Kimmi - don't you just hate it when you run out of excuses :D If only we all lived in the same area we could go together to a gym. Wouldn't that be fun!! I have a feeling we're all going to need it after our upcoming cruises.

To Edit this post: I just reread this and I hope I made it clear I was joking about the excuses, Kimmi. I was really speaking for myself.

Kimmi - they allow you one hour per day to work out on company (PD) time?? Wow!! :D

Masaki

Cyndi and Kimmi, I'm just not sure that I would look good in a bikini.


What do you think?

Don,

I think it needs a little work :D :D but "doughable" Oooh so bad, I know. :ohmy:

Hey chocolate lovers,

Tom just brought home yesterday some Russell Stover low carb (zero sugar carbs) "Assorted Chocolate Miniatures". They are sooooooo good. Only 0.2 net carbs a piece (yes that is really what it says) and 38 calories. You can't even tell they are not regular "bad for you" chocolates. He got them at Walmart and I also heard them advertised yesterday on the radio. So hopefully they'll be easy to find. I'm going to Costco today and maybe I'll find some more there. If anyone has tried or does try them, let me know what you think.

Kimmi, your station gym sounds wonderful, the key to using it is to make it a habit, like brushing your teeth or having the morning cup of Joe. The Army for 25 years made me do my Physical Training at 0600 daily regardless of the weather, now that I am a more seasoned soldier who can choose when to go, I go at the end of day...less crowded,
pool is always available for lap swimming..Kimmi,
it also helps many people to get a training buddy.
I also live by the no run-no beer rule...thus, my incentive to run daily..here on LCT we could start
the no run/no aerobices/no eliptical=no Cosmo rule. In any case, good luck, good exercising and then good eating & drinking..r/wes

Bought my elliptical yesterday, but the bad news it won't come for weeks! And it's so cold here that anything but walking to the corner store or the bus stop is impossible. I was going to go skating this weekend down by the lakeshore, but it's too cold.

I think the "no exercise" no glass of wine or cosmo is a great idea! I'm staying in today, huddling, but am out of wine anyways, so I'm safe. I could walk to the liquor store to buy a bottle--would that mean I could drink a glass?

Thanks, Cyndi, for the info about the chocolates. I would never have looked at them. I want to check the amount of fat in them as I'm not doing a carb thing. But at 38 calories, sounds like the perfect treat to go along with a little rum.

Cyndi, I have another. Target Superstores have Low Carb Creations New York Style Cheesecakes in 4 individual serving cups. They are 2 net carbs and are great. No crust, but tastes very good.

The hardest thing about doing the low carb thing for me is giving up wine. Not that I drink that much. It is just hard not having it on occasion. Even though it isn't all that many carbs per glass, the alcohol stalls my weight loss, so other than that there is no problem. Oh, that and potatoes is tough to give up, so other than that, it is no problem. Oh and pasta. OK, other than wine, potatoes, and pasta there is no problem. Oh and pizza. So other than wine, potatoes, pasta, and pizza there is no problem. Oh and...
I have to go now, I think the chocolate cake is calling! LOL

Tomorrow is weigh in day, so I guess I better pass!

Loon,

I checked the package of the chocolates. For a serving of 5 pieces it is 14gm of fat (2.8/pc) which consists of 9 saturated fats and 0 trans fats. That sounds pretty good to me. They didn't have any at Costco, so back to Walmart.

Don,

I love your sense of humor :D You reminded me of Steve Martin in "The Jerk" - all I need is this lamp - that's all I need. Oh and this chair, that's all I need . . . . (or something like that). Did you see that one?

All the things you hate to give up are why I have avoided the low carb diet. But, I must confess, I went out today and bought a South Beach Diet book. I'm going to try it for the next few weeks and see what happens. I may come to you and all the others on the SB for more advice!!! As for the Low Carb Cheesecakes - they sound like heaven & in the individual servings I like. I'm not sure if there are any Target "Superstores" near me. I think we just have plain Targets. I'll go on the web & look.
Thanks for the tip and humor.

Cyndi, yes I have seen "The Jerk". It was hilarious. In fact, my wife and I head up the Drama Team at our church. In a few weeks we are doing a series on "You Can't Take It With You." We are going to be using that clip from the movie.

The Target that I am talking about is the ones that have the grocery store in them as well. Not sure they call them superstores, that's just how I think of them. My wife also found Heinz Low Carb Ketchup (only 1 net carb) and we get the Notta Lotta Carb BBQ sauce from Tony Romas (Zero Carbs!) Tastes better (IMHO) than their original sauce.

BTW, I skipped that piece of cake last night and eased up and onto the scale this morning and found that I lost another 6 lbs last week, for a total of 30 since the first of the year.

Don, WhooHoo!!!! Great going :app: :app: 6 lbs is much more rewarding than cake.

Funny you mentioned the low carb ketchup as I was just thinking about 15 minutes ago why couldn't they come up with that. So they have - yeah! I'll look for the Tony Roma's too. Do they sell it at the restaurant or can you find in stores?

Your "You Can't Take It With You" series sounds like a lot of fun :)

Thanks Cyndi! Using WW points, that comes out to be one point per chocolate. Thanks, too, Don. We have a Target Superstore a few miles from here and I will check that out as well. I've lost six of the eight pounds I was shooting for so far and still have a few weeks before Aruba, so as long as I don't go too crazy, I should be ok. I admire those who can stay with the low carbs. I don't know how you can give up both pizza and scotch, though!

Loon,

I'm so excited for you <img border="0" alt="[bounce]" title="" src="graemlins/ubbbounce2.gif" /> You are almost there!!!! You are the one to admire. This is only my first morning trying to do the South Beach and I'm already craving carbs - lots of carbs. Don't know if I'll stick with it be I decided to try. I need something to start getting the pounds off. I'm stuck at the first 5.

Still not smoking. I forgot the exact day I quit but it's been about a month. The panic attacks are slowly subsiding while weight [well I have not had the guts to look.] I maybe fat in 20 years but I'll at least be here in 20 years.

Hey Cyndi, go for it! The cravings will go away if you stick it out. I love South Beach, even though I am currently stalled--my blood pressure is also down, the doctor is very pleased.

(She said after gorging all weekend on all the (wholegrain) carbs I could find--must be something to do with the weather. It's freezing up here!)

Cyndi, you have to get it at the Restaurant. They don't even have it packaged yet, so I just ask the manager to put some in a pint container and pay him the regular price which I think was about $3.45.

My wife said that she got the Heinz Low Carb Ketchup at Target as well.

Loon, actually I have some good news. There are no carbs in Scotch!!! Now Pizza on the otherhand!!!

Actually I found a substitute Pizza that is great. It is a Portabello Mushroom Pizza. You take a 3 ounce portabello mushroom and spray it with garlic oil on both sides and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes turning it over halfway during the baking process. Then on the concave side spread low carb tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and whatever other toppings that you like such as sausage, canadian bacon, or pepperoni. and maybe some sliced black olives. Turn the oven to broil and place it under the broiler for about 4-5 minutes or until the cheese melts and starts to brown (but not burn). It tastes great and is about 6 net carbs.

Chip, We want you here in 20 years no matter what the size. Besides, after you get this under your belt you'll have 20 years to work on the weight part! Congratulations on your continuing success :app: :app: You are doing FANTASTIC!!!!!!

Wendy, cold weather always makes it so hard not to eat. I think it is instinctive to our bodies. You did good with the whole grains. And getting your blood pressure down is truly the best of all. I need to check mine. Hope it starts going down too. Thanks for the encouragement about the cravings. I re-read the SB book and it said to give it 2 days for the bad cravings. 1 day down and I actually survived!

Wes, I looked on the web for a Super Target and there isn't one within 200 miles of where I live. Bummer. What's up? - Calif. is supposedly ahead of the curve. We do have Tony Roma's tho. I'll see what I can do there. I saw a Portabello Mushroom Pizza in the SB book. Looked delicious. Same one? But that is in Phase II of the diet so I have to wait a couple of weeks.

Hate these plateaus. Down 9 but can't get the scale to budge. Too much work to hang out and post much this week. Just eating well and hoping to celebrate next week.

Chip, you are awesome. This is the best gift you can give yourself. I know because I did it too.

You will get there, Cyndi! I personally just cannot live without my carbs, and I like a variety. I LOVE shrimp cocktail, which is very low in calories, but also depend on my popcorn when I am starving, and would cry if I couldn't have it.

No carbs in scotch, Don? I have friends who do the low carb thing and they all drink vodka, so I assumed (bad thing to do, I know) that all the other alcohols had carbs. I don't care for mushrooms, but the rest of the pizza sounds good. We went to see "Meet the Fockers" and they were advertising some pizza place and Dave just HAD to tell me how good it is. Of course, after eating my popcorn, there was no room left for pizza afterwards. Saved!

Cyndi, here is the recipe from the Atkins recipe book. You can have it on induction (phase 1). I'm not sure if it is the same as on South Beach, but it only has 4 net carbs, so I don't know why it would have to wait for phase II of that diet. Oh well.

http://atkins.com/food/recipes/all/Portobello_Mushroom_Pizza.html

Loon, actually the only alcohol that have carbs are beer and wine and maybe sake. All other grain alcohols that are served straight up are carb free, but the alcohol does stall the weight loss because while you are burning off the alcohol, you aren't burning fat.

Chip keep up the good work. I know it is tough, but it will be worth it.

Don, thanks for the link to the receipe. Here are the ingredients for the SB version:
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, diced
1 pkg (6 oz) portobello mushroom caps
12 oz mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded
10 fresh basil leaves
2 fresh tomatoes, sliced, roasted or grilled
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Pinch salt
Oregano leaves (optional)

This serves 2 at 14 g carbs per serving.
Atkins says 5.5 per serving. I can't see what the big difference would be unless it's the size of serving. Do you? Plus, all the ingredients listed in the SB recipe are O.K. for Phase I. Don't get it. But, just in case, I'll wait for Phase II. Both recipes sound good.

Loon, thanks for the encouragement. I made it thru second day without too much griping. Tonight I'm going to the store to get all the "good" low carb stuff. The last two days I've just been searching the fridge for what I could have. Now I'll be better prepared with a bigger selection of the right foods. I am a little concerned about going to the show. Like you, I love my popcorn. It's half the fun!! I guess I'll just take some nuts. But for the same calories, nuts go so fast. Popcorn takes longer to eat. I do know that in Phase II I can have popcorn. That's only 2 weeks. :)

Chip - I love what Kathy said in her post above: "This is the best gift you can give yourself. I know because I did it too." Great words of wisdom. You will do it too!!!

Kathy, I think you said that you kicked the habit in 1991? That is fantastic that you've been able to stay off the cigarettes all this time. Good for you!! :app:

Kathy, hang in there during your plateau. 9 lbs is GREAT!!! More will follow soon. Remember, this is a tough month with all the W-2's & 1099's etc you have to contend with at work!! Feb. will be better. :) :)

Cyndi, I looked at the recipe and they do look the same. I wonder which one has the wrong carb count. A couple of things I did notice. How in the heck are you supposed to be able to get 6 oz of cheese on top of a 3 oz mushroom and still get it to melt. The other is the tomatoes. Maybe low carb tomato sauce is lower in carbs. We made our own (what a pain and won't do that again) using roma tomatoes, which are much lower in carbs than regular tomatoes.

It is probably all that cheese that is the reason for having to wait until phase 2 of the SB diet. You can't have that much cheese on Atkins otherwise.....
Well lets just say it ain't pretty.

Don - I agree with your assessment. As for the "too much cheese" I get the message :D I was wondering about that.

Into my third day on SB. I went grocery shopping last night and got a variety of things that will hopefully keep me happy. Good news is that I've lost 3 lbs since I started Mon. Yeah! Now I see why everyone is so encouraged by the quick weight loss of these low carb diets. The cravings are lessening.

You guys are all doing great!!!! :banana: :banana: :app:

Claudia

Claudia - thanks for your support!! It helps :)

Yes, Claudia. Thanks! It really does help to have other cheering you on. I now have instructed several of my friends to be brutal any time they see me cheating or if they see me putting weight back on.

Cyndi, have you gotten any headaches? A lot of times people get headaches going through Carb-Withdrawal. If so, you might get some type of vitamins. I take Atkins Basic 3 and my wife takes Centrum Carb Assist. Both will help. It also gives you some of the vitamins and nutrients that are you missing from some of he carbs.

Don, you know I did have a headache on Wed am which is unusal for me. I didn't realize about carb headaces. I take a multi-vitamin everyday. Is that not enough?

Cyndi, I don't think so. What really is going on is sugar withdrawal. Usually the low carb vitamins also include fruit and vegatable phytonutrients that you are need when you are on the beginning phases of low carb diets. I just know that I get severe headaches when I eliminate the carbs unless I am using a low carb vitamin supplement.

Got on the scales this am and I'm down another 3 pounds!!!!! <img border="0" alt="[vhappy]" title="" src="graemlins/icon_vhappy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[vhappy]" title="" src="graemlins/icon_vhappy.gif" />

Claudia

Good job Claudia!!!

My weigh in is tomorrow. Had a rough night last night. Diana and I wrote a murder mystery that we did last night with 38 of our friends and it was catered. It was hard not wanting to indulge, but I stayed strong. It was tough! However, later last night I downloaded pictures from the party that had been taken. There were several of me taken from every angle and I realized why I had to be strong.

Claudia - Yippee!!!! That means only 8 more till your final goal?? I'm so excited for you!!!! You are an inspiration. :app: :app: That is never easy with all that good food and everyone around you eating it!!! Don't look at the bad pictures. Find the ones you like of yourself and look at those every day. It will keep you strong and inspire you. The murder mystery sounds like fun!!! Do you, or have you worked in the entertainment industry? Just sounds like a big interest of yours.

I have lost a total of 8 lbs since the first of the year. I've also lost inches on my waist & thighs. I've still been exercising 1 hour the 5-6 days a week. I haven't been that good for years and years. And I'm feeling so much better and can move better every day. By my calculations I've got 15 more weeks until my pre-cruise. So even if I don't reach my total goal, I might come close. This SB diet isn't nearly as bad as I had thought it would be. I found at Walmart a CarbSense Foods box mix of carrot cake (I made muffins) which is 4 carbs a muffin. Tastes like bran muffins. So if I can have one of those for breakfast once in awhile, it will really help me stay strong.

You are all an inspiration. I always have the hardest time falling off and getting back and sticking to. Well, I fell off the wagon yesterday. Steak and potato for dinner with a martini, a glass of wine <img border="0" alt="[bang]" title="" src="graemlins/banghead.gif" /> and a caesar salad. It was yummy. I am going out again tonight for dinner but sushi and I will stay away from rice.

Tomorrow is a new day. 15 weeks til PIP? ummm, better make use of that dusty treadmill that I had to have that cost as much as a cruise would have.

Kathy, don't beat your head against that wall (ouch!!!) :D Remember what the doctor said about letting yourself have something good once in awhile. Try the treadmill. I was really surprised at how much I liked exercising again. I hadn't been on a real program for years & years (and it shows :D ) and it is feeling SO good to move the body again.

Enjoy the sushi tonight!!

I've blown it to pieces, too. Not only did we go out to dinner last night and I consumed way too much food as well as a couple of drinks, but then there was today. We went out with fifteen friends for breakfast and I was so bad. Everything was family-style, so I ate pastry, scrambled eggs, etc and oh, yes, the wonderful make-your-own Bloody Mary bar.

I've been "off the bus" for a few days--stomach flu, whatever that means these days. Both David and I had it, I'm not better really yet. Went for several days without food at all, dropped a couple of pounds. But that will come back pronto with my appetite. Right now I'm concentrating on feeling strong, since I'm pretty weak. But maybe I can keep my portions down, since my stomach has shrunk a bit.

Not worth it as a way of losing weight :p

Cyndi, we didn't even know we could do this. A couple of years ago, we wanted to do a murder mystery dinner, but the ones they have in the box are only for about 8 people and we were having 35 people at the party. So, we said, hey why don't we try and write one ourselves. So we did. It turned out great. Since then we have written a couple of others and we have put on about six of them over the past 2 years. We now have friends that want to hire us to do murder mystery parties for them.

Now, a murder mystery cruise!!! That would be a great idea. I wonder if we could write one for about 400 or so people and get the entire ship. Last night was Murder on the Mauretania. It took place in the 1930's on a trasatlantic crossing from NY to Southampton. Everybody dressed up in 1930's garb and really got into it.

Tonight is tough again. It is Diana's birthday and she is drinking her birthday Clicquot. Sure wish I could have a sip of the champagne, but I just need to stay strong. She also has her birthday cake, but that doesn't really temp me that much. Only 9 more hours till weigh in.

Join us on Mush and we can have a Murder Mystery event one evening