to all you dieters

[Jackie]

ok...I am moving this dieting thread to health as it is probably more where it belongs...as many of you know...Em and the rest of our family are doing lo carb dieting...and many others are doing WW or whatever...but we all have the same common goal...that is healthier people thru better eatting.

I found this post on a lo carb message board and I think its good in terms of how to really eat lo carb. There are some abbreviations that I am not sure I really understand...but its still good info...hope it copies ok....Jackie



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The Atkins Nutritional ApproachTM counts grams of carbohydrates instead of calories. In Induction, you are allowed 20 grams of Net Carbs. When you progress to Ongoing Weight Loss, you gradually add carbohydrates in 5-gram increments as you move toward Pre-Maintenance, and finally, in 10-gram increments as you approach the Lifetime Maintenance phase. Although you do not need to count calories, it is certainly possible to consume too many calories even if your carb intake is on target. If you are losing weight, there is no need to concern yourself with counting calories. However, if you are unable to lose weight or actually regain weight lost, one possibility is that you are taking in more calories than you expend through exercise, thermogenesis (the body's own heat production) and other metabolic functions.

Research has shown that on a controlled carbohydrate program, more calories are burned than on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, so there is a certain metabolic advantage to the controlled carb approach. But understand that this does not give you a license to gorge.

If you are used to counting calories and are more comfortable with such an approach, the general rule of thumb is to multiply your present weight by 10 to 12 to get the daily caloric range at which you would lose weight. For example a 150-pound woman who consumes 1,500 to 1,800 calories daily should continue to lose weight.

The real goal of the Atkins program is to learn eating habits that will enable you to permanently maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. This includes changing old habits such as overeating that contributed to your original weight problem.


That info is from the Atkins site. From my own experience, I have found that I do need to watch my portion size. Also Eat fat, but don't overdo it here. There are some that will tell you to pile on fat but I found I lost better if I trimmed the excess fat from my meat and drained my bacon, etc....beware of peanut butter and diary...it is possible to overdo in this area too. I guarantee you, you will get enough fat. That is rarely a problem, it is usually just the reverse from what I can tell.

Eat your veggies like your mama always told you, then eat some more.... Eat eggs, and try to work one of the LC cereals in as soon as you hit OWL and have added a little fruit....I added strawberries and cantaloupe...then toss in a few nuts and maybe if you are still losing well, add, the LC chocolate milk and LC bread....boredom can be the death of any diet....add some Lagniappe ("A Little Something Extra") as we say here on the Gulf Coast.

.don't eat the LC goodies until you are losing really well, you will stall.......and trust me,,,most are not that good. Now that I am or near maintaining, I am trying them and most suck!
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170/136/130
You have not failed until you give up

[christie]

Personally the only diet I am for is the one that works BUT I just read this tonight and thought I would pass on for any that want to read, in case some of the diets you have been on haven't worked for you

Arkansas Governor Trims 100 Pounds
By CARYN ROUSSEAU, AP

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Plain old healthy eating and exercise - not reliance on Atkins, South Beach or other diet plans - have Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee enjoying an active lifestyle with some unexpected perks.

Month after month as the pounds fell off, the governor had his suits altered - apparently one too many times.

"When the pants join together at the (back) pockets, that's when you need to get a new pair. That's really when it hit me," Huckabee said recently as he marked losing 100 pounds.

The governor said he had tried various diets that rely on low-carb and low-fat extremes but couldn't keep the weight off until he joined a 15-week Weight Control Program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences last June.

For Huckabee, health is the issue, not weight or looks. He got motivated after a diabetes diagnosis and the death last May of his friend, former Arkansas Gov. Frank White, who had a heart attack.

Today, blackened catfish has replaced deep-fried fish battered in cornbread. He cuts up fresh apples and peaches and pours Diet Sprite over them to make a healthier fruit thingytail. He chops strawberries and sprinkles a low-calorie sweetener on them.

"I absolutely love asparagus and I used to hate it," he said. "I haven't eaten dressing on a salad since last June. I'm almost addicted to apples. I eat several apples a day."

Huckabee won't say how much he weighed when he started the program.

"I don't want the weight issue to become the focus," he said. "I want the focus on health and fitness. The victory is feeling better and knowing that I'm healthier. It's not setting a goal of a weight. That's the gravy I can't eat anymore."

The UAMS program is for "chronic adult obesity" and puts patients through three stages: a liquid diet, reintroduction of food and weight stabilization with long-term maintenance.

It's no easy feat. In the first phase of the program, participants are on a liquid diet and are allowed only small amounts of regular food. They consume between 800 and 1,000 calories per day through a powder-based, low-calorie beverage that has carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals.

"Our main goal is to help them establish a healthy relationship with food again," said Carolyn Bernthal, the program's coordinator. "We're trying to get them to change their lifestyle. (The governor) is a good advertisement for us. It's changed his life."

Participants lose weight at a steady pace. At 5 percent above their goal weight, they are gradually reintroduced to food and plan a diet with a doctor and a dietitian. They have weigh-ins, calorie-counting classes, therapy and are in close communication with their own doctors.

Program doctors say they want it to be a lifestyle change and the last diet their participants ever take up.

Huckabee has embraced the lifestyle, including his new exercise regimen.

"I'm trying to be more focused on my blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol numbers than I am on weight," Huckabee said. "You need to focus on good habits, good health."

He has switched from walking to running, something he didn't even consider a year ago. He started with one lap around the mansion grounds and now is up to four, running a mile and a half and walking two miles before biking indoors.

"This is the first time I've been running since I was 14 years old in junior high gym class when I was forced to," he said.

His new goal is to run a five-kilometer race, although he hasn't committed to a date. Some friends have started telling the now-trim governor that he can stop losing weight. But that's not how the diet works, he said.

"What's happening is my body is simply adjusting and regulating itself," Huckabee said. "I'm healthy and continuing my exercise without any real effort to lose weight at all."

Losing 100 pounds has altered his outlook on life.

"We ought not to be obsessed with how we look and how much we weigh," he said, "as much as how healthy we are."

[samanthajosmom_12]

well i am still trying to do the atkins diet. i have lost 18 lbs doing it so far. the problem i have is that most restraunts do not have dressings for salads that are low carb. i have been drinking most days 2 to 3 quarts of water ! i feel i should have lost more but i will keep at it. i am a person who even if i am full can still go to the kitchen for something to eat no matter if i am not hungry. i right now am getting ready for my hernia operation for tuesday morning. my surgeon wanting me to lose weight for the surgry so it would not be real bad on me. well i am going to be home for 4 weeks and i am not sure on how i am going to be. sue

[Jackie]

on the Atkins diet...or any diet for that matter....the first 20 are usually easy....the rest you have to work for....and even on the Atkins they say that calories do count.....so go back and read the post I made about how to calculate your calorie need and still lose...good luck with your surgery......Jackie

[samanthajosmom_12]

thank you jackie! i am really trying on this diet . more so than any diet i belive. i used to be on diet workshop plan but they are becoming to me as beening to commerizled. i have not tried it for a few yrs . i thought of giving the atkins diet a try, it has not been to hard to do. bread really is not a prblem for me ,in which i had thought it would be. i want to get the weight off. i have not had any potatoes for a long time and that is something i do miss alot and rice. i will keep plugging along. my surgery went well i went in and was operated on 12:10 pm and in recovery room at 1:30 pm and got home at 7:20 pm. i am in some pain but i will be glad for this hernia to heal and get back on the right track. i am trying to use new spices and learn to put more flavors in my meats and veg's. I just got my flavor wave oven from ebay auction and want to use it in the next week to cook a chicken or turkey in it. i saw this advertised in tv and found it in the ebay auction. sue

[samanthajosmom_12]

well i am changing this reply. when i started my diet of low carbing- i weighed 218 and i now weigh 192. it is not as hard as i thought it would be . i stilll long for bread and candy. but not as much as i thought. i still eat our at ryans steakhouse and i stilll stay in my low carb way of eating. i am now trying to use just olive oil for plain dressing for my salad. but most days i use a blue cheese dressing i got from sams. I am going to make faux potatoes tommorrow with cauliflower and heavy cream and i have to look at the recipe for what else is in it. i started at 218 weight and now 192 and i am goaling for 160 lbs for now. i might want to get to 150 lbs but right now the goal is 160. i am drinking at leat 2 quarts of water a day and then some deit rite pop also. sue

[samanthajosmom_12]

i am down to 189lbs ;D ;D ;D ;D! i have not been here for a few yrs. i am trying to get down to 160 right now. after i get to 160 lbs i might lose another 10 lbs to get to 150. i am slowly getting there. i have found so many site for low carbing and support groups and recipes. i tried one recipe and it was okay ,not great. i am going just to keep trying ! I am drinking alot of water on my diet. my diet pop has been cut down alot. I am eating alot of bacon and eggs and chicken. today i am trying to cut back on the bacon . i do miss breads but i am getting by on that. i miss my candy bars and i found a atkins little bar (endulge bar and it has 2 net carbs if your on the atkins plan. i had one last night to curb the calling of candy craze. those bars are 1.49 per bar. i only buy one at time. I AM DOING GOOD after my hernia surgery. i just started to drive after my surgery today. i am not going very far right now, so that i do not hurt myself. i will be off work for a few more weeks. so this is when i go crazy knowing i am here with food all around me . i have eating alot of sugar free jello with some whipped cream that i am allowed. i spend alot of time on the computer to keep out of the kitchen . it is getting warm out side and i can start walking now . i am going out side right now to walk down to the road and back. tommorrow i might go to the park and walk at the walking track. 218/189/160- sue

[Jackie]

hey...congrats!!!! way to go...all it takes is some will power and resolve...Em is weighing in the morning...I am down a couple of pounds...we will keep everyone posted but for all fellow dieters....keep it up

Jackie

[samanthajosmom_12]

that is so great about emily and your self losing weight.it really has not been to bad to be on the diet. i wish i had started it a while ago. sue

[Jackie]

ok....drum roll....after not weighing for about 2 weeks....Em has lost 5 lbs....bringing her total to 28 ...and....puting her into the hundreds...rather than two hundreds......still a ways to go...but Yipee...and....we just finished two days of weeding out her bedroom and closet in preparation for her move to Seabrook...and got rid of tons of clothes....she has gone down two whole sizes! The fun part is she herself is soooo into this.....of course her big party is Saturday but we have discussed good ways of handling it.

Jackie

[steffipoo]

;D you a low carb diet because not only her weight but her high insulin levelsdoes work. Olivia is on an ultra low carb diet because of not only her weight but her HIGH insulin levels. Her nutritionist and endocrinologist are working together to help Liv lower her insulin level by June 9th. Olivia has officially lost 4 pounds. Now she needed to lose she was(and still does but more concerened right now about the insulin)45 inches and 86 pounds. Her hemogl;obin IC I beleiev was high but her insulin level which should be 5-20 was 207. SOOOO. I'll betcha she will be fine next visit cause the LAST thing I want is for her to be diabetic. The doc said they might consider putting her on meds if it hasn't changed. Metformin. The only other pediatric pateint at UCLA on it is 10 and she is the youngest so don't want Liv being the first 6 yr. old there to be on it. Trader Joes has FABULOUS low carb food for a great price!!!! Really is working out well and Liv loves the crystal light and her appetite has REALLY decreased in the last few weeks. Will keep you updated on her progress hope its as good as all of yours.HUGS Steff

[samanthajosmom_12]

please keep us p[osted on OLIVIA'S progress. i hope this diet helps with her insulin. I know i have been feeling better now that i have started the diet. i have lost now a total of 31 lbs. i am still tired but not like i was. one site i go to they had a recipe that you could take 2 cups of heavy cream and whip it take in another bowl 1 8 oz cream cheese and one half tespoon of vannilla extract but i used vannilla flavor from atkins and cream cheese till soft. in aNOTHER BOWL TAKE A S/F JELLO SMALL PKG CHERRY FLAVOR PUT IN BOWL AND DISSOLVE WITH ONE HALF CUP OF BOILING WATER AND THEN ADD ONE HALF CUP OF COLD WATER. ADD CREAM CHEESE TO JELLO AND MIX ALLTOGETHER AND THEN ADD WHIPPED CREAM UNTILL ALL MIXED. CHILL FOR 2 HOURS AND ENJOY. I LIKED IT. SOME USE CHERRY FLAVOR -SOME USE ORANGE. I USED THE PEACH FLAVOR. I DID NOT LIKE THE PEACH THAT MUCH. SUE

[steffipoo]

wow that sounds good. Scuse my last post my keyboard is sticking and I am FAR too lazy to check my typos before I press SUBMIT!!!!LOL... Curiosity...Liv is on a 30-30-30 diet also she can have one snack with 15 carbs. What is the general consensus for adults? I mean the grams of carbs allowable per day? Just curious summer IS COMING UP!!! YIKES Steff

[Jackie]

STEFF....sorry to hear about Livs diabetes. With lo carb diet and possibly the medication you should be able to get her blood sugars down. Two years ago I went in for my annual physical and my BS for the first time ever was up...and altho I argued with them that I had been eating the wrong things prior to the fasting test...Ed finally had to sit me down and say that if you have an abnormally high BS ...then you have diabetes....even if it later goes down. It can be controlled with diet, exercise, and oral meds and in most people it makes a termemdous difference and postpones the need to take insulin. I take the oral meds you talked about (no side effects) have lots a bunch of wt, eat lo carb and...am working on the exercise and have not had a high BS test since. I have seen the raveging effects that uncontrolled diabetes can cause with Ed in the business...so it really shocked me into reality and a healthier life style....for sure.

I am sure you have seen the statistics of how many people are running around with undiagnosed diabetes because they wont go get tested...and now the number of children with Type 2 diabetes they figure are out there....its really an epidemic and one that could be prevented with life style changes....and medication.

I might suggest you buy or borrow the Atkins book ...even you are not really doing...Atkins...it has an excellent description of the role carbs play in our diet and its sound medically....even skeptic Ed couldnt find much to fault with it....LOL. On Atkins you start extreme....no carbs really ...just 20 for two weeks from vegetables. ...then a gradual adding of 5 carbs per week from veggies and fruits.... There is usally a quick initial wt loss on most diets...lo carb being no exception. We are all carrying around more water than we need. After that its much slower...but then slow and steady is the way to lose.

I imagine there are other considerations for children in dieting because there are some foods they really should have in their diets. But in general......avoid breads, pastas, and any thing sweetend with sugar...sugar alchols do count...but as calories....fruits can be added in moderation later...no juices....well...just find a book and read...you will see.

But good luck and dont worry if she is put on oral meds...it will be in her best interest. I just cant imagine how hard it will be to diet with a child...but if you start now...then by puberty she probably wont think twice about avoiding fast foods etc.

My soapbox here used to be...and still is really....that even more important than all our therapies is attention from the git go to nutrition. As someone who has the advantage of being able to say...been there...done that....I think that young families should all pay more attention to their diets....and avoid the fast food temptations out there. If we could all get back to cooking naturally....(by that I mean sort of from scratch) and avoiding boxed meals...frozen pizzas ...etc.....then we would all be healthier. I know thats not as easy as it sounds...but I discoved the joy of a crock pot when I was carting all my kids everywhere and working at the same time years ago. I worry about one of my own kids and the diet her kids have. They are a busy family....but every meal seems to be chicken strips or just some quick hi carb fix for dinner. When I visit them I actually CRAVE veggies and for ME thats quite a statement...LOL....but except for occasional broccoli....those foods dont exist in their home.

If you look at adolescents and adults with DS you will see that many of them are overweight. I am not sure this is really in the genes...like most teens they tend to gain...but due to less activity...I think they gain faster...and let me tell you from experience...it would be much easier to AVOID this in the first place than try to get it off later...LOL...and wouldnt it be great if along the way our kids developed a knowledge of what is healthy and what is not to be able to better monitor their own eating when they leave home.

Eating out a lot can do you in...but...as we have learned...you dont have to order all the high carb stuff....most restaurants have some healthy choices....and we now enjoy eating out and dont feel cheated anymore. We just say as we sit down...please dont bring us any bread or chips....and if they have good salsa ...ask if they have some veggies we can dip.

Jackie

[samanthajosmom_12]

i know that i my self have been reading the atkins diet book and i need to get it back out to go over it again. I HAVE BEEN DOING PRETTY good at it. i do need to go back to the induction part of it and try and follow it again. i am starting to get a sweet tooth again. this is the only diet i am able to follow. it works well with my schedule . most days i do pretty good. i feel really goood. i am still tired alot but i ( know it is my life style staying up to late) if i went to bed early and got more exercise i would do alot better. I am hoping when i have recovered from my surgery to get a new bike and pedal away. i miss my bikes i used to have. I do want to start walking more. i am walking alittle bit right now. sue