Falon, you didn't say you were doing yoga in the mornings -- that is exercise. I wouldn't have given you so much grief if you had said that!
Welcome back Karen!
I was a little bummed out this morning -- it's my very last day to punch in 42 for my age on the treadmill this morning. I'm not sure I'm ready to be 43. And this will be the first time in 43 years that I have not had a birthday cake -- last year I wasn't diagnosed with my Celiac disease until mid-May.
Well, my houseguest is supposed to be leaving tomorrow. He had gone to visit a recruiter and was joining the Marines because his parents wouldn't give him money to move to Phoenix. He went to visit them last night and gave them a guilt trip about forcing him into the military where he could get killed or something stupid like that and they gave in. So they gave him money to get to Phoenix and he plans to leave tomorrow. Yippee! I don't care where he goes as long as he gets gone!
My wedding rings are sliding around on my finger big time.
Well I love carbs too, but I don't truly believe in the idea of carb "addict". I mean there are only 3 macronutrients, and the body needs some of all of them, you might as well say you are a fat addict or a protein addict. If there truly WERE carb addicts then even eating the vegetables we eat on Atkins would spark a "binge", and that's just silly. It doesn't happen.
I think what we may have a reaction to, is too sudden and rapid of a blood sugar change. That doesn't happen any time we eat carbs, but it does happen with certain types of carbs. Those with a lot of sugar, or those with too much "white" stuff, like white breads or excessively starchy foods. We may enjoy that "rush" of "feel good" hormones or whatever that occurs after a sudden blood sugar change, and we may be "addicted" to that feeling. But it isn't just carbs we are addicted to, because then we couldn't eat vegetables, or dairy or nuts or any other foods that have carbs in them.
I think a large part of our problems in this country are that too many of our "treats" are excessively sweet or packed with too much sugar or starch. From what I'm getting from the book I'm reading is that French deserts are not so much about sugar, as American ones are. Most of the things she talks about having are things like fresh fruit in season with maybe a little sweetener to them. Strawberries with perhaps a little sugar sprinkled over them. Sugar itself has only about 9 calories per teaspoon. Used reasonably and in moderation that isn't bad. What IS bad is that most of our recipes use so much more than a teaspoon, getting into half cups or more.
Last night I made a desert that to me seemed a bit like the ideas I'm finding in her book. I took lemon juice and boiled it with a small spoonful of sugar and some water. Let it thicken and then poured a thin film onto the bottom of desert plates. I melted a square or two of quality chocolate and drizzled that on to the plate, then I put fresh strawberries onto the plate and topped them with some cream I whipped up with just a small amount of sugar. All in all, I'm sure the desert didn't contain that many calories, was healthy, luxurious looking and delightful.
I'm not actually on this new plan yet. Since the first three weeks of the plan involve just recording what you eat, I'm in that phase. But I'm trying to modify my ideas at the moment. Something that looks beautiful, luxurious, and sinful (but isn't really that bad calorie wise), can "fool" us into believing that we are indulging in delights that may not be all that bad for us. This is kiind of her idea. Whether it will work or not remains to be seen, there are a lot of other concepts in there that I'm absorbing now and will share with you as I see how they work.
The rest of our meal was in courses. I served soup, with small amounts of bread, then salad with spinach, tomatoes, red onion, avocado and bacon and bacon/balsamic vinegrette dressing. I arranged each of the salads on separate plates so they looked lovely. Then we had our main course which was salmon with brocolli, and then our lovely deserts that I already described.
All in all other than the bread, the soup and the desert, the meal was low in carbs. I kept the carbs of bread and desert low, by keeping the quantities small. The soup I don't know about, it was vegetarian minestrone, that had some noodles in it, from Safeway, so I can't say what its carb content was.
The meal was consumed slowly and was very satisfying, not gobbled down and still hungry afterwards. The only thing I think I didn't get quite "right" was the size of the portions of fish that we had. Fish is generally very healthy for you, particularly salmon, but I am going to have to adjust my idea of "portion" size when it comes to meats.
She recommends avoiding processed food, chemicals in food etc. Recommends variety, freshness, foods in season so that the taste and quality of them is at its peak. There is a lot here, and I'm not sure if it will work for me or not, but I do know that NO plan is going to work if you can't work it, and right now Atkins isn't working for me because I'm not working it.
Never the less I'm walking out from here with knowledge gained from Atkins which I intend to keep on using. This plan is about compensation and adjustment. It is about making choices. About having the things you love and would feel deprived without, but making adjustments in the rest of your menu, in the things that don't matter that much to you so that you can have some of the things that do matter. This makes a lot more sense to me than the idea of living with deprivation for so long that you snap and then in one day eat everything you know you shouldn't.
For me, Atkins always worked ok as long as I was cooking all my meals and eating at home, but as soon as a restaurant entered into the picture, there would be things I wanted that I felt deprived to have to avoid, while others around me would be enjoying themselves. That feeling always left me feeling that I didn't DARE eat out if I wanted to stay good. Plus the perfectionism of feeling like I had to be totally on plan, or forget it defeats me. One wrong food wipes out ketosis. Then 3 days later you might be there again. Cheat even a little, every three days and you might as well not even try with Atkins.
I can't live with that really. Beating myself up constantly for bad choices with no way to compensate for them other than total perfection, doesn't work well for me mentally. I may go back to Atkins in the future at a time when I'm feeling strong and capable of doing it without cheats, but at weak times it doesn't work well for me.
I didn't see the Oprah show, didn't even know there was one. I wish I had seen it.
Susan, you and I were posting at the same time, so I didn't see your post. Your "guest" sounds like a master of manipulation. I've known TOO many like him. My oldest son is a perfect example. People like that never grow up.
Well I love carbs too, but I don't truly believe in the idea of carb "addict". I mean there are only 3 macronutrients, and the body needs some of all of them, you might as well say you are a fat addict or a protein addict. If there truly WERE carb addicts then even eating the vegetables we eat on Atkins would spark a "binge", and that's just silly. It doesn't happen.
I think what we may have a reaction to, is too sudden and rapid of a blood sugar change. That doesn't happen any time we eat carbs, but it does happen with certain types of carbs. Those with a lot of sugar, or those with too much "white" stuff, like white breads or excessively starchy foods. We may enjoy that "rush" of "feel good" hormones or whatever that occurs after a sudden blood sugar change, and we may be "addicted" to that feeling. But it isn't just carbs we are addicted to, because then we couldn't eat vegetables, or dairy or nuts or any other foods that have carbs in them.
You have got to be kidding me!! You certainly simplified what happens to an addict. I can tell you from my extensive education and experience with addicts that its NOT that simple!
Im flabbergasted and insulted that you would debunk several of our addictive personalities as silly, and something that can simply be fixed by making a few changes. If it could be fixed dont you think we would have done that years ago?
There is room for everyone here and their opinions..........me, I dont agree with your opinion.
Not sure how much typing I'll manage to do the next couple days...at least until my fingers heal up. I went to pull some weeds and had to use a needle to get the "slivers" (blasted things felt like burning sticks!) out of my hand. I can't type decent with bandaids all over and it's very frustrating to me to have to always fix my mistakes.
On a good note....I sent a resume out to the vet clinic here in town...they're hiring a kennel manager. It would be a cool job (sounds like). To be able to work with animals sounds like a blast...even if it is picking up their poo.
I'll still come and read and but I'll be out of commission typing for a while. Even this little bit made me want to scream for the amount of time it took me! ARGH!!
Sherry, you made one point that sticks out to me -- it's all about choices.
For you, eating in a restaurant was a problem because of choices. You still need to avoid breaded foods and french fries and brownie sundaes no matter what plan you are following. I'm not saying this to be mean, but I honestly don't think any plan is going to work well for you until you make a decision to change your lifestyle and your mindset. You seem to think of any plan as a diet, and they're not. You have to decide that you are going to eat healthy for the rest of your life. You have to say I choose not to let what other people are eating in a restaurant bother me and I will eat my healthy food and enjoy it.
I also disagree with your take on Atkins. I lost 145 lbs not doing it perfect, but doing it every day. I started day one of Induction eating as much cheese as I felt like, eating macademia nuts and eating Atkins brand products. I never wrote down what I ate or counted the carbs. And the weight still came off. There is no such thing as perfection in life with any plan.
Don't necessarily believe everything you read in one person's book as the definitive word on a subject. This author's opinion is that you only need 3 small meals a day. Well, Jorge Cruise, who is totally gorgeous with a great physique would say she's all bunk and that you need 5 meals every 3 hours. And there are a bunch of authors out there with differing opinions from these two.
All her plan really consists of is portion control -- which is calorie counting in disguise.
The author of your book says she gained her weight overeating brownies and chocolate chip cookies in the US -- hello! Anyone will do that, no matter what country they are from.
Maybe this will work for you and if it does, great. But any program on the market including plain old calorie counting will work if you actually put your mind to it and do it. I wish you the best with it and hope it actually does make a difference to your weight loss.
brenda. That sounds terrible. Post when you can, we miss you.
I think I'm a carb addict too....when I start I can't stop...at least with "junk". When I'm on plan I don't have the cravings for the nasty stuff. Its a good feeling. I think staying on Atkins requires a state of mind. If you aren't committed, you won't be successful. When I first started almost 3 years ago, I was in that state of mind. Then I got my job working for the railroad and didn't have a set schedule, so planning meals was hard and I just wasn't mentally prepared to stay strict with my eating. I did however know the basics of Atkins and always kept it in the back of my mind so I did eat stuff I wasn't supposed to, but NOT everything I wanted. I maintained my original loss for almost 2 years. Then in December of last year I got a regular job working the schedule I am working now. In January it just clicked again. I was in the right mindset to "lose" weight again...not just maintain. And I have been pretty successful. I have been cheat free for almost 2 months now. And really I don't have that many temptations that I can't resist.
So in my rambling, I just think that you have to be "ready" to commit to whatever weight loss technique you are going to try. Atkins does work for me.
Otherwise, not too much new here. Need to mow, but its still wet from rain we have had for the past 4 days. Tonight is my "Friday" so I have tomorrow and Friday night off....YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Welcome Back, Karen. Glad to have you. I know how hard it is to lose weight on prednisone. I have been on 20 mg. daily for 3 1/2 yrs. due to liver failure. I am still on it. I have found that with Atkins, I can still take the weight off and continue on this medication that I have to have. I know that when I started prednisone, I gained about 50 lbs. during that 3 1/2 yrs. and thought I was doomed to be obese. But, eating right and exercise has taken the weight off. Thanks everyone for the well-wishes since my surgery, I am getting a little better each day. I was very happy today that I had lost another lb. , will have my daughter change my ticker when she gets home from church tonite.
Falon, you didn't say you were doing yoga in the mornings -- that is exercise. I wouldn't have given you so much grief if you had said that!
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Oh I didn't take it as grief by any means. I know you were just razzing me . <grins> I do need to get back to the track though... Oh yeah, and congrats on your mental vampire leaving town. I highly suggest smudging your house with some sage to remove his negative energy. I do it every time that nutty friend of Andy's from Walsenburg comes to visit. Ugh. His being in my house just grosses me out!
I think i've been detoxing from the artificial sweetners, and I never expected that to happen. It's not the Coke Zero, but the Splenda I was putting in the mousse I was making as a treat. Ah well.. I am really trying to just eat a lot cleaner, and that includes (to me anyway) cutting out the artifical crap.
It's rainy, gloomy, and 40 degrees out. I'm off to fix a nice cup of Chai and work on some knitting. Have a nice evening ladies.
hockeyfan, I don't take "one person's word for it". I've studied and read many different books. As I said whether it works or not remains to be seen.
I do like the approach though. It sounds like something I can live with. And she definitely doesn't advocate high carb. It is just a different mind set, rather than a "can't have" this or that idea, it is about wonderful things that you can have. About "fooling yourself" and putting quality above quantity. About making choices that will adjust the total result in such a way that if you love something you don't have to say "absolutely no, never" but you can say "once in awhile", while eliminating less tempting (but still damaging) things.
It is hard to explain. An interesting book and worth the read. But I'll shut up now.
Good Morning Brenda and all. Hope you all have a great day. I think I'm gonna measure and weigh at Curves today.....EEKS...I'm scared. But the lady at Curves came to me yesterday and said she could tell I had lost more inches and wanted me to measure so............wish me luck.
I found out yesterday that my new gym buddy has to slow things down considerably. Her blood pressure was 159/100 when she went for her appt. Stress has been eating away at her, and she doesnt deal with it very well at all. The dr. told her to slow it down, and if she gets any type of chest pain she has to go directly to the dr for a stress test. The girl is only 29yrs old!! Pretty scary! I was hoping the gym would help her a bit in dealing with everything, but it actually made it worse. Im not sure on how to help her with this.
Jackie - Good Luck! Surely you will see some difference.
Tammy -
Robin - Did your friend have a blood preasure problem before hand? Is she on medication? 29 is to young, so there must be some underlying issues... Poor girl. That must be hard.
Sherry - The carbs that we are allowed to eat on the diet are of the good kind. I don't think that they would trigger binges.. I do believe that bad ones do because they are completely empty and sugary. That is what I did. I would crave all of the bad ones, and eat so many of them during the day to satisfy it, but was actually never totally happy, so i'd find more. And the cycle would go on and on... When someone has come to the hard self discovery that they are carb addicts, to be told they really aren't, or are silly, is going to ruffle a few feathers. We all came on this journey to get healthy, and finally, surely after years of searching, settled in a place we knew was for us. Certainly nobody wants their hard work undone.. I do hope it works for you. I have heard good things about the book, but I myself am sticking to what I know is working for me.
Susan - Hope your day goes nicely getting your unwanted house guest out the door! Even though it's raining outside, i'm sure it will be pure when he leaves.
The scale was down another this morning, so i'm taking it!!! *doing happy Snoopy dance* I wonder if I should change my avitar to one of those cute chicks with the 25 pounds lost. LOL Though I do like my Stewy avitar since it really says a lot to me. <grins>
Off to put in the laundry. Hope everyone has a lovely morning.
but I'll be out of commission typing for a while. Even this little bit made me want to scream for the amount of time it took me! ARGH!!
. <grins> I do need to get back to the track though... 
morning all!
when he leaves. 