I didn’t gain any weight, that wasn’t the intention. I want to lose 15 pounds, the same darn 15 pounds I have been wanting to lose for over a year.

I sorta have been testing myself with food. Going to Whole Foods is a huge test. All those Wow looking desserts and breads. I could smell all the sugar. I did great and quite proud of myself for not buying any of it. I headed to the raw food section and bought some chocolate. I didn’t even enjoy that and the dates were weird. Yes, I bought some dates. I was very happy to find that I didn’t enjoy them all that much either.  I must be over the sugar cravings that plagued me last fall.

I am beginning to think that just maybe Stevia is creating some of these sugar cravings. I am cutting back on the teas that I always dump in to much Stevia. Seems like I need more and more of it over time. I use the pure Stevia and need the tiniest bit and I am adding about 3 of those tiny spoons per cup. I also add it to my frozen blueberries. I have to stop doing that, I am thinking it is also making food taste strange. I will take a Stevia break for a few days to find out.

My two kitties are doing pretty good. They are growing and looking great. They love their raw food and hunks of raw turkey leg they get each day. Their fur feels like a pelt. Tomorrow is Bob’s neuter day. Hope it goes well, he hasn’t been in the best of health. Poor boy.

Diet

I have decided to give the ultrasimple diet a go. It is for 7 days to remove inflammation and toxins. So far so good at day 2. First thing I noticed was no runny nose this morning, a flat feeling stomach and just plain feeling good. I think I have dropped a few ounces too. I don’t expect much because I eat a reduced amount of calories already. Doing that makes it very hard to lose weight. It will come off in time so I am in no hurry.

The next step is to figure out what food I gave up that was causing the runny nose. I will try giving up the blueberries first then the stevia. I might be overdoing both of them. So far I can’t figure out what is doing it, oh the other thing I gave up for the detox week is beef. Maybe it was that, or ah ha, the 1/2 cup of cottage cheese. I will start to reintroduce them one at a time in a few weeks to see if I get that annoying runny nose again. Right now it is gone. I have had it for years, wow it is great without it.

Exercise

Sad to say, I have not been exercising for about 2 months now. My size 2 skinny jeans no longer fit. They did when I was at 135 while exercising so I really need to get back working out. That is phase 2 of the New Years resolution. I intend to start all over again by Feb. 1.

Kitties in a little over a week, yea

It seems there isn’t  many breeders of British shorthairs in our area. We want to buy local and visit the cattery. So for now we are waiting. I hope it isn’t a long wait. We are missing our big boy something terrible.

I even tried talking the Greek into a Mainecoon. Big mistake, he won’t even listen.  Hopefully we will have a beautiful pet in a month or so.

I am really trying my best to stay away from refined sugar and chocolate, not easy right now.  My meals and snacks are fine it is just this darn M&M kick I have been on since Oct. maybe even Sept. I have gained about 7 pounds. I am not even weighing myself everyday. I will tomorrow since I didn’t splurge tonight. My clothes still fit I am just filling them out more. The size 2 skinny jeans are going to stay in the drawer until I get back to 127. I can do it. I have gotten so used to being this size I don’t want to ever be over 135 again.

I stopped exercising about a month ago. I just have no desire to go there. I am already planning a New Years resolution to go back.  I still have a few weeks of not going. I also plan on getting back to strict CR the first of the year. I sure do remember how great I felt when I was doing it not so long ago.

I miss my kitty.

I have been making Holiday Treats and enjoying them far to much. I made some great cookies with everything organic even the whole wheat flour. They were great of course and gone in a flash. Now I have to work at getting rid of the extra pound or two I added and the other 5 pounds I had already added. Sorta bad when I don’t want to add those two numbers together.  My size 2’s don’t stretch enough to cover the added fat. Hate it. I really need to start my resolutions early, but won’t.

It is a very sad time here in the Comarell house.

Our kitty passed away Dec. 10. He was 15 years old and the best buddy a person could have.

We will miss you Bubba!!

I made a youtube video showing how I feel and look after two years of successful Calorie Restriction. It was very emotional for me to make it. I still can’t believe I did it.

I still have 8 pounds to lose. I know it will be coming off soon. Hopefully by the end of the year.

I am thrilled to be back to losing again. I really want to be 127 by the time I leave for my vacation. I will be gone for only one week but want to get this 100 pound loss on the record before then. What I am doing to lose the final few pounds is reducing my carbs. I want to eat only 2.5 servings of fruit a day and amp up the green veggies and 2 protein servings a day. My calories are around 1000 a day. A perfect amount for a women my age and size to lose weight. I try to increase them for some days and reduce even more on a few. I have recently been having cottage cheese, flax seed oil, ground  flax seed and some fruit for breakfast. It just doesn’t taste great and doesn’t make me happy, so today I am back to drinking the ground flax in .5 cup of juice. The flax oil will be used in a salad dressing with honey. Very tasty and does make me happy.

Lunch, if I have any, can be .5 cup of cottage cheese. It used to be an apple but way to many carbs for me. If I am hungry I will have one anyway around 3pm. I always have one with me sliced and ready. Dinner is my protein, a big serving of lean meat, a huge salad usually of raw spinach and then what I have been waiting for all day, 2 cups of blueberries mixed with a few raspberries. My addiction. So there it is, my day and way to many carbs in it. The darn apple is easy to give up, those blueberries are not, in fact I just plain won’t.

Skin Care

I had some laser work done on my hands and arms. I sure hope the result is worth the pain and time it is taking the heal. It is approaching the 2 week mark and I still have lots of scabs on my arms. Looks like I have a serious disease. Ugly for sure. I put some flax oil on them today. It has made them look a tad better, hope it can get them healed up faster.  I doubt I will have this procedure done again. I need to learn more about skin care and what I can do  myself.  I am going to have some microdermabrasion done Wednesday. Sure hope there is no down time with it.

Food, calories and nutrition for a typical day

Seeds, flax seed    2    tbsp, whole    110.0
Orange juice, raw    0.5    cup    55.8
Cheese, cottage, lowfat, 2% milkfat    1    4 oz    97.2
Blueberries, frozen, unsweetened    2    cup, unthawed    158.1
Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted    2    1/2 breast, bone and skin removed    283.8
Spinach, raw    3    cup    20.7
Flaxseed oil    1    tbsp    120.2
Honey    1    tbsp    63.8
Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average    1    large whole (3″ dia)    32.8

• Total carb: 88 not bad but still high.
• Total calories 942, if I am very careful weighing. Most likely a bit more.
• Protein a very good 76g.
• Vitamins and minerals at 77%. I always take the vitamins I am missing from my food. Usually calcium, vitamin D and this day a bit of Vitamin B complex.  I am low in Omega 6 an easy fix. I might have to add a Vitamin E also, this food day is only at 50%. But not a bad nutritional day for such few calories. If I had other greens in the fridge it would help but I don’t. My bad!.

I was 135 most of my adult life. I started gaining weight in my early  50’s and didn’t stop. I always told myself I carried my weight well. I even thought I could eat what I wanted and not gain weight.

My actual goal I have imprinted in my brain is 127. Only because that is a 100 pound loss that and I think I will be healthier weighing less. Calorie Restriction guidelines say I should weigh 100 pounds for my 5 ft then 5 pounds for each inch. That makes it 130 pounds, then minus 10% for optimal health. That makes it 117. That might be a bit low for me. I will most likely stay around the 127 pounds for a year or so. After all it has taken me 7 months to lose 4 pounds. But, I am really trying. I want it gone by Sept. my 2 year anniversary.

I am trying to eat less fruit, I know that is what is keeping me from losing. So far so good. Today I had 1 apple and 2 cups of blueberries. That is 3 servings and I really should have only 2. Tomorrow I will cut back on the blueberries if I can. I enjoy them more than any food I eat. Darn carbs anyway.

I have not met a carb type yet. I sure would like to. I am thinking they might be vegetarians. If not they should be.  I am wondering if they are protein types and don’t want to be. Being a vegaterain is very confusing to me. I can understand it somewhat if they are doing it because of their love of animals. I find the food very processed and not all that healthy. All the faux meats and processed grains sure doesn’t sound healthy to me. I understand buying organic and fresh but not organic and processed.

As far as Calorie Restriction goes it makes perfect sense to eat a lean piece of protein with a huge pile of raw organic greens. Very filling and very healthy. I top it off with a big bowl of blueberries. That is my dinner almost every night.

I have been wanting to eat only one meal a day. Dinner. I have almost gotten myself there. I have 2 tablespoons of flax seed that I grind and put into 1/2 cup of fresh Orange Juice each morning. I take a banana and a sliced apple to work along with 2 huge containers of tea. That is all I have during the day. Fruit is my choice because it passes through the stomach in 30 minutes so my body isn’t worn out digesting a heavy meal at lunch. I am not hungry when I get home but always have my protein source and raw veggies then blueberries. Always. I have never skipped dinner.

I have reduced my calories to 1000 for about 2 weeks with another 2 or 3 more to go. I want to lose the final 9 pounds. Late August I will start back to 1200-1300 a day. This doesn’t sound like much but it is to me. Even though I am not hungry at 1000 I would like to have something more sometimes. Not often and not everyday.

I was a little upset today when I was given some food at work that is not on my plan. Since it was eggplant I did eat about 40% of it, fishing out the huge garlic chunks. It was the bread that was the worst part. I pulled off a few pieces and ate them. I don’t think I upset anybody by not eating all of it. Hope not. The worst part is they know I don’t eat bread and garlic. Oh well, this doesn’t happen everyday and I survived although I suspect I smell of stinky garlic. The bread has attacked my tummy making it basketball shaped.  If the scale has made a uturn I will be upset even more.  Oh well, I will survive.

I use on online calorie calculator to tell me how many calories I need for my age, height, activity level and weight. I check several just to see if they are all the same. I got into a habit of using my current weight of 139 all the time. Not even thinking that I want to lose 12 pounds and should use 127. What an idiot. I finally did yesterday and discovered I need less calories to maintain 127 plus I am a year older. (sigh) I have reduced my calories accordingly. It is about 300 less, hope I can do it. I had gotten used to the higher amount so for a few days I might feel hungry again. I will use a few supplements to get me through this. So far so good. I do know the first few days are usually pretty easy to do.  I usually fail around day 4 or 5. I have no choice this time. I am going to do it. After I drop the 12 pounds I will increase the calories by 200 or 300. Of course this will be fruit. What else is there? Nothing I want that is for sure.

BBQ Day

During the summer months I don’t like to cook indoors. I have been using the outdoor grill for about a month now. What I do is buy enough lean meats to last for 2 to 3 weeks and grill is all. I don’t like wasting coals to grill just one meal. This works great for us. I take the food off the grill and put it straight into the freezer. After it is solid I put it into bags and store it in the fridge freezer. When dinner time comes we pick what we want and microwave it using the frozen entree setting which is a heat sensor. It comes out juicy and so darn tasty. It is still medium rare. We then put it on top of a huge salad, romaine or spinach. So we are getting lots of raw too. Today is a grill day. I need to get myself prepared.  I will grill some range fed top sirloin steaks,  forty 90% ground beef patties 4oz each, 12 organic chicken breasts,  and 10 loin, lean, pork chops. I tried grilling the fish and failed. Guess I didn’t have the grill hot enough. I will still do that indoors for now. The Greek loves having his pick for dinner, he is even hooked on the raw spinach salads. Yum for sure.

Dr. Time
It is time again to make the annual Dr’s visit. I actually look forward to it. This is another odd feeling for me. I had avoided going for several years. Squeaking in a mammogram every 5 years or so, of course this is because I had to be weighed in. I never wanted to know what I weighed. Fast forward to 2009, I now step on the scale several times a day and even look at myself in the mirror. Wow.

Weight Gain
I started gaining weight about 15 years ago. Before that I was 135 pounds since high school. I had 3 children and lost the weight pretty fast, I partied like there was no tomorrow, ate what I wanted but was very aware of what not to eat and never ate fast food. I didn’t bring it home for my kids either. We just never ate it. We did eat pizza a few times a year.
Funny this is how I am eating again. The only huge difference is I am not eating processed grains or starchy foods and sugars now. I did then. But, I am pretty convinced they are not as good for us as they once were. All the new additives and man made crap in them makes them a very bad food choice, in my opinion, I am not alone with this feeling.
I started gaining weight 15 years ago and couldn’t find a way to get it off. My husband was doing the shopping then and he would bring home the worse crap ever. Cinnamon rolls, pastries etc. I ate that crap like no tomorrow. I don’t buy it and never have. I have excellent control in the stores. Always have.
Now that I am shopping again I buy what he likes of course and I never touch it. I do make sure it isn’t loaded with crap. He will eat whole wheat rolls sweetened with raisins so that is good. He just eats to many of them.

Family
I think I had to have a push to look at my bad self. It was a trip to my home state, Colorado, and pictures my family took of me. I hadn’t paid any attention to myself until then. I started CR on the airplane ride home. I think I lost weight on that trip. I weighed myself as soon as I got home. That was September 23, 2007. I was shocked. 227 was the most I ever weighed. No wonder i was feeling lousy.
I plan on going back home again this September, 2 years later and a brand new me.
Of course I have family members that have lost and gained weight most of their lives. They will think I will regain. I have some proving to do. I will not regain. There is only one reason for that and it is Calorie Restriction. It is so easy to do, so darn healthy just why would I ever stop. I won’t. I might not use the cronOmeter everyday but I will count calories as best I can.

Live Long and Healthy
Calorie Restricion has saved my life and will give me a long and healthy one. i look forward to living a long life, one without modern medicine to keep me going. I will be healthy just simply eating quality foods and less of them.