~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

[ValidRouge]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Mitzi, I know what you mean about eating too much 'legal' foods. That's what gets me in trouble ALL THE TIME. One thing I've noticed is that when I overeat legal foods, it ALWAYS leads to me looking for more, craving. I read somewhere that the body also releases insulin whenever calories are high, irregardless of the type of calories. As we know, this causes low blood sugar which causes cravings. I've noticed this phenomena within my own craving/triggers.

I'm constantly amazed at how sensitive my body has become now that I'm in maintenance. It is incredible how quickly I can see a response to foods.

Get back to your basics, it's always, always, always what will help you take back your control.

[misplaced southerner]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

good morning and happy memorial day peeps! well....i have not checked in here for a while (again)....no excuse, other than WORK! but i wanted to report to my friends that as of yesterday i am DOWN 2 POUNDS! the stinkin' scale FINALLY moved! so today i am FINALLY at 150!!!!!!!!!

now, for the last 10. i don't care if it takes me 6 months. i WILL get there.

[mitzimarie]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Happy Memorial Day, Everyone

Joy, you and I are two peas in a pod, when it comes to this over-eating thing. And YES! When I overeat, even though I may feel full, I am still looking for something else... that sucks! To be full, and still looking for more stuff to shove in my mouth.

Betsy! Good for you, for hitting that 150 mark again! Sweet!

So far today, I've had my MUP with almonds (the correct amount), and I have done my running. Woo hoo!

[Sherri]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

I found this post by Joe in a Sticky at Century Club 100+. For someone who has lost 170 pounds his words really hit home with me. I just wanted to share with you what he recommends in his last paragraph. Something I myself am still coming to terms with. To keep my Carb intake at "Fat Burn Mode". Hope it inspires you as much as it does me.
I'm Back To Basics myself starting today!!!
Sincerely, Sherri





joecap
ADBB Amateur
Join Date: May 07, 2004
Posts: 2
Rep Power: 0



Not quite 200 lbs but so far I've dropped 170 lbs.

I started April 29th, 2004 at about 435 lbs. I'm 6'6" so I was always able to carry my weight at about 330-350 lbs. but when I went up to 435 lbs it started to slow me down and I was worried about potential health problems.

I just stayed on strict Atkins from April 29th until about Jan. 1 and had dropped 135 lbs. I was walking about 3-4 miles pretty much every night.

From Jan. 1st, 2005 until April 1st,. 2005 I didn't lose a single pound but I didn't get frustrated because I hadn't cheated and most of the time during the holidays or winter I would always gain weight in the past so to stay even wasn't a bad thing. I stalled mainly because I had stopped walking because of bad weather here in the Northeast during those months and because I was eating too many of the "low carb" snacks like the ice cream bars, candy bars etc.,,

Started walking again every night on April 1st and eliminated those "low carb" cheats like the bars, ice cream etc.,,, and now I'm down to about 265. I still need to lose about 40 lbs or so to get down to my ideal weight.

My only recommendation would be to really pay close attention to the amount of carbs you are eating because as I reached a comfort level with the Atkins way of life during those months I had stayed the same weight I wasn't cheating but I was bumping myself out of "fat burning mode" by eating too many servings of "legal" carbs or by eating those "low carb" snacks I mentioned.

[ValidRouge]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Thanks, Sherri. It's so true, isn't it?

Even though I don't check in daily...my fitday is always in my siggy. However, i had a really fabulous day today food-wise:
For breakfast:
1/2 of a 1 lb bag of frozen cauliflower. Steamed in the microwave. Then I used my immersion (Stick) blender to make faux-grits.
2 extra large eggs fried in fresh rendered pork fat (because it's not bacon grease, no nitrates )
1/2 of a hamburger patty and onions and mushrooms sauteed in the grease.

For lunch:
Salad: 1 cup lettuce, a bit of onion, tomato, sweet pepper, jicama and cucumber
Dressing: olive oil and a touch of balsamic vinegar (which I wish I'd left out)
3/4 cup collard greans cooked with bacon
1/4 cup calabaza with butter
1 chicken leg quarter

For dinner:
7 ounces new york strip steak nicely marbled
6 ounces asparagus roasted in olive oil in the oven

[mitzimarie]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Joy! You food is PERFECT! Sounds really good, and really good for you.

What kind of pork did you use to get the renderings? I like to do veggies in fat (renderings), but I've been using bacon because I don't know where else to get it. The chops that I do are so lean, that I have to use olive oil with them. My burger patties don't give off any, either... they've been sticking to my non-stick skillet when I fry them on stovetop. Bacon's the only thing I've cooked that will give off any kind of fat.

I'm such a novice in the kitchen.

[ValidRouge]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

My neighbors are very "live off the land"-ish. They raise pigs, and literally rendered the fresh fat off the fresh pig. They made chicharrones when rendering the fat/skin. When their cow got out and we helped them get it back home, and she gave me a bunch of fresh farm products. I'd been asking for some pork fat and she brought me some (actually it was in one of those gallon plastic ice-cream containers with the handle). Seriously, I'll have fresh pork fat forever I think. I store it in the fridge, so it's solid. It's fabulous for cooking vegetables, eggs, anything. At room temperature it's liquid just like vegetable oil.

You could do it yourself by getting some fresh pork fat (I'd ask your local butcher) and just put it in a frying pan and cooking it down until what you have is a pan full of the oil. Then pour the oil off (enjoy the fresh chicharrones that are left) and store the oil in the fridge.

[mitzimarie]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Thanks, Joy! I'm going hunting for a butcher. Seriously, how cool is it that your neighbors are farm-fresh? Nice!

Sherri, thanks for the reminder about carb-creep. I don't do it with low-carb products, but I have definitely been over-eating certain legal foods again... some of them have carbs, and some of them don't.

In fact, I don't consider today a "clean" day for me with respect to getting back to basics... I ate a bag of pork skins (not the good kind like Joy described), and I got into the cottage cheese. Cottage cheese might be fine for some, but it really stirs cravings in me. I've felt out of control today. I'm glad that I have a long day at work tomorrow... it's just what I need to get a handle on myself. I'm at the mercy of the food I bring to work... so, if I choose well on what I bring, I will have to eat it or starve. There's no overeating when I'm bound to one place all day.

I'm starting to get sick of all foods again (like I was when I started this thread). I need to get back into the "eat to live" mode, rather than the "live to eat" one. It's when I start to get creative with my meals, that I start getting careless. Time to get back to eating to survive, rather than eating because I feel like it. BASICS!

[ValidRouge]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Mitzi--that's the addict talking. When we start getting bored and angry at the foods that are good for us, it's the addict in us starting to try to bargain in the foods that we shouldn't have. Like the cottage cheese. It's the cottage cheese and the processed food and NUTS that's putting those thoughts/feelings in our heads to begin with. (Mitzi and I have many of the same food intolerances just an FYI to other members out there who will read this--not all of us have problems with dairy, nuts and grains)

It's a pain in the a** I know, but the best thing is to just keep taking it day by day and keeping our diet simple and steady. We truly do feel better when the food is boring...but CALM.

[mitzimarie]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Mitzi--that's the addict talking. When we start getting bored and angry at the foods that are good for us, it's the addict in us starting to try to bargain in the foods that we shouldn't have. Like the cottage cheese. It's the cottage cheese and the processed food and NUTS that's putting those thoughts/feelings in our heads to begin with. (Mitzi and I have many of the same food intolerances just an FYI to other members out there who will read this--not all of us have problems with dairy, nuts and grains)

It's a pain in the a** I know, but the best thing is to just keep taking it day by day and keeping our diet simple and steady. We truly do feel better when the food is boring...but CALM.

YES! I couldn't have said it better... boring, but calm. I literally ate almost the same exact thing, every single day that I was in OWL. And while that may have driven any "normal" person crazy, it is EXACTLY the way that I need to eat. It puts food "in it's place" for me... it is just fuel for my body to function, and not something I need to make the focus of my life. I need to make myself busy with other things.

I'm glad that you brought up the fact that not everyone needs to fear dairy, nuts, and grains. That is a great point... I don't want anyone to assume that this will happen to them. I know of many who are able to incorporate these foods into their eating. Joy and I really do have very similar food intolerances and behaviors. Sorry that you have them, Joy, but is sure is nice having someone who understands the problems.

You're right... one day at a time.

[Porcelain]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

I bought some Hebrew National franks today and I thought of you when I ate a few!

[blue996]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

I'm still in a stall here...sigh. Completely induction legal so I blame TOM which is looming.

[hrgillespie]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Good Morning everyone ......... We had a great Weekend but I was awful food wise ...... no excuses no long why's or UGHS just me making bad choices and even knowing the consequences did it anyways ...... It was one year ago today that I made the decision that enough was enough and I was changing my life ........ I have lost 40 lbs to date but still have 45 to go go make my goal ...... so looking ahead I plan to post a year from now ( hopefully less) that I am standing proud at goal! Looking back over the past year I ahve made quite a few mistakes but learned so much about whats ok and not ok for my body ..... what is good and not good to do and eat to be as successful as I can be ...... I certainly have gone off plan and made bad decisions at times but I am convinced that this is the only way of life for me so getting back on track may not be easy but there is no other choice for me. So here I am humbly standing once again and RERERERERERERERERERE starting back at the basics .......

Lord help me to be strong and quit this silly yoyo thing I tend to do ......

Thanks everyone for your posts and for making this group that we can be honest and share where we are at .......

Heidi

[Sherri]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Hello Ladies,

I'm certainly on the same page with Joy and Mitzi when it comes to "boring....but calm" with food. It's what has gotten me this far in my Atkins Journey.
I'm glad you liked that post from Joe, Mitzi. I'm with you. It's not the low carb products that I have a problem with. I kicked those to the curb. It's my portion size, mainly at dinner with fresh wholesome veggies, cheese, and meat. That kicks me out of the "fat burning mode" I suppose it's because I eat very little throughout the day and I'm ravished at dinner time. I've got to retrain myself to spread my carbs out throughout the day so I'm not so hungry at dinner. I don't eat anything after dinner. So I usually go to sleep with the tune of my tummy growling.
I have a intollerance to nuts and some dairy. They make me stall and sometimes gain depending on what types they are.
When I look back on my food diary here at home I can see where I eat the same type of meals every week. It's just the portions I've got to watch out for. So that's what I will be working on this week, to get "Back to Basics", portion size.
Sherri

[elsy]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Hey yall.

I posted in my journal earlier that the food and exercise have been great. I did however, eat 2 Atkins Bars this weekend. One on Sunday and the other on Monday or something like that. LOL! Anyway, I saw a 2 pound gain this morning. Grrrrr... I am dissappointed cuz I was doing so good and then here I go again.

I'm not letting that stop me or even bring me to my old habits of cheating when I'm upset. Today, I just went along and ate my healthy food and I'm hitting the eliptical tonight.

I figured it's just one more pebble in my way to my goal. LOL!