Hello all,

This is thread #4 for those of us following Deepak Chopra's book Perfect Weight.

For the newcomers, here's some differences from some other plans:

We drink our water HOT!
We avoid foods that are too sweet or salty
We only eat when we are hungry
We exercise a lot
We eat a hot and high quality lunch every day

Of course that's not all, it's just a few things that are different. I also count WW points and they end up about 25 points
per day. This plan addresses factors that WW did not and I am finally losing weight.

Jennifa
216/197/170

Hiya!

I'm a newbie here, have lurked on this thread for a few days now, the "Perfect Weight" title caught my eye. I must say, I was a little skeptical about the hot water thing, but gave it a try anyway...surprise, surprise, I liked it!! I tried it plain the first time and it really wasn't bad. Then I bought some lemons to squeeze into my hot water. I"M HOOKED! I have even replaced about 3 of my usual cups of coffee with HW while I'm at work. (I work 11-7am shift, usually consume at least 4-5 cups of coffee/night...no wonder I have chronic heartburn, although, now that I think about it, haven't had ANY since starting with hot water!)

Thanks for giving me a new, HEALTHY habit!

Good luck in your weight loss efforts!!

Hey I like the lemmon idea. I'm still gettind used to the hot water idea. I tried it and decided it was not too bad but I like my water flavored.
Waterbaby that avatar sounds great. I have been trying to make one for a while and they are always too big. I don't like the ones availabe here, no horses! I am the proud mother of a going on 33 year old standardbred gelding named Whiskey. I have had him since '83. He is my best bud and still wonderful to ride. He is kind of small and I sometimes wonder how he carries me but he is tough. He actually has better endurance on a ride than horses twenty years younger.

Oh goody goody my thread had a post! So glad to find another Slimfast user. I think I'll keep comming here though. I have not had this much encouragement in months.

Jennifa, thaks for that breif explanation of this tread. i was actually attracted to the Perfect weight title also and did not know anything else about what you gals do. I'll try some of your ideas althought I really like salty foods. I do use a lot of salt. Any ideas how I can wean myself away? I realy crave the salt a lot. I think because I don't drink enough anything. I probably drink less that 1\2 gallon of liquid a day. I just have no desire for it even if it is in front of me. What can I do to get to drinking more?

Hi Cowgirl!

One of the ways I get myself to drink all my water is to measure it all out in the morning into a pitcher, and drink from that all day. I don't drink soda anyway, so I will have water with my meals too. I read somewhere that you should divide your weight by two and that will give you the number of ounces of water your body needs to consume in one day...SO...for the past two days I have been measuring out a gallon (!) of water and have managed to drink it all! Of course I DO spend a lot of time in the bathroom!

My weigh in is Tuesday (WW) so I'll see if this is having a positive effect on my weight loss!

Good luck chuggin'

hi all!

Katrinabgood, welcome! Sorry it's taken me a while to respond. So glad the hot water works for you.

Cowgirl... the best way to drink more water is to exercise more! I have found that mineral water is great, it even comes in flavors and doesn't have all those chemicals that diet soda has. You might try that, too. Wow, a 33 year old horse! I had a thoroughbred but I gave her up a long time ago, she is out to pasture now. Living the good life.

Waterbaby, how are you / where are you?

Right now I'm on the water retention camel train, but I am sure it will go away soon. I'm dragging myself to yoga today. I need it.

Hi, all!

My, how our sisterhood is growing!!! I'm glad we have all found ways to incorporate Deepak's ideas into our own lives

For you newbies....Kapha imbalance is signified by an excess of water, so you possibly don't need to chug-a-lug so much.

To detox (if you have a nice, icky coating of ama on your tongue, like I get; ewww) sip (and it means sip, not glug) hot water every 1/2 hour for a couple of days. The water should be hot enough so that you have to blow on it, and you don't need to drink very much.

I found a really pretty cup and saucer and that is what I use for my hot water. I sip one teacup every 1/2 hour. I got a cheap thermos at Big Lots and fill it with hot water in the morning and do my sipping all day. The water from the spigot on our company's coffeemakers is filtered, so I use that, and it is HOT! Any other water you want to drink is fine, but you may not need a full gallon a day. Or maybe you do. I'm not a doctor and just quoting from the book. I also like the idea of floating a lemon slice in the cup. Makes plain hot water look terribly fancy and I view it as a treat!

Cowgirl, I will send you the avatar by private email so you can decide if you want to use her. Personally, I think she is pretty and has a lot of sass! Also thrilled that you had a "nibble" on your SlimFast thread. I have the SlimFast hardcover book for sale, if any of you are interested. It's in mint condition and has Lauren Hutton on the cover. I tried SlimFast on several occasions and have such a problem with sugar that I couldn't do the program.

I'm doing fabulous. Lost five pounds over the last couple of weeks, and I think it was fat and not water (I'm SURE a lot of nasty ama went that way, too)

I started a program called "The Business Plan for the Body" and I am really, really happy with it. You run your body like a business and you are in the weight-loss business, instead of the weight-gain business. One interesting point (among many) that the author brings up is about plateaus. He says that most programs are designed to get you started on the weight-loss journey and at some point stop working. A plateau means the program has quit working, not you.

I don't know if it's true or not, but from personal experience I can speak of many, many programs that did not work for me, even though I gave them my best shot. So anyway, I'm now in the weight-loss business and having a great time. Hopefully, I will need a new Pants-O-Meter soon

Katrinabgood, the author also mentioned that after about three weeks of drinking a gallon of water a day (which he recommends), your body will adjust and you will need fewer bathroom trips, but there will be more volume each trip. I also like the way you measure your water. It makes sense.

My best to all of you! I'm still eating mindfully, away from the TV, and find I'm not eating as much. hmmmm....we may be on to something!

Hey, Cowgirl!

Here's the avatar I promised you.

I think she's a cutie...

Oooh sheez cute! Thanks waterbaby. I tried saving it and seting it up so when this post goes up she should be there.

Still getting used to the hot water. I tried setling down with a cup and a book the other night but made the mistake of using a plastic cup. Yuck!
I quit driking pop(soda to you easterners) about two years ago. Actually I prefer tea, usually unsweetened. I have two cups of coffee in the mornings unless I am having an unusually strong craving for more. I used to drink a pot or more a day!
My eating routines are a mess now because of some frinds comming to live here temporarily and they seem to eat a lot of oily stuff. They use canola but I think they use too much. I am beginning to go to just making seperate meals for myself though.
As for water, even if it is right in front of me I usually won't drink much. I try having it with me all day but I just don't want it and if I just make myself drink when I'm not thirsty I get feeling ill. I figgure if I at least drink tea it is sort of good for me at least better than nothing. In summer I drink a lot though so mabey it evens out somehow.
I'm not realy into diet books. I just try things and use what works from lots of different plans. I really love some of the power bars, luna bars, etc. I am allso going with a mixed dried fruit and nuts, about 1\2 cup for work lunches. Trying to get in some more natural food and it seems to be keeping me full.
Today I decided to quit the sugar in my coffee. I am using Sweet One. It tastes really good! Just like sugar, no aftertaste. No sacarin, no nutrasweet, no calories, no fat, no carbs! If anythin I just cut way down on my carb intake.
Well gota check in with my oter threads. Take care all.

Hi all!

Cowgirl, your new "photo" showed up just fine.

Glad you like her.

I used to drink a lot of coffee too. Kinda gotten away from the habit.

I'll also look for the Sweet One you mentioned. Sounds like something I could use.

Have a great rest of the day. Glad you're here!!

Hi!

I don't know what it is about that hot water but I like it! Last night I went back to work (11p-7a) after being off for a week...I usually drink at least 5 cups of coffee/night, had cut down to 2, by replacing it with hot water. Last night, I did not have any coffee! I had two cups of hw with lemon and I was fine...I was alert all night and best of all no heartburn!

I think I'll go get some now...see you later!

Hi all!

Hey, Katrinabgood....

I think most of us went through wondering about the hot water. I kept thinking it must be boring or taste bad

Well, I liked it too! I have my thermos sitting here and I'm a'sippin, friend!

Glad you're back to work. C O N G R A T S on the coffee-free evening! The heartburn is what finally drove me to give it up. I have a cup of Luzianne once in a while, but that's about it.

My dad drinks coffee constantly and of course, has heartburn all the time. Can't talk him out of it. Tried. Got my head bitten off. Oh, well.

Thanks for your post! Have a great day! What kind of work do you do?

HI all,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Hope you are all doing well. Looks like we've got the water thing down!

Right now I am trying to get rid of all those sweet cravings. The holidays re-introduced me and now I need to work at getting back into the swing of healthy eating.

Waterbaby, a big CONGRATS on your loss! Good job!

Cowgirl, Katrinabgood, glad to see you are cutting back on the coffee. I had to do a 3 day fast to break it but now I'm fine without it. I've had about 3 coffees in the last 18 months... same amount for sodas.

Just read Chapter 3 again, a key one for me, how about you?

Hi all,

How are you doing OP? Sip that water.. we could probably change the thread name to Skinny Sippers!

Well, the weight is on its way back down again. Glad to see it. It is nice to be able to wear jeans that were too tight but now fit.

I have re-committed to the idea of getting a wider variety of tastes into my diet. I also am trying harder to get at least 5 fruits or veggies in daily. I find that when I don't try that, it is easier to slip into old habits. So I keep carrots ready to go in the refrigerator so I can munch on them anytime.

I wanted to reply to your posts but they are lost, so I suppose you'll have to post again! Hope you all have a great weekend.

Hi all...

To answer your question, Waterbaby, I work in a hospital as a unit secretary, which is kind of a misnomer working the night shift...I don't work on any one particular unit, I go to each unit as they receive new admissions. I do all the clerical work associated with the admission, enter patient data into computer, schedule tests, call consultations, put the charts together and move onto the next one...sometimes do as many as 17 admissions in one night...so the night goes pretty fast...especially since I'm usually the only US on at night...my beeper is going off constantly! I definitely notice the difference in NOT drinking the coffee: no heartburn, less cranky, and I'm just as awake as I am when I DO drink the coffee! I did have a cup (maybe half) last night...It smelled so good! It just doesn't taste as good as it smells anymore...

Thaks for reminding me that I haven't had my water yet today...(just got up an hour ago) It's tricky getting some sort of eating schedule down when you work nights...is it breakfst in the morning when you just get home? Or when you wake up @ 3 PM? Dinner with the family is like my lunch...but I try to count my points/calories from midnight on...I'm always confused

Lot's of walking for me tomorrow, going to a "Klondike Derby" with my son and the Cub Scouts tomorrow...please pray for no rain!

Have a great weekend all,

Hi all. I finally tried the lemon and I'm likin it! I drank at least two cups yesterday. Now all of my co-workers think I'm nuts but I keep telling them I like it and it's good for me. It seems that a lot of people come to the resturaunt and order hot water with lemon.
I finally got back on track with the diet and lost 5 pounds this week! Pants o meter is sure letting me know I made the right move! My friends husband makes this stirfryed salad that is really good. He chops up about 5-6 kinds of leafy and dark colored veggies, like asparagus, red and green cabbage, brocoli, spinach, artichokes, carrots, onions and pepers. He puts light italian dressing on them and stir fryes them in a huge pot. We eat as much of this as we want along with a serving of meat and a little pasta or rice. He uses a lot of hot sauce because spicy food increases the metabolism. At any rate I lost a lot of weight eating this stuff. So far this week I'm down five pounds. When they first moved in I lost about 15 in a month but we sort of fell away from it for a while because of money, we were eating cheap junk and I regained it. Of course I was also very bad and overindulged in the sweets. But we are all gonna get back to eating well again now.
I think the hot water is going to really help too because I have been very dehydrated because I never drink much water in the cold months. I just don't want anything cold. But now I love the hot water and I think I'll drink plenty of it. I also told the people at the Slimfast thread about it. Mabey they'll try it too.
Sorry about not posting for a few days. Work has had me prety tired latley. I do read the new posts sometimes even when I don't have time or energy to post myself.