Category: Health, weight & wellbeing

Health, fitness, exercise, food, contentment

E, F and G, are for Eggs, Flaxseed and Ground Almonds

On By auntyamoIn April AtoZ, Health, weight & wellbeing1 Comment

After a crazy busy week I’m playing catch up. I hope you don’t mind if I blend some ingredients together today. (See what I did there 😀 ) These three have become staples in my diet. Together with coconut flour, they have made baking a part of my life again.

When I went low carb, I stopped baking. My go to recipes were poppy-seed cake and banana bread. I didn’t make them unless there was something on in work that I needed to contribute to. The beloved remarked that on the rare occasion I baked, the finished article left the house never to be seen again. I just could not have the cakes in the house. I have zero self-control.

I tried and failed a few low carb recipes and just stopped trying, but as I said in my ‘C’ post, you have to treat some of the ingredients in a different way. I could no longer just fire it all into a bowl, give it a whisk and bung it in the oven. Sometimes ingredients need to go in a certain order and need a bit more prep time.

When I had the problems with dairy, I worried I might not be able to have eggs either. I was at the end of my tether with it all. Thankfully, eggs are not a problem, cos I love them. Hard boiled on toast, in a salad, scrambled, poached, fried – whatever way you’d like to make them for me 🙂 They are a great source of protein, and a handy snack if you keep a couple hard boiled in the fridge for a day or two. Just grab and go.

It all depends on who you read as to whether they are good or bad for you in large quantities. The only thing I would say about it (NOT BEING AN EXPERT) is, if you are worried about eating too many eggs, eat only one egg yoke for every two egg whites. When I was going to the gym, the personal trainer recommended as many eggs as I could eat, and that was his suggestion, to keep the cholesterol level down.

Milled flaxseed is a great source of fibre, it’s very filling and is said to have endless benefits such as the ability to help lower cholesterol and help keep blood sugars level. It can go in salad, cereal, yogurt, smoothies, cookies, mug cakes and pancakes. I’ve also been given a flaxseed porridge recipe.

I have only one issue with flaxseed. It’s an acquired taste! I make a flaxseed pancake every so often because it’s only 6g of carbs (for my American friends, I always note net carbs) and it fills me to the brim for hours. I just don’t find it very tasty. I’ve taken to cutting the pancake in 2 or 3 and adding different things to it like a spoon of peanut butter or d/f butter with an extra sprinkle of cinnamon. Here’s the recipe, give it a try, and see what you think.

2tbs flaxseed, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp keto sweetner, 1 egg. Add whatever flavouring you like… cinnamon, cocoa powder, sugar free jelly crystals…
Fry in some coconut oil for 1 or 2 mins each side.

Ground almonds (am I cheating here? 😀 ) are my go to alternative to flour. They make yummy cakes and cookies, including cheesecake base, AND the most amazing savoury coating for fish and chicken. Gram for gram, it’s more expensive than coconut flour, but I find it a lot easier to use, and sometimes I just don’t want the coconut taste.

My current fave recipe is one for dark choc chip cookies. Sometimes I use half ground almonds and half peanut flour – just to get the really peanutty taste. The darker the chocolate the better. 85 or 90% keeps the carbs down. My current batch are 2.5g of carb each. They are great breakfast biscuits when I’m running out the door to work (which is most days). The recipes I use are all online but shout me if you want them 🙂

Tomorrow, I’ll be talking about the book I’m writing about weight. See you then. x

D is for Dairy (free)

On By auntyamoIn April AtoZ, Health, weight & wellbeing5 Comments

Welcome to day 4. Hope you’re enjoying the AtoZ  Challenge. Today I’m going to chat about dairy, as recently things changed and now I can’t have much of it.

D is for Dairy Free

I was pootling along nicely with my low carb life. There had been some ups and downs, scale wise but in general I was doing well and happy with my progress. Then around the beginning of 2018 I noticed a change in my bathroom habits. I won’t go into detail, but after certain meals I would experience terrible pain in the southern hemisphere, and then with little warning would have to sprint like an Olympian to the loo.

It got to the stage where I stopped going for my long walks as I was worried about being caught short on the far side of the park. I thought maybe I was eating too many peanuts, or had gone overboard on the sprouts, so I just lived with it. Then other symptoms developed. I began to experience nausea in the mornings. I’ve never been pregnant, but if felt like what others described as morning sickness. It would only last for a few hours, and was usually gone by lunch time, then I would be ravenous.

On reflection, I remember having the nausea on and off over the years, but I’d always put it down to hormonal problems I’d been having.

It was only when incidents of a delicate nature *coughs* occurred while I was out for dinner, that I began to see a pattern. It seemed to be worse when I had melted cheese on something; a lot worse and it would come on very fast. I took myself to the doc who also suspected I had some issues with dairy and I went on a 2 week on, 2 week off dairy trial, for 8 weeks in all. The diary I kept pretty much proved the suspicions correct. After a meeting with a dietitian it was confirmed as lactose intolerance.

If you’re not familiar with the low carb life, you might not see the connection. Low carb goes with high fat intake. Taking cheese and cream etc out of my diet made things difficult for me. I totally lost focus, and losing focus for me means gaining pounds, which I did – about 10 lbs in a few months.

Sam at Low Carb Buddy was really helpful and gave me great advice about how to get healthy fats into my diet on limited dairy; recommending products such as coconut and olive oil, avocado and nuts. And there are plenty of dairy free options, which I used for the low carb mini cheesecakes. After a few weeks I was back on track and the best part is, I lost those extra pounds quite quickly.


I’m used to it now. Using dairy-free spreads and lactose-free milk in baking. And I can even have some low lactose cheese on occasion. I was worried that dairy free meant I could succeed in being low carb. But it is doable. 🙂

C is for Coconut flour/oil

On By auntyamoIn April AtoZ, Health, weight & wellbeing5 Comments

Day 3 and I’ve caught up 🙂

C is for Coconut flour/oil

So today I’ll give you a brief overview of my dealings with coconut flour and coconut oil. Now if you want to go low carb and you don’t like coconut, it will take a while to get used to using it. What I find is that, though it smells quite strong, it doesn’t make everything taste of coconut.

I use the flour cos it’s cheaper than almond flour (ground almonds), and it goes a lot further. For every cup of almond flour you use, it’s about a quarter cup of coconut flour, and there are usually extra eggs in the recipe to help with the soakage 🙂 I made some big mistakes at the the beginning. The two greatest ones were 1. looking at the amount of eggs in a coconut flour recipe, thinking it must be a typo and using half the amount of eggs instead. I know, I know! I’m a doofas, and 2. I didn’t leave the mix long enough to let the flour do its soakage thing. Coconut flour needs time and lots of eggs. If you you’ve got plenty of both, it’s a great product.

Oh and a tip for if you are not fussed on the taste, I’ve been told that better quality flour leaves less of the taste behind. But I don’t mind the taste, so I haven’t tested this.

Coconut oil is much less of a faff. I’ve used with a stirfry, for frying flaxseed pancakes (more about those on Day 6), and for frying the fake bread I mentioned in the last post. It’s also in quite a few cake recipes. Just measure it or weigh it and use it as instructed.

I should acknowledge that I’ve heard coconut oil get a bad rap, so I can only share my experience, NOT BEING AN EXPERT 🙂 When I changed my eating habits, I started to include what I read were healthy fats into my diet as I reduced the carbs. Coconut oil is one of those fats. I’ve been eating it regularly for almost 3 years. I am a whole lot healthier than I was 3 years ago, possibly healthier now than since I was a teenager. I have no issues with cholesterol or blood pressure. I’m losing weight, and getting stonger. If there are any negative effects from coconut oil, I’ve yet to experience them.

Do you use it? Let me know your thoughts.

A x

B is for (life without) Bread

On By auntyamoIn April AtoZ, Health, weight & wellbeing3 Comments

Day 2 of the challenge and we’ve stumbled upon one of the most difficult changes I’ve made.  B is for Bread

I love bread, a lot. I would happily eat bread for breakfast, dinner and tea. Fresh white fluffy yumminess. A slice, a roll, a baguette – I don’t mind the shape. I’m not fussy 🙂 As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, when I first heard that some people don’t eat bread I wondered how on earth they could possibly survive! Where do you put cheese??? I was later to find out that cheese is perfectly edible on its own. Shocked, nay stunned, to find you can pick it up with a fork, or heaven forefend, your fingers. It does not need a transportation system made of flour. Who knew? 🙂

I was fixed in a mindset about bread for years. I could not imagine lunch without it. I could not imagine soup without it. I could not imagine bacon and egg without it. And though I have not ruled it 100% out of my diet, it no longer rules me.

So what are the options?

Almost looks like bread doesn’t it…!

Well, as I said, cheese is quite tasty on its own, as are the other foods. One of the options is just not to have it. I know right? RADICAL. I used to think so too, but now it’s just part of what I do. A lot of the time I just leave it out. If I do have it, it affects what I do the rest of the day. I would only have it once in a day. And I’d make sure to have minimal starchy carbs for the rest of the day.

Another option is fake bread, which is quite bland; I wouldn’t make it to take a sandwich to work. But  I have enjoyed fried, with bacon and egg.  Before I give you the recipe, let me repeat my disclaimer…. I AM NOT AN EXPERT, in anything other than my own experience and the workings of my microwave. If you’re happy to try this on that basis then crack on … 🙂

1 egg at room temp
1 TBS butter (melted but cooled)
1 TBS coconut flour
1 TBS ground flaxseed
1/2 tsp baking powder

Stir all the dry ingredients, then whisk in the egg.
Spread over the base of a microwavable dish and microwave for 1.5 mins.

Thanks to Low Carb Buddy for the recipe.
Let me know how you get on if you give it a try… 🙂

To succeed in my low carb life, I’ve had to reduce the amount of bread I consume. that’s just how it is. And surprise surprise, it turned out not to be the end of the world.

A is for Avocado Amo

On By auntyamoIn April AtoZ, Health, weight & wellbeing7 Comments

Welcome to Day 1 of the 2019 April AtoZ Challange. The AtoZ team are celebrating 10 years of this blogging challenge and I’m looking forward to it. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY A to Z 🙂

My theme this year is  – ‘Clumsy Carb Cutter’

Regular visitors to the blog will be familiar with my ponderings regarding food and weight. Though (and here comes the disclaimer) I AM NO EXPERT, I have learnt and am learning lots about the low carb life. I’m hoping to share stuff that will be helpful. I’m also writing a book about weight, food and faith, and I’ll share a little about that as we go along. So here we go… 🙂

A is for Avocado Amo

At times I can hardly recognise myself since making the decision to change my life, almost 3 years ago. It’s not the shape and size, though it’s different, it’s more the habits and hankerings.

I love sugar in all its forms! There is no point beating around the the bush. I just love it, especially when it’s baked with flour. I ate sugar sandwiches as a child, and my affair with bread has been going on since then.

I remember first hearing about The Atkins Diet, and my initial reaction was, “I can’t have bread? What would I eat for lunch every day?” I could not comprehend the concept of lunch without a sandwich, or soup without a roll. And it didn’t stop at bread. There was talk of ruling out, or at the very least drastically reducing potato consumption. NO POTATO? What would I have for dinner??? That was many years ago, long before I started the journey I’m on now, but it’s only recently my thinking has changed, and once that changed, everything changed.

I tend to used versions of my name for user names with different logins. AuntyAmo – me being an aunty to many, was my first. Then I went on to AmoWriting as I developed a love for scribbling. These days I use AvocadoAmo. 🙂 As I said, sometimes I don’t recognise myself as I prepare a breadless lunch, and mash up another avocado.

My A to Z journey (already a day behind) is all about those changes. Some are drastic, some very small. I do still eat bread. I even have potato sometimes. And though I still love the thoughts and the smell of sugar baked with flour, I know it was having a dreadful effect on my quality of life. I’m 5 stone down and though it’s been hard to get to the 6th stone, I’m keeping the 5 off! I’ve never kept weight off before. Things are so different now. Thank you God.

Tomorrow, (or later today, should I say) B is for Bread. I’ll share about the life (almost) without it, and some alternatives.

It’s not too late to sign up for the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Click here to go to their website. Registration is open until April 6th.

Belated Thank Yous & AtoZ news

On By auntyamoIn April AtoZ, Health, weight & wellbeing, Writing, Blogging etcLeave a comment

I am so grateful for all the supportive messages both private and public, after my last post. I asked for help, and some of you responded with great kindness and honesty. You really encouraged me. Thank you. I very soon got on track again and at the moment am back to my best result of minus 5 stone. It is a relief and a joy, to be back in control again. But it’s scary how quickly I can be thrown off  course.

I’ve been quiet on here lately as I’m armpit-deep in edits of the book I’ve written about the weight loss. I toyed with calling it, ‘The Fall of the Pound,’ or maybe ‘From Fattie to Fittie (which I think will make a long but great hashtag 🙂 ), but the working title is still, ‘Have mercy upon me O Lord, a slimmer.’ I call it ‘Mercy‘ for short. There is a ton more work to be done, but with the help of Stacey at One Word Editing, I’m getting there.

In the mean time, April is almost upon us and I am gearing up for one of my fave blogging events. The April AtoZ Challenge. This year I’m going to use it to explore some of my thoughts as I work through the ‘Mercy’ edits. I’ll be sharing some practical stuff too. I’m not an expert, but I’m hoping that some wisdom I’ve learned and products I’ve found might help others on the same journey. My theme this year is Clumsy Carb Cutter. And on April 1st I’ll be introducing you to my low carb alter ego – Avocado Amo 🙂

I’d love you to join me on the journey. They’ll be short and snappy, daily posts that I hope you’ll enjoy and lend your thoughts too.

So I’ll see you on Monday 😀

Thanks again, you fabulous lot xxx

oh, and for the next few days on my Facebook page, I’m running a little competition to win one each of my two short story collections, which I’ll mail to the winner anywhere in the world. Click here to pop over check it out

I need help!

On By auntyamoIn Health, weight & wellbeing15 Comments

I’m a bit down in the dumps at the mo.

I have gloomy seasons, no particular reason springs to mind for this one. Post Christmas blues maybe? Lots of my fam are on holiday together for my nephew’s wedding – well jel. And I’ve put on a bit of poundage.  arrgghhhh

I’ve lost focus since I’ve had to go dairy free. It’s hard be low carb and dairy free at the same time. And the Christmas fayre didn’t help. It’s cold and damp and as usual when I’m feeling like this, all I want to do is eat. And it’s hard not to.

Today a reminder popped up on my phone saying,

“It’s your My Fitness Pal anniversary – how are you doing?”

I have a vague memory of putting that in, but I forgot all about it.

It is actually 7 years to the day, since I signed up for the MFP app. For the first few years I didn’t make much of a dent in my weight. It’s only a couple of years ago that it changed, but look at my first entry…

Do not adjust your set! Those numbers are real. I am more than 5 stone lighter than that number today. And though I can’t seem to push very far past that 5 stone wall, I DO NOT want to return to those numbers.

I know I blogged about this recently. So some of you may be thinking, “this again? ” You bet this again! Cos if not, it’ll be her on the left again. And I made a promise to myself – always talk about it. This will never be an embargoed subject again!

So hit me up with some inspiration. Pray for me, give me a chuck on the shoulder or a smack on the head. Anything you think might help me out of the doldrums? A x

Starting again… again

On By auntyamoIn Health, weight & wellbeing1 Comment

So here comes the obligatory end of year pondering. We’ll probably all do it today. Some will be able to sum up their year in a tweet, or snappy Facebook post, but you know me, I like a good ramble. 🙂

In many ways, I’m a bit disappointed with 2018 or should I say, I’m disappointed with me in 2018. I hardly ran at all this year and I’m a little heavier than I was 12 months ago – instead of the intended loss of another couple of stone. The complication of having to go dairy free (a story for another time) has not helped, but I can’t blame it on that. I lost my focus and my vavoom for it all, and got lazy and careless.

So there you go, some super encouragement as we go in to 2019 – go forth my friends… move less and eat more…

OKAY THAT WAS A JOKE, in case you missed it.

My actual point is a cheery one. 😀

I take great encouragement in the fact that I am not hitting myself over the head with anything. I am not disgusted  with myself and so, heading towards a (chocolate) melt down. And I’m not hiding from it or ignoring it. I’m pretty chuffed that even though I have fallen off the wagon somewhat, I’m not throwing in the towel. I’m just starting again. I’m looking forward to getting my trainers on and clearing out the fridge so I can re stock it with the good stuff.

One of the biggest changes in my mindset over the last few years is my attitude to starting again. I used to hate the thought of it. The admission of failure, the dreaded stand on the scales and the despondent chant of ‘here we go again.’

Not this year though. This year you can bring it on – I’m ready for it, I WANT it. And the reason I’m so ready is the answer to this question…

What is the alternative?

The only option other than – starting again – is, heading back to 24 stone!

No thank you 🙂

So my dear friends, whether it be weight loss, smoking, writing, your professional career, your faith, your fitness or your finances. Even if 2018 was a complete blow out – just start again, again. We’ve all been given at least one new calendar, and probably a diary too. A blank page is so good for the soul.

And did you know, we are promised new mercies, not just every year, but every morning? Well, I’ll be grabbing mine every day, with gusto!

I thank God for all you lovely readers and I pray for each and every one of you. Thanks for your encouragement through another year. I look forward to sharing 2019 with you all.

God bless, and HAPPY NEW YEAR x

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

 

photo credit: Dominic Sagar BLANK page, PAD#315 via photopin (license)

Bleak Midwinter? a guest post

On By auntyamoIn Guest Posts, Health, weight & wellbeing1 Comment

Here’s another in the December guest post series.

This one if from Judith Parry. Judith and I were just getting to know each other when she moved out of South Wales. I’ve tried not to take it personally. 😀 You can read her thoughts on her blog by clicking here, where you can find info about her beautiful new #chapbook ‘Taking Flight’. Judith is a Tweeter too @DithParryTea 

I’ll hand over to her…

Bleak Midwinter?

Since our recent move to a village in rural Staffordshire, the Husband has taken to watching Countryfile. I think he believes it makes him more of an authentic country dweller, despite calling every plant he sees a weed and every bird a thrush. That said, I confess to being a bit of a fan of armchair farming myself, but in truth my agricultural expertise extends mostly to popping a few spring bulbs in the ground.

During one episode of our new viewing pleasure, the presenter mentioned a process called vernalisation. This tickled an ancient undergraduate memory from my days as a student of Biological Science, and took me to the fount of filling-the-gaps-in-half-remembered-facts known as Google. I rediscovered there that vernalisation, the word being taken from the Latin vernus “of the spring”, is a something which crops such as winter wheat need to undergo in order to flower well the following season.

It happens something like this. If these wheat seeds, sown in autumn, have not had the requisite amount of days below a certain low temperature, they go on to produce a poor crop. Conversely, if the seeds have experienced a prolonged period of deep cold during the dark days of winter, they will flower well once the days lengthen and the weather warms, eventually producing an abundant crop.

Now, I do love a good metaphor, and this biological process speaks volumes to me. Sometimes, such as in periods of grief and loss, we just want things to be over. We would prefer to fast forward through the cold, hard times, or to go around them completely, circumventing the process. I know there were times when this was true for me, when I did not want to engage with the pain and sorrow, did not want to let grief do its work. I discovered however that there are no shortcuts, not if I desired to grieve well. To undergo my own vernalisation. I found that in attempting to short-circuit winter, I risked stealing some of the abundance of spring.

That is not to say we have to like it, for who truly enjoys those cold, dark days of pain? We can however draw close to God, let those who love us gather around, and so get through it as best we can. Winter can be hard, cold and seemingly endless at times, but experience tells us that this too shall pass. Seasons come and go, in rhythms and cycles, and our spring returns again.

In the meantime, we have a choice: whether to seek to avoid winter by hiding in denial and evasion, or alternatively to face – even embrace – the sharp cold pain. The season of abundance will return, bringing with it sweet results of the lessons grief has taught us in the dark. In the meantime, our actions help determine how fruitful – or fruitless – this coming season will be.

photo credit: PATRICE OUELLET Inverno (Winter, Hiver) via photopin (license)

Tired feet and a full heart

On By auntyamoIn Family, Health, weight & wellbeing, Random RamblingsLeave a comment

Following on from my last post – complaining about how busy I am, I thought it would be good to reflect on what I’ve been up to, and why the diary has been so full. I made it sound awful, to be constantly on the go and not have a minute to stop. But much of what I’ve been doing has been enjoyable, worthwhile and uplifthing. So I should quit complaining really.

One of the great things I did took place on Saturday 26th May. I took part in my 2nd Cancer Research UK – Relay for Life, in Pontypool Park. I was part of a team who, for 24 hours, walked to raise money for Cancer Research in Wales. I was privileged to be asked to start the ‘Survivors Lap’ with some actual real-life heroes.
It was an amazing experience.

 On the Saturday, I walked over 20k. I raised over £400, our team raised well over £2000; and we were just one of many teams. The weather forecast wasn’t great, but we managed to dodge the showers most of the time. It was the last hour on the Sunday morning when we were about to do our final lap, having received our medals, when the heavens opened and the rain fell. We were rushed into the marquee to escape the thunder showers. It took me about a week to fully recover but what an amazing 24hours it was.
Thank you! to all who donated and cheered me on.

I was also at a family wedding. It was such a beautiful day, with lots of beautiful people. The groom is officially some level of cousin by marriage, but in my heart he’s a nephew, and I was so proud to be part of his day.

As well as that, other events included:

  • a trip to Ireland (yes, another one)
  • I met up with old friends I hadn’t seen in a long time – one f2f – we spent a whole day together drinking coffee, walking and talking, also a virtual reunion with a friend in the US who is also my editor. She’s doing some work on my non-fiction WIP, so we got to catch up AND get some work done
  • at church we hosted a Royal Wedding Afternoon Tea
  • I also spent a couple of nights with the MIL while himself was away.

That is by no means, an exhaustive list (though maybe a little exhausting).

When I looked again at my diary, I realised how blessed I am to have so many people and events in my life. I shouldn’t complain about my to do list when it includes such delights.