Hi all,
It's a long time since I updated everyone, so thought it was time.
Yesterday I probably had the most "off plan" meal I've had in my nearly a year of LCing. But sometimes you have to do what you have to do. We had been invited to the home of a family from our church for Sunday dinner. Since I knew about it in advance, I brought with me some cheese and nuts for consumption on the drive between church and their home. Also an Atkins bar which I ate on the way home. The meal could have been worse. I declined the roll, the jellied salad and the apple pie. But did consume a tuna casserole that I know had chips in it, yams and cabbage salad (which hopefully didn't contain sugar). Just had very small portions of everything. And their were legal things like ham and cheese to go with the apple pie.
I have really been wondering lately about my goal weight. Was it reasonable? I've been sitting at the same weight since Jan. 11 when I returned from my trip to Mexico. I've been exercising diligently and staying close to plan (although I have increased my carb count somewhat in preparation for maintenance). Last time I was weighed at Curves, my trainer said she didn't think I should try to lose any more pounds. She was afraid I would start losing muscle. She suggested instead that I try to lower my body fat more (which I definitely agree with) and lose more inches. But I still wasn't sure that I couldn't lose more weight. However, it just wasn't happening.
A lady I walked with while I was walking at the mall tried the GI (glycemic index) diet which was developed by a Canadian. She loved it--couldn't believe she was eating so much and still losing weight. And she loved the recipes. Now this lady is in her 70's (and can still outwalk me!) and only needs to lose about 10 lb. So I bought the books. When I first read them, I thought "no way". The author is very critical of high protein diets and is extremely anti-fat. Skim milk, low fat everything. ICK! I know I need to reduce calories, but I draw the line at low fat cheese. I don't know if you have decent low fat cheese in the US, but I sure haven't found any in Canada. Even the nutritionist when my husband and I took a "heart healthy" class suggested by his doctor, said to forget the low fat cheese and just use regular cheese sparingly.
Then I went on a website where others were discussing this diet and others of the same type (which could be described as "lower" carb and low fat). There the people said that more or less just picked and chose what they would do. Some couldn't tolerate low fat salad dressings and just used full fat more sparingly, etc., etc. So I took another look at the books.
A week ago Sun. I started very gingerly increasing my carbs and reducing my fat. I started by adding a little unsweetened apple sauce to my morning granola and yogourt concoction. I've been increasing my carbs about twice a week so it will take awhile to get to the level that would be required for the diet. You avoid all sugar, white flour and refined carbs. It's really a maintenance program that would be very healthy. And I'm not nearly as paranoid about fat as the author is.
Anyway, at my weigh in yesterday I was FINALLY down a pound. Now I've also been exercising like a fiend (WATP 3 mile every day) plus Curves 3x weekly plus other firming and toning work on non-Curves days. I don't care what's responsible. So I'm now at 130. Just sounds so much better than 131. In fact, I was even a tad below 130, but didn't want to push my luck.
I will still maintain my minimum protein requirement (will try to get it from lower fat choices) and likely less in the starchy side dishes (which are all low GI such as brown rice or wholewheat pasta). You are supposed to cover half your plate with veggies, one quarter with your side dish and one quarter with your meat/fish. I tried brown basmati rice and wasn't impressed. I know I don't need these side dishes to live, so I don't think they will be a big part of my life.
Wendy, good to hear from you. Shelley so sorry about your Mom's accident and hope she is making a speedy recovery. Ellie, sorry about your step-Mom. Glad that your Dad is coming along. Things will likely improve more when he can get some closure to the whole thing.
Big hi from Canada to everyone. Have a great week!
Marjorie