I just wanted to add in that sometimes I think it's good to change plans occasionally. I went from a 7 month stall (or very little and very slow weight loss) to losing 6lb this past week because I swapped from atkins to south beach.
I think sometimes your body just gets into the same old routine and it helps to stir things up a little!
Way to go on your fantastic loss!!

Thanks, everyone, for your encouragement!

Here are my two-week results: I've lost 10 pounds! I lost 8 pounds the first week and 2 pounds the second. I've also lost inches off my waist, abdomen (the poochy part that sticks out below your navel), hips and thighs! I'm seeing amazing changes in my body's shape, even though I've been exercising religiously since November 1 and I've only been doing these specific targeted sculpting moves the last two weeks.

Other small things:
Have to use a tighter notch on my watch band
Had to have some rings sized down
Hollows appearing in my cheeks for the first time in years
Biceps and triceps now appearing while at rest (not just flexed)
I need a smaller size pair of jeans

Thought you might be interested in how it's going. Thanks again for your support!

Michelle

Michelle I am blown away! I am so excited for you!
Do you feel your success comes from your new exercise routine?
Was the "new diet" routine a hard transition?
It doesn't seem so. You are doing great and from your stats you are real close to your goal! I am so happy for you! I will be happy when I can wear the other half of my wedding ring set! Keep updating us it is exciting!

Excellent! Keep us updated!

WooHoo Michelle!!! I'm vicariously enjoying your weight loss- since I haven't lost any of my own weight this week! If you were to get tired of the new way of eating after six weeks and change back to your old plan I wonder if you would gain the weight back, or if you would get to keep your special 10 or 20 pound weight loss as your "special gift" for trying out the program?! As foxgluvs said, "sometimes your body just gets into the same old routine and it helps to stir things up a little!" Hmmm....there are so many different plans out there we could all probably change every two months and our weight would be off in no time!

Anyway- congrats on your success and keep us posted!!

Thanks, everybody, for your encouragement! It means a lot!

Schelle, you asked if I felt my success comes from my new exercise regimen. Yes and no. I've been exercising religiously with the Firm tapes since November 1 (and on and off for years). So why am I seeing specific body changes NOW? Could it be coincidence? Maybe. But something I am doing differently now is 1) exercising at a MUCH lower heart rate (only 60% to 70% of my maximum heart rate), which helps your body burn more fat, sooner (at higher heart rates, you're burning more sugar and less fat), and 2) targeting specific muscles, as opposed to muscle groups. One of the things I've learned, for example, if that if you do, say, lunges, you are working the quads, the shins, the glutes, and leg biceps. But the quads are by far the most powerful muscle of that group and in group muscle work, the strongest muscle simply takes over. So the quads get stimulated to grow. I don't need my quads to get bigger! I need my legs to get leaner and slimmer. So I'm not doing lunges anymore. But I am doing specific, isolated muscle work to tighten my derriere and try to "lift" it up again.

Also, they say that when you're doing this program, 70% of your success will come from your eating plan. But the workouts help you sculpt and mold your body, like an artist.

Has the plan been hard? Going no salt has been surprisingly hard for me, but I'm retraining my palate to taste food the way it really is. I never put salt on anything but eggs in the past. Now I'm discovering how much hidden salt there is in everything that changes the true flavor of food. The no sugar hasn't been hard - been through that before. The no added oil can be tough to cook with, but that's what no stick pans are for. I do miss dairy, though - skim milk, cheese - I miss those.

DDaniels, as for going off the plan at the end of the 6 weeks, I think I'll stay on until I get to 129. (Psychologically, 129 is so much less than 130 - but I'd be THRILLED OUTTA MY GOURD with 130!!) Then I'll slowly start to reintroduce a little salt - not much - but I've got to have some on my eggs. Ugh. And I'll add a little dairy. I imagine I'll move more toward a South Beach style, which seems compatible with this, as does Protein Power. But I can never go back to being a sugarholic. That's what got me in trouble in the first place and I am NEVER going to go through this process again. (I know, I know - from my mouth to God's ears, right?) The only thing I would really love to have (and will treat myself to at some point) is some Tutti-Fruitti Jelly Bellys. But otherwise, I don't have any cravings. At all. And I'm never hungry because I'm eating all the time.

That's enough. Don't mean to bore anyone. Thanks again for your interest! And foxgluvs, you're right - sometimes just switching stuff around is enough to get the weight loss going again. I hope you ALL find whichever plan works for YOU!

Michelle

I'm down another 2 pounds since Sunday! (I've been eating a lot of steak the last couple of days, since we grilled over the weekend and I made extra. Yum!) I'll be interested to see what my body fat is. I had my body fat tested when I was 149/150. When I dip below 140, I'll go get it tested again. That way I'll know whether I've been losing fat or muscle. Hopefully, I will have kept all the muscle I had!

I actually go to two different places that use the same method (infrared at the biceps) and I go on the same day, one right after the other. Both places are within a few tenths of a percentage point of one another, but it's a good double check.

Hope everyone is doing well and losing, too!
Michelle

Way to go!!!!! I'm so glad to hear about the success you are having!!! I really appreciate you keeping us informed about how it is going.

There was some discussing of the 6WBM plan over in the Atkins forum, so I directed people over here to this thread so they could see this duscussion.

Hey TV Michelle-- How many calories do you eat? I am a type A (the fatty) and I seriously need some help to lose weight. I am very intrigued. They said I should do low-carb, but I would like to know the caloric limitations. Thanks!

How do you know your body type? Where's the test?

Never mind I found the test I'm type "E"

I was on the Michael Thurman and lost a total of 45 lbs in 6 month, but went off of it and gained 20 back. So am back on it, to see what will happen. It was easy the first time but I am having a hard time this time staying on it.

i came out a b and it pretty much was my own low carb plan. so i guess i agree with it. good luck sounds like you are doing just great on it.

Interesting. I am most likely type B. mostly chicken, turkey and tuna, green veggies. I wonder what exercises are recommend? I have a hard time spending that kind of money for this program as I really hate chicken, turkey and tuna and probably won't be able to stay eating them all the time. Maybe I will buy his 12 day book, which is supposed to be more of a condensed version of this program.

Guys, the real issue is that people somehow believe they can eat unlimited stuff provided the carbs are low. Wrong. You will stall, every time. Even add weight. The only way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories than you consume. Please dont imagine that 7 pounds in 3 days or whatever is weight loss: it is not. To lose 7 pounds you need to create a negative cal balance of 7 X 3500 calories = 24500 calories. Average body needs about 1800 cals / day to survive, so you do the math: even if you ate nothing for 7 days, you could not reach 24500 calories !!! Low carb combined with low cal is absolutely a winner: Low carb, high calories is a disaster.