JUMP START FOR JANUARY CHALLENGE

[TuscanGirl]

Originally Posted by RVcook

MK: I always enjoyed being short, except of course, when I gained weight. Everyone taller than me would put on 5 lbs. and have at least 5-7" extra inches in order for it to spread out on so the gain was hardly noticeable. But when I packed on a few extra pounds, the only place for it to go was "out" and I looked like one of those fat little munchkins from the Wizard Of OZ...lollypops anyone???

We represent the Lollipop Guild . . . . .

I totally agree. 5lbs is HUGE on us!

[TuscanGirl]

Buffy - Watch Dexter only if you can embrace a serial killer as a "good guy"!!

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by TuscanGirl

Buffy - Watch Dexter only if you can embrace a serial killer as a "good guy"!!

Oh, I have never been picky about my serial killers, I am sure I will like him.

[CindyCRNA]

Originally Posted by sjl330

Hey, in this thread we talk about everything, right?!

Except fish oil brands, which confuses me. I know there have been entire threads about fish oil. I take a Mega Red per day (Costco has them on sale now) and 2 of the Costco brand of their highest dose fish oil because it helps with dry eye.

[RVcook]

"...We'd like to welcome you to Munch-kin land..." Agreed! 5 lbs. IS huge on us 'shorties'!! And I miss Dexter . He was my favorite serial killer on TV. And such a nice boy...

Cindy: DH and I do cod liver oil, but we're very picky about brands. Many off brands do not undergo such rigorous testing for heavy metals. I think any brand that is pharmaceutical grade and molecularly distilled would be good. We get most of our supplements online, but it definitely pays to shop.

[sjl330]

Cindy I think the reason she couldn't share the brand she's taking is because she orders them from a competing site.

We take the Mega Red every day too but had backed off the regular fish oil after starting on it. I guess we'll be returning to the fish oil regime!

Buffy, that's a great story. I only wish little Ava was old enough to be able to remember it always. That is really good customer service!!

Carolyn, it sounds like you guys are having a wonderful time!

I hate cleaning out basements and garages!! And both of mine need it BADLY!!

I loved Barry's book too. It makes so much sense, doesn't it?

Thanks for the well wishes for Bailey. I think she was a bit better today but still not 100%. I hope she's back to normal tomorrow. I really do NOT need a vet bill right now. I have to call the plumber again tomorrow. The toilet is leaking....again. Ugh.

[CarolynF]

Hi..

Made it home..We had a great lunch at Rudy's Barbecue in Norman, OK, which is a fabulous lowcarb place that sells barbecue by the pound..and sauce on the side...

Netrition carries tons of fish oils..Product Categories - Netrition.com
Carlson is a great brand that has very little taste..

Wow..Ava is one lucky girl and her mom is lucky to get jewelry from Tiffanys... Love it.

Glad Bailey is better..She probably will be normal tomorrow..Are you giving her a special diet?

Dallas is a really fun place..Lots of traffic, though..Buffy you are very brave to drive on those highways..Thank the Lord for GPS..We never got lost..or too lost.

I think tomorrow will be an egg day for me. I'm afraid to get on the scales, but I will do it..My exercise weigh-in is Tuesday..It won't be pretty..

Yes, sorting out clothes is what I need to do. I still have summer clothes in my little closet....AKKK..and giving them to Goodwill.

[TuscanGirl]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Oh, I have never been picky about my serial killers, I am sure I will like him.

Originally Posted by CindyCRNA

Except fish oil brands, which confuses me. I know there have been entire threads about fish oil. I take a Mega Red per day (Costco has them on sale now) and 2 of the Costco brand of their highest dose fish oil because it helps with dry eye.

Do they make you burp with a fishy taste?
I think that's why I stopped taking them . . . .

Originally Posted by sjl330

C



Thanks for the well wishes for Bailey. I think she was a bit better today but still not 100%. I hope she's back to normal tomorrow. I really do NOT need a vet bill right now. I have to call the plumber again tomorrow. The toilet is leaking....again. Ugh.

Wow - between the puppy and the plumber, you've already had a rough week!



Carolyn - Welcome home!

[CindyCRNA]

Originally Posted by RVcook

"...We'd like to welcome you to Munch-kin land..." Agreed! 5 lbs. IS huge on us 'shorties'!! And I miss Dexter . He was my favorite serial killer on TV. And such a nice boy...

Cindy: DH and I do cod liver oil, but we're very picky about brands. Many off brands do not undergo such rigorous testing for heavy metals. I think any brand that is pharmaceutical grade and molecularly distilled would be good. We get most of our supplements online, but it definitely pays to shop.

I hear Colson's is a good brand.

MK, I use the enteric coated ones and I never burp them but have burps a citrus taste before so that may be them. I think they flavor them lemon.

[RVcook]

Mornin' All.

So...it's been 12 days since I started implementing the EFGT principles. In that time, I've lost about 1/2 lb. which happened around day #2. I really was NOT expecting a major "whoosh" because my diet is already based on whole foods and not junky, carb loaded crap. Considering the relatively 'minute' loss, I thought I'd better have a look at my calories and macros to be sure that I was where I should have been. Here are those figures:
Average calories: 1699
Carbs: 15%
Pro: 18%
Fat: 70%

I freely admit that those numbers include at least one day where the calories and macros were just crazy (over 2034 calories!!!), but then there were many more days where I seemed to hit everything on the nose...thank you software... Hunger has definitely been an issue except for yesterday, when my fat was 75%, carbs were 10% and protein was 15%.

I also looked at the foods I was eating: eggs, cheese, cream, beef, pork, chicken, salad greens, chard, kale, spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, peppers, peanuts, brussels sprouts, coconut bark (only 1 small svg per day), coffee, water, occasional dry wine. I do NOT eat white/brown/unrefined sugar at all; I do NOT eat wheat-based 'anything' at all (I have diagnosed health issues related to gluten); other than the coconut bark, I have NOT been consuming a lot of sugar subs.

I'm thinking that, yet again, I am an exception to the basics: Page 20 - "You may be eating 1500, 2000 or 3000 calories a day. But don't bother counting them; they are irrelevant." Page 26 - "One kilogram (2 lb) a week may well be less than you are used to losing on a low-calorie diet, but don't give up. Your weight will come down, safely and comfortably. On the other hand, you will not go hungry."

I can see that there is clearly a need to reduce calories...which is OK with me as long as I'm not hungry, but I'm either missing something or I will be forced to eat outside the recommended parameters of this plan...and that has me a little worried.

Anyone have any thoughts, suggestions or opinions on this? Just checking my interpretation of Grove's concepts against what others have found. Thanks!

[CarolynF]

Hi gang..

Thanks for the welcome back..Back on plan this morning..

Donna: I can't lose unless I get my calories down to 1200 or so. That is the truth for me. As far as hunger goes..Find what will abate your hunger. Sometimes have small meals throughout the day will work better than 3 larger ones. Calories are relevant unless you are young and athletic or extremely overweight. Dr. A. always said that
the ketogenic diet will allow you to eat maybe 300 more calories a day than what you needed to lose on a lowfat diet. That is not alot. I think you have found your maintenance levels..1699 calories is probably right for you for maintenance. Try going lower and see what happens. I think "hunger" happens sometimes and they say that
hunger can be a thirst mechanism, too. So, drink something and then wait 10 minutes.
I'm trying to figure this all out, too, but for me, it always comes back to calories, especially when my carbs are low...HTH.

Cindy: Yup..I think the Carlson's is lemon or orange flavored and helps. It is supposed to be a great brand, too.

Got some turkey soup from the freezer for dinner tonight. Keeping it simple.

Rachel just left..We had a nice time..

Catch ya later..

[RVcook]

Hi Carolyn! Welcome back. I'll bet you are really glad to be home. I know when I go visiting (like I will later this week for a few days), it's always nice to see everyone, but for me, it's always wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy nicer to get home.

Cindy: Yes...Carlson's is the brand of cod liver oil we use as well. It is in capsules and I don't get that horrid, "burp" I used to get with Nordic Naturals. A lot depends on how you digest the oils and evidently, I do OK with Carlson.

Carolyn: I think that is what I'm coming to terms with now. When I was on a 40/30/30 plan and exercising like EVERYDAY, I was able to lose weight with little effort while consuming about 1700 cals, so I believe that you are absolutely correct about that level being best for maintenance...at my present weight.

I just went through some info I had amassed from my old BFFM days...way back in 2006. I knew there was a way to calculate the number of calories needed in order to lose, maintain or gain weight. This is what it says:

Fat loss = 12 to 13 calories per lb. of present body weight
Maintenance = 15 to 16 calories per lb. of present body weight
Weight gain = 18 to 19 calories per lb. of present body weight

This formula worked GREAT when I was exercising 6 days a week like a maniac, but add on 6 years and no strenuous exercise, and the formula looks quite different when applied to me: (For fat loss) - 12 calories x 141 lbs. = 1692 cals. per day, which is NOT happening. So in my instance, Dr. Atkins advice is right on the money and I will absolutely HAVE to lower my calorie intake if I want to make significant changes to my weight. I'm going to start at about 10 calories x 141 lbs. and see where that takes me.

Thanks a bunch!

[CarolynF]

Donna: You are so right...Exercise for me is maintaining some muscle so I can walk and get up from the floor, carry groceries, etc. I'm with you the plan..I'm going to try to
watch those calories, too..Maybe for me around 1300 and see what happens. Fat tastes good and it is easily overeaten..LOL

Laundry, laundry, then when I iron I can watch Midsomer Murders on Netflix..There are a whole bunch of them..

[Buffy45]

Morning.

Printed out a recipe from Pioneer woman for perfect pot roast which got rave reviews so plan on making that for tonight, it calls for 2-3 sprigs each of fresh rosemary and thyme, so I need to run to Sprouts and get that and then do a return to Kohl's. Will let you know how it turns out, don't think I have ever followed a recipe for a roast before. Also has a cup of red wine, that should make it really good, right?

Rainy, chilly day here, hope we get lots of rain, our lakes are still low.

Calories seem to always count, sad to say.

[TuscanGirl]

Donna - Yep - calories always count for me too! I'm around 1200 for maintenance - again, being short is a problem - and less than that if I really want to lose without manic exercise!

Buffy - share the recipe if you like it!!

Cindy - I just had another blood test, so we'll see where my cholesterol levels are and what my next trial will be!

[CarolynF]

Oh..that recipe sounds good..The PW is a great comfort food chef. I love beef burgundy, I'm betting this tastes like it.

Yup..MK and Buffy..Calories count..especially after 40..

[sjl330]

My wonderful DGD and her best friend, (who is like a DGD to us) came over this a.m. and cleaned my house for me! I helped a little but they did the hard stuff like vaccuming, sweeping, mopping and dusting. I cleaned my bedroom and changed my sheets. I also did the bathroom vanities and laundry. Then I took them out for a late breakfast. They were a God send for me today. I was getting a bit overwhelmed with all the stuff that was piling up that I can't do. I'm getting much better but some things really put a strain on my knee and now I don't have to worry about those things for awhile.

Weight is holding steady. It was so nice not having a gain on Monday morning, lol. I'd like to lose a little more this week though. I'm fixing mahi for dinner with green beans and turnips and have only had an omelet with coffee/cream so far today. And I'm not hungry at all right now.

[CarolynF]

Sandy: What a great gift to you.. What great young ladies...

Mahi should make you drop a pound or two for sure.

[TuscanGirl]

Sandy - that's so sweet!!!

It must be fish night! We're having salmon!

[CindyCRNA]

Originally Posted by TuscanGirl

Donna - Yep - calories always count for me too! I'm around 1200 for maintenance - again, being short is a problem - and less than that if I really want to lose without manic exercise!

Oh wow! I REALLY drop weight at 1200 cals a day! Girl, are you sure your thyroids ok?

[sjl330]

The mahi was very good! I made a simple butter/lemon/caper sauce for it. I love that sauce! The veggies were good too. My calories were pretty low today so I hope I have a loss tomorrow.

DH is having a heck of a time losing. I think his BS is so borderline it's keeping him from dropping the weight. I know he's not eating wrong so I don't know what else it can be.

Cindy, I can drop weight at 1200-1400 cals. a day too and am so thankful for that. I hate being hungry!!

[sjl330]

I have a prayer request please. My granddaughter's best friend's step-dad is getting his 2nd heart transplant. She has asked me to please ask all my friends to remember him and the family who made the decision to donate their loved one's heart to him in prayer today. Thank you so much!

[Buffy45]

Morning!
Wishing the very best for your DGD's friend's step dad and the heart transplant, still amazed our doctors can do such things.

Not sure of the rules on posting a recipe that is on food network although it gives you ways to share it via email, twitter, FB, etc. Didn't see a way to post it on a forum though. Easiest way would be for you to go to that site, do a search for Pioneer Woman Perfect Pot Roast and I am sure it will pop right up. If you have any problem, please let me know and I will be happy to email it to you. It was very good. You cooked it very slow so the broth did not cook away and made such a good gravy. I cooked mine longer than it stated, although mine weighed what hers did but I had a slightly different cut and mine was very thick, it came out tender and the rosemary and thyme, plus the wine gave it a very nice flavor. I think you will really like it.

Got my return done to Kohl's and picked up a pair of hiking boots for DGS 12 to take on his ski trip and found a little pair of sneakers on the clearance rack for DGS 1.

Need to get my nails done today, they are frightful.

Rainy again here today.

Sandy, so happy your DGD and her friend came to help you out, had to feel really good to get those things done that you hadn't been able to handle lately.

I still haven't gotten started on cleaning closets and I so need the space, somebody kick start me please???

[CarolynF]

Hi ladies.

Oh, Sandy..will certainly prayer for your dgd's friend's stepdad that the procedure will go smoothly and the family will be comforted by their loss of
a loved one..

Cindy: Now, remember you are only 29 and extremely active so you can eat more calories than some of your friends here..

Buffy: I need a kick, too..We have expanded to use Brett's closet..Need to
sort out those summer clothes...akkk... Yes, just google Pioneer Woman.
You know..I have to laugh she lives in OK..very near Tulsa..So, she can go to the store very easily. When I think Pioneer, I think way out there...many miles from anyone and anywhere..But, she is a marvelous cook..

MK: Are your kiddos still home?

Donna: How is your plan coming???

Well, good news here..I weighed in at my little faux Curves place and lost
3.3 pounds from last week. On my scale I was 153 this morning..I think it was walking around Dallas that did it..

Now to get below my Iron Curtain of 152....

[sjl330]

Well no drop with the mahi, grrr. I think I'm at an iron curtain weight too. I seem to settle at 144.4 and can't seem to get below that. I'm really going to try to this week though.

My PT is going well. Very well in fact. They said they'll probably discharge me early! Woohooo!!

The heart transplant went great! The heart he recv'd was a 10 on a scale of 1-10 so now we are praying for a full recovery! Thank you so much for the prayers for him and his family and everybody who was involved.
I was a bit late getting out the prayer request in the first place. He went into surgery late last night and was in recovery by 5 a.m. this morning, but prayers are still needed so thanks in advance.

[Buffy45]

Carolyn, I used to have 3 kids at home and more visiting a lot, now I have taken over every closet in the house!!! Something is wrong here, I need to clear stuff out, I certainly don't need more clothes than I did then, I was working full time then and running all over with kids, why do I have so many more clothes now? Why am I so reluctant to get rid of them? I mean yes, they are designer clothes from Kohls, LOL but come on!!! Not like there isn't a Kohl's or Chico's on every corner with sales going on daily, haha

[CarolynF]

Hi gals..

Yeah, Sandy on the heart transplant..It is good to have a "10" heart. Wonderful news.

Buffy: I don't like getting rid of clothes, either..This is what they say..Place your hangers all going one way for a "season"..Then when you wear an item turn the hanger around the other way and keep it like that. Eliminate the clothes you never wore that
season..The end.

[sjl330]

Lol, Carolyn, you make that sound so easy and it's really SO HARD!! But it does sound like a nice plan.

[Buffy45]

Yes, I had a friend who could or would not bring one item into the house unless she took an item out, but I need to clear out first, then follow that. Waiting for the next email or call from an organization with a truck on our street, they are going to get several bags of clothing. And other "stuff".

Got 2 shelves of the pantry cleaned out today, looks so nice. And, had DH get all the empty shoe boxes down from the high closet shelves, I also hate to throw away shoe boxes, they are such nice boxes but hey, why and what do I need them for?????? Put a few in the pantry to store small items in.

The, I stop by Dillard's and buy another pair of pjs b/c they were on sale, arrrggghhhh!!!!

[sjl330]

Buffy, You're my kind of gal!! Maybe we could start a support group, lol.