I have been ‘lurking’ here for a while reading everyone’s replies. But today I need to get serious and get on this plan. I was following low carb eating in March and April and I lost 22 lbs, but I lost my job, looked for jobs and then got a new job and now my loss is only 10 lbs from that time period. I keep saying I’m going to get this weight off, but I’m a stress eater so whenever we hit a bump in the road of life, my eating goes out the window too! But after reading everyone’s posts on here and seeing the great results you are having, I want to have great results too, so I need to get my butt in gear and just do it.

I’m starting at 272 🙁 and I hope to never see those numbers on the scale again. I’m living in Saskatchewan, Canada right now. I haven’t read about any Canadians on here yet, but I love reading the posts from all the Aussies and Brits. 🙂

I’m posting because I know I need the support. Whenever I try to follow a plan on my own, I fail. It’s only when I stay accountable I can be successful.

Please, please continue with this. As you can see everyone here is very supportive. I have just completed the 8 weeks and half way to my goal. 26lbs lost already and I feel fantastic.

I’m a stress eater as well but have found that this diet really works for me and gives me a great sense of well being. There are lots of choices foodwise and once you get over the initial carb flu I have found you really don’t miss the sugar and starchs. Also it is the only diet I have been on where if I have the odd blip (and we all do!) its no big deal and I get back on the road pretty easily.

Best of luck!

Welcome to the gang LACali21. This new eating regime is not as tough as it appears, so jump on board and give it a go. Let us know all your successes and if you hit a bump, yell out and someone will respond. We have all had ups and downs whilst travelling this road and there is a wealth of knowledge on here and people willing to share.
Good luck with it, looking forward to reading your results soon.

Thanks so much for the welcome and tips. 🙂 I really appreciate it. From what I have read, you all seem to be very helpful and there for each other.

Irishgirl that is awesome!! 26lbs in 8 weeks is great.

I think I keep not succeeding because I feel defeated that I have over 100lbs to lose. It seems like such a large amount but I want to do this with diet and exercise, not quick fixes so that’s why I just need to get my butt in gear!!

Here is a quote I’m trying to put into practice – need to have courage to put this all in practice and follow through.

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear” – Mark Twain

Hi LaCali21! Good morning from sunny West Wales! You are right, it does take courage to make a decision to change your lifestyle and stick to it through thick and thin. But you have shown courage already by making that decision and sharing it with us. So good luck and come on in! The water is lovely!

Day 2 – I ate a few too many carbs last night, so I made sure to get myself back on track and record every carb today. So far, so good. I stayed under my carbs and under the calories. But I feel so tired today, I hope this week go away after a few days.

Day 3 – went over the cals by 88 yesterday but I still feel this is a win. I don’t know how people are not eating breakfast on this plan. I am starving in the morning! It’s 8am here and my stomach is grumbling so loud that I’m going to have to eat something soon to shut it up. Still feeling tired and hungry during the day too, but I’m sure that will get better as I progress with the eating plan.

Got the BSD newsletter today. The story in there should inspire anybody to be able to make this WOE work. TO be able to reverse your diabetes and have an active life like that was very inspirational. If he can do it, why can’t I? I wish we had BBC2 in Canada, but I looked it up and out BBC Canada will not air this program.

Onward and forward with the day!

Hope your day goes well. It might take you a little while to adjust to this WOE, but it will happen and you too will find that hunger becomes something of a stranger. Right now, as you and your body are settling into things, hunger is common. Just make sure you drink plenty, include some fats in your diet and avoid the carbs and even if you go a bit over on cals – like yesterday – you should still see some good results.

Keep us posted!

Thanks SunnyB. I’ve followed the low carb eating before, but I haven’t restricted cals to 800 like this before. Low carb has always been my best weight loss WOE, but I just get stopped by stress or going on vacation. I’m going to try to stay on plan for the full 8 weeks and can’t wait to see the results.

Day 5 – I went for supper with my cousin and DH last night and I will admit that I caved to having a baked potato. But since the others had biscuits, fruity drinks and battered food, I thought I had done pretty good. Potatoes are my downfall for low carb eating. I can live without bread, rice and other starches, but I LOVE potatoes. But I did get back on track today and stayed on plan. Most times I just take the weekend off and then say I’ll start on Monday again. But I really do want to get serious and get this weight off. It’s been on for way too long already!

I took measurements today. I know it’s almost 1 week since I started, but it’s been busy and I really didn’t have much of a chance to do this until today. I weighed myself on Thurs morning and there were 3 lbs lost. I may be curious enough to check tomorrow to see what the results have been so far too.

I’m still struggling with the 800 cals. Today I went over by 100 calories. I agree with others also about lack of energy. I feel tired in the middle of the afternoon and really don’t have energy. I didn’t feel this way on low carb before so it must be my body getting used to the lower cals. Hopefully this gets better soon.

Hi LACali21 – Don’t panic about being 100 cals over. There are bound to be days when you are over and some under. This is a long haul thing, so overall it will balance out. It is quite common to have some lethargy and fatigue in the early days – I certainly did. You will come through it and feel fitter and more energised, once your body has got used to no longer being given carbs.

Also, don’t stress about the baked potato yesterday. Yes, it would probably have been better not to have it, but don’t worry about it now, that’s in the past. Just stay focused and push ahead. Make sure you use enough cals for fat in your meals, that way you will feel full sooner and for longer.

Well done on your results so far. Stick with it, keep counting the cals and keep an eye on the carbs too and you will be posting great results and finding resisting the carbs is no big deal.

Look forward to hearing your results tomorrow.

Day 6 – I don’t know if it’s my imagination but the clothes are feeling a little looser. LOL I could be hoping it felt that way too. Since I just took measurements yesterday I will need to wait a bit to see how that goes.

Still feeling tired and today I just felt plain lazy. I was planning on doing some things and then just lazed around the house, watch some tv and read my book. I got some lc soup cooked up for lunches because DH decided he is going to join me on LC. We’ll see how long that goes.

Weighed in this morning and only 3.6 lbs lost so far. I can’t say I was completely upset about that because it’s still weight that has come off and this time it better not come back on. I’m curious to see what my grand total will be on Tuesday for a whole week on plan.

SunnyB thanks for the encouragement. I wasn’t going to beat myself up for the potato because given the choice of flour, rice, grains or potato, I thought the potato was way less processed too. LOL Now that could be my brain making excuses, but I know that I will be throwing potatoes in there from time to time, especially since it’s summer right now and the baby potatoes from the garden are fresh. As long as I am not giving in to them on a daily occurrence and just every once in a while, I can live with that. 🙂

Day 7 – I am going to be super curious about the weight loss on the scale tomorrow. I was ECSTATIC to see another loss on the scale this morning – 6.6 lbs lost in 6 days so far. I know it will slow down over time, but it’s a good start!

DH was a downer this morning. We made an agreement in April that if I lost 50 lbs by the end of Sept that we would go to Disney for the Diamond Anniversary celebration this year. I’m a huge Disney fan. I did really well and lost the 22 lbs but then we went on vacation, stress from what was going to happen with my job at the time and then starting a new job happened and I gained back some. As of today I still need to lose 34.4 lbs, but with the loss this week I thought it was attainable. He proceeds to point out that I would need to lose 3.5 lbs/week or .5 lbs a day, as if that was not possible. I know it is a large goal to try to hit. But I am going to try my best to stay on track and add exercise once I am able to have some energy. I really want to get the 50 lbs off but also I really want to go see Mickey. 🙂

LACali21 – it IS possible to lose 34lbs by end September.

I started at 10 stone 8 lbs, and wanted to get to 9 stone (thinking this was very ambitious, as I didn’t have too much to lose, and I would probably grind to a halt at 9 stone 4lbs)
I hit 9 stone 1 halfway through my 9th week, and after a week away on holiday am currently at the end of wk 11 at 8 stone 13 lbs.

I have lost 15.5% of my starting body weight – work out how much you have to lose to see what percentage it is.

Things to do to make sure you will get to your target:

– get an app to count your calories/carbs – I use MyFitnessPal, which I find really helpful.
– try and restrict the amount of carbs you eat (this is actually more important than the calories, where you should hit the 800 if you can but not be too worried about the odd over/under)
– I kept my carbs to 20g per day, and still enjoyed my food (am STILL enjoying it, great dinner tonight), and that really kick-started the losses. Many people have success with 50g or less per day, you can experiment to see.
– don’t get worried about plateaux, keep measuring and checking how you’re doing with clothes.
– and DRINK DRINK DRINK. Go well over the recommended, it does help melt the fat away.

Very good luck – keep us posted. I want a photo of you with Mickey! 🙂

Thanks for the tips Igorasusual and thanks for the affirmation. 🙂 I thought it was doable after I got off the scale this morning but then started doubting when he put it into numbers. I religiously put everything in MyFitnessPal and I bought a Garmin when I started back earlier this year that counts steps, floors, cals, etc. so I can see what I’m doing physically to reach my goal. I started at 282 to begin with and I’m at 266.4 today, so I’m pretty proud of that but I have a LOOOONNNGGG ways to go yet. I have been limiting carbs mostly to veg, just throwing in a fruit from time to time when I’m craving sugar. And I’ve been drinking half my weight in water – about 160 oz a day – a tip I learned by reading Jillian Michael’s book years back. I wanted to use Disney as incentive because I keep setting this goal and then falling short. I want to try to set monumental gifts for goals so that I can motivate myself to do this for more than just weight.

So you need to do 17% of your starting body weight (232 is your target of 282?). Well done for your loss to 266.4! 🙂
Or are you going for 216?

May I suggest that instead of fruit you try 6 baby plum tomatoes (eaten slowly) at 16 cals or 3 carbs?
Great re the water.

Keep the faith and though it may plateau you have a great chance to get there! 🙂

My current end goal is a size 10 – Canadian/US. I don’t know what weight that will be but when I get to it, that will be the smallest I’ve been since grade 8. My first goal of 50 lbs was to get me started, I get frustrated and discouraged when I look at the whole picture so I’m trying to break it down to mini goals. Over 100 lbs to lose is a really daunting task. We have a lot of people here who have lost that or close to that, so they are my motivators. If they can do it, why can’t I?

I love tomatoes!! They are one of my favorite vegs. I usually eat them with my meal so they are not so much of a treat. 😉

Thanks again Igorasusual!! 🙂 I appreciate the support and suggestions.

Hi, LACali21, what an achievement. We have a similar challenge. I am working towards a hundred pound weight loss, although being Australian, it is about 40 kilos. I am working towards 20 kilos by my sons 21st. That is three months away and three days. If it is doable I am doing it… Just measured my waist this morning and thought what a way to go but with way of eating it is achievable. Keep writing !

Napangardi where in Australia are you? My DH and I traveled the East side of the continent about 2.5 years ago and I absolute loved it. I want to move there. We can be BSD buddies since we are on the same road to weight loss. 🙂

I need to keep posting or I lose motivation. I love this group. They have been so helpful!

Yes the forum is motivating indeed! I live in the centre , south Australia in the Clare Valley. Clare is known for its wine. And wet and cold winters!!!! We have had some intense weather of late so am wearying of the cold and rain…as an Australian I try not to complain about rain as we suffer droughts but this winter had been a challenge! My struggle with this eating approach is that I live on my own and when I come home I keep wanting to eat !! Nothing bad in my pantry but i do go over my calories . I just need to keep control of that aspect … How was the day?

Day 8 – 7.5lbs down. 🙂 I’m almost wondering if the shakes I drank at the beginning actually hindered rather than helped. I’ve been eating whole foods – salad – for the last few days and seem to be losing faster.

Napangardi I actually found it easier to eat better when I was on my own. I only bought foods that were healthy. DH likes not so good foods so there is more temptations and he likes to eat out more than I did so again more temptations. It looks like you are close to Adelaide. We never got that far West, the farthest south we got was Sydney. It looks like you have beautiful countryside around you. I live in Saskatchewan Canada, which has NASTY winters! It gets into the -40 or 30s degree celcius. I really don’t like the winters but my DH wants to stay put here.

Yes, I know we have nothing to complain about re cold weather but it is all relative! Yes we are just under two hours from Adelaide which is an easy distance to travel when visiting friends, shopping and visiting family. I have my sons studying in Adelaide so I try to catch up with them when I can.
The mindless eating upon my return from work is a habit I need to change , not sure what to do as I just keep repeating the behaviour but now it is with allowed food .mmmm I will work on it as I know my calorie count is not right .

Napangardi we all have habits that we need to work on with our eating. 🙂 My issue is stress seating. We wouldn’t be the size we are without some issues, but hopefully with the time it takes for us to get to maintenance we can work on these habits and make them better.

Well I psyched myself this morning and set the intention that I would not eat mindlessly on my return! So far so good. I have eaten two carrots and had a cup of cacao powder with hot water . Off to the gym as I cannot seem to have the will power to go in the morning!!! Steamed Veges and lamb steak for dinner. I am under 800 calls and have enough for some Greek yoghurt later on. Now to repeat this practice each day !!!!

Day 9 – I couldn’t resist, I had to step on the scale this morning, I just felt smaller. 🙂 I’m at 8.6 lbs lost since my start last week – not bad for 8 days. I’ve been eating a lot of salads the last few days, I don’t know if that’s the help our if I’m just getting into the groove. Energy is back up. I weeded my garden for an hour last night and then got on the treadmill for 35 mins, not at the speed I was going at before, still not there for energy, but I felt being on the treadmill period was a good thing!

Way to go Napangardi! 🙂 LOL I had to laugh a little because I pictured you literally having 1 cup of cacao with a bit of water. ha ha I’m not a morning gym person either, in my opinion mornings are not fun, give me night anytime! I can’t even get downstairs to get on my own treadmill in the morning, so I sure as heck am not getting to the gym in the morning.

Day 10 – I don’t what it was, but last night I was craving stuff like crazy. I don’t even like bread, but I was craving cheese buns, I was craving pasta, but for some reason I wasn’t craving my weakness, potatoes. I did eat more calories than the allotted 800 cals, but I made sure to stay below the carb count. In fact I tried to keep the foods I ate only protein – which was the reason I went over in cals. I was back to being tired and had no energy. It’s 1 week before TOM, so I don’t know if that is a factor but I tried my best to beat it.

It was a hard day foodwise at work yesterday and today. We keep having celebrations where they only bring candy or cake. There has not been healthy food I can eat. S

How isn’t it going ? I struggle with weekends. Am fibpne during the week but somehow I end up eating the wrong thing which of bourse reignites the carb craving . Have not weighed for two days as did not want yo get stressed , figure three times a week will help me

Actually I was really happy with how well I did. I wasn’t online because we went to the lake with my family over the weekend. I was really nervous about going because I was nervous that I would cave to temptation and get the ice cream in a waffle cone or go the bakery and get the fresh cinnamon buns. But I took really good low carb snacks and even found some low carb alcohol coolers and stayed mostly on plan. I’m sure I did not stick to 800 cals, I couldn’t weigh and measure everything out there, but I know that I stuck to veg and meat and stayed below my 50 gr carbs/day. I don’t know if I will have as great of a weight loss this week as I did last week but I know that I didn’t stray to the nasty white foods and that I got way more activity out there than I would have at home.

Napangardi does putting everything into your food diary help you stay on track? I try to put all my food in my diary, even when I cheat, so that way I can see just exactly how much I went off plan in black and white in front of me. There is no hiding the truth. Is there anyway I can help you out? Sorry I wasn’t around this weekend. The internet up there is hit and miss. I hope that you are able to get back on plan right after and you can get this fat loss started again. 🙂

Well Done on staying the course ! I am just going to have to bite the bullet and record everything. I don’t and then I wonder why the results aren’t there. I am such an emotional eater but of course remaining the weight I am is more cause for stress. I read someone’s response which noted that they no longer drop their bundle if they do make an error In judgement . I am just going to have to develop the habit of recording. I probably need to be a bit more clinical about being honest about my records! Well better get out of bed and head to the gym! My exercise is becoming a habit so too can my food choices!! Have a great day,, evening!!!

Day 16 – I woke up early this morning so I got on the treadmill for 20 mins, it’s not much but I thought it was better than nothing. I stuck to my near 800 cals yesterday – 856 cals, which is good for me. I’m not having an issue with staying under my carb limit but I am having an issue for sticking to my 800 cals. My goal this week is to try to keep to this as much as possible.

TOM is starting this week and I’m not looking froward to it. Last time I was doing low carb and I got them, it was longer and more painful. I’m dreading it so much. I’m also dreading the cravings… I tried to weigh in yesterday but my water weight is already there. I’m hoping this means a really good loss for next week. 🙂

Napangardi I NEED to record everything or I don’t stay accountable. I have a Garmin that tells me my fitness and steps, and I use MyFitnessPal or a diary to record my food. Whenever I’ve done well on Low Carb, it’s been because I’ve been recording what I eat. I can also look back then too and see what foods may not be helping my weight loss and change things up to get the weight moving again. I am a total emotional eater. I would be A LOT smaller if I just had went and exercised instead of eating my feelings. During one of my most stressful times I weighed in at 297 – that was a wake up call that i needed to change something, but I just can’t seem to get to my goal. I’m really hoping this time is my successful time. 🙂

Day 17 – Got TOM today, but I haven’t felt too bad yet. I guess we’ll see how that goes in the days to come. The last time I got them while on LC they were more painful and lasted longer.

Even though I got TOM today, I had tonnes of energy today. I went for my 30 min walk by the river at lunch and then did another 30 mins interval training on the treadmill. I feel determined like I can do this, but I have felt that way in the past and then fallen off the wagon. Hopefully the Disney trip can keep my motivated until the middle of Oct, that’s one of the reasons I set that goal.

I’ve kept to below 800 cals the last few days and I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. Today I wasn’t really hungry until noon, that’s new. Usually I’m starving by 10am.

I am not going to weigh myself or measure myself until after TOM is done, I know I will have water weight right now and if I weigh more I will get upset and I’m afraid I will lose my motivation. It’s going to be hard to not weigh for that long but I am definitely going to try and hope for good things. 🙂

Good Morning Mr. LACali:

Your mission today, Cali, is to keep it up with this 800 calorie eating habit. Your mission Cali, if you accept it, is to keep up your 1 hour a day of exercising! The CIA is relying on you for your success in this strenuous task.

As always, this message will self-destruct in 5 minutes.

Good Day LACali

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWGeRgFa-hI

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!

PrincetonianStud

I don’t know if I can handle the pressure of this assignment, but I will try my best to successfully complete 1 hr of exercise each day and keep to my 800 cals! Heaven forbid I disappoint the CIA. 🙁

LOL OK that was good!! And LOVE the LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!! I’m a true Trekkie (besides the new movies which have completely changed the storyline of the original show). But unfortunately I did not know that Leonard Nimoy was on the Mission Impossible show in the 70s. I’m going to have to try to find those episodes now. 🙂

Hello Cali:

OK Mr. Phelps, 30 minutes a day of exercise is good enough! As long as you can do the CIA task, if you accept it! 🙂 We hope you can fill the exhaustive and strenuous task of 30 minutes a day of simple exercising.

This message will self destruct in 5 minutes!

Good Day Mr. Phelps 🙂

P.S. Sinceyou are a Trekkie like me, I have one thing to say to you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxUXh1G3wHw