Coconut bread, a.k.a. What did I do wrong?

Well, since everyone's raving about Dawn's Coconut Bread, I had to try making some myself! I actually used the recipe from Rosy's blog (sorry, Dawn!). Well, it did nto turn out well and it reminded me why I don't bake more! First, I wanted to do the chocolate bread, but I didn't have enough cocoa. Of course, I didn't really find that out until after I had added some cocoa already. Oops. Also, I didn't use any baking soda (which maybe doesn't matter too much).

So, I ended up with a grayish loaf of something that wanted to be brownies in its heart, but didn't have the talent so it had to settle for being meatloaf instead. I ate some anyway. Last night, hot with some butter on it, it was OK. Today, cold with nothing added, it made me feel sick.

Moral of the story for me: follow the stinkin' recipe and make sure you have all the necessary ingredients! I really should stick with ice cream.

Speaking of ice cream, we finally tried Clemmy's. It's mentioned in the book and everyone talks about how yummy it is, but we didn't like it. It was too sweet for us! I guess our homemade ice cream must be pretty bland, but we're used to it now. So, I won't be hunting down Clemmy's again. Oh well!

Even though we had some missteps in the last couple days trying new foods, it was good to have new things we could try! It's so easy to get into a rut in order to stay "safe", but I think it's important to break out of that sometimes and remember that food can be fun without being belly bad.

Thanks for reading! Hope you all had a great day!

Babbling about girly stuff

Good afternoon, BFC'ers! How are things going out there in blogland? For me, things are good. I'm working, but there's not much going on, so it's pretty relaxed. I'm a bit worried about getting enough water today as I left home in a hurry so I didn't get my water bottles filled up.

Work has done away with the free filtered water and I refuse to drink the water fountain water. If you've ever tasted Phoenix water, you understand. It tastes like dirty, rusted metal. I really should see if some of the other staff here would like to start out own water club, but I have no idea how we'd ensure only those who paid for it would be able to use it.

Other than that, I'm obsessing about Red Carpet Gel Manicure products right now! I love having done up nails, but I hate paying money for them. Also, I really don't like acrylic nails. I've been on a quest for a while to find products that are super strong, last a long time and look nice. Right now, I'm using Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps. It works great, but it isn't perfectly smooth like a gel treatment would be.

So, I saw in an ULTA circular that they are now offering Red Carpet Manicure products. The system involves a UV light that cures the product on the nails. I set out to buy it, but only got the light, a couple polishes and the remover. My local ULTA was out of the base, the top coat and the finisher. So, basically, I couldn't do it. After calling around, it became apparent that this product is pretty dang popular and is sold out everywhere! Bummer.

So, I used the Sally Hansen stuff. I used the stuff pictured on the base, a simple color polish, then another layer of the base to seal it in (we were out of town and I didn't have my usual top coat). It turned out goopy because it didn't completely dry before I fell asleep. Oops! So, two layers of topcoat when I got home and everything's smooth and shiny. I'm still going to get that Red Carpet stuff at some point.

...And, I'm babbling. I guess there's nothing really to report diet-wise. Still doing my thing!

Finally-- a tiny drop!

Another drop in the bucket for the weight loss, I guess! I am down 0.4lbs this week and 17.4lbs overall. That's just another 0.2lbs since a month ago, but at least it's something. Hubs thinks I was overdoing the fiber, but not drinking enough water. I guess Cruise says in the book that if you don't get enough water the fiber just builds up.

I cut back on fiber a couple days ago and increased water. I'm hoping that'll help me see another substantial drop this month. That plateau was a toughie! But I made it!

Hubs is now down 35lbs and I'm so proud of him! He's such a fantastic support to me in everything I do, too. :)

This weekend we went up to Payson, AZ which (if you're not familiar with AZ geography) is only about an hour and 45 minutes away, but it feels like a world away! The temperatures were pleasant! Evenings were around 75 degrees-- so different from our crazy 105 degrees at night here in the Phoenix area. So, it was good to get away. Too bad we both got a cold at the very end. We're both home sick today, trying to kick this sore throat!

Anyway, hope you all had a lovely Labor Day weekend and were able to stick with your BFC'ing!

Oh, and thanks for all the comments. It's so fun to be in tough with other BFCers out there and read your blogs and everything. :) Keep it up!

First day at the new job

So, I'm trying out the new blogger layout and it's weird! I feel like my information about my blog is being hidden from me, even though it's right on the homepage now. Lol. I guess this will take some getting used to!

I did my first day at the new job yesterday and it went great! There are two really sweet girls who work the same time I do. They're both going to school there (this is in a college library), so they are very young, but we ended up just chatting the whole time. They said it's always very slow in the evenings so I'll hardly ever have anything to do. I can deal with that! :)

Here's a sad fact, though: I made more during my 4-hour shift there than I did all day in my regular job! Pathetic, isn't it? I do like my regular job, though, and I'm not in a hurry to move on just yet. It sure will be nice to get some extra income, though!

As far as my eating, it wasn't too hard. I was worried about the having to take dinner with me thing. Well, I ended up packing ham sandwich on Nature's Own bread for 1 carb and some chips for a second carb if I felt like I really needed it. Turns out, I didn't which I was happy about. :)

So far so good!

End of August already?

Well, life just keeps on going. We are so out of food in our house-- it's ridiculous. I was supposed to go grocery shopping yesterday, but I was so worn down that I didn't go. Hubs told me it was OK because we have some hot dogs and he can have that for lunch and then we're going over to our friends' place for dinner. But, the shopping must happen! Tomorrow is my first long work day and I'll need something to take with me for dinner.

I'm a bit bummed out that I haven't had a net loss this month. I'm in the same place I was at the end of July. It stinks, but at least I'm still down 17 pounds from the beginning of June! I've also lost something like 4 inches from my waist! So, really, I shouldn't complain or worry. Just keep going!

Yesterday I ran into my carpool buddy and one of her coworkers at lunch. Her coworker had done the HCG diet and lost 47 lbs in 41 days. That's crazy! For a second I thought, "Maybe I should try that..." But I snapped back into reality when she explained how hard it has been coming off the diet. She said she is supposed to slowly reintroduce different types of foods. She has gained 4 lbs back already.

I think it's better to take longer getting to the goal and establish good eating habits as you go rather than crash diet and then have to figure out what you can eat. That's why I always liked Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers. With Jenny Craig, you start learning how to eat like a human as part of the program. Weight Watchers, you have to figure it out as you go. BFC is like Weight Watchers in that way-- you have an outline and it's up to you to figure it out. It's working for me so far!

Today I've been reading people's blogs and thinking about how my life is so different from what it was a few months ago. I have started BFC'ing with my husband and blogging about it. Me! Sharing with whoever might find my little space on the interwebz about my weight loss challenges. That is so unlike the old me. :) I like the new me.

This weekend went by far too quickly. I'm back at work and looking forward to my first day at the new job on Thursday. Yeesh! That's going to be a long day (she realizes far too late!). But I'm grateful to have that second job-- I think it will help us out a lot.

I keep saying to Hubs that we are the luckiest people on the planet. Here we are in a time when lots of people are losing jobs and in industries that are notorious for layoffs right now, and we both have two jobs now! There is so much security in knowing that even if one lets you go, you have the other and will likely be able to cover expenses until something else turns up! Also, Hubs is a teacher at a community college which allows him to take classes super cheap, so if he decides to, he can start working on his Masters.

There is so much to be grateful for! I have a fantastic husband, comfortable house, a functioning car and great friends. Wow... I'd better find something wooden so I can knock on it!

Anyway, sorry for the ramblings. The diet is going well. We've cut WAY back on our ice cream intake, so that should help. Hubs is now officially at -34lbs!! I can't even believe it! He's done such a great job!

So, I'm just chugging along... Avoiding sugary things and counting the carbs.

I got the job!

Well, my old dress must be magic, because I got the job! It's actually a second job that I'll work one day a week, but the money they were offering was too good to turn down.

Hubs and I are hoping that whenever we do have kids we'll figure out a way for me to stay home at least most of the time. I don't relish the idea of putting kids in daycare. So now with this job (if I'm still working there when I have a baby) it's more likely we can make that happen! I'm just feeling really blessed right now.

Thanks, everyone for the kudos yesterday! The dress really was a big hit-- I got so many compliments on it which surprised me. And you were right, Beth, that the confidence I got from the dress helped me in the interview. :)

So, today I was totally late so I didn't pack breakfast or lunch. There's a cafeteria downstairs at work, but it's tough to stay on plan down there! I do try when I'm in this kind of situation, but there just aren't many good choices. The stuff that would fit into the plan technically is just so greasy and bland that it's not appealing at all. I'll probably just get a sandwich and take off one of the pieces of bread.

I really need to learn how to get my lunches together the night before so I don't have to worry about this kind of thing. That should be one of my mid-year resolutions.

Old dress, new me

I woke up today knowing that I had a job interview to dress for. I am heading over there right after work, so I needed something I could wear all day, but was a little nicer than what I wear most days. I thought about it while I showered and thought, "I wish I could wear that black dress, but it's too tight still."

Then I realized--I had no idea how that dress would fit me now. I've lost 17lbs! It might fit. Maybe.

So, I tried it on and it slipped right down over my hips like it should! I was so psyched!!

Now, this dress is my barometer dress. What I mean by that is, I can tell how much I've lost or gained based on how it fits (or doesn't!). When I first bought it 8 years ago (oh my, I'm old!), it fit pretty well, but I was a little self-conscious that it showed my rolls too much. I wore it sometimes. But as I lost weight, I wore it more often because it started to look dang good! Then, all of a sudden, it was baggy! Woo hoo! I was thin!

Then (cue depressing music), I started to gain. The dress went back to nice, then fitted, on to tight and then to no-way-am-I-getting-this-past-my-shoulders! But I held onto it. I did Jenny Craig and got back to "fitted". Then I stopped and a few years later, it was beyond tight again.

Now it's fitted again! :) I can't wait for this dress I've had so long to be baggy again. I'm gonna have a major celebration when it's too big to wear.

Origin story

First, the good news: I have lost some of that pesky weight that I am going to blame on hormones. I have 1/2 lb to go before I'm back to my lowest so far. No problem! This time next week I'll be at a new low. I'll just keep thinking that and it'll help me get through this week. :)

So, I realized after telling Hubs that I'm doing this blog (he didn't know-- not that I was hiding it from him, I just didn't think he'd care to read it or anything) that perhaps the name is a bit weird. His reaction was "Aww, sweetie! You're not a blob!" which was sweet, but it got me thinking that people might assume I have low self esteem or something. Well, there's a story behind the name Blobba.

When I was a kid, my dad would give us funny nicknames that sounded like our real names but were kind of gross things. I can't remember what he called my sister and brother, but he called me Barf, Burp or Blob. Yeah, my name is Barb, Dad. Very funny! Well, I'll be honest-- I did think it was funny most of the time. My sister thought it was hilarious. She started calling me Blobba the Butt which was less funny to 10 year old me. But as we got older, we got to be friends. She still called me Blobba sometimes, but dropped "the Butt" part. She's very thoughtful like that.

Anyway, so I use Blobba here because it's my diet blog (and sometimes I do feel like a blob!) and it's an old nickname that makes me smile. And I just realized that I used "gut" instead of "butt." I'm not sure why I did that. I'm sure a psychoanalyst could tell you. :)

Sugar Free Ice Cream

I first want to thank everyone for the comments! This is my first experience blogging, so it's really exciting to get feedback on my posts. I'm so glad I'm not the only scale addict out there! :) And, since I know you're wondering, I did see a little bit of a drop over the weekend. No eating out + end of my cycle = weight loss win!

So, Sherrie asked for the recipe for our sugar free ice cream. There are actually two versions we use-- one has fewer carbs and the other is WAY yummier! (Of course!) I'll give you both, since I'm so nice. ;)

Super Yummy Sugar Free Ice Cream (33g of carbs total for vanilla)
2 cups half and half (20g carbs)
1 cup heavy whipping cream (3g carbs)
2 T unsweetened vanilla almond milk (<1 g carbs)
1 t vanilla
3-4 packets Truvia/PureVia (9-12g carbs)
Optional: 1/2 c cocoa (adds 25g of carbs total and 2g sugar)

Belly Better BFC Ice Cream (up to 21g of carbs total)
3 c heavy whipping cream (9g carbs)
1.5 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk (3g carbs)
3 packets Truvia/PureVia (9g carbs)

We haven't come up with a really great way to do chocolate ice cream with the Belly Better recipe, but we did find that melting some Green and Black's dark chocolate and then pouring that in toward the end makes some nice chocolate chip. I love topping it all off with Reddi-Wip, but if you do that, remember it adds 1g of carbs per Tablespoon.

I didn't add how many servings because that's up to you and how many carbs you want to spend on ice creamy deliciousness! We usually get at least 4 servings out of each batch.

Oh, and I should mention: When using an ice cream maker, be sure that your stirring mechanism is in place when it needs to be! We forgot one time and tried to shove it in after pouring in the ingredients (should have already been in place) and we broke it. It was a sad week for us while we waited for a replacement part! Poor Hubs!

Weekends are hard

Well, I'm down from where I started this week and I'm pretty sure it's because it was "that time of the month" again. I really do see a huge fluctuation around that time. It's pretty frustrating, but since I'm dedicated to sticking it out, I'm sure I'll see an overall downward trend after a while.

But, it's the weekend now. I ususally see an increase in weight on the weekends. Hubs blames it on our usual popcorn at the movie. He probably has a point! Although we save carbs for it, we are chowing down pretty late at night when we go to the movies. Yesterday, though (we usually go on Fridays), we didn't go out. This is the perfect time to see if it is the popcorn. I'll keep you posted!

But, really, maybe I just shouldn't be weighing myself every single day! It gets addictive, especially when you can see little drops day after day. But when there's an increase, it's frustrating and you get mad at yourself. It's probably not a productive cycle. I really should pledge to weigh myself only once a week, but... you know... I'm a scale addict!

Anyway, here's to a perfect BFC weekend!

Awesome products time!

There are a few things that Hubs and I have found that make life MUCH easier on the BFC. Here is the list:

 

Top 8 BFC Finds

1. 
   Benefiber. It is flavorless and helps ensure everything's ship shape in the tummy.
   


2. Sugar free syrup. Just a little goes a long way. Add butter to your french toast before and it's oh so yummy!


3. Nature's Own bread with no high fructose corn syrup. Speaking of french toast, use this stuff and you can have 4 pieces for your 2 servings per meal!


4. Cuisinart Ice Cream maker. We use cream and almond milk with stevia to make the most delicious ice cream ever! Seriously-- the chocolate ice cream we made the other day was crazy!


5. Almond Breeze almond milk. A great way to get your calcium without the carbs.


6. Truvia. Need to get your sweet on? This stuff works great in ice cream, on cereal and in oatmeal.


7. Green and Black's dark chocolate. The best dark chocolate I've tasted! Sure, it has like 1 more gram of carbohydrates, but it is SO worth it.


8. Blue Diamon Wasabi Almonds. Uh-- yum! Totally spicy and totally legit. It's a great snack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staying strong through blogging

So, I haven't bounced back up yet-- I really expected to! It seems both Hubs and I see our weight fluctuate up and down, but with an overall downward trend. That's the good news!

I have found recently that as nice as it is to be doing this with Hubs, sometimes it is still difficult. He loses so much faster than me and I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall some days. What helps me get through those times is blogging-- both writing and reading. I have really enjoyed reading two blogs in particular: http://purplerosy.blogspot.com/, and http://www.meandjorge.com/.

PurpleRosy has been on the BFC for a long time and her start weight was similar to mine (though hers was less). I like reading her blog because she totally gets the frustration and seeing a long road ahead. I know that the BFC is not (and cannot ever be) a short-term solution. I will need to do this forever. I really want my kids to grow up with healthy attitudes towards food and I can't provide that for them how I was.

Me and Jorge also has a long-ish history, so it's nice to go back and read her earlier posts. She was one of the early participants in Cruise's program as it was being developed. I think her story is even included in the book, but she said a lot of the details had been changed. Anyway, she has lots of good ideas for substitutes and the blog is just generally fun to read.

On a different note, I've been feeling the urge to get back into yoga. I've done yoga in patches here and there and it always makes me feel amazing. I just love the progress you can see in yourself, the change in posture and confidence. Also, I usually get up from a session feeling like I just had a massage and nap! Pretty good stuff!

Glad I made it through the week

So, as I was saying in my previous post, this week has been a toughie. I did end up back down and even losing 0.2lbs according to the scale, but it was a rough week. It's hard to stay motivated sometimes, although I can't say that I really was craving anything specific. It's not like I wanted to go stuff my face, but I did want to just not think about what was safe to eat so much.

Yesterday, Hubs and I accidentally made the most delicious ice creamy treat! We started making our usual ice cream and Hubs asked if I'd make chocolate syrup from our 85% dark chocolate (Green & Blacks brand). So, I rigged a double boiler in the microwave and started melting that chocolate. He tasted it and asked that I put in some Almond Milk to make it creamier. I did that, but it was gloppy. As the ice cream maker was still going, I got the idea to drop the choco-concoction into the ice cream and maybe it would freeze quickly into chocolate chips. Hubs agreed and I ended up dumping the whole thing in.

When the ice cream was done, we topped it with Redi-Whip and, OMG! it was delish! It tasted like chocolate pie with chocolate shavings. Oh man! If only I knew a low-carb crust recipe, I'd totally make that every night of the week! Sooooo yummy! I'm serious-- it wasn't "good for being low-sugar" it was just plain GOOD! :)

Hubs has now lost more than 30 lbs!!!! Woo hoo! Way to go, sweetie!!

Oh, I should also mention that I went to the doc yesterday (I don't have strep) and told him how well Hubs was doing. He was ecstatic and got all giddy talking about BFC and Dr. Lustig's "Bitter Truth" video. Kindred spirit!

Trudging through the week

This week has been pretty tough diet-wise. I was doing so well last week and then all of a sudden-- BUMP!-- I jumped 3.5 lbs. How does that happen? I really don't get it and it's been pretty frustrating this week. I've been doing everything right and just not seeing results.

One of the problems I'm having is that the bathroom is not my friend right now. I am drinking tons of water and taking extra fiber, but nothing! I'm sure that's where the extra weight is, but I don't understand why it's taking so long to work out. I might have to take a laxative tonight since it's been a couple days and almost nothing!

Our friend just got over strep throat and I'm not feeling great, so Hubs has me on antibiotics. He said that should help shake things up in there, but it hasn't. What is going on with my body? I'm so ready to just drop weight like I have been up to this point!

Well, we'll see. Tomorrow is weigh in day ( I know-- why did we pick Tuesdays?) so we'll see how it goes!

Alright!

Ok, I am totally excited because even though I was up 3lbs in the middle of the week, I ended the week down 0.8 from last week. I knew "that time of the month" couldn't keep me down!

Things are going pretty well. Hubs and I work hard to keep each other motivated. He is looking so THIN! I can't believe it! I know it'll be a while before that much of a difference will be noticeable in me, but I can already tell the difference in my clothes. It's a great feeling and I just want it to keep going. :)

My in-laws are also trying the BFC and so far have seen some good results. Mom-in-law has lost 6 lbs and I don't know about Dad-in-law. They aren't completely strict (Mom said she snuck a banana last week! The horror! Lol), but they are definitely seeing a difference which is great. I hope they can stick with it long enough to see the cravings pretty much disappear and to start seeing the progress.

Phew! That was close!

Seeing I was up 3.2lbs yesterday totally freaked me out! Well, this morning, I was down again. Still about 1.4lbs heavier than last week, but that's a lot better than yesterday.

Just wanted to share my happiness that I haven't totally lost momentum!

Grrrr

Well, I'm up 3.2lbs. It's that time of the month and Hubs says I should just be patient. But I don't want to be patient! I want to see progress now! I'm sure everything will be fine and I'll drop as soon as it's over, but it sure is frustrating to see those numbers climb. Wrong direction, scale! Don't you know anything, you dumb piece of plastic?

Poor Hubs, he's up a pound, too. Maybe he and I need to take a closer look at how we're eating and make sure we're being really strict.

In the BFC book, it says that if you hit a plateau, you should do three things: eat more fiber, drink more water, and try eating all your carbs before 4pm (I think it was 4). Well, I haven't been great with the fiber or water for the last few days, and I definitely have been eating carbs after 4, so there are some things I can do, I guess.

Just keep plugging away, I guess. I know the end result will be worth pushing through this set back.

Another weekend gone

Time is just flying by! I'm pretty happy about that, to be honest. Right now, time can't move fast enough! :)

Well, this weekend was good. I saw Harry Potter twice which meant lots of popcorn! I did plan it into my day, so it didn't hurt me at all. In fact, I am still slowly, steadily losing.

I had a talk with my carpool buddy about juicing and all this stuff she's heard about how good it is for you and everything. Well, here's my two cents: It's probably better than eating junk every day, but it's still not a natural way to consume your food. Apples don't come mushed up-- we are designed to do that ourselves. This indicates to me that the process of chewing stuff up is important. But, if someone is getting all the nutrients they need and they are cutting out a lot of unnatural stuff, then good for them!

But she did say something that was interesting. She was watching a documentary about juicing and the guy was asking people if they would change how they eat in order to be healthier. She said that most of the people said no-- that they were happy how they were. How strange! And yet, I understand that way of thinking.

Visiting Family

So, the trip to see my family went really well. On the first day they had worked with me to find a restaurant for lunch that had things we could work with. We went to Ruby Tuesday where they have lots of different sides that worked out really well. I tried the mashed cauliflower and spaghetti squash. Yum! I even had enough carbs to have crab cakes (one of my faves!). Then for dinner, my sister wanted to do something simple like sandwiches, so we went to the store where I could get stuff that really worked for us. It went well.

We had a really nice time with the family even though it felt like we were trying to pack in months' worth of visiting into a few hours! It was a good break, too, except that my mom got a 24-hour bug of some kind. And, of course, when I got home I started to feel sick too. Ick! One of the worst feeling bugs I've ever had, but at least it was only one day.

Last night we made sugar-free ice cream in our new ice cream maker. We used the recipe from the manual but substituted Almond Milk and stevia for milk and sugar. It ended up being S0/C0 and very tasty! Nothing beats the icy creaminess of ice cream!

Even with the traveling and eating out, I still was down this week and so was Hubs! Still going strong on the BFC!