Well, im glad she's working for you, and that you finally convinced her it was measuring you wrong!! I agree, she is too skinny, and maybe that places unreasonable expectations... I always read that anything UNDER 18 for a woman was REALLY low, and unhealthy.....unless of course, you dont want to have your periods anymore.....i'm pretty sure 18-24 or sometime 25 is the "healthy range"...just remember though, BMI means ABSOLUTELY nothing...merely body height to weight ratio....it does not take into account muscle mass or larger frames, or body fat or anything... who CARES hwat your BMI is... Its all about the body fat!! People cant "see" a weight number on a scale, whether its 150 or 135......all they see is how much FAT you have.... Plus, beasue you are an athlete, only YOU know what is a good weight for you, and what your body will function best at.....i could NEVER be a skinny little minny, genetically, nor would i want to be, because i dont think my body could operate optimally at that weight... i KNOW it couldnt...

So, it is now 3:43..getting off work here in 15 minutes!! i get to go GROCERY SHOPPING for the new GREEN MENU!!! WAHOO!!!! Start it tomorrow....thinking about trying the "cole slaw" and the breakfast casserole, and these asian turkey balls i found a recipe for online.. OH! and these tuna burgers...it all sound very good-- too bad i SUCK at cooking!! I hope i dont feel overwhelmed by it... My plan is to try and make a few things tonight, so i can have lunch stuff too that i just reheat...Well see.... ANyways, i am 100% OP today so far!! NO WEURTHERS!! no Little Cheats! no BLTS!! Oh, and Im super relieved and very happy... I talked to a counsler yesterday, and they are allowing me to drink coffee!! NO Cream, milk, sugar of course, but thats ok!! 4 am comes TOO EARLY without a cup of coffee waiting for me.. Apparently, the only REAL reason you cant have coffee is because the All Days have caffiene in them, so they dont want you getting too much.... I however, am not affected by caffiene at all (which also makes me wonder about the effectiveness of the All Day--- I used to be a meth addict, took metabolife, energy pills, ephedrine, all that crap). So, i get to drink it.. She said it will NOT interfere with ketosis...its just a health guideline type rule.... Anyway, i had another cup this am between meals, and it really helped to get me thru to lunch.....

Well I did have a good moment today...Friday I weighed in at lunch time at 148.2....and yesterday before dinner I weighed in at 149.2...and today thinking maybe the weight gain had something to do with the difference in timing I weighed in again today at lunch time and low and behold I was 146.0...phew...all this hard work and finally something to show for it...

Soooooo glad I didn't give in with the little bit of a set back...keep on keeping on ladies you're doing great~~!!~~

I can totally relate to you. I WI on Wed. evenings (after I've eaten 2 meals and drank 100+ ounces of water, HNS, etc.) and first thing Sat. mornings before I've eaten/drank anything. I expected a gain tonight for sure, but weighed exactly what I did on Saturday which means that I've actually lost weight (which I know of course from my home scales) but it was encouraging not to show a gain any way. I can't wait for Saturday mornings! Congrats on the loss!!

Oh sorry ladies...I forgot to mention too that being negative on the ketone scale is a good thing...you don't want that stick to be dark...having a high level of ketones in your urine is a sign that you are not consuming enough carbohydrates to run your body and your body is pulling too much fuel from storage...losing weight at a healthy rate is imperative and a high level of ketones in your urine is a sign that you're pulling too much energy from storage...part of why this is bad is because there is a by product to burning energy from storage, ammonia and some studies show that this is not good for you...although it's been a little controversial lately with some of the fad low carb diets.... If you have any questions in that regards let me know...I was a certified personal trainer up until I think it was Nov and then decided not to renew my certification just because I wasn't using my knowledge in a professional capacity...but ketones was one of the things we covered in training and i may be able to explain it further if you have any questions

uh oh somebodies needs to eat...i just cancelled all our TV service b/c the service technician rubbed me the wrong way....LOL...well the good news is our lives will be richer in the long run b/c we can spend more time....doing other things...like cleaning my house...crap...I need the TV back and it's only been gone for 10 minutes...

Dietingagain-- i thought the center said they DID want us to be in ketosis-- or at least MILD ketosis-- i totally get what your saying though, an di was wondering myself, after doing a little internet searching, how HEALTHY ketosis actually could be...Atkins claims its a great thing ( of course, big suprise).. I di read however, that too high a level of ketosis can lead to ketosidacidous (sp?).. which i s bad, but i dont know why...in any case, as with Icmaly, this diet still works even if you NEVER register reaching ketosis on the ketone sticks!!!!
On a happy note--- yesterday i was 100& on Plan!! No BLTs PERIOD! OH! and i went grocery shopping for the green menu, and tried out a few recipes...last night was Cajun Tilapia (DELICIOUS), and I made Tuna Burgers, which i have yet to try, but they look tasty ( FOr lunch today, i will wrap them in a large lettuce leaf and eat like a burger). I also made the MRC Mayo, and made their coleslaw recipe, which i am also going to try with lunch. OH! and the little Apple Crisp recipe ( splenda and cinnamon on thin apple slices, baked for an hour and a half-- also for lunch). Now, i dont want to get TOO carried away with all this healthy food, or I might end up LIKING IT too MUCH!!

I dont know what Id do without cable...but you know, cleaning house DOES burn calories!! Go for it!

LOL!!! Oh boy...I'm really not sure what to do without TV...kids go to bed at 8 and I go to bed at 10...that's a long time without any tv...guess I'll have to clean...read a book...ummmmm...I'm really lost beyond that...too funny how dependent I am on it...

yes you do want to burn from your storage...it's just the rate that's important with ketosis....the darker level on the sticks if you register on those levels they will make you eat a 1/2 an orange...they don't want you to burn too fast b/c of ketosiacidous (the extreme)...b/c the by product of ketosis is ammonia...not good to have in your system...but the lower levels of ketosis shouldn't pose an issue from what I understand...but that is part of the reason why they measure you...I have read too high on the stick before and had to eat a 1/2 an orange...the only times I ever read high though is when I push a scheduled meal back to weigh-in...so although I should have been home eating...i went to the center instead to squeeze the weigh-in in before going home to eat....

Oh the foods can be so delightful!! I can't wait for a peanut butter bar but I'm trying to save it for when I'm desparate!! Or vanilla pudding blended until smooth with cottage cheese and a little water to thin....

Oh and I'll check for that Texas Chili recipe to share...it is yummy

That's so funny that you say that. I've read that exact thing but the ladies at my center say we need to show low level of ketosis (pink to light brown on those little ketone sticks). I think the fact that I've never once shown being in a low level of ketosis on this program and have lost 20 lbs, 12% body fat and 24 inches in 2 MONTHS proves that ketosis isn't necessary.

Oh absoluetly not necessary in my humble opinion...and actually a good sign you are losing weight at a healthy rate...but again with the atkins diet rage ketosis is a big debate amongst health care professionals

keep on keeping on and think of me tonight...cinderella!! well not really though...it'll be a fun night w/out tv...it's my daugher's 4th bday...so we'll bake a cake...that i don't get to eat...and she's requested pizza...so we'll have fun making pizza that I get to stare at adoringly...but the time together baking foods that I can't eat that'll she'll enjoy emensly...priceless!!

Dietingagain-- That sounds WONDERFUL...Good quality time with your daughter, and a chance to practice your fantastic new will-power to boot!!!
Although i have been doing better about no BLTs ( for a whopping 2or 3 days) I do not feel i will risk testing my own willpower for quite some time to come... My 7 year old daughter asked if we could bak banana bread together last night-- an activity we always do together-- first i YELLED "NO" at her, and then i laughed at my intense reaction...theres no WAY i could keep my fingers out of THAT batter!! Im trying to think of some good "cheap" activities i can do with her this weekend...time on my hands will be my worst enemy, if you know what i mean Last weekend i took her on a guided nature hike up in the mountains for a couple hours, and then on Sunday we went to the "Free" day at the museum in Denver......let me warn you, if you do NOT like crowds so thick you could be practically molested without noticing, then NEVER go to a free day at the museum!! Still we had a good time, and it kept me away from the fridge...
However, theres nothing that sounds better than sitting around for a day, doing nothing but watching trash TV (Sorry dietingagain-- I still have cable), and tanning in the back yard...too dangerous for me right now.
Thinking about going to the zoo maybe?? at least wed be outside. Then there is ANOTHER BBQ on Sunday, but these are *good* friends, so i have n o problem with bringing my own food to eat there...
What are your plans?

Mkroyer, I did pretty good...no cake...just lemon chiffon pudding on plan instead...and for pizza I portioned off 45 calories of whole wheat pizza dough, misted it with I can't believe it's not butter, sprinkled garlic and topped it with some chicken...no cheese...had excess chicken and veggies on the side...and we had fun cooking...

We are more alike than one may think...besides the almost identical weights...same program start date...height...I too just went up a mountain...ours wasn't a guided tour but the sunday before memorial day we hiked to the top of a mountain as a family and had a picnic at the top!! very beautiful day...

oh and it wasn't too much before that we went to a museum about an hour from our home...mind you we have a family membership and can go anytime....but my sister-in-law was not...so she picked the free day at the museum for us to go as a family....and just as you described...just stupid insanity...kids had a great time though!! LOL

Oh and TV...I'm completely addicted...it's just the best thing to unwind at the end of the day...right now we're enjoying our tv...should be off...but still on...so we'll take it while we got it...i'm betting b/c you have to prepay for tv that they leave it on until your prepay time is up...we shall see...I'm even going to the american idol concert this summer....some things I just can't live without...

This weekend I have a parade to go to. I am one of the town's official float judges so I'll go judge the floats...watch the parade with my babies...collect their candy and put it in a safe place where I'll get to hear it mock me for weeks until the kids finish it...then head on over the the festival afterwards and salivate uncontrollably at the chicken barbeque tent that thickly fills the air with it's delicousness for miles....cry while the kids eat their cotton candy...and stare at the snow-cone stand like a teenager in love...good times!! But I guess my civic duty to judge the floats and my mommy duty to temporarily mis-out on just a few things that I love...

B/c you know the good thing is...there is always another chicken bar-be-que...there's always another opportunity for cotton candy....it's not like I won't be able to enjoy these things in the future....just a small speed bump in the road...

Ok on to the promised

Texas Chili Recipe

4 oz lean ground turkey breast
1/4 cup each diced: green peppers, mushrooms, green onion (I skipped mushrooms and up the level of the other veggies to make up for it...mushrooms are nausous fungus that wasn't meant for my body to ingest)
1 pkg Tomato supplement dissolved in 6oz of water
1 pkg artificial sweetner
to taste: chili powder; onion powder; and garlic powder;
1/4 c diced tomatoes

In skillet sparyed with pam, brown meat and drain. add peppers and onions and saute; add remaining ingredients except tomatoes, and simmer for 15 min. add tomatoes just before serving...

counts as
1 serving protein
1 serving veggies
1 creamy supplement

ENJOY it's delicious!!

ugh...lost weight but bf% went up...bad way to lose weight...oh boy..well this too shall pass have a great weekend ladies!!

Holy crap you guys!! I went in for my weekly weigh-in this afternoon before lunch (same time/day as last week)....The results are PHENOMENAL!! I practically peed my pants with joy! I am down to 140 pounds!! Thats a 4 pound weight loss from last week, for a grand total of....7 pounds!!! Thats not even the best part---- I made them do another body comp on me, and it turns out only 1 pound lost was water, ZERO Pounds loss was lean muscle mass (absolutely GREAT news) and 6 POUNDS was pure body fat!!! To top it all off, i took the pee test, and i tested POSITIVE (very barely) for Ketosis...The news gets even better.....I lost 23.5 inches!! in 12 DAYS!! The only sad little part was that not even 1 smidgen of an inch came off my thighs ( the BANE of my existence...can you say "tree-trunk legs?") Im ecstatic!! This plan REALLY Does work!! I was hoping for MINIMAL results....Now i am even MORE motivated to keep doing exactly what i am doing!!
Dietingagain-- im sorry your BF went up... I hope not by very much??? Keep on trucking..it'll come off, you KNOW it will....stay vigilent, stay positive...
Oh!! and thanks for the Texas Chile recipe...I am DEF going to try it tomorrow!! I even exchanged a couple supplemnets i had at home i didnt like for the tomato creamies at the center...i am very LOATHE to give up my vanilla puddding creamy however...it is the highlight of my day!!
That is so WEIRD that we did exaclty the same things with our families last weekend!! Where abouts do you live?? Im hoping for some serious sum this weekend, so i can start working onmy tan...its been raining here every afternoon, and sometimes all day for a few weeks now...im SICK of it!! I cant wait to take my daughter swimming at an outdoor pool, where i can just lie back, relax, tan, and not be around my fridge (even IF i cant have a beer while relaxing).....I need it to be like 90 degrees out to swim outside though, or at least 85....it hasnt been that warm here yet...pretty much stuck in the seventies for weeks....Shouldnt complain though, ill be missing those seventies come JULY.... Have a great night everyone......

Dietingagain22, Lcmaly and Mkroyer, and all other buddies,
Here is a quote from "lowcarb.ca/tips/tips011.html" regarding being in ketosis. I was worried as I was not getting much color change.
"Ketones will spill into the urine ONLY when there is more in the blood than is being used as fuel by the body at that particular moment.

"You may have exercised or worked a few hours previously, so your muscles would have used up the ketones as fuel, thus there will be no excess. You may have had a lot of liquids to drink, so the urine is more diluted.

"Some low carbers NEVER show above trace or negative even ... yet they burn fat and lose weight just fine. If you're losing weight, and your clothes are getting looser, you're feeling well and not hungry all the time .. then you are successfully in ketosis. Don't get hung up on the strips; they're just a guide, nothing more.

"Testing in the darkest purple range all the time is usually a sign of dehydration -- the urine is too concentrated. You need to drink more water to dilute it, and keep the kidneys flushed.

"The liver will make ketones from body fat, the fat you EAT, and from alcohol --- the ketone strips have no way of distinguishing the source of the ketones. So, if you test every day after dinner, and dinner usually contains a lot of fat, then you may very well test for large amounts of ketones all the time. However this does not indicate that any BODY fat was burned.

"The strips only indicate what's happening in the urine. Ketosis happens in the blood and body tissues. If you're showing even a small amount, then you are in ketosis, and fat-burning is taking place. Don't get hung up on the ketone sticks."

So if we are following the diet, we are in ketosis. We need to eat/drink enough protein to keep from losing lean muscle, and drink enough water to keep hydrated. I'm really glad to meet the Tanika scale as that can tell us how much fat we have lost, whether we have lost lean muscle mass and if we are staying hydrated. Congratulations on the great progress you are making! Here's to our leaner, healthier futures!!! jeanette

mkroyer, WOW!! what a great success story

Ladies I'm staying strong and on program....I've lost weight but more noticibly inches the past three weeks...enough of a change that I get comments....I bought a new outfit last weekend and turned heads at work all day when i wore it...nice comment after nice comment...oh and I wore a pair of capris on Friday that I haven't been able to fit in in forever...and they happen to be my husband's favorite pair of pants....so bonus

And phew I saw someone I hadn't seen since High School yesterday so at least I was a little trimmer than I had been....LOL

So did anyone get to try the Chili recipe? Like you, mkroyer, I have a heck of a hard time passing up pudding for chili but I do remember it fondly...I was going to have it yesterday but broke down for some pudding...So I'm hoping to make some today...

mkroyer, I'm from NY...85-90 degree days are hard to come by here...but I am having a bday beach party for my next weekend so my fingers are crossed for a warm day...last year it was freezing!!

Jeannette, I was telling Shelda about the forums here...she was excited to hear about what a fab support group we have going here

Good luck ladies for another successful week!!
Shelby