3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

:wave: Hi all and thanks for your replies. To answer a few of your questions, yes I have lost weight on the Schwarzbein Principle. I was Sommersizing prior to going on TSP but gained 5 lbs. in three weeks :eek: so I got off that right away. I was looking for something that was healthy and could be adopted as a way of life rather than a quick fix for weight loss which we all know doesn't work over the long haul. I discarded many programs because they advocate encorporating artificial foods such as fat free products or foods loaded with preservatives and artificial ingredients. I had been doing this all my life and it hadn't worked so I decided that I needed something different. ;) This is not meant to dismiss any program that uses them. :o If something works for you go with it! I just knew I needed something else. A little quick background on me. I'm a Marine Biologist and have taken many nutirition classes in collage. Because of this I was intrigued and felt confident of the validity of TSP. :goodvibes I will try to give you the basics of the program. First of all she has written two books. The first is a little easier to understand even for me, :dizzy: so I'll concentrate on that one. She basically advocates totally giving up anything artificial. This includes caffeine, refined sugar & artificial sweeteners, alcohol, prescription medications and all artificial ingredients and preservatives. :o (Medications to be given up only on the advise of your physician) The reason for all this is that these items cause damage on a cellular level or can spike your insulin. If you think about it your body wasn't designed to digest this stuff. Anything artificial may get trapped inside the body (unable to be properly processes) and can turn up as cellulite or some other chronic health problem. What you do eat is anything REAL:cp: Anything that you could hunt, pick, gather, grow or milk, (in theory). Eat at least 3 meals a day with two snacks is the basic plan but there is room for interpretation. All meals and snacks must be balanced with proteins, healthy fats, non-starchy vegetables, and carbs. The carbs are the only thing that you must limit and that is dependent on your activity level. For example if you are totally sedentary you must have 15 carbs per meal and 7 1/2 carbs per snack. The numbers go up depending on how much excercise you do etc. You also need to drink 8 glasses of water a day and suppliment with vitamins. You also need to slowly begin and maintain an exercise program.:spin: The way I looked at it, it was all stuff I knew deep down but didn't want to admit because the easy way out is always... well ... easier. But it doesn't work. It is a little difficult especially at first. You must plan for and prepare all your meals. And so that I'm very clear the primary goal of this plan is not weight loss.:eek: It is to heal your metabolism and become healthy. The weight loss comes slowly and usually after several months at least. I will tell you this however. When I am following the plan as carefully as possible I feel fantastic. :strong: I mean really awesome. In addition I just got some test results back from my Dr. and my cholesteral (total, good and bad) liver and kidney function, triglycerides, metabolism etc. were all exemplary. She said they were some of the best she'd ever seen and she didn't know I was on TSP. :cb: And by the way, no I don't have stock in her company (if she has one) I just believe in this program. The first book is great, the second one's a little confusing but the cookbook is fantastic. Well I hope I answered some of your questions. If you have any others please feel free to ask, I'd love to hear from you again.:cool: