Hi everyone,

I have had my husband and myself on a low-carb/high protein diet since February. Do I need to do the Phase I of the protein power or just continue with my 30 grams a day plus around 75 grams of protein? I have lost weight but slowly--not worried though, I figure it took me a long time to put it on so taking it off won't be a breeze! I also try to keep a personal log of what both of us consume only at the moment it is a little hard to keep track of his because he is a football coach and eats out a lot. So, I probably won't pick it back up until after the season.

We eat nothing but low-carb bread, low-carb desserts, meat, fish, fowl & watch which vegetables we eat. I hope that I'm doing it right. I have had a total knee replacement so it is a little hard to get around but I try to exercise the best that I can. If anyone has any suggestions or comments, please share them.

Thanks a heap.

Maren Stoy

Hi, Maren ! If you are at 30 grams of carbs a day (10 each meal), then you are still in Phase I. If I remember correctly without my books here to look at, you are to move on to Phase II (Transistion in the PPLP book) when you're within 10% of your goal for weight loss and any health problems - blood sugar, cholestrol, blood pressure - are back in normal ranges.

It sounds like you're doing just fine !

Hi Shadow,

It was nice of you to reply so fast. I thought that I was on the right track but I am re-reading my PP book and am doing a few more things that I didn't do at first. Thanks again for your encouragement. I just wished my weight would get off a little faster.

Maren

Maren - You're not alone! We ALL wish it would go off as fast as it went on ! Look on the bright side - you appreciate the things you have to work for . You will get there in time - so keep hanging in there !!! Everytime I re-read my books (I have both PPLP and PP), I find something to do different or something I missed or something I've forgotten... If only I could memorize them ! Too bad there's not a cure for memory lapses !

You're not making drastic changes, are you? I think you were on track as you were doing it. It is, amazingly, a very simple plan. I tend to over-complicate it and over-manage it, but I'm just kinda a control freak, I guess .

Keep me posted on how you're doing!!! I love hearing success stories !

Hi there Maren....

A few things that you could do that might help you get going a little quicker. First, would be to post a journal here on the forum as a place to ask your questions and collect the answers. It would also give everyone else a place to visit you with encouragement and inspiration. Second, once you have a journal, share your daily food intake so that some of the "eagle eyes" around the forum could check it out and let you know if there are any things you are eating that are slowing you down. And third...consider keeping track of your food in Fitday.com so that you'll have a true picture of what you are taking in. Hope this helps.

Marlaine

This goes out to Marlaine & Shadow,

To Shadow, you really are a fantastic person and I love hearing from you because you are so positive and to Marlaine, thanks for all the great advice about posting an on-line journal & keeping track in Fitday (whatever that is). I am sure that I will figure it out. After all, how difficult can it be? But before I go, I do have a question for you two. I am allowed 30 grams of carbs a day but say breakfast is only 2 (I have found some really low carb bacon etc.) and lunch is 5--do I get 23 for dinner or forget them? Help!!

Thanks--I really appreciate all everyone is doing! This is a great forum.

Maren

Hi Maren, I will chime in here as I happen to be online at the moment. Isn't Shadow the greatest? I don't have the pleasure of knowing Marlaine yet, but I'm sure she is wonderful, too. You've landed in the right spot.

To answer your questions, the Eades recommend that you not exceed a certain number of carbs per meal. I think it may be 15 or so, depending on what phase you're in. So you can't save up unused carbs for later on in the day. This is so you won't get a blood sugar spike.

And there is really no reason NOT to eat fewer than 30 carbs per day, as the body can't do anything extra about losing weight or inches with those uneaten carbs. So you could add some cheese or veggies to that bacon without worrying about it (just count and track the carbs). And you should make sure to eat sufficient veggies every day--then you'll have no trouble getting up to 30 carbs.

Hope this helps.

Dear Rose,

I will definitely take your advice and add some cheese &/or some veggies to my meal. I really want this weight to come off. The 3 surgeries on my leg really put the weight on--now it is time for it to say "bye-bye". Question--what do you do if you have your grandchildren for the week-end and all they want is pizza? Maybe I could just eat the toppings without the crust. What do you think?

Maren

hi Maren,

What the other folks suggested

What else to keep in mind is that the 75g protein per day is the minimum level you should ensure to have ... it's ok to go over that. Keep in mind you need to make sure to have the minimum amount per meal .. especially breakfast. 75g per day divided into 3 meals means you should have 25g per meal ... at least. Two eggs at 6g protein each isn't enough, so make sure to have more protein than that in the mornings.

As for the carbs .. RoseTattoo is right on the money, you can't save them up for dinner. They need to be spread out through the day. Here's what the Eades have to say (from the Protein Power FAQ's):

hth,


Doreen

Hi Doreen,

I started out taking shakes etc. from an "Herbalife" dealer and she said that I should have 75g of protein. That seemed like a lot but I guess it is o.k. I am not one for a big breakfast but I will try to at least get down two eggs & some bacon. I really have to go back & read my 2 books from the Eades, PP & PPLP. I make fresh LC bread just about everyday for my husband, maybe I should have some of it myself. Afterall 1 slice only has 4g carbs and 3g protein. I believe the recipe came from this forum--not sure though.

Thanks for the advice and I will go to the Protein Power website.

Maren

Maren, about the grandchildren--my kids love pizza, and we've tried to solve the problem by getting only thin crust pizza with lots of toppings. I don't know if you have Domino's where you are, but they sell a very thin crust pizza that's cut into very small squares. The kids have several slices, and my husband and I have one or two with a salad. I haven't calculated the carbs, but the crust is so very thin that I figure it's more like a cracker than a piece of bread--I'd guestimate that one piece has about 6 grams of carbs.

Since you're already making lowcarb bread, could you also roll that out as a thin pizza crust and top it yourself? An alternative to that is to use the La Tortilla low carb tortillas, which are delicious, and can be baked in the oven, or fried in a pan, and then topped with pizza toppings.

Thank you, Maren! (And thank you too, RoseTattoo !)

You have received so much good advice - so glad everyone jumped in to mention things I didn't think of! Isn't this forum wonderful?! I never think of the journal and/or Fitday since I do all my jounaling at home on a spreadsheet, but that's a big asset to have on your side. I think all of your questions were answered above, so I will go for now. Just wanted to stop in and say "thank you" and "hello"!

Oh, btw, I second RoseTattoo's suggestion to either try your low-carb bread dough for a crust or a low carb tortilla. While real pizza crust a la Domino's might not have many carbs per serving, it still has flour, sugar and transfats in it (or at least the pizza places I worked in used transfats). I've experimented with a "crust" using protein powder that wasn't too bad. I found the recipe on the PP forum (http://bbs.eatprotein.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi). HTH

I have made great little pizzas with flattened and lightly fried in olive oil Rev Rolls. I think I will try making them with mozzarella and parm in them instead of sour cream. I also have stuffed portabellos as pizza.