I love Low Carbing

[carbholic]

I have not posted before but wanted everyone to know how wonderful it is to have pants starting to feel loose again. :-)

I have been doing LCing since March and already...just today, I am 30 lbs lighter. I have this support forum to thank because without it I would have messed up and gone off the LC plan I had. I would not have been able to continue.

My blood pressure is down, my pants fit better, people are taking notice at work now, sex is better, I feel much better, I have not had cravings in a long time, I am reshaping my life and part of it has been with the help of this board.

I especially want to thank Trainer Dan for his wisdom that I kept reading. He posted a weight lifting regimine for beginners that I have been using every other day and that got me over a stall. He posted info on when to do cardio(on empty stomach) and that got me over another hump. I still can't believe that in about 2 months I have lost 30 lbs. My friends at work tell me now that I have encouraged them to start Atkins.

March was my second attempt at Atkins. 3 weeks prior to that, I started it but felt sick, headaches, and very weak. I told myself I could not do it. Then, I saw Atkins on Phil Donahue. I told myself I could then . Now, a few months later and 30 lbs lighter(and getting some muscle definition, too) it's like a "cakewalk"(i do miss olive garden, though)

I still stick with a near induction level of carbs but don't mind if I go over some. I feel good with that, too. I have only cheated twice(once at a dinner party where they had cheesecake and i still lost a pound the next day). No bread, no tacos, no pasta. I craved it lots at first but then I found great recipes on this forum that helped me to keep going. Thanks for all the help, everyone!

[shama]

:D

I applaud you!!!!!

WTG on the weight loss!

Any pointers you could send my way! Were pretty close in the weight dept. I havent lost as much, so if you have any ideas, please send them my way, or should I say weigh!!!!!

Dont fret about the olive garden, I just found the recipe for the alfredo sauce on the web, it calls for milk to thin out, but I used a 1/4 cup of heavy cream mixed with 1/4 cup of water, my family loved it, They had if over pasta, but I had it over steamed cauliflower. I think it would be great over any veggy. I didnt feel deprived at all.

The recipe calls for

8 oz of cream cheese
3/4c parmesan cheese-grated
1/2 c butter
1/2 c milk, substitute heavy cream and water
veggy of choice


In large saucepan combine cream cheese, parmesan, butter and cream with water, stirring constantly until smooth. Toss with veggie coating well, FANTASTIC!!!!!

Give it a try, I dont know the carb count, I'm not sure how to enter it into fitday. Could somebody give me the count, I'd really appreciate it.

See ya, keep up the GREAT work!!!!!!!

Shannon :rose:

[carbholic]

1) I really think the weight lifting, although not heavy, has helped
in the strength dept. I alternate days of weightlifting but cardio every day.

2) When I first started seeing a stall, I took hyroxycut. That helped get rid of 3lbs fast and gave me some motivation.

3) When I experienced another stall, I read Trainer Dan's piece on doing cardio in the morning on an empty stomach. I had been
doing it at night after work, and maybe an hour after dinner. Now, I do it either first thing in the morning or RIGHT when I get home from work before eating anything.

4) I am religious about the water. I have not had a since I started LCing, either. I just drink water. During dinner, I always have 24 oz of water. I probably take about 75oz of water a day.

5) I stopped eating the atkins and delite(sp) bars!!! I am betting that contributed to stalls.

6) I don't go overboard on meat but find that I am now able to do moderation. For example, I used to take 4 boiled eggs to work for breakfast each day. As the days went by I felt fuller on them so I went to 3. Now, I am at 2 boiled eggs, a cup of decaf w/ heavy cream, and 2 large olives w/jalapeno. It sounds weird but adds some variety. For every cup of decaf I make myself drink 2 cups of water.

7) I glutamine, and a good multi-vitamin. I feel the glutamine has increased my resistance because I was the only one not to get sick in the house after everyone else came down with colds and strep. Normally, I would be the first to get such.

8) I don't eat sugar or bread. My wife made some low carb bread for me a few times but it was too eggy and I just did not like it that much. I have learned to make "cigars" instead. Roll up ham, cheese, and other things into a "cigar" and have that instead of a sandwich. I don't really miss a sandwich and the motivation I have is how I am feeling these days.

9) It used to be that I would eat an entire box of candy or something else stupid like that. Now, if I do get a hankering for something sweet I make either maple chocolate walnut mousse(recipe I found on the board), or mix 2.5 tblsp cream cheese with some splenda, cocoa powder, and cherry extract. I can't even believe 2.5 tblsp of anything satisfies but it does now. To me, that is a miracle. It's very thick, very good, and hardly any carbs.
Love the sugar free jello, too. My wife made me a low carb pumpkin cheesecake once(found recipe on the site) and it was indeed fabulous. In fact, the kids ate the heck out of it.

10) I hate to exercise. However, I do it EVERY day...except Sunday when I want to concentrate on other things in my life. The more you do the easier it gets. I used to know that many years ago but forgot it(I'm 39) I guess. I'm very busy at work and work long days but I MAKE myself exercise and just tell my family....do you want me to be around to live and see you grow old? :-)

11) When I have business lunches at Chinese restaurants I eat good, too. I just make better choices now. When the cravings are gone the choices are easier to make. For instance, we went out for a meeting the other day and I would have loved the rice mixtures, general tso's chicken, and stuff but I chose hot wings, strawberries, spinach salad, and marinated mushrooms. Not too bad. I know I felt good after eating and I had to laugh because the others said that they needed someone to roll them out. I ate a good amount, too. Just did not feel as bloated as they did.

12) I made a decision to start parking my car further from work, further from the shopping, and walk the extra bit. Every bit helps in my opinion.

I have just made some better choices in my life that I feel good about. I, also, made the decision to not care about the scale. I think now I can pick out what is good to eat and what is not good to eat. If the scale stays someplace I know it will eventually move and progress will be made. Not sure what I will do at my goal weight at this time. Maybe I will have to just keep experimenting.

My favorite thing about lowcarbing is that I have NEVER been hungry on this. I contrast that to last year's attempt at a low fat and high exercise diet. The diet was terrible(fat free hot dogs, chicken, no fat, fat free dressing, no nuts, etc. ) I exercised every day but lost only 5 pounds in a 3 month period. I felt no better but hungry and deprived(I used those Richard Simmons Deal a Meal cards and hated the thing). I never feel deprived now. I sometimes would like to eat other things like some great ice cream with hot fudge syrup, nuts, whip cream, carmel, and cherries on top but I won't. I'll make maple chocolate walnut mousse and have that instead.

Not sure if these tips help but they have been great for me. I know people who have lost weight on low fat diets and that's wonderful for them. I know people can lose on any sort of diet. It's whatever works best I imagine. One thing, I know this diet works for me and I know I have not eaten so good(meaning healthy) in a long time. Ever try raw spinach, strawberries chopped in a salad with olive oil and raps vinegar on it? Wow! Excellent and healthy. Throw some chicken and sunflower seeds in and that's good eats.


Thanks, Carbholic