LOW CARB BRUNCH

I just finished having brunch with my husband and my father at my home. Dad was very impressed with the spread - all low carb and so delicious! It was so nice - house all clean and sparkly, beautiful weather and smooth jazz on the sound system.

Here is the menu, all of it organic, free range, no hormones or antibiotics, Omega-3 eggs, nitrate-free, etc.

Cheese Baked Eggs
Baby Bella Mushrooms sauteed in lots of butter
Bacon
Pumpkin Flax Bread with Lime Frosting
Coffee for the men and brewed loose leaf tea for me

Bill and I usually don't have that much in the morning (it was a big meal!), but we had company, and now I feel like I've had my treat for the week! I will have a smaller dinner to make up for it.

It's so nice to be able to offer someone a really good, low carb meal, and to show them how satisfying it can be.

And for entertainment, we listened to my interview with Jimmy Moore, which Dad had not heard yet.  He said it was a good interview, but all he kept thinking was, "There's gotta be some way you can make money off of this!"

MONTH END WEIGHT CHARTS

Since this is the last day of the month, I'm going to post all my charts.

Below is a chart that shows my daily scale weight, my 7-day average weight and my total weight loss from February 25, 2009 to October 31, 2010:

 Below is a chart that shows my 28-day moving average from February 25, 2009 to September 30, 2010:

One of the things I track is the average weight for each calendar month.  It is not a moving average - I just take my scale weight each day of the month, add them together and divide by the number of days in the month.  It gives me an idea of the overall trend.  Here are my monthly average weights since I started tracking in February 2009:

155.0 - February 2009 - Starting Weight

150.9 - March 2009 - lost 4.1 pounds

148.3 - April 2009 - lost 2.6 pounds

145.8 - May 2009 - lost 2.5 pounds

142.6 - June 2009 - lost 3.2 pounds

141.5 - July 2009 - lost 1.1 pounds

141.6 - August 2009 - gained 0.1 pound

141.9 - September 2009 - gained 0.3 pounds

141.7 - October 2009 - lost 0.2 pounds

140.5 - November 2009 - lost 1.2 pounds

141.2 - December 2009 - gained 0.7 pounds

141.4 - January 2010 - gained 0.2 pounds

143.9 - February 2010 - gained 2.5 pounds

143.8 - March 2010 - lost 0.1 pound

143.6 - April 2010 - lost 0.2 pounds

140.1 - May 2010 - lost 3.5 pounds

140.8 - June 2010 - gained 0.7 pounds

139.5 - July 2010 - lost 1.3 pounds

141.6 - August 2010 - gained 2.1 pound

 142.3 - September 2010 - gained 0.7 pounds
143.2 - October 2010 - gained 0.9 pounds

Here is a chart showing these numbers:

The chart below is a new chart that I started.  I take my actual scale weight for each day and average it by 7 to get my weekly average scale weight:

The chart below shows my body measurements (the date should say 10/31/10):

OCTOBER 31 - WEEK 85 RESULTS

I gained 0.9 pounds and lost 1/4" around my navel this past week, so I guess I pretty much stayed the same, even though I reduced my calories by around 400 per day for this past week.

This past week, I tracked my food five out of the seven days. One of those days was spent eating off plan, and I know the net carbs were high.  The other day, I ate on plan, but too much.

I have decided that I am going back to my old system of weighing every day and measuring once per week.  I just can't seem to relax into not knowing what I weigh every day.  After doing that for this next week, I'll decide whether to continue or not.

One week ago, my average weight for the week was 142.5.

Today, my average weight for the week is 143.4.

I gained 0.9 pounds this past week.

I tracked my food on fitday.com five days this past week,

and here are the averages of what I ate:

1442 calories

112.6g fat

80.9g protein

26.2g total carbs

15.6g fiber

10.6g net carbs, of which 7g were from veggies

2314g sodium

Today is my weekly measuring day. In the past 7 days, I lost 1/4" around my navel.

To get back to my smallest size on June 13, 2010, I need to lose:

1/4" around my bicep

1/2" from my bust

1/4" from my midriff

1/2" from my waist

1/2" from my navel

1" from my hips

1/4" from my thigh

Here is what I have lost so far, since starting to lose weight in February 2009:

Neck - 13.75" to 12.5" - down 1.25"

Bicep - 11.75" to 11.25" - down 0.5"

Forearm - 9" - no change

Bust - 38.25" to 36" - down 2.25"

Midriff - 32.25" to 29.75" - down 2.5"

Waist - 31.5" to 29.25" - down 2.25"

Navel - 38.25" to 32.5" - down 5.75"

Hips - 42" to 39.25" - down 2.75"

Thigh - 24.5" to 22.25" - down 2.25"

Calf - 14.5" to 13.5" - down 1"

I would still like to replace some body fat with some muscle, so I'll see how that goes as time goes on.

BIG FAT FIASCO

This from Jimmy Moore of the Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show:

Tom Naughton, whose FAT HEAD documentary is one of the most entertaining and informative films on healthy low-carb living ever made, had gone on the speaking circuit with a fabulous speech called “Big Fat Fiasco.” This is well worth your time to watch from start to finish because Tom infuses his trademark humor and ability to make the complex understandable. You’re gonna enjoy this!

And from me, Rebecca - This is one of the best explanations of why the "high cholesterol causes heart disease" theory is false and is doing nothing but killing people. By the time it was over, I was almost to the point of tears because it was so true and moving. Everyone needs to know this!

SOME THOUGHTS ON "CHEATING" FROM ATKINS FORUM MEMBERS

There was a thread on the Atkins Community Forum about whether it is ever okay to "cheat".  There was a lot of good discussion from both camps (yes, it's okay and no, it's never okay), but two members' comments were so helpful to me that I wanted to share them here.

Kittycatwoman52 said this:

Atkins is not a diet.  It is changing the way you eat for a lifetime.  The idea of a "cheat day" is very counterproductive to the concept of Atkins, for the following reasons:

1. You are messing with your metabolism.  After detoxing your body from bad carbs, you inject a large amount of these bad carbs that spike your blood sugar.

2. You are choosing to reject the basic precepts of Atkins by insinuating that bad carbs are a treat of some sort rather than an unhealthy substance that is bad for you.

3. You are putting a few minutes of flavor (which won't be as good as you imagine) over the progress that you have made while following the Atkins way of eating, throwing yourself out of ketosis, reinvigorating cravings and possibly derailing your entire eating plan.  Many folks who plan one cheat day end up not coming back for months.

Bottom Line: A cheat day is a bad idea, but as a grown-up you will do what you want. Just remember, doing exactly what you want is what brought you to Atkins to begin with.  



And Sealyh said this:

Here are two quotes from The End to Overeating by David A. Kessler, that are so important to me that I posted them in my notes on my iphone for quick draw:

Intervention begins with the knowledge that we have a moment of choice- but only a moment- to recognize what is about to happen and do something else instead . 

Play the tape until the end. The cognitive strategy is to become well practiced in recognizing when you're having euphoric recall and selectively remembering only the good parts. Then in your mind, play the scenario out to the end and think " this is what's going to happen. It will feel good for two minutes, and then I'll feel terrible.  



Thanks, Kitty and Sealyh!  I'm going to print these out and put them in my purse, so I can reach in and grab them the next time I am tempted to eat bad, unhealthy food.  My physical cravings have been gone for a year and a half, but my emotional cravings continue to this day!


To read the entire discussion on the Atkins Forum, right click here.

If you are interested in finding out more about The End of Overeating, right click here or here. 

RESISTING FOOD AT MY DAD'S HOUSE, PART 2

I guess there's a first time for everything!  Last night I went to my dad's house right after I ate my Atkins-friendly dinner, and the only thing I ingested while I was there was a big glass of ice water!

He was eating oatmeal raisin cookies in front of me and I was not even tempted.  Later in the evening, I was tempted to eat a piece of cheese, but did not for two reasons:

1) I had already eaten my goal for the day.

2) The only cheese he had was that horrible American cheese that comes individually wrapped.  Gag!

I was really pleased that I was able to do it, and it helps me to know that I can do it in the future, too!

RELATED POST:

RESISTING FOOD AT MY DAD'S HOUSE

HEALTH BENEFITS OF A LOW-CARB, HIGH-SATURATED FAT DIET

This from Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD:

A hundred years ago, before Americans changed their diet and the calamitous events of the 20th century began, heart disease was far less common that it is now. Few Americans were overweight, and coronary heart disease was not yet recognized as an illness. Pneumonia, diarrhea and enteritis, and tuberculosis were the three most common causes of death, whereas coronary heart disease is now the most common cause of death in the United States. The medical subspecialty of cardiology was created in 1940. Since then the number of cardiologists in the U.S. has grown from 500 in 1950 to 30,000 now – a 60-fold increase.

To read the entire article by Dr. Miller, right click here.

TODAY IS MY 36TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

 

Thirty-six years ago, on October 27, 1974, Bill and I were married.

Here we were then, and here we are now.

And they said it would never last!  Well, my father said it would never last!

CUTTING BACK ON MY FOOD INTAKE (AGAIN)

Ten days ago, I posted that I was going to stop stressing about losing more weight, and enter Atkins Phase 4, Lifetime Maintenance.  So, for the past week and a half, I have been eating to maintain my weight, and have been doing pretty well.  I only weigh and take measurements on Sunday morning, but I am tracking my food most days on Fitday.  My weight and size has stayed pretty steady.

Here's the problem:  I'm not happy with my weight.  I don't seem to be able to let go of the idea of losing a little more weight, and I am wondering if it is in my power to do so.

I've been eating a lot lately, and I spent some time today looking back at my spreadsheets to see if there is any pattern to my weight loss.  There really isn't.  Sometimes I lose on 1800 calories per day, and sometimes I gain on that amount.  Sometimes I lose on 1400 calories per day, and sometimes I gain on that amount.  The amount of exercise I do or don't do has no bearing on my weight or size, either.

At any rate, I have decided to cut back on my food in this coming week to see if I lose some fat.  Here is my plan:

1440 calories
112g fat (70% of total calories)
81g protein
27g total carbs
16g dietary fiber
11g net carbs, of which 8.5g will come from veggies

This is basically what Colette Heimowitz, the Atkins nutritionist, recommended that I do in May 2009 to break my stall.  And it worked then.  I'm hoping it will work again.

After this week, I will weigh and measure, and see if it made any difference.  I'm not sure what I will do then.

The one thing that I don't like about doing this is that it is a very small amount of food, and so much less than what I want to eat.  But I am a small person, and I guess I should not expect to be able to eat a lot.

I hear people say to let your appetite be your guide, but that has never worked for me.  I can eat enough for five hungry men, as my grandmother used to say!

EATING HIGH CARB WITH THE AMISH

Yesterday, Bill and I went to spend a couple of days in Amish Country in and around Arcola Illinois.  The area has the fourth largest Amish population in North America.  I have always had a particular fascination with the Amish, since childhood, and have really looking forward to spending some time in their midst.  I've read books describing their lifestyle, and every time a new movie comes out with an Amish theme, I'm the first to want to see it!

As it turns out, our time with the Amish was cut short, because we did not know that all the tourist attractions and shops close at 5:00 pm on Saturday, and they are not open at all on Sunday.  Not knowing that, we planned our trip for Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday.  Oh, well!  We headed back home in the late afternoon on Saturday with plans on coming back again some other time when we can spend all day Friday and Saturday.  I'm really looking forward to it!

We weren't entirely disappointed with the brevity of our trip, because we had the opportunity to eat a meal with an Amish family in their home.  Through Rockome Gardens in Arcola, we reserved a spot and paid $20 each to share an authentic Amish lunch with an authentic Amish family nearby.  Three other tourists, a Jewish husband and wife and their daughter, joined us.

We gathered at the home of Ray and Linda Miller, their four daughters and one son.  The table was set for a family style meal in their dining room.  Linda and her daughters cooked, and her daughters served us, but they did not eat with us.  Our first course was a green salad with tomatoes and cucumbers and ranch dressing poured from a pitcher.  After our salads, the youngest Miller daughters cleared and then brought us heaping platters, plates and bowls filled with breaded, boneless chicken thighs, meatballs, as big as your first, in tomato sauce, buttered egg noodles, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn right off the cob (with a little silk included!), and plenty of homemade white bread with butter and homemade jam.  Dessert was black raspberry pie and peanut butter pie, the latter piled high with sweetened whipped cream. 

I came to the Miller home determined to partake of a true Amish diet, no matter how many carbs were involved.  And high carb it was!  It made me wonder about the rate of diabetes and heart disease in the Amish community.  Everything is homemade, but definitely contains large amounts of refined flours and sugar.  The Amish eat the way my Croation grandparents ate, and my grandmother developed Type II Diabetes in her later years, and was 30 or 40 pounds overweight most of her life.

I did a little research on the internet on the incidence of diabetes in the Amish community, and found that the they are no different than the non-Amish (or "English", as they call us) Caucasian population in North America when it comes to obesity:  they are just as overweight and/or obese as the rest of us!  However, their rate of both Type I and Type II Diabetes is only half that of ours.  The different articles I read alluded to the high instance of in-breeding and the likelihood of good genes, plus the fact that the Amish live very active lifestyles, and exercise is thought to lower the incidence of insulin resistance.

Although the Millers did not sit and eat with us, they did sit in chairs near our table and engaged us in conversation on the differences between the Amish and the "English".  I did mention to Mrs. Miller that I normally eat very low carb, but that I was really enjoying the high carb fare, which I was, and she looked at my small frame and then at her own obese frame and remarked, "Maybe I should be eating low carb!"  Hmmm...  I really doubt that she could adapt her cooking to low carb without seriously disrupting the traditions of her faith.  I am equally convinced that the way she feeds her family is not the healthiest, and that a more carb-controlled way of eating would benefit both her and her family!  Yet, I am also sure that body image and looking like a 'stick model' is not high on her list of priorities of what it means to be a good wife, mother and homemaker in the Amish tradition.  According to statistics and my own observations, most Amish women are overweight and/or obese.  I think that it might be an expected part of life for them.

It was very interesting to have three very different groups of people present, discussing dietary practices and traditions.  Not only was there Amish and low carb represented, but the Jewish family we shared lunch with observe the dietary restrictions of the Jewish faith.  In other words, they "keep kosher", eating "meat meals" and "milk meals", each meal being prepared only in its designated pots and pans, eaten only off of its designated plates and eaten only with its designated silverware.  I have never been friends with any Jews, and it was fascinating to listen to our lunch partners describe their religious observances.  I was very impressed with their level of devotion and commitment in this area!

Aside from Michelle (my new Jewish friend) not eating bacon with her breakfast, we found that we had much in common, including the ingesting of vast amounts of vitamins and supplements, our determination to eat only real, fresh, whole foods free of hormones, antibiotics and chemicals, and an interest in the works of Weston A. Price.  Michelle is currently reading Weston A. Price's book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, a book that I have had in mind to read, and now am determined to read!

Michelle is also a member of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price, whose studies of isolated nonindustrialized peoples established the parameters of human health and determined the optimum characteristics of human diets. Dr. Price's research demonstrated that humans achieve perfect physical form and perfect health generation after generation only when they consume nutrient-dense whole foods and the vital fat-soluble activators found exclusively in animal fats.  The Foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism. It supports a number of movements that contribute to this objective including accurate nutrition instruction, organic and biodynamic farming, pasture-feeding of livestock, community-supported farms, honest and informative labeling, prepared parenting and nurturing therapies. Specific goals include establishment of universal access to clean, certified raw milk and a ban on the use of soy formula for infants.

So I got two benefits from my lunch with the Amish - not only learning more about the Amish way of life and how they eat, but the chance to meet Michelle, a person who is like-minded in areas of health and nutrition.  Near the beginning of our time together, we ate butter, and said, almost in one voice, "Saturated fat is healthy!"  I think she was even more excited to meet a person like me as I was to meet a person like her, if such a thing were possible!

All in all, it was a good and enlightening time, even though it will probably take me a week to get back into fat burning mode after all those carbs!

If you are ever in the area, you can eat with the Millers, too!  You can visit the website for the Illinois Amish Interpretive Center, or phone 1-888-45AMISH.

OCTOBER 24 - WEEK 84 RESULTS

I have reached my goal weight (low 140s), but I am still going to weigh and measure my body once per week just to make sure I don't have "size creep" without realizing it.

This is my second week of only weighing and measuring once per week.  I lost 0.2 pounds and gained 1/4" around my navel, so I guess I pretty much stayed the same as last week. This coming week, I will track at least six days, and I'm going to reduce my food by 50 calories per day.   I now that doesn't seem like much, but it may help me lose that little bit I gained this week.

I was a little nervous this past week, because I had eaten off plan on two different days.  But at the same time, I noticed that my stress about my size was lower due to having to watch the scale and the tape measure go up and down every day.  Actually, the beginning of the week was totally stress free, but I found the stress going up a little but each day, until this morning, when I was very stressed.  Last night, I almost got on the scale right before bed, but talked myself out it!  I'm hoping that as time goes by, I will be more relaxed throughout the week.

This past week, I tracked my food five out of the seven days.  On the two days I did not track, which was last Sunday and yesterday, I ate out and allowed myself to have a couple of treats that were off plan. (I did not do this when I was on Induction and OWL, just so you know!) On that day, my net carbs were pretty high I'm sure, but they were an average of 24.4 the rest of the week.

All things considered, I think it was a good decision to stop weighing and measuring every day, now that I am not losing. If I were still in losing mode, I would weigh every day and measure once per week, like I used to.

One week ago, my average weight for the week was 142.7.

Today, my average weight for the week is 142.5.

I lost 0.2 pounds this past week.

I tracked my food on fitday.com five days this past week,

and here are the averages of what I ate:

1834 calories

142g fat

91g protein

48.9g total carbs

24.5g fiber

24.4g net carbs, of which 12.5g were from veggies

2430g sodium

Today is my weekly measuring day. In the past 7 days, I gained 1/4" around my navel.

To get back to my smallest size on June 13, 2010, I need to lose:

1/4" around my bicep

1/2" from my bust

1/4" from my midriff

1/2" from my waist

3/4" from my navel

1" from my hips

1/4" from my thigh

Here is what I have lost so far, since starting to lose weight in February 2009:

Neck - 13.75" to 12.5" - down 1.25"

Bicep - 11.75" to 11.25" - down 0.5"

Forearm - 9" - no change

Bust - 38.25" to 36" - down 2.25"

Midriff - 32.25" to 29.75" - down 2.5"

Waist - 31.5" to 29.25" - down 2.25"

Navel - 38.25" to 32.75" - down 5.5"

Hips - 42" to 39.25" - down 2.75"

Thigh - 24.5" to 22.25" - down 2.25"

Calf - 14.5" to 13.5" - down 1"

I would still like to replace some body fat with some muscle, so I'll see how that goes as time goes on.

AND NOW, FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

OCTOBER 17 - WEEK 83 RESULTS

Last week I decided that I was going to stop weighing every day, because my weight fluctuates so wildly from day to day, that it was causing me a lot of stress.

I also decided that I would take a couple of measurements (waist, navel and hips) every day, just to see what that was like. After one week, I stopped, because it was boring.

I have reached my goal weight (low 140s), but I am still going to weigh and measure my body once per week just to make sure I don't have "size creep" without realizing it.

This past week, I tracked my food six out of the seven days, but did not try to restrict myself to a certain amount of food. As a matter of fact, I pushed myself to eat a little more, to keep my food intake high. And on the one day I did not track, which was last Sunday, I ate out and allowed myself to have a couple of treats that were off plan. (I did not do this when I was on Induction and OWL, just so you know!) On that day, my net carbs were pretty high I'm sure, but they were an average of 22 the rest of the week.

This morning, I measured myself before weighing and was pleased to find that I have lost a total of 2-1/2" this past week. This is the most important thing, and matters infinitely more than how much I weigh!

But just for the heck of it, I weighed myself, too. I have lost 0.6 pounds in the past week.

All things considered, I think it was a good decision to stop weighing and measuring every day, now that I am not losing.  If I were still in losing mode, I would weigh every day and measure once per week, like I used to.

One week ago, my average weight for the week was 143.3.
Today, my average weight for the week is 142.7.
I lost 0.6 pounds this past week.

I tracked my food on fitday.com six days this past week,
and here are the averages of what I ate:

1852 calories
142g fat
101g protein
44g total carbs
22g fiber
22g net carbs, of which 13g were from veggies
2444g sodium

Today is my weekly measuring day.  In the past 7 days:

I lost 1/4" around my bust
I lost 1/2" around my midriff
I lost 1/2" around my waist
1 lost 1" around my navel
I lost 1/4" around my hips

To get back to my smallest size on June 13, 2010, I need to lose:

1/4" around my bicep
1/2" from my bust
1/4" from my midriff
1/2" from my waist

1/2" from my navel

1" from my hips
1/4" from my thigh

Here is what I have lost so far, since starting to lose weight in February 2009:

Neck - 13.75" to 12.5" - down 1.25"

Bicep - 11.75" to 11.25" - down 0.5"

Forearm - 9" - no change

Bust - 38.25" to 36" - down 2.25"

Midriff - 32.25" to 29.75" - down 2.5"

Waist - 31.5" to 29.25" - down 2.25"

Navel - 38.25" to 32.5" - down 5.75"

Hips - 42" to 39.25" - down 2.75"

Thigh - 24.5" to 22.25" - down 2.25"

Calf - 14.5" to 13.5" - down 1"

I would still like to replace some body fat with some muscle, so I'll see how that goes as time goes on.

RESISTING FOOD AT MY DAD'S HOUSE

I don't care how good I am doing throughout the week, when I go in the door to my dad's house, some sort of evil spirit takes hold of me and tells me to eat!

Of course, most of the snack food at his house is carbs - cookies and popcorn, namely.  And bread!

I have found it really hard to resist the temptation to eat wrong while I am at his house.

Last night, I went over and took some pumpkin, butter, Stevia and cinnamon with me in a Tupperware container, and I ate only that while I was there! I was so happy with myself.

I think I am still glowing from my entrance into Lifetime Maintenance, and it gave me extra motivation.

Of course, I did have a glass of diet cola while I was there, and I did not want to do that. I have basically given that up because it is chemical swill.

Next time I go over there, I will drink water, or maybe bring a tea bag to brew some iced tea.

STOPPING THE DAILY BODY MEASURING

I've been taking my core measurements for the past several days instead of weighing on the bathroom scale.  Here are my results:

10/10/10
29.75" - waist
33.50" - navel
39.50" - hips

10/11/10
30.00" - waist
33.50" - navel
39.50" - hips

10/12/10
29.50" - waist
33.75" - navel
40.00" - hips

10/13/10
29.50" - waist
33.50" - navel
39.50" - hips

10/14/10
29.50" - waist
33.00" - navel
39.50" - hips

10/15/10
29.50" - waist
33.50" - navel
39.50" - hips

10/16/10
29.50" - waist
33.00" - navel
39.25" - hips

Since I started this, I have lost 1/4" around my waist, 1/2" around my navel and 1/4" around my hips.  I still have not weighed. I must admit that I am curious!

I am going to stop the daily measuring. With my scale weight, there were big changes everyday, and it made it worth my time to see get on the scale.

But with my measurements, they basically stay the same for days at a time, with a little bit of up and down here and there. In other words... BOOOOORING!!!

I think that now that I am in Phase 4, and have decided that I am not going to strive to get smaller any more, measuring or weighing every day might be counterproductive. I'm trying to just live and eat the way I know I should and not stress about the little ups and downs.

One thing that this little experiment has done for me is to show me that I can survive without getting on the scale every day. It has also shown me that my scale weight is so crazy from day to day that it mostly just causes me stress.

So here is my new plan - I am going to weigh and measure once a week, every Sunday morning, just like always, just to make sure I don't start to creep up without realizing it.

STEPPING UP TO ATKINS PHASE 4 - LIFETIME MAINTENANCE!

This is me, entering Lifetime Maintenance!

After spending over a year at my present weight (in the low 140s), I have decided that this may be the weight my body wants to be, so I am giving it its way.

If I lose any more weight in the future, that's great, and if I don't, that's okay, too. I'm going to just relax and eat well and stop striving to change something I may not be able to change.

I am changing my goal weight to 140, up from 130, and that means I have reached my goal!

Thanks to everyone on The Atkins Community Forum who has supported me and helped me through all of my struggles.  I love you all!

I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders!

I still don't think that I am at my healthiest weight, due to the fat percentage of 36, but I may be at the healthiest weight I am able to attain. I guess we'll see!

WILL I EVER GET OUT OF ATKINS PHASE 3?

I have been in Phase 3 now for over a year, I think. Due to my hormonal problems, it is beginning to look like any further weight loss may be impossible. I'm trying to decide whether I should give up on that and just assume I'm going to be around this weight from now on, and change my Phase number to a 4.

I am 5'3" tall, and 54 years old. Although I have gotten as low as 135.8 on May 31, 2010, that was very uncommon, and my weight is usually floating around in the low 140s. My original goal was to weight 130 with 25% body fat.

The last time I had my body composition done, I was still around 36% body fat, which is definitely not in the healthy range. I want to be around 25%, but I'm beginning to think that will never happen.

I am weary of the fight to lose weight and/or inches. I am not weary of eating properly, just weary of the struggle to get smaller.

I wear size small and medium tops. I wear anywhere from size 6 to size 10 pants, depending on the maker. I get compliments from people on my body size.

I should be satisfied, but on the other hand, I have a huge fatty stomach that does not show when I am clothed. But I know it's there, and I know my body fat percentage is unhealthy.

But here's the thing - I can't do anything about it! It seems that I have hit a wall, and I'm not going to lose any more fat. Maybe I should just reconcile myself to the fact (?) that I have an illness that makes weight loss unlikely if not impossible, and stop striving.

Well, technically (and I do love being technical!), being a 4 means that you have reached your goal weight and know how many carbs you can eat to stay there.

I have not reached my goal weight. Of course, I could just change my goal weight to my present weight, and then if I happen to lose more down the road, that would be okay, too!

it's not that I am "done trying to lose" as much as it is that I don't think I can lose any more right now, or maybe ever. I think I will always, to some extent, be trying to lose.

I do like the idea of going ahead and going to Lifetime Maintenance with the option of returning to Pre-Maintenance in the future.

Where I am right now is sustainable without a lot of stress. And even with stress, and trying to lose, I don't lose, so what's the point?

When I am dressed, I look like I am a normal weight, and that is definitely a change from when I first started!

My BMI is currently 25.3, which is just over the edge into overweight. When I started losing, it was 128 - just 2 points shy of obese!

In a perfect world, I would love my BMI to be 22, which is smack dab in the middle of normal.

In order for me to me the weight and body composition that my doctor is "ordering me" to achieve, I would have to lose another 23 pounds of fat and gain another 6 pounds of muscle with a scale weight of 124. That would really be a healthy weight for a woman of only 5'3".  Looks can be deceiving!

I could go back to a lower level if I chose to. There are some who have done that.  There are also some who have reached their goal weight, and entered Phase 4, and then ended up losing some weight later. That would be great, but I'm not counting on it.

A GOOD DAY, MOSTLY, BUT A LITTLE DISCOURAGING, TOO...

The first good thing is that we resolved a major business problem that we have been under the shadow of for almost two years. The stress I was under was extreme, with the past several months being the worst of it. One real estate closing later, it is now behind us, with a result of about 90% satisfaction. I'm hoping that now that it is over, I can get rid of some of the stress that has been causing my cortisol to go through the roof!

Another good thing is that I wore my size 6 dress slacks to the meeting. Sweet!

One thing happened that was unhappy, though. In the past, when we have had a good business result, Bill and I have gone out and had a celebration dinner at a nice restaurant. But today, we did not, and it seemed incomplete, like it was not properly celebrated.

I know that there are some who will say that I should have gone out and just ate low carb at the restaurant, but even when I do that, the salt gets me and I spend the next few days (up to a week sometimes) feeling bloated and uncomfortable. So we decided to get a couple of strip steaks and grill them and have a big salad.

At least when I am at home, I do not feel deprived. When I am at a restaurant, I always feel deprived! "Out of sight, out of mind" always works best for me.

I was tempted to go out to eat, but, in the end, I realized that bloating up would not be a good ending to the business problem, but just a continuation of the water weight problem and the feeling deprived problem.

So I guess that was good, too. We ate at home, and tomorrow I will have no regrets about that decision!

BODY MEASUREMENTS VS. SCALE WEIGHT

I weigh every day on my bathroom scale. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. The problem is that my weight fluctuates so much that I am always getting discouraged. It's not unusual for me to gain 2 pounds or more from one morning to the next.

I have tried only weighing once a week, and it drives me crazy. I need to have some sort of daily idea how I am doing.

Since I started Atkins in March 2009, I have taken my full body measurements once a week. I measure my neck, bicep, forearm, bust, midriff, waist, navel, hips, thigh and calf. This has been very helpful to me to track my progress.  Here is my chart:

I was thinking that I might try doing this daily, but it is very time consuming, and a pain.

So, this morning I decided that instead of getting on the scale every morning, I am going to take just three measurements - waist, navel and hips.

Body measurements are a better way of tracking progress anyway, so why not just measure? Taking those three measurements takes only a few more seconds than getting on the scale.

There have been times when I have gained weight over a week, but my measurements have stayed the same or even gone down. So what have I focused on that week? The scale, which is dumb of me to do.

So I am going to measure my "core" every morning, and do a full body measure and get on the scale only once per week.

I wonder if I can stick with it...

These are my measurements for the past two mornings:

10/10/10
29.75" - waist
33.50" - navel
39.50" - hips

10/11/10
30.00" - waist
33.50" - navel
39.50" - hips

Here is my new Core Measurements chart:

OCTOBER 10 - WEEK 82 RESULTS

One week ago, average weight for the week - 144.6
Today, average weight for the week - 143.3
I lost 1.3 pounds this past week.

I tracked my food on fitday.com every day this past week, and here are the averages of what I ate:

1748 calories
137g fat
85g protein
44g total carbs
17g fiber
27g net carbs, of which 11.2g were from veggies
2761g sodium

Today is my weekly measuring day.  In the past 7 days:

I lost 1/4" around my bust
I lost 1/4" around my waist
1 gained 1/2" around my navel
I lost 1/4" around my calf

To get back to my smallest size on June 13, 2010, I need to lose:

1/4" around my bicep
3/4" from my bust
1" from my midriff
1" from my waist

1-1/2" from my navel

1-1/4" from my hips
1/4" from my thigh

Here is what I have lost so far, since starting to lose weight in February 2009:

Neck - 13.75" to 12.5" - down 1.25"

Bicep - 11.75" to 11.25" - down 0.5"

Forearm - 9" - no change

Bust - 38.25" to 36.25" - down 2"

Midriff - 32.25" to 30.25" - down 2"

Waist - 31.5" to 29.75" - down 1.75"

Navel - 38.25" to 33.5" - down 4.75"

Hips - 42" to 39.5" - down 2.5"

Thigh - 24.5" to 22.25" - down 2.25"

Calf - 14.5" to 13.5" - down 1"

My goal is to weigh 130 pounds with 25% body fat.  In order to meet that goal, I need to lose around 20 pounds of fat and gain around 10 pounds of muscle.

JACKIE EBERSTEIN DEBUNKS THE CURRENT CROP OF ATKINS MYTHS

This from Jimmy Moore and The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show:

The Atkins diet enjoys a rather odd position in the world of health and nutrition–you either love it or you hate it! There are very few people who kinda like it or kinda dislike it. And I suppose this has a lot to do with the misconceptions and myths that pervade about it in our culture. But the fact is most of these perceptions about the Atkins low-carb lifestyle are easily combatted with the facts that have been borne out by the experience of real life low-carbers and the science that backs them up. Today’s podcast interview guest is arguably the most knowledgeable expert on the Atkins diet today after working directly with the late, great Dr. Robert C. Atkins for nearly three decades.

 In Episode 389 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we welcome back to the show registered nurse Jackie Eberstein from Controlled Carbohydrate Nutrition and co-author (with Dr. Mary C. Vernon) of Atkins’ Diabetes Revolution. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve had Jackie with us on the podcast (listen to my June 2008 interview with her–listen to Part 1 and Part 2) and she’s been a regular keynote speaker on The Annual Low-Carb Cruise the past few years. But I wanted to bring her back on the podcast to address many of the lingering myths about the Atkins low-carb diet that still pervade in our culture. Listen to Jackie share what she thinks Dr. Atkins would say about The New Atkins For A New You, her attempts to correct the ongoing Atkins myths over the years, her typical low-carb menus, why she has to personally stay very low-carb, why reactive hypoglycemia is not caused by low-carb eating, the impact of sweeteners on hypoglycemia, whether you should count calories on the Atkins diet, why “calories in, calories out” is totally bogus, why Atkins won’t raise your lipids to unhealthy levels, why high triglycerides are not caused by fat but by insulin (stoked by carbohydrate consumption), which is more important–LDL particle number or particle size, why red meat is not the great harm it is purported to be in studies, why pigs are better animal studies than rats and worms, why there are no kidney damage concerns for people eating the Atkins diet (because it’s NOT a high-protein diet, it’s a moderate protein diet), why getting adequate protein is so vital to your health, her reaction to what the 2010 Dietary Guidelines will include and whether low-carb will even be considered, whether the Paleolithic diet jives with the Atkins diet, why free-range, organic meats are best, her response to the “one golden shot” theory that you can only lose weight on Atkins low-carb once, why there is a lot we don’t understand fully about fat cells, why cutting fat while consuming a low-carb diet is not wise, why the scale is not an accurate measuring stick for your weight loss progress, why regular exercise is an important companion tool with low-carb living, why some people are continually tired on the Atkins diet and what they can do to overcome it, the research links she provides on her web site, why Atkins does not lead to osteoporosis, why low-carb is not lacking in nutrition because you need to take supplements while on it, how consuming carbohydrates actually depletes nutrition from your body, and what she wishes more people would understand about the Atkins diet. For anyone who thinks low-carb is harmful to some aspect of their health, then this interview with Jackie Eberstein is one you don’t want to miss!

To listen to the interview, right click here.

BLOOD TESTS RESULTS ARE IN - IT'S HIGH CORTISOL CAUSING MY WEIGHT GAIN

I've been gaining weight again, even though my eating has not changed, and I went to my hormone doctor today to get the results of my blood tests.

First of all, here are my symptoms:

Unexplained weight gain
Bloating
Headaches
Warm flushes (like hot flashes without the sweating)
Heart palpitations
Extreme irritability (just ask my husband!)
Lack of energy
Depression
Unexplained weight gain (I know, I already said that one, but it bears repeating)

Some people also experience sleep disturbances, but I have not lately.

The results of my blood tests showed that I have low testosterone and extremely high cortisol hormone. My cortisol has always been around 3 or 4, and has been since I started going to my bioidentical hormone replacement doctor a year and a half ago. Today, I found out that my recent test is at 10, around 3 times my normal amount.

My doctor asked me if I have been under any stress lately. In fact, I have been under an extreme amount of stress due to the economy's effect on my businesses and even the value of my home.  So, um, yeah. I've been under some stress.

We all know from the TV commercials that cortisol causes weight gain, and specifically belly fat. They call cortisol the stress hormone.

Here is what I learned from my doctor today:

Stress causes elevated cortisol. Cortisol causes not only weight gain, but testosterone depletion. Low testosterone causes muscle wasting and fat storage, along with emotional weakness. So it's a vicious circle - stress causes elevated cortisol, which causes low testosterone, which causes emotional weakness, which makes a person more susceptible to the effects of stress, which cause an even higher level of cortisol, which causes an even lower level of testosterone, which causes... well, you get the picture.

So here is what I need to do, according to my doctor, and he says I should start feeling better in a few days and should start losing weight again:

I need to get my testosterone implant more often - every four months instead of five - because it gets used up faster in the presence of stress.

I need to exercise, because exercise reduces the hormone cortisol. I had torn a muscle in my leg, and had stopped exercising, but now it is healed and I need to start again. Whether or not exercise "burns calories" is not really the issue, but rather that exercise can regulate hormones.

I need to psychologically manage my stress better.

So here is my takeaway from the doctor's visit - I hope to start losing weigh again soon, with my cortisol and testosterone in balance. I now know that it is not my fault that I am gaining weight, and eating perfectly and exercising perfectly would not have made me lose weight when my hormones were still messed up.

It's kind of like the problem with being low thyroid. You can eat right and exercise until you drop, but if you are low thyroid, it will be difficult to lose weight, or may, if the thyroid is low enough, be next to impossible.

And I also want to encourage others who are eating what they should - high fat, moderate protein and controlled carbs - and still not losing weight, that it is not necessarily that Atkins is "not working for you". There are so many factors that influence weight gain, and what you eat and how active you are may not even be your problem. It could be sleep problems, it could be stress, or many other things. We need to persevere until we find the answer.

I may not know the answers to everything, but this I know - Eating the Atkins Way is the healthiest way to eat, and even if I never lose any more weight, I'm sticking with it!

AL WATSON'S BOOK REFUTES THE LOW FAT DIET DOGMA

I just read this interview on my old/new friend Adam Kosloff's website, Why Low Carb Diets Work, and I think it is worth a read to anyone interested in hearing more about how the government's stance on the health of a low fat, high carb diet has been found wanting!

 
Al's book, Cereal Killer, is being called the Reader's Digest version of Gary Taube's Good Calories Bad Calories.  I'm going to try to get my hands on it as soon as possible!

To read Adam's interview of Al Watson, right click here.

(If you are interested in reading my interview with Adam Kosloff, right click here.)

11-YEAR OLD BIRKE BAEHR SPEAKS ON REAL FOOD

i just found this youtube clip on Jimmy Moore's blog. This young kid sure has his head on straight when it comes the to food he puts in his body!

MY INTERVIEW WITH JIMMY MOORE ON THE LIVIN' LA VIDA LOW-CARB SHOW

In Episode 404 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we hear from Atkins weight loss success story Rebecca Latham who was featured on pages 114-115 of the bestselling The New Atkins For A New You book. She shares all about her journey these days at her “My Low-Carb Road To Better Health” blog with all the ups, downs, and in-betweens that have happened to her over the years. Hear Rebecca talk about how she has always felt fat even when she was at a normal weight, the various diets she has been on over the years, how she found the Atkins diet for the first time in 2000, how her husband was positively impacted by following Atkins until he stopped doing the plan, her fateful encounter with Colette Heimowitz from Atkins Nutritionals, the hormonal challenges she faces that makes building muscle and burning body fat difficult, the various setbacks she has experienced in her low-carb lifestyle, the heavy influence of Mark Sisson’s work (The Primal Blueprint is “like Atkins on steroids”), the necessary tweaks she needed to make to make her low-carb plan work for her, why the scale is not a reliable indicator of your low-carb progress, her frustration with finding the right body composition, her recommendation for people wanting to eat a more clean low-carb diet, the health issues her husband has been dealing with which have required him to get back on Atkins again, the change in body perception she has experienced since losing weight, the supplements she takes on her Atkins lifestyle, the genetic predisposition for ALS and how her supplements are helping her with this, her foray into intermittent fasting, her sample low-carb menus, her use of thyroid medication and how it has helped her, her “My Body Is Not A Piggy Bank: Do Calories Matter?” thread on the Atkins forum, and the ramifications of eating too much fat. You’ll quickly realize how and why Rebecca is such an ardent defender of the low-carb lifestyle and has become quite knowledgable of how it works over the past decade.

Listen to the interview by right clicking here.  There are two interviews on the podcast, and this one starts at 19:47 on the counter, so you can fast forward to that number if you like.

BUT YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE YOU NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT!

Very often people will tell me that I do not need to lose weight.  Rather than try to talk them out of that idea, I decided to take these photos today.  The one on the left is me sucking in my breath, and holding in my stomach and ribcage with all the strength I can muster.  The one on the right is me relaxing.  And no, I am not forcing my stomach out as hard as I can!  If I did that, it would not have fit in the frame!  This is what 37% body fat looks like on a 5'3" woman who weighs 143 pounds:

So please don't tell me to stop losing weight.

In addition to the fat you can see, there is also fat around my internal organs.  This is not healthy.  This is what estrogen dominance, low testosterone, low thyroid and high cortisol will do to a body that eats right and exercises.  I'm trying to turn it around, but it ain't easy!

OCTOBER 3 - WEEK 81 RESULTS

One week ago, average weight for the week - 142.3
Today, average weight for the week - 144.6
I gained 2.3 pounds this past week.

Today is my weekly measuring day.  In the past 7 days:

I gained 1/4" around my bicep
I gained 1/2" around my bust
I gained 1/2" around my midriff
I gained 1/2" around my waist
1 gained 1/4" around my navel
I gained 1/2" around my hips
I gained 1/4" around my thigh
 I gained 1/4" around my calf

To get back to my smallest size on June 13, 2010, I need to lose:

1/4" around my bicep
1" from my bust
3/4" from my midriff
1-1/4" from my waist

1" from my navel

1-1/4" from my hips
1/4" from my thigh
1/4" from my calf

Here is what I have lost so far, since starting to lose weight in February 2009:

Neck - 13.75" to 12.5" - down 1.25"

Bicep - 11.75" to 11.25" - down 0.5"

Forearm - 9" - no change

Bust - 38.25" to 36.5" - down 1.75"

Midriff - 32.25" to 30.25" - down 2"

Waist - 31.5" to 30" - down 1.5"

Navel - 38.25" to 33" - down 5.25"

Hips - 42" to 39.5" - down 2.5"

Thigh - 24.5" to 22.25" - down 2.25"

Calf - 14.5" to 13.75" - down 0.75"

My goal is to weigh 130 pounds with 25% body fat.  In order to meet that goal, I need to lose around 20 pounds of fat and gain around 10 pounds of muscle.