Spring-Summer 2007 Forum ROLL CALL!!!!

[not2late]

Okay, OWLers and Pre-Maintainers: line up, front and center!

Who's here?

How are you doing? Any major accomplishments? Any setbacks?

What are your plans for Spring and Summer?

Come on, we all want to know!

I've moved to Pre-Maintenance. And it's going well...so far.

My relatives have stopped offering me diet advice and have stopped rolling their eyes at everything I eat and don't eat. So that's a positive. Last year for Easter sunday dinner, I brought berries and whipped cream (the real stuff of course) and I got alot of sideways glances at that "fattening", "unhealthy" whipped cream, because the fat free artificial, preservative laden fake 'non-dairy' whipped topping was "better". This year I brought asparagus with real Hollandaise sauce and devilled eggs---no one sniped that these foods had real eggs, and real butter and real mayonnaise.

I'm still not comfortable with the smaller Megs. I still feel self-conscious and embarrassed whenever I get a "wow, you look terrific" compliment. It's hard to get used to that when I spent many years not being noticed for "looking" well.

So, how is everyone else doing?

[ValidRouge]

Hi, Megs. I really should be in pre-maintenance right now, but I'm back to induction to get things back under control. I'm bouncing between 189 and 192 lbs. Not sure why. I'm eating induction levels of food, although I had way too much cheese yesterday (in the form of cheesecake).

The reason I went back on induction is because I went off on a low-carb junk food binge and I want to get myself back firmly under control. I'm definitely back in ketosis already, but I want to get another week under my belt and get the old appetite back under control. Then I'll add in 10 gram increments.

I also really really want GOAL and soon. I feel like I've been "playing" around with getting to goal for a really long time and it's time to buckle down and DO IT.

As for how I feel about how I look, I am soooo pleased. I feel very good about my appearance, I feel in EXCELLENT health, I'm in great physical shape and getting better every day.

My family and friends are 100% behind me. I really don't get any flack about what I eat anymore, and many of my family members are trying to do it too. They just won't accept the "rules" of the plan and are trying to do their own thing. My aunt is really really trying though, and I'll give her great kudos. She's coming around to the No-nonsense side of things LOL

[Scooterjam]

Hi Megs,

Scooter here! I am greatful to be here too! As you know, I restarted after a terrible 6 week binge that was god awful. I learned that 'one bite will definately hurt you.....' and I am trying to share that with every person I can.

I have just finished 4 weeks on Rung 1 - Veggies and I have now moved into Rung 2 - Dairy. I have learned that I do not need to race through these rungs like I did the first time, I have also learned to watch out for certain things (such as the nut rung due to lack of portion control on my part.) I have taken the advice my friends such as Julirama, Validrouge, Elizellen and yourself to heart. I have really been careful of portion control. I'm planting a garden this spring (we always do, but this time bigger) and plan on growing lots of fresh veggies. I've discovered Jicama, and that I love it. (thank you Joy). And I've found that I really excel at cooking and doctoring recipes to fit this lifestyle. It's amazing. I don't eat or snack on porkrinds, or cheese all the time anymore, I have been more focused on keeping my percentages in and on track mre often.

I still use Fitday, every day now. It helps me stay focused I think. I love to welcome new members and shed some light on them, to let them know that this works. I also have developed a rather fondness for the Second Time Around Club, doing the same thing there. I want people to know that I want to help them!

I have kicked up my exercise 3ply (I never was one for exercise) and I have the sore thighs to prove it!! haha! My main goal is to break into one-derland this summer. After that I'd love to get into a size 36 jean, and stay at around 180 - 185. That may be next Easter, but I do know that I will remain ever faithful to this plan and I love to be here with ya'll!!

Life is good!

[julirama723]

Hi Megs! I'm still here and still going strong!

I am still in OWL, on Rung 9, and doing great. I'm still losing fat, gaining muscle, and losing inches. This morning I weighed in at 193.5 but my real weigh-in day is Saturday, so I will just wait and weigh again then.

So far I've lost 71 pounds, and countless inches. I didn't take measurements when I started (darn it!) but I know I've lost at least 13 inches in my waist, judging from a belt that I have and have never worn. When I bought it, the thing was inches too small, and now it's inches too big, I would have to put new holes in it to wear it! I haven't had any setbacks, but I do have to make sure that I eat enough calories. I'm very active and I even think that by usually eating 2000 calories I'm not eating enough. But I eat only to feed my hunger, so the debate rages on.

I started running in January, and the first two months were HARD! But since March, my abilities seemed to have increased exponentially! My short runs are 2 or 3 miles, my "mid-range" runs are 4 or 5 miles, and my long runs are 7 or 8 miles. I hope to keep improving my abilities this summer. I'd like to increase distance as well as pace. I did a 2 mile tempo run on Saturday in 16 minutes! I love the way I feel when I run, and I love how I feel when I'm done. I'd like to make running my main form of exercise, as it can be done almost anywhere and anytime. If I'm traveling, I'll have NO excuses not to exercise!

I'm starting to not recognize my own body in the mirror, it has changed shape so drastically! But even so, sometimes the fat goggles are still firmly planted on my face. It's either all or nothing--either I am amazed at the reflection and think I look ravishing, or I am totally disgusted and think I look the same as I did at 265. I hope one day I'll be able to look in the mirror and just see "me".



And just last night I found out that potatoes cause me great physical pain.

[Lamby-pie]

I'm here, doing pretty well. I ran into some issues with eating too much OWL foods, specifically nuts and dairy products (cottage cheese, low carb ice cream). Carb creep. I didn't exactly "stall", but my weight loss slowed down enough that I was slightly bothered by it.
I re-read my DANDR, re-inducted for 3 days only to get the metabolism fire lit again, and started carefully watching my OWL food. Just what I needed, I now feel in control better than ever.
I'm accepting that I will probably not be able to go higher in the rungs until I get into Pre-Maintenance, which I'm about 5 lbs away from. My current goal is 112, however once I get there I may want to go lower in weight.
I'm hoping to reach goal in the next few months. Then will come the constant vigilance of not letting myself gain it back.

[attek]

I'm in Pre-Maintenance, inching tantalizingly closer to my goal weight, determining to have patience enough to find my CCLL...which is at least 70. I've discovered that black beans aren't very good for weight loss or my digestive tract, so I'm planning to re-visit the legumes rung later. I'm finishing up the "Other Fruits" rung. I am totally amazed when I look at my daily menus and see how many servings of fruits and vegetables I get every day! My Fitday reports show that I usually get 100% of most of my nutrients except iron. I shudder to think of how poorly I used to eat. I am looking forward to adding in starchy veggies and wondering whether I will be able to tolerate wheat products in controlled amounts or if I will have to resort to the controlled-carb grains instead.

My goals for the summer include to find healthier, sugar-free versions of my family's favorite treats and to ease them all into more fruits and veggies. And to maintain my own weight.

[gonnabskinny]

I am here as well and going strong. I am on OWL for third week and still on rung one. Still having a little trouble on OWL figuring things out though. Last week I actually had fluctuations on net carbs from 24 to 30 and averaged about 27. Way to high for rung 1. I also noticed that my fat/protein/carb % were all over the place, as well as my calorie intake. I averaged about 2000 calories, but had a low one day of 1700 and a high one day of 2600. Also my weight has not gone down much in the past 2 weeks. After losing 3 lbs per week each week, I hit the wall and only lost 1.6 lbs week before last and .8 lbs last week. I know that part of this was the switch over to OWL and that it will start back up again soon, so hanging in there.

On the workout front, things are going great. We have Fitlinxx where I work out and according the the stats for my age bracket, I was #1 in FitPoints, calories burned, and in 5th place for weight lifted last month. This month, I am in first in all categories so far. I workout six times per week, doing 20 minute weight workout (alternating upper and lower body) and 35 minutes on either the bike, treadmill, or swimming laps.

My heaviest weight was 394 lbs. Currently I am at 284.2 lbs and have a goal of 200 lbs. I am 54 years old and 6'0" and my BMI says I should be at 184 lbs, but it has been since high school that I weighed anywhere near that weight, so I thought 200 was a probably being a little bit more realistic. I guess I will know when I get there.

Plans for the Spring/Summer. We did have a cruise planned that we had to postpone until the fall. Actually probably a good thing. I need to be a little further along on OWL, so that when we do go in November of 2007, I will be able to make the right choices and continue my losing ways!

[cincywbbw]

I am on rung 5-6, yeah!! Just in time for biker season. My sedentry lifestyle makes my loosing a little slow but I try not to worry about it too much. I am down 17 lbs and around 6 inches total. I take Centrum Silver Fish oil Falx oil and Chromium Picolinate for vitamins. I am diabetic, and taking Byetta 5 units twice a day. My BG's are as close to normal as they have ever been, and I am sooo very happy about that. I take Diovan for my blood pressure and its causing me to retain water because my feet swell something aweful, and next month they are talking about putting me on some colesterol lowering medicines.
I am so happy I have found these boards, I love everyone here!!! You guys are my strength and inspirtation!!!
Thank you!

[deber26]

Oky doky - so I'm here, in and out. I've been skipping around on my rungs as some of them are not in my "eat 'em" lists. I seem to be doing okay- but I've noticed a significant difference in water retention (not for the good). I have always been careful about salt, and I drink atleast 2L water/day. I'll work it out, though. My weight is up and down with the water, but I can FEEL and SEE my muscles defining. It's a beautiful thing. My cup is not only half full, but filling.

I am hoping to be swimsuit hot by the time I have to actually be seen in one.

Also, I am going to ask my boss if he minds a small seating changes in my office. I want to use a giant swiss ball instead of my regular chair (got the idea from my boyfriend's coworker- brilliant). I work for a consulting company - so who knows if this will fly. But if I am going to work in a more sedentary setting - I think I should beef up my core strength. And it is definitely an option for helping me reach that goal. Wish me luck.

Glad to hear all are well, and working it out.
-Deber

[Alexa]

It is really interesting to read these progress reports

As some of you will know I have had some issues with cheating, particularly socially. I regret this because it has played havoc with keeping track of what is ok OWL-wise, as I keep going back to induction, or rungs 1-2. I have not really identified any problem foods - as I haven't really been systematic in my approach partly because of the cheating. I'm hoping to work on going through new foods properly. I have tried some things from some rungs as high as 8 but not regularly yet. I think I may have trouble with peanuts and carrots, but other than that, no issues.

Touch wood, but I think the cheating is under control due to setting myself a target of 169 cheat-free days. I won't neccessarily cheat then, but I seem to respond well to this target - I did it with induction for 42 days as well. Lately I stayed at inlaws, parents (over EASTER!) and at a hotel serving nearly entirely beige carbs and I didn't cheat so I think I've turned a corner.

I am down 33lbs and feel great. Everyone keeps going on about the change there has been and even started saying I don't need to lose any more. But my BMI is still high and my weight (177lbs) is too high according to the charts. I'm happy with my body and I would be fine if this was it but I want to tone up a bit more if I can.

My family and some friends are still quite negative about the WOL. I find myself with less and less patience to defend myself and Atkins. People just don't want to hear it! I'm on the verge of yelling 'I'm on Atkins, not you! Deal with it!' My BF is very supportive though, thank goodness!

Exercise-wise I love going to the gym, it's my little bit of time to not have to think about work or housework or general angst (I'm a worrier). I am trying to get back into running, and starting to have some progress. I ran 5k 2 years ago at 30lbs heavier, so I should be able to do it this time! On Drs orders I am not doing any weights or situps for the next 4 weeks (suspected hernia) which I'm finding quite tough.

Also I love ADBB I couldn't have changed my life like this without it - so thanks all