PSMF ~~ * JUNE THREAD * ~~

[nill4me]

PSMF Thread for June!

Feel free to come join a very friendly (non-judgemental) group of folks trying to meet their weight-loss goals through PSMF, or some variant thereof. If you have other links that you think would be helpful, and want them posted here, just let me know, and I'll be happy to do so. Enjoy, and good luck!

Here is a link to Lyle McDonald's site

One of his forums are here

Dr. Mike Eades' blog is here

[gibster]

Good Morning, all! I had a good weekend - stayed pretty much on plan and DID NOT step on the scale! I'm up a half pound from Friday, but not sweating it. I had a free meal on Saturday night - some LC mac & cheese. Nothing earth-shattering. Went to the grocery store yesterday morning and - wonder of wonders - did not pick up anything that shouldn't be in this house. I'll be fixing a big salad for lunch today.


Day 1 236.8
Day 7 234.6
Day 14 230.4
Day 21 229.6
Day 28 228.4

Day 31 229.2

[nill4me]

Day 1: 237 (restart after NOLA fiasco)
Day 8: 225.6

Day 14: 228.0 <-- FM
Day 15: 229.2
Day 16: 228.0
Day 17: 226.2

I also had a great weekend...relaxed with daughter and hubby. Have to leave on thursday for the Midwest...going to chicago to visit mom and dad, and then to wisconsin to see my eldest daughter graduate from high school. That will be great. It will also make it tough to stick to plan....but, I'll do my best. I am thinking that if i work at staying LC, and watch my calories, i should be OK.

I've been doing some reading and have decided to add a CLA/GLA combo to my plethora of pills. I'll let you know how it goes. I will say that i think that the 5HTP that I added (two caps between 5-6pm) has helped with my sleeplessness and general agitation.

Waiting for a cup of espresso to chill so i can make a coffee protein drink for breakfast! Have a great day everyone....

great new avatar Jana!

[tnleigh]

Hey guys,

Hope it's okay if I join in. I've been reading the Rapid Fat Loss Handbook and I think I'm about ready to give a PSMF a try. I would really like to incoporate it along with some form of IF. Right now, I'm doing a 5 hour eating window following no particularly food plan. I'm hoping that by using a higher protein/lower fat diet along with the IF, I can get the scale moving the right way.

Question for you guys...I am a category three under McDonald's classifications, and I need to get between 95-100 grams of protein a day. Are there any favorite proteins you guys use? I figure on eating a lot of lean chicken, turkey and fish but even huge portions of those lean proteins won't get me close to my protein goal. Do any of you use protein shakes in addition to your lean proteins? I have some whey protein powder that I was thinking about using, nutritionals are:

per 1 scoop

130 calories
24 grams protein
1.5 grams fat
5 grams carbs

Do you all think it would be all right to supplement my protein intake with this stuff? TIA

[Lioness0455]

Good Morning Ladies,
I too had a GREAT weekend. We did our usual breakfast out on Saturday morning, (I had a Spanish omelet with a cup of cottage cheese on the side) and yard sales, (there were dozens of them this weekend) where we found a very nice, solid oak entertainment center for only $60, and a rocking chair for $20. So we spent the day cleaning up and rearranging our living room.

The weather is nice here, and even though it's supposed to be cloudy today, I seem to be doing okay this morning. My water percentage is up again though -- but it did drop to normal (for me) yesterday, so I could finally see my diet round results. I started at over 30% body fat according to my Tanita-like scale (wouldn't you know it...since I picked up all of my papers and stuffed them "somewhere" on Saturday afternoon, I can't find my weight loss papers this morning lol), and yesterday it said 29.1% so I'm down a little bit more than 1%! Probably closer to 1.5--not bad considering all of the juggling around with my refeeds and free meals that I did.

My regain is going well too. I ate LOTS on Saturday, waaaay over my maintenance level for calories, and did reap the results in glycogen/water storage, but I made up for it on Sunday since we had lunch late, (somewhere around 3pm) and just had desert for dinner (a regular, large slice of low carb cheesecake) instead of a full meal. How I would have eaten if I was actually at goal weight. So my weight is doing well so far.

Welcome TN
My typical proteins:

chicken breast or leg quarters
ground turkey
pork loin
eggs
whey protein powder
extra lean hamburger
very lean steak
lean ham
low fat cottage cheese

I haven't done the "just egg whites", cuz so far I haven't needed to do that. I'm losing just fine on whole eggs, but I don't eat them often. Once during the week (hard boiled) and on the weekends (scrambled) when I'm making breakfast for my husband and/or going out to breakfast. The hamburger we can get here is 90% to 93% lean, so it's a bit fattier than what those on Lyle's lists use, but I don't eat that very often because it "always" makes me stall for a couple of days.

I use lots of protein powder, I have it almost every morning, because it's an easy breakfast, and a double scoop shake with 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese whirled into it all nets me half of the day's protein need. Plus it gets my minimum dairy out of the way too. That makes the rest of the day easy to fit everything in. I'm small (5ft 2in) but have a very large frame so I'm carring 120 pounds of lbm. So I'm eating 120 grams of protein a day. Category 2.

Diet Break
Day 1: 171 (end weight of last diet round)
Day 2: 172
Day 3: 174.4 29.1% body fat
Day 4: 173

My original plan was to bump up my calories slowly, but the weekend didn't go that way. So my initial weight up was due to immediately going to maintenance calories. Yesterday I got in all of my necessary carbs, (100 minimum) but my calories were slightly below maintenance, somewhere around 1900 rather than 2100 to 2300.

Since I'm taking a full 2 week diet break, I didn't fight to get my calories in yesterday. I figure that way, I can always go over maintenance a bit on the days when I need/want to. And still be able to keep to my 175 or less weight ceiling.

[Fifi]

Happy June! I am seriously back for another round! Life has been kicking my butt lately, but I am going to do this.

Can't wait to catch up on everyone's progress!

Day 1 - 155

[tnleigh]

Vickie - thanks for the protein ideas. I hadn't considered low fat cottage cheese, and that used to be a favorite of mine. I will definitely add it to the list along with lean pork and beef. Your stats are amazing!

[nill4me]

Originally Posted by tnleigh

Hey guys,

Hope it's okay if I join in. I've been reading the Rapid Fat Loss Handbook and I think I'm about ready to give a PSMF a try. I would really like to incoporate it along with some form of IF. Right now, I'm doing a 5 hour eating window following no particularly food plan. I'm hoping that by using a higher protein/lower fat diet along with the IF, I can get the scale moving the right way.

Question for you guys...I am a category three under McDonald's classifications, and I need to get between 95-100 grams of protein a day. Are there any favorite proteins you guys use? I figure on eating a lot of lean chicken, turkey and fish but even huge portions of those lean proteins won't get me close to my protein goal. Do any of you use protein shakes in addition to your lean proteins? I have some whey protein powder that I was thinking about using, nutritionals are:

per 1 scoop

130 calories
24 grams protein
1.5 grams fat
5 grams carbs

Do you all think it would be all right to supplement my protein intake with this stuff? TIA

I too use a protein powder almost every morning. its just too convenient. I also am a cat 3, so getting the protein and still maintaining a calorie deficit can be a real challenge! I use Jay Robbs whey powder in vanilla. I buy it at a place called the Vitamin Shoppe. Here are the stats for mine. Its pretty tasty!

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per 1 serving
Calories 110
Calories from Fat 0
Total Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 150mg 6%
Potassium 390mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 1g 0%
Protein 25g

I also like Egg Whites (but it takes so many), fish, pork loin, ground pork, turkey, chicken...chicken breast, some beef, but my body doesn't tolerate it all that well. If i'm lower on the carbs, I may also choose to have some soy, in the form of tofu, or vegan hot dogs, or something along those lines.
Welcome, and best of luck to you.

WB fifi! good luck to you!

[sz8n08]

Hello Ladies...

This is my first time posting. I started PSMF yesterday. I did ok with the shake yesterday but couldn't get myself to do it today. What brand of protein powder do you guys use? I brought the Vitamin Shoppe version of their protein shake but it's not too tasty.

[nill4me]

Originally Posted by sz8n08

Hello Ladies...

This is my first time posting. I started PSMF yesterday. I did ok with the shake yesterday but couldn't get myself to do it today. What brand of protein powder do you guys use? I brought the Vitamin Shoppe version of their protein shake but it's not too tasty.

Hey Sz8n08!
I use Jay Robbs whey powder in vanilla. I buy it at a place called the Vitamin Shoppe. Here are the stats for mine. Its pretty tasty! But, by the same token, I am always adding stuff to it...i.e., frozen whole strawberries (in place of ice cubes), espresso, etc.

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per 1 serving
Calories 110
Calories from Fat 0
Total Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 150mg 6%
Potassium 390mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 1g 0%
Protein 25g

[gibster]

Good Morning, crew.

Nothing much going on here. I made a Gr. Turkey Skillet last night for dinner. Probably shouldn't have had seconds. See below.....

Day 1 236.8
Day 7 234.6
Day 14 230.4
Day 21 229.6
Day 28 228.4

Day 31 229.2
Day 32 229.6 Grrrr

[tnleigh]

Good Morning,

Made it through my first day on PSMF yesterday. My calories came in around 1100 for the day, but I got all my protein in. I also added in 2 miles walking with sprints added in on the treadmill. I'm going to try and get my calories a little lower today. My workout will be an hour long bellydancing class - lots of core work!

My menu plan so far for today:

flat out light wrap (90 cal/9 grams protein) with 2 servings lean ham (90 calories/18 grams protein) with spicy mustard and 2 cups green beans (4 grams protein)

protein shake with 2 scoops protein powder (240 calories/48 grams protein) and two cups unsweetened almond milk (80 calories/2 grams protein) w/1 cup berries (80 calories)

post workout snack - probably an Atkins bar because I'm going to be in the car for an hour (200 calories/18 grams protein)

this ends up at about 700 calories and 100 grams of protein

I'm not crazy about having the protein bar in there rather than whole food, so I may subsitute some hard boiled eggs instead which would up my calories another 50 calories or so.

I'm still trying to keep my eating within a five hour window, and yesterday I could tell that the addition of the extra protein kept me full,

[nill4me]

Day 1: 237 (restart after NOLA fiasco)
Day 8: 225.6

Day 14: 228.0 <-- FM
Day 15: 229.2
Day 16: 228.0
Day 17: 226.2 <-- bad protein day.
Day 18: 225.0

ok...i didnt get all my proteins in yesterday, and was feeling pretty miserable this morning when i got up, so today will be a little higher in carbs, calories, etc...to make up for it, spread through out the day. I think i'll use some Turkey italian sausage i have, and make some stuffed peppers for dinner too.

[Lioness0455]

I had a really loooong day at work today. Not something that I'm used to, that's for sure. The kids had a forest service project to go to, so I had to do most of the groceries by myself. So I don't think I'm going to go into work tomorrow until later on in the morning, since they have therapy, and no service projects. I just have to cook lunch and do a bit of dinner prep.

I feel like total crap! lol.

Been experimenting a bit with cold cereal the last couple of mornings. We have a box of Honey Bunches of Oats, (or whatever it's called), cuz that's what my husband likes to eat, and it was the first time I'd ever tried it. What I'm finding interesting though, is that at least for me, carbs don't "set off" cravings or even excess hunger like everyone (the low carb guys) says they do. Provided I hit my protein target for the day. Two ounces of cereal plus a cup of milk is like half my carbs for the whole day, but it keeps me full for a good four hours or so.

I don't know what the scale is going to do tomorrow, as I came home and woofed down a couple of cookies, some ice cream, and the other half of the micro popcorn I had for lunch. Plus i also had some jalapeno potato chips while I was putting all of that stuff away at work. So my carbs are going to be up, up, up today.

I wasn't hungry, I was just looking for "something" that was going to make me FEEL better. Ah well, I have lots of glycogen storage room still left. And I'll just have to make up for it tomorrow.

Diet Break Stats--
Day 1: 171
Day 2: 172
Day 3: 174.4
Day 4: 173
Day 5: 174

I was a bit high on carbs yesterday, but less than I'm going to hit today -- close to 200. And fat too cuz I made sweet and sour pork for dinner. The deep fry kind. My calories were okay, though, (that's adding around 200 extra calories for the peanut oil I fried the pork in) but I still gained a pound anyways.

But then, the weather is turning nasty again. And we have another projected storm for tomorrow afternoon. Sigh...

[nill4me]

Day 1: 237 (restart after NOLA fiasco)
Day 8: 225.6

Day 14: 228.0 <-- FM
Day 15: 229.2
Day 16: 228.0
Day 17: 226.2 <-- bad protein day.
Day 18: 225.0
Day 19: 225.8

Worked hard to get all my protein in yesterday...just made it! Not alot of time to post today as work is really hectic.

Probably not much time until Tuesday, as i'll be out of town....so, if i dont get to post, best of luck to everyone on your journeys!!! I'll be back next week!

[tnleigh]

Hey guys,

I got my protein in yesterday, but my calories still came in at around 1000 rather than the 800 I was shooting for. Ended up doing some late night eating after exercising when I should have just stuck to a protein shake. Oh well, I'm definitely a work in progress.

I'm still planning on upping my calories today with my free meal this evening, so we'll see what the scale shows when I do my official weigh-in on Monday.

Vickie - I was totally freaking out when I read your menu until I realized you were on a diet break!

[Lioness0455]

Hey,
We are "ALL" works in progress. Let me tell ya. I made some really DUMB choices yesterday. Was totally un-prepared for the type of day I had. And I'm up almost 1-1/2 pounds on the scale this morning as a result.

After my afternoon fall-out, I could hardly eat dinner, but did I eat only half of my turkey/ham quesidilla, and put the other half away for breakfast this morning? Nope. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

But then...this experience is what diet breaks are particularly good for. Teaching us HOW to get our maintenance dialed in, now, so that when we REALLY reach that point, it won't be soooo much of a struggle. We'll have already played out the dumb stuff. So hopefully it won't be as hard as it would have been otherwise.

What I'm learning is that what Lyle says about maintaining is particularly true. It should just be psmf...plus more. Cuz it's the protein that keeps the carb monster at bay. So today I'm doing a "Flexible" diet day. In order to make up for all the extra calories I ate yesterday.

Oatmeal for breakfast since it's raining here today, (I added 2 tbsp raisins, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 2 tbsp hazelnut sf syrup to the water to flavor it), and I have hot wings in the oven already baking, so I'll just have to heat them up a bit when I get home from work. And I also plan on cooking up a large pork roast with sweet potatoes.

Didn't mean to freak you out about my menus. Yeah, I'm on my diet break. There has been interest expressed in "some" of the foods I'm eating for the break. I'm also showing what my weight does each day, so others can know what they might expect. It was a Looooong time before I ever got brave enough to do a refeed, let alone take a break. It wasn't until I had a serious, scary hypoglycemic event that I took one. I did 30 days then, because I'd been low carbing low-cal low-fat style for months and months and knew I needed it.

This time I'm only doing 2 weeks. So my metab probably won't speed up as much as it did last time. That's okay, because I learned what I needed to know. That this kind of eating does NOT "have" to be for life. A modified version of it, yes, but I don't have to give up all of the foods I love forever. That was particularly freeing for me.

Diet Break Stats:
Day 1: 171
Day 2: 172
Day 3: 174.4 29.1% bf
Day 4: 173
Day 5: 174
Day 6: 175.4 29.2% bf

Body fat percentage is only being recorded on days when my water percentage is 50.2 to 50.4 -- what's normal for me. There's "some" debate over just how accurate Tanita like scales are because of a low carb diet's potential to dehydrate. What I found in myself, was that my water stays pretty much the same whether I'm low carbing or not. It's only changes with the humidity plus amount of water I'm drinking. But that's just me.

In the beginning of low carb, I was much much lower -- like in the 44s. So my body seems to have readjusted back to normal hydration.

[gibster]

Hi, ladies!

I have come down with a nasty sinus cold. Fortunately, I had my regular dr. appointment yesterday, so I got some good drugs. I'm feeling a bit better right now, but this morning I didn't even feel like stepping on the scale. I didn't feel much like doing anything except standing in the nice hot shower. It doesn't help that work is crazy busy, and I'll probably have to put in some extra time here in the next week or 2.

I think I'll make some soup when I get home tonight. My DD was telling me about a recipe she tried, so I asked her to email it to me.

[tnleigh]

Vickie - thanks for the great info, it really helps me to see what's working for you. I'm still many many weeks away from a diet break and I can't even contemplate a refeed.

[quitecontrary]

Hey, everyone!

I was wondering, is it okay to join this thread if I am using Dr. Eades' Thin So Fast PSMF? If it is okay, then I plan on starting tomorrow.

I need simplicity, and it is hard for me to get in adequate protein without the shakes during the day. I'm not a big meat-eater other than chicken and turkey. Eggs are a major source of protein for me as well, along with some cheese and low-carb yogurt.

I am planning on having at least 4 high-protein/low-carb shakes throughout the day, then having a mostly meat and veggie dinner each evening. Calories count for me, so I'm going to try to keep them between 1000 and 1200 per day. I'm happy with 100 grams of protein as the minimum, but allow myself a few more if I feel the need to.

My starting weight is 192 lbs., which is my highest weight in the past 4 years. I am so disgusted with myself, and I am bent on doing something about it!

So if you all will have me, here I am!

[sz8n08]

Welcome Carol Ann.

I am also doing mostly shakes and my starting weight was 192 that was as of 6/1/08. I'm down 8 lbs so I'm excited. I was going to do a refeed but now I'm motivated to hit the 10 lbs lose mark by this Sunday. That would make it 10 lbs in a week. It's mostly water but it feels could to see the scale move.

[tnleigh]

Welcome Carol Ann!

Well, yesterday was my free meal and I definitely carbed up. I had sushi and zaru soba. The only problem is I was lower on protein than I'd planned.

Today it's back to high protein, low fat and for the most part I'll be relying on protein shakes.

[gibster]

Good Morning! Welcome newbies to the thread!

I'm still sniffing and coughing - Ackkk - but at least I don't have a sinus headache this morning. We had some frightful weather here last night, and it looks like the A/C will be getting its first workout for the next few days. My sleep was pretty erratic last night because of the lightning and the hard rain, so I hope I don't poop out this afternoon. I have too much work to do!

Day 1 236.8
Day 7 234.6
Day 14 230.4
Day 21 229.6
Day 28 228.4

Day 31 229.2
Day 32 229.6
Day 34 228.2

[Lioness0455]

Welcome Carol Ann, and I'm glad that you are wanting to join us. I read Eades' "Thin So Fast" awhile back, and tried it myself but I couldn't hang with all of the protein shakes every day. I lasted 3 days I think. And then couldn't look at another shake for a couple of weeks. I do use them though, they make great breakfasts for me. It's not too much different from what most of us are doing anyways, so I think you'll fit in just fine.

The weather is still crazy here too. Pounding rain, so the kids didn't go out on their forest service project this morning -- which was okay with me despite the longer work day. Since I seem to be doing okay despite the weather. I did have a BAD vertigo attack just before the storm hit, not bad enough to land me in bed, but bad enough to scare the crap outta me since it was right after I'd just finished cooking the sweet and sour pork the other night. I couldn't help but think about what "might" have happened if it had struck just 2 minutes earlier.

But I've been fine ever since. Just feeling icky -- but I think that "might" have something to do with all of the sugar/fat I've been eating on my diet break.

My weight is still creeping up too...so I decided to use a different tactic this morning. Yeah it's all glycogen and water, but I've about reached my limit. And since I went into a "hungry fit" last night that I wasn't able to stop until I ate a couple ounces of full-fat cheese, (colby jack generally seems to work when I start having the "hungries", but I forgot about that until after I'd already downed a bunch of stuff I shouldn't have eaten), I realized that a low-protein breakfast isn't going to do it.

So this morning I had a double scoop chocolate protein shake (around 50g protein) and seem to be doing MUCH better this afternoon (after a 50g protein lunch), so I'm going to go back to my diet target for protein (120 to 150g per day). It seems I "do" need to eat that much to keep the carb monster at bay.

Diet Break Stats:
Day 1: 171
Day 2: 172
Day 3: 174.4 29.1% bf
Day 4: 173
Day 5: 174
Day 6: 175.4 29.2% bf
Day 7: 176.4 29.3% bf

The body fat percentage seems to be creeping up a bit too, which used to happen whenever I would cycle Atkins with Kimkins. It would go up on the Atkins days. And right back down again on the Kimkins days...as if my scale was recording blood fats, as well as stored body fat.

So I probably need to rope in my dietary fat as well. Like I was saying yesterday, (and I guess it's about time I start listening to my own advice), maintenance really needs to keep psmf at its foundation. At least...that's what I've been learning this break so far.