Happy Monday to you!
How are you faring on this most amazing autumn afternoon? I am sending good thoughts to everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy and hope you’re getting power, heat and light back to your homes. I hear how difficult it has been out there, and you have my thoughts and prayers.
I am such a bad girl for not posting more recently, but I have gone through a bit of a tired/sick period the last week and needed some recuperation. Now I am feeling so much better. Thank you so much for writing to ask what had happened to me. I feel really bad thinking that I hadn’t updated my progress for some time.
It’s Monday, and you know what means: TOPS weigh-in! Weigh-in, in fact, for all of us. How did you do last week? Are you still hanging in there? Remember, you are worth the effort, so don’t give up.
Why do we weigh Mondays? Because it typically keeps people honest on the weekends, the most difficult days to stick to healthy eating and habits. I know without Monday weigh-ins, I’d probably be much more naughty. Thankfully, even though I was lax about updating you about me the last two weeks, I have worked really hard to keep climbing down the scale numbers.
I lost 5.50 pounds last week and 3.75 pounds the week before (I see I didn’t check in the last couple of Mondays)!
My losses for the MYResolution Challenge so far (August 31-now): 37.75 pounds
Total for all of our friends so far in this Mid-Year Resolution Challenge: 1239.57 pounds!
Look at us, all shrinking and stuff. I am just so proud.
For anyone just joining us, hundreds of us are losing weight in the Mid-Year Resolution Challenge striving for lifestyle changes that culminate in the amazingness that is New Year’s Eve, rather than launching from January 1. You can also click the tab up top that says Mid-Year Resolution for the daily play-by-play and to see what I’m doing. Whee! Just remember: Don’t do what I’m doing. Your journey is yours. I’m just here to cheer you on when you’re so thin you have to run around the shower just to get wet.
Monday, November 5
I ate this:
Breakfast: Skipped. I weigh in and I never eat before weigh-in.
Lunch: Huge Super Nachos from Taco Star with the corn chips this time
Dinner: Skipped. I ate a late, late lunch and it was huge.
Notes: I was so hungry at lunch, partly due to changing the clocks.
Exercise: None. I plan to use the treadmill desk again tomorrow–even if just for a bit.
What I learned:
Maybe my thoughts of perfection have been hampering my progress all these years.
Ever the Atkins by-the-book perfectionist, I lost a lot of weight in the past following Atkins induction to a “T”, but now I’m think those corn chips I had last week maybe aren’t as problematic as I assumed they could be.
Obviously, I continue to conduct my own experiments on nutrition and am working to decide where my food intolerances are, but maybe I’ve been a little too rigid all these years to the point where I obsessed over even licking envelopes to avoid starches. Now I think maybe a few added carbs once per week (or less), isn’t going to be my demise. In fact, maybe it’s helping.
I stick to a very low carbohydrate lifestyle most days (as you have seen evidenced in my menus I’ve been sharing), but I really enjoy the experiments, too. Will this cause heartburn? Will that cause my ankles to swell? Can I eat limited amounts of X every so often without detriment? All of these are questions I ask myself as I move from week to week towards December 31.
I know if I have something a bit carbier (grain-based or night-shade-based) more than once per week in any quantities (remember when I went with McDonalds and Red Robin the same week?), I gained weight (.75 for the week) and felt pretty much terrible. The key for me is to try one new food a week, coupled with a healthy meal, and see how it affects me. So far, it seems to be working.
I will keep you posted.
In health,
Good job Jamie! I’ve been 100% since I started September 1st, but have not lost the amount you have!! I’m down 14 lbs and for me that tremendous!!! Anyway, I find that I have to stick to it 100%, can’t do carbs at all. The corn chips sound yummy but would definitely be my death towards eating them all day. But you’re stronger than I am!!! Also, since I’m a wee bit older (ahem!!) I’ve tried the things that I can switch out, and they are very few!! Good luck to both of us and the rest of the group. Keep it up!!
Hi, Donna. You are doing amazingly well! I definitely agree that works for me won’t for someone else. I think about it and I really so so look forward to that one time per week when I can have that treat. I’m still so fuill from my late lunch yesterday I haven’t had breakfast yet! Ha ha!
I lost another couple of pounds, too, making a total of 21 pounds. I have to get some new dress pants, because mine are kinda fallin’ down!.
Way to go! I hope you’re wearing a belt or you might surprise some people…
I appreciate your blog. I’ve been following on a low carb eating plan since 8/8 and today I reached 41# lost. I am unbelievably thrilled to reach this latest milestone and see a number on the scale that I haven’t seen since 2005. The ease in which I have been losing the weight still seems incredible to me. I feel blessed to be feeling much better with my health than I did 41# ago. Thank you for your blog posts, FB posts, and the fun recipes you share too.
You are doing so well, Dawn! I am really proud of you and so happy to know I’ve been given the opportunity to cheer you on. You are doing so well!
although i am so incredibly happy for all of you, i am so terribly sad for myself…..i have not lost an ounce and have not cheated really at all (except a few glasses of wine) but basically i have been very low carb (less than 20 net), higher fat (good ones!), moderate protein, 1600 calories or less daily, resistance training (moderate- not crazy) and NOT ONE OUNCE!!! i have a big spare tire of fat around my middle (sorry for the graphic) that i cannot get rid of as far as i can tell. i am ready to do anything, i have no problem following pretty much any protocol, i am no longer very tempted very much by foods…i don’t have cravings….but i do have fat and 30-40 pounds too much of it. does anybody have any suggestions or similar experience?? i feel so alone, like a big (non) loser. i am otherwise healthy and i feel good, not on any medications, the last time i had a bunch of lab tests everything was about normal….no worries….but ARGH! AND YIPPEE YAHOOEY for you all 🙂 !!!
Hi, aimee! I applaud your hard work! Can you tell me how much you have to lose, which weight loss plan you’re following, a daily menu that’s typical for you, and if you’re taking any medications or dealing with hormonal, age, or medical issues which might account for slower losses? I’m not a doctor or a nutritionist, but I tend to be pretty decent at sussing out some ideas at least.
Hi Jamie, you are so sweet to respond to me! I am an avid reader of your blog as well as other low carbers…..i love marie emmerich. Jimmy Moore was a big inspiration to me recently – especially his N1 nutritional ketosis experiment. i am thinking about ordering a blood ketone meter….
i follow HFLC- good fats (coconut oil, raw butter, olive oil, fatty meats), less than 20 net carbs, healthy pasture raised, grass fed meats; organic non starchy leafy vegetables or cauliflower. i keep track of every morsel i put in my mouth on fatsecret.com. i don’t know if i can attach it to this…..
when i got all my blood work done to try to figure out issues everything came back quite normal. i am on no medications. i live in a non toxic environment. i am not sedentary. i am otherwise quite happy and healthy with great support from family.
i am at a loss (or none at all!!!) most of the fat is around my middle- i am about 30-50 pounds overweight. not a huge eater. not a snacker. i don’t eat junk. i don’t know.
LOVE it if you have any great ideas! thank you for listening….i’m at my wit’s end!
I would look at this point for food allergies and intolerances as those can create stalls. Some foods to remove from your diet on a week-by-week basis (and then add back and see how you feel/do): Soy, dairy, nuts, nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, paprika), specific sweeteners (which can cause stalls), eggs. Pay close attention to how you feel. Do certain foods make you feel not so hot? Do certain foods make you crazy-hungry or crave it almost irrationally? Food intolerances can cause inflammation to protect your body–but it will also stall losses since your body’s defenses are spent fighting the “intruder” to which you are quite possibly allergic.
you know Jamie- that is all i can imagine that it might be….i can’t be the only person in the whole world that doesn’t lose weight! i don’t eat soy or artificial sweeteners (i do use swerve or stevia for sweetness occasionally). i may have to cut out dairy and see if that is it although i only use raw cream in my coffee and once in a while some cheese but not often. the eggs i use are pastured from a local farm…once in a while i do love a saucy cheesy eggplant dish….argh! thanks for your input! do you know if there are any tests to see if i do have an intolerance to certain foods? or is it just trial and error through personal experiment? i don’t have cravings and i almost always feel pretty good although recently i’ve been really tired…i think it may be the change in season and daylight.
The best way to test is by just not eating the item for awhile and then see what happens.Being really tired could be a sign of thyroid, depression or adrenal fatigue. You might want to see a doctor to check it out?
This is for Aimee – Aimee, are you exercising? I don’t have much to lose, and I’m a real slow loser that’s for sure, but in addition to the eating I have got to exercise at least 5 days a week. Hate it, but have to do it. Just a thought!
donna
HI Donna! thanks for your input- yes, i go to the gym five days a week religiously- have been for the last five years or so….I do resistance weight training and cardio (high intensity intervals). and i don’t even Hate it, i really like it!!! (they watch my little kids so i have 1.5 hrs of me time- it’s like my spa)
Congrats! That is amazing. Have you gone down in pants/dress size? Just curious what almost-forty-pounds looks like!
Hi, Amberly! I am definitely down a size for sure. I am excited for the end of the year to see what 80 pounds looks like. No whammies! No whammies!