I'm on a low carb, low fat, low calorie diet.

[Droopy]

I've lost 12 pounds in two weeks, but man could I go for some chicken wings and beer right now topped off with some cheese cake for desert. I'm also not allowed to have any alcohol, sugar, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, white flour, and white rice. A typical day's consumption looks like this:

Breakfast

4 oz. turkey sausage
1/2 cup oatmeal (dry amount) cooked in water
1/4 cup skim milk in the oatmeal

Lunch

4 oz. lean beef with 1/2 cup of mushrooms
1.5 cups of green beans
or
1 cup green beans and a salad with 1 tbsp. fat free dressing
1 slice whole grain bread
or
1/2 cup of corn

Supper

Same type of stuff as lunch. Basically 4 oz. of any kind of lean meat. 1 cup non-starchy vegetables. If you have a salad it can only have leafy green vegetables, radish, and maybe some mushrooms. One slice of bread or 1/2 cup starchy vegetables.

2 snacks are allowed

Each snack must have a low fat protein and an unrefined carbohydrate. My favorite is 1/2 cup non-fat, plain yogurt and Triscuits.

I started this deal with about 100 pounds to lose. It's with a local weight loss company. They are also going to show me how to keep the weight off once I reach my goal. I've had to learn how to cook. I've been eating at restaurants for most of the last 12 years. I did some blood work before I started the diet program and, amazingly, my cholesterol was only slightly elevated and my fasting blood sugar was 73. They say at the weight loss clinic that my cholesterol level will be down in the healthy range just through changing my diet and losing the weight. I will do blood work again after I have reached my goal.

[Marrah_G]

1. You CAN do it

I can do it.

I've got 150 to lose and I quit smoking at the same time.

The big difference for me this time is joining the local YMCA.

I go twice a day. I can't run, I can't even use the step machines.

But I can do the Nautilus stuff on low settings, I can walk almost a mile now and I can bike for 30 minutes.

I never thought I would ever be able to do even that.

The exercise has improved my mood and helped control the smoking urges.

Even if it is just a little bit at first, start moving, because even a little is more then you were doing.

PM me if you need a shoulder :)

[Droopy]

2. Thanks, Marrah, and good going!

I quit smoking last April and that is where about 50 of my pounds came from, but I'm a non-smoker at least. :)

I also have a membership at the Y and I usually hit the treadmill in there. I haven't been going much lately, though, because of work. Ah, what I wouldn't give for a 9 to 5 gig. :)

Keep up the good work!

[MorningGlow]

3. Hang in there, Droopy

It is a drastic change, but you will end up feeling so much better overall (not even just with the weight loss). About 6 years ago I went seriously low-carb because of elevated blood sugar, polycystic ovary syndrome, and 30 extra lbs. (thyroid); I thought I wouldn't be able to handle such a severe dietary change, but I was on a mission, which helped :D -- and then after a while not only did I not miss carbs, but bread would actually taste funny--I could taste the fermentation of the grain.

I lost 12 lbs. too, but it took four months (wasn't exercising and had a stressful job). It was very heartening...and then I got pregnant! That was great, too, but damn! :banghead:

I've been hit or miss on the low carb since then, but lately I've been feeling bloated (another side effect of too many grains, for me) so just today I started back on seriously low-carbing it. I had eggs instead of a bagel for breakfast. I'm already plotting out my meals for the future...

[Droopy]

4. Good luck

I know how hard it is to make a permanent change in the way you eat. That's the main problem with me. I know how to lose weight, I just can't keep it off.

[MorningGlow]

5. Thanks--you too

Men and women definitely have different challenges when it comes to weight loss. I've known several men who changed the way they ate SLIGHTLY and dropped 20, 30 lbs. instantly. And I hated them for it! ;) But like you said--you can get rid of it but it tries to come back--and that's what happened when the men I knew let their guard down. For me (female! thyroid! double whammy! x( ) I can't get the weight to budge. Not. One. Inch. It's depressing sometimes.

[supernova]

6. This is basically the diet I'm following

but I came to that conclusion on my own, after many years of experimenting with what seemed to work with my body and what didn't.

I'm now down to lean proteins, and low GI veggies and fruits. I eat very little flour or rice (maybe once or twice a week, I'll have a serving.) I drink mostly hot white and green tea now. I have two cups of regular tea in the morning for a caffeine shot, but I may have to drop even that. Seems caffeine really does screw with my weight.

But for the most part, I'm satisfied with eating this way. I don't crave other foods and think about them all the time. It's a relief.

You can do it, Droopy! :bounce:

[Droopy]

7. Thanks. I've also posted a slightly different version of this post

in the weight loss forum.

Yeah, I actually paid to get in on this deal. :) But it's not much more than Weight Watchers. At the place where I'm going they say that there are basically 5 different types of metabolisms that people can have. They determine your type of metabolism through blood work and surveys that you fill out and give you the diet that suits you. I've never heard of anything like it before, but I am sold now.

BTW, I am allowed to have 3 cups of decaf coffee or tea a day. I just got a hold of some peppermint tea for the first time and it is very good and calming to the digestive system.

[old mark]

8. Good luck - keep going!

I lost over 50 pounds, but took nearly a year to do it. Have about 30-40 more to go.

Glad to have so much good company - makes things a little easier.

mark