April JUDDD-We can do hard things!

[nitenurse]

Well, finally had a comfortable dd-didn't feel obscessive or deprived, and back in ketosis, so whatever that was seems to be going away, along with some water weight.
I will never consent to steroids again, no way. The one last summer I know went systemic because at my advanced age I felt like I was ovulating, and sure enough, a one day menses showed up a couple weeks later. Which wound up leading to a uterine biopsy, which was negative.........etc. etc.
Gripe, Gripe, my meds are pretty well regulated now, so will try to avoid MDs unless I really have something serious going on.
I hope I can settle in to my pound a week average again, that was so easy and comfortable. Another year and I would be back to where I want to be, my knees and ankles would be so grateful.
Keep on keeping on everyone.

[Leo41]

You can do this, Nitenurse. A pound a week is reasonable, and it all adds up eventually. Slow and steady wins the race!

[nitenurse]

Changed my profile, am only claiming 4# of the gain now, another month and I may have shed that and back to Christmas weight-anyway, I am feeling better and less discouraged.
I wonder why there are times our bodies fight back so hard and so long that we just can't get back on track for awhile-definitely one of the things undiscovered about weight loss. You'd think my body would remember how awful that higher weight felt.
Probably a head thing, in my case.

[Leo41]

Nitenurse-
No, not a head thing at all. I've been reading a lot about this lately (trying to deal with my own struggles), and apparently although we feel better with less weight, the body views weight loss as a negative and tries to hold onto every pound!

I've noticed that whenever I drop a few pounds, I experience more hunger, and apparently it's not my imagination. Scientists say that the body will stimulate hunger to try to get us to replace those lost pounds. In addition, everyone has certain 'set points' where the body will really resist going any lower. Often it's a weight we were at for a longer period of time, but sometimes we don't understand the body's particular 'set point' at all.

Frustrating isn't it??!!

[GME]

I think I am living proof of this right now. I had a good weight-loss week last week and this is the hardest DD I have had in a while. Today has been a white-knuckle day for me.

[Leo41]

Yes, Gina, that's exactly what I was describing. It's happened to me in the past. What's annoying is that it often happened on an UD, so I assumed that I 'should' eat--and then the calories got too high, and I ruined my good DDs with no loss for the week.

Now I understand that I need to resist those feelings, but they can be so deceiving

[GME]

Boy, deceiving is right. I finally gave in last night and had some left over meat and peanuts.

I got to thinking about my day yesterday this morning and I think I made an already difficult situation worse with what I ate earlier in the day. On a good DD I normally eat a little breakfast (just a couple of bites usually- cottage cheese or yogurt) with my meds in the morning. I take a can of "lite" soup to work for lunch (they range between 120-180 cals) and a protein bar to eat before I leave for home about 4:00 (220 cals). The bar keeps me pretty full so I'm not starving when I hit the front door and when my family is eating dinner. The whole system has worked pretty well for me for the past 3 weeks or so.

Yesterday I was at an all-day meeting thing and they had a catered lunch. I ate the insides out of a small sandwich but there was a lot of mayo, avocado & cheese so I really had to pick around. The only side was fruit. I figured fruit is low cal, so I had a good bit of that. I didn't have my usual kind of protein bar so I ate a Lara bar (dates, nuts & coconut). It is the same cals, but not the same satisfaction level.

I was already hungrier than usual during the day and could have eaten the paint off the walls by evening. Live and learn I suppose.

[nitenurse]

Had a good dd, just 200 cals(ate at 10 and 3 pm) because I was pretty busy. I was hungry all day, until about 6 pm, then decided since I wasn't hungry I wasn't goling to bother with the 300 more cals I could have had.(wild, that hunger leaves just like a switch got turned off).
AM, haven't eaten though its a UD and I am still not hungry. I think that fits with what Leo said, hunger trying to get us to put the fat back on.
I also agree with Gina, that what you eat makes a difference, besides the calories. Fruit does the same thing to me, even if it is 100 cals. Also some other things I haven't identified yet, got to start writing hunger levels down in my food diary and see if I can pinpoint what it is.
Live and learn is right.

[Ilpirata]

PEANUTS ARE DA DEBIL!!! They are always in my house my roomate loves them and overstocks on them but they are 170 cals per ounce! and one ounce is 38 nuts... which is basically a handfull. DA DEBIL!!!

My Check IN: Staying low carb not tracked any calories since friday... the supplements i'm on from my DO seem to really be helping the carb cravings which is good. Haven't really weighed myself either. I'm trying to NOT DIET for a few weeks. LOL. We'll see if I can do it. NOT DIETING is just NOT PIRATING!

[Leo41]

Gina & Nitenurse-
For me WHAT I eat is critical because I'm very sensitive to carbs. Fruit or 'bars' would send my appetite into orbit. Way back in '73, when I did '72 Atkins, I stopped losing as soon as my carbs went above 20g--and my appetite skyrocketed. The only way I can do DDs is keeping my carbs <10g.

Kisha-
ALL nuts are a trap waiting to spring and add pounds. Does your roommate have the salted kind? They're totally addictive. I find that if I buy unsalted walnuts or almonds, I can actually portion them out (into baggies) and only eat a few at a time. But the calories are ridiculous--e.g., I think it's about 4 walnuts=100 cal. So as much as I love nuts, I figure it's easier not to have them around. My pouch of wild salmon is only 120 cal, and that's a lot more nutrition (and more satisfying) than a few nuts. (Fortunately, my only roommate is my cat, and he doesn't buy nuts

[Ilpirata]

Originally Posted by Leo41

Gina & Nitenurse-
For me WHAT I eat is critical because I'm very sensitive to carbs. Fruit or 'bars' would send my appetite into orbit. Way back in '73, when I did '72 Atkins, I stopped losing as soon as my carbs went above 20g--and my appetite skyrocketed. The only way I can do DDs is keeping my carbs <10g.

Kisha-
ALL nuts are a trap waiting to spring and add pounds. Does your roommate have the salted kind? They're totally addictive. I find that if I buy unsalted walnuts or almonds, I can actually portion them out (into baggies) and only eat a few at a time. But the calories are ridiculous--e.g., I think it's about 4 walnuts=100 cal. So as much as I love nuts, I figure it's easier not to have them around. My pouch of wild salmon is only 120 cal, and that's a lot more nutrition (and more satisfying) than a few nuts. (Fortunately, my only roommate is my cat, and he doesn't buy nuts

oh yes they are fo sho the salted roasted kind! You're right the natural are easier to control for me as well. I haven't gone nuts LOL (hahahfunnypirate) with them but have definately been having at least one ounce per day.

I'm just glad he doesn't buy cookies anymore!

[Leo41]

I may have to stay off the Main Lobby for a while because I'm finding myself getting so cranky. You can see from my stats that I joined 3 years ago (when I discovered this site via Netrition, where I'd been buying stuff for a while), and I was seriously low carbing for about 4 years prior to that. So, say, about 7 years all together. Yes, I've lost a lot, but it's been really slow, but I've learned to accept (and embrace) the journey. I certainly don't have any complaints about my WOE.

But I've been reading so many posts on the ML that I'd describe as self-congratulation because the poster has been "on plan" for 2 whole days and wants or perhaps 2 weeks--with "only a few cheats"
And I want to write--Really? Tell me about it when you've been doing this for a year or two!

And then there are those who complain about their "stall" of two days, those who expect the scale to go down every morning. And I want to write--a "stall" is 6 weeks--no loss, no smaller measurements. Write again when you've really stalled and stayed on plan the entire time.

How's that for encouragement? That's why I need to stay away. Some morning if I haven't had enough coffee, I may actually post something like that

[Ilpirata]

Originally Posted by Leo41

I may have to stay off the Main Lobby for a while because I'm finding myself getting so cranky. You can see from my stats that I joined 3 years ago (when I discovered this site via Netrition, where I'd been buying stuff for a while), and I was seriously low carbing for about 4 years prior to that. So, say, about 7 years all together. Yes, I've lost a lot, but it's been really slow, but I've learned to accept (and embrace) the journey. I certainly don't have any complaints about my WOE.

But I've been reading so many posts on the ML that I'd describe as self-congratulation because the poster has been "on plan" for 2 whole days and wants or perhaps 2 weeks--with "only a few cheats"
And I want to write--Really? Tell me about it when you've been doing this for a year or two!

And then there are those who complain about their "stall" of two days, those who expect the scale to go down every morning. And I want to write--a "stall" is 6 weeks--no loss, no smaller measurements. Write again when you've really stalled and stayed on plan the entire time.

How's that for encouragement? That's why I need to stay away. Some morning if I haven't had enough coffee, I may actually post something like that

OMG! Leo... LOL ME TOO! I mean I don't want to be the bitter cow that runs into people's threads yelling "WHAT ARE YOU COMPLAINING ABOUT!?!?! I'll show you something to complain about!"

I mean I seriously have like NO PATIENCE!

[Leo41]

Ah, Kisha, you make me feel so much better! I thought I was the only one who was reacting to this stuff!

You know what I really love? Someone new will appear, and the next thing you know, the person is 'making delicious recipes' full of cheese and cream, and then discovers "chocolate cocoanut bark" and then asks about good 'snacks' to make. A week later, the person is complaining about being stalled and suggesting that "maybe" she's eating too few calories!

I want to suggest "Perhaps you should go on Stillman's plan."

I know; I'm evil, but I just needed to vent today!

[NoSugarShell]

Originally Posted by Leo41

Ah, Kisha, you make me feel so much better! I thought I was the only one who was reacting to this stuff!

You know what I really love? Someone new will appear, and the next thing you know, the person is 'making delicious recipes' full of cheese and cream, and then discovers "chocolate cocoanut bark" and then asks about good 'snacks' to make. A week later, the person is complaining about being stalled and suggesting that "maybe" she's eating too few calories!

I want to suggest "Perhaps you should go on Stillman's plan."

I know; I'm evil, but I just needed to vent today!

OMG!! You guys are so funny! I feel the same way, but I usually feel a little jealous that they can eat all that and lose weight....UNTIL I see the stall. Then I realize they can't. Unfortunetly, it seems alot of them disappear after that.

[Ilpirata]

Not just that but "THEY" aren't usually around for more than a few months anyway! I've also noticed that some people who really lose super fast like all the way to goal (which of course I'm sorry but colors me a bit green) seem to disappear also.

Not to be too self congradulatory but I'd LIKE to think that those of us who REALLY REALLY fight for it value it beyond measure and are more likely to maintain. Thats what I tell myself anyways!

[EmandM]

Quick drive-by post! I am still here, just been super occupied with a sick daughter (long story short it seems she has a dairy intolerance that was triggered by a tummy virus, was ill for weeks, lot's of tests etc and the poor babe is only 4)! So I haven't been online much. I will catch up on all the April posts and chime in where I can! I've missed you all!

[Leo41]

I tell myself that, too! But research seems to indicate that it's those who lose more slowly have more luck keeping it off.

I do think with JUDDD we've found the secret to maintenance. Here's what happened:

Sunday was supposed to be my high carb, lower calorie day with 'good' carbs.

Ha! It was junk carbs and HIGH calorie! One of my worst days in recent memory in terms of calories.

But on Monday, I had no problem at all staying at 350 cal.

Without this experience of DDs, a day like Sunday would have lasted at least a week, and then I would have struggled for another 2-3 weeks to get back on plan. There's something in JUDDD akin to "muscle memory" that gets me right back after a day like that (which I don't plan to repeat anytime soon).

[GME]

Oh I agree about the ML craziness. I could lose like that at first too though. I would get out my calendar and predict how skinny I would be on such-and-such date if I kept losing at the same rate. HA!

I do get frustrated when people post about not losing who really seem to be doing everything right and people pounce on them about too many green beans or 3 oz of cheese. Add this, drop that, more carbs, fewer carbs, don't eat after 5:00 or before 10:00..... when really they need a medical check-up.

[Ilpirata]

Originally Posted by GME

Oh I agree about the ML craziness. I could lose like that at first too though. I would get out my calendar and predict how skinny I would be on such-and-such date if I kept losing at the same rate. HA!

I do get frustrated when people post about not losing who really seem to be doing everything right and people pounce on them about too many green beans or 3 oz of cheese. Add this, drop that, more carbs, fewer carbs, don't eat after 5:00 or before 10:00..... when really they need a medical check-up.

I've gotten sort of militant about it! I feel it is my RESPONSIBILITY to point out that one should be able to lose on atkins induction when one is obese. I mean SRSLY. If I read a post about someone following plan and not losing a single pound for a month it is my DUTY to tell them to get their thyroid checked and also for PCOS and IR (though I know not much about those two conditions). All that micromanaging re green beans and diet coke drives me nuts too. Sure, for someone close to goal but not for someone 250LBS who just started on program.

Its a hassle to get into and I'm a pirate not a doctor but I can't let those posts go by without putting in my 2cents. If someone hadn't done it for me I don't know where I'd be by now!

[Leo41]

Kisha and Gina-
I so agree! It drives me nuts when the 'experts' pounce on someone who is actually doing fine in terms of food choices, and they tell them that their extra ounce of cheese is 'stalling' them or they don't have enough veggies, etc.

And everyone 'knows' exactly what the problem is.

And I absolutely agree that if someone is doing a clean induction (or eating 25g carbs a day on OWL) and not losing, it's time for a medical check up.

I also hate it when someone seems to resent the suggestion, insisting "my thyroid is fine; I've been checked." We know that story, don't we? But it's hard to convince people sometimes. I just refer them to the sticky on the thyroid thread--if they don't bother to read it, then too bad. I am not going to argue with anyone.

[Ilpirata]

Originally Posted by Leo41

Kisha and Gina-
I so agree! It drives me nuts when the 'experts' pounce on someone who is actually doing fine in terms of food choices, and they tell them that their extra ounce of cheese is 'stalling' them or they don't have enough veggies, etc.

And everyone 'knows' exactly what the problem is.

And I absolutely agree that if someone is doing a clean induction (or eating 25g carbs a day on OWL) and not losing, it's time for a medical check up.

I also hate it when someone seems to resent the suggestion, insisting "my thyroid is fine; I've been checked." We know that story, don't we? But it's hard to convince people sometimes. I just refer them to the sticky on the thyroid thread--if they don't bother to read it, then too bad. I am not going to argue with anyone.

true true...

and more truth be told Lisabinil told me to get my thyroid checked months before I actually did it. I needed more months of stall to convince me something was wrong! Then Fawn told me AGAIN and I started reading up and yep there was something to it. So even if the first suggestion falls on deaf ears at least the seed has been planted

[nitenurse]

Question, Leo, since I am a long time lowcarber, too,( mostly since 1972) and you certainly have the best long term success of any of us.
You said you have no more than 10 carbs on dds, how many carbs do you have on UDs?
Hope this is not asking for too much personal info.

[Leo41]

Nitenurse-
Not personal at all!

For a while, I was trying to get in 30g of carbs on UDs, but lately I've been going below that and probably have a max of 20g in recent weeks, sometimes as few as 10g. With the low calories I eat and the need to get in enough protein, I often don't have the amount of veggies that I think I should really have. If I don't start losing again soon, I may increase my carbs (with veggies). These days I'm mainly having fish, meat, and eggs, along with some fat that I cook with.

[nitenurse]

Leo-That sounds like livable amt carbs to me, and close to what I was doing before when things were working well for me. Thanks for the information. I need to get more strict with my food diary until things get moving for me again.
I am feeling better this week though, sure glad spring is here.

[janetaz]

Good Morning! Hope everyone is having a great week! I am down a little bit more to 189! Excited to be in the 180's!!! Still eating primal/paleo as much as possible. It has really, really helped my appetite. Still can't believe the changes that I have had eliminating dairy. I could eat cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, heavy cream, anything with dairy all day long. I wonder if the reason that I am losing better is that I probably overate all dairy products or that any amount of dairy products would stall me. (Maybe bit of both)

I don't crave sweets or carbs as much as before. Sometimes, my DDs can still be a challenge, but I notice that I don't overeat on the UDs as much as I did before (almost always). The other thing that I remembered is that I gave up artifical sweeteners also at the same time. I didn't use Splenda a lot, but I would add it to coffee, sometimes have sugar-free Jello, and other sugar free products occasionally.

Has anyone had the same experience? Part of me wonders if the quicker weight loss is kicking in from doing JUDDD correctly, not having all MDs and big UDs. The key really must be in having the low DDs. I wish I could stay online right now, but I need to get ready to go to work. Have a great day!!

[melehundele]

Morning, Ladies! AND all of you cranky ol' LC vet bats!

Back from my road trip. Didn't get in til after 1 this morning, driving over 600 miles home. Tired. Had a morning appointment with my new primary doc. I only saw her once before. Bad news--my set of issues is scary to her and I have to continue to see one of the other cast of thousands...or a new endo or holistic doc...for the nuts and bolts of my problems. She is scared of my thyroid situation because I am puffy. I have been puffy for two years, unless I take a diuretic, which I am out of and which she doesn't prescribe. So the whole thing is just a PITA.

What I meant before, about maybe it being easier to supplement thyroid when you don't have a gland anymore, is that only one end of your thyroid level spectrum is a moving target: you don't make any, so the trick is in nailing the supplement amount (which of course still changes from time to time). With Hashi's, you get flares and periods of relative hyper- and hypo-, so in effect, both ends of the spectrum are moving targets.

Anyway. I am kind of bummed out. I want to have a normal health situation where I have one doc that I can just go to to fix everything. Waaaaaa.

And I want to get congratulated if I get through one day of LC....

And I want some cheese with that whine

Is today feeling like a Monday to anyone else?

[Leo41]

Nitenurse-

Take your time. You're just getting back on track after all that illness, so be kind to yourself. Of course, eating low carb is a good way to be kind to yourself

janetaz-
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that eating primal and giving up dairy and AS is making a difference for me in terms of weight loss. I know that I easily overeat cheese (really love the stuff) because it's so calorie intense, so I'm much better off without it. I gave up AS mainly because I noticed how it triggered hunger on DDs, and anything that causes hunger is the last thing I need on a DD. I'm glad that I had that motivation because I suspected for a long time that they're just not a healthy choice. The first two months on primal I lost a few pounds a month more than my usual rate, but that seems to have settled down, so it just might have been the usual temporary acceleration that can happen with any adjustment.

ing-
Nice to see you back--and too bad about the doctor. She doesn't prescribe diuretics? Or just to you because of your other issues? It just seemed strange to me to hear of a doctor who was 'afraid' of a patient's problems.

It reminded me of a friend in college whose father was a psychiatrist. She told me that he chose his specialty because as an intern he couldn't handle people dying, so he wanted to treat people in situations where death wasn't an immediate issue. I said, "What about suicide; I would think that's an issue in psychiatric care." And she answered, "He doesn't take on any patients who are that ill--only mild neurosis."

It seems like Monday to you because you're just returning, but Monday was a DD for me and so is today, so it feels more like the end of the week than even the middle.

[Ilpirata]

Originally Posted by melehundele

Morning, Ladies! AND all of you cranky ol' LC vet bats!

Back from my road trip. Didn't get in til after 1 this morning, driving over 600 miles home. Tired. Had a morning appointment with my new primary doc. I only saw her once before. Bad news--my set of issues is scary to her and I have to continue to see one of the other cast of thousands...or a new endo or holistic doc...for the nuts and bolts of my problems. She is scared of my thyroid situation because I am puffy. I have been puffy for two years, unless I take a diuretic, which I am out of and which she doesn't prescribe. So the whole thing is just a PITA.

What I meant before, about maybe it being easier to supplement thyroid when you don't have a gland anymore, is that only one end of your thyroid level spectrum is a moving target: you don't make any, so the trick is in nailing the supplement amount (which of course still changes from time to time). With Hashi's, you get flares and periods of relative hyper- and hypo-, so in effect, both ends of the spectrum are moving targets.

Anyway. I am kind of bummed out. I want to have a normal health situation where I have one doc that I can just go to to fix everything. Waaaaaa.

And I want to get congratulated if I get through one day of LC....

And I want some cheese with that whine

Is today feeling like a Monday to anyone else?

Hi Ing,
bear with me if you've already answered this... it sounds like you're sort of doing a doctor hunt right now? Meaning you don't really have a good aggressive doctor that understands and can properly treat your issues? If so have you tried PMing Pam and asking her for a recommend? Remind me where you are from. She has a decent list of docs in various areas. Also have you tried posting a new thread in the thyroid section of this forum asking for a patient recommend in your area?

Its so hard to get treated until we find the RIGHT doctor!

[NoSugarShell]

Janetez How long have you been off of dairy? I am on Day 8 of absolutely no dairy and I feel SO GOOD! I can breath better and I just seem to have more energy. I am not sure if it's because I have been doing really great on my DD's. Weight loss hasn't seemed to increase any, but it's only been 8 days and it's almost TOM, so hard to tell. If I hit a new low in the next week and a half or so I will think it's because of the dairy. I really ate alot of it also and was addicted to Fage. That was the hardest to give up.

I have started to exercise more and on a consistant basis. I am not going overboard, because "more" exercise has never seemed to correlate into more benefits...if that makes sense. Exercise is actually how I first found out about the Hypo. I was exercising like crazy, but not losing weight. I thought I was crazy. Anyway, we would wear the heart rate monitors in my step aerobics class and my heart rate would be really high. My teacher would freak and tell me to take it easy or to take a rest. After class I would be WIPED OUT. I had to go home and take a nap. Well, that was the beginning of knowing something wasn't right. I went to my primary and she did tests and they were "normal". So I suffered for 2 more years before I posted those same results for Pam to look at. Not only were they not normal, my doctor was using the old range AND she didn't do the correct tests. So I finally went to another doctor who diagnosed me, but kept me undermedicated. Right now my gyno is my thyroid doctor, but he is limited in his knowledge. My favorite doctor closed her practice not long ago because of her health. She was Hypo herself, but not sure if that was part of it.

Anyway, I have rambled enough...lol.