New Maintainers - Wk of 3/27

[CorgiGirl]

Hello everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. I got through the 2 day fast (actually just over 2 days). Although I was not doing it for wt loss, I did go down to 107. I am at 110.5 this morning which I expected since I ate ham plus more carby foods on Sunday. I am ok with that and will be on plan today. I will be eating leftover ham for a couple of days so that will most likely cause my wt to stay up. Need to get ready for work. Will be back later.
Vickie

[VAmomof2]

Janina - We have not seen Hitch. DH and I rarely go out w/o DDs. This past weekend we did see Ice Princess and Miss Congeniality II. Next weekend, DDs want to see The Pacifier. I will need to remember Being Julia - I love Annette Benning - she usually plays a very classy lady. I needed to get some control over my eating last week and did a Master Cleanse fast for a few days. That is the lemonaid/maple syrup/cayenne drink. DH has always drunk it on and off as an energy drink and began subbing it for lunch to take some weight off he had just recently put on (amazing results). I started using it for lunch and had some success (even though it is not lc) but after a weekend binge, I did a real fast with it. I also had protein pudding and protein drinks so that I could keep up my workouts and lots of water and green tea (plus one coffee a day). It worked great for me both to get the weekend weight off and to get control over my eating. It showed me that I could have control over my urges if I could stick to a very low cal, liquid diet. I did it last Monday - Thursday and on Friday had yogurt for bfast and lunch and a lc dinner. I would not recommend a fast for just anyone and I doubt you have enough weight to lose but I had put 8 pounds on in 4 days and was freaking out.

I am up for a 6-week challenge. Mine would be workout and toning, rather than losing pounds. I could either work on body fat (although my scale is not that accurate) or measure my upper thighs and work on knocking ½-1 inch off each.

Rachel - I have read about the Abs diet (DH gets Mens Health and I just picked up a Womens Health). It looks like a really solid plan. He never followed the diet but does have the workout pinned to his wall and has used some of the exercises.

CorgiGirl - I drank 32 oz of water just before bed last night to help with the sodium in the ham and my weight is steady today. I will continue to keep my water up because we have lots of leftover ham too!

It is rainy and yucky here, again. My weight is still holding steady, today 130.4. I did have a few non-lc things yesterday but just at bfast and not much (1/3 multigrain pancake and 1/3 slice whole wheat toast). That may be one of my keys to maintaining - have just a little of those things and early in the day, not with dinner. For this week, I am going to target maintaining this weight and even getting it a bit lower. But, if I just maintain I will consider it success. I also want to get back into my lifting more regularly than last week.

I have been watching a lot of weight loss shows lately (gotta love Tivo) and just watched one last night where they worked on getting a family fit. I also watched families at church yesterday. Overweight parents have heavy kids, fit parents have fit kids and skinny parents have skinny kids. I want to have fit kids! For the past few months, we have been going to our local rec center each weekend to play squash and racketball with DDs and I run with them. We will now keep that up, even in the nice weather, because it is building a terrific bond with them and showing them that we value exercise. Last year, I had concerns that bigDD was getting a bit ‘hippy’. I looked at her last night and she is the same size she was a year ago but several inches taller and she actually has little arm muscles (she is 12 ½). I love that! She is liking the veggies (she has been begging for spaghetti squash) I have been making and we have been making lilDD try the veggies each night. She does not like them but has stopped complaining quite so much about trying them. I might have started all this to lose weight and get me in shape but I am now seeing the positive things that it is doing for my kids and my relationship with DH. I have renewed commitment now and that is great. (sorry that was so long).

OK - off to read my work email so that I can hit the gym early. Have a great day and drink your water -

[LowCarbRachel]

Good morning!

Good morning! I am eating yogurt and drinking coffee, yummy.

I had nightmares all night long about my abusive ex trying to take my daughter away from me (which he never could have, she's not his daughter, and I was only married to him for six months). I haven't been thinking about him, but it's been two years since I left under a sheriff's protection. I am so grateful this morning for my life today.

Vickie, congrats on making it through the two day fast!

Vamom, hi! I liked your observation, I think it's true. I want J. to grow up being focused on being healthy and slender, not super-skinny. Steve called me up this morning and told me that he was making "power oatmeal" from the Men's Health plan!!

Janina, I am thinking of a six week challenge. Mine would just be to hit my exercise goals and eat healthy but no "pounds lost" here, either.

Good AM to anyone who I've missed! Time for me to get ready for work!

<hugs>
Rachel

[JONAH'S GRANNY]

Good Morning. Hope everyone's Easter was good. I thoroughly enjoyed mine with my two beautiful grandbabies. I did real good with my eating, stayed on plan and hoping this week goes as well. My weight still hovers around 105 but wish I could drop a few more pounds. It so hard to cut back once you get used to Maintenance but at least I seem to have it under control again.

Hope everyone has a great week. Gotta run for now

Ann

[VAmomof2]

Now that I think I am in pre-maintenance, I am interested in everyone’s journeys.

- What plan did you use to lose your weight?
- If Atkins, did you follow all the phases?
- How difficult has maintenance been?

I have followed mostly Atkins. I did try the meat fast, yogurt fast, Banta - you name it! I have needed to stick mostly to induction levels with some OWL foods (yogurt, more veggies, berries, lc pb, lc bread and nuts). I have not been able to up my carbs much from 20 and need to keep my cals low. I used to have lc bread but never lost with it. I will stay away from it for a while now and then introduce and see the effect it has on me.

BTW - I am a working Mom of 2 DDs (almost 11 and 12 ½). I work from home so I have a very flexible schedule. I do software programming and technical writing. I have a super supportive DH (who also works from home but 2 floors down) who is in great shape and has always found time to exercise. I love to run but have a really bad knee so 5 miles is my limit. I also like to use weights and my elliptical. I am hoping to get decent at tennis this summer. We have 4 dogs, 2 big, 2 little. The little ones are DDs (biggest mistake I ever made) and I love them but they drive me nuts. They are ringing to go out now - gotta go -

[Janina]

Hi all!

I am going to do the meat and egg fast for three days to get some carbs out of my system. The lemonade fast sounds ok also..VA can you give me exact recipe? I am doing this the same reason VA did, to restart my program and bring some new boundries in. maintenance for me has been hard because I am not so structured as I was. Even when I was carb cycling. Since I am all or nothing, eating to maintain is a stuggle for me. I lose or gain. What I think is that i will always be up and down, and maybe work with the type of person I am(ie meat and egg fast, lemonade..whatever it is) I am 111 today(I am sure alot of it is water weight..i ate alot of carbs this weekend) and I know after fast I can get to 105 to 108 easily, since i lose very quickly. I am motivated to do it! The fast will be the beginning of my 6 weeek challenge, then my challenge will be focused on excersise and maybe cycling again as that worked for me!

Vickie, good job on your fast! don't worry about the salt in ham, it will come off. i drink a cleansing tea when I have too much salt in system. it works!

Ann, your easter sounds great, and it seemed you managed to stay away from the candy!! I am having another hunt today for Avas best friend who was with his father this wekend. His parents are seperated. So I get to sxtend easter another day!

Rachel, so Steves friend thought you were "nice" well that is telling huh? lol! What matters is how Steve behaved and he did PERFECTLY!! If he askes to do lunch again, you remeber my comment...lol..say you can't unglue yourself and share him again for along time with a kiss...lol! So i am in on the challenge! I am starting today!

VA! So glad to see you here this am woman! The ladies here are very focused and into running(Betty) and excersise also. I know they watch calories also as you do, and I should..lol! I am one of the least disaplined here, so i think that this is a good group for you! We are not as chatty here, although who knows now right!!! I will keep my eyes open as you did for more maintainers and invite them here, them ore the merrier and more helpful!...akm is your height also! she is new! I think this is a good place for you, and I am thrilled you are here. You are remotivating again just by being here, so thanks! I am going to need some support with the meat and egg fast and wish I didn't feel the need for such drastic measures but I do!!! I think you know my back ground and it seems you have been keeping up here with maitenance but for me I realize I need more boundries with maitenance. Just get back on the horse so to speak when I fall off plan alittle quicker. What inspires me about you is your joy at yuor "new body' and your appriciation thru the hard times..that will inspire me to get back to 105!! please stick around!

see you all later!

[Janina]

This meat and egg fast isn't easy, but I can see how I will ose and get back on track. So far I have eaten
B egg salad and bacon
l chicken breat

dinner will be a large steak and maybe egg salad. I am also thirsy and peeing alot...

anyone had good results with this?

[VAmomof2]

Janina - I tried a meat fast last year and had some success while on it but put most of the weight back on once I added back in veggies. I do recall that I felt so deprived that I probably added back in more than veggies, if you get my drift! I know that on the main board, Kimmer says that you can use just meat and cheese to force yourself into ketosis. If you carbed up over the weekend, you should be in the bathroom alot with the extra water that carbs hold on to.

I made a quick, yummy sauce for steamed broccoli tonight. I simply heated some chicken broth (1 cup) and stirred in some leftover velveeta (maybe 8 oz) and simmered. It was not very thick but just a few spoonfuls really added a great flavor (DH liked it too). I have lots of sauce left and will try it over zucchini later in the week.

[LowCarbRachel]

Janina, I lost zero pounds with the meat/egg fast when I did it a year ago. I followed it with the yogurt fast and started losing again. I think my body is strange, I think I need carbs to lose. But maybe that's because I workout.

time for me to go to bed, I'll be back in the AM!!

Rachel

[Janina]

Va Rachel, I have been peeing alot. Well it is one way to get the water off. i am sooooooooooo hungrey now. VA, I am going to do this for three days only, take off my water and get a jump start on being on plan again. I just need this to get carbs out of my system and start over. I am hoping for the same type of thing to happen that happened for you after your cleanse...can you tell me exactly what goes into it? lemon one..

Rachel, yes, you must need carbs to lose. Yougurt makes me gain and i love it! Even low carb. i think I have an allergy to milk. I just have to stay away from it, but if i drop carbs even at night I drop weight, so I thought I would give this a try.


I read tonight in one of my magazines (allure) about how women eat more then men when working out. Men don't really add as many extra calories and we do, and it ends up evening out...this has happened to me. Also it said women needed to aviod low carb diets as they trigged sweet cravings. So many studies and they all say things the contridict. What i am learning is our bodies all all so differant...differant things work well for differant people. Remember how well I did with carb cycling? The trick with cycling for me was to stay on plan. Even one extra day of calories mid week would throw me off, but on weekend i could eat as much carbs, candy ,pasta i wanted and still be back to 105 the next week.

well i am going to do some yoga.

See you tomorrow
Janina

[VAmomof2]

Janina - You can get a lot of info on the ‘real’ fast if you google Master Cleanse. The info says to make it all up fresh but DH takes some shortcuts. He makes a huge pitcher every morning because he drinks so much of it and we use bottled lemon juice where the info says to use fresh. The proportions for DH’s container are 90 oz water, 18 Tablespoons Lemon Juice, 18 Tablespoons Maple Syrup, ¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper. The sites will give you the background on why all these things clean you out. If used for weight loss, it does say you can cut down on the syrup. For the real cleanse, you are also supposed to do a salt water flush each day or use enemas but I did not do that. I only drank 6-8 cups of it a day for the first few days with lots of water in between. I had protein pudding and protein drinks before and after my workouts and on day 4, only had 2 cups of the cleanser and drank chicken broth instead (but it did make me go up because of the sodium but then I came back down the next day). This is really high in carbs because of the maple syrup but I even lost when drinking this for lunch and having a lc bfast and dinner. That was simply because it kept my calories low. I think it would be better if I had a lc bfast and lunch and then did this for dinner but because we eat as a family every night, I wanted to eat dinner. I don’t like the way the cayenne pepper burns my throat so I don’t sip it, I just chug it and then wash it down with water. I read some people who use Cayenne tablets instead of putting it in the drink.

Weight still steady this morning! I tried to figure out exact cals, carbs and protein to see what it takes to maintain and was surprised at how high my carbs were because of all the veggies I ate (lettuce, yellow pepper, cucumber with lunch, lettuce, spaghetti squash, broccoli with dinner). I am glad that I can eat extra carbs from veggies. It seems much more calorie and fat related right now than carbs.

B - 2 eggs/1 egg white, little butter, coffee w/ ½ & ½
S - protein pudding, ½ kracker w/herb cc
E - 25 min elliptical, 35 min weights (lower)
L - lettuce, pepper, cuc, chs, ham ranch/ital
D - lettuce w/greek dressing, chicken, little spag squash, broc in light chs sauce
S - lc key lime tart, green tea
W - 128 oz water

I ended with 1350 cals, 46 net carbs and 110 g of protein and I worked out for 60 minutes.

Hope you all are doing well today!

[LowCarbRachel]

good morning!

Janina, I do remember how well carb cycling worked for you! I hope that you had a great yoga workout this am!!

Va, it's a great idea to track your nutrients now. I think you will get a clear picture of how you can best maintain. That's a great idea.

Time for me to get ready for work, I will try and stop by later!!

<hugs>
Rachel

[Janina]

Hi,
Well I am down two lbs this am to 109. I know it is the water from the carbs. I lose quickly when I up my protein and no carbs at night, so I can see how this meat and egg fast will really work for me. I am thinking of getting back to 107 or 108(since I have added muscle on) and then cycling again. What bothered me about the cycling is it took three days to get all of the water off but maybe if I do a meat and egg monday that will take care of the problem after my weekend carb up. cycling was great for me! The problem was that after my vacation and holidays i never lost the extra weight i gained and cycling didn't work as well.

VA, there was a time after my strict low carb that i added carbs back in a and the lbs fell off. Those were my last 5. it will be intersting to see what happens! Your menu and workouts look great. Why don't you keep the calories the same and slwly add more carbs and see what happens? Thanks for the cleanse recipe. I am keeping it on hand. I am hoping this meat and eggs thing works for me. You drink alot of water. i need to get better with that.

Rachel, how is core going? i would love if you would post a sample menu on a "good" eating day. How is your dd and steve?

We had a fun Easter hunt with C and E yesterday. I don't know what my plans are for today....

see yuo later
Janina

Rachel,

[VAmomof2]

I just made a yummy lunch. I made Zucchini Hash from that Blaine's Low Carb show on FitTv. Basically, just leftover ham, zucchini and onion fried up until well browned and then seasoned with salt, pepper and papriki. I weighed everything to check the counts and cut the butter in 1/2 (could even knock it down a little more). On the show, he served it as a side for breakfast with fried eggs on top. I just ate it as is. My serving was 172 cals, 6.5 net carbs and 13.7 g protein. Next time, I will add more zucchini because the ham taste goes a long way. If anyone is interested, I will post the actual recipe or you can get it on discovery dot com then click on fittv and look for Blaines recipes.

[Janina]

Can yuo post that VA? it sounds yummy!

I was also going to say that I was not hungrey at all this am. I thought I would be starving from this fast. Forced eggs and bacon down. It is the nights that get to me, but for some reason today my appitite is gone.

VA how are the girls? Ava is going to do her dance recitals soon. i will have to post photos. Friday is dress rehersal. her outfit is adorable!

[Brendajm]

Hi all, glad to hear you are all doing well. I did the the kimmer challenge about 2 months ago and it is real similar tothe meat and egg fast and I dropped 6 pounds in 5 days,, it was crazy, but as soon as I went off of it I gained it back. I too am trying to just eat proteins this week and very limited carbs,, I fell off the wagon big time,, ate too much non LC bread,, and the icing off of 3 pieces of bday cake at work. Then another day I had a piece of coconut lust pie,, it was so good. I am realy trying to get myself in control, I dont know waht happened. Thank goodness for my running, I did a 9 mile run 4 days ago, 6 miles yesterday and weight training and 4 miles today. Tomorrow will be weigh training again. It is hard to get control once you let yourself have a little leeway so I am not going to allow myself to do that for along time. Be careful of that salt flush, I did that and could not leave the house for the whole day and part of the next,, but boy did it work..... talk to you all later. Brenda

[Janina]

Brenda, what is the salt flush? I agree on the control thing!!! For me the protein fast is really going to help me with control. I figure if i can do that and slowly add carbs in i will be greateful for small portians of carbs like creal in the am. Also all protein seems to flush out the extra water from carbs. Have you guys noticed that for all of us when we eat carbs after no carbs we gain water? What works great for me is no carbs at night. my dh is doing the meat fast also and lost two lbs in one day. It is just good motivation to see scale moving again! It was hard last night but not so hard today..we will see what happens tonight. Also brenda with your increased running you might need increased calories..is scale up? You might need to up calories to up stamina. i know Betty eats 2000 claories a day when she runs 5 miles...

I am going to get sashimi for lunch. Yum.

[Brendajm]

the salt flush is where you put 2 tsps of epsom salt in a glass of room temp water and drink it,, I think I used 1.5 tsps, I was feeling very "clogged" and that really cleaned all the plumbing,, but you cant be far from a bathroom because when it hits, look out.
I do keep my calories up,, for some reason I am gaining weight ,, first I was maintaining at 114,, for about 8 months ,, then 116, I was thinking it was because I added weight training more,, now I keep hitting 117-118,, I am getting worried that it wont stop. I am trying to drink more water and use let sodium and no processed foods, hopefully that will help get me back where I was. I too am trying not to eat after 7 pm, so maybe that will help me like it helps you..Your lunck sounds good, I had a plate of pork. For dinner I made one of those impossible chicken pies with carbquik, but I am not sure I should eat that so I might let DH eat that and I might have some shrimp and scallops in a scampi sauce.. yum

[VAmomof2]

Janina - BigDD is loving lacrosse this spring, we couldn't be happier. LilDD is being a pain but she is almost 11 and goes through these phases.

Zucchini Hash

2 med zucchini (@4 cups raw) - peeled and chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium onion peeled and chopped
1 cup ham - diced
Kosher salt
Fresh cracked pepper
Paprika
4 tablespoons butter

Preheat 10" saute pan to medium high heat. Put 1 tablespoon of butter in pan and brown ham 2-3 minutes. Add zucchini and onion and rest of butter and cook for 8-10 minutes stir occasionally with wood spoon (hash should be well browned). Season hash with salt and pepper and paprika. Serve with favorite egg dish.

Yields 6 servings - approximately 3 net carbs per serving

Notes: I tried to half this but ended up with too little zucchini. Because I watch calories so closely, I used only 1/2 the butter and it was fine. DH can't wait for me to make it again.

I made a great salad to have with dinner too - it was a take off on something DH and I had in DC when we went in a few weeks ago. I used 1 cup of baby spinach, tossed lightly in an olive oil Italian dressing, topped with 1.5 oz of fresh moz that was marinated in seasoning and olive oil and 1 Tablespoon of toasted pine nuts (just threw them in a dry frying pan on the stove top for @2 minutes and stirred). For that, 197 cals, 4.3 net carbs and 8.3 g of protein.

Off to check on homework.

[Janina]

Yum VA! Thanks for the recipe. So 11 is difficult? I can imagine!

Brenda, you and I have the same type of body. Everyone else drops when they run. i gain! Alot. I cut running out and am only doing yoga as my body bulks up so much. I can't handle the gain. Even yoga keeps an extra 2 to 3 lbs of muscle on me. What are your clothes fitting like? What are your inches? I feel for you. I am the same exact when it comes to working out. Even walking will do it to me!!! Grrr...very frustrating. I have an idea for you, you obviously responded well to all protein. Why don't you have all protein dinner before 6 and then nothing after? I bet you will lose. Try my no eating after 7. it works, and if you are like me, there is alot of un nneccessary snacking after that time.

This protein fast is giving me a bad headache. i finally went to starbucks and got my soy latte as I needed it to fight fatigue and headache. I am not using butter or sauces so i figure it will balance. i snapped at Avas little friend today. They were playing in the other room and A ran in and said her frined who is a alomst 2 years older said she was a copycat and had bad manners(when Ava did nothing but want to play like her). No one corrects thier children. i ended up telling her very strongly she needed to be the example and I would not tolerate name calling. Her grandma had her arms around her and was thanking her for apologizing..um, hello do we need to thank our children/grandchildren for apologizing? No wonder there are such badly behaved kids out there. But I do know I was more irritated due to the protein fast...lol!

See you all later!
Janina

[Brendajm]

That recipe does sound good, I love zuchini, I will have to try that. What kind of ham did you use? I have to watch sodium for myself and my DH who has high blood pressure.

Yes Janina, it does sound like we have the same problem,, running makes me feel so good and energized that I cant give it up, I am going to try not eating after7pm,, hopefully that will help, talk to you all later, Brenda

[CorgiGirl]

Hi everyone! Well I am still eating leftovers from Sunday (including ham) and my wt is up. My hunger and cravings are back again so I really need to get back on track on Wednesday. I felt so good after the fast but now I feel bloated. I have gotten so sloppy with the exercise since going back to work. I only did a 2 mi fast walk today.
Vickie

[LowCarbRachel]

Hi, maintainers!

It's hailing outside, and a car just went off the side of my road. I live on a road that curves around, and it's kind of scary, the guys who live next door went out to ask her if she needed help, and she refused. I am hoping that a tow truck will come soon, she's in a dangerous place on the road.

Janina, J. is doing great, she has spring break this week. I am a little sad that I have to work, I would love to spend it all with her. But I am taking off on Friday to spend the day shopping with her. Should be fun! Steve is fine, we went to the salad bar with J. last night, and then he came over to hang out with us, I wanted to see what it would be like to have a non-activity night, we sat on the couch and watched J. draw pictures, he interacts very well with her, and she really likes him.

J. has been staying with a friend this week, her kids are adorable, but they do throw tantrums, even the five year old. The five year old was screaming when I picked J. up yesterday because she didn't want J. to leave. Her mom said after I left that she was yelling at her to call me on my cell phone and tell me to bring J. back. I am so blessed to have a daughter who doesn't throw tantrums. I am a very liberal parent, but it seems like it's worked really well for us, J. is well behaved and does great in school, etc. Maybe I'm just super lucky!!

I am switching plans once again, from CORE to the Abs Diet, which is what Steve is doing because it will be easier for me to support him that way. The plans are pretty much the same, but I won't be counting points, I'll just allow myself a treat once or twice a week.

However, a typical CORE day for me has been:

breakfast: yogurt with berries
snack: fruit and string cheese (points for the string cheese), latte with skim milk
lunch: grilled chicken or grilled shrimp, salad or green veggies
snack: yogurt or nuts (points for the nuts)
dinner: lean protein, black beans, brown rice, corn
snack: yogurt with berries

I have mostly used my points on "treats" like a toasted bagel with peanut butter or 1/2 of a candy bar.

I am still working out 4x a week, 2x cardio, 2x weights.

Vamom, I am thinking about following your lead and tracking my food for about six weeks. I'd like to figure out what foods make me feel the best. I may open an account with fitday and make the link public, here.

Vickie and Brenda, hope you are both having a good week!

See you all in the AM, hoping for clear roads.

Rachel

[Brendajm]

Morning,, i have to work 12-13 hour days the next 3 days, so I wont have much time for anything. I do get some exercise in before I go as I do n ot have to be there till 10 am. Today I am going to run 3 miles and some weights. I am really trying to stay on track this week, I am going to try to stay really busy at work so I wont think about food. Working in a restraraunt does not help. I just love the cream of crab soup. I think I am going to take some gum with me or some SF mints to put in my mouth when I get the urge to snack, does this work for any of you? I hope you all have a good day, Brenda

[JONAH'S GRANNY]

Hi Maintainers - I'm not one to adress each individual but glad to always see the activity on our little thread. Welcome any Newbies.

Not working out like I should; been trying to get the children's income taxes done and that can be so time consuming. One DD and family moved from NJ to NC and she has three returns, moving expenses, etc. Has everyone else got their taxes done? We always file an extension for ourselves; DH is a Realtor and always drags his tail on the taxes.

I've been eating near Maintenance levels this week but very, very clean. I made a pact with myself; no lowcarb frankenfoods except on weekends and then I limit it to ONE. That sure beats the heck out of eating them anytime I please. At least this way is allowing me to maintain real easy. Wish I could get myself into a losing mode but just hate giving up all the good legal foods. I have decided that once I get these taxes under control I'm going to set a goal of running/walking at least 25 miles a week. Some of it will be on the treadmill/ellyptical. I'm just hoping I will stick to it as well as I have my "frankenfoods policy".

Hope everyone continues to have a good lowcarb maintenance. Looks like many of us are still trying to lose a pound or two. Have a good one! Ann

l