Zumba, I'm glad to hear from you. There are some more big changes coming for you with your son - but these are exciting things! Proms and graduation and college, wow...he sure has grown up.

Shannon, happy birthday to your daughter! Oo, that is scary about the sudden glucose spike, but really wonderful that your levels have been so low and stable - yay!

andrew, 6%?!! I'm so envious! That is fantastic. How are you measuring your BF?

nvrfatagan, I second the previous suggestions and would add maybe beans or lentils for breakfast if you like those. I don't care much for eggs myself and often have some yogurt in the morning.

I'm weighing in at 121 now and not sure how I feel about it. I'd rather be under 120, but I am comfortable and fitting into my clothes without any trouble. My biggest concern is: am I being too complacent about this increase? My eating is pretty much the same as it's been the past two years, though there are always improvements that can be made; that has me feeling like this is maybe okay? As long as the trend doesn't continue upward, right? Right?!!

Confession:
I haven't ben here as much as I should. Yeah, I'm busy but not THAT busy. I've kinda been a in a funk. I'm not loosing. Not gaining, just not loosing. Whatta pain in the behind!

I finally broke down & went to the doctor. I have not had a check-up (standard nor female) in over 5 years. Please don't yell at me, I know how important it is to stay on top of my health. I just didn't have insurance nor $$ for it. Well, I finally got coverage! I saw a GP this AM. He is having mete a whole battery of tests & then he signed me up to see a OB/GYN for all my female stuff in a few weeks.

He thinks it may be my thyroid. I had the largest portion of it removed in2004 & haven't been on replacement therapy. Also he think if menopause has kicked in...I may have big issues in weight loss & HBP among other things.

I do hereby promise to make an appearance every chance I get. I need to get & give encouragement & support! BE HEALTHY!

Andrew 6% seriously?? wow, I guess I need to get on the stick, lol, my scale says mine is like 43% LOL! I haven't worked out much in years though so not shocking at all!

Rennie, girl, I've been missing you! I said to myself earlier today "if Rennie doesn't show up on the forum soon I think I'm going to take myself a little trip and have a sneak attack on her!" LOL! You know my favorite saying is that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Once we get to goal, we hope to maintain for a lifetime, so what is the hurry? Nah, I understand the hurry, just saying to take it one day at a time or like I do, one meal at a time! Hugs!!!!

It was scary Cattails but honestly I think it's the best thing that could have happened. It really was shocking to me. Seriously, if something random had happened that afternoon causing me to have to go to the ER (something completely unrelated) and they had done any blood work, I would have gotten the Type 2 diagnosis that I've been fighting the last 3 months to avoid. That food was so not worth that! It's only been three days since that happened but I have been 100% on plan with no desire whatsoever to go off plan. I think it shocked some sense into me, lol!

I'm starting to recognize that I'm on a low-carb kick. While my energy level hasn't tanked yet, I can feel myself flagging a bit. I was doing some research on it yesterday and came across some studies about the length of time it is before your energy comes back. Most say it's between 1 and 3 weeks. That's not too bad. The one thing I'm discovering is that I'm having a hard time getting my calories in without carbs. I was at around 1100 yesterday. 42 grams of carbs. So only 168 of my 1100 calories from carbs. I still need more fats I think. I just have to figure out where to get them.

cattails I use the Navy Calculator, which is probably not all that accurate, but I'm not necessarily as interested in the number right now as I am in the difference. I have all the tools to measure my own, but I've been too fat to use them for the most part. I'll need to lose a few more inches before I can get the calipers out. I also have a bio-impedance scale, but it is so dependent on your hydration levels that it's difficult to get consistent measurements. While I don't have much experience at maintaining on purpose, I think part of the struggle is at what point do you consider that you may be straying and starting to put the weight back on, or is it just environmental factors in play. It all comes down to how you feel and where your comfort level lies. I would think that if you put on 10 pounds, you might consider tracking your stuff for a week or two to figure out where you're issues might be.

Gail Thyroid issues can have a very large impact on weight loss. DW has thyroid issues and has been in therapy since our first DD was born. Get your health right, then you can focus on your goals. Hang in there. You're making progress even if it's not quite the way you were expecting.

Shannon I have to change my routines at the gym. I like how working out makes me feel, but I think I'm bored with it and I struggle with the motivation to go do them. I'm getting my run in more consistently than the weights. Nothing like a good hard shock to get you back on the right track. For you it's personal. A couple of months ago I had a good friend from college who was only a few years older than me die of a heart attack. That was all the motivation I needed.

Rennie Good to see you. Hang in there.

Michelle Haven't seen you in a few days. You doing ok?

Wow Andrew, nothing like that kind of tragedy close to home to remind us of our mortality, sorry about your friend. For the fatigue/low carb flu, drink some broth. I never had that side effect really (I'm always tired so who knows, maybe I did) but supposedly broth helps.

Like what kinds of broth? I don't want to load up too much on sodium and most of that stuff is FULL of sodium. Any that you recommend?

I'll see if I can find something that explains it but apparently it's the sodium you need to feel better. I think just beef broth. I'll see if I can find a better explanation - I know Eric Westman, MD writes about it in the new Atkins book.

This was just the first decent article I found, you can google and find something more detailed probably, see #4

http://authoritynutrition.com/5-most...carb-mistakes/

This is a really good article. Well written with lots of useful references, I like a lot of good references. It led me to this article, which is also very good.

Mark's Daily Apple - Fat adapted

Andrew when I did Atkins I started feeling shaky and would have half a cup to a cup of broth or bouillon and felt better. You need the sodium because your electrolytes are off.

Well, i seem to be hanging on at that 148-150 range. I guess I should be happy that i'm not up at 155 like I was last month but i really need to see some swooshes. Summer is here and I'm not at goal like I had hoped.

Working with trainer this morning, kickboxing tonight. Going to try and eat clean today..Have I mentioned how SICK of salad I am??!!

Also going to make a doc appt because I'm pretty sure something is up, I just don't know what,,,because I have never had such a hard time losing weight..maybe im'just old.

have a good day everyone.

Gah, so behind again.

My mom had 2 surgeries in the last 2 weeks, and my MIL (who is stage 4 met breast cancer) is on a new chemo that isn't going well and is thinking of going on hospice. My husband and I are primary caregivers for my MIL, as he is her only child, and it has been rough. Anyway, I try not to drag this stuff into all my posts and blog because --- ugh so draining and depressing -- but forgive me if I am spotty in the thread for a bit! Sometimes I am reading the thread with my tablet, but it is too tough to post from it so I don't end up saying anything.

Welcome nvrfatagn!

Zumba -- anyway to make those salads more appealing to you? Eating something you hate is never good. I find that guacamole or avocados makes my salad more exciting. Also fruit. Hang in there!

Andrew -- down a whopping 6%, that is AWESOME! Thanks for checking on me, too!

Shannon - May have missed the update on your sick doggy? How is the poor pup doing? I'm sorry about the scary glucose reading, I'm sure that was a kick in the pants! Congrats on the new low on the scale, whoo hoo!

Rennie -- Hang in there chickie, you'll find your groove again!

Cattails -- I think you are spot on -- just watch your trend, it doesn't sound like you're being complacent, you're still very attentive and aware of what's going on and I think that is key!

MrsTryingAgain -- You can do this, I'm glad you've not got the chance to see the doctors and get help if you need it! Checking in can be so helpful, even when things aren't heading in the right direction! So stick with us!

"Hi" and "hugs" to anyone I may have missed!

Snark, yes I need to get more creative with salads...funny , i love salad in restaurants but hate my own salad..LOL...I need to start adding stuff. I LOVE AVOCADO....high in calories but so good for us....

Michelle, sorry to hear about all the sickness....I'm sure it is tough trying to help your MIL make these kinds of decisions. My MIL has been dealing with some serious mental illness for the last two years and moved in with SIL when it started, so she handles everything. We have been kind of relieved not to be dealing with the day to day but before she was an hour away and now 5 hrs away so my daughter only sees her a couple times a year. And sometimes, since I have a medical background I disagree with things I hear but am not really able to have any input. But, I imagine it is super tough when you are the one caring for the unwell relative.

My pup is still sick. He is almost done with the antibiotics and not improving so I expect we'll be taking him back to the vet soon. He is still eating, peeing, etc lime normal, the cough is just not easing. He isn't doing the gagging sound at the end anymore so I'm wondering if the antibiotic is working for the bronchitis and it's just the heart getting worse :-(