THE BARRY MONTH OF MAY CHALLENGE

[sjl330]

Well, I might've spit out that bite of tater salad yesterday morning but somehow some of it popped into my mouth at the BBQ along w/ a few other questionable items. But I ate mostly meat. I am up today but I know it's all water and I'm back on the right track today instead of just blowing it off and saying I'll start again tomorrow like I usually do. Baby steps again!

I'm glad Gary made it home safe. Did he see any sick peeps in the airport? We have 2 cases locally now. I don't know where they live though. Just in our county.

We ended up dry all day yesterday and last night. It's cloudy this a.m. but still dry. Maybe we can get a walk in today. I sure hope so and I know our pup does too.

[CindyCRNA]

[QUOTE=sjl330;11919613f anf ]but somehow some of it popped into my mouth

I know how that is!!

I've been doing some reading on another site. Looks like a good way to LOSE weight but I'm not sure you could sustain it for very long. I have not read the whole thread as it is VERY long but they are all very nice and supportive of each other. The diet is a bit restrictive. Beef and water. That's it! Some do VLC and add eggs, cheese, sour cream, ect but when a stall occurs, they go to the strict beef and water regimen.

There are a lot of interesting things about it though that will help us here. Most if not all of them have no appetite and no cravings. They have to force themselves to eat. The takehome message I got out of this is too many carbs (and too many is subjective) leads to hunger and cravings. For some the carb limit may be 10, 20 or 50. The trick is finding your threshold. Julian Bakery's bread is very good but leads me to sit around and think about it way too much so grains appear to be a trigger. The cleaner i eat, the better.

Better weather today. The cats are out on the deck checking out the screen I installed so they can't shimmy through the rungs!

[Buffy45]

Morning everyone.
Ahhhhh, slept well last night! I have meds for restless leg syndrome that I take as needed, I took one last night just b/c I know it can make me sleep really well sometimes and I needed that. It worked.
We love to have new friends on our challenge, please join in and let us know how to address you.
Glad Gary is home safe and sound. My DD called from the Miami airport and said only a few people had masks but if any one coughed or sneezed people avoided them as if they were terrorists! They have closed several school disricts in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and now people don't know what to do with their kids.
Ate good again last night and my clothes are fitting better already. When they all begin to feel snug, I know I have let it go too far. (since I have been avoiding the scale)
Today I am going to do a little laundry, leave for a few hours while my cleaning lady comes, I am going to go see my little DGS 11 months and run a couple of last minute errands. Tomorow will be getting the office ready to be left and packing. Swimsuits, coverups (for the sake of others) , summery things.
BBL, hope you all have an awesome day!

[sjl330]

Cindy, I've read that thread too and the old VLC thread. I even did it for a week or so and I agree it's a great way to lose but I think it'd be very hard to maintain that WOE in the real world we live in. I will sometimes to ZC for a day or 2 after a bad weekend. Like this one!! And when I say 0 I really mean very few. I don't give up cream or eggs, etc. I just give up all carby things and limit veggies to maybe 1 serving if any. Meat, fat, coffee and water mostly.

Buffy, go, have a wonderful time and take lots of pics to share with all of us when you return.

[TuscanGirl]

Morning!

Had a lovely time yesterday at DD22's Pansy Brunch - the Tri Delta senior send-off.
Then home, did laundry, took a long walk with DH, then we started to watch Australia.
It's OK - but it's like 3 hours long!
We still have an hour to finish tonight.

Originally Posted by CindyCRNA

MKay, I thought that movie looked cute but the critics here kinda panned it. I still think it looks like a nice movie.

It was - critics usually don't like chick-flicks!

Originally Posted by sjl330

I was down to 144.5 this a.m.!! Woohoooo!!! Hopefully that'll be incentive enough to not stray too far off the track today.

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Today they can go back to where he found them in the shed and if she wants them back in the attic, she can put them there

Yes- please!!!

Originally Posted by knb80

Thanks CarolynF, CindyCRNA, and SJL330 for the Welcoming me.

I could have sworn I said welcome too!

Originally Posted by festivelyplump

Good Morning All

I wondered if I could possibly join your challenge this month,

Hi!
Glad to have you!

Originally Posted by Buffy45

cover-ups (for the sake of others) ,

I'm eating massive amounts of bacon today too!
I know dinner will be burgers, so if I can just keep on track during the middle part of the day . . . .

[CindyCRNA]

You know Sandy, that is probably not a bad idea. Do 1 week of ZC, then slowly add things back to see what your "craving" and "hunger" threshold is. A lot on that site came from LC diets, that if they even went a tiny bit over whatever was their personal threshold, they were starving with terrible cravings, even with the same caloric intake. I do better at less than 20 net carbs per day than between 20-30, even though that is just a tiny amount.

I'm so sorry! Welcome Ms Festive!!

[CindyCRNA]

We are doing burgers also tonight. Buffalo meat. That's the main red meat we eat as it is grass fed and cheaper than grass fed beef.

[TuscanGirl]

Ours is beef and probably corn-fed if it's local.
Buffalo is a lot leaner, isn't it?

[CindyCRNA]

Buffalo is very lean but that allows me to put a nice big chunk of habenero cheese and mayo on it. I like the taste and the fact that it is grass fed. Thats the big thing to me, is that these buffalo are pastured. Much better Omega 3 ratio then corn fed.

Also, just noticed Costco now has canned wild caught salmon. I bought a 6 can pack. Small cans, the size of tuna cans. Makes good salmon salad sandwiches and salmon patties. I'm trying hard to do wild caught, pastured and organic when I can. I should try to change my eggs as I use a LOT of eggs.

[ebheffernan]

That's what I've decided I need to do after this work week is done (VLC that is) I've got 2 more night shifts, and then I"m hitting VLC with exercise for a week. I don't think I've been able to shift my body into fat burning mode yet, the carbs at 60 gms is too high for me (depressing thought that it is) so it's gonna be meat, eggs, cheese and more of the same (although I"m going to have to have one green salad once a day or go mad-but no non green veggies that week!) hopefully it'll be the catalyst my body needs to kick it into gear. Think I might go by costco and see if they have any of those premade burgers for the sake of ease (I've got a 5 and 7 year old, 6 month old puppy, chickens, and 1 husband-I'm all about ease!) My poor chickies haven't been laying for 3 weeks now, ever since we removed the heat lamp from winter-I think they all decided to molt because of the red light going away I'm having to buy my eggs-my anemic, store shelf eggs-(I buy the organic free range but they still look anemic next to my girls' eggs) can't wait till they start laying again!
Becky

[SuSUN]

Hi All,

We just got back from 2 glorious weeks of Florida Sunshine and am feeling all re-charged now to face our summer.

Been doing laundry, errands and chores. Work is heating up with all the prevention measures around the Swine Flu, no cases in our City as of yet.

Have to catch up on all the posts.

Susan
133# this a.m. (up 6lbs)

[CindyCRNA]

Becky, I was glancing at those pre-made burgers myself and thinking I need to clean out the freezer first. They have a pre-made wild caught salmon patty that has a mild smoked flavor that is good. I love Costco. I bought a bunch of nice 1 gallon perennials this spring.

I have been weeding the flower beds today. Partly cloudy and in the 60' s so it's perfect. Actually cool for May.

Trying a new self tanner last night. Color not to bad. Smell was great, which was unusual!

[festivelyplump]

Good evening to one and all, I'm not too sure if there are any males on this thread so I'm treading carefully.

Thankyou for making me feel welcome and a special thankyou for CarolynF for explaining disappearance of my blubber.

I think I need to have another good read through Barry's book and perhaps take a glance at his website I also need to lower my carb intake, I think this might explain why the weight loss has drastically dropped off. According to Fitday my intake is on average 60g per day I personally don't think I could drop it below 40g at the moment, I don't know how anyone could go zero carb personally I'd be climbing the walls. I need my carbs!

In a few days time when I've re-organised things I'll post my daily menu and perhaps you could scrutinise it for me. Any and all advice will be gratefully received
oh btw my 'real' name is Lygia..

[TuscanGirl]

Lygia!
How pretty!

Now how do you pronounce it?

[festivelyplump]

Good question..sounds like lee gee ah

I was supposed to called Lydia but my dear old dad had other ideas and changed it, apparently he was reading Quo Vadis at the time of my conception and Lygia is the name of the heroine. Oh how I long to be called something simple like Melanie like my sister.

[CindyCRNA]

Lygia, good day. When you say 60 carbs is that total or net?

I just found a neat calculator over on the Main thread called Macronutrient and Calorie Calculator for Ketogenic Diets. You put in weight, height, age, activity level (I put light activity) HOW MANY CARBS PER DAY YOU ARE CURRENTLY EATING (thats a new one!) and it calculates you BMR (mine was correctly stated at 1700 calories) but it also tells you how much protein you need to avoid muscle loss (mine was 88 grams) and how much fat to round out your diet (mine was 132 grams). This is based on my current net carb of 25 grams daily. This was the first time I have been asked my current carb level to calculate macronutrient requirements.

What was interesting was that if you put in 5 carbs, your protein requirement jumped to 123 grams and if you put in 55 carbs, you protein lowered to 44 grams. Fat stayed fairly consistent no matter your carb level.

[CindyCRNA]

My name was supposed to be Leiloni (Lay Loni) because I was born in Hawaii but my mom was afraid the kids would make fun of me when we moved to the mainland! You have to understand I'm blond and fair skinned. If I LOOKED Hawaiian, I could have gotten away with Leiloni!!

[TuscanGirl]

Originally Posted by festivelyplump

Good question..sounds like lee gee ah

Hard "g" or soft?

Soooo pretty!

Originally Posted by CindyCRNA

My name was supposed to be Leiloni (Lay Loni) because I was born in Hawaii but my mom was afraid the kids would make fun of me when we moved to the mainland! You have to understand I'm blond and fair skinned. If I LOOKED Hawaiian, I could have gotten away with Leiloni!!

Leiloni is a great name too!
Quite a jump to Cindy! But your mom was probably right!

*going to check out the calculator!*

[CarolynF]

Hi everyone..

Well, I was a failure at the Mexican restaurant..Had some chips, but just had a shrimp salad for the main course...So, it could have been worse..Our "guest" wanted to go Mexican, so we relented.

I do believe that everyone has to find their carb limit..and remember that too much protein acts like carbs. Dr. Atkins once said that carbs and fat are like a seesaw..If you
eat fats, then you can't eat as many carbs. I need to check that calculator again..

Lygia is a pretty name..I'm sure you have to spell it alot..

Hey, Susan welcome back..Hey, most of us gain on vacation..The trick is to lose it..(which you will, I'm sure).. Florida sounds great.

Gary is mowing our lawn which has grown considerably since the rain and continuing rain.
He hired a man from church, but his mower broke down and now is behind due to the weather..Gary needs the exercise..and the Vitamin D.

[sjl330]

Lygia is a beautiful name and I love unusual names. I like Leiloni too but I'm sure Cindy suits you better and mother usually knows best, lol.

We went to see Wolverine. It was actually very good and Hugh J. was a nice treat for the eyes, lol. I could be his mother!! Aren't I terrible??

Then I took some leftover BBQ and sides up to my dad's. I've got a busy week. Tomorrow was my mom's birthday. She would've been 78 this year.

And I've been good today. A few carbs but very few, so that's good.

[TuscanGirl]

You could NOT be his mother!

He's what makes Australia bearable!

[sjl330]

Well, I saw him on Oprah and he's my DD's age so I think I could be his mother. I'd rather not be his mother though, lol. I'd rather enjoy looking at him as a man NOT a son! Lol.

[ebheffernan]

Wow, that ketogenic calculator was very educational-apparently, I had my ratio's all screwed up. I was eating 80 gms protein and 140gms fat, I need to eat 191 gms protein and 61 gms fat according to this calculator. I might just try it out and see how it works
Becky

[ebheffernan]

oops that was for less than 2 weeks on the diet, and I'm at 2 weeks now so I'm supposed to have 114 gms of protein and 122 gms of fat (30 gms carb level)

[Buffy45]

Interesting chat going on here today gals!
I can't get into the calculator bit on the foods, I just eat as lc as I can, when I am being a good girl. I have been good for 6 days and it shows, my clothes fit better and I feel better and the bloat is gone. Now if I can just be good on vacation.

Welcome home Susan!

Love the names Lygia and Leiloni but Cindy, I am sure your mother was right, kids are so bad about teasing anyway.

Went to see DD, DSIL and DGS 11 months today, oh he is such a joy. He will take a few steps now, then he would look at me with such a proud proud look on his little face, then clap his hands and laugh. Oh how I adore him! Only bad thing about this DD being pregnant again is that she and DGS don't get to go on the vacation with us, her doctor doesn't want her flying just yet. I will miss them, but, DGS 9 and the triplets 3 are going to be there so this Mema will probably have all the grandchildren around that she needs or wants, LOL.
I am still kind of hungry from dinner, think I will go have a snack of a few nuts.

[CindyCRNA]

Yeah, when you plug in different carb levels, the protein changes. I think that is net carbs so be sure you put in the right amount. This is a bit generic and more protein than on EFGT but at least it had my BMR about right. See how it goes for the levels it set you.

Sandy, you are naughty!!

The buffalo burgers were good. We eat a lot of buffalo. I make roast, shredded buffalo enchiladas, stew, meatloaf.

For those of you who like a sweet Russian style dressing, I'm going to try this tomorrow:

1 Cup liquid splenda (I'm going to use Davinci's sweetener but if you use a concentrate, add enough water to make 1 cup)
1 cup oil of choice
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup Heinz Reduced Sugar (LC) Ketchup the 5 calorie, 1 carb per tablespoon one
salt to taste
2 T minced or dried onion
1 t celery seed

Wisk, eat. Plugged it into Fitday and per tablespoon came out:
Calories: 38.5
Fat: 4.2 grams
Carbs: 0.3 grams
Protein: zero

Makes about 53 tablespoons or 3 1/4 cups.

I actually like to drizzle a sweet dressing on top of my Blue Cheese dressing. I haven't tried this but will make tomorrow as I eat a salad almost everyday.

[CindyCRNA]

Ya, know Buffy, I could have gotten away with Leiloni if I LOOKED Hawaiian but I'm Geraman! It should have been Helga!!

[Lise]

Hi everyone and welcome newbies....

I hope no one minds but since I've been ZC for 13 days now I wanted to clarify what ZC is...the simplest and easiest way to remember is that ZC = no plant matter...if it came from a plant then it's not ZC...it was hard for me to get at first since ZC is not really 0 carbs......it can be 0 carbs but it doesn't have to be...there are carbs in eggs, cheese, cream and a bit in meat and these foods are all fine...I do know that it is very easy to follow since there are no complicated recipes....no cravings due to the absence of sweet in the menu...we eat when hungry and drink water when thirsty...that's it...today all I had was a fatty steak at 1:30...I just wasn't hungry....I'm sure that tomorrow morning I will be hungry and I have a steak waiting in the fridge that I will probably cook up at 7 am..and then I'll eat again when I'm hungry...it could be noonish....it could be dinner time......only my body knows and it will tell me....also sweet taste causes a physical response in the body by releasing insulin and insulin is the master hormone for fat storage...this is why I have cut AS's out of my life...and it's working I've lost 9 lbs since I started...

For me cutting out all plant matter was a natural progression from EFGT...on reading BArry's book I discovered that it's okay not to eat your vegetables since I've never been keen on them....I would have happily kept my nightly berries and cream but I wanted to give up the sweet and give true ZC an honest go...so I gave them up too....

My blood glucose has ranged from 4.4 to 5.3 (79 to 95) consistently for the last week...even if I take it 10 mins after eating...I am very happy with this since it means that my sugars are level....no spikes at all...I'm hoping to be out of the diabetic range on my A1C's when I get tested next month....it's been 13 months since I was diagnosed diabetic and thanks to Barry Groves and now ZC I have never taken any medication...I am very proud of my accomplishment but I couldn't have done it without reading and learning...


SEVEN SIMPLE RULES FOR THE HUMAN CARNIVORE
1) Eat only from the animal world (eggs, fish, red meat and fowl and some dairy are all animal sourced foods, i.e.: meat).
2) Eat nothing from the vegetable world whatsoever. (Very small amounts of flavourings such as garlic/chillies/spices/herbs which may be added are not ‘food’).
3) On diary: avoid milk and yoghurt (heavy carbs- lactose), use only pure (not ‘thickened’- heavy) cream (read the label), cheese and unsalted butter.
4) Don’t cook your meat very much- just a little bit on the outside- for flavour- blood-rare or bleu. For this reason I advise against eating pork.
5) Eat liver and brains only very infrequently- they are full of carbs.
6) Be sure to have plenty of fat of animal origin at each meal and eat mostly of the fat until you feel you have had enough- you can eat more lean at this point if you like- calories are not important, nor is the number of meals/day. Vegetable oils are not good food.
7) You do not need any supplements of any kind. Drink a lot of water and do not add salt to anything

Originally Posted by CindyCRNA

I've been doing some reading over on another site. Looks like a good way to LOSE weight but I'm not sure you could sustain it for very long. I have not read the whole thread as it is VERY long but they are all very nice and supportive of each other. The diet is a bit restrictive. Beef and water. That's it! Some do VLC and add eggs, cheese, sour cream, ect but when a stall occurs, they go to the strict beef and water regimen.

There are a lot of interesting things about it though that will help us here. Most if not all of them have no appetite and no cravings. They have to force themselves to eat. The takehome message I got out of this is too many carbs (and too many is subjective) leads to hunger and cravings. For some the carb limit may be 10, 20 or 50. The trick is finding your threshold. Julian Bakery's bread is very good but leads me to sit around and think about it way too much so grains appear to be a trigger. The cleaner i eat, the better.

Cindy is right....the people are very nice

[sjl330]

WTG Lise!! I'm glad that's working for you. I tried doing ZC/VLC for a week or so awhile back. I just don't have the motivation for it right now I guess. It seems like it would be so freeing to not have to think about what you're going to eat. Maybe I can try it again soon. I do eat VLC a couple times a week usually. Keep up the good work.

[ebheffernan]

Here I am at work-I'm up 2 pounds since starting this WOE with 60g total carbs, I'm now going to cut it to 30 gms and do the ratio's from the ketogenic calculator and see how that does (I was getting muscle fatigue while running last week so I think the extra protein will help with that too) I tried an egg cream this evening for breakfast and it was ok, but packs a calorie whallop so I think I might do it for breakfast before a run day, cause on those days I usually do a good breakfast, an afternoon snack and then dinner. (I did it with an egg, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 scoop jay robb protein powder, 1 tbsp coconut cream concentrate and ice)
so I've got to cut the fat a bit and up the protein, I think on wednesday I'll swing by costco and pick up more of my aidell's chicken sausages and some premade burgers for some protein on the go. Might also try more canned chicken and tuna for spinach toppers and add fatty dressing. anyhow, hopefully soon I'll be able to start posting losses instead of gains!
Becky