Crazy life of Chilli

So yesterday/last night ended up being awful. The post vaccine immune response kicked in and I felt terrible and as I didn't have time or energy to make soup my lovely daughter nipped to shop for me and bought me a can of soup and a big packet of CHOCOLATE BUTTONS lol. Bless her I was feeling miserable, then at work we were short staffed it was a terrible busy night and a resident passed away :( not unexpected but always sad. I ate the soup, and most of the buttons. I'm not sure the best way to count when switching from nights to days, I may just go for a basic cut off at midnight and look for an ongoing average... Yesterday on that account was only about 200 calories what with feeling yucky and postponing my dinner. I had soup, and most of the buttons lol at about 2am I've yet to demoralise myself by typing it into my app to see the damage.

I have a chicken breast in the oven just now with another can of ratattouie and mixed route fries which I'm going to halve cos the breast is huge. I'll have half now and the other half in the middle of my shift, thankfully I feel much better after a good sleep today.
 
Has been a crazy few days with my nightshifts but that's me off now until a week on saturday night. I picked up ridiculous amounts of shopping yesterday and have coconut flour and psylium husks arriving soon (found a great looking recipe to make wraps with it, among other things) So I'm all organised.

I've stuck to things as best I could over the past few days but I've not been 100%, definitely eaten less than usual and better things. I've not had any of the usual snack crap like crisps, biscuits or sweets no bread, pasta or potato. I did yesterday buy a bar of dark chocolate which I have sectioned up into portions and put in the freezer, there are times I'm well under my calories so it's a nice little treat for those days. If I demolish it one night in mindless lack of motivation I won't buy it again!

Since picking up my shopping, the home snacks are divided into two boxes, one each for son and daughter they are both aware of which is theirs and how much they are allowed so those are now kind of just off my mind. I won't eat anything I consider theirs, but it was easy to just help myself when it was there for all to share.


Kids have requested katsu curry tonight - they like the slimming world recipe for this and the sauce is largely made of blended veg which is a great nutrient boost for my daughter who won't otherwise eat much veg. I'm lazy and just use it with shop bought goujons tho lol. Once my coconut flour arrives I may look and see if I can make a low carb 'bread crumb' but for now I'll have the same as the kids tonight I just won't have the potatoes or rice that they will want with it.

I've been reading and watching stuff on youtube, it seems everyone has a different carb tolerance so perhaps it's ok to play around and find out what mine is. I'm just going to continue with my little compromises (like breaded goujons without the high carb side) and see if it's enough for me to lose weight. I'm definitely eating a lot less carbs than I usually would that's for sure, and have easily fallen in to 16/8 windows as I just don't eat till lunch when on daytime hours. I've not been near my scales as from experience it can fluctuate wildly over a bunch of night shifts and I don't want to lose my motivation - quite enough has happened what with wonky scales etc to put me off I'm looking for a boost now and reasons to continue!

So for today I will have yoghurt, katsu curry and I think I'll make a pot of cauliflower and bean soup. The main temptation will be that we're making banana muffins as a school task for my 8 year old... I'm going to minimise the inevitable damage by making half the recipe, and making them mini. I know I will eat one...

Perhaps we will find other lower carb recipes to try for things like it, but for the moment getting by with homeschool I'd rather just the quick and easy completion of his tasks, there will always be some compromises to be made.

Have a lovely day :)
 
As expected I ate a muffin haha, they were lush too. I've bagged up the remaining muffins and the kids have some each in their snack boxes so now I know I won't touch them.

Dinner wasn't katsu curry - I'd forgotten I had diced steak in the freezer to use up, so we had steak pie instead. I always just cook the steak in gravy then top with ready rolled pastry, with roast potatoes etc. The kids had that... I had diced steak with courgetti fried in olive oil with onions and garlic and a roasted carrot. It wasn't that nice to be honest I won't make it like that again.

My coconut flour and psyllium husk has arrived, but I probably won't have time to try anything out until later in the week. Homeschool leeches my hours at the moment.
 
If you find a good recipe for wraps let me know as im looking foward to chicken in a wrap. You seemed to have found a good eating pattern that works for you.
I made goujon coating with ground almonds and dessicated coconut and added a bit of lemon and pepper seasoning to it.
 
I'll let you know how these ones turn out @tipperary, I liked almond flour better last time I did this kind of diet and made lots of crackers but never anything flexible. I preferred the almond for the crackers and pancakes I used to make too, but it's so expensive! I'll explore the avenues of coconut and see what I can find. The psylium husk has lots of fibre, and from what I can gather gives the goo-ey ness needed for things like a wrap... might be disgusting haha.

I haven't eaten yet today but was awake until 4am so not long up. I've always had crappy sleep for years it's why I took a night job - bizarrely I sleep better since I started that. Been hearing that even poor sleep can make us fatter so that's... sucky.

Anyhoo, I had a mid-late-week weigh in and looking like 2lbs off for the moment since Friday and I can definitely live with that.

Todays food is likely to be yoghurt, something with eggs for brunch, cheese and onion omelette maybe. Dinner will be the katsu curry I didn't make yesterday I expect.

Best get some home schooling going on! Hope my son gets back to school soon as I walk more when he is in school.
 
Thankfully the little one in our house is back in next Monday. Homeschooling wasnt getting anywhere with him.
 
Thankfully the little one in our house is back in next Monday. Homeschooling wasnt getting anywhere with him.
I'm really torn. My 16 year old ADHD daughter definitely needs back, and my son does too. However he struggles with school work and is a bit introvert, teachers have noted he's doing more work at home than he does in school. But I can't afford the time and don't honestly have it in me to homeschool 100% off time, and he needs perhaps to learn to cope with distractions. He may also have ADHD but doesn't present in the typical way boys do for it, so it's all complex. We lose almost every other week with my nightshifts and homeschool yet still he gets more done here than he did in school 🙄
 
I had yoghurt, boiled eggs with chopped tomato, cheese and a little salad cream. Chicken goujons, curry sauce and a bit of chocolate, just under 800 cals and 46g carbs.

Think I need an early sleep tonight!
 
my son is having toast and choc spread, which I am only just managing to avoid! I do have an unfortunately sweet tooth!

Anyways we've some school work to do, daughter has optician later and from tonight son is at his Dad's for 2 nights so at least I get a day off from homeschooling tomorrow and can take my dog for some nice long walks over next 2 days.

Not sure about the days food yet for later but I plan a yoghurt soon, and I've frozen some of the cauli soup I made the other day but one portion in the fridge for my lunch. I may have this with some slices of cheese and tomato, I don't eat enough fat according to keto experts (not that I'm attempting to be 100% keto, just attempting to do better than I have before) but my problem is - I actually don't like fat, I don't have a mental diet block like some where they are still feeling they need low fat, I just genuinely don't like much fat. I can have full fat yoghurt, use olive oil for cooking and butter sometimes, I'll eat bacon fat if it's really well done lol. I don't like creamy sauces or veg cooked in butter or that kind of thing, and wouldn't add cream to soup or sauces. I suppose part of the deal is that although my food may often lack fat at least it isn't the processed 'low fat' stuff off the shelves? maybe that's ok, maybe it isn't. Maybe I'll get some nuts. Anyway, don't know about dinner yet will depend if daughter wants something cooked too or if she's sorting her own.

Happy Thursday all :)
 
Yep your brain can be telling you its counter productive to eat fat and to be honest some of it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I use coconut milk in some cooking (curries and soups), i eat avocados, i sprinkle pistachio oil on avocado and some veg and i sprinkle cheese where i can to up my fat intake as i get damn all from meat.
 
Yes it's not mental it's just taste, I don't like coconut milk in curries but haven't tried it in other things, don't like avocado either 🙄. I do like cheese though, and nuts.

Maybe just having less carbs and much less crappy processed stuff will be enough, time will tell!
 
The fat stops me getting hungry and cold. I'd say if you feel hungry just have some cheese or a handful of nuts. I normally have a big selection of different cheeses including a Wensleydale with mango and chilli and a goats gouda with toasted cumin, both are perfect nibbles when I want something luscious.
 
I'm a plain old cheese girl lol, a bit of cheddar is all I'll eat 😁 but never mind.

So today is weigh in day and I am now 186lb's (what my scales tried to tell me a week past monday but I think it was sat on a cotton bud) Officially 4lb's down from last friday but potentially I was more than that when I started, we will never know lol. I'm happy with 4lb's off this week though, extremely happy! my waist and hips are the same, down another 1/2 inch on bust which on the one hand noooooo don't take my boobies take my ass. On the other hand - probably hormonal, I was menstruating until the other day.

so, 186lbs. Waist 38", hips 50" and bust 44" for this week.

I have a day off from homeschool as my son is at his Dad's, looks like a lovely day too. I'll be pottering around here tidying up a little, then getting my eyes tested at 1315, then a nice long walk with my Doggo I think.

Food - no idea at this point but I may try out the coconut flour recipe for wraps and try it out as with melted cheese and pepperoni... rolled up... sounds lush but won't have time to try it out until later. no idea what else depends on daughter a bit. They were out of stock of greaseproof paper at the shop yesterday so I bought non stick bacofoil hoping that works for my wrap making. and I'm going to look for a ratattouie recipe because I really like that but I'm guessing the cans from the co-op probably have sugar and other stuff in them. It's a handy side dish for me with fish, chicken, anything really.

Right I'm off to have a cuppa and get some stuff sorted, have a lovely day all x
 
Ratatouille is so easy. Splash of oil, chopped onions, garlic. Sweat a bit. Then courgette, peppers and aubergine, sweat a bit more. Tin of tomatoes and seasoningbthen simmer slowly till veg are soft as you want, and voila ratatouille.
I make in bulk and freeze. I also prefer it without aubergine personally.
 
I might pop to the shop, I have courgette, garlic and onions... only would need tomatoes if it's good without aubergine.

I need specs for reading/crafting/computer which I did expect. In fairness I'm 45 I've been very fortunate not to need vision help before now and it's not a huge prescription really.

I'm feeling quite tired and lazy as I've not been sleeping well, might have a wee nap 😴
 
Ah i love a little afternoon nap, one of the joys of WFH for me is being able to clock off for 40 winks :).

I know I had problems wth getting enough fat in when i was low carbing - did it through cheese and cooking with oil, mostly. i seem to remember Diet Doctor had a good psyllium husk recipe for a wrap?

Well done on the loss, you are doing brilliantly!
 
I still haven't made any wraps lol. Yesterday I didn't actually eat until much later, took the dog for a lovely 90 min walk round the woods, usually only gets about half that at the minute with son at home most of time.

I came home feeling hungry but not in the mood for actually cooking, so I had a portion of ritz crackers, sliced chicken breast, cheese, tomato and salad cream. 19.6g carbs, 22.2g fat and 45.3g protein, 459 calories.

Then I had some dark chocolate and a hot chocolate before bed, and a yoghurt earlier but was still low on calories by the time I went to bed 686

I've been listening to The Obesity Code on audible by Jason Fung. The suggestion seems to be that having less calories or more calories the body just adapts anyway, so perhaps the type of food matters more, as well as having gaps. There are so many different types of advice. I definitely think that processed carbs and sugar have a lot to answer for though.

Maybe today is a wrap day? lol. No idea yet.
 
so apparently I have the wrong psyllium husk and mine turns things purple, which I wouldn't mind if it works but apparently not for the wrap recipe I tried lol. I dunno what I'm going to use it for now, ideas and recipes welcome!

I've made this, but I'd run out of garlic. I added onions and home grown chilli, it's quite nice actually. I've only had a taste as going to take my dog a walk and don't want to have a full stomach, I'll have a portion later :)


Does anyone make low carb smoothies?
 
I've read that book, it's amazing and makes so much sense. I wish my GP would read it though, he keeps harping on about my cholesterol.
I've made smoothies with blueberries, almonds and flaxseed and another with cucumber, spinach and avocado. I used to have them for breakfast. I've stopped cos Im now at 2 meals a day and just don't bother with a smoothie.
 
I tend to stick to 2 meals a day as well, just thought it might make for a nice change to have in summer instead of a meal. I'm re-listening to the chapters about sugar/fructose in Jason Fung's book to make sure I understand it all properly. I had believed that stevia sweetner didn't affect any spikes but he says it does affect insulin. I'm wondering about switching back to sugar for my tea and just cutting it down. There are others who say a bit of stevia helping you stick to this lifestyle is better than sugar, it's so difficult at times to decide what to focus on. I'm Ok about removing bread, potatoes and pasta, he says the effect of rice is less as it isn't processed but I only have 2-3 tablespoons of rice when I have it. I used to eat loads of crisps and biscuits but haven't eaten any crisps and very few biscuits. Perhaps improvements are good enough.

I suppose I have reached a moment in life where I really want to 'live' I want to grow to be very old, healthy and eccentric. I work with elderly people with all manner of issues including dementia and there is a lot of good evidence that dementia is also linked to insulin and diet.

My Dad has parkinsons which is desperately sad to watch him deteriorate, I know the incidence of this is less in women, but I still worry a little much of the joy I find in life is around art - painting, sewing, craft. I'd hate to lose my vision over diabetes, or my dexterity in my hands with parkinsons. I want to still have energy when my son grows up, I'll be 55 when he is 18. I have plans to sell up and travel around then... I so want to really 'live' and not exist in the way many end up doing.

My sister had a stroke when she was 50 leaving her right hand disabled, she manages well but she'd not manage half of my art/craft. I remind myself that she is a life long smoker and I have never smoked so my risk is much lower, but still. The concerns are there. My Sister and my Dad both have type 2 diabetes as well.

I don't want to be sitting here in 20 years thinking - I wish I'd ditched the sugar in my tea. I mean - how meaningful is sugar to my life in comparison to longevity, life quality and good health? On the other hand, we need to find some balance don't we?

Perhaps when I get to the latter chapters in his book things will be clearer.

It is shocking to think that all the advisors around the world were so quick to jump on to the low fat bandwagon, with so little research and evidence.

Ah well. Anyways food for today... probably yoghurt, some of the italian chicken I made yesterday, and gammon for dinner with sweet chilli sauce. The sweet chilli sauce is probably bad but we love it and only have it maybe once a fortnight :D The kids will have pasta probably and I'll have veg.
 
Back
Top