Moral Support Needed Here...

[Steffi]

Of course Gaters can do anything.

I've had to change the way I eat 'cos my blood pressure skyrocketed and it seems my cholestoral level's a bit high too.
My Dr. suggested I start slowly so that I won't be put off by thinking I'm "On A Diet" I started by not using salt in the cooking, then I bought Flora instead of butter, cottage cheese instead of real cheese etc.
When I walk anywhere, I walk a bit faster everytime.
At lunch time in college I eat salad instead of sandwiches and have a yoghurt instead of crisps, time will tell whether it works or not.

Just Make Sure You Eat Healthily

Good luck to everyone, we'll all support each other, maybe we should start a new thread for this, what do you think??

Sammy say hi :wave: to MS for me.

[Rowan Green]

I think this thread is fine!

Meanwhile... you can't get ANYTHING deliberately low carb in the UK. LOL. Market there for anyone who wants to start a business!

I also went in search of Ketostixs, dreading they wouldn't be under that name in the UK (could be fun to explain what I wanted!). Luckily the first person I spoke to was really interested, and they are Ketostix ...


And This Is Me!!!!!!!!!!



:rain: :reyes: :rain:

[Steffi]

Of course this thread is fine, me I'm a moron.
Will you please tell me what is Ketostix??

And please stay you, you look fun.

[Rowan]

A Ketostick [brand name] is a small plastic 'stick' with a chemically impregnated pad on one end that is dipped in your urine. It detects ketones - chemicals that are produced when your body breakes down fat. On a low-carb diet like Atkins, you are supposed to be ketotic and this stick lets you know if you're doing it right - especially as you progress on the diet and begin to add different foods to it in small amounts.

Rowan

[Steffi]

Oh! right,

Thanks for the imfo. Rowan

[imported_Marianne]

OK week one WeightWatcher weigh in and the total is..........5 pounds lost this week.

By the way Rowan there is a great site for low carb food at Carblife. They have a great supportive messageboard and there is a link to their shop. They even sell fresh bread but it is really expensive. There is also the lowcarb megastore online that sells everything but they are quite dear. I might give the bread mix a go.

Watch this space for next weeks result.

[Rowan Green]

Have you got a link for that? What country is it based in? Doubt the bread would last to the uk if it's in the States...

Anyway, I'm not too bothered. Once I'm at the stage when I'm desperate from treats I'll probably be able to come up with something!

Progress... Well done! I lost 4 pounds, but I did have a few things I shouldn't before I read the book and realised I shouldn't...

Meanwhile I have an appalling headache. Could be having a cold (I am a bit achey too...) and bad neck and withdrawing off caffeine...

Giving up caffienated coffee was a MASSIVE big step to me (I'm a total addict), so I left it till I was established on the diet otherwise. I'm on the 3rd day without.

[Rowan]

I'm in the states and stores - both on and off line - are available to me. I tend to look at mixes more than anything becasue I enjoy cooking. I weighed in yesterday [my day] and I'm down approx. 18 pounds in the 5+ weeks since I've started and quite happy with it overall. R

Right now the only bug in the progrress is a knee injury from 6 weeks ago that isn't being treated aggressively enough IMHO. The ortho appointment is set for June 12 and PT today told me the soonest they can see me is June 3. One of the ingoing problems of being a member of a HMO [ in this case - the Veteran's Administration as I'm a disabled vet and they provide my care]. Much like the socialized medicine situations in other countries, I might guess. I've called my old private MD's office and have an appointment to see him Monday [money talks obviously - and not his fault, I got the office staff and they don't know me from Adam]. Other than that, it's tuck my head down, put on my 'stubborn' hat and do my own rehab. I'm not waiting over two months to work on this joint.

I used to do bedside rehab for my patients [after it was ordered by the doc and the program set up by the PT] as part of my patient's care so I can probably figure out my basics. And I've got the 'sport brace from Hell' on my knee, so I know it's well supported. The damage is probably the result of an original injury back in 2000 [dislocated patella] and not too significant on x-ray so I don't feel I'm taking too big a risk and I *am* worried about the joint losing mobility and strength if something isn't done.

And I know I find this so increadably frustrating becasue I have been a care provider. I know how the system should work and it isn't. <sigh>

Ah well ...

Row

[Rowan Green]

I'm sort of a creative cook... My usual use of cookbooks is to look at them, think 'that sounds nice'. Then put them away while I throw everything that sounded nice in a pan, maybe with a few variations of my own. Following recipees is too much like hard work!

Actually one thing I like about this diet is that it's so radically different, that it's forcing me to be inventive and try new combinations. And of course I'm eating a lot more meat! Generally I only eat free-range/organic meet (I'm against factory farming), but I plain can't afford the amount of meat needed that way. So I've decided for now I'm allowing myself to buy any meat that's been reduced at the supermarket. Not giving them a profit for factory farming that way I hope... So instead of having roast chicken occasionaly as a treat, I'm having chicken nearly every day and cooking it all sorts of ways.

So here's one of my experiments (and the low fatters could probably eat this too)

1 chicken breast
1 fennel heart
1 dice sized piece fresh ginger
sesame oil
soy sauce

(NB: try and find a naturally brewed, wheat free dark soy, such as Whole Earth Tamari, it has a much better flavour than the stuff you'll find in most shops)

Heat some oil and soy sauce in a frying pan (use one with a lid, or for which you have a lid that will do!). Shred the ginger and let the flavours mix. Coarsly chop the chicken and fennel and add to the pan. Cook until done! Depending on how much oil you used you might need to keep it covered from the start so it cooks in it's own juice. If you can go mad on the oil though... just add more oil and soy if it gets dry, but I think I had mine covered for about half the cook.

Meanwhile... I found a link:

Carblife UK

Yep, they have a UK branch... Just off to have a proper browse!

[Steffi]

The recipe sounds great, Rowan Green, must try it - thanks.

Marianne and Rowan, congrats to you both.:flash: :laugh2:

still making the small changes - went out and bought some new scales today so I can start weighing myself, I always avoided the scales.

[Rowan]

Remember the big pitfall: don't weight everyday. Set up a schedule, like every Sunday, and stick to it. You're less likely to get discouraged with the normal day to day changes snf better able to see the trend.

Rowan

[Rowan Green]

How did you know I weigh on Sunday?

Ok, at the moment I weigh every day, but Sunday's the day I record it!

[SamJack2003]

:wave: I'm pulling for you!


I have lost 101lbs since 1/02 and still want to go down another 40 before the Con! THIS IS MY WILLPOWER!

Can't wait to come!

Keep your head up and remember "beauty is only skin deep, it's whats inside that counts" My hubby says that to me when I'm struggling! BUT I keep goind and YOU can too!

**here is some of my willpower** - throws over the shoulder!

:smiliea:

[imported_Marianne]

Weigh in this week, another 3lbs gone. That's 8 in total. Looking promising so far.

SamJack2003 that's amazing -101 lbs - brilliantly well done. I bet you feel a whole new person.

[Rowan]

You folks are doing great! Bit by bit is the way to go.

Congratulations to all!! :flash: :star: :flash: :star:

Rowan