Way To Go Steelslady!!!!!!!!! You must feel great! I love that feeling! Keep up the great work!

Let's not forget the SODIUM that a lot of the fat free foods contain! The other day I was picking up more regular mayonaise and salad dressings. Out of curiosity I was reading the different labels from the fat free, light, and regular versions of each mayonaise and salad dressings. I was blown away by all the sodium in the fat free and light kinds. Not to mention some other chemicals that weren't added to the regular kinds that were in the fat free versions. Same with low fat and fat free cheeses- I couldn't get over the difference in sodium amounts of some of these items! No wonder the first week or so you lose a lot of weight in water. Just sticking to regular versions of these condiments cuts out a lot of sodium and keeps you much much fuller for longer! Oh and low fat margarine spreads? I suppose those are real healthy for you- NOT!!!!!!

One funny thing though- I am going to make a low carb cheesecake and I was checking out the carbs in the different brands of cream cheeses. To my shock- the 1/3 less fat Philadelphia cream cheese had less carbs in it than the full fat version! So guess which cream cheese I'm using in my cheesecake. Read labels folks!

Also- don't forget- some spices DO HAVE CARBS AND SUGAR!!!!!!! One tablespoon of onion powder has 5.6 grams of carbs and 2.4 grams of sugar! One tablespoon of garlic powder has 6.1 grams of carbs and 2 grams of sugar! I do use these frequently in the foods I enjoy on this diet but make sure that I include them in my carb/sugar count.

I also eat lots of beans. Tonight I am having ham and red kidney beans in a tomato sauce for dinner. Green beans, wax beans, white and red kidney beans are excellent low carb choices. I know that the white and red kidney beans are higher in carbs but they have no sugar and have a good amount of fiber in them to which Jorge encourages that we eat at least 25 grams of fiber a day. Mushrooms, lettuce, spinach and cucumbers are also low on the carbs and sugar counts. I try to get in a good amount of fiber everyday.

Now one trick that I usually follow everyday- I don't eat any carbs (or very very low carb veggies some days) for breakfast. I have chicken, ham, or egg salad or something like it for breakfast and eat until I am satisfied. For some reason I can not eat carbs first thing in the morning or I end up hungry before lunch time. I am ok the rest of the day with my other meals but for some reason I need as low carb as possible in the morning or no carbs at all to help keep the craving for food at bay the rest of the day.

That said- I've enjoyed many awesome foods with my lunch and dinner meals and am never hungry or starved. Now here is something even funnier- the other day I picked up First Magazine (I love that magazine!!!!). That's where I found out about this diet. Anyhow they had another diet in there this week stating what I've been doing for the most part- if I eat a higher carb sugar item I eat it with lots of protein and low carb veggies. Not sure why I started doing that but I figured I'd fill up on the protein and low carb veggies while eating my heavier carb items in the meal and lo and behold- this works! I even had two tablespoons of corn the other night with my sausage and gravy meal. I've had baked potatoes. I've had pizza. I am certainly not deprived of my carbs by any means but balancing them out seems to be the trick to which both Jorge and this article this week seems to preach.

As far as folks saying this diet isn't healthy- that's bunk. If you're a creative cook you will find ways to get your fiber in while enjoying your carbs. You can eat fruits and veggies on this diet as well as grains and such. Where are people getting that this diet is full of bad food it in? Because Jorge shows you WHICH foods you can have should you want them every so often?

I have one or two pieces of sugar free candies a day most days- my favorites are Sugar Free Whitman's coconut chocolate and Whitman's pecan and caramel bites. Last night I didn't because I had my low carb pancakes with Davinci Sugar Free Maple Syrup and bacon and eggs as my last meal of the day (to which I ate just before I went to bed after I had exercised a little bit) and didn't need to have one of those candies. Is this what folks are squawking about- someone having a treat or two here and there? Tell me what diet doesn't allow a treat or two? Even Atkins- once your past the induction stage allows some treats. Oh and I only allow myself those "sweet treats" if I do some exercise on those days. Good incentive to have something enjoyabale and to keep me active I say. If a piece or two of sugar free candy is going to do me in than what a **** of a way to go and where do I sign up?

Not sure if this has helped anyone or not but just wanted to give some tips and advice to those who are interested in seeing how others are doing this. Oh and you can have sugar free yogurt on this diet. I don't eat yogurt really but it is allowed on here so long as you keep within the carb/sugar limit.

Have a great day! Off to do some dishes and then some in home walking with Leslie!

Thank you so much! Just wanted to tell you- way to go on your weight loss! 89 pounds is just incredible! Keep up the great work!

So, ladies I weighed myself this morning and I'm down 2.5 pounds. I was hoping for a bit more weight loss, but I can admit that I feel my pants fitting looser in just 5 days. So I am very pleased with the diet so far - pasta, bread, potatoes, tortillas and weight loss? I AM DEDICATED!!!
This afternoon, I am treating myself to SF Red Vines and a glass of wine - all while keeping my sugar and carbs in check. I look forward to my dinner of chicken breast and roasted poblano peppers, refried black beans and roasted cauliflower!

BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO! Couldn't have said it better myself..You are doing FANTASTIC!!! and you are giving people so much information.

It is funny, now that I am down almost 27 lbs, my "intuitive eating" is kicking in and your's already had. I am finding that I am "naturally" eating my carb meals for breakfast and lunch and at night, I don't want starchy carbs..So, I mainly do protein and usually salad and veggies. I need more energy during the day with work, getting kids from point a to b, doing homework with them ect..During the week, I do my workouts in the evenings and then I double up morning and evening on the weekends because I now have energy and no hunger.

I saw that FIRST article. It was "Robert Feguson's Food Lovers Diet". I did it for a week before Thanksgiving and yes, you will lose weight and it is about portion control, food combining and timed meals. NOw that you are "intuitvely doing it"; I am happy to see how successful you are! It was hard eating every three hours for me because of my work..I am in a lot of meetings day in and out, but it would be interesting for people to take the BFC and try eating "every three hours" to just see what happens.

My cousin took the principles of the diet last week and did it by mainly cutting out sugar and taking the bread off of sandwiches. She lost 5 pounds. She said she could not believe it. She is a law student and she frequently grabs "fast food" and last week was no different. But, she said by paying attention to sugar and counting her carbs, when she stepped on the scale today she could not believe she was down five pounds. She said she was never hungry and she has been on and off Jenny Craig for years. She said she was ALWAYS starving on Jenny Craig, but this whole week she felt so good and energized and she is now committed to buying the book and getting as close to a sugar free lifestyle as possible. Like me, she loves juice and was drinking lots of it. So, I am happy for her.

As far as "rate" of weightloss, I am like you. I think unless you have "super" amounts of weight to lose, you can expect to lose between 2 and 5 pounds a week. I am averaging about 5 pounds a week or so and I exercise 30 minutes a day. The inches are phenomenal though!!

Did you see Carnie Wilson in People this week? Bless her heart! She talks about her struggle with weight and how she gained weight and gastic bypass, her husband and now trying to lose it with help from Drs Oz and his partner, Rosen. When I read the article and she talked about all of the kinds of food she likes to eat she mentioned, pasta, bread and she talks about her obsession with food. I have watched her show Unstapled and she seems to carry around so much pain. It is like a bad combination of her psychological issues and her love of carbs/sugar. I really, really like Carnie! I think she is FAB! I loved Wilson Phillips and she just seems like so many of us trying to figure it out. Also, there is a "side piece" in the story about people who gain weight back after Gastric Bypass. I have seen so many people gain it back. It must feel awful to go through the surgery and then gain it back.

Lastly, I went out with my hubby for an early Valentines and I had a small piece of corn bread. It had sugar in it and because I exercise, I thought it was "no big deal"... Let me tell you ladies, I was sick as a dog that night. My muscles were crampy, I was lethargic and I felt like "sh*t". It was the worst workout I had had in awhile. Lesson learned. I have no interest in EVER going back to sugar. There are too many alternatives out here to ever have to use that stuff...

Be blessed all!

does anyone know of any cookbooks that have low sugar/carb?

Cindy

I noticed my weight loss has begun to level off some. No thanks to me getting sick and not being able to work out. I hope that I feel better within the next few days. Even with Vday and the extra days off I haven’t really strayed much from the diet however it seems that working out helps me lose that little extra. The chocolate that I picked up from trader Joes helps me curve the sweet tooth however sometimes I forget I even have it. And I used to snack a ton on chocolates and cookies (cookies being my fav).

On a positive note it looks like my family and some friends are starting to notice a difference in my appearance. Let me tell you that it is such a great morale booster. I felt so happy when I got complimented. Made me want to go home and work out some more

I hope everyone else is doing well.

I've been MIA for a while but I was just going through the book for recipes and Googled Maltitol for the brownie recipe and the side effects of that are truly scary. Why would I want to put something in my body that's going to cause me to have intense stomach cramps, gas and bloating. I'm wondering if I could use Truvia as a substitue. Any thoughts?

I read that Malititol only caused those effects when taking it in large quantities. 100Grams plus if I am not mistaken. The chocolate that I purchased has about 9g per serving and I havent really had any side effects. I will do some more research however no gas or bloating as of yet.

It's a sugar alcohol and it does give me gas so I don't touch anything with that ingredient. However, it is not the same for everyone and I would not exactly call the side effects scary. Just don't have too much. Actually I would recommend you purchasing something with the ingredient to see how you would react to it first.

I did a google search on Malititol as well and did find some negative postings. Might have to dig deeper to see if its still worth consuming. Not a big deal overall I guess just enjoyed have a sweet snack sometimes. I can givie up if I need to...not after I finished what I purchased though

Check out this article folks
xxx.mendosa.com/netcarbs.htm
Specifically starting at the section
What Is the Impact of the Sugar Alcohols?

Looks like enough to make me give up the maltitol. Oh well it was fun while it lasted. I will stick with the Stevia and just not even mess with these sugar alcohols.

No wonder why I got hungry after eating two coconut sugar free candies after eating them. Geesh. Looks like Jorge goofed on this one BIG time! I'll be finishing those off soon and not purchasing them again in the near future. Glad you found that article and shared it with us.

Down another 3 pounds this week!

Greetings!

I really think the issue is not the Maltitol, but what your trigger foods are. I am not a sweets junkie and actually forgot about the cheesecake in my fridge that I ordered and 3/4 of it went bad. It is sweetened with Maltitol. No matter what the dessert. It is not a trigger food for me. I get a "hankering" for chocolate around that time of the month or if I forget to take my prescription vitamin D supplement; I tend to crave dairy. But, sweets...not my thing.

Potatoes? That can sometimes be a "trigger food" for me. So, it becomes a choice to portion out my potatoes and being satisfied with a correct portion.

It is all relative. If eat soy, I get the diarrhea something awful..I get cramping..I get gas..My allergist has determined that I can have small amounts if fermented like a soy sauce, but tofu? FORGET about it! Fake meats and such? Forget about it. I have a friend who reacts horribly to Splenda and if you want to read a "horror show" about a sweetner, Splenda has plenty. This is posted by an Obg-YN who specializes in all things women health:

http://www.womentowomen.com/healthyweight/splenda.aspx

Another to Equal and one who cannot have sugar.

I have used Maltitol and I get no reaction whatsoever. When I had the cheesecake with Maltitol, I had a small piece with a few of the Joseph's oatmeal cookies (which are tiny by the way) and I waited for this stomach discomfort, pain, bloating gas...It never happened...Nothing! I had Imodium near my bed stand and nothing happened. So, the next time a cut a bigger piece of cheesecake and had 4 of those cookies...Again,nothing happened.

Also, I have one of the most sensitive stomachs you could know as I have endometriosis within the lining of my stomach/gut..So, I was expecting something horrible to happen..Nothing.

I think SOME people may think it is a "free for all" with "Sugar Free" products and overindulge in a "good thing". If sweets are a trigger food (and potatoes can be for me), you have to learn how to manage your hunger, portions and desire for that food.