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What worked for me: My Plan
I have been inundated with PMs and requests for my "plan" and honestly, it's not anything major, it's just what I did and what has worked for me. That doesn't mean it's the BEST way or even the most healthy way. I just figured I'd post it here rather than PM to everyone and in case anyone else is interested.
Basically, what I did was this. I did Weight Watchers and lost the first 10, but very slowly. Then I started Phen in October, so it has 6 months now. At that time, I stopped drinking all sodas, stopped eating sweets and lowered my carbs a lot. I started eating high protein and 3 meals a day, which I had to force myself to do. I didn't snack between meals. I made a point to never skip breakfast because eating protein to start your day, even if it's just a protein shake, really jump starts your metabolism. For the protein shakes which I usually do as a meal replacement for at least one meal a day, I put into a blender 8 ounces of fat free or soy milk, to that I add one and one/half scoops of EAS Soy Protein Powder. It comes in chocolate and vanilla. (You also can mix it with water for fewer calories, however, I like the taste better with milk.) Anyway, to that I usually add frozen strawberries or a small banana and ice. It's thick, yummy and filling! The soy is supposedly better for women than the whey powder, at least that is what I have read.
I also take a mineral supplement that is available over the counter, called Chromium Picolinate. It raises your metabolism, burns fat, curbs carb and sugar cravings, helps build lean muscle mass, and regulates blood sugar levels. It's GREAT and really works!!! My Dr. originally had me on 200 mcg (not mg) a day of this but after doing a lot of research on it, it seems that to have really effective and beneficial results, it should be taken in higher doses than that, so I doubled it to 400 mcg. My Pharmacist verified that not only is 400 safe to take, but also it really DOES work. So that helped to confirm that it's not just "all in my head". I have read that at doses from 800 mcg and higher, it has a slight potential of doing harm to your kidneys and/or liver, therefore, I feel safe at 400 mcg now. ***NOTE*** For those taking a phen break, KEEP TAKING YOUR CHROMIUM PICOLINATE! It WILL help with the cravings.
I use the website Sparkpeople.com for my food journaling. I highly recommend this site and I also recommend food journaling if you don't already do it. They have a lot of very helpful tools. For instance, if you want to lose a certain amount by a certain time, they can calculate it all out for you and tell you if it is realistic, or how long it should take you to reach those goals. In addition to that, they have a nutrition section that you log your meals at every meal and it tells you the number of carbs, calories, grams of protein, fat, etc., you have eaten, and how many you have left for the day and week to keep within your goal plan. It has been SO helpful to me in terms of nutrition and having a point of reference so that I knew if I was on track or not. If you are having trouble with meal plans on your new way of eating, they have great ideas for that as well. AND, PORTION CONTROL!!!! You simply cannot eat the same amounts of food that you are used to eating and expect to lose weight. Your stomach eventually shrinks, therefore you WILL get full eating smaller portions, thus your weight will continue to go down, too!
When I first started Phen, I was barely eating, which only slows your metabolism because it puts your body into starvation mode which causes it to conserve fat, ironically. So, by starting your day with a high protein breakfast, even if just a protein shake, which I do more than actually eating breakfast, it is just very important not to skip it so that your metabolism will kick in. Also, I know some people are against packaged meals because of them being "processed", but if you don't have an issue with them, I recommend the Smart Ones entrees by Weight Watchers. They are usually around $2 each and to me, most of them are very tasty, especially the Bistro style ones. They are low in calories for the most part and filling. I eat these a lot for lunch. I don't obsessively count my carbs, but I do try to stay on top of my caloric intake and keep it at no more than 1,200 a day while losing., but again, Spark People can help you set your exact amounts in terms of what your mini goals and final goal is. Another thing about caloric intake that a dear friend shared with me and it REALLY DOES work, is that you need to change up your calories every few days. You ever wonder how you sometimes do really well during the week and then on the weekend or vacation you may actually blow it and your calories are a lot higher than usual, and you expect to gain, but then you find out that you didn't, or maybe you even lost? This is why... it sort of "shocks" your metabolism when you switch things up. So you can stay around 1,000-1,2000 and for the most part and then drop it significantly for a couple of days, or even raise it. Plateau buster.
Another thing if you reach a plateau, lemon water is a great way to bust through it. I posted a lot about that on here, and other people had great success with it as well. I was stuck for 2-3 weeks and did a lot of research, finding out about lemon water. I drank about 1/2 a gallon of it a day. I would use my 32 ounce cup with a built in filter and straw (it's the Jenny Craig one, available on eBay) because you typically drink faster with a straw. You would put about 2 ounces of lemon juice...not the little plastic lemons, but either fresh lemon juice or the Minute Maid 100% lemon concentrate. (NOT LEMONADE) It's frozen and contains the juice of 7 lemons. It can be found in the frozen juice section and comes in a box. You can adjust the amount of lemon you use, if you need to, and add more/less as you adjust to the taste of it. Don't add any sugar or sweetener. Back to me being stuck, when I started the lemon water, I immediately lost 4 lbs in the first 5 days of drinking it. That's after not losing ANY in weeks. So when I hit a plateau, I try to get back on the lemon water!
I also work out at the gym every other day. I do 20-25 minutes of cardio and about 50 minutes of resistance training on the weight machines. My child care situation is limited, otherwise I would go every day and just do upper and lower body on alternating days, but I can't do that, so I do it all in one day and then give my body a day to recover. I'm no fitness expert, but people who are have told me that you need to change up your workout routine every 6 weeks or so, so that your body doesn't get "used" to it and can keep shaping up. I personally don't do free weights but that's only because I'm too intimidated to go down in to the "pit" (that's what they call it at my gym) because it's all big guys and I would be completely out of my element, nor would I know what the heck I was doing! HOWEVER, if you are not intimidated and know what you're doing, GO FOR IT!!! Or get a trainer to show you the ropes. Hopefully, I'll get over my fear of it and do it because I know that's where a lot of the "sculpting" and fine tuning is going to come into play.
I know I have just hit you guys with a lot, but that's basically what I have done. It's nothing "fancy" or even rigid. I'm still trying to get better as far as nutrition is concerned, and I'm learning as I go. Don't beat yourself up if you have some weak moments from time to time and eat the wrong things. It happens, we all do it, and you just stay on the wagon, forgive yourself and don't let it defeat you. If you have a sweet tooth, Atkins makes a GREAT bar, it's called caramel nut chew or something similar, and it tastes like a Snickers bar, but is only 2 net carbs and the cals aren't bad on it either. I can't remember off the top of my head.
So, that's about it, really.If anyone has any other questions or needs a boost of encouragement, just give me shout!
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Can you buy a small container of it just to see if you like it?? (sample size) Did you actually count carbs, or did you just mentally watch them??? 
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Originally Posted by ASU89
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