Sue's Journey to FINALLY getting this weight off!

[Low Carb Mommy]

Sue I give you credit for the trying part! Sorry about your knee. Have you gotten it checked out yet? Those knees can take a long time to heal! I am glad you are feeling good. You should be glad that you lose everywhere at one time. That way you don't have a few trouble spots in the last. Hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! I have been busy today and haven't had much time to be on here.

[Edwards20]

Sue, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

[seb]

It's a nice Saturday. I was out gardening, but a migraine started developing and came in to drink tea and visit on-line.

Hope I don't get a full-blown migraine. I've only had one or two since starting back on Atkins, but I think some hormonal things are going on.

DH was gone for almost 3 days, and he keeps mentioning my inches lost since he got home last night. He says my hands are bonier, and that I look much smaller. I'm wearing a T-shirt I haven't worn in a long time.

DH is grilling steaks for us tomorrow for Mother's Day. That along with a salad will be all I need. I have a bunch of strawberries in the fridge that can be sliced, add a veggie and it will be easy for DD and DH to prepare. I love M Day. DH doesn't let me do any work.

[Low Carb Mommy]

I'm sorry I wasn't on here today....and for posting so late. I miss everyone when I can't be here. Hope you are feeling better. Take care of yourself!

Thanks for helping me during my little LC breakdown. I appreciate your wisdom and experience. I know that this WOL takes a lot of learning and yes experimenting. I just want to get in a rush sometimes. You have added so much to my life with your friendship. We will all get to our goals the right way and will be proud of ourselves for doing that.

I know that meant a lot to you for DH to notice inches falling off! You are Queen of the inches girl! The scales have been kind to you as well. Keep it going.

Hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day. Steaks sound delicious!

[Edwards20]

Sue, sounds like you are going to have a great Mother's Day. I doubt today will be very special around here. Just another day.

I am very proud of you and so excited that DH "noticed". Randy tells me everyday, but for some reason it's much easier for me to believe someone else. I feel like he is just being nice, because he is always complimentary.

I do wish you a wonderful day.

[crazyredhead]

Just a quick stop in to say hello . Sounds like it will be a really nice Mother's Day for you. It's great when they notice, isn't it? How sweet !

[seb]

It is a beautiful sunny day out! Looks like we're going to warm up here.

Hi Beth, Hillary and Candy.

We did have a nice Mother's Day. DH and DD fixed grilled rib eye steaks, strawberries with real whipped cream, which I indulged in and enjoyed, a salad and green beans sauteed in olive oil and garlic. I was going to stick with steak and salad, but as DD went to so much work in the kitchen for me, and all of it was LC, I ate it and enjoyed it.

I was a hormonal mess yesterday. I take BCPs for three months straight, then have one week off. This is to control what was out of control perimenopausal symptoms that were making life difficult for me. But, as happened around this time last cycle, I am starting to spot a month early. I spot, then had a regular period for a month during the last 3 month cycle, and I'm hoping this doesn't happen again. But I was on the verge of tears and very grouchy yesterday. I tried to hide the grouchiness from the kids, but ended up crying last night in front of the boys. What do boys do with a crying Mom? So, I had to leave the room for a few minutes. Ah well, I'm feeling better today.

[Low Carb Mommy]

So glad today you are feeling better! Those hormones are awful. I was on edge all last week. Friday night I didn't want anyone around me. We just have to get through them. Hope you can get your cycle straightened out.

Your meal sounded wonderful! That was so sweet of DD! I'm glad you let yourself enjoyed your meal! You deserve the best!

How is your knee feeling?

[seb]

Beth, my knee hasn't hurt for a couple days. I need to get out and walk today. I have to run errands, so may stop by the park for a walk. DH and youngest DS were going to ride bikes to church yesterday, but a little bit from home a dog bit DS's ankle (didn't break through the skin because of jeans/socks) but now I don't want to walk in the area. We live out in the country, and people just let their dogs roam. We do too, but our dog is the most friendly dog around. People with dogs that are aggressive should not let them off their property.

[Low Carb Mommy]

Yikes! I know that scared DS. I got bit by a dog on my shoulder one time when I was young at a friend's house. He jumped on my back and bit me. I have been very cautious of dogs since then. We have some dogs loose around our neighborhood too. I need to be careful. So glad your knee is feeling better...a nice walk would be good today!

[Edwards20]

Sue, I am so glad you enjoyed the Mother's Day food. That was very sweet of your DH. I wish I could help with the hormone issues. I had a hysterectomy and still have one ovary. No one sees the need for me to have any hormonal supplements, as they believe the one ovary produces enough for me. I know ever since I got PG with DD, I cry ALL the time. I am very emotional and can be very grouchy. Even DH commented that he thought after I delivered it would be better. He just learns to live with it - poor thing. Sorry about DS's bite. Hope you have a good Monday.

[seb]

I wish I understood hormones better. I should do more research on them, but I spend too much time here. This is more fun.

Feeling back to normal today and no spotting. Hope it stops completely.

[Edwards20]

I hope it stops as well.

I spend WAY too much time here. But it is FUN and REWARDING. I should so be working right now. But, I have NO motivation. You think paying the bills would be good enough.

[seb]

I should so be doing breakfast dishes (it's 11:45), laundry and general cleaning. But, that's no fun.

On a positive note, I did run all my errands for the day.

[Low Carb Mommy]

I am folding clothes and sitting at the computer at the same time....it can be done ladies!

[seb]

My problem is that I"m on dial-up, so I tie up the phone all day. And, when DH calls he knows I sit here wasting too much time.

[crazyredhead]

Ok girls... I am taking notes on all the hormone stuff ... can't be too far behind you... sounds like fun . Sorry to hear about the dog... though I'm relieved that he didn't actually get to take a real bite. I had a dog bite me in the face when I was in 6th grade... I was going to give it a hug... unfortunately he didn't know I was being friendly and got scared. Thankfully the scar is barely visible (most people don't even know its there unless I point it out)... gave my parents a fright though at the time. Funny thing is... I still absolutely love dogs... I'm a total dog person... did learn my lesson though and always make sure to put out my hand carefully first so they can sniff and feel at ease. Still it's hard though when a dog comes at you out of the blue and attacks. Hoepfully that was a one time occurence.

[Edwards20]

Originally Posted by Low Carb Mommy

I am folding clothes and sitting at the computer at the same time....it can be done ladies!

Oh, I can soooo multi-task at home. I want to work from home so bad I can't stand it. BUT, I can't make the money I need to. Of course, I am not making much at the rate I am going at it is now.

Sue, hope you have a lovely evening.

[seb]

Not much to report this morning. Eating is good, staying on plan, but the scale is not moving again. Of course, it fluctuates each day, but hasn't gotten back to 177.5 since that one day. So tired of it fluctuating. When I was taking coconut oil it wasn't fluctuating, so maybe I should go get some more? Don't think it really helps me lose, though.

Wish I could sound more positive, but I just don't feel it. I was praying for a whoosh last night, but it didn't happen. I just want one of those 5 pound whooshes that Candy had!

[Low Carb Mommy]

It's OK sue! You will get back to your siggy before you know it. It is the way LC goes. Sorry you are feeling down. I'm sure it goes hand n hand with the hormones. Mark it on your journal notebook so you can see if there is a pattern to it. Do something nice for yourself today....go buy yourself a new top. You will get through this and feel better soon. Remember this is only temporary. I think the lows just make the highs that much higher!

I read a thread that I think would be good for you to see today.

This was posted on this site a while ago. I don't know by who.

Why we work so hard, but nothing seems to change...
A biologist at Berkeley shared something very revealing on the low-carb BBS system about 4 years ago that helps us all through the erratic weight fluctuations you invariably encounter:
Fat cells are resilient, stubborn little creatures that do not want to give up their actual cell volume. Over a period of weeks, maybe months of "proper dieting", each of your fat cells may have actually lost a good percentage of the actual fat contained in those cells.
But the fat cells themselves, stubborn little guys, replace that lost fat with water to retain their size. That is, instead of shrinking to match the reduced amount of fat in the cell, they stay the same size! Result - you weigh the same, look the same, maybe even gained some scale weight, even though you have actually lost some serious fat.
The good news is that this water replacement is temporary. It's a defensive measure to keep your body from changing too rapidly. It allows the fat cell to counter the rapid change in cell composition, allowing for a slow, gradual reduction in cell size. The problem is, most people are frustrated with their apparent lack of success, assume they have lost nothing, and stop dieting.
However, if you give those fat cells some time, like 4-6 months, and ignore the scale weight fluctuations, your real weight/shape will slowly begin to show. The moral of the story - BE PATIENT! Have faith! YOUR APPEARANCE AND SCALE WEIGHT MAY FLUCTUATE, EVEN BACK-TRACK, BUT YOUR RESOLVE, COMMITMENT AND FAITH SHOULD NOT!
__________________



WOE: Atkins Here's another:

Common patterns of weight loss From tracking a *lot* of people who
become assimilated into the lowcarb lifestyle (hehe...resistance is
futile!) a pattern emerges....
the 2 week induction is pretty heady...weight lost just about every
single day, enormous and unbelievable amounts of weight loss are reported.
This is often followed by complaints that weight loss "stalls" or that
the rate drops to only 1 pound per week.
Many people just don't know that fat-loss ...the actual goal when on a
weight-reduction" diet, is rate-limited. In other words, the human
body has factors that prevent more than a certain amount of fatty-acid
release from storage...and even more factors that prevent those released
fatty acids from being used up instead of stored back into the fat
cells.
A priority of the human body is survival. Anything that threatens its
survival results in the cascade of events to maintain the previous
status quo. Water fluctuations are one way the body does this.
OK...so you done good on Atkins' during induction...lost 10 pounds the
first 2 weeks.
Maybe 7 the first week and 3 the second. But, whoa!
Weeks 3 and 4 there is NO loss! And weeks 5 and 6 is only 1/2 pound
each! So... what gives?
Initially, the body jettisons the water attached to the glycogen stores
that we diligently deplete to get into ketosis...this accounts for
about 3-5 pounds of water. In addition, muscle stores of glycogen are not
being replaced when used...which will account for the rest. All in
all...MAYBE 1/2 pound of fat was metabolized during the first week... and
MAYBE 1/2 pound of fat was metabolized the 2nd week. Of that 10
initial pounds, only 1 pound was fat and 9 pounds water...
The body senses this lack and sirens start shrieking:
Warning! Warning! Losing water... new thing...got to get back to the
status quo! Brain tells body to produce and release that vasopressin
antidiuretic hormone....more water is retained, and no weight loss
noticed. Fat loss is still occuring, MAYBE even 2 pounds per week, because
ketosis is firmly established and appetite supression is in
effect...but water retention is hiding that continuing fat loss. The body is
preventing dehydration with this mechanism, and that's a *good* thing.
From the perspective of the scale, it can be discouraging.
Which is why the mantra: Water retention masks fat loss (repeated
frequently to oneself ) is helpful.
Water retention will mask ongoing fat-loss for as long as the body
retains the water. We can combat this by drinking more water...but we
aren't going to totally overcome this mechanism during the initial
water-loss phase of the Atkins diet.
By weeks 5 and 6, things start to get back in balance, and the scale
will begin to reflect the true fat-loss...which, as mentioned before is
rate-limited.
Individuals vary, but max weight loss runs about 2 pounds per
week...under extremely optimal conditions... or 1% of body weight.(whichever is
the lower number)
Take-home message: Even when the scale is in a stall, fat loss can be
occuring. Don't use the scale as an excuse to undermine your progress
Hope this can shed some light for you as well!

[seb]

Thank you Beth. I have seen the first article, but don't think I've seen the second. They are just what I needed today.

Of course I don't want to quit because this is an eating plan I will stick with, but I guess after hearing about others losing like you, Candy and Hillary, I just wanted to see a loss for myself. Don't get me wrong - I am soooo happy that others are losing and cheering right along with you all - but it can get discouraging when my loss is so extremely slow.

I will print this info off and keep reading it when I get discouraged.

[Low Carb Mommy]

I understand completely. I was just there last week remember! I know how you feel and I ache for you. Be encouraged by me....if you have to go back and read all my upset post and then compare to now....it changes....you just sometimes have to wait on it.

[Low Carb Mommy]

By the way, how is your fiber intake? The one thing I started doing after last week was taking fiber (metamucil). Maybe you should try it.

[seb]

Waiting is hard, but I WILL wait and be happy about the loss I have had. I thank the Lord for my dear friends here that keep me encouraged each day!

Good idea about the fiber. Maybe I'll get some Metamucil today. Or, I do have psyllium husks here that I could use.

[Low Carb Mommy]

Either one will do. I take it twice a day right now with a meal. You do have to watch your vitamins and meds.....take them 2 hours after.