The Low Carb Project V2

[IslandGirl]

I am interested in kicking up another round of this Project, with some minor experimental differences. The discipline required to report to you guys (and to control my dairy intake) was absolutely key for me... and I really HATED Fat Fast days.... so...

basically, this would be a clone of V1.2 (with all we've learned as participants from that experiment) but with 2 "Stillman" days instead of 1 "Fat Fast" and 1 "Stillman", and with the Calorie Boost day limited to a targetted minimum of 10X current weight in pounds.

I have an Excel 97 spreadsheet set up (from V1.2) which, with very minor modifications, lays out the "rules" and the tracking, which I will gladly upload to some files location on this website (Wa'il, is there a place I can stash an .XLS file?) OR send individually to anyone that wants to join me in this endeavour.

I'm thinking of starting with Day 1 of 7, Week 1 of 4, somewhere around Friday November 23rd so that the 'project' finishes the week prior to Christmas...

Anybody else?

[itsjoyful]

i would love to, except that's right before american thanksgiving. any thoughts?
brenda :)

[Natrushka]

I am in, Judy.

Brenda, if that week starts Nov 23rd perhaps you could start it on the Sat or Sunday?

Nat

[IslandGirl]

Journal Template for The Low-Carb Project v2

This template can be copied and pasted into your Project Journal thread; 1 thread per Journal per participant
(Example Thread Title = LCPV2 – Judi’s Journal ).

The Project operates on a 7-day, 4-week cycle. Activity and measurements are optional. Or, you may want to measure yourself at the beginning of the study, and at the end.

Week : e.g., Week 1 (out of a 4-week Project)
Day : e.g., Day 1 (out of a 7-day week)
Date, Day of Week : e.g., Nov 23rd, Friday (Day 1 can be whatever day of week you choose ).
Today’s Program : e.g., Regular LC, Stillman’s, Calorie Boost, etc.
(Example Post Title = Week 1 Day 1 Nov 23rd Regular LC)

Foods eaten:
- - - - - - - - - amount - - - description
e.g., -- - - - - 4 ounces cooked green beans
- - - - - - - - - 1 tablespoon butter
- - - - - - - - - - - {etc}

Total Calories:
Protein grams:
% calories of protein:

Fat grams :
% calories of fat:

Carbohydrate grams (total OR Net + Fiber):
% calories of carbohydrates:

Activity (optional):

Measurements (optional):

Thoughts (optional):

[IslandGirl]

{shamelessly plagiarized from Karen's excellent summary in V1.2, all of this stuff is :D}

Have a good food counting book or use the Carb Counter on this site in the Tools section.

Buy whole chickens. Remove and roast the skins until crisp for a regular LC or Calorie Boost day. Use the skinless breasts for Stillman day and the thighs, wings and legs for the remaining days.

Weigh yourself on your start date and record it. It is also advisable to measure yourself.

Have egg yolks on regular LC or Calorie Boost days and save the whites for Stillman days.

DON’T plan to do this if you have events coming up that will throw you off the plan—weddings, vacations, a lot of birthday parties, etc., unless you have a plan for dealing with them.

DO plan what you are going to eat in advance. Figure out what you can eat on Calorie Boost and and Stillman days, and what you will have to consume on days 3 and 5 to reach 10 times your body weight in calories, as a targetted minimum.

Print this out and keep a copy on your fridge and another one with you.

[IslandGirl]

BASICS: =edited Nov 7th 6pm=

Week 1:

Day 1 -- Follow your regular (Atkins, Protein Power, Zone, etc) low-carb plan.

Day 2 -- Lean Protein (Stillman). Allowable food: lean meat (trim all fat), homemade or sugarless jerky, poultry without skin, white fish, shellfish, egg whites, baker's (dry curd) cheese, meat and fish broth. Quantities unlimited. Up to 1/2 cup of lowfat ricotta or cottage cheese OR up to 3 oz. tofu (the lowest carb you can get). Lemon/lime juice, herbs, spices, hot sauce, soy sauce, Splenda, etc. in moderation.
Optional: one cup lettuce.
Recommended: Water, as much as you can; Psyllium Husks.

Day 3 Calorie Boost. Follow your regular low-carb plan, with the following modifications:
First, absolutely no dairy. Second, eat a minimum of 10 calories per pound of current body weight. 25 total grams carbohydrates (inc fiber) are eaten in the form of green vegetables only, preferably leafy.

Day 4 -- Lean Protein (Stillman Day) as per Day 2.
Day 5 -- Calorie Boost Day, as per Day 3.
Day 6 -- Follow your regular low-carb plan, as per Day 1.
Day 7 -- Follow your regular low-carb plan, as per Day 1.

Week 2: -- REPEAT Week 1

[itsjoyful]

if i would have looked at the calander before i opened my big mouth, thanksgiving is the day before. it's thursday, the 22nd. i'll make thanksgiving worth it.
can't wait!
bren

[Karen]

Sounds good to me. I like the 10 x body weight instead of 12.

Judi, I think the 1 cup optional lettuce on calorie boost days is a great idea! ;)

For everyone's interest, there is a list of vegetables in the old version of the project.

Karen

[IslandGirl]

Got me, Karen! :lol:

I've edited the BASICS post above and placed the Optional lettuce and Recommended psyllium husks where they belonged, on the Lean Protein (Stillman) day.

So, I was in a hurry. :bash: beat me with a wet noodle! :lol:

So, Karen, are you signing up?

[Natrushka]

I have a question re the cal boost days, 10 x body weight, is that the limit? On my reg LC days I average between 8 - 10 x body weight. I know from experience that I'm usually not hungry after Stillman (all the protein) and eating more than 10x the day's after may not be easy, but what if we go over? Is that permitted, or is 10x the cut off?

Nat

[doreen T]

what if we go over? Is that permitted, or is 10x the cut off? Nat, I do believe that 10 x is the minimum to strive for. :thup: .. so yes, more is permitted, desirable even.

IMHO, if you're consuming approx. 10x your weight in calories as the norm ... it would be WISE to try to consume more than that on the days following the Stillman/lean protein. If you read through our journals from the Group Project in August .. all of us found it extremely difficult to consume more than 1,000 to 1,200 calories on those lean protein days ... at least, those of us who followed the protocol as written, and kept FAT intake very low. If those calories aren't made-up for somehow (which is the whole purpose of the "calorie-boost) .. then the project becomes more of a low CALORIE plan, that just happens to also be low in carbs.

I wonder if it would be best to have the calorie boost days truly BE boosting calories, meaning ... have the calories of the two days ... the Stillman day, and the calorie boost day following ... average 10 calories per lb. example: my desired intake is 1,700 calories a day. (10 cal / lb).

On the Stillman day, I consume 1200 calories. On the calorie boost day, I will eat 2,200 calories to make up the deficit.

Average will be 1200 + 2200 = 3400 calories/ 2 days = 1700 calories per day or 10 cal per lb.Another way to ensure adequate caloric intake, is to spread the missing calories from the Stillman days throughout the other 5 days of the week. So, the calorie "boost" days aren't really "boosting" anything ... they're just another restrictive way of eating ... that has benefits when combined with the lean protein fasts ... such as the cleansing effect of the green vegetables, and the dairy-free aspect.

When I summarized my Study results from the project in August, I found that my average intake for the regular low-carb days was 9.6 calories per lb. My average intake for the fasting days and Calorie Boost days compbined was 9.4 calories per lb. And that was with the Cal. boost at 13 x.

Doreen

[Karen]

So, Karen, are you signing up?

I verily do believe I just might do that. Some personal "re-education" is in order. Last night I was contemplating three Stillman days instead of two.

Karen

[Natrushka]

Oh this is going to be fun!

John thinks I'm nuts; he's right. It's still going to be fun ;)

N

[itsjoyful]

i may have missed something, but i've been searching everywhere in the forum, and can not seem to find the answer. Why no dairy on certain days?
thanks
brenda

[IslandGirl]

I believe the assumption underlying the "no dairy on certain days rule" is that dairy is high on the Food Sensitivities list and VERY often has an unsuspected negative effect on the immune system and on weight loss. In other words, "why not" :lol:

It's probably more complicated than that, but basically the whole PROJECT idea is very much more about a fixed set of rules, disciplined adherence to make it useful to generate some kind of consistent results.

Besides, I at least go hog wild with all kinds of cheeses, so I KNOW it's a good thing, just can't fully explain it.

[itsjoyful]

maybe we could have a no nuts day so i can banish my vices?(lol)
brenda

p.s. - i am slowly making it through v.1 of the project and finding it most insightful.

i never thought i'd invest this much time and energy into MYSELF. i have all of you to thank for bringing me up to the next level.
brenda

[IslandGirl]

Do, I'm thinking about this and am inclined to stick with the targetted minimum of 10 kCals, with option to go over residing with the individual.

I wonder if it would be best to have the calorie boost days truly BE boosting calories, meaning ... have the calories of the two days ... the Stillman day, and the calorie boost day following ... average 10 calories per lb.

I truly had difficulty making 13X calories on CB Day, for the most part, and pretty well believe I need to keep calories down *somewhat* and the Stillman days helped me do that without hunger, which is why I proposed 2 Stillman's instead of a FF and a Stillman. My daily kCals averaged 9.6, 10.8, 10.8 and 11.5 over the 4 weeks of V1.2, with a final overall average of 10.7, so they were slowly climbing (accustomization?).

That's why I proposed a minimum of 10. There is room for individual tweaking in CB for those that need to eat more rather than less, whether it's spread out on RegLC and CB days, or just on CB days... It's also why only 2 Stillman and only 2 CB, it provides a measure of control, I think, without making it too easy to either undereat with more Stillman days or overeat with more CBs...

[doreen T]

If my rusty memory serves correctly ... the Calorie boost days were pretty strict about limiting the source of carbs to green vegetables ONLY. So no eggplant or tomatoes or purple cauliflower! And NO NUTS!!! I think there was a 5-carb "grace" to permit such luxuries as coffee and eggs ... But, the thinking was that avoiding dairy on those days would also avoid the carbs from the lactose.

It was really difficult, and required discipline and creativity to get in the required 25g carbs from green veggies alone AND to eat enough overall calories after the lean protein fast without using cheese and cream to "pad" the menu!

I will likely join in the challenge ... I'll have to think about how my old fibro-body will respond .. I'm already working on upping my protein intake now, so it should be a fairly easy transition.

My biggest challenge will be trying to find a coffee that I can stand to drink without cream 4 days in a row. Ya, I confess to my addiction :rolleyes: ... I'm working on that too.

Has an official start date been proposed yet??

Doreen

[IslandGirl]

We'd all have to go away :lol:

Seriously, unless there are nuts on your Regular LC (and you can do what YOU want to do on those days), Nuts aren't a requirement for either of the "controlled" (Stillman or CB) days on this Project V2.

Know Thyself :lol:

[doreen T]

Originally posted by IslandGirl
I truly had difficulty making 13X calories on CB Day, for the most part, No kidding!! Judi, I remember there were days I thought I was going to be sick, from eating so much!!

I actually started getting up early, so that I could start eating earlier in the day, and not be stuck late in the evening trying to stuff in 300 or 400 more calories' worth of food. Aacckk!

Until I clued in that I was eating mostly lean chicken and fish -- so I switched to nice juicy steaks, and added a little more mayo and olive oil into the equation ;)

Doreen

[Natrushka]

Originally posted by doreen T
I actually started getting up early, so that I could start eating earlier in the day, and not be stuck late in the evening trying to stuff in 300 or 400 more calories' worth of food. Aacckk!

Awwww gee, Do. That's only 3 or 4 tablespoons of flax oil! :p

N

[Natrushka]

Originally posted by doreen T
My biggest challenge will be trying to find a coffee that I can stand to drink without cream 4 days in a row.

OMG I hadn't thought of it that way. Time to stock up on some green tea I think.

N

[doreen T]

Speaking of flax oil .... I'm going to stop counting it in my daily calories anyway, whether or not I decide to participate in this project.

According to Udo Erasmus, the EFA's, especially linoleic acids in flax -- are used by the body for non-energy purposes. "Sort of" like fiber ... they aren't used for calories (although they are absorbed). I'm taking 2 Tbsp flax oil a day, plus 1000 mg salmon oil for my fibromyalgia and other chronic health issues. I've added the salmon oil, rather than go up to 3 Tbsp of flax, to avoid creating a deficiency of Omega-6's, which can happen after about 6-months of Omega-3 (flax) alone, and I've been taking the flax daily since August.

This will be a good challenge for me, since undereating is a problem for me ... this will FORCE me to seek other foods to meet my calorie-requirement ... so more x.virgin olive oil or walnut oil, and larger meat portions.

Unless anybody wants to cry foul, and say I can't have the 2 Tbsp of flax oil on the low-fat protein days.???????

Doreen

[IslandGirl]

Since I'm not aware of any of the encapsulated supplementary oils having calorie values on the label, seems reasonable to me to say this:

:lol: if you put it on food (salad, soup, shakes....) the oil(s) must be counted
:lol: if you take it in capsules or sip {shudder} it it's supplements and needn't be counted

Whatcha think, Do?

PS: pumpkin seed oil YUM YUM YUM :p

[doreen T]

Originally posted by IslandGirl if you take it in capsules or sip {shudder} it[it's supplements and needn't be counted:cool: the whole world knows I sip it, slurp it, glug it down off a spoon, chased with a glass of water (the morning dose gets chased with a glass of water mixed with NoSalt potassium chloride). Why?? because I'm TOUGH!

:doah:PS: pumpkin seed oil YUM YUM YUM :p PS: Hemp oil PUFF PUFF PUFF :p


ROFLsnort

[Ruth]

Quote: ROFLsnort

That's me too after reading this thread!

OK, I'm going to go check out V1.2 & think about joining V2. I do believe that I need something to jolt me out of my LC rut. My challenges will be a week out of town (on Vanc Island, yay!) and of course the pre-christmas social round. Hmmm, but with 1 week of V2 under my belt, I may be able to manage the week away.

Inquiring minds want to know: why wait until Nov 23? Why start on a Friday? Is it so that on Christmas Day we are wonderfully slim, the lightest we've weighed in years and our clothes hang on us?

[wadimom]

Yes!!! I should!

I had originally signed up for the Christmas Challenge, but I am in a stall and didn't want to feel discouraged for not losing. Found this challeng and have decided to bite the bullet and join.

So, I'm in!!! Love the idea of starting just after Thanksgiving (thanks for the thoughtfullness) and ending up with a new, slimmer us for Christmas.

This will give me time to plan out my menus so that I don't mess up and have to give up in the middle.

Here's to new adventures!

Lorrie

[Karen]

Why?? because I'm TOUGH!

So, then you're tough enough for black coffee! ;)

By my own thinking, the no dairy on CB days was to keep those days "clean" of dairy fats and to force you into looking at other fats as a calorie boost.

It was brilliant Doreen when you discovered that you were eating too much lean protein on CB days.

I didn't find CB difficult because I'm a piggy.

Karen

[IslandGirl]

Well, me and my 'machine' (and I use the word loosely) have survived Phase 3 of the Computer Troubles and Stabilization Project and it's still GRONKINGLY slow but somewhat better. 32mB more RAM (I'm not excited, it's only 64 now), somewhat cleaned up hard drive, 32-bit disk mgmnt, a USB port that works, a new and working floppy drive (for those emergency boots) and 1 full Backup down, 1 to go.

Ha! Probably more than ANYONE needs to know, so I won't go on about Phase 4 of the Computer Troubles and Stabilization project.

Darlings:
NAT! Fab new Pho-To! You look beeyootiful!
RUTH! Lorrie's kind of answered your question, I hope? I think it will be, like V1.2, maneuverable within a week or so (just to keep us kind of together) to allow for personal schedules and wishes. Say, probably anywhere within Nov 16th and 23rd for an officialstart date for reporting purposes... :lol:
DO! You SWILLER of oil, you. Watch out for the oil slick :p

Of course, you can start any time you want, might want to get in some practice on the tracking and planning (and reporting). I'm getting DESPERATE over here and think I will starting this coming Monday ... so Tuesdays will be my first Protein Day (portable homemade jerky to take to bowling and chow down while all about me swill beer and heft[B] fries/B] ! )

[doreen T]

Originally posted by Karen

So, then you're tough enough for black coffee! ;) Indeed!

I've been looking for such love in all the wrong places! The problem was rot-gut coffee, not cream.

There's a story here, I'll save it for my Bootcamp journal .. Bottom line is, I rediscovered my old favourite that I used to drink black all the time. I've had it the last two mornings, black and wonderful. Coffee, that is ;)

Doreen

[wadimom]

Doreen- I'm with you in that I originally fell in love with that dark, black stuff years and years ago. Started adding "clothes" in the form of cream and sugar, then went black again, then light, when I started LC-ing a year ago, I actually was drinking the stuff straight! Then, a month ago I added cream and sweetener to 'pad' my carb count. Whew...... now, I am going back to basic black so that I can participate in this study and not have withdrawals a couple days a week. So, to sum up, it's naked coffee for me - I will have a heavily cream laden coffee on Christmas!!!

I guess we're all tough enough for black, coffee, that is.

I am actually looking forward to this study. Been busy looking for recipes and planning out my menus so that it will be easier to keep up with all you pros out there!

Lorrie

[doreen T]

hi Lorrie,

I'm so glad you're joining us! Yer off to a good start, to plan menus etc in advance. Do you use fitday.com? I found it really helpful for menu planning when I did the project in August, because I could see in advance where I needed to increase the protein or fat, or cut back the carb portions, etc. It was a lot easier than finding out on the days where you're required to eat a minimum amount ... that you've only had in half the day's requirement, and it's nearly bedtime!

I think I might start next Sunday, 18 November. So Fri, Sat & Sun will be regular LC days, and Mon to Thurs will be the dairy-free, meat only or meat and veg. days. Oh wait ... the Stillman lean protein days permit dry curd cottage cheese. Not sure if I want to go there or not.:p

Doreen

[wadimom]

Originally posted by doreen T
Do you use fitday.com? I found it really helpful for menu planning when I did the project in August

Doreen, what a great idea! I would have never even thought of doing that. Live and learn.

Lorrie

[IslandGirl]

Oh wait ... the Stillman lean protein days permit dry curd cottage cheese. Not sure if I want to go there

Awwww, you don't HAVE to eat that squeeky stuff... :p

Do you use fitday.com? I found it really helpful...

Me, too, when I could get at it (can't always be online). Another very useful tool is the combination of a small pocket notebook (way cheap at the $ store) and one's experience at estimating portion sizes. I'd carry it everywhere and jot down date, quantity and what I ate.

I'd use FitDay to confirm what I could in terms of counts, and at the end of the day, use either Fitday or my Mastercook sw (for the recipes I rummaged up for shared dinners, etc.) to tot up the day's info for reportintg.

The totting and reporting is key to this, a LOT of work but key. Amazing how much stuff (i.e., carbs and calories in my case) slipped by me if I didn't track everything "religiously".

[doreen T]

Judi, have you thought of using fitday as Lorrie and I were thinking of doing ... to plan your menus in ADVANCE?? Use the arrow thingies next to the date at the top of the page ... you can plan the whole 4-week shebang (ya, right :rolleyes: ) .. But truthfully .. I think that's what helped the most when I did the project in August ... sitting down, plugging menus in a couple days ahead of time .. and I could see before any damage was done ... oops, too many carbs ... oops, need more protein ... ooops, better add some more fat here ... otherwise, you end up discovering you overate, or worse .. UNDERate on the days you really need to be getting the extra food in. Especially since the Stillman days have such an appetite-suppressing effect ... I don't know about the others, but personally, I anticipate a real challenge here!!

:daze:

Doreen

[Karen]

Oh wait ... the Stillman lean protein days permit dry curd cottage cheese. Not sure if I want to go there

I'm doing a "Stillman" today and bought some dry cottage cheese last night. It's usually chicken breasts and white fish for me, but I wanted to try something different. I tossed it with salt, lots of pepper and a few kalonji seeds. It wasn't that bad at all.

I also made what could be loosely described as a soup with lean ground beef, cumin seeds, ground coriander, turmeric and garam masala sprinkled with the curds.

I remembered having a raw beef dish called 'kitfo' in an Ethiopian restaurant. Part of the plate was dry curd cheese that had been dry roasted until golden. Pretty durned good. Think I'll find out how to make it.

Karen

[doreen T]

That's what I was missing ... some creativity!

Last time, I made lowfat, lowcarb, hi-pro tortilla things, with egg-substitute "tortilla" and seasoned ground turkey (less fat) ... maybe the dry curd could be processed with a wee dribble of lemon juice (permitted) for some kind of ersatz sour cream topping.

I should experiment this week too, before I get started next Sunday.

Doreen

[wadimom]

k, a question....... on a lean protein day.... carb count is at 25g, right? Is that ECC? or do we count in the fiber? :confused:

That's all for now.......

Lorrie

(edit) Stillman: is strictly that.....lean protein and basically no veggies (no carbs)?

[doreen T]

The Stillman - lean protein days are just that ... lean, lowest fat protein you can find. Lots of it, and little or nothing else. No carbs, no added fat, except a very few seasonings as listed, and one cup of lettuce. Clear tea or coffee in limited amounts. Water, water, water. These are essentially FASTING days ... a protein fast.

The calorie boost days follow immediately after each of the two protein-fasts. You must consume a minimum of (10x wt) in calories, no dairy products, and 25g total carbs (not ECC) in the form of green vegetables (not orange, yellow, purple or white!). That also means no carb-containing meats or proteins, such as deli meats, ham, sausage, certain shellfish, liver, nuts (including coconut or almond milk), tofu. No carb-containing fats, such as bottled salad dressings, cream cheese (dairy), nut butter. Last time a 5g maximum carbs was permitted to include coffee, 1 or 2 eggs, and 2 or 3 pkts of artificial sweetener. The purpose of the calorie boost is basically to make up for any caloric defecit from the fast .. to prevent the metabolism from shutting down into starvation mode. And to maintain the cleansing nature of the fast, by limiting foods to proteins, fats and green veggies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, to restate Judi's post on the matter:

Day 1: regular LC program
Day 2: Stillman - lean protein fast, minmal fat and carbs
Day 3: cleansing calorie boost - eat at least (10x wt) calories, no dairy, 25g total carbs from only green vegetables
Day 4: repeat protein fast of Day 2
Day 5: repeat cleansing calorie boost of Day 3
Day 6: regular LC program
Day 7: regular LC program

Copy the list of permitted foods from Judi's post on the first page of this thread and print it out. Some excellent ideas and suggestions are contained in other message threads right here in this Group projects forum, from the Study done in August. I highly recommend printing those out too. Click on: High Carb Green Vegetables (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18515)

Stillman (lean protein) recipes (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15937)

The Low Carb Project v.1.2 (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16104)The list of green vegetables is especially helpful, and the nitpicking was all good-natured and friendly!

Know which day of the cycle you're supposed to be on, and plan in advance, plan in advance, plan in advance. And most of all, this is a FUN project that I'm hoping will jolt the fat cells into submission.:D

Doreen

[wadimom]

And most of all, this is a FUN project that I'm hoping will jolt the fat cells into submission.:D

Doreen

Domination, baby! Our cells stand no chance!

Thanks, Do! Now I feel like I am almost ready to begin. I have started working on menus, just need to plug them into fitday. I really feel that will be the most help.

Plan, plan and planning in advance........

Lor

[IslandGirl]

Did you get my note/post about the spreadsheet? Your PM box is full and when I tried to post here the other day, there was a system crash (this end) and it looks like my post went off into the Ether.

ANYWAY :lol: I can't send you the spreadsheet without an email addy.

Pls go to my webpage (either the www logo below or click on my red, white and blue special signature image) and send me your email address, ok? I'll send the spreadsheet.

[IslandGirl]

Do, I do my special recipe development and menu planning and counts tracking mostly through MasterCook at home (poor online connection), and I use FitDay while I'm at the office for quick checks and sums (no MasterCook at the office).

Somewhere in between fixing my computer or working (day) or working with the co-op, I'm showering, cooking or sleeping. :lol:

[itsjoyful]

hi ya'll - i'm still planning on starting next friday and i'm getting pretty excited. a few questions, por favor.
1. where's the spreadsheet? i know i'm having a brainless day, but i can't seem to find it anywhere.
2. i thought i read somewhere that a couple of people were starting early. true? i was actually praying for this so i could get some eating ideas.
3. what's dry curd cottage cheese? i'm in california and to tell you the truth, i've never heard of it. is it in the dairy case? should i just try a health food store? does it taste like cottage cheese, because if it does, i'm not sure i can stomach it.
4. when we do 10x's weight, should i weigh myself that morning, or just once a week and go with that?
5. last one for now, promise, if ya'll make menus ahead of time, would you be willing to share prior to the day? i'm not trying to leach, but the more help i get with this the better.
thanks ya'll
brenda

[doreen T]

1. where's the spreadsheet? i know i'm having a brainless day, but i can't seem to find it anywhere.It's not posted anywhere here ;) .. Judi (IslandGirl) developed a spreadsheet that she used for tracking her progress in the previous study. I'm sure if you beg and grovel nicely, she might send a copy to you.2. i thought i read somewhere that a couple of people were starting early. true? i was actually praying for this so i could get some eating ideas.I will be starting this Sunday, 18 November. And I think Judi mentioned she might start on Monday. For some ideas, take a look at our study journals here in this forum from August. In that project, the Stillman-lean protein day was Day 4 of the cycle, so you can read those for menu ideas. That's what I plan to do ;) .. The "calorie boost" days in that project really WERE calorie boosts .... 13 x the weight in calories ... which was extremely hard to do after the Stillman day. If you are like most of us were, those protein fasts really blunt the appetite. 3. what's dry curd cottage cheese? i'm in california and to tell you the truth, i've never heard of it. is it in the dairy case? should i just try a health food store? does it taste like cottage cheese, because if it does, i'm not sure i can stomach it.Dry curd cottage cheese is about as appetizing as it sounds. That being said, when desperate to add some variety to such a restricted menu as Stillman, even I might succumb to finding a way to stuff it in. I think Karen and Rachel had some creative ideas for using it. Unlike the creamed cottage chese which comes in a tub with a lid ... dry curd is sold in a soft plastic package, and the texture is more like ricotta. There is no "cream" on it, hence the "dry" curd. It is very low fat, usually 0.1% or 0.5%. 4. when we do 10x's weight, should i weigh myself that morning, or just once a week and go with that?Last time around, I only weighed once a week, and used that. Think about it ... even if you lose 2 lbs between Day 3 and Day 5 ... it's only 20 calories, and besides, 10x is the bare minimum you should be striving for. I would urge you to try to eat that amount on all days, and more on the "calorie boost" days following the protein fasts. 10x your current weight is only 1330 calories. Combined with the Stillman days, you run the risk of averaging below 1200 calories a day, which could put you into starvation mode ... this will really work against your weight loss efforts. :(5. last one for now, promise, if ya'll make menus ahead of time, would you be willing to share prior to the day? i'm not trying to leach, but the more help i get with this the better. Do check out our journals from the summer project, there's some good ideas there.

Speaking of which ... I'd better plan my groceries and do some shopping this weekend ... Monday will be the first Stillman day for me :rolleyes:

Doreen

[IslandGirl]

Well said, Do!

Meanwhile, Brenda, if you PM me with your email address (or click on the www logo below and email directly via the link on that webpage), I will send you the spreadsheet.

Ta for now!

PS: Day 1 for me, tracking tracking.....

[tamarian]

Spreadsheets can also be attached as a file here, as long as they're zipped (extensions of .zip .txt .pg and /gif). :)

Wa'il

[itsjoyful]

hi do and judi -
thanks for the information. i'm feeling better about being able to make it through.
judi- i will pm you. thanks
brenda

[Elihnig]

I think I might sign up for this one too. The last one that I did was quite successful for the amount of time I tried it (two weeks I think) I don't remember why I stopped. Though, I'm a great one for starting things and never finishing them. I may just try it in my notebook here and not post on the internet but then I wouldn't be helping anyone else out now would I?

Okay, Friday after Thanksgiving I'm in!

Elihnig

[itsjoyful]

hi - hope ya'll are out there today to help me with this one. if my 25g of carbs are coming from green veggies, then what about the egg issue? do i just do egg whites?
i'm noticing butter all around... are we allowing it? if we're voting, i vote yes.
this project is a lot harder than i anticipated, but it definitely makes me take notice of what i typically eat.
thanks ya'll,
brenda

[doreen T]

You're doing fine!! Remember Karen's motto ... progress, not perfection.

25 carbs from green veggies .. that's total carbs, not carbs-minus-fiber. Try to get as close as you can, 24 or 26g is fine. ;)

Although it wasn't spelled out in the instructions this time around ... for the project back in August, we decided amongst the group that it would be permissible to have up to 5 carbs lee-way, for such incidentals as coffee (since we all drank it, and weren't prepared to quit), eggs or other proteins that might have a wee bit o' carb, such as crab or shrimp. The carbs in eggs are evenly divided between yolk and white, ie .. there's 0.3g in each part. Of course, the fewer of these "extra" carbs, the better. (On my two days last week ... I had 24g each time from green veggies, and 3g from coffee & eggs)

As for butter, I guess you didn't see where I answered the other day in my study journal (no probs!) .. well, also during the first project, we decided that a small amt of butter could be considered fat, not dairy. To remove all traces of dairy protein and carb ... I've personally chosen to clarify unsalted butter, so all that's left is pure fat.

Yes, the program is "hard" but it makes it a little easier to think of it as a learning process. Especially the no-cheese and cream days. And the green veggie days ... force us to look beyond a plain lettuce salad (with few carbs and no fiber and little else).

I think it's a bit of a "grounding" experience ... as you said, makes a person really aware of what they're eating.

Take care, and remember to have some fun with it too :)

Doreen

[itsjoyful]

that helps. thank you. :)
i did read your answer about the butter issue, but i'm seeing it again, and didn't know if i missed something. i ate 3 egg whites, not realizing the distribution and a piece of bacon (not cured). if i stay on top of it, i'll be fine today. btw, coffee w/ no cream is not good for me. i tried it 2 days in a row, and have decided not to bother anymore, unless it's a regular lc day.
i know i'm supposed to be having fun, but at this point it's a lesson. thanks again, do!
brenda

[IslandGirl]

... or so I find.

This project 'recycle' is great for me, the awareness of what's actually being eaten, the need for more discipline (though it is a lot of work I'd rather not be doing) is the only thing that has ever really worked for me if I wanted actual weight loss.

A great lesson and reminder.

PS: MY memory (though admittedly failing now that I have passed the midlife magic mark :( ... don't go there) has
- the butter valid on no-dairy days only as ghee or clarified butter, also known as butter oil (agreed upon as a 'rule' of sorts by the available participants),
- eggs left out of carb counts but important for fat counts (whites only on Stillman days, not limited; yolks saved for calorie boost days, no limit specified) and
- the 5 gram margin referring to condiments and seasonings within moderation (lemon juice, hot sauce, etc.), especially on Stillman days which have no other carbs except for the optional cup of lettuce or psyllium.
- Coffee carbs were counted or not in the total report for the day ("if a coffee drinker, keep drinking it") but the 25g from green veggies were a specific target, get 25 grams from green veggies , not get 25g carbs that day total (and definitely not from fruits like avocadoes or tomatoes), no more no less if at all possible from the green veggies .

All this can be interpolated from the rules in the project template (and identical in the spreadsheet if you have it).

Choose which works for you, but I rather recommend not worrying about the trace carbs in egg whites and yolks, and moderate amounts of allowed seasonings, condiments and coffee. Makes things a lot easier to calculate, coincidentally.

PS: try a low-acid and/or half-decaf coffee mix when drinking it black; helped my stomach lining...

[doreen T]

SOURCES OF DRY CURD COTTAGE CHEESE

I checked the Specific Carbohydrate Diet Resource Library (SCD is used to treat chronic bowel diseases) .... Anyhoooooooo, dry curd cottage cheese is a mainstay of that diet too.

They have a huge webpage of links, company names, brands and stores throughout Canada and the US, and Internationally, which carry DCCC.

Please check it out here .http://www.scdiet.org/8resources/dcccsources.html

Doreen

[itsjoyful]

Doreen -
pickin' up j at 12: 45, then on my way to "wild oats" in berkeley. thanks for doing the research for me. also - great site you found. regards
bren

[Elihnig]

By the way, I have been doing this project, I started Monday. I've just been too chicken to post a study journal here. I have been posting my progress in Elihnig's Goal. I'm afraid of the critics who will blast my ketchup addiction :o . Really I'm trying to have it very seldom. Spicy mustard has been my new best friend, especially on lean protein days.

Too shy,

Elihnig

[itsjoyful]

hi all. hope everyone is enjoying the project as much as I am.. :)
I have a questions, though....
can I have a no carb/fat protein drink on stillman days? I'm really starting to have a hard time staying full, and thought one of these might help.
thanks in advance.
Brenda

[IslandGirl]

Nope!

Sorry, Brenda, but I do believe only "real" food on the controlled (Lean Protein, Calorie Boost) days, except for the permitted moderate amounts of sweeteners and seasonings. That's an important part of the controls of the Project itself.

More meat! :D { an e-friend of mine says: Meat, Heat 'n' Eat! }