Carbs

In April of this past year Bret and I decided to take on a new adventure together.  Bret and I were approaching weights higher than either of us had ever been.  I was working out regularly doing crossfit and running yet the scale kept inching the wrong direction.

A friend did a lot of low carb cooking and posted pictures of her food and recipes online and it got me thinking.  We have never been good about diets.  Diets in the past have made us cranky, impatient, and really just very miserable people.  Our plan was to try it before our trip coming up in about 8 weeks and see what happened.

It is now September and almost six months since we started our weight loss journey.  Both of us have lost close to 25 pounds each and are feeling great.  Even better it doesn't feel like a diet but more like a lifestyle change.  We don't keep track of calories and we don't keep track of grams of carbs we just avoid bread, flour, pasta, sugar, and high carb foods like potatoes.  We eat a lot of meat, cheese, eggs, and veggies.  I think this has worked for us because it doesn't feel like we are depriving ourselves all the time.  Yes I can't eat a bun on my hamburger but I can have cheese and mayo both of which I have avoided because of the calories and fat for many years now.  Also because of the fat in our diet and because our bodies had plenty of fat to burn we are not hungry and thinking about food all the time.

I always have a big garden in the summer and this past summer we used the produce more than ever.  I made zoodle and spaghetti squash dishes that my kids even thought tasted pretty amazing.  Somethings were higher in carbs but still complex enough that we ate them anyway and it tasted so much better than ever before.  The sweet corn out of our garden was so sweet it felt like a treat.  There is so much information about Keto and carbs and all of it can be swayed as good or bad depending on who you ask.

Nothing in life is a one size fits all and weight loss is no exception.  I wouldn't say that it has always been easy but it hasn't been as hard either.  We feel good, our bodies are clearly telling us this was what they needed, and the way I think about food has changed as well.

Several people have asked how much longer or how much more weight we are trying to lose.  I don't have an answer because I have stopped focusing on the scale so much.  Of course more weight gone would be amazing but as the loss has stalled and slowed down I don't think about it as much.  I ate terrible this past week and last weekend.  We were out of town for a concert and our week has been crazy with practices and substitute teaching.  I also think I made some poor choices because of my cycle and serious cravings for chocolate.  However this morning I weighed myself for the week and was down another pound.  I was completely expecting to have gained weight back.

I think my favorite part is that Bret and I are doing this together.  He cheats way more than I do but it still is working for him.  Every now and then he will crave something and will look online for recipes that work around the carbs.  Last night he made English muffins in the microwave and they tasted good and were low carb. (I think almond flour, eggs, butter, baking powder, etc)  My goal is try and post a few recipes here and there for you guys to try out just for fun.