You look great! I've started really noticing wrinkles too, dang it. And my neck - just like the book title - "I Feel Bad About My Neck"! (AKA when did I develop my mom's neck?!?)
Are you guys taking MSM? My center has recommended it for skin elasticity. Also all the Flax Oil. I'm very worried about not looking good when my hundred pound blanket comes off... right now everyone seems to think I'm in my 30s... and I'm 47...
I just bought a 20 lb. weighted vest for walking. Oh, Baby!!! I can really feel it in my calf muscles. It's hard to believe I use to carry around more than 6 vests worth of fat. I also had an ah ha moment while taking a walk. I saw my shadow. I wasn't sure it was mine, because is was so skinny.
Donuts~ That's such a wonderful image, you lost so much weight you bought a weighted vest for exercising! I carried a load of wet laundry upstairs (in the new house the dryer is in the kitchen due to duct problems in the laundry room) and I realized that a month ago I was "carrying" more that that up the stairs every day.
You are a great inspiration. Plateaux can be so hard on people... I'm dreading my first one, but so far, my body is in such shock that the diet is working, it hasn't thought about not showing me a loss on the scale... but I remember them in Atkins. Our theory always was that you hold water when you are losing this fast - because suddenly, one day, one would weigh oneself and find a huge drop in weight, several pounds from the day before. Of course, I'm also no longer weighing at home - my BF is in total shock, I put away the scale ... so I only weigh at the center, 2-3 times a week.
It's really a new way of behaving for me. I'm working on making it a part of my permanent life. Envisioning the slender me, who is physically active and eats delicious healthy meals...
Thanks for being here. I'm so far behind on this thread after a week of no time for the computer, I feel as though I will never catch up!
I would like to "chime in" on the breakfast thing. I have never been a breakfast person. I have to be at work at 7:15 so I bought some of the MRC replacement bars. You can only have 3 per week so 1 box will last 2 weeks. On the other days I take melba toast and cheese. On the weekends, I have an egg and a cheese tortilla. Just a thought.
On breakfast - I can't have wheat so my bread choices are beans or a corn tortilla... I could have gluten free oatmeal, but I like mine with milk, LOL, so that is out.
I just recently bought a microwave egg boiler at my local King Soopers (It's a Kroger store). $7 and it can cook up to 4 eggs. 10 minutes in the microwave cooks my 2 eggs while I am weighing out and packing my lunch, and then I can either cool and peel the eggs and stick in a plastic bag or I can eat them right then. If I take them to work , I make an HNS within the first hour of waking an drink it. We have a microwave at the office so I can as easily microwave my tortilla there as at home.
Although now that my daughter has unpacked the magic bullet again I may try that shake. I often mix half an HNS with my cottage cheese that I have for a mid-afternoon snack (I'm on the Plus menu) and its delicious that way... I'm a big fan of the magic bullet although I read that some of your didn't like it. We actually have 2 of them and a ton of the cups with various lids. It's always in use - my 19 year old daughter is alway cooking things with it, plus whipping cream or making alfredo sauce. I mostly use it to make slushies and smoothies or to mix up the pudding HNS.
To make a slushy I mix the HNS flavor of my choice with mostly ice, no water, and throw it in the magic bullet for a minute or less. I wouldn't try it for breakfast, but its great when around me everyone at home is eating desserts...
I have to admit that I have started to feel better when I eat breakfast first thing...
Is that the little jug that looks like a water cooler bottle but a small version? If so, I had one and got rid of it b/c I could never drink all that. maybe that's different though. I'll look @ WalMart today. Thanks. However, I can get 64 oz (albeit grudgingly) but I thought we were really supposed to get 80+ oz of water.
They told me 64 oz was minimum... I often buy different disposable bottles of water to use because it gives me variety. LOL. Whatever works, right? This week it was a smart water bottle - 25 ounces in the bottle, so 3 every day and I get to stop counting. The other week it was an Arrowhead sport model. 23.9 ounces in each one, also 3 and then stop counting... The 32 ounces bottles are still a little daunting for me to lug around with me. But I will get there. I used to have one that looked like a water cooler but it was so much bigger than anyone else's water bottle, I got self conscious... the fat girl and her big water bottle. Luckily in Colorado everyone drinks water all the time, so I fit right in... I used to carry my coffee mug! This is much healthier...
BTW, does anyone know why it calls me a "senior member" above my avatar? Geez...I'm not yet 39!
To avoid being designated based on the number of posts you have made (which is what that is), put in a custom subtitle in your user CP... it's not called subtitle, I forget what it is called... I think its on the profile page.
OK...I'm soooo ashamed. I gained 2.5 lbs. at WI yesterday. I made it out to the truck before I broke down and cried. I screwed up one day, didn't eat bad stuff...just not OP. I'm so disappointed in me. I tell myself it's TOM & that's part of it, but I know it's not all of the reason. I'm so scared I won't lose this weight. I don't want to stay fat. I'm so sad.
I got measured & have lost 15 inches...that helped a little. But, I'm still so sad.
Blueyedangel I know you are discouraged...I was right there with you on Friday. I'm so proud of you for losing 15 inches....I have always felt that the number (your actual weight) doesn't really matter - its how you feel, how your clothes feel so losing 15 inches should mean your feel and look better!
The girl at my center helped me look at staying OP in a different way. She said while she was doing program she kept a dry erase board and ever time she ate something off program she would map out her ketosis calendar. You know the one they went over in oreintation. Where every time you eat someting off program it takes your body 3 days to get back into ketosis. I'm not sure if that will help you feel better or worse..it just really struck a note with me.
I'm so proud of you for losing 15 inches. Remember, we are human and women if we don't celebrate the little things for ourselves - who will?
I'm not sure if this has been answered (I'm behind on my reading) but someone asked "why is my cup-a-joe a no-no?" and MRC just sent me a newsletter with the answer!
Studies have shown that caffeinated coffee may not be the best drink of choice. Here are a few reasons why:
- It is extremely acidic. it is one of the most acid-producing foods we can consume. It flushes valuable minerals from our body that can lead to cancers, osteoporosis, and other diseases and slows our wieght loss
- Caffeine can be addictive.
- It can increase blood pressure in people prone to hypertension.
- It elevates your homocysteine levels.
- Heavy consumption can increase the risk of pancreatic cancer and can also increase the risk for breast and endometrial cancers.
Food for Thought: Coffee is the most contaminated crop with pesticides. Yum!
Just a quick post. I use the formula of half your body weight in ounces (for examples, at 200 lbs, I would drink 100 oz of water, I'm still drinking that amount) - it comes pretty close to the 64 oz + 8 for every 25 lbs you are over. Don't forget the extra 8 ounces for every 15 min of exercise too.
A small victory today. In the initial letter to myself, I wrote down the things I was looking forward too when I got to a healthier weight. I parasailed in Dec. Today, I got to achieve another item. I got to buy a bra from Victoria Secret!! I was always way too big to shop there before. My college age daughter was with me, I just about cried. Major victory and I'm glad she was the one to share it with me.
YOU HAVE A COLLEGE AGED DAUGHTER? You don't look a day over 28!
