Hi Birman, Sorry it took so long to get back to you but yesterday I had my pre-op for my upcoming surgery and it was a long day. I'm at work today and I'll post a picture when I get home later....I'm not sure how to send private messages, I'll have to read through this website I guess to figure all that out.
I see you are turning 50 in September....I turned 52 this past December. I had a plan to get into shape before I turned 50 but never followed through on it....as they say "better late than never" lol.
I'm very happy to report that this morning I weighed myself and I'm down 2.4 lbs....YIPPY finally. The last 3 weeks on IP only and I couldn't budge more than a pound and I felt terrible with indigestion, stomach cramps and bad constipation.
I'm still eating one protein back a day....I have a large drawer full of IP packs lol. I'm having a greek salad everyday...with feta cheese and a tbsp of olive oil and vinegar, either for lunch or dinner. I'm having lots of vegetables and either chicken, fish or lean beef. This morning I had a IP cookies & cream bar for breakfast on my way to work. I find having IP in the morning seems to get me going and it's easy for me during the week when I'm so rushed. I'll either drink a shake or have a bar on my way into work.
As I said I'm going to follow the No Flour, No Sugar diet. Today I went to a health food store and bought sugar free, gluten/wheat free marmalade and peanut butter. Rice puffs for my breakfast and Ezekiel Organic corn tortillas for wraps, brown rice pasta and organic pasta sauce. All my purchases have NO Flour and NO Sugar.
It's so nice to have my digestive system back working again and it's kind of exciting following this new diet and looking for recipes. The girls at "happy2beme.com" have been very helpful and encouraging me to not give up...when I told them I couldn't find flourless breads in any of my local grocery stores. Apparently I can have Triscuits and Nabisco Shredded Wheat and Frito's and Tostito's (1oz only). I'll have to see how these work with my allergies.

I hope everyone is having a good day....I'll post back later. How was your day?

Birman, no worries on the name, glad you figured it out. Thanks for sharing your picture. I, too, will have to figure out how to do that to share as well (though to be honest, I think I need to TAKE an updated picture). I'm a September baby as well, but I'm a bit younger. I'll be 26 this fall.

So, the past two days I have gotten a lot of answers about my symptoms. My gyn is almost certain that my endometriosis is back, which had me in tears for about three hours yesterday. It's been seven years since I was diagnosed and had my surgery to remove it, and I've been doing everything right since then to prevent a recurrence. But, I've had increasingly problematic symptoms the past two years which she is almost certain means that it's back. This means strong, hormone-altering drugs and possibly another surgery. More frightening for me, though, is that my changes of infertility are now higher. So yesterday was a downer day. BUT... no emotional eating! In the past, I definitely would have turned to that outlet. I did have a tsp of almond butter and a 1 oz slice of sharp cheddar cheese... does that count?:D

Then, today, I went to my rheumatologist and, based on my extreme exhaustion, dizziness, headaches and pain she thinks my thyroid medication isn't strong enough, so I have to increase that. I hate taking medication, but my quality of life REALLY depends on it, especially now that I'm trying to be active again. Both doctors agreed that even though the diet was not the cause of my symptoms, it certainly exacerbated them, and I made the right choice coming off. So hopefully at some point, I'll get back to my version of feeling good and healthy. And Birman, like you, I view IP as a tool that I can return to again -- and hopefully my body will handle it well.

Despite these small pieces of less-than-great news, I've had a pretty good few days. At the doctor's office yesterday morning I weighed 166, which means I'm down 3 pounds from last week... very impressive considering I've been on phase 2 since Monday. I had my second aerobics class tonight, and I'm really enjoying it. This is the first group exercise class I've ever done, and it's JUST what I need. There's accountability, variation in exercise, and perseverance that I just don't get when I exercise alone at a gym. I start Pilates at the end of April... I can't wait!

Happy almost Friday!:dizzy:

Okay, so I see that this is the "thinking rebel" group.

Well I think I fit right in. Don't even try to box me in 'cause I'm flying above and looking down into that box. And have never "colored inside the lines" either. LOL.

I'm really leaning toward Dr. Gott's diet. I clicked on the link mentioned in a post above and it made sense to me. I read his newspaper column and am impressed with his rationales.

And I remember reading one of Suzanne Somer's cookbook (many years ago) and really liking the recipes. At that time the idea of food combining seemed odd to me. But it makes sense to me now.

So Birman: is there a way to combine (pun intended) the No Flour No Sugar concept with Somersizing? And,BTW, I like you just the way you are without the warm fuzzies. Just keep our facts straight as you have been. Today I ate a few steamed baby carrots and I thought about you. LOL.

This evening I had a slice of toasted gluten-free bread with almond butter, it was delicious and I feel great. Prior to this, I practiced Phase II of IP.

I, too, want to transition into a more liberal yet highly healthful diet.

I'm exploring.

Hi Ladies!

Glad to hear that you are both feeling better with your food changes. :)

Swilk -- Very cool that you're down 3 lbs even after switching to Phase 2! :)

My sister-in-law has a thyroid problem. She is the one who told me about this diet, lost 40 lbs on it, then got sick on it. Her intolerance to the diet could well be due to her thyroid condition. Seems that IP may not be so good for people with thyroid problems.

I know what you mean about the "pattern" you've established with IP -- and how it will help you with future choices. I think the same will be true for me too.

Please keep telling us about your aerobics and stuff -- especially if you're excited about it. I need exercise motivation!


Skittles -- Does the "cda" in your name stand for "Canada"? Just curious. (I'm a Canucky too - originally from Vancouver.)

I had figured that we were about the same age. :)

I think you're right that you one probably lose weight slowly and surely by just cutting out the flour and sugar. That seems to be the basis to many of these low / moderate carb diets, and they all work.

How did you like the Ezekiel bread? They make tortilla shells too. I have to say that something I do like better about living in the US is that products tend to be readily available and easy to find here. And often cheaper. My husband still lives up in Vancouver (we commute on weekends). He gets a lot of stuff shipped here, then takes it back across. I joke that he married me for my US shipping address! We have a bunch of Canadian friends that ship stuff to my place too -- then drive down to pick their stuff up. Before Christmas their boxes of shipped stuff filled almost my entire porch!


So, I will be switching to the Suzanne Somers diet on Saturday. I've already been buying yummy stuff in anticipation. Spent several hours last night going through online recipes and making plans. I'm not much of a cook. But when I'm on a diet I find it fun to search for treasures -- fun new things I'm allowed to eat! Found a fettuccini alfredo recipe using tofu shirataki noodles that I'm eager to try. Scouted out and bought all the ingredients today.

So nice to see ya here, Lilita! :)

I love that! So much better than "IPers on maintenance, on a break, or cycling with another diet". duh

I think they actually look quite similar. High level of overlap. Many of these low/moderate carb, low / moderate glycemic index diets are similar, and they all work. In the past I have tried to compare several of these diets and deduce what common traits in them were key, and what differing traits were irrelevant and therefore discardable. Certainly the no sugar and no white flour thing were key. But other than a few key areas I ended up with lots of questions without a way to find the answers, and never came up with a definitive conclusion.

I know that Somersize has worked for tons of people and that it works for me. I also find it easy (even for a vegetarian), I really like it, and I can eat healthfully and balanced on it with lots of variety. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking. And… Lilita, I would love for you to do Somersize with me! :) But, I'm sure both of these plans would work well.

Skittles, what does Dr. Gott say about eating fat?

Hi All, Yes Birman I'm a proud Canadian, from Ontario.

I bought the Ezehiel Tortilla's but haven't tried them yet. I did buy sugar free all natural peanut butter....and it is amazing. I tried the Whole Grain Triscuits Parmesean/Garlic....I'm having very small servings of everything (my son bought me a digital scale and they are worth every penny).

This is what Dr. Gott says in his book about Fat (in short). It serves as stored energy that we draw from when not getting enough carbs...also provides fatty acids crucial for many things (long list) and makes our food more enjoyable by adding flavour. While some fat is necessray, eating foods high in saturated or trans fats lead to higher cholesterol and increased risk of heart disease and cancer. Trans fat delivers double whammy in that it also tends to lower HDL too (good cholesterol).
Dr Gott supports the studies of the diets of people who live in the Mediterranean, primarily fresh fruits, veggies, nuts, whole grains, and olive oil...more healthy "unsaturated" fats and fewer simple carbs.
Dr. Gott's book is $14.99 in the US and I would recommend getting it if you want some good simple meal plans and very good recipes. Here is one meal plan. Breakfast: Whole grain cereal, no fat milk and fresh peach, Snack: Diced Pineapple, Lunch: green salad with water packed Tuna, sliced tomatoes, shredded carrot (yay carrots lol), no sugar added Balsamic vinaigrette, Snack: No Sugar added yoghurt and Dinner: Meatballs in Tomato Sauce and Baked Polenta with Fresh Corn (all recipes in book).
Breakfast: Baked eggs with Cdn Bacon, Tomatoes & Feta, Snack: Apple with no sugar added peanut butter, Lunch: Radicchio salad w/pears, blue cheese, toasted pecans and grilled or roasted chicken. Snack: Spiced Pumpkin Dip with sliced bell red peppers for dipping Dinner: Broiled Portobello Mushroom "Steaks" with Rosemary Red Wine oven roasted potatoes, green salad with Balsamic Vina.

Lilita......I got a chuckle from your "Thinking Rebel" group name!!! That's us.

Swilk: I've had endometriosis since I was a young girl. In 2003 I had a partial hysterectomy and everything was adhered to my bowel, bladder, uterus. It was very bad and I can't begin to explain how it effected my life and the pain I endured. The fact you and I both seem to suffer many of the same symptoms I think we can contribute to Endo...known facts for sure. I left one ovary and I still experience pain and discomfort at times from the endo and scar tissue. Also I've begun to experience alittle arthritis...right arm and knee...somes and goes but can probably contribute that mostly too getting older and being on a computer most of every day.

Sorry ladies this was way much longer than I wanted :-) Happy Friday

Good Morning,

Well, I didn't gain 10 pounds overnight by eating that gluten-free bread and almond butter.

FYI:The bread brand "Glutino" was recommended to me by a friend. It is very tasty. It has whole flax and ground flax seed baked in.
The nutritional break down is as follows:
1 slice: 100 calories, calories from fat 25, 0 trans fat, 0 sat fat.
sodium 180 mg
total carbs: 19 g
fiber 2 g
sugar less than 1 g
protein 1 g.


Major ingredient list: water, corn starch, tapioca starch, flax seed, safflower oil, flax seed meal, evaporated cane juice and egg whites.

I added almond butter to bring up the protein grams. :yes:

Oh my, those Dr. Gott recipes look delicious.

Birman: I will probably order that SS book you recommended as well as Dr. Gott's book.

I haven't ordered from Amazon in a while and I'm sure they're wondering what happened to me. :book2::book2::book2:

Lilita, good to see you in our "rebel" group... I really like that! And it's exactly how I've felt this week. Every time I introduce a new fruit, nut, etc., I feel a little naughty, especially since I'm technically supposed to be doing phase II. My weight has stayed stable though, and actually went down another pound since Wednesday, so I think I'm balancing well (and I'm only eating really small portions of these "forbidden" foods). My body is MUCH happier, though I'm still waiting for the new level of thyroid medication to kick in and balance out the remainder of my symptoms. Birman, you could certainly be right about the thyroid causing my intolerance to the diet. Maybe once my levels are balanced again I'll be more successful... or maybe I never will. We'll see.

Skittles-- I'm sorry to hear about your experience with endometriosis. It's so interesting how many people I come across on this message board that have suffered from it; the only people I personally know are my aunt and grandmother, and neither of them still suffer from symptoms. Same with fibromyalgia; until I came on this board, I was the only person I've met with the condition (many people still don't even think it's real, though I can absolutely assure you that it is... very real). That's why this message board, and you fellow posters, have been so supportive and helpful, in more than just following through with the diet.

The Mediterranean diet is one that my boyfriend and I have talked a lot about. The diet we're keeping now is very similar. Though I like the tracking of Weight Watchers points, and the structure (as I've mentioned before), we intend to incorporate the principles of the Mediterranean diet.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Started on SS today. Yum! :)

I invited my sister and brother-in-law over for lunch last week and fed them a full IP compliant meal. My brother-in-law is older and overweight, and I thought doing the diet might be a good way for him to increase his health quickly. He didn't say much, but they both did just start IP yesterday. I lent them the book, gave them a box of IP soup, some packs of tofu shirataki noodles, and half a container of protein powder to get them started.

Swilk, my sister too has fibromyalgia. And... I know what you mean about people pooh-poohing it. Sis went from doctor to doctor for years. Nobody diagnosed it, and nobody took it seriously. I'm not so sure Sis should go on IP. She has digestion problems. Also, I don't think she is overweight at all. She says her clothes are tight, though. I'm thinking I might suggest the No Flour, No Sugar diet we've been talking about. That's not so extreme.

Hope you're all having a good weekend, fellow rebels! :)

Good Morning...10am here in Ontario Canada (with the clocks forward).
Well since going off IP (I haven't had any IP products since on my way to work Thursday I had a bar) I've been having weird headaches...not sure if its related at all or maybe sinus/allergies coming on with Spring in the air. My stomach's been hurting too last few days, I'm not constipated as I was on IP but just indigestion and the upper is painful. It could just be my body adjusting to other foods, maybe my IBS acting up (I've been eating ALOT of salads and veggies this week) or maybe the stress of my upcoming surgery this Friday. Oh well otherwise I'm feeling good and have lost another 2 lbs. I am cutting back on my caffeine too starting today, I don't think that's helping. I know what you mean about the guilt of not eating IP....that first food off IP I felt like I was letting the world and myself down but that is just plain dumb....I'm in this to lose weight and to look and feel better about myself...whatever it takes I've signed up and will continue to work towards that goal.

Yesterday I went out to buy new clothes and it was so nice to be buying and trying on smaller sizes....what a nice boost to my self esteem!

Yesterdays menu went like this A late Breakfast: 1/2 corn tortilla with all Natural Peanut Butter and SF orange marmalade, fruit cup from Starbucks for lunch snack with a fat free Chai tea lattee, roasted chicken with turnip and SF/FF Yoghurt ahh yes and can't forget 3 juicy strawberries with my last tea of the day.

Today I'm going to start with Rice puffs with banana and skim milk and snack cerlery stick with the same peanut butter. Dinner will be a sirlion tip roast cooked in slow cooker and loads of veggies.

I'm still not eating breads, pasta, potatoes, rice, breads or sugars. I've bought a package of rice pasta..that should be interesting.

Well off for breakfast. Have a great Sunday.
Trish

That's odd. I have had a low-to-moderate grade headache for the past 10 days on IP. It's NOT because I haven't been getting enough salt or water -- because I have. I am also taking all required supplements. Switched over to SS yesterday but still have a low grade headache. However, I haven't upped my carb level yet -- just my fat and calorie level. So... I suspect it could be lack of carbs. Really no idea why you are STARTING to get headaches now that you are off IP though, Skittles. Hopefully someone here might have some ideas.

Skittles, you're doing GREAT to be taking care of yourself and listen to your body. I'm glad you are here with us over here, in the TR section. We will help keep each other on track with our health and weight goals, even without the strict regiment of IP.

That sounds healthy. :) Will be interesting to see how the high glycemic banana and rice products will affect weight loss.

Yo-yo-ing a little here.
Yesterday's food:
Had a protein shake for breakfast. Went to the gym. 30 minutes of aerobics and 10 minutes strength training.
Lunch at a Mexican restaurant: chicken enchilada and shredded beef taco. A few beans. Left the rice on the plate.

Dinner: a homemade hamburger and homemade dinner fries. Heavenly.

Before bed: suddenly craved chocolate or something sweet. Took a spoonful of cheesecake (from a small slice that my skinny boyfriend brought home and left in the fridge for a whole week) and went to bed.

I slept for 9 hours! I think it was a carb coma!

Oops, gotta go. Will check in later.

ps: I ordered dr. Gott's book from Amazon.

Our Goals and Plans: Mon Mar 15 - Sun Mar 21
 

Ladies (and any lurking gents) so that we can both stay on track and support each other better, how about if we share any or all of:

1. Our goals for the week
2. Our plans for the week
3. How others here can best support us