Foods I Eat on Low Carb Way of Eating - No Starvation Diet Here!

Been doing the LCHF diet for almost a month now and I'm doing great. I haven't lost as much weight as I would like but I can definitely feel it in the way my body feels and in the way my clothes fit.

The great thing is that I haven't had cravings for Cheetos or chips and salsa. You do lose the cravings to carbs eventually. 

I know when I explain this way of eating (WOE) to people the first thing they say is "Oh no, I could never give up pasta/tortillas/pie/ice cream, etc (insert carb of choice)". We all feel that way in the beginning, but it is worth it, and you can...if you really want to.

Eating this way and exercising in 5 minute increments throughout the day makes me feel awesome. Those normal aches and pains that I had in my knees and shoulders are gone. I can get up out of a chair or my car after a long drive without limping. I sleep great and I feel like even my disposition is better. I'm more focused at work and life just seems a little brighter each day.

And look at the great foods I get to eat. Ground turkey cheeseburger without the bun. Flax seed muffin in a mug with butter and sugar free strawberry preserves, Taco Salad, Pork Carnitas with Scrambled Egg, Strawberry and Pecans as a  snack.

I like to take random pictures of my food. Some of the LCHF foods I've eaten I didn't get a chance to photograph and the pictures aren't Foodie Blog worthy because they're just iPhone shots, but gives you an idea of the variety of foods you can eat.

Chicken with broccoli slaw, Chile macho and sliced avocado; chicken drenched in vegetarian Chile Verde with queso fresco, Cucumber-Tomato and Bacon Salad with Mayo, Blackberry Yogurt Popsicle (home-made) and Chicken with the same cucumber-tomato and bacon salad.

You would think that celebrating a special occasion would be a good reason to go off this WOE, but actually no. See that yummy strawberry topped cheesecake? That's low carb. See the slice with the chocolate crust? Also low carb. And it's so much fun trying to make new varieties of salads. Salads are my go-to food, I love them and I find eating a huge salad fills me up and satisfies me. Chicken and Bacon on Romaine, Chicken Salad on Romaine and I even went to a favorite Mexican restaurant and had the Chicken Avocado Salad which was delicious! Sure...I had to bypass the Chips and Salsa, but looking good in my clothes sure makes it worth while!

No time to make big elaborate meals or plan and organize menus for the week? No problem, most restaurants will lettuce wrap a burger for you. Or you can just buy a regular burger, like the Quarter Pounder with Cheese pictured below, and throw away the bread. The funny thing is I don't even miss the bread and in fact I can taste the meat and fixings much better without the bread over powering everything and filling me up. Couple of snacks are pictured, crushed fresh strawberries with cottage cheese, slices of avocado wrapped in oven roasted deli turkey slices (this was yummy by the way) and more cottage cheese made like a parfait with crushed berries and a few cashews for crunch. Plus my old stand by- chicken on romaine lettuce with ranch dressing!

I even took a trip to the coast and kept it low carb by ordering bacon wrapped shrimp, they were fabulous. I dipped a fork in that sauce but you could tell right away that it was packed with sugar so I didn't touch it. Shrimp didn't even need it! On National Tequila Day I made myself a low carb margarita using a sparkling lemonade water and tequila, zero carbs! I also bought a little kitchen gadget that makes zucchini noodles. I made some and microwaved them and tossed them with some cooked ground turkey and added 2 tablespoons of cream cheese and they were creamy and delicious and felt like comfort food. Some days you want something warm and not just a salad.

I've also been enjoying a new brand of deli meats called Healthy Ones. the Oven Roasted Turkey Breast is lower in carbs and sodium that the regular brand I used to buy.

One day I was really wanting a scrambled egg sandwich with mayonnaise, cheese and lettuce, so I just made one without the bread. It was super good. You can LC most foods and I'm learning new ways to do so all the time.

So that's a quick wrap up of what I've been eating. As you can see I definitely have not been starving myself. I'm feeling really good about this new WOE. I'm not worried about what the scale says as long as I feel good and my body feels good.


 

Low Carb Cheeseburger - Not Your Average Quarter Pounder with Cheese!

One of the hardest things about eating LCHF (low carb, high fat) is eating out at restaurants, but it can be done!

Today I want to share a tip about eating at fast food places. McDonald's has always been one of my favorites. 

Photo Credit - McDonald's.com

At McDonald's my favorite was the Quarter Pounder with Cheese! The whole meal with fries and a drink. Of course you have to buy the meal, it's cheaper that way...that's where they get you!

The other day I woke up and was exhausted and couldn't even begin to imagine what I was going to take to the office for my lunch. So I didn't take anything. Lunch time rolled around and I had the bright idea to go to McDonald's and get a burger and bring it back to the office and throw away the bread. 

That's exactly what I did, I bought just the burger, took both the buns and threw them in the trash and ate just the meat, cheese, onions, pickles, mustard and ketchup. It was delicious, you could really taste the meat and condiments, whereas before I just tasted bread.

So I've been trying the bun less burger at other restaurants. The great thing is to order it bun less, or lettuce wrapped, that way you don't waste food by throwing away the bun...it killed me to throw away the bun!

When I got home from work today, I was wondering what I could have for dinner. I had made some ground turkey with taco seasoning last night. 

So I thought maybe I could mimic the quarter pounder with cheese using the ground turkey and no bun. Check out this beauty!

I heated up my previously cooked ground turkey in the microwave. While that was heating I sliced up some iceberg lettuce, dill pickle and onion and took out a cheese slice. 

I put down a layer of the lettuce, then the cheese slice and then the hot ground turkey. I plopped on a dollop of mayonnaise and liberally topped it all with yellow mustard. Put down my pickles and onion and Voila! 

I have to tell you it was delicious! I ate it with a spoon and it was easier than eating it wrapped. Since the turkey was already ground and not cooked as a patty it was easy to just pick it up with a spoon so I was sure to get a great bite in every spoon.

The whole thing was LCHF, as you can see from the nutrition info from myfitnesspal.com food diary that I enter information into.

The first column is calories, then carbs, then fat, protein, sodium and fiber, giving me a total net carb of 5. When I'm trying to stick with 20 to 24 carbs per day that is pretty great for just one meal, one very filling and satisfying meal. I think I'm having this for lunch tomorrow!

Just for he sake of comparison, below I have the nutrition info for a quarter pounder with cheese with the works, as it comes straight from McDonald's, as I used to eat it. See that? 42 carbs!

Nutrition Info  - McDonalds.com

Here's the nutrition info without the bun and without ketchup, as ketchup has sugars in it and increase the carb count and I prefer mustard on a burger anyway. Is that crazy? 5 whole carbs and if I subtract the 1 gram of fiber my net carb is 4!

Nutrition Info - McDonalds.com

McDonald's website has a "make your meal" tool where you can take off or add items and it will give you the same info I posted above. Very handy and makes it easier to customize foods if you plan on eating at McDonald's. 

So you can eat out on a LCHF way of eating, you just have to plan and become familiar with nutrition info on various foods. Myfitnesspal.com is a great resource for that and I love it!


 

The Battle is with my Head and not my Stomach!

I'm just finishing up week 3 of the LCHF WOE (low carb, high fat, way of eating) and I feel terrific. My knees don't hurt as much, I can get up out of my chair without making those noises that my dad used to make and I have tons of energy and I'm in a better mood! Hard to believe that simply changing my diet can help that much...well that and exercising regularly. The two go hand in hand!

I was commenting on a post on Facebook to a question posed by Lynn of Low Carb Traveler (an excellent low carb blogger) in which she asks, "How often do you eat off plan? Meaning: NOT low carb? And do you do it intentionally, or is it usually just a "slip up"? 

My answer was, "I think for me it's hard when I go off the program, even just once. But a couple of weeks ago I had planned to go on a road trip with friends as a celebration for my birthday, so I did allow myself that day to have two margaritas and chips and salsa at dinner at a Mexican restaurant, but that was it and it was a calculated "cheat". I am resolved to making this a way of life and not straying from the plan. It's not always easy but I feel so much better. I may not always be satisfied with what I eat, but I'm never hungry. It's more a battle with my mind than with my stomach."

Here we are having a bracing Margarita to give us courage to get on the Glass Bottom boat, this was strictly for medicinal purposes! From L to R - Lupe, Lisa and me.

That comment made me stop and think. It's not that I eat because I'm hungry, I eat because I have cravings for certain foods and those foods aren't low-carb.

Jalapeno Infused Cucumber Margaritas, Chips and Salsa after the boat trip! 

Ok, see that picture right up there? See that basket of tortilla chips? That...that right there is my downfall, my kryptonite! I adore tortilla chips with salsa and there is no low carb alternative. You can find great recipes for low carb pancakes, brownies, fudge, cookies, cakes, cheesecake, almost anything imaginable that would satisfy a sweet tooth, but my problem is I have a Salty Tooth!

There is nothing as satisfying to me as chips and salsa. Well maybe Cheetos, but that's an addiction!

So even though I am never hungry with this WOE I am never completely satisfied! There is always something missing. I imagine it's like an alcoholic or a drug addict, you can go on with life but something is always missing and as soon as you have that first taste of it all reasoning goes out the window!

Last night Lisa came over and she made guacamole, which is only good with tortilla chips. I peeled and sliced a cucumber and ate my guacamole with slices of cucumber. Very filling, but not as satisfying as the chips. That is just something that I will have to get used to and maybe, in time, I will lose the craving...but I don't think so. I just can't let my stomach and cravings win over the knowledge in my head that I am doing the right thing for me by eating LCHF!


 

Time to Get Off My Butt! Won't You Join Me?

So I've mentioned before how I follow a low carb/high fat lifestyle aka LCHF. It's a very simple way of eating aka WOE but it does take determination, will power and the ability to plan ahead and be organized with your WOE.

In case you don't know what LCHF is, you can visit The Diet Doctor link HERE, or you can to go Atkins.com for more info. I could explain it in this post but it would go on forever and I would never be able to explain it as well as those two websites do.

I've done this WOE for several years and have had a lot of success with it. I feel wonderful when I'm LCHF! I have energy, sleep well, my digestive system works great, those aches and pains from inflammation and arthritis ease up and on the plus side I lose weight. No bloating or gassiness, no heartburn or acid re-flux!

So knowing this...why do I go back to bad habits? Why do I go back to eating sugar, wheat, flour and processed foods? I don't honestly have an answer. I think about it often and wonder why I sabotage myself when I know that on LCHF I feel awesome! I guess it's because I'm human and weak and give in to temptation and because Cheetos are SO DAMN GOOD! 

A couple of weeks ago I was finally sick of myself. I had lost 22 pounds a year or so ago and have put them all back on plus some, so I realized I had to make a change and quit thinking, "I'll start tomorrow."

So I did, for the past two weeks I have stuck religiously to LCHF and I lost 5 pounds. Now in the past when I've done LCHF I would lose 10 to 15 pounds in the first two weeks, but as you get older your metabolism changes, your body changes and nothing is as easy as it was when you were younger...am I right?

Anyway, it's been two weeks and I'm 5 pounds lighter and I know that I have to stick to this way of eating for my health, for my family and for my own self worth. So I'll be back to posting low carb food and things having to do with my WOE, hoping it may help someone and that it will help me to be accountable to myself.

I've also been trying to exercise. It's hard to go from being a couch potato whose biggest form of exercise is walking from her house to the car to the office back to the car and back home. Yeah, that's probably a whole 2 minutes of exercise per day!

So I have started slowly by using the Leslie Sansone Walk at Home Videos. I started by doing her Energy Boost 5 Minute Walk. Trust me, in the beginning I couldn't even do 2 minutes and now I'm doing 5 easily and probably should move to a different video. But because of my back and Sciatica issues I tend to be very careful so I don't end up hurting myself. 

I do the 5 minute video below when I wake up, on my 10am break at work, at lunch time, on my 3pm break and around 7pm. So all total I'm doing 25 minutes of exercise per day. If I knew that right now I had to stand up and do 25 minutes of exercise I would just make excuses, but who doesn't have 5 minutes, 5 times per day? Or even 10 minutes...it doesn't matter how much, the point is to start and get your body moving. 

This is the energy boosting video and it really does give you a boost of energy, I can feel it working already in how alert and active I am when I get home from work. Instead of just sitting and being a couch potato I'm being more active and cooking, exercising, watering my poor plants and cleaning my house!



Tonight I had time to try to find another 5 minute video and I found the next one I'm going to post. This one seemed a bit more fast paced and I'm going to mix it up and keep doing these for another week and then perhaps move up to ones that are a little longer in length.

This one seemed to give me a better workout, so it may be one I want to try early in the morning when I'm rested and have more energy because even though it's similar to the one above I believe she moves faster because I got a little winded!




I also want to share this next one even though I haven't actually done it because it's one to work the legs and with my Sciatica it couldn't hurt to strengthen my legs, so I will give this one a try tomorrow.



Can't wait to wake up tomorrow and try each of these videos. See what I mean? Moving gives you energy...so move!