Weight Loss Confidential: The Egg Fast

Hey guys,
     As usual, I'm on my dieting grind and hoping to shed a few pounds. I've gained about 12lbs since the beginning of the year, mostly due to not having the time or energy to eat healthy. I had forgotten how hard it is to get back on the wagon after a long sugar filled hiatus. To jump start my weight loss, I tried a short term diet that has been coined as "The Egg Fast." I did five full days on this fast and lost around 7lbs. Sure, most of it was water weight, but what is my favorite thing about a low carb diet? How fast my belly goes flat. See the pic above if you want to admire my bloated gut in all of it's glory the night before I started the fast, along with the after pic.

What is The Egg Fast?
     The Egg Fast isn't exactly what it sounds like. It isn't fasting from eggs, but rather fasting from all foods EXCEPT eggs, cheese, and real butter. I would not recommend anyone to do this for longer than a week, as it gets pretty hard to stick to after about 4 full days, and you will only become frustrated, hangry, and will end up at the nearest soft serve ice cream machine. The diet requires that you eat at least six eggs a day, a tablespoon of real butter for each egg consumed, and a ration of cheese, up to 6oz a day. I would NOT recommend eating that much cheese, though. Dairy is known to stall weight loss, but a small amount is fine. I would recommend no more than 3oz a day.

The Science Behind The Egg Fast
Y'all know I'm a scientific gal, so I had to look up the facts behind this diet and why it works. Eggs are, and always have been, a staple food for all low carb dieters. If you follow this diet correctly, you'll consume around 10 total carbs in a day. If you're a new reader, please know that I think the idea of net carbs is bologna and it's just a way to market processed high carb snacks as "healthy." Always count your TOTAL carbs if you want to see faster results on the scale. Anyway, 10 carbs a day is an extremely low carb diet. You probably won't feel great on the first day and may even exhibit some signs of induction flu. These included, at least for me, joint pain, headaches, and bad breath. Just think of it as sugar rehab and you're having withdraw symptoms. The good news is that it goes away in a couple of days. You know what else happens in a couple of days? Your body starts running on its storage of glycogen since you are not giving it any sugar to run off of. What molecule binds to glycogen? That would be good old H2O. You got it, water is bound to glycogen. As your body starts to burn glycogen, you begin to lose water weight and start seeing the scale move pretty fast. I know that I have written multiple posts on what happens to your body when you are on a strict low carb diet, so I won't go into too much additional detail here. Just trust me when I say that your water weight has to come off first before the fat rolls start disappearin'.

In addition to being a low carb food, eggs are a great source of protein. When paired with the cheese and fat, you are ingesting a moderate protein, high fat, low carb meal. Do you know what moderate protein, high fat, and low carb equal? A process  called ketosis, aka FAT BURNING!

When your body goes into ketosis, the ketones in your blood stream act as an appetite suppressant, which will only aid in your weight loss. If you're new to low carb dieting and are unsure of how to get into ketosis, you can buy some testing strips on amazon for about ten bucks. When I was fat, I didn't know such a thing existed and I still lost 50lbs, so they are not required.

Would I Do The Egg Fast Again?
     Honestly, I think it is a good way to get back into the swing of dieting. If anything, I would recommend it as a stepping stone to drop a few pounds quickly and to give you the motivation and determination to continue with a healthy lifestyle and long term weight loss. I would also recommend this diet if you have hit a plateau and have not lost any additional weight despite maintaining a healthy diet. I don't recommend this diet as a way to lose a ton of weight. It is far too restrictive and far too bland for my taste. I read online that some people did an egg fast for 30 days and did lose a substantial amount of weight. That is just insane to me, but perhaps they had an unrefined palate and didn't miss delicious food. I just know that I am not about to find out if 30 days of eggs would make me a size 2.

I hope this post has been informative and provided some insight into my experiences with The Egg Fast. Should you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email. Until next time.

Xoxo,
Bridget

Current Obsession: Homemade Salad Dressing

Guess who's back, back again...
Long time no post! Today is the day that I change your life completely. Okay perhaps that is a bit dramatic, but I am about to change the way you eat salads forever. I have been experimenting with homemade salad dressings for a while now. Some have proven to be delicious, while others would make a great drain cleaner.

Since I started making my own dressings, I cannot stand to eat anything out of a bottle. Every dressing, even ranch, tastes terrible. It's almost like I can taste the preservatives in it. Yuck! Thus far, this recipe is the best one I have came up with. It's equal parts tasty and easy, as well as a healthier alternative to bottled dressings. As always, this recipe is low carb. C'mon, would you expect any less from me?

Homemade Red Wine Vinaigrette 
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
Feta cheese
Salt-n-peppa to taste

I prefer this dressing on a salad made of baby spinach, but it tastes good on iceburg or romaine as well. I add the first three ingredients to a bowl and whisk them together, then I throw in a few crumbles of the feta cheese. The acid in the vinegar breaks down the cheese and adds a bit of creaminess to the salad. I usually will  add in red onions, green olives, and banana peppers with my spinach when I make this.. Of course, you could add more or less of the vinegar depending on your palate. Personally, I love dressings that have a bite to them, so if I'm feeling froggy in the kitchen, I may even do equal parts of oil and vinegar.

Let me know some of your favorite homemade salad dressing recipes. I would love to try out some new flavor combinations.

Xoxo,
B

Popcorn Shrimp Tacos Recipe

Hey guys,
I was getting freaky in the kitchen a couple of weeks ago and came up with this delicious recipe. Don't ask me how I whipped this up because I don't know. I guess after binge watching several seasons Kitchen Nightmares of Netflix, Gordon Ramsay taught me a thing or two.

Of course you can customize any recipe to tickle your fancy. I topped off my shrimp with some cole slaw and corn salsa. Y'all know that I'm a spicy mamacita, so I added ample sriracha and jalapenos. Also, if you want to make this dish low carb, ditch the tortilla and use some naked shrimp in place of the popcorn shrimp. I have also substituted fish for the shrimp and it is equally delicious. If you try this out, let me know how it turns out and if you discover some flavor combinations that I need to try out.

Popcorn Shrimp Tacos
-1 box of popcorn shrimp
-Tortillas
- Jalapenos
-Avocados or guacamole
-Cheese
-Salt/pepper, to taste

 Cole Slaw Ingredients
-1 bag of cole slaw
-1 tub of sour cream
-1 packet of ranch dressing mix
-1 packet of taco seasoning
-1 tsp lemon juice
-Sriracha, optional

 Corn Salsa Ingredients
-1 can mixed yellow and white corn
-1 bunch of green onions
-1 bell pepper, diced
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 tbsp red wine vinegar
-1 tbsp lemon juice
-1 tsp cumin
-1 tsp garlic paste (or you could use garlic powder if you wanted to)
-Crushed red pepper, optional
-Parsley, optional

*You could add cilantro and/or tomato if that's your thing. I think both of those things are repulsive, but you do you, boo.

I fried my popcorn shrimp in my air fryer for about 15 minutes at 360 degrees.

While that was cooking, I mixed you my cole slaw. I mixed up the sauce first, then I poured it over the cabbage mixed and refrigerated it until dinner time. I find that I like the sauce separate from the cabbage, so when I made these the second time, I just spooned the sauce over the cabbage in my taco rather than making an entire bowl of cole slaw.

For the corn salsa, I put all of the veggies in a bowl together, then I mixed up the sauce in the separate bowl. I put the garlic paste in the bowl first, then I whisked the wet ingredients into it so it would dissolve. I then poured that into the veggies and seasoned with the cumin/salt/pepper. This is what mine looked like:

Lookin' like a fiesta in a bowl. I let the corn salsa refrigerate for a little while too before we ate it. The longer this sits, the more flavorful it gets. If your house is anything like mine, it won't last for long.

Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Pinterest here, on Twitter here, on Instagram here, or email me by clicking here. See you soon!

Xoxo,
Bridget

My Triumphant Return to Blogging: Life Update

Hey guys,
     Remember me? It's been over a year since my last post here on my blog. My hiatus wasn't due to a lack of desire to blog, but as it so often does, life happened. If you have followed along with me from the beginning, you will remember that my mom was diagnosed with stage 2B breast cancer a couple of months after I started blogging and I used this blog as an outlet to help me keep my sanity during that ordeal. She was declared cancer free in June 2015. In the last year I have gotten married, moved in with my husband, moved to a new town, gained a nephew, gained a sister in law, and most unfortunately, my mom has cancer once again. This time, the diagnosis is stage 4 breast cancer.
     The time has come that I must once again find a way to channel my thoughts to help deal with all of the emotions that one feels when they feel helpless in a situation that they cannot control. Helpless is the only way to describe how you feel when your parent is sick and you can do nothing to ease their pain or make them well again. The good news is that the doctors are telling us that the treatment is working on my mom. The bad news is that the side effects are very rough on her and she does not feel well most days. If y'all don't mind, please keep keep her in your thoughts and/or prayers, and send many good vibes our way.
     With that being said, I find myself questioning what direction this blog will take now? The answer in short is... well... Who knows! At the moment, it's pretty much just a smorgasbord of information regarding weight loss, beauty tips, couponing, and at times, my online diary anyway, so it probably won't be much different in terms of content. Although I have not posted any new entries here, I still get a couple of emails a month from people who have come across some of my entries on StumbleUpon or Pinterest and ask me to start blogging again and to help them along their weight loss journey.  As always, I am happy to help in any way that I can, but this time, I'm also asking you for help. I love the friendships that I have made with people I have met online through this blog, and I ask that if you all have any positive stories that you would like to share with me to keep my spirits up, please do so. Blogging seems to be what my heart, and mind, is telling me to do to keep me from bursting at the seams, so here I am. If anyone has any requests for entries that they would like me to tackle, just slide in my DMs. As always, you can contact me directly through my email at bridget.buttery@gmail.com, on twitter @butterybiscuit7, and on instagram @bridgetc2015. <3

Xoxo,
Bridget

Bride on a Budget: Searching for the Perfect Wedding Day Perfume

Hey guys,
I'm sorry it has been a few weeks since I last posted. It's prom season, wedding season, and most importantly, GAME OF THRONES SEASON 5 IS AIRING!! Needless to say, I have been busy doing makeup, planning my own wedding, preparing for the wedding of others, and hoping that no weddings I attend are hosted by Walder Frey (The Lannisters send their regards).

Exciting news! My own wedding is only a little over four months away and I have finally started planning, which means I can finally start my new series that I have aptly titled "Bride on a Budget." I am doing a lot of DIY projects and I plan I sharing how to make some of the things that I will have at my wedding, as well as posting budget friendly tips for others who are on a tight wedding budget and may find my tips useful.

May has been the month of perfume for me. I am on a search for a perfect wedding day/honeymoon perfume. I find that scents are great to tie to memories. One whiff of a certain scent, and it's like you have hopped into a time machine and went back to a certain time in your life. Kind of like when you walk by Abercrombie in the mall and once their signature smell hits your olfactory gland, you instantly remember popping your collar in 2006 and thinking you looked damn good doing it.

On a less embarrassing note, I can smell Pumpkin Pecan Waffles scented candles from Bath and Body and it instantly takes me back to when my fiance proposed to me and the exciting time in our lives that followed that fall. I want to find a scent that I can fall in love with and start wearing so that it will take me back to this time in our lives. Even though wedding planning is hella stressful, I still want to have something to bring me back to this time in my life. I'm not saying that Elizabeth and James Nirvana White will be my wedding day perfume because I'll probably try a hundred different perfumes, but right now it is the front runner.

Elizabeth and James Nirvana White Perfume 
For those of you who don't know, Elizabeth and James is owned by the Olsen Twins. I loved their stuff they used to carry at Walmart as a kid and apparently my tastes have not matured much over the years as I am still throwing my dollar bills at the Olsen's. I received  a roller ball of this fragrance and of the sister perfume to this, Nirvana Black, when I cashed in my VIB points at Sephora. I prefer the Nirvana White to the Nirvana Black because it is a lighter, more feminine scent. The notes listed on the Nirvana White are Peony, Muguet, Tender Musk with the style listed as "Sophisticated. Feminine. Captivating." I am not one to go for a floral scent, but I don't find that this fragrance is overly floral. If you have 100 points in your VIB bank, I suggest you cash them in for this rollerball while they last! I didn't pay anything out of pocket for mine because I used my points, but a full sized rollerball retails for $22, a 1oz bottle retails for $55, and a 1.7oz bottle retails for $75. I personally never buy the biggest bottle of perfume because by the time I get half way through it, I'm bored and want to try something else, hence wasting my hard earned cash. I don't think that 50 bucks is too much to spend on a luxury fragrance, especially for such a special occasion if I end up choosing it for my wedding day scent.

While I'm at it, I'll tell you exactly why I prefer the Nirvana White when compared with its sister fragrance. Nirvana Black has that same strong masculine and almost sickly undertone that you find in Tom Ford's Black Orchid. I actually thought I would enjoy the Nirvana Black more than the White because the notes listed are Violet, Sandalwood, and Vanilla, while the style is listed as "Sensual, Mysterious, and Warm." I love any kind of warm, almost spicy fragrance, so I was really surprised that this scent was not my thing. In the end, it was just too manly for me to wear. I might give it to my fiance and see how he likes it instead!

Less than spectacular mentions on the fragrance front for this month: Loveswept by Philosophy (very light and summery scent, but lacks the staying power I want), Tainted Love by TokyoMilk Dark (warm vanilla scent, but a little too heavy for summer time), and Fresh's Sugar Lychee (fruity fragrance but it is so light that the scent dissipates almost immediately after applying). I'll keep you all posted as I continue the search for the perfect wedding day perfume. What's your favorite perfume? Do you have any recommendations I should try? Let a girl know! Tweet me, Facebook me, or email me. All of my contact info is on the side bar. Talk to you soon!

Xoxo,
--B

Weight Loss Confidential: Tips for Discreet Dieting

Sup Ladies,

I haven't done a weight loss post in ages and this one is quite different from any other weight loss post I have written. Have you ever been in the situation in which you want to drop a few pounds, but you don't really want everyone to know about it? Sometimes if you mention to someone that you are cutting back on calories/carbs, then you may receive negative remarks from people who just want to be hateful a-holes. This is annoying not only for people who are larger, but also for the thinner population as well. "But you're skinny enough", "You look like you need to go eat a cheeseburger as it is" or the ever popular remark of "You're just going to lose water weight anyway" is not anything that I want to hear. How about you tell a sister good luck?! When I first started dieting, I didn't want anyone to know because I was afraid I would fail and then they would be sarcastic and ask me how my diet was going as I waddled to the kitchen for more cheesecake. That's when I came up with the idea of "discreet dieting." No one has to know that you are cutting back and then one day every notices that you are looking rather lean and wants to know what you did to get looking so bomb ass. That's when you tell them that you just lost a little "water weight" and moonwalk out of the room. 

1.) Never skip breakfast

Back when I was chunky and didn't really know how to effectively lose weight, I would skip meals all the time, then wonder why I had gained 5lbs even though I was staying hungry. You have to eat in order to lose weight. Now this doesn't mean that you need to go down to the local Waffle House and order a stack of butter pecan waffles. If you eat something high in protein early in the morning, you are not only going to give your metabolism the message of "Wake up biyotch and get to burning some calories," but you're also going to stay fuller and this may keep you from binge eating at lunch. I recommend eating something along the lines of a couple of hard boiled eggs, a grilled chicken breast, or a greek yogurt (check the carbs on these. They can hide a lot of sugar within them if you're not careful). If you're super busy, or you get out of bed about thirty minutes before work like I do, then you can always eat a protein bar on the way to work or even have a protein shake. Something is better than nothing... Unless that something is from Dunkin Donuts. 

2.) Pack your lunch

If you typically go out for lunch with friends and you go from ordering a Big Mac and Fries to ordering a side salad with no dressing, then not only is everyone going to notice and call you out on your actions, but you're also going to be extremely unsatisfied and more likely to cheat for dinner. What is easiest in this situation is to just go ahead and pack something at home and take it with you to work or school. If someone asks why you packed your lunch, just tell them you're trying to save money. Every time I have ever said that to anyone then they are like "Man, I need to be doing that too" and never question me again. But what should you pack for lunch? Well there are a few options here. Of course, you want something that is not only high in protein, but that is going to satisfy you until you get home for dinner. Some of my go-to meals for when I pack my lunch include homemade low-carb turkey meatballs (click the recipe tab at the top of the page to see how to make these), grilled chicken with sriracha (because I live for spicy food), a bag of cocktail shrimp, or a small salad with a ton of smoked ham and turkey. Anything that is not battered, glazed, fried, rolled, or breaded will be appropriate for lunch.

3.) Start an at home fitness routine

When I was about 50lbs heavier, I would always say "I want to work out but I don't want to go to a gym and look like the fat girl." I was pretty down on myself at the time and I was not confident enough to go let my fat jiggle where other people might see it. I was also scared I would see someone I know and then see them out somewhere else and then have them say "Oh, I saw you once at the gym. You should come back more often!" When you are not happy with yourself and feel fat, it is very, VERY hard to be confident enough to let anyone know that you are trying to get to a point in which you are happy with yourself. Whether it be the fear of failure, or the fear that someone is going to see that your ass sweat has soaked your yoga pants right down the seam, it is hard to deal with. Before I started going to Zumba classes, I started doing some easy workouts to help build my stamina. I did not want to be the fat girl in the back row panting for air and diet coke. I just went to Youtube and looked up some simple workouts that were slow paced enough for me to keep up. I did this for a few weeks before I gained the courage to finally go workout where other women were. One I finally went to Zumba, I was surprised to find that I was not the largest girl in the class. I was far from the smallest girl there, but most of the attendees were just about my size. This was very comforting to me and I was able to go through the entire one hour class without having to stop and take a break. I honestly believe if I hadn't already tried doing some of the workouts at home and built my stamina up, that I would not have been able to complete the class and I would have been too embarrassed to ever return. There is nothing wrong with starting to do a few workouts at home in private. I highly recommend this if you are thinking about joining any kind of fitness class and feel the way I felt before going to my first session. 

I hope these tips have helped anyone out who is hoping to drop a few pounds, but wants to do so in private and inconspicuously. Just remember that no one can make you feel bad about trying to get healthy and about trying to get to a point in your life in which you are happy with not only how you look, but how you feel. Don't let anyone judge you on your efforts or make you feel like you aren't doing the right thing. I had so many people telling me that I was doing a fad diet when I was low-carbing and that I wouldn't lose any real weight. A couple months later I walked in 20lbs lighter and everyone wanted to know how I was doing it because to them, it didn't look like I was doing much. Having a strong support system also helps. If you don't have anyone you feel comfortable enough to lean on with your weight loss journey, lean on me! I'm always so happy to hear from my readers and to give them the encouraging and supportive words they need to keep going forward. Follow me on Twitter @butterybiscuit7, on Instagram @Bridgetb2011, or send me an email at bridget.buttery@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you! 

Xoxo,

Bridget

How to Conceal Your Dark Under-Eye Circles

I think I was born with eye bags. No matter how much I sleep, I still look like I could score the role of "Lead Zombie" in the Thriller video. It has always been something that I have hated about myself and that I have struggled trying to mask. After years of trying, I think I have finally figured out how to cover up my dark circles. Lucky for you, I am going to share some really unflattering photos of myself and tell you how you can also make yourself appear more rested and less like you've been awake on a three day coke bender. Here we go!

And here I am in my natural state. 

Most people go for a very light concealer when trying to hide their dark circles, even I used to think that was the key. Think about this, your eye bags are dark and what is going to happen when you put ivory colored concealer over them? Gray. You are going to have nice GRAY eye bags now. How cute.

Instead of reaching for a light concealer first off, you need to grad something that is darker and preferably with a warm or orange base. In order to cover something dark, you're going to need something dark. The warm or orange tone is going to cancel out that blue color and keep you from turning your under eye area into a literal gray area.

The more jaundiced you look, the better.

I put the darker concealer on first and blend it out with my finger. Here I am using Coastal Scents Camo Quad. This concealer is very thick so you will need to warm it up a little bit on your finger or let it sit on your face for a minute or two so it will blend easily. This concealer is cheap and covers really well. You can buy it for like 7 or 8 bucks on Coastal Scents' website.

After I apply my dark concealer, I go in and cover that up with a Beauty Blender and my foundation. Right now I am using L'Oreal's Pro Matte Foundation. I highly recommend this foundation to everyone.

After I apply my foundation, I then go in with a lighter concealer. Now that we have masked the blue tone of our under eye area, we can go in and lighten it up a little bit. I am using Maybelline's Fit Me Concealer in shade 15. I recommend using any kind of concealer that is packaged with a wand for this step. These concealers tend to be thinner and will blend out well and not leave you looking cakey.

After I have applied these three layers, I set it all using a yellow based powder. I am currently using the Anastasia of Beverly Hills Banana powder from her contour kit. You can buy the single powder on her website if you are not interested in the full kit. I believe it is around 14 dollars. Any kind of yellow based powder will do. The yellow will provide a brightening effect to the under eye area.

After I set my under eye area, I'm ready to do the rest of my face. I finished powdering my T zone with the L'Oreal Pro Matte Powder, mixed two Makeup Geek blushes together for my cheeks (shades Spellbound and Bliss), highlighted my cheeks with Hourglass' Ambient Lighting Powder (shade- Radiant Light), threw on a little mascara, and added Maybelline's Lip Elixir in Hibiscus on my lips.

I hope this helps those of you who have the same problems with dark circles that I do. Let me know if you have any additional tips I should try out, and as always, thank you for reading.

Xoxo,
--Bridget