[cmyhc01]

Greetings everybody!!

I just joined this site tonight and am so grateful there is a place to communicate with others going through similar challenges. I turned 30 this year and also reached my highest weight--304 pounds. High blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes run in both sides of my family and I already have pretty significant osteoarthritis in both knees to boot. So I finally decided that I had to do something to try to prevent all of the worst case scenarios.

I started a protein sparing modified fast on MLK Jr. Day (under medical supervision) and as of today have lost 36 pounds. My blood pressure and cholesterol are lower than they have ever been.

I couldn't do this without the weekly support group that I attend or the support of my boyfriend, family and friends, but the difference this time around is that the main reason I'm doing this is for me--for my health and general well-being.

There are tough days of course, though, which is why I'm so happy to have found this site.

How are you all doing? Has anybody done a PMSF and if so, any suggestions for "meals"?

Keep up the good work, ladies!!!

Christine

[ThinkinThin]

I've never heard of PMSF, but it obviously works great. Congrats on your weight loss to date! That was fast! I bet you're proud. I joined back in June, then disappeared and now I'm back. Not having much luck cutting back on eating so not losing yet. I'll have to do some "fasting" myself this Lent maybe. :-) Welcome aboard and good luck to you!

[kaplods]

Protein Sparing Modified Fast, It's a low-carb, low-fat, low-calorie diet.

Combining low-carb with low-fat eating can be very dangerous in the long term, so (unless you're a nutrition specialist yourself) supervision by doctor or dietitian familiar with psmf's really is vital.

South Beach Phase I recipes may fit, and modified Atkins Induction recipes (to reduce the fat).

You also should become familiar with the symptoms of "rabbit starvation" (sometimes called protein poisoning - just google), and be especially careful to drink enough water to prevent ketoacidosis (not to be confused with milder levels of ketosis).

Your doctor probably has already gone over this with you - but anyone who might be tempted to do a PSMF unsupervised should be aware of the risks.

[melchak]

I, too, am on a PSMF diet, supervised by a Dr. I started December 20th and I've lost 49lbs so far. It's both easy and hard. I'd love to talk to someone doing the same thing I am.

[cmyhc01]

ThinkinThin--I think being on 3FC is a great motivator for starting back up. I wish you great luck...keep me posted on your progress!!

Kaplods--You are absolutely correct. I am doing this under medical supervision and I have labs done every few weeks to make sure everything is on the up and up. I drink around 80-100oz of water a day easily and have prescribed supplements to ensure that I am getting all of the vitamins and minerals that would otherwise be lacking from my diet. I also meet with a sort of support group weekly with others doing this program (or HMR) that is supervised by a dietician and additionally just took a nutrition course last semester as a prerequisite towards nursing school so everything surrounding this topic is very fresh in my mind.

This is absolutely not a longterm lifestyle, just a short term eating regimen because I was getting to the point where high BP, high cholesterol and diabetes were pretty much inevitable. Nobody should do this time of program unsupervised for sure.

Thank you for the suggestions on where to look for recipes--I did find a few under the low-carb recipe list here that I would be able to tweak to work for me, which is great!

Melchak--I'm so happy there's another PSMF-er on here! Good for you with the 49lbs. That's incredible!! I'd love to exchange cooking ideas and vent/rave about the pros and cons of this program with somebody else doing it. Like I wrote above, I meet with others weekly for about an hour, which is great, but the need for support often comes outside of Wednesdays at 8AM. I'd love it it we could be each others' cheerleader while doing this.