Ermagersh! It’s almost THE DAY!
The
Day!
You know what day? It’s almost New Year’s Eve!
And this year, for me, is brand new: It’s no longer a day of regrets that soon spin into guilt over resolutions not kept.
You see, I kept my promises to myself. Since the end of August, I resolved to do my best to find a lifestyle plan of action that works for me–and believe me, it’s a work in progress all of the time. Sometimes it hasn’t been easy, and other times, it’s been pretty miserable trying to determine the food intolerances and allergies that made me sick and kept me inflamed. And I’m still learning.
But with learning, I am making so many tremendous changes! No more binges. No more perfection. No more guilt, remorse, or feelings of worthlessness.
In fact, while I’m low-carb all of the time, I’m not even following Induction. I’m just doing me. I’m enjoying what I want on occasion, and I’m paying attention to what I won’t want to eat due to the side effects which I know affect my overall health. It’s no longer fear of falling off of the weight loss wagon–I don’t want to fall off of the health wagon.
Keep me healthy, health wagon.
Here is to the best 2013 and to the best us-es we can be together.
Now on to how I’ve been doing with our Mid-Year Challenge… Be sure to do your thing. I am thrilled share my progress and thoughts, but I’m not the person you should necessarily look to for dieting advice (I’m not a paid nosh-a-titian). Be sure to subscribe for updates by adding your email right (in the sidebar) or through Feedburner in the title bar up top. You can also click the tab up top that says Mid-Year Resolution for regular updates.
Friday, December 28
I ate this:
Breakfast: Cottage cheese with a few sunflower seeds (still feeling a little narky)
Lunch: mixed nuts
Dinner: 40% of a Taco Star Nachos minus the chips + toppings from a slice of Hawaiian Pizza (I know there’s pineapple. It was worth it).
Notes: Yay! Taco Star!
What I learned:
I am in my pajamas today learning about what you would like to see on this site next year. What would you like to see on Your Lighter Side in 2013?
That said, with well over 400 low-carb, gluten free recipes on my site, what would you like to see more of?
More cooking tips? Substitutions? Recipe videos? Podcasts? Personal writing? Articles about vitamins, nutrients, and scientific studies?
What would enhance your experience with Your Lighter Side in 2013? I think recipes are incredible, but I want to really bring it–you guys make me want to rock it out even harder.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Happy new year’s eve!
I’d love to see some more recipe tips and substitution tips. I’m a pretty decent cook, but run into problems when it comes to subbing out (or subbing in) items in a recipe. And the substitutions that you’ve already posted are great ones. Maybe pairing the two together?
i.e. when you sub (a) for (b) you should keep in mind that (a) adds, subtracts, requires, changes…
Thanks as always for great recipes and everyday reminders that weight loss and maintenance is a daily challenge! I love reading your journey and recipes. I’ve even joined your Valentine’s Day weight loss challenge.
🙂
Jenn
Thanks so much, Jenn! I am definitely going to do more in the new year to help with the substitutions. I already have one article written that I hope will be really helpful.
Thanks so much for joining the challenge and for your support, suggestions and kind words. I appreciate them more than you know–and you, too!
Have a Happy New Year- and thanks for this wonderful place!
Same to you, Margaret! Here is us being even more amazing in 2013.
I learned of Dr Atkins in 1974…. I eat low carb..vegetables and roast chicken,salads..I just don’t understand how you have been ketogenic for so long and have gained 100 lbs..you keep eating cheese when it makes you sick,and always have a virus.. I really don’t like hearing about that.. I admire that you have lost 62 lbs but there is no way that you can keep eating pepperoni ,seeds and pizza toppings forever…make yourself some fresh foods and you will feel much better…..
Hi, Wenda! I wouldn’t have gained the weight if I had stayed on low-carb. My switching to a food pyramid type of eating (including those 11 servings of grains) is what set the binging and sugar addiciton rampant and caused me to gain not 100 pounds, but almost 225… Now that I’m working with baseline foods, I am expanding ever so slowly back out into the foods I know and love. As an example, though, I can’t have broccoli–I’m intolerant. But I do love my spinach!
And I definitely recommend people find their own baseline foods when looking for food intolerances. For me this has been a difficult journey, but it’s so worth it. And I do love my fresh, whole foods.
They’re wonderful!
I wish you much good luck to lose the weight you want….Happy New Year! Cheers to spinach !!!
To spinach! *the sounds of glass clinking*
It is always a pleasure to read your prose everyday… It inspires to not cheat…stay the course… Be creative in a culinary way… Discover new foods… New spices… New tastes…
And the dessert recipes are here to ping our taste buds! I love it! Thank you! You continuously teach us so much!
Regards,
Happy New Year!
Gladys
You are so kind that no one would ever suspect I’m paying you under the table in cash for your sentiments.
D’oh!
Congratulations, Jamie. It sounds like you’ve made a significant breakthrough with your diet and how it relates to your health. It also sounds a lot like how I feel about diet, actually: as a type 1 diabetic, the negative health impacts of a high-carbohydrate diet are immediately manifested by illness. For example, a TINY nibble here and an itsy-bitsy nibble there at Christmas, added to a week or so of no exercise, made my blood sugar spin out of control, which in turn led to grogginess and made my kidneys ache, as they do with the onset of hyperglycemia-induced kidney infection.
Weight loss is a welcome side effect of a low-carb diet, but the health consequences are what really keep me dedicated. I love feeling well. I love the feeling of hydration, the moisture in my mouth, which disappears when high blood sugar in my bloodstream coats my cells and keeps water from entering.
Low carb is an abstract concept for some, but for people who are inflicted immediately with adverse health consequences from carbohydrates, it’s the source of—more or less, depending on the individual—instant relief from illness.
Thanks for the hard work you’ve done in 2012 to help us keep that lifestyle pleasant and tasty, and best wishes for the new year.
Lisa, I love everything you’ve said and agree with you 100%. I couldn’t have said it better. Just knowing you’re feeling well… that’s more inspiring than the weight loss ever will be. Inflammation makes me sick.
More recipes, please! I enjoy everything you write about, but find the recipes my lifeline to maintaining a 135 pound weight loss and really appreciate the opportunity to try something new. I’d also love your opinion on Whey Low products, there’s lots of controversy out there with regard to them and I’m uncertain as to whether I should continue to use them or not. Thanks for all you do! Happy New Year!
Hi, Laura! Congratulations on your amazing losses! I will definitely have new recipes for you in the new year. I can’t wait!
Per Whey Low, it’s too sketchy for me, because the label reads 4 carbs and they claim only 1 net effective (I don’t see the typical sugar alcohols or fiber that would render 4 carbs down to 1). I tend towards a combination of xylitol and Splenda: https://yourlighterside.com/make-your-own-ideal-sweetener/
Ok, I know I live in another country…and sometimes it feels like another planet!
Question… What is Whey Low, please?
Regards,
Glad
Whey Low is a sweetener: https://www.wheylow.com/
That is all I know, aside from just checking the label an hour ago. I am so Nancy Drew at this moment.
Supposed to be okay on low carb, but a lot of web postings say it’s basically just sugar with some kind of odd calculation to make you think it’s not. I LOVE the taste and texture (I bake a lot), and I’ve had zero issues with it, but concerns over misinformation caused me to cancel my last order. I wanted Jamie’s input since she tests so many recipes. I loved using it but have no desire to impact my weight and/or health in a negative manner. You can search online for whey low and make your own determination; good luck!
I am so so skeptical of just about everything when it comes to foods and their promises, especially since I’m so sensitive to a lot of what’s out there. If the Whey Low doesn’t affect you and you like it, then I say use it. I know people who use Sweet N Low and abvout everything that’s available out there, from monk fruit to liquid sucralose. Half the battle is just finding a “sweet” you like. I know I don’t like the taste of stevia, but when it’s blended (as in Truvia), I’m much less averse.
Recipe videos would be real cool…..seeing you cooking in your PJ’s even cooler hahahahaha
Oh, my pjs! And a tiara. And a feather boa…and… and…
Oh, Jamie on video?!! Cool! No, VERY cool! Imagine… We WILL know the sound of your voice! And that would be wonderful, indeed!
Regards,
Glad
Oh dear me. You know, I shot a practice video about a week ago and I am aghast at how chunky of a monkey I really am. I am going to definitely have to whittle more of my middle before I force you to look at me on camera. More recipes are definitely coming, though!
For myself personally I would love to see more completely non-dairy low-carb recipes. I can’t tolerate even a tiny amount of butter, milk, whey, etc. Perhaps non-dairy substitution suggestions in recipes which do contain dairy?
Carol– that is a great idea! I can’t do much dairy, either. Can you stomach soy without problems? Nuts?
Amazing, isn’t it? You’ve grown in this journey, and so have I! I’m inspired by you saucy lady! It’s no longer an “all or nothing” attitude, but one of “give and take” and learning what works for each of us. This last six months have been VERY good for me. For four of those months I’ve maintained my weight loss (80 pounds so far) and enjoyed life. Soon I will move on to more weight loss (taking it in sessions) and then again maintenance. It’s no longer about how fast I can take it off, but how can I live this life. Thank you. That’s all, thank you! <3
It took me so long to get to this point, but I’m so happy I’m here. Who knew that I’d do this well by focusing more on food allergies than carbohydrates all of the time? I do keep my carbs low, but I still enjoy the carbs when I really want them (and the side effects I know I’ll have to deal with later). I find that accountability for me, first and foremost, is so important, and I never have regret when I take a bit of something I don’t typically have. It’s enjoyable, not guilty–especially when I find out I’m not allergic/intolerant to it (like the few corn chips I enjoy in my nachos once a week after weigh-in)…
Sorry for the rambling… I so appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences!
♫♪♫I will follow you
♫!♪♪follow you wherever you should go….
Oh my gosh. You did a cute thing. I love cute things.
OH LADIES. the cookie dough balls are tops wow….what a treat…………thank you both so much
I am so happy you like them!
The truth is the truth, Jamie! It cannot be bent, twisted or distorted!
Cheers to all in ringing in the new year!
Glad
Happy New Rear, Sheila!
I would love a way to share LC batch cooking or ways to cook a meat/roast one time and use for many different meals. Not really once a month style cooking but info on what meals can be prepared ahead of time and even ways for people to share their meal planning tips.
Thanks for all you do. You have really helped me work on realizing that “perfect on plan” eating is not realistic and that splurges are part of “on plan” eating.
I love that idea, Andrea! So many of us want to cook a bunch of staples ahead of time, so having ideas to use up the chicken (as an example) is a great idea. I know the chicken crust pizza came about as a leftover idea…
I am so glad I’ve been able to help a little bit on perceptions with eating, too. I’m anxiously awaiting my Taco Star with corn Nacho Chips. I am starving.
I would love to see more of this! I cook with my crock pot as often as possible and leftovers redone into something else is my life. I’d also love to see meal plans like they do in all my fitness mags where they give you a grocery list and then plan out a week or two of recipes and meals. I’m terrible at planning my own meals, but if I don’t its me at Starbucks with a coffee and a $6 protein box for lunch *shudder*.
I am like you, but I’m not at all a planner– unless I’m cooking a slew of recipes for the site. As a recovering perfectionist, I’ll see what I can do to help without going OCD.
Jamie,
Thank you for what you have done for yourself & for us this year. I’d like to second the motion for more substitutes! I have numerous allergies & ones that are terribly hard to avoid for a chocoholic.
Actual allergies are sugars of all kinds, chocolate, carob, peanuts & a few other nuts, wheat & gluten, oats, coffee,peppers, dairy, mushrooms, beef, pork, halibut, saccharin, aspartame…. these are part of the list and it has been difficult to substitute for some things.
I’m looking forward to a better 2013 & learning to eat more than chicken, veggies & rice cakes!!
(BTW – the last few wks. have been hard for me & I’ve cheated numerous times & I am feeling pretty bad…. hard way to learn but MAYBE it’ll be a little easier to stay away from the culprits).
Jan–Thanks so much! I appreciate your feedback…
Just a thought–Rice cakes make me SO hungry. So so so so so hungry. Try these instead when you need something to crunch? https://yourlighterside.com/flax-cracker-recipe-2/
Wow Jamie. Thanks! I didn’t find you until this yr. so I never saw that recipe. I’ll try it soon. I agree rice cakes do make me hungry & I can end up eating several at 1 sitting but they are crunchy…I’ve gotten used to eating “stirofoam”! But, hopefully I’ll raise my horizons this yr.
Again, thank you!!
Jan– Those rice cakes are wonderful in a pinch, but because they’re so likely to spike my blood sugar, I have to run the other way. And that’s too bad. Those chocolate ones are to die for (I might bloat for them, too)…
Jamie, I can say that you have altered my LC life. Until you avoiding soy in and Splenda in LC recipes was next to impossible. Now I have a slew of ways to substitute and recipes that don’t have it at all. Your honesty about your own battles and wins has been an inspiration along with your humor and creativity. I appreciate that you watch our budgets and keep it real.
Since you started being more mindful of health and not weight this has also brought me joy. I am a firm believer in Healthy at Every Size way of life, and you are moving more and more to that philosophy. Please do videos. So you’re not skinny, I’m not skinny either. Be proud of who you are at any size. You are beautiful and I know that all your fans like me would love videos to help us learn to cook better. I still have challenges with my cauliflower pizza crust. Until I watched someone else on YouTube make your famous Oopsie rolls I had Flatsie rolls. Please, please, please rethink your perspective on your size and the camera. You are beautiful at every size that you are making healthy choices. 🙂
Cybil, you’ve always been one of my most inspirational friends. Over the years I have enjoyed so much your cheeky, fun personality and your attitudes. Life isn’t perfect, but we don’t have to be. That’s one of the many things you’ve taught me that didn’t have to do with books, cats, or skin care over time. I’m definitely thinking about your comment!
Congrats to you on your journey & realizing the best way to eat for you. I’m a couple months in on a low-carb ketogenic diet & I have felt SO much better eating this way. No horrible sugar cravings & binges, more energy, less moodiness… It just takes experimenting & finding the right type of eating/foods for each person.
I’d love to see some more very low-carb, simple casserole or easy dinner type recipes. 🙂
It is so exciting…and I’ll definitely make that happen. Casseroles are about the best things on earth.
I agree! So easy & tasty! Thanks! 🙂
I would like more stuff that would go well in lunch boxes! I’m still in school, and it’s hard to keep most of this stuff hot/yummy/cold in a lunch box.
Hi, Amber! That is really tough. The good thing is that many leftovers will keep in a lunchbox until lunch, especially if yours is insulated. If not, foods like lasagnas travel well if you can heat it before heading out the door. Lasagna at room temp is positively divine. Also, if you have access to a microwave, you can reheat anything you bring that is in a microwaveable container. My kids are low-carb and go to school, so I’ll give you some new ideas, too!