I want to throw my bid in for Bob too! I'll say 292!

Wow! Where's the paparazzi?! Who knew? So Cher, aren't you a little tempted to go primal???

I have a huge batch of kale chips are in the dehydrator, and they smell SO incredibly yummy! The dressing I made for them is divine.

My eating has been good all week, and my tummy feels flatter today. The pounds are starting to drop again, I think. I just wish I could exercise, but my back still hurts. I think one more day of aleve and rest, and I'll be ready to work out again.

I'm on page 137 of GCBC now -- just finished the chapter on diabetes and the one on fiber -- it's beyond surreal how all of these studies have been skewed for so long. Not to sound like a fanatic, but I almost feel like chanting, "Lies, lies, lies" whenever the topic of nutrition (CW) comes up.

But... and here is the coward in me. I stay QUIET. Except for my mom and dad (my mom has done the Zone for years, so she is very down with primal) and my husband, I have not really explained to any of my health conscious friends how I have been eating. I just don't make a big deal out of it, but I have a friend who is always wanting to compare what we eat (because we used to eat the same way!). She was raving to me on our walk Monday night about her egg white breakfast concoction, and I had to really bite my tongue to not say, "EAT THE YOLKS!!!" I used to be an egg white queen, but I sure am converted now. I have another friend who has been raving to me all summer about this wonderful salad she's been making, and she finally made it for me the other day. It was *pretty* wonderful (blueberries, mandarin oranges, craisins, chicken), but she seemed utterly shocked that I wanted to forgo the croutons ("But they're only 20 calories for 1/4 c!!"). The worst of it was the fat free poppyseed dressing. Trust me, there was NO convincing her that those low cal croutons and sugar loaded fat free dressing were unhealthy -- she thought she had discovered manna from heaven.

I did eat the dressing but no croutons and chalked it all up to the 80/20. Just saying...

So how have/are you all handling eating/discussing eating with friends?

Gosh. Looks like there's crowd here! WELCOME!!

I have a Certified Weirdness to report:

Night before last I went to bed as usual. I wake up in the morning with peanut butter, jelly, and crumbs all over the bed and a bare paper plate on the floor. I go out to the kitchen and this stuff is all out on the counter.

Folks, I sleep alone except for a dog or two and my toddler can't reach the counter. Neither can the dogs. [though they did have peanut butter and jelly on them].

Do people eat in their sleep???? I have ZERO memory whatsoever of this caper. I'm hoping I came back to bed and the dogs ate it but who knows?

WeeeeeeOooooooooh!

Bob--I'm goin' for the gold: 290!

Spanky -- YES, people do...especially if they have taken an ambien.

I'm a horrible lifelong insomniac, and I have been trying to wean off ambien for over a year (not very well, I might add). I take a half of 10mg (guess I could've said 5 mg) about 5x per week. I have never done the sleep eating, but I do get very bad night munchies after taking one. It's apparently not uncommon for people on ambien to eat full meals during the middle of the night with NO recollection of it.

Of course, it can also happen without ambien.

Well, it looks like Kara at 297 is the winner.

I weigh 300 pounds. I lost 15 more. I'm probably not nearly as disappointed as some of you.

Weight loss is never linear and that is why I don't worry too much about the scale. Funny, in June I fasted 10 times and barely exercised for a 26 pound drop. In July I exercised like a fiend fasted 15 times and lost a respectable 15 pounds. I am in much better shape, seeing a little definition in my shoulders and thighs that hasn't been seen for a decade. It's all good.

So let's see. Too make my four month goal of 268 in need to lose 32 pounds in 26 days. I won't hold my breath, but I do expect a sudden drop somewhere around here. It is a plateau. I have no plans or schedule for fasting this month and want to use the primal winter famine idea to explore calorie restriction, one meal a day, and see how I function.

Welcome aboard lurkers and noobs. LLH, with just 13 pounds to go I really recommend the book. You probably don't need the extreme carb restriction as us with a long long way to go yet. Have fun. That's part of Primal Blueprint.

Spanky, I suggest locking the fridge and pantry right before bed time. Great story! I've done it with pizza and beer -- BUT, I had already had so much beer that I think inebriation was mostly to blame. I have talked, walked, urinated outside, and eaten in my sleep. I was even narcoleptic for a few years in college-- partying and studying led to unanticipated sleep in the strangest places.

Hi Cherbear -- What are you unwilling to do? Just curious. By no means do I believe Primal is The answer for everyone. But giving up grains and refined sugar is a godsend, I think, for everyone. The whole omega3 omega6 story is really an excellent health issue to address, primal or not.

Cherbear! Too funny!

Go Bob!

I am now off for a three day weekend! I'm so happy I could cry.
Maybe I'll get a nice bit of exercise in.

Way to go Bob!!!!! You are still my Primal Hero!

Have a nice weekend everyone....we are off to Philly!

Yay! for lurkers! It is fabulous that you like our thread! You know, I calorie-counted for awhile and it was fine and I lost weight -- BUT hunger has always been an issue for me with calorie-counting. I find on Primal I don't get the draining, debilitating hunger that I do when I'm eating more carbs so it works better for me.

Congrats, Bob! I've got to tell you that there is NO WAY I could wait another month to weigh if I was as close to a milestone as you are (299). You must have nerves of steel to only weigh once a month.

I don't even disagree with this way of eating. I think it does make sense, and I agree that the less refined/processed cr@p we put in our bodies the better, but I'm almost at 100 pounds lost, and this is the third time in my 32 years that I've lost this weight, and I'm scared to death of regaining it. It is mostly fear.

It's really hard to eat higher calorie foods. I know that if I keep my calories low, I will be less likely to regain weight, and I guess I just want that assurance. I do try to avoid sugar, and I have gotten it through my head that low fat is not the best option, but going full throttle paleo is a little scary.

I also have a husband that freaked out when I tried doing South Beach a couple of years ago. I don't know if I was in ketosis or what was happening, but I lost 20 pounds and about half my hair, I swear!

So anyway, I'm in a rut, I know what works for me and I'm scared to try anything else. The hunger doesn't really bother me, it just becomes one of those things that's worth it to be a size I'm happy at.

This is so exciting, I might get a camera and paparazzi you all!! lol! I'm such a dork!

I promised myself I wouldn't hang around on the internet today. Ha ha!

But Cherbear ... my hair fell out when I ate low fat!

Just in case any calorie counters are wondering here's my stats for this week.
Average 1636 cals per day
59% fats
25% protein
14% carbs
1% alcohol

I'm actually pretty surprised that it's that low. I would have guessed that I was eating fairly lushly

That was me, CJ, exactly!! I know now it was all the "healthy" carbs I was eating that were making me hungry.

Bob -- WAY TO GO!!! The incredible shrinking man!! Woot!

Susan -- 3 day weekend -- enjoy yourself! I am hoping to get in some good exercise too, since I've been out of commission with my back the last 3 days.

Drinking coffee with whipping cream and a teaspoon of coconut oil...yum.

So, we (family) are in full PRIMAL discussion. There was a question last night that I did not have the answer for (unheard of I know!) Does Coconut oil have a coconut flavor? And what is used for high heat in oils? does coconut oil stand up to high heat, since olive oil and grape seed oil does not, Lard is something I cannot wrap my noodle around.....it is what I make soap out of--not eat LOL

Thanks all! I wanted to be 299 for the psychological lift of being sub 300, but I didn't want to get naked to do it. Removing my shoes made it go from 300.88 to 300.01. The nurse said, "You should wear heavier shoes!" haha

CJ, I love the anticipation of waiting a month. I could weigh in every week if I wanted. Sheesh, I could own a scale. But, for me, based on my past history, the obsession with frequent weight checks gets unhealthy, encourages foolish eating habits I can't sustain, and even discourages me from trying. Ever diet real hard and gain a few pounds? It makes me want to give up. I will not own a scale -- ever. I hope to get down 100 more pounds and just use my low carb intermittent fasting ideas to maintain a healthy weight based on the notches in my belt.

Carbs definitely stoke my appetite. I fiddled with carb refeeds (bananas, plums, potatoes,etc.) twice last month under the idea that my liver needed to restore exhausted glycogen. The low carb fitness gurus recommend this, but I proved Mark right again. It is specific to fitness freaks, I think. My appetite was fierce, I started retaining water again, and I got constipated. Bah, I'm keeping carbs under 50 grams daily per PB until I am 250 pounds.

MikkiJoe -- Coconut oil has a pretty high smoke point and some deep fry in it. Mine (GNC and Nutiva) have coconut flavors that interfere with most recipes but work great if you're doing a curry or coconut type dish. Others here know brands that have no flavor. I still have about 50 ounces to get through before trying another brand. Lard is awesome for cooking. In past threads we've discussed our natural fear of fats. That's our indoctrination into the failed conventional wisdom that has basically brainwashed us for decades and helped get us into the condition we are in. I still struggle a little with fats, but I am almost completely over it. Cut up some sweet potato and pumpkin into fries and cook them up in lard. Make a breading out of pork rinds and coat some egg dipped chicken in them before a hot lard bath. Yum. You should rub grape seed oil all over your body but never eat it. You should eat lard before wasting it on soap.