Stillman's Countdown to Summer: Amazing April Edition

[anniebell]

I typically gain with TOM but this time I just flatlined for about 4 days. I'm down 1.5 today so it's moving again. Ive been drinking a ton of water and I ran about 3 miles yesterday. The bloat isn't gone but definitely better.

[Mar922]

So I decided to get my bike out last night after I walked the beasts and bot tires were flat and my pump was broken so I went for a 20 min walk instead, it made me quite sad so I am going to get a new pump today and hope that the tires will inflate!

[Getting there!!!]

Originally Posted by akagal20

Hey I am glad I got TWO responses,

I should not expect to gain with TOM : )

Thats great news.. I just want to be prepared for any reason to ebb and flow.

I am so strict right now, and I dont have time for even 1 lb to creep up for any reason. My best friend is on the diet too, she is a lot heavier than me, and has been losing and is cheating MAJORLY. I am a little jealous! She said she had crackers with her tuna and I am like, WHAT?!?!


I am down 6lb, and I feel like if I hit 10, that dress is gonna zippity do dah!!

My personality type is EXTREME go-getter. I hate failure. And I feed off of success. How else could I have planned a wedding, prepared for my Masters graduation plus worked two jobs all in the same Year...
I think Stillmans was made for me. My main issue is that I get edgy when the scale is acting funny, as is ( does not move!)....this morning was the first day since I started that it didnt go down, and instantly I started wondering what mistake I made the day before. LOL

Isnt that silly? The scale is not going to go down by 1 lb every day, that is nonsense.. Can I be anymore ridiculous right now?

Go you!!! Akal-i think if you normally gain with TOM you prob will with QWL. If you don't, you won't! I don't even if I'm not dieting!
What a busy time for you-but really rewarding and exciting too!

[Getting there!!!]

Originally Posted by Mar922

I'm 5'3 but I always tell ppl I am 5'4, which is true when I am wearing shoes haha

Yeah strangely peple always think I'm taller than I am! i'm not even quite sure I am 5'6, i think I may actually be half an inch shorter!

[Mar922]

Originally Posted by Getting there!!!

Yeah strangely peple always think I'm taller than I am! i'm not even quite sure I am 5'6, i think I may actually be half an inch shorter!

My friend is 5'7 and lost weight and she looks taller now because her limbs look longer, I on the otherhand look smaller haha, guess I will never look tall

[Getting there!!!]

Originally Posted by Mar922

My friend is 5'7 and lost weight and she looks taller now because her limbs look longer, I on the otherhand look smaller haha, guess I will never look tall

Yeah I'm def starting to look 'leggier'!! And I seriously put that down to Callanetics cos even when i was much lighter than now, i had dumpy legs!

You look smaller cos you're nice and petite! I wouldn't mind being that way either, I'm kinda in the middle!

[milo_juniper]

Ladies! Thank you so much for your input/encouragement!

I hope we keep sharing what is and isn’t working for us while we’re eating this way. Here are some things I’ll be doing differently this time around:

-No weighing myself or keeping a food log. When I do this, I become a slave to food/dieting. I don’t have control over my body losing weight. The only thing I can control is what I put in my mouth. I’m just going to focus on eating meat until satisfied, and get on with my life.

-Lots of water! I just bought a new water bottle that I’m going to carry around with me everywhere. When I keep a water bottle with me at all times, I find that I fill it up and drink more water than when I just grab a glass when I’m thirsty. Plus I’ve realized that sensations I thought were hunger pangs have disappeared after drinking water. I suspect that a part of my disordered eating is that my body is thirsty and instead of drinking water, I eat.

- If I feel like I need fiber, I’m going to make egg pancakes. Half a cup of Egg Beaters + 1 tablespoon of psyllium husk blended in the magic bullet turns into a pancake batter. I think these egg pancakes taste better than regular and LC pancakes. (Once I’m done Stillman’s, I’ll use regular eggs to make them, but until then, the leaner, the better)

In regards to a maintenance diet, I agree with the statements about eating whole foods. I started researching the Dukan Diet recently. It’s very similar to Stillman’s in that it’s a phase of pure lean protein (but Dr. Dukan allows for fat free dairy & tofu), followed by cycles of pure protein and pure protein + unlimited veggies. After you reach your ideal weight this way, you slowly start introducing more foods into your diet. The final maintenance phase is eating whatever you want, but keeping 1 pure protein day a week. That sounds manageable to me. “Eating whatever I want” would have some gentle limits though…I know I feel my best when sugar and flour are not in my diet.

I agree with y’all about liquid cheats I was going to have an iced coffee this morning, but it was too cold. So I got a hot coffee with Splenda and a dash of skim milk. Full fat dairy always makes me break out, so skim milk it is when I need it in hot coffee. Other concessions I’m making (for now) : using fat free Greek yogurt as a condiment (for tuna, salmon, and a topping for egg pancake), protein powder (mix a scoop with enough water to make a paste, nuke it in the microwave for a minute, and it turns into a cookie!), and tofu. If they stall my weight loss (which I’ll be judging by the fit of my clothes), I’ll drop ‘em.

[Mar922]

Originally Posted by milo_juniper

Ladies! Thank you so much for your input/encouragement!



-Lots of water! I just bought a new water bottle that I’m going to carry around with me everywhere. When I keep a water bottle with me at all times, I find that I fill it up and drink more water than when I just grab a glass when I’m thirsty. Plus I’ve realized that sensations I thought were hunger pangs have disappeared after drinking water. I suspect that a part of my disordered eating is that my body is thirsty and instead of drinking water, I eat.

- If I feel like I need fiber, I’m going to make egg pancakes. Half a cup of Egg Beaters + 1 tablespoon of psyllium husk blended in the magic bullet turns into a pancake batter. I think these egg pancakes taste better than regular and LC pancakes. (Once I’m done Stillman’s, I’ll use regular eggs to make them, but until then, the leaner, the better)

In regards to a maintenance diet, I agree with the statements about eating whole foods. I started researching the Dukan Diet recently. It’s very similar to Stillman’s in that it’s a phase of pure lean protein (but Dr. Dukan allows for fat free dairy & tofu), followed by cycles of pure protein and pure protein + unlimited veggies. After you reach your ideal weight this way, you slowly start introducing more foods into your diet. The final maintenance phase is eating whatever you want, but keeping 1 pure protein day a week. That sounds manageable to me. “Eating whatever I want” would have some gentle limits though…I know I feel my best when sugar and flour are not in my diet.

I agree with y’all about liquid cheats I was going to have an iced coffee this morning, but it was too cold. So I got a hot coffee with Splenda and a dash of skim milk. Full fat dairy always makes me break out, so skim milk it is when I need it in hot coffee. Other concessions I’m making (for now) : using fat free Greek yogurt as a condiment (for tuna, salmon, and a topping for egg pancake), protein powder (mix a scoop with enough water to make a paste, nuke it in the microwave for a minute, and it turns into a cookie!), and tofu. If they stall my weight loss (which I’ll be judging by the fit of my clothes), I’ll drop ‘em.

It seems like you are ready to jump right in, do you find that it helps because you have done this before? How long did it take you to lose your weight last time?

I always have to drink water before I eat because I can never tell the difference!

I also have the dukan book and think that is how I am going to maintain my weight with slowly adding things back but I am not going to eat whetever, unless my tastes have changed(which they seem to) because I got fat eating my old way and I am scared to revert to that.

I am going to have to try the egg pancakes! and maybe the cookie although I hate the protein powder I have right now it just sticks to your teeth like sugar and I don't like that feeling!

[Getting there!!!]

Originally Posted by milo_juniper

[/SIZE][/FONT] -[FONT=Tahoma][SIZE=2]No weighing myself or keeping a food log. When I do this, I become a slave to food/dieting. I don’t have control over my body losing weight. The only thing I can control is what I put in my mouth. I’m just going to focus on eating meat until satisfied, and get on with my life.

That's what i did at the beginning!! I just believed 100% that if i stayed on plan it would work. You have to have absolutely cheats though! I think it was the only thing that kept me sane for months!

Love Dukan-have the book! He talks a lot of sense, even though i reckon he stole lots from Stillman!! I'm def gonna do his protein Thursday! I think that will really keep me in check. Not gonna do his eat everything maintenance though-that would be waaay too dangerous for me!!

[Getting there!!!]

About the pancakes, what are ye calling Quark. It's everywhere in France abd Germany! I eat it as yoghurt cos it's fat free and has a low carb count cos i think it's like cream cheese mixed with yoghurt. I can't get a translation for it cos we don't have it. I'm wondering is it fromage frais, but again with us that's creamy yoghurt!

[Mar922]

Originally Posted by Getting there!!!

About the pancakes, what are ye calling Quark. It's everywhere in France abd Germany! I eat it as yoghurt cos it's fat free and has a low carb count cos i think it's like cream cheese mixed with yoghurt. I can't get a translation for it cos we don't have it. I'm wondering is it fromage frais, but again with us that's creamy yoghurt!

I saw quark for the first time at the store yesterday I always just thought it was fromage frais but I don't know what that is either haha, dukan recommends you make a quark snd oatbran pancake once a day, I was debating trying it.

[akagal20]

Originally Posted by Mar922

I find when its my tom I don't gain bu I don't lose either but as soon as its done I will start losing again or I will just drop 3 pounds over night, which is always fun to see on the scale, keep away from the salt! its taken be 3 days to get back down to my presalt binge weight, I know its just water weight but blech!

Mar, this is GOOD to know
I just want to be realistic about the loss.
I dont want to mistake a medical thing for a stall, or vice versa
I'm going to stay steady and going to gym tonight too, and see if I cant see a 150lbs in the near future ...SOO Freaking close!

[icandoit]

I also look like I got taller once I lose weight. Everyone comments on when did I get taller! I also feel taller

[CCGirl]

Originally Posted by Mar922

Morning!

I am finally back down to the weight I was last friday! no more salt craziness for me for a while! I have decieded that I would like to lose 10 pounds this month, thats what I lost last Month with 2 cheat (treat) weekends so I don't think it will be a problem as I only have my Moms Bday and easter dinner, they are on the same week but I am only going to treat myself to a day each not the whole week like last time lol

For my Mom's bday she wants to go for etheopian food which is actually quite healthy, the place we go to has stews that you eat with inera bread, so if I eat more stew than bread it won't be too bad... but after dinner we are going to the banana boat which is this great ice cream place that uses real cream! and I already know what I am going to get, a small PB cup blizzard with extra PB, I have never been able to eat a whole one I always used to share with the ex so I will have to have the will power to throw it out when I am done instead of try to eat the whole thing myself or freeze it to eat later.

What is everyone doing for easter?

I have always been a Ham with home made mustard (the only mustard I will eat) and mashed potatoes with Gravy girl, and maybe A veg haha seriously half the plate is always potatoes my whole "family" (I call them "family" because I am not actually related to any of them but I know them better than my own Fam and we spend all our holidays together) always makes fun of me for it. I tried the cauliflower mash and it is pretty good, so maybe I will have that with no gravy and extra ham?

mmmmmmm..home made mustard! How does that work?

for Ostara I make himself an Easter ham and thank God/dess for the blessings I have received and those yet to come. If I'mm feeling really crafty I will do the St. Brigid blessing and tie my white scarf on the back door handle the eve before to receive her blessing.

Originally Posted by anniebell

Love this! Your whole post is great but this especially speaks to me. I think I have done self sabotage in the past because I didn't believe I deserved to be thin, slim, fit, hot, all that stuff. Not anymore! I am turning that thinking around.

the thing that really makes me scream is the self degradation we lay on ourselves for being overweight and then the realization is that's it's the mainstream media, medical community and the conspiracies of the USDA and FDA that led us down the carb laden path. O the wasted years!

It's SOOO not our fault!

[Mar922]

I will have to get the recipe from my mom but I know it involves mustard powder, vinegar, egg yolk and sugar, wonder what I could do instead of sugar?

[CCGirl]

Originally Posted by Getting there!!!

About the pancakes, what are ye calling Quark. It's everywhere in France abd Germany! I eat it as yoghurt cos it's fat free and has a low carb count cos i think it's like cream cheese mixed with yoghurt. I can't get a translation for it cos we don't have it. I'm wondering is it fromage frais, but again with us that's creamy yoghurt!

Quark

A German whole or skimmed milk (or low fat) cheese made without rennet. The word quark means "curd". It's similar to a cross between a thick, strained yogurt and a fromage blanc. It is a good low fat replacement for butter in scrambled eggs or in mashed potatoes. It can be used to make cheesecake, spread on bread or served with fresh fruit.

Quark (or quarg) is a fresh unripened cheese prepared in a fashion similar to cottage cheese. As with other fresh cheeses, the first step in the creation of quark is pasteurization of the milk. Fresh cheeses are consumed without aging and so milk used must be pasteurized to ensure the safety of the cheese. Once the cheesemilk is prepared, starter culture is added to generate lactic acid from lactose. Acidification occurs until the pH is lowered to 4.6, which causes precipitation of the casein proteins. A very small amount of rennet is included with the cheesemilk and it functions to make the curd firmer. Unlike cottage cheese, the quark coagulum is not cut or cooked. The curd is simply broken by agitation and whey is removed by bag drainage or by centrifugal force in a mechanical curd concentrator. The product may then be salted. The resulting texture of the quark cheese is very smooth, unlike cottage cheese, which consists of distinct curds. Quark cheese is used as an ingredient to add sensory appeal, mild flavour, and nutritional value to foods. Quark is a fresh cheese with a smooth texture, a mild, slightly sour flavour and a white colour. Quark cheese can be prepared from skim milk, partially skim milk or whole milk. When the Quark cheese is made with fat, the fat contributes to the flavour and smoothness of the cheese. Quark cheese has a fairly short shelf life due to its relatively high moisture content. Since the curd is not washed (as in cottage cheese manufacture), quark cheese has a relatively high lactose content.

[CCGirl]

it sounds almost like our ricotta cheese here....

[CCGirl]

Originally Posted by Mar922

I will have to get the recipe from my mom but I know it involves mustard powder, vinegar, egg yolk and sugar, wonder what I could do instead of sugar?

Splenda!

ewww egg yolk in mustard????????? not on my planet.......

[Mar922]

Originally Posted by CCGirl

Splenda!

ewww egg yolk in mustard????????? not on my planet.......

I hate egg yolks! but you can't tell they are in there so i'll eat it

Only my mom could put 2 things I hate in a food and get me to eat it lol

and I was thinking Quark sounded like ricotta, I love to dip my veggies in ricotta

[icandoit]

You guys are starting to make me hungry lol. You know what they say- if you hungry out of the blue then you'll get a whoosh! Here's hoping!

[icandoit]

Check this out- explaining the whoosh effect
Explanation for the 'whoosh' effect

[Mar922]

Originally Posted by icandoit

You guys are starting to make me hungry lol. You know what they say- if you hungry out of the blue then you'll get a whoosh! Here's hoping!

I've never had a whoosh I am starting to think it is a mythical thing like unicorns haha

[aleriaaa]

Originally Posted by akagal20

My main issue is that I get edgy when the scale is acting funny, as is ( does not move!)....this morning was the first day since I started that it didnt go down, and instantly I started wondering what mistake I made the day before. LOL

Isnt that silly? The scale is not going to go down by 1 lb every day, that is nonsense.. Can I be anymore ridiculous right now?

We all know what you mean!!! There will be days the scale doesnt move, but you will be pleasantly surprised a couple days later when you lose 2 or 3 or even 4!!!

[aleriaaa]

Originally Posted by akagal20

You had like 1 glass right ? It wasn't a whole bottle of anything?

three....(hanging head in shame)....but they were in the white wine glass, not my usual red. The red wine glass probably holds a whole bottle..

[aleriaaa]

Originally Posted by Mar922

I've never had a whoosh I am starting to think it is a mythical thing like unicorns haha

I had a whoosh once....going strong on Stillmans last year and there was no budge for a week. The following week, 6 pounds was gone.

Oh I wish I could do that again!!!!

[icandoit]

Here is something funny. My husband brought home hot steamy bread last week but I didn't eat it even though I wanted it. What I did instead was smell it a few times and was just standing there. My husband cones in and starts laughing well me too lol. Better to smell then eat haha

[aleriaaa]

Im so sad. Hubby and I both have to work on Easter. The kids will be in good hands with Grandma, but isn't that messed up.. Makes me wanna quit actually...

[Getting there!!!]

Originally Posted by CCGirl

it sounds almost like our ricotta cheese here....

Thanks CC! I know what it is it's just aaagh what do we call it??? I don't think we have it!! No, it's not ricotta either! Nor cottage cheese, nor Philadelphia! I love all those BTW! I really do love my dairy-I actually never buy the Quark yoghurt cos Iwould eat the whole tub!!
Actually ricotta mite work for the pancakes-but think it's full of fat! Quark isn't-well i always get the lf version.
Just thought now, doh!! I always think of Quark as the yoghurt not the cheese, cos thats used in cooking and eh i dont cook, but Dukan never said about the yoghurt version!!!so a lf white cheese would work perfectly!!

[Getting there!!!]

Originally Posted by Mar922

I hate egg yolks! but you can't tell they are in there so i'll eat it

Only my mom could put 2 things I hate in a food and get me to eat it lol

and I was thinking Quark sounded like ricotta, I love to dip my veggies in ricotta

Ricotta is mostly used for sweet stuff here!

[Getting there!!!]

Originally Posted by icandoit

You guys are starting to make me hungry lol. You know what they say- if you hungry out of the blue then you'll get a whoosh! Here's hoping!

Do they???? Coool!