Back after 9 years, this WOE works!
 

Well, I haven't been here in 9 years! I'm 39 now and I have been eating low carb the majority of the time and it is a testament to this WOE that I'm still only 126lb with not much exercise and my bodyfat is 20%.

I have been lower than that and was really happy with it, but I have resorted to a bit of comfort eating recently. I have fractured my foot and pulled my shoulder out of its socket so I can't do much, especially during lockdown. I'm lonely and bored and frustrated. And this is leading to more comfort eating and mindlessness. Not sugar. But too many carbs and bad choices (I'd call a jar of SF peanut butter in 2 days a bad choice! :lol: )

Soooo, I'm back to attack the last 10-15 lb and stay accountable. I am happy to help anyone with this WOE as I've been doing it for so long. Hopefully, you guys can support me too and suggest some nice recipes to try out. I've got stuck in chicken salad mode for too long! I need to get back into cooking fun satisfying stuff.

Pleased to meet you all :wave:

Hi Kimberly, Welcome back!!

Thank you Meme. Very nice to meet you :)

Welcome back, Kimberley. Congrats on long-term success. :thup: Imagine where you could be today if you ate the standard crappy diet.

During this lockdown and my current lay-off, I've taken the opportunity to try some recipes that while I'm working, I would have said to myself, "nah, too complicated." It's been fun, and now I have some ideas for what would and wouldn't work once I'm back to work and trying to keep it simple.

Any recipes in particular you're looking for? Are you single, cooking for a family... ? My "theme" in my experimentation was going through DietDoctor.com recipes, since I paid for a membership back in January. I like to support what they're doing, yet I feel I'm not on the site very often. I should start getting my money's worth. ;)

Hi Kristine, thanks for the welcome back. :) Yeah, one thing is for sure; even if I'm a bit lax, eating LC means I never put on a lot weight even without exercise.

Diet Doctor has some nice recipes. Sounds like you're making great use of lockdown! I was too until I got injured and started feeling sorry for myself. Oh well, onwards and upwards.

I'm single but I share a kitchen so can't take up too much time in there. I'm looking for from-scratch keto mains, sides, and sauces - relatively simple and quick, but packing a flavour punch. I've been stuck in a bit of a rut with just chucking chicken onto lettuce and adding antipasti in oil.

Recipes that have caught my eye recently are Chicken Adobo, Cauliflower Hummus, Eggplant Parmesan, and Baba Ganoush.

Today I made seabass fried in garlic oil, lime juice, and thyme with avocado slices and lettuce, which was yummy and different enough to be interesting, but only took 10 mins to make. That is the sort of thing.

Welcome back! And thanks for stopping by my post to say “hi.” Your recipe ideas sound delicious. Sorry about your foot, hopefully it’s not too painful by now. I’ve always found eating to be 80%+ of the weight loss equation, so you can totally do this!

welcome back. It will be super interesting to see what your carb intake is after years of simply eating sensibly (prior to this current issue/stressor)

Nice work. Your story is one that I really hope is common:

Someone comes here and learns what works. Works the plan for a time and leaves to live their lives as healthy as possible - leaving this place as a good memory - perhaps coming back once and a while to tell of life beyond sickness and obsession about how much one weighs.

Live happens outside of this website! All talk here - action happens away from keyboard ;)

Thanks for the welcomes, Murrie and Thud.

Yes, I believe diet is the largest part of the equation. During the years I was away, I was generally eating meat, fish salad, eggs, dairy, oils, and non-starchy veg and haven't gained weight. I was with a partner back then, so occasionally, my carbs stretched to starchier things like carrots, peas and sweet potatoes, and the odd Ryvita. But no other grains or starches and zero sugars or fruits.

Exercise is important for helping me to get more toned and it reduces my appetite. I've never set foot in a typical gym because that's not the sort of thing I enjoy, although I did MMA many years ago which I loved.

Before I got injured, I normally liked to speed-walk to music for at least an hour most days. I discovered yoga last summer, which I love. I was doing 45 mins yoga 2 x a week, but increased to at least 20 mins a day most days because I love how it makes me feel: energised yet peaceful. Plus, I was getting stronger and had more muscle definition.

Since I can't be active at the moment (no weight-bearing on my foot), I don't have the leeway to have a higher amount of carbs at all. But the frustration of being immobile and not being able to do exercise has had me down in the dumps, so eating a bit worse.

My might see if I can try a bit of something gentle like Qi Gong or perhaps do yoga "Boat Poses" and other poses that work the muscles without weight-bearing. But my main thing is to get back to making delicious low-carb whole food. I'm excited! :)

Welcome back, Kimberly. With such a great background too! I think the company here is great, and always good for a conversation. I spend way too much time at the computer screen, but whaddaya gonna do??

Like Kristine, I try to get my money's worth out of Diet Doctor. It's a go-to place for recipe ideas, especially since they know the magic of the word "easy." I like to cook anyway, but experimenting with lots of different flavor and cuisines adds to the fun. Especially spices: garam masala, ginger, cumin (should I buy this by the quart?), jalapeños, and garlic. Did I mention garlic? I can't believe how much chopping I do.

Hope your foot heals quickly. You've got some good ideas for non-weight-bearing physical challenges. You'll do fine. I have a "weight room" and videos at home, but I still want to get outdoors and walk.

Best wishes during these unusual times. Be safe. Be well.

Hi Barbara. Thanks for the welcome. I don't pay for Diet Doctor but I browse the free site for hints and recipe ideas. I loooove garlic. Nom!

I managed to do some yoga today with my local Buddhist Centre which has been running live YouTube sessions since lockdown. Instead of Downward Dog, Warrior, and Plank, I did 3-legged Dog, 1-legged Warrior, and Wobbly Plank. Haha! It felt so good to do it though.

I've been really enjoying cooking low carb for myself over the past 2 days as well. It's so much more interesting than just bunging chicken mayo on salad.

Hope you are staying safe too :)

My other cookbook is Chef Google. I put whatever ingredients I have in a browser, hit enter, and up pops a bunch of ideas! Mix and match.

Under stay-home restrictions, I seldom have everything a recipe wants. So, creativity kicks in.

I do like mayo. If I want crunchy, I use a mix of mayo and sriracha for a dip with pork rinds. (Note: the Sriracha I use does have some sugar in it). This is also a great fish sauce, or mix for tuna--or chicken.

Pork rinds also work fine as a binder for meat loaf. I stay away from using them for a snack. In fact, snacking has exited my life. Plenty of good food otherwise.

I've also been googling random food words and add "keto" or "low carb" at the end. Funnily enough, I actually came across the word "Sriracha" doing just that a few days ago! I had literally never heard of it, but I like the sound of it. Good to know it works on many meats :)

I think I'll have a go at making my own Sriracha at some point. I make many of my own sauces because I can't find some of them without sugar or starch. The only thing I absolutely cannot make is mayo or custard or anything that requires patience and slooowly pouring stuff. That's not my strong point. At all. :lol:

Hi Kimberley! I’ve been missing in action from this forum for several months. This WOE does work and works well for me. I’m 8 lbs up and for some reason every pound up that showed on the scale I justified by ‘oh I’ll do better today’ etc. and it became ‘Alright’. 🤨. Well for whatever reason that was - but I’m back and will be active in this forum. I Need the Accountability. That is key! All the folks here are so helpful, supportive and encouraging. I’d have coffee with them all each morning and that would inspire me to stay the course and eat healthy. I’ve missed being here. I’ll be seeing you Kimberly 😊

Hi LCer4Life. Well a huge "Welcome back" to you too!

I have been logging my food since being back and it really helps me to know exactly what I am taking in. I was guesstimating before, which is fine for the most part. But while I am actively trying to lose a little extra flab after comfort eating, it is important for me to be more accurate.

I looooove coffee. I am in the UK so don't know if you're in the same time zone, but I drink it all day, so at some point I'll be drinking it when it's morning wherever you are. You are most welcome to join me :)

Mmmm. Coffee. Yes. Drink it by the gallon, all day. Yesterday's disaster? I cracked the glass pot for the coffeemaker. Luckily, a glass pot from a previous coffeemaker serves the purpose well enough. Tragedy averted.

For a while, I drank coffee with heavy cream--my "allowed" treat under LC guidelines. However, with the daily quantities of coffee I consume, this was not a helpful idea, so I gave it up.

Sriracha is an Asian hot sauce, akin to Tabasco, or other red pepper concoctions. It's, well, zippy. I never eat it straight from the bottle. Let me know if you figure out how to make it.

Be well.