Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Hello....my name is Pattie, .......and I'm a carbohydrate addict!

Good morning everyone! Thanks for all the great comments you leave. Don't you wish that like facebook, when someone leaves a comment, you could comment back and they would know that you did? Sometimes I leave a comment under the comment on the blog, but always wonder if anyone goes back to read those. If I've confused you totally, sorry!

So today is a rainy Tuesday here in the Northeast. Yesterday was beautiful, and as funny as it sounds, I would rather drive into work on a sunny day than on a rainy day. We were busy in the office yesterday, and it was a long day. We have so many patients with wonderful personalities, and it is nice to chat with them and meet new people. Even so, these 12 hour days are tiring. So today I work from home, handling most of the business stuff for the practice. There are checks to deposit, charges to mail out to our billing company, letters to type etc., etc. I spend most of the day in my home office, or as I like to call it "my woman cave!"
My woman cave!
Working at home can be great, but also a pain in the neck too. I can throw in a load of laundry or run an errand, but the downside is my work is always there looking at me every time I walk by. Ok, enough of the complaining. This week I have a goal to put an ad on Craigs list to find some part time office workers. It's either that or I'll be blogging from a mental health rehab center soon!!

So I have a confession.....I'm a carbohydrate addict! Are you surprised? Are you one too? The most challenging part of the belly fat cure plan for me is watching those carbs. Surprisingly the sugar limit is working just fine for me. I would have never thought it to be so. For most of my life,  I was the one running to the snack drawer foraging for something sweet to eat. It wasn't beyond me to eat a sweet in it's frozen form. Those extra Christmas cookies, wrapped snuggly in their little foil packet in my freezer, turned out to be a lovely cold, chocolate snack.  Who knew? I thought I had a sweet tooth. I couldn't resist sweet treats, nor could I control them. But I lost my taste for them somewhere along the way on this plan. Sometimes I can't believe it myself. I do enjoy my dark chocolate nut clusters ( see recipe on a prior blog) and I still like a daily sweet. But the difference is the control I have now. One or two pieces of chocolate is enough. Saturday I tasted a bite of my husbands apple tarte at little french bistro we like to dine at. It was good, but sweet, and one bite was definitely enough. Ok, sugar under control! Check off list. I got that one down.

Now let's talk about those carbs. This is where I struggle. Even with the whole grain BFC approved carbs, it's hard for me to limit them. I still dabble in the white stuff too. You know the ones that start with enriched white flour? Don't hate me, this is a confession after all!! Did I mention that little french bistro has the most amazing, hot, crusty, french rolls, served with chilled butter? My husband and I always turn away the bread basket when we eat out. The bread at most restaurants isn't usually worth it we say. But here, it is most definitely worth it. So, I mustered all the self control I had, and then I decided to have half of one. They are small rolls,  about the size of  a tennis ball, so it was two bites. I gave in, I caved,  but also did it the 'Kay way'. This is not a technical term, but if you follow my friend Kay's blog, she talks about not being BFC perfect, but cheating in a controlled way. Kay is at her goal and this has worked for her. I am not even close to goal, so maybe I shouldn't be doing this, but I'm looking at it in a positive way. In the past I would have had 2 whole rolls.I did it, it's over and I'm not proud. But at least I minimized the damage. Baby steps!

So I'm trying to really watch the  carbs this week. I have the new Fast Track book on my IPAD, and I'm trying to follow along with the menus. This morning I got up at 5 AM, went to the gym, stopped at the market, came home and walked and fed the dogs, and then made breakfast. I will be in my woman cave most of the day today, so I wanted to get a jump start on the day. While at the market I picked up a pack of canadian bacon. If I'm giving up the grains for breakfast, I need to add some substance.  Canadian bacon is lower in fat and a little healthier for you. I found this nutrition infor about it on the web.

Canadian bacon vs. bacon
Regular old bacon comes from the belly of a pig and is streaked with fat. Canadian-style bacon is taken from the back of the pig rather than the belly and is much leaner.
Here's a comparison of the nutritional contents - comparing one ounce of each.
So ounce per ounce, Canadian-style bacon has only 1/3 of the calories, a fraction of the fat and less sodium, making it the healthier choice. Here's an article explaining Canadian-style bacon, if you're interested.
Sources: Linked, and http://origin.www.nutritiondata.com/ for the nutrition facts
Canadian bacon, topped with cheddar cheese, chia seeds,
poached eggs and chives
So I warmed up the two thin slices of bacon in a non stick skillet, poached two eggs (see how to do this in a prior post). I topped the bacon with some reduced fat cheddar cheese, some chia seeds, the two eggs and some fresh chives. I missed my ezekial bread to sop up the yolks, but guess what? This was really good. Filling too. Try it. And for those of you who don't use fresh herbs to jazz up your meals, it is a really good thing to do. The flavor is subtle, but really enhances the dish.



That's all for today. Thanks for listening!

Thought for the day:   "When in doubt, tell the truth."  Mark Twain

9 comments:

  1. Good morning Pattie! I can really relate to this post! I have been able to get the sugars under control (way better than I ever thought would be possible) but the carbs are still harder. That is why going grain free (or at least wheat free) the last two months has been so good. If I can't even HAVE the rolls, it's way easier to say no. This last week I added wheat carbs back in, and it's gotten hard again! So once these tortillas are gone, I think I'll stay wheat free for the time being. I am waiting for my fast track book.

    I really love canadian bacon, too. It's way healthier than 'regular' bacon, and I think it's tastier. Putting some on then next costco list.. mmm..

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  2. HI Pattie,
    I think for me I am a sugar and carb addict. But thank goodness I have them both under control thanks to the BFC.
    Oh how I wish I was near you to help.
    You know those rolls, if they are french or pumpernickel rolls - those have no sugar. Look them up. So its OK to have one as long as you save a carb from the day.
    Your breakfast looks awesome.
    Have a great day :-)

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  3. Pattie,
    We just had your Mac & Cheese dish. It was a hit with both my husband and son. And of course me.
    This will be a favorite dish in my collection of BFC recipes.
    I have some Canadian bacon. So I'll make that breakfast dish tomorrow.I need to get some chia seeds for the next time I make it. I also need those seeds to make Rosy's pudding.
    Thanks for the recipes
    Linda

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  4. Pattie! I am honored! I know this isn't what I should say because Jorge may not agree, but you can be a carb addict and lose on BFC. You just have to really pic the ones that are low in sugar and then only eat a little bit. Like Rosie said, there is no sugar in the french roll so there's your carb. You ate it, you aren't obsessing about it, now you know you can limit yourself the next time too. Just think of how lucky we are that we can eat that yummy butter!!! I had totally forgotten about Canadian Bacon. I usually get the dual pack at Costco and use it for sandwiches too. I don't know what I would do without my sandwich thins. I love them, and don't miss regular bread at all. Since they are round they make a great burger bun too. My hubby is even eating them now. Of course he likes the whole wheat, and I eat the whole wheat white. I may progress soon.
    I was a bad, bad, bad girl this weekend, but I was able to jump right back in today. I will share a little on my blog.
    We can do this! You can do this! Remember I weighed 170 at the Holiday's and did not start the BFC until March 7th. It seems like the time has flown by. Well it has....the older I get....or so they say!
    I am so glad we are on this journey together!
    I love your office! It is beautiful. It is funny that you shared your room because I was going to take a picture of my bedroom and post it when I finally hung up a sign that I had mentioned on Beth's blog. I still haven't hung up the sign yet! I got it out today though, that's progress:)

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  5. Patty, I am right there with ya on the carb thing. Before the BFC I could eat cereal for 3 meals a day and bread and more bread. But at least we are getting it under control being on the BFC. Hey it may take us longer but we are on the way. What type of medical office do you work for? I work for a physcial therapist office and boy would I love to work from home. But I would probably stay in my PJ's all day if I did that lol. Love you blogs.

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  6. Carbs are hard especially as we move into fall. There are so many tasty things made with white flour, all I know is that by limiting/avoiding the white flour treats we are doing our bellies and our health a favor. Have a wonderful day.

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  7. What a great post! I think many of us are carb addicts, myself included. I think the more you eat of them, the more you want for sure. I have been so stuck lately & am getting so dang frustrated but have started really watching the carbs & sugars & will see if that makes a difference.
    You always post great thoughts and I do love reading everyones blogs but it seems to take me forever to comment on them all.
    Bravo to you for getting up that early to exercise! (clap clap clap clap!)
    My kids are yipping at me about needing the computer so I better go.
    Havea great rest of the week!

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  8. Fresh bread is one of the things I really do miss on the BFC and I think it is only going to get worse as the cold weather sets in. I think you did great only having a piece of a roll, I doubt I would have been able to stop! Your office looks beautiful and so neat! My office...not so much.

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  9. Way to go working out early today! I know what you mean about being a carboholic! Once I start eating refined carbs I have a hard time stopping. One thing that's really helped me is to avoid starches at night as much as possible. I think it's really reduced my cravings at night for them. I do think if I was at a fav restaurant with awesome bread I'd have to have some. That's kinda what I'm doing...the yummy carbs have to be my fav for me to indulge. If it's just o.k., it's not worth the carbs & calories for me, you know. You're doing great girl...if we just don't quit we'll get there, you know. Enjoyed your blog. Take care.

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