Group LLC Holiday Challenge!

tatiana_13

Hi folks,

Its been very quiet in here. I'm wondering if this is just where we're at? Or if there is something that we all might find more interesting? A challenge? A goal? A discussion? Any ideas?

One thing I'm interested in. I know we are generally a "low carb" thread. But I'd be interested in folks sharing what their particular flavor of low carb is. I'm sure we're a pretty eclectic bunch, so I'd just be curious.

We're in the last stretch of the V-day challenge. We all know that the lovely VJ has met her goal (congrats!). I was wonderfully optimistic a few weeks ago, but as V day is 2 days a way, I know my goal is out reach. But I'm still working on getting as close as I can! Better to have a goal and to have made some progress than to have made no goals at all. Zano and Mom, I think you both were in. I'll be curious to hear how close you got to your goals!

--Tati

VJ150

Hey Everyone!!!

What has happened to the rest of the group? I hope they come back here soon. It is kind of lonely here. I want to know how everyone is doing. Come back and check in.

Tatiana, I'm still hanging around. I know I don't post often - but I do check the thread daily.

I'm glad you didn't give up on your goal for the V-day challenge. Almost getting there and getting there are similiar. You set a goal and did your best to attain it. The pounds that you lost, no matter the number, is still considered a success because they are GONE!!!

Have a great week everyone!! Keep going and stay focus on your journey!!

mom216

Hi All,

Tatiana - thank you for thinking about me. I am happy that I have not gained any weight! I fell off the wagon - in many ways - so now I have to admit my weight is still the same. I am okay with that, given all the stress, travel & drama going on. I wish you all the very best. KUDOS to all who managed to stick with the challenge.

:flowerforyou:

tatiana_13

Hey mom216!

Good to hear from you! I know you wanted a loss, but maintaining---particularly under great strain--is an awesome feat. I can't tell you how many times that stress, for me, meant scones! And cake! And more scones! Did I forget to mention scones? I'm sort of being funny about it now...but it certainly wasn't funny at the time. Not with the scale going up, and up, and up, and my pants getting tighter and tighter and tighter....

So I wouldn't so much say you fell off the wagon. You've sort of just...stopped the wagon. Putting some new shoes on those horses. You'll get it going again. I know you will. I have faith in you.

AmyNVegas

Tatiana- I do Primal Blueprint with some Dr. Johnson's up day down day thrown in when I don't see the loss I like or if I have a lot of inflammation. I try to keep my carbs under 100g (including fiber and sugar alcohol) most days I get about 60-80 or less.

tatiana_13

That's interesting Amy! I'm interested in how the up day down day feels. I often think about it...but I'm not sure if I have the will power to do the down day. I'm a bit of a chicken when it comes to even the slightest bit of hunger...

I like the discipline of Atkins induction...although I never get through all his various rungs. Being a simple person, I like the simplicity of low carb, and Atkins and his rungs and the adding 5 back in, and the CCL...never seemed simple. I just like: keep starch and grains lowish, most of the time, and experiment from time to time with what works best for you. For me, potatoes and rice are fine for maintenance, although I tend not to be able to lose weight on them. And I seem to be intolerant to wheat. I also like Atkins because I find that I actually feel better on a high-er fat diet. I could do without all the meat (I don't really care for meat so much and prefer beans), but I like the emphasis on fat. For some reason, it keeps my mood up. I don't know...even though I'm at a relatively low weight, I'm still pretty squeezable (although, no one in my life seems to be complaining!). I think, perhaps, all that dietary fat keeps me at a pretty high level of bodyfat...which is perhaps right where my genetics seem to want to keep me. That's right...I'm blaming it on the genetics, and not my hatred of exercise...

AmyNVegas

Well Tatiana you really should blame it on genetics. Our genes are programmed to determine what percentage of us is fat and lean and how we carry it. Exercise can help but our proportion of fat to lean will be pretty much maintained. I eat about 40% fat, 20% carb(or less) and the rest protein that is what I aim for anyway. And most days 5-6 all my carbs come from fruits and veggies heavy on the veggies light on fruit. I like the up and down day but I usually only do it 2-3 days a week of down days then one day usually Sunday is a half day where I have about 1000 or less so not quite a down day. I really do not feel so hungry on my down days because they are completely low carb. Usually a cup of coffee for breakfast, protein shake for lunch, and meat and veggies for dinner so very little insulin running around in me to make me hungry. Some days are harder than others but the benefits outweigh the hunger. My back, knees, ankles, and hip thank me when I do it because it lowers my inflammation considerably.

tatiana_13

Hey Amy. I'm feeling like perhaps this thread has died a peaceful death. Maybe the title with "holiday" in it isn't doing enough to attract new people? We all sort of come in and out depending on what's going on in our lives, and without new people injecting their excitement, its hard to sustain liveliness....if I felt like being a leader, I'd start a new low carb thread. There are certainly plenty of low carb people on MFP...paleo, atkins, no sugar people, south beach. They just may not call themselves low carb ("fanatics! fanatics! I love carbs! I eat tons of vegetables and fruit! I just stay away from breads and sugar...") An adequately labeled thread with a wide enough umbrella should certainly attract enough people to sustain a decent conversation. But I'm not sure I feel like being a leader right now...

But as for me, I am trying something that looks like your up day, down day...Intermittant fasting. I think so, anyway. I'll be trying it two days a week. It looks pretty much like up day down day, because the "fast" goes from dinner one night to dinner the next night, so you are eating every day, so technically speaking, my "down" day will end up being the day i only eat dinner. I think that will be easier for me than eating sparingly all day. I've done it a few times in the past, and its not bad. When you know that you can eat a normalish sized meal for dinner, getting through the day is pretty easy, as long as its a work day where I'm mentally occupied all day.

Maybe the thread will pickup--but I've been hoping for that for over a month now. Or maybe someone will start a new low carb thread and I'll see you there. By the way...someone has started a paleo support thread. Paleo folks tend to be a little more on the fitness side/getting lean side of things than the weight loss side of things...I'm talking averages, not totals however....but they are there and they are active, so I am having a good time.

Grokette

I am around, though I don't post much anymore. Tired of being bashed for expressing alternative views on health and lifestyle on this site.

I will be posting here with you guys from now on and I can probably bring over a bunch of other Atkins and Paleo people to join us!!!

pmjsmom

Hi!
Are you all still here?

I really like MFP and the friends I've made here but I am now looking for a low-carb group. There don't seem to be many here. In fact, I am surprised at how opposed people are to this way of life! Different things work for different people and this is the best way for ME!

I've been a member of MFP for over a year but most of my weight came off before I joined this site--over 80 pounds. My weight loss stalled last year and then the weight started to creep back so, when my weight was back up 14 pounds, I decided to research the low-carb lifestyle and decided on Atkins.

I have done the research online and the book should arrive today so I can read it and do everything right.
I started Induction last Sunday and will not weigh again for another week but I know I am feeling better and I am NOT fighting the late-night cravings I always had!

DahnaLane

Congrats to you too VJ! Go team, Go!

And to Elfie. I found that if I could *just* get to day three, it got better. Day 2 is the worst. You've used up all the extra glucose you had stored from before induction...so that's when your body starts sending you the signal VERY LOUDLY, "hey! I need some carbs! Gimme!" But sometime during day 3, your body starts to do the changeover of what it is using for fuel. So stay strong!

I just found this group & this post...
I did atkins once before, but this time... my night 3 into induction was a fullblown sugar panic attack! I had to laugh at myself, because I knew what it was... and haven't looked back.

I am 3 weeks in, and have unofficially lost 11 pounds (my weigh in is in the morning)

Glad to find you & will keep my eyes out for postings.
Dahna

Please feel free to add me... I am looking for other lifestylers