Happy May Day to all of you,

I thought that I would share the way I am eating now. I didn't want to say anything until I knew it could or would work since I've tried so many different thing. This has been almost 1 yr of searching different diets and ways of eating that would fit my lifestyle and that I could live with. I believe I have finally found what I've been looking for. I am not counting calories or carbs any more although the plan I'm following does have the calorie count planned in it if you follow the phases... phase 1 is 1200 cals and phase 2 is 1600 cals. Phase 3 is maintenance, but I haven't read that one as it will be quite some time before I will need it. I'm not following a phase exactly either. I figure I've probably gone straight to phase 2. I like Intuitive Eating because I like the idea of eating only when hungry and eating what I want, enjoy each bite and stop when satisfied or you start to feel full. Also I need and desire to get away from focusing on food all the time as I feel like all I've been thinking about for years now is food, food, food... and I like things that are easy and simple prepare, eat and follow.

Strange thing is that I had been seeing the book CarbLovers Diet at Walmart, but I wouldn't buy it since I had become so low carb eating minded. However after going to the their website one night and reading, I began to see some things that looked like things my doc had mentioned to me and that I had seen in the doc's office, I went to the bookstore and bought the book. I use the guidelines mostly of the CarbLovers diet combined with a lot of what I've learned about foods like greens that help lower my BS. However, I've also learned from this book foods that help keep my BS level and not to spike. I am pleased to say this is working great for me. As expected, I gained weight... about 9 lbs when I first re-introduced the carbs. The book says you should lose up to 6 lbs the first week. Although I'm not following the calorie counting plan itself only using it for guidance I am happy to say that I have lost 4 of those 9 lbs since I started this about 5 days ago. And my Fasting BS has become steadily going below 120 mg/dl for the past 3 or 4 days. It was 112 this morning and my BP is steady and normal as well. Since I usually lose weight very slowly and don't usually lose the max promised on any diet, I am very pleased with the results so far and won't be disappointed if I don't lose the 6 lbs. Another promise is that I won't be hungry and will feel satisfied longer and am pleased to say that so far that has been the case and see no reason why it should change. For one thing there are no forbidden foods however there are important foods to eat which are called Resistant Starch foods that go straight through the digestive system keeping me very regular which has always been a problem for me most of my life.

So I am very pleased to have finally found a way of eating that fits my lifestyle so well that it will easily be the way I will eat the rest of my life. And amazingly it is so much like one of the ways my doctor had suggested I could eat if I didn't want to count calories or carbs, but it didn't have all the explanations for why and how it works that I got in the book. I expect my next doctor's visit in July to be much better than my last one now that I've found what works for me.

I'm planning a trip back to TX to see my family this month and I've already got a plan in the making of foods I plan to take so I can easily stay OP while traveling and when eating in restaurants with family. It is such a great feeling to finally have something that helps me feel I'm in control of what I can eat.

Y'all have a great day.

I'm too far behind for individual responses, so I'll just say hello to each of you - Mary, Marie, Trish, Bunti, Katzz, DLSquared, Tamsin, Laffalot, OKAnnie, WebWoman, and anyone else reading this.

My life has been very hectic, and I see no signs of it slowing down for awhile! I'm doing pretty good with the food, but could do better.

I'll try to be back soon. In the meantime, have a great day, and stay OP!!

Trish,
I'm glad you found a plan that you're so enthusiastic about, and I hope it really works for you. Keep us informed! Jane, I know what you mean that life gets hectic...I've been busy all weekend with my twins' senior prom, and didn't stick to plan as I would have liked - scale up 2 lbs, but I'm hoping it's mostly sodium gain. <sigh>
It's a new month and a new week, so back to plan we go! Happy Mat!

I'm totally impressed that so many of you can remember the screen names and respond individually. I remember the content of what is said, but without scrolling back up I could never keep up with who said what. I'll try in the future. So far I am holding firm at the 149 even though the doctor said my new med would cause bloat and weight gain. I made it through the baby shower we hosted and stuck to the fruit, chicken salad and one or two pita chips - I held firm against the cake and other chocolate treats. I got into the pool today with the youngest of the grands and began teaching him to paddle, kick and how to find the side of the pool and to pull up. The four year olds know the basics of swimming but will have a refresher lesson soon. The two year old is a bit timid in the water and will not let go so I got a work out taking him around the pool, getting him to kick is feet, etc. Before I realized it we had been in the water nearly two hours so I feel like I had a pretty good workout. If the weather cooperates and it's warm tomorrow I'll put the floatees on the big boys and take all three in the pool. I don't feel confident enough when I am by myself and I have three so young to look after without the swimming aides. Hoping the water activity will add another level to the toning up and taking off a few pounds.

Good luck everyone on all your diet plans. My SIL and BIL have just begun a weight loss plan. I'm not sure the name of it, but she said she eats whatever she wants but it can be no more than the size of your fist that you eat at a time and you do this every two hours. I don't know the logic behind it because I could eat some items the size of my fist that are pretty darn high in calories but it seems to be working for her. She's lost enough weight that I can see the loss easily in her clothes.

My sister began a very strict heart diet and has eliminated nearly all fat and items high in cholesterol. Her husband is on the same diet. He's down to 170 from 215. My sister began at 231 and is down to 180. The loss for both has been extremely rapid IMO. They began the diet in January after my BIL was hospitalized having had a heart attack. BY my reckoning my sister has lost 51 pounds in four months. She's looking good and feeling much better.

Katzz,

I would love it if you would find out the name of the diet that your SIL and BIL are on - it sounds very interesting and others might want to try it!

Maryea, my thoughts on the pain is to eat really angelically for a week and see if that helps. Then you might know if it is your blood sugar causing the problems. As a side benefite, you'll feel good about your eating.

Trish, congrats on finding a lifestyle you like. I could never do low carb so your plan sounds good to me. It sounds like you're on a good course.

Jane, take a breath and don't let life get too hectic.

Webwoman, you should post a pic of your twins prom photos.

Katzz, I've lost many posts when I type directly in the post box. So I type in Word, then copy and paste it into 3FC. I have both my web browser and Word open at the same time, so it's easy to remember screen names - I read and respond as I go. My memory couldn't handle that. If my screen name wasn't my first name, I'd probably forget it too. And I agree 51 pounds in 4 months is awfully fast. Perhaps after the heart attack your BIL needed the quick loss.

I finally did face the scale yesterday. It wasn't pretty but wasn't horrible either. About what I expected. I even told DH I weighed (he'd heard so no secret there) and what the weight was. My first pair of Ebay auction Not Your Daughter's Jeans capris arrived in the mail yesterday. They're white and gorgeous. Retail they're $84 and I got them for $18. Wow-wee. I can't tell they aren't new. I won 2 other auctions so fa. A black pair and a blue pair. Since summer is coming, having new capris is fun. Motivating too as they have no room for growing.
Marie

Hi all,

WebWoman - like you, I thing your weight gain was all sodium related. How's it going so far this week?

Katzz - I like how you got your exercise in the pool, without it even seeming like a workout. I like to play badminton, and the time passes so fast while I'm chasing around the birdie. It's been too windy for much of that, though. Aren't grandkids just the best thing ever? I have lots of fun with mine, too.

Trish - I'm glad you like your new plan! And a big YAY for you, already planning ahead for your trip to Texas. I really think that planning ahead has a huge effect on our success. With the internet, it's so easy to check the nutritional value of food in most restaurants. Are you driving or flying to Tx?

Marie - YAY for you, getting a huge bargain on the jeans! I've been buying new capris, too, and LOVE buying smaller ones than last year!

When I'm typing a long post, like this one, I periodically click on View, then Copy, just in case I lose it. It's so annoying to have to start over!

I'm doing well staying OP. I found some low carb fat free yogurt at Kroger's, and really like it. It isn't as creamy as some others, but much better for me, so I used my hand mixer, with only 1 beater attached, and beat it until smooth. Yum!

Seems like there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything! I've been spending lots of time with the new baby. He is just precious, and has captured my heart. Lots of events coming up - birthdays, weddings, graduations, and such. The weather is supposed to warm up a bit, thank goodness.

Have a good weekend!

Just a quick flyby.

Jane - We are driving as I need to go through AR and see my daughter.

Hope everyone has a VERY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY weekend.

Popping in to say I hope you each had a very happy Mother's Day weekend. Things were very busy at my house, but that's par for the course around here, lol. I ate a bit too much, but all the temptations have either been sent home with the kids, or put down the garbage disposal.

Trish - refresh my memory - do you live close to any of your kids? I know you're probably really looking forward to seeing your DD and her family in Arizona.

How are you others doing?

Jane No none of my kids or Tony's lives close to us. My DD lives in Arkansas so we will try to make it to Arkansas spend the night and then drive over and spend some time with her before we go on to TX. Not going to IN this time. Just hope the flooding goes down considerably before we get to Memphis. Figured we might be difficult to get a room there so will drive further into Arkansas to spend the night. How was your day with your family? Did all the kids get to be at your house?

Hope everyone has had a good day.

Trish - oops, I was thinking AR stood for Arizona, lol. The flooding around here is awful. Not where I live, but all around. Yes, all but Gina and her girls were here yesterday. I am blessed that they all live fairly close, with Katie and her family right next door. How are you doing with the new Carb Lovers?

A big hello to anyone reading this.

Not much going on today. I've been outdoors this morning, and I'm loving the beautiful weather. Rain is coming my way later today, but I'm grateful for the sunshine while it's here.

My food plan is in place, so I'm good to go! I'd sure lose a lot faster w/o these family weekend indulgences, but I am still losing, and I'm happy this way.

How's everyone else doing?

Hi Everyone, and hope you had a good Mother's Day!
We had a cook out at my sister's house, and sat out on the deck in the sunshine, something we haven't seen in a while. Actually got to work in the yard later in the day, as it warmed up nicely. In spite of the food, I was only up 1/2 pound, so that was a good surprise and I intend to lose it this week. As long as it's nice, I'll plan on working in the yard in the evenings instead of snacking in front of the boob tube. Have a good week everyone!

Hey everyone:
I finally figured out what I can be counting. I plan to follow the American Diabetes Association food plan, so that will be my counting for each day. I notice you talk about your lives on this site too! Yay! that is exactly what I need, experience strength and sound mentoring. I am humbled by my weight gain and glad to be back.

Hi chicpanda! Glad to see you are back, I've missed you! I count calories and carbs, carbs being the most important in a way (diabetic) but calories are plenty important too. So far today I'm doing great. I've had a little renewed inspiration recently so let's hope it lasts.

Jane - know what you mean...it seems like everytime I turn around there's a big dinner. but right now at least...my focus is on my goal...and I've decided no matter what I'm going for it. I've let these big dinners mess me up too many times!

Marie - I think you're right. I need to be consistently op and who knows maybe the pain will go away. I'm doing better now so remind of that if I slip now and then. Certainly worth a try and losing weight and getting my bs in better control would be worth it anyway. I've known all along that the only thing stopping me from losing weight was my inconsistency. My face is now set toward my goal...no side-tracks! You can all feel free to poke me if I get off-track...

morning all:
I just figured how to get the cute icons in the post! a little rusty here
Thanks for the welcome back, Mary. I am glad I am trying to live a healthy life style again.

I realize I should share part of the reasons for my regain. Simple fear and stress over perhaps losing my house. I am in foreclosure with my bank. I didn't want to share this with you folks. It is humiliating to admit financial adversity. Even though I know I haven't been spending foolishly. My monthly income did not cover my monthly expenses until this February of this year when I became eligible for medicare. I was paying $470.00 a month for medical coverage.
Okay. too much information.. i am justifying..

We have been working with my mortgage lender for almost 3 years. They keep postponing the decision, telling us at least one million of their mortgages are also in foreclosure. I keep saying they don't want my house ...they want my money.. but it has been and is so scary I have been turning to food for comfort. yet again.

okay that's off my chest. (wish it were off my hips too )

thanks for listening.
Coralee