Good friday everyone.Rise and shine.....I'm going to bed...LOL

Up early this morning - hope everyone has a great day

I've got to work today so it will be interesting with all the kids out of school and no moms home in the neighborhood.

We keep eating good, I keep maintaining and DH keeps dropping. Its great but soooo not fair. I am proud of him but ARGH!!!!
Sorry had to yell. Now I feel better

Take care and will check in later-
Love, Carrie

Carrie - I know what you mean about guys on this WOE - my hubby lost more in a month than I did in four months.... happy for him and wanted to choke him

My menu was a little low in carbs and calories yesterday Weight this AM: 173 lbs. I'm back in light ketosis, thank goodness. My appetite had been raging since Sunday.

Total calories: 1486
Fat: 101 gms 986 cal 62%
Sat: 45 gms 405 cal 28%
Poly: 12 gms 108 cal 7%
Mono: 36 gms 324 cal 22%
Carbs: 32 gms 112 cal 8% ECC: 28 gms
Fiber: 4 gms 0 cal 0%
Protein: 111 gms 444 cal 30%

Breakfast:
4 egg beater omelet with 2 ozs lean ham and 1 oz cheddar
30 ozs coffee (regular, brewed)

Lunch:
Forgot to eat

Dinner:
Homemade taco salad (no tortillas)
3 cup lettuce, 1/2 can tomatoes with chilis (drained), .5 cup sour cream, .5 cup shredded cheddar, 8 ozs lean ground beef seasoned for tacos

About 150 ozs various liquids (mostly water)

Exercise: none

Good morning to all. Today I have the day off, yippee, but of course I was up at the crack of dawn Oh well, just means that I can get a lot done today. Today weight is at 148.0, which is actually down 1.5 from earlier in the week.

Carrie-I can totally relate to the guy losing phenomenon as well. We've only been working out for a little more than a week, but DBF has already lost 10 lbs. 10 lbs!!!! And he only had about 20 total to lose. Talk about ridiculous

Thanks for all the suggestions to be careful about CAD, and to reread my old posts. Basically, I think I need to keep my big mouth shut, b/c I think I have no idea what is going on in my body. At any one point of time, I can convince myself that I am feeling good or bad to justify why things need to be changed. I've done it to leave Protein Power, and I've done it to come back. I think I just try to justify to myself why the change is okay. So here is my current "justification" if you will. Although Protein Power may be more balanced all day long than CAD, I do not think it is something I can do for life. Eventually, if I have a family, I want to be able to eat the dinners I prepare for them. I want to have some whole grain breads at dinners, and occasionally a nice dessert. I don't want to eat and snack all day long, which is exactly what I do on Protein Power, no matter how hard I try not to. I just seem to "need" food at least 6 times per day while eating that way. On CAD, I don't have any desire for snacks. I eat three times per day, period, end of story. I don't chew gum, I don't drink diet rite, and unless I am eating a dessert, I do eat wholesome foods.

The biggest thing that I am still working on, though, is the balance factor, but I feel like I can overcome it. Actually, today is my 4th day back on CAD, and I've kept to the plan to a tee! I've not had one dessert since coming back. The first night I had some chicken salad in a tiny whole wheat pita, with lots of veggies, salad, some strawberries, and an apple. The second night I had no groceries so I ate some cottage cheese, some plain oatmeal, a can of green beans, some strawberries, and a couple tablespoons of natural peanut butter (I know, weird combo). Last night I went out to eat and had grilled chicken with mushrooms, asparagus, melted cheese, a side caesar salad w/o croutons, some grilled veggies, and two small pieces of bread with butter. Yesterday my carbs were probably lower than they were usually on Protein Power.

I've made some different commitments to myself this time around, though, which I've shared with DBF, so he can help me keep on track. He was actually one of the main reasons I went back, b/c he said I seemed so much happier on CAD than I had before. That's a very powerful statement. I've told myself that I will not buy anything sweet (except fruit) to keep in the house. The grains I will buy will only be whole grains. When going out to eat, I will eat as I normally would have on PP, with the exception of adding one kind of carb, either a grain OR a dessert, never both. I hope this will be the difference this time around.

I think that another thing that hopefully will help with my success this time is that now I have another focus besides CAD....exercising! Before it was all about what I was going to eat at my next reward meal, but now I am more interested in figuring out how I am doing and how to progress with my workouts. DBF suggested today we only do 15 minutes, but at a higher intensity, b/c he thinks he workout should be a little different. So, I feel up to the challenge of doing 15 minutes straight on the treadmill, which I have not yet done. I know there is no way I could do 20 minutes, so it seems like a good thing to shoot for. I know it's going to be hard, but I've been so proud of myself each day that I make it through my workout. Ellie, I think I am getting hooked

Hope you all have a wonderful day and stay on plan to meet your goals

Wendy:
I can relate to the eating with family thing -- my menus contain more calories and carbs at dinner for this reason. I have a set menu for breakfast because I cook it at 4:30 AM (in my sleep most of the time ) It contains 301 calories 14 gms fat, 7 grams carb and 35 gms protein. Lunch tends to be nearly pure protein with a few carbs and fats - usually in the 400 calorie range.

From what I remember you saying as you were leaving CAD, it was the idea of a reward meal that was disrupting your ability to stay on plan. If you begin having problems with CAD again, consider the option of a larger evening meal that still has some calorie / carb limits, but is liberal enough to give you a wide range of options as an alternative.

Orang-I think you hit the nail on the head! I like having a large evening meal, but without some kind of restrictions, I don't always make the best choices. On Protein Power, I knew I couldn't have the bread or dessert, but on CAD, I have to self-impose limits. When I cook for myself during the week, I've been playing around with caloric/carb amounts at dinner. The couple meals ago that I described were both around 600-700 calories and around 60-70g carbs, both which seem reasonable to me. The first time around, I think I was just "testing" things, to see how far I could push and get away with, kind of like teenagers do with their parents. When I started seeing the negative effects, I freaked out resorted back to what I knew, to get back on track. But now I know. I know I cannot have both chips and flour tortillas at a meal. I know that I cannot have both rice and a massive restaurant-style dessert. They say on the CAD that everyone goes through the "kid in the candy store" syndrome, but I thought I was stronger than that. I guess it is just a natural adjustment.

And it is nice to have set breakfasts and lunches, as you mention. It involves much less planning and obsessing, b/c you already know good combinations ahead of time. Makes it a lot easier. Thanks for the thoughts and support!

Good morning all.
I'm reading all these posts about staying on plan and yours truly gave into a craving but tried to make it as healthy as possible. I was craving french fries so I bought a small bag of plain frozen shoestring fries and baked a few, had them with lunch. That was perfect. I enjoyed them completely.

Will weigh again this weekend, not really concentrating on anything right now as I am getting back to eating normal meals and am trying to make sure I get enough protein for healing.

I'm still a little fatigued during the day. I have my post op appt this aft. I have been driving and have had no pain or discomfort from the seatbelt or stepping on the brake. Yesterday I went to the bank and post office and then came home and slept an hour and a half!
I have actually done a little itty bitty weight training (2-4 lbs) in a sitting position , just to get my muscles moving again (don't tell my doc ), the rest of exercise is just a little walking, going up and down stairs to do small loads of laundry across the way, a little straightening in the kitchen, etc.I will need all six weeks just to start feeling human again.

Hi to all and sorry I am not more post-specific.
Elaine

Wendy, I only have a second to post, but I wanted you to know that I'm here for you and I support you no matter what!

Good morning all!

Renee: I hope you got the email I just sent you! Whew, THAT was trying my patience along with the "honking" dog and all the weird "squirlley" behavior being displayed by the other dogs BECAUSE of the "goose dog"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For some reason I am having a heck of a time getting my concentration back on track right now (which is very important for me to stay on track in this WOE). I have found that the ONLY way I can stick to plan is by planning meals (and snacks) in advance. If I just get up and muddle through the day eating whatever comes to mind at the time, I quickly find myself falling back into old, poor food choices out of habit. Most of my past eating was "mindless" eating!

Anyway, I think a lot of the problem right now is the stress I am having and the fact that I came home from the trip with a spring cold. Jeez! I haven't had a COLD in years! ! But the weather has been so weird...80 degree days and 20 degree nights! Perfect "get sick" weather!
All food tastes icky right now! Nothing tastes the way it's supposed to..........

OK, enough b----ing for now!
I'm gonna go try to plan the rest of the day!
(After I try to decide what to do about the "honking goose dog")I will try to attach her picture here......................OK Forget the Friggin Picture!!!!! I am not up to trying to figure out how to do this TODAY!!!!
Sorry all! Boy! Am I ILL today!

I'm back again I feel very invigorated right now from my workout. I am so proud of myself for doing 15 whole minutes straight on the most evil of all machines ever....the treadmill!!! After 10 minutes, it wasn't even that bad (gasp). I could have gone longer if needed. I feel very motivated right now about exercising, even if it is just for 20 minutes at a time. It doesn't sound like much, but for being REAL cardio, this is huge for me, especially to have stuck to it for so long.

Elaine-It's good to see you post, and you seem very motivated to get back to normal again

Bawdy-

Kat-It is sooo hard for me too to eat ideally, unless I plan ahead. I hope it is something that at some point I will conquer and actually begin to listen to what my body needs, but for now, I guess I just make a plan and stick to it. Stress eating is also very challenging, especially since many of us have always turned to food to comfort us during the crazy times! The best thing I've found is not to keep anything tempting in the house. I also try to distract myself with other things, usually the best being picking up the phone and venting to someone about what's going on. And you can always vent here

Dawn-Sometimes just maintaining is a huge accomplishment in itself, especially when you have other things going on. Sounds like you are ready to shift your focus again. Good luck!

Hi, again! I've been right on track, except for last night. I have to admit to a little debauchery on the wrong side of the tracks!

Breakfast: A-OK.

Lunch: A-OK.

Pre-dinner: Began bobsled ride right to He||.

It started out with being hungry. Very hungry. So, I had a peanut butter sandwich (SF peanut butter and LC bread).

Then I told DH I'd have one (and only one) drink with him. I haven't had a drink in almost 2 weeks. So in and of itself, this wasn't too bad.

Then he got out the Ritz Bits. Ever have these? They're evil. One tiny bowlful led to another tiny bowlful led to another drink led to another tiny bowlful led to 3 Girl Scout cookies led to 3 more Girl Scout cookies.

Needless to say, this morning I wanted nothing to do with the scale. I was scared. Then I decided I have to be an adult and face up to the consequences of my actions.

I was down 1 pound to 165!

So here's my new weight-loss plan. Start with Ritz Bits, but eat them out of a very small bowl, chase them with demon alcohol, and then send the Girl Scouts in to clean it all up afterward.

Maybe I should write a book . . .

Good morning My appetite was way out of control yesterday, won't post my menu as I don't care to re-live it Didn't cheat but I know my calories were easily over 2000. I did workout last night, did my 45 minutes of cardio but I found out something that really suprised me. The elliptical machine I use defaults to number of strides which by the time I am done is in the 5000+ range. Last night I decided to see what the actual distance is and it was 4 miles! That equates to about 11 minutes per mile.

Wendy - Like Bawdy, I will support you no matter what plan you are on I think you are doing awesome on your cardio and remember I didn't start out at 45 minutes. It has only been about 2 full months since my return to the gym and when I first started I set small goals. I would say to myself if I do 20 minutes great but will be happy with 15. The only thing I always did was set the time on the machine for 45 minutes so that if I was feeling good I always had the option to do more if I felt I could do it and before I knew it I was up to 45 minutes. In just the past two weeks I have gone from a 4 incline to 8 and from 3 on resistance to 5.

Elaine - I cracked up about your itty bitty exercise Sounds exactly like something I would do...just be very careful ok? So glad you are feeling better.

Dawn - We are glad you found our little group too I will send woosh fairy prayers your way.

Orang - You menus are looking good How is things with your granddaughter?

Kat - I think we all have tendency to eat like that when things are very stressful. Hope you feel better soon

Here is a question for those familar with fat migration (Orang, I know you are ) I noticed in the mirror that what is left of the roll of fat on my back is looking rather wierd..almost deformed Does this mean that it could be getting ready to migrate? Also been thinking about why I am not seeming to really lose much and thinking that the BCPs could be the culprit? I remember when I went off them last June and seemed to lose more that month that any other since LCing. It will be interesting to see what happens.