Beth's Real Life Journey to Success

[seb]

that is a lot of calories for one part of your meal

About the ketone sticks, they also measure dietary fat, from my understanding, so it could be measuring the fat you're eating? I'm not expert on this. I also understand, though not sure if this is true, that you burn dietary fat before you burn body fat. Now, this was what was being said when Kimmer was posting constantly in the Main Lobby. I don't trust her advise, and if you have been reading the "facination with kimmer" thread, you would know why.

It looks like you have a good plan. I'm going to try to be really strict with myself also, but there's a lot of that cheesecake pudding left! I just can't give up my coffee though. That it one pleasure that I refuse to give up.

How about putting some CO in your green tea? That would really speed up your metabolism? I need to add more green tea and less coffee, probably, but just love coffee.

I think that all of the things you are doing will really help you. Just add one thing in at a time when you start adding, and you might find the culprit.

Now I need to take my own advise.

[Low Carb Mommy]

I guess I have been wrong then. I thought it only showed burning of internal fat. Then, why wouldn't everyone(even those not on Atkins) be showing ketones then since we eat so much fat. I'm confused. I know you CAN lose without showing ketones. I'm showing them but I don't think my breath is all that bad (maybe I should ask DH) and I wouldn't say that my appetite is one way or the other. My ketone strips have been like my scales....big habit!

Oh, I forgot the carb totals for yesterday....23.1.

[seb]

I wouldn't rely on the ketone strips at all. I haven't used them in years because I think they give you false hope.

The best thing to do is eat clean, drink water and exercise. Again, I need to listen to my own advise.

[KrystaLyn]

Also from what I understand, the darkness of your Ketone strips is also affected by how hydrated you are...If you are less hydrated, they show darker because the concentration of ketones shows higher in less fluid. I probably check my ketosticks every couple days, just to make sure I'm still in Ketosis. I don't analyze the color too much because of all the different factors that can affect it.

I'm crossing my fingers that you break the 132 mark soon. I know how that feels! Just hang in there...Im sure all the changes you are making will help either reveal the problem, or push you into losing again.

[seb]

Interesting thread in the ML about fruit that I though you'd enjoy.

My dirty little secret

[Debralynn]

I know this is old news, but I really feel like you are showing ketosis and not losing due to your new excercise regimen. Your body is not just losing weight any more, it is gaining muscle. You see it in your measurements, the way your clothes fit. Feel the backs of your thighs - I'll bet you haven't felt those muscles so firm back there before the treadmill.

It's such a drag to hear, but muscle does weigh more than fat, and you are definitely getting a firmer new bod! I could take a while for your whole system to adjust before you start showing it on the scales.

In short, I would interpret the ketone sticks as you are burning fat, and the stable weight as fat loss/muscle gain.

Just a thought! Have a blessed day!

[Low Carb Mommy]

Good thread Sue!

Deb, I sure hope you are right. My clothes are fitting fine. It would be nice if I started seeing them get looser.

I have had a headache all day today ever since breakfast. I ate my new natural hot cereal this morning.

Ingredients: Wheat bran, flax seed meal, soy protein isolate(non GMO..whatever that is?), cinnamon, nutmeg, natural flavorings(wonder if that is MSG? I saw a program one time that said that if it isn't 100 % of MSG in the product that they can list it ever how they want and some times it is listed as natural flavorings), and salt.

It has 1 net carb per 1/2 cup. It does say in sm. print allergy alert for soy and nuts. Just wanted to make a note of it since it started after breakfast. Sometimes I get a headache after drinking the Atkins shakes too. I know back before Atkins I discovered I had a problem w/ whole wheat. It caused a rash under my wedding band because I was eating it so much. I didn't even know that this cereal had wheat in it until I went to record it on here. For lunch I had a pizza without the crust....veggies, hamburger, cheese, and only a T. of sauce. I don't think that had anything to do with it continuing. I have been drinking water and only 1 diet green tea (sweetened w/ sucralose). Anyways, just want to keep track of it. Thanks for listening.

[NewYorkGiants32]

Hello! Hope you do not mind me jumping in.....whenever it seems my scales remain the same for more than a week,I just go back to the induction phase again, that always helps me. I try not to have any more than 15 carbs on induction.

[monet0329]

Good morning Bethy..... anyone ever call you that? Everyone calls my BFF Bethy..lol..

anyway.. have a great day.. Hope that headache went away

love yaaa

[seb]

I think Debralyn is right also about the exercise. Give it some time, and all the sudden you might have a whoosh.

[Low Carb Mommy]

Thanks Jennifer....good to see you here in my journal! Love good feedback!

Good morning Monet! Actually I have some family members that call me that on occasion. That's funny.

I'm missing my shake this morning. Still haven't eaten breakfast. I'm just waiting for a desire of some kind to arise other than chocolate shake.

I went to Books A Million yesterday and found those books Krysta was talking about on the clearance table. I was so tickled that they were at my bookstore. I ended up buying one of each that they had.

Better Homes & Gardens 8 grams or less Low-Carb Recipes...$4.97
Better Homes & Gardens Easy Everyday Low Carb Cookbook....$4.97
Better Homes & Gardens Phase 2 low carb recipes...$5.97 (thicker book)
Better Homes & Gardens Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes (this is gonna be a big help!)-$4.97
I saved $44 off regular price!

I have been browsing them this morning. I will have to watch some of the carb counts. They are counting some things as 0 and there is no way they are 0. For example little things like they consider any amount of eggs as 0. Also, I have noticed to keep the carb counts low their serving size is very small. Like I said I will have to be conscientious of it. Did you find that to be true Krysta?

We had an eventful night last night. Our business partners/best friend's son got hurt at the football game last night and ended up in the hospital. He got a nasty hit in the back. He couldn't get up off the field so our minds were going crazy with what was wrong. They had to carry him out on a stretcher. After X-rays and such they discovered he had no broken bones just a bruised kidney. He will have a nasty bruise and have to rest for a while. It's mainly really painful. The team we played was a really rough team. By the third quarter 8 of our players were hurt. They finally just stopped the game. That is just WRONG of the coaches to coach them in such a destructive manner.

I'm feeling better this morning. Like I said before, I felt just horrible yesterday. My head was hurting so bad. By the time I got home (around 3:30) from picking up the kids and running errands, I just collapsed in the bed. I ended up sleeping until about 6. My head still hurt when I got up. It wasn't until about 9 o'clock that it started to subside. I had taken two doses of Tylenol to help it. Don't know yet what actually caused it. I could have been a sinus headache or something to do with my diet.

Eating was OK yesterday...could have done better. I was up in my weight by .8(133.2). I know what the problem is...too much salt yesterday and major plumbing issues. I took some MOM this morning. I couldn't stand it any longer. I hate that stuff but it does help!

Menu from yesterday:

B~Hot Cereal(1) w/ HC(.8), DS(0), Butter(0), Splenda(.5), 1 slice of banana(1.3)=3.6
L~Cici's Pizza-Salad (lettuce, cucumber, cherry tom.)(2), little ranch(1), LC pizza(cheese, red onions, green pepper, mushroom, hamburger)(4)=8
S~LC blueberry yogurt=3
D~Salad (3), ranch(2), Alice Springs Chicken(2)(chicken/bacon/mushrooms/cheese), veggies (carrots, broc., squash)(2)=9
D~Watermelon jello w/ T. cream= .4

T~21

Ketone stick this morning: trace to small
Water intake yesterday: 84 oz.
Exercise: None

[seb]

Morning Beth. Sorry about your headache yesterday. They sure aren't any fun.

I can't believe that 8 of your football players got injured last night. That just isn't right. It looks like they were coached that way. Glad, though, that your friends son had no broken bones.

Hope you figure out a good breakfast for yourself. I'm not hungry yet, but right now I'm NOT in the mood for eggs. I guess I will be later on when I get hungry.

I made acorn squash yesterday, ate half of it, THEN looked up the carbs. Oh my, I had about 21 net carbs in that half squash. I didn't realize that acorn squash was so high in carbs. I'll stick with spaghetti squash from now on.

[Low Carb Mommy]

Yeah, it was obvious that they were coached to hurt!

I haven't had acorn squash in a long time! I bet it was delicious. Don't worry about the carb count. I'm sure your body just loved getting something different. It probably won't hurt you at all. Sometimes when we got off plan with something not really off plan our bodies respond with gratefulness.

I have got to go fix myself something....now I'm hungry!

[seb]

Beth, you'll see in my journal that I was NOT good yesterday, but I'm not giving up the details yet.

I guess you need to eat since it's almost noon for you.

[KrystaLyn]

Well, I think I am going to go back to Books-A-Million and get the rest of those books. I do want the slow cooker one for when Will is back and I am on Maintenance. Some of the recipes are a little higher in carbs, but in general, they look good to me!

It is true that winter squash is higher in carbs. I Think Dr. A doesn't have us adding it back in until Pre-Maintenance! I hope I get there soon, cause I love winter squash!

Hope you have a great Saturday!

[Low Carb Mommy]

It's a beautiful Sunday here in Georgia! Yesterday was a little hotter than they said it would be but I'm not complaining! I love this time of the year. I think Fall is my FAVORITE season!

My weight was down this morning!! 132!! I can tell you that it wasn't due to any "cleaning out". The MOM gave me NO help! I think I have eaten too much flax that it is just sitting there. At least I can say that the 132 is for real, huh? That puts me losing 1.6 this week. If I will only continue on from this point on and not go back up.

I didn't get to go to church this morning. DS#3 had a fever of 102 all night. I sent DH and the big boys to church and stayed home with the two little ones. Believe me though, I have had church. There have been some awesome messages on TV this morning. I don't know what is going on with DS??? Just praying that his body will pass it on whatever it is. He's not complaining of anything hurting.

Menu from yesterday:

B~None
S~cheese stick=1
L~3 scrambled eggs(1.8), breakfast steak(0), coffee w/ 1/2n1/2(1), splenda(1)=3.8
S~LC vanilla yogurt(3), w/ 1T peanut butter(2)=5
D~Salad(4), ranch(3), chopped sirloin(0)=7

T~16.8

Ketone stick this morning: Moderate
Water yesterday: 100 oz.
Exercise yesterday: active but no treadmill

[KrystaLyn]

It's a great day here in NC, too! The sky is blue and its only 80 degrees at the most! It hasn't been this cool since I got here, so I am really enjoying it today

Yay for 132! I'm praying that it sticks for you, and that you have a good, losing week!

Sorry about your son. Hope he starts feeling better and is back to normal by the end of the week.

[Debralynn]

Hugs and prayers for DS! We all know how that goes! Poor little guy!

We actually made it to church today (the boys love to see their Dad play in the church band!), only to have it hi-jacked with almost a half an hour of announcements about the upcoming retreat. They were so long winded, Pastor actually had to cut out a reading and a couple of songs. We still were there for 1.5 hours! (I don't mind, but it's tough for 2 toddlers to sit still and quiet for that long! LOL)

WTG on the 132! I'm putting my money on a woosh after your "issues" resolve! Woo Hoo! Those pesky 130's are practically history!!!!!!

[NewYorkGiants32]

Hello Beth, hope you do not mind me jumping in again. I came across your journal by looking for a low carb recipe online...I am still trying to find my way around the site, so I hope I am responding in the proper place? I did have a question regarding your menu.....I was under the impression eggs had zero carbs? Am I wrong??

[Low Carb Mommy]

Jennifer~Don't apoligize for dropping by my journal! I would love for you to visit every day. In my Dr. Atkins's book, it says that 1 whole egg is .6 carbs. That is what I count for a large egg. I use this book and fit day to get my carb counts.

[Low Carb Mommy]

131.6 this morning!! Woo Hoo!!! Pray it sticks!!! I'm enjoying the number today though. I realize that I haven't exercised (I have been very active though) the last 3 days. I'm going to start today and work towards doing it every day this week (realizing that the numbers just may go up). I'm still going to do it though.

I got so much done yesterday. This new found energy I have been experiencing is wonderful! My house is clean (at least on the surface) and laundry done so I am starting this week out great!

I started reading my "Hallelujah Diet" book and quickly found out that they are against eating meat. Very interesting book otherwise. They have a lot of good things to say about what is healthy for your body and how to fight off disease. I can always find something good I can take with me after reading anything on nutrition. I have to tell you though that some of the descriptions of how meat passes through the body made me want to limit my intake. Here is a portion of the book where it talks about it:

When Herbivores Eat Meat

"Every time you put a piece of animal flesh into your mouth, you "cut" yourself. God designed our intestines to move the food through that long, extensive digestive system-with many pockets, loops, and bends-through the means of fiber. Fiber causes food to push through the digestive trace using peristalsis-the snakelike, rhythmic contractions of the intestinal muscles. Raw fruits and raw vegetables are loaded with fiber; but when an animal product is consumed, it provides no fiber at all. There is nothing to help carry that animal product through the digestive trace, so it moves very sluggishly. Whereas a raw fruit or vegetable will digest in 30 to 60 minutes and will be cleared out of the body in 16 to 20 hours; the animal flesh will take two to four days to exit."

Then, he goes on to say that the protein content of a daily meat far exceeds the body's needs. The average American consumes well over 100 grams of protein a day, which is three to four times the amount that is necessary. Also, that meat can hold disease such as E-coli, mad cow, salmonella. Most seafood you buy is now contaminated by mercury, PCB'S, dioxins, and other pollutants and chemicals. Seafood is a reservoir for toxins and infectious diseases. He says that "the most destructive thing you can put into your body is something of animal origin: beef, poultry, seafood, milk cheese, and eggs-anything that comes from something with a face." As far as cow milk goes he says cow milk was made for baby cows not humans. He says that the sources of colic, ear infections, throat infections, swollen glands, allergies, asthma, and diaper rash all come from cow milk. Also, there is much talk about the amount of fat that comes from these foods.

I could go on and on......just thought I would give you a little part of the book. There are still some great stuff said about fruits and veggies that are worth reading. It has actually made me more hungry for pure good food. The foods on this diet are called "living foods" and what is allowed is freshly extracted veg. juices, dairy alternatives, fruits, grains, beans, nuts & seeds, oils & fats, seasonings(fresh), raw soups, sweets(smoothies, raw fruit pies-no sugar, and veggies(raw).

Any book like this HAS to talk about the low carb diets, right? Yes he does as a matter of fact.

"Still, many people are drawn to the low-carb, high protein diets for weight loss. This school of thinking is based on the idea that carbs caused the obesity epidemic. That almost certainly is a myth in the following sense..."says Dr. Benard. "The skinniest people in the world live in Japan, China, and throughout Asia. They are eating rice or noodles all day long! Vegetarians eat more carbs than met-eaters, but they are thinner as well, Even so, people often do lose weight on the high-protein diet. The reason is: Although the diet allows meat and cheese, it takes almost everything else out. There are virtually no starchy vegetables in the beginning phase and no fruit at all! Grains and beans are gone. The staples that ought to be in your diet are completely gone. The metabolic trick of the high-protein diet is that you don't metabolize anything as long as you don't mix some carb with protein. So although you are eating a diet high in calories, you are not gaining any nourishment at all. You might be losing weight, but you are staving your body for it natural fuel.
"The high-protein diet is one which we should be wary of. Not only is it not as effective as healthy plant-based diet for long-term weight control, but it has substantial dangers coming along with it. Researchers at the University of Texas noted calcium losses in people who had a high consumption of protein. Calcium leached out of the bones and into the bloodstream where it was filtered through the kidneys and then lost in the urine. The calcium losses on even the maintenance phase of the high-protein diet are 55 percent higher than normal. So these people are at a high risk for osteoporosis.
"Harvard researchers also showed that a high-protein diet triggers the loss of kidney function in many people. That's permanent-you don't get it back. So it's bad for your bones and your kidneys. We've also found that meaty diets are linked to cancer, particularly colon cancer. There's evidence linking, a high-meat diet to Alzheimer's disease and breast cancer. It's really the last kind of diet you'd ever want to be on."


Menu from yesterday:

B~Krysta's Green shake-5
L~Boneless chicken breast(0, salad(3, ranch(2)=5
S~SF jello w/ Cream cheese & DS(1.5), 1/4 cup macadamia nuts(2)=3.5
D~Beef stew meat(.5), 1/2 cup fried squash(2), 1/2 cup french green beans(2)=4.5
D~1 square of Lindt chocolate(1), coffee w/ HC(.4) & DS=1.4

T~19.4

Ketone stick this morning: small
Water intake yesterday: 70 oz.
Exercise: regular activity

I tried Krysta's green shake yesterday morning. I was desperate for the sights of a shake. Her shake was fabulous and very healthy(yogurt, protein powder, cup of spinach, water, ice)! I just loved it! Much better than any Atkins shake.

Sorry my post is so long today. I thought you guys would find this interesting!!

[seb]

Good morning Beth. Interesting reading today, but I just don't agree with the author the the Hallelujah Diet. I believe that anyone who disses LC eating really understands it. It is only during the weight-loss phase that things are cut out like beans and grains. Now, some people might have a sensitivity to some of these things and have to cut them out, but really, I think that people in maintenance are able to eat all of these things in moderation. The only thing that shouldn't be touched are sugar and white flour products. I believe that God gave us animals to eat, and protein is a very important part of keeping us full/satiated. I also don't believe that a LC diet causes kidney trouble. I believe that Dr. Atkins, in all of his many years of practice, would have noticed that trend. He does say that people that have existing kidney problems should go on an extremely low carb diet, I believe.

Hope your DS is doing better today.

Congrats on losing 1.6 pounds this week. That's awesome!