I'm sorry If I came off 'RUDE'. When I checked in this morning and read my own post I bit my tongue. I didn't mean to sound 'matter-a-fact' I am so not like that. The whole reason I checked out carbs is because Ihave a friend who has been on the atkins diet (her and her husband) for atleast 4 yrs. and sure they both have lost weight but it zooms back every winter it seems like and she talks about never eating the right time of day anymore and her husband not liking anything she tries to do even when she lays it all out so it's hard to follow a diet and more so when you have to make yourself AND someone else do it ! But, I thought since she was older than I, about 15 yrs and she doesn't chase kids around all day that maybe, Low-Cal and watching carbs will work for ME (please o please o please ) She, my friend had the gastro surgery and about 3 months ago had a tummy tuck to get rid of all the extra skin that never seem to go anywhere. She was exausted with diets I guess she looks great now and has gone from a very full sz28 to a much happier 10. I know this all takes time, I would like to be around long enough to enjoy my children and this coming December I will turn 30 and I just can NOT weigh close to 300 lbs when I do. Carbs are kinda confusing something that I think should have little has bunches I wish Icould understand better and ... this is not meant to sound gross or offend anyone because believe me I am not the pot calling the kettle black , so ,
Does everyone who has lost loads of pounds have to get their skin cut off ? Is a tummy tuck or surgery a have to , I just assumed since the weight went that so did the outter layer of skin. My question is because ..... my friend had a huge apron of skin it hung just over her knees and she had to wear control panties to help hold it in to make it look "normal"
I hope I've not offended anyone, that's not my intentions at all , I would just never ASK anyone FACE 2 FACE these questions. maybe everyone but me knows the answers already.

Thanx for the help Rosebud and please don't worry about me, I have a hubby and a mom that would smack me if I was to hurt myself. I included the site to my fitday.com journal in the last post for you but I wasn't aware that you didn't know how to get there. Hope you can find it alright. If all else fails just go to www.fitday.com and paste my journal link there.

You were encouraging celtinore thanks for the smile AND goodluck to you on YOUR goal.

Honey, I did go to your Fitday journal, that's why I urge you to eat more than 600 calories a day!

Please do as I suggested in my first post, and go to "Which low carb plan is right for me?" at the right side of the screen. Your chances of losing weight and keeping it off will be very much higher if you follow a low carb plan as written in one of the plan books.
The current diet you are following will harm your health. Of the weight you have already lost, much of it will be muscle. On a low carb plan, you will lose much more fat than anything.

Please, 3cutypies, I implore you, do this for your health. You will lose the weight as well.

How about going to "Success Stories" where you can see the stories of folk who have succeeded in losing weight eating low carb.

BTW, for your posts to stay in the same thread, click "post reply" instead of "new thread."

I truly wish you all the best, 3cutypies. And I will continue to worry about you while you eat a high carb, very low calorie starvation diet. [And I don't think you were rude at all.]

Rosebud

Thanks Rosebud, I've spent so long on this site tonight that My eyes are going crossed..I've clicked everything that is CLICKABLE. ha ha ha (I'm also giggle because now, I'm soooo tired. So I will leave you with this, I've read success stories and have seen strong willed people all night long and then I searched out carbs and different diets and I think maybe I was putting too much emphasis on CALORIES not knowing what CARBS really are.
I'm gonna give a try anyway, to eat more calories. I still would like to stay low to get a good start before summer hits and It's so humid here in Michigan I just can't breathe and with the girls being so little and rambunxious and the new baby truckin all over the place ... well, I don't wanna be pooped and wheezing. I did get a couple of different stats though, 2200calories was one and 1800 was the other. I'm pumped, excited, rarin to go ha ha ha!

Thanx for all your help , by the way, my name is Pammie

P.S. I didn't know how to calculate body fat but I'm sure mine is atleast 90% , I'm flabby everywhere I tell ya'

G'day Pammie,

Great piccie - you look gorgeous!

And you don't know how relieved I am to see you are going to low carb. But Pammie, trying to do this without adequate information is really going to make it hard if not impossible. So please, please get yourself a book.

About the body fat thing - there are many ways to measure it. Here's a post with some different ways to measure it.

In your journeyings around the site, did you go to the orange bar at the top of the screen? There's a lot of great info there - especially "Low Carb Tips."

My last suggestion would be to start a journal here. I'd love to be able to watch your progress. To read anyone's journal (including mine), you can simply click the little journal icon at the bottom of the member's posts.

All the best, matey.



Rosebud

You are on your way! It is so exciting to get started, it can seem really scary cuz all the info gets overwhelming I got several cookbooks, started looking for things that looked "do-able", then started trying to convert my old favorites, sometimes I make a mistake, BUT, sometimes I have a happy accident with my creations! Because of physical handicaps, I don't have a formal exercise routine, I just keep moving & hope for the best! I figure something is better than nothing---right?????? Keep up the good work & let us hear from you often Pammie.

Where are you in Michigan? I'm in Muskegon by Lake Mich.. I hear you on the humid weather here! I spent almost a month last summer w/ nothing on but shorts sitting in front of the fan!!
Hubby liked it though .

I have to agree with everyone else about chosing a specific plan and sticking with it, for obvious health reasons. From what I understand most plans (I'm on Atkin's) don't require you to restrict calories (although not a good idea to go hog wild!). It's hard to get out of the old mind set that the less you eat the more you'll lose. It's just not so on low-carb, you can eat until you are satisfied as long as it's the right foods. Please don't starve yourself . I have found in 2 1/2 weeks that I'm so satisfied that I sometimes don't want to eat. Opps! That seems to go against what I'm saying but it's not 'cuz I make myself eat! Just trying to point out that you don't have to feel deprived. I've lost 7 lbs. in 17 days, not too bad for feeling like I eat a ton .

We have something in common (well, besides fat ) I'm 31 and have been with my hubby for 14 yrs. since we were 17. It's great to find the love o' your life so young isin't it?! I don't have any kids but that's a long story why, it's in the first entry of my journal if you care to read it. Pop over to my journal if you'd like a buddy to talk with and I'll visit you if you start one too.

I had to lol at your 90% body fat comment! I think you'd be an oozzing(sp?), amoeba like lump rolling along the ground if you were 90% fat!!!! It sure can feel like it sometimes though!

{{{hugs}}}
Ali

Welcome... Extra skin.. Hmmm, well it is a bit of a problem, your age will determine its elasticity and how it snaps back. I'm 45 and I do notice a few places on my lower belly that the skin is a bit stretched (hey, you don't stretch a waist out to 48" and then back to 34 without stretching some skin). I'm hoping it'll snap back a bit more, but hey the spot is pretty small pretty much covered by my briefs. (probably way more than you wanted to know, but you did ask and I won't sugar coat it... ).
I wouldn't go back though even if I get a bit wrinklier in the middle than I was before, nothing is more important than way I feel now and no amount of high carb food is worth the 25 years of being obese I went through, the people talking, whatever, its all SO much better and hey only your S.O. will be able to see anything and at your age, it may not be a problem at all. Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Kindest Regards,

LoneInAz

well, well, well, Look at all the pals I got already ! That's COOL. Ya know, I'm jumping on here as much as I possibly can ! I homeschool my 2 older girls and the baby is scoochin everywhere, pulling herself up to everything and eating constantly BUT I COULD BE BUSIER ( I know) Any who, As soon as I can muster up the extra time to do a journal I WILL but for now I am writing down everything I can and sometimes my hubby will enter it while Im feeding the baby or He'll write it down for me to enter later on ( when everyone else in the world is asleep)
Thanx to all ! I just got off the bike and was feeling a bit tired but now I'm all pumped up again Yeeeeeehaw !
My chickypooh needs me so I need to get off a here.
Smooches to ya all ---------Pammie

P.S. Don't SUGAR COAT nuttin for ME !
I'm a BIG girl (big, big girl that's why I'm here) I can take it !
If you think I need to HEAR something loud n clear then just belt it out there It can only HELP in the long run.

After all the lo-fat programming that has been drummed into our heads, it is a bit difficult to get a handle on the whole carb thing. I finally simplified it like this:

~ if it contains sugar, it has carbs
~ if it contains flour, it has carbs
~ if it's a plant product, it pretty much guaranteed has carbs
~ if it's a milk product, it has some carbs (milk=bad, cheese=good)

Next time you go to the grocery, pick up some products and read the label. You'll see <B>Total Carbs</B>, and under that you'll see <B>Fiber</B>. Not meaning to be graphic, but fiber ... umm ... well, it doesn't exactly digest, if you know what I mean! And it doesn't raise your insulin level. So, to get the total number of "countable carbs" in a food, you deduct the fiber from the total carb count.

This is all very basic -- the books and articles explain it better than I ever could! But hopefully this gives you a mini-primer of the carb picture.

Also (climbing onto my soapbox), if asked, I would definitely <B>discourage</B> you from the gastric bypass surgery. A friend of mine had it in early January, and I've lost more on Atkins in 6 weeks than she has in over 2 months. She's also experiencing severe side effects. A recent issue of <I>People</I> had a very sobering article about the catastrophic results some people have had.

Losing at a slow, steady pace -- drinking plenty of water -- getting plenty of exercise to tone your body -- these are the keys to not having a kangaroo pouch when you reach your goal weight. (Or so I'm told ... and am hoping!)