Happy New Year! ๐ It feels like a GREAT time to make a fresh start, doesnโt it?!
Iโm kicking off a Low Carb Challenge soon, probably Monday, so make sure youโre signed up to get the details!
WHY do I do this?!
This health & weight loss journey has been a hard one for me. I often feel like Iโm eating alone (er, most of the time I am!), or doing this alone. Some days I hate being in the spotlight and just want to crawl under the covers with a quart of ice cream, lol. Sometimes I do. Ugh. ๐
Changing your life โ itโs hard stuff. Iโm just glad itโs been more โ3 steps forward, 1 step backโ than the other way around. I also constantly remind myself that YOU are HERE, even when youโre quiet, even when I FEEL alone. As an emotional eater, feelings are a monster that have to be dealt with.
Iโm so glad I have you to share this journey withโฆ
I was discussing this with a close friend earlier this week. I was feeling stressed, eating healthy but forcing it โ and totally consumed with the desire to binge. She asked me if working so hard at his blog (and the challenge, group, Instagram, etc) was making it worse on me. My response was, โNo, I doubt I could stay on track like I do without them. Itโs what holds me accountable, and motivates me to be an inspiration โ instead of a failure.โ (I love you. Thank you for that!)
I did really well through the month of December, outside of my one โnight offโ and a few little bites here and there. Iโm proud of myself for powering through last month like I did. December can be a tough one! As the year came to an end, and my scales stubbornly refused to move for four straight days, I found myself nosediving toward an all-out binge. I refused. Itโs not rational. I mean, a binge WOULD make the scales move โ just in the wrong direction. ๐ lolโฆ
I knew what I needed โ a REASON. A strong incentive. And so I booked a trip to Vegas for next week. Iโll be around industry peers, Vegas is a great opportunity to wear some of my new dresses & outfits, and I want to look GREAT. Itโs a good opportunity to shoot some new photos to show you how well Iโve done too. ๐ Bingo: motivation to hold steady and stay strong!
My scales finally moved today, by the way. I was starting to think they were BOTH broken. lol. Down another pound! That felt goodโฆ
2016 Health Goals
I am getting close to my goal weight. Iโve mentioned several times before how I tend to self-sabotage when I get super close. One of my primary goals is to overcome that this year. Which means dealing with the mental / emotional side of eating, food and weight loss. Weโll talk more about that in a future post. Itโs a BIG topic, and through our discussions around the web I know itโs something A LOT of people struggle with.
My BIG goal for the year is to get in amazing shape.
I donโt just want to be โskinnyโ โ in fact I prefer to be more of a โhealthyโ size at my age (42). I want to be LEAN, healthy and STRONG. That is my main goal for 2016, so itโs time to get serious about exercise.
I would love to hear YOUR health goals for 2016! ๐
Thursdayโs NYE Low Carb Food Journal
Keeping on with my daily low carb food diaries, here is what I ate yesterday โ which was Thursday, December 31st (New Yearโs Eve)โฆ
Breakfast: โLow Carb Cerealโ
My usual low carb breakfast cereal is all โreal foodโ but intead of pecans yesterday, I chopped up an Atkins Peanut Butter Granola Bar โ and also added 1/4 cup of pecans too. You can see in my MyFitnessPal food diary below that it came out to 10 net carbs, but it was delicious. ๐
Lunch: Baked Chicken Thighs
I baked a pan of Perfect Baked Chicken Thighs and ate two of those for lunch. I had a pack of four fryer thighs, so I still have two leftover to enjoy for dinner tonight. ๐
Dinner: Pizza Toppings! ๐
As the day wore on, and I was fighting the urge to binge, I decided on an old favorite comfort food: PIZZA. I ordered a medium Pepperoni Lovers thin crust pizza from Pizza Hut, and requested โno sauceโ โ because it makes it easier to peel the cheese & pepperoni off. ๐ YUM!
^ You need to trust yourself NOT to eat the crust if you decide to do this, especially in a weak / comfort food / craving / binge kinda moment. lol.
I was satisfied with the greasy, salty pizza toppings. Mission accomplished!
Hereโs my MyFitnessPal Net Carb Food Diary:
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I would love to hear your 2016 health & weight loss goals, what youโre struggling with right now, etc. Like I said, I love having you to work alongside. Itโs so much better than trying to go it alone. Thank you for always being hereโฆ and Happy New Year! ๐
Hereโs to an amazing 2016 โ together. *cheers*
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
p.s. Iโm kicking off a new Low Carb Challenge soon, probably on Monday, so make sure youโre signed up so youโll get the details!
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Congrats on your weight loss!! Reading your blog motivated me to go LCHF, I have been doing a lot of research on the ketogenic diet. I have done atkins but have never counted macros. It makes sense to me now the way it works. I know (for me) Iโm not going to be getting on the scale every morning. Iโll weigh myself once a week. I know Iโll get discouraged and quite.
Thank you Suzanne! ๐ This makes what to count, why & HOW super simple: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/7006/macronutrients/ Once a week is a great idea, especially if daily weighs would discourage you. I find it (usually, lol) motivates me to work that much harder.
I know you donโt really like to cook, but this recipe is awesome!!
CRUSTLESS PIZZA
Servings: 8
Carbs: 4
Fiber: 1
Net Carbs: 3
Crust:
1 (8 oz) package of full fat cream cheese, room temperature
2 eggs
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Topping:
1/2 cup pizza sauce (Walden Farms Pizza Sauce 0 calories/0carbs)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
toppings โ pepperoni, ham, sausage, mushrooms, peppers, etc
Garlic powder
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Lightly spay a 9ร13 baking dish with cooking spray. With a handheld mixer, mix cream cheese, eggs, pepper, garlic powder and parmesan cheese until combined. Spread into baking dish. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow crust to cool for 10 minutes.
Spread pizza sauce on crust. Top with cheese and toppings. Sprinkle pizza with garlic powder. Bake 8-10 minutes, until cheese is melted.
Thank you, Myrt! ๐
Happy NEW Year Lynn! I signed up for the next challenge. Althoughโฆ Iโll be leaving cold Alaska to spend some time vacationing with my โkidsโ in Dallas this January. Hope I can make good choices. My change this year is to start adding some more โmovementโ which is hard up here when it is cold/dark. So Iโm planning to mosey on the elliptical for at least 30 min. every day. I also LOWERED my goal range today from 140-145 to 137-142. And guess where I am today. Yep, 142! ACK! Today was 2 bacon, 2 eggs in the grease, this afternoon Iโve been munching on one of the AMAZING Pecan Bars! I made the mistake of making them in small ramekins and canโt get them out so chopped them in the bowl and have been eating it with a spoon. ๐ Tonight Iโm doing some โrareโ cooking. Iโm making the Fat Head pizza and topping it with pesto, sausage, katamala olives, goat cheese, chopped spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms. I have not had pizza in a LONG time. Iโm looking forward to it and hope I get several meals out of it. ANDโฆ I hope it tastes good!
I TRULY am enjoying your blog.
Thank you, Karen! ๐ That pizza sounds AMAZING!!
Happy New Year! I am in a panic here in Little Rick, Arkansas. This time last year I was excited to say I had lost 42 lbs and 1 1/2 of those lbs even in Dec. I was,so proud of that accomplishment. Now one year layer I have gained 20 lbs back since sept. Most of that during the holidays. I am out of control and even have had several binge days which made me feel horrible! I have psyched myself for โrenewelโ Jan 4th. I sure hope I can get get back on track!!! Iโm really disgusted with myself!
Hi Terry!
You are going to feel SO great when you STOP and get back to eating healthy!! ๐ The sooner the better โ start tomorrow, or just start now. You CAN get back on track, and as you already knowโฆ by the end of the first week you wonโt have any real cravings anymore. Iโm in it with you!! *cheers*
Dear Lynn
Happy New Year. Thank you so much for speaking truth about the very real struggles of the mental and emotional side of eating. It truely is an every day struggle. I actually sought professional help for this in 2011. Never would I have imagined the benefits of such counseling. It is amazing how much โawarenessโ of ones triggers [ whether emotional, mental, physical, or whatever] can help with the cycle of emotional eating. Good luck and i really enjoy your group and postings.
Thank you, Pam! Iโm considering hypnosis. Iโve done it before with good results, and I think it would be a good first step for me this year. Iโm ready to put this behind me. Itโs something sort of new in my life (the last 6 years) and Iโm DONE dealing with it. ๐ *cheers*
I love your blog it helps motivate me! You asked what 2016 goals we have, mine is to try new vegetables that I have never tried before. Thank you for being here for us!
Thank you, Carlene! ๐ Which vegetables are on your list to try first? I love roasted brussel sprouts โ and I never EVER liked brussel sprouts before! Hereโs a list for you, too: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/4964/low-carb-vegetables/ *cheers*