Update -- On Weight & Program

I found myself following Dr. Groves. His plan is more a moderate protein, high fat and low carb diet. Although he doesn't start with induction (which I HATED - I mean HATED) and his average dieter is eating about 45 net carbs a day. I thought I could do that, but that was so difficult with our busy lifestyle. We eat out several times a week and was finding myself, literally eating bun less hamburgers and plain salads. It drove me NUTS.

I fully believe a LC lifestyle is the best lifestyle for health and well being - especially when you are insulin resistant, diabetic or have trouble with cholesterol. That being said. I have to agree with Jimmy Moore when he says to find something you can follow and STICK WITH. I was not doing well, sticking with it. I would do OK during the week (and BTW has anyone noticed when you're trying to lose weight that you obsess over food MORE - because you're writing down every single bite you are eating???). Then the weekend would come and I would get completely derailed, either eating popcorn at the theatre or DH would be home and we'd eat out a bit too much. My DH, BTW - was getting tired of all the obsessing also, with: food, the weight, the lack of weight loss. I'm sure it gets old hearing it all the time.

During the end of last year, my band got a tiny bit too tight and he took me down to 2.50 in my 4cc band. That left me pretty much WIDE OPEN. I'm not sure why he couldn't have just taken a tiny bit out as I wasn't violently vomiting (I've only PB'd once - that's a gentle vomit to put it nicely) since I've had my band. But he took out 1.50cc. This was right before the holidays and a Disney Trip. So are you psychic? Do you know what that meant? Yes, indeedy it meant a weight gain. Not a horrible. Well, horrible enough. Sadly my PDA was erased and since we bought our new computers I had not gotten brave enough to try and upload the PDA program on my new computer and sync it (thus saving all my information). From my best estimation, I weighed about 223 at my unfill and ended up at 238 a full 15lbs gained UGGGG. I did go back and get a fill on January 10th. I asked Dr. Allen if I was kicked out of the "club" and he said "No, but I have the answer" in his best mad scientist voice and as he turned around he had a needle in his hand for my fill!! LOL He is pretty funny when he wants to be. He did say he wanted to see me in about 6 wks for another fill as he only took me back up 1.0. I don't want to get as tight as I was, but I'm certainly not where I need to be in the fill department.

So this leads me next to what I'm doing to get these last pounds off. I've really struggled with what I need to do to get this weight off. Where do I REALLY want my goal weight and what's REALISTIC. Let's face it. I've been told by 5 doctors that I'll always be fat. I'm not going to end up a size 4 like several other bandsters I know. It's just not in the cards for me. Dr. Allen would like me to get to 182lbs. That will put me at losing a total of 119lbs and 75% my highest body weight. That is considered a success. I guess losing 75-85lbs isn't a success?? I know he won't approve and recommend me for plastics until I get to that weight and yet I continuously suffer with rashes etc. My arms belong to a woman that is over 400lbs BUT my upper body is a size XL. It's pretty unfair to look so ugly after losing all this weight.

So I need to lose another 50ish pounds before I can get some plastics done. I know I can't go back to how I was eating pre-unfill as it was FAR to frustrating and I was just sabotaging myself every weekend. I was feeling suffocated and could only eat a very small variety of foods. I've tried Induction levels and didn't really lose well there either. Plus eating that low of carbs just isn't for me and something I would never be able to follow long term.

So I'm trying an experiment. I'm trying to eat under 100 net carbs a day and no more than 1500 calories a day. It may just indeed be that I need to watch my calories and my carbs at the same time, without being too restrictive. Last week (and I'm DEFINITELY still tweaking this) - I ate an average of 1800 calories a day (the charts say my BCM is around 1750) and around 100-120 net carbs a day and I managed a loss of 3lbs. Is it a fluke?? Water weight?? I just can't tell you. I'm eating a bit less this week and I "may" get 1lbs of loss from it. We'll see. Did eating more, make me lose more? I'd sure like to know. So my weight as of today is 234.5 which is definitely down since my fill. Dr. Allen will be glad to see that!