Discipline, self-control and decisions

I am the first to admit that there is more to life than food and weight. In my case, there are personal relationships, professional work, community activities and more. This mixture of influences makes if easy to 'slip-up' and partake of foods that are an absolute mistake for keeping the weight monster at bay. Here is where my professional work with victims of addiction comes in.
Bitter experience has taught one thing, if nothing else: an addiction will make every effort to return and reclaim one's life. I have come to the simplex conclusion that food can be addictive (try going cold-turkey from eating if you don't believe it).
Bottom line: it takes personal discipline every second, minute, hour, and day to make it work. No one else can do it for you, it's just too easy to 'cheat and eat'. Self-control brought on by personal commitment is essential to doing this. Every time we eat or drink, something is going to happen as a result... either for the good or else...

50 Pounds and holding

After several months of steady weight loss, I've leveled out in the 190's, having hit some kind of plateau. I have relaxed the strict regimen and have allowed myself some things from my 'forbidden list' and some larger quantities.
For me, I have arrived at my target. However, my nurse-coach is encouraging me to drop another 10 to 15 pounds. I know she's right, but having come this far, I want to just 'coast' a while. Also, the nurse's input notwithstanding, I want to have a good check-up before going further.

A new year and still losing!

It's been a while since I was able to add a report on my venture. The holiday season is always tough with it's endless array of good things to eat. Like so many, I did over-indulge, but tried to keep things under control. The scales showed me gaining about 2 pounds. However, with the end of the food madness, I've gotten back on track and seem to be no worse for the experience. As of today, I've lost a total of 41 pounds since I began tracking in May of last year.
The nurses at my group health plan have even been impressed with my progress. I described my goals to them and they suggested a couple 'tweeks'.
When discussing this with folks, I am always careful to point out that everyone is different and that what works for one person may not be right to another. But for me, the control of carbs has made this work. I'm scheduled to have a check-up with my doctor next week and will be interested to see what he makes of my effort. There are a couple diagnostic readings that I'm watching for, especially the HDL level.

Back from a break -- Cracker Barrel Menu

A variety of competing obligations have kept me on the sidelines during recent weeks. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back into the swing here. Of note, I was pleased to find a low-carb section on a menu in the Cracker Barrel Restaurant.

Southern Style Low Carb Foods

It's been a while since there's been time to post here. One thing that's becoming apparent is that, in spite of some great recipe compilations (like Diane Sanfilippo's), there's still a short-fall in day-to-day options for carb-conscious consumers, especially those of us who enjoy grits and other things 'southern.'
During busy times, or otherwise when there's just not time to cook, there may not be many choices. One friend, a true low-carb advocate, complains that she is bored with the foods she's been having and really wants more choices -- without having to work in the kitchen. Along these lines, I've roamed the aisles of the local markets and have only been able to find a few off the shelf options that fit the bill. Even likely looking suspects show carbohydrate measures in the dozens of grams ... not too encouraging.
A couple of successes include good old pork rinds, a regional treat that I'd not thought of in years, till a friend suggested crushing them and using the result as a breading for meat dishes. I'm still waiting to try that, but crunching down on a few right out of the bag is a joy (especially with a carb cost of zero grams per serving).
Also, as I have pointed out before, KFC's grilled chicken offerings show '1' and zeros in the carb column and their other flavors have relatively low counts it you're careful.
I've even discovered that Dairy Queen has a nice chicken salad that can be a life-saver if you'r with a group that just 'has' to have the more conventional ice-cream and sandwich offerings the present (do watch out for the dressings though -- I've seen packets of dressing in fast-food places with more carbs than the rest of the meal).

Quick low-carb snacks

One of the concerns I had when embarking on my weight reduction effort was how I'd manage when I was away from home and had to make do for a meal. I'd learned that chicken was a great choice and one recent afternoon, when I'd missed lunch, had to travel to a meeting about 90 miles away and didn't have time to go to a restaurant, Wal Mart came to the rescue! I made a quick search for a snack with a low carb count and ended up at the deli counter. They offered a chicken item called 'Wing Dings' -- basically fried wings without all the spice and sauce. I picked up a cup full and found that it made a great quick-meal. Later, I did a search and found specs that list a 3 ounce portion to carry 7 grams of carbs -- about twice my bench-mark of KFC's grilled chicken, but close enough for an occasional snack.