Thanks Amandie. They really are good. Join us anytime!

Suzanne, haha! Oatmeal for breakfast doesn't sound too bad (although I can't eat it on days other than cheat day because it's all carbs), does it? But keep reading now that I've added my other meals! I go ALL out on cheat days, lol! I am so glad that your father is doing better now! And hey, don't beat yourself up about the weight that you lost and gained back. It happens. Life gets in the way sometimes and many of us are emotional eaters and eating is what has helped us cope. Plus, you were battling your thyroid! Just because you weren't diagnosed earlier doesn't mean it didn't play a part. Anyway, I went down the same road as you in losing and then gaining again, and I have been so much more determined this time around. I can see what mistakes I made. I know now that if I throw in the towel, I'll have to start all over again, AGAIN. I am more aware of the effect the weight has on my health. I may have messed up, but mistakes aren't failure; they're feedback, and I've gained a lot of experience, and it's made me stronger, and you'll find you're a lot stronger this time too. This time, you are going to get to the weight you want to be and then you're going to maintain it, which is also a part of the journey, the main part of the journey. You'll see! Your past experience has taught you, and you are a lot stronger and smarter this time around, and that's a good thing!

Rennie, you ARE going to get below 168, and so I am, you hear? Lol! We can do this! It may not be on the timeline that we would have chosen for ourselves. Hormones may slow us down or hold us up occasionally, but we're going to do it! Now, just stay away from those fries and chippy snacks, and I'll stick to one small handful of nuts per day and no more seconds at meals, and let's get our scales moving! Okay?! :

Steph, thanks! How exciting that you are writing your own cookbook!!! And good for you on holding off on eating those scrumptious meals till cheat day! That's the way to do it!

Lol, Amandie! Jump in with us whenever you're ready! And Steph, those mushrooms do sound amazing!

Oh hey! Who is it whose dog ate their Fitbit? (I can't remember off-hand!) Do you still have it and did it ever cause you to experience skin irritation when you wore it? If so, you can send it back for a refund or a replacement! They are on recall, and I doubt the company will care that your dog chewed it! http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/21/tech/g...all/index.html

EDITED TO ADD: Oh wait, this is the Fitbit Force. Did you have this one or the Fitbit Flex?

Hi everyone,

I've been reading up on these threads the last two days and I find everybody very inspiring! I started the Slow Carb Diet last week and I'm loving it so far. A little history on my weight loss...I gained most of my weight as a teenager so I have no idea what's the ideal weight for me but the first time I weighed myself in May 2008, I was at 170. I read up on all I could about diets, health and exercise and gravitated towards Jillian Michaels so mostly followed her eating and exercise guidelines, eating (and tracking) around 1300-1500 cal/day with 80% healthy food and the rest treats as well as 1 hour of running 6 days a week with some strength training mixed in. That worked really well as I managed to get down to 147 pounds but at some point I got kind of bored by it and had a hard time running because I lived in upstate NY and it became winter. I did maintain that weight (I gained a couple pounds) and in May 2010, I joined a weight loss competition at a local gym. I went pretty hardcore at first, exercising 2 hours a day but eating about 1200 calories (maybe less) and although I lost 5 pounds the first week, I plateaued a lot which sapped a lot of my motivation. I did manage to get down to my lowest weight so far of 137 but went all the way back up to 157 after moving to LA and having some stress/financial difficulties at first.

Thankfully I was finally able to go to Europe last November and I lost 7 pounds doing lots of walking (and I still had plenty of croissants in Paris ). I'm now in a good place to lose weight being super determined but the last couple months I've had trouble sticking to my usual lose weight diet. I knew I needed a change and I remembered reading Tim Ferris's 4 Hour Body book a year ago which I had tried for a couple days but wasn't committed to it at the time. However I think a lot of my problems stem from carbs which cause me to have cravings and eat too many snacks. So I wanted to try the Slow Carb Diet for real for at least two months to see if I can get any results from it. I'm also participating in the Lyft Quantified Diet experiment which is trying to test diets and what works for people so being part of "science" is inspiring me to stay on track and not cheat so my results will be fairly accurate.

I officially started on Thursday (although Wednesday I ate close to it and you can call Tuesday my cheat day since I had an In-n-Out burger, fries and shake lol) and so far have lost 1.8 pounds since I started at 150.8 and am of this morning at 149. I cleaned out my fridge and cabinets (it is easier since I live alone) to eliminate temptations and since I have to walk/drive 5-10 minutes away to buy food, it makes it harder for me to go out and buy stuff. So far it's been pretty easy although my willpower and determination is extra high right now. I am exercising, hoping to do an 30 minutes to an hour of running and strength training 4-6 days a week. I'm also doing vague calorie counting but not tracking since I find that annoying but I'm very paranoid about ruining my metabolism through dieting so I like to make sure I get at least 1200 calories a day, preferably 1300. Here is my normal diet (most from Trader Joe's- I love that store!) although I'm making little adjustments here and there:

Breakfast: 2 organic eggs, 3 tablespoons egg whites, 1/3 cup refried beans, 1/4 cup black/kidney/pinto beans, 1 sausage (might go down to a half here), 2 Tbsp guacamole, 2 Tbsp pico de galle (sometimes within 30 minutes, working on that)
Lunch: Salad - spinach/spring mix, handful of tomatoes, 3 oz turkey (TJ precooked), 1/2 cup black/kidney/pinto beans OR lentils, handful of peppers or cucumbers, 4 Tbsp guac, 2 Tb balsamic vinegar, sometimes 1 Tbsp olive oil or 1 Tbsp flaxseeds
Dinner: Mixed veggies (broccoli, peas, peppers, green beans, etc), 1/2 cup refried beans, 4oz chicken (TJ's precooked), 2 Tbsp guac
Snack: 1 Tbsp unsalted almond butter (peanut butter is a domino food for me as is hummus) or veggie soup with chicken/turkey

What I was most afraid of on the diet was giving up fruit (I LOVE fruit) and cheese but I've had almost no craving for either of those although I miss raspberries. I will probably add back fruit when I want to maintain unless I gain from that which I doubt but I want to try doing the diet as close to Tim's recommendation at first. Sauces and flavor are another issue for me but I've found guacamole and refried beans enough for me and I LOVE balsamic vinegar on my salad. I may also experiment with spices later on but I don't cook so that's something if I get bored with my food later. The only thing I've really been craving has been these frosted cookies I love but I keep telling myself I can eat them guilt free on my cheat day (along with eating out and such) so that helps a lot. I do sometimes have a big meal and feel full and then 30-60 minutes later feel hungry for like 15-30 minutes but it usually goes away, I'm guessing it's an insulin thing or my body dealing with the new diet/lack of carbs. Not sure how I'm going to handle the cheat day as I'm going on a weekend vacation next weekend and I'd like to push my cheat day til Saturday so I might just do a mini cheat day on Monday/Tuesday and go more crazy later on.

I'm so impressed with everyone's weight loss and commitment on here! Jacqui_D in particular - you've been amazing at being supportive and staying committed to the diet even when you're not losing. One of the things I love about the diet is that Tim encourages experimentation, this worked well for him and others but it's always okay to try something "off" the plan and see if you still lose weight. Anyways, my first big goal is to get back in the 130s (especially 136 which I've never seen) and then 129 would be amazing. I tend to lose weight in my stomach last which frustrates me to no end but I read that it means I might be more sensitive to insulin/carbs so I'm hoping this diet will help.

Good luck everyone! I'm so glad this forum exists as I'm also doing Weight Watchers (not for the points) for the accountability but would prefer some daily motivation with people doing a similar diet and I know how much support can help. I'm looking forward to contributing and helping to support others

Wow! Today was excellent! Warm sunny weather and relaxing.

Rennie~ The church groups bring their own programing and activities, even do their own cooking! We just provide the facility and keep a small gift/snack store open during their free time. We also make sure to take care of their "creature needs" like toilet paper, kitchen linen, etc.

We see many salvations and baptisms every year! The Gulf of Mexico is a wonderful backdrop and reminds us of the vastness of God's creativity, which is limitless!!!

Have a great night, Friends!

Blessings!

Welcome, Zucena! Glad you joined us! Slow carb, by it's name helps us remember that we are on a steady weight loss, slow and steady keeping it off as we reach our goals! There is plenty of encouragement here!

Blessings!

I now have my weight tracker!!!!!

But, I can't get my picture on here, so I used an avatar.

i have been very hungry the last few days. I have also been doing a lot of unexpected cardio and muscle work. I have not lost any since wednesday, but maybe i gained muscle and lost fat due to the work. either way i have been eating like a pig the last few days due to all the hard work i've been doing.

today is cheat day!

2/16: 198 first day on slow carb
2/17: 198
2/18: 197
2/19: 195
2/20: 193
2/21: 194
2/22: 194
2/23: 193.2 ...cheat day

Hi Zucena! I'm so glad you're joining us! If you lose belly fat last, you probably are carb-sensitive, so I think you are going to see wonderful results on this diet! Just be sure if you start exercising a lot again that you eat back those carbs/calories because, as you said, you don't want your metabolism to stall. Extra legumes are great for that purpose. Your menu looks amazing! And just keep telling yourself you can have those forbidden foods you love on cheat day! Wow, what great extra motivation being part of a diet experiment is! I know you are going to do so well! 130's and beyond here you come!

McSurf, congrats on getting your weight tracker! About your profile pic, you may have already tried this, but to make a picture my avatar pic, I had to resize it. Have you tried that? I don't know how small it has to be but my kitties pic is 110 x 81 pixels. If you don't have a photo program that you use for resizing, you can go to picmonkey.com or ribbet.com and upload your picture, resize it, and save it to your computer for free. Both are reputable sites.

Belief, if you have been working out more, it's okay to eat more! Your body needs the extra fuel. Just make sure you're eating on-plan foods on those work-out days. Oh, and have a FANTASTIC cheat day today!!!

After cheat day yesterday, I weigh 175.5 today, so I gained 2 lbs of water weight. TOM is starting to slow down so hopefully my sweet tooth cravings were satisfied yesterday and are behind me now!

2/22: 173.5 Cheat Day
2/23: 175.5
2/24:
2/25:
2/26:
2/27:
2/28:

Today's Meals:
Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs, a teapot of green tea, Mio water
Lunch: chicken salad, cottage cheese, Diet Dr. Pepper
Dinner: A large veggie salad topped with chicken tenders and ranch dressing, a teapot of green tea, Mio water

Happy Sunday

Steph, your meal sounds extremely good, yum on the sautéed asparagus and I don't like mushroom at all. I have a texture issue and I don't like the way they feel in my mouth but I love the flavor I wonder what other veggie I can stuff and add the same things to it. I'm sure that was very low carb and satisfying a delicious good job

amandie good to see you lurking or not

I am happy to report that I pulled a Gary or dt (I can't remember which one did it). I drank some Smooth Moves tea last night to help with my not so regular body and remove all of the crap I ate last week. I am also happy to report that I am back to 168.8 and smiling.

Jacqui, I am seeing your pm to me every time I enter the kitchen ... not just passing it by. I am allowing it to do as it is supposed to and minister to me thank you again

B ~ carbmaster banana cream
L ~ chopped chicken, broccoli, and bean sprouts
S ~ soy peach protein shake
D ~ Shirataki spaghetti, with ground beef, tomato sauce, shredded cheddar

I have drank 36oz of water I have 49 ozs to go

Having a good day so far, I hope that you all are too

Oh my goodness, I am a page behind ...

Steph, I will try it will the spinach Yum, healthy pizza no bread

Jacqui as always I love what you said to Suzanne, you are such an inspiration, keep doing what you do my friend, glad you're here Yes Ma'am ---> We can do this! It may not be on the timeline that we would have chosen for ourselves. Hormones may slow us down or hold us up occasionally, but we're going to do it! Now, just stay away from those fries and chippy snacks, and I'll stick to one small handful of nuts per day and no more seconds at meals, and let's get our scales moving! Okay?!

to the thread Zucena good job on the 1.5lbs down, you're off to a great start

Thanks Cindi for the information You have to keep tweaking your picture, my son took that picture of me a long time ago and since I don't want to take the time to resize another (which took me forever) I have never changed it

belief it could definitely be all of the working out. Good for you on the workouts. I know that's my problem. The scale would definitely move if I could make it to the gym. I don't like videos, I get bored really fast. I need to buy the Zumba game for Wii again, I do like that and Just Dance 2 keep up the good work, you've done great, nice loss Enjoy your cheat day

Jacqui glad you enjoyed your cheat day ... and it looks like I repeated everything you said, lol but I'm going to leave it on here

Ok all caught up

Rennie, I'm so glad the PM is inspiring you to make the right choices! I was just a messenger! I'm so proud of you for doing the right thing! Your menu today looks great! Good for you! Congrats on being back down to 168.8!

Speaking of Gary and Dt, where did all our boys run off to? Joe too! Come out, come out, wherever you are!

First, the good news: I'm down another pound The scale was down to 148 today so that was good to see. I went on a good run yesterday along with a couple hours dancing in a club (no alcohol! not even free shots) so that probably helped.

The bad news: I had the same constant craving I've had for the last few days, a Panera frosted cookie and I finally decided to just eat one today and see if that helps. Hopefully shouldn't be a big deal as long as I stick to my normal meals besides that and doing some strength training today should help. I'm not craving a cookie or anything else now at least!

2/20: 149.8
2/21: 150.8
2/22: 149
2/23: 148

Thanks to McSurf, Jacqui and Rennie for the warm welcome!

Rennie, yay for being back down to 168! Hope it keeps going down and keep up the good work!

Jacqui, Thanks again for the cheerleading and welcome I hope the cravings stop!

belief Hope you enjoy your cheat day! I would guess eating more legumes before and after you work out might help with being hungry.

McSurf Yep, trying to keep it slow and steady is fine for me. Glad you got your weight tracker, I love mine And I'm loving the warm weather in LA as well!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Thanks Jacqui , it's on the refrigerator for all to read I actually made a beanless chili and had a half a cup of that instead for dinner. I am feeling satisfied so I hope that I can keep this going

Thanks Zucena and way to go on the pound down I can't wait to get through the 160's ... I will be thrilled to even see something less than 168 ... I just have to keep the focus and know that it will come just like Jacqui said earlier

Hi Peeps!

Welcome Zucena! Great to have you aboard! Sounds like you are extremely motivated. I too go to WW for the weekly weigh-in, (accountability), and because that is the only diet I can get my daughter to somewhat participate in. So glad you've joined us!

Rennie-substitute green peppers for mushrooms in either recipe. Just as good and low carb!

I went to the movies with my hubby on Sat, (which is our norm- we love movies!), and he and my daughter always get the movie popcorn which is way too much for my diet! So since October, when I first started IP, I started bringing either IP Southwest Cheese Puffs or IP White Chedder Curls, both low in carbs, very high in protein, fairly low in calories and very yummy! But IP products are so very expensive! I can find a more reasonable solution for the white cheddar chip things from Proti-thin, but no Southwest cheese puff things, so of course I googled how to make my own! Have any of you tried oopsies? They are a low carb bread substitute that you make from eggs, and ok if you have completely forgotten what bread tastes like, of have enough incredible resolve to not eat bread for months! But really not too bad and you can play with spices to make them better. Anyway, I found a recipe for homemade low carb, hi protein cheese puffs made from the oopsie batter, then you just add popcorn flavoring like nacho cheese and some Parmesan cheese to the batter, (I would also add Cajun/creole seasoning), put batter into a plastic bag, cut a hole in one corner and pipe in long strips like Cheetos. Bake at normal high temp like regular oopsies, but then turn oven on lowest setting, open door and let slowly dehydrate, (like a dehydrator), making them crispy throughout. Sounds like some work but I think I may try it next weekend, if time permits. Or maybe I'll just make some air popped popcorn and season that, but it is more carbs/less protein.

Oh, and Jacqui, it was my dog who ate my Fitbit Flex, not the Force. And he ate the heck out of it! Only pieces left. I guess a good thing he didn't get sick too! He's also the same dog who broke my jaw last year. Yes, really broke my jaw!!! He was running with the wild abandon that young very large puppies do when they don't know quite what their legs are doing, or where their going, but just running full speed in crazy mode because it just feels so darn good, and he knocked me off my feet into the air. Unfortunately, my face broke my fall and I ended up with a broken jaw, 2 black eyes and a swollen black & blue face. Good thing that dog is so cute and I'm such an animal lover!!!