hey girls! Glad to hear everyone is hanging in there! Dont give up! I stepped on the scale this week and I was down...but up a few today...love the bottom end of my body weight! LOL!

OffPlan-OffComputer . . . seeing the correlation here? lol:dizzy:

Hi All . . . your hours sound like mine air0! Brutal. Protein shakes are a great idea, going to a whip a few up as soon as I log off here . . . they really help me take the bloat down when I've been OffPlan.

Thanks for posting "not to give up," icard--reading that came at just the right time for me. I've def got a destructive cycle going, but remain determined.

Just need to get a bit more determined, right?:)

That Dr. sounds like a jerk steph, but has prolly seen lots of horrible Moms that he feels like he only has one shot at making a diff with? I dunno, just seems harsh over diaper rash. Wish I could send you some Caldescen (sp) I was in Walgreens the other day and spotted a lone can of it on the shelf . . . they don't seem to carry it any other place.

Off to raise the old ticker . . . thinking of hitting the trail b4 work . . . short week again, but long hours . . . back to checking in here once a day, trying to get a grip.

Hey guys. I don't know where the time has gone but it seems to have been ages. I was sick last week and have managed to get out of the habit of eating meat - I seem to be living on dairy which is kind of bizarre and not particularly healthy feeling but is not having a negative effect on my weight. It was up last week for TOM but I was at 180.2 this morning. And I ate pretty badly off plan last week, I have to get out of the habit of 'treating' myself whenever I don't feel good. Treats don't make me feel better in the long run!

Gem, I am so sorry for your loss :(

So anyone else having early allergy problems - I've had a 4 day headache that I swear is allergies ... Picked up some Clariten to keep in my purse to see if I can stop it in its tracks if it starts up.

Yaaay and Hi anaB!:hug: Hope you're feeling better? And yes rho, everyone at work (even the young'uns;)) are suffering with allergies . . . sometimes to the point of vomiting at work!!! Bad headaches and nausea . . . red swollen eyes/faces . . . wicked stuff in the air!

Where areya steph???:( Miss catching up on your posts!

Hope you're doing as well as you can gem . . . hang in there with the extra stress!

Marathon freakin day yesterday:mad: Reminded me of some of your posts air0 . . . got about 5 hours sleep - left home 1:45pm and got home this morning 6:30am!!:dizzy: The good news is, I LOVE my job . . . and other good news is that I LOST ALL of my OffP/Binge bloat in one feel swoop!:carrot: The bad news is that I think sleep deprivation is . . . well . . . bad!:dizzy: . . . and I'm at the starting weight from my beginning to this challenge lol.:D But have a 3 day weekend and big Atkins plans . . . dh made the "white clouds" are whatever they are, dessert from linda's site to have on hand in the freezer . . . sampled one with coffee just now and are DELISH.

Off for my ticker change . . . hope everyone has a good Hump Day and checks in here . . . cya in the Wee Hours!

Yay for losing your binge bloat, Aud!!!!! Sleep deprivation sucks, it makes me hungrier (and there's science behind that too) and lazy about keeping on plan. I hope you can get some more sleep soon but yay at least you love your job.

I hear you on being at start weight. I've realised I have to be really strict with myself or I don't lose at all and it's so easy to regain, I just hover around the same weight, agh! Will be at birthday dinner tonight and have been badly off plan today and that's it, strict induction again. I'm going to try intermittant fasting again too as I really struggle with breakfast these days and I tend to go off plan eating breakfast whereas when I don't eat it I eat fine at lunch and dinner. I've tried it before and I felt great but psychologically it's hard to stop eating breakfast, it's habit. From all i"ve read, the longer period of time without eating is excellent at lowering insulin levels. We'll see!

Aud Yay on the loss!! I'm just stuck ... I know my body is just adjusting to losing so much but it's still asking me nutso. And double yay on loving your job that just feels great doesn't it? I so understand the sleep deprivation though I get 4 to 5 hours of sleep with sleeping pills half that without - I'm one of the people who can understand how Michael Jackson felt if he really did die from an overdose of a medication that helped him sleep. I remember once having a procedure where they used the twilight meds and thinking "oh that is wonderful" as i felt my brain actually slowing down. I swear I can be exhausted and go to bed and the moment my head hits the pillow I am wide awake and my mind is racing .. Have tried meditation, self-hypnosis, natural remedies, behavior etc and the only thing that has a chance to help is a sleeping pill and some nights I'm still up twiddling my thumbs all night. Menopause was not a wonderful thing for me :devil:

Oh I ordered make-up!! Not full blown stuff but a stick that will give me some color - a friend said I must be feeling better about myself - and she is right! Now I can't wait to get it lol. I need some color - I swear if I stood in front of a white wall naked and closed my eyes I would disappear... :o

Hey guys also went OP this week, just made it through finals but I need to find a much better way to handle all the stress. Weighed myself yesterday and was 219 so hopefully it will go down from there.
I think why I keep sliding is because I'm feeling like I'm at an impasse with food. I'm staying with my mom and her oven/stove isn't working which cuts out a lot of food options. There's an electric skillet, slow cooker and microwave but that's it and I haven't been feeling red meat, it's hard for me to eat it except for bacon and sausage. I might splurge and buy a convection oven which I think will at least open up some food possibilities for me. Anybody have any suggestions?
Oh and one NSV for me, I did notice some pants I bought around Christmas time which were pretty tight actually stretch out now and get a bit baggy, kind of a pain having your pants fall off but I can deal haha.
Good job losing your binge bloat Aud!
Ana: I'm the same way, I only eat breakfast when I have my son and I eat way less when I eat breakfast. I also seem to lose less.
Rho: I hear you on being white, it snowed here today, I just want it to be summer. I'm still pretty white in summer but usually have a bit more color.

http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/cream_cheese_clouds.html

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2-3/4 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda *
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or other flavoring

Beat everything with an electric mixer until fluffy. Drop by bite-size spoonfuls onto a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm, at least 1 hour. Store in the freezer and eat frozen.

Makes 24 clouds

* I didn't think they were quite sweet enough with 1/2 cup so I used liquid Splenda to equal 3/4 cup granular. The counts are based on 3/4 cup Splenda.

NOTE: You can store these in the refrigerator and they will hold their shape quite well as long as they are good and cold.

With granular Splenda:
Per Cloud: 70 Calories; 7g Fat; 1g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 1g Net Carb
Per 2 Clouds: 140 Calories; 14g Fat; 2g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:
Per 2 Clouds: 134 Calories; 14g Fat; 2g Protein; .5g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; .5g Net Carbs
Per 4 Clouds: 268 Calories; 29g Fat; 3g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 1g Net Carb



This is a recipe that's been going around the low carb community for years and I finally got around to trying it. They're very good but addictive. Something about eating them frozen is very nice. They basically taste like little bites of frozen cheesecake but you could make all kinds of variations by using different flavorings and adding chopped nuts, coconut, low carb candies and things like that. I've got some ideas in my head for variations so stay tuned.

These are GREAT! I've only been eating 1 a day and has helped with my need to have something like the ice cream in the freezer (my never ending struggle with feeling "deprived")

And he!! to the YEAH on finding better ways to deal with stress air0 . . . Got to get my brain to make the connection that stuffing carbs down my throat is reallyreally not comforting . . . and makes me feel like dog-doo every.single.time!:mad: I'm thinking one of those George Foreman roaster thingies would be good . . . I remember loving mine. I lost a part to it and have it in the basement cuz I keep thinking I'll order the part . . . loved the juicy roasted meats and remember just popping it in and forgetting about it . . . kind of like a crock pot?

Running late so randomly here . . . Menopause kicked my everlovin azz! Hate chronic insomnia and also identified with MJ . . . Protein shakes save my aversion to breakfast and keep insulin even keel . . . EAS had 3gram TOTAL carb (not that net carb BS) . . .

WHERE IS STEPH????:(

Ooh, those cloud things are like the muffins I make but with butter instead of egg. I'm going to give them a go, they look great! Would make a good breakfast too...

I'm getting worried about Steph too, it's not like her not to be here! I hope all is ok.

Rho, it's really weird but I swear your allergy post didn't show up between my post and Aud's when I last checked. Huh. I hope you're feeling better with the Claritin, allergy head aches suck.


air, how about lamb chops? They'd cook fine in the skillet, I think. I cook mine in a fry pan on the stove, it's not much different. How about stir fry? That could be done in the skillet too. Not to disuade you from getting the convection thingy but my experience has been that I buy new appliances because I think they'll magically change my eating/cooking habits and all they do is clog up my kitchen cupboards. If i'm not going to cook with what I've got already, I'm not going to cook with something new. But that might be just me, I'm always convinced new purchases will somehow change me :)

Oops I meant OffP during finals week. I ate bars during the day but slipped around dinner time each night when I was studying but today's a new day and I'm doing good so far. Had a protein shake and bar before working out (been trying to avoid the bars but just caved, it's better to eat one than to go hours without eating) and now have to figure out what to eat that's real food.
The whole stress eating thing is a constant struggle. Mine started after I left my son's dad three years ago and he still can trigger that reaction in me and I know that eating something that will make me feel bad the next day doesn't help and all I'm harming is myself but it's a hard cycle to break. But I do know I am determined to lose the weight even if I fall off the wagon a million times in the process and it takes me 3 years.
The clouds sound amazing! I will have to try them, the protein shakes help cut down on my sweet cravings but the price adds up between the powder (I'm using Jay Robb protein powder, it has 1 carb total) and the almond/coconut milk, those might a good other option.
There are a couple of convection ovens that have roasters, I can cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker but the skin doesn't get crunchy which I love so I might get one of those. I think when I get my school money I will buy one, I should be able to adapt some of the oven recipes to a convection oven and hopefully I won't feel as stuck. Or at least I won't have that excuse anymore haha.
Whoa didn't mean to write another book, I hope everybody is doing well, even those who haven't had a chance to check in all week.

Anabee: Lamb chops sound good, I also was thinking fish just have to figure out what's in season. Actually lamb should be going on sale soon I think for Easter maybe I'm wrong. I have that same problem with appliances too but one thing I've wanted is cali tots and everytime I've made them they fall apart so frying them in the skillet probably wouldn't work too well, though it could make a good hash (I think I just got a new breakfast idea) so a convection would be good for that. I'm going to look into it and talk to my mom and see what she thinks.

air, I hear you on the eating through stress. No matter how many times I tell myself that it won't make me feel better, it's so hard to break. If something goes wrong, my instinct is to treat myself that way, it's extremely hard to break.

Frozen salmon fillets are a great go-to option. I defrost them in the microwave and then pan fry in coconut oil, and the coconut oil really cuts the fishy cooking smell. Then melt butter and squeeze lemon juice on them and serve with brocolli which also tastes awesome with lemon juice and melted butter. YUM!

I'm so going to make those clouds tonight.. Just took a stick of unsalted butter out of the freezer so I can make them later - only thing is I have no room in my freezer right now - I mean NO ROOM wonder how they would be just in the fridge in a dish and just take a scoop to eat like a cheesecake thing for now? I'm needing something will a little sweet and creamy lately..

I even checked to see if Stehp had posted in any other threads and didn't see any so I'm hoping she is ok too..

I can't remember if I told you all I got some easy to do makeup - I'm liking it - it hits my less than 2 minute mark and is very subtle and just gives anlittle color and glow...