Today was a pretty rough day. My appetite was enormous and I was more tired than usual. Perhaps it was because I had a long day at work, but I think it was the lack of carbs. I went to the gym and worked out for 45 min. It was a bad workout day. Better than not going at all but it was a hard workout. Not near as productive as the last couple days. Also, the last week Ive lost a little weight every day, but not today. That’s ok though because at least Im stuck at the weight I wanted to be by Feb 1st. Ill be exactly at my goal tomorrow. I may have been getting dehydrated. After my workout yesterday I downed like 2 litters of water in an hour. All in all things are going pretty good. Ive stuck to my diet despite my increased appetite, Ive been working out and Ive made my goal for the month.
Today at work I was working with 4 obese diabetics. Two need leg amputations, one is refusing and will probably die of sepsis. Another had lost there vision and the other was in kidney failure. All these people were LESS THAN 60! Talk about a motivator. I want to see my grandkids grow up. I want to seem my children succeed. How can I do that if I get diabetes and die of complications before Im 60. Im refusing to let that happen. Obesity is a very scary preventable disease. Anyway, enough of my rant

I didnt go to the gym today. I really should have but just couldnt get the motivation. I planned a day of regular atkins type diet with lots of fat and protien. I ate lots of crap and now I feel crappy for it. Im not doing that again. On the upside, even with all the crap I ate my calorie consumption was only about 2200 Cals. Im going to slowly get out of ketosis and start eating my regular low cal diet with very little fat. Taking a trip back home this weekend, I did really bad last time. I hope I can do better this time.

I just got back from my trip home. I did pretty well compaired to last time. I didnt gain anything. I ate a few more calories than I should have but only by a few hundred. I noticed this morning that I took another notch off my belt. That was pretty cool. Im still at 250, maybe 249 if you look at the scale funny. Im going to have to start working harder if Im going to loose my 15 lbs this month. I feel pretty good about making the goal so far, maybe because its so far away. Everybody in the contest with me is starting to pick it up a bit, which is cool. Im going to beat them by leaps and bounds but I hope to help get them motivated too.

That is so sad about the people you were working with that had the diabetes! And so young to be suffering. Health is really one of the things that started me really focusing on losing weight. I have been gaining weight year after year after year. I started to wonder what would happen if I just kept on this path. How heavy would I be when I'm 40? or 50? I really want to be healthy for my kids. To watch them grow up. To watch their kids grow up. I agree with you, that this is really more than just wanting to lose weight to look good, its really about living a long and healthy life.

I tried Atkins once a couple of years ago. I liked it at first (woohoo- a diet that allowed bacon!) and I actually lost some weight. But I didnt stay on it more than a couple of months. It was too hard and I didnt feel well balanced. Now I am following just a lower calorie diet, and I am much happier on it.

Keep up the great work!

Hey thanks for the post fluff, I was starting to wonder if anyone actually read my rants. That’s ok though, its ok to talk to yourself as long as yourself doesn’t answer back…that’s what I keep telling me anyway.
Yes, the diabetes thing is very scary. I see patients every day that have complications from obesity. Actually, to be more accurate, well over 60% of my patients are suffering from some kind of ailment directly related to obesity. That is to say that over 60% of physicians would be out of their jobs if everyone were in shape. You could argue that people would eventually become ill and need physicians, and although that is true, most of the visits to physicians are do to chronic problems due to obesity. Some of my healthier patients don’t regularly see a physician until they are 80 years old. Obese people need care from as early as teen years all the way to death. They have problems such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, stasis dermatitis, cerebral vascular disease, gall bladder disease…the list goes on and on. Obesity is a much larger problem in this country than smoking. Now obese people that smoke…..That’s another rant all together. Very scary.
Anyway, about Atkins, it’s a very interesting diet, and fun for a few days, but I wouldn’t want to do it long term. The way I understand it though, the powers that be for the Atkins Co. are now allowing more carbs in the diet as people are tending to shift to a more south beach type diet and Atkins is taking a dive.
In my humble opinion its not so much about the carbs but what kind of carbs. Breads, pastas, potato’s and other pure starchy foods are of the devil to our waists. Its all about the glycemic index (and load) and insulin spikes that drive energy into our fat cells. Most veggies have no insulin surges, so eat up, but NO BREAD! I could go on and on and some people may take a different stance but as my favorite bumper sticker says “Your entitled to your wrong opinion.” Anyway, Ill step down from my soapbox before the tomatoes start-a-flyin.

Moabnut.....
Hey there!
Just wanted to write and say hi. I did the Atkins diet as well for about a year...I lost about 30 pounds but always felt not quite healthy....a little weak most of the time. But I do know people who are thin as rails and it has really worked for them in the long term.....what I remember about it is craving fruit for probably the first time in my life....I would have traded a Snickers for an orange...no problem!!
Anyhow hang in there - and people are hearing you so keep posting!

I have been hearing about the glycemic index, but have never really understood exactly what it meant. So is that the basic difference then? No starches, but veggies is a go?

I am just following a low calorie diet with exercise, but I have cut out my breads for the most part (I do use a low cal. bread for lunch) and cut out potatoes and pasta altogether. The one thing I have noticed over the past six weeks is that I really don't crave breads and pastas like I used to. I was a big bread and pasta eater! But now I can make pasta dishes for the family, and I am not nearly as tempted by them as I used to be.

I did like the splurges that Atkins allowed. That no guilt feeling of being able to eat eggs in butter, and having cheese and meats without having to worry. But, then that started making me wonder too. Seems like so many of those foods were just sky high with fat. I don't know. I did lose weight, but I just didn't see it as a diet I could stay on forever. And once I went off...the weight came right back on. Hopefully what I am doing now will be a long term solution for my weight problem (fingers are crossed).

Btw, I love your favorite bumper sticker. lol. I may have to try that on the kids next time the argue with me over something silly. Keep up the great work!

Hey Fluff and Punky,
I kinda think of the Atkins diet as a starvation diet. Your body’s metabolism is working the same either way. On Atkins, you are living off other animals tissues, with starvation, your living on your own. Atkins is better than starvation because its protein sparing…as in; you save your own protein. Most of the time, even fasting we are not burning much of our own proteins, though we are constantly recycling them. Our bodies don’t like to use our own proteins for energy. You get week on Atkins because you don’t have any glucose stores and you are living on ketones (fat products). We live on ketones just fine and we do it all the time, we are just not used to doing it exclusively. Our bodies move much faster on glucose. No glucose  slow  tired. The most interesting thing about Atkins is that what we think of as fat products in our blood (triglycerides) actually go DOWN on Atkins. A lot of people don’t understand that, but its good for your fat profile. Weird, I know. Atkins works, no doubt about it, but I like a few carbs now and again. Women don’t seem to fair as well on it as men though. Much weaker and nauseated….in my experience anyway.
As for the glycemic index, the best way to think of it is; how fast can your gut break it down and get it in your blood. The faster it is, the more glucose (blood sugar) in your blood. This is bad because when we overload on glucose, your pancreas has to kick out a ton of insulin to get the glucose out of the blood and into your cells. Extra glucose ends up in fat cells. Plus we easily overload on insulin and our sugars take a dive under what they should be….then you get hungry and eat more, it’s a bad cycle.
Starch chemical structure is just glucose chains, flour is pure glucose. Its best to think of flour as pure sugar, cause that’s how your body sees it. In fact, lb per lb pure flour will raise your blood sugar nearly 2 times faster than pure table sugar. Because table sugars chemical structure is Glucose-Fructose. Only ½ glucose, pure fructose has a glycemic index of 20 (low) There are some things about Fructose that I do not understand though, I do understand that its got its own sets of problems.
The point is starch is sugar, the faster a starchy food can be broken down, the higher the glycemic index. White bread has the highest glycemic index because it is pure starch and easily broken down. Noodles are the same chemically as bread but not quite as easy for your gut to break down because their compacted. So its glycemic index is lower (but still high) Veggies don’t have much starch in them and are very hard to break down so they have a very low glycemic index.
One other point is glycemic load which is kinda a new concept. But it takes the glycemic index and adds in TIME as a factor. If you have a food with a lower glycemic index, even though it is high in glucose, it just takes more time to get it out. It has a high glycemic load. Its kinda confusing I know, and I cant say that I fully understand it anyway.
Holy crap this is a large post. I better shut up. Later

Oh Fluff, BTW. The studies show that rebound weight gain is about the same comeing off any diet weather it be Atkins, WW, Fasting, South Beach or any other diet. Your fat cells stick around, they just shrunk...and they are hungry. You MUST keep your weight under control for a LONG period of time after weight loss for your fat cells to decrease in number and increase in size (you want fewer, but happier fat cells) if you return to old eating habits you will be feeding your starving fat cells and they will grow. The faster you lost weight, the more fat cells you didnt get rid of. Slow weightloss usually keeps it off better because your fat cells are constantly adapting and dying. if you lose fast though and keep a tight hold on your weight for a year or 2 it wouldnt be so easy to gain it back. later

Thanks for the explaination! I had just never had it explained to me before, and its nice to finally get a gist of what they are talking about all the time when they mention the glycemic index. I have never thought about flour basicly being the same to our bodies as sugar. Wow. Stinks too. I could live a very satisfied life on bread and pasta...lol. Veggies are good though, and I am incorporating them more and more into my diet.

I really really don't want to reagain this weight. I am trying to do it slowly. My goal is to try to lose 40 pounds within this year. I hope I can do it. Coming to this forum is great, because it gives me a chance to talk with other people who are trying to do it too. This place is my support system.

Thanks again! Hope you are having a great day.

Keeping the weight off can be just as hard as losing it in the first place! People have told me that I have the largest weight swings of anybody they have ever known. I get determined to lose weight, and I do it. Ive lost 30 lbs more times than I can count. Problem is Ive always gained it back plus added some more. 1.5 years ago I was 200 lbs and running 4 miles a day, plus lifting, I was down from 235, the highest I had been was about 240. 2 months ago I weighed in at 280 lbs, now Im 247. I always get comfortable around 200 lbs and start slacking, but this time Im pushing for at least 180, maybe 160 if I start running marathons. That is my true goal, Im happiest when Im running so my goal now is to be LIGHT, not just look good. I look fine at 200, now I want to be light so I can really run. If I can do that I might be able to keep it off. Crossing my fingers. Im taking this diet totally different. Im still losing fast which is a good/bad thing. But the biggest thing is I am keeping track of EVERYTHING. I write in this journal, plus I have one of my own too. Its a little more personal, but I have every calorie accounted for. I chart my exercise, calories, weight, blood pressure, and pictures. Im trying to have miantenance days that will be like my diet should be after I lose the weight. I practice going out to eat to eat well. Im trying to prepair myself for the time Im NOT trying to lose weight (has there ever been a time?) I keep myself occupied with it so that I wont let myself down later because Ive put too much work and time into it to let myself fail. Ive got more to lose than I have ever had and my goals are loftier. Talking and reading about it on this forum really helps to keep me motivated. Ive always kept my weight loss stuff to myself before, this has really helped, and I hope to be able to help others too. Anyway, my kinda point was basically to say that you should really have a plan for maintaining your weight later, not just say: "wahoo, I made my weight goal! Now where did I place all that candy I was saving for later?" Anyway, good luck

Yesterday and Today I stayed within my calorie range. I didnt work out yesterday because I was too busy, but today I did 45 min on the elliptical and 20 min on the treadmill. I ran for 7. I try not to run too much because I will take it too far too fast, then Ill walk (or limp) away with a hurt knee. I want to have knees for a long time so Im slowly going to start increasing running as the weight comes off.
I think Im going to start adding more fruit in my diet. Ive kinda avoided them because I didnt want to bump my glucose up too fast, but I did some research today and found that cantaloupe, peach's, strawberries and watermelon are not too calorie dense so Im going to start eating them. In the veggie group I was surprised to find that peas and corn were about as bad as potatoes! (cal/oz) But on a good note, tomatoes are much lower calorie than I had thought. I LOVE tomatoes! Cherry tomatos are the best. Weighed in at 245 this morning...Im feeling the progress...and it feels good

It's nice to see someone who writes a lot, you diary is very interesting so far. That stinks about the kinda people you work with, even more if they won't help themselves. I had gestational diabetes but it went away right after my son was born, I'm not huge but the doctor most likely in my life I would get it. I normally stay to the low glycemic foods in fear of getting it again cause testing yourself for your sugar levels ain't fun! Good luck in your weight loss and thanks for being entertaining!

Thanks Meshellibel
Yes, I tend to write a bit much. Im glad someone enjoys it. When I read some journals, I skip through the long ones.
Your doctor is right, gestational DM is a major risk factor for DM type II. You should watch that carefully and follow up with your doctor if you have any high sugars. You can buy a glucometer at Walmart pretty cheap. The strips cost quite a bit though. At your weight, you shouldn’t have too much to worry about right away though, and you may never develop DM if you are careful. Muscle cells and fat cell are what need insulin. If you exercise on a regular basis, your muscle cells will not become insulin resistant so easy. And you are also on the right track with low glycemic index foods. Everybody should be careful, but your at a bit higher risk so you should be even more careful.
I was rotating with a doctor recently and we were talking about diabetic patients. We talked about exercise and diabetes. I asked how many of his patients cured their DM with lifestyle change. He said in the last 5 years or so he has had about 3 males and no females cure themselves. He said that lifestyle change can CURE diabetes type II in nearly 100% of the cases. The problem is nobody does it.
We also talked about why some men and very little women do it. I have also read up on this some too. Im in a female dominated forum, but please don’t take this sexist or anything. Females are much more happy than men to take pills to help their problems. So they are less likely to change bad habits to cure DM because they are taking care of it with pills. Men are bull-headed and are more likely to change bad habits to solve their problems, and do anything to avoid taking pills. In addition to that, women are more prone to diabetes than men.
Im still a young idealist medical student and I feel that doctors do not tell their patients enough about the benefits of lifestyle change. They don’t because it very rarely helps. Its very discouraging to tell people over and over again how they can take control of their health and nobody does it...so you give up and just write a script for glucophage. On that particular rotation, I got to take care of all the diabetics and hypertensives that came into the office. I saw over and over again peoples eyes glaze over when I talked about lifestyle modifications. When I saw them on follow up visits, they had either done very little or nothing to take charge of their health.
Those stories about my patients with DM are nothing new...happens every day. Of course, medical students and residents get all the uninsured, non-compliant patients who don’t care. I hope all who read my rants will take a little take home message. Though, I do feel like Im preaching to the choir when Im ranting to people who ARE taking control of their health, and for that I applaud you. I hope to never meet you where I work. That’s a bad thing!

The last couple days Ive had some of those WW smart ones dinners from Walmart. They are pretty good. I wont eat any of the 200+ calorie ones, but I had the pot roast one at 170 and the sweet and sour chicken at 140 cals. They are pretty good. I make a killer stir fry for me thats about 190 cals and these were just as good...almost. They are a bit pricy though, but how much are you willing to pay to lose weight right?
I figure people spend tons having the bariatric surgery done so they cant eat much, they end up only eating 500-700 cals a day for a year and lose TONS of weight. Why would someone go through that surgery to only be able to eat so little instead of just going on a VLCD without surgery? Doctors will very rarely tell a patient to eat under 1200-1500 calories because if they did eventually someone will go anorexic and have health problems, then the doc gets sued and loses because everybody knows not to go under 1500 Cals. Thats crap if you ask me. But its within the normal standard of practice to do an vary invasive operation where some people DIE just to make it so people cant eat more than 500-700 cals/day. Something doesn’t add up here. I know that Im going to have a bunch of self proclaimed intuitionalists laughing at me, but thats just my opinion. As a disclaimer though, because I am NOT making suggestions for anybody but myself. You should never go under 1000 Cal/day without knowing exactly what you are doing, what foods you should be eating and what supplements you should be taking. Furthermore VLCD's are not for people under about 200 lbs.
Anyway, thats about enough for my controversial rant.
Today I went to the gym and ran for 20 min, walked for 12, then lifted weights for 35 min, then back to the elliptical for 30 min. Holy cow, that was my longest workout. Im totally beat, but I figure I have the weekend to recover so I should be good. Im going to rent some DVDs and chill, hoping I don’t get called in.