adoptmom

Sorry I can't help you with the balcony rooms. I only have been on one cruise and it was not my ideal vacation.:rolleyes: Next time I will choose by cruiseline not by destinations.

 

OK guys I'm getting back into low carb today. I have to take it slow because I have crohn's disease so any sudden changes in my diet cause major drama but I'm cutting back to just 1 serving of carbs a day. I leave beans and seasonal fruit in my diet because I follow protein power life plan not atkins. I don't do well at all in ketosis.

 

I have to get this going again though because I broke my foot a while back and I've put on 10 pounds since then. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Tami

Alright ya'll holidays and birthdays are over! Well, I still have one kid birthday to go but not until the end of January. By then I want to be solidly back on path. We still have a few things in the house but they are things I can live without. "Santa" brought DH and I a scale that measures % fat and BMI too, pedometers and a blood pressure cup. (DH was SOOO excited.;) )

Yesterday I started out slowly in the exercise department with a good yoga workout. I have a broken foot because my toddler rolled over it with a huge tonka truck. (Don't ask. These kind of things happen to me!:D ) So for cardio for the next few weeks it's recumbant biking for 30 minutes a day. I pulled a 10K and half marathon training program too. I don't want to do one but we're going to Italy in 17 weeks and I want the family to be in good walking shape so we're going to train for it.

I'm easing back into my eating plan. Since I have crohn's it really screws me up to go into induction suddenly. A low of about 70 carbs is all I seem to be able to tolerate without having ostomy issues. Usually, I get mine by having a daily dose of steel cut oats.

Well, gotta run.

Tami

Kreeb- Your situation reminds me of the year I had to have an emergency gall bladder removal 2 days after Christmas (the old fashioned kind) and then on Jan 8 my DH was fixing the garage door and got his finger caught and nearly amputated. We had 3 kids including one who was 11 months old. He could pick her up but not DO anything with her (like change her) and I couldn't pick her up. We muddled through like the 3 stooges and it was a LONG 12 weeks.

 

Hang in there. My favorite chanting mantra is "this too shall pass." I now have 4 kids so believe me, I use it ALL the time. :D Have fun with that pup too. We had a Bichon when DH and I were first married. She was a doll.

 

Tami

You could also use a silpat liner if you have them. I lust after them but haven't justified the expense yet since I don't bake that much anymore. They'd make cheese laces a breeze though.

 

Another thing on the rancid taste- I can't remember if that recipe used oil, but oil can also go rancid, especially cold pressed oils like EVOO or nut oils. Don't buy more than you can use in a short amount of time.

 

Tami

You're lucky. I can't eat nuts very well at all. I have an ileostomy and they can cause a blockage if I'm not careful. Most of my nut consumption comes from nutbutters. We get one from Trader Joes that's macadamia-cashew that my daughter loves. It works out great for her since she's allergic to peanuts.

 

I'm having a major countdown. I've gotten away from low carbing and I have gained back 10 pounds and feel like crap. :mad: So the family has been warned. We have Yule tonight, my younger son's birthday on Sunday, Christmas eve, christmas and then my daughter's birthday on the 27th. On the 28th all the crap leaves the house and we get back to healthy eating. I've already started adjusting my eating by adding at least a vegetable or fruit serving at breakfast and lunch and 2-3 and supper.

 

Gotta get back on track.

 

Tami

I tried that and it made the nuts taste rancid maybe I let them cool to long what gives did I do somthing wrong.............HELP:eek:

 

Sounds like you had bad nuts to start with. Check your expiration dates and always store the ones you're not going to eat within the next few days in the freezer or at least the fridge.

 

Hey, I have a similiar "recipe" if you will because there is no recipe really for spiced nuts. It's the same basic concept only it's not sweet. You use a small amount of salt, a dash (to your taste) to 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp of turmeric and up to 2 Tbls of curry powder or garam masala. Otherwise you follow the basic recipe.

 

We make them on the spicy side for 2 reasons. One is that we LIKE firey foods and they are good for you. The second is that we tend to eat less when they are hotter so less carbs.

 

Once you get this basic technique down though play around with the spices because you can do this same thing with lemon pepper, garlic powder, or whatever your favorite spice happens to be.

 

Tami

I've also been using SP for a while. I only have one problem. SP can suck up ALOT of time before you realize it.:eek: I have to limit the number of conversations I'm on or before I know it my house is hip deep in junk, I haven't exercised and the kids are eating eachother for dinner.:o

 

Tami

Hey, it comes down to the point where you have to do what is best for you. What would you do about the cake if you were allergic to wheat? No! You wouldn't let her pressure you into eating it then. Think of this lifestyle in the same way. You are doing what is best for your body and your long term health.

 

Tami

As far as the chips and salsa go, I had to ask myself what it was that I really liked about it. For me, the answer wasn't the chips because other than the salt, they're always kind of blah, it was the salsa. Well, salsa isn't usually too bad in the carb department so I take my own dippers for it in the form of veggies. You could also take pork rinds but I detest them. If I'm feeling frisky I also make my own chips by drying turnip or yellow squash slices in the oven. Sprinkle them with salt before you dry them.

 

Tami

Oh I forgot to say that if you do the sushi salad be sure to keep it very cold. Don't want you to get any "icks" from eating raw fish that was kept too warm.:eek:

 

Tami

For lunches I like roll ups: Take sliced deli meat that doesn't have fillers, spread it with a bit of cream cheese or real mayo, then a slice of roasted red pepper or lettuce leaf, and a dill pickle spear/celery stalk/cucumber spear and roll it up. If you're going to take it someplace you might need to stick a toothpick in it.

 

Also, I love meat salads like tuna, salmon or chicken. You can use fresh or canned meat and real mayo, although I use veganaise because my daughter is allergic to eggs. It's still low carb. I usually use capers instead of pickle relish, celery and whatever veggies are leftover.

 

Oh and if I have GOOD tuna or salmon leftover I make sushi salad. Raw or lightly seared tuna or salmon diced finely, some nori cut into strips, cucumber diced , avocado diced and a few sesame seeds. I toss it with a "vinegret" made with some rice wine vinegar (just a touch), soy sauce, a little canola oil, and just a touch of sesame oil. It's all to taste. You could also throw in wasabi but I don't like it. I'm not sure but I'd think the pickled ginger would be carby.

 

There's always the standby salad. the great thing about low carb is that you can have great dressings like blue cheese and ranch. I also make alot of vinegrets when I want something sweet or less heavy if I'm going to put berries on the salad. Raspberry vinegar makes a great vinegret but doesn't add any carbs.

 

Tami

Hi all- Oh man, I feel like garbage today! Some kind of sinusy funk that the baby has passed down and of course it's messing with my stomach. :( Still haven't gotten a good start on induction and I was really hoping to be well into it before we leave on vacation 2 weeks from tomorrow.

 

One good thing is that we did book a condo for 4 of the nights while we're in Texas. That will be nice because we can at least cook breakfast and lunch or dinner there. Breakfast is always the most difficult on the road because I can only take eggs so many days in a row plus my DH is the king of "lets eat at the free hotel contintental crap breakfast." You know, the one with the bagels, cereal, danish, donuts and maybe some fruit. I definitely have to buy some Atkins morning bars to take with me! Any other suggestions that are car friendly and won't melt in the southern heat?

 

Tami

Sheila- Well we did do indian food BUT it was a vegetarian restaurant so way more carby than a normal indian buffet could have been. I'm up a pound but it's worth it!:D At least I only lost a day. Let's face it. I just need to cook at home if I want to eat good indian food that I know is low carb. Off the top of my head: saag (creamed spinach) is safe as along as it doesn't say aloo (potatoes); also tandoori anything like chicken or seafood. That's meat marinated in yogurt and spices and then baked in a clay oven. It's hard to find good tandoori on a buffet because it can be easily overdone but if you're ordering it as a meal it's wonderful. Dahl or daal (lentil stew) is usually fairly safe for those not in induction. Chicken masala is good too. Occasionally in a restaurant they'll put a small amount of sugar in it to round out the tomatoes but it's maybe a Tablespoon for the entire recipe. I've never had it throw me out of ketosis. When I make it at home I don't use it.

 

I have to go get my daughter's hair done but I'll try and think of some others. I can also post some of my recipes if you'd like. Also at one time Cuisinecuisine.com had a section of low carb indian recipes from their low carb contest. Don't know if those are still there or not.

 

Question: Have you ever used Agave as a sweetener? I'm trying to use less nutrasweet and splenda to see if that helps with my migraines but I detest stevia. I have a couple of friends who are diabetic who swear by agave.

 

Tami

Sheila- I searched the shelves and actually found some capsules yesterday that had no fillers plus they had calcium. Now, the downside is that you can take up to 20 per day:rolleyes: BUT, that is ok with me. Yesterday I ate 6 servings of vegetables. I don't need TONS of fiber I just need enough soluable to balance out what I'm missing by not eating starch to bind up my output into my bag. I started with one yesterday afternoon and one in the evening and that made a big difference already. I probably won't need more than 3 or 4 and once my system gets used to the new routine I may not need it at all.

 

I do like that it has calcium though. I can't take huge pills because I don't digest them so I'm stuck with chewables. I have a hard time finding calcium that doesn't have sugar in it. I did finally find Costco brand "viactives" for regular vitamins that are sugar free and don't have alot of carbs but the only calciums they had that day were mocha. Bleh!

 

thanks for all the info. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Today we're having a "mom's day out" lunch. I still don't know where we're going. I'm hoping for indian food because I know my way around it. The naan is hard to pass up but I could care less about rice. My worst fear is that they were talking about italian as the other option. That leaves me with alot less choices. Besides, I'm really jonesing for some chicken masala. I guess if we go italian I'm going to have to make it.

 

Tami

Sheila- I haven't tried psyllium husk. Maybe I'll try that. Is it pretty smooth? I have a hard time with small seeds like flax because they get stuck under my ostomy seal and cause leakages. I even thought about some of those fiber capsules but haven't seen any that don't have some kind of starch or sugar in them.

 

I did start back today. I'm going to go into it slowly and see if that will help. Yesterday while I was cooking dinner I sauted a big bunch of peppers, onions, garlic and mushooms in olive oil. This morning I heated up some of those and scrambled a couple of eggs in with them. So yummy! One thing I love about atkins is that I can eat eggs. We have chickens so not only are they free but they're very fresh.

 

Atkins will make my life easier anyway. I have kids with food allergies. One is allergic to corn and peanuts. She also used to be allergic to eggs which is when I got away from atkins in the first place. Now, she can eat eggs and she's mostly just sensitive to corn. She could eat peanuts, she no longer tests positive for the allergy, I just choose to keep her away from them as a precaution. The other is allergic to soy. Those two allergies pretty much cut out all processed foods from our lives.

 

I can't wait for the energy surge to kick in!

 

Tami

Hey Sheila- I have a wierd one for you! I have an ileostomy and for some reason on induction or anything close to it I get the opposite problem that alot of people get on Atkins. I can't stay out of the bathroom! I seem to need some kind of starchy something to not have bigtime drama. I'd like to get back to Atkins though because I feel so much better when I avoid grains, especially wheat. Got any good suggestions? With the exception of Okra there's not much I won't eat vegetable-wise.

 

Thanks!

 

Tami

Oh man! I'm having the worst time getting started back. I'm having alot of weather related headaches right now and going through sugar withdrawal does not help! I bordered on a migraine all day yesterday and finally had a sandwich at dinner time which helped. HELP!!!

 

Tami

Hi all- hope you don't mind if I jump in. I'm getting back into the low carb lifestyle, although I actually do protein Power. They're really similiar though and I feel so much better when I'm low carbing. I'm already down 45 pounds but I've stalled since I started letting things slide back in. :mad: I won't be doing induction, just going straight back into the second part.

 

Tami

Leftovers! Don't be tied into having breakfast foods for breakfast. Also, I made up "muffins" that were scrambled egg, ham/bacon or sausage, onion, green chili or red pepper and cheese in a muffin cup and baked them then stored them in the fridge. You can zap one in the microwave for breakfast. Just don't use foil muffin cups. Hard boiled eggs are good straight or make egg salad. Also no sugar deli meat like turkey and string cheese. Natural nut butters and celery. If you're out of induction you can have ricotta cheese and berries too.

 

I also do alot of smoothies. I use designer whey which has only 2 carbs per scoop. I find it at meijer or Trader joes. It's not terribly expensive, high in vitamins and protien and tastes good. Chocolate and vanilla are easy to find but Meijer has several flavors including strawberry and Chocolate carmel peanut. You can mix it with water and ice and it's ok. I mix it with milk. I use the Hood calorie countdown (used to be Carb countdown.) I buy those sugarless coffee syrups that have zero carbs to flavor it up and I also tend to add a spoon full of some kind of fiber (either a Tbls of flax seed meal or 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum) for body and to make it more filling. I would do this especially in induction. Once you're out of induction you could also toss in a handful of berries.

 

Hope that helps! Good luck. I lost my first 30 with atkins.

 

Tami

Cruisecat- Very cool idea! I used to do this with my swimming and actually "swam the English Channel" while my older kids were in preschool.:D Somehow I don't have time to drive 20 miles to the pool every day right now. I goofed up my knee doing the Mini in Indy a few years back and can't really run any more but I'm going to ride my bike with you on this one. Not sure where I'm riding to yet but I'll think about it and let you know. I've got some time because with a new baby my riding is coming in 15 minute shots right now.:D

 

Tami