Oh@RATSMITH69! I'm so sorry for your flood experience. I've see on the news where they have compared it to hurricane Katrina, which I lived through on the Mississippi Gulf coast. I know that the pictures I've seen don't do anything to reveal the true damage! Just know that I understand what you are going through! I'm glad your job didn't wash away, like mine did, and you do have somewhere to be to occupy your mind a bit. Maybe being so busy catching up has been somewhat of a good thing. Is your home still livable? Gosh I hope so! I hope y'all are getting the help you need too! What a way to return from vacation! May all of the graduation celebrations be joyful for all! Good luck with the insurance adjuster too! Bless you!

@GrannyMayOz Thanks for the YouTube link, I'll give it a watch. Uplifting and joyful is always good! Good luck with the hula hoop--your hubby will enjoy watching your practice sessions! So nice that your weight is responding more quickly these days. I can't wait to get started on the valerian, the syntrinol and hopefully the ashwagandha. Just still have to find out if they can be taken together. My doctor wouldn't have a clue and would just say no. I've tried to find the answer online, but so far no luck. Will keep trying though. I don't want to load up on too many substances that might clash with each other. It seems like the sytrinol could be taken with either of the others, but not sure about mixing valerian and ashwagandha.

Wonder of wonders, dear ladies, I have lost a new pound! I hope it's the beginning of the trend that seems to be going around! My calories have been low the past few days, so maybe that's the reason. Whatever, it is nice to see!

I've emailed my Doc and herbalist about the mixture of Valerian, Syntrinol and, Ashwagandha. I'll let you know what they say. I'm blessed to have a Doc that is willing to work with natural before resorting to chemical/drugs. I'm taking the Ashwagandha and have put the Valerian on my list of things to get but I think I'll wait for a reply before I go in search of the Syntrinol. And what is the ZC?

Ms May and Ms Karlotta thank you for the kind words and concern. Who knew you could log into a random website for info on diet and stumble upon such an amazing group of women! and congrats to those of you that have found things that are working for weight loss.

I HATE to be a downer!! We all go thru things in our lives that crush us and we wonder how will we ever survive and move on. I try very hard not to dwell, try to take the lesson to heart and move on, try really hard to forgive and let go, and most of all I try very very VERY hard to find all of the other things in my life at that time that are positive, good, and blessed so that I am focused on the half full and still hoping for the "cup runnith over". For every one bad thing in my life I can name ten good things so I am very blessed.

Insurance adjuster came yesterday.... kinda hard to explain -- the houses look great from the outside but all three have shifted on the foundations. **note - we built four houses at the end of a cul-de-sak about 11 years ago. My Moma and I live in one, my oldest son and his friends live in one, my Grandflowers and their Mom live in one, and we rent the other out to a lovely older couple. The three houses that my family live in are damaged but not one scratch on any of us! The 'shift' has damaged all of the plumbing, walls, etc (think anything that comes from the floor thru the walls) so they are not livable. The adjuster says we will need to demolish and start over. Sounds horrid but I'm really grateful that we were able to save "stuff". Yes, there is a lot of damage but we still have pictures, family Bibles, baby things, ... you know, all those things that you hear of people loosing and it just makes you hurt for them. While the furniture and some stuff was damaged so many precious things were not. It has really put us back in a place of remembering how lucky we are to have each other!! And, as my Moma pointed out, we can rebuild knowing what little things we want changed - like the bigger pantry she has wanted for years and the wider hallway where the washer and dryer will be. She's right, we can build pretty much the same with just a few little tweeks. So, see, my cup is almost full as I will have a completely new home in about six months!! My Moma, my Grandflowers and their Mom, and I will be staying will a niece just a few miles away, and my oldest son Gavin and his friends are settling in with my youngest son, Codey until then. So there is another positive as I will get to see my Grandflowers and my great nephew Luke every day. The insurance will pay most of it. And the added cost? well, I will be paying a mortgage payment for the rest of my life anyway so what's 10 more years?!?!

Ms May, I took belly dancing lessons a few years ago. It was great fun and I was really surprised as most belly dancers actually have a belly! lol They say working yours hips and belly like that is not only good for your core but for your "lady muscles" too. Just a thought to keep you motivated with the hoola hoop.

Just found out that Kris Kristofferson will be doing a set at the Continental Club in Austin on the 20th and a friend got us stage side tables for 10 people!! That man just gets better with age, yummy!! pardon my drool.

Have a great day everyone and keep up all the great work with the weight loss. Hopefully I'll be back to loosing again soon.

Hello all!
@GrannyMayOz, I've been wanting to get a hula hoop. Love it when I was younger. Don't know if my body can move like that anymore, lol, but I'm willing to try. My valarian should be here today and I'm hoping for some restful nights and more calm too!
So glad your rollercoaster ride on the scale seems to be behind you! Thank you for the video too!
@wheatlessgirl66, Yippee for the loss!! I've been dancing all week for others and myself and now I'm dancing for you too!
@RATSMITH69, wow! Total rebuild on four homes! Amazing! Your good attitude shines through. The ability to see that you can come out better is awesome! Watch out for contractors coming to town just to rip people off (sad but it happens). Don't pay anyone in advance for work. Reputable people won't ask, but people looking to rip you off will. If anyone asks for money up front, send them packing. They don't have your best interests at heart. I'm sure you know all of this but sometimes the desire to get it done can make you forget. I sure hope things work out for the best and a bigger pantry sounds great! I look forward to hearing about your progress, aggravations and celebrations alike!

I had the opportunity to talk to my morbidly obese parents about this woe on Monday. They are really seeing my results (I knew they were watching) now. My mother called me this morning and they are starting! I've told them that I will help them as much as I can and will head their cheering section too! I've tried really hard not to "throw up" LCHF on everyone and let them see the results instead! I believe it's working! Hoping my sister's are next and my nieces too! Have a great day everyone!

Help is on the way ! Don't give in Kate, it will happen to you too in time, I know it ! After an initial weight loss in March of 13 or so pounds, I only lost 2 pounds in all of April and May. I know how frustrating it is to have no movement on the scale except in the wrong direction !

Stressful or busy times for me tend to make me want to eat more in general, but to also eat more carbs. I am learning what my body likes in terms of weight loss, but it takes time. My experiment with dairy free was a good one for me, as well as giving up nuts and berries. But knowing that I wanted to be zero carb in June had me upping my carbs during my vacation, so my weight went up a bit. I knew my calories weren't sufficient to be able to truly gain that weight and have it stick, so felt in the back of my mind that this weight would come off as soon as I lowered the barbs again. My biggest indication of that was that, although the scale had not moved, and in some cases went up.....my clothes have been getting way looser and falling off me ! So now that I am as close to zero carb as I can be for now, this weight has been whooshing off !

The best advice I can give is to stick with it through thick and thin. If temptation arises, choose a substitution that will cause the least amount of damage, one that will allow you to still feel the satisfaction of having a treat, but that won't make you feel so guilty that you screwed up, that you continue to up the carbs. Yes, I chose to have carbs May 27-29, and I enjoyed some of them, others not as much, and I have an idea formulating in my mind about which of those was worth it, and which I might not choose to eat again due to how it made me feel, or how enjoyable the experience was. And the scale went up, which I expected. But I did not allow myself to jeopardize my downward trend by continuing to eat carbs and not be as careful as I had been from March to May 26. I laid the groundwork during that time, and now it is time to be more careful once again.

I can tell you very certainly, that I still had cravings for food when I upped my carbs. Drinking alcohol too can make me want to eat more. Not necessarily bad or more carby food, but just more food. My hunger only goes away when I reduce the carbs dramatically. I seldom had cravings when I was aiming for under 20 g carbs, but now that I am trying ZC, I have no craving whatsoever, and that is so cool ! Maybe watch the carbs and see if this happens to you. I suspect that any sweet taste in any form, as well as nuts, and anything remotely starchy are triggers for cravings for me. I am also having more success monitoring my dairy intake. If ZC allows up to 4 ounces of cheese per day, I will aim for under 2 ounces for instance.

On another note, I also know how frustration over slow weight loss can make me feel more depressed and not as motivated to continue. But this time feels so different for me, way different than any other weight loss adventure. I am extremely determined to succeed. But also very different this time around, is an utter lack of pressure on myself. I feel so calm, I am not worried about how long this might take. It reminds me of my mindfulness meditation training....where you learn how to separate yourself from the judgement we usually subject ourselves to when the multitudes of thoughts enter our minds ( not always good thoughts....) I feel like I am outside my body, observing with detachment....I am floating and observing, and making changes to suit, without the emotional distress I have previously felt. This is huge for me !!!!

I will stick with it until I am satisfied that I have completed my journey...but after that I will work hard to maintain what I have lost. I am having so much fun with this ! I feel so much control, it is amazing. Having all the support on MFP and especially this group, makes all the difference. We have all been in the same place. We will hold each other up and provide advice when someone needs a bit of help.

If this helps, I will share my progress over the past 2 weeks. My weight fluctuates widely depending on many factors, I have learned. But I am only concerned about the downward trend. I also only will report a change of weight on MFP when I reach a new low weight. I never log the increases or fluctuations. And I can stay in one place for one month before finally seeing a lower weight, after bouncing around for weeks.

May 23 - regular LCHF - 96.6 kg / 212.52 lbs - up from my low weight of 96.1 / 211.42
May 30 - after vacation carbs - 97.9 / 215.38
June 6 - after 7 days of ZC - 93.6 / 205.92 - new all time low - 9.46 lbs less than 1 week ago, but only 5.5 pounds less than my previous low weight, if that makes sense. I know the true weight loss ( hopefully) is 5.5 lbs.

I don't let myself get down when I stray or if the scale doesn't move in the right direction. I think we just need to stick with it, experiment and see what works for us. I'm sticking with ZC for now, and will likely eat veggies again when the garden veggies are ready. I have no desire to eat any treats at all, so that is a great feeling. I will be looking forward to the fresh lettuce and tomatoes and cucumbers as my new treats.

This whoosh I am having now, is such a nice surprise for me. But I think I did all the hard work in weeks before. And since eliminating the carbs, my body has let go of a lot of water again, just like in the beginning. Maybe my weight loss will continue this way, in steps. No movement for a month or two and then whoosh, who knows ?

I'm sorry if this post may be too long, and hopes it helps you.

@Sk8Kate, it would have been easy for me to throw in the towel during April and May too! The lack of loss can be very upsetting. Just remember how far you've come already. The time you've committed will pay off eventually.
@Kitnthecat, we sort of paralleled each other there. Your story reads near the same as mine! I agree, this time is different for me too. I know it's working and am not concerned with the timeline either. Plus, not being hungry!! That's one of the best parts. Having achieved that benefit of this woe is something I don't ever want to lose! Happy for you and your new all time low!

Went to see Spy, with Melissa McCarthy, this evening with my son and one of my sister's. She was asking me about this woe and wanting to give it a try! Her husband will hopefully be getting on board too! I'm so happy that I've been able to influence my family. I've promised to help them all too.

Thanks everybody. Throw in menopausal mood swings & a bad day turns into a really bad day. I know age, menopause, & the Hashimoto's makes it tougher sometimes, but I have far less problems than some on here. So I just need to suck it up & carry on. And my health is definitely improving so that's what I'm going to concentrate on instead of the scale for awhile.

Welcome ! You will get a lot of support here. I have found so far that this is all experimentation for me. I've learned some points that work for me. We can help with almost any topic, so ask away.

Hi ladies. Another late evening, but had quick question. Going for Botox consult tomorrow. Daughter convinced me it's alright to do something for myself & I must confess have been thinking about it for awhile. The high fat is simply not plumping my wrinkles (crows feet). Anybody here tried this? Does it work? & how much does it hurt (bit of a baby about needles). IS it too selfish/self absorbed?