welcome watermelon lassis, a good way to fall off the wagon!
Where do I begin? So much has happened since I saw you last. I stopped eating sugar and majorly reduced my carb intake, I went to Bali and to Hong Kong and ate whatever I darn well pleased, then I came back to life (back to reality) and started a new way of eating that is still evolving but is working for me…at the moment.
The great low-carb experiment was totally life changing. It changed me in a lot of ways and there were things I really liked about it.
#1. I lost weight. In 12 weeks I lost 20 lbs.
#2. I lost inches off my waist, hips, arms legs and (sadly) bust.
#3. I bonded with my sous chef over the highs of watching the pounds drop and the lows of plateaus and getting sick of eating the same things over and over
#4. I became an even MORE eagle-eyed label reader. Did you know almost any kind of bacon you can buy has some sugar in it or is made with sugar? I didn’t but I do now!
#5. I saved some money buying bacon and eggs in bulk and eating almost entirely at home
#6. I found my jam at In-N-Out. Ready? : Cheeseburger, well done, protein style, grilled onions, extra cheese, no spread, no condiments. BOOM! My mouth waters just thinking about it.
Overall though, I determined that this lifestyle is not for me. It sucked the color out of my life.
Callie's life on diet
Callie's life off diet
Food is my religion and without being able to explore the world of food with no restrictions (except gluten, obvy) I lost my zest for life. I was getting skinnier but I was miserable. I stopped reading food blogs, I stopped writing MY food blog and I stopped finding joy in every meal.
this was me
In Bali and Hong Kong I didn’t set any rules for myself. I ate whatever I wanted to eat whenever I wanted to eat it. I managed to eat gluten free without any hassle in Bali, in fact I was amazed at how easy it was.
rice flour banana pancakes with palm sugar syrup and fresh lime juice...every day!
Hong Kong was a different story. Soy sauce and flour were lurking in every bite and the communication barrier was pretty big so I gave up trying to avoid wheat on the first day and instead took up the philosophy that if I had to be in pain, I was going to enjoy every bite and eat the things I had been missing.
if you can't beat em...dim sum!
Mostly this meant bread. Plain, old, fresh-out-of-the-oven buttered rolls which are EVERYWHERE in HK. I also ate a lot of ice cream and Pocky. 7-11 was my savior.
my carb-heavy haul from HK 7-11
I came home from the trip prepared to see some scary numbers on the scale but I was pleasantly surprised.
The idea of going back to a black and white world without fruit and pie and pasta was unbearable so instead I have been eating the whole healthy foods I love and allowing myself to eat treats less frequently and in smaller portions. So far, so good. I plan to get back into the gym just as I’m getting back into the kitchen and I will fill you in on what I cook up!
