Losing weight in 2004

“What's wrong with being a tree?”

“we just got a subway in the hospital. I may be doing the "jared" diet today. ;-)”

“Whew!
For a minute, I thought you got hit by a train, pathie!”

“I'm very lucky. I work at a large hospital and we have a good cafeteria. They have lots of healthy things to choose from so I get good meals for breakfast and lunch.

I'm bad when I'm at home. That's when I eat anything I can get my hands on. Where was I going with this?? Oh yeah...

Maple, for breakfast I keep food in my desk at work. Usually it will help me make it until lunch time. I know you're on a particular diet so just think real hard about what you like to eat and stock your desk full. LOL
Nuke it if ya have to. If you have a fridge at work then that's even better. :)”

“Oh yeah, how does everyone feel about diet drinks ??

I HATE THEM!!

But, I've been drinking more of them lately to avoid the sugar and weight gain that goes along with it. I have no problem with drinking water but I get tired of it easily.”

“Diet Dr, Pepper is probably the diet drink that is closest in taste to a regular one. Diet Pepsi isn't bad either. On this Atkins thing, I am now resorting to water.



And no beer! :(”

“Slim Fast is good. I used to drink them when I was little because I thought they were milkshakes and not diet shakes.”

“No beer?

umm I dont think so!”

“Good news is that tequila, vodka, rum and the like are all carb free!!!!!”

“My plan is to wait until they invent a transporter like in Star Trek, and then they can just beam all the fat off my body.”

“Hit 'em with the lipo-beam, Scottie!”

“I'm givin' her all she's got Capn! If I divert energy from the shields we may have enough power to lipo Bobo's ankle!”

“My breakfast today: banana, orange juice, coffee.

Snack (immediately after workout): protein bar (210 calories, 15g protein)

Lunch (right now): Nile Spice lentil soup (170 calories, no saturated fat, 11g dietary fiber, 11g protein), 3 crackers, celery, carrots, banana, yogurt (170 cal, 1g sat. fat, 5g protein), diet A&W vanilla cream soda (water, chemicals).

Dinner (planned): Boboli pizza (pesto sauce, mozzarella, sausage, onion, parmesan) - only 2 pieces, beer, salad, no dessert.

So how'd I do?”

“carb city!

naners have carbs :( so does beer and all the rest of the good things that make my life worth living....”

“Actually, that sounds great, B-man. It's light, yet substantial. Just like what Maple said, though. On Atkins, we can't go that route. Hope it works for you...”

“I've found that having carbs isn't my problem; it's having LOTS of carbs that's the problem....

Just to show my support, I'll drink an extra beer for the tree people tonight!”

“Thanks, man!”

“bastard!”

“maple--my daughter has been on atkins for about a year--she went from 200 pounds to a size 8. Anyway, the purpose of this message is to tell you that for big bucks they make a low carb version everything you have always loved.”

“WOW thats very cool. tree is going to the store tonight to look around. ive been very good today. i have a desk full of crap...candy etc...and did not touch any of it”

“maple - how 'bout hard boiled eggs for breakfast? very transportable to work, no need to heat when you get there. maybe a slice of ham to go with it?”

“hmm thats good”

“cheese. lots of cheese. that's on the diet, right? i love cheese!”

“Just to show my support, I'll drink an extra beer for the tree people tonight!"
BowlderMan
02:23:35 PM
01/05/04
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"Thanks, man!"
Treebeard
03:33:19 PM
01/05/04
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"bastard!"
mapleleaf
03:39:35 PM
01/05/04

Ha! Note the "man's response" versus the "woman's response." Just for that, I'll have two extra beers for y'all! Hee hee....”

“I ain't takin' no diet that outlaws beer!”

“Really! That's just not right....”

“I'm still going to dring beer and wine on my diet, but I will give up the candy.”

“Funny how you always have to go to the grocery store to start dieting......”

“"Good news is that tequila, vodka, rum and the like are all carb free!!!!!"
Treebeard
12:37:52 PM
01/05/04

Alcohol has 7 calories per gram. The evil carbohydrate has 4 calories.

I have to say it. Atkins is and was a kook. Carbohydrates (in moderation) are the cornerstone to a healthy diet. Before you try the low carb high protien high fat nonsense take the time to read about nutrtion from a reputable dietician. You will lose weight with atkins but its not a healthy way to lose weight. A balanced diet (40%carbs 40% protein 20% unsaturated NON ANIMAL fats) is the key. Just as weight gain is a slow process weight loss should also be. Just eat less and excercise more. Nothing fancy.”

“Birch, I have looked into this. And there is a fact you are overlooking. I have had a problem with high triglyceride readings for quite some time now. I have been on medicines for it and still the enzyme does not break down as it is supposed to. I have consulted several reputable medical opinions on this and it all comes down to the carbs, apparently. My cholesterol is always good, but the other reading stays high. If losing the carbs is what it takes to bring that down, then perhaps that is what is called for. And, as far as him being a kook, he seems to be getting a lot more credibility towards his diet than he was in the past. I would not write him off as a kook.”

“Just a further note on Atkins and carbs:
I am only a little more than 24 hours into this diet. I never did it before. I did, a few years a ago, read a book called the carbohydrate addicts' diet, or something like that. I started understanding how carbs affect insulin releases in your brain and that this is what gives your body the message that it is hungry. Constant intake of carbs (my problem) was causing more intermittent releases of insulin and therefore giving my body the illusion that it is hungry, when indeed it wasn't. So, I tried this diet. It involved two very low carb meals and one 'reward' meal a day. You could eat what you wanted during the reward meal, but it had to be consumed within a one hour period and then you were done eating till the next cycle. I lost almost 20 pounds over the next few months and felt very energetic (it also said that the carbs were what was making me sluggish). My doctor told me that the information was pretty accurate, but the problem with diets like this is that it is easy to fall off the wagon and you have to keep them up. This is also true with Atkins. I eventually gained the weight back, but through no fault of the diet itself.”

“after dinner last night, I took a nice walk around our park. There is a loop that says it's 2 miles.. Well I think I may have done only a mile. Boy it's hard to do after 12 hours of being up and working. But I felt good this morning. I plan to stick to it. I guess if I can stop smoking (march will be two years) then I can do this!”

“Hi, my name is Gaby, and I am a carb addict...

really now, I love breads, pasta, stuff like that. I could live without meat. I guess that's where my problem is.

My doc and my trainer though told me to stay away from the atkins diet. I guess it's time to read the book and find out details.

maybe carbs are the reason why I don't loose any weight, even I try to stay within 1200 cal per day.”

“Just got an e mail from the secretary upstairs. She is selling her daughter's girl scout cookies. I love those cookies. Where were the GSA a few weeks ago when I could eat them?

The cookies, not the girl scouts...”

“You will get differences in opinions. Birch represented a contrary opinion to what I am doing and that's fine. Some will say to stay away from it and some will say to go fo it. Which is right? Still not sure. I do feel confident that there is a good possibility that this is right for me. Time will tell...”

“Did anyone catch Dateline Sunday nite? Dateline followed a group of ppl that wanted to lose weight for their 25th high school reunion. They all went on diff programs to lose weight...weight watchers, atkins, hypnosis, running, etc. They all lost a buttload of weight (s'cuse the pun). I've always had my reservations about the adkins diet but regardless, it wouldn't be for me. I'd rather eat rabbit food vs. meat but the guy on dateline that went on the adkins lost over 100lbs. Maybe the adkins isn't very healthy (I don't know) but that guy has to be and feel healthier with that 100lbs off. Hope he can keep it off though...who could keep up eating like that forever?”

“BeardedTree,

Insulin does have alot to do with the nasty effects brought on by chronic carbo binging and is probably also be a big part of adult onset diabetes. When the insulin drive goes bonkers from constant excessive sugar intake it can even effect stuff like mood and energy levels. What books are you reading now? I wish you the best luck. I had success with both a low fat diet and the Zone diet (you eat foods with a 1:1 portein/carb ratio), but fell off the wagon and returned to my ab-normal eating habits within a year. This is what leads me to think that any diet will get you there, but the real key is long term maintenance. An old prof of mine used to say, "Don't make it so complicated, what goes in (calories) equals what comes out. So I'm under the impression that perhaps it's not really the diet plan as much as it is the ultimate reduction of food intake. In every diet you limit your food portions. I'm not attempting to dissuade you, go for it! Don't forget exercise, not only will it burn the excess calories, but it will pump up your metabolism and give you the endorphin rush to make you feel goooood.

Another nasty fact, the total number of fat cells that you have is a result of your genetics and when you lose weight you essentially sqeeze the fluids out of those cells. The total number of fat cells you carry remains the same, you've just pulled all the weight out of those cells. Those sneaky little devils are still there, just waiting to fill back up with beer!”

“That's why liposuction is soooo effective...”

“In the initial phase of Atkins, we are gauging oursleves at 20 g of carb per day. If all goes right, and we lose the desired weight, the amount of carb intake goes up. You can still lose a pound or two a week with 45 to 50 g of carbs daily. From what I undrestand, even those studies not advocating Atkins say that 50 to 100 g of carbs daily is suitable for good health. It seems that the diet does satisfy that requirement.”

“Bobo, good points. And that is why I say I am not sure what is right and what is not. Actually, I am convinced that there is NO single Right answer. Yes, exercise is essential. Atkins says that also. The thing I like about him is that he reiterates what you say. And, the maintenance part comes in here, that it is a mindset. It is a change in lifestyle. I don't plan on not eating carbs forever. That is ridiculous. I plan on mending my habits. The other thing I like about low carb diets is that I can deal with the hunger urges easier on this than on ones I have tried in the past.”

“I took a walk after dinner last night!


hehehe”

“I went for a long walk around campus yesterday, over to the outdoor shop to check out the outdoor gear rentals and the gym.”

“I think I know what to do. I will count a beer as a bread/cereal serving. ;-)”

“Why don't you put your cereal in beer?”

“The breakfast of ex-Champions!”

“How about beer soaked popcorn?

popcorn”

“or beerios, or other favorites. this guy has a ton of 'em...”

“Lunch time meeting with lunch provided. Cheese enchiladas, beans and rice. At the UNM cafeteria they make pretty good enchildadas. I skipped the dessert and kept my portions reasonable. I should have run away and bought my own lunch. I'm going to go try and ski for an hour now.”

“What about Slim Fast - has anyone lost weight with that stuff?”

“I did, it's not worth it though, I'd rather eat and have the shakes for a snack cause they're yummy”