Stillman's May QWL Thread

[Jujigirl]

Hey all!!! I've been AWOL, but have been Stillmaning, lol. Since about March 1st, I'm down 21 pounds and am now officially only 5 pounds from goal. WHOOHOO!!! April was a busy month too, where I basically took weekends off (tried to stick to low carb, but sometimes didn't, and DRANK WINE) and somehow didn't gained and still managed to lose a pound or so a week (though there were always the first couple days of losing the water weight i put on during those weekends). Actually, i noticed that when my weight loss slowed down and then i had an off weekend, it sped up pretty quickly the following weekend, rather like a stall-breaker. I don't suggest doing it the way I did (ie with cheats and wine), but we had a very social month so I was pleased I survived and still came out feeling good about myself. yay!

BUT, in a few weeks we're on an island in the caribbean for two weeks, and I'm of course stressing out about gaining...as unlike the weekends I took off from Stillman's, this won't be just a couple days off and then back on...this will be 2 weeks where I want to enjoy myself (within reason of course - i have no plans to eat cake!). I'm so happy with where I'm at now that I'm hoping even on vacation I will remember what it took to lose this weight and be good...but i notoriously have a hard time on vacation. I admit it, I'm a bit scared about this. My plan is to do atkins with wine and hopefully I won't gain much that way. Just veggies, meat and nuts and white wine. The last thing I want to do is be pre-occupied with food on vacation, and i DO want to relax and enjoy myself and have my wine... and I'm fine with a five pound gain or so, but....sigh. Anyhow, sorry. I'm just a bit nervous and venting.

[kittypet]

Hi Everyone,

I just found this site yesterday and read about Stillman's. I had planned on doing a modified meat and egg diet, then was reading about how well and fast everyone loses on Stillman's, so I've decided to try this for two weeks! I'm so excited!! I can't remember the last time I felt excited to start a diet.

After the two weeks, I'm going to do a higher carb diet for 3 or 4 days, as we'll be out of town. Hopefully I won't gain all that I lose.

Anyway, just wanted to say Hey!

[LustfortheMoment]

Good Luck, kitty. Stillman is really a great plan which markedly causes a decrease in appetite. I modify it a little bit with 5-10 carbs/day, primarily using grape tomatoes and string cheese. Otherwise, I prefer this low-fat regimen compared to Atkins.

[kittypet]

Hi Abby, Thanks for the welcoming and encouragement. I love string cheese! I melt it in the skillet like pizza topping. How many grape tomatoes do you eat? I'm going to try to stay away from them for now, but it will be good to reference later.

Do you take any vitamins?

K

[LustfortheMoment]

Kitty, I take a multiple vitamin, 500mg Vit C, 2000mg Vit D, 100mg Selenium, and 2000mg Calcium Carbonate.

I try to limit myself to 10 grape tomatoes ( 5gms carbohydate) daily. Occasionally I'll also throw in dill pickle slices ( 8=1gm Carbo).

[paperthin]

Originally Posted by Jujigirl

BUT, in a few weeks we're on an island in the caribbean for two weeks, and I'm of course stressing out about gaining...as unlike the weekends I took off from Stillman's, this won't be just a couple days off and then back on...this will be 2 weeks where I want to enjoy myself (within reason of course - i have no plans to eat cake!). I'm so happy with where I'm at now that I'm hoping even on vacation I will remember what it took to lose this weight and be good...but i notoriously have a hard time on vacation. I admit it, I'm a bit scared about this. My plan is to do atkins with wine and hopefully I won't gain much that way. Just veggies, meat and nuts and white wine. The last thing I want to do is be pre-occupied with food on vacation, and i DO want to relax and enjoy myself and have my wine... and I'm fine with a five pound gain or so, but....sigh. Anyhow, sorry. I'm just a bit nervous and venting.

I totally hear you on the going on vacation thing. I have been dieting so I LOOK good on vacation but we are going on a cruise. I am afraid I will pig out. The thing is, is that I am really active and I hear there are lots of ways to get excercise on a cruise with all the activities they have (I have never been on one) so I am hoping to burn off most of the stuff I eat... I hope.

[paperthin]

So my name is Jessica and I am new to this message board and new to Stillmans. I have been doing it all week long and have lost 3-4 lbs so far. I am really amazed at how well it works and how I do not feel hungry. I am looking mostly for support because it is easy for me to stay on the diet during the week but on the weekend I go over to other people's houses and hang out with my friends and how do say... "I'm on this diet and am just eating all meat?".

I guess one way would be to just say that - the problem is that all my friends say, "you don't NEED to be on a diet, you LOOK fine!". I love my friends and all but when it comes to the diet and talking about it and getting support from them, I just want to tell them to leave me alone. If they were on a diet I would be totally supportive no matter what they looked like. That is why I am coming here for support.

So any ideas on how to get through the weekend - and annoying people? I am really super happy about how I have been doing on this diet but it's getting to the point where I am avoiding hanging out with people because my friends are kind of a problem...

[LustfortheMoment]

The great thing about a cruise is that they'll make to order virtually anything that you want, even if it's off the menu. You can easiliy eat a high protein, lwo fat, low carb meal with every sitting. Just beware of the midnight buffets.

[kihayes]

Originally Posted by paperthin

So my name is Jessica and I am new to this message board and new to Stillmans. I have been doing it all week long and have lost 3-4 lbs so far. I am really amazed at how well it works and how I do not feel hungry. I am looking mostly for support because it is easy for me to stay on the diet during the week but on the weekend I go over to other people's houses and hang out with my friends and how do say... "I'm on this diet and am just eating all meat?".

I guess one way would be to just say that - the problem is that all my friends say, "you don't NEED to be on a diet, you LOOK fine!". I love my friends and all but when it comes to the diet and talking about it and getting support from them, I just want to tell them to leave me alone. If they were on a diet I would be totally supportive no matter what they looked like. That is why I am coming here for support.

So any ideas on how to get through the weekend - and annoying people? I am really super happy about how I have been doing on this diet but it's getting to the point where I am avoiding hanging out with people because my friends are kind of a problem...

I know exactly what you talking about. I go through the same thing as well. In fact, I just went through it last weekend. It would be one thing if I was anorexic people, what is so wrong to want to be the "average" size of you height and age??? So then when you say, I can't have anything but meat, they act like your some kind of freak, and what do I do, give in to FIT in.
So I understand what you mean about not wanting to hang out with friends. I had to turn down a few invites because I don't need to the greif! Dieting is stressfull enough! Meantime, I haven't lost ANY weight in a month!!!
A few things I tried is "I JUST ate before I got here", For offers of cake or sweets, I have said I can't have sugar for month because of health issues. You can say that your not doing it to lose weight but to GAIN muscle.
Or just try to schedule your time around "eating" times. Say you have to run an errand and while your out eat your meat!
This is a very recluse diet I think. It is hard to eat out with friends or family and make your "seperate" meal or piece of meat at home while others are having a balance meal. Luckliy my family doesn't think much of it. But at work its tricky because I bring my lunch and breakfast to work. I really don't want anyone to see what I'm eating because they will make such a big deal of it. I have even had people leave recess cups on my desk while I gone!
I just keep thinking, for me anyways, this is just temporary, until I loose the weight. Good luck!

[wannaBthin77]

Hi everyone, I'm new here too. Well actually, I've been a lurker for quite some time, but I've finally decided enough is enough and I have to start doing something serious about my weight. I'm an emotional eater, and due to a couple failed relationships, my weight has ballooned from 135 to 253 over the past few years. I'm the fattest I've ever been, and because of that (and because of people's comments..."OMG, what happened to you??...OMG, you've gotten so fat"...etc.), I'm too ashamed to leave my house most days. I'm tired of living this way.

I've been following the Stillman's threads for the past couple weeks, and I decided that this is what I need to do, at least to get the initial weight loss, and hopefully that'll motivate me to keep going. I started yesterday at 253, and today I'm down to 251.2. I think I could have lost more, but TOM is here. I ate:

B: HB egg, 1/4 cottage cheese
L: lean turkey breast, SF jello
D: 3 slices roast beef
Lots of water throughout the day

I hope the roast beef is OK, I had some left over from my previous shopping trip, and it was expensive, so I can't let it go to waste!

OK, now here's my question: I have 3 day trip coming up on June 29th, and I'm really hoping to lose at least 30 lbs by then. That gives me about 5.5 weeks. Do you guys think it's possible? It's actually imperative that I lose that weight, because this trip is work related, and I'm a Flight Attendant (believe it or not!). It's our annual training, and last year I weighed 45lbs less. They make us buckle into our jumpseats to make sure we fit, otherwise we fail. They offered leaves of absences to many of last year, and I took one before this last weight gain and I haven't flown since then, so I'm worried I've "outgrown" our seats. I probably have, since they were quite snug before.

Sorry for rambling! I'm just hoping someone can let me know if my goal is attainable, or am I asking for a miracle here! Thanks so much, and I look forward to continue posting and getting to know everyone here.

[EloraRose]

I know what it's like to have such pressure to lose. I think your goal is attainable, but just be careful and good to yourself.

I once lost 30lbs in two weeks on Stillman's. It was around five years ago - I was working out 2-3 hours a day then, though. I was a pro cheer coach at the time and I had to lose fast.

I really relate to your story - I went from 120's to 230 in just over two years after I quit cheering. I'm down to 190 now and everyone's been really supportive but I still feel enormous!

good luck and I hope you keep up with us all on this board

[wannaBthin77]

Originally Posted by EloraRose

I know what it's like to have such pressure to lose. I think your goal is attainable, but just be careful and good to yourself.

I once lost 30lbs in two weeks on Stillman's. It was around five years ago - I was working out 2-3 hours a day then, though. I was a pro cheer coach at the time and I had to lose fast.

I really relate to your story - I went from 120's to 230 in just over two years after I quit cheering. I'm down to 190 now and everyone's been really supportive but I still feel enormous!

good luck and I hope you keep up with us all on this board

Thank you, EloraRose.

Wow, 30lbs in 2 weeks? That's impressive. I wish I could work out that much, but unfortunately, I'm so out of shape now that all I can do at this point is walk my dog for 30 minutes. But at least it's something. Also lately I've been noticing that my knees are bothering me now, like when I go to sit down they make all kinds of cracking noises and they hurt. It freaked me out since I'm fairly young at 31 to have that kind of problem, but it was a real eye opener as to how much weight I've actually gained. Since the knee issues just started, hopefully I haven't done too much damage to them.

As for food...so far today I've had some lean turkey breast, 2 slices of roast beef (1.5 g of fat), and a SF jello.

[paperthin]

Checked the scale and am down 4 lbs. I love this diet. The weight is falling off.

The key is to stay active over my 3 day weekend.

I wanna know - What are you all doing for exercise this weekend?

[wannaBthin77]

Good morning everyone,

Today is day 3 and I'm down 5.2 lbs!!! This is really motivating. Especially after last night. All of a sudden around 11pm I got the WORST headache, and I started to feel nauseous. It was awful. Did anyone else go through that in the beginning? The nausea started to get so bad I almost caved and ate some crackers, but I decided against it because I didn't want to ruin a whole day of hard work, so instead I tried to go to sleep. Thankfully this morning I feel fine, and I'm not even hungry!

[DizzyUpTheGirl]

Hello Everyone!

I'm new to this thread as well and after reading all of your posts, I'm feeling really encouraged to join as well, if that's okay...? I posted a thread but I have yet to receive any responses so I figured y'all wouldn't mind if I posted it here (I'm thinking about trying the Stillman's 14 Day Shape Up):

Hey everyone,
I just read the Stillman's 14 day shape up plan and I really am considering trying it out!!! Maybe this is what I need... You see I recently did 1 month of strict Atkins LC and I only lost like 6 or 7 lbs. Now in the past, when I lost a total of 60 lbs, I lost at least 6 or 7 lbs in the first week! Maybe this 14 day trial is what I need?

From my understanding, the 14 day shape up is very similar to LC, but cuts out all the fat... right? So instead of eating ground beef and steak, I would stick more to chicken? I read the post, I just want to make sure I'm interpreting it correctly I'm really willing to try this but I would love for some of you to share your experiences regarding the 14 day shape up plan and how it worked for you; especially if you were previously doing Atkins.

Thanks so much in advance!

----------------------------------------------------------------

I would really appreciate any advice anyone has and would you all mind posting your menus for a couple or days so I can get some ideas?
I think I'm going to have somewhat of a difficult time though because I'm not too fond of eggs, and I usually like to dip chicken in ranch or some other sort of dip... but that's not allowed, right???

Sorry for all of the questions and thanks in advance!!!

-Hope you all have a wonderful and Memorial Day weekend!!

[dizzyizzy]

Hello all,

I am new to this board and I'd like to join you to get and give support and encouragement. I have been doing Stillman'S QWL for 3 days now and I've lost 5.73 pounds. I know a lot of it must be water weight, but I am very excited nonetheless.

I've also had a really bad headache since last night, in my case I suspect is the sugar withdrawal as I experienced the same a couple of years ago when I was doing the Atkins induction. So it kinda sucks to have a headache but is also good because it means there is no glycogen left in my cells and I am burning my own fat, yaaay!

I am going to Greece in July for my holidays and I want to look awesome for my pictures!! I started two days ago at 86 kilos (189.5 pounds) and right now I am at 83.4 kilos (183.86 pounds). My goal is to weigh 75 kilos (165 pounds) by July 16 (the day I am leaving for my holidays). Do you guys think this is reasonable? It would mean a loss of 8.4 kilos or 18.86 pounds in 8 weeks. My ****** keeps warning me that my weight loss goal is too high, lol. I know rapid weight loss is possible when low carbing, so I know is doable, but I also want to know if this is healthy and within reason. I think it is because a loss of a little over a kilo per week sounds reasonable to me.

My other concern is what happens when I finish the 14 days of Stillman. I really need to have a plan otherwise I will go back to my old ways. I want to know what program will I follow in order to mantain the weight loss I know I will achieve =)

I know Atkins is a good alternative, I lost 20 pounds on Atkins last year and felt and looked fabulous, however I went back to my old eating ways and of course I gained all the weight back and some more!! So I know this time it has to be a lifestyle commitment and I am ok with it. I am extremely metabolic resistant and there is a history of Diabetes in my family (my dad has Diabetes type 2, and my uncle -dad's brother- had Diabetes type 1 and unfortunately died last year because of the complications of his disease ) so I know that being overweight is a "luxury" that I can not afford. It has taken its toll in my self esteem for several years now, and now I know I am in a point where if I don't lose all this weight, it will start to affect my physical health as well.

So I guess Atkins is one alternative, I also thought about the Carbohydrate Addicts diet but I think the temptation is way too big... lol. I still need to educate myself on the concepts of balance and portion restriction before I can even dream of going there.

So any ideas? What program have people followed here after they finish Stillman? What do you think is the best program to keep the weight off and why?

A little about myself: I will be 34 years old next month, single, no children, totally addicted to carbs, hate exercise, but plan to do it to help the weight loss, lol. Last night I did the Tracy Andersons Method Mat Workout, boy, that was hard!!!

I am feeling very motivated already by reading all your posts (yes I have been lurking for a couple of weeks now, hehe) and it was your motivation one of the reasons that help me to finally decide to do this for myself. I know low-carb is the way to go for me, and I have no doubts in my mind that if I commit myself to this and to a lifestyle change I will succeed in losing the weight and keeping it off. I have tried many many diets in the past (yoyo-ing and screwing up my metabolism in the process) and I know that nothing else works better for me to curb my appetite, keep my cravings under control, and lose weight whilst feeling great, like low carbing does.

So my only two challenges at the moment are deciding what to do after I finish with Stillman's QWL? Should I do the 14 day shape up program? Atkins? Very low carb? I am very very scared of losing control and wanting to go back on the heavy carbs after cutting them out completely for a few months This is what happened last time with Atkins and I don't want to go through that again.

I am also afraid of slowing down my metabolism and getting my body used to so little calories and then gaining all the weight back when I increase my calories.

Thanks everyone for reading and I'd really appreciate your suggestions and views on this!!

Izzy

[dizzyizzy]

Originally Posted by wannaBthin77

Good morning everyone,

Today is day 3 and I'm down 5.2 lbs!!! This is really motivating. Especially after last night. All of a sudden around 11pm I got the WORST headache, and I started to feel nauseous. It was awful. Did anyone else go through that in the beginning? The nausea started to get so bad I almost caved and ate some crackers, but I decided against it because I didn't want to ruin a whole day of hard work, so instead I tried to go to sleep. Thankfully this morning I feel fine, and I'm not even hungry!

Hi wannabethin,

I think you are in ketosis now Headache + loss of appetite... sounds like ketosis to me!!! The headache might be related to the sugar withdrawal, just in the same way people get headaches when they quit caffeine and nicotine. It will go away in a day or two maximum. I also have a mild headache since last night. And I also seem to have lost my appetite COMPLETELY. I feel a little tired and I am so thristy too. These are all signs of ketosis. Woohoo!!! so much fat to burn.... lol

[dizzyizzy]

Ok I can really see now what people mean by the Atkins Flu... lol. I seriously don't remember feeling like this when I did the Atkins induction a couple of years ago. I really feel like I am going to catch a flu. My body aches, my head feels foggy, and I feel a little anxious. The nasty headache is still there but is a little better now after taking some Panadol. My joints and back hurt. I feel so tired and a little dizzy. If this is how we feel by getting off our sugar fix, I don't even want to imagine how it is for other types of addictions

[LustfortheMoment]

Stick with it, Dizzy. Once you settle into induction, you should feel GREAT. I had some headaches early on as well, but my energy level is outstanding now......

Good Luck,

[wannaBthin77]

Originally Posted by dizzyizzy

Hi wannabethin,

I think you are in ketosis now Headache + loss of appetite... sounds like ketosis to me!!! The headache might be related to the sugar withdrawal, just in the same way people get headaches when they quit caffeine and nicotine. It will go away in a day or two maximum. I also have a mild headache since last night. And I also seem to have lost my appetite COMPLETELY. I feel a little tired and I am so thristy too. These are all signs of ketosis. Woohoo!!! so much fat to burn.... lol

I think you're right Izzy because the headache is gone and today I'm feeling much better.

Let's burn that fat girl!!

[wannaBthin77]

Day 4...total loss is now 7.6lbs. Yay!!!! It's really motivating to see a consistent loss every morning. I know it's gonna slow down, but as long as the scale is moving in the right direction I'll be happy.

Yesterday I ate:
1 HB egg (with hot sauce)
2 oz lean turkey breast
1 chicken breast (with 1/2 tsp. mustard)
3 slices roast beef
1 whopper jr. (burger patty only, with 1/2 tsp. ketchup)

[dizzyizzy]

congratulations wannabethin! almost 8 pounds in 4 days, that is really really impressive!! I can't wait to weigh myself tomorrow too it's almost 9PM on my side of the world so I think I will try to do some exercise and then off to bed for me. I had an ok day but could have been better:

1 cup cottage cheese
1 HB egg (white only)
2 cups of tea with splenda
1 chicken breast (roasted no skin)
2 cans of diet coke
1 slice of turkey breast
2 burger patties

According to ****** it all rounds up to 12 grs of carb and 1005 calories. Is too much, I know, and the main culprit is the cottage cheese with 4.5 grams of carbs. But unfortunately where I live there is not much variety when it comes to cottagre cheese (only two brands and one of them doesn't have carb count on it so I can't trust it).

At least I was very good drinking all my water =)

I hope I am still in ketosis tomorrow! The headache seems to be receding a little bit....

Have a losing day you all and I'll post my updates tomorrow... hopefully I will be a loser by the morning =)

izzy

[Remykins]

second day in, something may be wrong?
I am HUNGRY!!!! really hungry... shouldnt i have lost my appetite?

[icandoit]

It takes a while to get into ketosis. You will prob need a couple more days. gl

[Remykins]

I was already in ketosis, i had been on induction for a few weeks

[icandoit]

I would say eat some more then. maybe some hard boiled eggs? Maybe someone else will help out.

[dizzyizzy]

Good morning everyone (from my side of the world anyway, hehe)

So obviously first thing I did this morning was to weigh myself and I am down another 1.76 pounds =D

And I exercised last night before going to bed!!

Hope everybody had a good day today. I am starting mine and I have a lunch box packed with all sorts of proteins. And the headache is almost gone...

Should be a good day =)

Izzy

[dizzyizzy]

Remikins, are you exercising? I find it that exercising even for a little while (30 minutes in stationary bike for example) helps me to get into ketosis much faster (because you deplete your glycogen reserves - if you have any left). After there is no glycogen left, the body has no option but to start burning fat. I can tell when I am in ketosis because I feel a have a sweet taste in my mouth (which I definitely had last night after I finished exercising)!!!

Izzy

[dizzyizzy]

btw, my total loss has been 7.5 pounds (or 3.4 kilos) in 3 days.

This works if you work it so let's work it because we are worth it!! =)

[icandoit]

great jon dizzyizzy! i agree, exercise does help!