Thanks Susan
 

During c1 I varied my carbs a lot, but spent too much time on l&s reading the big-muscle guy posts, and the "got to eat a quality carbs 6 meals a day" dogma. So that's what I tried to do for C2, and while I'm still getting good muscle gain, NO fat loss. I agree I need at least 2 of those a day, but I'm going to follow your plan for the rest of C2 and see if I can get this right!

thanks,
mel

Hey you guys!

Man, I'm gone for a few hours (got home from babysitting wiped out...so went straight to bed - actually I fell asleep at my sister's house and my little 6-year-old nephew was jumping on me saying "WAKE UP!!!" It was probably a GOOD thing that I dozed off - kept my mind off the cheese pizza that my sister ordered for my nephew and 11-year-old niece before they left :( ) and all heck breaks loose!!!

Yeah, actually 1 cup seems like a lot to me too. How about this - for grains and stuff, start with 1/2 cup and if you feel like you don't have enough energy, increase your portions a little at a time - say 2 tablespoons or so...until you feel that you have a happy medium...

And don't forget about another great carb - pumpkin! Very filling and tasty too...just make sure that if you buy the canned stuff (I don't see any of us boiling it down from fresh like Laura Ingalls' Ma or anything like that :lol: ) it's just pure pumpkin rather than pumpkin pie filling. I like to add Splenda and pumpkin pie spice to it and bake it a little until it gets a little crust on top - nuking it is yummy too. You can also make a pumpkin shake with pumpkin and protein powder (It's great with the MetRx Pure Protein Vanilla Creme flavor). I realize that spring isn't exactly the time of year when you think about pumpkin but it's a great carb!

Well, we are heading out in a few minutes to Rancho Murieta for the big Regional All-Arabian horse show. My trainer, Dee Dee, has brought the show string out there so no lessons today :( I'm packing my provisions in a little Igloo to take along with me since horse show food isn't usually BFL stuff - it's more like hot dogs. At least the weather looks great - so I'm wearing shorts and a minitop to get the most of the sun... Later all!

Hey Mel - I know what you mean by the 'muscle-guy' posts. I am SO jealous of Robb P's comp diet because he gets to eat a lot of sweet potatoes, oatmeal, etc. However he is FAR leaner than I judging from his latest photos (taken around January). My comp diet from Pam consists of LOTS of lean protein, veggies, very little fruit, once in awhile potato/sweet potato, beans, or rice but not often. The worst thing for me is that I am NOT a veggie lover so it really takes a lot of doing for me to eat, say, 2 cups of broccoli or green beans - I find it helps if I cook them like a stir-fry using my nonstick wok and a little cooking spray...

Hmmm.... when I was lowcarbing I was a big fan of Carbolite's bake mix. I still have tons of the stuff and about once a week I make a pancake and top with strawberries (actually it's been a few weeks). I haven't tried to bake a pie shell but maybe it's possible to make a BFL pumpkin pie! (or top with apples). The bake mix is egg white so it's full of protein. I don't know. I tend to mistrust a lot of packaged stuff so I've tried not to use it but when I'm bored out of my mind with my food I try something new.

I like MrsJim's suggestion about starting with half a cup and adding as you need to.

I miss L&S and definitely do not have the time to read the posts over there (I wish you could scroll through the posts the way you can here but even the format of the discussion board - clicking on each reply - is time consuming) but I do think that there is a certain mindset of some of the guys that doesn't really consider the "older" woman.

I do believe that everyone should do C1 by the book because how else will you know what to change afterwards but I think that women have different responses to some of the BFL basics and they might need to experiment more after c1. It can put you flat on your face (like my nocarb experiment) but I think it's good to try to figure out the happy medium. Some of the pedagogy is good for newcomers (and I am eternally grateful for it when I was new and was forced to stick to BFL by the oldtimers on L&S) but as MrsJim illustrates with the difference in her diet and Rob's, diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks as you get down the line.

I'd like to be a hot babe but right now the only thing hot about me is the flashes. :lol:

So I have to adjust for those hormonal crazies. My bloating has gone away so I'm on a high about that but fat loss is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO slow. I HATE IT!!!

Question: How do you make your chicken?

I am always searching for new ways to make chicken. I usually bake it with onions, garlic, poultry seasoning, oregano and basil. I marinade it in a low fat/no sugar marinade and then do on the Foreman and sometimes I crock pot it. The other day I baked it in pineapples and pineapple juice and that tasted pretty good. I'm searching for new things all the time if anyone has any ideas.

Thanks for letting me ramble.
Susan

Just got back from Rancho Murieta...it was SO beautiful out there - like 80 degrees - and came back here to freeze our tushies off at 66 degrees! I can't wait til summer! It was fun being around all our horsey buddies even though we could only stay about three hours since Jim has a gig tonight...

Susan, you are probably going to want to strangle me but 99.8% of the time I make my chicken the same way. Turn on the Foreman, let it heat up, then plop those chicken breasts on it with a quick spritz of Pam, about 5 minutes later I sprinkle them with Spike or some other seasoning. When they're done, I just pour lime juice or salsa on the little suckers and voila! Yeah...I know BORING...

Oh, and did you know you can set your viewing preferences on L&S's boards? I have mine set up 'guestbook style' in UBB order. I agree with you that the forums out there (such as IVillage) where you have to click and click and click until your finger falls off can get really tiresome - in fact that's one of the main reasons I don't hang out at IVillage!

Well, Jim's taking a nap right now so it's the perfect time for me to go grocery shopping...and keep the house quiet for an hour or so...since it looks like I'm going to be home with just Sparky tonight I'll probably post again!

Speaking of chicken...
 

Just a little plug for a fundraising program that many elementary schools participate in: Market Day. Guess who's in charge of the one at our local school? ;)

They carry 3 oz portions of boneless chicken breast, plain or slightly marinated, individually sealed. Also turkey breast filets! Either are wonderful on a Foreman, and a good buy too.

Anyway, if your are interested at all, check out www.marketday.com. You can even order online; pickup dates are once a month.

We now return to our regular programming :)

Laura