October Challenge--Atkins '72

[verbqueen]

WOW! It just hit me that it's October! Out with the old thread, in with the new!

I calculated my losses for September. It wasn't too impressive--7 pounds (thanks to my 15 day "stall-zilla.") However, I know the more you lose, slower you go, so I'm hoping to only equal that amount in October.

Here are my goals for the month:

1. Continue to monitor and record everything I eat.
2. Continue to post daily in this thread.
3. Aim for a couple VLC days and a couple of higher carb days every week.
4. Lose seven pounds.
5. Go to the gym a minimum of three days a week.
6. Do weights/abs at home every day.

That's a lot of goals--hope I'm up to the task!

How about the rest of you?

[Erica L. Butler]

Hey there, Jessica...

Congrats on your loss! I, however *gained*. I think it was the touring and crappy food that did it.

*So, I'm back to monitoring absolutely everything that goes into my mouth.
* Walking to and from work every day, no exceptions.
*Getting back into cooking. I lost more when I was enjoying my food.
*I will endeavor to actually ...have breakfast! Every day, even. :-)
I will be out on tour again from October 12th --21st, we're doing the West Coast leg of KMFDM's 25th year anniversary tour. Wish us luck!

Anyway, today's menu was:

Breakfast: Coffee, Splenda, Cream
Lunch: 1 TJ's chicken sausage with melted mozzarella cheese/small bag of pork rinds.
Snack: Diet Hansen's Soda
Dinner: 2 servings meat sauce/Zucchini with cheese. Lots of water.

Catch y'all tomorrow.

[verbqueen]

Good goals, Erica. Betcha didn't really gain any--bet it's just salt-caused water retention from eating out. It happens to me, too. The good thing is that it comes right off when you quit eating restaurant food.

Today's menu:

B: Carbmaster yogurt, leftover pulled pork
L: Spicy sausage gravy
D: Steak fajita salad--beef, lettuce, some shredded cabbage, jicama strips, slivers of almonds, a few raspberries, their house vinaigrette dressing
S: More spicy sausage gravy

1800 calories, 15 grams carbs

[perlchyk]

Originally Posted by Erica L. Butler

Hey there, Jessica...

Congrats on your loss! I, however *gained*. I think it was the touring and crappy food that did it.

*So, I'm back to monitoring absolutely everything that goes into my mouth.
* Walking to and from work every day, no exceptions.
*Getting back into cooking. I lost more when I was enjoying my food.
*I will endeavor to actually ...have breakfast! Every day, even. :-)
I will be out on tour again from October 12th --21st, we're doing the West Coast leg of KMFDM's 25th year anniversary tour. Wish us luck!

Anyway, today's menu was:

Breakfast: Coffee, Splenda, Cream
Lunch: 1 TJ's chicken sausage with melted mozzarella cheese/small bag of pork rinds.
Snack: Diet Hansen's Soda
Dinner: 2 servings meat sauce/Zucchini with cheese. Lots of water.

Catch y'all tomorrow.

I tried that Diet Hansen's Soda (if you mean the new stuff in the pretty, tall cans that are 10.5oz instead of 12)

Man, my hubby and I both hate it. It seems INSANELY sweet to us.

I'm starting to be horribly suspicious of both splenda and stevia anyway, but that's just me.

[dbglasgow]

Good morning everyone!! Well, due to my vacation and my blood sugar issues.. I did not reach my Sept. goals. I really only lost 2/10 of a lb during Sept.

However, I am down another 1.6 lbs this morning so I am at a new low!! I am at 155.6... so that gives me a total loss of around `13 lbs.. I have about 15 more to go to reach my goal.

October goals:

Track all foods
Post progress and menus daily on this thread
Begin regular exercise
Lose 8 lbs or one clothing size (currently wear size 10)
Keep a positive attitude even during a stall
Ultimate goal: reach my goal weight in time for daughter's Wedding Dec. 8th

[calee]

Good Morning,

Darlene, I am soooo excited about your new low weigh!! You are really letting this happen beautifully for you. Both you and Jessica have gotten down how to eat to suit your bodies. Kudo's to you both!

Erica, it's great to see you here.

I didn't make my September weight goal by a long shot. In fact this morning I weigh more than I have in weeks. I woke up at 239.4. I'm up two pounds overnight from stopping the BP meds which are a diuretic. TWO pounds up.

My goal for October is to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Yesterday food
2 HB eggs
grilled chicken (looked like 6 ozs) I asked the restaurant to soak it before grilling to take off any marinate. It tasted plain without spice or marinate.
ribeye steak - butter to fry it up

Darlene, you'll get to goal by the wedding.

Welcome Perlchyk

[verbqueen]

Morning, ladies. I am back up again this morning--a whole pound. I did eat a LOT more carbs and calories than usual yesterday, intentionally, but I sorta doubt that caused it, since I hardly ate enough to cause me to gain. I think I'm just in my "pattern," and Darlene put it yesterday. So I'm not going to worry about it, and I'm going to just march forward and stay the course.

We are going to Disneyland today--a friend at church can get us in free and we want to see the way they've done it up for Halloween. Tonight we're going to Octoberfest, which will be a snooze for me, since I'm not drinking any beer. But it should still be a laugh! And at least our group will have a designated driver!

Have a great day, everyone!

[Erica L. Butler]

Originally Posted by perlchyk

I tried that Diet Hansen's Soda (if you mean the new stuff in the pretty, tall cans that are 10.5oz instead of 12)

Man, my hubby and I both hate it. It seems INSANELY sweet to us.

I'm starting to be horribly suspicious of both splenda and stevia anyway, but that's just me.

You know, I've been getting rather suspicious of the stevia and splenda, as well. Can I ask your reasons? Just curious.

[dbglasgow]

Hello Erica.. you stay so busy... so we don't see enough of you.

Jessica... you are an inspiration to the rest of us... so you just stay the course. Your body is just doing what it needs to do so don't worry. Your way ahead of the game girl.

Lee.. at least you know that the 2 lbs is only water so you can get rid of that. I'm praying that you can quickly get things straightened out with all your meds.

Well, we are getting ready to host a Baptist Bible school graduation tonight and a National Baptist Assoc. meeting in the morning... so lots of work to do.

[calee]

Hello Team,

I had a good day today. I worked from home. Got work done and spent some time filling bags of books and assorted other things for a yard sale. Someone in my company has a brain tumor. Bad outlook. Others are throwing a yard sale to raise money for the family and medical bills. So I'm cleaning house. I have way too many books. I've already filled up 6 big grocery bags of books and I have started the next bookcase yet. It feels great to get rid of stuff.

Food today was easy.
9:30 - burger and two chicken thighs
6:30 - Porterhouse steak (they were on sale for $5.99 a pound today)

I've been reading about people eating until they're really full so decided to try that this morning. I was amazed at how I just didn't get hungry all day. I probably could have waited another hour or two for dinner, but I hate to go to sleep filled with meat.

How about the rest of you?

[verbqueen]

Hey, everybody.

We didn't end up going to Disneyland today--our friend who works for Disney called and said it was already too crowded at 9:00 a.m.--there was an unofficial gay and lesbian weekend going on there, apparently. So we're going to shoot for next week. It's just not much fun when the lines are really long and the sidewalks and streets are unpleasantly crowded.

So my daughter and I went shopping (she bought a lot of clothes, but I resisted and only bought a fall-scented candle.) Then we had lunch, and came home and took a nap all afternoon.

Octoberfest was fun. It was nice being designated driver so everyone else could really kick back. I ate a grilled bratwurst and some kraut. The kraut tasted a little bit sweetened, but that's ok--there wasn't much else to choose from except potato pancakes, applesauce and potato salad!

Today's menu:

B: spicy sausage gravy, decaf with CO (again, I had 3 T. instead of 2)
L: taco salad with ground beef, cheese and some salsa
D: bratwurst and kraut
S: .75 ounce cheese stick

FINALLY, I remember all my supplements! I don't know what my calories and carbs came to. I'll come back and edit them in.

Night, gang.

[The Bionic broad]

Happy October, everyone. I may be a real meanie this year and give out sugar-free candy on Halloween. Maybe my mean neighbor kids(they keep killing off my native plants) will develop terrible cases of maltitol-induced diarrhea. (I'm a terrible person.)

I'm going to post to my blog today about this 6-week Cure thing. It seems to be working. I was 180, went on vacation, gained about 9, then started on HRT, and gained 11 more. I was back up to about 200 pounds. After a month and a half on this program, I'm down 9 pounds and 6 1/2". I had to find a way to boost the protein while really lowering the calories.

I can remember being at Oktoberfest in Germany in the 70s (I'm an Army vet), and seeing those brawny serving women holding six huge, filled crockery beersteins in each fist. Nobody messed with those ladies, let me tell you.

Pat

[verbqueen]

Not only am I not back down, I'm up even a little more. I seem to be in one of *those* spells again. Hope this one doesn't last 15 days.

Have a good weekend everyone!

(Pat, I'll be reading your blog--that's very interesting! Congrats on the losses!)

[The Bionic broad]

Jessica,

I'm just trying to get back to where I was. None of this is virgin territory, so to speak.

I think that it's the shakes, with the added supplements. I think that I was malnourished. I'm willing to lend out the book to anyone who is interested.

[dbglasgow]

Hello all... no change in scales for me today.

I'm just stopping by quickly as I take a break from our Baptist Assoc. meeting. This is a Nationial Belize Baptist meeting so we have about 200 people here.. I have to go down to help serve lunch soon.

I'm asking for your prayers for my husband and I as missionaries here...we have been fighting a battle involving two local people here that we work with as Baptist. This only started recently and we are confused about why it started but their goal seems to be to move us out... they are not getting any support from anyone else... but they actually own the land where we live... it was supposed to be Baptist Assoc. land by now.. they donated it.. but evidently that is not official.. as we just learned. We have raised over 100,000 to build this camp over the past two years... we did this for the local Baptist Assoc. but last night these people demanded that we leave or they will take back the land... they served us with a 30 day notice... The Exe. Board tried to reason with them but it seems that they hold the cards... however, God is still on the throne.. it is He that is in control and we will trust Him. Just pray for us as we have to go through this. Thank you.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

[verbqueen]

Darlene, I have paused right now and prayed for you, and I will continue to do so. And you're right--God is working God's purpose out at every moment of every day, in ways that aren't clear to us when we're in the middle of it.

[dbglasgow]

Thanks Jessica... the meeting is finally over so hopefully we can rest for awhile. We are exhausted. We did not sleep at all last night. At the end of today's meeting the National Baptist Assoc. President met with my husband and our Regional Chairman and told them that we will not be going any where. He said that the Association will not allow these people to do this. However, at this point, they do legally own the land. He told us that he spoke with this couple today and they did say that maybe they over acted... so we will see if they try to take further action. In the mean time, we will begin trying to raise the $6000 to pay off the land and get it transferred into the name of the Baptist Assoc.... we will do that before we do any further building and development here.

Well, I know everyone does not want to hear about all this stuff.. I wish I didn't have to deal with it either.

I've not had much to eat today and still need to find something for dinner but I'm just too tired to get up and walk to the kichen.

So far:

3 sl bacon: 1 egg; coffee with VCO
2 hotdogs with mayo... no bun

[calee]

Darlene, I just want to say that I'm really sorry that you are going through this. I was hoping that landing back in Belize would be a good opportunity for calm and balancing for you. There's no way for us to know the bigger picture. Hang in there and go eat for heaven's sake!

[verbqueen]

We went to a neighborhood bbq today. I did ok with food, but not stellar. I think I'm having some carb creep going on, and I'm going to nip it in the bud right now. Alas, we're going to Vegas for three days for a packaging show (Mr. Verb is in the food manufacturing biz). However, I know how to eat low carb in restaurants, so I'm just going to have to do it.

Today's menu:

B: spicy sausage gravy, coffee with VCO
L: spicy sausage gravy, iced green tea
D: a slice of tri-tip roast, part of a baked chicken breast, serving of low carb coleslaw (my contribution to the potluck), and handful of snap peas with ranch dip, some roasted salted almonds

Calories: 1600, carb grams: 19

[verbqueen]

Good morning. I am up another half pound today, making 2 pounds in three days.

I shall stay the course.

Got a big day at church today. All of our choirs are singing for World Communion Sunday. The most stressful part is trying to squeeze rehearsal time in for all of them before the service starts.

We are heading for Vegas mid-afternoon, so probably won't post again until Tues. nite.

Happy low carbing!

[perlchyk]

Originally Posted by Erica L. Butler

You know, I've been getting rather suspicious of the stevia and splenda, as well. Can I ask your reasons? Just curious.

I'm concerned that they cause an insulin release from a taste response...then the body gets no sugar.

I know they seem to increase appetite in some people, possibly fueling cravings for bad foods. I generally only have either while I'm already eating, and only infrequently because I have noticed that sometimes a diet drink made with splenda will make me hungry. I can't deal with aspartame at all - I get an instant headache from it, but I don't like the taste of it anyway.

I do not like the taste of stevia either - I think it's bitter and weird.

[calee]

Good Morning,

Jessica, you know how to eat and Vegas will be easy with having meat and water if you decide to pare it down.

Perlchyk - hello. I've pretty much cut out all A/S. I might eat a piece or two of sugarfree gum in a week.

Darlene, I hope you're feeling a little more spunky today after some good rest. I know this is a trying time for you.

Hi Erica, Pat and Divine.

My scale is the same. Still feeling swollen from giving up the BP diuretic. I know this will change so I'm hanging in there.

Have a fun day everyone.

[Erica L. Butler]

Hey y'all--Just popping in for a minute--My weight (and waistline) seems to be going back down again. :-) I'll be back on tomorrow and will have more time... Darlene, hang in there! Jessica, you'll do great! Perlchyk, nice to meet you! Yo! Calee! Good to see you! Pat, I kind of like the sugar free candy idea...

Y'all ROCK! Here's me catching up on menus...

Menu (day before yesterday)

Breakfast: coffee, equal, cream

Snack:coffee, equal, cream

Lunch: Pork Rinds, 1 cheeseburger (mozz cheese)

Lunch part 2: 1 cheeseburger (mozz cheese), water, pork rinds (handful)

Dinner: Egg Drop Soup, water

Yesterday's menu was:

Breakfast:
two fried eggs, coffee, equal, cream

Snack:
coffee, equal, cream, a small bag of pork cracklins

snack: a small bag of pork cracklins

Lunch: Italian sausages, (2 1/2), Diet Hansen's Ginger Ale

Dinner: 2 baked chix thighs, a small bag of pork cracklins, water

Today's menu:

Breakfast: SF strawberry Jello (1 single serving) coffee, equal, cream

Snack: Pork Rinds, coffee, equal, cream

Lunch: Baked Chix Thighs (3)

Dinner (extremely late) Homemade Egg drop soup, Pork Rinds, 1/2 avocado

[dbglasgow]

Well... as you could see from my menu yesterday... I barely ate.. but this morning the scales were up 1 full lb.. so it goes to show you that starving yourself doesn't really help. I was on my feet all day yesterday.. in this awful heat and humidity so I know that my feet and legs are still swollen... so the gain is no surprise.

Well, today... I messed up big time so I will have to regroup and stick to my plan the rest of the day. We went to a Pastor's b'day party right after church. They served the traditional Belizean meal; Rice and beans, potato salad and a small amount of stewed chicken. I wanted to decline the food.. because of both my weight loss plan and my diabetes... but I was starved... so I ate it.... it of course caused my sugar to spike... so I will not do that again.

We went to bed early last night.. and I plan to do the same tonight. We have to clean up tomorrow from the weekend meetings. I hope everyone has a nice evening.

Hello to all... I'll check in tomorrow.

[The Bionic broad]

Hey, all...

Erica, I want your menu! Especially the pork rinds/cracklins... Yum.

Jessica, I ended up singing in the alto section yesterday, as people were out of town. I usually sing soprano, unless the tenor or alto sections are short. Choir makes my week.

Today is the usual protein drink schedule, with a meat meal for dinner. Maybe, this evening, I'll be able to haul my carcass to the gym.

[calee]

Good morning,

I'm very sad to report that I'm up another pound. Yesterday was two steaks, one at 9:30 am and one at 3:30 pm before going to a movie. Each steak weighed around 10-12 oz without the T-bone. I also had 3 T HWC throughout the day in tea. I had plenty of fluids all day. This will be day 5 without my meds (BP and Statin). I woke up swollen, having really strange dreams. I look terrible and see these three pounds in my face. I've gained three pounds since Thursday and feel awful, both emotionally and physically. I've never gained on LC before. I'm not ready to give up but it's not feeling good. I wish I knew what was the meds and what is the beef.

Ok... enough about me.

Darlene, I feel for ya sweetie. Hang in there.

Pat, great to see you doing so well!

Erica, I love when you come around here.

Jessica, we'll be missing you until you get back tomorrow night. I hope you're having a great time.

Let's get out there and make this a fun day!

[Erica L. Butler]

Darlene-- I know how having nothing Atkins friendly around to eat can be. I'm about to go through this with going on tour for 12 days. Ack. Hang in there. Just remember, it's not permanent-- it's just a temporary glitch. It can be overcome. You've got the chutzpah to do it, too!

Calee-- I'm sorry to hear you're having such a tough time. I'll tell you-- I went through something similar, like the last two weeks! I'm finally back to where I was about three months ago. (Bloat is going away.)

Pat-- those cracklin's are GOOD. Oh, by the way-- I'm making Heroin Chicken as I type.

Perlchyk--I don't like the taste of stevia, either. Too licorice-ey.

Jessica-- I have this feelin' you're gonna come back strong!

So, here's my menu today--

Breakfast: Coffee, sf jello

Snack: Pork Cracklins

Lunch: Heroin Chicken, pork rinds, 1/2 avocado

Dinner: Very late: Egg Drop Soup, sf jello, 1/2 avocado
Lots of water, no soda, today.

[sunnierunner]

Hi all,

Can I join in your challange? I have not been here ina while and I am re-starting and have gotten away from this woe.

[The Bionic broad]

Michelle, welcome! I don't know what I'd do without this group.

Erika, heroin chicken?! Yummmm... I love buying those rotisserie chickens and frying the skins in bacon grease. Crunchy.

Lee, meds screw us up every time. If it were fat weight, you wouldn't feel so bloated. It has to be fluid, and I agree with Erica. You are a strong lady, will get through it, and your body will adjust itself. I'm sorry that it feels so bad.

Jessica, I hope that Vegas is a blast.

Darlene, church potlucks are that way for me: Tons of Atkins-enemy food, and I get tired of watching people eat carbage. Sometimes I want to run up and smack 'em. Not very neighborly of me, I must admit.

Yesterday:

B and L: Protein drink.
D: Salad with chicken and cheese.

Pat

[calee]

Good Morning!

I'm 59 today! This one feels like any other day. Funny how birthday's can be like this, either monumental or no biggie. Four of my best friends are taking me to Soizic Bistro Jack London Square, Oakland CA for dinner. They do a great ribeye there.

My birthday gift to myself is two things ~ first I didn't weigh myself today which is a miracle. I know I'm not gaining fat, just water weight, so why torture myself. My body will balance itself out. I couldn't gain three pounds of fat in three days. I'm not thirsty all the time which is great too. Second, I think I'm going to get a Kindle. I'm waiting to see if my friend can put it on her account so that I'll be linked to hers as she already has over 100 books on it that will transfer to mine as well.

Divine, where are you?

Hi Perlchyk

Michele - welcome to the gang!

Erica, how cool when you're in town and get to post all the time.

Pat - looks like the new plan is working for you.

Darlene, how's things on the property? Have you regained your balance from the weekend?

Jessica, I hope you had a great time in LV. Can't wait to hear all about it.

I'm praying nobody wants to take me to lunch. I'd rather just eat the burger I'm taking with me this morning.

food today - meat, maybe a couple eggs and more meat
water and herbal tea - 1 cup earl grey with 1 T HWC in it.

Let's have fun today!