Good Morning!
Day 2 of staying on plan was a success! That solid yellow square was hard earned yesterday! I want to report I felt emotions instead of stuffing them down!
Terra you remind me so much of myself. Wanting to lose weight and not knowing where to start. I used to think if I just exercised enough that it would come off. I had to learn to only put healthy stuff in my mouth. Now I am learning to not put so much of it in my mouth. My idea of healthy was pre packaged diet foods. Now I know it is fresh or frozen veggies and fruit, fish, chicken, eggs, nuts, and meat. It was all the sauces, and empty carbs like pasta, breads, cereal, sugars, candies and baked goods (Yes even "diet" ones.) that were doing me in. Everyone is different and has to find what works for them. My best advice is to keep learning and trying until you find what works and you can live with.
Fi I don't know if you've ever tried anything sensory to help you through these times. When our daughter is having troubles with feeling out of control she wears a weighted vest or lies down and covers up with a heavy (25 pound) blanket. We do other things like having her roll up tight in a regular blanket like you would swaddle a baby. It really helps her. Maybe give it a try, you never know. Wishing you well.
Sam you go girl! I'd like to google the baking soda thing. What do you recommend I type in?
Jane thanks for reminding me to focus on my clothing sizes. My body shape has stayed the same so it does trick me into thinking I have not made much progess.
Yesterday I was sitting in the chair and I grabbed my large pannus and told it I did not like it, I don't want it to hang around anymore and that I would be getting rid of it! It was a step from wishing it was gone to telling it I am Spring cleaning my body and it will take a while but it is outta here!
How is everyone doing?

Good morning all. Spring really has tried to begin to arrive out here -- I need to cut the grass! Actually looking forward to it although that will pass.

Ubee -- Thanks for pointing me to the yummly site -- wasn't familiar with it, but looks like a great one for recipes. I bought a chuck roast and will make vegetable soup some time today or tomorrow. Good for you (and Jane) on have another solid day. My calendar looks like a hysterical zebra both because of my striping system, my inability to conquer the cheating, and the use of different colored markers. Had to look up pannus, but sounds like a good conversation......I talk to mine, too!

Terra -- I've been trying to add in the volumetrics theory when I'm fixing meals. While I don't do the whole approach, I think the idea of beefing up recipes by adding in extra vegetables is a great one. Made up a recipe last night that was a bunch of sauteed veggies (peppers, onions, mushroom, and a zuchhini) mixed with a jar of spaghetti sauce and the left over spaghetti squash. It made enough for at least 6 servings and when I put it in the recipe calculator this morning, it was only 120 calories and 20 grams of carbs. It's very filling to bulk things up with the veggies and fruits. Good luck. Like Ubee said, it's a matter of finding what works for you.

Fi -- It was exhausting just reading your post. Just one bad night will throw me off for a couple of days, so cannot even imagine what you're struggling with. Hope Ubee's suggestions might help.

Sam -- Yep, definitely our poster child. Go back and read your posts -- you've been on plan for days and days. I'm still trying to get through one day. Good for you -- gives me inspiration.

Jane -- Oh no. 30! I remember 30. It's a distant, fading memory. But you're right on target with getting your act together now instead of waiting another 30 years and realizing that perhaps it's time to try healthy living for a change. And congrats on the 26s -- sometimes I think that the best way to judge success is what we can do and how our clothes fit!

With the arrival of spring, the lengthening of the days, who knows what, I'm in the mood to get things done. Shampooed the rugs yesterday with the new shampooer after I realized the brushes weren't spinning on my old one. Also spent 3 hours trying to figure out where a short is on one circuit and got the laundry done. Today I'm going to cut the grass and start getting the seeds germinated for the garden and continue working on the flickering light problem. Lots of FUPU (fix up, paint up) projects on the list. Off to the gym and to get a few things done this morning. Have a great day everyone.

Ubee I think I will have a conversation with my pannus. It needs to go.

Betsey I'm jealous of your weather. It's warmer, but we're nowhere near grass mowing!

I'm extra motivated, and I'm actually working my way through actually reading Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint. (I've been following the basic tenants on his blog. It really espouses that it's not about chronic exercise and deprivation, but that in addition to healthy eating, you need to sleep well, move a lot (But not at a stressful pace), and you need to be happy - spend time with your family etc. I like the idea of striving for balance.

It's also making me think of my brothers - who are stressing themselves to death. Maybe one day they'll change that.

Ubee ~ I will definitely take your advice and try different things until I find out what works for me.

Betsy ~ Thanks for wishing me luck.


I walked outside today, I'll walk again after dinner before it gets dark outside.

Fi I too am bipolar. I currently am on the generic of Geodon. Working out has really helped boost my mood and I haven't had a manic episode in awhile. I really hate being on medication and hope to one day be off of it, but in the meantime, I know I still need it. I know exactly how you feel. There have been several times where I've found myself having a really bad panic attack, usually in Wal-Mart to the point where I'll have to leave the store or else I'd flip out on someone. You are not alone. If you ever need someone, I am here.

Ubee I would maybe type in fading stretch marks using baking soda. Not sure if you go on YouTube often, but here is the video that I watched and learned about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZw74...2qHgbb&index=2 I hope it helps you!! I'm actually going to go get some stuff to start this weekend.

Betsy Thank you so much! It means so much to me that you are here to cheer me on and I'm here to inspire you! We are all in this together and we WILL succeed!

I had another on plan day today!! I got up this morning and put on a shirt that I hadn't worn in a couple of weeks. When I originally bought it, it was a little snug on me and I had to always pull on it to feel comfortable. It's one of my favorite shirts though and I got it for like $8 at JC Penny. When I put it on today it was not tight at all! In fact it's pretty loose on me now!! I can't believe that a 2X is loose on me!!! The legs of my size 24 jeans are getting loose too!! When I was at work today I went to the bathroom and was reflecting on things and how happy I have been lately. I honestly don't think I've been this happy and full of energy in a really long time, maybe not even since childhood. I actually started to cry because of how happy I've been. I've battled depression and bipolar disorder for a long time now, and I just feel so good....I wish I could show you guys how truly happy I am. I also finished my 5th workout of the week!! WHOOP WHOOP!!!! That was a tough feat but I did it!!! I pushed it to the max and accomplished what I wanted to this week. I'm actually really excited to step on the scale on Sunday to see if I've lost any weight. I'm really hoping for a 3 lb loss.

Well I'm going to relax the rest of the night, make me some left over spaghetti squash with spaghetti turkey sauce, and spend some time with DH. Big love to all of you and GREAT JOB on the awesome POP days today!!!!

Hi everyone, I have not been posting much lately, my schedule of activities has gone wild lately. I have been following my Volumetrics plan with the exception of a minor binge one day.

Between, Shriners volunteer work, my DW's vertigo (she is better now) and my yard and garden preparations I barely have time to sleep.

I suspected my anemia has returned due to extreme fatigue returning. My doctor had blood tests done. Yes my anemia is back but the doctor says it is mild. He said my good and bad cholesterol ratio is excellent but my total cholesterol is very low. I have never heard a doctor tell anyone that their cholesterol was too low

I had a better day today—neither depressed nor manic. =whew= I'm pressed for time, though, because I've got two collages to make this weekend. Tonight I figured out what elements I'm going to put in each of them, but I still have a lot of prep work to do in the way of making good photocopies, in the right sizes, of the images from books that are too precious to cut up. And then comes scissor work, and arranging, and glueing, and so on...

And tomorrow morning is my monthly trip down to the basement to weigh myself. I'm hoping for a good number. I'm especially hoping that I've lost at least 4 pounds, so I'll achieve my current mini-goal of reaching 280.

I'm switching the color for my personals to green in honor of it's being spring—yay!

Sam— Betsy's right: you're an inspiration to all of us. Your weight loss so far really shows in those photos. You're lookin' good, girl! You're into a 2X top and size 24 jeans—whoa! And I really appreciate your supportive comments as a fellow bipolar person. I, too, am taking generic Geodon, along with a boatload of other stuff, unfortunately, but I need my meds to make it through each day. Geodon is especially helpful to me when I go into serious depression pain: it's the only thing I've found that reduces the intensity of that suffering. But I haven't had much trouble with depression lately, just those wired-up episodes that are my version of mania. Today was a good one, though, and I'm crossing my fingers for a good weekend...

Ubee— You talk to your pannus? =laugh= In another posting, when I have more time, I'll have to tell y'all this great thing Bob came up with that helps me live with my pannus through this long phase of the journey. As for the mania, I do wrap up in heavy blankets to calm myself, and I meditate too, which helps a lot. Yesterday I combined those techniques and managed to get through that burst of mania without having to take Clonapin. Congratulations on having two highlighted days in a row! I think I may take up the calendar habit again to help me eat my salad every day.

That's all I have time for...gotta hit the sack, because tomorrow I have lots of work to do.

I hope I can still come here ladies. I have been off the wagon for some time. I still read the posts from time to time, but too ashamed to post myself. I am starting over for what seems like the millionth time. I don't even feel like this time is different accept I have enlisted my husband's help. We had a long talk today and I begged for help. He is really skinny, never had a weight problem in his life and doesn't really know how to help me. I got home tonight and noticed he through away all the Mexican left overs, the mac n cheese is gone, my dip for my chips. He's so awesome. I feel like I'm at the end of my rope and need help. I've never asked him for it before though so maybe this time will be different.

I hope you guys will have me back! I will try to commit to posting here daily!!

My plan will be the same. Smaller portions, 1500-1800 calories. I am going to try and cut out night time eating also. And of course lots of water!!

Thanks for listening.

Good Morning!
Happy to report most of my day was solid until a little at the end. So good over all. I am going to try working harder on dealing with my emotions. The worst are when someone I love is hurting.
Welcome Back Angelia! I welcome you with a big smile and open arms! Your husband was very kind and supportive. Hope you don't mind me asking...? Why are you sticking with the same thing if it didn't work before? I hope that doesn't come off sounding bad. I do have trouble being too blunt and I mean it as someone who cares and wants to see us all healthy. I know for me commtitting to post daily has been huge even if it is one sentence. Some of us are highlighting each day we are on plan on our wall calendars. It gets stripes if we tried hard but weren't totally on plan and gets left blank on off plan days. Feel free to join in if you like a visual reminder throughout the day. Good luck you can do this!
Fi so glad yesterday was better. Saturday is always my biggest struggle. Today my daughter and I are going to work on a collage. I hope it saves the day. Can not wait to hear the pannus story!
Larry so happy to see you and know that your wife is better. Good job on getting those numbers down!
Sam that is so exciting about your clothes! I will not miss the stretching out the t-shirt before you put it on routine! I envy your ability/will to push through with all that exercise. Before you know it we will have a new set of progress pictures to compare! Good for you!
Terra how is the weather by you? Does it feel good to be back outside? I want to thank you for keeping the "Whats for dinner?" thread alive! It reminds me I really need to stay on top of planning my meals. That was part of my slip up last night. I forgot to make enough for my whole family. My husband ended up at McD's and I had some of his fries and my daughters school popcorn. Live and learn. Did you know Larry has a Volumetrics thread? http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/gene...followers.html
Jane please let me know how the book goes. You know I am always looking for more answers. Thanks to you I've read Wheat Belly and am now going over the 30 Minute Cookbook.
Betsy I think I am going to use a brighter marker because I need to be more aware of my calendar. Be careful with your flickering light! I want to see you on here everyday! How is Toby liking the weather? What is going on with the cheating? Mood? Wrong things in the house? Being too restrictive? You know looking at too many stripes can cause seizures.
Have a good day! You know I'll be back latter!

Good morning all. Mt. Rainier is out, it's a gorgeous day, it was light before 7:00 AM, and I'm actually energized and have a long list of things to do today. Some of this is FINALLY having an on plan day yesterday and getting to color in the whole day. It felt ridiculously wonderful, but after literally months of not making it all the way through a day this seems wonderful. Now to turn it into a whole calendar page of colored days.

Ubee -- Doesn't sound like you went too far off course last night. I have started with cutting myself a little slack and accepting that it's ok to have some things as long as my daily calorie count remains below the goal. Do you think this will help with eliminating the "cheating" mentality (which is usually accompanied by I've-already-cheated-so-I-might-as-well-it-the-entire-thing) and help with keeping the cravings under control. Once we get a couple of pages of calendar months filled in, I'm moving on to portion control. Long winded way of saying cheating has gotten to be a habit, and I need to develop different habits. Toby is fine -- he loves being able to be outside all day and Becky is over every day it's not raining and they play. I've done all of the diagnosing I can on the flickering light and will be calling the handyman -- I think it's one of the recessed light cans in the hallway on that circuit. UGH.

Sassyangies -- Of course you can come back and talking to your husband and posting here are enormous steps back towards finding a path that works for you. I've been trying to lose and keep weight off most of my adult life (which is getting to be a really long time now), and even though I slip up, just coming here and posting every day is what I credit with keeping me from just giving up and gaining it all back. I find that visual stimulations at home really help -- posting pictures of yourself as you lose, putting a container of beans or marbles on the table to track your weight loss, using the calendar on the fridge (thank you Fi!) -- anything to give you some much needed positive reinforcement when it's needed. We're here for you, and it sounds as though your hubby is, too.

Fi -- Wonderful to hear you sounding better -- hope it continues for you. You sound super busy, but excited to be so. Good luck with your weigh in and getting the collages finished up. Can't wait to hear your story.

Larry -- Good to see you post again and glad to hear that your wife is doing better. Sorry about the anemia, but great news on the cholesterol! Sounds like you're super busy right now -- it is a super busy time of the year.

Sam -- Here's hoping that weigh in tomorrow brings another loss. You're doing so well and are developing that discipline that's needed to succeed at this.

Terra -- Hope the walk was a good one, and I imagine there will be more walks today. How's it going with finding a plan that seems to work with you? Larry's Volumetrics is helping to fill me up without adding on a lot of extra calories.

Jane -- Spring is definitely sprung here -- trees are beginning to bloom, daffodils are in full bloom, and I'm getting the gardening urge. Hope it comes your way soon. Loved your sharing your reading learnings -- the older I get, the more I understand how important having a balanced life is to getting and remaining healthy.

Time to get the soup started, start the seed germination process for the garden, and hopefully get some yard work started. Sunny again through Tuesday and then it starts raining again. Have a great day and weekend.

Ubee ~ The weather here has been wonderful, It does feel great to get back outside, Your welcome, Im glad I can keep the what's for dinner thread alive, Do you know which area Larry's thread is? Just curious.

Betsy2013 ~ Yeah my walk yesterday was a good one and Im sure today will be another good one. I havent found a plan that will work for me but Im still searching for one. Im glad you like Volumetrics.

Angelia ~ Welcome back to the thread


Im about to walk for the first time today, I would of walked earlier today but my boyfriend and I were watching a movie so I chose to walk after the movie and the movie just got over so Im gonna go for my walk now.

Oh darn, darn, darn... The first darn is for the fact that I got so involved in working on art today, I forgot to weigh myself in the morning. I'm glad I mentioned it in my last posting, because I sat down to take a break with my iPad, came onto this thread, and oops! there was the reminder. I didn't weigh myself until 2:30 in the afternoon.

The second darn is for my weight. The scale said 286. That's two pounds up from where I was a month ago. Even with all this running around and not eating and all! Actually I've been concerned that my chronic undereating and poor sleep habits and on-again off-again attitude toward exercise might be slowing my metabolism down. Sure enough, here's the proof! I have had exactly one sugary thing all month long: a large cookie over a week ago. I overindulged just a bit with the sugar-free muesli earlier in the month, but I cleared it out of my pantry about 10 days ago, and have been absolutely strict on Atkins induction since then. So it's all about being in the right range of calories—not too high, not too low—plus doing all I can to rev my metabolism with exercise and better sleep. I have no excuse not to be walking now: I got cleared by the cardiologist to do anything, and spring, as it so often does in the DC area, arrived on schedule, right 'round the 21st of March. And I know that getting more exercise helps with the insomnia.

The third darn is for the fact that today's weight is now massively bumming me out. 286 may sound great to some of you, but I'm only 5' 3", although I do have a wide heavy frame. I'm still in a 4X, so only my 5X-6X collection is loose on me. It's not yet time to pull all my 3X T-shirts out of the various corners I have them rolled up into, and that is really discouraging. I want to wear those T-shirts!

In fact, I'm so bummed out, I'm dipping into depression, so I'd better stop typing now, eat some lunch already (although I'm not in the least bit hungry!), and work on getting a handle on my mood. This is why I only weigh myself once a month, gals 'n' guys. I can't handle the stress of doing it any more often. Whether it's up or down, it always seems to freak me out. I'm so sensitive to stress, the least little puff of it blows me right over. I didn't used to be this way: I used to positvely thrive on the stress of being a doctor in life-or-death situations. But that was before I became bipolar. =big angry sigh= 'Talk at y'all later...

terra you are so good about your walking! Wish I had your discipline!

Larry love that you work with shrines! My grandfather was a shriner. Such a fantastic organization!

Bee and Betsey so far I'm loving the science in the book. It makes a really good case for shredding the "it's in my genes" reasoning because doing things like eating whole foods, not subjecting oneself to constant stress (what he calls chronic cardio workouts) and favoring a full night sleep, lots of low level exercise like walking, lifting, but not too much and getting enough sun, play etc. Can reprogram genetic responses to this like food and insulin. It's really well backed up with solid science too.

Since I now have 585 days before my big milestone, I'm cutting my carbs down really low and using the weekend to get into a nice deep ketosis for a few weeks. Hopefully I can break through this 373 plateau! I need to do some housework, but right now I'm watching Boston legal and relaxing. No swim today, but if it warms up I may take Toby for a good walk.

Good Afternoon!
Fi maybe this one time you could weigh yourself tomorrow. I put on so much weight during the day that I would not go by any number other then my first thing in the morning number. I'll be thinking of you... Also thanks to you my daughter and I had a wonderful day making a huge collage!
Terra if you go to my post above this one just click on the blue words Volumetrics Followers it will take you right to that thread. If it does not work you can find it under General Diet Plans and Questions. Good luck!
Betsy if you find a loud family living in your RV it will be mine. We want your weather! I'm still working on the treat/cheat thing. What I am now trying is everyday I get to chose what I want most. I get to have that and only that. I find if I just say I am going to cheat I start eating this that and the next thing and before you know it... For example I am in a bacon mood. (Catholic no meat on Friday.) So for that day I can have bacon whenever I want BUT I must have it with 2 eggs. Hard to pig out with the lean egg protein. Also if I am going to have chocolate it has to be my 85% cacao with no nuts or craisins. Gets old fast. I found out I am a combo eater. So far it is working. Portion control is still a dream but I like to fill up with Larry's foods to get that full feeling I sometimes crave. I always wanted to hike the trail around the bottom of Mt. Rainier.
Jane you have convinced me. I'm going to see if our library has the book. Our daughter with autism is so natural. Her sleeping changes with the seasons. If you offer her processed versus whole foods she takes whole foods everytime. We always say she is the smartest of us all. She just may hold the key to our health. Plus we always strive for low stress to the point of being thought of as strange for not wanting to be like the Jonses. (They have a lot of debt!)
I seem to be having a good day today. Hopefully tomorrow I will have another solid square!

Well, I may be bummed out, but at least I'm getting some productive thinking done. Since I posted before, I've thought of 4 other factors that might be causing my weight loss to stall. But before I go into that, let me say this...

Jane— In a well-researched book called The Art and Science of Low-Carbohydrate Living, I read that a very low carbohydrate diet, enough to put you in ketosis, has a diuretic effect on your kidneys: that is, it causes you to lose both water and salt. They say that's what causes the headaches and crummy-all-over feeling you can get when you're in ketosis. Their recommendation, in addition to making sure you get enough water, is to drink broth every day. Any kind of broth/bouillon cubes will do: chicken, beef, vegetarian. The point is that the broth has salt in it. What I do is put 2 cubes in a large (12 oz.) mug and pour boiling water into it, and drink one of those every night. It really makes a difference for me, especially for the headaches.

OK, here's the 4 things I thought of:
(1) aspartame— I gave up aspartame in the form of diet soda last fall, so I've converted completely to seltzer for my bubbly drink. But in the last month, I've been buying small bottles of this diet green tea I really love. At first I was only getting 2 bottles each time I went grocery shopping, but I've slowly been creeping up to buying 4, 5, even 6 bottles. The diet tea has aspartame in it, of course. Aspartame causes insulin release—not as much as sugar does, of course, but a significant amount. And insulin, as we all know, is the main hormone involved in fat storage: it pushes the fat in your blood into your fat cells. When I gave up aspartame, it made a noticeable difference on my weight loss graph. So no more diet green tea.
(2) water — I have chronic dry mouth from my psych meds, so I always have a one-liter bottle of seltzer next to me, no matter what I'm doing. And I try to keep up with this thing where every time I go to the bathroom, I drink a full cup of water after I wash my hands. But I'm not consistent about it, and I haven't really been keeping track of my fluid intake. So I've already taken 3 empty seltzer bottles and marked 1, 2, & 3 on them with a black magic marker. Starting tomorrow morning, I'm going to fill them all with water and put them in the fridge, and make sure I drink all 3, every day. That will be in addition to the seltzer I'm drinking.
(3) antacids — Thanks to all this stress since Robine pulled the plug on me, I've had high stomach acid and have been chewing the one kind of antacid tablets that work for me, pretty regularly. They don't have to have a calorie count on the bottle, but the ingredients list includes sucrose, and they are sweet enough to be tasty. I don't need them, because I could be taking raniditine (one of those over-the-counter meds that reduce the kind of histamine that causes stomach acid) instead. It works for me, so that's that.
(4) pocket in my gum — Something that tends to discourage me from eating: for about 6 months now, I've had this one deep pocket where my gum is not adherent to one of my molars, and nearly every time I eat meat or fish, and sometimes even salad, it gets food down in it and is painful. Once it was so bad I had to go to the dentist: he said I don't have a cavity there, it's just that the food irritates the root of my tooth. What I do to deal with it is to chew sugar-free gum, which eventually rocks that tooth enough that the food comes out. But it's a pain, as you can imagine, so it makes me avoid eating. So on Monday I'm going to make an app't w/ my dentist and ask him if there's anything that can be done about it.

Anyway, that's what I've thought of so far. I also may try that thing where you zig-zag your caloric intake, eating a very low amount (500 or less) a couple of days a week, and a good healthy amount (1200? 1500?) on the other days. That's supposed to be good for getting past a plateau, because it keeps your metabolism from getting used to how much you're eating, and slowing down. This approach is sometimes called "intermittent fasting."