LOL, thanks, Candace, you are a sweetie - and you write so well, too! You make your ideas fun to read

Very great about the cruise - you are going to love it. We've done a couple and they were fabulous, though it was a bit hard to stay lc at times (I know some will disagree, but that was our experience. Could give you some info, if you wish.) What cruise line/ship do you have?

And we are so VERY proud of you also. Not missing the taters 'n such for six weeks is precious progress in itself!

I agree that patience is critical, so we don't have sagging skin (thanks, Barb for the mental pic - eewww! LOL) and so we can develop good habits. I think that's where this support really shines.

Shine on, my friends

Much love,

Fluffy

Glad to help!!!!

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Awww, shucks, fluffypicklechunks (now there's something I never thought I'd say), you're kind, you too Barb .

We are excited 'bout cruising, it's hubsters first holiday since he was ten. I like to drive my man to the ground...apparently, poor guy. We're sailing the Vision o' Seas of the Royal Caribbean line. You ever been on that one?
And surely, any low carb tips would be fabulous:cool: .

Heh, did you know cats like peanutbutter? 'Tis true, I'm making cookies and the little guy snuck up on the counter and licked peanutbutter from the 1 cupper. Eww huh? Don't worry, I hate peanutbutter cookies, I'm making them for the overworked hubster .

Smiles, Candace

Sounds like you're feeling better, but here's a perspective for ya:

1 lb/week translates to 52 lbs/year (if the weight loss is consistent). That's HUGE. That's quite an achievement for anyone.

Math is funny - sometimes you have to break things down into small chunks to plow through it, but with weight loss, sometimes it helps to break it into larger chunks to see progress. For example, would you rather count weeks till Christmas, days, or hours? If you're 6 weeks away from Christmas, counting by hours would be tedious, and harder to see the progress, but if you count by days, it's easier. Find the interval that makes you happier with your progress Personally, that 52 lbs/year interval is VERY encouraging for me!

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Jen
Mother of two boys (5/14/04, 4/1/07)
Done Atkins more times than I can count
Trying to get back at it!
Low carb forever (even if I do keep falling off the wagon!)

Candace, I haven't ever been on a cruise, would LOVE to go on one tho. (Watch out for pirates!!!!) But I hear the food is divine. I suppose it's really hard to avoid the desserts and sugary stuff, 'cuz I'm sure they haven't gotten with the program and provide sugar-free stuff. (You would think they would with diabetes running rampant) But I would pack me up a survival kit with splenda, maybe some ziplocked powdered protein shake mix (enhanced with cocoa powder and splenda of course!!!...and then ask them for some half and half or whipping cream and whole milk.), maybe some kind of nut mixture and beef jerky (if you like that), and pork rinds. Just have that stuff on hand if you find what they are serving is driving you nuts. BUT on the other hand, I would imagine they will have WONDERFUL salads, meats and breakfast foods available. And don't forget to indulge in cream and butter. If they have cream sauces available, don't be afraid of them. Stick with what you know to be legal and eat up. If they have any exercise type classes available, take part in them, especially if you smidge tastes of forbidden stuff. Don't be afraid to indulge in any fresh fruit they might have too, paying closer attention to things like strawberries, blueberries and cantaloupe (all allowed fruits)

I find that when I am doing a holiday type thing with family (who's NOT LCing at ALL), I will have a teeny taste of some of the HC stuff. I feel it's okay to taste, but then again, I don't have a problem with it sending me on a binge. You have to know that about yourself before you can give yourself permission to sample forbidden foods. IF you can stop at just a taste, then have a LITTLE bit. You won't feel deprived then. And like I said before, EXERCISE if you can when you've been "naughty."

If you plan to be off plan for a little while, I find it's easier to maintain control.

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Awesome Barb, thank you, those are great suggestions and I wrote them down in my cruise book the travel agent gave me, not going for a while but I think it's all useful even now!

Smiles, Candace

Since you have some time to plan, maybe you should start your own thread entitled, "Going on a cruise, what to eat?" or something like that. You'll get a lot more feedback prolly. And a zillion heads are better than one, eh? You might even get some input from LCers that HAVE gone on cruises and can pick their brains as to what they did. I'm thinkin' that might help you out a lot. I just would hate to see you come back from your vacation 10lbs. heavier. We already know what a struggle it is to lose weight in the first place and then to backslide would be very discouraging. (and then there's the guilt and the daily flogging.........shoulda, woulda, coulda......) So while you want to have a GREAT time, you don't want to undo what you've accomplished already.

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Jen - that breakdown sounds MUCH better to me. Sometimes ya just need to hear someone else say it. Thanks

Candace - Here are some of my thoughts about lc and cruising. First of all, RC is a one of the very best cruise lines, so you're already in good shape. Hands-down, buffets are the BEST - lots and lots of great lc choices. We often did the buffet choice (as opposed to the dining room) for breakfast and lunch. The main dining room meals come as plates already dished up, of course, and if you're only eating the lc parts of them, you WILL end up hungry (not bad if you have 2nd seating and there's still a midnight buffet coming, but those aren't every night.) Still, dinner in the dining room is an experience not to be missed! And on RC, every night there IS a sugar-free dessert choice. SF creme brulee was outstanding. Not always lc (sugar-free cakes, etc.,) but at least lower in carbs if you are going for a sweet. Overall, if you really need sweet, go for the fattiest choices you can - things with heavy cream, real chocolate, etc., where the chef is relying more on the fat for flavor than the sugar.

Fill up at lunch, especially if you have second seating dinner. Lunch around noon and dinner at 8:30 is a long wait, and the buffets are often closed in the late afternoon. RC usually has at least one cafe open 24 hrs. with pizza, sandwiches, cookies, ice cream, cakes, etc. - not much here, but you can eat the sandwich middles and pizza tops if you want to.

Room service, for a non lc'er, would be great, but I had hoped for more substantial lc choices. There is a "set" room service menu and they can't/won't deviate from it and send you a shrimp cocktail, etc. There are sandwiches and salads on the room service menu, but not much, again, if you're truly hungry and need lc options. (I guess you COULD order 5 BLT's and scrape up a snack from the pieces!) All your main tipping is done at the end of the week, but many people forget to bring small bills for tipping room service, or for the guy who plays guitar for you and sings "la Bamba" on the beach

Like Barb said, keep some nuts with you for emergencies between those meals. It's true that there's tons of food - but 95% of it is not lc, so it does take some thought and effort to be comfortable. The first day or so, you'll be familiarizing yourselves with the ship, and it's a good idea to check out all the restaurant/food options (menues and hours) right away too, so you won't show up for that juicy burger and find that Johnny Rockets is closed. And when all else fails, grab a wine in one hand and a light beer in the other and go sit in the hot tub. Your alcohol does help with appetite to tide you over and it's fun to relax and socialize.

On all day shore excursions, there will be meals, but the menues are usually already chosen. There are often some great things (the best jerked chicken!) but there may be times when your only choices are to eat what's available or to go hungry. Personally, I don't go hungry, so I've never stayed totally lc for the whole week! It's been a couple years since we've been on RC, so maybe they've wised up and added more lc choices, though. Minor indescretions are not a big deal, but be careful not to mentally throw in the towel, or you could wind up loosening your belt by day 7 (like everyone else.) Hmm, did I miss anything? hehe

Let me know you if have questions!

Much love,

Fluffy

OHHHHHHHHH I want to go on a cruise!!!!!! Wahhhhhhh!!!! :crying:

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Cruise? Hell, I just wanna see an ocean. Forty-four freakin' years old and have never seen an ocean.

FPC - I like your chocolate cure. Gonna hafta try that one.

Candace - love the 'eh' added to your location. I smile every time I see it.

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April

The face of a child can say a lot -- especially the mouth part of the face.

My Blog

Aww mannn! I just wrote a whole reply and hit the wrong button. Well, what can ya do. What I said was,

April, it's sad you haven't seen the ocean. I can't imagine. But then, I've never seen Cincinnati either and I always wanted to move there when I was younger and marry Andy at WKRP...or have you heard that before...wait...doesn't matter....I still do.
I'm glad you enjoy the "eh?" I figure one should have fun with ones' stereotypes if one can do so, don't you think? Is it crazy that it makes me laugh too?

Barb, you're right about starting a thread. I'll wait until it's closer to cruise time. Selfish??? Achkehh, perhaps. Thank you for the support.

Fluffy (still cute), I copied and pasted your amazingly good ideas and awesome advice and put them in my cruise booklet. Thank you so much for going to the time to tell me. Fluffy, you're sweet.

Smiles, Candace

Good idea Candace. When's the cruise again??? I'm at that age where I sometimes CRS, so doing it closer to cruise time is a GREAT IDEA!!!!!

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