Mama's got her groove back.

I know it's been more than a week since last I posted.  I weighed in initially last week March 18th and was down .4 pounds.  Not too shabby after 3 great days only after 4 really bad days.  Those bad days were literally out of control days.  Crazy.  But once I went back to basics; things settled... a lot.  I would get to the end of the day; have had plenty to eat, and have calories left over!

I could've posted this then, but I wanted to get another weigh in under my belt before I declared victory.  So that's where I am now.  Funny thing is, I started this post last week.  This point in my post is being (or I should say was?) written on 3/18.  I did have my confidence back at that weigh in on 3/18, and knew I was on the right track.  But like I said, I wanted to be sure.

So today's (3/24)weigh in was a loss as well of another pound!

So what caused my dilemma of the past, oh, 3.5 months?  Breads, rice, and pasta..yes, but not in and of themselves.  Like I've said before, I have no problem with those things, and will still eat them on occasion.  The problem came because those things,which have more calories, and stayed with me for a shorter time, had increased in my diet over the last 3.5 months.  Then I was hungry and had no calories left to manage the hunger.  So I would throw the day away.

 Once I took those breads, etc. out of my diet again (for now), I regained control.

 I still get plenty of carbs from fruits, sugar sweetened coffee or tea, sugar sweetened whole milk dairy, or just dairy, etc.  In addition, because I'm now getting on average 7 fruits and veggies a day, my fiber intake is going way up.  I'm now meeting my fiber requirements for each day.  Sometimes I even surpass the fiber requirements.  Plus, my protein levels are way up.  Which is good because I have hypothyroidism, and so need a higher protein intake relative to my carb intake.  But I always, always, always meet strongly my carb requirements for the day.  They just don't come from breads, rice, or pasta most of the time.  Carbs are your friend.  Your brain actually needs them to function so..keep the carbs please.

Toward the end of this past week I did start adding a treat in the evening.  Not always, but some nights; if I have the calories, and have met my fiber requirements (25 gms a day), then I have allowed myself cookies (2 for 120 calories), or a smore ( Not for any reason except that's what I have on hand.  In summer, it'll probably be milkshakes or ice cream).  It's the end of the day, so no chance of foraging.  Plus since I haven't eaten a crazy amount of breads etc, I have plenty of calories and am very satisfied over all.  Know what else?  Even after the cookies, I still have calories left over.  It's crazy.

This upcoming week marks our 25th wedding anniversary.  Can't believe it, but here it is!  Happy Anniversary Babe!  Love you!

We've been planning and saving to take a trip to celebrate.  I was a little concerned, now that I'm back on track, that I would blow it all on vacation.  I think I'm going to be fine though.  The hotel we're staying at has a free hot breakfast so I can get eggs and fruit easy for a good start to the day.  And coffee.  We can't forget coffee.  Any other restaurants, I'll just make sure the bread etc isn't included on what I order.  We'll be near some national and state parks and so there will be plenty of trails to try.  We also plan on walking to our destinations most of the time.  I'm thinking I'll be active enough.  Next week will see how I did.

So while I've got you.  Here's a little something really good to try especially if you like chocolate covered cherries.

Partially defrost 5 oz of frozen cherries (I buy mine at Costco).  Top them with 1/2 TBS of chocolate syrup.  I've used as little as 6 gm of syrup and as much as a full TBS.  It depends on how bad I'm needing chocolate.  This is beyond good!