petite ladies

[Ranger]

Hi Monika,

The first three days are the hardest, because that is when you are in carbohydrate withdrawals.....I have been irritable had headhaches, felt sick etc....then magically you feel much better, have lots of energy etc....I believe after 3 days of sticking to the 20 carb induction plan, you go into ketosis and the weight starts to come off. I lost 11 lbs in the first two weeks, and it just makes you feel great.(of course, I have a lot to lose also)

So hang in there, keep checking the threads....there is tons of information here.

Take care, we can do this together!
Carol

[lisak17]

Thanks everyone for welcoming me with open arms. :) It seems that you all know each other very well. I wish i would have found this thread back in january.

I do have a question for all you petite ladies - do you stick to the guidelines that everyone else does or do you alter it? the reason i ask this is because it seems that most of the people that are on this web site are much larger in height and weight than us little people.

i would love it if everyone could share what they typically eat. thanks.

also just to give you all some insight into my life since i have peeked into yours - i am 31 and single. my largest problem with this woe is the weekends because as you all know, single women love to go out and drink so that we can hopefully find the man of our dreams. alcohol equals a lot of carbs.

i have to admit that this woe is much easier for me considering i don't have a husband or children to have to worry about feeding. i can't imagine how married women with children are able to keep to this kind of diet. it seems like it would be so difficult to have to plan everyone else's meals and their own. and the problem of having all the other high carb foods in the house.

my hat goes off to all the married women with children that are able to stick to it. :thup:

[donnaj]

Welcome back Dinky. I hope you had a nice time. We have missed you.

Monika, Ranger is right. The first three days is the hardest but keep with it and you will see the miracolus(misspelled) change. I know I had a hard time in the beginning but now I would go back to eating carbs for nothing. Look for new recipes using induction foods. The mock danish on this formun is wonderful and it is allowed on induction except for the lemon juice but you can use any other flavoring. Try the black walnut it is great. The recipes is real simple and quick. I am also 5'3" and I my goal is 120 lbs.

Lisa, I think you are right about smaller women. Here is what I usually have in a day time:
Breakfast : sausage and egg(2 cups of black coffee)
Water
Lunch: chicken and salad with range dressing that is 1 carb
water
Dinner: meat and greens beans
Desserts: 1/2 cup of strawberries with a tbsp. of whipped cream
Snack: 1/4 cup of nuts or pork rinds with cream cheese dip or salsa
I try to drink at least 128 oz of water a day.
I hope this help.
Donna :wave:

[jabs72]

hey you guys

i wanted to at least post over the weekend in case i didn't get a chance to write this week. the next few weeks are going to sort of busy at work.

i am cheering for all of you, please know that.

lisa, welcome!!!!!!!!!!! i have only been popping in here for a few weeks but everyone is so sweet and encouraging.

you guys...i am still surfing b/t 159-162 but get this......i am getting into clothes i haven't worn in at least a year, if not longer. i am losing weight./inches in my hips and i think my feet too...how weird is that!? but i will take it. i think i am beginning ot learn to not rely on the scale so much b/c it has not really moved in about a month excpet to go up then down, but the clothes are the test, right. :rolleyes: :)

this weekend i haven't really drank my water the way i should. i can tell it too. weekends are the fun kind of busy, i just need to remember to take my water along with me. strawberries are in all the stores here and BOY ARE THEY YUMMY!!!! they are my indulgence. i am TRYING to only eat them on the weekend....dh is a good encourager and helper.

i hope you all have had WONDERFUL weekends. take care and have a blessed week.

jabs

[donnaj]

Jabs, I know what you mean about losing in your feet. I have gone down a size in my feet. I agree with you about the scale. I think our body just take longer to ajust to different level but the inches keep coming off. I also am wearing clothes that I did think I could every get in again. I think it is great. I even wore shorts for the first time this season without looking ulcky. I hope you have a wonderful week.
Donna :wave:

[Louise V]

Good Afternoon My Friends!!
Welcome to all the new comers, there is always room for more in the group...
I've missed so much since Thursday, glad to see everyone is doing fine.
We had a terrible storm Thursday afternoon, and my telephone poll got hit by lightning, there was such a power surge that all my brakers shut off, thank God for that, all my lightbulbs blew up, I had no cable T.V. and no phone till just now...does it ever feel funny in the house without these things, oh well everything is back to nomal now.
I have managed to maintain another week, no gain no loss either, I'm bound to start losing again soon....yesterday was 1 month without smoking....I'm so happy with that...
I'll be busy for next 2 weeks, my DH is on holidays, so will be doing some renevations, I'm redoing the entrence, and we will be putting laminate floating floor in the living room and hallway.
Hope you all have a great day!!
Louise

[Ranger]

I think the whoosh fairy went on vacation, but she let the "size" fairy fill in for her.....I have not lost a lb in at least a week?, but today I wore those tight black jeans to work, that I have not worn since 1998....yahoo! (OK so they are still tight, but I could snap and zip em!)

We have been doing lots of barn work....replacing fence posts, putting up new fencing, and getting the manure from the winter out of the barnyard....funny thing is ...people ask me if I am on an excercise program and I say no! Perhaps it could be Farm aerobics! LOL

Well we went from 85s and 90s last week to the 20s and it is snowing!!! My poor daffodils! They say this is poor mans fertilizer, lets hope so!

I am still waiting for my last goat Lizzie to have her kids.....her due date is Weds. but she has been showing some signs since last Thursday.....I am such a nervous auntie! No doubt it will happen tonight when we are expecting 3 inches of snow!

well enough of my yapping!

Louise, I can't believe a month has gone by!!! Congrats! I am so proud of you.....Jabs, I agree the strawberries are really tempting....can you just throw some on a mock danish?

I just tried some lo-carb bread, that a friend gave me...it has 10
carbs and 2 grams of fiber per slice, and it was really pretty good...especially smeared with cream cheese!

Donnaj, we prayed for Cody in church yesterday, I hope it helps!

Take care everyone, we can do this together!!!
Carol

[donnaj]

Louise, I am glad everything is back to normal. We had some severe storms last night and one of my cat is missing. I hope she comes home soon. I have been a nervous wreck all day. It sounds like your be busy with your entrance and flooring. We have to put new floors in the second bedroom this fall. It seems like it never end. Congratulation on going a month without smoking that is great.

Carol, Your probally right about your goat delivering when there is snow. About exercise, believe me you do enough. I have looked for the whoosh fairy and no luck. The fat fairy left me a pound over night. Probally stress, with Cody surgery and now my cat missing. Oh will life goes on. Thank you and your church for praying for Cody. Prayers are very powerful and I know God will be with us thorugh this.

Well ladies, I need to start laundry. I email later.
Donna :wave:

[pmh]

Hi Everybody,

Just jumping in........ I think I really like you guys!! I am new to low carbing, but not new to losing and gaining weight (over and over!)
I lost 5.5 lbs the first week, but nothing so far this week... but my jeans do feel a little looser today. :yay:

I have a DH who is VERY supportive, but doesn't quite get it... a 24 yr old son at home (studying at University) who walks around with his mouth hanging open at what I am eating (and ALLOWED) to eat.....he's making a quite a dint in the bowl of chicken wings in the fridge... and we have a 19 yr old daughter who is also a student. She is a carb-addict but she is in denial!!!
She's been 'boiling her own noodles' lately!

I know everybody loses at their own pace, but I'd really like to be at 125 -130 by July 1.......... The 120 goal i have set would be delightful... but.... Any body think I can do it?

I wish you all success.... I think the moral support you all offer to total strangers is fantastic. I do miss my pasta's, but am really enjoying all the cheese......

Looking forward to getting to know you all!

Pat

[lisak17]

Ranger - I have been thinking of trying low carb bread. where did you get it? shouldn't they have stores with low carb products? with all the hoopla over low carb, you would think someone would have opened a store by now!!

well, i have been low carbing since january and my weight is pretty much at a stand still so i decided to join the gym. :) i went saturday for my first time to a class called "groovalicious" and it was groovy. today was my second day and i tried the treadmill and the strength training. i never thought i would say this but i really enjoy it. wow!! i have always dreaded exercising, but the gym is very motivating.

please everyone remind me of this when after 3 months i am ready to quit. :p

i have been doing very good with my eating but i have to admit that my one downfall lately is that i keep putting my hands in the almond jar after i have had my allowed 1 oz.

thanks again for welcoming me!!

[donnaj]

Pat, Welcome and I am glad that you DH is supportive. My DH started out thinking this diet was crazy but after the weight started coming off and my energy level started back up. He is now watching to keep me from straying. He introduce me as his new improved wife. I am 5'3" and started at 192 but this morning I am 159 lbs. When my weight seems to stall. I do a protein fast for 2 days. You try to eat allot of fats and protein and no vegetables. You drink plenty of water. It seems to help me get back in a losing mode. I hope this help. Welcome again and I look forward in seeing you progress toward your goal.

Lisa17, Welcome . I know what you mean about not finding a low carb stores. I live in Huntington, West Virginia and there is not one store that offer low carb. I have been trying to get them to order but they say it is not one of their distributors. The lowest carb bread I have found is on the net and it is so high in price it is not worth it. There is some that you can make . If you need some recipe I have some I will email you. We have a bread called Heiner's 35 and it has 8 carbs per slice and only 35 calories. I have been waiting to go on maintence before trying it.
It is great that you started exercising. I try to walk a mile a day but I need start my belly danicng again to help me firm up again.
I also have trouble keeping my hands off nuts. Just try to get the lowest carb ones and drink more water. It seems to help me.

Well ladies, I need to get up and start breakfast. Welcome again and I look forward in knowing you both and watching you reach your goal. As Carol says, WE can do this together.
Donna :wave:

[jenny v]

Help. This is the 4th tuesday in a row that I have gone to bible study and have eaten a carb dessert. :eek:

Every Tuesday morning I fill myself up with eggs and bacon and coffee. I take my splenda to the Bible study so I can enjoy the coffee and I end up eating coffee cake too. Today I had two big blue berry muffins. I am so confident going in and I fail comming out of it. I think I am off of ketosis by now. :eek:

Does anyone have a quick way to get back on track??

Thanks for listening to me....See you later.

Hope this note finds everyone well and out of temptation, or at least resisting temptation. :spin:

[lisak17]

Jenny - I totally understand what you are going through. i find that the hardest times to eat low carb is when i go to a function where the meals are provided and you have no choice in the matter.

i do have one suggestion. when i go to conferences that provide breakfast (which is usually carb heaven) i bring my own mock danish and strawberries in my purse. it works for me. it keeps me away from the bagels, danishes, doughnuts, etc. i hope this helps. :)

[donnaj]

Jenny, Lisa is right about bringing your own food. I also bring my own when I have to go to a function. We had a spagetti dinner at our parish and I ate the salad and I brought my own meal of baked chicken and green beans. I used the church microwave. I bet if you brought the mock danish you would have them asking for the recipe. I know I have given it out and I am still asked by others who have tasten it. Just start back on induction for a couple of days and that should help with your metabolism. I hope this help.
Donna :wave:

[pmh]

Hi Gals,

It is a dilemma isn't it... this eating out. We are leaving in 5 minutes to go to a banquet in a rather posh place. I'd rather eat nothing than carry my own brown bag in.

I have eaten lots (legally) today, I just snacked on a turkey patty, and I have psyched my self up to be strong in case nothing is served that I can (want to) eat. :(

I'll let you know. Hang in there everybody... We can be strong...

I can eat some chicken wings when I get home. Right!

Gotta go,

Pat

[sallyd]

I am 5"3" and I have been on Atkins since 1/4/02 and have only lost 2#, it is very discouraging..I weigh 132 but want to get to 115 but I would be happy at 120. Does anyone count calories? I think I eat to many calories but according to fitday I burn more than I take in. I am on PRemarin and Synthroid which I feel my be slowing my wt loss. I really like low carb but I am getting depressed as I want to lose.
sallyd

[Ranger]

Hi all...just a note, cause I am exhausted! I spent the very cold and snowy night in the barn waiting for my dear goat to have her babies....alot of labor but nothing happened...when i checked her this morning, still nothing...but then I heard her on the baby monitor I had hooked up and she was bleating alot....an hour later we had twin (nearly identical) little girls...they are so sweet!
A difficult delivery, not the normal....(I was nervous!) But all are fine! Yahoo, finally....

I did lose another pound..not sure why, since I shared some orange jelly beans with the mother to be last night!!! Hope it doesn't find me again!!!

Welcome to all the new folks...I will write more later...also, the lo carb bread can be purchased at Stop and SHop...not sure if that is a national chain...I know they are all around New England....I opted to not have a slice today....afraid I might overdo it.

Donnaj, I hope your cat comes back soon, I know sometimes animals get frightened in thunder storms, hope the kitty finds its way back to you!

Take care all,
we can do this together!!!
Carol

[Wanda BH]

ok!! I'm 5'2 (like almost everyone else at PR :D ), and through the past 10 years I had been a reservoir of fat(just kidding...)last sep 2001 I was very afraid to step up in that :( :( :( scale...but when I did it ....OH MY GOD :confused: I was 198....i felt disgusting...so my friend suggest me SUGAR BUSTERS! and you know what??? that save my life (really) ....

At 41 pounds less(157 to be exact) I fell great about myself(better than ever) I know that I can never be that 120-115 when I was in high school(to keep it real...I want to be 130 at least), but at least for the first time I'm have been loyal to this diet or way of life (LIKE SOME OF YOU SAY)



FROM A VERY TROPICAL PLACE!!!

:Party:

[Louise V]

Good Morning Ladies!!!!!
Welcome Pat, Wanda,Sally and lisa it's nice to have you with us, there sure seems to be a lot of new comers latetly :thup:
Donna I hope your cat finds it's way home, I know my dog goes crazy when it storms outside....I will say a little prayer for you.
Congrats on the twins auntie Carol!!!! It must be exciting to see this little goats born, I hope mother and babies are fine...Way to go on losing another pound.
Wanda your doing great keep up the great work!!!
Sally, it could be the meds that are causing you to have a hard time to lose, I don't know much about these meds, call your pharmacy and ask if it is possible, maybe they cause you to retain fluids...
Jenny go back to induction, and Donna is right, maybe bring yourself a little snack, so your not so tempted to eat what is illegal, now put it behind you and start over today.
Geez with my DH home I haven't done my weights yet this week, but I have been working hard removing old carpet...I hope this counts maybe I'll use different muscles...the new flooring is half done in the living room, it sure is starting to look nice...
I hope to get this project done by weekend, our golf course is opening on Saturday, and I would Love to go for a round....
I hope you guys all have a great day!!!!
Together we can do this!!!
Louise :wave:

[scg]

Hi to all the new petites!
I haven't been able to post in a couple of days because I have been in high speed wedding planning mode...we decided on a short engagement and a wedding in Newport, RI on the water....We want to do it in September, which means almost no time to get everything ready! I feeling kinda crazy....and when I'm feeling kinda crazy, I EAT!!!! I've been cheating like crazy lately...not sweets, but lots of bread products....pizza, pasta :( :( :(
The crazy thing is that I've still lost a couple of more pounds...I think its because Ive been eatting carby foods, but not big quantities of them...Today Im going to the gym for the first time this week and hopefully that will get me back on track!!

Anyway, I just wanted to say HI, cause I miss you guys!! It sounds like everyone is busy! Carol, congrats on the twins! They must be soo cute :)

Ok, everyday I say I'm going to go to the gym, but today I'm really going to do it!
Suzy

[Ranger]

Hi Suzy,

The wedding sounds great! It will be so romantic on the water in Newport.....you must be eating the right amount of carbs to still be losing the weight....on Atkins you can add carbs on Ongoing Weight Loss until you gain....some people can eat 50 carbs a day without gaining while others can eat only 35 or 30.....we are all different....I am one of those who is low....like 25! Argh! Plus working out will help a lot! Have fun with those plans!

Wanda, welcome to a great group! Sounds like Sugar Busters is really working for you! It is always inspirational to hear others success stories! Gosh, it must be so nice living in Puerto Rico....the snow just melted again here today! :cool: .

Louise....you sound like Bob Villa the home improvement pro! It is great that you are so motivated in everything that you do!...I do hope you get to treat yourself to a round of golf....

Welcome to all the new petites....geez there are so many of us now, this is great!! We can do this together!
Carol

[pmh]

Hi everybody,

Donna: Thanks for the protein fast tip..... I just might try it. I weighed in today (end of second week) and am exactly the same as last week. Grand total 5 1/2 lbs. Still. Did the cat come back?

Suzy: Congrat's on the wedding.... so exciting........ my life is pretty dull... have to live vicariously through you all.....

Louise: I was just about to rip up the living room/dining room wall to wall carpets. We have hardwood underneath already. It would just have to be sanded and varathaned (or whatever). But when I started getting estimated, I was cautioned against doing this now because we have a 85 'lb dog who is going to scratch and dint the floor.......just from walking on it. He is 6 yrs and one of the family, so we are not going to banish him....... I guess we wait. In the meantime, I have painted and reupholstered our dining room chairs, and painted the table, the hutch and the buffet. :) Cool. I like it and it was cheaper than a new suite!

Sally: I think I have eaten too many calories too... I don't really count, but I think I'm going to have to watch my portion size.

Carol: Exciting!! Do the babies have names? Can we help?

I went to the banquet last night and it was a buffet! Yea! I picked all the good things (beef, chicken, cheese, deviled eggs) and said no to all the bad (but so good) things like dangerous looking salads (noodles and stuff), shrimp pasta, potatoes.... and for dessert, I had two strawberries and some cheese!!! I think I should be down 5 lbs just cause of all the stuff I said no to!

Better go now...
Pat

[jenny v]

Where can I find the recipe to the mock danish? It sounds good.

Hey, did anybody hear that Dr. Atkins had a heart attack? My friend called me to tell me about it. She heard about it on the Regis show. She has always been against my being on this diet. Now, she thinks that this only proves her point.

Does drinking water, at first, make you bloated? I have been drinking water, usually I have coffee all day, now I am big around the belly. I just started today, so I was wondering if it will eventually go away.

Hope this note finds all of you well.

It must be so neat to take care of two little baby twin goats. :baby:

[Ranger]

Is Dr. Atkins OK? I hope so....it certainly doesn't look good, especially will add ammo to all the lo carb naysayers....I am so thankful for this diet....I do hope he is ok....

Sometimes I feel bloated drinking the water, but mostly at TOM...it does help to keep drinking, it will all leave eventually...I find that anything salty helps me retain fluid...I just avoid the salty stuff...like deli meats.

It is a blast to take care of these baby goats....they are a lot of work though....couldn't imagine having twins myself(people kids!), now that I am seeing how these little girls are....

One was born with an inverted eyelid, so I had to do a little vet magic with her this am....a subQ injection of a few drops of mineral oil under her eyelid....I was nervous....my tiniest needle looked gigantic.....but it seemed to work and her little eyelashes are sticking out fine now and not irritating her cornea. Her name is Lily, and she will go and live at my sister-in-law's in a couple of weeks...her sister is Tasha, who is a little bigger. Tasha's father was owned by Tasha Tudor, who writes and illustrates children's books. She is kind of a recluse and lives nearby in Marlboro, Vermont....she lives as if it is the 1800s, dressing that way and doing things the old fashioned way....so that is our Tasha's namesake.....if I get pictures soon I will post them if no one minds...(I am such a goat nut!!)

It is snowing like a blizzard here right now!!! They said to expect 5-9 inches!!! Enough already! We went out to dinner tonight and down in the valley it is only raining....the snow is mostly just at our house high on the hill....it figures! LOL

Donnaj, I am thinking about you and little Cody and his family, we are praying for you all.

Take care my fellow petites....may we all be even petiter...tomorrow.
We can do this together!
Carol

[Danielle]

Hi ladies-

I haven't been able to stop by and say hello. The last two weeks have been Hell. Well, let me explain. Last week my 22 month old nephew was in the hosptial, a very close friend of the family passed a way, my best frien's father(who I have known since I was 5) went into the hosptial with chest pains and now my best friend is in the hosptial. What a week, can anything else go wrong.? I think if anything else happens I am just going to stay in bed.

I was doing fine on the diet up to a few days ago. Then I started to eat junk food. I have to get myself back on track and quick. Although the scale says I lost 2 lbs. I did not change my profile. I am waiting to make sure the junk food doesn't show up on the scale.

Well thanks for listening to me babble, have a good weekend.
Danielle

[Ranger]

Geez, Danielle,

You certainly have had a rough week, I hope everyone is doing ok...hang in there, you can stick to this thing....it is tough for me during stressful times....you just want that comfort food....stick with it, hon, it will be worth it!

We are all here for you.
Take care,
Carol

[donnaj]

I just dropped bye to say the cat showed up. She seems okay but was very hungry. I am getting ready for bed. I have to be up at 4 AM and the surgery starts at 6:30 in the morning. If you don't hear from me for a couple of days. I am okay. I want to thanks every body for their prayers. I will be back on as soon as I can.
Donna :wave:

[Dinky]

COOL baby goats! Congrats. They sound adorable. Wish I could see them.

Welcome to all our new petite friends. We are all in the same boat. I'm just like most of you, not loosing, very very slow or not at all most weeks. Combo problem of having dieted my whole life and trained my body well to live on almost nothing and being closer to an acceptable weight. The closer you get, the harder your body fights to maintain than little extra fat.

I haven 't been real strict lately. I can't stay on the protein fast more than a week or two, then I have to take a break. Maintaining good health is the number one priority remember!

The sugar busters plan is closer to what I do when I'm not being strict with myself. I never, ever loose on it, but I don't gain - which is okay sometimes for a break.

Sorry I haven't been here so much lately. Haven't had time to turn my computer on at home more than one or two times a week lately.

DonnaJ - still have your nephew in my prayers. Will be glad to hear it's all over for you and your family. And so glad kitty is back home! These little things make us happy :)

Happy low carb ladies-hope to be back soon. :wave:

[donnaj]

Hello ladies, Just getting ready to go back to the hospital. Loaded my baskets with all my low carb foods. Cody came out okay but the poor baby is in so much pain. He did get to sleep to 10:15 this morning. I wish doctor realize that babies felt pain like adult. You would be proud of us. They brought us a tray, with green pea, roll,big baked potatoes, marshmallow salad, butter, sour cream and for dessert a big piece of carrot cake with cream cheese icying. The only protein was baked steak with gravy. We got rid of the gray and ate the steak. We had pork skins and salsa and protein shake. Well everyone I hate to leave but it is almost time and I have to get dress. Talk to you all tomorrow.
Donna
P.S. Thank you for the prayers and please pray that the pain will be come tolerable for the little one.
:wave:

[Louise V]

Good Evening girls!!!
Donna so glad to hear that Cody came through O.K. I was thinking about you and him yesterday and today as I was painting, I've been saying a lot of prayers, now I will pray that the pain isn't to to bad, or at least that God gives him stength to get through.
Dinky glad to hear from you!!!
I haven't been posting much the last week either, but the home renovations are going fine....
Well I should go!!!
Have a great day tomorrow!
Louise

[Ranger]

Hi Donna, I am so glad Cody came out of it ok...except for the pain...poor little tyke...I hope they can give him something for it....did the Drs. think it went well? I certainly hope so....good for you sticking to this even through that....I have not fared so well....a friend brought over a huge batch of homemade choc chip cookies...She is a gourmet chef!...I lost it...and ate about 6! arggh...that TOM gets me everytime....I just lose my will power....tomorrow will be better....and you know what? The goats are doing fine on their own now...so I'm gonna sleep in!!!
I'm tired.

Take it easy everyone.....I have to keep thinking that we can do this together.....hope everyone keeps Dr. Atkins in mind on his road to recovery....I have a lot to thank him for!
Carol

[donnaj]

Just wanted you to know that Cody is now sleeping comfortably. I called his neurologist about the lack of care Cody was getting in intensive care. Well about an hour, they came in with new medicine and everytime his pain returns they are on the nose getting him asleep again. I hope he will be in a regular room today or tomorrow. I want to thanks everyone for all your prayers. Carol, if you see the food and smell it at the hospital you would never eat there. I brought chicken, salad, dressing and cheese and pork rinds to the hospital last night in a pinic basket and everyone could believe we could eat that and still lose weight. I don't know what I well bring tonight probally just snacks. I am glad the goats are doing well, now.
Well girlfriends, I need to get up and get ready hope to write tomorrow.
Donna :wave:

[Ranger]

Hi Donna,

Cody is sure lucky to have such a caring Auntie.....sometimes the nurses just don't get it....but others are angels....I hope they help him with the pain, it must be awful.....I am so impressed by how you are sticking to it....I have been terrible today (and yesterday.....I just went off...chocolate chip cookies, chocolate....a piece of coffee cake.....I don't know what is wrong with me??? I know darn well, I will go out of ketosis and gain! But I did it anyway! I have ordered my DH to take all the stuff to work with him tomorrow....it was all gifts....( I helped some folks when they went away for the winter by watching their house, and another lady baked us some wonderful chocolate chip cookies and coffee cake for helping load and deliver some loads of horse manure for their garden....) The lady knew I was lo carbing and brought the sweets for my DH and some pretty little soaps for me...but I just lost it and dug into all of it.....arghh...I am so mad at myself.....I have been doing it all day, and can't stop.

Sometimes I wonder if the TOM makes me weak in the will power dept....then it was a dreary cold snowy/rainy day.....geez, here I am feeling sorry for myself when a little kid is lying in a hospital hoping to be able to walk.....I will shut up now and thank my lucky stars!

I will check in tomorrow...hope I didn't bum anyone out too much!
Carol

[Louise V]

Good Morning Ladies!
Carol don't beat yourself up...get back on track today, drink a lot of water, clean your body out. I get really hungry during TOM too, or it could be the weather it's so depressing, it makes you want to eat, try eating more proteins when it that TOM, or sometimes I find that protein bars makes you think your eating sweets, but they are legal...
Donna things are sounding pretty good with Cody, I'm glad they are giving him pain medication, when he needs it. Keep us posted and keep up the great work as far as your eating, you're doing great!!!
I didin't go golfing this weekend, we had snow :mad: so I continued working on the house.It's going good the flooring and trims are done, Saturday and Sunday I painted the entrance, did some faux painting, turned out pretty good...now have to put the trims back up there...and then I must clean the house, it's such a mess with all this work going on...can't wait till it's over.
I've been keeping pretty close to the plan as far as eating...still no gain but no loss either...still not smoking eithere, it's been 5 weeks, the cravings are gone...so that's good.
Well I better go, get some work done....
Hope you all have a great low carb day!!!!
Louise

[lisacc]

Hello my name is Lisa :wave: :help:

Good morning ladies, well I am still new to this I am going into my second week of my second time of induction. I don't like to look at the scales but I know I need a guage. I am at 151lbs I am up a couple of pounds but I weighed after I had been up a couple of hours and after I ate breakfast. This week-end I didn't drink a lot of water either. I am thinking about doing a fat fast. Can anyone give me a more detail on the fat fast I know about the Macadameia nuts but what else? I really want to set my next goal at breaking the 150 barrier and after that a slow lose of a pound a week. Well I would love any help you could give me.

I will keep Cody in my prayers for his comfort and recovery. I have a four year old and I hate to see her sick. They are all little angels at this time in life. In my prayers always.

Lisa T.

[jabs72]

Good morning ladies

I will be praying for Cody. Poor little thing. You are so caring, though. What a great aunt.

Okay, i blew it this weekend. i even lost about 3 lbs last week down to 158.4, did my measurements was so psyched. then friday we went to dh's brothers and had:

pasta
bread
salad
bread pudding

i knew i should have brought something. but i kept thinking one day in the whole grand scheme is not a big deal...however i am bloated, have horrible gas, and am up 4 lbs to 162..i am so down.

you guys it has been 2.5 months for me. and the lbs just don't come off that quickly. what is going on? i measured b.f friday and it appeared that i was down 3 inches in my waist. almost 2 in my hips and about 1.5 in chest. i was so excited. now i am just bummed.

i don't think i should go back to induction, i have just been eating only meat and veggies...a few nuts, too, not many, though.

how long will it take to get back into ketosis? i know all the results won't be in lbs...i do feel better, more confident, but bodywise i feel icky today and yesterday.

i have to go to family dinner this weekend too...am going to email and say we can't eat pasta, rice or sugar, is this too rude? i iwll word it nicely, of course.

WElcome LIsa T. you will get lots of encouragment from this board.

I hope all of you are doing great and have wonderful weeks.

thanks for reading my 'vent'

jabs

[scg]

Hi all,
I've been away from the computer for a few days and just read through everyones posts to try to catch up. Donna, so happy to hear that Cody is recovering nicely and will be out of ICU soon. I'm sure the pain must be terrible, but at least it will get better and better. Luckily Kids heal so much faster and easier than adults. You've been so strong through all of this! And even to stick to your lowcarb ways..good for you!

I have not been so good. Lots of cheats and lots less exercise :( I just got back from the gym but I didnt stay very long. I'm feeling really stressed with the wedding plans and the short engagement and I think I keep not thinking clearly when I head to the kitchen! This morning I am going to have a protein smoothie and hopefully that will get me back on track...

I know that this is off-topic, but... I think most of you guys are married, and I was wondering if any of you have any wedding planning advice from your exeriences...any things that you wish you had done differently during the ceremony/reception? Or anything that worked really well? I'm new to the process, and I'm sure I'm making some mistakes or not thinking of some things that people learn from exerience!!

:wave: Hope you all are having a great day...
Suzy

[donnaj]

Just wanted to email before going to the hospital. Cody has a touch of phneumonia. They caught in time. They are starting to get him up in a special wheelchair and placing him in different positions. They finally got the medication to help. Me and my sister are still eating low carb and spreading the word about the benefit of Atkins. I have given three copy of induction diet to vistors. I will email tomorrow when I get in.
Thanks for the prayers. I appreciate everyone of you.
Donna :wave:

[Danielle]

Wow Donna! You and your sister have great will power. I wish I did, the last weeks have been pretty crappy. It was like being on an emotional rollercoaster. At times I turned to comfort foods like chocolate. I keep telling myself I will start again tomorrow.

Well, my prayer are with you and your family Donna and keep up the good work.

Have a great week everyone.

Danielle

[donnaj]

Danielle, don't beat yourself up for wanting emotional food. Stress, can cause our body to do strange things. My sisters and I have been eating allowed food but we have been eating to many carbs. I make low carb peanut butter cookies and we end up eating the whole batch each night. I know this well pass and we well start eating right again. One thing that has helped me is having a chocolate protein shake with peanut butter . The protein seems to help with stress for me. I hope this help.
Cody is now out icu and we hope will be home by Thursday and Friday. So thanks everyone for praying for my family.
Donna :wave:

[Ranger]

Hi Suzy,

Please do not stress too much about your wedding plans...although it can be very stressful...I heard that planning a wedding and buying a house are two of the most stressful events in one's life....we got married and bought our house a week later! Yikes.

Some things I did to make it easier....we had a buffet....very casual...no seating plan...no one waiting to be served...we had an hors deurves tent chock full of great stuff,and also passed hors deurves, (It must have been good, cause I didn't get any!LOL) That kept everyone happy while we were having pictures....we did the receiving line when we got to the reception, so people could be munching and drinking in the meantime, instead of standing in line at the church...we had a table for 2 instead of a head table, so all the wedding party could sit with their spouses/partners during the meal....much less stressful on them.....when the wedding party did the dance thing...halfway through the song, we invited their partners to cut in and dance....

We chose nontraditional songs for the first dances....and the dj played take me out to the ball game when we cut the cake! (My DH is an avid sports fan) We didn't throw the bouquet or garter....I don't care for that....I gave my bouquet to someone who was just getting engaged......

Let's see....one big mistake was not having someone go around with the photographer....I had several relatives fly over from Germany to attend the wedding and have barely any photos of them....we have lots of photos of our elderly neighbors, cause the photographer thought they were my grandparents.

We did the disposable cameras on the table and they were great...the problem is under a tent you really need a flash...so many were too dark....I think now they make them all with flashes, so it should'nt be a problem.....

I was exhausted the day of my wedding, but I made most of the food, made the wedding cake, did all of the flowers, corsages etc....got everything rented, borrowed and delivered....I love doing all that kind of stuff...the one thing that was bad was having really beat up hands from doing all the flowers and stuff...we avoided the picture of my hand with the wedding ring!! LOL....

We had a really homegrown wedding with flowers donated from my sister in laws garden and many wildflowers from the side of the road! (Actually we planned our wedding around the date of the lillies blooming here.....and planted many the year before in the garden....)

People are still talking about the food....nothing usual, we had german style elk meatballs, from meat donated by a hunter friend, pasta and pine nut salad, german potato salad.....hams, turkeys....lots of different things.....that is what is good about a buffet......everyone can chose what they like....

Ok, is that enough of me rambling on? Sorry about that...July 17th will be 9 years and it seems like yesterday!

Let me know if you have any other questions....my approach was very casual...I just wanted everyone to have fun and relax....everyone changed into shorts at the reception and played volleyball...it was fun!

beware of the wedding police! everyone who tells you what you can't do....even if it is what you want!

Best of luck,
Carol

[shayleen]

Hello again, petites!

I'm back from my holidays, which were wonderful! Lots of visiting with friends and family, and lots of hands to help look after my two girls! I got the chance to see Maya Angelou speak, too, which was really motivational and insightful. I did, however, have the stomach flu for all of the nine days I was away, and felt nauseous constantly. The last thing I felt like doing was eating protein, and so I'm sorry to say I ate pretty much straight carbs for nine days! It was the only thing that seemed to stay down. Fortunately, not too much damage was done. I ended up gaining three pounds, and I've lost that and am back where I left off before I went away.

I just briefly went through some of the old posts.

Suzy, Danielle and Jabs - don't be too hard on yourselves for any setbacks. Tomorrow is a new day, and you can start fresh any time you choose.

Carol - Those baby goats sound adorable! Spring is in the air!

Donnaj - So happy to hear that your nephew made it through okay. I'll keep him in my thoughts and prayers that he continues to improve and is soon pain free.

Louise - congrats on being a five week non-smoker! And with renovations going on to boot! :)

And welcome, Lisa. I am fairly new myself, but am finding this a wonderful place of support.

I apologize if I left anyone else out with my quick scan of the posts.

Anyway, have a great evening, Ladies!

Shayleen

[Ranger]

Hi Shayleen,

Glad you had a good vacation, too bad you weren't feeling well though.....its great that you lost those 3 lbs already and are back on track!

Have a great lo carb day....I will try the mock danish today.....I wrote the recipe down somewhere....now just to find it! LOL.

Carol

[scg]

hi Carol,
Thanks for the advice! You're right about the wedding police, they seem to be lurking everywhere...Suddenly everyone has an opinion about everything, but no body seems to actually want to do any of the legwork...I have been doing it all--literally--i've been running all over the city, which appears to have had one benefit...I lost a couple more pounds!

I went bridesmaid dress shoping with my maid of honor yesterday. She is about 40 pounds overweight and 4'11'' too. All of the other girls in the bridal party are quite thin, and as a result have very small chests. I am really having trouble finding something that will look good on the range of body types...I'm hoping to find something off the rack, but no luck so far...keep your fingers crossed!

I cant believe you did the cooking for your own wedding..even made the cake! Is there anything you can't do??? I'm impressed!

Shayleen, welcome back from your vacation! The flu is the pits, but it sounds like you were able to enjoy your holiday nonetheless! I saw Maya Angelou once and it was a real treat...

Donna, I hope Cody is feeling a bit better today. He's a real trouper, and so are you! He's lucky to have you...

Yuck, I just looked out the window and realized its raining...
Hope its sunnier where you are!
Suzy

[Ranger]

Hi Suzy,

Congrats on losing some more weight, you will be a gorgeous bride I am sure....one thought on the dresses....since your maid of honor is the hardest one to fit, why not have her find a dress that is comfortable for her, and then find a similar color or style for the other girls...(I have been the heavy one in the wedding party, and felt very self concious wearing a dress that wasn't flattering to me)....another thought would be an empire style that looks good on everyone....I just got a catalog called Newport News that had some really nice elegant dresses that I thought would be really nice as wedding party dresses. The great thing was they could be worn again....not just one time for a wedding....hold off those wedding police!!! Remember it is YOUR wedding!
Lots of luck!
Carol

PS: I like to do lots of things....but housekeeping isn't one of them! LOL

[jenny v]

Someone mentioned earlier in the thread about a "mock danish" in response to my problems with being enticed by foods provided outside of the house, especially Bible study. :eek: I REALLY NEED TO KNOW THE RECIPE OR WHERE TO FIND IT. I goofed again this week at Bible Study. On Saterday I have a scrapbooking workshop and they are providing lunch, I know I need that mock danish to bring, or several, in order to stay on. I have just gained 3 pounds. :cry: :( I have to stay on this diet...this is the longest I have cheated. I end up cheating for one meal about every other day...I know I am no longer on ketosis.

I am not sure...My waist is a little bloated? It is my TOM. Also, I have been lifting wieghts. I started three weeks ago, I pretty heavy--just squats and quads. I am not sure how to estimate what is wieght gain and what is fat. I know I have increase my waist size a little, I am hoping this is bloatation (word?). Anyway, How can you tell how much gain is muscle?

Susie...I think the best adivice I could give is to plan some time to get away and escape alone and in the moment with your husband. My favorite memory of my wedding day was driving away from the reception and finally being alone with my husband. I wish we would of had just a few moments during the wedding/reception just to get away, take it all in-- in the midst of it all. I felt like I was with him all day but we were never alone and constantly moving from one thing to the next...making sure everything was going right. That is the only thing I would change about that day... one little moment to sneak away and enjoy eachother in the midst of it. It was all an amazing blur...just enjoy and take it all in. You must be so busy...you must be so excited :) .

Jabs...sorry to hear about your tough time. I have gained 3 lbs. I have decided to change my stats. About that gas/bloated thing...I have noticed that I don't have gas at all when I stick to the diet but when I eat carbs I get gas. Has anyone else noticed this?

Jabs... as soon as I read your post I could relate. My in-laws were at my house over the weekend. They had not seen me in a month and so they noticed that I had lost wieght. They kept commenting on my weight loss and how good I looked...so what did I do. I ate and I ate. I thought that I deserved it and that I was "skinny enough and almost too skinny" as my mother-in-law put it. Well, last night when I when I laid on my side in bed I felt my stomach big and resting on my matress along side me :rolleyes: WE CAN DO THIS. We will lose those 3-4 pounds and more. I just keep trying to remind myself what ketosis feels like and I how I am not so hungry on ketosis as I am now.

Good luck this week petietes. :spin:

[shayleen]

Jenny - The mock danish is under "reader recipes" at the main Carb recipes here at this site. It's SO good! I make it all the time. It's basicaly 2 0zs of cream cheese, an egg, a bit of vanilla and lemon juiced cooked on high in the microwave for 2 minutes. I find it works best if the cream cheese is good and soft first, and then I used beaters to add the egg so it's creamier. I chill it really well before eating it too. Yum!

Suzy - a few thoughts on your wedding plans -- I agree totally with what a few of the other girls have said about appreciating the fact that it is YOUR day, and planning and enjoying it as such. My one HUGE regret is that I was so obsessed with detail that I missed the tender, meaningful moments I could have had with my husband. You can see in our wedding video, for instance, this really stressed look on my face instead of a smile. That is because our makeup artist threw a fit moments before the ceremony, and my train was all crooked going down the aisle. What was I thinking?! I should have enjoyed every moment of the process, instead of worrying myself about all the details. I had to hire prima donnas to have the "best" for everything from a makeup artist from the movies to a photographer who was known for his attitude. Had I it to do over, I would have looked into my husband's eyes and enjoyed every last minute of his devotion and love for me, and to heck with the stress of the detail! It is just one day, but one you can make either about you both, or about the details. Enjoy both the process AND the day to its fullest, is my advice!

BTW - I've been married eight years next month to a man I still absolutely adore!

Shayleen

[Louise V]

Good Morning Ladies!!!
The house is back in order, renevations are done for now! I think maybe the bathroom in the fall, but that one I won't attempt myself. LOL
We finished with the clean up on Wed. morning, so I thought it would be nice to start getting the trailer in shape, maybe if it ever gets nice we can go camping, I washed the curtains and they were so thin from age and sun that they came out of the washing machine in pieces...So that's what I did yesterday, I sewed all day, till 2:00 A.M. this morning but I'm all done now,and have new cutains in the trailer.
DH goes back to work on Monday so back to normal routine, It's nice to have him home, but I haven't execised in 2 weeks. I'm afraid when I do my weight training I'll be all sore again...
Suzy I've been married for 18 years, and I too had a big wedding, it was nice, but I do agree Shayleen pay more attention to what the day is about than the details that will please everyone else....I was so busy on my day, I hardly remember most of it. To do it over again we would go away and get married just the two of us, and then have a party when we got back.
Shayleen it seems a lot of us here are having a hard time keeping on track, I think we're letting other things get in the way.
We should all get together and get serious about this maybe Monday, would be a good day, and tell ourselves and each other no cheats for at least 2 weeks. If your with me let me know!!!!

Hope you all have a great day
Louise

[Ranger]

Just a quick note...off to work at our Church Turkey Supper.....sounds like you have been busy Louise....I bet you have a real feeling of accomplishment, losing wieght, quitting smoking, dressing up your house and camper.....you are like the energizer bunny!!!

I am so psyched...today I hit 188....finally out of the 190's...I am on cloud 9.....only 6 more lbs to be where I was before my daughter was born.....and 2 lbs from my mini-goal for Mom's day.

I could not have kept with this if it wasn't for all your support! I thank you all most sincerely!!!

We can do this together!!!!

Carol

[jenny v]

Thanks for mock danish info. I am going to make one tommarow.

Goofed again today, ashamed to admit it. Now this is getting silly. I have started a journal so I can get serious and make myself accountable.

Louise, I am all for a "no cheat for two weeks (at least)" plan. I think it would help us all get back on track.

These pants are tight and they are giving me a wedgie. I think they are too little and I don't think I will be wearing them again for a couple weeks. It's back to the back of my closet for these jeans.

I know I should not have had that coffee at 10:00 p.m.. I am wired. Well, I better wake up my DH (he fell asleep on the couch) and get us up to bed.

I hope you all are sleeping peacefully and burning fat in the process,
Jennifer

[Louise V]

Hi petite friends!
Hope your all having a great day! Just popped in for a quick hello!
Carol way to go :cheer: I'm so proud of you, it seems your keeping on track, I must get back on track I've really been lazy about the WOL I've been eating mostly proteins, but not measuring or weighing any of the food...Monday is the day.
Jenny glad to see your with me on this, I'm serious about it, after Monday no cheats, at all I will start to measure and weigh and count my carbs, I want to lose more weight and get to goal...
Hope you all have a good evening
Louise

[shayleen]

Hello Petites!

I haven't been doing so hot in terms of staying on track. I went to a dinner party last night, and the hostess was supportive enough to even make a low-carb chicken recipe for me. And what do I do? I bring deep fried cheddar jalepino poppers and eat half of them myself! Not to mention the foccacia bread and potatoes. :mad: I'm DEFINITELY interested in going for broke starting on Monday, and making two weeks no cheating a goal. Count me in, Louise!

Carol - congrats on breaking into the 180's! That's great!! :thup:

I'm off to put the girls to bed and settle down in a bubble bath with a nice glass of wine and a book. I'm feeling the need for a battery re-charge!

Hope you're all having a great weekend! :wave:

Shayleen

[Danielle]

Hi Ladies-

I have to admit I have been off track too. And there always seems to be some kind of excuse. The last two days I haven't had any illegal carbs, I hope to continue. My original goal was to be in a bikini, but summer is going to be here vewry shortly. As the weeks pass, it seems harder and harder to shed those pounds. I want to start walking and drinking water now that the warm weather is coming. I hope this will help. It's been over 5 months and only down 2 sizes :( . I was hoping to lose more by now. Well if anyone has any advice I'd love to hear from you.
Have a great week.

Danielle

[Ranger]

Hi All,

I am all for joining you on your Monday start to a two week stretch of meat eatin...no cheatin!!!

I will try again to send this photo...I had to crop myself out of the picture, hopefully the file will not be too large to attach now....Thanks for all the support! You guys keep me going!
Carol

[Fumih_81]

yoz people.....i didnt notice abt this petite ladies section though i have been here for so long. i am a 156cm lady, thats abt 5"2 or 3<--- right?

Right now as you can see my aim is to lose all the way to 120. Because I have a rather middle to large frame, inherited from my grandmother. My mom says why didnt I inherit the good ones. God knows why did he stuff me with these genes haha :p

In fact I am also considering to become 110....but I know that 120 is already healthy for my frame size......now looking forward to lose that 20% more fats.... :D

[Louise V]

Good Morning Ladies!!!
Are we all ready, it's so nice to see that I won't be doing this on my own, it's so much better when we get together as a group.
Carol, Shayleen and Jenny, today is the day for comittment to this WOL, I'm going back to the purist level, which is the same as induction, I'm going to drink a lot of water and get back to exercise... NO CHEATING FOR ANY REASON, WE ARE ONLY CHEATING OURSELVES AND IT IS NOT WORTH IT!!!!!!
Danielle please join us, this might help you if you have been off track lately...it seems a lot of us have been having a hard time staying on track...Together we can do this.
Welcome to the Fumih, you're doing great with the weight loss, keep up the great work.
Donna you must be busy with your nephew, just want you to know that I hope everything is going well, and you're all still in my thoughts and prayers.
Hope you all have a great NO CHEAT DAY today
Louise

[scg]

hi everyone,
Can I join in the no cheatin plan? I've been soo bad lately and i think it is catching up with me...I've been eating because I'm stressed but then I feel bad for cheating and that stresses me out too! So today is the day I go back to my good ways (i say that every day, but today I mean it!) and i'm glad to see I wont be alone. It seems like all of us started cheating at about the same time, so it will be good for us all to get back on track together!

Thanks everyone for the wedding advice. I've gotten a few more details locked in, and thats making the process more enjoyable now! Carol, thanks for the bridesmaids dress tips! Those little goats are SOO cute! i wish I could have a farm--doesnt quite fit in nyc!

:wave: Suzy

[donnaj]

It seems so long since I have been able to email my friends. I have missed you all so much. I am glad to hear that some of us has lost into the 80's. That is wonderful and I am very proud of you. Louise, it sounds like you have been very busy also. How is the smoking? I hope you didn't go back. I still planning to quit after Cody is recovering. I need too, badly. I know I have smoked too much while in the hospital with him and Sis.
I also have been lack in counting carbs and measuring. So count me in for the meat fast. I came upon a diet that I was on in the 70's called Nutribodic. It had a introduction diet. It is amost like Atkins induction. I am thinking about going on it for two weeks to see if it works. Here is the diet:
Breakfast: 2 slices of sugar free bacon and one egg. Cooked anyway you want it.
Lunch: 1 cup of lettuce and 3 oz. of meat and one tablespoon of mayo
Dinner: 6 oz of meat and 1 cup of green beans
You drink 64 oz of water and 2 cup of coffee per day.
They had supplements that you could by for snacks. They were compariable to low carb shakes. I lost down to goal weight in three months. But I only had 25 lbs to loss and I was allot younger. But I think I will try this for a week to see if I can get started losing again.
Welcome Fumih, I am also 5'3" and I had my goal of 120 but now I want to get to 110. You will found all the support you need here with all these wonderful ladies.
Well ladies off to the doctor now I will email later.
Donna

[Louise V]

Hi Donna, so glad to hear from you!!!
Yes Donna I have been busy, I love painting and doing things around the house, the final results are always so gratifying! LOL (pretty fancy word for a french girl, I looked it up in the dictionary)
No I am still not smoking it's been 6 weeks now, can you believe it? I feel great!!!
That diet sounds pretty close to what we are doing, it won't hurt to give it a try and see how it works.
Suzy welcome to the NO CHEAT CLUB, everyone is welcome, it's just a little goal we are setting, because you are right I think since Easter a lot of us having been tending to cheat...and having a hard time to get back on track. No more excuses, lets put the cheats behind us and only look forward to slimmer, healthy bodies for the summer.
:wave: for now
Louise

[jabs72]

hey you guys...

it seems like FOREVER since i have posted here. hope you are all doing well. i will have to catch up on my reading the posts to know exactly how you all are.

however, i would like to join no cheating club. i am gonig out of town for a few days and am prepared. i am staying at some people's home, but have my atkins bars. have never had them before, but would rather them than rice, bread or pasta.

i must admit, i am needing a pep talk. i have only cheated 2 meals out of almost 3months. i started this wol 2/16/02. the scale reads that i have barely lost 5 lbs from the time i started. my stats are from a day when the scale was down...i measured and have only lost 1 inch in my waist. it is close to TOM....other than the 3 days which was EASTER, and last Friday night. i am just frustrated. my dh has lost almost 30 lbs...i know he is much more of an exercise enthusist than i, but i try and jog about 2-3 times a week. last night i felt like i was having a melt down. nothing fit in my closet, in fact my fat-for-me shorts were almost TOO small. i went shopping today and made the mistake of trying on a teen size 11 at TARGET and my big ole rump couldn't even begin to fit into them. it just baffales me that i have some mediums, some larges, some 10's (not many). 12's and one pair of 14's the shorts and at different times of teh month someor all of them don't fit. My body is just doing really weird things.

my measurements are
chest 42
waist 33.5-34"
hips 42

none of my shirts fit to where i feel comfy b/c of my boobs. i know many women like having a chest, but I DON"T!!!!

i know i only have 20-25 lbs to lose....could this be from my TOM visit later this week.

i haven't been keeping up with my journal, but i promise i have been eating the way i am supposed to. i have wondered if i am not eating enough protein, though.

sorry to ramble, just need some encrouagment or a swift kick inthe pants...some facts that this is going to work. my dh seems to think it is b/c i am not on the treadmill EVERYDAY> i am just not motivated. but i guess i need to get there.

thanks for reading you guys. i hope you all have wonderful weeks.

jabs

[Danielle]

HI Ladies-

I'm joining you with the no cheatin'. It's been three days with no illegal carbs and so far today I drank 10 cups of water. I'm hoping the whoosh fairy will arrive very shortly and motivate me to keep going. Did you know there is only about 8 weeks until July? Kind of scary, the time just keeps flying by. I need to be remotivated and now that summer is coiming I want the weight off!

Well, you ladies help me and remind me that we are all in it together. Good luck everyone and talk to you soon.

Danielle

[donnaj]

Jabs, It is so good to hear from you. Jabs, It sounds like your body is very slow about losing. Dr. Atkins in Chapter 18 of his book writes about it and he recommends a fat fast for those who resistance is high. I need to reread it but it sounds like what Carol, and the rest of us is trying with the all meat for two weeks.
Email us what you eat and we can see what is going on. Please, we can work together and you will start losing again. Here is what I plan to have today:
Breakfast: 2 slices of bacon and 2 slices of sausage
Lunch: Tuna with mayo
Dinner: Steak and chicken
I will have 64 oz of water and 2 cups of coffee.
I hope this helps.
Danielle, I am glad you are with us in this. I know I can't believe how fast the days go bye. I will be 49 this July 18th. One more year to the big 50. I better go for now and fix breakfast.
Donna :wave:

[Louise V]

Good Morning Ladies!
Hope everything is going well with everyone!
Nice to hear from you again Jabs! Donna is right, if you could let us know what your eating maybe then we can put our heads together and see what the problem is...but don't get discouraged, we're here for you.
Danielle it does seem that july is coming fast, the weather is so cold and raining here it feels more like fall...I'm sure the heat is just around the corner. I hope!
Donna your doing great! Keep it up!!!
Today I will eat deviled eggs for breakfast
1 can of salmon for lunch, with a little bit of Mayo.
Chicken breast or steak for supper.
4 litres of water, and a diet cola
Hope every one else is doing fine, looking forward to hearing from you all.
Louise

[lisacc]

Good morning,
I would love to join the no cheat club. I am down from 156 to 149 and really it has been a slow lose but that is ok also. I would love to have a visit from the whoosh fairy. I also read a brief post on another thread about doing a reversal. Has anyone got any info about that. They where talking bout loading on carbs for 2days but I don't understand how that would help you lose any weight. I would like to see how fast I can drop 5 more lbs. I am just glad that I am losing I have lost 2 dress sizes and one pant size. So at least I am on my way down. This moring I fixed turkey burgers ate pork skins and for lunch will be hot wings and dinner steaks. All day lots of water I will treat myself to sugar free jello and a dream whip I don't think that will be to bad but if you guys say no to the dream whip I want have it. So please let me know what you think it is only .6 grams of carbs.

[Louise V]

Hello Lisa!
I would not do the carb thing were you eat all the carbs you want for 2 days, I think some people do it to shock they're bodies, but I have in two years had some cheats with carbs, not all I wanted but more than I should, and I get really bad stomach cramps and I feel like "crap" so I would not advise that...
I think if the dream whip only has .6 g of carb you should be O.K. Enjoy, it was nice hearing from you.
Louise

[Danielle]

HI everyone,

I am on day two of drinking my water. I drank 12 cups so far. I just hope it continues. I know myself and I am usually all hyped up in the begining and slowly decrease. But I know my body too and it needs water to lose weight. Well I hope everyone gets a visit from the Whoosh Fairy and plese send her my way.

Talk to you soon

Danielle :D

[shayleen]

Hi girls!

Okay - so where so do I get in line to get a piece of the Whoosh Fairy? I must have really annoyed her last time I had her in captivity, because she's been great at avoiding me ever since! :)

Glad to hear you're all drinking your water! I'm going to follow suit today and take a big jug with me to work. See if that can kick start something.

One strange thing that really seems to work for me is a couple days of fast food protein. I'll have a sausage McMuffin, and a double teen burger for lunch, and then something I make for dinner. I tend to go down a few pounds after a day of this. A friend was telling me about how some fast food restaurants in California have gotten with the programme when it comes to low carbs, and offer a hamburger wrapped in lettuce leaves. That's what we need up here in Canada! I'm tired of wrapping a soggy napkin around a piece of meat!

I made the garlic-ginger-lime chicken from the recipe site here last night, and it was awesome. I highly recommend it! Nice flavour, especially for leftovers.

Anyway, hope you're all having a good day, and stick to the protein eatin, no cheatin! :D

Shayleen

[Louise V]

Good Afternoon Ladies!!!
I hope everything is going well for you all!!!
Looks like we're all drinking a lot of water and following the plan :thup:
Danielle and Shayleen I don't know were the Whoosh Fairy has gone either, I haven't seen her in months now, I wish she would come for just a little visit!!! Maybe she's still visiting Carol and the other girls, I guess we just have to be good and wait our turns...
Day 3 of being back to body building after 2 weeks, I thought I would be more sore than I am, I've also been walking, and not eating any illegal carbs.
Mothers Day is coming I'm wondering what kind of legal desert I should make and bring with me to my brothers house...I've brought the fudge bottom cheese cake already and that went over really well, I'll have to check the recipe forum to see if I can find something different to make...or do any of you have any ideas?
Well I should go do a little bit of outside work, it's cold but a least it's not raining.

Have a great no cheat low carb day!!!
Louise

[jenny v]

Shayleen, i think i t was you who mentioned you were going to go have a glass of wine with your bubble bath. What kind of wine do you drink? have you noticed if it has affected your diet? I am just interested...I think it would be nice to have something like that for a treat once in a while. It is hard to find things to treat myself to with this diet. Also, I noticed the same thing with the fast food. I wonder what is up with that but I have noticed wieght loss with it.

Well, here we are at day 3 of this no cheating thing. I have been doing o.k.. Well, o.k. I'll admit it, I cheated. See now you know how weak my will power is. I have no will power.

I am going to start with dinner today and catch up with you guys. I am sorry I feel like I let us down. I am so proud of you all who have hung in there. Two ladies brunches with all homemade food in two days was too much. Sometimes I think I should just stay home. I am embarrassed. I have got to lose before next thursday...if i stay with it do you think i can lose some poundage?


Louise keep up the good work. You have such a good idea in this ... I am back with you. I'm going to start with a tall glass of water. Summer is coming.

The goats are sooooo cute!

I'm ashamed but I'm inspired by those who have done well this week.

Jennifer

[lisacc]

I am glad to say that I have not cheated all day. I had sausage egg for breakfast, steak for lunch and chicken legs for dinner and all day long water water and more water. I am doing laundry right now. I will go running later or do the stationary bike. I have handle stressful situations at work so much better. I am seeing a diffrence in the mirror and my stomach is flat. I am learning which foods I can handle and which ones upset the flow of things. I think I am going to fix some sugar free jello for a quick snack. I want to see where my weight will be at on the 22nd. I have to go to Michigan for a seminar and it happens to be where my family lives. I am turning it into a working vacation. I really would like to be down to 140 but I will just take it one day at a time. Well I will be on here for a while I am going to check out some other low carb sites I will talk to you guess later. :wave:

[Ranger]

Hi All,

I am beat! We spent all day cleaning up the yard/barn/put up the finishing touches on the new goat pen for the buck.....I separated everyone tonight....no one is enjoying it....the moms, and the babies are being pretty loud! There comes a time when it has to be done.....one of the new twins is going to a new home on Friday....I promised my sister in law that she could have one of our babies...and now that it is happening...I am heartbroken....I know she will have a great home, but I hate to break up this little family.....(as you can see, I am not really a very good farmer! LOL)

Anyway.....as I was busy working today....I didn't have time to cheat....just ate eggs and bacon for breakfast, peanuts for a snack and chicken for dinner....didn't have time for lunch...I know that is bad! I could have probably drank more water too, I did not drink my alottment today....oh well....

A friend dropped off 4 loaves of lo carb bread...it is really whole grain and tastes great, and it nets to 8 grams of carbs....I put it in the freezer for later, since I am protein fasting....haven't lost in 2 or 3 days.....not even after sweating so much at the house fire a few days ago.....I think the whoosh fairy has left me, but I still have 4 days to go to lose 2 more lbs....and that will mean I meet my mini-goal of 8 lbs, by M
other's day.....I hope I can do it!

Jenny V, don't be too hard on yourself...we all go off....we are human!!!! Just look square in the mirror and tell yourself you can do this....and you are helping yourself by getting thin....we can do this together.....protein eatin....no cheatin!!!

Have a great night all....I am taking my little girl for preschool registration tomorrow! I can't believe she is going to be in school in the fall!!!

Carol

[jabs72]

hi you guys

thanks for your encouraging posts. i was out of town....AND i cheated!.....i was staying with peple from my work and it was either eat what they fixed or nothing. How do i get in these situations?

anyway....i think i am going to start back on induction today for at least a week, what do you think about that? then after that should i start the fat fast. this morning i had 2 scrambled eggs in olive oil.

i will check back here to see what you guys think.

thanks for ALL of your encouragment. i must say after having the carbs I FELT TERRIBLE...bloated, gas, plus TOM is here.

i will read the chpater about fat fast, too.

i must catch up on all of yalls posts and see what is going on in your lives! Suzi i bet the weeding plans are so much fun...enjoy every minute.

have a great day!
jabs

[lisacc]

:spin:

Well hello everyone I am taking a break here at work and thought I would check in. I am having a hetic day but I did not cheat i at sausage and egg for breakfast, chicken for lunch and peanuts for a snack for total of 8carbs consumed so far. I also plan on have salmon for dinner. I went out for my run last night for a total of 2.6miles. Tonight since I have had a hetic day I think I am going to go to the gym and pump some iron and soak in the whirlpool. I really have a lot of energy since lowering my carbs even more than 20grams and my cravings aren't as bad. I think maybe I am really a carb addict. I think that I might go to the library and check out Carb Addicts. I am doing a lot of reading now on that subject. I used to feel that I was just crazy as a matter of fact I am a member of Over Eaters Anoymous. One of the steps is to find an eating plan and stick to it while working the other steps. I can honestly say that God has sent me Dr. Atkins eating regimen. You noticed I did not say diet because a true diet is a regimen, something you daily as a way of life just as you comb your hair or bath. I love this way of life I love how healthy I feel. Well enough of being on my soap box. I will check in later. See ya :wave:

[Louise V]

Good Evening Girls!
Sounds like we're all doing well!!
Carol you sound so busy!! I bet farm life is crazy but it must be fun at the same time...Keep up the great work!!!
Jabs don't beat yourself up, just get back on track, you'll be fine, the longer you go without carbs,the less you will crave them, you can do it!!!
Lisa you're doing great all these days without a cheat, I bet you're feeling good!!! :yay:
I'm doing well, I have not cheated either and I am feeling good, I don't weigh myself till Saturday, I'm not expecting much, but I do feel less bloated in the stomach, and I do feel more energy!!!
It rained all day, so I did my weight program and I did Tae bo today.
Well I should go the Hockey Game is about to start
I must say GO MONTREAL!!!
Have a great no cheat evening!!!
Louise

[Danielle]

Hi Everyone,

Glad to hear that everyone is doing well. I'm still trying to drink my water. I haven't had any illegal carbs since Saturday, but I'm not sure what's going on with the scale. Yesterday it said I was down two pounds and this morning it was back up. I wanted to kick the scale :( . Well, I guess I'll see what happens tomorrow, I'm hoping it was water retention. My offical weigh in day is Monday.

Good Luck
Danielle

[shayleen]

Evening all!

Well, I'm not doing too bad, but I'm not doing that great, either. I keep finding these "great" lower carb items, like Dare Simple Pleasure chocolate cookies (3 carbs) andthen I go and eat a pile of them! I do better when I stick to only the carbs that are in veggies, cheese and some meats, rather than trying to sneak other ones in there that add up.

I am encouraged that I am not gaining, but I am not losing anymore! I have yet to hit the 130's. The last time I was there was five years ago. Mind you, there's been a couple kids in that time period, so I have to be kind and patient with myself. I will be SO happy when I reach that milestone. If I could just stick to the programme for a couple of weeks, I know I could blow that barrier.

Jenny - I haven't noticed that wine, in moderation, is a problem sticking to the WOL. In the programme I follow, which is Protein Power, they actually suggest you have a glass of dry white or red wine with your evening meal. Something about it affecting insulin levels in a positive way. I count it as 3 carbs for one glass, and I always choose a really dry white like Chardonnay. I have found if I go much over two it does stall me, as alcohol gets burned first before fat. So go ahead - enjoy! ;)

Carol - I was tired just reading your post about all you've been up to! And those goats are darling! Hope they're nicely settled in now.

Jabs - I hear you on the bloated! It's that TOM for me as well, and all the retention and treats that go with it! Being out of town and sticking to things can be really tough. I always try and enjoy myself and get back to normal as soon as possible.

Lisa - Good for you on working out! I really need to do that too. And I totally agree with your WOL thoughts. I'm just starting to "get" it now, and it's quite liberating!

Louise - I love Tae Bo! I'd forgotten how much until you mentioned it. Maybe I'll go dust those tapes off!

Danielle - I always find the third day is the "whoosh" after a down and an up like that when I know I've been doing well. It just takes a bit of time for your body to adjust. I'll bet you'll be down again tomorrow!

Well, hope you're all having a good evening! :wave:

Shayleen

[shayleen]

One more thing I meant to ask -- what are a few of your favourite snacks? I can always use ideas on what to grab in that between meal time!

Some of my personal favourites are mini-Bretons (20 for 10 carbs) with either Bourisin (sp) cream cheese, or even eaten straight to cure the need for crunch; Ross chocolate bars (Belgian chocolate and only 3 carbs a bar); green pimento olives; dill pickles; stuffed mushrooms with crab and cream cheese; and the "mock danish"recipe.

I'd love to know what you all like to knosh on!

Shayleen

[Ranger]

It sounds like everyone is doing ok.....don't sweat the scale going up and down.....mama said there would be days like this! I try to weigh myself once a week.....everything fluctuates daily....(although since I have been trying to meet my mini-goal of 8 lbs lost by mother's day...I admit, I have been checking everyday!)

I am so proud of all of you for sticking to the no cheatin...thing...I have been on since Monday, and have actually gone over 20 carbs daily, because I am now addicted to nuts! I have the lowest carb peanuts, mixed nuts and macadamia's, and they are my snacks....I just grab a handful and go....(cause I am usually on the run!) The fiber in the nuts has really kept me regular, and they seem like such an indulgement(is that a word?) I have also been snacking on goat cheese, cause I have lots of it now!

Today I hit 186....so I lost my 8 lbs...the bummer thing is I tried on a bathing suit in the store yesterday, even though I feel like I have done pretty well...I still have a way to go to look good in a swim suit....whatever...it will happen...perhaps I should not worry about that until I head for Disney in November...that shall be a new goal for me...

I have been doing no exercise...none, nada, zip.....and that is probably what I need to do to look good in a swimsuit....I am losing in my waist, legs, and upper body, but I have a saggy belly any idea as to what the best exercise would be to firm up this part? Probably sit ups or something like that....I could probably work some into my daily schedule....any other suggestions would be appreciated!

My next mini-goal is to lose 4 more lbs, that will mean 182, where I left off the last time on Atkins (when I got pregnant) 4 years ago. Then another 8 lbs down to 50 lbs, so I can get my makeover that my DH gave me for Christmas....ah minigoals seem to work for me.....wow, enough of me rambling on....the goats are hollering!!!
Take care everyone,
We can (and will!) do this together!
Carol
PS: Donnaj, how are you holding up? I hope Cody is doing well.

[Danielle]

HI Carol

I've been setting mini goals too. It really seems to help, it if like an accomplishment. Although the last month and a half has been a bumpy ride. I can't get over the hump. I stsrted drinking my water again and have had no illegal carbs since Saturday. I really need for the Whoosh Fairy to show up to keep me motivated. Even if it's 2 or 3 pounds, I'll be estatic.

Have a good weekend ladies and Happy Mother's Day.

Danielle

[trisharau]

How do you set your final goal weight?
Hi Everyone,

I am new to this list and have been wondering how others set their final goal weights. :q:

I am 162cms (5' 3") tall. I currently weigh 55kg (121 lbs). My original goal was to reach 54kg (118.8 lbs) but I still have a pot belly and my waist is huge at 30". I look nicely in proportion now except for my stomach region. :( I am thinking that 50kg (110 lbs) might be a better goal for me. Also as a health risk I am concerned about the considerable flab around my girth (my mum died of a heart attack very soon after she turned 58 and she had a big tummy too). :(

I do exercise 6 times a week. 3 days doing a fast 30 minute walk on the treadmill and the alternate days I do weights with a bar bell (about to add weights to it)and abs.

Trisha :wave:

[lisacc]

:cheer: I am so proud of myself. I went to my part time job today to pick up my check and check my schedule. I work at Express Worldbrand, it is a clothing store for women. We have some new style pants in and so I decided to try them on well I normally wear a 13/14 but I knew they were lose so I picked up a size 11/12 and then 9/10. I decided to try the 9/10 on first to my suprise they fit perfect and I looked so good in them. I am so grateful. You just do not know how thankful I am to my Saviour in Christ I have been on cloud nine. Who ever is reading this my advice do not ever I mean ever give up. I have been so depressed over the last couple of years about my weight. I didn't realize what I thought I was fixing which I now look back on was a beautiful healthy body at the time with nothing at all wrong with it, I ended up destroying by eating low fat high carbs which made me miserably fat and fatiqued.

Excuse me I know that I am writing a lot of run on sentences but I am just so happy. My next mini goal is to reduce down to a size 7/8. My original weight and size have been 115-120 and between a 5/6 and 7/8. I am also 5'3 Trisharu so I would set your next mini goal at 115lbs. Also try cutting out the dairy products for a week and see if your stomach goes down. I had to do that a couple of weeks ago and that is when my stomach went completly flat. I read on another web site where some people have a intolerance to dairy and the side effect is bloating which is sometimes caused by yeast growth in the stomach among other places. I also started taking Ascodophilus which a pharmacist recommened to me a couple of years ago.

Everyone I just want to say thank you all for your post that made me keep searching and I hope my post have helped someone also. Food is truely a drug, which food we choose to be the non addictive drug is up to us. JUST SAY NO TO CARBS :D

[Louise V]

Good Evening Petite Ladies!!!
Oh boy! What a day, my poor dog had the runs during the night ,would figure since I only have one room with carpeting, that's the room she would make a mess of...so I've been washing carpets, the dog had 2 baths today and because she's a Palm I cut her hair around her bum, she looks a little funny, but at least she's very clean, she seems to be feeling better tonight, the kids worry so much when the dog is not well....needless to say I did not have to worry about cheating on my diet after cleaning that all day LOL
Welcome Trisha, it's hard to set a goal, you have to go with what you feel comfortable with and what you look best, I chose 120lbs, I'm 5 feet tall, but I don't ever remember weighing that, I just think I would like to see 120lbs some day...It also depends on how you are built, I think that because of the size of your waist and heart disease I agree with you about 110lbs, I'm 135lbs and my waist is 27 inches, but I have big hips and thighs...
I think I would try for the 110lb goal....best of luck to you!!! keep posting.
I agree girls that mini goals are the only way to keep going, for me
the whole picture was just too much, I think I would have gotten discouraged, but with mini goals before I knew it, the weight had come off "well not all of it yet, but most" and the best thing was with mini goals every time I reach it, I get a new piece of clothes...
Shayleen I try to stay away from fancy snacks like crackers and low carb bars, because then I eat too much and the calories add up.
Carol I think the best exercise for the lower tummy, is the reverse crunch, instead of bringing your head to you knees, bring your bum up towards your head. I hope this makes sense to you, because it sounds kind of funny!
Hope you all have a great weekend!!
Louise

[trisharau]

Hi Lisa and Louise,

Thank you both for your replies. I certainly like the idea of mini goals and that is what I have been doing so far.

Yes I think I will make my next goal 54kg (118.80 lbs - which is my initial goal weight) the next 52kg (114.40). if I still look like I need to lose more than 50kg then maybe I will go lower still. On the old insurance charts in Dr Atkins book I am probably a small build which is about 47 to 50 kilos (105 -113 lbs).

I was 54kg before I had children 9 years ago and that is why I had that as my original goal weight. Even then I had a tummy though :exclm:

My face is quite slim already and I was worried about looking gaunt if I took too much weight off but I suppose it is better to lose the fat around the major orgins than worry to much about vanity. :(

I rang a sister today who is 3 years younger than me and she is overweight and has just been put on high blood pressure medication. :( She wanted to know how I lost weight (she heard thru our youngest sister who visited me a few weeks ago). I have put her on to the Atkins and Protein Power books. She works for her Doctor so maybe she can influence him if he doesn't like this way of eating :exclm:

When I get my treadmill paid off (still over a $1,ooo Aust. to go :mad: ) I will certainly buy some new clothes. :) I live in tracksuits at present.

Trisha :wave:

[shayleen]

Good morning, Ladies!

I just did a big post and lost it all when I tried to hit the "back" button. GRR! :mad:

I'll make this one short and sweet! I'm SO happy today, as I finally broke into the 130's at 139! That's 10 pounds since starting this group a month ago. It has me motivated to stay on track, especially this weekend, and not give into the Mother's Day goodies I was going to go whole hog on. I am determined to stick with it!!

Carol - Way to go on meeting your mini goal! That's awesome. Little incriments will get you there!

Danielle - You'll get over that hump. Hang tight and keep drinking your water, and it will happen. I'll bet when your "whoosh" comes it will be a good couple of pounds.

Trish - Welcome! This board has been a wonderful source of support for me. I hope you get as much out of it as I do! You've done really well getting where you're at already - you were right about where I am now, and where I want to be when I'm finished!

Lisa - Congrats on fitting into those pants! Isn't that the best feeling and great motivation?!

Louise - Poor dog, and poor you having to clean up the mess! I've been there, and it's not pleasant! When I was six months pregnant, my dog grabbed a five pound bag of M&Ms off the counter and ate them all. I came home to my cream couch completely destroyed. To top it off, I went into pre-mature labour while trying to clean it, and I was airlifted away for several months. It has a happy ending though - my baby stayed put, my husband bought new leather furniture, and my dog lost a few extra pounds....:) And hey, you probably burned a few calories cleaning as well!

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy the nice sunny day here on Vancouver Island. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Shayleen :sunny:

[Danielle]

Hi Ladies-

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Although I have been in a slump these last six weeks, I feel better about myself. I wish I had taken measurements before I started this WOL. I went down two sizes, but was wishing for more. Some of my clothes that I never thought I'd ever fit inot again fits, which is a good thing. I just wish the scale would move! Well, I started drinking water this week which I think will help. And after this week I want to start walking. I say after this week because Wednesday is the last day of Graduate School, yeah :roll: , I can't wait!

Well, summer is getting closer and closer. I'm not sure about getting in to a bikini this year. The last time I wore one was when I was 5. I'm going to keep on trying.

Have a Happy Mother's Day
Danielle

[trisharau]

Hi Shayleen,

Thankyou for the welcome.

Lisa I forgot to say that I gave up dairy long before I started Atkins. I tried it for a little while a few weeks into Atkins and although the reactions were not as bad as before cheese did make me sniffly. :( Cream seemed to be fine even though I am off that now too.

I used to get badly bloated before low carb even with cutting out sugar, dairy, yeast, caffeine and wheat products. I was taking nilstat and acicophilous too as I was convinced I had candida As soon as I did low carb it went away. :)

My wide girth and fat tummy these days is basically plain old blubber. :(

I have been thinking that instead of using scales as my goal weight measurer I should be measuring body fat. Bit hard though as I live in a remote area and don't have access to a personal trainer. :( I know there is the Tanita Scale but isn't that horribly expensive and I don't see how reliable that is :exclm: Any suggestions :q: Maybe I should just use the mirror as an indication of where I should be but then again you know soome days we percieve ourselves to be fatter than others.

Trisha :)

[Ranger]

Hi all,
Just a quick note...I'm sooo tired....but had to check in....just found out this am, that my best friend's Dad died....funeral is on Monday....we are heading that way, (a two hour drive) to my brother in law's ordination as a priest tomorrow, so I decided to visit with my friend and help her get ready for the funeral....I spent the day cooking and baking up a storm....none of it is lo-carb, but I won't be eating the stuff anyway.....two spinach quiches, a huge tray of baked ziti, 3 strawberry rhubarb pies, 4 lbs of shrimp and seafood salad, a double batch of brownies, zuchinni bread, and a dozen and a half rhubarb streusel muffins....man too many carbs to count! I was surprised that the seafood salad stuff..has 15 carbs in a half a cup?! Isn't that just fish made to be like crab meat? They must sweeten it up or something..

Just ironed the DH's suit, daughter's dress and my dress, (that I finally fit into) and I am off to bed....colored my hair last night and had it cut yesterday....hope I can make it look good for tomorrow...had good intentions to do my nails today....(like I never do that!!!) but as usual, other things took priority...(Can you tell that we don't get out much!!?? LOL)

Just wanted to say I am so proud of all of you for sticking with it, you are worth it!!!

Happy Mom's day everyone, hope you have an enjoyable day!
Carol
We can do this together!

[Louise V]

Good Morning!!!
Hope you're all doing fine!
Carol sorry to hear about your best friends dad, she lucky to have you their with her, you'll be a great comfort. Everything you've been cooking sounds wonderful!!!the crab is high in carbs because it's immitation crab meat, and has a lot of sugars and fillers in it.
Trisha may I suggest you just take out the old measuring tape and measure yourself every now and then, then you will for sure how much your tummy has come down, you don't need any fancy gadgets.
Danielle I'm so glad to hear your feeling better about yourself, we must be persistant and I'm sure eventually it will pay off!
Congradulations Shayleen!!! your doing a wonderful job!!!Keep it up, I'm so proud of you!
I'm going to see my DH's Mom this morning and then going to my brother's for diner with my Mom and my Grandma, so it will be a busy day!!!

Hope you all have a very Happy Low Carb, No Cheat Mothers Day!!!!!
LOL Louise

[Danielle]

I hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day and a good weekend!
I have a question for anyone that wants to answer. I want to start focusing on my inner thighs and hips. Does anyone know any exercises for these areas? They are two of my problem areas, believe me I have others. :rolleyes:

Thanks and have a great day!

Danielle

[Ranger]

Hi all,

We went to our brother in law's ordination yesterday, it was a beautiful ceremony, the bishop was an excellent speaker and was very outspoken about all the problems with the Catholic priests etc.....I was glad he did, it was a very emotional ceremony, and we were all very proud of Jerome. It is a ceremony that is not a common occurrence, and I doubt I will see another....they had a great lucheon afterward...they had salads and cold cuts...so I had a green salad with no dressing and roast beef, turkey, cheese and tunafish....so it was all lo carb, but unfortunately for me....hi sodium....so today I am a little bloated...I just have to drink!

We went on to our friends house and helped her clean and do her laundry and do her barn chores, she was most appreciative, she was just so sad....it was the least I could do....I also ended up bringing two huge salads from Jerome's luncheon, since they are not allowed to keep the left overs....so Lee's funeral dinner will be well stocked....it is a two hour drive to her house, and we did not get home til after 11 pm.....then I had to finish my barn chores.....the goats were glad to get milked! I was up at 5:00 am yesterday to get everything done...and my brother arrived with flowers and a card! It was nice to see him, but we were really rushing to leave on time....yikes what a busy day! I am still tired!

Hope you all had a nice Mom's day....we didn't celebrate it at all....oh well maybe next year!
Carol
We can do this together!

[jabs72]

hello ladies

hope you had a great mother's day. i am not a mom yet, but hope to be sooner than later :p

thanks for all of your encouragment during my 'poo poo' week last week. it was TOM so i am sure that had something to do with it. my dh and i were discussing body frame size so i went to a website and measured myself to see what size of frame i had. now just so you know all of myl ife i have been told , ' you have a large frame'. but when your mom tells you that you think, or at least i do that she is just trying to make you not feel 'fat'. anyway according to the measurements of my wrists and elbow breadth i am at the very high end of actaully having a large frame for a women. all of my measurements were close to the end of the largest measurement. so i guess i actually do.

in college all of my friends who i lived wth wore the same size GAP jeans...size 8. however i was short and weighed 145...others were 5'8-5'`10 and weighed 130-140 and last roomie was my height but small bones and weighed maybe 125. so bone structure plays alot into this, huh. i ask this because according to the weight requierments for someone with my bone size and structure i can weight between 131-147. in high school i felt my best about 138, in college i was 145 and felt okay. so maybe i should shoot for 147 as my first goal.

does this sound crazy? am i just trying to justify things. no one believes i weigh what i weigh, so maybe i really don't look like i weigh 162 (as of this AM)

if any of you have info about this please share. i was happy to see that i could weigh more than 130 which i what my dr. said i should weigh. i would be skin and bones if i weighed that.


carol, my dh is actually going through the ordination process of our denomination. he has to take a lot of classes before his actual ceremony. i am glad it was a good expereince for you and your family.

Louise, i think it was you who suggested the fat fast. i haven't tried it yet...i am TRYING To go back to induction for a week...although yesterday was terrible. i had a breve latte...iced...it was SOOOOOOOOO hot here 84 degrees...

you guys are awesome. i am learning that i feel so much better eating this way..eventually the weight will come off. after having those carbs last week...i felt horrible. my dh says he feels so good eating this way. i am still having issues with eating bacon ad sausage for bfast after hearing for so long how bad they are for us, ya know.

i hope you all have wonderful weeks. again thanks for the encouragment and know i am cheering for each of you. i hope to be able to post more often the next couple of weeks then i will be gone for a couple of weeks.

take care
jabs

[jenny v]

Hello everyone...

I am back on track, hamburgers are my friend...I ran three miles today and I feel great. I did some spring cleaning around the house. I am excited because we are headed up to Michigan to see my Dh's family on Wednsday. We have a new niece (two months old) and nephew ( one month old), both his brother and his sister had their first children. I am so exicited to see them in person. Also, it will be so nice for my sons to have cousins now.

Danielle... I do sitting squats on the nautalis machine. Also, there is another machine that does only your quads, I don't know what it is called but you sit down and you have to lift up a bar that rests on the laces of your shoes. I am sure you could do these on a wieght bench with free wieghts but I have never done it. I lift enough wieght so that it hurts by my eighth repitition and I can barely get to ten repititions. I do three sets of ten on just the two machines. This is the only wieght lifting I do. I have noticed a huge difference in my thighs and my butt area. I have only been doing this for a month. I think lifting is great because it continually burns fat even after you finish your work out. I know I have done a good work out when I am sore the next day.

Jabs...how did you measure your body frame size? I would like to measure myself. I think you are right about including this information in setting your wieght loss goal. My hips are extra wide, I think this might be a Latin thing. I think this had a lot do do with my clothes size. I think I may be a medium build but I'd like to find out so I can adjust my wieght loss goal. My sister and I are the same height but we are definately different in bone structure/frame size she is really petiete. She seems a lot smaller than me even when we wieght the same.

Congrats every one on sticking with it. I am so glad to be back on track. It is funny but I am really not hungry when I am doing well at low carbing it. I have reached the point where my cravings are not as strong. However, I dont think I am ready to be put alone in a room full of home made breads, cakes and muffins without some slim jims close at hand.

See you all later. My littlest one has just started saying MomMom and he is calling me.
Jennifer

[Ranger]

SOunds like everyone is getting back on track! That is terrific! I really don't have many cravings anymore, I even made strawberry rhubarb pies yesterday, and I didn't have the urge to taste it one bit....I really enjoy making food for other people....the only problem is if I try something new they are really the guinea pigs, since I can't taste it!!!

I am addicted to macadamia nuts though, I am on my second package, but jeez they are expensive! I am worth it though, (as we all are!) and we deserve a treat now and then....they only have 1 carb in 1/4 cup! Great for something to crunch on!

We have been doing the protein eatin, no cheatin thing for a week...one more to go! We can do it!

Just went to our annual town meeting tonite, we live in a town with about 365 people, but have a huge tax base since the power companies own most of the property....we have the 2nd lowest taxes in the state. (We are very fortunate!)

It really cracks me up though, this town will pass an 850,000 dollar school budget, (for 52 kids mind you) yet dicker and fight about the Old Home Day Fireworks for a few thousand dollars??? Small town politics at its best!

Louise V, I am trying to picture these reverse crunches...am I laying on my stomach and arching my head and shoulders off the ground while lifting my legs into the air? I can't quite picture the reverse crunch? (it might look pretty funny, if you are peeking in my window!!!)

Take care everyone, We can do this together!
Carol

[Louise V]

Good Morning Petite Ladies!
Carol get off your belly, LOL your suppose to be laying on your back!!! put your hands behind your head,cross your legs, bring them to your belly now roll your bum and your legs together trying to bring them towards your chest, I hope this helps, I think you might kill yourself trying this laying on your tummy...I only wish I could see through your window!!
Jabs I would take the heat anytime, we're still very cold here for this time of year..I've only been able to weat shorts one day so far, and we've been getting a lot of rain.
I'm so proud that your all working so hard to stay on track, it's worth the effort!!!
Daniell I do squats as well, but I do them with a barbell and weights, I hold it behind my neck and then I do sitting squats I do 3 sets of 10 it's very effective, when you start the bar might be enought weight till you get use to it, then you can add weight.
I wish you all a great low carb no cheat day
Louise

[Danielle]

YEAH!!! :roll: Tonight was my last night of graduate school!
And to top it all off the Whoosh Fairy has finally come after a long over due visit.

On Monday I will start walking because I promised myself after school was done I would start. I hope everyone's week is goign well. Talk to you soon

Danielle

[donnaj]

First thing, I miss all of you. This is the first time for awhile I have been able to email . I have a great appreciation for mothers of handicapped children but now I think they are saints from God. Cody is having a really bad time with trauma from the surgery. My sister can not leave his side and he cry all the time. He has only six hours of constant sleep since the surgery even with medication. Me and sis is wondering if they even put the poor child to sleep for the surgery. He can't talk so he just cry. I haven't cheated but I have reached a platueu. I can't worry about it for now but when Cody is better I will try the fat fast again or the meat fast. I am so glad to read that everyone is doing so great. I am proud of everyone of you. As Carol says, we can do this together. Well have to finish dishes and then off to sis. I will email as soon as possible.
Donna :wave:

[Ranger]

It must be so hard for poor Cody and his mom and you.....can the docs give him anything for the pain? I have a good friend who has an 18 year old with Cerebral palsy and he has to be put under general anesthesia just to have some dental work done...but he doesn't talk either, so it is really difficult to know what is going on with him.....you are all in our prayers!

We miss you too!

Carol

We can do this together!

[Louise V]

Good Evening Ladies!
Hope everyone is doing well!
Donna it's so nice to hear from you, I missed you!! your so right stay on track but don't worry about taking care of the stall until your troubles with poor little Cody are over, you can only handle one thing at a time...Cody is still in my daily prayers.
Danielle :thup: to you for finding the whoosh fairy!! Keep it up!!
Carol are you trying those crunches yet, laying on your back, they do work much better that way LOL.
I wish you all a good evening!!!
And you are all right Together we can do this!!!
Louise

[donnaj]

Thanks again from the bottom of my heart for the prayers for Cody and sis. My sister got great news today that Autism services is going to give her money for the ramp($1,000.00) for the materials and she and her husband is going to build it. It well be done before winter. Everyone prayers is being answered.
I went on induction today, to see if I can lose down to 150 by my birthday on July 18th. I think I am eating more carbs then my body can handle. So, I had two sausage patties and two eggs scrambled with 1 tsp. of butter. Lunch, I am going to have salad with boiled eggs and tuna with mayo. For dinner, steak and green beans. I am drinking 128 oz of water . So, I will see if this work. Carol, tell your brother, that I fell blessed that we have another priest in the fold. I wanted to be a nun when I was growing up. How is the baby goats doing?
Danielle, Congratulation on gratuate school. I wish you all the best in your future career. Maybe one day I will go back for my maters. Could you send the whoosh fairy my way real soon. I really miss her.
Louise, how is the non smoking coming alone. I well be quitting the first of June. That is my quit day. I have been smoking so much that my lungs are hurting. I am really proud of you and you have given me hope I too can quit and lose at the same time.
Well ladies, I well be gone through the week end and well be back home Monday. I hope everyone a wonderful weekend.
Donna :wave:

[Danielle]

Hi Ladies-

I hope everyone had a good week. It was pretty hectic, but now it's all over :D .

Summer is coming, hopefully and I wanted to get into a bikini. Right now I'm not there yet, but I am debating whether or not to buy one as an insentive. I found one at New-portnews.com. It really doesn't show too much skin. It's a halter top with a high waisted bottom. I just don't want to be disappointed if I never get into it. I also don't know if I'd have the confidence to wear it out in public. :eek: I am also hoping to start to trim down by walking.

Have a great weekend everyone. And I'm glad that you and your family are receiving support Donna.

Danielle

[Louise V]

Good Morning Ladies!
I hope you all had a great weekend..Monday was a holliday here in Canada, it was soooo! cold all weekend we even had a bit of snow on Monday morning. Did some yard work on Sunday, and had baseball practice on Monday, I played for the first time last year and really had fun, this sumer I'm on 2 teams and will be playing Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday's I should be pretty busy!
Our 2 week no cheat is over! Hope everyone did well and will continue, I was so happy when I weighed myself on Saturday, the scale shows that I lost 1 lb!!!!! I know it doesn't sound like much but it has been such a long time...I'll wait and see if it stays off before I change my profile.
Danielle I would buy the bikini, If I were you, you'll were it, I were one, although I do still wear swim shorts over the bottoms, because of my belly, but the top looks good....I say go for it even if your a bit shy, you can tan in it in your own yard to start with and then soon you'll be going to the beach with it.
Donna I'm so glad your sister's familly got a grant to help them build a ramp, and that things are going well.
I'm glad to see you set a quitting date!!!Sunday was 2 months for me, and I feel so good, I think I'm feeling bette now that I'm not worried about gaining tuns of weight, just have to exercise a little bit more instead of eating more and it will go well for you to!
I'm here for you Donna and you and the girls here were all great and very encouraging. Thank you all for the support!!!!!
Hope you all have a good day!!!
Louise

[shayleen]

Hi Ladies!

I just wanted to pop on quick and let you know I'm reading the posts and rooting for you all! So happy to see that a few plateaus have been broken. Keep it up! I'll continue to keep Cody in my thoughts and prayers, Donna.

The chicken pox has hit our household - my 3 year old, Brooke, got it on Sunday. :( Of course my 1.5 year old, Cameryn, couldn't get it at the same time! No - she's waiting until next week, I'm sure! Ugh!

So it's been tough to keep on track, being so off of my usual routine. I'm hanging steady weight wise. I was just hoping to give it a good push this week.

Since I'm home from work over the next few days I can hopefully contribute here a little more.

Take care all, and have a good day! :)

[Danielle]

Hi Ladies-

I just wanted to drop by and say hello. I hope everyone is doing well.

Louise- I'm still not sure about the bikini. I figured if I could lose inches over the next few weeks, maybe I'll have the courage to buy one. At times I don't see the difference, but I can see it in my clothes. They are too big :D .

Talk to everyone soon.
Danielle

[shayleen]

Does anyone have a link to the "fat fast" or the all meat temporary plan? I thought I saw it here at this site, but I can't find it.

Thanks!

Shaylen

[mortalsin]

Hey all,

Greetings from another small-sized LC-er. I'm 5' 2" with curves, broad shoulders AND a short body to boot (argh...the cruelty of nature) so people don't quite understand why I need to weigh less in order to look slim. Sigh...A 'ruler' body will make things a whole different I'm sure.

Shaylen, the fat fast diet can be found at http://www.eporkchop.com/blubber/fatfast.htm
Doreen has also compiled information on other 'fast' diets under her stall tips, check it out at http://www.lowcarb.ca/tips/tips008.html

Good luck to everyone! :wave:

[donnaj]

I need your all help. I am gaining weight and I don't understand what is going on. The last week I have been gaining 1 lb per day without cheating. I am now at 165 lbs.. I am so discoraged . Here is what I ate yestersday. Breakfast: 1 scrambled egg with one sausage patty, Lunch: 1 cup of lettuce with tomato, and dressing(1 carb per 2 tbsp.) with 1/4 cup of mexican cheese. Went to the movie and brought pork rinds and one can of diet pop. Dinner, I had three hamburger patties with one slice of tomato with lettuce(1/2 cup) and 2 tbsp. of dressing. I drank 128 oz of water and 2 cups of coffee. I have no idea what is going on. The only thing I can think it is the stress and the new medication I am on for depression. I even walked a mile . Okay ladies please help me.
Donna :wave:

[Louise V]

Hi Donna,
First of all, relax and lets put our heads together. Call your pharmacy and ask if the meds. your on could be doing this to you.
Are you drinking enough water, maybe with your meds you should up it.
Your food intake seems fine, I don't think stress would be making you gain that quickly.
Is it that TOM? How many grams of protein are you getting? I know with PP the amount changes as you lose weight, this was happening to me and I had to go back and check the chart, my protein requirement had gone down, but I was still eating more than the chart required for my height and weight. If you want me to check just give me your height and I'll check my chart.
I'm still betting on the meds. your on....
Hope this helps a bit Donna, let me know what the pharmacist says...
Keep your chin up little buddy,we'll figure this one out!!! Louise

[donnaj]

Louise,
I am taking prozac and it is suppose to help you lose. I am drinking allot of water and even walking. I am 5'3" and I now weigh 165 lbs. I know I am not eating enough protein and not eating right. I have been so stressed out with Cody and Sharon and now my hb is acting up. I would appreciate to see how much protein I am allowed that would help. I am going to stay way from pork rinds, nuts and cheese to see if that well help. I know I can do this with my friends help. I really appreciate everyone so much. You and my others friends are angels.
Donna :wave:

[Louise V]

I'm Back!
Donna your minimum Protein requirement per Meal is the same as mine 27g per meal.
My personal opinion is to take a few days to relax, go for a stroll instead of walk, take time for yourself, have a nice bubble bath, read a good book...try to let go of some of the stress....
It may help to cut down on some cheese, but my goodness you have to eat something, don't starve yourself, be patient.
I'll check in on you later.
Just relax you'll be fine, I know!
Louise

[donnaj]

Thank you Louise. It helps to know how much protein to have. Here is what I am having for lunch. 6 deviled eggs(3 egg with 2 tbsp. of mayo and 1 tsp. of mustard. 1/2 cup green beans with 1 tsp. of bacon grease and 44 oz. of water.
Here is the results so far for breakfast and lunch.
Calories Eaten Today
source grams cals %total
Total: 843
Fat: 74 670 81%
Sat: 21 191 23%
Poly: 7 66 8%
Mono: 22 196 24%
Carbs: 10 32 4%
Fiber: 1 0 0%
Protein: 32 127 15%
Alcohol: 0 0 0
So, according to protein power I have already had my protein for the day. I need to look up what Atkins has to say. I am cleaning house and doing laundry but I plan to take a hour and read this afternoon. I will email this evening.
Thanks again Louise.
Donna :wave:

[donnaj]

Well ladies here is what I had today:
Breakfast: 1 egg with 1 sausage patty
32oz. of water
Lunch: 1/2 cup grean bean with bacon grease
3 deviled eggs made with mayo and 1 tsp. of mustard
44 oz. of water
Dinner: 4.9 oz of ground round fried in oil
1/2 cup green beans with bacon grease
3 deviled eggs( finished off the deviled eggs I had for lunch)
44 oz. of water
Snack: decaff. peach tea with one splenda
Calories Eaten Today
source grams cals %total
Total: 1261
Fat: 100 900 73%
Sat: 31 281 23%
Poly: 8 75 6%
Mono: 33 296 24%
Carbs: 13 39 3%
Fiber: 3 0 0%
Protein: 74 295 24%
Alcohol: 0 0 0
Add one more carb for the splenda I had with the tea. I hope this help with me start losing again. I measured everything I ate today. I well go for now and record this in my journal.
Donna :wave:

[donnaj]

I was getting hungry and so I ate 1 cup of broccoli and Tuscan Garden bacon ranch dressing for a snack.
Calories Eaten Today
source grams cals %total
Total: 1447
Fat: 117 1055 75%
Sat: 34 304 21%
Poly: 8 76 5%
Mono: 33 296 21%
Carbs: 18 51 4%
Fiber: 5 0 0%
Protein: 77 309 22%
Alcohol: 0 0 0
Counting the splenda. My carb count is up to 19-5=14 carbs.
I am full now so I will see how this menu does me. I have started rereading Atkins again. Everyone thanks again for being there for me. I hope the whoosh fairy visit everyone tonight.
Donna :wave:

[shayleen]

Hello ladies!

Just popping in from the land of the Pox - I would NOT wish chicken pox on anyone's children! What a headache for them, and for me!

Mortalsin - thanks for the links. That's exactly what I was looking for!

Donna - The only thing I can think of and what Louise suggested, that you cut out some of the cheese. I find when I plateau that cheese is often the culprit. Writing it down is good - I think your sample menu today is right on track. Hang in there - the whoosh will come!

Danielle - go for that bikini! I think that you probably look much better than you think. It may be the motivation you need to continue to lose and to keep it off.

I'm on day two of pretty strict protein - I'm hoping tomorrow will show a difference on the scale. We've got a firemen's convention in townon the weekend, and a few of our firemen friends from out of town are coming to visit. Now there's some motivation to stay on track! :)

Anyway, hang in there girls - you're doing great!

Have a great evening!

Shayleen

[donnaj]

Shayleen, I hope everyone will get well soon. After all these years I remember having chicken pox. I still have some scars.
I woke up this morning with a headache from no caffine but the whoosh fairy came and took 4 lbs away with her. :D So, it is back to recording my food and measuring. I am going to stay with the basic food and keep my carb at 20 carbs. It seems every time I raise my carb level I get in trouble. I want to thank everyone for being there for me. I also found out that I need tp email more often it helps me keep focus. Cody gets out of his cass June 7 and I will back to nornal I hope. Well I better get started. I am going to work at the pantry today. Hope everyone a great morning.
Donna :wave:

[Ranger]

It does get discouraging when it goes up a couple of pounds doesn't it? IT is Tom for me and I have gained 5 lbs! Argh....but I think perhaps salt may be the culprit?

Pork rinds, sausage and nuts are all high in sodium....has the weather finally warmed up in W. Virginia? Sometimes if it gets hot, and I eat too much salt, I gain water weight overnight....but you are drinking a lot of water, so I a am sure the whoosh fairy was very proud of you for that....and all the walking to boot!

You seem back on track! I have to get with the program again and lay off the nuts and drink some more water!

Louise, I am always amazed at your unwavering support for all of us! Thank you!!!

Carol,

We can do this together!

[donnaj]

Good morning Carol,
I was getting so discoraged but I really looked at what I was eating yestersday. I laid off the nut, cheese and pork rinds. I was eating too many carbs for my body to lose. So, I am keeping to 20 carb or less until this weight is off. The weather is suppose to start warming up again. It has been like winter here but suppose to get to 80 today. YEA!!!!! Cody gets is cass off June 7th and I will be able to get back to normal here. I think not eating allot has caused me to gain also. So this weekend I will bring food to help Sharon with the cooking. She drink the protein shakes but I gain every time I drink them. How is your little girl and the baby goats? Here is what I had this morning for breakfast. 1 egg scrambled with 1 tsp. butter, 1 piece of bacon and 2 sausage patties .
Total: 397
Fat: 35 315 80%
Sat: 13 118 30%
Poly: 4 36 9%
Mono: 15 137 35%
Carbs: 3 11 3%
Fiber: 0 0 0%
Protein: 17 67 17%
Alcohol: 0 0
Well have a great day and will email this evening.
Donna :wave:

[Louise V]

Good Morning Petite Friends!
The sun is shining and it's a little bit warmer today, what a beautiful day!!!
Shayleen hang in there, my kids had chicken pox too when they were little and alse this was when I had my day care I had 7 Kids that all had them, thank God it wasn't all at once, a few every week until it was over, your other little one will probably break out in a week, a lot of cool baths in baking soda help relieve the itch and dry the pox quicker.
Carol it's so nice to hear from you, you must be busy because it has been a while, we missed you. Your 5 pound does sound like water, I too have to really watch salty foods, processed meat is terrible and I love it...
Donna I knew you would get back on track!!!!
Cheese is my down fall, I love it!!! any kind!!!and I get carried away and next thing I know the scale goes up.
It is best to keep track of what we eat, I know some people can eat a lot of carbs before they gain, mine limit is 30 grams...we just have to get to know our bodies..
Being on a regular schedule will help as well.
Wishing you all a wonderful day!!!
:wave: Louise

[shayleen]

Way to go Donna!!! :cheer: Congrats on cornering the Whoosh Fairy!

Last night was a long one at our house - my three year old was up most of the night crying because her chicken pox were really itchy. I've had about two and a half hours sleep. I think coffee will be the mainstay of my diet today!

I've got a big weekend of entertaining, so it's going to be challenging to stick to the plan. I'm making baked brie with sundried tomatoes and a spinach dip so that I can indulge a little, too. I'm making ribs and baked beans for Saturday, and I'm hoping I can pass up the beans and the cornbread! That's what I find the toughest - cooking for others or special occasions. I do fine when I'm preparing things just for me. I'll have to learn to get over that if I'm going to make this a real WOL.

So hope you all have a good Thursday! :wave:

Shayleen

[donnaj]

It is a beautiful day with sun shinning and birds singing. I over slept this morning but I must have needed the rest. I need all the sleep because I will be with Cody this weekend. I wanted to wish everyone a wonderful holiday. This memorial weekend I plan to have Grilled chicken, devilled eggs, green beans cooked with bacon and salad with bacon ranch dressing. For dessert, I plan to make mock danish. I was wondering what everyone else is going to have.
Shayleen, It sounds like the food is going to be wonderful. I know that you can keep with the program. I also have trouble cooking for others. I am making brownies for my husband and family. I also having potatoe salad, potatoes chip and baked beans. I really don't miss them now Thank God. I know I need to lose this weight for my own health sake. Drink plenty of water before and durning your entertaining and that well keep you full.
Carol, It was so good to hear from you again. We miss you but I know you are really busy. Hope you have a great holiday.
Louise, thanks for your help and encouragement. I quess, the stress and snacking to much was my problem. I also have been keeping my journal faithfully and I can see what I eat before putting it in my mouth. I hope you and your family a wonderful holiday weekend.
Well ladies, I have to get started but I want you all to know how much I appreciate everyone of you. Thanks for being here for me.
Donna :wave:

[Louise V]

Good Afternoon Ladies!
The sun is shining here too, but oh!My! it is cold it went down to minus 3 Celcius last night with a big frost, I have not been able to plant any of my flowers yet...The only flowers growing here are the dandilionsLOL...
We had our Holliday weekend last weekend here in Canada, and I didn't do to much, because it was so cold..I couldn't even go golfing.
Sunday I have another baseball practice and league starts next Monday night, I'll let you guy's know how it's going, it's only my 2nd year of playing, but it's fun to be able to run the bases after being so big for so long.
Donna looks like your back on track, sometimes we get so busy with other people and things that we put ourselves on the shelf...I hope everything goes well with your sis and Cody, I'm sure you'll see an improvement in him.
Remember Donna you're NO1, so don't forget about yourself.
Well I wish you all a safe and happy holliday!!!!
Louise

[Danielle]

Hi Ladies-


I hope everyone is doing well. I just wanted to stop by and say hello. I think I am going to have to decrease my carb. intake because lately I have been maintaining. I haven't be meeting my mini goals either. I'm not sure if I should begin decreasing or add exercise to my WOL. I am begin 6 months ago and honestly I haven't been exercising. Maybe that will help my weightloss. Well thanks for listening and have a great weekend. Summer is here!!!

Danielle

[trisharau]

Hi Danielle,

If I was you I would do both now that you are familiar with the eating plan. Start with baby steps with the exercise and walk just 10 to 20 mins a day for at least 5 to 6 days a week to get into a habit. Increase by 5 mins a week until you are up to a 40min brisk walk.

Try backing your carbs off a bit too and see what happens.

Enjoy your summer. We are in Winter here but it is a beautiful warm day with barely a cloud in the sky.

Trisha :)

[Ranger]

Sorry I haven't been around much.....lots going outside...goats and gardens and my work schedule is increasing too....now that it is light out until 9 pm, I spend as much time as I can outside working in the yard....now I am milking twice a day too....very time consuming...so when I get a chance to get on the computer...which is in our bedroom, DH is usually trying to sleep, and it is kind of noisy starting up....so I don't get as much time at the keyboard......

I have been kind of slacking on the woe and now have gained 4 lbs!!! My fault, grabbing a cookie here and there, and I have been OD'ing on nuts.....I know the serving size is a 1/4 cup, but I end up grabbing them by the handfuls......

Today I started induction again, so I can get rid of those nasty 4 lbs...I have been craving salt again too, so I'm sure I have retained some water.....plenty of water and 20 carbs or less......I better get with it again!!!

You guys all sound busy too.....hope everyone is having a great weekend....we can do this together!!!

Carol

[donnaj]

Hello my friends,
I am back home after spending the weekend out to my sister and Cody. He has 11 days and counting until the cass comes off and has his surgery to remove them. I wanted to tell everyone that the prayers for Cody is really paying off. He has recovered faster than his doctor every believed could happen and now Austic services is going to suppy the money to help build the wheelchair ramp.
Carol, I also OD'ed on nuts. I had to cut my back. I am also thinking about going back on induction for a week to see if I can get my self off cravings. So, I will be with you on this. We can do anything with help from our friends. It really sounds like you are busy with gardening and the goats and your job and family. Summer is also a busy time for me. I have 6 tomatoes plants to plant and we our getting ready to paint .
Trisha, It sounds like Austria is a nice place to be in the winter. Does it ever snow there? What wonder advice about starting slow and working up on walking. I have started increasing my time by 5 minutes 3 times a week. I have to been careful because of bad foot but I really enjoy walking now that summer is finally here. We walk about 7:00 in the evening .
Louise, It sounds like your baseball practice is going to give you plenty of exercise. My sister loves to play but I can't see to straight so when I play I always hit some one. Oh well, I still love to watch. I hope your season is a winning one but most of all just have fun.
Well girls, I have to get started have a busy day. Talk to you this evening.
Donna :wave:

[Louise V]

Happy Memorial Day to all my American Petite Buddies!!!
I hope you are all having a nice holiday, and that the weather is nice. Here the weekend was so cold and rainy again, but they are calling for nicer weather tomorrow... :)
Danielle I think you should start doing some exercise as well and Trish was right start slowing and the increase, but I don't think you should decrease your amount of carbs yet, if you have not been doing too much physical activity in the past this should be enough to get your metabolism going without cutting carbs
yet...if you do it all now your metablism will get use to that and then what do your do when you hit a stall....I think one thing at a time try exercising and see if that helps first...
Carol,it's too bad those illegal carbs have to taste so good :mad: I wish they didn't then they would'nt be so tempting...
I Love sweets too, all you can do is get yourself back on track, forget about those cookies, they're in the past now...and away we go we're back on track.....and the 4 pounds will be gone!!!!
Donna so glad to hear things are going well for Cody and your sis. Are you going to be home more now? this will help if you are going back on indution. I find it much easier when I have my regular routine. I'm sure you'll do fine.
Trisha it sounds so nice to have heat and sunshine even in the winter months....It's almost summer here and it's colder than your winter....I hate cold weather!!!!and I live in the North, how crazy is that.
Well I should go, I seem to be talking a lot todayLOL
Have a great day everyone
P.S. Carol together we will do it !!!!!!
Louise

[trisharau]

I live in the south west of western Australia and it is generally warm and dry. We do need more rain at present as the farmers have planted their crops (oats, wheat and canola).

Because we are almost an hour from the coast it gets real cold at nights in Winter (pleasant in the hotter summer days though). I much prefer living here than the city (Fremantle near the capital Perth). I have lived for most of my life since moving down her a couple of years ago and that was so hot in summer (very hot dry heat).

It snows rarely in this part of Australia and that is generally on the the top most peaks of the Stirling Range. People will drive for miles to look at this rare phenomenom.

With exercise once you have built up to the upper time limit of what you want to do and have stalled with your weight you can inrease the intensity by doing interval training (increased intensity for a few minutes then lower for a few). You could also vary your exercise routine. Weights alternate days a week are good for building muscle tone and accelerating the body's metabolism to bring about weight loss. I do weights (with a bar bell) three days a week then alternate with fast 30 min walking onthe treadmill the other three days.

Trisha :)

[Danielle]

Hi Ladies-

I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day Weekend!

Thanks for all the advice. I plan on starting to walk this week. I have to do something ot increase the weightloss. However I do exercise with 5lb weights at night. I work on my arms and legs, but I know I need to do sometime type of cardio.

Well enjoy your week and thanks for the motivation

Danielle

[Louise V]

Good Morning Ladies!
The weather here today is beautiful, the sun is shining and it's 24 degrees Celcius. I'll be going outside after lunch.
Trisha it sounds beautiful where you are, I'm in the country too, only here the winters are harsh.
Danielle keep it up your doing fine.
Today is my 2 years anniversary of being on this WOL, boy as I look back a lot has changed in the past two years...I thought it would be nice to measure myself this morning it's been a while that I haven't in two years on my chest,waist,lower ab, hips, thighs,calves and upper arms I've lost 95 inches of fat and 131lbs,
I LOVE THIS WAY OF LIFE, :) So if any of you get discouraged and think you can't do it, I know you can wether you have 10lbs or 200lbs it can be done, and it's worth the hard work and dedication. Now I must work hard to get to my goal I have 14lbs left...and I know eventually I'll get there....
Hope you all have a great day!
Louise

[trisharau]

Hi Louise,

A HUGE congratulations for reaching the 2 year mark. It must feel good to know that this has become a way of life for you. That will make maintenance a breeze. Only 14 lbs to go WOW! You are so close to goal. :) That must be so exciting for you!! Are you going to celebrate in any way when you reach your goal weight :q: Well I hope the last leg of the journey is a breeze for you. :roll:

Best Wishes.

Trisha :wave:

[Danielle]

Way To Go Louise :thup: :wave: :D !

You should give yourself a BIG pat on the back. You must be proud. Somedays it just seems the weight doesn't want to leave me. I've hit a wall and can't seem to get around it. Has that ever happen to you over the last two years? Sometimes I just feel like kicking the scale across the room. Specially the days I expect it go down and there's no change :( . I've tried being patient, but know it's just frustrating, HELP!!!

Danielle

[Natalie]

Hello Everyone! I have been absent for a long time. I have checked the board occasionally to see how everyone is doing. It looks like we have added some new faces and the regulars are doing fantastic! Congrats Louise on your 2 year anniv. DonnaJ-your weight is really coming off! I have been exercising 4-5 times a week for over 3 months now. It seems to take all of my extra time. I am loving it though. I am glad to see you all are progressing so well. This WOE has really changed me. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. We have company tonight, a BBQ tomorrow and a birthday party on Saturday. The fun never ends during the summer! Take care :wave: It's good to see everyone. :)

[Louise V]

Good Morning girls!
Danielle the weight came off fast the first year and then the second year has been slow. Since december I've only lost 3 lbs, I think it's because I'm not as disciplined as I was, and I allow myself a few more liberties, I've also quit smoking which I think may have slowed things down, I also do weights, which I didn't do the first year, so I've probably gained muscle weight. I think if I got very strick with myself I could get to goal. That's what I'll do!!! No more liberties, I should get very strict with the plan again.
Natalie welcome back to the board, sounds like your doing well too.Keep it up.
Trisha thanks, I do plan to celebrate, I just not sure how yet, I'm having a hard time with these last pounds...
It's quiet here lately, I hope everything is fine and your all doing well, if your lurking out there I wish you all the best.
Have a good day
Louise

[donnaj]

I just wanted everyone to know that my computer crashed on Memorial day and we are just now getting it back on line.
Louise, Congratulation on your 2nd year with this WOE. I think it is wonderful. I also need to get back with the program and stop eating the wrong foods like nuts, and cheese. I am so proud of you and you inspire me to keep with this WOE.
Natalie, Welcome back. I have missed you. It sounds like you have been doing great with exercising. I really do need to get back . I have a doctor appointment tomorrow and I am going to ask to be referred to a foot specalist for my right foot. Then I can at least start walking again.
Danielle, I know how hard it is to see the scale not moving. I have the same problem. I am now on a new medication where I have started gaining. When I see the doctor tomorrow I am going to tell him he have to find some other. Hang in there we will do this together.
Hello Trisha, I hope you are well.
Well took Cody for his last school outing of the year and he had a wonderful time. He goes in next Thursday to get the pins out.
Donna :wave:

[Danielle]

Hi Everyone-

I hope everyone is having a better day than me. I have fallen off the wagon hard! My problem is getting back on, it seems like things begin to spin out of control once I am off. I can blame it on a few things, but what's the point. Regardless of the reasons, I have to stop the cycle, I begin to tell myself, if I am not going to lose weight I'll just eat what I want. My problem is not meal time, it's in between. I guess old habits don't die fast.

Well, I am not going to give up. It might take me a little bit longer and a few more days to get over it, but I like not fitting in my clothes. But everyday is a battle and my assistant at work thinks I am obsessed with my weight. I have to admit sometimes I think I am too. I don't ever remember being thin, but I look at pictures from high school and wish I could look like that again.

Thanks for listening ladies.
Danielle

[trisharau]

Hi Danielle,

You have done so well and we all slip up sometimes. Could you go back to induction if you are doing Atkins because that will at least take away the cravings and get you back on track.

Sometimes to others who are not concerned with weight loss our focus can seem to be an obsession. Don't worry it is simply a way to reach our goal then other things will be more interesting - Maintenance. :rolleyes: Other things too. :) As long as you are not letting the desire to lose weight take over the other important things in your life it is fine.

Exercising will help and that will make you feel so good about yourself. It will tone up your new bod and help with the weight loss too.

Thinking of you.

Trisha :wave:

[Danielle]

Thanks Trisha for the advice!

Hi Trisha-

Thnkas for all the moral support. Tomorrow is a new day and I plan on getting right back on track. I have to admit I just went CRAZY today. First I started out with a slice a pizza and ate junk food for the rest of the day. My stomach feels sooo big now. But like I said, tomorrow is a new day and I have to get my act together.

Thank you,
Danielle :rolleyes:

[Ranger]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I have not been around....my modem got fried in one of the thunder storms we have been having and I have been offline for about 4 days! Seemed like forever! I missed you all....

Louise, congrats on the 2 year anniversary....and I am glad things are going better for you and Cody, Donnaj......

I am still having a hard time...I have been off...this WOE for about 2 weeks.....just keep grabbing fruit and stuff I shouldn't be eating....but today I am going to do it.....induction here I come....no more cheats!!!!

I really feel like I am addicted to carbs......I feel terribly guilty too....I haven't been on the scale for over a week....I am too afraid!

But anyway, now that I am back, I can check in and keep motivated!

Hope you guys are all doing well!
Carol

[Natalie]

Good Morning ladies! It's good to be back. I wish everyone the best of luck on this WOE this weekend. It sounds like there are a lot of struggles going on. I totally know how you are feeling!!!
Those struggles are so rough. Stay busy! That always helps me.
The good thing for me is I think I am finally putting exercise where food once was. I seem to take out all my frustrations on exercising rather than food for the most part. It's still so tough, but because I am enjoying exercise so much-it really makes a difference. I sprained my ankle about 3 weeks ago and couldn't walk for a week. It helped my drive for exercise even more. Yay!
Anyway-I better go. The kids are done being occupied by Blue
's Clue's. Have a great day. :) :wave:

[shayleen]

Hi all - Just wanted to pop on quick and say hello.

Danielle - scoot over - I've fallen off the wagon, too! I've been bad, and I directly link it to when I gave in to Quizno's new Sante Fe chicken sub. UGH!! (but man, it was good! :) And then, like you, I figure, oh, I've screwed up already, so I might as well eat everything else too. We've got to dust ourselves and get back on the saddle! :)

Lots of computer crashes and modems frying! Glad to see you al back online!

Anyway, I've got to go see if my second child has in fact come down with the chicken pox. My husband has put her in a warm bath, and that usually brings them out, if they're there! Might as well get it over with!

BTW - who was it that had ordered the Ross chocolates way back when? I'm asking because I just picked up a new batch, and I love them so much. I was just curious if you tried them and liked them.

Have a great rest of the weekend, Petites! :wave:

[shayleen]

I meant to ask, too - how can I add a picture or graphic to my profile? It's frustrating that I can't figure it out. Thanks!

Shayleen

[Danielle]

Hi Shayleen,

I had ordered a few ross chocolates a few months ago. My favorite was the plain milk chocolate. I tried a few different flavors, but that one was the only one that actually tasted like real chocolate. And believe me, I know my junk food.

Well, I picked myself up, dusted myself off and got back on the wagon today. It's a long journey, but one I am ready to face.

Thanks everyone for your continous support!

Danielle

[Louise V]

Hi Girls!!
Hope you all had a great weekend!!I had a good one, my daughter and I planted our flower pots on Saturday and Sunday we went golfing for the day, the sun was out but the air was still cool, if I wait for the heat before I go golfing I don't think I'd go to often.
I see a lot of us are having a hard time to stay on track, I'm the same way, I had a terrible weekend as far as eating goes. We should all get together and get disciplined again,because I know if I don't I'll never lose anything....I'm strarting today!!! and I'm determined, that's it with eating carbage.
I have baseball tonight so I'll bring my own snack for when we go to the bar after and I'll drink water.....
Well I should go clean the house today!!!
Have a great day and I really hope we can all get back on track this week....
Louise

[Ranger]

I know what you mean! I need to kick myself in the pants and get back on track! So far today, I have been sticking to it.....got to get to work....I just got hired to landscape our town hall and firestation area.....and my mom has the little one, so now is the time.....I will check in later......good luck in your game tonight!
Carol

We can (and will!) do this together!

[donnaj]

Well Friday Cody gets his cass off. YEA!!!! We finally got the system back on line. It sounds like everyone is having a rough time with getting on track. Well, I am too. The doctor put me on antidepressant and I am also on antibodic for ear infection. I can not hear anything out of my right ear. I go back and if it is not better than he going to clean it out. I have went off the plan but those medication has made me gain. I am up to 164 this morning. Oh well, I have a feeling after I get my medication straighten out then I will lose again. I was so tempted to go off but I won't.
Louise, It sounds like you and Carol are busy bees. I need to get myself started in a exercise program. I am still having trouble walking with this right foot. You are doing the right thing about bring your own snacks. I also takes mine when I go out.
Well ladies, yet all start back on induction for two weeks and see what happens. I am will to do it again. I think if we do it together we well make it happens.
Well I have to get going to the church. We have a inspection on the food and clothes pantry from the state. Allot of work still to do but it is worth it. I will email this evening. Everyone have a great day.
Donna :wave:

[Louise V]

Good Morning Ladies!
Good to hear from you Donna and Carol.
Carol I wish you could come here and do some landscaping at my house, I planted everything in pots this year because we're still getting frost at night"Can you believe it" and this way I can put the pots in the garage at night so the flowers don't all freeze.
Donna I'm so glad to hear that Cody is getting his cast off, then things can be more normal for him and you family...
We won our baseball game last night, so that 2 games and 2 wins, and can't believe how I can run now and not get winded, not smoking sure makes a big difference, after a month or so my lungs would burn when I ran, but that's gone now and I feel wonderful.
Now Donna I really do think we should get back to induction, I had a good day yesterday and I'm going to fight to have a good one again today...I think Donna maybe when your body gets used to the meds. you'll lose, or if you continue gaining with them maybe the doctor can give you someting that won't have this effect on you.
Hope you all have a Wonderful LOW CARB DAY!!!!!!!!
Louise

[Danielle]

Hi Ladies-

I just wanted to check in and say hello, it's been a while. I have to admit it's been a really rough week. I fell off the wagon big time and was left with a few bumps and bruises. Today was the first day back on track. I hope I am on my way to losing weight again. It seems like the Whoosh Fairiy's visit was months ago. :( I was hoping to be in a bikini this summer, but I'm thinking maybe next year. I've had a few minor set backs.

Well, I hope everything is well with everyone. Have a great week.

Danielle

[Louise V]

Good to hear from you Danielle!
It's really very quiet here lately, we haven't heard from a lot of the regulars. If your reading please drop a line.
I'm glad your getting back on track Danielle, this is a WOL so you will be able to wear you bikini next summer...
I've been having a hard time too lately, I don't know if it's because I'm not smoking or just because I don't have the willpower I had before....but I assure you I have to smarten up because I won't regain this weight, It's too hard to take off.
Well back to basics tomorrow!
Hope you are all doing well, and hope to hear from you soon.
Louise

[donnaj]

It is so good to hear from you both. Danielle and Louise, it most be the hot weather that is causing us to lose our well power. I haven't cheated but I have been snacking more and the weight is staying the same. I just don't feel like cooking and measuring when the weather is so hot. It got to be 90 yestersday and I cleaned house early and the rest of the day. I read my book and ate pork rinds and cashews. So, I am bloated this morning. I have been craving fruit again especially cantaulopes. I looked cantaloupe up in my carb book and it says for 1/2 cup cubed is 6.7 carbs. It does sound like allot but I am afraid to eat it.
Danielle and Louise, Let all go back on induction and see if that well help us. My birthday is next month I would love to see my self closer to my goal.
I have an update on Cody. He is doing great. The day after removing the pins in his hip. He tried to crawl. He is one determined little boy. His therapist and doctors all think he is stubborn enough to walk eventually. I will send a picture sometime this week when I get time.
Well ladies, I better get started but has Carol says,"We can do this together." Let put our minds to work and see what we can do about getting the whoosh fairy back.
Donna :wave:

[Louise V]

Good Morning1
Donna I'm with you for going back to induction, starting this morning.
The weather here is not very hot, we've been getting a lot of rain and even the days with sun are not that hot, since I've lost weight I love the heat because I'm always frozen.
So glad to hear about Cody, he sounds like one determined little boy.
Determined to stay on track, NO MORE CHEATING OR OVER EATING, and together we can do this.
Louise

[scg]

hi girls!
I haven't been here in ages! I also haven't been good on this WOL in ages :( And i tell you something, eating lots of carbs, I haven't gained any of the weight back yet, but its doing a real number on my stomach...very uncomfortable!

Donna, I'm so happy to hear that Cody is doing well. Kids bounce back so much more easily than us older folks do!

Ok, this week I promised myself I'd get back on track...it's hard! But I'm really going to try....

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the summer!
Suzy :wave:

[donnaj]

Louise and Suzy , it is so good to hear from you both. This thread has been so slow since summer arrived. I hope both of you are enjoying your summer. I haven't cheated on the WOE but I have been eating to many nuts. So, I plan to start on induction tomorrow morning. I just have to say no to nuts. Well, Cody is still recovering and improving. I will email tomorrow amd wish all of you a very good night and hope that the whoosh fairy well come to us all.
Donna :wave:

[Danielle]

Hi Ladies-

I'm gald to her from you guys! It helps me keep on track and I stay motivated. I feel much better since I started back on this WOL. I justed wanted to say hello.

Danielle

[Louise V]

Good Morning!
Nice to hear from you Suzy,glad to see you haven't gained any weight back, and I know what you mean about your stomach, it's awful but yet we keep going back to carbing and we suffer knowing it's going to happen...I do the same thing and then vow I'll never do it again...I think those carbs are evil.LOL
Danielle and Donna it's important for us to stay on track, then we can get to our goals wether sooner or later we'll get there.
I had a good low carb day yesterday, measured and weighed everything I ate and I drank 10 glasses of water, so I'm looking forward to having another good day today, so this stomach bloating can go away it's also that wonderful TOM so that's not helping either....
Hope you all have a wonderful day!!!!
Louise

[donnaj]

Louise, I am proud of you. I know what you mean about the bloat. I weigh today and I am back to 159.5. YEA!!!! Danielle was right about the water weight gained by the anitibodics. I am waiting on my medicines through the mail. So, I have also been off medications for 2 weeks now. The only thing that I ate yestersday was a can of cashews and one chicken pattie. It was a good low carb day. I haven't eaten so far today because I just woke up. But after I finish emailing I am going fix some sausages and one egg for breakfast. Have you tried eating cantaloupes yet? It has 6.7 carbs for 1/2 cup diced. It sounds so good. I almost afraid to eat it.
Suzy, I agree with Louise that carbs are very evil and they can do mean things to our well power and bodies. My sister and I plan to break over on Christmas but that well be the only day of the year. We well probally feel bad the next day. By that date, I bet I can't eat very much of anything sweet and starchy.
Carol, I hope you are enjoyig your summer and having a good carbs days. Don't work too hard. We miss you.
Daniell, thanks for encoragement about the anitbodics. I have finally went back down to my 159.5. Thanks.
Well sorry about this long letter. I well email tomorrow.
Donna :wave:

[Tanyaskees]

Hello all, I thought I would pop in and say hello :wave:. I have never work a bikini, but boy, I would love to one of these days. I am Tanya, I have been LCing almost 9 months and I am down 55 lbs. It has been slow lately and I have been doing some cheating. I need help hetting back on track, so here I am :help:. Looking forward to getting to know everyone.

working on day 3 w/o cheating

[Tanyaskees]

LOL....that was suposed to say 'wore', not 'work'... And I just also realized that I am in the wrong thread, I thought I was in the 'bikini countdown'. Oh well, hello to all anyway. :daze:

[donnaj]

Tanya, I have done the same thing. I also wish to wear a bikini again or even my belly dancing costume. We will make it. Congratulation on losing 55 lbs. That is wonderful. Please come back and visit us . We would love to have you.
Donna :wave:

[Tanyaskees]

Thanks Donna, I am here to stay :). I love this forum, even though I got here by mistake, I have really injoyed reading all the posts, so I am staying. What is considered petite anyway? I am 5'4", do I qualify??????

[donnaj]

Good morning, Tanya. I am glad you are here to stay. Yes, you qualify at 5'4". I am 5'3" and use to be 5'4" when I was younger.
You will found these ladies are great. The support is wonderful.
Girls, I ate some cantalope last night. Only 1/2 cup diced but no more. It was so sweet and I am afraid it well start me craving again. Oh will, just a bite to see if tasted as good as it smelled. It has been so hot and cooking just don't sound so appealing anymore. I need to start cooking with the slow cooker again. Does anyone have a good recipe. Well ladies, I need to get started before it gets to hot to move. Hoping everyone a great low carb day.
Donna :wave:

[Louise V]

Good Morning Ladies!
Welcome Tanya, congrats on your weight loss...don't get discouraged if things have slowed down, they will start moving again, your body needs time to adjust to the change,and you don't want to lose to fast anyway then you'll get a lot of hanging skin and you'll feel weak.
Donna three cheers for you :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: I'm so proud of you!!! I think now that you have less pressures and Cody is well on his way to a great recovery you'll do great...
Send some of the hear here Donna! It's sunny today but it's not as hot as I like it, I'm always frozen since I lost weight..but I don't mind, I'll live with it.
Had another great no cheat day yesterday, and will have another good one today. I already feel less bloated today.
Well girls if we all stick to this WOL we will all be able to get into a bikini, I wear the top with a pair of shorts, because my hips and legs are still big, and I still have the belly skin, but I will wear the bottoms some day.
Hope you all have a great Low Carb Day
Louise

[Tanyaskees]

Good morning Donna and Louise, and everyone else :). WOW Louise,I looked at your stats and they are very impressive. How longdid it take you to loose all that weight? I made 3 days without cheating, lets go for 4....... Have a good day everyone.

[donnaj]

Louise, I can wear the top but my middle looks horrible. Where the split me in two for the hystermony. I have two lower bellies.
But hey, I am 49 (oh wait a min. I am still 48 until next month then I well be 47)HA HA! I just like beening able to wear shorts again and being healthy. How are you doing with not smoking? I have set my quit smoking date for June 30th. I have to quit smoking that is all to it. I will start walking again allot. I walk every time I need a cigarette. I am getting in a supply of AA batteries for my disc player. I am so proud of you for not cheating. So far today, I have had 5 sausage links with 1 egg and one cup of coffee. For lunch, I am having a salad with dressing and for supper I don't know yet. But I plan to drink my water. I am going to a birthday party tonight with the girls at a Italian restruant. This is the third one this year. There are five of us. So far, I haven't cheated. I will bring my own dressing with me in my purse and eat a plain salad with dressing on the sides and ice tea. Next month, is my birthday and I am going to see instead of going out if we could have a old fashion bq and then I know I can eat. And instead of a birthday cake, I will settle for just fresh berries. Well lady, I better get going or I will be late for the clothes/food pantry. They start lining up at 10 and we don't up til 11. Have a great low carb day.
Carol, hey we miss you .
Donna :wave:

[Tanyaskees]

Hey girls, Tanya again. Did I hear Louise quit smoking? WTG girl. I quit too, the 15th will be one month. I have been smoking for 20+ years, the hardest thing I have ever done is quit. You can do it too Donna :stop:

[canuckchic]

:wave: Hi all,
I am 5.3 and 192 lbs. My ultimate goal weight is 110 lbs. Do any of you petites who have reached their goal know approximately how long that might take?I like the reward system mentioned....I'm going to implement that for myself.
Does anyone ever go into the chat room here?Well have a great day everyone.......and remember........this is the first day of the rest of your life! :thup:

bye now Marie :wave:

[Louise V]

Hi girls!
Welcome Marie!!! I really don't know how long it will take you to get to goal. Everyone loses differently and at a different pace.
As for a chat we should try to set up a time and day that we can get together and chat.
Donna I'm still not smoking it will be 3 months on Sunday, and I'm feeling great!!!No more coughing every 3 sec. and I can breathe when I do my weights and Tae boe. That is a great idea to bring your own salad dressing. It sounds like your doing great, when your ready to get rid of that Nicotine I'll be there for you Donna....
Tanya you must feel great too!!! Way to go!!!! It keeps getting easier every day...I didn't find it to hard to quit, but I was very tired of being a slave to a cigarette.
Tanya I've been following the plan it was 2 years on May 28th. trust me it's a great WOL, it's not just a diet for me, I do have carbs every now and then but then I have a hard time getting back on the plan, so it's much better just to stay on the plan...
If any of new comers would like to see my before and now pics I'm on this site just click here... http://www.pppics.com/pppics/1227d.htm
I look at these pictures and can't believe it was me, but it's fun to share them with others.
Enough talking I should go mowe the lawn
Louise

[Tanyaskees]

Hi again :wave:. Boy, am I a forum fool today or what? Welcome Marie, glad to have you. Louise. I looked at your pictures and all I can say is WOW, you are going to be my inspiration. I went out and bought PP book the other day. I have been doing Atkins, but want to read PP anyway. Did you ever try Atkins and if so, how did you like it? Got to run,I am actualy at work :yawn: , so I better get to it. Talk again soon.

[MRS.OZ]

I just checked out your pics and I just had to congratulate you on such an inspiring journey - you look great!

Congrats on quitting smoking, too! Three months is a MAJOR milestone and I hope you plan to go dancing or something to celebrate. I quit last easter (that's why I'm here :D ) and I can't believe I didn't do this sooner - I was a slave to cancer sticks for 14 years and the money.....anyhoo, way to go and keep it up!

Marie: Welcome- you will LOVE this WOE!

Take care!

[canuckchic]

Hi all :wave:
Thnx for the warm welcome. Bigtime kudos Louise,you look fantastic! I am sooo excited ! :spin: I lost 2....count them...2pounds WAHOOOO !! Ok just felt the need to share.Hope everyone is having a wonderful day. Remember folks "today is the first day of the rest of your life". :p

[Tanyaskees]

WOW canuckchic, great start :Party: , keep it up girlfiend. Now I need a loss, please......just 1 pound. Ok, I'll be honest, I have been loosing all those pounds I gained during last weekends cheat. Should I be in the conffession booth or something :bash:

[canuckchic]

:nono: now don't you beat up on yourself. You're losing them again , right?Tanya thank-you so much for the kudos , I really appreciate the support. Lord knows I will need it :D .

Marie :wave:

[Tanyaskees]

Yes, I am loosing them again... :p Has anyone tried Keto shake mix. I just bought some and boy, I am hooked. I make it with lots of ice and blend it to a smooth icecream consistancy....and man oh man... it is good :thup: . Like an ice cream shake. Ice cream is my weakness and thats is what I cheat with when I do, so I am hoping this will stop me from cheating. I even tried Dr. A shake mix, and it is pretty good too. Anther thing I tried that I just love. Dr. A kitchen banana nut muffin mix. I made it as one big bread thingy and I love it. Only 2 carbs per serving, I eat 2 serving for br with some butter, ya'll need to try it, it is wonderful :thup: .

[Louise V]

Good Morning Ladies!
Thank you so much for your encouraging words, it helps me keep on track so that some day I can reach my goal. Had another good day yesterday, I'm going shopping today but I will make sure I eat at home before I leave.
Donna I've eaten cantaloupe before too, it is cooling when it's hot and as long as it's counted it's fine. How did your dinner go last night? For your birthday you could make yourself a cheese cake I have a few great recipes. If I lived near you Donna I would make one for you!!!
Tanya I read the Atkins book, I've never tried it but it's very close to PP, I found there was more info in the PP book over the Atkins.
Marie great start!!! keep it up!!! WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!
Well I should go get ready to go bring my grandma shopping.
I'll check in later!!!
Have a great low carb day
Louise
P.S. Carol where are you?

[canuckchic]

Hello Louise ,
How was your shopping trip? Hope you had a great time! I have a question I'm hoping you can help me with. Ihad some very weird symptoms yesterday and need to know if they are normal for the beginning of this plan. I was seeing spots before my eyes , had a terrible headache , stomache cramps, was very pale and completely exhausted. As I am normally a very healthy person these symptoms threw me for a loop. Any light you could shed on this would be greatly appreciated. Have a great day!


Marie :wave:

[Louise V]

Hi Marie,
I had one minut to take a peak before leaving to go shopping, so glad I did.
You're go through sugar withdrawal, this usually happens the first week, everything your going throug I went through. Hang in there you'll see as go without the bad carbs it will get better and then once the sugar is out of your system you'll have tons of energy.

Hope this helps, you'll feel better in a few days, this is why it is advised not to exercise the first two weeks on the plan.
We'll I'm on my way for good this time and I will check in later.
Louise

[canuckchic]

Louise you are a life-saver ! :thup: I'm so glad that you answered my question. I was starting to freak out. I guess I will just ride this out and hope for the best. Have a great time shopping today and I hope to hear from you soon. Again thank-you for the very quick response to my question.



:bhug: Marie

[lisacc]

Well it has been a while since I have posted here and I have missed a lot. Louise I just want to tell you that you are going in my scrap book. I went to you pics and you look wonderful. I am at 142lbs right now and I am setting for my next goal to get where your at, 135lbs. Thank you so much I love to see other pics of people because when I get cravings and that little devil says you are always going to have those hips I can look into my inspiration book and get just that inspiration. I am getting better about coming to the web site to get strenght. I have lost 12lbs and I know I can lose 12 more with all of you guys help. I have even started a journal on here. Well I just wanted to say hello if anyone would like to help keep me on my toes please post in my journal. See ya.

[Tanyaskees]

Good morning everyone,I hope you all are having a great FRIDAY............YEAHHHHH. I love Fridays. Well, I am down 1 pound this morning, I am just thrilled, eat my dust 180s. Welcome back Lisa. Marie, I hope you are feeling better soon, please keep us posted. Hace a wonderful day :wave:

[Ranger]

Hi all my petite friends!

Sorry I have not been around much.....with things happening at work, in the barnyard, and between my DH working nights, and sleeping days, (so I can't use the computer, since it is in our bedroom), I have really been out of touch with you all.

Welcome Tanya.....I am 5' 1", but I think even tall people should be on this thread...the people are great!

Suzy, it was good to hear from you again too....how are those wedding plans coming? I am bummed, cause my brother just got un-engaged....he bought this beautiful engagement ring, (over $5000) and can't return it....he wants me to sell it on Ebay for him....yikes I have never done that? No clue on how it works....the bummer part is now I can't help with the wedding plans.....I just love that stuff! Hope it is going ok for you and not too stressful.....

Donnaj, it is so great to hear that Cody is moving about now.....he has still been in my prayers, even though I haven't been online...

Louise, you have the best attitude! You are always such an inspiration to me.....

Danielle, I know how you feel, I have been off the wagon for a couple of weeks....but now I have been back on induction for two days, and have lost one of the four lbs. that I gained.....Hope I can stick with it....don't know what is going on....I would start the day, fully intending to stick with it, and then a week would go by and I had cheated every day!...My DH mentioned it to me, as he noticed I was eating more carbs.....(he wasn't mean or anything, just asked the question) then I felt guilty and realized I better turn it around again.....we are still planning our Disney trip in Nov. and I want a new bathing suit!!!!

I took my daughter to the lake the other day, and realized my bathing suit is almost 20 years old!!! (I do have others, but feel comfortable in that one.....can you believe it? Who in the world but me would wear a 20 year old swim suit? LOL :confused:

I am so glad you guys are all starting back on induction again....I am joining you, so hopefully we can stay on track......even though it has been wet and cold here...(will the rain ever end??) my strawberries are starting to ripen, and I will have trouble resisting them! just have to freeze them for later!

I have been busy with the flower and vegetable garden, and sponsored a plant swap in town and taught a twig trellis making class, made two decorated cakes and attended a graduation party, and a retirement party for our priest....this was all just last weekend....still feel like I am recovering.....caught up on some cheesemaking...the fridge was overflowing with goat milk!

Well speaking of goats, I better get out there and do the milking and feeding....we bought another doe kid, and she is coming on Father's day....

Tomorrow is a fishing derby for kids, so I better rustle up some worms for Christina...she loves fishing, and caught her very first fish on June 1! It should be fun tomorrow, even if it is raining.....

I did buy a digital camera, and took some photos of the goats etc, but haven't had time to get it hooked up to the computer yet....someday!

I am very tired, but at least my flower garden is looking pretty!!! I will send a photo when I get the camera figured out!

Take care my friends,
and we can (and will!) do this together!!!!
Carol

[Louise V]

Hi Girls!!!
Back from my shopping trip with granny, she gets tired quickly so we do her groceries then bring her home then I do my shopping. My daughter got her grade eight grad pictures in today, she's so beautiful and she's my baby, so I'm feeling old today because it's my baby is going to high school and 1 more year and my big boy is going to College...I'm too young for thisLOL
Carol I'm so excited to hear from you, how I miss you when your not around, you sure are busy!!!!I'm glad to hear that your back on track too...I was having a hard time for a while as well.
I can't believe you've been wearing the same bathing suit for 20 years, I think by Nov. you'll be able to burn the old one and get a new sexyyyyyyyy thing to wear on your trip.
Lisa it's great to hear from you too, you've been gone so long. I'm glad that my pics can help people, I wish I would have had a computer when I was losing weight, it would have been helpul...I'm here to do whatever I can to help out all my petite friends, so if there are any questions, ask away.....Keep up the great work.
:roll: Tanya looks like the 180's are left behind never to be seen again!!!!!!
Marie I hope you had a better day today, soon the withdrawals will be gone.
Talk to you all later
:wave: Louise

[02BSlim]

Hi Everyone.

I agree from your postings about every pound on or off shows on a short person.

I seem to carry most of my weight between my waist and my knees - hips, butt and thighs and although I am losing weight my cellulite thighs look as hideous as ever. Has anyone tried anything that works on this? I know about drinking lots of water and dry skin brushing, but although it has made my skin texture smooth I still am as dimply as ever.

Also has anyone used stevia as a sweetener? I'm on the Montignac plan and it is recommended but I have never seen it here in the UK.

I am losing weight but it has really slowed down and I ate 100gms chocolate today. It was the 70% cocoa chocolate which is allowed on Phase II of Montignac, but certainly not 100gms and not on Phase I. I guess I just needed something sweet. :mad: I am so annoyed with myself because it is the first time I have weakened and I probably have undone all the good of the past week.

Have a good weekend all.

Juliette

[Ranger]

Well only one more lb to go and I will have lost the pounds I gained from my cheat time.....I feel really good again and even made two strawberry rhubarb pies for the family for father's day...and no tasting! Yeah, I am getting my will power back!

Louise, I hope I can fit into a sexy bathing suit in November....if I can find one....the racks will probably be filled with snowsuits and boots! LOL...just my luck....

We got a new baby goat today, her name is Flurry, cause she was born in a snow squall....she is sweet and gentle, but I feel so bad for her...the other goats are showing her they are dominant and are beating her up a little...she just runs from them and looks at me...like where is my Mom? why are they so mean? I feel bad....I spent a lot of time with her today and she is very friendly to me.....hopefully they will be nicer tomorrow.....will send pics when I figure out the digital camera...

Hi O2Bslim (love that name!) I am not familiar with the plan you are on....or Stevia......sorry about that.....I am finding that Splenda is really good....I know what you mean about the cellulite....I have varicose veins and all that seems to be popping out of my thighs....I am not going to worry about it now.....just keep on trying to lose and do a little exercise like walking....I hear they can remove or shrink varicose veins via surgery....and some types are not even invasive.....ahh something to look forward too..LOL....perhaps the cellulite can be taken care of that way as well??? Good luck!

Hey someone told me Dr. Atkins passed away recently? Is this true? I knew he had some kind of heart infection, but my brother told me he died.....that is too bad if it is true.....

Hope you all have a great Monday!
We can do this together. :wave:
Carol

[02BSlim]

Ranger, thanks for the advice about Splenda. I haven't seen it here in the UK. We are allowed fructose on Montignac, but he recommends stevia which I think is a South American plant extract. I was naughty again yestereday with the dark chocolate. I am not having it in the house again as I know I will weaken.

I hope your little goat is a wee bit happier and the rest of the herd haven't been beating up on her.

Maybe you should look for a bathing suit now or in the sales. Try it on in a bigger size than the one you buy to make sure it is a flattering fit. Then you will be sure of a great bathing suit in November and also have a target/reward to aim for.

Have a great week.
Juliette

[donnaj]

Hello my dear friends,
How I have missed talking with everyone. I am tired and now catching up on housework but wanted to say how proud of you all I am. Carol, man you have been busy and glad you are losing again. I started induction today. I had 4 sausage links with 2 eggs scrambled with 1 tbsp. of butter. My trouble is at night when I want to eat. I can't wait to see the picute of Flurry. What a sweet name. Louise, I haven't quit smoking yet but I have make a date to quit on July 1. So, I will let you know how it goes. You have inspire me to quit. Welcome to Lisa, left a message in your journal. Welcome Julielette, I have heard of that plan of diet but I do have a sweet tooth and I know longer I am on Atkins the better I feel.
Carol, I did not know that Atkins has passed away I hope not for he will be missed by allot of people. I will search and see if he did or not.
Well better get started again cleaning but everyone have a great low carb day.
Donna :wave:

[Tanyaskees]

Good morning everyone. Has anybody found out anything about Dr.A? I haven't heard a thing, so hoping it is not true. I am sure it would be all over the news.

Well, I made it through the weekend without cheating. Took my dad out to chinese for fathers day. I had eggfuyoung(sp?), hope it is not too bad. I did not have the souce. Donna, good luck with the smoking thing, I made it a month and doing better every day. Well, got to run, have a great day everyone :wave:

PS. Don't let them big goats beat up on the baby too much. She sounds soooooooooo cute.

Working on day 8 w/o cheating :D

[Louise V]

Good Monday Morning Ladies!
I hope everyone had a good weekend! It rained here all weekend non stop so it was pretty quiet, it's still cloudy today, I hope it dosen't rain, I have a baseball game tonight.
Welcome Juliette, I've never of heard of the plan your on, but any high protein plan is good, stievia is a good sugar substitute if you can't find splenda.
Way to go Tanya, you have great willpower, it's so nice to be back on track.
Carol I can't believe you had snow....this weather is crazy!!!
You sure are a busy woman...if you can't find a bathing suit where you live in November, you can buy one when you get to Florida....
Donna keep going, your doing great, and when you do quit smoking, you can come on line too,and type away till the nicotine fit goes away....does your DH smoke, I thank God I was the only one in my house that smoked I think it helps...but you are strong and you can do it no matter what.
I'm glad to hear everyone seems to be more on track lately, it makes me feel so much better when I know I'm not carbing it..
Well I should go the sun seems to be trying to come out, so I'll go for a walk.
Have a great day, I'll check in later to see if anyone has any info about Dr. Atkins.
Louise

[Louise V]

Good Morning Petite Friends!
Very quiet here yesterday! Hope everyone is doing well on the low carb plan.
I had another good low carb day yesterday, watching carefully everything that eat maybe soon it will show on the scale.
Won our baseball game last night 29-9 it was a good night, I hit 5 for 5 so I thought that was pretty cool.
The sun is shining today so I think it's going to be an outside day, but I will check in later to see if anyone else is around.
Have a great day
Louise

[Ranger]

Hi Louise,

Sounds like you had a great game...my DH is a softball player and he is playing well this year too....he had to find a new team though, his last years team had a very unfortunate thing happen.
Our dear friend Rick, who was 53 at the time was pitching in the championship game on a very hot day in August, when he collapsed and died of a heart attack....I had just finished my first responder training and several of us did CPR (the ump is an EMT), but to no avail, it was really sad....thing was Rick was one of the younger players on the team, so most opted not to play this year and the team folded....so my DH who is 43, searched all around and finally found a new team to play on.....he is such a kid at heart, he truly loves the game. He does well too, (I tease him that he does ok for an "old" guy!)

You must really enjoy playing now, I bet you can run like the wind!

I had a pretty good lo carb day today too....I have been sticking with it solid, no cheats for 4 days now...I was up two pounds this am, but am sure it will go down again soon......sorry I haven't been on too much, but we finally had two nearly nice days in a row....although we had 3 showers yesterday.....yikes it is so swampy here! The good thing is there was a double rainbow right in the backyard....one ended right in the water trough in the goat pen! I checked this am, but no gold....bummer...it was pretty though....

My strawberries will be ripe in a few days! Hopefully the slugs won't eat all of them!

Take care everyone,
we can do this together!!!
Carol

[Louise V]

Good Afternoon girls!
What a beautiful day it is, it's nice and hot I love the heat. I planted some lilly's the other day and they are opened, are they ever pretty.
Carol how tragic that must have been to lose a friend that way, I'm always after my DH to warm up or exercise once in while, because I think they don't , and then all of a sudden they run the bases and their hearts are not used to it...
I play slow pitch, I think it must be pretty close to the same, and I also play mixed league, it's my second year, the others have been their forever, I was always the faithful fan before, just because I would have had a heart attack too just trying to run, but it wasn't so much fun watching everyone else have fun, this is much better. I'm glad to hear your back on track, keep it up you make me proud!!!!!
Well if any other petite friends are out there I wish you all a great day!
Talk to you all later
Louise

[Corrie]

Good afternoon - I thought I'd stop in and say hello!

:wave:

Louise!! I looked at your pictures!!! FANTASTIC!!!

:cheer:

Donna - You should NEVER worry about putting a bellydance costume on!!! :wiggle: I teach bellydance - I have been fat & thin - it makes no difference as long as your heart is in it!!!

Take care all!!!
(Hi Marie - Hi Tanya)!

[Louise V]

Hi Dinky!
I see you browsing, drop us a line and let us know how your doing, it's been such a long time . I miss hearing from you.
Thanks Corrie I'm glad you liked my pictures!!!

[Ranger]

I am so tired....can hardly keep my eyes open....I had a fencing project all set for this evening, since my little goaties decided to break out and eat my flower garden while I was at work....then my dog spied the new bunch of heifers (16) they are keeping at the farm next door, before I could catch her the cows started running and that got Zoe crazy and she chased them all the way back to the farm....they tore down 3 lines of electric fencing, and literally tore up the farm owners lawn (it is so wet from all the rain, they sunk in deep! Yikes!) Luckily he has not been there for two years....my luck he will arrive tommorrow...so Stina and I had to fix the fence and coax the two cows that were not with the group to go back to the opening....since I am now the caretaker of these cows, I felt really bad about it all....it must have been really funny to watch me holding 15 curious heifers in a non-electrified fence while directing my 3 year old to herd the last heifer back in the gate.....these animals did not respond to grain, since the grass is so lush, and they really haven't had all that much of it, they weren't easily lured......then I went back and did my chores, and we just finished our shower......got a message from my father in law that I will have to pick up 150 bales of hay tomorrow afternoon.....Dh is working and I am having the bathroom tiled and the plumbing fixtures replaced....guess I will be even more tired tomorrow!
Enough of my whining......

you guys all have a great lo carb day.....at least I know I will get some exercise!
We can do this together!
Carol

[Louise V]

Good Afternoon Girls!
What a beautiful day it was today!!!that's two in a row, we've had so much rain, that this is great.
Carol what a mess you were in yesterday...you must burn a lot of calories in a day because you are a busy bee!!!
I shouldn't laugh but it sure sounds funny to me, just to see you chasing cows around. I hope it doesn't happen too often.
I did the yard work today, cut the grass, weeded out the flower bed and enjoyed the sun shine. It's a quiet day today my daughter is gone on her grade 8 grad trip, she'll be back tomorrow night.
Well I should go make dinner, I'll BBQ steak and mushrooms and I'll add in the potato and corn for DH.
Have a good evening girls
Louise

[Tanyaskees]

MMMMMMMM, that steak and mushrooms souds great, what time should I be over :D. I am glad you had a good day. I was laughing at Carols post as well, waht a mental picture :lol: . I have been doing good, no cheating in almost 2 weeks. Tomorrow night dinner out with the girl, but I'll be good. Have a great evening everybody.

[02BSlim]

it is a beautiful day here in London as well. It's summer solstice of course, so we have had the Druids dancing around Stonehenge at dawn which they have been doing for the last few thousand years; obviously not the same Druids though! Congratulations all on the weight loss this week, and good luck for those redoing their induction.

I haven't lost anything for over two weeks and I am sure my thighs are flabbier and more dimply than ever. I'm being moderately active, but maybe I need to do a bit more exercise or drink more water or something.

I am not sure what time the sun was up this morning but it will be light here until after 10pm. It is lovely walking along the river towpath in the evening, so perhaps I will do that. The trouble is there are lots of pub gardens on the Richmond riverside and the lure of a glass or two of wine or pimms can be very tempting on these beautiful summer evenings.

The Montignac plan doesn't have an induction, just two phases - one to lose the weight, and the second to maintain it. Montignac is similar to Atkins, but not as much meat and fat, but more vegetables and fruit. Maybe I need a kickstart with something like the Atkin induction. I did the Atkins plan about 15 years ago, but I can't find the book, can someone give me a brief overview of what I should do if I do the Atkins induction.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Juliette

[Louise V]

Good Evening Ladies!
Had a great day again today. It was shopping day. I just thought I'd pop in and check on everyone. I won't be around much this weekend, we have a mini baseball weekend, we play tonight and 2 games tomorrow and another 2 on Sunday. I might be stiff and sore by Monday, but I'll give you an update on Monday, I don't know yet if I'll have a few drinks or not, I'll see if I do I'll have to drink a lot of water on Monday.
It's so nice to hear from you Juliette, it's been a while, I'm glad to hear your doing well, if your butt is giving you a hard time walk and walk alot that usually tightens things up.
Wish you all a great weekend!!!!
I'll try very hard to behave myself :nono: :wave: Louise

[Louise V]

Oh Tanya!!! I don't want you to think I forgot you LOL
You're doing great!!!! and the steak and mushrooms were very good Thank you if you lived anywhere neer here you could have joined us for diner I love to cook for a crowd.
Talk to you later
Louise

[Tanyaskees]

Thanks Louise, I would love to visit canada one of these days. Maybe we can get together then :) . I went out to eat with my friends tonight and did pretty good. I had all legal foods, maybe just a little too much of it ;) . Oh well, tomorrow is another day, I'll be extra good. So Louise, what does it feel like to weigh 134 pounds? I can't even imagine.

[donnaj]

Well, I am back. The hard drive in the our computer went out and we just got the computer back yestersday. What we have in this old one we could have bought a new one by now. I see that everyone is busy. I hope everyone enjoyed the longest day of the year. I am still the same with weight loss. Talked to the my doctor Wednesday and he has lost 47 lbs on Atkins. He said that he only eat 10 carbs per day. I have been eating around 25 carbs per day and have decided that too finish losing this weight I need to drop back down to 20 or less until I reach goal. Well, I well be back on Monday and well catch up with emails then but I wanted to tell everyone I miss them and glad I am back.
Donna :wave:

[Ranger]

Hi Everyone,
Sounds like folks are back on track again! That is terrific....I hopped on the scale the morning after the cow round up and was down to 185! Woohoo...40 lbs finally! Must have been all that chasin!

We ended up putting 225 bales of hay in the barn for the winter....of course after two days of nice weather, you have to work your you know what off to get the hay in.....just once I would like to get up and wonder what I would have to do today.....of course it is my decision to keep all these critters.....so it is entirely my fault for having very structured days.....

I spent the last three days with 3 contractors working on my bathroom tiling, plumbing and woodwork.....yikes I dread the bills, but the bathroom came out beautiful....what a difference....have to run, since the grout is drying, I have to take a shower at mom's.....

we Are doing this together!!!!!
Carol

[Tanyaskees]

WOOOOOHOOOOOOO Carol, 40 pounds.....that is wonderful. Congrats to you :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:
I hope everyone else is having a great LC weekend. Bye now :wave:

[Louise V]

Good Morning Ladies!!
Carole I'm so proud of you!!!! way to go 40 lbs gone forever!!!
Keep it up you can do this!!! You will do this!!!
I think I need to go buy some cows, maybe then I'll get to my goal LOL
Donna good to hear from you I was thinking about you while you were gone, it's good that things are going well with Cody.
Tanya it does feel wonderful to weigh 134lbs last time I think I was 11 years old. I'm like a new me!!!sometimes I get a weird feeling because it's like I don't recognize myself....You'll see when you get there you'll be so happy and we'll be happy for you, your well on your way Tanya!!!
We had a good weekend we won all our games so we've won 8 and lost 1 so far, I did have a few drinks wich I probably should not have had, but I'll drink a lot of water today. I wasn't sore at all, a lot of the girls were, so that only proves that working out helps.
Well I should go for my walk before it gets hot!!!
check in later
Louise

[donnaj]

Louise, it sound like you are getting you exercise in. I have been doing water therapy with Cody on the weekend and I was sore the first day but now I am okay. I need to start walking again and getting my self in shape before my stop smoking deadline on July 1. I know I can do it and the doctor is welling to help with supplying me with my prescription of inhaler. He said that my airways are starting to sound bad. Well I better go for now hope your walk was good. I email tonight.
Donna :wave:

[Ranger]

I feel so great that now I am back on track again....someone commented today that I looked thin (I don't think so!) perhaps thinner! The cool thing is that yesterday I started TOM so perhaps more will come off too....as long as those chocolate cravings don't do me in.....haven't had a minute to update my profile....

Louise, you must be a great player! Sounds like you guys will be the champs....good for you!

Donnaj, I know you can quit smoking....we are here for you....you guys are my idols! You have such willpower....water therapy is great....low impact and lots of resistance....I used to do water walking for exercise before Christina came along....now that the weather is getting warmer and the water! I should try that again...

We just got our bathroom tiled and new fixtures...it looks great! now I have decided to try to tile the floor myself.....hopefully it will be ok....then I have to sand and paint and replace the fixtures and install a medicine cabinet....looks like I have my work cut out for me!

We are also having our little mudroom finished off, and I will have to sand and paint the trim when the carpenter is finished....then we are painting the house when DH is on vacation in July.....yikes summer will be over before you know it!

We are having company for about 2 1/2 weeks in August, my cousin is coming over from Germany with her 12 year old son and his friend! That ought to be a challenge! She has been doing some kind of diet too, with supplements, metabolite or life or something.....I told her about my diet and she was shocked that I could eat all the meat and goat cheese I wanted! maybe I can get her hooked when she is here....I am determined to stick with it......I want to look good for my Disney trip in Nov.....just bought a new swim suit today...size 16, down from a 22....it is a little snug, but it should be loose by November....heck, I want to wear a size 12 by then! Ok maybe that is pushing it!.

Oh well, back to work.....doing something.....oh yes sanding the bathroom walls....erghh....we can do this together!
Carol

[donnaj]

Carol, Man you are a very busy women. I bet you will be in a size 12 by the time November gets here. I think you are doing a great joy my friend. Don't stay up to late and I will email tomorow. I am going to bed.
Donna :wave:

[Danielle]

Hi Everyone-

It's been a while since I stopped in. I've missed all of you ladies. I was off track for a while, but started back again on Saturday. I also began walking today. I went shopping the other day and put on a size 10 pants! I was soooo excited, even though I knew they run big and that I really am a size 12. It was still nice to be in a smaller sizze. Hopefully soon all my clothes will be a 10. I haven't been that size for a loooonnnnnnggg time. My insentive is that I have to buy a bathing suit in the next few weeks.
Well thank you for always keeping me on track and motivated.
Have a great week!

Danielle

[Freeatlast]

Hello everyone, I have been lurking for a while and love your thread. I have a question for any of you petite ladies (or men?) who are near goal and are still losing weight - no matter how slow it may be (or those at goal). Can you give me some idea of the quantities of food you eat each day - maybe even an idea of calories (shock horror)? So many lowcarbers seem to eat large amounts of food and still lose weight - but a lot of people are much taller/bigger than me (5ft/ 130 lbs) and their daily intake just doesn't seem relevant to me. I have been low carbing for about six months and lost over 20 lbs - but nothing in the last few weeks despite keeping my carbs low.... I'd love to hear from anyone out there!

[Louise V]

Good Morning Ladies!
Welcome Freeatlast it's nice to have you in the group!
I find you must eat leaner fat at this stage of the game I eat a lot of tuna and chicken breasts and try to stay away from to much cheese it's a combination of eating less fat and keeping your calories a bit lower, you should also try to up your exercise program this helps too!! I hope this helps you a bit.
Danielle we missed you too!!! Doesn't it feel great to get into a smaller size!!!
Carol keep it up your doing so well!!! I'm not a great player yet , but I try my best and I practice a lot and I have a great time!
I was busy yesterday it was my daughter's grad, she was so beautiful in her gown, and she won the citizenship award for being so helpful towards the others in the school. I'm such a proud mom. It was my son's last day of school yesterday too, he's going to grade 12 next year and it will be his big grad....boy I'm getting old I tell you LOL
Time to go for my walk
I'll chech in later
Louise

[donnaj]

Danielle, I know what you mean I would love to see a size 10 again. We will if we stay on track and probally see I size 8 before we know it. I am now is a size 12 and still can't believe it. I love this WOE and lifestyle. I started back on induction after eating at my sister this weekend. She had marinated steaks in bq sauce and the extra sugar hit me hard. I am so proud of you getting back on the track. We all do it but I have learn not to think of myself as bad but just start over. I remind myself that this way of eating is for the rest of my life.
Welcome Freeatlast, I love your username it is wonderful That is the way I feel with this WOE. I am 5'3 and I have found that I can only eat up to 20 carbs a day to lose. Your question is a good one. Some people metabolism is different and our bodies loses at different carb levels. It sounds like your body is getting rested after losing 20 lbs. By the way that is wonderful and congratulation. That is a big weight loss. My body has had several stalls and now I am losing again. Don't get impatient it will come off. There are some great tips in the book by Atkins and a thread on the forumn that is wonderful. Post what you have been eating and we will see if there is something we can do to help you start losing again. Welcome again to the thread, you will find everyone on here is angels and they are very supportive and wonderful human being.
Donna :wave:

[donnaj]

Good morning Louise, You sneak in on me while I was writing.
Congratulation on your daughter's graduation and a ward. I know you must be so proud of her but I am proud of you also. You are a great loving mother. You are not getting old my friend but getting better with life wisdoms . By the way, next week is my deadline for quit smoking. I have been planning all this week and I will start cleaning to get rid of the smoke in the house. What did you do for eating when you wanted a cigarette? My husband chew gum. I will do this with the help of my friends and God. Thanks for being there for me.
Donna :wave:

[Louise V]

Hi Donna!
I had seen you were in the forum, and I had thought you might be writing. Just back from my walk, a short one today it's really hot and humid here today, so I think I should save some energy for my weights which is next.
Donna when I quit smoking, I cleaned the house too, and I chewed Dentyne Ice sugar free gum, I was going to chew the nicotine gum but then I thought I'm want to get the nicotine out of my body, so I went cold turkey. The first few weeks I chewed 8 pkgs and now I'm only chewing 3 pkgs. It's time you prepare your mind for this, tell yourself you don't want your life to be ran by a little white cig. I'll be there for you all the way Donna, I know you can do it.
Thanks for the great compliment Donna, I do try my best to be a good mother,and I think with God's guidance I've succeeded.
Nice talking to you
We'll hook up later
Louise

[Tanyaskees]

Morning ladies :wave:
How is everyone today? I am doing pretty good. Looks like another good LC week. Donna, today is 6 weeks since I quit smoking, and believe me, if I can do it, anybody can. I am like Louise, I stopped cold turky, and for the first few weeks I chewed coffee stirreres. That kept me from eating anything. I want to wish you best of luck, you will feel so much better.

[Freeatlast]

Donna, I gave up smoking 12 years ago this month when I was 29. I had smoked since my teens and was on about 40 a day. I just went cold turkey. Apart from withdrawal/cravings, I found that I just didn't know what to do with my hands! So I kept them filled with food (NO NO, that's not true, well, not entirely) No, really, I kept my hands occupied with knitting, sewing, jigsaw puzzles, worry beads, jangly keys, rubics cube (I don't know if they had that in the U.S. - a kind of cubic puzzle) anything to fiddle with! It wasn't just the ciggie in the hand that I missed, but also the ritual of reaching for that smooth shiny box or that nice clicky lighter that for years had been just an arm's reach away. Weird. My point being that the rituals were as difficult to give up as the cigs. (You know - the telephone call cig, the writing a shopping list cig, the after dinner cig, the staring into the distance moodily cig, etc. etc.) Anyway, I haven't had a puff since the day I gave up (have come close to it on several occasions though - usually when alcohol was involved.....lol) I wish you well. As they say, just do it!!!

[donnaj]

Well, my husband wants to quit today. We ran out of cigarettes and he said that was it. So, I have searched the house for lost cigs and smoking them as I type. I have one more to go and then that is it. I will try to keep myself busy and I have the medicine the doctor gave me. I know I can to this with your help and I want to thank everyone in advance. I know I will feel better and maybe reverse some of the damage to my lungs. I would hate to die like my mother. Well I better get going before it gets to hot here.
Donna :wave:

[Ranger]

Hi all,

Wow, sounds like you are all doing great! Donna, looks like you have a lot of experienced folks to help you with your latest adventure......I have not had to quit smoking, so I don't have any great suggestions....although chewing on coffee stirrers seems to be a great idea! You will have lots of support from us! You are so right Donna, you can't beat yourself up for going off the woe....just pick yourself up and get back on!

Louise congrats on your daughter's graduation.....I know I will be in tears when my baby girl gets to that stage.....I am a mush!

We can do this together.....Carol

[Tanyaskees]

Morning ladies, how is everyone today? I am ok, 2lb gain this morning :(. Can't figure out why, oh well, sh** happens. I hope it's water and will be gone tomorrow. Or maybe my scale is not feeling well today :).

Donna, you go girl, get a bunch of the coffee stirrers, they saved me. They really do help. Good luck and let us know how you are doing.

To everyone else. ya'll have a great LC day :wave:

[Louise V]

Good Evening Ladies!
I'm late posting tonight, I had a busy day, today is Krystle's 14 th birthday, so we went shopping and out to lunch then I had some of her friends over for pizza and ice cream cake, then I put them all in the van and brought them to the lake for a swim. It was a nice day.
Donna " you go girl" you can do it, keep me posted on how your doing, it should help that your DH has decided to quit too, I'm so glad I quit, here in Ontario the cigs are up to $7.73 pkg, I can't afford that.
Tanya your weight could be water weight, just see it will go away.
Carol you may not know what smokers go through, but I just want you to know that you were a great source of encouragement for me when I had quit, so I know you'll be great for Donna as well, and just a little Thank you for being so kind...
Well I should go to bed now!
Louise

[Tanyaskees]

Morning girls, the 2 lbs from yesterday are gone. Sure am glad :D. How is everybody? Donna, how are you doing? If you are anythig like me, you are probably ready to kill whoever gets near you just about now....LOL. But it does get easier, I promise. Hang in there girl. Later everybody, got to get to work :(.

[Louise V]

Good Friday Everyone!
I thought I'd pop in and say hello!! HELLO!!
Just done packing the trailer, Monday is Canada Day so we get a long weekend, just waiting for DH to get home from work, the weather is great so we should have a wonderful weekend.
Donna I hope your doing well, I've been thinking of you.
Hope you all have a great weekend, I'll check in on you when I get back.
Louise

[do21little]

:wave: Hi there my short sista! I'm 5'1'' and I know how you feel! I'm 139.5 lbs even though my post says 138.5 lbs because I gained from eating too many carbs yesterday and not knowing i was doing anything wrong. I want to be 115 lbs and know I can get there! And you can too! :cheer: I would love to cheer you on as you cheer me on. I just started doing the Atkins way day before yesterday and so far have lost.5 lb which is o.k. cause I'm still trying to get this under control. I'm also 23 yrs old and married with 3 lil boys

[Ranger]

You will find this thread has a great group of small but powerful people who are very supportive of each other.....good luck....and welcome to the lo carb lifestyle....

Hope you are all enjoying the heat.....yikes I am so sunburned! Spent Sunday out on a boat with family, fishing, swimming and water skiing.....it was really fun.....enjoyed wearing my new smaller sized bathing suit....but still very self concious....yikes will that ever change????

Louise, I don't mean to sound ignorant, but is Canada day like our fourth of July? I hope you had a nice long weekend.....

Donnaj, how is it going? Hope you are doing ok in the kickin' the nicotine adventure....I just noticed there is a forum for people on this site who are quitting smoking...have you found that yet? I am praying for you....we are here for you if you need us.....

I am happy to say that the whoosh fairy came to visit,, now down to 184....although I couldn't seem to drink enough water today in the heat.....and I ended up having some salty nuts...so we shall see what the scales read tomorrow!!! Yikes...

Had trouble posting the new goat picture....I will try again later.
Hope you guys are beating the heat.

Carol

PS: We can do this together!!!

[Louise V]

Good Afternoon my Petite Friends!
I'm back from my long weekend which was extended till today, the weather is so nice I had to stay by the lake a few more days, the weekend was great! we did some boating and swimming, my daughter and I went a long way a the paddle boat,we stayed up late around the camp fire.
Carol our Canada day is like your fourth of July. I'm so glad to hear the whoosh fairy found you!!! the smaller you get the more confident you will feel in wearing bathing suites, by Disney time you'll be ready for that little bikini!!!! ;)
Welcome do21little your in the right place for support or if you ever have questions we will try to come up with some kind of solution, you'll do fine on this WOL....
Donna I hope your doing well, you haven't posted in a while, I would like to hear from you, even if you were unable to stop smoking, this is mainly a weight loss group and that is our main priority, if you are still not smoking then good for you, but please post either way we care and we miss you.
Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!!!
I'll check in later
Louise

[02BSlim]

I'm so glad to hear that everyone is losing more weight which is certainly something to celebrate as well as the 4th of July. It's not a big celebration here (after all, we lost), but I think the Brits have got over it now!! Although we don't have a day's holiday, we do have quite a few 4th July celebrations at pubs and restaurants which usually pretty good.

We've had rain on and off all week, so I certainly envy you at the moment. I live about 5 miles from Wimbledon, where the big tennis tournament is on. We know it always rains during at least a week of Wimbledon fortnight, so after beautiful sunny skies last week, it was inevitable really.

If you are getting tired of all that hot sunny weather, you could always push a bit of it our way over the Atlantic.

I hope all of you in the US have a wonderful holiday spending it with those near and dear to your hearts. :cheer:

Juliette
p.s. Happy belated Canada Day too! :cheer:

[Danielle]

Hi Ladies-

I'm glad to see htat everyone is doing well. I finally received a long awaited visit from the Whoosh Fairy. I'm hoping to get more frequent visits. I feel motivated again :D ! I have about 20lbs. to go and it hasn't been easy. But I'm really starting to see results. People have told me that they see it, but it took me a while to see it for myself.

Well, I hope everyone enjoys their 4th of July and has a good weekend!

Thanks for all the support.
Danielle :wave:

[Ranger]

Hi Danielle,

good to hear from you again....I am so glad the whoosh fairy found you too....you are 68% of the way there....you are doing terrific....

o2bslim.....love it! you are too funny....you will do fine with this group....

Louise, so glad you had a nice trip....we are spending the fourth at our town lake for a family picnic....just realized there won't be much for me to eat, so I made 3 batches of cheese tonight and will bring scallops wrapped in bacon....man am I hot!!! It was like 100 degrees today...and here I am pasteurizing milk at 165 degrees in the kitchen! Duh....but the fridge had so much milk in it there is no room for the food!!! The whole bottom shelf is full of feta cheese, which has been turning out quite well....

Well better run...it is late and still have to clean up!

We miss you Donna....cigs or no cigs we want to hear from you!!!
Hope you all have a nice holiday!!!
Carol

We can do this together!

[donnaj]

Happy 4th of July. I am sorry I haven't been on for awhile. The computer was down again for several days. I know I am hooked now because I went through redrawls from not being here with you. I have not quit smoking yet. Went one day and the stress almost gave me another stroke. I need to wait until Cody is able to get around and not around my sister and husband who smoke like a frieght train. But, I did cut back from 2 packs to one a day now and feeling better. Oh, by the way beware of tic tack. They say 0 carbs but I have gained 2 lbs from one day use. Oh will I will get it off again. I am truly blessed with such wonderful friends.
Welcome O2bslim, you won't find no better friend with love and support then the people on this thread. By the way, I love you handle.
Carol, I am so glad the whoosh fairy came by to see you. Could you please send it my way. I am going back on induction until the 18th. I want to see 150 on my birthday that day. It sounds like your weather is as hot as our is here in West Virginia. It is going to be a hot one today so I started at 5 this morning getting ready for the family. I still have to grill the hamburgers and hot dog and make the coleslaw.
Danielle, So now I know where the whoosh fairy went after Carol. Could you please send it my way soon. Congratulation on losing some more. I am proud of you.
Louise, I am glad you had a wonderful weekend with family.
Thank you all for being so supportive and when I do quit I know that with your help. I will to it for good.
Everyone have a great fourth.
Donna :wave:

[Louise V]

Happy 4th of July :Party: to all my American friends here!!!
Donna so glad to hear from, I know how hard it is to quit smoking, I had tryed many times before too, when the time is right you'll know...1pkg is much better than 2, so even that alone is much better for you.
Sorry Juliette, I think I'm going to keep the sun and heat, I'd love to send it your way, but after the winter and spring we had in the North here, I'm going to keep this weather as long as I can LOL
Daniell way to go, on the weight loss, you're doing great, Keep it up!!!!
Carol that home cheese sounds good, I've never had it , but I am such a cheese lover, I can imagine it must be great, it's to bad it has to be so hot while your making it....
Well I hope you all have a great 4th of July
Talk to you all later
Louise

[Ranger]

Hi everyone,

Donna, I am addicted to this thread too! I hate it when I can't get on the computer....your cook out sounds great...it is brutally hot here today....my DH who hates the water, is actually looking forward to going to the beach today. Don't worry about the cigs, you will know when you can do it....of course we will always be here for you!

I am with Louise.....we are keeping the sun for a little while...although it is so darn hot now, you might not want it over in the UK....O2bslim, do you ever go to Wimbledon? That must be kind of neat.....

Well off I go....trying to relax today!!! Sometimes I feel guilty if I am not going a mile a minute!

Have a great lo carb day....we can do this together.....Donnaj, the whoosh fairy is taking the express train to your house! We want you to be 150 for your birthday!
Carol

[donnaj]

Good morning my dear friends,
Well the fourth is over and now the clean up is on. We had 8 people not counting 2 that was here for only an hour. Everyone seemed to have a great time and no one really ate allot. I think it was too darn hot to enjoy. I didn't cheat but the baked beans and potato salad looked wonderful. I made sure that I had plenty of deviled eggs and hamburgers for me. The only thing I didn't do is drink all my water. I will today. I hope everyone had a very pleasant holiday. I want to thank everyone for being so supportive of me with my habit of smoking. I go back to the doctor on the 17th and I well get a new refill for my nicotine inhalers. Carol, thanks for the whoosh fairy. I weigh this morning and I am now 150.5. I could not believe it. I ate 1/2 cup diced watermelon after checking with my carb counter so I wasn't looking for any loss but even a gain. I have half a watermelon left and thinking about making a fruit compose with it. Add some strawberries and blue berries with whipped heavy cream for the weekend. My sister will not eat it because it is one of her trigger foods. Well I better get cleaning before it gets to hot. It is going to be in 90's with humidy up close to 100 percent. Hope everyone have a great low carb day.
Donna :wave:

[Ranger]

Hi Donnaj,

Glad I could send her your way! You are so close! When is your birthday again....the 18th? I bet you are below 150 before then...you did great at your cookout....I ate hot dogs, deviled eggs and hamburgers too...I ended up splurging on the fruit salad.....I am up a pound today, but I expected it.....my 9th anniversary is on the 17th....I am hoping to be at 180....but I better buckle down and get to it....I might try another meat fast starting on Monday.....hopefully it will work....I am glad you had a nice fourth.....I better get to some cleaning too....it has been so darn hot, I have put off the work in the bathroom (on the 2nd floor) so today it seems cooler so I have no excuse!

Take care friend....you know we can do this together!
Carol :wave:

[Louise V]

Good Morning Girls!
Way to go Donna, keep going your doing great!Only 1/2 a pound away from your birthday goal, that's great.
Carol your pound will probably be gone by tomorrow.
I don't know, I'm still not losing, it's been such a big stall and nothing seems to get it going again, I'm told that because I lost so much quickly that my body is trying to hold on to the fat thats left, well it better let go soon...lol
It was really hot here yesterday and the lawn needed mowing so I sweat like a crazy woman with a lawn mower and then last night we got a cold front that came in, the sun is shining but it's quite cool out there and it would have been perfect for mowing the lawn today...OH WELL!!!
Take Care all you petite girls!!!
Louise

[donnaj]

It was cooler this evening so I walked the dog and check on two dogs I am babysitting for. Carol and Louise thanks so much for encouraging me and Carol Louise is right that pound well be gone tomorrow. Louise, You have done so well and you are so close to your goal. The doctor told me that the closer we get to our ideal weight it seems the harderest. I still have 30 more pounds to go. It seems along way off but I know I will be there because of help from my friends. I hope you two will have a great weekend. I will be out to my sister tomorrow and Sunday. Cody has not been to sleep for two days now and I hope it not another rough one. Well goodnight and may the whoosh fairy visit us all tonight.
Donna :wave:

[Ranger]

I think we must have all gotten the same weather....so hot it was unbearable, and then yesterday it was cooler....I actually put on a sweatshirt when I went out to the barn.....weird weather.....hey at least it is sunny!

I was naughty last night and tasted some of the fruit salad I am bringing to my sister in laws party today....argh....it was so good...
so much for losing!!! Sometimes I have just zero willpower! I suppose though if I'm going to cheat...fruit isn't the worst thing....I just have to be better at sticking to it....

Louise, you must be going bonkers.....so close, yet feeling so far....I have heard others speak of the body wanting to hold onto the little fat that you have left.....I guess you have to be patient...but I understand you just want to be done....You and Donna are my mentors...you have inspired me to stick with this woe...please feel free to vent at any time!!! I probably won't know the answers...but I can listen! You are doing everything right, so I am sure it will come off soon.....my best friend is doing the Zone diet...she started in the 130 lb range and has been struggling to lose the last 4 lbs....I always thought she was skinny...so see you are skinny now too, and it is just harder for you skinny folks!! :wave:

Donna, dog sitting on top of everything?! You are a busy person...I love animals....Christina and I walked down to the farm yesterday to feed the 16 heifers we are taking care of....we named about 7 of them.....with all those black and white spots most of them look the same! At least we got a little walk in our day!

I hope Cody is sleeping better today..poor little guy he must be exhausted....hopefully the cooler weather will help.

That whoosh fairy is on assignment at your place......only 1/2 a lb to go....are you having a big birthday party?

DH and I just decided to go out to dinner together on our anniversary....I think I will make an appointment to get my hair done and that makeover he gave me for Christmas.....even though I probably won't get to 50 lbs lost by then....I am hoping for 180 lbs which will be 45 lbs....then I might take a picture! Still uncomfortable in front of the camera!

Well you guys have a great day! We are hoping to go to a parade this am...but the guy called who is working on our porch and he wants to finish it today...so who knows if we can go....I hate to say no to the guy, since I want it to be finished so I can paint it!

Remember, Ok how could you forget.....we can do this together!
Carol

[Louise V]

Good Morning Girls!
It's still cooler here today, but the sun is shining!!!!
I'm going into town today, couldn't go during the week because I didn't have a vehicle, our van is at the shop they think it needs a new transmission, I hope it's something smaller I don't have over a thousand dollars to through around.......My DH is on hollidays for next 2 weeks, so if we get the van fixed we wanted to go camping....we'll wait and see.
Thank you Carol and Donna your both so sweet, I try not to get discouraged but sometimes I do and It's great to have friends that know what I'm going through.
I hope Cody sleeps better, I'm sure it must have been the heat that was making hard for him.
Carol a little bit of fruit won't hurt you, just add it in as your daily carb intake...
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!!
Louise

[Danielle]

Hi Everyone,

I have to admit I have been taking advantage of this weather too! I've had this week off before starting summer school on Monday. I will taeching 6th grade writing skills to ESL students. The best part is that it is part time Monday-Thursday.

Since I've been off I noticed I don't eat as much or as often. I think it's because I'm on the go. I just don't feel like eating, even when I am hungry. I guess it's a good thing. I just hope it lasts!
I won't mind another visit from the Whoosh Fairy.

Have a great weekend everybody!!!

Danielle

[donnaj]

Cody did allot better this weekend. He took a three hour nap and I hoping he'll go to bed for sis this evening. Thanks for asking and keeping him in your prayers.
Carol, it sounds like you have been busy, also and don't worry about eating fruit. Louise is right just count it in your carb count. I ate 1/2 cup of diced watermelon for the fourth and it had no bad affect on me. I still have a half watermelon in the fridge. If my husband doesn't want it I will take it down to the volunteers on Tuesday. Did you get to go to the parade? When is your anniversary? I hope it well be a special night , you deserve it. I will try to get another picture soon. I really don't like the camera either. I promise, when I get 10 lbs away from my goal. I upload one of before and after. I still have 30 lbs to go. I would love to see my goal weight by Christmas but if not early next year. Carol, you are always right. We can do this together.
Louise, I hope you got the van back. Our car is acting up also and no money to buy a new one. I love Bessie and hope she has a few more years in her. We bought here in 1988. She has taken us across country twice. Hope you and hubby enjoy his vacation. We all get decourage but remember we are here for you.
Danielle, Your job sounds very interesting and rewarding. One of the rules I found out doing Atkins is don't go hungry. I did that once and I gained a lbs. Go figure, but I try to eat at least 20 carbs a day now. The weather has been hot and cooking is not as enjoyable. I use my grill allot. I will send the whoosh fairy to you, Carol and Louise. She could be arriving soon.
Well ladies, I rode the bike for a mile then walked the dog for a mile now it is time for bed. I hope you all good night sleep and we well all wake up a lb. or more lighter tomorrow.
Your buddy,
Donna

[Louise V]

Hello Girls!
Just got the van back today, with a 1,100.00 cost to putting in a rebuilt transmition, it's not what we needed right now. I'm getting ready to go camping, friends of ours are getting married Saturday on a resort, we're bringing our trailer and staying at a nearby campground because the rooms at the resort are $200.00 a night, a little steap for us especially now....but we will be close by and we'll have fun, the wedding should be beautifu, they are getting married outside on a rock by the lake... We and a few other friends are staying at the camp ground for 10 days so I won't be around after Thursday for a little while. I will miss you all, and I promise I will try so very hard to strick to the plan.
Danielle sounds like your doing great, keep it up!!!
Donna I'm glad to hear Cody is doing better, it's hard when the little guy's don't get the right sleep they get cranky and hard to handle...
Donna thanks for trying to send me the whoosh fairy, I love you for it, but I think she got lost somewhere because she hasn't arrived yet...LOL
I wish you all a good night and hope to hear from you before I leave Thursday night
Louise

[Danielle]

Hi Ladies,

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far. I am glad to see that all of you are doing well. I have to agree with you Donna- I hate having my picture taken. The only good thing is that you can see the progress you made when you look back at old photos. My sister's baby shower was a few days after I started the diet and OMG I look huge!!! Thank goodness I started to do something.
I actually started walking recently. I have about 20lbs to go and want it to come off already. I think the exercise will help tone too. I've been doing this for about 7 1/2 months now and haven't really been exercising regularly. But I am starting to feel more confident about myself which motivates me even more. And everyone has really helped, even when I wanted to give up. Thanks for all the support:p :D :thup:!!!!

Danielle

[Louise V]

Good Evening Ladies!
I'm done packing, and ready to go tomorrow morning at 9:00, I'm looking forward to it. I have a lot of eggs and meat packed up in the fridge and also have almonds for snacks, so I should be O.K. as far as eating goes and I've decided No alcohol beverages on this camping trip, all it does is add on weight, and I usually only have a few, so it won't be hard to do without.
Danielle you must feel so good about yourself when you look at older pics, it makes you want to continue even more. Keep it up!!!
Carol, Donna take care and will see how good the whoosh fairy is being to you when I'm gone...
I'll be back in ten days, and I will miss you all!!!
Take Care my special petite friends!!!
Louise

[donnaj]

Louise,
I hope you get this before you leave. Have a great trip and come back relax and pounds thiner. I agree with the alchol it only put the weight on. I have been gone for awhile because the weather and humidy is low I have been cleaning. I have three more rooms then washing down the house. I haven't been on the scale yet. I am trying to keep busy so I wouldn't worry about reaching my goal. Again, have a relaxing trip.
Donna :wave:

[donnaj]

Danielle, it is wonderful that your that close to your goal. I have 30 more pounds to go. Everyone is telling me to quit that I look good but I want to be at 120 because I feel great at that weight. Walking is good exercise. I try to walk a mile every day but recently I have also added riding my bike 2 miles. I want to tone up and I hope it will get the rest of the weight off. My finally goal is Dec. 24th of the year. I hope I get there but if not I know with everyone support I will get there. I better get started cleaning again while it is so cool.
Carol, I hope everything is going great for you and I hope the whoosh fairy has been kind.
Donna :wave:

[Danielle]

Hi Donna,

Thanks for the support. At times it's hard to keep focused, but I am trying. I started about a month before you, but do a little bit different version of Atkin's. Even though it's been slow, it's working. I think the last 20lbs are going to be the hardest. My goal is to be 120 by my birthday, November 19th. It's only 5 days before a year.

Well, I know if we all continue to support one another, we'll all reach our goal eventually. Good Luck.

Danielle :D

[donnaj]

Danielle,
Yes, we can do !!!! We can do all things with support and caring people. Thanks for being here for me.
Donna :wave:

[Sandylee]

Can I join the club? I am 5 ft. 2 in., when I stand real tall :)
I started Atkins on June 25.
So far I have only lost 3 pounds, but I think I was eating too much in the beginning.

[02BSlim]

How is everyone? Seems so many are off on your summer holidays (vacation). I hope you have a great time and keep losing weight while you are away.

After a fortnight of horrible wet and cool weather (even lit the fire last week), it is now beautifully sunny in the UK and should continue for at least the rest of the week, but we are hoping for 40 days of sunshine as it is St Swithin's Day today. I'm not sure if you recognise July 15th as St Swithin's Day, and you may not know the rhyme: "If on St Swithin's Day it dost rain, for forty days it will remain, St Swithin's Day, if thous be fair, for forty days 'twill rain no more". If it is sunny it also means it betides a happy year. Let's hope a slimmer one as well.

And I'm happy because finally I think I have started losing again. Only a pound, but I had just got to a plateau, even though I was following the diet I had nearly two weeks without shifting an ounce. I guess it was just one of those things, because my clothes were a little loser, and I can do up jeans that were un-do-upable even a month ago. Still a bit tight to wear, but I'm getting there.

There was an excellent article in the Times newspaper (UK) this morning about Dr Atkins and why low carb makes more sense than low fat. As it is quite long, I will paste it on a separate posting if case anyone is interested in reading it.

I went for a long walk today along the Thames towpath and it was gorgeous. I feel so much better for having lost some weight and I know I look a lot better too. I've still got another 20lbs to go, and I don't know if I could do with without all the support on this thread. Thanks for all the support and advice. More advice always welcome.

Have a fantastic week

Juliette :cool:

[02BSlim]

Welcome. You will find this is a great forum and everyone is really friendly and supportive. I'm not online everyday, but when I do, it gives me a lot of motivation to keep going, and it is great to hear what everyone is up to.

Juliette :cool:

[02BSlim]

This article appeared in the Times newspaper here in the UK today, July 15, 2002, so hopefully the low carb message is getting some serious mainstream global attention.

More fat, please, I'm on a diet...
by Gary Taubes
Whisper it...fat may be good for you. For 25 years, nutritionists and health experts said it caused obesity and heart disease. Diet gurus who disagreed, such as Robert Atkins, were vilified. Now it seems he may have been right all along.


If the medical establishment were to have a collective nightmare, this might be it. They spend 30 years ridiculing Robert Atkins, author of the best-selling Dr Atkins’ Diet Revolution and Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution, only to discover that he was right all along. Or maybe it’s this: they find that their own dietary recommendations — eat less fat and more carbohydrates — are the cause of the rampaging epidemic of obesity in America. Or, just possibly this: they find out that both of the above are true.
When Atkins published his Diet Revolution in 1972, people were coming to terms with the proposition that fat — particularly the saturated fat of meat and dairy products — was the primary nutritional evil. Atkins managed to sell millions of copies of a book promising that we would lose weight eating steak, eggs and butter, because it was carbohydrates — pasta, rice, bread and sugar — that caused obesity and even heart disease.

Fat, he said, was harmless.

The perversity of this alternative hypothesis is that it identifies the causes of obesity as, firstly, precisely those refined carbohydrates that we are told should be the staple of our healthy low-fat diet, and, secondly, the sugar in the soft drinks, fruit juices and sports drinks that we have taken to in quantity because they are fat-free and so appear healthy.

Over the past five years, however, there has been a subtle shift in the scientific consensus. It used to be that even considering the possibility of the alternative hypothesis, let alone researching it, was tantamount to quackery by association. Now a small but growing minority of establishment researchers have come to take seriously what the low-carb-diet doctors have been saying all along. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, is the spokesman for the longest-running and most comprehensive diet and health studies ever performed, which include data on nearly 300,000 individuals. Those data, says Willett, clearly contradict the low-fat-is-good-health message “and the idea that all fat is bad for you; the exclusive focus on adverse effects of fat may have contributed to the obesity epidemic”.

These researchers point out that there are plenty of reasons to suggest that the low-fat-is-good-health hypothesis has now failed the test of time. In particular, that the US is in the midst of an obesity epidemic that started around the early 1980s, and that this was coincident with the rise of the low-fat dogma. Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, also rose significantly during this period. They say that low-fat weight-loss diets have proved in clinical trials and real life to be failures. Cholesterol levels have been declining and we have been smoking less, yet the incidence of heart disease has not declined.

“That is disconcerting,” Willett says. “It suggests that something else bad is happening.”

David Ludwig, a researcher at Harvard Medical School, runs the paediatric obesity clinic at Children’s Hospital Boston and prescribes his own version of a carbohydrate-restricted diet to his patients. He calls the science behind the alternative hypothesis Endocrinology 101, which requires an understanding of how carbohydrates affect insulin and blood sugar and, in turn, fat metabolism and appetite. This is basic endocrinology, Ludwig says, which is the study of hormones, but it is still considered radical because the low-fat dietary wisdom emerged in the 1960s from researchers almost exclusively concerned with the effect of fat on cholesterol and heart disease. At the time, Endocrinology 101 was underdeveloped, and so ignored.

If the alternative hypothesis is right, then it strongly suggests that the current epidemic of obesity is not due simply to a collective lack of willpower and a failure to exercise. Rather, it occurred (as Atkins has been saying) because the public health authorities told us — unwittingly, but with the best of intentions — to eat precisely those foods that would make us fat, and we did. We ate more fat-free carbohydrates, which, in turn, made us hungrier and then heavier.

Put simply, if the alternative hypothesis is right, then a low-fat diet is not by definition a healthy diet. In practice, such a diet cannot help being high in carbohydrates, and that can lead to obesity, and perhaps heart disease.

“For a large percentage of people, perhaps 30 to 40 per cent, low-fat diets are counterproductive,” says Eleftheria Maratos-Flier, director of obesity research at Harvard’s prestigious Joslin Diabetes Centre. “They have the paradoxical effect of making people gain weight.”

Scientists are still arguing about fat, despite a century of research, because the regulation of appetite and weight in the body is almost inconceivably complex and the experimental tools we have to study it are still inadequate. This combination leaves researchers in an awkward position. To study the entire physiological system involves feeding real food to real human subjects for months or years on end, which is prohibitively expensive, ethically questionable and impossible to do in a rigorously-controlled scientific manner.

But if researchers seek to study something less costly and more controllable, they end up studying experimental situations so oversimplified that their results may have nothing to do with reality. The result is a splintered community in which researchers seem easily convinced that their preconceived notions are correct and are thoroughly uninterested in testing any hypotheses but their own.One of the few reasonably reliable facts about the obesity epidemic in the US is that it started around the early 1980s. By the end of that decade, nearly one in four Americans was obese. Any theory that tries to explain obesity in America has to account for that.

Meanwhile, overweight children nearly tripled in number. And, for the first time, doctors began diagnosing Type 2 diabetes in adolescents. Type 2 diabetes often accompanies obesity. It used to be called adult-onset diabetes but now, for the obvious reason, is not.

So how did this happen? The ubiquitous explanation is that we live in a “toxic food environment” of cheap fatty food, large portions, pervasive food advertising and sedentary lives. And because some of us are predisposed to gain weight while others are not, this explanation also has a genetic component — the thrifty gene. It suggests that storing extra calories as fat was an evolutionary development by our Paleolithic ancestors, who had to survive frequent famine. We inherited these “thrifty” genes, despite their being a liability in today’s toxic environment.

This theory makes perfect sense and plays to our puritanical prejudice that fat, fast food and television are innately damaging to our humanity.

But there are two catches. First, to buy this logic is to accept that the copious negative effects of obesity — both social and physical — are easily overcome by the constant bombardment of food advertising and the lure of a supersize bargain meal. Second, little data exist to support any of this.Fast-food consumption, for example, continued to grow steadily through the 1970s and 1980s, but it did not take a sudden leap, as obesity did. As far as exercise and physical activity go, the 1990s data show obesity rates in the US continuing to climb, while exercise activity remained unchanged. This suggests the two have little in common.

As for the thrifty gene, it provides the kind of evolutionary rationale for human behaviour that scientists find comforting but that cannot be tested.

It is also undeniable, students of Endocrinology 101 argue, that mankind never evolved to eat a diet high in starches or sugars. “Grain products and concentrated sugars were essentially absent from human nutrition until the invention of agriculture,” Ludwig says, “which was only 10,000 years ago.”

This is discussed frequently in the anthropology texts but is mostly absent from the obesity literature, with the prominent exception of the low-carbohydrate-diet books.

What’s forgotten in the current controversy is that the low-fat dogma itself is only about 25 years old. Until the late 1970s, the accepted wisdom was that fat and protein protected against overeating by making you feel full, and that carbohydrates made you fat. In The Physiology of Taste, for instance, an 1826 discourse that is among the most famous books ever written about food, the French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin says he could easily identify the causes of obesity after 30 years of listening to one “stout party” after another proclaiming the joys of bread, rice and (from a “particularly stout party”) potatoes. But by the 1980s all that had been forgotten, and the typical breakfast of bacon and eggs was being supplanted by a bowl of Special K with low-fat milk, a glass of orange juice and dry toast.

Few experts now deny that the low-fat message is radically oversimplified. If nothing else, it effectively ignores the fact that unsaturated fats, such as olive oil, are relatively good for you: they tend to elevate your good cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and lower your bad cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), at least in comparison to the effect of carbohydrates. What this means is that even saturated fats are not nearly as harmful as you would think. True, they will elevate your bad cholesterol, but they will also elevate your good cholesterol. As Willett explained to me, you will obtain little or no health benefit by giving up milk, butter and cheese and eating bagels instead.

But it gets even weirder than that. Foods considered more or less deadly under the low-fat dogma turn out to be comparatively benign if you look at their fat content. More than two-thirds of the fat in a porterhouse steak, for instance, will improve your cholesterol profile (at least in comparison with the baked potato next to it); it’s true that the remainder will raise your LDL, the bad stuff, but it will also boost your HDL. The same is true for lard.

If you work out the numbers, you come to the surreal conclusion that you can eat lard straight from the pack and reduce your risk of heart disease.

The crucial example of how the low-fat recommendations were oversimplified is shown by the potentially lethal impact of low-fat diets on triglycerides, the component molecules of fat. By the late 1960s researchers had shown that high triglyceride levels were at least as common in heart-disease patients as high LDL cholesterol, and that eating a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet would, for many people, raise their triglyceride levels, lower their HDL levels and accentuate what the American endocrinologist Gerry Reaven calls Syndrome X — a cluster of conditions that can lead to heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. It took Reaven a decade to convince his peers that Syndrome X was a legitimate health concern, in part because to accept its reality is to accept that low-fat diets will increase the risk of heart disease in a third of the population.

Of course, everyone involved in drafting dietary guidelines wants people simply to eat less junk food. But instead we eat more starches and refined carbohydrates, because, calorie for calorie, these are the cheapest nutrients for the food industry to produce and can be sold at the highest profit. It’s also what we like to eat. Rare is the person under 50 who doesn’t prefer a biscuit or sweetened yogurt to a head of broccoli.

Nutrition researchers also played a role by trying to feed science into the idea that carbohydrates are the ideal nutrient. It had been known for almost a century, but considered mostly irrelevant to the aetiology of obesity, that fat has nine calories per gram compared with four for carbohydrates and protein. Now it became the fail-safe position of the low-fat recommendations: reduce the densest source of calories in the diet and you will lose weight.

Then, in 1982, the American biochemist JP Flatt published his research demonstrating that it is rare for the human body to convert carbohydrates into body fat. This was misinterpreted by the media and quite a few scientists to mean that eating carbohydrates, even to excess, could not make you fat — which is not the case, Flatt says.

As a result, the major trends in American diets since the late 1970s have been a decrease in fat calories and a greatly increased consumption of carbo hydrates. At the same time, they suddenly began consuming more calories: now up to 400 more each day since the US Government started recommending low-fat diets.

If these trends are correct, the obesity epidemic there can be explained by the consumption of more calories than ever and, specifically, more carbohydrates. The question is why? The answer provided by Endocrinology 101 is that people are hungrier than they were in the 1970s, and the reason is physiological more than psychological. In this case, the salient factor is how carbohydrates affect blood sugar and insulin. In fact, these were obvious culprits all along, which is why Atkins and the low-carb-diet doctors pounced on them.

The primary role of insulin is to regulate blood-sugar levels. After you eat carbohydrates they are broken down into their component sugar molecules and transported into the bloodstream. Your pancreas then secretes insulin, which shunts the blood sugar into muscles and the liver as fuel for the next few hours. This is why carbohydrates have a significant impact on insulin and fat does not. And because juvenile diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin, doctors had believed since the 1920s that the only evil with insulin was not having enough.

But insulin also regulates fat metabolism. We cannot store body fat without it. Think of it as a switch. When it’s on, in the few hours after eating you burn carbohydrates for energy and store excess calories as fat. When it’s off, after the insulin has been depleted you burn fat as fuel. So when insulin levels are low, you burn your own fat.

The fatter you are, the more insulin your pancreas will pump out per meal and the more likely you are to develop what’s called “insulin resistance,” which is the underlying cause of Syndrome X. In effect, your cells become insensitive to the action of insulin and you need ever greater amounts to keep your blood sugar in check. So, as you gain weight, insulin makes it easier to store fat and harder to lose it. But the insulin resistance in turn may make it harder to store fat — your weight is being kept in check, as it should be. But now the insulin resistance might prompt your pancreas to produce even more insulin, potentially starting a vicious cycle.

Which comes first — the obesity, the elevated insulin, known as hyperinsulinemia, or the insulin resistance — is a chicken-and-egg problem that hasn’t been resolved. Insulin also profoundly affects hunger, although to what end is another point of controversy. On the one hand, insulin can indirectly cause hunger by lowering your blood sugar, but how low does blood sugar have to drop before hunger kicks in? That’s unresolved. Meanwhile, insulin works in the brain to suppress hunger. The theory, as explained to me by Michael Schwartz, an endocrinologist at the University of Washington, is that insulin’s ability to inhibit appetite would normally counteract its propensity to generate body fat. In other words, as you gained weight, your body would generate more insulin after every meal, and that in turn would suppress your appetite; you’d eat less and lose weight.

Schwartz, however, can imagine a simple mechanism that would throw this “homeostatic” system off balance: if your brain were to lose its sensitivity to insulin, just as your fat and muscles do when they are flooded with it. Now the higher insulin production that comes with getting fatter would no longer compensate by suppressing your appetite, because your brain would no longer register the rise in insulin. The result would be a physiological state in which obesity is almost pre-ordained, and in which the carbohydrate-insulin connection could play a major role. Schwartz says he believes this could indeed be happening, but research hasn’t progressed far enough to prove it.

David Ludwig says that it’s the direct effect of insulin on blood sugar that does the trick. He says that when diabetics get too much insulin, their blood sugar drops and they become ravenously hungry. They gain weight because they eat more, and the insulin promotes fat deposition. The same happens with lab animals. This, he says, is effectively what happens when we eat carbohydrates — in particular, sugar and starches such as potatoes and rice, or anything made from flour, such as bread.

These are known as high-glycaemic-index carbohydrates, which means that they are absorbed quickly into the blood. As a result, they cause a spike of blood sugar and a surge of insulin within minutes. The resulting rush of insulin stores the blood sugar away and, a few hours later, your blood sugar is lower than it was before you ate. Your body effectively thinks it has run out of fuel, but the insulin is still high enough to prevent you from burning your own fat. The result is hunger and a craving for more carbohydrates. It’s another vicious circle, and another situation ripe for obesity.

The gist of the glycaemic-index idea is that the longer it takes the carbohydrates to be digested, the less the impact on blood sugar and insulin and the healthier the food. Green vegetables, beans and whole grains cause a much slower rise in blood sugar because they have fibre, a non-digestible carbohydrate, which slows digestion and lowers the glycaemic index.

Protein and fat serve the same purpose, which implies that eating fat can be beneficial. And the glycaemic-index concept implies that a primary cause of Syndrome X, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity is the long-term damage caused by the repeated surges of insulin that come from eating starches and refined carbohydrates. At Ludwig’s paediatric obesity clinic, he has been prescribing low-glycaemic-index diets to children and adolescents for five years. His clinic has a nine-month waiting list and in April he received $1.2 million from the National Institutes of Health to test his low-glycaemic-index diet against a traditional low-fat-low-calorie regime. That might help resolve some of the controversy over the role of insulin in obesity, although the redoubtable Robert Atkins might get there first.

The 71-year-old Atkins says he first tried a very low carbohydrate diet in 1963 after reading about one in the Journal of the American Medical Association. He lost weight effortlessly, and turned a fledgling Manhattan cardiology practice into a thriving obesity clinic. He then alienated the entire medical community by telling his readers to eat as much fat and protein as they wanted, as long as they ate little to no carbohydrates. They would lose weight, he said, because they would keep their insulin down; they wouldn’t be hungry; and they would have less resistance to burning their own fat. Atkins also argued that starches and sugar were harmful because they raised triglyceride levels and that this was a greater risk factor for heart disease than cholesterol. When the American Medical Association released its scathing critique of Atkins’s diet in March 1973, it acknowledged that the diet probably worked, but expressed little interest in why. During the 1960s this had been the subject of considerable research, with the conclusion that Atkins-like diets were low-calorie diets in disguise; that when you cut out pasta, bread and potatoes, you have a hard time eating enough meat, vegetables and cheese to replace the calories.

That, however, raised the question of why such a low-calorie regimen would also suppress hunger, which Atkins insisted was the signature characteristic of the diet. One possibility was Endocrinology 101: that fat and protein make you sated and, lacking carbohydrates and the ensuing swings of blood sugar and insulin, you stay sated.

The other possibility arose from the fact that Atkins’s diet is “ketogenic”. This means that insulin falls so low that you enter a state of ketosis, which is what happens during fasting and starvation. Your muscles and tissues burn fat for energy, as does your brain in the form of fat molecules produced by the liver called ketones. Atkins saw ketosis as the obvious way to kickstart weight loss. He also liked to say that ketosis was so energising that it was better than sex, which set him up for some ridicule. An inevitable criticism of Atkins’s diet has been that ketosis is dangerous.

When I interviewed ketosis experts, however, they sided with Atkins, and suggested that maybe the medical community and the media confuse ketosis with ketoacidosis, a variant that occurs in untreated diabetics and can be fatal. “Doctors are scared of ketosis,” says Richard Veech, an NIH researcher. “They’re always worried about diabetic ketoacidosis, but I would argue that ketosis is the normal state of man. It’s not normal to have McDonald’s on every corner. It’s normal to starve.”

Simply put, ketosis is evolution’s answer to the thrifty gene. We may have evolved to store fat efficiently for times of famine, Veech says, but we also evolved ketosis to live efficiently off that fat when necessary.

Rather than being poison, ketones make the body run more efficiently and provide a backup fuel source for the brain. Veech has shown that both the heart and brain run 25 per cent more efficiently on ketones than on blood sugar.

The bottom line is that for the better part of 30 years Atkins insisted his diet worked and was safe, people tried it by the tens of millions while nutritionists, doctors, public health authorities and anyone concerned with heart disease insisted it could kill them, and expressed little or no desire to find out who was right. Now researchers have finally decided that Atkins’s diet and other low-carb diets have to be tested, and are doing so against traditional low-calorie-low-fat diets.

None of these studies has yet been published. But the results have been reported at conferences and they are consistent. Subjects on some form of the Atkins diet — whether overweight adolescents on the diet for 12 weeks or obese adults averaging more than 21st on the diet for six months — lost twice the weight as the subjects on the low-fat, low-calorie diets.

In all five studies, cholesterol levels improved similarly with both diets, but triglyceride levels were considerably lower with the Atkins diet. Though researchers are hesitant, it does suggest that heart-disease risk could actually be reduced when fat is restored to the diet and starches and refined carbohydrates are removed.

All of this could be settled sooner rather than later, and with it, perhaps, we might have some long-awaited answers as to why we grow fat and whether it is pre-ordained by societal forces or caused simply by our choice of food.


Contribute to Debate via comment~thetimes.co.uk

[Ranger]

Welcome Sandylee....you will love this thread!

Sorry I haven't posted lately, but something must be wacky with the computer, cause, I usually get an email when someone posts, and I haven't for a few days....I thought I posted the other day, but it didn't show up....been really busy....My daughter rode her pony in the Old Home Day parade on Saturday....quite an adventure.....I will try to post a pic....she was really cute (If I may say so!)

Been busy painting the house....taking care of a lame horse and a sick goat.....never ending story!

The whoosh fairy took away another lb, so now I am at 183.....was hoping to be at 180 for my anniversary on Weds. ....but we shall see.....I will try to have a photo taken on Weds....I am having my hair and makeup done for our anniversary... I hate seeing myself in pictures...even after losing 43 lbs.....I will try to locate a before picture too....of course I am not great at computer stuff....so who knows!

Donna, I hope that last 1/2 lb comes off as a birthday present on Thursday!!!!

Take care everyone....we can and will do this together!
Carol

[Sandylee]

Hi Juliette and Carol :)
Thanks for such a warm welcome!!!
Could you please tell me what the Whoosh Fairy is? Is that who comes in the middle of the night and steals all your fat so you lose a pound?

That article from the Times was excellent! I will send that to my nonbelieving sister.

I've been doing Atkins since June 25th. I love this way of eating. I feel so energized and my appetite is way down. I haven't lost any weight or inches to speak of yet, but I think I will be the type that loses in chunks rather than gradually.
Sandy

[Dinky]

hello all my old friends - hope you still remember me..

I have been away from my computer, then on vacation for over a month. I see so many new names. I will try to scan and catch up in the next couple weeks.

Anyway = just a quick note to say I'm still alive. No gain, no loss. But that's not bad after a 3 week vacation with the dh.

Getting more exercise with the great summer weather, and trying to eat more vegies. And now this week I've stopped my HRT cold turkey :rolleyes: we'll see how that goes. Can't be nearly as hard as giving up high carbs :D

hope everyone is having a good summer - will tune in more later if you'll have me
Dinky

[Ranger]

Hi Dinky,

Glad to hear from you again.....not gaining on a three week vacation just shows how great this WOL is.....we missed you! There are lots of nice new folks to share with us....Sandy you have the right attitude...it is all how you feel...you definitely get a boost in energy when you start eating this way....

I am a little bummed....today I wanted to be at 180 (my anniversary) and was happy to be down to 183...got on the scale this am, and it said 186! Argh! I had a ham steak for dinner last night (a gift from a friend who raises pigs) It was delicious but very salty...so I am sure it is just water.....we will get rid of that pretty quickly!!!!

Have a great lo carb day everyone!!!
We can do this together!!!
Ranger