Hello All! Checking in to let you know I've pretty much have been maintaining in the 170's. My weight this morning was 177.8. I've struggled to get to the point of losing again. I won't lie, I really need to cut my carbs back. So this week I've been working on keeping them under 30 grams a day and that has helped and definately helping with those carb cravings.

I let myself have all the carbs I wanted during the holidays, as an experiment, and I think it's coming back to haunt me. Good news is I am at least able to stay in the 170's. Bad news is I can't seem to get out of the 170's into the 160's. I keep craving those darn carbs! I'm not being excessive but I'm eating enough that it is making it tough to lose beyond my lowest weight. But, on a positive note, I have continued to maintain my weight since June. That is still a super big win for me!

Lesson learned for the holidays, keep track of those carbs and don't go over 150 per day!! Now, I just need to try to keep focused and work on getting the carbs "out of my system". This week I will stay under 30 but next week I hope to stay under 20 per day. I know I can do it. I just need to get in the right mind set and stay focused. But we all know, that can be hard sometime.

If you don't learn anything else from my blog, I hope you do learn that everyone struggles and we all have good and bad days. The important thing is you don't give up. Because the minute you do, it's all over. That weight you lost doesn't take long to pack back on and it usually comes with a few extra pounds the next time around. That's the last thing any of us want to do!

The journey never ends, but I know one thing, I've got this and so do you!!

Happy New Year! New Year, New Goals!

 I thought it was about time I check in! I haven't really done so since November 1st. Shared a couple of recipes, but that seemed to be all the time I had to give to my blog. I did well over the holidays. Between Christmas & New Year's I gained 15 pounds! But I got down to 171.8 on December 22nd! My lowest weight was 172 so I beat my lowest weight right before Christmas! I was in the 185 range after Christmas, managed to go back down to 177.5 but I popped back up to 187 by 1/4/22. 

It's been a little bit of a struggle to get back on track, but it always takes me a few days to get back on the train full steam ahead. I am currently at 179, so I am hopeful to be back to my lowest weight within the next week or two. Then my goal is to lose more weight beyond my lowest weight of 172. My ultimate goal is 145. 

We had a great holiday. I decided not to track anything I ate and enjoyed some of my favorite snacks. Lot's of carbs. This is why I gained 15 pounds! LOL! But I kept and eye on things and knew that I would have to get back on track right after New Year's to avoid a detrimental weight gain that would get out of control! 

During my time away from the blog I did earn my second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Actually, my son, who is 12, and I both earned our second degree black belts. My daughter who is 16, earned hers this past June. So that was pretty exciting. My November and December pretty much flew by between all the travel, getting ready for black belt testing and the holidays!

Dealt with a power outage that lasted at home for about 36 hours starting on 12/23/22. Luckily we had plans to spend our Christmas at our camp that is off the grid. So that worked out well. 

All the craziness is behind us for now so it is time to focus on new goals for the new year! My main focus for the next couple of weeks is to drop back down to my lowest weight then focus on actually losing again! I would like to see me down to my ideal weight of 145 pounds by the beginning of summer! 

Today I am feeling good and feeling more focused so I think I got this!! 160's, here I come! 

Fall Check In 11/1/22

11/1/22 - My fall check in on Facebook. Forgot to post it here! 

Happy November! I hope everyone had a great Halloween yesterday! I thought it was time for me to check in again.

I did well maintaining my weight in October. Been staying in the 170's all month long. I got through my 19th Wedding Anniversary, My Birthday, a trip to Legoland NY (I'm a big Lego fan!) and Halloween!

I have another busy month ahead. Going away 3 weekends this month! Because of this and the holidays coming up, I have decided to continue to maintain through the holidays and then consider trying to lose a few more pounds starting in the new year. This gives me and my body a break from trying to lose weight for a total of 7 months and really gives me a chance to continue to learn to maintain. Which I will have to do the rest of my life! So learning what works and what doesn't now, will help me in the long run!

I hope to share some new recipes on my page very soon! So stay tuned!

Keto Friendly Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here is a chocolate chip cookie recipe I altered to make Keto friendly. They came out great. It cut the carbs down from 20 grams per cookie to just 6 grams per cookie! Now that is a win! 

Keto Friendly Chocolate Chip Cookies

~ Ingredients

2 1/4 Cups Blanched Almond Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup (2 Sticks) Butter, Softened

3/4 Cups Splenda

1/4 + 2 Tablespoons Splenda Brown Sugar

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 Large Eggs

1 Cup Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1/2 Cup Walnuts

~ Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Step 2
Combine almond flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, Splenda brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. I did the nutrition facts based on 1/2 cup of walnuts but I do think next time I will add a whole cup. Drop in tablespoon sizes balls of batter onto ungreased baking sheets.

Step 3
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Our Keto Cookie Nutrition Info

Traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies so you can compare. 

The Best Keto Cheesy Garlic Biscuits!

 These busciuts are one of my favorte Keto recipes! So yuuummmmyyy!

2 Large Eggs

1/2 Cup Sour Cream

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

2 Cups Blanched Almond Flour

4 Teaspoons Baking Powder

8 ounces cheddar cheese

1/2 Tablespoon Minced Garlic

Makes: 18 Biscuits

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray or use parchment paper. 

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream & salt. Using a rubber staptula, mix in the almond flour, the cheesem garlic & the baking powder. 

3. Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, place 18 mounds of the dough on the prepared baking pan. Do not flatten the mounds. 

4. Bake until golden, 15-18 minutes. Serve warm. 

End Of Summer Update!

 Long time no post! Like I have said before, my summers tend to be crazy busy. So sorry I haven't posted in awhile! I figured it was about time I check in! :)

I've done really well all summer maintaining my weight. Our last getaway to our camp was labor day weekend and our last "vacation" for a little while. 

I weighed in at 176 pounds this morning!! Just 4 pounds over my lowest weight! This is some amazing news considering I always gain 10+ pounds (at minimum) by the end of summer!

This has been the easiest summer when it came to maintaining my weight. I feel truly blessed that I have finally found an healthy lifestyle that I enjoy and can stick to pretty easily! I've enjoyed  Popcorn, Ice Cream, Toast, Chocolate, Apple Crisp, Strawberries & Whipped Topping, Chips, Crackers, Iced Coffee and more. These were all once and awhile and not a daily occurance and also done in moderation while tracking what I was eating. The key was keeping that balance and I think I did that well! 

Now it is time to focus and try to get off the rest of my weight. I want to get down to 145 and see how I feel once there. So my focus this month is to get back to my lowest weight of 172 then I can concentrate on getting the rest of my weight off!

Here's to a great fall & winter!

This Maintaining Thing Is All New To Me!

I thought it was high time that I check in as I know it's been a while. Life has been a little crazy as usual this summer. Between the kids being out of school, trying to fit in as much activity in during the nice weather and working, life gets hectic! We have also enojoyed We also enjoyed staying at our new camp for 11 days in July!

I've been doing an amazing job maintaining my diet.  I have pretty much been staying around 175/176 pounds, going up or down a half pound here and there, seems like my body likes this weight. I have given up trying to lose any weight this summer and I'm OK with that. Like I have expressed before, I have a hard time in the summer maintainig weight let alone losing weight. I usually gain! But this summer has been so different!! 

I have enjoyed many foods over the last couple of weeks that I have avoided for almost an entire year.. Foods such as corn on the cob and ice cream (I get a kid size, it's about a 1/2 a cup serving) I enjoyed some sourdough bread toast with my omelet the other day and I've continued to enjoy popcorn and nuts in moderation .

Most days my goal is to stay under 50 g of carbs. I have allowed myself over that amount a few times. I think the highest carbs I had while at camp was about a 172. But it seems that this has not impacted me negatively. One thing I have tried to do is fast once or twice a week and I think this has been very beneficial to help me maintain my weight while at camp . Especially after those days I have eaten well over a 100 carbs which I would guess was probably 2 or 3 days during camp.

I have been amazed at what I've been able to consume and still maintain my weight. I think the key is tracking what I eat and making sure I keep my carbs in check. The one thing I have been able to enjoy a lot is all kinds of nuts as my snack foods. Including honey roasted almonds and peanuts as a sweet option and sea salt and vinegar almonds as my salty option .Eating these nuts has helped me with cravings I have for sweet and salty foods. It's a great option when I miss chips and sweets. The best part is nuts are very healthy and they heop me get a good amount of fiber in my diet. 

I found I can enjoy nuts to maintain my weight but I can't eat a lot of them if I want to lose weight. I think I've talked about this before,  I try to stay away from popcorn, yogurt and nuts when I'm actually trying to lose weight because it sometimes causes me to plateau. But when it comes to maintaining it has been an excellent tool for me to use to satisfy any types of cravings that I have. I'm able to enjoy some sweet and salty foods without the guilt! This summer it has really helped me from wanting to snack on some of the foods that my kids had at camp including cookies and chips! 

This maintaining thing is all new to me! LOL! I've never in my life stayed at a comfortable weight long enough to try to maintain and now that I'm here, it's been easier then I thought it would be. I have been pleasantly surprised over and over again that I can eat, be satisified and not gain my weight back. For me to fluctuate about a 1/2 pound in either direction is all a new experience for me. In the summer my fluctuations would be rediculous and some weeks when I vacationed I could easily jump up over 10 pounds by the end of the week. So what I see on the scale these days in definately not what I'm used to, but I LOVE IT!! 

Chaffle French Toast

Chaffle French Toast ~ 

I finally decided to try making french toast using chaffles and it was amazing! 

First you will want to make 8 chaffles. Follow the below link to make your Chaffles:

Basic Chaffle Recipe

Next make your french toast batter. 

Chaffle French Toast Batter ~  

Ingredients ~ 

2 Eggs

2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

1 Tablespoon Splenda

Cinnamon

Instructions ~ 

Combine cinnamon & sugar. Put the amount of cinnamon in the sugar for your own taste. Set aside. Whip together, with a fork, the eggs & heavy cream in a bowl.  It doesn't look like a lot of batter but the chaffles do not soak up as much batter as bread would so your batter goes much farther. 

Dip a chaffle in the batter. Make sure to cover both sides well. Place in a hot skillet/frying pan. Sprinkle your cinnamon and sugar mixture over the chaffle. Once the down side is golden brown, flip the chaffle and sprinkle the otherside with cinnamon and sugar. Cook second side to golden brown. 

Plate and add butter and maple syrup or sugar free syrup. What ever you prefer. I prefer to have the real thing and use just a 1/4 tsp of maple syrup per chaffle. Maple syrup spreads well because it is thin and runny so you really don't need much. 

Waffle Iron Tip - One thing I have changed with making my chaffles is I purchased a large waffle iron that has 4 sections. I make a lot more this way. I tried one of those single serve waffle irons and didn't like it and the one I already had is round and makes them a wonky size. Having 4 sections to make 4 individual waffles works so much better! 

Time To Check In!

 I figured it was time to check in as it's been a couple of weeks since my last post. The plan was for my family and I to head to our camp for two weeks tomorrow but we post poned it until Thursday as our contractor is still working on getting stuff done at our camp. 

I've pretty much maintained my weight for the last couple weeks. I've been between 172 to 178. My weight tends to fluctuate a lot, I've always been like that. This morning I was at 175.6. No weight loss but glad that I have been keeping the fluctuations to a maximum of 6 pounds above my lowest weight. I check my weight everyday to keep me in check. 

July 4th I allowed myself a 150 carb day. Enjoyed corn on the cob for the first time since I started Keto! That was a nice treat. I also enjoyed some chocolate! I think these breaks help me maintain better as I am still allowing myself to enjoy some of my favorite high carb foods but within reason. The day after that is when my weight had the biggest hike, but I expected as much. 

The biggest challenge during the summer is eating out, and being out and about grabbing snacks that work for me. I need to stay away from foods that cause me to snack more such as nuts & popcorn. If I want to lose weight, I have found that I need to stay away from those 2 trigger foods. 

I was hoping to get into the 160's by time we go to camp. I could still do it now that we post poned going to Thursday, so I will try to stay focused and get there! But if I do just maintain, I will be happy, because for the first time in my life, I am not gaining weight and keeping it on like I usually do in the summer months. I'm actually dropping back down and sticking to my lowest weight pretty well. 

I'm hoping to fast this week, just trying to figure out which day I will do that. Maybe even try to fast for 2 days before we go to camp to get my body into fat burning mode to reach my next goal! 

Either way, I am happy with how my summer is going. Everyday I remind myself how good it feels to have this healthier slimmer body and how much I don't want to lose what I have worked so hard to get. That's what helps motivate me to not allow my weight to get out of control ever again. It will be a life long battle, but a battle worth fighting! At least I have finally found a diet that is not a diet but a lifestyle change. I have adapted well to Keto and am so glad I found it!

 

Time For New Goals!

Goals For The Year - Just because I hit my 100 pound milestone doesn't mean this is the end of my journey. It's time to set some new goals for the rest of this year! Here are my main goals for the year. 

• End the summer with a loss and not a gain!
• Get my BMI to a normal weight range!
• Lose my last 27 pounds!
• Work on learning to maintain my weight!
• Earn my second degree black belt!
• Keep my weight off for good!
• Enjoy my summer and the benefits of a healthier me! 
• Count my many blessings every single day!

I think those are some great goals! Once I hit my goal weight of 145 pounds I will see how I feel and determine if that is the ideal weight for me. I always thought being too small just wouldn't feel right. But I really need to get there to see how I feel to really determin if that is the ideal weight for me or a few more pounds will feel more comfortable. I don't wan t to make any assumptions so I'll wait until I get there to decide on what feels right! 

Goals For Today - My next goal is to get into the 160's. I am hoping I can do that in the next couple of weeks! I am going to our camp for 2 weeks starting July 10th and I have no major events during that time so I got this! 

Weight Today - I was at 174 this morning. Not bad considering I had a day long trip on Tuesday going to the mall,  that was 3 hours away, with a friend to give her 24 year old special needs daughter a fun filled birthday. Then I went to a Rick Springfield concert Friday night which was 3.5 hours from home. So we left Friday and got home yesterday afternoon. I am really happy with my weigh in this morning considering the week has been so busy and I've done lots of eating out! I am maintaining well!! Woohoo!

Returned To Tae Kwon Do Last Week!

 I was excited to return to Tae Kwon Do after taking a year long break! I earned my black belt June 0f 2019 and with the craziness of Covid and dealing with running a small business during these past couple of difficult years I decided to take a break last year. I wasn't expecting to take a year long break, but life happens. 

I returned on June 13 with a new determination to earn my second degree black belt. I am already seeing the difference during class with being much smaller! What a great year this will be if I lose 100 pounds, and keep it off, and earn my second degree black belt in December! 

The new me at TKD class this week:

Me earning my 1st degree black belt June 2019: 

Happy Father's Day!

 Happy Father's Day! I hope all the dads out there have a great Father's day today! My husband enjoyed a great breakfast in bed that was perfect for his Keto Diet! A veggie scramble with cheese and extra thick bacon! So good! What could be better then that? It's all about celebrating with the right choices!