Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - Waterlilly

Pages: [1] 2
1
General Discussion / I've got it! I know what my problem is now!!
« on: August 25, 2012, 11:23:12 AM »
So then next logical question would be, "gee waterlilly, what IS your problem?" We'll, I'll tell you.

I'VE BEEN EATING TOO FREAKIN' MUCH!!!   :o :o :o :o :o

Now don't get me wrong. This WOE is REALLY good!  ;D I feel GREAT and I'm NOT HUNGRY for HOURS. My blood sugar is nice and stable and I can walk right past dessert. Last night I had a dream about chocolate cupcakes with that nasty thick, grainy icing and they grossed me out. Someone was bugging me to take one and I'm like, "Ewww, gross!". So even in my dreams, my cravings have subsided. Once upon a time, they used to have a HUGE hold on me. Like to the point that avoiding a doughnut was an internal battle of the soul and I would buy sugar off of a stranger like it was crack, regardless of where it had been  :o . (The cravings were THAT bad).

However, back in the day when I was eating wheat  >:( and "watching the weight" and counting "points" I would eat my little tuna 1/4 cup serving (with fat free mayo, of course) my 5 little poisonous high carb wheat crackers and MAYBE  a "low fat" cheese stick and a piece of fruit. High carb for sure. You can bet that 2 hours later, I was hungry and the only thing that kept me from eating the table was the non fat tuna. Still, the calories were limited which was good. The issue was that I always had to watch my blood sugar which could tank at ANY TIME  >:( because I was eating high carby garbage.

Fast forward to today. That lunch is transformed.  ;D I still have that tuna but I might have the "in oil" version. Or, the mayo is full fat. The crackers are flax crackers (10 carbs but 9 g fiber so = 1 net carb!) and a FULL FAT  :o cheese stick and LOW CARB Kroger yogurt. Yay!!  Fat is my good friend! I love you fat!!!  :-*

Other snacks might include a glob of butter dumped into a pan to fry the veggies (perhaps 4 tbsp of olive oil for 2 stir fried servings of veggies and chicken), a big 'ol bowl of pork rinds with a little cup FULL of blue cheese dressing, or perhaps my favorites: 4 tbsps of heavy cream mixed with cocoa and stevia to be like runny chocolate ice cream, or late night cheese crisps (take a giant handful of shredded cheese and nuke until crispy...then break apart and chomp like chips).

I can only imagine that the same little wheaty nasty lunch, as been turned into a wonderful low carb but SUPER HIGH calorie fiesta!  No wonder my weight stays the same. If I really go bonanza and eat like a hedonist, the weight "can " go up but if I carry on as usual, it stays the same. A testament to the power of this WOE but still, not a way to LOSE it . (I can go gonzo when I'm maintaining but not right now).

The verdict? I'm eating too much. I think my brain has been programmed to associate watching portions with counting numbers and other unpleasant math like activities.

I like Doug's idea of "eating only when you're hungry". However, from my past dieting adventures and living in the land of deprivation, limiting a high cal but low carb portion makes me think I"m going to starve to death (when in reality, I' might eat that and not be hungry for hours! Still, tell my emotional brain that....)

So, how can I limit my calories a little more? Remember that I'm probably consuming at LEAST 2500-3000 calories. As a shorter female, I can't quite get away with that many calories, especially now that I"m into my 30's. I plan to get more active and am gradually. Still, I'm eating WAAAAYYY too much and I don't know if my appetite and I are friends yet. I think it needs some more coaching. I have about 50 pounds to lose before I can firmly qualify for the "hot chick dance" so I'ts not like I have hundreds of pounds to lose (that would make any reduction work like magic...I have to be a bit more careful as would anyone with less to lose). Any suggestions?

2
General Discussion / Can Diet Pop (Soda) Cause a Stall?
« on: August 14, 2012, 04:48:39 PM »
Just curious if this might be true. While I am looking and feeling thinner, I'm also consuming 3 cans of Diet Dr. Pepper each day. I'm thinking it might be slowing me down a bit. 

Is there any science behind this or am I just imagining things? Or have you had any experience?

3
General Discussion / Wow! 7 hours without food and I'm still here!
« on: August 09, 2012, 07:04:49 PM »
Since I'm on my short break, I slept in today pretty late.  I woke up around 10:30 (WAAAYYY too late for me because I'm a morning person but needed the sleep) and ate my usual low carb breakfast of an almond/flax muffin with some natural pb and 2 pieces of sausage, plus coffee.  Even with the PB at 3 carbs, the whole thing is about 6 carbs max.  So breakfast was at about 10:40. Then a friend called and I had to take her to the doctor and I spent the rest of the day out of the house, with no access to anything but some breath mints (sugar free) and some water.

When I got home, I was a little hungry, but my blood sugar was NICE and STABLE  ;D!!  I realized that it was 5pm and I would need to eat when I got home, but even when we went to Walgreens for medication, NOTHING tempted me! I have lost the cravings because the carbs are in check and the wheat is nowhere to be found. THIS is the gift of the FTS lifestyle. I am steady and in control and food is something I consume for nourishment, not because some drug like phisiological response is controlling me and driving me to do something that I have to fight. It's just so lovely..... :) It's so awesome to be in control and to walk by the nasty addictive foods. I'm really liking the power here.  8)

4
General Discussion / Wheat, Carbs, and Plus Size Clothing
« on: August 05, 2012, 09:05:26 AM »
Lately I've been paying EXTRA attention to wheat. I know that some of you DO eat a little bit in the form of super low carb wraps and such.I'm not sure if I will venture back towards that or not myself.  Some of them are more soy/flax based so I might try to go that route. I used to eat this super low carb bread that was paper thin, but it was still bread.

I have been reading Wheat Belly and the blog that goes with it (the author explains the science behind it). In a recent blog post, they author conceeded that if you want to lose weight, lose the wheat, AND LOWER CARBS (hello FTS)! I think that even if you did eat some wheat (just a little low carb wrap) you will be OK because you LOWER your carbs. Hence, the common denominator is LOWER the CARBS. 

So this Wheat Belly doctor states there is some type of a compound in wheat that's as addictive as cocaine and drives people to overeat and never get full. I think it's called glaudin or something like that. I've been looking around and seeing lots of people with tremendous weight problems. Something has to be driving them to eat such massive amounts of food and they're not gorging on steak.  It has to be an addiction. 

Furthermore, I went into this women's clothing store called "Fashion Bug" (may be a Midwest only thing) and found out the whole chain was closing because they were bought out. So I asked why the new company wouldn't just keep them open or maybe sell their clothes under a different label and here's what she told me: "The new owner company is more interested in Lane Bryant and Cacique (both plus size clothing stores that carry sizes from 20W to 40W) than regular Fashion Bug". WHAT?!! :o :o :o So apparently, all of these severely overweight, addicted, sick people I see walking around are BIG BUSINESS to this company, not to mention the drug and diabetic supply companies. SO BIG rather than  NORMAL sized clothes (which DO go up to size 18) are NOT considered profitable.  OMG! This is WRONG.  >:(

The more I look around, the more I see how very important it is to watch your carbs. Luckily, there are several movements afoot that talk about eating real food and lowering carbs/elimiating starchy carbs (including FTS) and I'm very grateful for them. Every time I see a severely overweight teen or young adult, I can't help but think they have a wheat/carb disease that somebody makes money off of. Its so sad and yet I have hope. I used to think that FTS was somehow "too low" for carbs and people told me that I was going "too low" and this is "not healthy". Umm, excuse me but I see 40W as not healthy. Pasta is not healthy. High blood sugar is not healthy. >20 net carbs/day makes me feel healthy and fabulous.  I'm sick of people telling me that 20 net carbs per day is "not healthy" or that natural foods will "kill me".  ;D  Keep preachin' it Doug.  :)

5
General Discussion / I have an idea for Doug and Umpa!
« on: July 31, 2012, 06:58:20 AM »
Before I share my idea, I credit this new creativity to the fact that I NO LONGER have to take grad classes! (Still celebrating getting my life back here). OK, so here's my idea...

I really LIKE having things around that remind me of FTS. Sort of like a way to brand this way of eating that I can own. It would be REALLY COOL  8) to have an FTS keychain. But not like those big goofy plastic things. I'm thinking something much smaller that could attach to my current keys. Maybe something smaller that just says "FTS" on a little bar. Something smallish that would easily fit into a pocket.

So here's the other part... You could take some or all  (after production costs) of the profit for this keychain for your books for schools program!  So buying the keychain would be like a donation to the program.

I have no idea what it costs to develop something like this, so please pardon my ignorance on business/production costs. I just thought I would share my idea.  :)

I'm thinking they could look like this except without the religious symbol (I think it's an "evil eye" or something) but this general size: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22514370@N05/4091014457/#sizes/l/  and the charm would be something with FTS on it.

Just thought I would toss it out there!

6
So, for those of you playing at home for a while, I wrote about having funny stomach issues  :-[ when I first started FTS. Eventually I went astray  :-\ but then came back  :D, ready to start again. Recently, around the same time I chose to restart FTS,  I made a very positive (but stressful ) decision to stop my second grad program (enough is enough!) and start making some money. This is connected to an ever building career change I have in the works that will require me to get some skills. I'm adept at big changes (I've lived in a few different states and love adventure) so this isn't a big deal, but dropping the grad program IS, including the world of possibility and uncertainty I have jumped into.

HOWEVER, I got ready to do FTS again but then my stomach started getting funny again. I'm a very emotional person and my stomach reacts to life changes. All is going back to normal right now (thank God) but I stalled my new start. I have managed to avoid wheat and lower my carbs, but not near where they should be.

So my question for everyone is this: If your stomach gets funny, especially in stressful times, how do you eat and still stay FTS? I find that if I consume too much fat, it makes me sick when I"m stressed. I've also heard that you need extra protein when you're stressed because the body will literally cannibalize itself to make up for the stress. So it seems that eating FTS would be ideal during times of high stress. Still, what kinds of things do you eat with a stress reactive stomach?

I can name a couple of things I can eat while stressed: GG Brancrisp with cream cheese or peanut butter, bacon, muffin in a minute, hot dogs.

Any other ideas for handling stress while eating FTS and not letting it derail you?

7
About three months ago, I was really active on these boards. Then one day after about 3 weeks on FTS and some whining on how I can't "be like everybody else and eat garbage and look great (not that there are many people who can do this)" , I thought "eh, I"m not really seeing great progress ON THE SCALE (damn those numbers) and I NEED carbs, right? I'll just go back to carbs because it raises my serotonin". This, of course, DESPITE the fact that I was actually feeling fine on >20 carbs per day and had a system going. Shortly after I started FTS, I had THREE people tell me "you look thinner". Instead of TRUSTING the system and letting appetite control take over (very scary with my years of dieting/ways of thinking) I freaked out and decided it would be much better to just be able to buy my Lean Cuisines and just "watch my calories".

So, I tried counting calories and that didn't work (and counting numbers like that drives me freaking INSANE! It kind of made me feel like eating was a full time job with reports to file). Then, I tried another program which said "eat only up to 120 total carbs per day but keep all sugars (even fruit sugars) to no more than 15 grams per day, and divide that by no more than 40c and 5s per meal". Wow. MORE MATH.  Didn't work either.

Then I started reading "Wheat Belly" (a must read for every LC advocate) and I knew I had heard some of this before. Doug has often compared two slices of "whole grain" bread to many teaspoons of sugar!! While the book goes into some of the medical aspects, I see that FTS puts them into specific practice. It makes sense why so many people would be successful on FTS.

So, I'm going to try again but with a new attitude. NO "healthy whole grains" even if the package says it's low carb. I'm also going to stop fighting the appetite control and NOT EAT if I'm NOT HUNGRY (revolutionary, I know). I think I just need to let the magic of a LC, FTS, wheat free diet unfold. People were telling me "you look thinner" even though I hadn't seen much of a scale drop, so I think I was on to something. This time, I'm going to give it TIME to work instead of giving up after 3 weeks. It's a whole new way of thinking!!

And for the record,I am majorly TICKED  >:( at the propaganda I see that says things like "whole grains are healthy" , "you must have balance", "calories in, calories out", "buy this super intense work out system for the body of your dreams!" or "buy these drugs and make your symptoms go away!".  It sometimes makes me second guess myself. But NOT ANY MORE  ;D.  Thanks for this wonderful resource! I am recommitted.

8
Meal Plans / Need Suggestion
« on: May 24, 2012, 06:42:41 PM »
FTS Advocates,

I need an idea. I'm looking for a good veggie that can serve as a "chip" for tuna or chicken salad. It's basically functioning as a protein delivery system. I do have GG Bran but if I have one for breakfast, I try to not eat it at lunch. I figure using a veggie for lunch would be low cal, high fiber, and give me some vitamins and the crunchiness I so desire. I'm trying to find something that doesn't have seeds. Gracias.

9
I just want to say "thanks" for the great advice on how to understand my own hunger signals which have been buried under  years of bad diets and worse blood sugar.  I've been asking myself lately, "Am I hungry?" and haven't been strapping on the feedbag like before. I really don't need to eat as much or as often and I feel BETTER. I don't see food so much any more as entertainment or the band-aid that keeps blood sugar stable, but rather norishment at just the right time. Ahhhh...

Secondly, I'm always noticing high carb stuff. I saw something today that reminded me of a few concepts I've learned here.

There was a woman at this cafe near me who looked like she HAD to be a very comfortable size 4. Really lean, like I would like to be. She sat down with a friend and she had  a large, mocha sugar laden latte drink something or other topped with whipped cream AND a blueberry bagel! And I thought "What the?!" I could never eat that and I'm certainly not THAT size (yet). I just shook my head at first. But, as Doug said, I thought to myself, "Well, I"m just one of the "special people"" and I feel good about just drinking coffee while I play on my laptop. Even better than that, I didn't *WANT* the bagel or sugar laden coffee drink. It just didn't look good to me.

So this is good. Very, very, very, very good.

10
I have a question <raises hand>.  It seems my sense of fullness is jacked up. What I mean by that is that I can have a lovely FTS breakfast with two eggs, 3 slices of canadian bacon, cheese melted on the eggs, and 2 tbsps of pico de gallo, plus a cup of coffee w/ a tbsp of coconut oil melted in. Good breakfast right? Well, let's say I eat that at 6am. About 10:30, my auto programming kicks in. I SHOULD not be thinking about any type of food. Instead, I start thinking "what will I have for lunch?"

This is OLD programming. Like the "out of the way" visits for a sugar fix at whatever gas station/ice cream parlor that used to drive me, I am SO USED to having this grumbling in my stomach 3 hours after breakfast that Its like I'm expecting.

LOTS of old, bad programming here.

Any suggestions for how to live a different, LC life? Oh what freedom can come from NOT being hungry and NOT thinking about food until the appropriate times! To be "normal" among the carb mongers would be just fantastic. (and before you think I"m being mean, I personally KNOW people who I swear consume 400 carbs/day or more and are THIN! I work with someone who once ate a perogi sandwich: potato stuffed in a dough shell, deep fried and served between 2 pieces of rye bread with french fries on the side! :o :o :o)

This "special person" persona is a very new identity for me.

11
General Discussion / Emotional Cravings
« on: May 06, 2012, 12:41:43 PM »
Something very weird is happening... :-\

I have lost the physiological cravings for sweets. That's GOOD. I can walk past any carby junk and I just see garbage. Cool.

However, I still have this emotional attachment to them. The emotional attachment came from the physiological one. Plus, when I was working as a high school teacher ( a job I was NOT suited for) I was always stressed out. Mornings included a trip to 7-11 for coffee and Snickers, or a donut, or peanut M&M's (they're low glycemic you know) <shudders>

I used to have "paths" or "places" that I would go (sometimes out of my way) to get this carby, sugary junk. I was like a hunter and sugar and carbs were my prey. Plus, for me, they were a substitute for REAL things. Now that I don't have the physical need to get this garbage, I've lost some of the things I used to "do" if you could call it that. The big thing for me is that I need to change up my life in a few ways anyway. FTS just gets the stuff that was holding me back, out of the way.

Still, there's part of my brain that goes "don't you want to stop at 7-11?" and my body says, "I'm stuffed. Why would we do that?" because it's all full of beef jerky or salmon or cheese or almonds.

Any ideas on how to break the emotional ties to carbs and sugars? I'm starting to see room for REAL LIFE now. I just need to figure out how.

(Didn't know you were psychoanalyzing me! HA! :D :D :D)

12
General Discussion / Weight Watchers and Medifast - A RANT
« on: May 05, 2012, 08:52:49 AM »
So I was listening to the news the other day, and I heard that Weight Watchers shares have gone down: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2012/05/03/weight-watchers-international-caci-international-among-stocks-gapping-down/

Really? And then I found an article that talked about how Medifast is "losing" to WW and not in a good way: http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052748704330804577138721268591622.html

I work with someone who is morbidly obese. He tried Medifast, is a type 2, and just might lose a limb very soon (he's already got major neuropathy and deteriorating bones...it's awful). He tried Medifast and failed on it. He found out there are chemicals in the "food" that can be deadly. His wife is also overweight. I would LOVE to tell him about FTS, but I don't want to until I've lost more weight and can say "see what I did!" (and I will, for the record).

So here's my rant... I 've heard that one of the reasons why WW HAS to have meetings is because maintaining a high carb lifestyle with little calories is incredibly difficult and you need to "support" each other in this effort. Now I have to disclose here that I've been on WW 7 times in my life, with several incarnations of points: I won them, lost them, spent them, ate them, saved them, earned them, and twisted them around. Supposedly, I'm trying to eat here but it sounds so sick and twisted that way.

Now for the other part of my rant. If you look at the article above, they're about MONEY. How much did they make, save, spend? How's the stock doing? It's a financial analysis of something that's SUPPOSED to make my life better. If it's so important for my health, why is it being bought and sold on NASDAQ? And what is their secret sauce? Getting people to come back and stay on it, of course. If it worked, everyone would lose weight and be done with it, and well, that kind of success doesn't make them any money at all. In fact, eating has become a complicated algorithm (who knew?) and you can't do it successfully unless you have the key to this secret math. Last time I did this, you needed to know fat, protein, carbs, and fiber just to figure out the total "points".

I am SO HAPPY I left that insanity behind. Who knows what they will do next to get their stock back up. I'd much rather spend two hours at a local butcher who sell farm raised, local, grass fed meats and at the Farmer's Market looking for good veggies, rather than starting at a book trying to figure out the "points" of the horrible "Snackwells".

OK, rant over. Thanks for listening.

P.S. Since I started FTS, butter and I are friends again and I missed it. Bought a BIG block at the store the other day  :)

13
General Discussion / Ugh. Oficially in Detox. OK, this is weird.
« on: April 30, 2012, 05:24:16 PM »
This has to be detox. I ate dinner, WAS going to go to Zumba, but skipped it becuase I just go SO TIRED. I need to drink some broth too. It was a crappy day today, with the clouds and the work I have to grade before the semester ends. My head doesn't hurt (yet) but my stomach is still a bit icky. I found a great doctor who is a low carb advocate in his practice who explained why we get these symptoms. Based on his explanation, it IS true that low carb HEALS our bodies!  I just need to stick out the detox. I'm bound and determined to do this.

What weird symptoms!

14
General Discussion / Gross question but need advice
« on: April 28, 2012, 09:10:44 AM »
OK, so here goes. I have a question about constipation. I figure nobody can see me so I should be OK  :-[ .

When starting FTS, how long will it take for your body to adjust? Do things just get "bound up" for a while? Also, is there some kind of standard for elimination that is different on FTS vs. a high carb diet? I know when I eat carbs, sometimes I will "go" two or three times per day. I believe this is because the carbs are holding water.

So when you switch to a fat burning metabolism, is it possible that, like the wolf park story someone posted on these boards, the frequency of things changes? In the story, the wolves only ate about once a week. Could it be that when our bodies switch to a fat burning metabolism, we only need to "go" a few times per week? 

Does anyone have any advice for managing this during the first couple of weeks?

Thanks. Embarrassment over.  ::)

15
Meal Plans / I don't like to cook and I need meal ideas!!
« on: April 26, 2012, 08:34:33 PM »
Help!  I don't like to cook. Not only that I don't like to cook, I live in a 1 bedroom apartment and my space for freezing and storing pots and pans is VERY limited.  I need some meal ideas for someone like me who doesn't like to cook. I pretty much microwave everything and I'm pretty busy with work  and my work on a second masters degree along with a job search, so time is also a factor.  One cool part of FTS is where Doug outlines what you can eat and how to throw together some easy meal ideas. That part is helpful.

Does anyone have any fast/easy meal ideas for breakfast, lunch, or dinner? I'd be more than happy to pay extra for pre-cut pre-packaged anything. Lean Cuisines and Subway used to be my staples but I want to live the "low carb life" so I simply need to find another way to get what I need. The easier, the better for me!  Thanks. 

Pages: [1] 2