The Magic Bus Trip

Steve J

Dean will get that. Sadly. Oops

I'm a 43 year old guy living in Florida. Did Atkins back in the DANDR days. Worked well, lost the weight easily, and kept it off for a bit. Then the carbs creeped up. And with it, the weight.

Little by little, bit by bit, the death of a thousand carbs slowly had its way with me. Not enough to really notice or worry much. Time passes, life gets busy, pants get larger. More time passes, pants get larger again. That got my attention.

Having done so well on Atkins I decided to do a bit of Googling to see what had changed on the low-carb front. Found the LCF website and lurked there for a bit. I kept noticing a thread about ZC getting bumped up to the top a bit and wandered in to give it a read. A few days later and it was over to a strictly ZC forum.

It didn't take long to see that, IMHO, the strictly ZC forum was a bit too strict. Not in the choice of foods we are supposed to eat, but more in a "no math, ratios, calories talk allowed" sort of way. I needed more than just "eat meat & fat". 25/75? 50/50? 75/25? It didn't seem like the place to ask the question.

Found this place. Not only were questions allowed, but there are actually folks that will become human guinnea pigs to test out a theory. And even though their 30-day experiment showed you don't have to worry about excess calories on ZC, they were still willing to entertain the thought that if you want to lose on ZC a bit of calorie reduction will do the trick.

Ok, now I've got my fat/lean ratio of 80/20. I Google and find my daily protein requirements based on lean body mass. Sign up for Fit Day. Plug in some meat and tweak the quantity until I hit my protein number. Add in some butter until I get my ratio right. Viola, dinner is served. Well, once I bought a food scale.

I've got math, calories, grams of this & that, pie charts & graphs from Fit Day, historical writings from Stefansson and Banting and others. This would have made a heck of a science project back in high school. And that's partially how I'm doing this. Add a food in, check the results, gauge whether it works or not. It it works keep it. If not, away it goes. And onto the next experiment.

Feb 2nd I was 250. This morning I'm 236. All without being hungry, tired, or having to eat multiple times a day. I'm actually getting along quite well with a single meal at dinner time. Less time spent cooking and washing dishes. Shopping is a breeze.

Ok, that's (more) than enough for now.

Karen G · Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:14 pm Post subject:

Hi Steve J. 14 lbs in a month, that's great! Looks like you've got a great plan set up. Good luck to you.

Karen
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Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to loose - Recorded by Janis Joplin

Steve J · Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:41 pm Post subject:

Thanks, Karen.

I know a good portion of that was water weight, but allowing for the week or so where I was flying blindly and not getting anywhere I'm more than happy with the results of my little science experiment.

Last night's discovery - pepperoni & me don't get along for weight loss.

Heather L · Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:15 pm Post subject:

Welcome

Congrats on doing so well this past month. I'm glad to hear that you find it cozy here.
I agree, I also like a place that is safe to ask questions and experiment a bit. If things get way too constricted/unquestioned then I start remembering scenes from "the Wall" LOL

What a trip that movie was. Wow

Manaloa · Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 9:50 pm Post subject:

welcome!!!
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Manaloa

y0u · Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 10:15 pm Post subject:

Hey Steve J, this is indeed a great place to conduct science experiments and get great imput and support. I am still working on finding my happy medium for losing..and I am learning so much along the way...what a fun strange trip it's been. Grin

Welcome aboard!
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Flap-a-doodle-kick-a-poodle-kitty-kitty-cow-cow ~ Fat Freddy's Cat

Karen G · Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:38 pm Post subject:

Dean · Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 3:15 am Post subject:

to the Bus, Steve! Cool

I'm glad you found your way here.

We're all for experimentation. Wink

When you find your way to the back of the Bus, you'll find out just how much. Devil

Oh, when you do make it back there, and have some of Shawn's finest, go easy at first. Right now, there's a "vegetation show" going on, and it's trippy enough even without the Kool-Aid. Wow

_________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix

Every day you'll see the dust
Never get off the Bus!

Steve J · Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 3:54 am Post subject:

Thanks for the warm welcome, folks.

I do feel comfortable being here and won't hesitate to ask questions. And once I get a better understanding of how this all works (right now I'm just glad that it does work - and works well) I'll try to return the favor to those who are sure to be dropping in as we get closer to the spring/summer.

Yeah, about the 'veggie show'. Those photos were blocked at work when I checked earlier today. I'm not sure I should be peeking in there. Not yet, anyway.

y0u · Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:24 am Post subject:

Hey..they are just innocent little vegetables... Roll Eyes

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Flap-a-doodle-kick-a-poodle-kitty-kitty-cow-cow ~ Fat Freddy's Cat

Dean · Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:51 am Post subject:

Even innocent little vegetables get corrupted at the back of the Bus. Devil

_________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix

Every day you'll see the dust
Never get off the Bus!

y0u · Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:20 am Post subject:

jeff · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 3:42 pm Post subject:

Welcome, Steve. Glad you found us. You're off to a great start!

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Eat, Drink and Be Merry, For Tomorrow We'll Die