Adventures in Weight Loss

Fall is definitely here in the Pacific Northwest. Nights are cold, almost down to freezing and days have been uncharacteristically sunny and nice. It's such a treat to have these last nice days before winter bears down on us with sub zero temps and snow.  Bill is home from Afghanistan now, having a well deserved rest. He spent the last year and a half working 3 months without a day off, so he was one tired puppy when he got here. We are enjoying puttering around in the yard, the house and the kitchen together after such a long time apart.

Speaking of the kitchen...we are just starting week 4 of a 40 day HCG protocol.  I am so proud of my hubby who is entering into the whole thing with great good humor. I kept telling him that we need to get his weight off so he will live a long time, because I do not want to be a widow ever!  After 3 weeks, I have lost 16.2 and he has lost 19.2. This is my 3rd round, and his first, so the concepts are new to him. He keeps asking me things like, "Can we have pasta?"  I have to keep the mantra going of NO STARCH, NO FAT, and NO SUGAR. He has done great sticking to the protocol. We have 2 1/2 weeks to go, so I am believing for those to be good weeks of weight falling off.

I am doing a lot of looking at blogs these days:  Low Carb, South Beach, Paleo, and Gluten Free. There are tons of great recipe sites out there in cyber space. I am thinking about the long term, and eating totally different than we have been used to. Bill does like sweets now and then and I have been looking at alternatives to white flour and white sugar. I am very excited to try some of the recipes I've found made with coconut flour and almond flour. I even found a crusty french bread recipe made with no wheat flour. They use brown rice flour, sorghum flour, and some other ones. Amazing! Bill was just telling me that he was wishing he could have some good french bread with his soup, and now he can. At least he can when we are through the stabilization phase. Yes it is carbs, which are not my best friend, but healthier ones to have occasionally.

I've said it before...I AM A RAVING CARB ADDICT!!  White flour and white sugar are like heroin or crack. If I have 1 pack of 100 calorie Cheezits, I will eat the entire box. After eating that, I will tear the house apart looking for those delicious carby snacks and spend the rest of the day stuffing my face. I gained 14 pounds back after going on vacation and taking all the vacation snacky foods with me. Pretzels, chips, cookies, all typical vacation food. That week started me on a downward spiral until I almost undid my last HCG round.  The Bible says that it's the little foxes that spoil the vineyard, and I let all those little carbalicious foxes back into my diet until I gained that 14 pounds back. By the way...this isn't me really, but it could be. That's a horrifying thought!

My conclusion is that low carb, healthy carbs only and only occasionally are the way I have to live my life. No, and I mean absolutely NO white flour or sugar. (Well, maybe Creme Brulee on my birthday!) Protein, veggies and only sprouted grain bread like Ezekiel bread are my life forever. I have to find good sugar substitutes that are healthy which means no Splenda, no Nutrasweet or Aspertame and no Equal.  All these blogs I am reading have been teaching me how it is possible to get your sweet fix without breaking that rule. Almond flour, coconut flour, Truvia, xylitol, erythritol and agave are all names I am getting very familiar with. Cooking with spices that I have never used before is an adventure. The challenge is to keep it interesting so my hubby will come along with me and be happy. I have confidence that we will both stick with it, and will be healthier and happier in the years to come. The adventure continues..............