Oooo smoothies!

I have asked a few of my fellow low carbers for breakfast ideas and one person suggested frozen berry smoothies! - Sounds yum! So I have had a search on the net and found this site:
http://www.natures-health-foods.com/smoothie.html obviously I'd have to adjust a few ingredients to limit carb content.

Here are a few I can do:


Blueberry Smoothie 
A very berry-licious breakfast or snack.

Servings: 1

Ingredients;

1 c. skim milk
1 c. frozen unsweetened blueberries
1 Tbs. cold-pressed organic flaxseed oil (MUFA)

Directions;

Place milk and frozen unsweetened blueberries in blender and blend for 1 minute.
Transfer to glass, and stir in flaxseed oil.
Very yummy!

Vanilla Yogurt and Blueberry Smoothie

A berry sweet and satisfying snack
Servings: 1

Ingredients;

1 c. skim or soy milk
6 oz. (80-calorie) vanilla yogurt
1 c. fresh blueberries
1 Tbs. flaxseed oil (MUFA)
Handful of ice OR 1 cup frozen blueberries

Directions;

Combine milk, yogurt, and fresh blueberries plus ice OR frozen blueberries in a blender.
Blend for 1 minute, transfer to a glass, and stir in flaxseed oil.

Nutritional Info Per Serving

360 calories

This site is quite helpful too as it says how many carbs are in what fruits: http://www.antioxidants-for-health-and-longevity.com/low-carb-smoothie-recipes.html

Damn! I actually really fancy a smoothie now! I have no room in my tiny freezer compartment though as I filled it up last night! D'oh!

I contacted the seller of my HRM and they told me to try resetting the HRM and if that didn't work thet would replace it. You can read about it and see what it did to my fingers here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/StephRP80/view/resetting-my-hrm-219376 - OUCHY!!

Dinner. Rump steak and rocket salad with fried mushrooms and onion




Total carbs: 22g, net calories: 1174, calories burnt: 90

Having a slim day :D

I'm having one of those feeling slim days today! :) Not sure why but I'm not feeling bloated and I have my bigger size 12s on, so maybe that is why? But my stomach is feeling tighter too and I actually feel like I have some abs! lol Not that they are noticeable on the outside though!

Pay day today so I might look for some Low Carb recipe ideas!

I might try this peanut butter bread soon! http://i.imgur.com/t02yE.png

I still want to try the soy flour pizza (not that I have some soy flour) too: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/george-stella/low-carb-pizza-recipe/index.html

Dinner. Chicken breast and burgers with roasted veg.




Total carbs: 28g, net calories: 990, calories burnt: 84

Monday so soon?

Bummed about my HRM not burning me as many calories as I thought I was burning! But at least I can adjust my food diary so that I am still under my calories!

Random Dinner! Pay day tomorrow and a miss-match of food! Chicken breast, roasted veg (which shrunk to nothing) 2 slices of ham, roasted peppers and some jalapeno peppers




Total carbs: 33g, net calories: 810, calories burnt: 84

Warm Sunday

It's quite warm in my flat today. I'm waiting for the sun to move a bit before doing 30DS as I sweat enough doing that! Haha

Breakfast:
Bacon and cherry tomato omelette:

I noticed that my age and weight were set to 16 years old and 50kg on my HRM today, so I corrected them and was pretty disappointed after exercising to find I had burnt less calories than when it was set to younger and lighter than I am!! :( I did some research and found this calculator: http://www.triathlontrainingblog.com/calculators/calories-burned-calculator-based-on-average-heart-rate/ based on my average heart rate, the HRM was pretty accurate!

Lunch:
Cheese and ham salad:




Dinner:
Tandoori chicken with onion and fried cauliflower:




Total carbs: 31g, net calories: 1193, calories burnt: 71

Saturday and out for dinner

Breakfast:




Sorry for lack of blog today, all of my food eaten can be found in the MFP food diary!

Total carbs: 15g, net calories: 1165, calories burnt: 312

Seventh Weigh Day

Well, its weigh day AGAIN today!  :/

I don't feel like I have lost weight, I feel like I have put it on! So, like I said, if I have gained lbs and inches then I will go back to less carbs but try and keep my calories up so my body doesn't go into 'starvation mode'

I will be honest with my results as always and update my weightloss chart page!

I got the day wrong yesterday when I said the Level 2 Day 1 photos were on Sunday, they are actually due tomorrow!! :( Its Day 10 of Level 1 today!!

My low carb delivery arrived last night! I have some soy flour, some low carb breading and batter mix (like bread crumbs) and a low carb chocolate bar :D I have some chicken drumsticks at home so will try this idea out tonight: http://chefandsteward.com/2011/02/26/low-carb-fried-chicken-with-island-potato-salad/ - The fried chicken, not the potatoes! :)

Might use this recipe for the soy flour! http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=628184

You can make low carb pizza bases and all kinds of low carb dishes with soy flour! Why have I only just discovered it?!!

The weigh-in results were good! :D It says I lost 2lb, but where the Wii Fit counts in whole pounds it isn't as accurate. I worked it out by the BMI so I have lost 1.4lbs :)

Notice my blip on the weight chart:

Lunch! Smoked mackerel and salad:

I used the breading mix and oven cooked the drumsticks. They may have been better fried, but I don't own a fryer!




Total carbs: 27g, net calories: 1106, calories burnt: 221

No results from shred as yet!

Well, I had a cheeky measure last night and there are no results as of Day 8 of the 30DS, it is Day 9 today and I originally planned to take photos on Day 1 of each level so I should be taking a photo on Friday although I doubt there will be a change!

Good news though, I have just had a massive poo! (sorry lol) I normally get to Friday's weigh day without having 'been' since Monday and I ran out of my fibre supplement earlier in the week too! :)

I ordered a cheap Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) the other day to check the calories I am actually burning! I guess the more exercise I do I must be getting fitter so the less calories I burn? The HRM should be more accurate than setting my 30DS exercise to 27 mins of circuit training and burning 240 calories every day (I really hope I am burning more!! lol)

This isn't mine but I have ordered one like a watch :)

This is my one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005560PU4/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details

I think I need to wet the sensors more and make the strap tighter as I used it for 30DS and when I looked at it before doing some abs exercises the heart rate said '---' and after doing a lot of cardio it should have been quite high so I'll amend what I did and try again!

Dinner! Banger and mash... kinda! They are chicken sausages and the 'mash' is fried cauliflower and onion :) with a small bit of cheese (that I couldn't taste! lol)




Total carbs: 38g, net calories: 975, calories burnt: 240

In Pompey

I'm in Portsmouth for work today so today's post will be short

Very short post!

Dinner was a quick one, smoked mackerel with ricotta cheese, rocket salad and cucumber:




Total carbs: 20g, net calories: 806, calories burnt: 240

Pancake Day

Today is Shrove Tuesday aka Pancake Day! :D
I got my ingredients last night so will be having...

Ingredients

200 Grams of ricotta cheese

3 eggs
I teaspoon of cinnamon
A splash of milk

Method

Mix the cheese, eggs and cinnamon into a small mixing bowl. Add a slash of milk if the mix is to thick to run freely. Place a small knob of butter into a frying pan, I use a small omelette pan 8". Heat the butter and spoon in 3 table spoons of mix. Fry until firm then turn over and cook for one minute or until the crepe is starting to brown. This mix makes between 6 and 8 crepes. Allow to cool and fill with cream cheese and finely chopped spring onions or smoked salmon and asparagus tips, whatever you like. Roll up the crepe and enjoy. Great at any time and very good for the lunch box or picnics. Also great warmed up with a scoop of low carb ice cream and double cream.

I will have savoury and sweet ones I think. Going to put it in MFP now to see the calorie and carb count :) For savoury (with ham and cheese sauce) and sweet pancakes (with lemon and Splenda) it is 737 calories and 7g carbs - not bad eh!? :)

Day 7 Level 1 of 30DS today and I am feeling bloated!! :/ I don't feel my trousers getting looser or anything! Maybe I need to push myself even harder when I work out? Or try and add 15 minutes of Wii's Your Shape in before I do 30DS? I have Portsmouth tomorrow so will only have time for 30DS tomorrow and will want something quick to cook, so maybe gammon and egg? OR spanish omelette? 

I did ham and grated cheese pancakes:




The sweet ones just had Splenda and lemon :) - YUM




Total carbs: 20g, net calories: 1045, calories burnt: 240

Monday again!

Monday is here as is Day 6 of the 30 Day Shred! My belly is feeling a bit tighter (less wobbly) and I planned to take photos and measurements at the end of each Level. Each Level last for 10 days so just 4 more days until the first check! :/ Hope there is some form of inches lost!

I have just seen something that cheered up a dreary Monday morning, one of my oldest mates singing here:

Some of his recent material hasn't been to my taste but I like this one, its quite catchy :)

Pancake day tomorrow so I have just been looking at Low carb options! I will use the ricotta cheese pancake recipe instead of the almond flour one I used last year! I might do savoury pancakes for dinner and then maybe a sweet one for dessert!

I will use this cheese sauce idea if I do :)

Rich Cheddar Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 lb cheddar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Use a double boiler or place saucepan into a larger pot of boiling water. Add all ingredients, stirring very frequently until smooth (usually about 10 minutes.) Serve warm.

This sauce is great over vegetables — especially cauliflower and broccoli. Or add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to make a cheesy sauce for fish!

Makes 16 servings. 0.8 net grams of carbohydrate per serving.
Oooo I found some Soy tortillas (I have ordered some soy flour from Low Carb Megastore)

Soy Tortillas

These are great with some chicken, lettuce & mayo in! And best of all they are super quick and easy!

Ingredients

• 10 teaspoons of soya flour. (That’s about 50 grams)
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• One ‘poof’ of cinnamon (optional, but it just hides the nuttiness of soya)
• 1 teaspoon of Splenda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• Pepper to taste
• 1 egg
• Enough water to make it into a custard-consistent batter

1. Add all dry ingredients together then simply add the egg (pre-whisked elsewhere!) and the water to get it to the batter consistency.


2. You need a round, FLAT plate for this. Ooze about 3 tablespoons of batter into the middle of the plate and move around until you have a size you’re happy with. Make sure you don’t smooth it too far as the batter will be too thin and it will rupture either during cooking or when you come to roll. Try and make it round though, you don’t want a wrap that looks like a splat on a plate.


3. Place into microwave and put on high for 3 minutes! Take it out after 1.30 minutes to see if there are any places where the batter is a bit thin. If so, there will be a small pool of uncooked batter in the middle, tip the plate to get it to run into a dry part without compromising the thickness of the middle! Or simply add batter mix from your mixing bowl! Microwave for the full 3 minutes and remove. Don’t attempt to remove it for another 2 minutes! Till it’s cooled!


4. When you can, tip the plate, it should fall off with a bit of slapping and prodding, onto a cooling rack.

Total carbs: 37g, net calories: 1144, calories burnt: 240

First Sunday Roastie round Mum's this year

Lunch

Tinned salmon with salad

Dinner

Mum's roast dinner without roast potatoes, parsnips and yorkshire pudding! :(




Total carbs: 38g, net calories: 671, calories burnt: 240

More exercise?

I'm pleased to say that I don't ache as much today and it is Day 4 of Level 1 30DS today. I might do 30-45 minutes of Wii Your Shape in the morning and then crack on with the 30DS in the afternoon.

I have 2 issues of my Art of Quilting Magazine to work through this weekend so I might do that as well today :)

Proto toast for breakfast today :)

Proto toast with garlic sausage and primula cheese

I did 45 minutes of Wii Your Shape before my lunch.

Lunch:

The sausages are chicken sausages and very low in carbs for a sausage! :) Maybe I could have a couple of them for brekkie instead of yoghurt?




Did my 30 Day shred before dinner too!

Dinner. Mince meat, red onion, red pepper and cheese slices:





This was actually really yum :)

Total carbs: 34g, net calories: 275, calories burnt: 1214

Sixth Weigh Day

Another Friday is here and another weigh day... does anyone else think that weigh day comes around super fast?!

After weighing on Wednesday and having a gain, I am REALLY hoping to have lost that gain... BUT as always on a Friday I haven't 'been' since Monday! So am REALLY hoping to have been to the loo before  weigh time arrives! :/ I have eaten all 22 of my low carb cheese biscuits now, which were meant to be high in fibre but have had no extra effect on my toilet action! Pfft!

Thought this scales picture was pretty ideal as I am nervous about today's weigh-in after having gained on Wednesday! :/

Day 3 of Level 1 on 30DS today and my under arms are aching today (I blame the press ups lol). It actually hurt to change gear on the drive to work haha

Its the last half of the flapjacks punnet and the last punnet in my Graze Box today! IF I have gained, I am heading straight back to my normal 20g carbs diet and not upping my carbs so much! I am feeling really bloated, but it might be where I am full of poop?!

UPDATE: I just had a pretty successful visit to the toilet! -  I am certainly feeling less bloated anyway :)

Weigh day results weren't great today :( I weighed EXACTLY the same as I did on Wednesday so I have put on over 1lb since last Friday!!! Waaaaa :( my MFP friends think its because adjusting my diet can take a while for your body to get used to so have been told to give my upped carbs another week. If that doesn't work then I will go back to what I know works best!

I am only 0.2lbs heavier than my goal weight for last year though! (PHEW)

Dinner, chicken and roasted veg





Total carbs: 32g, net calories: 1010, calories burnt: 323

Aching...

I am aching this morning from the 30DS routine last night, so it must be doing something if I ache, right?! Under my arms aches, as does my upper thighs and my belly a bit, although I didn't feel a strain on my belly last night!

Level 1 Day 2 tonight :) I'll post the before and after photos at the end of the 30DS although I might take a photo at the end of each level to see if its working :)

I also weighed myself yesterday at the start of 30DS and it said I had put on over 1lb!!! :( I am hoping that its because I weighed myself at a different time of day so I will weigh at my normal time on Friday, hoping I haven't put on that 1lb!! :/

I'm still struggling with the pushups! I have never been any good at them and fracturing my clavicle (collar bone) a few years ago didn't make it any easier as my left shoulder has ached ever since then! Best parts of Level 1 on 30DS so far for me are the tummy crunches and the jumping jacks! When I had to do jumping jacks last year on the Charlie Brooks DVD I hated them but on Wii Your Shape they have the jumping jacks so I have been getting better at them this year as have had to do at least one set every day :)

Dinner. Gammon, burgers, fried eggs, tomato, mushrooms and fried courgettes. It was DELICIOUS :D





Total carbs: 32g, net calories: 977, calories burnt: 240

Online Tutorial tonight!

I have my first online tutorial tonight for my OU module and ordered a headset to use for it last week! I am hoping that it arrives today...

I am still feeling full after my yummy curry yesterday! If you haven't checked my food diary (on the right) then I had Chicken Tikka, saag ponir and 2 small onion bhajis with one poppadom. If upping my carbs hasn't lost me any weight then I will definitely go back to around 20g carbs next week!!

2 days until I start the 30DS :D Things like dieting and exercise I like to blog about so that I make sure I stick to them as if I say I am doing it and then people ask me how its going then I hate to say I have 'given up'! So blogging about it encourages me to not give up!

...

My 30DS dvd showed up!! :D I started it today and it HURT haha!

Dinner! Gammon steak, fried egg, mushrooms and tomatoes:




Total carbs: 25g, net calories: 778, calories burnt: 237

Valentines Curry

Valentines Curry Club today :) I'm glad the 14th is the second Tuesday in the month as it means that I won't be spending Valentines sat in on my own!! :D - Table for 4 please!

I managed to up my carbs to 31g yesterday, I will try and hit 30g a day up until Friday to see if upping my carbs does make a difference to my weigh-in on Friday. If I have gained any lbs, I am going straight back to my normal daily carb in take that worked for me last year!!

I forgot to mention yesterday that I forgot to put my Graze delivery back so I received a box yesterday!

This will help to up my carbs as today's punnet 'lost army' had over 16g of carbs!! The last 2 punnets have the most carbs in so I might split them between 2 days!

My weights are meant to arrive today :D I wonder if there is any tracking on Amazon!

I had my 'Physical Challenge' on my Wii Your Shape and got an A again :D Despite the fact that the cat kept getting in the way of the camera! lol




I had my Valentines curry and got given 2 roses! :) One from the waiter and the other from my mate who pretended he was coupled up with another of my male mates so he could get a rose too that he ended up giving to me hehe




Total carbs: 36g, net calories: 743, calories burnt: 316

Got my smaller trousers on! :D

So I have my smaller trousers on today and they aren't tight at all! :) They aren't a size 10, they are just a smaller size 12 than the ones that I normally wear. I think they are from the same shop but they fit differently.

Back to my car door... I couldn't get it to shut again this morning and something that had worked before was to pull it closed from the inside and then press the 'lock' to lock the door. I did this and the door stayed closed so I drove to work but then when I got to work I couldn't actually unlock the driver's door so I had to get out of the passenger side!! LOL I hope it unlocks after work! I think I might have to take it to a garage before pay day after all! I have 2 weeks (and counting) from tomorrow until I get paid :/

I was in negative calorie figures yesterday so I had some peanuts at about 20.30 and it still didn't take me into positive figures but I didn't want to eat anything else as it was getting quite late and I don't like to eat to late at night.

I have been doing Low Carb all wrong! I should have been working out NET carbs and not total carbs!

Effective Carbohydrate Count (GROSS CARBS) 

Start with: Total Carbohydrates 

Subtract: Dietary Fibre
Subtract: Sugar Alcohols
Subtract: Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate
Subtract: Glycerine

The balance equals: Effective Carb Count (NET CARBS)

Ohhhhh only in the USA they have to do this as in the UK the fibre is already subtracted! Most food doesn't list the other 3 above.

Dinner, chicken breast with roasted leeks and courgettes then some stilton cheese melted on top at the end.





Total carbs: 31g, net calories: 996

30 Day Shred

I have recently decided after seeing how well everyone on MFP has done following the 30 Day Shred DVD that I will also have a go at doing it! I will start next Friday once my dvd and hand weights have arrived. It seems to be more of a measurement loss than a lbs loss from most people as muscle weighs more than fat I guess :)

Here are a few success before & after photos that have inspired me:

http://s1063.photobucket.com/albums/t515/Sweeterescape/?albumview=slideshow

http://i1161.photobucket.com/albums/q518/Hannah_Gordon78/Picnikcollage-1.jpg

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Tracey_Tee

http://todefyego.blogspot.com/2011/01/30-day-shred-results.html

http://todefyego.blogspot.com/2011/04/30-day-shred-results-round-two.html

before and after

I think you get the picture :)

Dinner, pork steaks, leeks, green beans and courgettes with some mozzarella:




Total carbs: 18g, Net calories: -43, calories burnt: 928

Oooo out to lunch

I am off out to lunch today for my Sister-in-law's birthday.

For breakfast I had 2 cheese biscuits (low carb ones)


Lunch:
Starter: Oven-baked stuffed mushrooms with a Shropshire Blue cheese & mushroom filling on a bed of rocket with balsamic glaze


Main: 
Farm-assured chicken & bacon salad with rocket, mixed salad leaves, baby spinach, mozzarella balls,
cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, & balsamic glaz

I just tried to look for any similar photos on Google images of what I ate for lunch but I can't find any :(

Here is my dinner, pork steaks with roasted Mediterranean veg:




not a very big dinner as I was out for lunch!

Total carbs: 28g, net calories: 374, calories burnt: 724

Fifth weigh day

Another weigh day when I haven't had a proper poo in days. Great lol

UPDATE: just had a little one, but hoping there will be more before I weigh!! Come on fibre supplements, kick in!! Lol I might start adding jalapeño peppers to my lunches as chilli peppers normally help with my 'movements' ;)

Well, not a fantastic result, I did lose weight but just 0.8 lbs this time. Lame-o!! But on the plus side, look how close I am to the target line on my Wii Fit :)

Thigh: -1 inch
Hips: -2 & 1/4 inches
Waist: -3 inches
Chest: -1 inch
Arm: -1 inch
Neck: -1 inch


Lunch, same as yesterday's dinner but with some jalapenos and roasted peppers.

Dinner. Mince meat, cheese slices and rocket and spinach leaves





Total carbs: 19g, net calories: 1077, calories burnt: 124

Weeks go so fast!

Well, its weigh day again tomorrow! How quick has that gone?! I am again hoping to have a big poo before tomorrow! :)

I have nearly finished my first assignment for my Uni module, I just have the last question to go :D

I have decided to cook a recipe from my Low Carb book tonight! Chorizo and Spinach salad, I just need some sherry vinegar:

I took photos from the book to save me copying it all out again (lazy) :) 2.8g per portion, so I might see how big a portion looks and maybe double it?

My dinner :) I amended the recipe as couldn't find any sherry vinegar so used red wine vinegar instead. I also only had 50g chorizo and 100g spinach, I'll cook the other half for lunch tomorrow :)

Carbquik cheddar cheese biscuits. The recipe said 10 servings but I got 22 biscuits out of the mix :)

They had a kind of scone texture but not as crumbly as a scone. Might try one with butter tomorrow. 0.6g of net carbs per biscuit too!!! :D

Total carbs: 22g, net calories: 531, calories burnt: 643

Trousers even looser!!

There seems to be LOADS of room in my work trousers today! I might have to dig my smaller size 12s out of the wardrobe! Isn't it funny how trousers of the same size tend to fit differently?! I had 2 size 14 work trousers when I was bigger, one was too tight at my biggest and the other fit perfectly (when I was at my heaviest!) These trousers I have on today were pretty tight after Christmas and today they feel loose!

I wonder if I can take a photo of how loose they are as I am on my own in the office today... lol

Wasn't sure which picture showed it best so you have 2 :)

I took some Tesco Value pork chops out of the freezer this morning so pork chops and veg for dinner tonight :)

Low Carbers watch this series of videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d_wxJageqw very interesting! So I need protein to feel full up? Calories don't seem to matter that much as you feel more full on Low Carb so eat less calories (hence my daily calorie intake!) Protein list here: http://www.howmuchprotein.com/foods/ dairy and meat are the answer! Well, that is about 80% of my daily food intake anyway so I have been Low Carbing correctly! - Its good to know :D

I had a burger as well as my tiny value pork chops for dinner:

Total carbs: 19g, net calories: 755, calories burnt: 413

Oops!

I was meant to take my monthly photo yesterday and I totally forgot!! :/

I will take it tonight before I do my exercise and then you can all see if the inches I have lost are that noticeable! :) I wonder if it is worth doing my measurements again tonight or not? Like the way I say 'all' as if I have a load of people that are reading my blog and are eager to see if they can notice a difference? :)

This is the difference from my first month LAST year:

Mostly noticeable around the belly in the above picture I think! This time the photos are being taken in leggings and a tighter top as when the trousers got looser last year it was harder to notice a loss on the bottom half :)

I'm actually feeling quite good today, must have been having a salad for lunch and dinner! I stocked up on frozen meat last week to help me save some money, I got pork steaks, chicken breast fillets and the lowest carb burgers that Tesco did (I checked all the packs lol). So I need to get some veg to go with them or I will be eating pork steaks with salad :/ I guess burgers and salad is okay? There isn't a lot of room in the freezer compartment so I will need fresh veg!

So, I took the photos as promised:

Front view - 9lbs lost

Side view - 9lbs lost

I think it notices around my beer belly in the above photos? My thighs look a bit slimmer in the side view too.

Last January to now 34lbs lost

Oh god, was I really that big?! lol Well, if I can't notice much from the recent photos, I can certainly notice a difference from now and the first photo last year!

Same dinner as yesterday but with spring onion too. Last of that yummy lamb joint! I'll have to get another one at some point it was under £4 and fed me for 3 meals, so pretty good I reckon :)

Total carbs: 19g, net calories: 799, calories burnt from exercise: 285