Poodles

In the Schwartzbein principal diet book the doctor notes that women have the hardest time fighting off carbs, especially when they are low on estrogen. Either when their time is near, or they are going into menopause. I have noticed some things too in my fight against carbs... I did well when drinking soy milk, but when I got off of it (because I did not want to drink milk) my carb cravings attacked. So I have been reading about soy isolates in Estroven for perimenopausal women. Since I fall into that category due to my PCOS and hormonal imbalances, I am thinking about trying the supplement. Does anyone take Estroven? Has it worked on your carb cravings? Just wondering if I should try it. The carb devil has a hold on me again... and I am trying to find a way to fight it.

Good grief... I must have estrogen problems cause I do everything but 4 and 10. I have to work on number 4...

13 weeks. I had not realized how close our one year banniversary is. Oh how I hope I get things straightened out before then...

Yeah. I have noticed that the estroven has helped me with my ...uhmmm... love life. I feel like a teenager again. Weird, but I do think I needed a little boost. I have read a lot about the herbs in Estroven and it does not cause any known problems. Safe for use in 18 and up. I think it is like any other Vitamin... if your body needs it it will use it... if not you will pee it out. Will keep you up to date on further developments if any... and please let me know what you have found with estrogen and carbs. I really need to get back off of carbs...

Wish I had more to say... then I would not just lurk around. I scheduled a fill for March, still fighting carbs... taking estroven, fighting a cold, and taking care of my million dollar mutt (she is still having issues). Other than that I am great. Hope all is well with yall.

I am not really mad. It is just kinda funny when I read something that sounds to me like: "I have lost 9000 pounds in the past 2 weeks and now I have hit a plateau. What am I doing wrong? Woe is me, my clothes are falling off and my man won't stay off of me. What a pain in the backside." Makes me want to slap you all. :mad: I think you are all doing great. I am jealous as hell... but proud for you all. You should be proud of yourself too.

Honestly, I wanna slap you all. Really... complaining about a 50 lb loss. I should be so lucky. Be happy with what you have accomplished, there are people out there/here not doing as well as you... so be happy. :love:

How much food did your doctor tell you to eat? I need portion sizes and meal sizes. I have read everything from 1/2 cup to 3 cups on here and wonder what is the MAX Capacity of the pouch. Not that I want to hit it, I actually want to shrink my stretched pouch... and maybe lose a little weight too. Here is what I think a good bandster meal is: 3 to 6 oz Protein AND 1/2 to 1 cup veggies. Too much??? Someone please tell me what to do!!!! I have been using the one cup ziploc containers... but always eat that and more...when I can eat.

I suggest the South Beach Diet dinners with the Green Beans as the side. They are just right for me, and don't have too many carbs. Sugar is the devil. Get off of it... easy to say and hard to do... I know.

Jack is too wonderful to be president. He would not win, as he has a brain, and from what I have read... ethics. Jack can be man of the year, sexiest or whatever list you want to put him under... but a stupid 'ol president would not be good enough for Jack. :love:

I have found that I do better if I do not weigh myself. I went from 12/26 to 2/2 without stepping on the scale (with or without clothes on) and then once I stepped on the thing I have been off of my plan. I went from 284 to 268 in that time. This bothers me because 268 is the plateau mark I stayed at for 9 months before being banded, and was the reason I quit Atkins and just started eating (back up to 318). It's like: if the scale does not say what I want it to, I just quit. If I don't know what the scale says, I just do what I set my mind to. I was doing the thin for good plan, and doing it successfully, but now I just want to eat what I can whenever I can. Still doing low carb, but not measureing things. I guess I am weird. But in all honesty, now that I have eaten the past few days without imposed limits, I am thinking: "ok, now I have cheated long enough, don't know if the scale has gone up or down, guess it is time to get back on the diet so it does not go too far up." Anyone else have this issue? If not, I must be insane....:phanvan

Go to the doctor... living in pain is no way to be. If they say anything, then find another doctor. They should not judge you, but you do need their advice if you are hurting. I did the same thing for 5 months thinking I was doing something wrong, but my doctor did not say a thing... and they fixed my problem.

They have sugar. Too much for my taste/diet. They are good, but you can sure taste that sugar.

I just told people that I started low carb. I measure my stuff out and bring it to work. When they ask, I just say that it is the recommended serving of stuff... and then I complain a little bit. "Look at this, this is a bite not a meal..." grumble grumble... and then we talk about 'diet hell' as it has been named. When I was on liquids, I told them I started Medifast, shake for Breakfast, shake for lunch, no one there to see me at dinner time... Good luck. Hope no one figures it out. I did not tell anyone at my new job and someone knew someone somewhere that had it done and now everyone has figured it out. One lady even came up and asked me, and I did not lie... she asked if I recommended it and I honestly replied "no". None of my students have said anything... and I have even made it on field trips to buffets with no one the wiser... so all is well there.

I am an Art teacher and I am wanting to find a garmet that would cover everything it needs to cover, look artsy, be comfortable, and wash well. I found a Caftan top on www.bigonbatik.com that I absolutely love, but my hubby says I am not "big enough" to wear a caftan. But I am still a 2x. We are getting into paint soon, so I am trying to come up with something. Have figured out that I can not sew... the vests I have attempted are "less than perfect". Cobbler aprons look odd, so what do I do? **oh and ps: if you have any old caftan tops you want to "hand down" PM me...

Sounds good to me Socalgal. The Hot and Sour Soup sounds REALLY GOOD. Well, I have finally gone off the deep end. Ate about 6 cookies today. I am officially going to take off my cheat free icon, because I am a terrible cheater. I have been fighting it all week, and my dog got sick again last night (seizure) and we had to take her to the vet. I swear I was in a trance when I went into the break room and saw the cookies. Went towards them and the next thing you know I "woke up" and was on cookie number 3. My dog is still not doing great. Her labs came back ok, except for her tyroid (which we will get back later), and she has not had another seizure, but she is still not herself. So, I am still worried... and would keep eating if my band did not stop me. Weird how we comfort ourselves hugh? Anyway, I hope all is well with everyone else in band land. Just wanted to check in.

Well, I have been drinking my water and exercising, but since that weigh in and cake episode last weekend, I have not been following my portions. Still low carb, but not the way I need to be. Do you think it is because I am sick?

You know, my doctor never lets me weigh naked. I bet his scale would be the same as mine at home if I stripped down before I stepped on the thing... :love:

Low carb. That is the only thing that has helped me start losing after 6 months with the band. I hate it, but it works.

The casual plus web site has some beautiful things. I would wear most of those items at home or out and about. Unfortunately, I can not wear V cut things at school. I bend over to help kids and don't want to flash the world. My best friend told me to just decorate up some cobbler aprons and go on with it. I guess I need to try that. Of course, I have one caftan in the works (I am sewing it) and I will see what that looks like. $4.00 worth of fabric is better to waste than a high price shirt any day. Going to see how much aprons are...

Overalls would be nice, but don't think they would be allowed, as I am not allowed to wear blue jeans. Scrubs are nice too, but I think they look too medical for me. ****geez**** I don't know what to do.

I get the hiccups often, even 6 months post op. It is a sure sign of when to stop eating, or if I am stuck on something. I hate the hurting hiccups the most!!! I don't think it will damage the band, or at least that is what I have read.

Thank you all. Unfortunately, the Walmart cake was not worth it. If I were to obsess and plan a cheat it would be Ben and Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk. Not that I think about eating a whole carton or two or anything...:confused: Guess what I got for my birthday! Tonsilitis!!! Yes, my one tonsil that grew back (they apparently can do that) is all nice and white this morning. My ear hurts and I can hardly swallow. (Must have been some sick kid that infected me at school. :tired ) Luckily, I have some antibiotics that I could not take before because they are horse pills. I crushed one and took it in a shake this morning. Thank God for that Unfill. Figure I will be better for work tomorrow after a few doses of medicine. *** deep sigh*** Other than that the day went well. I am going to hold up today and watch the SuperBowl later. I hope someone wins... don't really give a flip who. Everyone have a great day!

Ok, I have a confession... but I don't want to count it as a cheat. If I confess can I still keep my cheat free sign on my signature? Here goes: Today is my birthday. I had a field trip today with one of my clubs and they bought me a cake. I thought it would be rude to refuse to eat any of it, so I had a small piece. They sang to me and everything... does that count as a cheat????

Might be rosacea. I have it. Worsens during the winter. Go to www.personandcovey.com and get Aquanil Cleansing lotion and the DML moisturizer. This is the stuff doctors recommend. They also have great sun screens. For night time use I use Dr. Smiths Diaper Rash formula. Nice and white. It deadens the pain, and stops the itching, and by morning I am usually better. Tried this when my baby was young, and I still buy the stuff for my face because it works! You can find this at Walmart. Stay away from medicated stuff, because that will burn.