Low Carb Archive - Great Pumpkin Challenge Week 8

We're getting close to the end of the challenge. Final WI day will be Oct 31 - Hallowe'en, unless enough participants want to weigh in the final time on the following Monday, Nov. 3.

Now is not the time to waver, fellow challengers. What can we do to ensure we reach our goals?

1. Drink more water. This is a tough one for me because of my weak bladder but I'll do my best.

2. Eat more low carb veggies. I've become very lazy lately and haven't been getting my full allowance of veggies every day. I think we do lose better when we get enough fiber and with a low carb diet, it's important to stay regular. I've added 2 tbsp of ground flax seed every day. I know it contains carbs but I figure there's a lot of fiber there too and I'm not worrying about it.

3. Watch out for hidden carbs. That dribble of gravy probably has more than a gram or two. The restaurant salad dressing probably has more than your home made (remember to take your own or ask for theirs on the side). Be careful with those handfuls of nuts. They are not really low carb and if you're anything like me, 1 oz is never enough. Same goes for peanut butter. Who can eat just 1 tbsp? Not me.

4. Go easy on the Splenda. It does contain carbs, y'know. It can also cause stalls for some people so if you've been enjoying more than a few Atkins bars, it might be a good idea to cut back or cut them out.

5. Increase exercise. If you've been doing nothing, do SOMEthing...ANYTHING. Even if you just dance around the house to the radio for 5 minutes twice a day. Get that body moving.

If anyone else has any tips, please feel free to add them. I doubt if I'm going to make my 12 lb goal, but I still have an outside chance of doing it so I'm going to give it my all.
Good luck, everyone.

i'm gonna change my loss again. i dropped another .4 this morning. so, this will bring the 2.6 up to 3 lbs. i don't expect to see another loss until mid-next week. i've got one more lb to make my 25 lb goal. i'm so excited! i may just need to change my weigh-ins to tuesday or wednesday. tuesdays seem to usually show a loss. i did start atkins on a tuesday anyway. congrats to all of us. those were great tips linda!

Linda,

Thanks for the GREAT REMINDERS....I know some of those "extra" mouthfuls/nibbles/bites I've had are not low carb, and we need to remain vigilant.

Congrats Fulfig - you are doing great and the weight seems to be falling off your body. I am hoping you will be able to post pics of yourself in your fabulous ball gown at the party!

Froufy

thanks, froufy. supersized and i were just messaging about that last night. i think i'll try to do that. i've just dropped another half inch off my waist. so, now i am 46-39.5-43. i hope the turkish dinner with our landlords won't do too much damage tomorrow night. i'm gonna stay as low on carbs as possible up until dinner to help minimize the damage. let's cross our fingers and toes that it will work. my husband who is now maintaining on atkins after losing 30 lbs, is betting me that i'll be at 179 by the ball on the 8th. i don't know so much about that. i thought i was feeling well enough to exercise today, but didn't. hopefully i'll be able to tomorrow. thanks again!

Thanks for the tips Linda.

Fullfig, you're the girl. You're gonna be a knockout. My BIL will be smiling ear to ear all evening.

I'm down one more pound but still 9 pounds away from my gpc goal.

Thanks for the tips Linda. The sisters are doing great! I have 3 pounds to go to meet my goal. I think I can do it. I need a personal trainer with a whip and chair to get me to exercise. Maybe Sigfried is available until Roy gets better? I think (maybe) I'd be more agreeable than a tiger to work with.

Karla

i've passed my 25 lb goal by 1 lb. despite reading the article, i just can't stay off the scales. i just wanted to go ahead and post, as i am so excited. i can hear the pointer sisters right now. anyway, dinner with the landlords is tonight. so, i'm not expecting to see another loss until next week. have a great day chickadees!

Way to go Tippurr and fullfig! I've dropped 1 more pound. I'm not sure if I'll get 8 more pounds off before halloween but I'm gonna try it.

Tippurr, send Sigfried over my way when you get finished with him. I haven't exercised all week. I too need a personal trainer. I absolutely hate to exercise. I watched the instructional video for my new bodyflex plus system but haven't actually started exercising. She recommends doing it twice a day so that is my goal. I had intentions of doing it last night but am trying to catch up on season 2 of 24. the 3rd season starts Tuesday night and I have 18 more hours to go. With that said I probably won't realistically start exercise program until Monday.

COME ON, SUPERSIZE. It's only a lousy FIFTEEN MINUTES. Squeeze it in between episodes of 24 as a reward for not snacking or something. You can do it but do it NOW!

FULLFIG, way to go. That's a big load off in a short time.

You're right Linda. I'm gonna do it tonight. Thanks for calling me on it. I lost one more pound. I'm still 7 pounds away from my goal though. I can't remember the last time I was 175. I'm feeling pretty proud. I just need to exercise. The water consumption is up so at least I've made progress on that goal. Have a super weekend girls!

Oh, good for you, Super. You're really doing great.

2 more pounds have left my body. I'm so proud. I'm realizing that the 160s are attainable. I walked to festival with neighbor and friend this morning so I'm gonna count that as exercise. Hope y'all are having a super weekend.

Ok, I think I made my goal. I finally did 5 pounds, and weighed the next day and had gained 3 back! I am sure that was water though...I had a 2x2 inch square of peach cobbler, and I know that didn't pack on 3 pounds! Other than that, I've been exercising 3 miles a day, 5x a week, staying on plan and doing pretty well on water. Let's hope the first of the week weigh in will bring me back to my goal!

Congratulations everybody, we've all worked HARD whether we hit the goal or not. This is the attitude that will get us there, even if we are slow and steady!

You're right, Jennifer. I just can't let myself get discouraged by the lack of movement of the scale. I know I'm eating less than 1,500 calories most days and often less than that. Carbs are generally between 20 and 30 gr. daily. I do my water exercises and my Body Flex and I hope to increase my exercise as I get stronger and more limber. Everything I'm doing is beneficial to my health so, even if I don't lose weight, I should still be healthier which is a GOOD THING.

i'm one more down. 4 more to go. I'm finally getting excited about this diet. Yes, I still call it a diet. It will be until I meet my goal. Everyone is doing great. We are all winners because we are all losing pounds or inches, or improving numbers that assess our health such as blood sugars or cholesterol. We may not all see improvements in all of these areas but an improvement in even one area is a victory. We're doing great! We should all be proud. I'm certainly proud of all of us.

I couldn't wait. Got on the scale this am and am in onederland!!!!!!!!!! WoooHoooo. I'm a wee bit excited. Might even be excited enough to get my butt back on the treadmill this morning. So I have made my goal for the Great Pumpkin Challenge. I had high hopes but also had my doubts. Keep on truckin'. THis WOE does work!!!!

Congrats!!!! Onederland is a wonderful place to live!

Way to go davebecca!

Monday morning 5:48 a.m. It's weigh in day. I stepped on my scale A-N-D. . . I lost 4 pounds!!!! I weigh 298! It 's the first time I've been below 300 pounds in years. I reached my goal plus one pound. I have one more pound to go and I will have lost 10% of my original weight. I'm walking on air.

Have a great day everyone. I have to go edit my profile.

Karla

WOO HOO Karla! Congratulations!!! I am going to WI and Measure in a few minutes.. but I had to check in!

Linda - Are we making a final weigh in on Friday for Halloween to end the challenge? Just wondering!

I am so excited! I met my GPC goal ofd 15 pounds today! WOO HOO! I lost 3.5 pounds this week!!

I also measured and have lost another 7.75 inches.. for a total of 24.75 inches off my body!! WOO HOO!!!

I am so excited!

Super job Tippurr and Karen! It feels great doesn't it.

I've been posting my weight loss daily as I'm scale obsessed. The total since last Monday is 6 pounds. I only started taking measurements 2 weeks ago. As of today I've lost a total of 8 inches. No wonder my clothes are getting baggy.

I'm down another 4 pounds too. At 208, onederland is in sight. The last time I lost any significant weight was about 4 years ago. I remember that I got to 199, and then started gaining again. That's not going to happen this time, I know it.

Did do my Body Flex workouts every day, (except this morning), but I will do it before dinner tonight when I get home from work. Had 2 good workouts at the ice rink Saturday night and also Sunday afternoon. I think flailing around trying to keep one's balance probably burns quite a few calories. Going again Tuesday night.

Great job everyone, happy dance for those who have hit "new lows". Can't wait till I get below 200. I hope I'm able to lose one more pound by WI day, but if not, I'm at least going to be able to post about how I excercised every day between now and then!

Jen

Way to go everyone! See ya all after Fridays weigh in and before getting ready for Halloween.

Yes, I think we should have a final weigh-in on Friday morning. I did not do well on this challenge. For a brief period of time I got below 280 but was back up to it again this morning. I had hoped I could get down to 272 during this challenge but I guess it wasn't meant to be. I haven't cheated and I've been exercising. I guess my body is very resistant to change. My clothes are feeling looser so I think the Body Flex is helping to firm me up but no change in inches. I don't know what's going on.
Congratulations to every one who has done so very well. I'm just so impressed with all of you.

Hey Linda,
You're the one with whom I'm impressed. In my book, it's a lot easier to stick with something when you're seeing tangible results. I honestly don't think I would be able to stick to this WOE, no matter how healthy it was for me, if I couldn't see the scale continuing to show lower and lower numbers. You're truly an inspiration.

Jen

Originally posted by jen519
Hey Linda,
You're the one with whom I'm impressed. In my book, it's a lot easier to stick with something when you're seeing tangible results. I honestly don't think I would be able to stick to this WOE, no matter how healthy it was for me, if I couldn't see the scale continuing to show lower and lower numbers. You're truly an inspiration.

Jen

I second that!!

I agree Linda. You are truly dedicated. I almost stopped it when I got into super-slow mode. Hang in there it will start coming off. One of my co-workers went 7 months with no loss. Her ketostix indicated that she was in ketosis the whole time. Finally she started losing again and has been ever since.