Fiona and Kristi: I have to admit, I haven't been on my home scales (okay, maybe once) since I started LA. I did it that once and freaked out because my DH sets it 5 lbs heavier so he can keep his weight undercontrol. That's his theory but he's having a hard time lately. What I lost, he has gained. I hope he starts taking better care of himself. Maybe the 1st of the year will get him motivated. I've been there so I can't say much, but he's the highest weight is probably 20 years. I offer to cook some light meals for him 0 or share my yummy food with him (LOL), and have purchased South Beach Diet books as he said he was going to give that a try - he has opened the book and hasn't done a thing since. I hope this next year gets him on track and I hope that I stay ontrack - it would be great if we were both thin at the same time. Has this happened to anyone else?

Kristi, glad you found the juice. Aphil said you could water down the juice (but I can honestly say - it doesn't do it for me like the juice from LA), so I decided that I would rather have 4 ozs of straight juice instead of the watered down version and that is what I did last time I did TO. Good Luck.

Oh, Sammy - about my sister. I don't believe that she was following any plan, thinking that she could eat what she wanted and it got the best of her. Her new boy friend is a real snacker too, loves sweets and even makes his own pies and cookies and I think that is part of her problem. Too many temptations. I have done the same thing as far as eatting when I have lost weight in the past. Everything seems to work okay for about the first month or 2, and then little by little - the weight starts coming back. That is why I'm hoping this time I finally get it through my head that it's a way of life - not just a diet that has an end to it.

Gotta run, Hugs Sy

Good morning, chickies!

Kristi - good luck on the TO - I noticed that the knudsens juice is lower in calories than the LA juice.. The LA juice is 100 cals for 4 oz, while the Knudsens is 130 for 8 ounces. Probably splitting hairs, but for what it's worth! BTW, do you have a favorite luna bar flavor - I love the Dulce de leche. Try it warmed. It's terrific. I've never been to Paris, my french is limited to hello . .

Fiona - I do understand scale obsession. I've tamed it over the years to just once in the morning. However, I don't have one that measures fractions of pounds, so that's probably why. And, I like the florets much better than the stems - I think they're best half desolved into soup.

Sy - your husband is probably worrying about starting SB during the holidays - it's so low in carbs! But, each of us has to reach our own personal 'judgement day' to start a diet, don't you think? And, back in the days when I started a new relationship I always gained weight - part of the dating was always eating what the guy eats!

The other comment about brown vs white rice - when I used to see a nutrionist she always advocated brown rice, whole wheat pasta, etc over the 'white' counterparts, especially on a reduced calorie diet, since you need to pack as much nutrition in every meal as you can.

Meegs - hope you're having fun running in this cold weather!

Sorry if I missed any of you

Catch up with you all later and a hug :grouphug: .

Hello ladies,

It’s been a while…I was out of town for work all last week and decided not to lug my laptop with me…way too much trouble in airports! It was hard to stay OP while eating out every meal, but was only up .8 when I came back and am back down another pound…officially 40lbs lost….I never thought it was possible.

You guys have been busy, it took me the better part of the morning to read all the posts! Welcome to the new folks!

Star- I agree 100% about exercising. I’m walking 45 minutes about 5-6 days per week and feel so much better when I’m done. Some days it’s a struggle to get started but I tell myself “Just do 15 minutes” and before I know it I’ve done 45. I think it’s helped me tremendously to lose the weight.

Sammy-Congrats at being at goal! That is fantastic…what a great Christmas present!

Annie-We have the new plan in Ohio, so I’m not sure how they are rolling it out.

Sy- I noticed the raisins immediately on the new plan…I’ve missed them! I’m also glad to have bananas back, especially now that the fruit is not looking so good. My DH is having the same problem yours is. He did really well when I first started OP and lost about 20lbs, but has put it all back on and maybe a little more. It seems like the more I lose the bigger he gets….he says he’s back on it after the first of the year…I hope so!

Fiona- I’m completely scale obsessed…..I weigh all the time. Sometimes it encourages me to exercise, like when I expected to be down and wasn’t then I feel compelled to get on the treadmill! I even asked for the Health-O Meter scale for Christmas…my MIL thinks I’m crazy, but what else is new 

Question- How do you ladies write in the journal when you do the TO on your own? I’d like to do it after the first of the year, but don’t like the juice and don’t really want to pay for it either!

My center is giving EFA for coming in 3 times this week, but no word on additional weight lose weeks for $3/week. They do have most things on sale 2 for $29, like TO, snacks and about 10 other things-though I can’t recall what they are now.

I know I missed some of you, but have read all the posts and am sending out all the skinny vibes I can!

Jen

Good Morning Chicks! The scale was very good to me! I will be queen for a week!! :goodscale

Karen~ Good Luck with TO. Maybe after 2 days of that, you will have your motivation back again!

Sy~ I also bought the little boxes of raisins! I love them, so I am hoping the little boxes will help me with portion control. I also LOVE PB. I am not even going to buy it though. I can't stop at 3 tbsp! When I was following the plan before, I ate way too much PB, so I know it's a trigger food for me. LOL.. I don't know how ANYONE can just eat 1 tsp of Cool Whip. It's too light and fluffy to stop at just one! Although, I am sure when I have some cravings when TOM comes, it will come in handy. Can you imagine, ff/sf ice cream, cool whip, 10 peanuts, and 1 tsp lite choc syrup! HEAVEN! All of those are "legal" foods on the new plan for those of you that don't have it yet! On the red plan that would be 1starch/2free foods/1fat(peanuts). Also, I know about how hard it is in a new relationship. I am in that situation, and sometimes it gets the better of me!

Fiona~ Scale obsessions. Hmm.. well since I just bought the Health O Meter, I have just weighed myself in the am. I am too scared of the PM weight! This am it read 164.8, so about 3 pounds less than my reading last night on the center scale. Which is good.. but I can get obsessed. I am trying to not let that happen again!

Yesterday I was POP.. tonight I am going out to dinner. I have every intention of ordering a salad, I hope the pasta demon does not come out and bite me! :devil:

Hugs!

Morning All You Chatty Chicks...
 

:coffee: I love it when you all have so much to say- it's awesome.... ;)

Got up this morning, went downstairs to work out and my recumbent bike blew it's tension :?: I called my son and he is gonna come over soon and fix it for me :cp: Actually, I did upper body :strong: today.

Fiona - When I first got my Health-O-Meter I weighed all the time, but now I have it under control :goodscale I weight first thing upon rising, after a deep exhale and nude :o ofourse. I know I weigh 1 to 2 pounds more later in the day at the "center of doom" Spend the extra money on the florets - you deserve it......

Kristi - Good luck with the TO, I'll be thinking of you today when I eat. I can only do the version that includes the LA Lite bars (due to my addiction) :devil:

Meegs - Congrats on the big loss :bravo: Do you live in Ohio? and where do your parents live? I was thinking about you running this morning when I got in my car. It is 21 degrees here...burrrrrrrr

Sy - about DH's weight. Well he has lost weight right along with me without really trying :dunno: That is great becuz he needed too also. However, being a male, he can say diet three times quickly and lose 10 pounds before his lips close :devil: He has been a great support to me, it took him awhile to believe how screwed up my metabolizm is. He says knowing how little I eat and how much I work out, he just doesn't understand why I'm not really skinny :?: Yeah, well me neither... I love him fat or thin ;) BUT when's he bigger, it makes me look smaller :rofl:

Auditgirl- Your rock :cheer: For being a part-timer on here you sure know your plan....please come on more and share those skinny vibes with us :D
With your schedule it must be really hard to fit in exercise - that's the cool thing about it becoming addictive :tread: It just becomes so important we make time for it....

Hey Sammy, Julie and any other :cool: chicks I missed.......
Oh and Sy, yeah - I always thought :p should be the green eyed monster, lets change it as of now!

HUGS.......

Hi everyone,

Just popping in...there have been a few questions/comments I wanted to respond to over the course of the new thread so far...so here goes!!!

~starch blocker~Someone mentioned a starch blocker in the beginning of the thread...don't waste your hard earned money!! Any amount of starch they block is too small to really be worth anything. There should be some threads on them over in the "Buyer Beware" section of the 3FC forum. If you can't find one in the first few pages-I am sure MrsJim (mod over there) can get you some scientific info on them.

~peanut butter~Congrats on being able to have peanut butter on some of your new plans! :D There are two varieties that I recommend though-natural peanut butter (no added sugar or sodium) or there are a few store brands and Jif has a brand called "Simply Jif" which has 33%-35% less added sugar and sodium than the original versions. I really do not recommend the reduced fat peanut butters...because they add more sugar and sodium to them after reducing the fat.
Either one has fat and the same amount of calories-so it would be best to have more "peanut" than more "added crap". :lol: The Simply Jif is really good-I buy it for my kids because they won't eat natural peanut butter like I do...and I feel better about it having less added junk to it.

~There are small caloric differences in the Knudsens/Take Off/48 Hour juices (there are a couple different brands of the 48 hour juices) but they are really small differences. Considering the small amount you eat on Take Off days...the 20-30 calorie difference won't make a difference in your loss. As far as watering them down-they all contain the same ingredients-just the blend may be a little different in each one-one may have more orange juice compared to something else, etc. so there is a slight difference in taste. The reason the TO juices and 48 hour juices have you water them down is so you will drink a 8oz. glass of water at the same time and feel "fuller". If you don't like the juice watered down...just choose to drink a glass of water before or afterwards for the same filling effect intended. It's all going in the same place... :lol:

~plastic surgery~My stance on this one is a little different. I think whether or not it is adviseable depends on how much weight you have lost, and how much exercise you are doing and for how long. If you lose 30-40 pounds you should have no problem for the most part with flabby skin-any flab you have probably means you need to kick up your strength training and work those muscles into shape. It takes months of hard work to do this.

I don't recommend plastic surgery for someone who has lost 30 pounds with little strength training for their flabby thighs or tummy. It is very painful and expensive, and dangerous procedure...and if you can take care of it by lifting weights and doing some squats...then why not?

Now someone who has lost 80, 90, 100+ pounds is most likely going to have some skin issues even if they religiously exercise each and every day. My feeling is as such...how often is this skin going to be seen? My stomach is nicely toned...my chest, shoulders, and legs are going that way as well. My "skin" problem is in my upper arms. I carried a lot of my extra weight there-and even though my biceps and triceps are very toned and muscular-I still have some hangy skin-not a lot-but I will never have tight skin there. But-when I looked into plastic surgery online for it-I realized I would have a scar going from under my armpit to the underside of my elbow...I won't wear tank tops now because of the skin...but would I feel any more confident with a huge old scar going down my arms??? For me personally-it's not worth it-to replace on with the other. I also have thought about having a breast lift...but you end up with a scar under each breast and a scar going from under your breast straight up to the bottom of the areola-sort of like an upside down "T" shape. So...I chose the Wonderbra instead. For under $20 noone knows that they are not perfectly perky. :lol:

When you have plastic surgery-you are not going to be perfect. Breast implants leave scars either under the armpit, under the breast, or around the areola area. Tummy tucks leave a big scar above the bikini area...and not a small one like for a c-section-a full tummy tuck scar goes out much further. There are many things to think about.

Everyone has the right to do whatever they want to...but it should be carefully researched...and you have to think about the after results. For me personally having scars would make me as self conscious as I am right now with a little extra skin...so I have personally chosen not to do so when I get to my goal weight. I think it is a very personal decision.

~Holiday idea~If you have a significant other who likes to put chocolates or other sweets under the tree for you or into your stocking...put a bug in their ear to throw you some Luna bars in there instead. :lol: Two years ago my husband put 10 Hershey bars in my stocking and I about beat him senseless. :lol: Now he knows better.

You guys are doing great...keep it up.
Aphil

Kristi- Good luck with TO, I'm considering it after the holidays, but really don't like the juice...blech...read everyone talking about Knuden's but wasn't sure how everyone filled in their journal when doing TO on your own. How are you planning to handle it?

heck...tell 'em you got some TO juice off Ebay... :lol:

Hi Everyone :wave:

Today I am officially back on track. I have to WI and I haven't been to the center in over a week! :o I am not looking forward to the scale :( . But today is a new start and I am determined to stay on track until atleast Christmas Eve. The treadmill is calling my name today and I think I'll pay it a visit... :tread:

Glad to see that so many of you are doing well. Congrats Meegs on being our "BL Queen" of the week! :queen:

Good Luck to all that have finals this week. I can't say that I miss those days... :dizzy:

What is the Health-O-Meter that you all are talking about? :?:

I have cleaned all the treats out of my house...mostly by eating them, but the center doesn't need to know that. My SIL loves doritoes, cheese dip, and soda and I indulged in them as much as she did... :devil:

Well I better head off to the dreaded WI...I'll talk to you all later!

Diane :flow1:

Kristi-That was my question...I just don't want the disapproval of doing it my own way...seems petty, I know...I mean no one at my center has been the least bit nasty or disapproving, but you never know :-)

Aphil-Thanks for the ebay answer...I may just use it!

Jen

Jen,
When I did the Take Off (knock-off) I told them my friend from AL brought me some when she visitied. Then another time I wrote in my diary like I was just on Gold Plan eating. You are so cute, to be so concerned......The E-Bay idea is great, ofcourse they will frown on that too.....becuz they want to sell it.

Diane - Welcome back, they will be glad to see you at the center. I mean what are you suppose to do when you have company from out of town? That falls under "Life Happens".....good for you getting rid of all those "nasty-evil-devil" snacks (whatever it took)....lol Your right it is a new day. The problem is really when we fall off plan and never run into that new day!

I went to lunch with my mom. We met at coney island. I had a chicken wrap, ate the whole thing and afew of her fries....dang-I was bad again. Maybe I should do TO tomorrow and Thursday.....hum?

Later chicks...........
Hugs - From the bad one....

Star- i considered just making up what I was eating...wouldn't be the first time ;-) i usually miss that third fruit, but you'd never know it looking at my diary!

i know exactly what you mean about being bad...when i got back last week I wanted mexican food and ate so many chips and salsa I was sick the next day, but boy was it good....no margarita, but enough starches to last me a week! You'll be back POP in no time and that slip will just be a blip on the radar ;-)

Jen

Kristi - What kind of juice did you end up with, Knudsens? What flavor?

Jen - Yes, I suppose we have all enhanced our dairy when needed. Thanks for the thumbs up on my lunch (as bad as it was).....lol

You chicks have been busy today! I am actually trying to get some work done. My company shuts down the week between Christmas and New Years, so lots to get off my desk before that much needed break!

GRRR, why does the office keep getting those yummy gift baskets from clients. Making it VERY hard to walk into the kitchen and ignore all those goodies to get that orange from the refigerator! :devil:

But I have to be good, as I am going out to dinner tonight!

Hey Chicks!

Just got back from school and had my first "real" sandwich with two slices of bread. It was tuna so I probably went a little heavy on the mayo but oh well! I also had a test this morning and was so dang stressed I had a piece of zuchini bread to enhance the flavor of my "skinny" mocha! Double oops and oh well! I know stress eating is what got me here so I really need to take a healthier attitude about it! I even took a Lite with me but somehow that bread won out!!! Oh I have never wanted TOM to come so bad before!!!

Kristi-thanks for the info on the rice I assumed there was some other reason for not eating it but was not sure! Good luck on TO today and tomorrow! You have made it this far which is always further then I make it! I think it is a mental thing for me!!

Star-when you are with Mom you have to eat, otherwise the questions will fly! Shrug it off and pick up where you left off!!!

Diane-welcome back to health and goodbye to Doritos! I think Doritos are the best but we can be better company for sure!!!

Jen-Love, Love, Love mexican! And margaritas! I splurged last week on mexican but was like you and passed on the margaritas! Can't pass on the salsa and chips tho right! :devil:

Sy-Do you fix DH something different for dinner than you fix yourself? I do, but my husband is a 30 waist and pretty much has been since I met him. I ask because you would think he would lose eating like you do? I know my folks (mom on LAWL dad is not) she cooks for him what she eats and I think he undoes it at breakfast or lunch when she is not fixing what he eats. Maybe after the holiday those books will look more appealing to him!

Okay, I got to go study for test two for Thursday! I am not sure how it went but I think okay!

Hugs and skinny vibes to all!