I HEART Almond Meal!

I went on my first real diet when I turned 30. I had gained 30 pounds, which put a total of 147 pounds on my 5'4" frame. I was shocked and appalled (which seems kind of quaint to me now, 15 years later, given that I'd love to get DOWN to 147...but more on that later). So I joined Weight Watchers and followed their program to the letter, and within 6 months, I'd dropped 27 pounds.

I kept that weight off for 7 years, but not because I practiced good eating habits. No, during that time I became a Vegan, and so simply by virtue of limited food choices, I didn't pig out as much. No more doughnuts in the office, no more diving into co-workers' birthday cakes, etc. I also started studying Karate, and so I indulged in extremely intense workouts 4 - 5 times a week. I gained some weight, but it truly was muscle: I weighed 127 pounds, but I could fit into size 2 pants. I was in heaven, eating all the Vegan food I could find, building more muscle than most people use in a lifetime, and being thrilled each day by my powerful little body.

But after 7 years, my enthusiasm for Vegan food waned. My enthusiasm for Karate disappeared. I got a new job with more responsibility. Then a year later, we moved 1200 miles away, to a whole new part of the country. More stress, a much harder job, completely unrestrained eating, and no exercise program to speak of made me yo-yo up to 170 pounds.

I was shocked at how difficult it was to control myself. The desire to eat and the sheer volume of calories that I could easily pack in was alarming. I would always feel hungry, I would always have an irresistable desire to eat. There was no processing it, no getting around it, no letting it wash over me, no distracting me from it. The best I could do was hold my breath, and of course, that didn't last very long. Soon enough, I'd be overwhelmed by the thrashing, scream-from-the-depths-of-my-soul desire to eat...eat with no restrictions, eat without end. I decided to count how many calories I was consuming on one such day, but I stopped (counting, not eating) when I reached 3500. What on earth was wrong with me? How could someone my size have the need--and that's what it felt like, a NEED, not a want--to eat that much food? Not finding any answers, I would wrap myself in warm, fuzzy denial, and keep eating for six months at a time. Then I'd swing back around to accepting the true need to DO something about that, and start the cycle all over again.

Oddly enough, the yo-yo-ing (while having the dual benefits of being unhealthy and discouraging) was extremely instructive to me. In trying several of different diets (Carbohydrate Addict's Diet, Weight Watchers again, South Beach Diet, and then just plain Low Carb), the success I found was temporary, but the knowledge I gained was permanent. I learned that my irresistable desire to eat was caused entirely by carbohydrates...and not just bad carb's (white sugar, white flour, processed crap, etc.), but even the good carb's, as described in South Beach. I was actually surprised to discover that on a true Low Carb diet, I was able to lose weight while being physically satisfied. No more flailing about in frustration with unsuccessful attempts to suppress an appetite gone mad.

BUT, there was trouble in this paradise. Where were the baked goods? The only low carb flour I was aware of at the time was Soy, which I do not like (perhaps I filled my Soy punch card by being Vegan for 7 years.) I could stay on Low Carb for a while, eating dairy and low carb veggies and meat and sugar free jello, but eventually I would want a muffin for breakfast, or a quiche with a pie crust. I would get bored. I would feel, this time mentally, deprived.

But recently I came back around to being "up for" another crack at losing weight. I figured I'd start with Low Carb, since that was where I'd had my most recent, most promising success. Could I solve the baked goods snag? Hurray! An internet search for Low Carb recipes introduced me to my new best friend: Almond Meal.

Ahhhh, my lovely Almond Meal. With you, I can have my cake and eat it, too. In the last three weeks, I've had cheesecake bars, muffins, quiche...and I've lost 6 pounds. I'm giddy. I'm gleeful. This could last.

I know that I still have to find a way to live in this world filled with office birthday parties, dining out, and holidays. I know that it's unreasonable to think I'll forego all carb's forever. So I still have to tackle the "keeping it off" part of this equation; however, in the past 8 years, I've not even been able to get my arms around the "getting it off" piece. Until now. Until my darling Almond Meal.


My favorite quiche recipe:
http://www.recipezaar.com/88539


Using this crust:
(Note: this is a sweet crust recipe; for the quiche, I left out the sweetener and added 1/4 t. salt. I did not bake the crust first--I simply patted it into the pie pan, then added the quiche ingredients.)
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/desserts/r/almondpiecrust.htm