ArticCat -
Thank you SO much for your offer of support and question-answering.
I had such a hard time finding a message board for TSP.
I was trying to decide whether or not to keep with the low-fat, high-carb vegetarian diet that I found was not helping me to feel any better or have any more energy, or to give it up and try the SP plan (had been on Atkins with bad results - hair loss, insomnia, lethargy).
I kept going to her website, and, occasionally, I would email and ask why there was no message board for support and whether or not they would consider starting one.
I know that she and her staff have much more important things to do than answer my emails, but I just wanted to find a support group. In this day and age, I could not believe that she didn't have one on her website. I STILL find that hard to believe, even though I have the utmost respect for her.
I only wrote to her twice, but I never received a reply or even a referral to this board....ANY offer of assistance would have been helpful. Because there are NO SP doctors in my area - and in most areas of the country - the ONLY support we will find will be on a message board. The only reason I have even decided to give SP a try is because of some of the posts on this board. This is a very important matter, I would have to assume, for a lot of us. Being able to read about other people's experiences and to interact with them on a daily basis is just so vital when trying to change such a major issue as an eating/exercising disorder.
I can't even count the number of times I have referred others to the SP, only to have them come back with, "What, no message board?" One person commented, "She sells books and profits off of them and can't even provide a board for the support of her program." I'm not slamming Dr. S., but I have to admit that that confuses me, too.
I found this board from a Google search and had to wade through a lot to find it.
I even posted this website on Amazon (under book three) so that others would know that you are here.
I use to be on a vegetarian board - some of the meanest (and I do not say that lightly) people I have ever tried to talk with. If you did not agree with their "philosophy" of not eating meat, then you were the enemy - and they do not treat their "enemies" kindly.
On the vegetarian website, the doctor that wrote a series of well-known, low-fat/high-carb books would even come on to the website several times a week to answer questions.
Even though I no longer agree with his particular dietary "philosophy," I found his interaction with the group extremely encouragaing, to say the least. I know that he is an extremely busy doctor, yet he, somehow, found the time. I can't even tell you how that encouraged and fostered the morale of that particular group.
With all due respect to Dr. S, in this day and age, why would anyone NOT have a message board for support?
Well, at least I found you guys. You are all so great - must be those balanced hormones - haha! I came to the conclusion that the vegetarians are so darn mean because they are SO lacking in protein -- and, of course, fat, in any form, is poison! You do have to wonder.
I want to reiterate, I have the utmost respect for Dr. S.
She evidently feels very deeply about the detrimental effects of exercising and dieting ourselves to death's door - her books attest to that. I know that her program is not a diet at all, but a plan of well-balanced eating. Just wish she would pay someone to get a message board up and running.
Awww, I just looked out the window, and we are having the most beautiful snow. I live in a Chicago suburb - out in the middle of nowhere. Wow! Pretty. Great, big, beautiful, lake-effect snow.
Have a good day, all!