I thought, she doesn't want to see the vascular surgeon, so I'm giving her a week to see if she can manage the pain with what the assisted living gives her.  If not, she may let me make an appt. for her.   On top of that my husbands uncle died that same Friday.  He was 84 and had been sick for quite awhile, but with his families culture it was a really big deal which required us to be at houses, churches and cemeteries for three days straight.  Seeing his relatives that come from all over the country and keeping up with the different way they do things - a bit stressful.   Finally on Tuesday, we were back to normal and I was trying to catch up our business' taxes and stuff like that.  It's really a pain this year for some reason, plus I still have to do my Aunt's taxes, and our rental business taxes.  Yuck!  On Tuesday night my dog that has congestive heart failure got bit by my other healthy dog - over a stick he was chewing from the firewood!   They haven't done anything like that in a long time!  So I was worried to death about my sick dog, but he looked OK.  Yesterday when I got up, I see that my sick dog has a swollen face and now doesn't want to eat or take any of his pills.  I watched him all day yesterday and finally coaxed him into taking his pills with a bit of chicken.  It started snowing around 12pm in the afternoon and I didn't want to take him out in it, so I thought I'd wait and see if he would start feeling better.  This morning his face was still swollen, but I did get his main pills in him.   I called the vet to see if I could bring him in today and apparently they are EXTREMELY busy and she said I should have brought him in yesterday since bites usual get infected.  Thanks for the guilt trip!!  I already feel terrible.  So, they are fitting him in at 12:00pm today.  He was doing so good before the bite.  I'm terribly afraid they are going to tell me something really bad today.
Sorry this is so off the topic of the BFC.  I just wanted to explain why I haven't been around this week. I did weigh myself yesterday (Wednesday weigh in for me) and I'm down another two pounds to 164lbs.  I have been going all this week with the not having ANY snacks method, have tried to get in a little exercise but couldn't fit much in this past week.  I really think the NO SNACKS is the key for me.   If I get hungry in between meals I make hot tea with stevia, nothing else.  I've been drinking a lot of tea!   If anyone is having trouble losing I would recommend trying to only eat your three BFC meals and try cutting out anything in between for awhile, even nuts, coconut bread, and my favorite the 85% chocolate.    Well, that's it for now.  Sorry for rambling and whining about my week and I hope all of you are doing really well!!  I will catch up on the blogs later this week hopefully.