Days Two and Three

So far, so good. After my first low-carb day (Friday), I was down exactly 2.0 lbs. That should be about half of the accumulated water weight and bloat from five weeks of overindulgence. After my second day (Saturday), I'd lost another 1.2 lbs, for a total loss of 3.2 lbs in two days. Not a bad start. After I lose another pound or so, I should start losing fat instead of bloat.

I'm happy to report that I'm already seeing positive changes in just three short days. The brain-haze that sets in after a carb-heavy meal (you know the one: the I-can't-focus, I-need-a-nap feeling that renders you essentially useless for an hour or two) is completely gone. I feel more alert and less sluggish all day, so my energy has already begun to increase. It's nowhere near where I expect it will be in a few more weeks, but definitely improved!

After I return to work tomorrow, I expect these blog posts will slow down. There's just too much to be done in the few hours left at the end of the school day. My goal is to chronicle and update my progress at least once a week, probably on Saturday or Sunday.

So here's what I did yesterday and today.

SATURDAY

BREAKFAST

Two fried eggs.

I ate breakfast at 10:00. Like Friday, I had eggs fried in butter, except this time I reduced the number of eggs from three to two. I got hungry a little sooner, but my body will adjust to smaller portions soon. That's the beauty of enjoying fats with your meals. Healthy fats (butter, olive oil, mayonnaise, etc.) make you feel satiated, and I know from experience that within a week or two I won't even want larger portions because my brain will begin to recognize that I get full on less.

Somehow that doesn't happen when I eat fats coupled with large amounts of refined carbohydrate; in other words, sugar, including the abundance of natural sugars found in foods such as white rice, white flour, corn, and potatoes. I suspect that's because, just like heroin, when a lot of sugar hits the system, the brain releases copious amounts of dopamine, the feel-good neurotransmitter. More and more research is confirming that too much sugar (in its various forms) is addictive, leading to cravings, loss of control, and even a heightened tolerance to sugar, requiring more to achieve the same levels of pleasure.

And I admit it. I am one of the world's top sugar addicts.

Check out this EXCELLENT VIDEO on the effects of too much sugar on the body. I only disagree with her on one point: for those of us who are already addicted to sugar, that one wedge of grandma's chocolate cake will hurt us!

LUNCH

Diced green onion and celery added to 5 oz of tuna.

Lunchtime was at 2:00. I love tuna sandwiches, especially with a tall heap of alfalfa sprouts. Unfortunately, you can hardly find alfalfa sprouts around here anymore (maybe I need to start sprouting my own). Also, unfortunately, if I can't put my tuna on bread then I must dress up the tuna to make it more palatable by the forkful. More like a tuna salad.

Celery is a must, for the crunch. Green onion lends a nice flavor. I also like chopped egg and olives, as well as lettuce or sprouts, but never tomato. I love tomatoes, but something about the combination of tuna and tomato just doesn't taste right in my mouth. Since I had no boiled eggs on hand and didn't want to open a whole can for just a handful of olives and wanted to save the head of lettuce for Sunday's dinner, I settled for green onion and celery this time.

Mixed with about a quarter-cup of mayonnaise.

SNACK: I got a small case of the munchies around 5:30, so I sat down with two squares of Godiva dark chocolate (72% cocoa) and enjoyed letting it slowly melt in my mouth while I scrolled through Facebook.

DINNER

Leftover chile relleno casserole with a side of green beans.

Dinner was late again, at 8:00. We kept it simple this time, just leftovers. I reheated Friday's chile relleno casserole, but this time we had green beans on the side rather than green salad. The green beans were sauteed in butter with just a bit of dehydrated minced onion. Since the natural sugars in dehydrated vegetables (and fruits) are condensed, it's a good idea to use them sparingly, if at all. I just happen to like their flavor in my green beans.

I never cook my vegetables in water, whether they're canned, frozen, or fresh. You lose too many nutrients that way, plus I don't care much for the flavor of most vegetables unless they are buttery. My mother used to boil her vegetables, pour off the water, and then add a pat of butter. I've cut out the middle man. I melt butter in the bottom of the pan and use it to saute the vegetable. That way the vegetable stays crisper, and we get the nutrients because we eat the butter, too! 

And lest there is still some concern about adding fat to everything, here's another little tidbit I learned from a nutritionist several years ago. Certain nutrients in vegetables, such as lycopene and beta-carotene (which help prevent heart disease and cancer), cannot be absorbed by the body unless they are ingested with some fat. According to Web M.D., as much as 6 grams of fat are required to fully absorb the healthy carotenoids in a serving of vegetables. So stop feeling guilty about including a little fat with your foods!

DESSERT: My usual bedtime cup of low-carb hot cocoa with a couple of Tbsp of heavy cream, around 11:30. Luscious!

SUNDAY

BREAKFAST

Two eggs, beaten in a bowl.

For Sunday's breakfast, at 11:30, I had two eggs scrambled in butter with my beloved garlic salt. I liked eggs okay as a child, but scrambled was not one of my favorite egg treatments. It always seemed too dry to me. Then one day, way back in the 1970s, my friend Peggi showed me this little trick. Now I use it every time.

A drizzle of heavy cream keeps the scrambled eggs from drying out.

Pour the beaten eggs into the hot butter and stir occasionally until the eggs are almost set, but not quite. Then drizzle a little heavy cream over the eggs. (Peggi actually used milk, and so did I until I found out that milk is high in natural-sugar carbs. Then I switched to cream.) At this point I turn off the pan so the eggs won't over-cook. Then I stir the eggs in the still-hot pan until the cream has been absorbed. I love scrambled eggs made this way!

Voila! Perfectly moist and fluffy every time!

LUNCH

Boil the eggs, peel them, cut them in halves, and pop their yolks into a bowl.

Mash the yolks with a fork and add some salt (or garlic salt).

You can toss in other spices or herbs you like, or even real bacon pieces.

Never use fake bacon bits. They're like mystery meat...with carbs.

I don't usually have deviled eggs for lunch, but I was already making a big batch to use for quick before-school breakfasts this week, so that's what I ate when I finally felt hungry for lunch around 5:30. (Yes, I went a full six hours between lunch and breakfast without dying of hunger.) I ate three eggs (six halves), although it was really closer to two-and-a-half eggs since I used the ones that were hard to peel, meaning the eggs' whites had big chunks missing all over them! However, I'll be eating only two deviled eggs for breakfast each morning this week.

Some people like their yolk mixture with lots of mustard flavor.

I don't like yellow mustard but I do throw in a couple Tbsp of Dijon.

I love the little spicy kick it adds. Then I add mayo until I get the texture I prefer.

Finally, stuff the hollows in the egg halves with roughly equal amounts of yolk mix.

I do sprinkle them with paprika. Some people say paprika has no flavor,

but I disagree. I can tell the difference when it's missing. Plus it's more festive!

DINNER

Guacamole Ole! Peel the avocados, scoop out the pulp, and mash fine with a fork.

Add a small can of diced green chilies and 1 Tbsp lemon juice (or lime, if you prefer).

Finely dice a tomato and about a dozen green onions and add to mixture.

Finally, add about a quarter-cup of sour cream, season to taste, and mix well.

We like ours seasoned with garlic salt and course-grind black pepper.

Tonight, being Sunday, was our weekly family dinner. Mark grilled us some pork chops (which I somehow forgot to take pictures of), I prepared my homemade guacamole, and Sarah made us a big green salad. Most people think we're a bit odd, but we like our pork chops best when they're smothered in guacamole. What can I say? It's yummy!

Sarah made the salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, celery, and green onion.

The guys had ranch dressing, but we girls had our favorite, vinegar and olive oil.

NO DESSERT TONIGHT! Not even any dark chocolate... Now wish me luck as I return for my first week back on the job!