November 16, 2008 Low-Carb Menu

8:45AM
3 sausage patties--315 calories

1:15PM
2 ounces of mixed nuts (pecans, almonds, macadamia nuts, cashews)--340 calories
2 crab cakes--500 calories
2 Tbs sour cream--60 calories

5:45PM
1 hamburger patty--430 calories
2 slice of American cheese--120 calories
1 Tbs mayo--100 calories
1/4 cup Flax Z Snax Sweet Nut'ns--150 calories

TOTAL CALORIES: 2015

CURRENT WEIGHT: 252.4

NOTE: Okay, everyone, class participation time. Follow my lead--breathe in...breathe out...breathe in slowwwwwwwllly...breathe out slowwwwwwwwllly...AHHHHH! Don't you feel better now (all those yoga and Pilates classes are starting to rub off on me). I think it's a good idea to remain relaxed and de-stressed as much as possible because it can and will have a measurable impact on your weight far beyond your diet. People get so uptight about the smallest things and yet forget to even realize how much they have been blessed with.

I for one am very thankful for the incredible lessons I have learned over the past few weeks about myself. Giving up "sweet" (artificial or otherwise) was indeed a challenge for me, but I did it and saw GREAT success in my weight and behavior towards those foods. Whereas I probably tended to consume too much of the "sweet" low-carb treats in my life before, I now realize I can make do with less and still have the same enjoyment from those things. And the diet sodas I was drinking in high quantities before have dropped significantly (and I didn't have a single one today!). This is HUGE progress that I'm very proud of accomplishing.

Incrementalism is a superb way to bring about new habits that are good for you. I'm not in the camp that it's all or nothing--that's a great way to quickly label yourself a failure when everything doesn't go perfectly. Had I taken on that mentality during my 180-pound weight loss in 2004, then it would have never happened. Thank the good Lord I hung in there doing it my way back then and that's precisely what I'm doing this time around too. The best new is my weight is still falling...a clear-cut sign I'm doing something right. And I fully intend to keep that momentum rolling.