Category Archives: coney dogs
Day 2: Stuffed jalapenos – perfect low carb / keto snack
Day 2 of my new beginning went swimmingly. I’m getting right back into the swing of things.
Breakfast was Rick’s egg/sausage/cheese bowl. As usual, eggs will be a staple of the plan – especially for breakfast.
Lunch – I had to meet Rick at the airport to return our rental car. That took up nearly 45 minutes of driving time, so I needed a quick, low-carb restaurant. The Senate Diner near my workplace is pretty fast, so we dropped in there.
I ordered two coney dogs with no buns. Delicious as I remembered.
We planned to have leftover marinara sauce on something, so I tried my fake “fettucini recipe.” It’s hardly a recipe, since all I do is trim fettucini-sized pieces from a yellow squash using a potato peeler. Plop the squash on a plate, cover with marinara and cheese and voila!
I’d been meaning to try Lindsey’s stuffed jalapenos for a snack treat. They turned out really good, but they really didn’t taste much like jalapenos. They could have been any stuffed pepper. Maybe I should have left some of the seeds, or more membrane, in the peppers. I mean the filling was great, but I missed having the jalapeno flavor.
I’ll add this recipe to my Healthy Keto, since it’s pretty tasty.
That’s it; made it through day two with no hitches. Already feeling the energy. When I got in the car after work, after a few minutes, Rick said, “Well, you’re in a good mood!”
Was I? I think I had more than the usual energy after a long day at work. Let’s see what happens. On to day three….
Day 169: A giant bug bite and overcoming old eating habits
Total weight loss: 31 pounds
Tuesday morning’s usual schedule – I went to work and ate a low carb yogurt.
I was debating what to do about this 6-inch diameter bug bite that developed on my forearm over the weekend. It just wasn’t getting any smaller.
Rick was at a client meeting. Palmerworks has another monthly newsletter job. Rick enjoys creating those as much or more than he does making websites, so I was happy for him. I texted and asked him to pop by and get me around lunchtime and take me to a local urgent care place in Garden City.
I ate some almonds to tide me over. He arrived around 1:30, and I decided to get lunch first. I know that skipping meals always makes me more tempted to eat something risky.
We went to GJ’s Diner, and I had an urge for something different, so I ordered a flaming cheese saganaki appetizer. OPA! Rick ate half. Depending on what website you read, a whole order is from 3.9 to 20 or 30 grams. Livestrong.com says 3.9 with 1.7 grams of fiber. I like that one! This didn’t appear breaded in any way, so I think my portion was under 5 grams.
I also had one coney dog sans bun.
Off to the medical place. Turns out I probably don’t have Lyme Disease. I got some antibiotics and steroids to take for a week. It was a nice, quick, well-run place. I have a sort of “doctor phobia,” and NEVER go. I could be on my death bed and still try to make tea tree oil cure me in some way (it didn’t work on the swelling bite; then again, maybe I didn’t give it enough time!). Anyway, the nurse and I were talking about low carb diets, which many of the staff had just started. I told her about pasta, rice, and potato substitutes and they were reading my blog when I left. Odd feeling knowing that someone actually reads this rambling journey.
Dinner: I had to work until 6:30 to make up the hours at lunch/doctor. We don’t have sick time at my place of employment, and I really didn’t want to dip into my vacation time. I arrived home at 7 to find 4 young children in my pool (2 grandkid plus friends). Before swimming, I sat on the deck with Rick and Cindy and had a nice relaxing low carb drink. Rick found these at Kroger and they have ZERO carbs! It’s called Sparkling Ice. I love the lemon/lime flavor. It’s good with a splash of vodka, too!
After swimming, the kids went home and I warmed up the chicken kabobs left over from Sunday. I followed it with 2 square of 70% chocolate.
Oh, as to the title of this blog? Whenever I had a bad day, in terms of things like having to go to the doctor, or any other activity I really dislike, I would always reward myself. The reward was usually something like a chocolate milkshake after a dental visit, or buying a bag of peanut butter M&M’s after a doctor appointment. As I was waiting for my prescriptions in CVS, I remembered that. I started to head towards the candy aisle. Suddenly, I took stock of how good it felt to be wearing a smaller size, and the hopefulness I feel when I think that 31 pounds off since mid-January could mean 60+ pounds off by Christmas. The 70% chocolate squares I eat are enough to satisfy me, so why play around with more carbs? I’m really proud that I can think through most of these old temptations. I think I can do this!
Day 165: Wow! A huge weight loss!
Today’s weight loss: 5 1/2 POUNDS!
Total weight loss: 31 pounds
Wow. Getting back on track works like a charm! I stayed under on my carbs ALMOST every meal. I said “no” to a lot that I was tempted to eat, and I got a few laps in the pool. I knew my clothes were getting looser, so maybe some of last week’s weigh in debacle was water weight or something.
Yesterday was Friday and I didn’t realize I had no more yogurt left in the fridge at work. I substituted with some almonds and water. YUM
Lunch was a nice outing on a sunny day. We headed to a new coney place and I ordered two coney dogs with no bun. All totaled, the bill only came to $8 with Rick having a coney, fries, and soup. We’ll be back!
I wanted to swim before dinner, but I was pretty hungry. We decided to skip paying $40 to $50 at US12, where we often celebrate the end of the work week. I usually get 3-4 drinks, Rick gets 3-4 beers, and we have steak bites, plus whatever Rick orders. I really like sitting out in the sun and watching the traffic go by, and I especially like not being at home where I can see all the things I haven’t done. LOL. It’s a plus that someone waits on us, too. HOWEVER, we went to the grocery store and picked up some low carb snack items, and I knew I had some zero carb bread at home. Oh, and I also found some 2.6 carb beer. I’m not a huge beer drinker, but summer brings out a little craving for a beer once in a while.
Once home, I jumped into my bathing suit and quickly assembled a low carb appetizer platter. I cut several pieces of the disappointing, tasteless bread into small squares and topped them with sliced tomato, and mozarella cheese. I drizzled the plate with balsamic vinegar. Then I put the rest of the squares into a bowl with 2 side dipping dishes: avocado spinach dip and spinach hummus.
I grabbed a low carb beer and headed out to join Rick on the deck. It was very very nice (and MUCH cheaper!). The added bonus was jumping into the pool when we were done eating the appies.
The grandkids came by for a swim. After they left, I was tired and hungry. I heated up a cup of taco meat, topped it with cheese, sour cream, onions and jalapenos. YUM. Dessert was 2 squares of 70% chocolate and peanut butter.
Day 156: Jar vs. home made, no comparison
Total weight loss: 29 1/2 pounds
Yesterday was hump day. Started out with a yogurt. Then I had some almonds for a midmorning snack. I’ve been pretty hungry lately, and I don’t know why, but the yogurt isn’t keeping me full until lunch anymore.
I have been sadly lacking in water consumption. I do have to come up with a plan that will help me remember to drink more water. I’ve read tricks, like drink an 8-ounce glass before each meal, plus one when you rise in the morning and another at bedtime. I am just so OC that I get totally involved at whatever project I’m working on and I forget to get a glass of water now and then. It’s a goal to strive for, because I know I lose more weight on weeks where I drink a sufficient amount.
Rick took me out to lunch. I had two coney dogs with cheese and no buns. They were good, plus it’s always nice to take a midday break from my cubicle on a sunny day.
Ah, dinner. It was quite disappointing.
I had leftover spaghetti squash, so I decided to try the new jar of Ragu alfredo sauce in a jar I picked up last week. It’s low carb, and I enjoyed the spaghetti squash alfredo I made at home, so I thought it would be a great option for a night when I was too busy to cook.
I was wrong. It tasted like bleck. It had a sort of “processed” taste, chemical-flavored? It was also very bland. I’m sure I could add some garlic or spices to the remainder of the jar and try again, but the whole meal turned me off. The net result was that I was full, I had eaten under my carb limit, but I was very dissatisfied with the meal. I like spicy food, and it just had no flavor.
Day 147: Back in the blogging habit
Total weight loss: 29 1/2
Yesterday was Monday. I started my workday with a banana creme low-carb yogurt. I just didn’t feel like staying and working through my lunch (which I had planned to do), so Rick picked me up and we had coneys (no bun) at the local diner. I ate 4 of his french fries. I know, I’m getting a bit frisky with this tiny carb exposure, but they satisfied the little craving I had.
Dinner was at Monday night trivia. I had the huge and delicious grilled chicken club salad with blue cheese dressing. I was really hungry and I ate the whole thing!
I ended the day with an evening snack of two squares of 70% cocoa bar topped with peanut butter.
Day 95: Weigh day again
Total weight loss: +1 pound Total weight loss: 26.5 pounds. Next weigh-in: Saturday, April 21st
After having the really successful 6 pound loss a couple of days ago, I was fearing this weigh-in. I just assumed the big loss was a fluke caused by sickness and dehydration, and that all 6 pounds would be back today. Well….it wasn’t and they weren’t! I did regain one pound, but no big deal. I’m really geeked about the whole experience and flying high today because….
I lost a size!
Yes, last night I was going over to my niece’s for a bonfire and I decided to get out the next size smaller blue jeans. The ones I’ve been wearing have been feeling very very baggy this week, but I knew it was only a couple of weeks ago that I tried on a smaller size and still couldn’t snap them closed. I pulled out 2 pair, and VOILA! I had some “new” clothes to wear. And, for the first time, someone actually noticed that I was losing weight. My nephew said he thought I looked different. Thanks, Todd.
So, if this trend continues, about every three months, I could be down one size. That makes me very happy.
Back to the food report:
Yesterday was Friday. I slept in, then worked on a brochure for a client until noon. Rick and I went to Leon’s for brunch, where I had a really juicy M.O.P. burger. That stands for mushroom, onion, peppers…which were grilled and added to the top of my burger, along with some melted swiss cheese. I skipped the fries and subbed a salad with blue cheese. It was filling and delicious.
After lunch, we hit the Home Depot for supplies, then worked on molding and a new address plate for the front porch.
I skipped dinner and took a long nap. I’m still not completely over the flu, but just need to nap now and again. At 9 pm, we went over Marsha’s for the bon fire, and I ate some of her delicious Frank’s red hot buffalo chicken dip (with a spoon, not chips) and about 1/4 of taco salad. I drank one vodka/Diet Coke, since I was the designated driver. We had fun out by the fire until 1 a.m., then headed home.
I am completely off kilter in my sleeping schedule. I’ve always been a true night owl, and vacation usually sees me back to my old schedule. I stayed up until 3:30 a.m. watching tv and playing around online. I ate 2 70% chocolate squares topped with natural peanut butter for a snack.
Day 94: Back on track
Total weight loss: 27.5 pounds Next weigh-in: Saturday, April 14th
Yesterday continued my vacation week. We had more construction work to do, and we decided to try another new restaurant.
I woke up late (the perks of vacation!) and had brunch for my first meal. I chose two lovely chili dogs with no buns and topped them with mustard. Skip the fries, etc.
After another day of accomplishment at the rental, Rick and I headed home. I worked on Palmerworks websites for awhile, then decided to make a quick Indian butter chicken meal and use up the rest of the cauliflower for rice. I topped the dish with sour cream and it was heavenly. It was so delicious, I wanted to eat the entire recipe, instead of half. I decided to sit it out for a few minutes, and after letting the food actually hit my stomach, I was okay with one serving. It’s all about timing, eh?
I made chocolate mousse for dessert. Back on track, still under on calories, but it’s good to get back in the keto groove.
Day 80: Anyone else like cream cheese?
Total weight loss: 21.5 pounds Next weigh-in: tomorrow!
I started work at 8 a.m. Another crazy day at work, another missed breakfast.
At noon, Rick took me to get coney dogs at the local diner. I asked for them without buns, and all was well.
Around 4, I ate the usual handful of almonds.
At 7:30 p.m., I left work tired and hungry. Thankfully, I had a serving of Indian butter chicken and cauliflower rice left over.
Around 9 p.m, I wanted a little snack. I still had about 8 carbs left. I ate 3 oz of cream cheese. Odd, I know, but delicious.
As a side note, I found this about the benefits of eating cream cheese. Okay, it was a site for pregnant women, but the bennies still hold true for the rest of us.
Benefits of cream cheeses:
Cream cheeses, unlike other unsafe cheeses are made from pasteurized milk which makes it safe to eat.- They are a good source of protein.
- Calcium and phosphorous content of cream cheeses can be trusted highly in preventing bone decalcification.
- The carbohydrate content of cream cheeses is in a minimum extent so would not add on weight to your body.
- They have considerable amount of vitamin A.
I was still well under carb count (and calorie count) for the day. I just hope I don’t UNDER do it and trigger starvation mode (if it even exists!).