@Aquawave. I hope your family in Florida and all of us along the east coast are safe. These darn hurricanes can be so devastating, even inland. I'm sure you may remember Hugo sweeping through Charlotte then Fran tearing up the Raleigh area. Has Atlanta ever been hit heavily (even with the outer bands) and gotten torn up or flooded?

Stole anewlifeat40's post to copy paste. Haven't been on this thread yet so I suppose I'll start here.

What is your go to exercise when you are lacking motivation? Taking a walk somewhere beautiful which isn't hard to do in Vermont. Add an event like a fair or festival and I'm motivated.

What is your go to exercise? Walking.

How do you decide who to friend here and what would make you unfriend someone? I pretty much friend anyone who eats LCHF. I've unfriended a few of their diaries are full of junk that makes me crave it. I've only ever ignored one person for a short time who I thought was being rude.

If you could choose any animal to represent you, which one would you choose? Prolly a housecat cause I'd love to just sit in a sunny window all day!

What is your stretch goal for 2016? To lose a total of 40 pounds and regain the use of my left arm (two surgeries this summer).

What is your favourite low carb recipe? Either a roast slow cooked in a crock pot with an onion and a TBSP of Italian dressing with a side of avocado that's been marinated in soy sauce and black pepper - or broiled steaks with steamed asparagus and low carb béarnaise sauce over all. I love them equally!

What is the first thing that pops into your head when you're trying to stay focused and motivated to do this?
"It's a marathon not a sprint". It's been my mantra. I even created this graphic. I put it on my phone as background.

City or country life? I live in Vermont (lol, country!)

If you could go back and give yourself 1 piece of advice, what age would you be and what would you say? 21, go back to school and get your Masters now!

What is your favourite LCHF vegetable? Green beans sautéed in bacon drippings with crumbled bacon and a good healthy punch of curry powder stirred in.

Camel/Straw moment and motivation? Taking my daughter to college on the other side of the US, included taking a week long vacation in Florida, and being absolutely unhealthy and tired and sore and miserable and unable to enjoy any of it! Was awful.

Response I get from others who hear of my diet? Positive, but doubtful, is how I'd characterize it. They usually say, "That's great! I couldn't give up potatoes tho".

Favourite month/season Autumn! It's beautiful here! Spring's a close second.

Favourite holiday destination? Vermont!

Is your family supportive of your LCHF lifestyle? Yes, my immediate family is. They get it and have been well educated my moi! Hubby is on this journey with me. Tho he absolutely REFUSES to pee on a stick. I don't get it but whatever.

Question: Of all the changes you've seen in yourself since starting this WOE or your weight loss journey, what has been your favourite? Seeing the scale go the right way (down).

Had do you handle social situations? Same way I handle everything else. I make better choices. If I don't know the menu, I call ahead or bring my own food.

Favourite drinks? Fuzzy water! (Selzer) - I adore it. My current favorite flavors are black cherry and also orange.

Parties? See above. I am committed. I don't let other ppl change my goals.

Goals for the weekend? Well I'm going to Six Flags so the goal is to not pass out from all that walking! And I'm sure I'll be tempted to have all that overpriced, overcarbed foods, but I'll prolly sneak in some Atkins bars.

@JessicaLCHF My coffee:

BASE
6ish cups water (if I use 8 cups I double the butter and coconut oil)
2 heaping scoops coffee
1 T butter
1 T coconut oil
I like it just fine, just like this but when I want something different I may do any of the below

ADDITIONS to GROUNDS
1 T cocoa
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Ginger

ADDITIONS to LIQUID
Stevia to taste (if I'm adding unsweetened chocolate for me that's about 4 packets)
1 tsp Peppermint Extract
1 Serving Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
1 T Peanut Butter
1/2 - 1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 serving crushed dark chocolate baking pieces (with ice to make a chocolate chip iced drink)

I put everything into a gallon pitcher and blend for about 2 minutes with an immersion blender.

Sometimes I cut the water in half and replace it with ice to have it iced. I've learned that I don't like how it froths with the ice in it, so I pour the hot frothed liquid over the ice. The pitcher and my cup go to my desk and as I empty my cup I refill from the pitcher til all is enjoyed.

Most days this will keep me going from about 7 a.m. til well after 1 p.m.

Roseygirl1 wrote: »

Wow...that coffee protocol sounds YUM.

Thanks. I've been playing with coffee for months now. I started off hating the taste of coffee and now I can drink just the base but sometimes I like to add something to mix it up. Right now it's all about making it peppermint mocha flavored - oh how I love that! I've found adding the salt brings the flavors out better so that goes into every recipe these days. I mix and match all the time. The idea someone gave us to put flavor into the grounds was a game changer for me. If it's powdered it can go into the grounds and brew too...

@JessicaLCHF You may be able to bring in a small cooler, if you have a "medical condition" that requires special diet, i.e. diabetes or hypoglycemia or . Just a suggestion, but look at the website to see what the exceptions might be.

IS IT FRIDAY YET?!

Long weekend coming up with Canadian Thanksgiving. I am making brussel sprouts with bacon as a contribution to my family dinner on Sunday. I will definitely be safeguarding the turkey skin LOL. Anyone who wants some has to fight me for it.

My family, even though they are non-LC, love dark meat and skin. It just has so much flavour! So there's always a battle but this year, I am ready to fight them for it hehehe.

No potatoes for me! I am really trying to dial in my eating as the past few months have been slack and I'm trying to train myself to get my *kitten* together for my cut in January. Right now, I am eating at maintenance while lifting so at least, my gains are not suffering. My goal is to hit a 200lb deadlift by the end of 2016. I'm 50 lbs away and I feel like it is attainable, if I work really hard.

@elize7 Do you think that as the inflammation was healed from before LC, our bodies become more sensitive to that which we had been accustomed to ignoring before? I think it's very empowering to learn these things about ourselves.

@samanthaluangphixay happy Thanksgiving!

@ProCoffeenator please post them! Don't be shy! Congrats on the hard work! It's so nice when people notice!

I'm still preoccupied with cars. lol. I have one I want in my sights. Let's see if I can get the price and financing where I want it. Please send good car vibes.

I agree! It's been a rough week. Hubby is preaching a funeral tomorrow too, so some weekend plans went out the window. We can push them back a bit. This is one week I am glad to say farewell to.

@midwesterner85 I'm leaning towards a Buick Encore IF I can get all the special offers from online. If not then the price won't be worth it and I look elsewhere. Somewhat interested in the Honda CRV but it's more expensive....The HRV is in my price range but the seats are very uncomfortable and that's a deal breaker. Been there and done that. lol

Thinking about everyone in the path of the terrible weather! Hang in there!!

Rowdy's Lady: Good Luck with keeping them off. I know my Frenchie would be insulted if I expected him to sit on the shudder "ground" even when he goes to outside Starbucks he sits in a chair, my big chair which is leather has a huge duct tape patch on it that gives the living room such a classy look. (He scratched a hole in it when we went out) The computer chair by my husbands computer has a tea towel & a rug held onto the seat with 2 bungee cords because he scratched a hole in the seat of the old one & we didn't want the same to happen to the new one. So when company comes they walk by it on the way to the bathroom & I often wonder what they think. I want a new couch & I don't want to get a leather one again but I can't get a fabric one because he will make it stink. But would I do any different - nope.

kpk54: Thanks for sharing that link.

Stay safe, storm folks!!

My husband surprised me with a date day. His mom watched the kids and we went out for coffee, down to the big city for a movie and late lunch. It was perfect!

Love this thread and all of the sharing! Tried butter in the coffee tissue morning, was very skeptical and found it amazing! Off on a day trip to our beautiful granddaughters 4th birthday celebration with cooler and healthy snacks packed!