Okay, if you look at my info you’ll see I’ve been a member of 3FC since Dec 05‘. I’m definitely not a newbie to this game. I have the same story as a lot of people.. To try, try, and try AGAIN. I have had a lot of ups and downs on the scales, mostly ups these past few years.. Obviously! I have been successful in the past, so I know I can do it.

As for my game plan I have started a new program and I’m so excited to start this journey again. I have set a personal goal to get to ONEderland and I will think about what comes after that when I get there. No need to stress about the journey as a whole, otherwise it’s overwhelming. I’m looking for some courageous ladies to join me. Where we can come together and report our daily successes whether it be pounds loss or a really great on project day as well as our struggles so we can encourage one another.

I’ve named the thread “Making choices that'll last ya, and changes that'll fix ya!” because it deeply struck chord with me. It just so happens I seem to be the author of that little gem! LOL I found it going through some of my old posts and I said this phrase as a way help motivate the women (would love to see some familiar faces!) to choose the day they were in to make choices to change their tomorrow. I want to take this journey (again) living up to those words. I owe it to myself…. These past five years are proof that this can’t be done alone. I need a support group and this place happens to be the best!

I know it’s the Holiday Season and there are probably very few people willing to start until after the holiday. But what better way to challenge yourself and prove to yourself you can live happily while healthfully getting through the holidays!

Hi.

I just started dealing with my weight on November 18. I've cut out all processed food (high glycemic index things such as white flour, white sugar, white potatoes, white rice…). I weigh in with a couple of friends on Wednesdays. I missed the first Wednesday, and when I stepped on the scale after 2 wks. I had lost 7#. Very encouraged…. but a week later I had only dropped another half pound. And today I'm only 2 days away from weighing in, and I really don't feel as though I've lost. I started at 242 and was 234 at the dr.'s last week. My diet has changed enormously, and I'm discouraged to not see weight just falling off. I would find even a pound a week encouraging.

So… What is your plan for losing weight?

Janny

Hi Janny!

I'll be eating according to the Glycemic Index, pretty much like yourself. All the same I'd like to get my meals as macro nutrient balanced as possible. As well as getting some exercise in there. I'm wearing a stepper striving for 10,000 steps! I hoping some time on the elliptical will help me with that!

It's normal for the first couple of weeks to be outstanding and then slow down. The important thing is remember to keep doing and living healthfully everyday and those days will add up to a wonderful thinner you!

Tina,

I'm so excited that you're using the low g.i. way also. There are so many approaches, but that's the one that really makes sense to me. That and listening to one's body, eating only when hungry and stopping before being overly full.

Since my first post was kind of depressed, I want to say that I've found it pretty easy to eat low g.i. It requires a lot of advanced planning, especially when eating away from home. Over the past 3 and a half wks. I've found myself looking up a restaurant menu online so I could plan what to eat, going to a potluck where the only thing I could eat was what I brought myself, and packing legal food for myself when away from home. In one 4-day period I ate five meals away from home and was, with careful planning, able to stick to it. Two days ago I was at a funeral luncheon…. fried chicken (nope, the batter has flour in it), barbecued chicken (nope, because of the sugar), cheesy potatoes…… I ended up eating some non-sweet ham, green beans and salad. Not bad!

It has really surprised me that sugar has been so easy to drop. I've been a sugar junkie all my life (I'm 54). And I'm an excellent baker. I've truly had a 'one day at a time' feeling about this, and so far I haven't wanted to have sugar (except on Thanksgiving when, one week into the new eating, I broke all the rules!). I reserve the right to have some occasionally if I really want it, but right now I don't. I use Stevia in my oatmeal and coffee and in Greek yogurt, and sometimes I microwave apple slices until they're tender with Stevia and cinnamon. I still have things around the house that I really love (ice cream and Nonni's biscotti), which my husband has been finishing. When they're gone, I'll buy cookies for him that won't plague me as much as those things do. But really, it hasn't been all that tempting. It's as if my mind is tempted, but my body is saying, "I'm all right without that."

The most remarkable realization for me is that FOOD SATISFIES HUNGER. When I used to find myself hungry, especially really hungry as in low blood sugar shaky, I wanted high glycemic index food, which left me satisfied for only a short time. Now I've learned that low g.i. foods also satisfy my hunger, and do it for a much longer time period. So all food satisfies hunger, but if I choose better foods I'm satisfied longer and more healthfully.

Time to go exercise.

Thanks so much for your encouragement.

Janny

From one sugar junkie to another.. I 'm glad you are onboard! I have so much more to learn about eating this way. I tried one time before in my many attempts to lose weight by following the Sugar Solution diet. I was surprised at how good I felt. It makes total sense, spike your sugars with junk, you'll crave to have it again within a short period of time. One endless cycle! I hope to keep my blood sugar balanced and want to eat to live, not live to eat! LOL

Have a great time excercising!

I am also following the low G.I. way of eating. And, I too was suprised at how relatively easy it was to cut sugar out of my diet. So far I am having great success with it. I feel like the "fog" I was living in all the time has lifted.

I look forward to getting to know you!

Yes. It's as if I realized that I've had soooooo much sugar over the years, it has done me no good, and enough is enough! It was easy to just say, "I'm done with it for now." One thing I've noticed is that even though I have to plan what to eat, in general I find myself thinking about food a lot less than I used to. I'm not counting calories. If I'm hungry I eat something low g.i. and go on with life.

Congratulations on your 15# lost!

Hi Gumboot! This is day one for me in my new journey and I already feel so empowered. I guess finally taking that step and gaining control helps a lot. Congrats on those 15lbs. lost! That's awesome!

Janny, planing is going to be a huge factor for me. When I fail you can pretty much guess it's because I haven't planned ahead!

I hope you don't mind ladies but I thought part of being accountable would mean to own up to what you've done for the day. Here is my day..

Breakfast: Banana Nut Smoothie
Lunch: Chicken Salsa Salad w/med. baked Sweet potato
Dinner: Honey Garlic Salmon served with wild rice and steamed broccoli

1/2 hr. walking
2.5litres water guzzled

One day down, here's to the rest of my life! Have a great evening ladies!

Dear New Friends and Comrades in the Fight,

I'm a bit embarrassed about how much I've eaten today. But I've been *hungry*, and I did choose good foods!

Breakfast: oatmeal sweetened with stevia with an apple and cinnamon in it, 1% milk, and really dense wholegrain homemade bread spread with natural peanut butter.

Midmorning: almonds and coffee with stevia and half and half.

Lunch: Vegetarian chili and Greek yogurt with stevia, instant coffee powder and cocoa powder.

Midafternoon: a bit of grilled chicken breast and a hardboiled egg.

Dinner (not yet consumed): a salmon patty, mixed veggies, broccoli, and baked sweet potato. An orange for dessert.

Hopefully I won't be very hungry after dinner!!

Believe me: As much food as this is (I just did a quick tally, and it's about 1800 calories), it's a fabulous improvement over eating sugar many times per days as I used to do! I'm actually proud of this day's eating, because I really did eat in response to hunger, and chose food that was good for me. I just ovulated, and I think the hormones accompanying that make me hungrier. Yesterday was a hungry day too. I'm hoping this doesn't go on too long.

Also I walked 30 minutes on the treadmill and have hula hooped for 20 minutes. I plan to do at least 10 more minutes of hooping before I sleep.

Maybe 2 C total of water. This is not good, I know.

I just brought in the mail, and was happy to receive a book I had ordered *used and cheap* through Amazon. It's called "Sugar Bust for Life Cookbook and Companion Guide" by Ellen and Theodore Brennan.

Until later --
Janny

Hi, I'm on a low gi Plan too. Belly Fat Cure. No white food. Only stevia or truvia because of problems with other diet sweeteners. I've probably been doing this for two months now and have lost an additional 14 LBS for a total of 49. Are you allowed to eat apples on your plan? This one is really low sugar. 15 grams per day with no more than 5 per meal/snack. Its easy to follow. I feel better too without the spikes in blood sugar. Good luck to you all and lets hang in there through the holidays and end up with a loss while most people are gaining.

1/2 cup Uncle Sam's Cereal, 1/2 and 1/2 and truvia
roast beef sandwich on a 1/2 a whole wheat pita with mayo and mustard
chicken salad in the other half of the pita
celery with cream cheese/blue cheese
planning to have some brie on allowed crackers for supper
lots of water and a few cups of decaf green tea

Welcome!

Yes, the plan I'm on allows apples. It only forbids very high g.i. fruits such as bananas and I think watermelon, pineapple and raisins.

About the holidays: I have a friend who, along with her teenage daughter, needs to lose weight. Her husband offered both her and the daughter $100 to lose a certain amount. The mom was trying to encourage the daughter that if she worked at it she could do it by the end of the year (this was before Thanksgiving). She told her daughter that if would be difficult to accomplish, though, because of the holidays. I loved the daughter's response: "Mom, if we can do it this time of year, we can do it any time!" We can, too!! Just because we've chosen to eat lots of lousy food for umpteen Christmases in a row does *NOT* mean we have to keep up the pattern. It's time for change. And no, I don't plan to completely deprive myself. I'll have three of four days during the season that I choose to go off the plan, as I did for Thanksgiving. But each time I do it will be a decision, not just mindless gorging because it's the holidays.

Hi there,
I started my wl journey on Dec 1st... sadly, this is just one of many and I really hope that this time is the one. I'm doing the Ideal Protein diet and it's really helping me with the sugar cravings. In life, I have achieved every other goal I have set for myself and this is the last goal... and for some reason, I flounder every time. So, this is it lol... gotta get this goal done!!

Janny, I know what you mean about "hungry days" especially just before your TOM. And considering that, I think you did extremely well! I agree you must increase the water intake in order to flush your system. Have fun thumbing through your new cook book!

Kitty, Congrats on your loss! You are sitting at my goal.. Oh how I envy you right now! LOL

ALM, Don't worry you're not alone. Last time I lost any significant amount of weight was back in 06'. Struggled ever since trying and fighting to keep the loss. Sadly I'm within 22lbs of gaining it all back. I want a lifestyle makeover so I can make my new habits stick!

I went out this morning to chip some things off my Christmas shopping list and did really well. I still have my husband, two step-sons and stockings left to do. Not to mention my 'has everything' sister to shop for. I'm proud that I gave myself a time limit then it was time to come home and prepare lunch.. no quick fixes! That and I'm down 2.5lbs this morning!!

Have a great "on target" day ladies!

Tina,

Limiting time Christmas shopping is a sane measure! Congratulations on that *and* your 2.5# loss!

I'm happy to report that after two very hungry days, my appetite seems normal today.

The new cookbook calls for a lot of Sweet-n-Low, which I don't want to use. I'm sure that I can substitute Stevia, which I'm okay with using. Aside from that it looks good, and as soon as our roads become less icy I should have a chance to go grocery shopping so I can try some of them out.

Have a great day!

Janny

Dear ALM,

I think that the fact that you're dealing with the sugar cravings is key for you and also for me! Regardless of past failures, let's continue to faithfully follow our plans so that this time will be different.

Janny