Hi everyone! Great to see folk coming back. The Atkins is really popular in the UK too. It seems there are now a few of us at work slimming down and I can see results everywhere. I caved last night to about 1 cup of popcorn. Tonight is movie night and PIZZA HUT (I thought that was NEXT weekend!!!!) I'd better behave myself today. I know a slice of pizza is about 7 points (a whole meal)...so I will start with the salad bar (skipping the pasta portion). Going to get some flavoured water to sneak into the movie and skip the high priced coke. Might even bring a bag of sliced, crunchy NO CAL veggies (yep - good plan) - like celery, peppers and carrots. Going to drink lots of water BEFORE going out to fill myself a wee bit. Pizza Hut and I are squaring off today - I HAVE TO BEHAVE. For those of you stalling - that has been my weight loss for the last few months and still the same - 1/4 to 1/2 pound and then stay there. I know part is my body and part is my eating but I am eating better, losing slowly, changing shape and generally feeling better. Got home last night and my stepping machine was at the back door from my ebay purchase. Today is my Saturday morning stroll - library, grocery - with my wheelie shopping bag - NO BUSES - and then carry on to visit two very young friends (5 & 7) to get my hair and makeup done (lots of fun). Finally drag my wheelie cart back home to get ready to go out to P.H. and movie. Keep in mind my neighborhood is HILLY, I will be carting a large box of laundry soap and other things that are usually heavy and library books. Will be very interesting over the next month to see how I get on with that stepping machine. I need to change my physical routine to get my metabolism going again. Even the lightest setting is not easy and I can feel the muscles I forgot about. This will be great since we are back into windy, cold weather again. YEACH. Candy - glad to read your post - you are doing great! It's good to see the Atkins on here too as the results are encouraging. I am not much of a meat eater and prefer more fruits/veg. Keep us posted you are helping us think about choices. Teresa I have heard about the South Beach diet. It sounds similar to Atkins. Great choices there too. Do you feel better as well cutting down on the carbs? Looking forward to hearing more from you too! Yellowhair - never hurts to reassess your habits. We will have to maintain our successes after all of this, so looking at your routine and checking yourself is probably something we will all have to do. Planning empowers you towards making that goalpost. Last week was last week. You are still here, still making progress. If I showed you my graph of weight loss since xmas it goes down, up, sideways, down, up, up, up, down, across - basically all over but in the LONG HAUL slow loss and it is moving down. That's fine with me. I mentally started this thinking - at least 6-8 months before getting close and then another 6 months of making sure I have healthier habits without thinking about it. Overall I am targeting 18 months of 'taking better care of myself'. We deserve this. We have looked after our families all these years, it's time to look after ourselves. Best part is, our efforts seem to cascade around us and everyone else seems to pick up on better habits to. It is true/proven that the meals we serve our families are the meals that set things - they eat what is infront of them. Really, no offense to the guys, but I feel the fellas see us as their 'mom' when it comes to meals. If we put a balanced meal in front of them - they just eat it. Also, Kathy posted a very interested link on an earlier Diet Pals thread about spreading the food around on the plate instead of piling it, using flatter soup bowls instead of large deep bowls - mentally folk generally thought they were eating the same amounts when in reality they were eating less. Is this a strategy/tool we can use at parties or events out? Instead of piling up the plate from the buffet - flatten the food on your plate, spread it out - eat slower, put your fork down - chat with your pals, drink some water and by the time you finish your meal the food should be registering in your bloodstream and you should start to feel satisfied. Do your homework - today I searched on nutrition portion control - here's a link with good reading. Have a fabby day - I have to get moving! McPeg Here is a link that might be useful: Portion Control

The bad thing is that I'm hungrier, and it's hard to stick to the calorie level that seems to produce rapid weight loss for me. I've been missing my target fairly often, and it feels like my body wants more food. So I've started packing a bento-type lunch, as mentioned in another thread, in hopes that at least my calories will be healthy ones. This is a classic example of dieting vs. lifestyle changes. Dieting is a temporary way of eating with the goal of losing weight, while lifestyle changes are a permanent change in one's lifestyle with the ultimate goal of improving one's health in all areas including weight loss (if it's necessary). IMO when someone says they "can't lose weight", what they really mean is "I can't lose weight as fast as I want to", and so they give up. The "diet" industry has brainwashed us into thinking that if we don't lose at least 1-2 pounds per week, then something must be wrong, and that's a big lie. Choose fruit over chips -- not because they're a "diet" food or "low-cal" but because fruit is a much healthier choice than fried potato chips. Eat a salad full of veggies with lean chicken -- not because it's a "diet" meal but because it's full of healthy nutrients that are good for you! Include a piece of 100% whole grain bread if you want and even a little bit of butter -- yes, butter! Take smaller servings (and only one of each -- don't go back for seconds) and skip the gravy and creamy sauces --- they're not necessary if food is well-seasoned. Eat smaller amounts more frequently. Don't skip lunch if you're planning a nice dinner out -- just eat a smaller dinner (dinner out doesn't have to mean overeating). Have a dish of ice cream now and then, just not most days of the week. Don't eat "diet" foods (low-fat cookies, etc) --- just skip those snacks altogether and eat the real thing only on special occasions. That's how I slowly lost 50 pounds several years ago, about 1-2 pounds per month, eating ~1800 calories a day of healthy food choices and increasing my exercise, and have kept off every single ounce even during holidays and stressful times. During the holidays I don't eat as many cookies because "I don't do that anymore", simple as that. I dropped those bad habits and they're not a part of my life anymore. Prior to losing weight I had acid reflux and have a family history of diabetes. The acid reflux is completely gone (without taking a single purple pill) and probably so is my risk of diabetes. I don't have the metabolism of a race horse; I'm a typical middle-aged woman with a desk job. I made simple but important permanent lifestyle changes in eating and exercise, and I stuck with it and persevered no matter how slowly the scales budged, and some months they didn't budge at all!

we installed shiloh cabinets a few months ago and we're quite happy with them. the finishes (we have two types) are great and, imo, look like furniture-quality. they're rock-solid, built like tanks, and very heavy and sturdy. one of the nicest things about dealing with shiloh is that there are no upcharges for things like paint, glaze, and distressing. we had a few issues with our order (the fault of our cabinet guy) and shiloh turned around the replacement doors in less than two weeks. we had zero issues with the quality of the cabinets or finish. everything arrived in great shape. oh, and they turned the order around in four weeks if that matters to you. i think that, for what you pay, they're an excellent bargain. here's a couple pics:

I'm not sure about psoriatic arthritis, but after contending with rheumatoid arthritis since I was 14-years old (I'm 62 now), I eliminated gluten from my diet (as of January 1, 2013) and have had tremendous results. Over the years I have followed the McDougall Diet, Dong Diet, Macrobiotic Diet, Mediterranean Diet, Anti-Inflammation Diet, I avoid nightshades, and I don't know how many other things seeking relief, as well as being treated by my physician with medication since I was 24-years old. The only other thing (non-prescription) that ever gave me real relief was taking GH3 (a.k.a. Gerovital GH3 Procaine Hcl Formula - the original formula by Dr. Anna Aslan) in the late 70's, and then it was no longer available in the U.S. and my arthritis was back. That's also when I tried all the different diets, herbs, chiropractors, exercise programs, water walking, you name it!!! I became the proverbial "health nut". And along with that came decades of milling my own flour from whole grains and making all our breads and baked goods at home. Someone on this message board started a discussion about the book, "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis in late 2012 and gluten-free recipes. I checked the book out from the library out of curiosity and never looked back, as well as reading a string of other books on the subject. My mother had celiac disease, so I was already familiar with a gluten-free diet. I was using almond flour and coconut flour in baking to avoid high-glycemic carbohydrates, and developed gluten-free recipes for a local sorghum mill - all before going gluten-free, so the transition wasn't a difficult one. My sister also went gluten-free after seeing my success and it addressed many of her "gut" issues, and her daughter (mid-30's) also went gluten-free for her severe arthritis and had the same great results as I did. BTW, I also had tendonitis (elbow, shoulder) and carpal tunnel, from years of knitting and crocheting (professionally), and Plantar Fasciitis to the point I haven't been able to do more than hobble a few feet if I was barefoot. All of those complaints have also been all but eliminated and they all have one thing in common - inflammation. Inflammation is a symptom. In my case, the cause was gluten. Good luck on your search. Been there, done that...... Following the McDougall Diet nearly killed me. I was constantly hungry, weak, my hair fell out due to the low amount of fat, and my body was still riddled with inflammation after 6-months. The good thing I took from the diet was sticking to whole foods and mostly a plant-based diet, but I need meat and good fats as well as plants. However, I have a friend who has thrived on the McDougall Diet for many years, although she added back some meat and dairy eventually, but her health issues weren't the same as mine.