I just started the SP plan (today was day 1) and I'm looking for a support group. I have a ton of questions, that's for sure!

It'd be great to talk to ppl who are doing or have successfully done this WOE.

One thing's for sure ~ I'm scared to death about gaining more weight...

TIA!

Welcome!

How did you come to TSP? This forum is kind of quiet, but a few of us are new (well, I'm returning), so maybe we can generate some more chit chat.

I found out about Dr. S from someone on the T-Tapp forums. I checked her books out from the library and it all just clicks.
I'm glad to find you here!

What did everyone have for breakfast today?

I took mine right out of The Program sample menu:
1 serving of cream of rice w/ 2T chopped walnuts and sprinkle of cinnamon
(I couldn't stand it like that so I added 2 drops of stevia and a pat of butter)
Celery stalk and Mozzarella stick

I had to guess on quantities for all of it so I'm hoping I got it right.

Also had to sub celery for carrot sticks since I don't have any. (still see carrots as an enemy in my mind I think - from former LC WOE's)

Sound about right to you more experienced SPers?

ETA: I only ate about half of the cream of rice mixture. I made myself eat the celery and cheese even tho I normally wouldn't have.(I don't feel like I'm stuffing tho)

Jennpleez, welcome to your new life! This forum doesn't get a lot of posts, but there are a few of us who have active journals that you can read through years of steady weight loss.

Be sure to read her third (and I think best) book, the one entitled THE PROGRAM. It's fairly complete and easy to understand.

What I have taken from 6 years of eating whole foods is the quantity initially is not important, as when you eat whole foods, after w hile, your body regulates you and you eat less naturally.

Eat til you are satisfies, don't measure the whole foods, other than the carbs to some extent. Here's to a great journey for you! --Betty

Small world! I was totally into T-Tapp -in fact I'm one of her Mommy Success stories. Look at Mommy Fitness -Tiffany- that's me! Wasn't I brave to take those pictures??? I've fallen off of everything these days. I'm starting back in TSP and T-Tapp after I feel a bit better.

So today I'm not following the program. It's my birthday and I'm just pigging out on what I want- tomorrow too since my coworkers are giving me a birthday breakfast. Friday I'll get back on the wagon!

Betty ~ I was just reading your journal a bit earlier! Thanks for the sage advice. I actually read The Program first, then went back and read SPII. I checked out the first book too, but I'm a little leery of reading it now lest I get myself good and confused, right? lol

A few questions: Did you mean to say I'll begin to eat less naturally? I'm assuming you meant 'more naturally' so if not, LMK.
Also, about not measuring the whole foods, doesn't it mess up the balance (or whatever it is) if there's too much of one thing and not enough of another? Or am I being too particular?

Instinctively I think that just making the changes from all the crap I've been used to eating and starting to eat real foods should make a huge difference, but then there are all the caveats in the book and I start to STRESS about that! lol KWIM?


Tiffany ~ I went and peeked at your mommy pic's. You really lost a lot of inches over those weeks, huh? That last pic I could tell a huge difference especially. WTG for sure.

Well, Happy Birthday! Enjoy your goodies! See you on the bandwagon Friday then.

My birthday breakfast isn't until tomorrow, so there is no reason to NOT eat clean today. I started this morning with oatmeal and a dollop of cream cheese. I know, may sound kinda gross, but it was really good. I added a handful of blueberries and green tea, instead of coffee.

Not sure what lunch has in store for me, but I'll find something clean and yummy. I ate too much refined junk yesterday- Chinese Food and Birthday Cake and the noise in my head is deafening today.

-Tiffany

Hey Tiff ~ I didn't see your post yesterday for some reason. How'd the rest of the day go?
I didn't do so good in the afternoon; ate a lot of chocolate and stuff. Seemed to 'need' a whole cup of coffee and a couple partial pops yesterday too.
I sure paid for it last night then when I couldn't sleep and my heart was beating really fast. I noticed that eating those things didn't make me 'feel better' either.

So this morning I'm back on track with a couple eggs, muenster cheese, tomato and avocado with a corn tortilla.

WTG for you yesterday girl! It'd be hard for me to eat clean on a day that's sandwiched between two "unclean" days. lol I have a tendency to just say, I'll start again the next day, or Monday! You're amazing!

Hi Jenn,

Well, I started out OK with a good breakfast, but it didn't go so well after that. At least if I'm not eating something to plan, I try to add good stuff to go with it. For example, we had deep fried egg rolls for lunch yesterday. Yes, not good at all! But I ate mine with blueberries, carrots and some brown rice, so as much as the egg rolls were bad, at least I managed to fit in some nutrition.

Dinner was another story. Deep fried buffalo shrimp and sweet tea. Nothing redeeming there. But tomorrow is another day! I can only do the best I can and after my birthday. . . ahem. . .week is over I will get back on track!!

-Tiffany

"birthday week" lol

I like your idea about adding in the good stuff. Yesterday when I was toying with the idea of eating chips and a coke I thought about what Dr. S said about that kind of idea. She said if you have to binge just make sure you do it around your balanced eating. Sounds like you did that.

I avoided the chips/coke pitfall, but fell into a pit of valentine junk the boys brought home from school, then pizza at night as a response to a mildly stressful situation.

At least I'm identifying boredom and stress as my emotional eating triggers... Well, that and anytime hunger hits when I'm unprepared.

The pizza tipped the scales on the adrenal overload though and I had the full blow hives last night. (hives is what has brought me around to this point of trying to find an answer in the first place) It was so bad that I had to take the medicine for it, which I'm sure only makes things worse internally. I'm mostly a zombie today.
Historically this is when I would just eat whatever I can find, but I'm really going to try and stay on the right track today. I'm in the midst of starting a new job, so it's a little difficult especially since I haven't been to Whole Foods yet and I'm working with a limited pantry.


You know, maybe I should start a journal for all of these thoughts I'm working through. It helps to have someone to bounce things off of, that's for sure. My DH is as supportive as he can be, but he hasn't read the book yet and he's seen me go on and off 'the answer' for the past 3 years now. I don't blame him for not being convinced. Especially when I struggle so much.

Also, wondering about the feelings I was having yesterday re: eating chips and soda. It was like a longing almost. Eating a real lunch helped and I was able to resist it fine then, but I wondered about the root of what I was actually feeling there...


On a positive note! Here's what I've accomplished this week:
I passed up offers for candy/chocolate/sweets a couple different times.
I subbed green tea for coffee/pop a few times.
I added many, many healthy meals in place of unhealthy ones.
Jenn is making a conscious effort to change the way she eats for life!

Hi,

I'm new to the program, too. It was suggested to me by the womentowomen program. I've had terrible issues over the past few years and thought I was allergic to almost everything. Oddly enough, the healthier I was eating, the worse my symptoms got. I'm hoping that controlling my insulin through SP and the hormonal supplements I'm taking, things will be better.

It's great we can talk about our experience here.

Hi Colorgirl- Welcome! It's pretty quiet on this board but Jenn and I are keeping up quite a dialogue this week. Where are you from (geographically speaking)?

I started the Women to Women program last Friday and promptly got a cold. Oddly enough, I got a nasty cold last time I started TSP. Could it be a toxin thing? I wonder if since I've been eating better (mostly) this week, by poor body isn't sure what to do with itself and so it starts purging toxins and voila- manifests in cold like symptoms. Hmmmm. Who knows. Maybe I just caught a cold.

Jenn-
Sorry to hear about your hives. Yuck and yuck. But maybe it's good in some ways. If you know pizza will cause hives you will be much less likely to eat it again, as hard as that may be. For me, I always wished drinking Pepsi would make me violently ill (not just fat) so I would stop. I just love a good Pepsi with bread or a salty snack. But I've been pretty good this week about staying away from soda. And I never liked diet pop so it's no big deal there.

I think a food journal is a great idea. I would like to start tracking too. Maybe we can compare notes. I think for your first week you accomplished a lot!

Yesterday I did well- even thought I did not eat in balance at breakfast (my celebration potluck) I got right back on at lunch and ate nitrate free sausages cooked with bell peppers, blueberries, avacados and raw cauliflower. It sounds all weird but it tasted yummy.

For dinner I ate grilled shrimp, baked potato with a bit of sour cream, and field greens with oil and vinegar dressing. That's pretty darn close to the program! I did have three bites of birthday cake, but I'll allow myself that.

I picked up Dr. S's The Program and she adds another element in this one: Going gluten free for one to three months. I like the menus in this one even better. I highly recommend the book! It kinda pulls it all together.

Hi,

Thanks for the welcome. I'm in Las Vegas. I just went to the store to stock up. It's definitely difficult to change my shopping habits. I've had terrible migraines in the past, so I was leery about buying some cheese and dairy products, but I'll test the waters and see what happens.

Sorry you've been sick. The toxins really make me wonder. I've braced my family that I might not be pleasant for awhile, depending on what happens with SP, but it can't be worse than migraines.

The Program sounds interesting. Glutens are curious. I was wondering if the cookbook is helpful also. The suggested breakfasts look pretty egg-centric. Do y'all eat anything besides eggs for breakfast? I'm not sure if I'd love eating them so much. I've kicked sugar before, so I know I can do it. I'm hoping I'll feel good enough to encourage me to keep it up.

Good luck with the cravings ladies!

I have the Cookbook and I really like it. The soups alone are delicious! I don't have the vegetarian cookbook because I am a meat eater through and through.

I eat oatmeal a lot for breakfast- the real kind, not the sugary, instant nasty stuff. I also love Cream of Rice and grits. You can eat anything you want for breakfast that is on the program. I'm just not into eating something at a certain time just because you are "supposed" to. It makes me crazy that places stop serving breakfast after 11 or so. If I want a breakfast burrito at 3pm, what is the problem? Well, no problem if I make it myself!

If you aren't into eggs, just pick another protein. Nitrate free sausage or cottage cheese, or whatever you fancy. I've been known to eat leftover grilled shrimp for breakfast.

Don't be discouraged if you feel worse before you feel better. At least there are a few of here talking for support! Luckily the three of us are in about the same place right now.

So far my cravings are totally under control- but it's the TV munchies that always used to ge me, so we'll see! An apple with some whole foods peanut butter has helped that at least once this week.

-Tiffany