LCFS Week of Feb. 15th
 

Good morning everybody!

Hope you all enjoyed your Valentines Day. DH & I ordered Chinese Food for dinner and like you ANNE, I felt bloated. We also bought a bottle of wine and had a few glasses. It was nice.

We are back into the deep freeze again. It's supposed to last a few days.

ANNE, glad that things were resolved between you and :devil: Hopefully she'll leave you alone so that you can do your job.

nikki, again, good luck tomorrow with your surgery. Hope you enjoyed your anniversary yesterday. I just came from Walmart and Polaner All Fruit spread have Raspberry & Blackberry jams made with Splenda. I saw it posted on SS site that Walmart carried them. I will let you know how they are.

lynn, Sha, hope you're having a good day.

Aleka

Hi Everyone: Had one of those nights were I woke up at 1:30 amd couldn't get back to sleep and Larry King had the interview with Dr. Atkins and I agree Anne there is no way he was obese. Also heard another comment on another show and under the guide lines ( the guide lines don't distinguish between the weight of fat and muscle) Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson are fat!!! I don't think so! It is very cold here today, so cold I didn't get out of bed until DH had fired up the air tight stove. I had a good day yesterday. We rented a couple of movies and DH drove to the next town and bought me fresh shrimp from the fish store. DH had his pork dinner and I had lemon shrimp pasta it was sooooo good. My son and his wife were ordering chinese also.We also had a bottle of wine and I drank most of it and had a very early night! I wonder why.This morning DH made brunch and I am having a omelet with a piece of toast. I am introducing bread back to my diet after 3 weeks to see if I can have a slice a day without losing control ( bread is my downfall). If I start eating too much I will cut it out again. Nikki hope tomorrow goes very well and we will be talking to you soon. Everyone have a great day.

lynn, I had one of those night's too. I woke up about 11:30 and didn't get back to sleep until 3:30 this morning. I hate when that happens. I was tempted to get out of bed and watch TV, but it was so warm and cozy underneath the covers I just stayed there. :D

Aleka

Hi Everyone!!
Its freezing!!!!! Just awful!! Insomnia, man oh man do I suffer from that too!
ESPECIALLY on SUNDAY NIGHTS :fr: :tired: Must be the thought of
another wonderful week of :devil: .

Nikki, I will be thinking of you on Monday. Good luck, I'm sure you'll be
just fine :balloons:

Aleka & Lynn, I loved that chinese food but today I feel like Mamma Cass!!
I can't believe those carbos.......

I have managed to stay more or less on my program today. I don't know
about you guys, I always seem to be more disciplined during the weekdays.

Hope you all have a great evening.

Anne.

A late Hello!!
I don't know why, but for some reason, I am not always notified when someone replies to our thread, other times, I am. So, today I didn't think anyone had replied to the last one since I posted yeseterday. Thought I'd write a quick note before tomorrow and found out there were lots of replies. ;)

DH and I drank a few glass of Asti Spumanti yesterday and I made an early night of it. Still, I was awake most of the night and I"ve been exhausted all day. I cooked and cleaned like a mad woman today, trying to get ready. I could fall asleep as I'm typing right now, but I have to pick up DD in a hour from work.
We leave at 630 am to get there in time and my surgery is at 1130.
Thanks for all the well wishes and good thoughts.

Anne, glad to hear you and :devil: are on better ground, hope things continue to go your way.

Anne and Aleka, are you both doing SS (Lynn, that's my abbreviation for Somersize or Suzanne Somers)again? I have been visiting the SS site almost daily. I do miss not having to count carbs. I also saw a post from a woman that started SS'ing the same month I did and we were the same weight to begin with. She now weighs 175 lbs, which is great for her, but makes me feel like kicking myself.

Well, guess this is it for awhile, take care and talk to you all in a few days, Nikki

Good morning everyone,

This is a long holiday weekend for us, plus a lot of kids are on school vacation this week. There are a lot of people around this weekend on snow machines.

It's well below zero this morning. I am getting rather tired of it.

nikki, you will be in my thoughts and prayers today. Sometimes I don't get e mail either when someone posts and the same thing happens to me, I go into our thread and there are quite a few posts. Hope you were able to get some sleep.

ANNE, it's funny how bloated we felt after eating Chinese Food. I too can stick to a diet during the week, but come the weekend I tend to have little cheats here and there.

lynn, hope you managed to get some sleep last night. For the first time in who knows how long I managed to sleep through the night. I actually felt refreshed when I woke up.

Hope you all have a good day.
Aleka

Hi Everyone: Got up this morning and on a whim went with DH to the city for his dr."s appointment. Went to our son's for a visit, had lunch and enjoyed our grandson. He has changed so much in 3 weeks. Stopped in Barrie and did some shopping. A good day! The snowmobilers were running up the river in front of us all weekend. The thing that gets me is the river is open in front of us. Are they nuts? Aleka I slept all night also woke up at 5;30 but That's ok. Anne you are so right about being more disciplined during the week. I think it is because of the lack of routine on weekends. I seldom get notification of emails anymore. I just come here to see if anybody has posted. Well time to start dinner, well check back later. Nikki you have been in my thoughts all day.

Good Morning All:
I watched Larry King last night to catch the interview
with Mrs. Atkins. I felt so sorry for her. She is still
really feeling Dr. Atkins Death. I would promote this
W.O.E. myself anyday and I found most people who were
calling in felt as I did.

My dad's doctor appt. is tomorrow guys so please
remember him in your prayers :angel: He has been
through so much.

Today is just lovely outside. I am going to make the
best out of this weather on my lunch hour and go
for a nice walk.

Aleka, the bloating we feel with the chinese food is
a testimonal to how the low carbo diet works. When
you think about it Chinese food is loaded with sugar!

Lynn, how old is your grandson?

Have a great day Everyone.
Anne.

Hi there,

I went back to Weight Watchers this morning. I received a card in the mail a few days ago that said if I brought that card with me to the next meeting I wouldn't have to pay the missed meetings fees. So, I decided to go back. I was pleasantly surprised I didn't gain all the weight back, and I weighed 1.4 lbs. less than I did when I joined.

ANNE, I will be sending good thoughts your way for your Dad tomorrow. Hope he hears good news. No wonder Chinese Food tastes soooo good! ;)
What is your favorite dish? I love chicken & broccolli.

lynn, glad that you had a good day with your DH and grandson. Spur of the moment trips are the best. We've had snowmobilers all weekend up and down our street and on the street, which is more like a dirt path, that runs behind our house. They don't care how late they zoom by. A couple of weeks ago on 2 different lakes, someone broke through the ice on their snow machines. Luckily someone had gotten to both of them in time and they were ok. There was a time that the more daring snowmobilers would be going along the ice and try to skim over the open water to get to the ice on the other side. IDIOTS!! :doh:

nikki, hope you're doing ok today and not in too much pain.

Have a great day.
Aleka

Hi Everyone: A beautiful day today, one of those days that make you glad to be alive. Nikki hope you are having a fairly comfortable day and we hear from you soon. Anne my grandson is 3 months old and looks exactly like my son. It is like turning back the clock 29 years. If you can beleive it I missed Mrs. Atkins last night. I had even wrote a post it note and stuck it on the TV. I am so angry with myself I hope I get a repeat of it someday. My next step if I don't stay on my diet is WW. Sometimes we all need the behavior modification. WW has come a long way if they are letting you not pay for those meetings you missed. Sometimes it takes a few starts to get on track and they should realize that. Aleka we have so many snowmobile deaths in Ontario every year you would think they would smartin up. Fortunately the river in front of us is quite shallow due to the dropping of water levels in the great lakes but still a weekend doesn't go by that somebody has gone though a lake somewere. Well hope you all have a great day. My thoughts are with your father Anne. Is this the Princess Margaret appointment? Take care all

HI,
Thanks for thinking of me everybody.
I was suppose to be in surgery at 1130am, but didn't make it in until 2pm. They were backed up. So, we didn't get home til the interview with Mrs Atkins had just finished up.
The Dr said they removed several bone fragments from my leg and there are still several fractures. He removed 16 screws and 2 plates. There are several screws left in the bones that are broken off and can't be removed. I have a cast right now and no weight bearing. I hate using crutches, but will be able to get a walking boot in 9 days (I hope). I'm in more pain today than I thought I would be. I do have a large bottle of pain pills though ;)

Anne, I'll be thinking about and praying for your dad tomorrow. Hope he hears good news. I love chinese food too. My favorite dishes are spicey things like kung pao shrimp.

Aleka, that is too bad about the snowmobiliers running around your house, How rude and disrespectful. We have snowmobiles here too, but mostly rich people have them, since it snows so little here some times and so much other times, it's not very practical to have them.

It is suppose to start to warm up here. In the 40's by tomorrow. I'll be looking forward to getting outside and not freezing anymore.

Take care, Nikki

Hi Everyone:
Nikki!! Imagine you posting after going through surgery. You are made of
the right stuff there lady :bravo:

Thank you all for your good wishes for my dad. Lynn yes, this is the
Princess Margaret Appt. We are all on pins and needles :crossed: .

I had an ackward situation today ladies. :devil: set the date to take me
and one of my co-workers out for that lunch I have been telling you about.
When she sent us each an email she told us the controller would be coming
too. I declined. :devil: has not answered my email yet so I'm in for it
on Wednesday. This is way too fancy for me. This guy makes half a
million dollars a year. Between :devil: and him I wouldn't be able to
choke down my food anyways........It was not my intention to offend. It's
just not me :dunno: I don't know why people can't accept you for the person
you are :dizzy: :devil: keeps telling me "perception is you are a b :censored:
I can't imagine what she is going to say tomorrow. Maybe I'll be lucky and
she will ignore me :snooty:
Aleka, I like pineapple balled chicken, cantonese chow mein, sweet &
sour spare ribs, & beef fried rice :T
Lynn, I bet your little grandson is adorable. At three months old they are
just sooooo precious :cloud9:
I hope you rest comfortably tonight Nikki :balloons:
Anne.

Hi,

nikki, glad to hear from you and that things went well. Are you still in a lot of pain? When you do get your boot, how long will you have to wear it? Where DH & I live is more like a recreational area than a residential area. There are mostly summer cottages in our little development with year round people scattered about. So, the snomobiliers are something we have to put up with. It does get noisy sometimes, but at least they go home Sun. night. ;)

ANNE, maybe at the last minute :devil: will tell you that you don't have to go to lunch. Did I read your post right and :devil: said you were a :censored: ? If that's what I took it to mean, you are far from a :censored: Maybe she was talking about herself? :?: :lol: If you do have to go to lunch today, just relax and enjoy yourself. You'll do fine. Good luck to your Dad today. Please let us know how his Dr. appt. went. :crossed: :lucky:

lynn, sorry you missed Dr. Atkins wife's interview. I leave notes :write: for myself too then forget they're there. :?: Personally, I need the weekly weigh in at WW to keep me on track. WW allows 4 missed meetings before they pull your card out of the file. If you go back after that, you have to re-register and this was going to be my 4th missed meeting. They probably think it's more profitable for them to do this because they get you back paying a weekly fee. I have come to realize that I need to watch my calories more than I need to watch carbs. When I do eat carbs, they are the good kind.

Have a wonderful day everyone :balloons:
Aleka

Hi Everyone: Well Anne, lunch time is over so did you or did you not? I hope if you did it went ok. That is so true about the snowmobilers being a weekend inconvenience. Haven't heard 1 in 2 days. I to have come to beleive that I need to count calories. It appears to be working also I was tring to cut off my premarin and than I heard that could stall weight loss. Have you heard that one. Anyway I am taking the premarin daily. The doctors have said that the max time for me to take them is 5 years, 2 years down.The dog had a bad day yesterday. Hasn't eaten today but appears to be brighter, at least her eyes are bright. We made an appointment for 2 weeks with her regular vet as it is time for her check-up. Also made app't with her regular groomer that way she will have no extra stress with her routine being out of wack. It is a helpless feeling when you can't turn back time for her. How goes it Nikki? Do you have to keep your foot elevated? Do you live in a bungalow or 2 storey house? Is the Dh looking after you like a queen? Went to Collingwood hospital for DH to have some tests done this am. Picked up some fresh salmon for my dinner. DH is having baby beef liver yuck!!!. I wish he would have to lose weight because it would make dinner's easier. We eat totally different every day. Well off I go to vaccum talk to you all soon

Afternoon ladies,
Anne, as if you don't have enough stress already. How's it going? I guess I was wondering that too, did :devil: say that your a b? Maybe that's what she thinks because your reserved around the office. If that's true, then that's why she thinks you have somethings in common. Of course, your not a B.
I imagine your dad's appointment is still going on or hasn't occured yet. Still praying for him and for things to go well for your family today.

As much as I hate to admit it, I think calorie counting is the way to go. Maybe not in the beginning with low carb, but by the time you get to a certain point, you probably should. I'm going to start eating smaller portions and see what happens. I'm not too interested right now in what I"m eating, just eating anything that I feel sounds good. We only have good food in the house, no junk, so that at least is a good thing.

Lynn, the thought of salmon and liver cooking at the same time, makes me want to :p . Neither one are great smelling foods, when they cook. My air cleaner would be set for high, :lol:
We live in a one story house, but the washer and dryer is in the basement. DH has to take care of that and anything outside right now. I can't seem to go up and down stairs, unless I get down on my butt and scoot.

I'm doing better all the time. Still in a lot of pain, especially when I first get up after laying down, but things are getting easier. I took a shower this morning and made some breakfast. I had the sausage already cooked, so just whipped up some scrambled eggs and toast and microwaved the sausage. It was all things I could do standing on one leg. My kitchen is microscopic, so I can get to about everywhere in one hop. DH is doing better. Yesterday, he was having a major anxiety attack all day. I finally told him he was driving me nuts and to please calm down. He called from work this morning to apologize and to tell me he would do better and he did. I appreciate all that he does, I don't know how I'd get along without him.

Lynn, sorry to hear about your little sweet dog. I know it's really hard to see and deal with. My old cat is still hanging in there and I was sure she was at deaths door last summer. She's never been interested in personal hygiene and now, I don't want to do too much to her, since she's so fragile. She sure does look like an old dish rag covered in matted fur. Still has the same old look in her eyes though.

Better go, yes, I do have to keep my foot up on a lot of pillows right now, Nikki

Just a quick Hello
 

Hi all, I'm back for another quick visit before going back to home forum.

There have been sooo many low carb stories on my news stations lately. So I have been thinking about you all.

The latest they had tonight was that they think that the "Net Carbs" concept is a bit of a scam invented by the food industry to sell a wider range of products to low carbers.

They pointed out that many products that are very low in "Net carbs" but have a lot of carbs listed under things like "other carbs".
They said not to be fooled those "other carbs" can add up quickly and they can cause weight loss to slow down.

Just a quick Forum question. I see there is an Atkins Forum and a South Beach Forum and a Low Carb Forum. Is the Low Carb Forum for folks who are doing low carb diets but are not on Atkins or South Beach? :chin: Sorry if that is a dumb question. --Pookie

Hi Everyone,
Thanks so much for your prayers. Dad's appt. went well there is no sign
of his lung cancer but he has dropped more weight and is now at 139.
The doctor has prescribed an appetite enhancer to see if that helps.
A terrible thing happened though. I was watching TV last night and heard
a crash. I thought it my teenagers knocking about and next thing I know
my sister came down stairs calling for my help. My mother fainted and
took a nasty fall in her bedroom. My husband and I went flying up the stairs
and my sister was kneeling down beside her, her head was cut. I was doing
my best to acertain if she fainted, had a heart attack, stroke, it took a few
minutes to figure out it was likely the stress of her day with dad and she
hadn't eaten anything. I had to go and wake my father who was sleeping in
the kitchen. Poor soul I knew he would want to be with her to comfort her
and quite honestly at that moment I didn't know what was what. I dressed
her laceration it quit bleeding but she needs a suture. Its just below the brow line.
We finally got her up and moved her to bed. I kept checking her blood
pressure. Right after the episode it was 52/40!! I was scared stiff but
over the course of an hour it recovered to 128/78. She was just shaking.
My sister is going to take the day off work and stay home with my parents
today. I want them to take my mom to the doctor and have some tests
run and a suture put in. I didn't sleep a wink. I feel so usless in these
situations because I am person who panics. All I was doing was running
around like an idiot. I am high stress even when things are ok because of
my job. And yes ladies :devil: said perception is you are a "b" which rhymes
with witch. Nikki, you are probably right I am generally quite business like
and I guess it doesn't suit :devil: . I still don't know why she thinks we
are alike either. I always wondered it she meant culture wise as she is
from Dublin Ireland and my background is English/Irish :?: We have little
in common really, as I told you before she is gay and I am married with
five kids so I really don't know what the **** she's talking about.
Talk to you guys later.
Anne.

Good morning,

We had such a beautiful day yesterday that DH & I took Lacee for a little walk. We figured that she would like to get out of the house for a while too. You could tell by the way she was walking that she enjoyed herself. :hyper:

lynn, hope your dog is feeling better today. I know what it's like dealing with an elderly dog. We went through a lot with the Boston Terrier we had before Lacee. She had a heart murmur which progressively got worse. It's awful that animals age faster than humans. I don't like cooking two meals either. Just the thought of baby beef liver :p :lol: I am on Premarin too, and I've been taking it for 10 yrs. My Dr. weaned me down to the lowest possible dose, .3, I believe. I still occasionally get hot flashes. I hadn't heard that Premarin causes weight stalls. But, it wouldn't surprise me in the least. I asked my Dr. once, but she gave me a noncommital answer.

ANNE, glad that your Dad made out ok with his Dr. appt. What a terrible thing to happen to your mother. Hope she's ok. I'm sure with everything your Dad has been through she is stressed out to the max. Let us know how she's doing. I'll keep you and your family in my prayers today.

nikki, glad that you're getting around better. That's good you live in a one story home. A friend of our's broke his ankle sometime last month, and they sleep upstairs so he's been going up and down stairs on his butt. Unfortunately for him, he's a very..very out of shape large man. They say that as you lose weight your body does not need as many calories. I think I'm at the point where I need to count both, calories and carbs. SIGH!

Pookie, glad you dropped in. Haven't heard from you in a while. Hope things are going well for you. I have heard the same thing about "Net" carbs too. I usually just look at the total carbs. Yes, I believe that a lot of posters on the Low Carb forum do other low carb plans other than Atkins and SB. At least I'm assuming they do. Don't be a stranger!

Have a great day.
Aleka

Hi,
I'm doing better everyday. Aleka, when I first broke my ankle, I had to scoot up and down stairs on my butt too. It was just impossible any other way. Being large it is very difficult to get around on crutches. I am much stronger now and have no problems, but when this first happened, I was so out of shape, it was a big problem. I don't think the medical community considers how hard it is for large out of shape people to try to get around.

Anne, your mom's b/p was way too low (as you know), so she probably fainted from that. But it could have a combo of low blood sugar, low b/p and being just plain worn out. Does she take b/p meds, if so, she may need them adjusted. She may have an inner ear infection that can cause dizziness, if that's what she's experiencing. She needs to see her Dr for a work up and a physical. Tell her it's not just for her own good, she has to take good care of herself, so she can take the best care of your dad. Women always put their needs last and she has to put her self first for just alittle bit right now.
I'm so glad your dad's appointment went well.


Pookie, all these forums seem a little confusing, I bet. We (this thread)started out as a Somersize group and just hung together after we started doing other low carb plans. That is the meaning of the name LCFS (low carb free style). This way, we can remain together, but not have to worry about our way of eating. I guess our group is more for support and the eating part comes in second. The other groups came together first because of the plan that they follow and also as a support group. You are always welcome to post here. Yes, there has always been a lot of controversy about the subtraction of the carbs. In Dr. Atkins original book, he was against subtracting sugar alcohols and fiber carbs, then in the new book, he was for it. New studies come out all the time, with new information. I think alot of the food industry is wanting to say that only net carbs count so we will buy their products. I can say for me, if I subtract s/a's and even the fiber carbs, I tend to stall. I suppose after all is said and done, it would be the best thing not to subtract anything. This way, people would be eating less calories too and experiencing a bigger lose.

Lynn, hope your doing ok.
I have to go back and lay down. I can stay up for short periods of time, then I get pretty tired and sick. Nikki

Hi Everyone: Anne I hope your mother is having a better day. From dealing with my mom I know stress can really affect them. Princess Margaret is a beautiful hospital,the atrium is so attractive but when you walk in the door I swear you can smell the fear and that makes for an uncomfortable day. Hope your day is going reasonabley well. Oh before I forget a study was released today that said that 1 in 9 Canadians is on an "Atkins style" diet. Are those numbers incrediable or what!!! Aleka are you getting any of that east coast storm. The news at noon showed the east coast of Canada is totally shut down. We just came back from a hour long walk. It is gorgeous here today but we are on a winter storm watch for tonight and tomorrow. Nikki glad you are feeling a little better. I'm glad you are in a 1 storey there is no place like your own bed to sleep. I would love not to do laundry but not for your reasons. Laundry is easy but for some reason I have allways hated to do it. Coco had a bad night her breathing is bad. We might be going down sooner than we thought. Well bye for now

Hi Aleka thanks for responding to my post.

Hi niKKic thanks for the explanation of LCFS etc

Sometimes all the forums are bit overwhelming :dizzy: , but I am starting to get the jist of things now. Thanks, Pookie

Good Morning Ladies!!!
Thank God its Friday :cp: :hat: :cb:
Mom is doing much better. She has a black eye now and she really looks
like a hockey player. Dad was telling me when she arrived home from the
appointment at Princess Margaret with him she had 3 advil and a glass of
wine on an empty stomach :shrug: I know the stress of going for these
appts is just horrible so I understand the relief when they are over a clear
bill of health is given. I wonder if the wine and pills made her faint.
She is a slim woman of 120 pounds. She is a an extremely young looking
71 year old she takes no medications and enjoys good health. I have ladies at work that look older than my mom. My dad on the other hand is 72 and looks at least that but then I always Thank God and think my Dad must be made of tough stuff to have survived all these big surgeries on his lungs. He has come close many many times. Too many.

Nikki, how are you feeling? I am so glad to hear you are feeling better each
day. :)

We are under another winter storm watch :fr: It was such a lovely day
yesterday you could just feel spring coming :dance: :goodvibes :flow1:

Talk to you all later. Lynn, I guess you are in for this storm too :rolleyes:
How is the weather out your way Aleka?

Goodmorning Everyone: God Anne did you sleep at all last night? I guess the expression TGIF really applies to you this week. Coco is slipping fast. My daughter is coming up as soon as the storm lets her also my son and daughter-in-law. They want to say Goodbye. Her poor body moves with every breath. We are going to see if the vet will make a house call if we have to make that decision. She will mot leave this world in fear. Will talk to you all later.

TGIF!!

ANNE, that's wonderful news about your mother. You all must be so relieved. Mixing the advil and wine together along with being stressed out could very well be why she fainted. Did she have that on an empty stomach? If so, that could be a factor too. Glad she got a clean bill of health. We have had some great weather. Yesterday it was awfully windy which made it seem cooler than Wed.

lynn, how is Coco this morning? Hope she's doing better. No, we didn't get that east coast storm. It stayed south and east of us, so that Cape Cod and the islands got the brunt of it. We're supposed to get something tomorrow and they say we could see a mixture of precip. That's fantastic you were able to walk outside for an hr. We just managed about 15 min. the other day because we had the dog, and I found out that that's all I could stand being out in those temps. even though it felt good.

nikki, how are you doing today? Hope you're in a little less pain. Does the pain medication work well? I felt bad for my friend when he told me that he hadn't realized just how out of shape he was until he started using crutches.
He had lost over 100 lbs. a few years ago, but put them back on plus more over the past 3 or 4 years.

Enjoy your day!
Aleka

lynn, I am so sorry about Coco. I know what you are going through and my heart goes out to you. Please keep us posted. :grouphug: I think we were posting at the same time.

Aleka

Good morning,
Lynn, so sorry to hear about your Cocoa. It is hard to see them like that and harder to make the decision to have the vet come. You want to do what is right, but figuring out what is right is not always easy. No matter what you do decide, your little dog knows that you love her and are doing the best for her.

Anne, I'm glad your mom is doing better this morning. I'm sure your going to be relieved when the day is over with. Hope it's a smooth one with nothing out of the usual going on.

Aleka, we are getting a little rain here today. The snow is melting and it's starting to look a little more like spring all the time. I'm still having a hard time with these cruthches and I worked out everyday. Also, I did alot of work with light hand weights, to strengthen my arms and back. I tried to use a walker once, after my 3 rd surgery, but our doorways are too narrow for it to go through, so had to go back to crutches.

I'm spending most of my time sleeping. These pain pills knock me out. It feels almost sinful, sleeping my time away and not having to do anything. I'm really hoping this time, this ankle will be fixed. In the mean time, I'm making a list of things to do, when I do get back on my feet.

Better get done on the internet and go lay down, take care, Nikki

Hello, ladies,

This will be my first post here. I am hoping you will be able to give me some really good advice based on your own findings! About three years ago, my husband was needing some surgery and we both went on WW to help him take off about 30 pounds prior to it. As a sidebar, I lost 18 and was so happy to see 110 again. Many many moons had gone by since that time of life. We were pretty faithful for not quite a couple of years but then he drifted away into "regular" eating. Gradually I added five pounds back.

In the interim, my blood sugar had become extremely erratic. I was having some dizzy spells. My father died from complications of diabetes at age 31 so I was pretty alert to this. My doctor studied my food intake and advised that I not eat large amounts of carbs by themselves...such as pancakes/syrup, baked potatoe lunches, etc. and to get back to 110 to avoid having to take insulin.

I had become hugely interested in the WOE that SSing follows. I tried it pretty faithfully for a few months and felt so much better....none of the WW low-fat dry skin, puffy tummy, flatulence :o , etc. But I didn't lose any weight!!! Recently, with Atkins so much in the fore, I have toyed with it. I faithfully went through Induction, never got to keotosis, lost NO weight there either. I have discovered that the low carb style of Atkins feels so very good but is quite "binding." SSing is soperfect in that it allows more fruit and veggies, but the combining gets tedious and I never get the five pounds off to get to level 2. Obviously though, I eat too much to lose on either or both. WW has the drawbacks mentioned before, plus I am always hungry!!! Can't do it realisticlly plus hate having that "rolling" tummy all the time. :o

I noticed on this board that Aleka was a SSer for a long time....now speaks of Atkins...and is currently going to WW. I thought maybe I might get an idea of how you all did and what works for you. This probably isn't the proper thread. Do I need to start another? If you don't mind sharing your experience, I would love to hear it. Seems like whenever I try to stick to Atkins, I have to add quite a few carbs like a bowl of cereal with some flax seed in the morning and then I have used up all my carbs for the day. That's bad.

I'll be still now, and let you speak!!! :)

Sugardrop, Welcome! You have come to the right place. With Somersizing, if you do not have a lot of weight to lose it will usually come off slowly. Suzanne said in one of her books that it took her 2 months to see any results, for me it took 6 months to lose 12 lbs. Also, if you're on any medications, that may cause a stall. Do you still have any of your WW material? What if you combine the two? Eat the foods on Somersizing, but using WW portions. A while back on SS website, someone was doing both and had good results. I find that I lose faster on WW, but use Somersizing principles, no white flour, sugar, potatoes, processed foods, etc., and when I do eat carbs I eat the good carbs. It costs me quite a few points eating this way, but to me it's worth it. I have high cholesterol which I never could get down on the lowfat/high carb diets. As soon as I started Somersizing, my numbers finally went below 200. So, I will never go back to no fat again. You will get sound advice from Nikki, ANNE, and alynn too. When I tried to PM you I got an error message telling me that you did not want to receive PMs. Again, welcome.

Have a great day.
Aleka

Aleka,

When you count points as in WW, but using SS foods and rules (?), do you try to stick to the points allowed for your wieght? If I ate SS foods, not low fat, I am afraid I would be 10-15 points over every day! I have been trying to get my cholesterol down below 200 for about 5 or 6 years. Since doing the SS, even though off and on, it is now down to 210 or so...a great improvement. I use lots of olive oil on salads and 2 T ground flaxseed every day. I think this may have been helping.

By the way, I have taken Premarin for more than 20 years, after a hysterectomy when in my late 30's.
Thanks for the advice. How long ago did you go back to the WW meetings?

I've been reading some of your old threads here and you all seem to have such a good rapport. Thanks for welcoming me.

How would I check to see if I can get a PM?

Sugardrop

Hi Sugar!
To get a PM (private message) you need to look at the top of this page and click on User CP. This will take you to a page that has a list of options listed down the left side of the page, click on Edit Options. Here there will be a long list of options and things to do. Go to the area that says Private Messages.
In this box, there are several options, if you want to recieve private messages from other members of 3FC's, check the box that says enable private messages and if you check that box, it would be a good idea to check the box that says recieve email notification of new Private Message. This will not give your email address out to anyone, it just allows someone to send you a private thread or message that is between you and that person only. 3FC's will send you an email telling you that you have recieved a PM. (Sorry for the long explaination, but if your new to computers, it may be helpful).

As far as the advice Aleka gave, I can't offer any better. When we are in menopause, or approaching that time of our lives, weight lose is slow. See Dr. Atkins book about metabolic resistance or you can go to their website at www.atkinscenter.com and look it up for a better and more indepth explaination.
Somersizing is slower, since your basically eating more carbs, but they are healthy carbs. The food combining is tedious for me too. I found after I Somersized for a period of time, food combining became automatic. Personally, I think I ate more Somersizing, since the food was just so wonderful.
I've never done WW, so can't comment about that.
If you have only a little weight to lose, it will take you longer to lose it.
Don't eat sugar alcohols, they will stall your weight loss or even make you gain. Even though they say you can't metabolize them, or that only 1/2 of the carbs should be counted, I think it's not truthful.
Exercise is vital to weight loss and to maintaining a healthy body. If you don't exercise, you should start.

This was my personal experience-I started out Somersizing (SS for short) and lost around 50 lbs. I switched to Atkins (because I thought SS was taking too long), lost another 20 lbs and then saw no more loss. I've had some ups and downs and not been too faithful at times, so this is my fault. I need to lose another 70 lbs yet. Right now, I"m recovering from surgery so I"m not too picky about what I'm eating now, just glad to get any kind of food:lol:. After I get back on my feet, I'm not sure if I"ll return to SS or Atkins, I have to think about it some more.

Last, we are glad your here and hope you feel welcome to post here. We may not have all the answers (or any answers:lol:), but we are always glad to talk and try to be as helpful as possible. Nikki

Nikkic,

Thanks for the help with my PM and the advice as well. I am going to mull over all these things and tread water for a few days while I decide what course of action to take. I have accepted, bitterly so, that it is going to take a long time to get this weight down to where the doctor thinks my blood sugar will be easiest to handle. Medication for it is not the way I want to go if I can help it.

I am wondering, if I go the SS/WW points road, where low carb items fit in...such as the low carb breads? The most wonderful part of SSing is that you don't have to count calories or carbs! Are those of you who are combining methods mixing carbs and proteins now? For instance, what would be a typical day?

Aleka, you have said you like to eat toast and ricotta in the mornings. Is that low fat ricotta or regular? I love ricotta and the regular is so delightful!!! Is it allowable on SS?

Sorry if I seem so full of questions. This seems like such a good thread to get answers though.

Nikkic, I see your kitty on your post. You must be a cat lover. We had a Siamese for 17 years. My husband gave him to me as a Valentine's gift when he was just a teacup size. When he got very old and his kidney's began to fail, we let him keep his own pace indoors with us for another 72 hours before he finally asked for help to drift. He actually did ask with his beautiful eyes looking up at me. Our vet was a real jewel and came to the house to give him a shot while he lay in my arms. It was slow-acting so he wouldn't have any violent reaction and we sat caressing him as his breathing just slowed down. It was heartbreaking but so kind for him because he had begun to suffer. I think he forced himself to linger so long when the vet couldn't understand how he could because he knew I needed time to accept his going. It took us 7 years to get over his death!!! What softies. Finally we got a tiny little Yorkie and then another one to keep the first one company. They are our pride and joy now...but the space for Mr. Mills is still reserved in our hearts.

Sugardrop

Sugardrop,
I'm an animal lover and always will be. When I was little, I had a siamese female, I named her SuSu. She lived for around 18 years and was very special. Of course, siamese cats are different than other cats, they sound different and are diffferent. But all cats have different personalities and are special in their own ways. Since then, I've had hundreds of cats. At different times in my life, I've had up to 25 cats and assorted dogs here (we have a small acreage). Even so, I remember certain ones that were extra special and I know just how you feel when you said it took several years to feel some relief from your loss.
Right now, we have only 5 cats and no dogs. I want to take all the strays that I see home with me, but I know it's not only not practical, it's not always safe. So, I am happy with the little fur balls that I have.
Funny that you have yorkies, I've been trying to talk my DH into getting a couple for the last year. I love their fisty personalities and sweet little ways.

Nikkic,

We have a lot in common. Besides dear Mr. Wilbur Mills (named after the Fannie Fox incident when my little tiny tomcat arrived!!!), I have had various and assorted common housecats since I was a little girl...never more than one at a time. I loved them all so much. I had never had a dog and, when we decided to finally get another pet years after Mr. Mills died, it was a Hymilaian that I was in search for. I had a beautiful one I found on the Internet that was just a baby and we were seriously getting ready to bid on it when we went to a 50th anniversary celebration at a small lake nearby. The sister of the couple was visiting and had brought her "girls" with her to romp about amid the guests. They were five of the most delightful Yorkies I had ever seen. All with long skirts and little topknots with bows. One fell in love with me and fell asleep in my hand where she spent several hours. I was smitten. We called the breeder who had been responsible for the five beauties and, several months later, she finally agreed to let me have one of hers. She was quite careful...didn't raise for selling, just show, and wouldn't part with anyone without several interviews. We felt like we were adopting a child but a month later we understood her attitude completely. We've never been sorry. They have only brought joy and so much laughter. One is a tomboy, plays ball with DH by the hour, chews all her toys to shreds, is the guardian of the house. The other is a perfect lady, gliding about with head high, following me everywhere and waiting patiently when I am busy...much like a little cat. I keep checking to see if she is purring! I highly recommend the breed. Your husband would adore some. Mine says that they are the most perfect breed of dog invented...and he is 6'2", 220, an ex-NFL official...not one you would expect to like a small dog. He doesn't know why God bothered with other breeds.

Sugardrop, being an animal lover is just one thing we all have in common. We have had cats before, but unfortunately, DH became allergic to them. There was no way we would ever give them away, because they were with us a number of years. They were used to sleeping with us, but that had to stop. It used to break my heart hearing them cry at the bedroom door when they could no longer come in. Thankfully he never developed an allergy to our dogs, because it's to his advantage that he doesn't! :lol: Your Yorkies sound delightful. They are the cutest little dogs. I understand what you went through with the loss of your cat. We lost our dog 3 years ago and we were with her until the end. We brought her to the Vets, and thankfully she didn't know what was going on. I had a hysterectomy 10 yrs. ago and have been on Premarin ever since. I have often wondered if that plays a role in why it is so hard to lose weight. What dosage are you taking? I'm on .3 mg, the lowest dose. Having Ricotta Cheese on toast is really good. Because I don't follow SS rules 100%, I use part-skim Ricotta on my toast. That really stays with me all morning. When you're SSizing, you have to use fat-free Ricotta to spread on your toast, or fat-free cottage cheese. I love Ricotta cheese and have been known to eat it right out of the container. I have a South Beach Diet book with some Ricotta Cheese desserts. I'll look them up and post them for you. I honestly don't know about counting points and SSizing. Most of the veggies that are allowed on SSizing are 0 point veggies, chicken & fish are low in points, fruit is low, and also cereal and skim milk. The only things that are high in points are regular salad dressings, eggs, cream, cheese, etc.

Have a great night everyone. Tomorrow we're supposed to have very nasty weather.

Aleka

Aleka,

My Premarin is .625...not much higher than yours. I do think it plays a role in not being able to lose easily....that and age! ;)

Sugardrop

Sugardrop,
Your great at naming pets. We call our last 2 cats Mr. There is Mr. Stripe and Mr. Boots. They both deserve the Mr as they both command respect :) We are not very inventive when it comes to naming anything.
Your little babies sound like quite a pair and I know they would be hours of fun. Yorkies have always reminded me of cats too. Thanks for sharing your story about them, it was very sweet. My DH is still resisting getting anymore animals. It's not the breed, it's more animals. DH is allergic to just about everything, plus there is the added expense and then the responsibility of having more animals to care for. We camp in the summer, so we have to think about that aspect too. Although, I tell him that Yorkies are very portable :lol:
Nikki

Lynn,
I know you've had a very hard and difficult day and your feeling sad. Just wanted you to know, I'm thinking of you and wish I could do something to make things better. So sorry, Nikki

A good Saturday morning to you all,

It is doing something outside, but can't tell what. I know it's not snowing, but the sky is gray and it doesn't look like a "snow" sky. It may be misting, and since it's below freezing it's probably icing.

lynn, I have been thinking about you and was wondering how things went yesterday with Coco. Was the storm you were getting a bad one?

ANNE, how did work go yesterday? You must be very glad that it's finally the weekend.

nikki, how are you feeling today? Speaking of pet names. Some years ago DH & I took a different route to FL and we went by this old run down building that used to hold some sort of business. The name on the front of the building said, PJ Whiskers. I loved that name, and told DH that if we ever got another cat that's what I was going to name him/her. But, we can never have anymore cats. :(

Sugardrop, when DH & I walked during the spring & summer we would often pass a couple that were walking a Yorkie. That dog used to growl and bark at us everytime we passed them going in the opposite direction, and he/she would keep tugging on its leash trying to get at us. We used to get the biggest kick out of him/her. :lol: Portable dogs are the best.

Hope you all have a great day.
Aleka

I'll start a new thread for the new week.