Originally Posted By Tantor Thanks for the congrats, gang! Ecdc, it's funny you mentioned the Monte Cristo. One of the first weeks after I started WW, I went to the Blue Bayou for lunch. I got the Monte Cristo, but just had half of it. Pre-WW, I would have eaten the whole thing, and had fritters afterwards. As far as getting through binges, I just let myself have the occasional treat- I just don't have as much as I would have in the past. For example, instead of having 10 oreo cookies, I'll let myself have one or two. And if I have a huge meal at lunch, I'll just have something smaller at dinner, like the veggie soup. Inspector, I would gladly accept any clothing donations at the meet in July. Kar2oon Man, save a pair of larger pants, so you can get a great feel for how much you've lost. I just tried on a pair of my larger (Freakish clown) pants, and they literally just fell off. NevadaRebel, thanks for the food tips as well. We're always trying to look for something new with food choices.
Originally Posted By FaMulan >>I just tried on a pair of my larger (Freakish clown) pants, and they literally just fell off. << That's totally awesome Tantor!!! Keep it up!
Originally Posted By crapshoot <<. I'm also hoping that my blood pressure will have been impacted at least a little, but we'll see. Anyone have any success (or 'watch out for THIS pitfall') experience with Weight Watchers?>> I too would like to report that my wife and I found the gift of life in the last six weeks. However, it isn't with WW or Atkins. I caught a bad bug in January and it got me to go the doctor. Well as it turned out he couldn't care less about my bug, but he scared the crap out of me concerning my blood pressure. He made me get a fancy tester and write down my numbers every morning and every evening to bring back to him on another day. They were freakin' high. I was scared. Hell, we were scared. And yet it takes me forever to do anything about anything sometimes. So fast forward to March 22, my wife went to the same doctor for her physical. You guessed it, high blood pressure. Bingo, we sprung into action. Sometime just after my scary visit to the Doc, I happenned upon a bargain book table at the book store. There calling to me was a marked down book entitled, The Carbohydrate Addict's Healthy Heart Program, published by Random House Inc. for $4. I purchased it. Very, very interesting reading. In a nut shell, Insulin turns out to be our biggest enemy. What a problem we have gotten ourselves into by overeating High Carbohydrates. Insulin is the energy storage hormone which converts carbs to fat. Glucagon is the energy spending hormone which releases the stored fat from our cells. There turn out to be four stages of what is termed, Insulin Resistance Syndrome. 1. Carbo-cavings with easy weight gain. 2. Moderate abdominal obesity, mild changes in blood fat levels, mildly elevated blood pressure and moderate insulin resistance. 3. Moderate changes in blood fat levels, moderately elevated blood pressure, marked changes in insulin resistance, hypoglycemia, glucose intolerance(pre-diabetes and increased risk for heart disease. 4. Everything listed before now including the real possibility of adult onset diabetes and strong potential for heart disease. There is so much information and yet the answers turned out to be real, simple and amazing. But I have no doubt that I was a strong 3 jumping right to 4. Following the eating guidelines of this book, I have lost 16 pounds in six weeks, I have lost 3+ inches around my gut and I HAVE LOWERED MY BLOOD PRESSURE BY 23 POINTS! And my wife has had very similar results. Folks, we are killing ourselves with High Carb meals. Literally. Oh and the best part is, these results of ours are completely devoid of organized exercise. What are the eating guidelines that we now follow? They are completely simple, don't require special foods and make sense. We eat three or four meals a day. One of the meals starts out with a good green salad. With that then we eat a portion of meat for protein and low carb vegetables. Included is a High Carb treat. The other two or three meals consist of a portion of protein and a portion of low carb vegies. That is it. We cut out all soda pop, including diet sodas. As it turns out, your brain doesn't know the difference between regular and artifically sweetened sodas. It simply detects a sweet taste and launches the Insulin to convert anything it can latch onto into fat. We went to Hof's Hut restaurant recently and I ordered their 1/2 pound Blue Cheese Burger, Onion Rings, a green salad and Iced Tea. It couldn't have been more comical, I peeled the bun off of the burger and peeled the breading off of the onion rings and ate a great meal. I sent back to the kitchen an amazing pile of unnecessary High Carbohydrates. I now order a salad with my breakfast and avoid all breads. All in all, we quit eating breads, rice, potatoes and french frys, pasta and sweet foods. Anyway, no one plan is right for everyone, but all I am emphasizing here is turn off the Insulin and turn on the Glucagon. It really only takes about week to loose the worst of the carb cravings. Also, we are not dieting. Actually, we eat more food than ever. We have simply modified how much of what it is that we have always eaten. And we both drink alot of Club Soda with a squeeze of lime. All I ask is do your own research, I think you will all be amazed and love the simplicity of all this that is right at our fingertips.
Originally Posted By ecdc Crapshoot, you might want to check out the "Southbeach Diet" book from the library. I think that's the latest (and IMO, smartest) low carb diet book. His basic premise is that low carb is definitely on to something. I read Atkins book and was very intrigued by his point that Europeans, such as the French or Italians, use far more oil or butter in their food, yet weigh significantly less than Americans. He also points out that American fat consumption has gone down, but the average American's weight goes up. What the Southbeach Diet guy does is moderate Atkins and other carbohydrate diets. He suggests that even though he tried it and it does work for losing weight, he knew that he wasn't exactly eating healthy by downing a bacon double cheeseburger, minus the bun, or a plate of eggs, bacon, and sausage every morning. It's great you found a diet that works and that you're happy with. Stick to it. I'd just recommend checking out a few other things since there are other books and studies that disagree with the low carb diets. BTW, you are absolutely right about the soda. Diet vs. regular doesn't make the difference people think it will.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Whatever works for people, I'm not going to knock at all. I definitely believe that a doctor should be involved in whichever diet someone chooses. The thing I like about WW is that it doesn't feel like a "diet" to me. Nearly a month in, it has been mostly painless, and actually kind of fun switching over to a healthier way of eating. I really think I will be able to live this way from now on.
Originally Posted By crapshoot May I say that we are all traveling down the same highway to health, we are just riding in different vehicles. << He also points out that American fat consumption has gone down, but the average American's weight goes up.>> This is what epitomizes the type of person that I am. I have to know the bare bones mechanics of something before I will understand the cause and effect of that thing. That was the defining moment for me. When I finally was able to read and understand the exact reason why we store fat when we eat high carbohydrates. Once that was defined for me, I knew that I could reverse my years of weight gain. Up until then, I based the ability to lose weight more on wishful thinking than anything else. And no, I ate one bunless cheeseburger because I knew one wasn't going to ruin my weightloss success. But I absolutely do not subscribe to eating fat ladden meats, butter and sugar substitutes just because they, by definition, are low in or zero carbs. One of my friends who has been on Atkins for longer than I have been on Heller and Vagnini program, loves it because he can drink booze. Again, by definition, Booze is zero carbs. But according to the book I have, our bodies can treat zero carb alcohol exactly like high carbs and end up storing it as fat or worse, as fat in our blood streams. BTW, I have surpassed my buddy's weightloss number by several pounds. Me thinks he doesn't really follow the Atkins plan very well. Anyway, thanks for letting me share my exuberance with you all. It is truly fun.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Grand Total Lost: 19 lbs. However, along with the congratulations, I got a friendly reminder that I've lost more than 2 lbs. a week which may be unhealthy. Heck, they lowered my points to 28 a day, not me! >: ( Go to the doctors later today, we'll see what she has to say.
Originally Posted By jnemo Wow 19 lbs is great, you are doing a good job. You have to be feeling the effects of that kind of weight loss. WTG
Originally Posted By Tantor <<<May I say that we are all traveling down the same highway to health, we are just riding in different vehicles.>>> I like that statement, crapshoot- witty and succinct. And it's interesting to hear your thought process behind the diet as well.
Originally Posted By Kevin Duck I've been doing WW for about 5 weeks-- lost 15 lbs so far, and haven't had to eat special food. Generally I've not had any trouble staying full. It's pretty amazing-- and tracking POINTS makes you realize, like some people have said, how much you really do eat that you don't need to. I found the POINTS equation on line and created an Excel spreadsheet so I can check POINTS on items easily. If you can do math in your head, you can keep track of POINTS a lot easier knowing that: POINTS= (calories/50)+(Fat in grams/12)-(Fiber in grams/5) It seems to correlate well with the WW POINTS Slider. Good luck to everyone!
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Congratulations, Kevin Duck! Okay, so here's the latest word from Medical Center... My blood pressure was down a bunch since my visit a month ago -- still high but not as high as it was. She still wants to watch it, but says I'm "trending" in the right direction. I go back in two months... onward!
Originally Posted By mmaus1962 WooHooo, 2oony!! congratulations!! How are you feeling after eating healthier for over a month? Better? The same?
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I definitely feel better. I can't tell much of a difference in terms of how I look (Mrs. 2oon says it's noticible, but I dunno), but I feel like I have a bit more energy. If nothing else, psychologically I feel better.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<My blood pressure was down a bunch since my visit a month ago -- still high but not as high as it was. She still wants to watch it, but says I'm "trending" in the right direction.>> WEEEEEEEEE-OO, K2M!!! That's WONDERFUL!
Originally Posted By Kevin Duck Good going Kar2oonMan! Had my WW meeting today-- I've hit a 2 week plateau Time to refocus on the basics.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Last summer, I was the one who was doubtful about claims that the Blue Bayou's Monte Cristo sandwich was truly big enough to share. I ate the whole thing (but it was, indeed, huge). So yesterday, we went to Applebee's for dinner. And I did something I never thought I'd do: I ordered the half-size portion of the blackened chicken salad (4.5 points). I've never ordered the half-sized portion of anything in my life, much less a salad. But my appetite is now such that I can be satisfied on that amount of food for a meal. I truly hope that I can stay in this mindset for the rest of my life. I'm really enjoying eating healthy food and I'm feeling really good. But it's only been a little over a month, and I'm hoping that the excitement I'm feeling over this new way of eating won't fade away.
Originally Posted By LilliBelle I've been on WW since March 5th and so far have lost 22 pounds. I love WW! I am doing it online only as well as the meetings are few and far between out here. Congrats to all!
