Just a quick check in -- I've been having computer troubles and haven't been able to read or post all week, so I'll never catch up. I'll start in with the new thread.

I'd gained several pounds back (sticking to plan) but lost them this week, so I'm break-even. I had a doctor's visit today and my doctor urged me to try low carb for 30 days. (I eat too much bread.) I said yes, so we'll see how it goes. (Not as a quick loss diet, but as a lifestyle change. I eat too much bread!)

Xan: Bread can really hurt weight loss. I was a bread and cereal addict for basically all my life. My family ate bread all the time and so did I. I quit the cereal habit in June of this year, sometimes I had binged on a box a day. It was ugly!!!

I quit eating bread recently because of celiac disease and I am actually not missing it as much as I thought I would. That's hard to belive because I was a serious addict, but it's true! It's a change I have to make for the rest of my life and I at first I thought "How can I live without bread?!?!"

I've been grazing bascially all day on veggies and fruit and never let myself feel hungry and I haven't really thought about bread, other than missing pizza a couple times. haha! I write down everyting I eat to keep myself honest and it's helping drop my weight at a nice pace. I know you can do it and replacing that one food with something low carb will benefit your health greatly.

I always wanted to find a 'magic pill' to get rid of my weight loss. I found out that I had it all along, it was only in the form of changes in what I ate and getting lots and lots of exercise.

Xan, I wanted to weigh in on the carb/bread discussion. I'm a huge carb/bread eater. HUGE. Pretty much every meal has bread in it. We seldom bother with whole grain or unrefined either. Plain old white rice, pasta and often white bread. WW tends to be a high carb and low-fat diet. Now, some carbs are better for you than others, no doubt. I keep meaning to switch to more whole-grains but seem to never quite get there. And I know that not everyone loses best on the same plan. There are ladies on here who will tell you they can't eat carbs to speak of or they just have cravings like crazy. Give them a piece of bread they'll want a loaf, give them a donut whole and they'll want an entire cake. For me, bread fills me up and does no harm at all. If I have the munches two slices of 40 calorie bread with a smidge of jam and I'm a happy camper for very few calories. In fact, I once had a dr put me on a plan that was basic calorie/fat counting. No more than 1500 cals a day, no more than 40 grams of fat. He told me to TRIPLE my carb intake. Worked like a charm and although I stopped counting after losing about 40 lbs (I was thinner then than I am now) I didn't gain until I stopped watching the fat intake.

By all means try what your doctor suggested. Just remember that not everything works for everyone and if it doesn't or if you find it too restrictive it may not be the right plan for you.

Pfft! I just noticed your join date Xan! You probably know more about this stuff than I ever will.

Lilion, who knows more about nutirtion than a fat woman? I've READ a lot, but obviously have a bit of trouble with the execution Low carb works for me. I've tried Protein Power (success, but gave up after three months because I got tired of the food and it was "too hard" -- yes, I'm a wimp!) and atkins (lost too quickly and it scared me; also, I got sick of the grease) and a brief flirtation with South Beach. I'm sort of doing South Beach with butter I have low cholesterol and blood pressure (a gift of the gods) and,more importantly, have read a lot about the saturated fat debate -- enough to satisfy me that it is not the villain.

You're absolutely right that everyone has different trigger foods, and different things work for different people, though. but looking at what has worked for me and what has not, when bread enters the equation, I stop losing.

Celesteral, if you have celiac, then you have to ditch bread! (I know there are gluten-free breads and they might work, but if you don't miss it, then you're ahead of the game.) And you're right about exercise. That's the next thing I must work on. I'll be working from home, mostly, for the next four weeks and I have sworn to do a half-hour walk a day. If it's raining, I'll walk the halls and stairs.

Good luck to everyone this weekend! So many of you have made such wonderful progress. It inspires me, and makes me crumple, all at the same time

Hello All,

Here I am writing late yet again. Boy oh boy is life getting hectic or what Today it was a doctors visit with Daren, then off to the shops for our food. By the time we got home it was exercise time, and then the kids came home, and so on and so on. Tomorrow I have my laundry to do, but hopefully NOTHING else lol.

Nancy - I can’t be bothered to go back and look through all my posts but did I say that I had lost 3 lbs? If I did, but it must have been a typo. I lost 2 lbs at my last WI. I lost 1 lb the week before though, so that takes me to the 93 lbs I have lost. Thanks for the congrats anyway

A big for you for losing 5 lbs. Water weight included or not, that’s very impressive It’s great to see the scales going in the right direction isn’t it.

Patti - boy oh boy you sure did hurt your foot/leg didn’t you! Did you twist it a bit on the treadmill or what? How is it today? I like the suggestions for exercise you have been given, have you given them a go?

I am really sorry to hear that you didn’t have a visit from the FFM today L What is with that fairy!! If I know you though you will keep jumping on those scales until you see a loss, so hopefully it won’t be too long coming Don’t be depressed my friend, you have done so great so far and you will keep on losing

Annie - I always have to read it twice when people like yourself say I am an inspiration. For so many years I have let myself down with my diets, and now that I am finally able to stick OP and shift all this weight I am just so thrilled that not only am I helping myself, I am helping others. If I can lose this weight anybody can!!! Thank you for your kind words

Toni - I am sorry that you are finding it difficult to find THE perfect diet for you. The problem is that there are just so many to choose from. Personally I find WW the very best there is, but that’s because I DON’T like a too regimented diet plan. But that said, perhaps WW could work for you because you could find out the points you are allowed every day, and then plan each days food right down to the last point. You can decide for yourself how much dairy, or carbs or whatever suits your needs and make sure you have that amount. in finding something that works for you, don’t give up, you WILL find something.

Katt - well done on having lost 4 lbs, you are doing so brilliantly

That’s good too about getting The Labyrinth on DVD, I love that film. I bought the album as soon as I could after I saw the film for the first time. I also love The Princess Bride, you have great taste in films

Colleen - wowser 6 lbs that is amazing What a fantastic weight loss. I am really thrilled for you Great news too about the raise, they say good things happen in 3s, so with the weight loss, the raise and the NSV there’s your 3

Sharon - do we get to see a pic of the new shade of red I hope you have some green bauble earrings and a nice big gold necklace to wear so that you do look very Christmasy

You have had a tough year this year especially with the depression, so to have lost 30 lbs despite all that is pretty darn awesome. You should be proud of yourself Now you are feeling so much better you are right that next year will be the year when you have an even bigger loss

EmilyMay - it’s a shame that you couldn’t see your friend and her new baby the day after going to visit your FIL. It might help lift your spirits after seeing him. I hope he isn’t too poorly and at least in good spirits from seeing you and your DH

My Christmas preparations are coming along swimmingly but I always seem to remember something else I have to do, or somebody else I should have bought a gift for I will be glad when Christmas morning is here and anything I have forgotten will just have to stay forgot

Jill - :congrats: a whole week OP, and for the first time in as long as you can remember. That is absolutely awesome

Valerie - oh my goodness you certainly are going through a tough time right now with your eating. It’s hard isn’t it to see yourself go back to your old ways, even it if it is only a temp bit of insanity. I was like that the other week and it was scary to lose control like that. I got back on track and I KNOW you will too. There is no way you would give up on yourself. I have every faith in you

Xan - my hubby needs to lose a bit of weight but even when he is dieting he can’t lay off the bread. If you manage to do it then I will happily be able to say to him, ‘hey Xan did it, so I know you can too’

Ok it’s bed time for me now, so everybody have a lovely weekend and if you are going to any parties, enjoy them, if you eat too much, get over it, exercise and move on

Hugs,

Ammi

thanks Ammi i dont what is wrong with leg and foot but it is driving me nuts hobbling around from room to room.i knew the FFm had other people to go see just as long sas she comes back i will be happy. hope the dr. appointment went fine?!

Hi guys... just checking in and saying hello before its time to go to bed.

I have the "bread" problem too. I love it and anything that has to do with it I even enjoy baking it and well, then I eat a loaf!

South Beach worked well for me and frankly I can't wait till I get back on it after the holidays. I was in control.

Control is the big word for me. I try to control everything, my life, my career, my world. Why can't I control my eating?

Something for me to ponder. I'd like the answer to that....

Have a great night ladies. Tomorrow is hubby's b-day and well, we will be going to the city for most of the day....yeah!

Talk to you soon...
Brenda

XAN: "who knows more about nutrition than a fat woman?" "sort of doing South Beach with butter" You are SO funny - but I know exactly what you mean! The bread thing brings me to my knees. I don't miss the 'tatas, pasta or rice, but take away my refined flour & sugar & I'm climbing the walls for a few days. Then I start eating like a "normal" person and hardly think of food unless I'm genuinely hungry. South Beach taught me things about myself I never knew, but somehow I still get off track, and getting back on is heck! I was successful at losing with the Suzanne Powder (or whatever her name is) with eating high carb, low fat, but I couldn't stick with it. It was sheer force of will, and while I liked the results, I couldn't stick with it and the weight came back... & brought it's friends. Whether it's the carbs or the gluten or whatever, breads and baked goods are like a drug to me. And right now, I know I need to 'get clean' again. Best wishes to you on your similar mission!

AMMI, Here, so you don't have to read it twice: You are an inspiration. YOU, are an inspiration. You ARE, an inspiration. Holy smoke woman - 93 pounds! Holy smoke woman! - 93 pound-a-roos GONE! Now, don't go and read that again - we don't want you to get a big head and an attitude about the whole thing!

I gotta tell y'all -

I'M SO EXCITED!
I FOUND A NEW DRINKING BUDDY!

The party went well tonight; good choices on the buffet (although I did succumb to the rolls and part of a piece of apple pie.) Had no fattening booze, no appetizers, & skipped the 'tatas. Coulda been better, coulda been a WHOLE lot worse! At least I got 41 mins in on the TM this a.m., and ate reasonably the rest of the day. About the new drinking buddy - I was talking to a woman at the party - former runner even - who's having a struggle getting back on track with her weight. Long story short, she asked me to be her water drinking buddy. Starting Monday we'll call eachother to be sure we're getting enough water... which lately I'm not! What a great boost to have! I'm excited. Who knows where this will lead?

You guys are the greatest. Thanks for being whereever it is that you are, and for listening from that far away, and reaching far enough to give me a boost when I so need it!

Oh, and I wore my good coat again for the first time this winter. It was a wonderful reminder of where I started. I kept having trouble finding the buttons because the sides of it overlapped so far. THAT didn't happen when I first bought the coat. I had trouble finding a nice one that would go around me at the time. I never dreamt it would get big on me!

I know my life will be a series of a thousand 'start-overs.' That is, unless I quit, which we know isn't an option. Today was one more start-over. Every single time I want it to be the last time. I want to be one of those very few people who change their ways and never look back. But I'm not. I'm one of those people who will keep starting over every time I make a mistake, and I guess that's got to be good enough.

Today I started over. I'll just keep doing it until I get it right, or I die. Better to die trying than to go down like a 'possum, right? ....Besides, 'possums eat carrion - now there's a pleasant thought! YUCK!! I better go to bed. I'm getting too weird, even for me.

Hey girls! I just wanted to drop in and give you guys a little update. We've been doing better. I've been unpacking slowly. We're both a little bumed about not having alot of money to buy for our family at Christmas.

The Power Company messed up our bill and it was $223.76 instead of somewhere around $150.00. I called them and they fixed it. It's now $137.00. Alot better than the $200!!!! I about flipped my cookies over at them!

We went and talked to where we rent from today and got the pet deposit broke up so we can afford it. Which is nice so that we can have our puppies. I can't live without my children!

I sooo forgot to tell you guys that I didn't eat much of anything at Thanksgiving. I got my tounge pierced the day before. Which with Amanda's family we have Thanksgiving the day before.