Cooking and the ex

The weekend has come and gone. Why are they so short?!

I spent my Sunday cooking and relaxing. I pan-fried pepperoni. I haven't done that before. It tastes so good. I added it to cheesy angel hair pasta that low in carbs. Yum!

The ex wrote to me. He wants to meet and grab a bite to eat. I am not feeling it.

Weekend and cooking

I feel like I need another weekend. This one blew by too quickly.

I tend to cook on Sundays. I made french toast and chocolate banana muffins. I also made turkey salad and made wraps.

All were low-carb. I find that I sleep better when I cut back on carbs and sugar. It's cool.

So long, long weekend

My four-day long weekend is coming to a close. I start my day with a four-hour meeting that starts at 7 am.

I slept so well last night. I slept in till 10 am. I can't remember when I last did that.

Monday was great. I went out to do some shopping. I needed to get some low-carb bread. I also got a pair of double-walled glass mugs that were 45% off. I have wanted them for ages.

I am looking forward the weekend already!

Having comfort food and reliving good memories with my mom

It makes perfect sense to crave certain foods that bring comfort, or be comforted by something or someone during a pandemic. When it comes to the former, I seem to love carbs.

The other night, my mom and I were reminiscing about meals that she used to cook when I was younger. She fried up some luncheon meat when we were in Hong Kong years ago. It was my first and only visit there. She had never made it until then. It was delicious. So simple. Yet, so good.

I grew up with her making macaroni in soup. Last night, I did takeout at a local Chinese restaurant that has a drive-thru. I got macaroni with veggies and fried luncheon meat in soup. It came with fried eggs, milk tea, and ham. I brought it come to have for dinner. It felt like the comfort food that my mom used to make.

It was yummy. It made me feel happy.

Back to a lower carb regimen

I have been reducing my carb and sugar intake these days. It's not exactly a surprise that when I reduce my carb and sugar consumption, I have more energy.

I started doing this reduction last week. I don't think that I have taken a nap all week. It's impressive.

When the weather is colder, I tend to enjoy carbs. I plan on eating carbs in moderation.

I'd like to get back into eating salads at lunch time. I took the first step and got back into buying baby spinach.

Short weekends and accurate menstrual cycles

Weekends are not long enough. This one went by incredibly quickly.

When I first went on a low-carb diet and lost at least thirty pounds several years ago, my menstrual cycle became regular. Since my first period, each one after that was irregular. I could go for months or even a year before my next one.

Since losing a grand total of sixty pounds, my period has been monthly, with the occasional missed month each year.

Recently, I went back to being on a tighter low-carb diet. Sure enough, my period is even more accurate. It's every thirty days instead of a month, plus or minus a week. I find it interesting that my hormones are more balanced.

Here's to more observations as I continue being on my low-carb regimen.

My sugar levels are great and I'm glad I can touch-type!

On Friday, I went to see my family doctor for my routine three-month checkup. The last time I was there, my sugar levels were higher than normal.

I had bloodwork done on Wednesday. She shared the results with me. Everything looked great. Yay!

I shared that news with my guy. He's proud of me. Getting back on the low-carb routine does wonders.

My doctor has changed her process of note-taking in her office. She now uses a computer instead of writing notes down everywhere. She complained to me that her typing takes forever.

Touch-typing is second nature to me. I suggested that she take a touch-typing course when she has a chance. Once you learn, you're good. I'm so glad that I took this course in my final year of high school. It has served me well.

Chatting about food while driving home

It's a good thing that my guy and I didn't make plans after he got off the plane on Saturday. It sounds odd, but it'll make sense when I describe the whole ordeal.

His flight was delayed by half an hour. Ten other flights had arrived when his did. There was a huge lineup to do the customs declaration and even a longer time talking to a border official.

He called me at nearly 17:00. He should have been home by that time, but he had just picked up his car. We were both driving home, in the same direction, but our starting points were off by about 200 km.

Instead, we talked about food.

"I really love the powdered low-carb peanut butter that you got me. I love it. I took it with me on this trip," he said.
"I'm glad," I replied.
"I also got a beef shawarma wrap at the restaurant that we were at last weekend. It's so authentic and tasty," he said.
"I'm happy that you love the food there. It's my favourite shawarma place," I noted. "I can't find a decent one close to home."
"You may want to try Scarborough. There are a bunch of Middle Eastern places," he suggested.
"That makes sense. I'll check it out sometime," I replied.

We chatted for just under an hour, which was enough time for both of us to arrive home safely.

Low-carb update - my clothes fit better

I have so much to say and don't know where to start.

My business trip went well on the whole. I'll dive into all that a bit later.

The downside to going on a business trip is that following a low-carb diet can be tricky. For example, all meals on Air Canada are heavily carb-based. I managed to not eat the bread roll. However, if you don't eat your meal, you are bound to be hungry. The best bet is to bring your own food.

There were a few meals where I caved. I had the best raspberry sorbet in my life. I also had beer and a few breaded items. Other than that, many meals were buffet-style, so eating my usual low-carb way was easy. Breakfast, in particular, was a breeze. I had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and meatballs. Dinner normally consisted of some protein and I had all the salad in the world.

Last week, I had a few farewell lunches at work for various folks. I had beer and some carb items at a sushi all-you-can-eat restaurant.

I am back on my normal food regimen now. After all of these interruptions, I tried on a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, and two jackets that were tight over a month ago. Guess what? They all fit comfortably on me now.

I'm pleased with the results. I'm motivated to continue.

Low-carb changes for the better, including chicken wings and bacon

On the whole, getting back to a low-carb diet has been pretty good. I have lapsed a few times, but I'm okay with it. I'm doing a ton better.

I make sure that I have salads for lunch again. I definitely have more energy.

For lunch the other day, I ordered New York-style wings. I didn't know that having wings that aren't battered or dusted is the Big Apple way. You get sauce off to the side. I asked for my wings to have sea salt and pepper, and ditched the sauce. Yay!

It has been ages since I have bought bacon to fry at home. It was on sale at Shoppers Drug Mart yesterday. I got a package. I'm thinking that a bacon, lettuce, and tomato salad sounds inviting.

Getting strict with being low-carb

I have been on the maintenance part of losing sixty pounds roughly seven years ago. I was on a strict low-carb diet. I have kept the weight off, which is probably one of my greatest accomplishments.

For five of those years, I changed up my salad for lunch. I find that if I lean towards carbs for lunch, I am sluggish for a couple of hours before it wears off.

I wanted to have a sandwich for lunch. I swapped my salad out for it. After nearly two years of having sandwiches for lunch, I wanted my energy back.

It helps that my guy is on a keto diet. It has inspired me to go back to eating salads for lunch and being more strict with eating low-carb foods.

I'd say that I have been pretty good at ditching processed foods. I make breakfast in the morning, and have enjoyed sautéed mushrooms, eggs, and sausage for breakfast. I even made low-carb pancakes and poured sugar-free syrup on them. They were surprisingly good.

My energy is up. Sometimes, when I work from home, I feel the need to take a brief nap after my day is over. I have been doing that less in the past couple of weeks.

It's all good. My guy has been pretty good staying on his keto diet while he is away on business.

"Remember how we used to laugh when that woman would smuggle food from the hotel lounge?" he said to me the other day.
"Yes, I remember that fondly. She put food in styrofoam cups and left," I remarked.
"I am becoming that person, except that I put cheese and eggs in plastic Ziploc bags for work," he said.

At first, I felt a bit embarrassed for him. However, considering that it's probably easier sticking to a keto or low-carb diet when you bring your own food, his method makes sense. He is also transparent (the clear see-through bag speaks volumes) about bringing his food to work.

Now that I think about it, it's not bad at all. You have lounge access because you either paid for it or have earned it. Why not take a snack with you when you leave? It's not like you are hauling the entire food spread home. I don't find that greedy by any stretch.

I go on business in three weeks. I'll see whether I will be doing the same thing as my guy.

Keto diet and Mr. Meanie

My guy called me from the gym. I like when he works out and chats with me.

He was excited to learn about the keto diet. It's like the Atkins diet, but there seems to be a fasting component, too.

Doing a low-carb diet did me a world of good. I lost sixty pounds and have maintained it over the past six years or so. I got so inspired talking to my guy. I have re-introduced carbs in my diet, but I feel like going back to eating salads instead of sandwiches for lunch.

"I have only been on this diet for a week. I like it so far, " he admitted.
"That's great. Keep at it," I encouraged him.
"It's not like I want to be mean and lean. I just want to control my sugar levels," he explained.
"Well, you are my Mr. Meanie, so you're half of that still," I teased.

We laughed. I like when he tells me about things that excite him. He likes when I listen to him and get equally as enthusiastic.