Hodgepodge Friday

So, it's been 18 days since I've had sugar. I'm actually surprised at myself for making it this long. However, today, I am taking a break - I woke up and took in the blissful taste or Russian Tea and returned to my old favorite of real old-fashioned oatmeal with blueberries and brown sugar. The funny thing is, last night in bed it actually sounded better than it really was.

As for the Atkins thing, I will be returning to it after a 24 hour respite. Tonight we will be going to PF Chang's and I know that the menu choice that I will be making is not carb-free, so I figured I'd take a day off so that I wouldn't end up absorbing all of the fats from an Atkins diet today. After dinner, John and I will be spending the night at Eagle Rock Lodge up the McKenzie - an adorable bed and breakfast that we once did after riding horses. It was another "auction-win" item and I am appreciating the fact that we saved the two that we bid on for this time of year as get-aways seem to be so important to my emotional state right now vs. other times of the year.

I will be returning to the Atkins diet following this little adventure. While I haven't seen the scales report dramatic weight loss (at all) - I have seen the measuring tape report changes around my waist that I am very happy about. I feel different, and it is my stomach area that I struggle with most. I am the classic carb-overeater and the very person they talk about on commercials like "Relacore" where you store it all up right around the middle. If nothing else, I'm teaching my body that it can exist without constant carb input, and trying to break some of the habit. In addition, the science behind Atkins reports that the weight doesn't really start coming off until you reach a point of "ketosis" - in which your body starts utilizing the stored fat as energy vs. what you put in your mouth on any given day. I have just reached that point within the last two days (it takes a couple of weeks, and yes, there are ways of checking) - so, I'm eager to return to that place and see what the body can really do. All in all, John and I have found quite a routine to the whole thing and it isn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Like I said, the experiment within itself of just teaching myself to eat when I'm hungry and not just when I desire to have something has been interesting. Eating has become more methodical for me and not necessarily as indulgent. With that being said, I have found ways of eating things that I really enjoy the taste of - which has why this has become quite tolerable.

OK, enough about that boring topic - more than you all wanted or needed to know, I'm sure. I was thinking last night as I was cuddling with both Mikayla and Brayden, what is one thing you do for your kids that you wish they (or someone else) would do for you?

Happy weekend everyone - after the lodge, we are headed up to the Schilling Lodge to spend Saturday night (where the kids will be already) so it may be a bit before I post again.