PSMF! Anyone?

[3Diva]

not much time, but for those of you congrat'ing me yet secretly wishing I would inflate and pop like a tick... (I'm just kidding!!!!)

Day 576 159 (Refeed)
Day 577 164.6!

No, I did not eat 17 pizzas or a small cornfield. I did wind up closer to 270-290gC and last time I was more like 230gC last time, but I kept my fats good and protein lean. I didn't mean to eat the extra carbs, but I miscalculated the serving size on the Dirty Rice (I forgot prepared amounts included the ground beef you were supposed to add to it, which I didn't)

I also had garlic bread, and I'm very allergic to garlic and it makes me retain water, and I did an intense hour of Callanetics, so I'm hoping it all goes soon.

Rationally, I know this is water weight and I will drink shakes today and down a ton of water and eat asparagus (I see Jana, hand on hips, tapping her foot in the background...LOL), but my God, the sheer shock of it has me convinced that maybe I should step on the scale for 2 or 3 years after I REFEED.

Sorry, don't mind me, I just had to vent somewhere!

*Hugs* to Fifi.

[3Diva]

Originally Posted by janamonkey

Quick update - we ran out of coffee got to run to the store.

<snip>

13 138.8 VT

5 hour refeed and fbwo today. It's a good saturday
Also, did measurements today and am down 1/4 inch in my waist, thigh and hips.

Hey, go you!

138.8... Hey now that you're at my goal weight... how do I look? LOL

[nill4me]

Hi everybody~~

Just spent the past few hours reading through this whole thread top to bottom, and feel like I finally found my place! Thank you!

Just got Lyle's books, and am going to do a good read prior to jumping right in. I've been doing LC PP style, so I'm thinking it should be pretty easy for me to pull down the calories, as to be honest, i have a hard time hitting over 1200 anyway. I feel roly poly-er when i go over 1200....ugh.

*tipping water bottle*

Here's to some good reading and fat loss! Thanks again...looking forward to getting to know you all.

My name is jennifer, and I'm a scale addict.

[Lioness0455]

You know...being leery of free meals and refeeds is one of the major reasons why I "put off" taking a Diet Break for as long as I did. Cuz our bodies can be downright crazy. With a single slice of bread (when on Atkins) I would gain 5 pounds, then stall for weeks. And yet, when I ate enough of that bread that I completely threw myself out of Ketosis, (4 slices of extra-large, everything on it except the kitchen sink pizza), I didn't gain even an ounce!!! Go figure. The science of it all, just works that way.

I agree that you really HAVE to wrap your mind around the idea that scale weight isn't necessarily a true reflection of body fat. And for me, it's the belly fat and thigh fat pockets that I'm trying to rid myself of. Not necessarily get down to a "magic" weight/number.

Many years ago when my kids were small, I read a book written by a larger-sized model who said no one knew what size clothing she wore except for her. Unless she told them. That when people look at you, how your clothes fit matters more than anything else. She showed pictures of women trying to fit themselves into clothing that was too small, and it actually made them look bigger than they were. That really stuck with me.

I used to want to be about 125 pounds, which is actually about 25 pounds over what the height-weight charts say I should weigh, but now I'm not so sure. Cuz soooo much depends on the amount of lean body mass you have. If I have 100 pounds of that, then 125 pounds would be about right for me. But what if my Tanita-like scale is right, and I really have closer to 120??? Then even 125 is unrealistic. No matter what the norm for my height/size/age is.

This last refeed, I finally was able to get my fat down pretty low. Not as low as 50, but less than 75. And I wasn't bloated or uncomfortable the next day at all, like I'd been after refeeds before. So I think following the recommendations as closely as you can, makes a lot of difference in how you feel the next day after a refeed. It isn't a free-for-all.

But even if you do keep the fat/sugar/fructose low -- sensitivities, allergies, and all of that certainly come into play. Lots of folks find they have to do their refeeds with carbs other than wheat and/or gluten. Cuz the more sensitive you are to something you're eating, the more water you'll gain.

But heh. Even then...IT'S JUST WATER!!! It'll come right back off. How fast, again, all depends. The object is to reap a fat loss by the end of the week, hitting virgin territory just before you refeed again, so if that is not happening, THEN you "might" be overeating on your refeed.

This past week I almost hit 300 carbs too, but I went that high on purpose. I wanted to see if it would work better than the 200 I was doing before. Because it always seemed like I would run out of Leptin long before I got to my refeed day. Even though my 2nd day afterwards was HARDER for me, I now feel better, and the weight is coming off MUCH FASTER with the 300 carbs, than it did with the 200. So the MORE carbs you can eat on your refeed, and still reap a fat loss by the end of the week, the better.

At least, that's how I understand it. And it's also my understanding that they are absolutely necessary UNLESS you are carb intolerant and/or carb addicted to the point where you will binge each and every time you eat anything with carbs. Because free meals DO NOT affect Leptin levels very much, it's the refeeds that reset our metabolisms.

My Staples: cocoa powder, splenda pellets, Davinci syrups, vanilla flavored protein powder, low fat cottage cheese, tuna, chicken, ground turkey, extra-lean ground beef (sirloin or round; or I rinse the fattier kind with water in a strainer after browning), lunch meats, string cheese, mozzarella cheese, dijon mustard, sour cream, fat-free cream cheese, pickled jalapenos, green tabasco sauce, dill pickles and relish, salad fixings, spray salad dressings, cabbage, broccoli, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, bell peppers, spinach, frozen asparagus stir-fry veggie mix.

But I also like asparagus when we can get it, and also mushrooms, summer squashes, eggplant (for a mock lasagne), fresh brussels sprouts. I kindda just look and see whatever the store has at the time. I tend to buy my meats the same way. We always look for the "marked down" items first. This week we got a whole chicken for less than $3.50, and lots of ground sirloin for $2.35. Last week it was chicken breast and pork loin. We also saw fresh corn on the cob in the store today, so that means the extra-sweet, local stuff should be ready soon. Here in central Utah they sell that in stands on street corners. Good stuff for free meals and refeeds.

Easy, good way to bake chicken is to place your chicken in a bake dish, then carefully pour around it a can of green beans, juice and all. There's only two of us, so I use one can of beans to 2 large bone-in chicken breasts. THEN top it (chicken and beans) with various seasonings like seasoning salt, lemon pepper, Mrs. Dash, garlic powder, onion powder, etc. Cover with foil and bake it at 350 for 1 hour (1-1/4 hours for thighs).

You can even do with this frozen bone-in chicken breasts, and it comes out great. Really Tasty. I'm sure the boneless ones would work, but they would cook a lot faster, maybe 35 to 40 minutes is all. You want to catch it when the chicken is "just" done so it's still juicy, not dry.

I also like to take chicken breast and cut it up into strips, then marinate it in a tbsp of soy sauce, a tbsp of red wine vinegar, some minced ginger, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and a couple tbsp of water. I let this sit for 3 or 4 hours. The baking soda tenderizes it like the way chicken is in a Chinese Restaurant. Then steam/stir-fry it in a non-stick pan with pam, chicken broth, a bit of water, etc., until just barely done. You could add some veggies to this too. Fold in 1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce. It's hot and spicy, but oh so yummy.

Day 1: 180.4
Day 2: 177
Day 3: 176.2
Day 4: 174.6 FM
Day 5: 175.2
Day 6: 174.4
Day 7: 174.4 FM
Day 8: 174.8 FM
Day 9: 174.8 Refeed
Day 10: 177.4
Day 11: 175.4
Day 12: 173.8
Day 13: 172.2 VT

My lowest weight this morning ever!!!

[janamonkey]

Vickie!! Congrats on VT

[ddailey320]

Okay...well had a nice post that my youngest dd decided to "help" me with and just erased- so here is the shortened revised edition:

Free meal went well (I think) Took the kids to Friendly's so indulged in a Bacon Cheeseburger (ditched some of the bread), few fries and a small dish of watermelon sherbert!! Rest of my day was right on plan, so Hoping the scales are kind tomorrow.

Went to Walmart to buy a TV/DVD player for my horribly makeshift basement exercise room. Hoping to buy some sheets or fabric tomorrow to hang up down there to make it at least slightly more inviting (have old stone and morter foundation that needs repairs to fix occational water and moisture issues, so painting is not an option right now). Also need to pick up some more interlocking mats. I am hoping for a weight bench for Mother's Day, otherwise I guess I'll have to break down and buy one. I also have a treadmill, Buns & Thigh Rocker, Ab Lounge, few hand weights and exercise ball. NO EXCUSES for me not working out -LOL

WOW- can't believe all the Virgins in here lately (scale wise anyways ) Can't wait to join ya'll soon!

WindyCityGal~ I never really read that anywhere about body trying everything to hold on to weight, just talking out of personal experience. Seems like those days that I am the hungriest/Craving things the most that I try the hardest to stay strict to plan with hopes of being rewarded on the scale the next day!

[Fifi]

Hope everyone is having a lovely Sunday! Congrats to those hitting VT!!! That is wonderful!!!

Welcome to those new to the thread!

I appreciate all the support the other day, well dayS, when I was really bummed out. I do feel much better today.

I had my RF yesterday - nice! The scale hasn't budged.

Friday - 153
Saturday - 153 RF
Today - 153

Going grocery shopping in a bit. I'll check back later.

[nill4me]

Hi all~
Well, in my reading, found out I'm a Category 3, and need 92.8g protein a day....yikes.
I think i need to go to the store today.
Have any of you tried the Protein Pudding from Netrition? 20gP/2gf/3gc. 100cal.
I ordered a case, and think it may be a good source of protein for me...i just worry about it stalling me out, due to the sweetness.

[Fifi]

Hey, I managed to upload my very first picture to my journal. You can see what 153 looks like (kinda) on someone
5'3"

[nill4me]

How do we see it?
Sorry, I'm new here.

[Jean@125]

Today is Day 1 for me. Did a full body workout this morning while I still have the energy. I am starving already. But I am determined to do this. I hope like most diets it's gets a little easier with each day.
I am category 3 and looks like I will max out at about 600 cals a day! I have a headache already but I am getting ready to make dinner so I hope that helps.
Best wishes to everyone. Jeanie

[3Diva]

Originally Posted by nill4me

Hi everybody~~

<snip>

My name is jennifer, and I'm a scale addict.

Jennifer

[3Diva]

Originally Posted by Fifi

<snip?

I appreciate all the support the other day, well dayS, when I was really bummed out. I do feel much better today.

I had my RF yesterday - nice! The scale hasn't budged.

Friday - 153
Saturday - 153 RF
Today - 153

Going grocery shopping in a bit. I'll check back later.

Ok, I'm glad you're feeling better, but I now can I hate you for gaining NOTHING after a refeed..... What did you eat? 5000 rice cakes?

j/k... don't mind me, I'm loopy!

[3Diva]

Originally Posted by Lioness0455

You know...being leery of free meals and refeeds is one of the major reasons why I "put off" taking a Diet Break for as long as I did. Cuz our bodies can be downright crazy. With a single slice of bread (when on Atkins) I would gain 5 pounds, then stall for weeks. And yet, when I ate enough of that bread that I completely threw myself out of Ketosis, (4 slices of extra-large, everything on it except the kitchen sink pizza), I didn't gain even an ounce!!! Go figure. The science of it all, just works that way.

I agree that you really HAVE to wrap your mind around the idea that scale weight isn't necessarily a true reflection of body fat. And for me, it's the belly fat and thigh fat pockets that I'm trying to rid myself of. Not necessarily get down to a "magic" weight/number.

<snip>

Wow, what a thoughtful and reflective post, Vickie. I really needed to hear that, too. I'm going to try to avoid garlic next time. I'm also going to see if 300 carbs "works better" than last week...and pay attention to my energy levels as well as scale drops.

I was mostly being tongue-in-cheek with my water weight freak out, but it did shock me, I have to admit it.

Oh, I was 160.2 this morning, so things are improving.

Congrats on your VT. I think you can safely kiss the evil 175 setpoint goodbye.

[ddailey320]

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Just a quick post before getting the kiddos in bed. Went to the market today and came across some new things (although maybe I just never looked hard enough before!)

Kozy Shack Banana's Foster (in a pudding cup with the regular kozy shack puddings)
60 calories
2g Fat
8g Carbs
3g Fiber
5g Protein
Tried this one today (couldn't resist!!)...all I can say is YUMMMMM!

Kozy Shack Apple Pie a la Mode
70 Calories
2g Fat
10g Carbs
3g Fiber
5g Protein

Ball Park Fat Free Franks (made 2 of these on the grill tonight- delicious!!!!)
40 calories
0g Fat
4 Carbs
5g Protein

Of course you wouldn't be abel to indulge in all of these things all the time- but if you have the calories/carbs to spare, it might just be enough of a "treat" to keep you from eating something completely off plan!

[Jean@125]

Hi everyone,
I don't know if I missing something but I have eaten my calories for the day and I still only have 72 out of the 101 protein grams I am supposed to get in.
My menu was:
B- Tuna w/sour cream and Romaine (Thanks Vickie yum!)
L- lean burger w/ sl fat free cheese Romaine, cucumber salad with Salad spritzers dressing
D- cottage cheese with protein powder & green bean
S - Atkins vanilla shake
Any suggestions? Are we supposed to count calories?
Thanks for any advice. Jeanie

[nill4me]

OK...day one for me.
Bought myself a magic bullet for mom's day...

Loaded up on fish oil pills - i can barely stomach my liquid vitamins...dont think i'd be able to keep the fish oil down...eek.

Are any of you doing the EC Stack? I'm having a hard time finding the E part...lol

Hey Jean...wondering how many calories are in your Atkins shake? could that be pushing you over perhaps? or maybe the sour cream? I don't think you count calories per se...from what i remember of what I read...but the general concept is that if you stick to your proteins and keep fats low, you should come in between 400-800/day. I've already got 210 in, and thats just with a protein shake and FF cheese. I'm keeping an eye on it, but not necessarily obsessing over it. OH, was your cottage cheese FF?? just another thought.

Do you all count the cals from your fish oil? thats 30/meal right there if you do 3 of them.

I'm a cat 3, so thinking of doing my FMs on like Tues and one weekend day.
No real exercise yet...but we'll get there.

Day 1: 233

[shamrock67]

Hi everyone-

I am still working on getting the time to read all of the book, so, I am doing the protein shakes again today, but I switched to the Hood calorie countdown- so 5 shakes, which is 750 calories, 5 grams of fat, 30 carbs....I hope I do not sound stupid, but I am mathmatically challenged- I am 221, 5 8", so i am category 2, I have figured my lbm at 146, so I need 131 grams of protein if I am sedentary- is that right? with the shakes I am drinking today, it will be 175 grams protein....I am going to plan to incorporate some fat free cottage cheese or meat slices tomorrow for a few meals.... I am taking 3 fish oil per day- 1000 mg., but am I supposed to take 6? Do you ladies think I am doing this right so far?

[gibster]

Good Morning, everyone.

nill4me - I have a magic bullet, too. I use it all the time. I'm Cat3, too. I enter all my food - and fish oil - in my food journal. But you're right, we don't really count calories.

Jean - I don't think you should start out by putting a limit on your calories. First make sure you get your protein grams in, then add your vegies, etc. The calories should be lower by default if you're using FF or LF additions.

I really dislike the salad spritzers, but I love salad. So, my trick is to use FF sour cream mixed with a little regular salad dressing & maybe some seasonings, or just mix a few sprays of salad spritzer into the sour cream. Really cuts down the fat and still tastes rich.

Lioness - great post - again.

3Diva - Looks like your refeed worked! What's that scale say today?

Okay, time to go for now. Have a good day!

[gibster]

Shamrock - are you using Lyle's Body Fat Calculator? When I entered your stats into the calculator, it came up Cat 3, and 97g protein.

[shamrock67]

Thanks gibster!

Math is painful for me- I don't know what my problem is, but thank you for figuring that out for me- yes, I was trying to use Lyle's calculator, but I guess I made several mistakes.... so, I will revise my plan accordingly- I am glad I don't need to get in as much protein as I thought- I will have to go back in and review the refeed/free meal for category 3- Thanks for your help!

[janamonkey]

This is now the update of SHAME. I had a total diet meltdown yesterday. I feel really bad about it because I feel like I've undone all of the hard work. I know most of it is water but I am pretty disappointed in myself. What triggered it was that I didn't plan my day very well and I ended up starving and at this little family owned mexican restaurant that had nothing I could eat. So, I said F-it and ate. And then proceeded to eat and eat. BLAH.

1 144.2
2 142.2
3 141.6 FM
4 141.6
5 141.4
6 139.8 RF
7 141.8
8 142.8
9 142.0
10 139.8 FM
11 142.8
12 140.8
13 138.8 RF
14 141.2 - Diet Meltdown
15 143.0

[shamrock67]

Janamonkey-

I can understand that- Mexican food is the best, and with today being cinco de mayo- a small part of me wants to justify making a huge mexican dinner! Yes, it has to be water weight- there is no way you could gain that much weight in a day....my friend from Puerto Rico came over and made me some of their foods, can't remembre what it was called, but some type of fish thing in flour and fried and other seafood etc. so, I didn't even bother to weigh myself this am- I'll weigh myself probably around Wednesday..

[workingmomof3]

Hey guys - I hope you don't mind another?

I just finished reading this whole thread - I was trying to do IF but even after almost a week - my weight was at a total stand still....

So, as I said - read through the whole thread and just ordered both the ebook and hardback...

(I am so bad - I should so be working instead of reading....)

Anyway - did the 'shall not be named diet' last year with pretty great results... but am interested in maintaining lbm and losing fat...

How many utilize a scale that does that for you? Or are you measuring to get to your lbm number? Just curious... if you're measuring - any tricks for getting your measureme