Hi all! I realize it's well into July but since I didn't see a general thread lurking about I thought I'd start one. I've been MIA and see lots of new faces discussing PP and I think that's awesome!

I just wanted you to know that...as much as it pains me to admit this...I struggled and got off track in a big way as we headed into June. My son is now a little over 6 months old (if you can believe that) and it's been a challenge balancing him, the care of my mom, and our business that is getting busier as summer approaches. (We booked weddings for summer and fall very heavily so we could concentrate on our baby earlier in the year.)

My current approach to regaining my health is still heavily based on PPLP but not intervention level. I would call it more maintenance level with a concentration on balancing caloric intake and exercise. I have found a great combination of exercise (Zumba and Pilates) that I can fit into my routine with the help of my hubby and mom (short-term babysitting in the evening when son is asleep).

I've found that when we're stuck and we're trying the same thing and struggling with it that the best thing to do is stop, regroup, and review our options. Thankfully I was able to read something that helped me gain focus. I...rather skeptically at first...picked up Bob Greene's book "The Best Life" and it has been immensely inspiring for me. I'll grant you his approach is the LF/HC approach of most fitness experts and nutrionists. But it's easy enough to look beyond that and see the benefits of what he says. He concentrates a great deal on what most books don't - the emotional aspects of why we eat poorly and don't care for ourselves. That hit home bigtime. He also encourages being active, which I've always known was a key for me but needed a little nudge to get back there. And now that I am working out again I'm reminded not only of the weight loss and strength benefits, but of the emotional benefits of having a little time to myself (which mommies so need!) AND the stress-fighting benefits of those feel-good endorphins.

And I'm happy to report that the changes I've made are working. My clothing is fitting differently (in a good way) and I feel stronger and more able to deal with the major stressors that are simply part of my uniquely combined life of new motherhood, elderly care and entrepreneurial endeavors. I can't change much about how my life is structured or what I must do right now, but I can change how I handle it by finding balance and strength.

So that's my update in a nutshell. I'm looking forward to hearing how others are doing!

Hi Lisa!!

It is good to hear from you. I have been way too busy so I barely get the new posts read and an occasional reply to something that I just HAVE to comment on.

I have looked at the absence of the "chat" thread but didn't start one because I knew I would not be able to post much and would then feel guilty.

That is good to hear. I have been participating in low-carb forums for some six years now. It has been clear to me that many (but not all) people, especially the ladies, have to come to grips with the root causes of their weight gain before they can make much progress and get to goal. And it is especially hard when there is an emotional factor involved, and WOW! are some of them tragic - for lack of a better word.

I am in my city house right now so have some time I don’t have when I am in my country house. The plan is to move into the country as soon as that house is livable and then sell the city house. Can’t happen too soon, BUT there is a lot that needs to be done.

I switched from Atkins to PPLP about a month and a half ago. The change has been very beneficial for me - much more flexibility in terms of what carbs I'll include, and this was important. I tried moving up the 'ladder' a la Atkins, but got stumped with adding more vegetables, when I was already eating about 4 cups of vegetables daily. The next 'rung' was going to be nuts, but I have trouble managing these in terms of portion control. I do better weight-loss wise without any nuts in my diet at all (not forever, but just in terms of weight-loss).

Anyway, I quite like PPLP - I'm able to custom tailor my WOE a bit more than I felt like I could on Atkins.

My weight loss is picking up, though it's still rather glacial - I think that's just because I'm closing in (sorta) on goal-weight range. I still have a good 20-30 pounds to go, but I do realize that there aren't likely to be too many more wooshes in my last leg of this weight loss journey.

I can't stress enough how much I like Protein Power Life Plan. It's made a big difference for my husband too - and I think that comes from making sure we're getting our minimum protein.

It's fantastic to not be 'afraid' of carbs, but to be gently encouraged by the Eades' to choose wisely. How lovely to have a black plum with my breakfast and still be 'on plan'. Wonderful to have these lovely Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes with some homemade turkey meatballs.

In terms of 'changes' since I switched - well, my energy's up quite a bit. I just plain feel better. I don't feel quite so restricted, and in a weird way, I really do think I will be able to get to goal on PPLP.

Belated congratulations to you Liza

Have to say, I'm very interested in Pilates myself. Do you do this at the gym?

Sara

Sara, what a fantastic post! I am so very thrilled to hear how happy you are with this "adjusted" WOE. I do think both plans have enough in common to help with the transition, but I'd be lying if I didn't think PPLP was a cut above the rest. To me life is truly about making INFORMED choices. That goes for deciding to restrict yourself or treat yourself. And I couldn't agree more that my life is much better now that I'm neither crazed for nor afraid of carbs. To me that's an important balance that goes along with my overall goal of life balance.

I have actually been eating in a far more moderate fashion than before, but choosing foods carefully and watching for quality. I decided to ignore the level of carbs and pay more attention to my body. I base what I eat on my cravings (in a natural way, like "what am I in the mood to eat") and hunger levels, keeping overall caloric levels in mind. I'm trying to go intuitively, paying close attention to having sufficient protein as always and keeping balance in the types of food I eat in a day. For example on a night I have fruit I might not do grains. I probably wouldn't do grains for two meals in a row. I try to keep mixing it up and I just adore the variety. And I continue to have natural, quality fat within these guidelines...cooking mostly with olive oil, having my eggs with butter (measured carefully)...mayo on my sandwich...fresh guacamole, etc. Where I can I find high quality naturally lower carb options. I'm a bit label reader so even if I am having carbs, you can be sure they don't come from refined or processed sources. And I recently started calculating where I'm ranging and I'd say an average day is probably between 100 and 150. I figure in the grand scheme of things I'm probably still much lower than most people. Certainly not super LC like many here, but I'm happy and my body seems to be responding, so there you go.

Thanks for the congrats, Sara. And as far as the pilates goes, I've done both gym classes and workouts at home. Are you interested in trying it or have you done it? If you're just starting out, a great starter Pilates DVD I tried was from Leslie Sansone (because I love her Walk Away the Pounds walkaerobics DVDs). But there are many good ones out there. Of course attending a class is good because you get a bit more guidance. It was a wonderful way to strengthen your core. I've commented on it in my journal a bit more and if you want to stop by and chat about it, please do!

Again, so pleased with your overall outlook on PPLP, which is something I've always wanted to explain but is often ineffable. To me the way we eat is for so much more than weight loss and I never realized it until PPLP. Glad you're experiencing the same!

Thanks for this Liza. And yes, it would be my first time ever trying Pilates. So the Leslie Sansone one sounds pretty good to me. I have some of her WATP videos already. Pretty easy to get going on, so if she's got a beginner's style Pilates thing, then I'm sure it's just the ticket for a real newbie like me.

Later on, I could take a class if I got really into it.

....

Meanwhile, I was wondering how much fruit most people have on the PPLP intervention phase. It's a bit difficult to wrap my brain around the idea that I can 'choose' my carbs with the 'net 30' guidelines. Part of me thinks, "There's no way fruit will make me fat" and another part of me is still reacting to what people say about fruit, that you can't have too much fruit or you won't lose any weight. As though it's somehow fat-inducing or something. I don't know what to think really.

Bought some peaches yesterday, and some apricots! And plums and nectarines and apples.

Oh yeah, got some veggies too.

Not in a huge hurry to try grains anytime soon, but that's only because I've been trying to get this weight off for soooooo long, and I'm so ready to get the last of it off. I'll save the higher carb experiments for later on.

For now, about 75% or more of my carbs are all coming from fruit and veggies. A few olives here and there, sometimes a dill pickle or whatever. Dressing (homemade balsamic types) and seasonings add a few carbs too.

Funniest thing to me? Having 'permission' to choose my own carbs within the PPLP guidelines, while being encouraged to choose wisely, has resulted in my calories going down quite a bit. The blog posts Dr. Michael Eades was doing about "Calorie Torpedoes" helped quite a bit too. Meanwhile, I feel more satisfied with this WOE than I did on Atkins induction. I guess I just didn't respond too well to those lists in Atkins - the induction veggie list, and then the 'carb ladder' thingie. Gah!

Must be a bit of rebelliousness in there ...."Let me decide!"

If you've done her workouts before it'll be even better for you to try it. I like her style. I find her the "least annoying" of all the video instructors out there. LOL Good luck! And remember the form and focus are the key. This is NOT a fast-paced type of workout (which I appreciate because my life is fast enough). It's definitely anaerobic but it'll make you SWEAT nonetheless.



This hits home with me. I'm really big on wanting to choose for myself. I know some people respond better to being told exactly what to do and eat, but not me! And by having that control I also keep the variety going, which is awesome.

As for the calorie considerations, that is huge part of how I approach things now and I think it's absolutely imperative. It's also something I tried to hide from for a long time (it was fun pretending calories don't matter, heh). The funny thing is, though, now that I'm eating more of a variety of food, the smaller portions and lower overall caloric intake aren't really that noticable. I'm satisfied, which is huge. Of course I'm still eating a good bit compared to some dieters and that could be why the scale is barely moving. But I have to keep the faith that what I'm doing is RIGHT and, in time, my body will show the difference as I feel it now.

ETA: Thanks for the tip about Eades and the "calorie torpedo" discussion. I looked it up and it's something I SO did when I was concentrating more on carbs, fats and proteins. It really does fit with how I've changed my approach now.

Wow- 6 months already? Boy time flies!

I've basically been in a fibro flare all summer- some days better and some days worse, but no days really "good." I'm just getting tired of it. And I don't think my body is ready to let go of excess fat while dealing with all this extra pain and fatigue.

I think it might have been from the gluten-free oats I've been testing out. I think my body just doesn't like them. I'm going to go back to my rice challah on Shabbos and see if I start feeling better.

Citrus, I think I may also have a bit of rebelliousness too.
Lisa, that is such a cute baby.
Ruth, I too have FM, so I know what you mean about flares.
I'm still waiting for my books. But I'm just avoiding fruit and grains and staying around about 40 grams of carbs a day.
Hope to get to know all of you better.
As far as exercise, I walk the dog at least 5 times a week. I also have a lot of T-Tapp DVD's that I want to get back to.
Right now, most of my time is spent taking care of my hubby who had open heart surgery in June.

My weight is bouncing up and down again. I wish my books would get here. I really need to figure out if I'm doing this right or not.
I'm going back through the books I do have and making notes about the medical reasons this WOE works.

Hey Beth, welcome! Good for you for quitting smoking. I know you have your hands full right now, trying to figure out your body, caring for your hubby, fibro, etc. But it's great that you are taking care of yourself because...as I always like to say (since I'm a mommy and care for my elderly mom too) if I'm not taken care of, NOBODY is. (It's a spin on the "if mommy ain't happy, ain't nobody's happy" saying. heh) So are you waiting on your PP books or something else? If you have any questions we can answer as to "how" while you're waiting, let us know. We can always look something up.

Ruth, I'm so sorry you're dealing with fibro flairups. My good friend dealt with that (we used to walk and do water aerobics together) and it's so tough. And you're right, your body has NO intent of letting go of fat while it's otherwise occupied dealing with pain and discomfort. I wish you luck in figuring out what's setting you off.

Things my way have been super, super stressful with our business (wedding season is ramping up, we're doing engagement shoots, and we're dealing with some troublseome clients, which is a bummer snice they are usually so great) and home life (my Mom got Poison Oak or something like it, so I'm nursing her in addition to everything else). Needless to say I'm not sleeping very well, which creates a whole new set of challenges. So I've really been searching out good things to combat the stress and I'm concentrating even harder on eating well and exercising while attempting to find that proper balance again (of calm and rest...so difficult to do). And one of those good things is working out consistently. It's my "escape" in many ways. And I thought between that and eating well things should be moving along weigh-wise but as always it's slow going. I got a little nervous recently because the scale popped up and hovered a bit. But I reassured myself, as did my friends, that is was from muscle development. I'm not only doing a strengthening form of cardio ("Zumba" - Latin dance aerobics) but also high resistance Pilates (details in gym log) which is an all-around strength training. So I can truly feel my strength coming back. All the more reason it's important to get sufficient protein, that's for sure! Anyhow, the inches are coming off so I'm worrying less about the scale as a result. I just want to see some kind of downward trend over time and so far that has happened.

Beth- how much "bouncing up and down" is the scale doing? Are you weighing yourself at the same time each day, in the same amount of clothing?

If you're weighing at different times of the day, the fluctuations are meaningless. I remember once weighing myself 4 or 5 times a day (back in high school when I was 140ish) and my weight would vary 5 lbs from morning til night, between food eaten, when I'd last gone to the bathroom, general fluid retention that lowered overnight, etc. I would guess that the amount of daily variation is a proportion of body weight and the actual numbers are a bit higher for somebody heavier.

So if one day you're weighing yourself after the morning coffee, and another day right before bed, etc, the results won't be accurate. Even if your'e weighing yourself every morning before breakfast, there are still some small variations that have nothing to do with body fat. If you're weighing yourself daily, take the average over a week as your "actual number."

Yep I weigh myself every morning in a pair of undies and a sleep shirt. I only count my Sunday WI as my official one.
I was down a tiny bit every day until this morning, then I popped right back up to Sunday's weight. I know it's water, but still trying to figure out why. The only thing I can figure is that I only got about 2 hours sleep last night.?
I'm hoping my PP books will be here tomorrow. I know they have been shipped, and the store I ordered them from is only 100 miles away. I've ordered from them before and had great service, so it's not them, it's just me being impatient.
Had a great ham and cheese omelet at the VA hospital today before DH started his day long tests/appts.
I asked, and they said they had not used any flour in the eggs. I told them I was allergic to wheat
Gave my toast to DH.
Wasn't hungry for lunch, so had a diet coke while dh ate his.
Made a couple hamburger patties, with sf bbq sauce and a cup of cantaloupe for dinner.
Got DH to bed, and now I'm relaxing with a Miller 64 calorie beer.
All carbs entered in Fitday and accounted for.
My biggest problem is breakfast. I'm not a great fan of eating on an empty stomach. Usually have a no sugar added Carnation instant breakfast in 16 oz of milk with a couple TSP of Flax meal.
But that is pretty carb intense.
I bought some Hood Calorie Countdown, and can tolerate it if I dilute it half with water. I also bought some Fit and Lite sf reduced carb Yogurt. I usually buy a plain ff organic yogurt, but it is really high in carbs.
I'm going to see if I can concoct a smoothie out of those items and add some Whey protein.

Beth, it's good that you only count a weekly weigh-in and don't let the daily fluctuations get your down. Ruth is right...there are SO many reasons your weigh-in can change. It can drive you bonkers. So as long as you can see them for what they are and keep doing what you're doing, you'll be fine. It's when you become a slave to the scale and let it affect you emotionally that you get in trouble, so I'm happy you don't sound like you're headed that way.

I was also going to suggest figuring out a good shake for breakfast in the morning and using whey protein as a base. For those who don't like breakfast that can work well. I adore eggs and peanut butter, so those are often my options (not together! haha) BTW, you should consider getting Greek Yogurt and skipping the artificially sweetened reduced carb stuff. The Greek Yogurt is rich and creamy (strained) and higher in protein. You can add your own sweeteners so you know exactly what's in there...I've used everything from Davinci syrups to fresh berries to fruit-only Splenda sweetenened preserves, etc. Yummy stuff and nice and natural (which I like).

BTW, speaking of the scale, I finally had a nice dip yesterday after an annoying pop up (which I tried hard to ignore). Again, I do the same thing as Beth in that I acknowledge and try to figure out why but don't freak out about it. For me I think it's because I'm doing so much exercise and strength training. Between that and eating sufficient protein I suspect my muscle-building is outracing the fat loss, so I just need to give it time and be patient. It's not easy to be patient, but I'm keeping the faith that what I'm doing WILL work if I just keep at it.

Lisa, you are so much further along this path than I am. It sounds as if you really have a good routine worked out.
I know about fage yogurt, but the only place that carries it is an hour drive from here.
I'm not nuts about the fit and lite, but it will do for now. I got some Bob's Red Mill Whey protein, and will be able to start experimenting now. I do love ground flax, so I'm sure I'll come up with something.
I think I'm eating more carbs than I'm supposed to at the start of PP, so maybe my loss will increase when I finally find out what the rules are.

Well, you know there are two camps, Beth...those that are strict "by the book" and those that feel like adjusting accordingly for themselves. I respect both sides in different ways and feel that after years of LCing experience I can tweak things to work for me. Therefore I'm eating "more carbs" than you would in the intervention phase, but that's my choice. I'm sort of trying to lose on "maintenance" in some ways and while the path will be longer it'll also be more seamless, IMO. It's all a matter of perspective, really. But you are wise to read these books - you will not be sorry. They are such an incredible resource and honestly for me did far more than help me lose weight. They changed my life in terms of how I fuel my body and the quality of food I demand to do it. I make so much more informed decisions now when I eat. And quality-wise I've raised the bar so high now (was bordering Dilletante in many ways, though I'm primarily a Hedonist) that even when I've eaten "poorly" it's still been far better when compared to how most other people eat.