Traditional Tuesdays and Weight Loss

DH and I are continuing down the path of Traditional ways of eating. It continues to be a challenge with our food budget but I'm finding ways to get grass-fed beef, free-range poultry and eggs, raw milk, etc on our table. Not 100% of the time but as much as possible. We have begun to use coconut oil in place of vegetable oil almost all the time now. I have replaced sugar for the kids with things like sorghum, real maple syrup and honey (DH and I aren't eating sugar). The taste of the food we've been eating is amazing and the kids aren't complaining!

Like I mentioned in a post a couple of days ago DH and I are also trying to lose weight. So far, so good. I'm down almost 10 pounds in 2-1/2 weeks and DH has lost about the same amount. I'm feeling really good about what we are eating and I'm feeling good about being able to reach my first goal of a 15 lb weight loss. I've tried to lose weight so many times it's hard not to doubt myself but we are doing things a little different this time. For one I'm trusting God to show me the way to health and taking it one meal at a time. I've heard it said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting the same result. DH and I have discussed our dieting history together at length and have made some changes. After 12 years of being a fat couple we have learned the best "diet" for us to lose weight together. Low carb is the way to go to meet his weight loss needs and mine. It's food we both like to eat, it works for both of us, there's no sugar and there's little to no hunger. It absolutely falls right in line with Traditional Foods so I think we are eating the healthiest food for our bodies. I miss fruit terribly right now but we plan to bring in fruit in about 2-4 weeks and I think I can hold on until then.

Like I said, we have been successful with low carb diet before but we've obviously never totally reached our goals on it. DH and I think we have figured out why we only make it for a few months before returning to old ways of eating and start gaining back the weight lost. It begins with the meal we take "off" every week. Every time we have gone low carb we eat one meal "off" of our diet each week. In the past it was usually a Saturday night pasta pig out followed by a huge bowl of ice cream and a total carbohydrate hangover the next day. Also, I used to hold on all week by obsessing about what we were going to eat for our meal "off", which means I wasn't changing my habits of gluttony. "Where your treasure is, there you heart shall be also........" But every time, slowly our one meal "off" turned into 2 meals "off". Saturday afternoon would roll around and we'd say to each other, "Why not have a deli sandwich and a cookie? We are going 'off' tonight anyway." Then it would be a whole day. We have pancakes in the morning, deli sandwiches for lunch and the pasta pigout I described above for dinner. Then we would have the leftovers the next day to deal with or PMS would come knocking on my door..........you see where this is going! It wouldn't take long before we were completely "off" the low carb wagon.

So we made some changes this time. First of all we agreed that our meal "off" has a two hour window. No matter what! Every 7 days we can have a 2-hour window where we can enjoy things that are not usually on our weight loss diet. Second, I decided for myself that when I did take a meal "off" I was to use it as an opportunity to practice eating like a healthy person. Eat reasonable portions and not to stuff myself. I decided on my meal "off" to eat the way I plan to when I've reached my goal and I'm maintaining my weight. Basically, I don't want to engage in gluttony once a week. Even if I was able to lose weight I want to make sure that my eating habits please God. I can't find anywhere in the Bible where it says "The Lord hates gluttony, unless thee art on a low carb diet and it's thy one meal 'off' for the week."

Our first meal "off" was a success in following these boundaries! We ordered pizza. I ate 2 slices and then stopped because I was full. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT THAT WAS FOR ME! I LOVE PIZZA! I usually eat 6-8 slices of it and then 2-3 peices the next day for leftovers. Then we had Haagen Daz ice cream for dessert. I LOVE HAAGEN DAZ!!!! However, I controlled myself. I ate a scoop of vanilla and a scoop of coffee and that was that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was all delicious, I enjoyed the taste of the foods, savoring every bite. I also enjoyed my family as I wasn't quickly shoveling food in my mouth concentrating only on my next bite. It was a lovely dinner and we froze the leftovers (Because there was a ton! We usually order 2 extra large pizzas for our family and there was almost an entire pizza left!). And guess what? No carb hangover the next day. I felt just fine and we resumed our low carb diet.

The other thing I hope I am prepared for this time around is PMS. I bought a 3-pack of Trader Joe's milk chocolate bars. I gave them to DH to hide somewhere in the house. I told him that once a cycle I might call him and ask for a candy bar. I told him he was only to give me ONE per cycle! Also, the goal is to NOT use the candy at all and find alternatives to dealing with PMS but I wanted to give myself an out so I don't go berserk. I had PMS last week and I didn't ask for my bar. When I would feel over-emotional and think about my candy I would ask myself, "Is this bottom? Because you only get one per cycle so make sure this is the time you really need it." Each time I would figure I should save it in case things got worse. Somehow it never seemed to get bad enough for chocolate.

I have been finding some good alternatives to emotional eating. Friday night was really bad, PMS-wise. I felt like a total lunatic. You know that point the week before your period when you move from simple irritation and weepiness to going full-blown POSTAL! I hated my life, I hated my family, I felt like the worst person on earth and I had just had it with everything in general! I definitely considered the chocolate but decided to try to get through it without using food for comfort. I made some herbal tea, took a hot shower and climbed into bed early with a couple of good magazines. Totally worked! I was feeling better 1/2 way through the first magazine.

I have a long way to go, about 95 pounds but I try to only focus on my first goal of 15 lbs. God has been supplying me with what I need every step of the way and I trust Him to continue doing that. I have put lots of prayer into this and appreciate your prayers for me. I can't do this without God's help! Thanks for all who are rooting for me!!!