Judy: These numbers don't look obsene to me! You are in maintenance. Isn't 2000 calories a pretty normal amount for people? (seriously) Your carbs don't seem abnormally high. Honestly, I hope you are not panicking about your weight before you need to do so. You are not gaining.

Be gentle with yourself.

Peace, Peg
1/1/03
205/173/155
5'8"

__________________
"Live the questions and some day you will live along into the answers."
Rainer Marie Rilke

Atkins since 2003
5'8" 206.4/197/175
64-3/4 years young

Hi everyone.

I was REALLY depressed this morning. I decided yesterday that I needed to eat more so that my body did not go into starvation mode. Well, eating 1500 calories and about 30 carbs caused me to gain 2 pounds! (Back up to 218). This is driving me crazy. I know I can't keep the calories/carbs too low, but I also want to keep losing. I think I was retaining a lot of fluid this morning, although I can't figure out why. I am going to keep experimenting this week to see if I can lose.

I feel better tonight, but I was really bummed out for most of the day. Uh oh, the scale is becoming an anchor for me. I had better be careful.

I am going to keep a mini-goal for next weekend that is two pounds lower than my goal for this weekend. Thus, my new mini-goal is 213.

Here are my stats for two days:

Saturday:
Calories: 1583
Fat: 114 (66%)
Carbs: 24 (5%)
Fiber: 5
Net carbs: 19
Protein: 112 (19%)

Today:
Calories: 1109
Fat: 89 (73%)
Carbs: 17 (6%)
Fiber: 1
Net carbs: 16
Protein: 58 (21%)

__________________
Law1
Lowcarb since July 2001
296/211/150

Hey all.... just doing a quick check in here on Monday morning. i hope everyone had a good weekend!

Peg, 171??!! This is so wonderful! You are less than 20 from goal - keep this momentum going, woman! I am so delighted for you!

Law, aw dear!!! I'm sorry you are bouncing. I would suspect however that the 1500 cals and 30 carbs did not put those 2 pounds on. I think you are probably right and that you are retaining some water. I do think it is important not to get the body into starvation mode because then the losing gets so so much harder. And NO SCALE! I haven't been on the scale in almost a week (maybe more) in large part because I haven't been tracking so it has been impossible for me to rationalize 'checking' to see if being on track leads to loss. Does that make sense?

Judy... I have been reading through your posts and I agree with Peg - in maintenance Atkins says that someone with the average metabolic resistance is any where from 40-60 carbs a day, heck low resistance is 60-90! You were at 54! I think, too, that you and I are about the same height (if I recall) and once in maintenance we need to hover at 1800 calories a day to maintain. Ok, it was 2000 but if you are doing ANY exercise (even walking to class instead of talking the stairs, etc...) then you are not going nuts here. Promise!

DH and I had his entire office staff plus spouses over for a party on Friday evening - 40+ people. About half of the food was low carb - however the Georgians are into lent fasting which is just an avoidance of any meat or dairy products for the forty days (tough to be a follower of the Eastern Orthodoxy and do low carb!). But only about half the party-go-ers were 'fasting'. I ate fine last week but blew it big time on Friday evening (my homemade chocolate chip cookies and khachepuri (phyllo dough filled with cheese and baked, amazing stuff) and Saturday (intake included Rafaello candies and leftover khachepuri). Yesterday was fine again and today I'll focus back on LC. I also walked 30+ minutes today on the treadmill and 4 minutes on the rowing machine - isn't that appalling, 4 minutes. I suppose that's better than no minutes, right? I think I'll check in with Maggie's couch-fauxtatos... maybe that'll help get me pushed to exercise and track it. Ugh.

hugs to all...

__________________
Hugs, Rachel







(the horn is in honor of DH!)
Quien canta, sus males espanta... ("She who sings fightens away her ills") Miguel de Cervantes

Ah, Rachel, tough to eat lowcarb in an Eastern Orthodox area! Hang in there.

I dropped a little bit this morning, to 217. I was still really swollen up this morning. I tend to lose it by the end of the day, but I can't figure out why I keep puffing up. Oh well.

Here are my stats for today:
Calories: 1022
Fat: 66 (60%)
Carbs: 10 (3%)
Fiber: 2
Net Carbs: 8
Protein: 92 (37%)

__________________
Law1
Lowcarb since July 2001
296/211/150

Hi "Y'all",

I just thought I'd make sure you got the true Texas greeting tonight. It's good to see everyone checking in.

Law, you'll get to this week's goal! Think back, did you eat something with soy sauce? That could have led to the water weight. How about something that had MSG on it? It is easily added by some cooks, and boy, will it cause you to retain water. Don't let little set backs become big set backs. To use Steve's old phrase, "Stay the course!"

Rachel, I admire your determination to follow the WOE in spite of all the obstacles. You have so many things that could cause you to have lost your way, and still you keep it up. Good for you!

Peg, Thanks for the pep talk. I think I must be a natural yoyo eater. Today's calories are almost 1/2 what they were yesterday. The carbs are similar. I did do better today with water than I have been doing for a while. I'm sure that helps.

Weight: 138
Calories: 1155
Fat: 69(53%)
Carbs: 79
Fiber: 18
Net Carbs: 61
Protein: 75 (26%)
Water: better than 100 oz.

__________________
Judy
highest = 180, goal = 140
Every single time I put food in my mouth, it matters. No more fooling myself!

Hi all! I'm up to 173, but no clue why. (What, you say, Judy? Maybe I should track??) Yeah, I know..........(embarrassedly turning down head)

I've eaten lc today and yesterday. Drank 100 ozs yesterday, but having a hard time getting it in today.

I'll check back in later.

Peace, Peg
1/1/03
205/173/155
5'8"

__________________
"Live the questions and some day you will live along into the answers."
Rainer Marie Rilke

Atkins since 2003
5'8" 206.4/197/175
64-3/4 years young

Well, I'm back. I went shopping after work but didn't get much except some ink for my printer. I went to try on clothes to see if I could fit into size 12 pants. I can, but they are really tight. I think another five lbs ought to do it. My 14's are pretty loose. Do you remember when I got into 14's?? I do. It wasn't so long ago I think.

I ate good for bkfst and lunch, got about 80 ozs of water in, and then pulled through McD's for a Big Mac and fries for dinner. Sigh.

Tomorrow's another day.
Peace, Peg
1/1/03
205/173/155
5'8"

__________________
"Live the questions and some day you will live along into the answers."
Rainer Marie Rilke

Atkins since 2003
5'8" 206.4/197/175
64-3/4 years young

What is it with ministers and McDonald's? Ours swears that cooking at her house translates to McDonald's.

No tracking for the end of the day for me.... we got a new entertainment center that was an unbelieveable bargain. Of course bargains like that don't get delivered and set up. Just like an angel showing up at the right time, an old friend that is a muscled up deputy sherrif showed up. He and DH got it in the house -- but they had to take the upper door stop off the door facing to get it around the corner of a narrow hallway and into the right room. (Geez, that sentence is terrible. It's pretty evident that I'm not an English teacher.)

Got to do some school homework..... Better get after it.

__________________
Judy
highest = 180, goal = 140
Every single time I put food in my mouth, it matters. No more fooling myself!

I had some real problems getting the new "terms of use" on my screen so I could accept and post! I finally logged out and then logged back in on the main page and then it popped up as a full screen. Whew! I am so technically inept. I got back on by accident.

Wow, Judy, you really are bouncing around with your eating. It might help shake up your system. I am thinking I should do some yo-yoing to see if it helps me to lose.

Congrats, Judy, on at least getting the size 12's ON. They will look good soon. Isn't it fun to wear something that used to be tight and now is loose?

I dropped to 216.4 this morning. I often weigh myself at night because I tend to lose 1-2 pounds overnight and it gives me a preview. I was 216.2 this evening, so I am hoping I might actually see that 215 tomorrow. I felt hungry tonight (I had eaten under 1000 calories), so I decided to have some veggies as my snack. I ate 1/2 of them and then ate the other 1/2 about 30 minutes later. Now I feel totally stuffed. Ugh. Judy, you will be happy to know that most of my carbs today are veggies. The high fiber proves that the carbs came from veggies. These are the most carbs I have eaten in a long time! I hope eating this late doesn't make me gain tomorrow.

Here are my stats for today:

Calories: 1061
Fat: 46 (46%)
Carbs: 46 (10%)
Fiber: 24
Net Carbs: 22
Protein: 99 (44%)

__________________
Law1
Lowcarb since July 2001
296/211/150

Hi all!

Law... I had the same issues getting into the forums through the 'terms of use' screen, I didn't cursor down to see the 'submit' button, d'oh! Sounds like the downward trend is still in motion - GREAT!! And you have tremendous willpower - I don't think I could ever weigh myself at night, too depressing. I won't even weigh myself in the morning if I wake early with dry mouth and have a little water. LoL!!

Judy, the new center sounds cool and BIG! And I understood perfectly what you were describing!

Peg... I had to laugh (not AT you m'dear, but WITH you) about the errant trip to McDs... honestly life would be so much better if the temptations were fewer. Even though LCers tell me they can't imagine doing LC overseas like I do, I think that it is sometimes MUCH easier, the processed stuff available in the markets is hideous Russian and turkish stuff so the only things you WANT to eat are the veggies, cheeses and whatnot!

I am not tracking but I am eating very well, low carb... AND I started exercise this week (first time in many months), treadmill on Mon, Tues, and am about to get on it now, this morning (Wed)... AND I am not weighing myself until April 1st (Mick's birthday)... AND, the size 8 jeans are fitting better (don't need the hair band to hold together the button at the top of the fly!)

I'll let you all know how things progress. I miss Elyssa and hope she is doing well. She was so close to goal. I'm sure she's out there working hard.

__________________
Hugs, Rachel







(the horn is in honor of DH!)
Quien canta, sus males espanta... ("She who sings fightens away her ills") Miguel de Cervantes

Gosh Rachel! Thanks for the pep talk! You too, Judy! I was almost afraid to post last night, but made myself do it. I was feeling really guilty!

This morning was a good lc bkfast (my dh makes bkfst every am and is wonderful), and a good lc lunch (he also packs my lunch!). I'm eating the celery he packed right now. It's about 2:00. We'll eat at home, tonite and it will be lc, I know. So, if I can get between here and home without any stops, I should be golden!

I weighed 173.4 this am. I admire you for weighing at night Law1! I NEVER weigh then. My weight is always even three or four lbs more at night. I weigh first thing after visiting the bathroom, and nekkid.(before bkfst) I never weigh myself again until the next morning.

I'm guessing that I'm going to have to bite the bullet and just get up earlier (6:30) to exercise in the am. When I did that last week I lost. I guess my body is needing that. And, of ourse not just because of the weight. I'm feeling aches and pains that I don't usually feel. It's aging, but goes away when I exercise.

DD has two interview in CA coming up. She has rethought CO, and is going for the interview for experience, but is realizing that it wouldn't be good for the kids to be that far away from their father (Thank God!). One of her interviews is at a kid's museum just a few miles from where her ex will be working. The job is Dir. of Development. I'm excited for her. I used to work for a non-profit agency as fund development and it was wonderful. Now I work for non-profit and do everything! And sometimes its more "non-profit" than others! HA!

Well, back to work.........

Peace, Peg
1/1/03
205/173/155
5'8"

__________________
"Live the questions and some day you will live along into the answers."
Rainer Marie Rilke

Atkins since 2003
5'8" 206.4/197/175
64-3/4 years young

Sorry I have been gone for so long. I haven't been on the computer much in the past week or so, and before that I had work and more work to try and get done.

I have gone back through the thread to see what you all have been up to lately. Although, there are so many things that I could comment on that have long past.

Congrats Rachel on the exercise and the size 8's.

Congrats Peg on the 12's. I am sure that they will fitt perfectly in no time. And, it hasn't been that long at all since you put on the 14's. That's great!

Law, I too must admit that on occassion I will weigh at night. I was curious to see how much I lost overnight. And good news about all of those veggies. I had noticed that and was hoping you would get in some more carbs from them.

Judy, you are doing great. Those last few pounds are stubborn.

Now for me. Well, here's a breif rundown of what I have been up to since I last posted.

I turned in my promotion notebook on the 5th. I haven't heard anything from it, but what they tell me is that it's just a formality. After I turned in the notebook, I took off for a conference. So, I was gone the entire weekend to a math conference. It was actually really good and the food was wonderful. I did well, skipped the dessert and such.

The next week, I gave four tests (I teach five classes). I then spent the following weekend grading all of those tests plus homework that I had collected in my five class. I also had to write notes for one of my classes.

The following week (last week) was spring break. So, I went in and visited my family. I was busy then, even though it was supposed to be my break. My parents are opening a restuarant, and I had to do some painting and cleaning. Also, went to my high school to talk about a scholarship that I am on the committee for there.

Finally came back on Saturday, driving in the pouring down rain and even some hail. Thank goodness I had just put on some new wipers.

This week, I have been doing a few things for my classes and well not really felt like getting on the computer. I also had quite a bit of laundry to take care of. I also found out last night that my brother wrecked his truck yesterday morning. He's okay, a little sore. He's not for sure what happened, but he lost control, went across the road, hit a mailbox and ultimately rolled his truck. They think it may be totaled. The sad part - after knowing that he was okay - was that it's a 2002, so he hasn't even had it for two years and it only has 7000 miles. I was sick over it for him, cause I loved that truck. But, the most important thing was that he was okay.

In the midst of all of this, I managed to bounce to 145. Which is really not that bad. Today, I am back to 143.

I also went to the wellness day today at work. According to their scale I was 144, makes my scale accurate. After them doing my urine analysis, the woman called my name and asked if I was dieting. She said it was working cause my ketones were high. YEA!! I was hoping I was. Also, had my body fat checked. It was 26.5%, last year it was 34.8%. So, I was quite pleased. According to it, I have gained 3 pounds of lean weight since last year. Guess, I'll keep doing what I am doing. Haven't we heard some say that low carbing eats away at your muscle?! Then, how come I gained some?! Umm.

__________________
220/139/135
4 to go!

Nice to see you back, Purplefrost! Sounds like you have had a wild month. It's so great to look back on your year and see what great progress you have made! I am right about where you were when you started (my scale does bf). I sure hope I can look back next year and see the same kind of progress.

Wow, Peg, you have a really supportive husband! That's so great. I am glad things are looking better for your dd, too.

I probably shouldn't weigh at night, but it sometimes softens the blow in the morning.

More frustration. Yesterday was my birthday. People brought cookies and cake to work for me AND I DIDN'T EAT ONE BITE! The only thing I did was have a bowl of tomoto-cheese soup for lunch (everyone else was having sandwiches and brownies, I had salad and soup). My calories were about 1200 and total carbs about 30. And I gained weight! This is driving me crazy. I really need to focus more on exercise.

Oh well, back to the grind today. Here are my stats for the last two days:

3/24
morning weight: 216.4
Calories: 1219
Fat: 88 (66%)
Carbs: 29
Fiber: 4
Net Carbs: 25
Protein: 78 (26%)

3/25
morning weight 217.8
Calories: 1122
Fat: 88 (75%)
Carbs: 36 (4%)
Fiber: 24
Net Carbs: 12
Protein: 56 (21%)

__________________
Law1
Lowcarb since July 2001
296/211/150

Hi All....

Elyssa!! Sooooo great to 'hear' from you again - you DO sound as if you've been WAY busy, good for you for doing such a great time basically maintaining your weight. I mean a pound or two is just terrific!

Law... My only regret is not knowing sooner to wish you on time!

Good for you for such restraint - I am terrible in these situations. By the way, I don't wonder if your weight gain is actually just from salt in the soup. I find that although I love soups, they tend to be very salty (enough for a little water retention!).

Peg, my thoughts are with you and DD... nothing scarier than interviews and being between jobs - hang in there (for you both!). in terms of the exercise. I plainly hate to exercise. I was always great at group games, volleyball, softball, etc... but was both extremely bored and found single exercising unrewarding. When I am home in the US I walk with my Mom, which is great... and here? Well, since I have come to the realization that I must exercise if I am to be the person I feel I need to be, then I suck it up and do it. One of the nice things about the Couch-Fauxtato Challenge is that someone wrote, "it only needs to be 30 minutes 3x week." I find that is a very reasonable amount of time and everytime I go over that I feel really good about it!

Well... I'm still not weighing myself but 'feeling' trimmer. I didn't walk yesterday (shins are hurting) BUT I did 15 minutes!!!!! on the rowing machine (whoo hooo!) After I post this, I'll do the walking and the rowing and see if I can maintain that (30 mins walking, 15 minutes rowing).

Have been eating right, although, darn it, last night DH made popcorn and I sucked down way more than "a couple of handfulls" <<grrrrrr>>

__________________
Hugs, Rachel







(the horn is in honor of DH!)
Quien canta, sus males espanta... ("She who sings fightens away her ills") Miguel de Cervantes

Hi Gang!

Thanks for your good wishes all! I appreciate it!

Elyssa! So good to see you again. People have been asking about you. Wow! You have been busy, girl. I don't blame you at all for not wanting to get on the computer! I think grading papers would be the worst part of being a teacher. I love teaching adults, but what I love the most is the discussion and the stiumlation of seeing people "get it."

Law1: As I look at your numbers I really can't believe that you are not losing! I wonder if you really need to jack up those carbs for a day or so, and then go back to the low carbs and calories? I wonder what would happen if you went up to about 75 or so carbs for a day or so? Then, back to 20-25. You are really at induction level carbs. Some say that your body gets used to that level and just won't lose. Just my 2 cents.

Rachel: I know what you mean about exercise. Until last year when I started this WOL, I had NEVER exercised. I was not athletic in school. And, the only really exercise I got as a young adult was chasing kids. Since they all left home I became a couch potato big time. So, my natural bent is to continue that. But, I have seen the results of exercise, and I kind of like it.

Judy: Where are you?

This is my saga for this week: 173--171--173--171--173-171. This morning it was 173. Sheesh! Last night I had to have a piece of bday cake. (It wasn't even MY birthday, Law 1!) I was at a board meeting, and my mind was trying to figure out how I could have more sweets before I went home. The trouble is everyone knows I am on Atkins, so eyebrows go up when I eat sugar or bread. That's all it takes for me to feel guilty. Easy, huh? Anyway, today is day off and I'm eating clean. Drinking my water. Exercised this am. Still sitting around in my exercise clothes. Feeling slovenly, but it's a good feeling.....

Peace, Peg
1/1/03
205/173/155
5'8"

__________________
"Live the questions and some day you will live along into the answers."
Rainer Marie Rilke

Atkins since 2003
5'8" 206.4/197/175
64-3/4 years young