RandiSue, Praise the Lord! I know He will lead your DH to the right spot. What a blessing to begin to see your way out of this unemployment situation. Now perhaps it will be your turn soon! You've done well to just hold your own during a stressful time. Good for you! As to the sweets, I know that when I'm staying right in the Zone with mostly whole, natural foods my taste buds adjust and I can really taste the natural sweetness in foods I normally don't think of as sweet (zuchinni?). It just takes a few days after I've eased up on artificial sweeteners to notice the change. Best to you!

Fit and Trim: What a set of life trauma! It's amazing how He blesses: though you've been left with this head pain, your own bout with the meningitis probably saved your DD's life! Dr.'s can't suggest any help for your chronic pain? I guess sometimes the Lord sends these things to keep us leaning on Him.

Blessings to all!

Randisue: Yeah on the job offer for your husband! I know from personal experience what a relief that must be! My husband worked for Lockheed Martin for almost 4 years and loved it - but then they shut the division down in Oklahoma and moved it to Texas. Since then he has been selling security systems to small businesses. He is enjoying it because he gets to meet new people everyday. The down side is that it is 100% commission with no base salary. It has definitely got me relying on the Lord for all of our needs. - I am also more stressed through all of this, since I am a stay at home mom of 4.

Fit & Trim: I'll be praying for your headaches and neck pain. Years ago, I had an MRI to check for a brain tumor and came to find out that it was a reaction to nutrasweet. Now I have to be careful how much I consume as an artificial sweetener.

I used to go to Stroud to shop at the Outlet Mall before the tornado took it out. - I have lived in Tulsa since I was 7 years old. I am originally from Manitoba, Canada. (Much cooler there) I think I moved from one extreme to another!

Shalizbet: You're right on the excercise. I don't take heat too well but it's no excuse because I do own a treadmill. (It usually collects clothes on it)

Hi everyone!

I was excited to see this thread. My name is Tangie, I am 22 years old and have been a Christian for (wow) just about 9 years! I live in Arizona and am a senior at Southwestern Bible College.

It is tough sometimes keeping both our spiritual and physical lives healthy. I tend to obsess about my weight and appearance which takes its toll because it takes my attention away from God. But I do want to have a healthy mindset and take care of my body. It's tough finding the balance.

It is such an encouragement to read your posts. It would be great if we could all help each other out.

Have a great day and God bless!
Tangie

Hello eveyone.......
So Happy your husband got a job RandiSue. God Bless your family.

Yes I often think of that as a reason I got sick, so my DD would live.

I had an MRI on my head too, they say I have harding of the arteries. It scared me at first, but I am in the hand of the Almighty.

One day we will be surprised to lose another lb. Faith is what we have...right?

Hi, TangieK! Welcome to this thread! I'm so blessed that the original thread title has drawn so many who love the Lord to this place. Looks like your LC journey is being successful. My son will begin his senior year in the fall at Houghton College in central New York State. It's a deeply Christian atmosphere, Wesleyan in background, and he is a music education major with organ as his applied instrument. This summer he is on tour with a music ministry team called Godspeed which is sponsored by the college and he and the group go from Christian camp to camp to work with the kids and spread the good news. I also have a younger son at home with us now who is doing Atkins. It's great to have you with us here!

Fit and Trim: We will lose! I, too, am waiting----not always patiently---but trying not to lose heart. I was SOOO sure I'd see a drop this morning. But, tried on about 6 pair of pants when I got back from work today and things fit that haven't in months. Something is happening. Your food plan has to be the best possible thing for the arterial problems. They are probably improving every day.

Luxsit: keeping you in prayer for employment, too.

TxTruker: hope you're doing well!

Hol: your buddies are here; where are you? How's it going?

KathyD: hope you're feeling well and that all's going well during this special time.

FionaMcB: we haven't heard from you for a while; hope you're well. Summer is such a busy time.

Camou: God bless!

Blessings to all!

I hope things are improving for me too.

I expected a loss this morn too. I got on the scale and it said 136...got on it again right away and it said 135....got on it again and moved it all over the floor to see if it would change to 135 again, sadly it was teasing me. I am still 136.....but I can still LOL about it...LOL

Tangie, - Welcome! This is a fun thread to belong to.

Fat - You made me giggle! I have stepped on the scale numerous times hoping to see something different. I once heard that if you hold your hands over your head while you weigh, it will weigh less. - tee hee!

I goofed tonight. Made tacos and rice for the DH and kiddos for supper. I intended to have a salad with all the fixings from the tacos (except the shells).

Before I knew what I was doing - I indulged!

Tomorrow is another day!

Fit and Trim, What a dear post! I laughed out loud for real, because I, too, have had just the same experience. In fact, I often weight myself on two scales ('cause one of them has the body fat percentage thing on it), and then hours later I can't remember which said which or whether one said I'd lost and the other didn't. I tend to pay most attention to the one in the bathroom-----which was a poor replacement of an earlier one that died (sent DH shopping---mistake). At some point I'll just have to pitch it out and get what I want. But that's not saying it'll tell me what I want to see. I guess we are all the same in the goofy parts of this journey.
My son dropped four pounds today after losing 7 pounds in the first week and then sitting there for a while without losing. I think I was willing to give up my loss in order to have him get some encouragement (not that any such bargains are possible). Anyway, we're rejoicing over that.

Cleanheart: Our old habits are habits just because we've been stuck in them for ages. Of course they're easy to fall back into. Don't beat up on yourself. The one thing I love about the Zone diet I'm on (and I'm not trying to persuade anyone) is that there is a zone motto: You're only three hours away from being back in the zone. If you have a slip at one meal, snack, or moment, it only takes a few hours until it's time to adjust your body's hormonal carburetor (the hormone to which the zone refers is insulin), by eating another zone meal, and then you're back in the zone. And being in the zone means burning fat and feeling good. I think it might be safe to say something similar about your situation. Within a few hours the "forbidden" carbs will be metabolized and you can be back on track.

Best to all 'til tomorrow.

Shalizibet...mine is a digital I bought when I started LCing. I guess it was too cheap. Maybe it is because my floors are not level either. We live in a trailer.
Is the Zone meal like induction?

HI guys,

God's blessings to you all. Welcome to the newbies.
I love getting on the board and catching up on all the messages at this thread. I must admit, there are so many it's hard to keep up.

Thanks to all for your prayers. DH started his job today. I'm anxious to hear how his day went. He took the job closer to home doing woodworking. He's going to love it.

I got a call today in regards to a resume I sent out for an HR assistant. It sounds promising. It's just 3 days per week, pays well, and has full benefits. It would allow the freedom to start that ministry to the needy and homeless that is so strong in my heart.

I was up till 4am last night pouring my heart on to paper. How exciting. I have a name: New Life Christian Ministries. Devloped a logo, begin a business plan, and many other misc. things.

Still praying and waiting on the go ahead from the Father to start anything. Pray for me if you think about it.

Love to all, have a very blessed weekend.
I will pray for strength for everyone, so we can get through w/o cheats :-)

Randi Sue: How exciting! Sounds like the HR assistant job fits in great with your schedule. - I believe that if God put this ministry on your heart, He will equip you with all you need. (Including finances to do it!) - Sounds like you are off to a great start.

Wonderfull news. Jehovaha God is our best friend.

Hi, all! RandiSue, what happy news! You've had so many windows opened you can't even keep up with them! (You and others I think will remember the old adage "When the Lord closes a door, He opens a window.") I will pray about your ministry!

Fit and Trim: Mine is digital, too-----and I don't think anyone has level floors in any place they live. Outside of concrete, I don't think much of anything stays level much longer than it takes to nail or glue it in place. Or so my DH and I have found in our building projects. But sometimes I think scales are like the "evil machines" in the movies. Like so many things, though, we can't live with 'em and can't live without 'em.

The Zone is an LC WOE. There is no induction; you're just in or out of the zone. We figure out our lean body mass, eat enough protein each day to sustain it, and balance each protein "block" (which is just a way of talking about a 7 gram portion---roughly) with one carb block, and one fat block. Now this is a pretty simplistic way of explaining something that has a lot of science behind it, and like any other plan you have to read the book and work to understand it. If you're curious about how I eat, check out my journal. It's not perfection----but the Zonecoach seemed to think I was pretty much on target. There are lots of other ways to eat on the zone, but I stick pretty much to the healthiest and most favorable protein, carb, and fat choices because I have a tendency to be carb sensitive and I also tend to stall. I feel much better on the Zone than on Atkins, and although I can't "eat anything I want in any quantity" the way Atkins says to, at least I can eat fruits, the occasional piece of LC bread, or almost anything else I am craving if I plan for it. Healthy is best on any plan. The other thing I've noticed from reading so many other people's posts, is that no one even on Atkins can get away with unlimited quantities and gorging for long. You might lose a bunch of fluid weight to begin with, but eventually calories will count. Atkins is just one of a number of ways to let LC cut the cravings so that we can control our quantities and food choices. Won't "lecture" on at you. If you have other questions I'd be glad to respond.

Still wondering how our newbies are doing. Blessings to all!

Thank you for telling me about the Zone. So on the zone losing is a lot slower right?
I lost another lb this morning. I was really excited. It has been about a week since my last lost lb. I think the newbies are else where learning about LCing...that is my guess.....

You know, the Zone is no slower for me than Atkins was. At this relatively low weight (for me anyway), and at my age, it's slow no matter what I'm on. After the first rush of water weight, the expected fat loss is 1-1.5 lb. per week. But I really believe everyone has to work the plan that works for them. I was reading some old posts last night and ran across these people on the forum who were really ripping at each other over which plan was best. Not pretty. I'm not going there. Congratulations on your loss. This morning I got on the scale and it said I had lost a pound (first one in a while) and I was so ecstatic that I ran to the kitchen to tell my husband. Then I walked back into the bathroom and, wanting to see the beautiful number again, got back on the scale. It was up a pound! And all the moving it around the floor would not make it read that lower number again. Tonight we have a new scale that at least reads in .5 increments. Now maybe I'm just going to be torturing myself in smaller increments----but I never liked that other thing anyway. Hope things continue to go well for you! Blessings!