This is my weekly checkin, I finally cracked the 190 number, lost 1.2 this last week. I am semi-following "The Belly Fat Cure", I have cut way way down on my carbs this week (tried to stay 20 and under) and increased my fiber plus didn't eat any beef. I am probably following Atkins more than I'm following BFC. My meals consisted of chicken, salmon, borccoli, eggs, bacon, salads and SF jello for sweets. I just was not loosing since my initial loss of about 4 pounds the first week plus I gained back 1.5 lbs that just wouldn't budge; so all totaled for 4 weeks I lost 4.8 lbs, loosing 1.5 of it twice. I do not cook any of Jorge's recipes, since it is only my husband and I and he definitely does not need to lose weight; as it is, I cook 2 seperate meals, one for me and one for him. I think the BFC plan would work if you invested in all the products he talks about and used all of his recipes; I just can't afford to do that, so I stick with chicken and fish with salads for me and steak and potatoes for my hubby. Good luck ladies.
Hello to all! I am on week 3 of the BFC and am down 7.5 pounds. I find the program very easy to stick with and hope it will continue working for me.
I pretty consistently eat less carb servings and sugar grams than Jorge recommends and find that if I eat more than 3 or 4 servings of carbs I am hungrier throughout the day. I have bought the expensive Jay Robb shakes, but that is the only specialty food I have purchased. I have switched from Splenda to Truvia in my coffee, but can't kick the Diet Coke habit and have 1 - 2 a day that are caffeine free.
Has anyone tried psyllium husk pills instead of the powder for the Belly Fat Cure drink? Those husks are hard to choke down!
Well I am on my 2nd week and have lost 10lbs total. I traveled this weekend for work, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that I am eating ok - its much harder when you do not have the nutritional analysis to cross check. My husband is having great success as well - he is diabetic and has already cut back on his insulin.
Fiber is still a problem for me as well - I have tried the high fiber tortillas and breads - but it still doesnt seem to work. Any suggestions on what works best? I have ordered the Biggest Loser Whey Protein as it has added fiber too. So I will see if that helps.
For me, the less carbs I have -- "good" or "bad" -- that are in the form of wheat or sugar, the better I feel and the better I do. I am retaining water today - went up 1/2 a pound from yesterday - but that may have something to do with stir-fry sauce (from the store, not homemade). I am so stinking sensitive! :-S
I also need to up the fiber. My personal feeling is that the more vegetables I get (with protein and fat) the better I feel all over. I am probably following Atkins more than FBC, but they're alike for me.
My daughter went "off the wagon" while she was at church camp, so she will go back to the diet starting tomorrow. I think the big advantage to this diet, or any truly low-carb plan, is kicking the sugar cravings. I have done very well with saying no to baked goods and sweets and other starches. Even those that are homemade! I made a baked ziti for a neighbor who is recovering from surgery -- bread, salad, fruit salad, and even muffins and cookies -- and did not feel bad that I did not get the sweets. If it's just mental will-power because my scale has been slowly going down, or if it's a physical reaction, I do not care.
Taking my children to the pool is the only "exercise" I'm getting. And on days that I take them, I tend to lose more than when I stay at home. Another motivation to go, right?!? LOL
I am eating a lot of eggs, grilled/sauteed meat, vegetables, and 1/4c servings of nuts. It sounds boring, but it's not too bad. ;-)
What's your favorite meal? I have been making omelets for breakfast with mushrooms, sausage or bacon, and cheddar cheese filling. I feel like I've actually got enough energy to get through lunch when I have a good breakfast!
Have a great day and keep up the good work!!
CS
I am down six lbs! I have been doing JC for 6 days. Wow, if only that continued. Of course it won't. Much of that is water weight, but very nice anyway. Keep going! IWB
Gained a pound when I weighed in this morning as I start week 5. I'm not surprised at all....maybe surprised that I didn't gain more. I didn't track my eating on Friday or Saturday since we had my daughter's bday party. I didn't go nuts, but there were a lot of foods that I questioned as I ate them. I had a sliver of bday cake, which I immediately regretted....it wasn't even that good.
So I'm back on track today. I'm going out to eat at a restaurant for lunch today so I need to be mentally prepared.
I think I'm going to scour the web for some snack ideas- eating almonds or cheese is getting old for me.
I, too, need to up my fiber. I shoot for 30g a day and can hit it if I eat a 12g tortilla at some point. I think I may start putting Benefiber in my coffee.
Last week my goal was to get in at least one walk. Did I? Nope, but I did play some paddle ball. I hope I can get the walk in this week.
Thanks for sharing all of the recipe and meal ideas. Keep them coming. If I can change things up for myself, I know I can stick with this.
The biggest challenge I have had with this plan is maintaining healthy "elimination". I have found that I have to drink 3 quarts of water a day when on this plan, and probably more than that if my fiber sources are whole wheat bread and low carb tortillas. As long as I have the discipline to drink one quart of water in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening, I'm fine. I am so thankful that my sugar and Diet Coke cravings have all but disappeared. The weight loss bounces around, and I've never lost the 4-9 pounds per week that Jorge claims, but I'm happy as long as my pants are getting looser!
Thanks for the SF barbecue sauce recipe-- I can't wait to try it! I have never been able to find the brand that Jorge recommended, so thank you!
I hope you are all having a great week thus far!
I am slowly, ounce by ounce, creeping down the scale. Since it's my "special" time of the month I am pleased to be losing at all.
I wonder, the LC items Jorge recommends, are they only available online? specialty stores? Because I have never seen the ice cream or bbq sauce in the store - and I shop all of the major grocery stores in my area because I'm a super frugal shopper. ;-)
I also noticed that my Safeway no longer carries the low-carb Lucerne (or whatever their brand is) of ice cream. I was really bummed about it, as it tasted good and was a LOT cheaper than the Bryer's Carb-Smart.
I suppose it is for the best, anyway, as I do not need to get accustomed to eating sweets again.
Have a great day and week my fellow FBC fans!
CS
Today is my first day. I ate about a half a cup of macadamia nuts and counted accordingly but I'm worried about my calorie intake now. I searched the thread and a few have asked the same question but the answer was to not worry about it. I'm scared!!!!! Also, do any of you have a cheat day or a cheat meal? How does that affect your progress?
Hi Jaylync, I am not an expert on this way of eating as I have just started too. I have found that you don't get any responses on here though so I will tell you what I think. LOL! A half cup sounds like a lot, but this whole concept is so far off everything I have been taught that I am not sure it will matter to your weight loss. I lost 7 lbs on the seven day diet for women over forty. I will say that I thought it was partly water weight more than actual fat loss.
I haven't bought the book yet to see what comes next, but I am willing to cut my carbs way down to see if that is why I can't seem to lose on the other plans. It is not hard to stick to, but I want to see what comes next. I know there are more options than just the 7 day plan.
good luck with this. I wish this were a more active, inter-active thread. IWB
Hi Jaclync,
If you are following the plan, just see what happens. That is my suggestion when it comes to FBC or any diet plan. I am a cheapskate and haven't bought the book -- but I've got Atkins books and plenty of low-carb recipes. For me, the FBC is a lot like Atkins at the OWL and into maintenance levels.
When I was pregnant, I was put on a gestational diabetic diet and it was very similar to FBC. I counted carb servings and stayed away from sugar. Even the numbers were similar: 15-30 grams (1-2 servings) breakfast, 15-45 grams (1-3 servings) lunch, 30-45 grams (2-3 servings) at dinner with low-carb snacks in the morning and in the afternoon. Always the meals required protein.
Iwillbe, I did not see a dramatic loss with this diet until I cut back almost all wheat/potatoes/starch and only used veggies for my carb servings. I have been able to withstand most, though not all, sugar cravings. I broke down and had a homemade chocolate chip cookie. But it was only one and my mouth felt all icky sweet.
My husband had gastric bypass surgery last summer and has now lost over 160lbs. He can be satisfied with a tiny bit of whatever the food, whereas I have to will-power myself through every ice cream or dessert that passes by. I know that a low-carb eating plan is what *I* have to do if I'm going to be able to stave off diabetes and to be around for my children (and someday grandchildren). I have to keep telling myself that *I* am worth the effort.
And right about now, I could go for a half-cup of macadamias! It's time to go to Costco and get another jar of "fancy" mixed nuts so I'm not so tempted by the cookies. ;-)
Just checking in, weighed this am and up 1.6 lbs. Only thing I did different, ate out yesterday, Braums grilled chicken salad with ranch. The lettuce was that mixed kind that has cabbage, carrots plus cherry tomatoes. The chicken tasted different, so now, I think probably seasoned with something with sugar. Also the "elimination" thing was not working properly yesterday either.
Cutesmile, I'm with you, I have a hard time loosing when I eat starches, I try to limit mine to a low carb tortillia at breakfast, the rest in broccoli, cauliflower and salads.
Linhight, ref your "elimination" do you drink the Benefiber mix and also the psyllium? That has really really helped me. Also in my case beef seems to be a "roadblock" for me, so I try to stick with chicken and salmon.
Will checkin again on Monday, this weekend is not going to be easy, dinner and dance benefit tonight, then birthday and father's day cookout on Sunday. Thank goodness for salads and grilled chicken.
P.S. Cutesmile, I bought the book, FYI, I would say 90 percent of the book is recipes to substitute for everyday foods, alot of them using special ingredients. There are other low carb sites where people are following both this and Atkins plans, you can probably get all the information you need from them versus purchasing the book. IMHO
Last edited by countrycowgirl; 06-18-2010 at 12:24 PM.
Reason: Add more information
Good luck with the weekend, countrycowgirl!
My guess is that your chicken was brined with a sugary solution -- or a mixture of salt and sugar -- and that is where the hidden carbs lurk. I have found that I consistently lose when I'm not taking in any pre-made foods. So, this morning I made tomatillo salsa (the recipe is at foodnetwork, Tyler Florence's green chicken enchiladas) and red chile enchilada sauce (Emeril Legasse's recipe at FN) so I can make some of the
Mexican food I like without resorting to canned sauces. I don't add sugar - though there is a tablespoon of flour in the red sauce - and I have white corn tortillas that are less than 10 g carb per tortilla. Arizona Brand, but they're not sold in big packages, only the small ones.
Good luck to everyone this weekend! Time for me to get back to kids and cleaning! ;-)
CS
Doing my weekly check-in....
Happy to report that I'm down 3 pounds to 160. To crack into the 150s is going to be awesome. I haven't been in the 150s since before my kids were born.
Yesterday at Father's Day brunch, it was not easy with all of the pastries and pancakes, but I limited myself to a couple of tiny bites and then focused on the eggs, bacon, sausage, and coffee. My fiber count was really low yesterday, so I'm determined to hit 30g today. After all was said and done with a Father's Day brunch and dinner, I'm looking back and feeling pleased that I didn't give in (too much) to temptation. I'd be full of regret right now if I had and this feeling is so much better.
Can you believe I STILL have not gone on the walk? I'm ashamed to admit it because I know how important exercise is. I just wish I liked it more and that it fit into my schedule better. (Excuses, excuses.)
I hope all of you are doing well. Today I'm going to try and find a recipe for some chicken soup.
I'm looking forward to reading everyone's updates.
All was going well. I did buy the book and all I can say is save your money. There isn't any magic in there. There are however some decent recipes but all of the core information has already been provided and for free!!!!
I was doing really well weight wise. I was down nearly 3 pounds as of Sunday. This morning I weighed myself and I was up 1.7. I have been following the plan. I don't find it difficult and have had no cravings except for fruit. I did have about 4 strawberries last night with some whip cream. I counted for everything and was still below my allotted carb and sugars for the day.
I'm upset about the gain. The "gain" is an overall loss and I have been dieting for nearly 3 years so I didn't expect to see a MAJOR loss. I am staying off the scale until Thursday morning. This week is also pre-TOM so that's not good either!!!!!!!! I get so discouraged so quickly though!!!! My mood is pretty darn sour now.
Finally down!!
I am semi-following "The Belly Fat Cure", I have cut way way down on my carbs this week (tried to stay 20 and under) and increased my fiber plus didn't eat any beef. I am probably following Atkins more than I'm following BFC. My meals consisted of chicken, salmon, borccoli, eggs, bacon, salads and SF jello for sweets. I just was not loosing since my initial loss of about 4 pounds the first week plus I gained back 1.5 lbs that just wouldn't budge; so all totaled for 4 weeks I lost 4.8 lbs, loosing 1.5 of it twice. I do not cook any of Jorge's recipes, since it is only my husband and I and he definitely does not need to lose weight; as it is, I cook 2 seperate meals, one for me and one for him. I think the BFC plan would work if you invested in all the products he talks about and used all of his recipes; I just can't afford to do that, so I stick with chicken and fish with salads for me and steak and potatoes for my hubby. Good luck ladies.
Introduction
IWB
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