The End of South Beach

It's such a relief to be finished! To be able to eat fruit and yummy food again. We're really enjoying my Dad's multigrain bread and we celebrated with a nice ripe pineapple.

We're deeming South Beach a total success, we had a couple goals we were hoping to achieve:
1. Learn to be satisfied with smaller portions
2. Eat dessert less often
3. Eat healthier
4. Lose some weight

We feel that we've reached all of them; we often eat less at dinner yet still leave the talbe feeling satisfied. We know we'll need a snack later but as long as it's a healthy snack then there's nothing wrong with that. Cutting out all sugar for two weeks has helped us realize that dessert is not always necessary so we'll cut back on how much we eat.

And the big one, the weight loss… so how much did I lose in two weeks? 12 pounds! I'm pretty excited about that, I did a little better than I expected.

I don't think I'll weigh myself for a bit because I want to carry this 12 pound high and not worry about gaining a couple back (which I'm sure I will).

So my concluding thoughts on South Beach… it's hard. Really hard but definitely worth the sacrifice, especially if we can stick with these healthy habits.
L

I Cheated

I didn't mean to, really! This is what happens when we're not prepared.
Brad and I didn't have any food for lunch to do so we figured, no big deal we'll get a salad from Wendy's. I was careful to make sure the chicken was grilled, not breaded and I gave away my croutons.

Well halfway through lunch it occurred to me to check the dressing and make sure it's okay to eat… it had way too much sugar and was in general terrible for me. The salad also had bacon finely shredded, not pick out able. I've officially cheated and I feel guilty about it.

The saddest part of the story is that I very nearly went to Sunterra to the salad bar where I could have had a perfectly acceptable South Beach salad.
L

Annoyed

Anyone watch So You Think You Can Dance last night?

Anyone else hate Twitch a whole lot after the really annoying 4 Real thing he keeps doing with his arm? They all do it but Twitch is the worst, please… show less Twitch!
L

A List of Sorts

Not the most interesting post but it will have to do for today.
Hopefully you'll learn something new you didn't know about me.

I am: happy
I know: lots about Microsoft Office programs. If you need help I probably know the answer (unless it's about Pivot Tables or Macros)
I want: a Crave Cupcake
I wish: we were ready to own a house
I hate: the green shag carpet in our apartment
I miss: Janine! and Chris and Irena and Dave and my family
I fear: that Brad won't get into UofC
I feel: lighter than I was a week ago
I hear: typing, all around me people are typing, and Steven is talking on the phone
I smell: office air, it doesn't really have a scent
I crave: dessert… cutting it all out for two weeks has been hard.
I search: for new blogs, ideally by people I know
I wonder: what my children will be like
I love: reading and should make time to do it more often
I ache: for my more time with my family and to see my newest nephew
I care: about how I make others feel
I always: put chocolate chips on my pancakes
I am not: always as nice as I should be
I dance: when I'm alone
I sing: in the car
I cry: often, it doesn't take much
I don't always: try as hard as I could
I write: on my blog and that's about it
I win: Carcassonne, especially when I play against Brad
I lose: Whenever I play a game with my brother Rob, though Carcassonne might be an exception
I never: take out the garbage, that's Brad's job
I listen: to music all the time. I'm always looking for a new artist I'll love
I can usually be found: in the kitchen
I need: family and friends around me
I am scared: I'll be forgettable
I am happy about: the end of Phase I on Sunday
I think: our week at the lake can't come soon enough
L

Time for Change

I figured after 3 1/2 years it was time to change the look of the blog. I'm not super happy with this yet but by the time I got this much done I was sick of playing with it. There will probably be more changes once I'm in the mood again.

There were a couple South Beach Free posts so I figure it's okay to share a few more thoughts. South Beach is hard. We went for dinner at my in-laws last night and there was so much yummy food that we couldn't eat. There was plenty that we could eat but we were left feeling unsatisfied and I was a little resentful towards those that got to enjoy the potato salad. Only one more week though, we can do it. It's definitely easier when we're at home and the temptation isn't there. I wonder if I'll initially feel guilty eating carbs again.

We decided to try going out for lunch this weekend and were really pleased with our food. We went to Red Lobster and both had some really yummy salmon, it was nice to go out and find food we could eat.

At the halfway point I'm feeling really good about things, I feel healthier and I definitely notice the weight loss, at the rate I'm going I think I'll be quite pleased with the results.
L

Big Foot

Here's one thing you probably don't know about me... I hate buying shoes.

There are two different reasons, the first being I'm really bad at it. I know that sounds silly but I often buy these shoes that I think are great and then after one wear realize they're so painful I'll probably never use them again. It's really frustrating and has made me really wary of buying any, I don't want to waste my money if I'm not going to wear them.

The second is even worse, I was cursed with big feet. Nothing makes me feel more fat then going in and asking for big shoes, and my feet happen to be wide as well, it's not a good combination.

When one of my few trusted pairs finally gives out I put off getting new ones as long as possible and I dread the shopping trip every time. It's finally come to a point where new ones really are a necessity thought. The soul in the shoes I most often wear to work have collapsed and as a temporary fix I've stuffed them with napkins.

This weekend Brad and I went down to Magrath and as a belated birthday present my Mom gave me some money to buy something for myself. This was a perfect opportunity for some new shoes so I set out with Brad (he's proven to be a

great help in determining whether or not they're going to hurt me) and found these really cute black shoes that I'm a little in love with. I'm mostly posting the picture

s so Mom can see what a great gift she got me.

Thanks Mom, Love you!

L

Jimmy Reprise

Brad and I got to see Jimmy Eat World in concert in October so we were suprised, but super excited when they came back to town so soon. They played at Flames Central which was a place neither Brad and I had ever been but it turned out to be a really great venue. There's lots of standing room on the main level but we were lucky to get a seat on a padded booth on the 1st level, we had a great view of the stage but got to be comfy and seated the whole time.

The concert was incredible. The music was just as good as expected and you could tell the band was having a great time, they even declared it the best night on the tour.

Go see them if you get a chance, it's definitely worth the cash.



They played with a band called The Midway State, they weren't great in concert but show some potential, they have a new album coming out that might be great.

L

Satisfied

Dear Red Lobster:

My husband and I have not been frequent visitors of your restaurant but in the recent past we’ve visited your Calgary NE location twice.

Both times we were so impressed with the service we received.

The first visit we were in a bit of a hurry so we let our server know this and she did everything she could to accommodate us. She brought our salad and appetizer together and our meal followed shortly after, the food came so quick and we had plenty of time to eat and enjoy the delicious food. She (we think maybe her name was Shauna) seemed to make a real effort to get us fed and out on our timetable.

Today we made a repeat visit. Trudy was especially friendly and made some great suggestions, including reviews from other customers on the specials. We informed her that we we’re on a carb free diet so she offered to take out the croutons from our salad. She showed a genuine interest in our satisfaction and since it wasn’t busy even took a few minutes to chat with us.

In a city like Calgary where there is a shortage of workers you often find employees who don’t care about the work they do, it was refreshing to have such wonderful service twice in a row. We’ll definitely be visiting the same location again.

Brad and Laura Wiebe

Something's Missing

So I promise not every post will be about South Beach for two weeks but here's one more.

It's interesting the way the body reacts to this diet. We're eating yummy food that we love yet it's hard to feel satisified because you're missing the carbs that normally make you feel full. Things are still going well but it's definitely hard.

Also we discovered that light feta isn't so great.
L

Cheating

We made a great discovery last night… sugar free pudding is allowed.

The white chocolate was so yummy! It tastes so good part of me think we're cheating.

I was most concerned about the lack of dessert in this diet since that's what I crave most, it's nice to be able to eat a few sweet things and not feel guilty about them. Brad also introduced my to Baskin Robins sugar free hard candy, the Cookies & Cream and Mint Chocolate Chip are super yummy!

Day three is going well
L

South Beach

Brad and I have decided that we need a little kick to get us to lose some weight as we've both gained more than we'd like in the last year. To help us out we've started the South Beach Diet, we're going to do Phase I for two weeks.

For those of you unfamiliar with South Beach it's supposed to help you cut out bad carbs and fats but I'm not really interested in the diet long term. What I am interested in is Phase I. Long term, terribly unhealthy but short term it's great for you. You cut out all carbs including those that are naturally occurring which means no fruit and technically no carrots, we're modifying to include carrots though. You also cut out basically all sugar. Diary is allowed as long as it's low-fat or reduced fat. The science of it is that when we eat too many carbs our body stores them as fat, by cutting out all carbs you're body starts to burn the stored fat resulting in an average of 8-12 pounds weight loss.

After Phase I (which isn't recommended for longer than a three week period) you gradually add back in whole grains and some sugars. Phase II and III are about maintaining. We're hoping to build some good habits and break out of some bad ones in these two weeks.

We only started yesterday but so far it's been really easy. Yesterday and today for breakfast we had scrambled eggs with peppers, onion, low fat turkey and some low fat cheese. For lunch we ate bunless burgers with Greek salad and it was so yummy! We did cheat just a little yesterday as the Feta wasn’t low fat. It's what we had in the fridge though and we didn't want it to go bad. We used it all up and the new stuff we purchase will be low fat for sure. For dinner we had BBQ skewers with steak, shrimp, peppers and onion.

Today should be just as good, taco soup for lunch and we're having a yummy salad for dinner. I haven't missed the carbs one bit yet.

I also appreciate on South Beach that you're encouraged to eat until you're full. Don't over eat but you eat a good size meal since everything you're eating is great for you. Snacking is allowed as long as they are good snacks such as nuts or cheese and pickles are allowed.

I'm interested to see what results we get and I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
L

Birthday Photos

As mentioned previousy here are some softball photos so you can share in the fun.



L

Double Booked

There are a few things I look forward to every summer
Softball
Stampede Breakfasts
Time at the lake
and possibly the most important one, the Global Fest Fireworks competition.

I really love fireworks. I love how the sound is so intense you feel it all through your body, I love the way the colors never cease to amaze. Sitting, on a blanket beside friends and family is my perfect summer activity (well okay, so there may have needed to be some softball earlier to really call it perfect). I had planned to link to previous posts where I'd mentioned fireworks but I discovered that there are 10 different entries, far too many to link too.

Today I made a very sad discovery.

Brad and I made our summer plans in January and we're spending a week out at Shushwap lake in August and we've been really looking forward to it, dreaming about it even. Today I realized that our week at the lake happens to also be the week of the fireworks.

Time will tell if the draw of the fireworks is enough to bring us home early from lake paradise.
L

Afterglow

I am in a seriously great mood. I even initiated a conversation with Betty (my really awkward co-worker) that turned out to be very normal. The cause of this mood? Well today's my birthday so to celebrate last night all of my Calgary friends and family got together for a game of softball.

Brad and I put a lot of work into this event, we scoped out baseball diamonds and debated about treats and we even officially booked the diamond. It was the perfect plan until the torrential downpour started yesterday at 4:00! The clouds were dark all day but started getting worse and worse and darker and darker so by the time it started to rain it looked like twilight. The rain came down in these heavy drops and sheets of rain blew all over... it took mere minutes for large puddles to form. It may sound a little silly but I was fairly devastated; I'd really got my heart set on softball.

We quickly made sure plan B was in place, games, treats and cake and then could only wait until it got closer to game time. We headed up to the field early to see how bad the damage was and couldn't have been more surprised! The outfield was sort of damp, not even squishy, it was game on for sure!

It really couldn't have been better. We had enough people for two teams and played a great game, my team even came out victorious! My birthday present this year was a new baseball bat and a pair of cleats and both were great purchases. We ate cake and lots of treats and were eaten alive by mosquitoes, no matter how well we coated in repellant.

Thanks to all who came, it was quite possibly my best birthday yet.
I have a few photos but they'll have to wait until a bit later.
L

Inspiration

I have a friend from high school who recently gave birth to triplets... she's become a bit of in inpiration to me, the way she's handling her situation is so impressive. She recently started a blog that you should check out, I love this last post especially. It's a nice reminder to not take anything for granted.
Good luck Michelle, I hope things continue to go well with the triplets.
L

Anniversary

On Monday Brad and I celebrated our one year anniversary.
Funny how it seems like just yesterday but at the same time hasn't it always been this way? It's strange to think of a time when we weren't married, of when I didn't see him daily.

To commemorate the day here is a list of things I've learned from Brad

• Nothing is greater than having a ticklish husband
• How to neatly wrap up a microphone cable / extension cord without any twists
• Neither of us likes Pizza by the Yard
• If there's a squirrel / bird / gopher it MUST be chased
• He always puts me first, always gives me the best of everything. I think maybe to him my happiness is more important than his own. I'm trying to be like that.

If only everyone could be as happy
L