Sunday, April 14, 2013

Spring has sprung!

Did you ever hear that poem....Spring has sprung
                                                  The grass is 'ris'
                                                  I wonder where the birdies is?

That always makes me smile. I always think there is one day that you just wake up and the earth has "greened." Everything that was asleep in nature suddenly bursts awake. 

My yard has been like that lately. 
 
 
 Even the hydrangea on my kitchen counter and the bunch of pussy willow that I bought have burst into bloom.


 It's such a nice time of year and it energizes me to see the earth come alive and beautiful things start to grow.

Our weather has turned nice and it's been in the mid 60's. Last week our temperatures were in the high 80's, and one day reached a record of 86!! Too hot, too soon. I'm glad it's cooled off and I can sleep with my windows open at night.

I hope everyone is doing well. I am still trying to take it easy and struggling to get back to where I was a before the holidays weight wise, and trying to stay off my knee as the Dr. ordered until I'm healed. I'm not at my goal so this weight gain set back is like a double whammy. I am trying to keep to all the BFC guidelines and incorporating a few things that I learned from Kim, like always trying to eat a carb and protein together. Since I try to log in myfitnesspal, I notice that I am not able to eat very many calories at all or I gain, even if I am well within my 15 sugars and 6 carb servings a day. I see my endocrinologist on Wednesday so maybe she will adjust my medications again. I just don't know what to do anymore. I get so confused sometimes. Today I just saw this article on Facebook that was about five reasons not to eat almond flour. I was floored when I read it. I posted it on Maria Emmerich's wall to get her thoughts. Let me know what you think. It makes a lot of sense to me. For right now I am trying to avoid all the treats, even the "healthified" ones until I get myself to a better place weight wise.

Thought for the day: "Pick yourself up, Dust yourself off, and start all over again." Dorothy Fields

7 comments:

  1. I think I tried treats like that a couple of times and then decided they were way too many calories. You know me and my belief that calories do matter:)The article confirmed to me what I thought in the first place. Almonds do have to be limited and when they are ground up, it takes a lot of almonds. I do buy the sliced almonds at costco and because they are thinly sliced, it takes awhile to eat, so a little goes a long way. I don't know Pattie, I think we all just have to figure out what we are willing to live with. I do believe that sugar is evil and should be very limited. Fruits, I just don't know? I have never gained because I ate too much fruit, I have gained because I have eaten too much of everything. It's all so confusing! I do 100% know I need to get more fiber.
    We can all do this together!
    Blessings and hugs!!!

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  2. Interesting article. Sometimes it seems so confusing on what is really a good and healthy way to eat. I love your beautiful spring pictures, right now I am waiting for my flowering plum tree that is outside my kitchen window to pop. Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday :)

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  3. I love all your pictures. You have such a beautiful home and yard. I always try to eat a protein with my carb for breakfast. I hope your knee heals soon and you feel all better. I'm gonna read that article right now and I'll let you know what I think. :-)

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  4. I read that a few days ago, too. If you've looked at her blog before you'll have seen that she likes coconut flour better. I think that most of us realize that that would be the better choice healthwise. But sometimes a person just wants a baked good to turn out, well, good. I don't know about your experiences, but using coconut flour is tricky for me and, quite honestly, doesn't result in a great tasting end product usually. So while I realize there's truth in what she's posted, I am not eating that whole pan of bars that I made using a cup or two of almond flour. I also don't consume almond flour treats every day. No matter what you choose to do there will always be someone to shake their head at you. However, I'd still be curious to hear what Maria would have to say about it. Your photos are lovely. I intended to get a few photos of our weather... we've got lots of wind and snow going on again. My son's hoping for a snow day. Since I'm a lunch lady at his school, I'm keeping my fingers crossed, too!

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  5. I have read that article about almond flour. I find it too expensive to eat all of the time, let alone any of the points in that article. I find that my boys really dig the almond flour baked goods over coconut flour, but I am still experimenting with my coconut flour, since it is so much healthier. So I will still use it every now and again, but I can't eat stuff with it all of the time either, or I gain weight.

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  6. Hi Pattie :)

    I am so envious of your weather. We've already gotten about 10 inches of snow today ..... and it's still snowing. It's beautiful, however, I'm just over driving my kids to school in it. Ready for the flowers to bloom and the grass to turn green again. I LOVE springtime also. You're house and yard are so amazing. What a blessing and a beautiful view you get to look at everyday. :)

    Anyways, I have to say that I am so thankful that you posted that link to the article re: the almond flour. Since eating clean, I've actually been eating whole grains, however I have been eating almonds pretty much every day. I do watch my portion size and usually only eat 10-12 per day, but here's the thing.... I had hopes of getting my wedding ring on by the end of the 12-weeks, which ended yesterday. I lost 11.9 lbs. and should be able to get my ring on but my fingers seem to be a little swollen (inflammation??) evey day. After reading the article I'm wondering if it's the almonds which are higher in Omega 6's?? I'm going to begin today eating walnuts instead (since I like both equally well) and see if that makes a difference. I bet it does. When I went to research it I found this article:

    http://www.brit.co/aww-nuts-why-walnuts-might-be-better-than-almonds/

    I'm excited to try switching the walnuts for the almonds to see what happens. I'll let you know.

    I LOVE all things coconut. I buy my oil in bulk from Tropical Tradition, love coconut milk in my coffee, and even put coconut oil in my morning shake. So many benefits of coconut oil, however haven't really tried the coconut flour (alteast not that I can remember, although I do have an open bag of it in my refrigerator drawer)??

    On a side, note, Heather said she'd be starting up a new group at the end of May, or early June. She is taking some time to make some instrcutional videos as well as get things improved a bit. I have LOVED getting to know her and if you go through her course, you will too :) She's a Sweet Southern Gal!!!

    Thanks for sharing... I'll let you know about the walnuts vs. the almonds!

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  7. I'm with you in that I think I have to stay away from even BFC approved sweets for awhile. I do like the baked goods cooked with almond flour way better than the coconut flour, which always seems to come out dry. For now I'll stay away from both. I did see that Maria answered you that the almond flour was safe if you don't cook it on too high a temperature.
    I've still lost nothing and don't think I've deviated from the BFC plan. Had a lot going on last week and haven't started my exercise routine yet, so maybe that will help. The weather has been crazy! It reached 93 here last week and I had to turn my A/C on one night and now I'm back in jeans and a sweater. Crazy!

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