[tleef]

Hello everyone!

Another month...it's hard to believe I've been on plan for 10 weeks today and have lost 20 lbs. I'm a little bummed that I seem to have hit my first plateau when only down 20, but I'm also optimistic that things will start moving again soon. I think I may need to up my exercise. I'm supposed to go and get my measurements done tonight, but I think I'll wait until Saturday.

Jax: Good to hear that you had a nice vacation. I was in Medicine Hat this past weekend to see DH who was working there and it was so bloody hot I was glad to get back to the Calgary and only 28 degrees. I think his truck was reading 44 on site...yucky! I don't envy those of you further south in Alberta than me.

Cheryl: How are you feelin? I hope you're doing well and not too sick.

Whittlin: How are you doing? Things still going well?

I hope everyone else is doing well. Welcome to the newbie, I see that you've used SF before. Awesome plan, I love it. I have seen some SF coupons, but they're very few and far between. I think once in a while Wal-Mart and Safeway put the products on sale, but again, it's rare. I think if you sign up with the Canadian site (although the features are not nearly as good as the US site) they email you coupons on occasion.

Anyhow, looking forward to hearing what everyone is up to. My mom is coming up from MO August 21 and I'm gonna have her bring me up more US SF. I love the assortment and the fact that the US products have wayyyy less sugar. Maybe that's why I'm not still losing, going from US back to CDN products...the sugar content is much higher.

Talk to everyone soon. I've set a goal for another 10 lbs by Labour day so I'm fully committed to doing whatever I need to to make that happen!

Cheers, Tamara

[jaxjob]

Hi!

Tamara, we're both at 20lbs down, me since April 29 although I wasn't using slimfast at that point. I'm back to pre-camping weight as of this morning, confirming that most of the change was water effect. Too much salt and not enough drinking water.

Today is cooler (the house actually got down to 20°C inside) because this morning was lower, but we're supposed to be back to the 30's tomorrow and for the rest of the week. It's the cooler nights that help though, I'm hoping that August will be better than July.

I got back to my weights this morning, after procrastinating for two days. Feels good.

Have fun with your mum. Do the US slimfast products have artificial sweetners? or just less sugar? One of the things I like about slimfast is their lack of artificial sweetners. I'd hate them to change that. My new mini-goal is 8lbs this month (August). I want to be "not overweight" by BMI in time for my birthday in November, which puts me at ~155lbs by that point. So to give a bit of cushion I'm going for 8lbs a month for the next three months. Goal at the end of August is 167 lbs.

Take care everyone,
Jax

[4myloves]

but I'm also optimistic that things will start moving again soon.

Ahhhhh.... If only. I started taking my vitamins last week and my "good-old" PROBLEM is back. Tamara, that quote I posted from you (even though you're talking about lbs) pretty much sums up how I feel.

On top of that, I'm still sick almost every day. I'm not gaining any weight, but it's because I just can't eat!

I have found that if I eat a Slim Fast MOG bar in the mornings I seem to stay *not sick* longer. That's a good deal, because I still have quite a few of them left at the house! Plus, they taste good!

Jax, I'm glad your weight was just water--it's always a relief when it comes right back off! I totally think you can lose 8 pounds in August!

[mkat321]

Good morning all Glad to see everyone is well today. I am a bit OP but doing better than I thought I could do. I ended up with a 2 lb loss for last month even though my eating was horrid and my exercise mediocre at best. So I look forward to this month being so much better. I've decided to do SF for b-fast & lunch on M-F & Sun, and B-fast only on Sat for the month of August and see how that goes. I'll have to switch to Lunch & Dinner on Saturdays when Dh returns at the end of the month because our big family tradition is making breakfast together on Saturdays. Pancakes & Eggs even

'See' everyone tomorrow

[Whittlin]

mkat, pancakes are fine - just choose a small plate! Drizzle half as much syrup but spread it around! Your plan sounds smart and congrats on those 2 pounds in July!

It was so good to hear from bargoo as July's thread ended - I knew it was about time to hear that well deserved bragging! Way down into those one-thirties!

Cheryl what a blessing to have a no-hassle meal you can count on to be easy on the tummy!

Good luck on your Labor Day goal, Tamara! You're doing great. Nice you'll be able to visit with your mother.

Glad you were able to get back to exercise, Jax! Hope the heat breaks.

I was just so tickled to be able to rack up a loss for July. Closer to goal and less of a loss each time, but 1 pound is 1 pound! Also when I measured, I notice I've lost a bit at abdomen.

[bargoo]

And look at whittlin sooooo close. Just shows you if you keep at you will see results.

[qazwsx27]

I really like the SF bars. When I buy them I can't control myself and eat 4 or 5 a day. The bars are really tasty. I was thinking that by buying the powder and making shakes I could try SF again. I am lactose intolerant so I can't add milk to the powder. Has anyone used soy milk instead of milk with the shakes.

[jaxjob]

This morning I made a shake with vanilla slimfast mix, milk (of course), a mango and half a cup of raspberries. YUMMY!!!!

Just had to share...

Off for the weekend to Athabasca to get our new puppy. Another lab - a playmate for Smoky. I'm hoping it's cooler there.

Jax

[tleef]

Good morning everyone!

Jax: You're doing so well. Keep up the good work and I know what you mean about slacking on the exercise, it's hard to get back at it after holidays, but then when you do you remember why you like it in the first place. You always feel good after a work out! The US SF products use sugar alcohol instead of plain sugar...I think that's what makes the difference. Your morning shake sounds yummy! I'm sure it will be cooler in Athabasca. Congrats on your new pup. We have a black lab and she's such a wonderful dog.

Cheryl: I hope that things "get moving" for you soon! Remember, water, water, water! You must drink water to help with that process. I also think that lots of natural fibre (from fruits/veggies) helps even more than bran. That's just MO though and what works for me.

mkat321: Try and find sugar free syrup for your pancakes...it tastes just as good (especially if you can get fruity kind like blueberry). You can find it anywhere that sells products for diabetics or even Superstore/Sobey's/Wal-Mart. I buy Walden farms and I love it. Also here is a low-calorie pancake recipe (see bottom of post) that you can try instead of regular pancake mix that tends to be high in calories/fat.

bargoo: You're doing so great! Wowsers! So close to goal, keep up the amazing work and you'll be there before you know it.

Whittlin: You're also awesome! You girls are such an inspiration! I can't wait to be that close to goal, heck, I can't wait for Onederland! LOL

qazwsx27: There are Easy to digest SF shakes...they have no lactose and no gluten. I think you're in Toronto so you may have to make a day trip into Buffalo to get them, but they're available in the US. I haven't seen them in Canada, but that doesn't mean they aren't here. You definitely have to watch the MOG bars. Each one is about 250-270 calories and if you eat 5 a day that is almost your entire calorie allowance for the day and you're not getting anything fresh in. Fruits and veggies are very important, have you looked at the meal plans on the US SlimFast site? They give you weekly meal plans that you can tailor to suit you. I love them and find if I eat on their plan every day I'm never hungry, don't binge and really enjoy the food I'm eating.

Anyhow I finally kicked the plateau and this morning the scale was at 205 after almost 3 weeks at 206 - 206.5. Yippee! ! ! I hope everyone has a terrific weekend (long-weekend for my fellow Canucks).

Pancake Recipe:
1/4 cup uncooked oatmeal;
1/2 cup egg whites (which I buy in pint cartons at Supermarket or you can use 3 real egg whites);
2 packets Splenda (2 little yellow packets or 2 Tablespoons Splenda if from box).
Mix together.
Spray skillet with non-stick coating. Pour into two pancakes on hot skillet. Cook pancakes.
Serve with 1/4 cup of sugar-free syrup. I use no butter or substitutes with it, and don't miss it much when I have the syrup.
One can make and freeze it ahead in individual baggies, then grab it, put in microwave and eat it when one has little time. This is a healthy and filling breakfast for between 155 and 200 calories, depending on the sugar-free syrup used.

[qazwsx27]

Thank you tleef. Thank you for the info. I started the powder today and I don't think I'll binge on the shakes. I bought soya light and a generic meal replacement called equate. I saved $2.00 on the meal replacement and it tastes fine to me. I like something sweet everyday, so rather than eating biscuits or a chocolate bar, I can enjoy a nice meal replacement shake.

[sarahsthin]

Whittlin:
Did you use slim-fast the whole time lossing weight? I started medifast yesterday and think the taste to some of the products are gross so I think slim-fast is about the same so I was going to try that.
Any thoughts from anyone?

[bargoo]

I haven't used Medifast so can't compare, but I have used Slimfast the entire time, They have several different flavors so you can pick what you like.I have had good sucess with Slimfast and use it in conjunction with calorie counting. I usually have SF twice a day.

[sarahsthin]

Bargoo ~
Can I ask how long has it taken you to lose the weight? And what is your exercise rountine?

[bargoo]

I started in January . I was going to Curves, but in February I broke my shoulder and had to stop Curves, I can do no upper body exercise. I walk a lot, that is my only exercise, now.

[Whittlin]

Sarah, I would have a similar answer to bargoo - yes, I've used SF shakes the whole time, 1 to 2 per day and generally according to their on-line plan as far as amount of fruits/veggies, etc. I blend mine, so often just blend the fruit right on in. Nope, haven't tried Medifast so just don't know how they compare. My plan has been two parts - diet and exercise - and my workouts are physical-therapy-based videos from ttapp.com, which I think are very efficient.

qazwsx27, I wanted to mention to you that my husband didn't want the milk either because of digestion and I did find him the easy to digest shakes in a can like tleef mentioned (we're in US). He tried the chocolate on the way to work, and when he took another one the next morning I knew he must be interested. He said he could live with that taste, that it "wasn't half bad". I am a big fan of the powder - bet you'll do well with that.

bargoo, I did not know that about your break. Great job getting out there and walking and staying active. Yep, I'm close, but change DOES slow down when your body KNOWS you are close! No matter, I'm happy.

Mango and raspberry, Jaxjob? Whoa - you may win the chef contest today. I only had a small peach one day so added one of those dark plums with the red flesh - tasted like peach, but color was pink.

And on the flip side of that, , I found out that when I neglect the grocery trip, my cubboard is bare and I only have bananas and Vanilla powder (and the only fruit I can't STAND with Vanilla shake is banana, lol!) a teaspoon of cocoa powder turns it into a pretty good imitation of a Chocolate SF/banana shake!

Still gotta love that blueberry-vanilla shake for sheer good purple looks, though. My kids stare at it (they won't drink it, but they stare at it, lol!)