I weigh in on Monday, so we'll see then. But I do feel kind of good that I lost some this week.

Helen

I weigh in on Tuesday. I hope I will have good results. If y'all remember we were having revival this week. I did some fasting some of those days for spiritual reasons. Which really doesn't change your weight because your body starts to save the weight in case it needs it later. Tonight was the last service. I broke the fast today by having lunch at a chinese buffet with DH. I was a bad girl and had my dream desert- chocolate ice cream with milk over it, as well as a spring roll, a few bites of this yummy chocolate and butterscotch layer thingy, and a fortune cookie. I was sooooo full when I left that place. Happy as a tick on a dog's back.

Didn't exercise much either. Didn't have much energy after fasting. Stomach virus sort of set me back in the energy department, too.

It is going to get harder to find time for myself very soon. DH's aunt is coming to live with us. She is 77 years old and has no children. Her health is getting worse and she is either starting into dementia or altzheimers. She has started to fall a lot and has told us both that she is starting to get scared being by herself. I pray it will work out ok because I really don't want her to go in a nursing home.
I guess we will have to just take it one day at a time.

Past my bedtime. See all y'all tomorrow.
Betty

Okay, here we are, my weigh in for this week.

Weight 167.4, lost 1.0, total lost 32.6

I was a tad disappointed in myself this month. I fell short of my goal for this month by .4 of a lb. But I am NOT going to try to make up the difference in June. I am just going to try to lose 5 pounds and that's that. If I DO lose more, then voila, that would be a good thing, but if not, then NOT !!

Helen

Good morning everyone! I had a very snacky weekend. Totally fell off the boat. I'm hoping my 129 is there tomorrow when I weigh in. Or 128??? Fingers crossed. The weather was really bad here (cloudy, rainy) and it was a comfort food type of weekend. I made pot roast, potato leek soup, banana coconut cream pie....groan...

I don't know how I can lose 5lbs in two weeks. I biked 7 miles on Saturday but didn't do much on Sunday at all. Will be biking again today even though it's raining. I don't know how professional bikers do it. My bum is sore!!!

I'm back at 170, where I started. But I have not been to the gym in nearly 3 weeks. Plan to start again this week.

Helen, don't worry about a half a pound or whatever. As long as you're heading in the right direction, it's all good.

Silver, I'm sure you will still knock them out at the beach party. A few more pounds isn't going to matter. I know what you mean about that San Diego weather. It can be a real bear sometimes. Just kidding ;)

Trekaren, glad to see you're still with us.

Hi guys

I am back.. For anyone who might be wondering if I was on vacation, then the answer is NO. I was just so drowned at work all these days. I just started looking at all ur posts..

Wowwwwwwwwww..Ek and Silver , you are rocking .. 139 and 129...I am feeling little jealous:-) I am still stuck at the same weight. I realized it was not water retention, it was just me not working out any more.So somehow I dragged myself to gym today and worked out for 1/2 hr. the weather here from couple of days is also not helping me to stay motivated...My weigh in day is tuesday.lets see how much I weigh .

Good Morning,
My official weigh in this morning is 166lbs. Such a busy week with not much exercise at all, not feeling well, and fasting during revival left me feeling sort of unsettled physically. So, I'm happy with this weeks results.

Went shopping with DD yesterday. Bought 3 new shirts. Still holding off on the pants. One of our local Goodwill stores is moving to a larger place. Thursday thru Sunday you can get a large bag full of clothes for $5. I will try to get up there and find some pants then. Price is right:)

My firstborn DGS is graduating from elementary school today. I just can't believe he is old enough to go to middle school. Time marches on. I hope he has a nice growth spurt this summer. He is quite short (like his Mama) still and has gained weight this year. middle school kids can be brutal and I don't want him to go through that. His Dad is tall, so I'm hoping for a jump in height for him.
Supposed to be in the 90s today. I hate hot weather. The AC in my jeep freezes up after a few minutes, so I will have to sweat. YUCK!!
I have lots of garden work to do. Weeds everywhere! Never at home long enough to pull them, lately.

I've been trying as many new recipes as possible on this diet (and it's helped keep me from boredom) and I've notice that to get the amount of servings they say it makes, you have to have very small servings. That's not gonna happen at my house. For instance- meatloaf with 16 oz of ground turkey is supposed to make 8 servings. I will be VERY lucky if I can get a serving each for the 3 of us with enough for DH to have some in his lunch the next day. If I gave them a serving that small they would think I had lost my mind! My guys have always eaten supersized servings and are not overweight at all.

Hang in there, Harold. When you move past that plateau it's usually with a nice drop.

Helen, I've always heard that slow and steady wins the race. And in this case is much healthier for us.

Silver, I don't know how you log that many miles on a bike either. Not this big ole butt! No way! I'll stick to the treadmill (when I get time). It's crazy here! Yesterday I was up and out of the house very early and didn't even sit down at home until about 9:30 when I hit the bed with a great sigh for my poor feet. Didn't even have dinner. DH and I went grocery shopping after he got home from work last night and we were both too tired to cook or eat after we put everything away. He had some pork skins. I had about 4 of his skins and 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese with cut up strawberries, 1/2 tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1 tsp Splenda all stirred together with a little expresso powder sprinkled over it. Yum! The recipe is from Stage 1 of the SB diet book(except I added the strawberries).
I am 4 days older than DH and made him laugh last night. I was telling him how tired I was and how my feet were hurting so badly because I had been on them all day. He said, "I've been on mine all day,too." I said, "Yeah, but I'm older than you." :)

Karen, Don't worry, Sweetie. If I had been as sick as you have been I probably would have gained weight. At least you are feeling better, finally, and can start again. Just be sure to get your vitamins so you can keep getting better. If I take a multivitamin, I always have to take it at bedtime or it will give me a HUGE appetite.

Jas, I was really starting to get depressed when I first started this diet, because I had always lost quickly in the past. The secret for me has been exercise,too. The scales just won't move otherwise.

Hoping everyone has a GREAT day,
Betty

Harold, you're so right. The weather here can be awful. I don't know how anyone can stand it!!! The clouds moved away yesterday for my bike ride though, and it was nice and crisp. Noticed my tire wobbling, I think I need a new one!

Betty, riding a bike feels like a lot less work to me than running or doing exercise. Probably because I'm moving so fast there isn't time to think about how I'd rather be doing something else! There's a really great bike trail by my daughter's after school activity and I have it mapped (thanks Jasmi!) on my MapMyWalk so I can plan exactly what I'm going to do. Yesterday I just did two laps of the two miles. It only took 1/2 an hour. But my legs were burning!!

I hear that in order to maintain weight we need to do 1/2 hour consecutive exercise but to lose weight we have to do it for more than 3/4 of an hour at a time.

Jasmi I have my fingers crossed for you too :) Somehow when it's cloudy all I want to do is curl up on the couch. Funny, I wasn't like this when I used to live in the rainforest, but give me 300 consecutive sunny days followed by a rainstorm and my energy drops like mercury! I picked up my DH at LAX the other day and when I drove through Irvine at 3am I thought of you :)

Congratulations on your DGS's achievement Betty! I'm sure he'll grow soon. Probably over the summer. We have shorties in our family too, my DD is 7 and only 39" x 38lbs. Usually we grow right before high school.

Helen, you're doing great. Who counts 10ths of a pound anyway? You digital scale users!!! I'm sure that 1/4 is just water weight. It'll fall right off. 4lbs in a month is healthy for long term maintenance.

I have an article I want to share with y'all, but will post it to a separate thread. It's about Weekend Gaining!!!

I weighed in this morning. And was able to laugh at myself. DH said "wow, there's my old wife" and I was able to quip back "you haven't seen her in a while 'cause I ate her!"

155/129/26

hi

I am still at 140.8 this morning. I have been stuck at this weight from past 2 weeks.

My stats 140.8, 0, 7.2.

Hoping to lose 1 pound by next Tuesday . That means I have to hit the gym everyday for atleast 45 minutes and keep my calories to 1200/day.:-))

Betty, that's another 4 lb. I think you are going for a three-peat on the silver scale award.

Not likely, Harold. 167 this AM. Gotta get back on that treadmill.

Guys, make sure you check out Helen's "New Dr" post. I love it!

Took DH's aunt to the Dr yesterday. She is 76 years old and taller than me and even she weighs less than I do! Like the indians do a rain dance, I'm going to have to learn a "scale" dance to make those scales move!!

Silver, I need to gat a bike. I never learned how to ride one with all of those gears. (Now I'm telling my age!)
Maybe I can find a "vintage" one at a yard sale.
Have a good day,
Betty

Hi Betty,
There are so many bikes out there. Do you have Craigslist in your area?

The gears on my bike are really easy to use. I'd say get a beach cruiser but honestly the gears are lifesaving. If you are going up a hill, just switch gears... you move your legs more but you get up that hill instead of stopping half way and having to walk up!!! Also, you can put more drag on yourself and really get a workout.

I went to get a new tire yesterday and ended up needing a whole new wheel. Drat!! At least it will ride better now. I love my local bike shop. If you went into yours and told them what you're looking for I'm sure they'd help you out. Young men love to help ladies get on bicycles. It's a change from the myriads of young stunt guys that flock to those types of shops!

I went for a run on the beach yesterday and then caught a few waves with dd. She got cold pretty quick so she went back on the beach to play with her sand toys while I paddled back out. After a few more sets I came in and lay down on the sand. Felt a little pinch, then a big pinch... OWWWWW!!! A bee stung me on my back!!! Hurt like a ________! DH took me out to dinner (he was starving) and we had Japanese. I got a "protein roll" which was just fish, no rice. And then had green tea ice cream for dessert. YUMMY. Weighed 130 again this morning. DRAT!

Hi, everyone. I couldn't check in yesterday--very busy day and the last day of school for us. Now I have to dive into that summer "to do" list, and it is very long and ambitious!

I saw "139" on the scale last week, but in true fashion, it didn't stay. I was back up to 140 at yesterday's weigh-in. I usually do that, though, so I'm not worried. It will come back down again, but it looks like it might be "plateau time" for several of us.

Do any of you have tried and true tricks for breaking a plateau? I have found a few things to help sometimes, but really nothing I can say works everytime. One thing that seems consistent for me, though, and I plan to do starting today, is cutting out Splenda. I don't do any sugar at all, and usually I use liquid stevia to sweeten if I need it. But I bought a bottle from a different store and it is just awful. My usual brand is quite good; I can't bear the sharp, alcoholic/chemical kind of taste in this new one. So, since I usually like my coffee to be just a little bit sweet, I started using a packet of Splenda in it each morning. (Actually, I'm probably using 2 a day, because I drink more than 1 cup of coffee most days.) This is at least the 3rd time I've plateaued when I had Splenda in my diet. I think the maltodextrin that's the carrier in it is a problem for me. Stevia is all-natural and in the liquid form has no starchy carrier. I think I've got to go with black coffee for now until I can get some more of the good liquid stevia. We'll see if that works.

Another thing that has helped me in the past is to add a little bit of cider vinegar to my drinking water. I know my system is more alkaline than acidic, and the vinegar helps bring my digestive processes to a more middle of the road level. Drinking about 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar in my water a day for 3-4 days has coincided with breaking a stall in the past. I think I'll try that again too. This is not recommended for people who have trouble with candida yeast overload, though, as the yeast thrives on vinegar, sweets, and fermented foods, and candida overload can lead to weight gain.

What works for you when you're at a stall? Do you have tricks to try, or do you just ride it out?

152/140 :(/ 119

I don't weigh more than once a week. I don't think I could deal with the daily up-and-down woes of water weight, one off-program meal, etc.

Gym was great yesterday! First time back - although I can tell my lungs still do NOT have full capacity yet. But that's why I started back with sculpting class. Working my way up the cardio chain one day at a time this week.

Amazing how the wind is taken out of my sails by illnesses nowadays! I don't think it's age, I think it's the bugs. My coworker is 23, and regularly does kickboxing and is in great shape, and this respiratory bug hit her hard, too.

Trekaren, that is so funny! My DH called today while I was bike riding and said "what are you doing!!!?" I was huffing and puffing like the wolf in red riding hood. "I'm... gasp... riding... gasp... my... exhale... bike... puff puff puff...gasp!"

Eklektos,

I just ride it out. I think the key is counting calories and knowing how many calories I need to eat to lose weight, so even if the scale is not responding at the moment, I'm still losing the fat. The scale must surely follow. So far it seems to work for me. YMMV.

Silver, I know! I climb four flights of stairs to get to where I park my car. And I'm usually still on calls for work on my cell phone when I head out the door (perils of having west coast team members), and I try to time the climb for when they dont need me on the call.

BUT IT NEVER FAILS! Someone goes, "Hey Karen, what do you think?" right when I'm at the end of the climb. I must sound like I'm dying!

I need to follow your lead Karen and not hop on the scale daily. It's really discouraging. I still have 4-5 lbs to go and now I'm getting really frustrated. Someone just asked me yesterday "but you've reached your target clothes size, right?" and that put it in perspective. I am officially in a size 6 jean. I need to shut up and stop complaining. I have lost 3 sizes (I was a 12) since January. I'd like to be in a 4 but I don't think my body type is such. Big hips and booty no matter how much I lose.

So, I've decided it's not the weight that I'm aiming for, it's the tone. I just need to keep reminding myself of that. I think I need to put the scale away. It's in my kitchen!!!

I went out and went crazy buying snacks from the bins at Sprouts for my 6+ hour plane ride coming up with DD. I want to have tons of stuff to entertain us. Crayons, coloring books, books to read (for her and me)... and snacks.

I got dark chocolate covered raisins, jelly beans, salt water taffy, sugar coated peanuts, yogurt covered raisins. And two outrageously expensive dark chocolate organic chocolate bars. I'm planning to take a bunch of protein powder with me too so I can use that when I get hungry instead of relying on take out for when I'm running around with the bride.

The hard part will be not overdosing on my favorite foods while I'm there. I have some serious cravings for home food, and none of it is diet friendly.

Anyone have any travel food suggestions? I want food that will last, take up time, and be interesting. I plan on eating a big breakfast so I'm not hungry, but I'm pretty bored on planes!

I think feedback is critical, so a weekly scale check will help you know when you may need to check your diet due to a pound or two too much.

But really just weekly should be good enough.

On plane trips, I pack a lot of 2-point bars, like Special K Bars, and Quaker Oatmeal bars, and also bananas.

I'm looking up recipes for homemade bars right now :) Thank you for the suggestion! My dd loves those bars but I often don't buy them. How do you keep the bananas from getting smooshed?

I put it in the top of my backpack, and then I get it out before putting my backpack under the seat on the plane.

It's more expensive, but you can always purchase one on your way to the gate at the airport.

I like having them because you just never know when you'll board, then get stuck on the runway, with no access to food due to a flight delay (has happened a couple of times). Most of the time, I fly to Seattle, so it's a 4 hour flight, and that's too long for me to go without food :-)

I found a craving trigger yesterday and today.

One of the great benefits of the Atkins diet is suppressed hunger, so you can eat smaller portions and keep blood sugar level, therefore not triggering hunger signals as readily as on a diet that is built around carbohydrates. But as you progress on the diet, you have to try out different carbohydrate foods to find which ones you can eat without triggering cravings or blood sugar deviations, and how much of each.

Yesterday, I had a slice of delicious watermelon. I was OK in my total carb grams for the day, but the watermelon is obviously a trigger food for me. Today I had unbearable sweets cravings, which I have not experienced in the whole last 4 months. And I was making birthday cake (again--3rd birthday in under a month for us) and I caved. I totally caved. This time it wasn't because I let myself get too hungry (which I did on the last DD's birthday, when we were traveling and I didn't eat anything at all for way too many hours). I really shouldn't have been hungry time wise.

I'm going to be re-inducting the next 3 days to get all the glycogen out of my system, but I am not expecting a good weigh-in on Tuesday. :(

EK, my dad doesn't diet for weight loss but for his blood sugars. And watermelon is a red light food for his blood sugar! He thought any fruit would do, but WM kicked his up so high that he kept wondering what was wrong.

Now he doesn't go near the stuff! Canteloupe is fine, Honeydew, but not WM.

Speaking of triggers, I went to the latin impact class at the gym tonight, then met my friends at the mexican place, and ordered shrimp kabob. And there were 9 shrimp. But I was full after SIX!!! Had to give the rest to hubby! I didn't even touch the mexican rice!

Yeash. I ate Panda Express today. 500 calories, and I got all veggies and no carbs. It was REALLY good :)

Then came home and ate granola bar with soy milk. Yum. Then went out with DD for frozen yogurt. Have not eaten it yet but am planning to :)

Not expecting a good weigh in either, but everyone needs a cheat day, right??

Trekaren--yes--that sounds like me. I added cantaloupe weeks ago with no problem. No problem with strawberries either. But watermelon--I think I just can't have it at all. Sad, but I was completely overwhelmed by my reaction to it.

Ah well...onward from here. It will take a few days to get back on track.

Everyone else, hang tough! I need your encouragement.

SS--you've done so well, I'm sure you can manage a cheat day. Besides, your total intake still doesn't sound that high. I'll bet you'll be fine.