Hi there-
My name is Raquel. I am on my next set of 20 to lose. I am down 15 pounds since Jan. I am kind of a weirdo when it comes to losing weight. I lose in 20 pound increments so I plateau myself. Not sure if it is a correct way, however, it is my way and it works and has been working for me.

Since I am down to my last 60 pounds people have been telling me to just lose the rest and then maintain. I think I like to do it my way and stick with 20 and then maintain for a month or two and then hop right back on that horse.

I lurk all the carb/support boards and get inspiration and motivation from other peoples threads. I decided to go ahead and start posting. Really I am posting because since I am down to under 100 pounds left to lose I feel I will really need some support.

I am a server and work at Applebee's Restaurant, hence applebuddy in my titles. Imagine going to work on a daily basis and seeing an endless supply of food. All of the items on the menu are absolutely delicious....lol....this I definitely know. Because these items are readily available we, as servers, eat out or at work alot.

I am at work 6 days a week. I usually work doubles Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. This schedule definitely would throw anyone off. The rest of my week is made up of one shift per day normally a couple of hours. It's really hard to get in a good workout because I am constantly tired. I also walk about 3 miles to work every chance I get. So not only am I walking at work I start out by walking 3 miles to get there. See tired all the time. Have you ever wondered how many times a server has to go and get a side of ranch during his or her shift? lol .... let me tell you it's alot.

Here was what my day looked like....

830am
Woke up and took a shower.... realised I still forgot to color my hair the night before and lo and behold I ran out of eyeliner. What a day this is starting out to be.

900am
Started my walk to work.

1000am
Walked in the door and ordered my first meal of the day.
7 ounce sirloin
2 over medium eggs
Side of Broccoli

1030am
Started work

430pm
Sat and had lunch with my hubby after my shift. He had a cup of soup and a diet pop. My lunch consisted of....
10 count bone in classic wings with bleu cheese
Side of Broccoli
Rum and Diet Coke with 2 limes

I plan on heating up the rest of my wings and eating those. Don't think of this as my usual fare... I am on a chicken wings kick.

So that is why I need help to stay focused. I am never able to keep a good eating schedule.
We work when everyone else is eating and should be eating ourselves. Not only that sometimes when we are surrounded by food we just don't have the time during our shift to toss something in our mouth. Dilemmas... gotta love 'em.

Raquel
5'2"
187
Size 12

Hi Raquel.

Gahh...what the heck am I doing up at this hour?

I worked lots of food server jobs back in the day. You get lots of exercise just on the job....not sure if you'd even need to worry about additional exercise. I used to run my legs off at work.

It sounds like the good news is that there are plenty of options there that are appropriate for you eating plan. I've never had problems finding Atkins-appropriate food (induction-appropriate food, in fact) at most restaurants, etc. There's usually at least one or two things I can eat on the plan. Plus heck, you don't even have to prepare it....already cooked for you.

Back when I did Atkins the first time, I was working in a nursing home and always managed to get something from the dining room I could eat...eggs at breakfast, veggies, etc. Had no problem at all sticking with the plan. And sweets are not a temptation for me at all when I eat low-carb and don't eat any sugar...so they weren't a problem in terms of desserts in the dining room, party foods at work, etc.

Your "every 20 lbs." process is very interesting.....almost a variation on the "only set small mini-goals". With your way...every time you re-start again, you start at a new and lower baseline.....and I would think that would definitely seem much more manageable than looking at the entire goal, which could seem overwhelming. Plus...probably gives your body time to truly stabilize at the new weight.

The only problem I could see...and this would not be specifically for the way you do it but for those trying to lose weight in general......this time around (of course, I'm much older now).....but I've become VERY involved in nutrition and all the cutting-edge info about it...esp. the related health issues. And it's been beyond helpful for me to really and truly see this as a WOE and NOT just a "diet".
I am so at peace with just continuing to eat this way....don't even really think of it as a diet that has a beginning and an ending. It's so different this time....I mean, I've actually been learning why this WOE is so much better and high-carb is not....at the biochemical level. It's made a huge difference for me. I suspect many gain the weight back because they see their diet and something that will completely end when they've reached goal....because it's strictly for weight loss rather than a total and permanent change in their WOE.

Can't wait to see how well you do on this plan.

deena

Hi there-

Not sure what I am doing up either.

As far as my woe goes..... I am/have been in OWL for about 3 years. Not sure what you thought I was doing. I just revert to maintenance every 3 or 4 months. This is my WOE I don't fall off plan and do my best to make sure. Exercising is what people have to do eventually. I just have a hard time finding enough energy.

I am down over 100 pounds and have been doing this since 2005. I also plan on doing it until I die....... so no there is no curiosity in it for me..... it's just what works for me. Read the book and stick to plan..... it does work.

Hmm....well, on the one hand I WAS assuming that you meant that every time you lost 20 lbs., you kept it off....but just lightened up a bit for a certain period of time.....and then made a concerted effort to lose the next 20 lbs.

BUT, I was not sure if you'd been doing some form of Atkins the entire time (had been on the OWL rungs). Many here will switch to different WOE's whenever they hit a plateau, I've noticed. So since you're doing it in stages, I wasn't sure if it had been Atkins the entire time.

But 100 lbs. is fantastic and keeping it off all this time is fantastic. And staying on plan this entire time bodes well for you on long-term maintenance, IMO.

On another message board, I assist people to taper certain medications and with many, we use a similar plan as yours. We will taper them to a certain level and then have them stabilize at that level for a while before beginning the taper again. This allows them to start at an entirely new baseline (analogous to CW used here) and it seems much easier and less daunting for many to do it that way. And to be honest....they are much more stable as compared to others who just taper from start to finish in one fell swoop. Those periods of stabilizing and allowing the body to adjust to the new baseline really seems to help a lot of people.

Also, I stayed on Induction the entire time but did not exercise and lost consistently. I DO walk almost every day but I'm sure you get way more exercise than I do, at your job. I love to walk with my ipod but hate to exercise.

One of my sons is a MAC specialist for Apple Computers and when I saw your title, I thought you were doing some sort of plan using an iphone or something.

Also...just want to clarify your numbers. The ones under your screen name to the left are the stats starting with January, correct? But you have actually lost 100 lbs. from a significantly higher starting weight? I'm a bit confused by the "150 lbs. gone forever" phrase under your name, though. Is 150 lbs. the total you want to lose? I'm having trouble getting the numbers to come out right but I always did suck at math.

deena

Hi there Deena-

The weightloss under my name is correct. I started out at 342 pounds. I have lost to this point as of just a moment ago (stepped on scale) 155 pounds. In my post I stated I lost over a hundred pounds. I didn't say I lost a hundred pounds you said I did. Which is cool it was pretty late last night when you posted. I couldn't think either so I put over a hundred. Late nights in front of a computer screen.... well anyone's mind can get mushy..lol.

The stats I put down were from the start of my next set of 20.

Didn't you know that all diets start Jan. 1st and only the first Monday of that month counts as the starting date.....roflmao.

Nobody is perfect..... I am definitely not. This works for me. I try not to tell anyone what to do but I do tell people to find a plan and stick to it. I have a lot of friends on weight watchers and it works for them. I also have a couple of customers that come in regularly that have had gastric bypass. And then there are two of my loyal buddies that are on Atkins. All these people come in and share their stories with me and never have I once said it will be curious to see if it works out. How demeaning and hurtful that would be to them when they found something that works for them. I would never tell them that their way of making themselves healthy is only some sort of test that they can possibly fail.

When people say they see me walking and how much I've lost they tell me all about their journey and I tell them how wonderful that they are on it. Whatever plan they are on is always a good thing because they recognize a problem and are TRYING. That is all that has ever mattered. Eat Right, Move Your Body. Start with one and eventually you will want to do the other.

Thanks for your time.
Raquel

Well another Monday morning is here and I am already up and running (no not literally for those of you literal people).

I was up pretty late last night and couldn't think straight. Usually I would have gone shopping and gotten my breakfast at least sorted out, but, I decided last night after work to head to sam's club (after lunch with hubby of course, again, for all you literal people)

I got to sam's club and the lady tells me they will close in 5 minutes. Dangit! I made my way over to the Torani SF syrups and grabbed three bottles. UGH! I so wanted to get my shopping done. Oh well. I went there for those bottles anyway. I was just hoping to grab my groceries. I guess that will have to wait until tonight at walmart.

So for breakfast I will be having an omelet..... cheese, bacon, broccoli and mushrooms. I will def. have at least one cup of coffee to shake off the cobwebs.

Lunch... will have to be at home .... my morning shift didn't plan out. I am the on call person for most Monday mornings. I call in to work at 9am and see if anyone called out sick. I then fill in wherever they need me if someone has called out.

So back to lunch.... I am thinking maybe Tuna Salad on a bed of lettuce I think I might have some other veggies ..... hmmm I may have a tuna melt sans bread. Put that on top of my salad instead....yum.

Dinner tonight will be late 9pm or so. I have to work tonight so I will be eating applebee's... I am still on my freakin' wing kick.... may have more wings... and 1/2 a santa fe salad no dressing and no tortilla strips... I know I can have dressing... I just don't care for it on my salad. Weird huh?...lol.

We'll see how it turns out.

I am working out tomorrow afternoon with my trainer. She is expensive but well worth it. Now I have to find me some energy...lol.

Applebuddy

WHOA! Good grief, honey. You've lost almost 200 lbs. You sure HAVE lost over 100 lbs.! A LOT more! That is really impressive, I'm serious. Congratulations.

Are you going to post before and afters when you reach goal? I'd love to see the comparison. Bet you look fabulous.

deena

Thank you. If I find any from that time in my life I will post it. I had one a long time ago that made me decide to lose the weight. I have never been one for pictures but I also don't shy away from the cameras.


Yesterday was a bit backwards for me but was still on plan.

Breakfast
2 Servings Crustless quiche (bacon, broccoli, mushrooms, cheese)
Coffee, Torani SF Chocolate Syrup, Almond Breeze Milk.


Lunch ended up being at 4:00
I ended up eating 10 Classic Bone In wings at work with celery and bleu cheese.
Side of Broccoli

Dinner was at 9:30
Santa Fe Chicken Salad no dressing, no tortilla strips, no sour cream, no guacamole.

Man! I'm still on a wing kick today....

Breakfast
3 Eggs, 2 Jalapeno Cheddar Sausages
Coffee, Torani SF Chocolate Syrup, Almond Breeze Milk.

Lunch
10 Classic Bone In Wings with Bleu Cheese and Celery.

Snack
Celery and Blue Cheese

Dinner
Tuna Cheddar Melt no Bread on Salad greens.

Making a snack for tomorrow decent carb. count.
WHOLE Water chestnuts
Serving size 8 pieces 5 Total Carbs 1 Fiber= .5 carbs per piece
Bacon
3 slices raw trace carbs
Cut bacon widthwise to for 9 total pieces
Wrap each piece of bacon around the water chestnuts and fry bacon side down until crisp turn over and fry until crisp place on paper towel to soak up excess fat. Serve Warm.

Tomorrow
Breakfast
3 eggs and jalapeno sausage

Snack
Water Chestnut Wraps

Lunch
Cobb Salad

Dinner

Grilled Tilapia, broccoli, Coleslaw mix with red wine vinegar, one carb balance low carb tortilla. Make a fish taco 2 lime wedges tilapia and coleslaw.

We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Applebuddy

Applebuddy - where did you find the 1 carb totillas? What brand are they?
3g is the lowest I could find.

Hi there-

If you find any definitely let me know..... I was just writing that I was only going to eat one carb balance low carb tortilla..... carb balance is the name of it. It has 7 net carbs.
I apologize for the confusion.

Today is my only day off. Yay me!

I haven't had a day off in 2 weeks and I'm all by myself today. I could clean around the house that should burn a few calories. Really at a loss as to what to do. Oh well.

I'll start out with breakfast and work my way throughout my day.

Applebuddy

Good Morning-

I had a pretty rough day yesterday. My hubby and I also own an embroidery company this is our second year doing it. He does 95% of the work and I do 100% of the bookkeeping and ordering. Trust me when two people are not on the same page in a joint business, the business can get out of hand. Most businesses like ours will expect to get paid for the product up front. Some even more generous companies will accept 50% down as a deposit.
I cannot get my hubby to wrap his head around either of those concepts. If you order merchandise online you DEFINITELY pay for it BEFORE it even gets made. My hubby lets people order on the honor system. Which isn't too bad if he got things done in a timely manner. We have been burned by a softball team called Island Boys. The Coach gave us a bogus check last year. You would think that would have taught him a lesson and not supply and make product without prior payment....but, oh no! Latest being he had me order 4 dozen hats 3 weeks ago and has yet to complete it. Also for his own team he ordered 2 dozen hats .... that he doesn't like so he wants me to return them...with a 20% restock fee and $20 return shipping I will get back almost less than half of what I paid (hats were on sale to boot). Another order was for 2 dozen hats for a local middle school. Kids wanted them placed order for them and then only 2 paid. We were making them as the orders/payment came in and look what ends up happening.
Almost a thousand dollars in product needing to be done or returned and he is moving at a snails pace. Not really sure how to make him have good business sense. Some days I wish I can beat him with a business management book and pray he understands. I highly doubt that would ever happen. Of course I am talking about him understanding not the beating with the knowledge book. I may even hit him with our monthly bank statements. Or wrap my monthly statements along with a copy of all our bills in a rubberband together and hit him across the head with it....lol....I still could only hope he would get it.
I know he is trying to beat out the competition and yes he is definitely, at least, doing that. However, it is driving me insane. We don't charge a set-up fee. We don't charge for digitizing. We don't charge extra for bringing us your own product. AND we also don't charge an upcharge for any of our products. You pay what we pay. If the shirt cost us 1.50 and 3.00 shipping then you pay 4.50 and then only charge for stitches.... so yes we have business flying in. Yet I am tired of fronting the money....lol.... hubbys.... you really can't live with them.... and we definitely can have easier lives living without them....roflmao.

WOW!!! I really needed to vent...phew!

Back to my little world....

Yesterday was rough with my eating schedule too.

Breakfast
3 Eggs 2 jalapeno hot dogs
Coffee Cream Torani SF Chocolate Syrup

Lunch
I thought I would only have these for a snack but ended up eating them as my lunch without realizing that time had gotten away from me.
Bacon Wraps

Dinner
Didn't feel like making dinner so ended up eating 2 beef patties a couple slices of cheese and a salad.

Ended up going to bed at midnight.

Today will be a better day....
Breakfast
3 Eggs and 2 jalapeno dogs

Lunch
Santa Fe Salad..... I have to work this morning and then workout this afternooon.

Dinner
Pot Roast

Applebuddy

Now this is WAY back in the day, mind you...but I remember being a girl scout, selling those girl scout cookies. We used to take orders and then get stuck with all these extra cookies. Then they changed the policy so that we had to collect when placing the initial orders.
Back before they did that....heck, one of the troop leaders told my mother we'd have to buy all the left-over cookies.

Sounds like hubby is doing great with beating out the competition and getting customers but he's gonna have to agree with you about the payment policies so that this doesn't end up eating too much of your bottom line.

deena

Echo That!

I finally got a check out of him this evening when I got back from the gym. Not sure how much it is yet. It's still in the car. I couldn't even tell you who it's from...lol... at least it's something.

I remember when my choir class in eigth grade (many moons ago) we had to prepay for lollipops... sold them for 25 Cents each. I think I ate more than I sold. Oh well.

Hubby hasn't talked much the last two days..... I think his body is still being repaired from yesterday when I chewed his bottom out...lol.

So far I am doing ok today....
Breakfast was
3 eggs and 2 jalapeno dogs
Coffee cream and SF Chocolate Syrup

Lunch was
Wings damnit! I can't seem to get away from wanting them.
10 Hot wings with celery and bleu cheese dressing.
I have been ordering the hot flavored wings instead of classic flavored difference being that even though both are the same spicy buffalo sauce the hot has Tabasco powder. YUMMMM!

Dinner is Pot Roast.... it's in the oven and has been in there since 10am yumm I made it with a nebraska steak seasoning.... not sure of all the seasonings in it... tossed an onion 3 baby red potatoes and carrots in there all for hubby of course.... I am having Broccoli/Cauliflower ...

Later on tonight I am going to try something that I have never made low carb before.... it will be for dessert tomorrow night.... needs time to freeze.

Using one of the cheesecake recipes on here... I will make the cheesecake without the crust make 1/8th cup portions out of it ....set it in a freezable container... cover and set in refridgerator..

While cheesecake is chilling.... place a small drop of SF jelly/jam on one side of a Low Carb tortilla...retrieve the cheesecake from fridge and place one portion of cheesecake on top of the jelly/jam Fold short end of tortilla over the cheesecake and do the same with both sides of the tortilla once that is done roll cheesecake away from you until you create a burrito....secure using toothpicks if you have them if not place it fold side down on a GREASED sheet pan (cookie sheet) Repeat process until all the cheesecake is used up.

Place pan of cheesecakes in freezer... freeze overnight...

heat oil up to 350 degrees F

I think it only needs to cook for 4 minutes. It only needs to be golden... if you are using brand new oil just check for time... new oil produces a lighter product... but still just as delicious....if it decides to open you can always hold it closed in the oil with a set of tongues... that is why I freeze it first so it holds it's shape.....

Not sure how much you care for it but I like to toss mine in a bit of cinnamon/splenda....

I am unsure of all the carbs this contains because of the different variations that can be made.... tonight I am going to try one of the cheesecake recipes used in this forum.... for tortillas I am using Carb balance which is 7 per tortilla ... I am going to try to cut them in half... so we'll see.... this is probably a recipe more for OWL or Maintenance.

Well that was my day so far.... tomorrow....

Breakfast
2 eggs 2 slices bacon maybe a slice of low carb bread... 4g per slice
Coffee cream and SF Chocolate Syrup

Lunch will be no more wings...lol
I found a recipe for pizza that I might make it's from ravens low carb nest's blogspot. I would recommend checking it out the mexi melt cheese that she talks about can be found at costco.

Dinner...will be at work tomorrow night.... and hopefully no wings.... I should be off around 11:30 so I am thinking maybe the tilapia and broccoli... can you tell I like broccoli?

Good Luck
Applebuddy

Yesterday went really well... mostly a protein day not sure why it's just what I had available and what I was hungry for. Just because I am surrounded by food doesn't mean I always get to eat what I want or even should. Sometimes it's like working in an office and you forgot your lunch so all that is left is the vending machines... and we all know what those machines are filled with. Well, the same thing kind of applies to serving I have the restaurant as my vending machine but my customers that I have to take care of all evening would be considered my empty change purse...lol.... I guess it only makes sense in my head.... the availability is there, however, I am still unable to have what one would consider a decent meal.

I like to take my time when I eat and enjoy everything I put into my body. It's hard when 3 days of my week are considered normal days and 4 days are just "wacked out". Like today a coworker in need of money asked me a few times to take my shift today. I finally agreed, so it put me kind of out of sync for my schedule.This morning instead of waking up at 8am to hop in the shower I woke up at 12:30 and my hubby calls and tells me he's headed back from the gym and wants to see a movie.... he also tells me that he has a deposit from a customer to do 20 hats .... YAY!!! I hope he finally gets it...lol..

Yesterday was like I said a high protein day for me...
Breakfast
3 eggs and 3 slices bacon

Lunch
Tilapia and broccoli

Dinner
Salmon and broccoli

and yesterday afternoon I had made a pizza crust from raven's website and came home feeling a bit hungry so I ended up making the pizza.... and...

WOW!!!OMG!!! How DELISH!! I really did not notice that it contained no flour. I used an 8 by 11 pan instead of 9x13 and reduced the cheddar cheese by 1 cup. I also used a pizza sauce which contained 4 g sugar per 1/4 cup I used 1/2 a cup and pepperoni and more mozzarella on top.. placed it in a high broil oven and waited about 10 minutes... also if you had made the crust earlier wait until it completely cools before removing the foil/parchment from the bottom. THEN top your pizza and place it on a fresh piece of foil before making pizza.

OH well so that's how my day yesterday went. Like I said, high protein. No reason why just what I wanted at the time and that is pretty good for working in a restaurant..... oh my goodness... I forgot... we have a regular customer that comes in all the time and brings us goodies... and last night she brought in the motherload.... a big container of chocolate peanut butter fudge, some other kind of fudge and 8 HUGE loaves 4 of chocolate zucchini bread and 4 of banana bread... talk about temptation...I was so proud of myself... I didn't have any and I even cut up one of the loaves for everyone so that they could grab and go... I did it so that it would get eaten up quickly.

Phew what a day yesterday was.
This morning...

Breakfast ...
Leftover Pizza

Lunch
Leftover pizza... maybe...lol... it was good

Dinner
???? suggestions???

Well, Yesterday went pretty good.

In the morning for breakfast I did have pizza and it was still delish the second day. After that my hubby and I went to the movies and watched Hot Tub Time Machine... if you are into comedies this is a pretty good one.

No popcorn for me yippee!

When I got home I was still unsure what I wanted to eat so I just polished off the last two slices of that lc pizza.

For dinner I had a chicken taco salad from del taco... no beans, rice, or tortilla shell. Although, I did have a Rum and Diet Coke at The Ram before the guys were ready for dinner...... this is the horrible part... while I was enjoying a rum and diet pepsi with limes .... all my boys were working out at the gym... I was just waiting for them to get done....lol... they go to LA Fitness and I workout at Prime Fitness ... and they are in totally different cities. Mine is in Bonney Lake and my son and hubby workout in Puyallup... so I was waiting for them.... my son had brought two of his best friends along to workout with him.

This morning was a workday for me....I didn't have to work this evening so that was awesome.... For breakfast I had Steak and eggs and broccoli....
Lunch was a Taco Salad (ground beef) from Mazatlan Restaurant.... hubby wanted to eat there.... dinner, who knows... I'll just have something light tonight.

Hope everyone has a great day.
AppleBuddy