That's wonderful!!! :cheer:

WOW!!!! That's incredible!!! Congrats!!!! :carrot:

Glad things went well at your appointment.
I love the kiwi-melon too. The concentrate makes a wonderful slushie!!:D

I'm so sorry! If still no "movement" you might want to try warm prune juice followed by hot coffee or tea. Yes, it's gross (unless you like prune juice).
I had problems when I was pregnant with one of children and my doctor's office told me about this. I had immediate results...
Hope things are better!

Congrats, that is great!

Great job nifty! Keep it up...:cp:

Everyone already gave great advice about your questions but I just wanted to add one more thing.

8 oz of lettuce is a LOT! If it's too much for you right now try adding some of the heavier salad vegetables like cucumber, celery, broccoli or cauliflower. It helps when you are feeling it's just too much food!

Thanks for all the advice and support!
 

Well, my stomach was gurgling this morning and there was a little relief but not what my family is now calling "waiting on the mother load". So Britt, you may have a silly husband but my entire family is now involved and silly! My sister in law came over last night, she was on the phone with her sister talking about it. I'm sure, by the end of the day, Benton County Arkansas will have heard the news.

With the lack of movement - I took 1 Cascara Sagrada (it's a natural herb that my consultant recommended). That was around 7:20am. It's close to 11am and still nothing. The pain isn't as severe, which I'm thankful for but I just want to go! Is that too much to ask? :?:

I'm thinking I'm going to go home at lunch and eat a big salad! And I know I've been drinking plenty of water... I'm up to 120oz. per day. Another interesting fact I learned from MRC - did you know you should stay within 8oz. of water intake each day? So if I drink 120oz. one day then 100oz the next day, it's not a good thing. That was according to another consultant and I hadn't been told that before. Not sure if anyone else has been told this.

Alright.. gotta go concentrate on work :rolleyes:

candi, I'm sorry this problem is continuing for you.

You know, it's weird--I have IBS and the first time I went through MRC I had to take a stool softener once a week instead of going 8-10 a day. That alone was enough to make me stay OP!

Now I have diarrhea immediately after drinking my first liter of water and then no more problems for the day.

I think the difference this time is that I'm exercising and last time I didn't at all. I'm a nurse so I'm sure it go back to the old theme- mobility = bowel motility.

Seriously, I know you're getting a lot of advice but when people came to the ER with this problem we'd recommend Miralax, a stool softener (Ex-Lax causes too much cramping), a little caffeine, fruit, and a brisk walk. Then wait patiently.

Once you get too worried about this it becomes a psychological issue and you "hoard" because you think it will be too painful to move your bowels.

After a few days you might request a simple xray. They can show if you're full of poop or just have pressure that makes you feel like you have to go. Frankly, I'm surprized your doctor didn't do a CT if he thought you had appendicitis. Blood work is not sufficient for a diagnosis. But you're still with us (thank the gods and goddesses) so it's not that.

Good luck, candi. I'll check back to see how you're doing. :)

Nifty! You're melting! Isn't it great?

janet, I am so happy for you. You are going to do awesome!

My doctor did an xray yesterday, urinalysis and the blood work. The pain isn't as bad so I think something that I'm taking is working.. but just not enough to get everything out. And I'm feeling SO bloated! I know I can take an extra B6 for that.. but until I get the constipation issue taken care of, I don't want to add anything else.

Oh - and I know what you mean about the IBS - I have that too, along with a spastic colon. So this constipation thing is completely new to me!

I'm heading home to eat a salad and some turkey along with an apple and then take some more miralax.

Hope you're having a great day!

Hi..
Congrats to all that lost, and welcome back to members that have returned.

I weighed in today and lost another seed.. I lost .1, and I am delighted with that , as that went .1 point under the 3pound under goal that I want to stay at, and the foods that I added in on maintenance did not make me gain.

I made the Ranch style chicken fingers and they are awesome. Hubby loved them. Thanks for posting the recipe.

Hope everyone has a pleasant day and all have a good weigh in.

Patzi

Congratulations on your loss during maintenance....I'm so glad you liked the chicken fingers. LOL...I'm having them again tonight.

Hoping you get some relief soon...Oh I ate my filet and didn't have any problems so far...and it was so good. Thanks for the info about it.

Oh yes, I like that...melting. THanks so much for the encouragement.

Hi Janet and welcome...
I love the kiwimelon too especially the liquid concentrate to pour over shaved ice. YUMMY

Great job! I can't wait to join you under that 220 mark!

Mariah

This is great advice. I did become an expert in the beginning on what veggies weighed more (it has to do with their water content). Cauliflower gets very heavy when cooked (so you eat less). Large slicing tomatoes weigh more than roma or grape tomotoes, cucumbers are very dense, etc. I typically use 1-2 oz of lettuce and/or spinach and then use heavier veggies for the other 6 oz.

Mariah

Hahaha. that's what I did in the beginning, too. I even bought a bunch of different veggies so I could weigh them all at home and figure out which were the heaviest. Now I don't care--I'm not sure if it's because I've just gotten used to salads, or if it's the warmer weather (I always crave salads in the spring/summer), but I've been eating a ton of salad lately.

And pooping a lot because of it. ;)

You are doing such a great job figuring out what your body needs on maintence and are a real inspiration and example of why it is important to continue the program into maintenece and not just stop once we hit our goa weights. Thanks for sharing.

Mariah

Thanks to all that welcomed me back. And congrats to all who have lost this week.

I am so excited about the plan this time...alot more than in the past. And I really love that you can have quinoa and edamame now. I also love the super fruit and veg supplement for the times that I am not prepared.

I am finding that I am super thirsty this time around. Does anyone else experience this? I am drinking my water so I don't know what it could be from.

Me too. I'm planting our lettuce today in the garden and can't wait to see the decline in my grocery bill. I love to garden and am growing just about every veggie on the list and many of the fruits (watermelon, cantelope, straberries and raspberries). I can hardly wait to enjoy my fresh, organic, "free" produce.

Mariah

Welcome back! When I first started out I was pretty dehydrated so when I started drinking water my body craved more and for the first week or so was I was easily drinking 140-160 oz daily. After the first week or two the cravings dissappeared and I drink about 120 oz now (unless it is very hot or I am very active).

Mariah

Question for you ladies:
Does excess salt actually stop weight loss? Or, does it slow it? Or, do you continue to lose but it doesn't show on the scale because you're retaining water? Help!

WI today and down 1 lb for a total of 25 lbs in 60 days. I'm very happy with this. I went out to eat for the first time (other than subway) last night and did very well. We went to Applebees and I had the sirloin, drank ice water with lemon and had them double the broccoli instead of the potatoes. I had my HSN and a slice of toast with cinnamon and Stevia on it when I got home. I may have eaten too much broccoli since I could not weigh it, but am incredibly proud of myself. Yeah me!!

Mariah

It does cause a problem with water retention, but it causes other problems as well. Here is an article from lookcut.com that discusses sodium and weight loss.

Sodium and weight Loss

• Excess sodium intake can increase the mass of white fat cells.
• Excess sodium intake promotes hypertension.
• Height salt intake is associated to metabolic syndrome.

Excess sodium intake plays a key role in weight gain, obesity and your success maintaining weight loss.

Sodium intake and balance acts as a critical control point not only for the systems your body has to regulate blood pressure and fluid balance, but also fat mass. For people interested in weight loss, cutting excess sodium is critical.

New research shows that excess sodium intake promotes excess white fat mass. The higher your salt intake, the fatter you look because the fat cells themselves enlarged. High sodium intake seems to cause fat cells to store more glucose in the cell, making those cells larger.

High sodium intake is also associated with hypertension, and hypertension is also associated closely with obesity. People who are already overweight, risk developing hypertension if they sustain a high salt intake.


Mariah

Mariah..
Congrats on weight loss, and you did a superb job of choices at Applebees. You can be proud of yourself,for sure..

Patzi

Hi...
I am talking from personal experience,but excess salt, when I eat out, bloats me up and I have gained. Even though I order food correctly and
I made good choices and stay on program, many things have salt in them, while marinading, sitting in water, etc.I always ask them to make my meal no salt, but it is hidden there. There are times, I can't get my rings off, and that is only when I eat out.. Next day I drink water constantly. Hope this helps some.

Patzi

Dilemma

Started my new shift today. This has caused me to start having to weigh in after work...which means after I've eaten 2 meals and 50oz+/- of water vs on my old shift I weighed in before I put anything in my mouth in the morning. I had gained 1/2 lb today but I'm thinking it is mostly due to the change in time maybe? Wanting to rationalize this so I dont feel like poop about the gain. Any thoughts??

Susie

Susie - I usually weigh in after work.. around 5pm. I have 'tricked' myself and gone in for a morning WI just to show a better number but I think as long as you keep it consistent, you will be fine. And I always take a change of clothes. I usually wear jeans to work - so I will take workout clothes, even if I don't workout those days. I don't own a scale at home because I'm afraid I would be obsessed with it and weigh every morning and I would get discouraged.

Good Luck!

~C

Constipation Update
 

Things are moving right along!!!!!! Thank goodness. I don't think I've ever been so happy to have diarrhea!! :o

I was really nervous because I had arterial thrombosis (or deep vein thrombosis) in my small intestine about 12 years ago. It took exploratory surgery for them to discover this and while doing so, I died on the operating room table twice, woke up on a ventilator (scariest thing ever) and spent 2 weeks in ICU. The end result - they removed 2ft of my small intestine. So when I got blocked up, I got real scared.

Thanks to all of you for putting up with me and giving me all the tips. I am going to add benefiber or the MRC fiber to my diet. I really never want to go through this again.

It's WAY past my bedtime but my sister in law was over here checking on me and we were busy crafting. Getting ready for an Arts & Crafts fair is not a fun thing.. especially since this is my first one! Talk about stress!

Congratulations, Mariah!!!! :cheer:

Great choices at Applebees. I think I've done that before. Sometimes instead of sirloin, I'll ask for plain grilled chicken and they've always come through even though it's not on the menu.

Uggghhhh.

I weighed in yesterday, and I was up 1 lb. I'm pretty sure it's because of the way I ate on Saturday. My husband had a buddy come over to watch a movie with us, and we grilled out (not a problem), and the buddy brought tons of chips and oreos (problem). I had 2 chips and more than a few oreos. Luckily, I was able to stop myself before going completely overboard, but it was still a lot of excess calories (as I discovered when I finally looked at the nutrition info--they're worse for you than girl scout cookies!!!).

Then my sister found out on Sunday that her baby (she's at 22 weeks in her pregnancy) no longer has a heartbeat. :( I've been mostly OP, but stress snacking since I found out. Especially yesterday, as she was in the hospital all day for an induction, and it wasn't progressing at all. I picked up her boys from daycare (5 & 3 yr old), made them mac & cheese for dinner (ate a couple bites), made my own dinner (texas chili), and then ate some of their May Day candy with them (I only had 1-2 packs of smarties). It wasn't terrible or completely out-of-control, but it was extra calories in the form of fat and carbs. :(

Sis is still at the hospital this morning--slowly starting to get contractions--and my brother is watching the boys today so I can be at work. I'm going to have to figure out a way to mentally re-commit and be really strictly OP with myself this week and next, or getting to stabilization is going to end up getting dragged out forever. Gah!

I am SO. TIRED. But off to the gym I will go after work today--desperately need to work off the damage from yesterday.

Congrats on your weight loss! Gosh I'm getting the urge to plant a garden! Vegetables are expensive!

Sorry about the weight gain. Hang in there, you have come soooo far.
I'm very sorry about your sister, I will be praying for her!

So glad things are better! And sorry you had such a scare. Good luck with the fair!

Good morning!
 

Good morning all! I had some bad cravings for pizza and other junk last nite luckily i resisted but i did eat a piece of hard cheese in addition to my protein at my meal. I really think i am just getting bored with the food and I really need to start making some recipes. That is definately on my to do list this weekend. Anyway, then I started watching a TV special "Obesity in America" and it renewed my comittment to say no to certain things I don't need.

:hug:Teacherlady...sorry to hear about your sad situation.

Ok, well I am all set on a new day completely OP. Hope you all have a good one as well!

Congrats on the weight loss! I love the Ranch chicken fingers. This recipe is also very good using tilapia-just don't cook as long.

Artichokes
 

I was looking through some recipes and I really want to try to artichoke/dip or casserole. I have never seen frozen artichokes. Does anyone know what store carry or what brand I should look for?

Oh, I am so sorry to hear about your sister. She will be in my prayers.