TODAY I AM A "TEN"

TEN

Today I am 10 pounds down since getting home from the cruise.

I call these "sweat" pounds (as opposed to sweet pounds) because of moving and not having groceries in the house. hahahaha I should write a book on that and label it my new diet plan -- "The Moving Empty Fridge Diet". lol.

What is funnier is that when I did buy groceries I ended up spending almost $200 -- and there are only 2 of us at home now! I haven't spent that since I had all the kiddos at home. One thing about it, we shall not run out of butter any time soon. I bought the FOURTH pound of organic, unsalted butter and placed it on the shelf with the other 3 pounds. lol. I really need to make a bernaise sauce and use some of that up!

OH! Oh! OH! I bought some really cheap "soup meat" that had the bone in it. You know what that means?!?? Bone Marrow! I have not had that since I was a child! I used to love love love that part of the meat. Granted it was only about 1/2 a teaspoons worth, but it tasted so awesome. I steamed the rest of the meat and it was nice and tender. Yum. Yum.

Jimmy Moore always says, "Find what works for you and then DO IT!" Well, I love Jimmy and I've finally listened to him. What works for me is HIGHER fat combined with LOWER calories. It is NOT just a matter of eating fat, cutting carbs. I like VOLUME... and it has finally dawned on me after years of slowly creeping back up with my weight, all the while eating low carb, that there was a missing element. I CANNOT eat as much as my 6-4, 240 lb husband. Besides he is VERY active as PE Coach. He keeps the lawn mowed, the sidewalks swept, the ceiling fans dusted, and manages to also put in 2 to 5 miles a day on the treadmill. He does all of that just to wear himself out enough to sleep at night. He has an incredible amount of energy.

SO, back to the calorie thing -- NO, I'm not being strict with it. I've just set a range. I want to make SURE I'm getting at least 1,000 to 1,200 calories per day, but not MORE THAN 1,500 to 1,700. I use fitday. (Note: I am only 5 ft tall and actually small boned). AND it is all protein & fat, with occasionally a cup of greek yogurt when I feel the need for sweet, creamy comfort. :D

This works for me... and I'm DOING IT!!

(Thanks, Your Royal Jimmyness!)

LESSONS FROM THE CRUISE and FAMILY SUPPORT

The cruise was great. The guests and the speakers were wonderful. I'm not so crazy about the Bahamas -- overcast, cold water, very little free access to the beach, no steel drums, etc. But our days at sea with the conferences were awesome! Words cannot express how enouraging and enlightening they are. I couldn't pick a favorite because each person brought something different to the table.

So ... came back from the cruise vowing to not let myself go on another cruise EVER again if I did not take control and lose weight. I've been sort of fluctuating with 15 pounds for over a year now. It is time to kick it over the hump and move on down the road. I am dedicating the rest of the year (until the NEXT cruise in 2011) to getting myself together. No weight "goal", but rather a "health" goal -- and the weight should follow!! lol (yeah... right... you KNOW I've got that perfect number in my head... lol..)

What has been really fun is that my sweet family has taken up the torch and we are all working on this together! My youngest son, on his own, lost over 30 pounds eating low carb and exercising 2x a day. He encouraged us all of us to join him. He is part of the "Pound for Pound" challenge through Biggest Loser, but I have to admit, I'm not exactly sure how that works.

We started out in mid March 2010 at a total weight of 1,234 pounds. We have a "secret" facebook group page and we post our recipes, menus, & challenges. As of today (4/19/10) we are at 1,157 pounds -- WE HAVE LOST A TOTAL OF 76.5 POUNDS! That is so cool. There is six of us -- my husband, my 2 sons, my daughter, my daughter-in-law, and of course, moi.

An interesting observation is that even when one of us doesn't lose one week, or even has a slight gain, the total weight keeps us motivated. It's the "team work" concept I suppose. It is almost as if we are working hard just in case we need to "be the pound" for someone else. lol.

Our goal is to lose 100 pounds by June. We will do it. And then, next cruise, I will be back in my "comfort" level weight wise.

ABOUT THE PEOPLE -- wonderful & amazing

I just didn't think I would meet a nicer bunch of people from the 2007 group! 2007 cruise was VERY special. I was a little bit nervous because we had mostly ALL NEW people on the 2008 cruise and most of them I had never had any contact with online. They were strangers to me.

They were GREAT!

So now my goal is to get both groups together! hahaha

YOU READY FOR THIS?

MARCH 6 - 12, 2010 -- out of JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA --
to NASSAU & BAHAMAS !!!

Start saving your money now!

2009 Low Carb Community Cruise

IF you have not heard about it already, we are planning another cruise. With the help of some LC friends, we are making plans to make next years cruise a very special event. If you need more information you can look at the Question and Answer section at HERE ON THIS SITE. IF you KNOW that you would like to go then you can go directly HERE TO SIGN UP.

THE FIRST DEPOSIT IS ONLY $50 if you sign up before May 21st. After that date the deposit will be $250.

In addition to Dr. Jonny Bowden coming on the cruise, we've also secured two more BIG low-carb experts: low-carb researcher and clinician Dr. Eric Westman from Duke University and Jackie Eberstein who worked with Dr. Atkins for three decades. This is HUGE to have these giants in the low-carb world coming with us, so SIGN UP TODAY!!!

It is my hope that this turns in to a type of Low Carb Convention for all of us internet diet fanatics! ;) There should be a LOT of good, solid information and hopefully some literature, freebies, and just a lot of fun.

I REALLY HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US!!

What do you do when someone hurts a friend?

Anyone? What can you do?

There are some people "just posting questions" on their own personal blogs ... They say that they are just innocently being curious. In their questions they have deeply hurt a friend of mine. Questions have been worded that could be easily misconstrued as accusations and inuendos. The Questions have been rearranged and reworded and submitted over and over again. Anyone who attempts to answer is accused of "worship" of my friend. Anyone who attempts to offer ANY kind of reply that isn't in line to being "accusatory" is promptly bashed or questioned in a negative way also. And there are comments that make NO sense at all.

It's not right. It's just flat mean. It's hate-filled.

BECAUSE I've seen person after person try to reply to no avail. I've seen person after person post and it just gets more hurtful. Why would someone want to hurt others so much? I have heard that "hurting people" are the ones who hurt people. Well this hurting person has RIPPED another to pieces with "questions".

It was the idea and desire for the 2009 Low Carb Community Cruise to pull the Low Carb Community together for support for each other. The people on the last cruise just really felt a strong connection and we want to share that feeling. Several people have agreed to help me work hard towards that end. We have been trying to get the word out for those that might be able to do it. We've talked about being able to move it around to the different coasts; we've discussed what special surprises and guests. We get a discount on our ticket for making the arrangements - and that is NO secret. We get a discount for working on it in many different ways that include answering questions, hauling supplies & equipment, and keeping up with some of the reservations problems. It appears that there are those who want to rip it up. It appears that there are those who want to take the joy out of it. It appears that there are those who can't stand for someone to have hope and to be blessed. It was SUPPOSED to bring people together, but some people are using it to crush other people.

I just HATE that one of the nicest people I know was slammed for helping me out. I just HATE it that a young woman with big ideas was slashed for trying to push ahead through some pretty tough trials. I just HATE knowing that she is in tears because of people she considered friends.

BUT most of all, I HATE that the source of this is from people we considered to be "one of our own" in the battle against Heidi Diaz.

Who's the next target?

2008 - New Beginnings

2008 has been labeled the "Year of New Beginnings" by several sources that I have found. 2007 was supposed to be a year of "completion" and I found that to be true. Many things came to a close. SO I am excited about the new year.

ONE of the things that I am most excited about is that "darn" cruise! hahahaha FINALLY we can see it about to happen. FINALLY we can all meet up. What is interesting is the fact that things have changed so much. It was all about celebration & the "KK CLUB". I really feel like NOW it will be about "closure" and encouragement and recommitment to a healthier lifestyle.

SO THERE YOU ARE -- things to look forward to. Forgetting those things which are behind and pressing forward.... ;)

A YEAR OF NEW BEGINNINGS!