My turn - WTG on the pound loss!! Every one counts

Sue - You can get oil of oregano at GNC, and I suppose other heath food stores would have it. I don't take it, but I have read of those that have great results from it. You can also get flaxseed oil at GNC and I just saw it at WalMart yesterday. I do take it - I get the liquid and take 1 TBSP a day. I bought the liquid from GNC and it was so foul tasting I had to have a pickle chaser just to get the nasty taste of the oil out of my mouth! Now I order it from iherb.com (where I get most of my sups from) and they keep it refrigerated and it is VERY mild tasting so it's not hard to take. You can also get it in capsule form.

As far as the motivation, I can really understand where you are at. Here is a site with tons of good recipes to help with the food boredom - http://users3.ev1.net/~fontlady/
I am diabetic, very insulin resistant, on medication, and lose very slowly. This woe has helped bring my blood sugar under better control so that is what keeps me sticking with it. Maybe it would help you to write your goals down, both short term and long term, and read them daily. You are not alone in your struggles! Take care

Mary

Marebear,
Thanks for the advice. I am going to have a really good look at that web site. Your message has really helped me. There are others struggling too, but we just have to stick in there. I have a goal and I have drawn up a line graph and as long as I stay above the line, I know I am on target. I find that helpful.
Thanks again Marebear.
God bless
Sue

June 11th I was 330. Currently 316. I weigh at TOPS every Thursday night. If you've got room, I would love to join. I have about 170 left to lose. I would like to get under 300 by the end of July.

Let me know if I can join, and what info you need from me.

Melissa

Glad to have you join us Melissa! We can do this!

I had a two-pound week so I am very happy!



Sometimes our progress is not as easy as we would like - but we keep going! GO TEAM!!

Orchid

Sue, how are you doing? I hope you will consider starting a journal so we can chat with you regularly and not try to find all of your posts here. It took me awhile to start a journal but when I did, the benefit was immediate! This isn't easy, and we need to be able to communicate about it! Let us know how you are doing.

Orchid

I think that we need to come here and post what we ate today. Good or bad.

Let's be honest folks - what did you eat on the 4th?

So far I've had blueberries in cream w/ Splenda, then I had a cup of homemade tuna salad (just mayo, tuna, and garlic pickles) on a couple of cups of spring mix lettuce.
Later, for the '4th of July' meal - we're having a warm steak salad; grilled burgers, hot dogs, portabello mushrooms, and halibut; cucumber salad (english cucumbers & sour cream). We'll prolly have some blueberries w/ whipped cream while we're watching the fireworks.

YUMMY!!!

Anyone else want to share???

Orchid,
How do I start and journel? I am having trouble getting around this forum.
I am doing a lot better today diet wise, due to the support from you guys.
Welcome aboard Melissa!
Thanks
Sue

Sue,

Sorry you're having such a tough time...I too got in that groove, just keep chugging away and you'll push through it, try some different meal ideas and I think you'll be ok...now as to what I ate....bacon and eggs for breakfast, shared a shaved iced with my son at a parade and ate 1/2 of a pulled pork bbq sandwich, hamburger with no bun, bratwurst ( for those of you not from the midwest this is a german sausage) greenbeans and a blueberry dessert made with splenda and I drank an apple malt beverage ( cant remember the brand) but that about sums it up....not all was LC but I figure that if I am going to live this life then the 1/2 sandwich wasnt a cheat, I simply indulged without going overboard. How did everyone else do?? I'll post my weight tomorrow as I seem to have a bit of water gain today, didnt weigh but my wedding ring is tight a sure sign of water retention.

hi everyone..I went way off the rails today due to not planning ahead...took my son to the zoo and did not LC because not much was available...so back on the wagon tomorrow.

Let's start to compile a list of items we can actually have while out - movies, zoo, etc. Let's start to think of ways to live our lives so that we are never caught unawares - and if we DO happen to be, lets talk about options besides falling off the wagon.

We make these choices. Remember - it's a choice people!

For example - if there's a hot dog or hamburger offered, get it w/o toppings and toss the bun. I often have early morning appointment for therapy or the doctor. I like to sleep as late as possible so that leaves no time for breakfast - how have I dealt with that? I bring a couple of mini babybel cheeses with me. Two of those are enough to tame my hunger for a couple of hours. Gives me time to then get somewhere I can have healthy options. I've even been known to carry a small insulated pack with one of those frozen blue gel things to keep the cheese cold.

If you are going someplace and you aren't sure of the choices available, eat before you go. You make the choices on what to put in your mouth while there. Don't be afraid to wipe off sauce, take of crust, buns, etc - it's your life we're talking here. Not just a diet. This is a way of life!

Anyone else have any ideas of how these kinds of situations can be avoided in the future?? I'd really like to see all of us succeed!!

I agree with the making a list of things you can eat or being prepared but lets face it...and I am not using this as an excuse ( lets tell what I did eat...a burger..no bun with the topping and about 10 french fries and a diet coke) sometimes it is not convenient to haul your own food around with you ( we were at the zoo almost all day and the Cincinnati Zoo is too large to be making trips out to the car park 3 or 4 times and frankly I am not going to make my 5 year old take 30-40 minute walks out to the car so mommy can LC and I am not going to weigh myself down with a bag, some might say I am not willing to live the WOL if this is my attitude but I want the WOL to fit my life not live the WOL so completely I have NO life)I think alot of what this WOL is about is helping you to work with your life...I agree with CarbJunky2 that this is a WOL not a diet...but sometimes the choice is not there ( lets face it folks, at 5.99 a hamburger, who can buy two or three to just eat the meat) Anyways...I didnt fall off the wagon too far, just slipped slightly...and I am a bit frustrated by the fact that there isnt alot of choice out there for LC'er even though it is becoming more mainstream.

How big is your purse? Could you buy a slightly bigger one? I have a very small insulated bag that came with my diaper bag - it's made for baby bottles. It's just big enough for a frozen gel pack thing you can get cheaply at any Target or Walmart. Then you can put some LC food in there. Some small cheeses, a lunch meat roll up, ziploc bag of veggie chunks or slices, etc - I am sure that someone else can suggest items that would be good and fit in there too. It's small, but it doesn't quite fit in my purse, but if I need to be out for a while, I have another tote type bag that I carry, and I have room in there for this little insulated bag, a bottle of water, and everything that would normally go in my purse. I've only been to one zoo since I was a kid and I wasn't doing low-carb, and my Dad bought the food - I ate one hot dog w/ bun and ketchup and a large diet soda.

I understand wanting to fit LC into your life, but it's kinda a two-way street. If you meet LC in the middle you will be able to make this work. I've made a lot of changes, because I learned the hard way from being caught with my LC pants down. If I don't eat for a while (which is my option of choice if my choices are carbs) then I get really shaky.

Cheese and water <--- never leave home without them.

You will find a balance. Keep up the good work! It's awesome that you got back on plan asap. Once you get the feel for this, you will see more choices out there and you also won't be afraid to ask for it your way. When LCing - every place becomes Burger King. My way or I don't pay. LOL.

Have a great on plan week!!!

Hey All,

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted but I'm back.
It's great to see those who are still here and kicking. Nice work, y'all!


I wound up taking a little "vacation" from the whole thing to ponder my next steps. I think I need to try something different with a little more structure, and I've been thinking the lack of portion control and abundance of fat, low-carb "treats" etc. were slowing me down, so I'm trying South Beach for awhile.

So, $125 in groceries later (ouch!) I'm starting my first day of South Beach. Has anyone else tried it, and if so, what's your conclusion about it?

Reading the book, I think there are some good ideas and a lot of similarities to Atkins - just more structure and some limits on animal fats etc.

What do y'all think?

Just because a certain plan, low-carb or otherwise, doesn't specifically mention portions, structure, limiting fats/calories to moderate levels - doesn't mean that YOU can't make those decisions for yourself. I think this is why people say that SBD is like Atkins - but with more specifics.

Anyone can take a statement like "eat anything you want in an hour" for example - and think I really CAN eat ANYTHING - but "CAN" doesn't mean should. At least not long term. A person can only eat a whole pizza for dinner for so long. LOL

I've done many plans in the last 4.5 years and I did have eaten everything I could find and stuff in my face, usually at the beginning. I might enjoy doing that at some point in the future, but my tummy has shrunk back to normal levels I think and I don't like that over-stuffed feeling.

I keep in mind that your stomach when it's not stretched out is only the size of your fist. Anyone get a meal these days that's only the size of your fist? Nope. But, I can only eat about 2 times that before feeling uncomfortable - and I used to be able to eat 4-6 times the size of my fist. I am sure at times maybe way more than that. Thank god I never paid attention. LOL.

But - now I do a plan that says eat whenever you get hungry, as much as you need to be satisfied, etc. I get hungry a lot, but that's also because I'm eating such small portions. - all of which helps my diabetes. I'm inching closer to NON-diabetic numbers!

I think SBD is a good plan, but even the best plan can be messed up by someone who pushes the limits, finds loopholes in the rules, etc. - NOT that I'm saying YOU will do this - but most people do this as a matter of course. Drive 80 instead of 75, etc.

Good luck on SBD. Just remember that no one says that you can't have what you want - control, guidelines, portion control, etc - on ANY plan out there.

BTW - I learned from Schwarzbein that there's a mechanism in our bodies that won't allow us to 'overeat' fats and proteins. I don't know much more about it than that, but I have the book handy if anyone wants more details.

I hope that NO matter what lifestyle each of us adopts we are successful, happy, and healthy!

Hi Pizzicato,

I think you should try South Beach, it may be the "thing" for you..you were smart enough to identify you needed something else so I say go for it.