New pizza crust.....

For some reason I was in a baking mood today and so I tried out two new recipes. The first I will post about when I can perfect it to the way that I think it would be good. The second one is cauliflower pizza crust. I found the recipe on Pinterest. The recipe is simple and can be adjusted to taste. I used the recipe to make cheesy bread sticks.

20 pounds down and 80 to go....

When I stepped on the scales and saw 232.4 I just thought that I had only lost 1 oz. must have been me going over my carb allowance yesterday so today I will have to be a little more careful. 

I was just sitting here putting all my info into my Atkins account and every once in a while I will look at the progress report. I record my weight almost every day and so I decided today to figure out my total loss. Pulled out my calculator not thinking anything about the numbers as I plugged them in .... 252.4 - 232.4 ..... When I hit that = button and 20 showed up I was surprised. Yayyyyyy...... 20 pounds down!!!

Bread......

Since we spend 3 hours at the dance studio on Wednesdays from 5 to 8 I needed to think of a quick meal that I could make and eat before we left.

Here is my creation......

I made the 90 second bread like I did yesterday. I then buttered one side and placed in a hot pan like I was making grilled cheese and just added a piece of spam between the pieces of cheese. Grill on both sides. My bread was a little thick so I popped it in the microwave to melt the cheese completely. It is so yummy.

There is never a better feeling.....

than stepping on the scales and seeing that you are only 1 oz away from a 20lb loss. I was so happy to see that this morning. I still have 32.1 pounds to go before I see that number of 200, but I feel more confident now that I can reach it. I don't know that I will reach it in a month, but I am going to try. I will be happy with any loss though and won't be disappointed if I don't make it to 200 in a month. I know that realistically losing another 32lb in a month is really pushing it.  On a good note I think that I may have found something that helps me a little bit. 

I call this my magic drink......

I take a 16oz bottle of Diet Snapple Peach Tea and add 1tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV must say "with the "mother" on it) You could add it to whatever your drink preference is. I have seen some people say that they just mix it with water and lemon. I drink 2 bottles of this a day. 

Something worked......

When I stepped on the scales this morning I wasn't expecting much of a loss, but I got a shock when it said I was down to 234.1. I actually looked at it a few times. I am hoping that I can keep the loss going. I have been consuming quite a bit less than 20g of net carbs that I have planned for. I also added ACV (apple cider vinegar) to my tea twice a day. 

I found a recipe for 90 second bread that I really like. I found it on Facebook.....

1 egg

3 tbsp almond meal/flour

1/2 tsp of baking powder

1 1/2 tbsp of melted butter

Beat the egg and then add dry ingredients. Mix well and then pour into a microwaveable dish about the size of a piece of bread. Microwave for 90 seconds.

I added a little butter and garlic salt to mine when it was done so I would have garlic bread with my "spaghetti".

No pounds, but inches

I have to keep reminding myself that the scale does not always tell the whole story. 

I have been bouncing around the same few pounds for about a week now and so the pounds aren't falling off like I would like them to, but this morning I put on a pair of my jeans that I was finally able to get into a few weeks ago and I needed to put on a belt. I have one belt that I always wear. When I got the belt I was wearing it on the first or second set of holes. This morning I was on the 5th set of holes. I also checked for ketones in my urine and it is showing a moderate level where as Friday it was only showing a trace. At least I am burning fat.

Look what I got!!!!!

It is really hard to find ingredients to make low carb recipes and when you do find them they are usually really expensive. I was looking online for a site to order and I found Thrive Market

 

I am excited to use my products. I have a few recipes that I was to try out that take the items that I ordered.  Really excited about the powdered peanut butter. Will have to place another order soon and going to stock up on all of the yummies that I can order from there.

 

 

If anyone is interested in signing up at Thrive Market, follow this link and you will get 15% off of your first order.  Thrive Market

Pizza!!!!!

The one thing that I miss about eating low carb is pizza. I love my pizza and the other day I found a recipe for pizza crust using flax seed meal that I had to try.  I made it exactly as instructed and it was so yummy.  Here is the recipe......

What you will need:

• 1 1/2 cup of flax seed meal
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of Stevia or natural sweetener
• 3 eggs
• 3 tbs of olive oil
• 1/2 cup of water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients together.
3. Add wet ingredients and mix well.
4. Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes to thicken up.
5. Spread dough on a large round pan. If you don't have this you can line a cookie sheet with greased parchment paper (this is what I did).
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Check it at the 15 minute mark and take out if it looks done.
7. Add toppings and place back into the oven to melt the cheese.

I added pepperoni, mushroom, tomatoes, and peppers to mine. The one thing that I would change is that I would cook the peppers first unless you like them really firm. 

I found this recipe here.......  Delighted Momma

Low Carb Recipes.........

I know there are tons of recipes out there that claim to be low carb and many that really are.  I have tried a few of the recipes and will share the ones that are a hit with my and my family.


The most popular recipe in my house right now is one for low carb pound cake.  I have made this recipe twice and both times it turned out yummy.  The first time I poured the batter into a bread pan and made a loaf.  The second time I used mini muffin tins and they came out like little bite size muffins. (my daughter loves these).

Here is the recipe that I used......


1 1/4 c.    Almond Flour
3/4 c.       Swerve or other sugar substitute
1 tsp        Baking powder
1/4 tsp     Salt
4              Eggs
3 1/2 oz   Cream Cheese
4 tbs        Softened Butter
1 tsp        Vanilla


Preheat over to 350 degrees


In mixing bowl beat butter and swerve until well combined.  Add cream cheese and mix well. Add eggs one at a time, continuing to combine. Add vanilla. When mixed well slowly start adding the dry ingredients until very well combined. 

Spray loaf pan (or whatever pan you use) with non stick spray.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown.  (my oven cooks a little faster so you may have to adjust your time)

The carb count for this is about 2g of carbs per mini muffin.


My next recipe that I have found that I like is one for Cloud Bread. 

Cloud Bread

My mom didn't like it and said that it was like eating meringue, but I thought is was pretty good.

The beginning.........

By the title you would think that I may write about dance, and I might. I am not a dancer, but my daughter is.  The numbers that I will most likely write about will be measurements and weights.  I am on a journey to lose 100 pounds doing a low carb, high fat diet. 

I started my journey on January 2, 2016.  I started this journey for a few reasons. The number one reason is for my family and myself.  I started this journey at 252.4 pounds. My long term goal is 150 pounds, but I will not set a deadline for that weight.  Deadlines push people to do crazy things and be disappointed in myself.

I started this woe (way of eating) by signing up on the Atkins website and following the guidelines. www.atkins.com is a great way to start no matter how much you have to lose. Since I have so much to lose I started with the Atkins 20 program. I am still in phase 1, but I feel comfortable in that phase, and I admit that I am not sticking to the strictness of the phase and what is allowed. I am really concentrating on how many carbs per day along with fat and protein. 

Here are a few of the posts that I made during my journey.......

a month ago

Today is the first official day of my diet. I am sure that the first day is always the easiest because you just set the goal, but I am looking for it to get harder to stay on track as I go.

 

a month ago

I know that it really isn't a bit deal and probably not very accurate but seeing that 2 lb drop on the scale today was a good motivator. I was happy to see that some of my favorite foods didn't have an or very little carbs in them so that was a big plus for me yesterday. I am having to play around with the menu because I am having a problem reaching the 18 carb minimum each day. The amount of water yesterday was an issue and I only got 3 glasses in. Today I am hoping to get at least 6 in.

 

a month ago

Day three and I am still going strong. I have been doing a morning weigh-in each morning and I think that helps me stay motivated, at least for now. I lost another 8 oz. and even though it isn't the 2 pounds I lost yesterday, it is still a loss. I find that I have to push myself to eat all of the foods that are onl my menu for the day. I love the tools that this site gives me to work with. I am not following the phases exactly, but I am staying in the carb range. I need to figure out how to get more fats, as I am always below the fat recommended. I am finding that the veggies are getting easier. I don't follow the recommended food list for the phase one, but I am going to try to plan for more of the allowed foods. I think that I didn't plan out the food very well when I started. I am planning my first low-carb diet shopping trip this week.

 

a month ago

Woohoo!!! I lost another 3.1 pounds. To some people that might not seem like a lot, but to me that is huge. That is a total of 5.9 pounds in 4 days (actually 3 because today would be the 4th day). Everyone keeps asking what my short term goal is, but I don't have one. I feel that if I set a short term goal then if I don't make that goal I will feel like a failure and give up. I am just taking it one day at a time. I feel that I am eventually going to hit a wall, but I am hoping that doesn't happen until I get closer to my goal wait. I don't even have an ideal size that I want to get down to, I just want to feel good about myself. With the small weight loss in the last few days I am starting to feel better about myself and that is keeping me motivated. I think that I am finally getting the whole idea of this plan and it is becoming easier for me to get my carb, fat, and protein goals in. I am hoping that it keeps going as smooth as it has been.

 

a month ago

I usually post first thing in the morning because it seems to help me keep motivated and going through the day. I can always go back and read what I wrote as a way to keep myself motivated. This morning I had enough time to post my weigh-in and eat breakfast before I was out the door to go grocery shopping with my husband. This was my first major shopping trip since starting this journey. I went armed with a list, but when I got to the store and started looking at all of the food I was a bit overwhelmed. I was able to get the things that I needed and avoid most of the extra stuff except for what my requested. I was hoping to find some golden flax seed meal, but I don't know that I will be finding it around here. I am going to check amazon and see if I can order it. After we checked out I was a bit overwhelmed because of what it cost me and even told my husband that it was too expensive for me to do this. I had a mini meltdown in the car, but I was fine after that. Of course I came home and put away the groceries and I am very proud of all of the good stuff that I got. I did buy a couple of the Atkins meal so that I will be able to do something quick when my daughter has dance through meal times. I also picked up some of the shakes and snack bars hoping that they will help me out with some of the cravings for the sweets. Alas I did lose a little less that a pound again so I am staying motivated.

 

a month ago

Todays weigh-in was not so good. I gained back almost a pound, but I am not going to let this discourage me. I have a big day out today and I am not sure how I am going to manage my meals but I have them planned so I am going to try to stick with them.

 

a month ago

A total of 7.6 pounds in a week!!!

 

Today's weigh-in was not a good one. I expected some gain back though because I haven't been using the bathroom as much. I think that I am ketosis because my mouth is dry and I feel like I have bad breath. I had my menu planned out for today, but the sausage that I was going to use for breakfast was frozen. I had to redo my menu which frustrated me even more. One good thing is that I made a batch of cloud bread last night and added some of that with some whipped cream cheese to the menu so that I can get closer to my fat allowance. Going to work on tomorrows menu and start planning for this weekend. I don't want to fall off the wagon because I won't be home all weekend. If I plan my menu now and make the meals that I planned on Thursday morning I should be good. I am going to have to do some substitutions for breakfast on Friday however since we will be traveling to the hotel early in the morning.

 

a month ago

Weigh-in was much better today. I think that I am back on track, but I am still a little worried about this weekend. I am going to try to plan out my meals and take them with me, or at least the food to make them. This will be a good practice for me for when we go to 7 Springs and Nashville.

 

25 days ago

I haven't posted anything in a while because of my crazy life lately. My trip went well and I stuck to my diet. I actually didn't meet any of my carb or fat amounts on a few days, but I still stuck to the plan. I am on day 18 and have lost over 10lbs so far. I don't want to set a short trm goal, or really any time frame for a goal at all, but I am hoping to have lost 50lbs before Easter. I am not sure if that is possible, but I will give it a shot. As I lose weight there is something that keeps weighing on my mind and that is when I do reach my target, I am going to have loose saggy skin and I might feel more subconscious about that than I do about my current weight. I guess that is a battle that I will fight when I reach that point.

 

21 days ago

After losing 12lbs I am stuck. I know that the last time that I lost weight I got stuck for a little while, but then started losing again. I am looking for ways to kick start the loss again. I know that I need to drink more water. I am going to work on getting my 8 glasses in again and see if that will help. If I don't see any results in about a week I will go back to the basics and start again.

 

21 days ago

16 oz water, 1 table spoon of Apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of lemon or lime, 1 dropper full of liquid stevia per bottle

 

9 days ago

I haven't wrote anything in a while. Things stalled a bit for me and I have been yo-yoing for the past few days around the same few pounds. Yesterday I decided that I needed to have a cheat day and so I went to lunch as a buffet with my husband. I didn't over-stuff myself, actually I probably eat more at home than I did there, but the food didn't taste as good as it use to. I ate my three meals anyway, but was very conscience of what I ate. I am back on the wagon today and even though I try not to set goals for a short term, I did yesterday while I was talking to my husband. My goal is to lose 30 pounds before we head out on our next trip for dance. If I can lose that 30 lbs. I am going to treat myself to a nice dinner while we are at my daughters dance convention. That will be my cheat day. Now I just need to figure out how to get myself going again to get off of this stall. I might have to do a fasting day tomorrow and then go from there. Here's to hoping that I can get going again.

 

 

Ok..... those are my posts from my dashboard on Atkins.  I haven't posted on there since the last one.  I am branching out and posting here in hopes that this will help me a little more.