The Feb '08 Group Thread

[FunnyActressInLA]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

Dinner was yummy tonight! I made the Hamburger gravy and mashed "potatoes"

http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/hamburg..._potatoes.html

It was so good! The kids loved it. I used a broccoli/cauliflower mix rather than just cauliflower, and I must say it wouldn't have made a big difference. Something I will definitely make again!

This looks soooo yummy! I might have to try and make this for dinner tomorrow I have everything already in the fridge, well not the xantham gum (sp?) Did you use that?

[FunnyActressInLA]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

Alright kids. I'm debating if I need to consider tomorrow a restart date. Its not that I've fallen OFF the wagon so much as my wagon has been a little wobbly.

I've realized I can only blame my slower-than-last-time weightloss on myself, but I'm OK with that. =) It drives me completely nuts when folks ask things that are OBVIOUSLY not alright on Induction/this diet. I wanna scream, "READ THE BOOK!" -- and now here I am, no longer the dedicated expert I used to be. LOL. I realized only recently my book is somewhere in California and this really is a WOE that I need to have that handy. I also need to stop ignoring things I know aren't strict to the plan.

01. My GARLIC SALT. I read labels for everything else and for some odd not-like-me reason (did I subconciously not want to wave goodbye to my sodium-filled friend?) I never checked my garlic salt. And thanks to Kristi, I realized it contains sugar. So sad, so sad. ;-)

02. CoffeeMate's Sugar-Free Creamer. This isn't Induction friendly. It isn't even friendly in general. This might be made with Splenda but it contains maltodextrin *DUH* which is a "sugar" typically derived from corn, rice or potatos. And to top it off, the first week of Induction, I probably dabbled in this a wee bit more than I intended.

So, acknowledging these little "whoops'es" means I can correct them. I remember the first time I did Atkins, and did SO well, I was very by the book. I mean, very. I might as well have been Julia, Elizellen, or MitziMarie! ;-) (thats a compliment, gals!) I didn't even use heavy cream. I didn't even bother with diet soda unless it was a very occassional Diet Rite.

And water and exercise weren't optional. I had a job where I was on my feet all day long, wrestling and walking and cleaning (vet tech work - so a lot of physical work lifting dogs, walking dogs, cleaning kennels, etc). I also jogged 30 minutes a day and did situps. And I wasn't anywhere without my water bottle. I actually managed to annoy a coworker with this, who complained my toting around an arrowhead everywhere was "unsightly" (maybe so but my boss sided with me).

This time around.. well.. I have walked the dogs but that's about as far as I've gotten. I met my stair climbing goal just because we don't have an elevator at work and I have to hike to my desk, and I chase Molly up and down the stairs like no other at home. And my water intake is terrible. I mean, not deathly terrible (probably about 40 ounces of water, 48 ounces of herbal tea) but not where it ought to be.

I'm buying yet another copy of the book tomorrow. This time I won't leave it in another state, lol. Even if you know all the rules, I still firmly believe everyone needs a copy they can refer to and refresh with often.

I'm also going to begin using FitDay to track my carbs and calories. I don't like that its harder to search for foods, but I can use my CalorieKing account to find any missing info and fill my FitDay in.

Yes.. so.. that's my update/confession.

Brittney,
OMG I didn't think seasonings like garlic salt would have sugar in them! I'm gonna go check mine! For creamer, why not use heavy cream? Or Soy Silk Vanilla cream it has 1 more carb more than heavy cream per tbs. I only drink coffee about 2-3 times a week so I have my cream or soy creamer in it and just count them in my daily total for that day. And GOOD ON YOU for doing sit-ups! THE worse exercise I hate to do and therefore don't, yet all my weight is in my belly-UGH! I use fitday but might have to go peek at CalorieKing too!

[theamazingunderdog]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

They must have changed it because now the the fiber carbs shows right under total carbs and it's super easy. I've had fitday for years and I do remember a lot time ago it was a lot messier to use.

Uh, no.. it's just that i'm a tard and I didn't even notice. You don't wanna know how frustrating that was... man.


Careful, soy is on a higher rung, if you're wanting to be hard core about the types of carbs.

Do you guys think that having 3 Tbsp flax meal every morning in a 1-min-muffin would cause a stall? It's all fiber, and I love it....

I"m drinking about 1 1/2 quarts of water... is that about 48 ounces? That's all I can seem to choke down or remember to chug. Am I not drinking enough?

I'm still only eating eggs, beef, chicken, shrimp, and for veggies broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, some green chilies in a quiche, mushrooms, tomato, plus cream, fresh garlic, butter, and probably too much splenda. Also, aspartame in a few diet cokes, and after eating 2 pounds of bacon in a week, I vow to never buy more.

I ate some salad dressing with some sugar in it (1.5 carbs per 2 Tbsp) , and a square of dark chocolate. Are these minor boo boos enough to stall me? It's not like I'm gorging on Atkins bars or sneaking pasta. I've been in ketosis the whole time.

Does this mean we can never ever eat sugar in any quantity ever again? I had a dream of chocolate cake last night. ... Bummer.

[quotidianlight]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

Do you guys think that having 3 Tbsp flax meal every morning in a 1-min-muffin would cause a stall? It's all fiber, and I love it....

I"m drinking about 1 1/2 quarts of water... is that about 48 ounces? That's all I can seem to choke down or remember to chug. Am I not drinking enough?

I'm still only eating eggs, beef, chicken, shrimp, and for veggies broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, some green chilies in a quiche, mushrooms, tomato, plus cream, fresh garlic, butter, and probably too much splenda. Also, aspartame in a few diet cokes, and after eating 2 pounds of bacon in a week, I vow to never buy more.

I ate some salad dressing with some sugar in it (1.5 carbs per 2 Tbsp) , and a square of dark chocolate. Are these minor boo boos enough to stall me? It's not like I'm gorging on Atkins bars or sneaking pasta. I've been in ketosis the whole time.

Does this mean we can never ever eat sugar in any quantity ever again? I had a dream of chocolate cake last night. ... Bummer.

We are allowed flax meal on induction but I see a couple things that may give you problems. The first is the aspartame. I heard so many people say it stalled them but it wasn't until I dropped it that the pounds came off. Second, this is a way of life and your concerns about chocolate cake and having dark chocolate really concern me. I keep sugar free chocolate on hand for emergencies and am learning to make good sugarless desserts because I don't ever WANT to have sugar again. But the truth is I won't even have those often because like any addiction is can be a slippery slope. Sugar got me were I am and after all the work it will take to get the weight off, I never want to gain it back. There was a great thread in the success forum that really spelled it out. All of the people around here were lost a lot of weight and maintained it followed the book to the letter and were deeply committed. I think it is so important that even though I'm finishing my 2nd week of rung 1, I will not add more carbs or go to rung two until I have a week without so much as an extra tomato.

If you completely remove all sugar and fake sugar for a couple weeks the craving go down a lot! I went two weeks with nothing. Now I will enjoy a swallow of diet soda but I have to water it down with seltzer water cause it's too sweet and can only drink maybe 4oz total. I crave water because during those two weeks that's all I drank. Starve that sweet tooth and the dreams of chocolate cake will go down. BTW, low carb desserts can look and taste just like carbfull desserts. They don't ever have to be... "lesser" I have a pic of my cheese cake in my blog and it's gorgeous and rich and the tiniest piece is all I need. Asking myself if this WOL means I can't ever have sugar again feels like asking if I really can't have arsenic. It helps to think of poison every time you see or thing of real sugar. Eventually you will believe it to the point were you won't even want it.

[kristi2578]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

Today I ventured down to Whole Foods in Austin. It was pretty amazing. I'm freakin excited because I found several salsas with no sugar in them. I bought 3 different kinds. I also found some tasty sounding salad dressings with no sugar added as well. The carb content is kind of high for a tablespoon...1 had 3 g carbs, and the others have 2. I figured if I don't over indulge in them and maybe only use them as a dip for my snacks, it ought to be ok. I really loved that store, but I probably won't make it a habit to shop there. It's VERY expensive. Plus it costed me about 20 bucks in gas to drive there and back...grr, gas prices suck! I would like to eventually go back for some of the natural medicines and and health remedies they offer though. The soaps are super cool. I did manage to pick up some Tea Tree Oil whitening toothpaste. My mouth feels super!

On the way back, the kids and I were starving, and I was looking for a good restaurant to stop. I saw Cracker Barrel, and figured that since I had never eaten there, now was a good time to try it. I was amazed when I opened the menu and there in the inside flap was the low carb menu. I got super excited! The roast beef was awesome! I had greenbeans and a salad for sides. I also had a glass of water with lemon and hot tea with lemon. I was pretty satisfied. I actually think I might have over eaten a bit, but to finally find somewhere that I can eat and not worry as much was pretty darn great!

(I'm posting this in my blog as well.)

[quotidianlight]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

Wow, I will have to remember cracker barrel; thanks for the heads up.

[kristi2578]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

No problem. They had several other main dishes in the low carb section. I would say 12 to 15. The only thing was that they offer very few low carb side dishes - greenbeans, turnip greens, baby carrots, and salad. I tried turnip greens for the first time, and needless to say, I was NOT impressed...BLAH! I sent them back and got another side of greenbeans! LOL

[kristi2578]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

This looks soooo yummy! I might have to try and make this for dinner tomorrow I have everything already in the fridge, well not the xantham gum (sp?) Did you use that?

Sorry i didn't see this earlier. No I didn't use it. I don't even know exactly where to find it lol. But it came out fine. I did learn one thing though. I can't tolerate broccoli. It gives me really bad stomach gas if I eat too much of it at once. That's what I get for modifying the recipe lol! Needless to say, I'll be steering clear of broccoli for a while!

[theamazingunderdog]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

We are allowed flax meal on induction but I see a couple things that may give you problems. The first is the aspartame. I heard so many people say it stalled them but it wasn't until I dropped it that the pounds came off. Second, this is a way of life and your concerns about chocolate cake and having dark chocolate really concern me. I keep sugar free chocolate on hand for emergencies and am learning to make good sugarless desserts because I don't ever WANT to have sugar again. But the truth is I won't even have those often because like any addiction is can be a slippery slope. Sugar got me were I am and after all the work it will take to get the weight off, I never want to gain it back. There was a great thread in the success forum that really spelled it out. All of the people around here were lost a lot of weight and maintained it followed the book to the letter and were deeply committed. I think it is so important that even though I'm finishing my 2nd week of rung 1, I will not add more carbs or go to rung two until I have a week without so much as an extra tomato.

What you said about making sure you're following the plan before moving up the ladder is exactly how I feel, too. I have not wanted to even move to rung 1, because I'm still not doing induction right, but after 3 weeks I think I need to move. I do seem to want to eat more veggies than I'm allowed, so it seems to be the right thing to do. I also think that if I can make it to rung 2, for my nuts, I will do much better because I miss nuts so much. That was my mid-morning snack at work, a handful of almonds, before Atkins.

If you completely remove all sugar and fake sugar for a couple weeks the craving go down a lot! I went two weeks with nothing. Now I will enjoy a swallow of diet soda but I have to water it down with seltzer water cause it's too sweet and can only drink maybe 4oz total. I crave water because during those two weeks that's all I drank. Starve that sweet tooth and the dreams of chocolate cake will go down. BTW, low carb desserts can look and taste just like carbfull desserts. They don't ever have to be... "lesser" I have a pic of my cheese cake in my blog and it's gorgeous and rich and the tiniest piece is all I need. Asking myself if this WOL means I can't ever have sugar again feels like asking if I really can't have arsenic. It helps to think of poison every time you see or thing of real sugar. Eventually you will believe it to the point were you won't even want it.

I haven't even journeyed into the atkins dessert land. I don't know what they include, so maybe I should figure it out for when I am tired of "regular food" and don't know what to do. I think I miss snacking more than I miss sugar/sweets itself. The dream of cake shocked me, because I don't have sugar cravings on the plan. I think it's psychological.

I used the "poison" mindset last time I was successful at this... It does work to think about how bad your body felt before, and blame it on that thing in front of you... I would "punish it" by ignoring it and rejecting it. lol. All the extreme fatigue and mood swings is NOT worth it. BAD sugar!!

So, after all that, I did lose 1.5 more pounds this morning, meaning I hit my first mini-goal! Measured myself, lost a little more inches, totaling 9 all together. So I'm feeling a little better about it this morning, and hoping I can get it to continue. Saying goodbye to the diet cokes, and looking into atkins desserts, and continuing to plan ahead.

[Alien Monkey]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

Happy Sunday everyone. Well im checking in a little late. Took the baby to the vet and he has mange. Had to get a dip and all that crap costing me almost $300. So that took away from his daycare and training piggy bank. Thank goodness its not contagious so he can still go to daycare Its my savior.

Aside from that today was my first day back on reinduction induction and Im doing pretty good. Had Eggs and Bacon for breakfast. Lunch was some Carnitas and avocado. Snacked on some cheese and dinner will be some shrimp in a butter cream sauce and steamed broccoli with cheese.

Hey I just wanted to mention that im one of those Garlic Saltaholics and sure enough I checked mine and it did have sugar in it. I dont think the percentage is all that much but nonetheless I decided not to use any during the next 2 weeks. So I did pick up some McCromicks Roasted Garlic Seasalt grinders. Its really good.

Oh and as I was at the grocery store I was looking for a good salad dressing. I usually pick up a Maries Bluecheese but I wanted to get something else. So I wanted to know what do you all use?

[theamazingunderdog]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

Oh and as I was at the grocery store I was looking for a good salad dressing. I usually pick up a Maries Bluecheese but I wanted to get something else. So I wanted to know what do you all use?

I use Drew's Ginger Shiitake dressing. It's 0 carbs and 0 sugar. No sugar, -ose, or corn syrup, or anything like that in the ingredients. Not even artificial sweetner. You could use a splenda packet if you really don't like the taste.

[kristi2578]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

I am using Drew's as well, but mine does have carbs, just no added sugars or sweeteners. I got them yesterday at Whole foods. One is Kalmata Olives and Capers, and the other is Romano Ceasar. They sounded so tasty! Can't wait to crack on open!

[Alien Monkey]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

Hmm never heard of Drews. Are they only sold at health food stores? Im going to have to do some research on this one. Thanks for the info!!!

[kristi2578]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

Dinner tonight - meat balls, fresh greenbeans sauteed in olive oil and rosemary, and a romaine salad...I can't wait to dig in!!!

[Sheena23]

Re: The Feb '08 Group Thread

Do you guys think that having 3 Tbsp flax meal every morning in a 1-min-muffin would cause a stall? It's all fiber, and I love it....

Flax is not actually allowed until rung 3. You are allowed to take a couple of tbsp if you are constipated. I know I was having flax and mentioned it in my journal. Mitzimarie let me know about that. Secondly I had made that muffin in a minute and all I can say is how did you make it edible?? Maybe it's stevia, or I didn't add enough when I was making it, but it tasted horrible to me.

I also think that if I can make it to rung 2, for my nuts, I will do much better because I miss nuts so much. That was my mid-morning snack at work, a handful of almonds, before Atkins.

I think the nut rung is probably one of the hardest, especially for a nut lover. First you are o nly allowed an oz a day not 5g carbs worth. Secondly I think from what I hav read that nuts are a major trigger food so you have to be really careful with them. That said I am looking forward to some pistascios.

So I did pick up some McCromicks Roasted Garlic Seasalt grinders. Its really good.

Oh and as I was at the grocery store I was looking for a good salad dressing. I usually pick up a Maries Bluecheese but I wanted to get something else. So I wanted to know what do you all use?

mmm that grinder sounds good. I always use fresh garlic and sea salt when I flavour, but for a quick add in that sounds yummy!!!

This is my ceaser dressing recipe that I use. I make it about every three days because evryone in my family loves it. It has some zing even without the hot sauce. So I use my hand mixer (like a drink mixer, or soup blender. You could also use a food processer.

Blend together:

1 clove of garlic (you can use more it will make it zingier)
2 capfulls of lemon juice
8-10 drops worchestershire sauce
1 egg
salt and pepper.

Slowly drip 1/2 cup of oil into mixture while still beating.

When it is mixed and thick add 1/4 cup parm cheese and a few drops of tabasco(I've also done it with a dash of cayenne pepper and it's equally as good)

Note: the earlier you make this the better it is!!!


Alright so Happy Monday everyone!!! The kids spilt something on my keyboard so if I'm missing a letter this is why, it's a little sticky, lol. I finally lost 2lbs this weekend after that scale not moving for over a week it was such a relief to see it move!! Weekends are always crazy busy here, and I never get enough food in because we are travelling. I worry about grabbing everything for the kids and not for me. Anyways so I made th bacon cheesburger quiche on Sat. it was super yummy!!! then I had nothing but water until supper where I had a chicken ceaser salad. I didn't end up eating much though becaus I got some serious stomach pains from it. I think this was from th not eating!! Oh and I don't know if that quiche causes whooshies, but it sure did for me!!!

Same deal minus the stomach problems on sunday. I was out shopping forgot my snacks so I jsut at brekkie and supper. I have got to try and remembr me. Supper was awesom though. I fried fish dipped in egg and then parm, it didn't even bother me that the guys were eating fish batter. I let them try mine and they are thinking about switching batters next time.

This week I'm in the no way no weigh challenge, who else is in? I'm excited. I hope there is some movment at the end of the week, unlike last week.

I hope everyone has a fab low car monday!!! I'm off to th treadmill