Making Changes Stick

The low-carb lifestyle is something that was previously quite a challenge for my family and me. Such a drastic change to avoid convenient filler items like bread and pasta. The restrictions alone seem to be complicated enough for a first-timer trying to get into a better body. After many ventures of eating low-carb for extended periods of time, it is pretty much just how we eat. It's not a struggle to come up with some food ideas, or to figure out my nutritional needs for the day. It gets easier; much easier. Over time we crave carbs less, and crave healthy fats and protein more! Even on my days or weekends off I still try to eat lots of vegetables and healthy foods.

The reason so many people end up failing at dieting is because they are simply trying to diet, lose the weight, and go back to the way they were eating before. It's no surprise that if they do lose weight initially, they tend to regain it back - and sometimes end up even worse than before. The important thing to realize is that some changes will need to be permanent. There is a reason you are trying to diet, and that's because your normal routine isn't working out.

Part of this is weeding through the misinformation out there. And there is a lot of it. On top of that, there are those who seem to be dead set on discouraging you. "It's just one slice of pizza!" or "You can work out tomorrow!" "You look good how you are!" Or anything along those lines. They might mean well but it is absolutely not helpful.

It Never Stops!

Life______________________________________________

Each time I finally make it back here to post I am amazed at how long it has been since my last. Two months?! Holy cow!

Nathan is at an age where he is just absorbing and learning and going and going constantly. He is learning things like how to march and stretch from seeing us do p90x videos. He is learning words. My favorite thing is hugs though. Recently he's hugging everything - including countertops and windowsills! Hilarious. He will flop down onto a kitty and hug him until the kitty escapes.

It's so fascinating to watch him explore. To see the world anew through his eyes is really amazing. And often times hilarious. While I took a shower today he discovered the toilet paper, and picked tiny little flakes of it off and scattered them about. He must have learned that one from the cats.

Right now I am trying to get as much set up and accomplished as possible before I start going to school full time again. A relief to not worry about passing those A+ exams (expensive set of tests, they were), but I am still keeping busy!

Diet_____________________________________________

As far as our low-carb/keto diet, we are cycling through rounds of it at this point. We were doing p90x and eating reasonably, but switched to keto for the month of May. My progress in the low-carb diet is slowing down to a crawl, but this is to be expected at this point since I am within 20-30 pounds of my goal weight. I can never tell.

The p90x routine is fantastic. I've managed to get through the most of it despite being injury-prone and I have a pretty weak knee. The important thing is compromises! I could do full-on 90-degree lunges and get maybe 5 before my right knee gets injured, or I can do 25 half-lunges and still get my heart rate up and a decent workout. I think many people see this workout as a huge struggle. And it is, truly. You just do what you can, and keep doing it. Push yourself to improve, but not to the point of injury. Keep logs of the reps you do so that you can see the improvements in strength - the appearances will take longer to show. And take measurements! And pictures! All of these will help when the scale and the mirror are out to get you.

Busy busy busy!

We have been all over the place this past few weeks. My husband has been off work for a short time, and we have have been very fortunate to get to spend all this time together as a family! It has really helped Nathan get some new and exciting play time, and since it's the three of us, we're more likely to go out and DO STUFF rather than hang out around the house doing the same old same old.

I have been sacrificing the majority of my free time in favor of studying in order to get my A+ Certification. Once I am certified I will be able to start going to school to get my Bachelor's degree in IT/Software!

It is amazing just how different the mind (mine at least) works when you spend so much time at home with a little one. When I started studying again for the first time in years, I felt like I was in a true fog. Nothing was making any sense. However, it was temporary, and over time I have gotten back into the swing of learning new technical things. Thank goodness! If Jason hadn't been home, I wonder how much longer it would have taken me.

We have been still working with Nathan on sleep training, and we are much further along now. It took some work to get Nathan unused to nursing/rocking to sleep, and I think the true culprits are his first-year molars. Still only 3 of the 4 have fully surfaced, and I can tell it's bothering Nathan quite a bit. Hopefully it's pushing its way through and we can be done with it (until year 2 molars, ughhh).

So, anywho, that's where I have been! We have recently gone off of Keto short-term and are getting into the p90x workout. Oh my goodness! Tough stuff. Our plan is to get through most of the program, go back on low-carb for about a month right before Summer is officially here. Love it!

KETO: Spicy Chicken and "Rice" and Bullet Coffee

Since the end of December, my husband and I have been eating low carb, save for a couple cheat days. I have lost just under 26 pounds since then! This morning I decided to try something new with our cauliflower, and the results were fantastic!

I just kept adding spices and tasting the result, these are approximations of what I added. Your tastes may vary.

Spicy Chicken and Riced Cauliflower
Serves 4

Ingredients: 
1   head of cauliflower, cut and steamed
2 chicken breasts, fully cooked and diced
2   oz crumbled cheddar cheese (I prefer sharp, but medium works)
3   TBS butter, unsalted
1 TBS Sriracha
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 TBS Sour Cream - on the side (per serving)

Mash up the cauliflower and put over low heat on the stove top. Add the cheddar cheese and butter and stir until melted and incorporated. Add the rest of the seasonings, mix well, and taste the result. Add more of whatever it takes to make this dish great for you. Serve with a dollop of sour cream!

According to MyFitnessPal, each serving gives you:
283 calories
7 carbs minus 3 fiber = 4 net carbs
17g fat
24g protein


Bullet Coffee
Serves 1

This recipe has been replicated numerous times, and I am certainly not the originator of it. My version is as follows:

Ingredients:
Brewed Coffee - 1 cup
1 TBS Nutiva Coconut Oil
1 TBS Darigold 40 Heavy Cream
2 TBS Sugar Free Vanilla
Blender

Blend the coffee with the coconut oil, then add cream and sweetener and blend once more to froth up the drink. Fantastic way to get your caffeine and a high dose of fat for breakfast!

MFP reports this as:
192 calories
20g fat
0g carbs
0g protein

Tantrums and Individuality

Very recently Nathan has started throwing mini tantrums.

Pretty amusing actually, but I know better than to laugh. His initial version consisted of stomping around in an angry circle while flailing his arms a bit. Now it is more or less the same followed by him bending at the waist and putting his face to the ground, ostrich-style. Silly boy!

He is throwing them all over the place too. Every time he doesn't get what he wants (intentionally from us or unintentionally) he's off again. He is quick to scream or cry, and our sleep training has taken a major step backward. I can likely attribute it to his molars coming in (agonizingly slow) as well as his recent immunizations. Just hoping for the best at this point.

We often go on little walks and have Nathan hold our hands. For the past few walks, however, he has decided that the limp baby technique will get him out of having to be attached to us. When it doesn't work in his favor, and he gets picked up instead, he cries out. Sorry little guy, you're not running around freely in the parking lot!

I realize Nathan is getting to the age where he wants more freedom and individuality, and I am trying to give him choices in order to have more control of his own actions. However, regardless of what I do, there seems to be a lot more crying these days.

How did you guys make it through these types of days?

Sleep Training my 16-month-old

I have put it off for quite some time, and now that I might soon be rejoining the work force it is time to get Nathan able to fall asleep on his own. We may need him in daycare, and they certainly won't be able to gently rock and sing him to sleep for up to thirty minutes, and then again when he reawakens a half-hour later. As much as I am not a fan of the cry-it out method (specifically the extinction form of it) I do believe at this point in his life any major change like this will bring some amount of tears.

The first few nights were particularly rough, we actually tried pick-up-put-down method for a while. This worked alright for the first night. He kept getting to a point where he was hysterical, and it would be cruel to let him carry on like that. The second night, however, when I picked him up he might calm down - only to cry harder when I set him back in his crib. The first couple of nights I also resigned myself to singing and singing and singing. It's a wonder I had any voice left after that. By day three, my husband and I started making small adjustments that would work better in the long run. After all, I didn't want Nathan to require constant singing to fall asleep. We were ecstatic when Nathan fell asleep at bedtime (after crying through his entire nap) after under an hour of fussing! What a relief! Just the encouragement we needed to keep it up. Day four was rough again - but I expected it to take more effort with me in the room, as the one who used to nurse him to sleep. He did eventually fall asleep though, and that is an improvement over the day prior. As the week progressed, he cried for shorter periods of time. 

Here are a few tips that worked for us:

Build a regular sleepy-time routine. 
Same time every day for naps and bed time. Start this as early as you want! Children may not take to it before 4 months of age, but getting them used to it can only help. Consistency is key with a sleepy time routine. Ours is change diaper into PJs, brush teeth with a couple minutes of cuddling, storytime in the crib, and lights out with a couple of lullabies. It should be simple and in the same order each night.

Ensure that your child is burning off lots of energy throughout the day.
If they still have energy to burn when it's bed time, it will be more difficult to get them down. Make sure you have lots of play time and stimulating activities throughout the day. If it is nearing bed time and you think they still have too much energy, my little guy loves bath time before bed - burns off energy and is cozy warm!

Make sure he gets enough food.
I didn't even really consider the fact that my boy was used to nursing to sleep and throughout the night - therefore used to getting more calories through nursing. Now I try to give him a snack a short while before we begin the bed time routine.

Do not react to his crying.
The exception to this rule is when he gets hysterical. I won't ignore my child who is freaking out. After the first day and a half though, Nathan never got to this point. Once he was somewhat used to the plan, he would cry but not freak out. And this is where you must not react to it. It is to get your attention and play and stay awake, or to get you to nurse him back to sleep. My husband and I swivel the little chair around away from Nathan so that he knows we are there, but we aren't making eye contact.

Earplugs.
The first week could be rough. Lots of loud crying, screaming, and general noise. I definitely wish I had grabbed a pair in the first couple of days!


Try to avoid starting a sleep training program when your little one is pushing out teeth or unwell. These are times when he will likely need extra cuddles and nursing sessions. If you can hold off a few days in these instances, I'd recommend it.


Do any of you have any experience sleep training a young toddler? Leave any tips that helped you in the comments! :-)


Edited to add: One of the most disheartening and frustrating happenings during this is when all goes well for a few days and then -- BAM it's like we're back to day #1. This can happen because of teething, shots, sickness, overtired little one, and more. Through times like these, I find it's best to give extra cuddles and if they are truly upset (hysterical crying/screaming) then perhaps hold off for that day/night and try again the next day. You will be able to tell the difference between regular crying and hysterical crying. In my experience, the latter just seems to wake them up more so while simultaneously causing them to be overtired. Basically, they won't go to sleep like this. 

Wordless Wednesday 1/16/13