Chickadeee, thanks for the allowance list! I'm so glad we are helping you! You are definitely helping us too! And I agree with you on the carbs. You know, when I went off this diet, there was no good reason for it. I just got busy with my daughter's wedding, got away from 3FC, my DH was eating quick carbs everyday, and I just fell back into it, thinking, "Oh, I'll just have a little bit of this with him or a little bit of that," and before I knew it, I was caught up in that cycle again of craving and eating and eating and craving! I had to learn the hard way that I can't go off this diet. I need to stick to it. That may not be true for everyone, but it's true for me. I used to want to lose as quickly as possible so I could go back to eating "normally" like my DH, but now that I realize this IS my new normal, I'm not in such a big rush. I recognize that this is a really healthy way to eat, no matter what my scale says, and like you, I feel so much better! I hope you sleep very well tonight and have a fantastic Monday!

Hi Everyone,
I have been reading this thread & it sounds like a perfect plan for me! I would love to join you.
Here's me: got to goal weight with WW and then Ideal Protein. I bounced up and down a little, and then realized I can no longer tolerate the low energy & moodiness of ultra low carb, low cal. I tried adding carbs like fruit, quinoa, yams but felt hungry all the time. Adding in some bingeing on sweets, and my weight has crept up to a point where my clothes are tight.

Slow Carb sounds like a perfect fit! I like the idea of a cheat day. It will keep me from dreading social occasions--that's a biggie for me. I feel great with 'some' carbs and just need a plan that has not too much but not too little structure. Yup, Goldilocks of dieters here

Thanks for posting a great plan with such supportive energy!

Mars! I'm so glad you're joining us! I love your Goldilocks analogy, lol! That's exactly how I am! I just couldn't do calorie-counting anymore. The measuring, the counting, plus I was an all-or-nothing dieter, so if I cheated, it was all over! This diet having a cheat day as an actual part of the plan was liberating! I feel like it's the perfect plan for me and I hope it works just as well for you! So glad to have you!

Thank-you for the warm welcome Jacqui D! I feel such a sense of relief. Your words soooo resonate: I just fell back into it, thinking, "Oh, I'll just have a little bit of this with him or a little bit of that," and before I knew it, I was caught up in that cycle again of craving and eating and eating and craving! I had to learn the hard way that I can't go off this diet. I need to stick to it. That may not be true for everyone, but it's true for me. I used to want to lose as quickly as possible so I could go back to eating "normally" like my DH, but now that I realize this IS my new normal, I'm not in such a big rush. I recognize that this is a really healthy way to eat, no matter what my scale says, and like you, I feel so much better!

It's so incredibly helpful to be connected with others following the same plan. I look forward to learning more about it and reading how everyone is doing. Feeling very excited about starting tomorrow. Thanks again!

Welcome Mars.

This is a good place to start and the encouragement is additive.

I want a plan that is realistic and doable. And to me watching out for empty carbs is the way to go. Taking it slow and easy - after all that is how my weight got out of control.

I am up to 206.5 this morning. My body is doing its own thing right now, lol! That's going to happen! I woke up feeling quite bloated, so I knew stepping on the scale, it could be a gain. I don't know if hormones are causing it, or my RA, or meds for my RA, or if my body is just making adjustments to the new weight loss. The important thing to realize and accept is that days like this are going to happen, so we can't let them throw us off! It's a journey and that journey is never straight down, no matter how on-plan we are, no matter how much we exercise, that's just not how our bodies work (as much as we'd like for them to, lol)! We lose, we stall, we gain, we lose with a whoosh, we plateau, etc. We can't let daily water weight fluctuations or even longer plateaus throw us off course! What good ever comes from becoming frustrated and going off plan? Just keep your eye on the big prize, GOOD HEALTH, and carry on!

Week 5: High 206.5, Low 204.5
5/31--(202.5) 206 Cheat Day
6/1--(203) 206.5
6/2--(202.5) 206
6/3--(202) 205.5
6/4--(201) 204.5
6/5--204.5
6/6--205.5 Cheat Day
Week 6:
6/7--206
6/8--206.5
6/9--
6/10--
6/11--
6/12--
6/13--

Today's Meals:
Breakfast:
2 fried eggs
3 sausage links
Mio water

Lunch:
Large salad with lots of veggies, egg, shredded cheese, turkey, walnuts, with ranch dressing
Mio water

Snack:

Dinner: (I fixed my DH a packaged dinner of General Tso's chicken with rice. Before I put the sauce on, I took a small bite of the cooked chicken, wondering if I could just eat the chicken with some veggies, but the seasoning they had on that chicken even before the sauce went on told me it would trigger my hunger, so I passed. Good thing! Hubby reported wanting more even after eating the whole package! Dodged a bullet there!)
Ham
green beans
black olives

Today's Exercise:
1.2-mile walk (It had rained cooling things down, but that left the air damp and cool, and my RA did not like that! )

Mars, I love your sunny outlook!

Chickadeee, so true! The weight took time to go on. It's going to take time to come off! Patience and good habits are key!

Hi Guys!
Thank-you for the encouragement & welcome Jacqui D & Chickadee! So glad to be here.

Stepped on the scale after having my coffee and water, but I think I'm at about 169. Got my water in & will post food at the end of the day. Have a great day everyone!

I had to quote this, because this is me all over, especially the part I bolded. DH is a carboholic and is not going to change. It's up to me to learn to live with it. I was a low carber when I met him. I changed after I met him and gained 70 or 80 lbs. I know I can't eat a little of this and a little of that, but it's hard to stop a train. I will use my cheat days to join him, having a fast carb day once a week, but because of my diabetes, it will still be limited. In most cases it will be things like spaghetti, lasagne, ravioli, all which I love, but I still limit my portions and eat lots of salad with it, in an attempt to avoid a big spike in blood sugar. Luckily I am not a sweet eater or junk food eater. I overeat on real food.

I went back and was reading your posts from around the time you left the forum. You posted a very normal post and then POOF, nothing. LOL I can't imagine doing that, no matter how bad I was doing. I am so addicted to 3FC. I post all over the place, like a troll. LOL I have started so many different plans but never stuck to them long enough to see results. I just have to do it this time, and Slow Carb seems like just what I need. I think it's fate that you came back around the time I decided to explore this plan again. I love and need your knowledge and input.

Rennie, I sure hope you continue to post here no matter what. I always enjoyed posting with you. Your determination is so contageous and it always helped me. I have read a lot of threads that you've started and you inspire so many people!!

Chickadee, I have seen your posts here and there, and although I don't know you very well, I like your ideas and enjoy reading your posts.

Mars, I'm relatively new here, too, and am glad you're joining in with us. The thread is getting so active, and that's what we need to keep ourselves on track.

Let's go girls!!!!

I googled Slow Carb Diet Food List and found several that I bookmarked. I don't think any of them is the "official" list and they all have their own little twists.

Here they are if anyone is interested. Some of them contain links to more information.

http://www.110pounds.com/?p=17262

http://www.findingmyfitness.com/2013...arb-food-list/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow-Carb_Diet

http://www.findingmyfitness.com/2011...arb-food-list/

Carol Sue, lol! Yep, that's how it happened! Actually, it's not quite accurate for me to say I got away from 3FC. I got away from the computer, period. Not only did I get busy with my daughter's wedding, but my DH and I also opened an antique shop, and it consumed us. When I say I got away from the computer, I mean I stopped 3FC, I stopped Facebook, I stopped email! EMAIL, lol! My sister was so mad at me, lol! We had to start texting on the phone. It started with the wedding and continued with the shop! I spent all my time doing wedding errands, going to auctions, flea markets, yard sales, and other antique shops to acquire antiques, fixing and cleaning and upcycling antiques, organizing and cleaning the shop with the constant in and out of merchandise, working the shop, and when I wasn't at the store or at an auction house or running errands for the wedding, I was desperately trying to stay ahead of my housework and yardwork at home. It got to be so much that we ended up closing the antique shop, even though it was making money. We just couldn't do it anymore. The sacrifice of our time just wasn't worth it. Our hobby became an overtime job! So once I recovered from the wedding and the shop, I gradually made my way back onto the computer. My Facebook friends were like, "Where have you been?!" Lol! But I never have quite picked up in the same way there. Checking my email never quite recovered either. I barely go there. 3FC is where I hang out when I'm not cleaning my house or doing other "real life" things, lol! Like you, I can't seem to get enough of this place! And it helps me so tremendously to post! So my future doesn't involve anymore weddings or shops, although I still enjoy going to antique auctions, so like I said before, I'll be sticking around here! Thank you for those links to slow carb diet food lists!

You know, when I first started posting about the Slow Carb Diet (thread 1), I did not include my meals in my posts. I was so burnt out from keeping track of what I was eating for counting calories that I didn't even want to record meals when I started this diet. Rennie is the one who asked me to post my meals, and once I did, I realized it helped me! (Which is why I want Rennie to keep posting her meals, even if she's not ready to go back on the diet yet!) Anyway, everyone knows my modifications to the slow carb diet. (They are listed on the 1st post of this thread, which Rennie so wonderfully copied in my absence! ) Chickadeee has said she allows cheeses, bacon, and rhubarb torte in moderation on her version of the diet. Rennie has let us know she's not back on the diet yet but is currently working on eating more healthily each day. Carol Sue and Mars, have you thought about if you are sticking to the book version of the diet or are going to create your own version of it? If you come up with your own modifications, will you please post them for us, so we'll know you are not straying when you mention eating them on days other than cheat day? And I do encourage everyone to post their meals (although you certainly don't have to)! It really is a wonderful tool for staying accountable! I am just thrilled that our little group is growing and I hope if anyone else is interested in trying this diet, they will feel free to join us!

It is not really my style to post my meals, but I will give it a try. I still haven't been able to have a full day completely on plan, but I'm going to keep trying. I have decided that I want to persue this and be serious about it. The eating plan is the closest to how I like to eat and having that one cheat day will allow me to have some of the carb meals I make from time to time. I am going to be honest about how I'm doing, and will continue to come here and post even if I get side-tracked. No other plan fits my eating style like this one does. Right now I am doing good with breakfast and lunch, as I usually do, but am not sticking to it at dinner. I will work on that and also on eating after dinner. For some reason, evenings become open season.

Today's Menu

B - scrambled eggs with sauteed mushrooms
S 2 tsp sunflower seeds
L 1/2 C lentils (so happy beans are allowed!!)
D stuffed chicken breast, mashed potatoes green beans

Honestly, this meal has been planned in advance. After starting SC I planned on not eating the stuffing and potatoes, but I ate them. So now I will work on getting through the evening without eating anything else and starting over tomorrow.

I can't say right now what exceptions I will make since I will have to consult the food list often until I know all the dos and don'ts. I do know I will not be eating within 30 min of getting up, and will not be timing my meals to be eating every 4 hours. My cheat days probably won't be the same day of the week every week and will probably only consist of a cheat dinner. My breakfast and lunch are pretty much written in stone. Eggs for breakfast and veggies for lunch.

I also post on a forum where they are very into following a ketogenic plan. I just can't do that. I love posting with those gals, but I will never give up my vegetables. I don't tell them this, but I do not believe they are doing their bodies good by not eating vegetables. They are constantly complaining about constipation and I just want to say "Eat a darn salad!!" LOL

Editing to say that after looking over the food lists that I posted, I will be including some bacon and sausage, and some cheeses. One of those food lists shows a long list of cheeses as allowed. Sometimes when I make sauteed cabbage and kale I like to sprinkle on some Feta cheese. And I can eat ricotta cheese right out of the carton!! OK, I'll try not to.

Carol Sue, dinners are indeed difficult. Comfort foods have always been one of my triggers. You said you tend to go overboard on "real" food. Well, it doesn't get more real than dinner foods! I'm afraid that's just going to take sheer willpower and I know it's not easy! The thing is, the quick-carbs you eat at dinner probably trigger you to want to eat more at night. I have this process I do at night. I force myself to wash the dishes by hand and right after that, I go into the bathroom and brush my teeth, and oh my, it's a major event, haha! I just had a root canal and 3 crowns done (Uh-oh, that reminds me, I have to have a wisdom tooth pulled on Wednesday!) so my dentist loaded me down with dental "things." I have to use a spin brush now with one attachment and then another attachment, then I have to floss, then I have to use a water pic, and then mouthwash. It takes 20 minutes! You think I'm eating after that? Lol! By cleaning the dishes the long way and wiping down the sink and counters, somehow it makes me not want to get anything else out of the kitchen. It's like I'm closing it for the night. And then of course brushing my teeth is like I'm shutting my eating down for the night. It may sound like a silly ritual, but somehow for me it works! Maybe something like that could work for you too. In any event, I know you can do this! It will take willpower, but the more you are able to stick to cheating only on cheat day, the easier it will become. It just has to become habit, a new way of eating. Just remind yourself it's not like you can never have that food again. You just have to wait for later in the week. It's a choice and you can do it!

Hi Fellow Slow Carbers, Good to see you here, Carol Sue! Hope everyone's week got off to a good start.

I think the plan as described in the first post is a better fit for me than the book, for now. I use artificially sweetened things like Walden Farms dressing, whey shake, and stevia. I would like to taper them off eventually. Some of my raw salad veggies might be no-nos, like shredded beets, but I'll keep them since none are starchy. I tend to eat the same things most days.

The two biggest challenges for me will be keeping the cheat day to just one day, and not snacking. The less I eat, the less I want to eat--and vice versa!

My first official slow carb day went pretty well. I had some strange hunger pangs today, though. Here goes!

B Vanilla whey shake in really strong Taster's Choice coffee, followed a couple hours later by veggie omelet: 2eggs & some egg white, mushrooms, onion, scallions, broccoli, bel pepper, drizzle of evoo.

L big red lettuce/arugula salad with shredded veggies (carrots, beets, scallion, onion) ground turkey, kidney beans, Walden Farms 1000 island dressing/EVOO

D eaten about 2 hrs later because I was really hungry: grilled chicken breast & avocado slices on bed of shredded cabbage, carrot, scallion, evoo.

S Since I ate dinner at 230 pm, I snacked a little in the evening on 1/2 protein shake, BBQ soynuts (leftover packet from Ideal Protein), & broccoli.

2 liters of dilute herbal tea with a little stevia.

I'm feeling just right -- not hungry, no cravings. I'd like to lose that 4th meal but overall this is better than I've been eating. I'm happy about that and thrilled to have found this thread! Time to get ready for another long work day tomorrow!

Mars, I don't think having the 4th meal is bad because you did not eat heavy meals and you ate because you were hungry. There was really no unhealthy food there. We eat dinner early, so my lunch is usually pretty small.

I made it through til bedtime without eating anything. That's a victory for me! I felt a little bit hungry when I got up but a cup of coffee took the edge off. It seems that the earlier I start eating the more I eat all day. I like waiting until DH gets up to eat breakfast, because he makes my scrambled eggs with the eggs leftover from his french toast.

Jacqui, I usually brush my teeth at bedtime, but switching to after dinner would serve 2 purposes. Good idea!