renewedhope

You are doing awesome Georgia!! So proud of you!! I did 1hr of exercise on Wii fit at my mom's today. I am sore all over. I won't be able to walk in the morning. We just got a wii and I love it. I have got to get wii fit ASAP!!

way to go luluc. BTW, I am an October bandster too. I think it's ok....

Just finished week 3 day 3. It gets easier each time. I actually think I am going to move on to week 4 next week. At the beginning of each week I think that there is no way I can do the next week, but then I do. I am really enjoying this now. It is still definately hard, but the feeling of accomplishment when I finish is undescribable. I don't have to describe it to yall, because yall know exactly what I am talking about. It is sooo cool to be donig this together. Whosya, I ditto everyone elses remarks. You are the bomb. Thanks for the tips and encouragement. Gearing up for week 4.... Amy

Karey, So sorry all of that happened. What a day!! I'm glad you are ok and still banded. Rest up!!!

Georgia, we are both still on. LOL So much for calling it a night. this place is soo addictive. LOL

WTG Kiki!!

OK, I finished it. It was hard, but not as bad as the last one. It makes a difference when you don't mistake the cooldown for a running segment. LOL I think I am calling it a night!!

Welcome to all the new people. Thanks to those of you who started awhile back. Seeing you doing this ahead of us encourages me to move on. Georgia, Your post motivated me so. I am sitting here in my pajamas. I had talked myself out of doing the run that I was supposed to do yesterday. What's up with that?? So Georgia, because of you I am getting up from the computer and going to put my running clothes on and get my butt on the treadmill. I got you into this. I certainly can't let you down! Kathy, I am definately going to check out your website. I totally agree with what you are saying about having other interests.. we have date night one night a week and make sure that we take time for us. If I didn't I would get sooo overwhelmed. I'm sure I will post more on your site. Anyway, I'm glad you have joined us!!

welcome Tigerlili. You will get lots of advice and support here. i wish you the best. Denise, i have struggled on and off with constipation since my carbs have been so restricted. I bought some Kashi cereal tonight. I bought the one with the lowest calories and carbs. I can't wait to eat a bowl for breakfast in the morning. I think I will even cut up a couple of strawberries in it!!

You will get good restriction msnicka!! It will come. I promise.

welcome kathy!! I run on a treadmill. It is just too hot in Texas right now!!! We are in the process of adopting a special needs little boy. He is 9 months old. He has lived with us since he was 3 months. He is such a little blessing, but we are already seeing him become a lot of work, too. I am almost thankful for the hard work, because for so long he responded very little. We also have a 9 year old son (bio), and a 19 month old that we adopted. We have 2 other foster kids ages 2 and 4. I may need to bounce questions off of you from time to time!! Welcome to the couch to 5k. I really is a nice distraction for me!!

Felicia, everything seems to go full cirlce. It boils down to eat healthy, be healthy. There are so many different ways to do it, and we can make it sooo difficult. Really it is not.

I am staying on plan today because I want to make lifestyle changes, and I need consistantcy to do that!

My scales seem to be stuck!! You ladies are doing great!! Keep it up!!

No it didn't felicia. I actually agree with you 100%. The point the man on Good Morning America was making is that these are all commercialized diets. He reccomended these 5 things instead of following any diet. For me, the results showed what a difficult time our culture has with weight management. I didn't see that any group really excelled. if you look at those 5 steps it's really a combination of all 3 eating plans. Even more than that, for me it seems to get back to the basics of being healthy and eating well. I may be going too far with my opinions on this thread. This is a low carb support group. I don't want to bash low carb in any way. Low carb has served me well. I just find the article interesting as I am choosing a new direction in my eating. I am NOT saying that low carb is not ok. We should all do what works and supoprt each other in that!!

OK, I watched the info on the new study. I watched it on Good Morning America. They compared Low Carb, Low Fat, and Mediterranean. They followed 322 obese people. They had dieticians assist them. The cafeteria's at their work places prepared "allowed" foods, etc. With all of this support here were the totals.... The average dieter lost the following over 2 YEARS!! Low Carb - 12 pounds Mediterranean - 10 pounds Low Fat - 7 pounds Low carb won, if there is a winner really. For me, this supports the difficulty America is having with weight management. 12 pounds in 2 years is hardly stellar. I am feeling even more blessed that I have my band to help me with whatever "plan" I am on. There was a Dr (i think) Tim Johnson on discussing the results. He said that he believes we should do some of all of the "diets". He said that if we follow the following 5 "rules" we will lose weight and be healthy. 1. Cut down on saturated and transfats (dairy products and marbled meats) 2. Cut down on refined carbs (sugar and desserts) Consume some good carbs) 3. Count calories (It is still calories in vs calories out) 4. Focus on plant foods. (they are lower in calories and high n nutrition) 5. Exercise He really stressed that we have got to get moving. He said that we should follow a diet that we can do long term. So my friends....The above is my new plan.... This is what I was thinking that I have just had trouble putting into words. Thank you Mr Johnson for doing it for me. So its high Protein, low fat, no processed or refined carbs, count calories, eat plant foods and EXERCISE!! Sounds alot like our ancestors ate. I'll call it Eating Back to the basics at Amy's House.

Orange, I am reading that same book right now. It is VERY interesting. I want to see God that way!! I am about half way through.

Thanks Skinnie. I am at the opint in this whole journey where my focus is brginning to shift from "how am I going to lose all this weight" to "how am I going to eat and what am I going to feed my family from now on?" There is a different mindset, and both are necessary at different times. I have about 25 pounds to lose before PS and then only 15 to goal, so I am trying to switch to a lifestyle of eating healthy. I will still make Protein my priority and I will eat healthy veggies and fruits. Only whole grains and very little bread. If it doesn't work I can always go back to strict low carb. I am really nervous about this decision. I fear cravings and weight gain, but I think, like you said minnie, that if I stick with healthy choices then I will be ok. I am not going anywhere!! You guys rock!!

Way to go mamato. For me, week 3 is definately harder. I am going to do day 2 tonight. We have been gone all day. Wednesday is our parent visit day for our foster kids. We let at 8 this morning for visits and got home after 3. The kiddos are exhausted and grumpy, so I will wait until they go to bed!! Everyone is doing sooo good!! Keep it up!!!!

Thanks everyone. Hollyberries, you are right. I am not switching to low Protein, low fat. I will still eat high protein and I will still limit carbs, but I plan to add good fruits, some grains, Kashi Cereal (can't wait to try it). Protein is definately needed to build muscle. Like I said, I do believe in the low carb concept, but since I increased my exercise I have no energy. Now that I found out that I may be burning some muscle, I am convinced that my body needs some carbs. While deciding what to do I have pretty much eaten crap. Really good, huh? The bad carbs I have eaten are not good, but I have t say I have more energy. I didn't realize how drained I was. This is because I need some carbs. Healthy ones. I hope this makes sense. So I guess it's not really that I am not eating low carb, but that I am adding some carbs to my low carb diet???? Something like South Beach or Sugar Busters. Thanks for the support!! You guys are the best!!

OK, I am making a change in my eating. I have been mulling this over for several days. I thought I could low carb right to my goal, but I don't think that is going to be possible. I LOVE low carb. I like being able to eat the fat, meat and cheese. Here's the problem. I went to the doctor this week and I am losing muscle, not fat. The only thing I have changed is the amount of exercise I am doing. It looks like I need more carbs to sustain the increase in physical activity. DH has been worried about this with me for awhile, but I refused to see it. I think it is time for me to look at how I plan to eat for the rest of my life. Low carb has been my rock in losing this weight, and to be honest I am very scared of adding carbs. I am so afraid to gaining it back. Here is my plan...I am going to eat whole unprocessed foods. I am going to add back fruits and whole grains. I am also going to cut back on saturated fats. This should mean that I don't take part in this thread with yall, but unless you kick me out I am sticking around. I find such good support here and would miss you all terribly. So......As of today I am no longer low carbing it. However, I do still believe in low carb. It is just time for me to modify. I need to shake things up a it. And....I will still be here rooting all of you on!!!

Happy birthday to you!!!!! You are definately a star. i hope you get an unfill and are felling MUCH better soon. Amy

WAY TO GO GEORGIA!!!!! I am so proud of you for doing this. It is really hard to get started, but you have started. Do what you can without hurting yourself. It will get better. Do week 1 as long as you need to before moving to week 2. Can't wait to hear how it goes on Thursday!!

Thanks Salsa! That really supports what I have been thinking. In fact, I was just talking to DH. He thinks that I don't eat as much as I thnk I do. He is concerned that my calories aren't enough to support my exercise. I do not plan to do low carb from now on, but thought I would do it until I am at goal. DH was saying that I may have reached a point the my body doesn't need such an "unbalanced" plan. As far as how I want to eat for life...I want to eat whole, unprocessed foods. I want to add back healthy fruits and veggies, and whole grain pastas. I have always exercised some and have a very muscular frame, however, since I recently increased my exercise and started running I seem to lack energy. I think I need more carbs to support the extra exercise. I am actually starting to enjoy running so stopping that is absolutely not an option. I just don't want to stop low carb and stop losing, but I certainly don't want to lose muscle either. The progress you have made is awesome. I really value the opinion of all you ladies who have been so successful. Yesterday I was kinda freakin out. I freaked out all the way to the hot fudge sundae I ate. Now that was helpful wasn't it. Now that I have calmed down I do realize that I just need to tweak things to keep losing well. That fear of going backwards creeps in every so often. I am going to low carb it until I get well into ketosis again (my sundae knocked me out) and then I am going to add back healthy carbs and go from there.

Here's a link to the thread for the current challenge. Come join us! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/general-lap-band-support/67738-labor-day-weight-loss-challenge-lets-lose-some-weight.html