Hi Muguet! Yeah, not turning towards God - I think so many of my troubles, overeating included, can be alleviated by turning towards God. In fact, they might be signs pointing me BACK to Him.

Ronni, and those of you who were friends with those who recently passed away, I am sorry for your loss. :( Thanks for coming back. :)

At my appointment this week, my weight stayed the same, but my fat mass went up. I did a lot of "cheating" so I was just happy not to have gone up overall. Currently, I am really frustrated with several aspects of my life. I don't know how to describe this to people who don't know me really well - it's not my family, but all of the various ways we are connected to the world that are getting to me. I realized that lately I find myself, getting very frustrated and saying (to myself) "that's it, I'm done!" about a whole variety of things in my life. I told my husband that I feel like a claustrophobic in a crowded elevator, and I just want to get out of the situations I am in. And then yesterday, I told the doctor at the weight loss clinic that the main reason I am having a hard time staying motivated is that my troubles are my priority - when you're trapped in an elevator, you're not concerned with how healthy your next meal is going to be - you just want to get out of the elevator. So for me, the parts of my life that are overwhelming me are overriding my ability to stay motivated to stay with my plan. The thing is, I know that most of the situations I am in are not going to change anytime soon, so it is my attitude that has to change. And I know that I will only be able to do this with the help of God. In fact, sometimes I think that God is using these situations to get me to turn to Him and rely on Him more.

Prayers for your job decision/situation, Ronni.

I am grateful to find this thread as well as this site. So much information and advice and it is very helpful to me. I have let the spiritual side of myself slide for a while. Let's face it, I have let a lot of things slide but I am getting in the right frame of mind now.

ronni62 and singramie thank you for the warm welcome and may God bless you :)

kitwander Welcome!! May the Lord guide you. I feel that if you seek him first, everything else becomes easier :) Don't worry too much! :hug:

Ronni- wishing you luck on your job search and praying that it will go smoothly. I'm also in a period where I'm not really gaining but not losing. It's a little frustrating but I think it's a sign that I need to mix things up! I also have trouble with carbs. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

singramie- I completely understand how you're feeling!!! There's been a lot of negativity lately and I've been finding it hard to reach out to others. I often feel disgusted with myself because I feel egocentric but I agree with you, I think it's a sign that God is calling us closer to him. I strongly believe that we have to take care of ourselves and others and lately I feel like I've been pressuring myself way too much.

There are days where I haven't prayed and I've felt so disconnected from others. I'm realising how important prayer is right now, since I'm focusing on changing a lot of aspects of my life and I'm often impatient. When I hang out with friends, I've been feeling isolated and it's been hard for me to apply the new changes (ie. not swearing, not gossiping). I pray that I can seek God first instead of social approval.
I've been using an app called instapray lately and I loved seeing the Christian community being vibrant and compassionate. I really recommend it!

Hope you are all doing well :)

So, this week has been good and bad. I hit the 50lbs down mark which is awesome, but my Doctor called me in because my bloodwork showed abnormalities in my liver. I've read a ton about ketosis and the liver, but am still nervous that I may have to quit the program that has worked so well. I guess I'll find out next week.

Hope all is well with you all.

P.R.

Hi, everyone! Hope you have all had a nice start to November! It's starting to get cold here and they're talking about some snow ***** by Monday. Many of you don't know this but I'm a southern Hoosier transplanted to frigid northern Iowa, so I really dislike when it turns to cold and snowy!

P.R.-Did you find anything out at your doctor? I do Atkins and see a lot of discussion about ketosis vs. ketoacidosis, but haven't heard of liver problems, so I'd be interested in learning what you find out. Hope everything is ok.

muguet-As far as carbs, I know I lose weight when I just simply cut back to the Atkins first or 2nd level, which is basically about 20 - 30 g net carbs per day and the carbs are only in the form of non-starchy veggies and some berries. Right now, I'm just maintaining and eating whatever I darn well please, which is not good, but I'm soooooo stressed. I know I need to learn to deal with stress without carbs, but my energy levels are so low right now, I keep running to the chocolate chip bag! I can't eat more than a couple ounces of raw veggies a week, so that limits my variety on Atkins and I got a bit burned out on steamed carrots and broccoli :P I can not eat any gluten or dairy-containing items, so that helps me maintain when I'm not actively 'dieting'.

Not much going on this week, so I'll wish you all God's blessings for now! Have a wonderful weekend!