It's really been a couple weeks since the last post?? Time really has gone by FAST!! I'm a big fan of sf jello myself, Lady C. I always have some ready to go in the fridge..
How have you been, by the way? I have since we last talked gone completely off course, but I am ready to start up again.

Oh, guess what. Binion's has let the temps go, so now I'm on a mission to find something else! I'm not on bad terms with Binion's, and I'm sure I'll get a good recommendation.

Do you work anywhere?

i have the luxury of being a stay at home bum i used to be a stay at home MOM, but my kids are grown and gone now. but since my youngest got a job, i do the babysitting now!

i figure i paid my dues. i was a single mom for years working my fingers to the bone to support them with no help from their father. when mark and i got married he told me he would rather i quit work, stay home to keep my kids out of trouble (they were hitting that rebellious early teen stage), and help with my dad... my parents lived next door at the time, and my mother had her hands full caring for my dad who was incapacitated. since then i've just never gone back to work!

sorry to hear about binions. i didn't realize you were just a temp there. my neighbor just got hired working the cage at binions a couple of weeks ago. i think it's the cage anyway. she really wanted to be a dealer, she sure paid enough for her education in dealer school!

i haven't gone off course, but i have to admit i did a fair amount of cheating for a couple of weeks. always taking carb-blockers when i cheated, and still avoiding sugar like the plague. i didn't gain weight during that time, but i sure didn't lose anymore.

i started back being strict again a week ago, and the weight is not coming off nearly as quickly as it was in the beginning. instead of a few pounds per day, i'm lucky to lose a half pound. it's almost discouraging! but i know that the rapid weight loss isn't supposed to last forever anyway, even without cheating.

i'm considering taking a nap in the pool on my little green float... i'm hoping it's not too windy to enjoy!

Lady C, you have a pool? Sounds really nice at this time of year!

Yes, I was just a temp, but they led me to believe that I would be able to stay permanently. I'm on good terms with them, and they said I can re-apply in 3-4 months. Hopefully at that time I will no longer be looking for work.

When I was strictly following low carb, and I even thought I'd eaten a little bit too much carbs, I would take a carb blocker pill also. I usually have a bottle of them (but not at the moment). Do you think they work? I think that they actually do. My first post ever here was a question about taking carb blocker pills during Atkins Induction (where your're only supposed to have less than 20 grams of carbs per day). Everyone was like, They don't work, Don't take them, Not worth it, Gives you Gas, etc. But for me the pills are really helpful. I take the white kidney bean ones. How about you?

LOL, oh yes, i have a pool... two, actually, and pool-boys to keep it sparkling clean.... and a staff that keeps my lawn.... i live in an apartment and i'd much rather live the high life in an apartment than live with any HOA rules and regulations!

i've read so many things about carb blocking pills... some say they work, others say it's all in the heads of those who WANT them to work. but i'll tell ya what, as long as the carbs i take in are starches and not sugars, i don't gain any weight when i use the pills. i don't LOSE any, but i don't GAIN any either, so i do think they are at least fairly effective!

i've heard that ALA works even better... i forget what it stands for... alpha linoleum acid or something like that

but the ones i use are called 'carb blockers', they come in blister packs in a box that includes a CD to tell you all about them... they're cheap! like $9 for 30 pills or something like that. and yeah, they're from the white kidney bean extract.

Yes, I know that brand. I think they were on sale at Wal-Mart. And I got the CD also. Ha! I've also tried Carb-intercept. I was so interested in the ALA pills that i googled it--Alpha Lipoic Acid and you're right, it is used for blocking carbs and converting the carbs into protein. That sounds like something I would like to try. If I could ever find it, I don't think I've ever seen them before. Maybe I just never looked.

I live in an apartment also. It's an older one, I think built in the 70's. I like the complex and the owner, who is an older Greek gentleman. He has let us slide until the next payment on rent before, and we are on his good side. That makes us want to stay, but truthfully, I think we may be moving soon if I don't find a job closeby. Seems like all the good jobs are further away from the downtown area.

Another week coming up...I'd better look in the paper and see who's hiring. Talk with you later Lady C.

our apartment complex is a bit older too, but it's managed by ovation properties which has all sorts of luxurious apartments like firenze and verona, complexes which are WAY out of my price range!

we pay a thousand fifty for a 3 bedroom... that's QUITE enough, thank you! if i'd just kicked out our former roommate a few weeks sooner than i had, we'd still be paying in the 870-range for the two bedroom one we were in.

they won't let us slide on the rent beyond the 5th of the month, but we've lived here for six years, and really like the staff.

as for the ALA, i know you can buy them at netrition.com, where i buy almost everything else, but i haven't bought any yet. i'd guess that you could probably find them at rite-aid in the GNC section, but i haven't looked there either.

hey, i have never been a huge sweets person, or chocolates person.... but i've been craving both since going LC lol. guess what i found yesterday at the walmart neighborhood market? low carb ice cream bars with a chocolate shell! and they were GOOD! now if they'd just do a lc ice cream sandwich....

and i found some low carb bread too, by aunt hattie's. it's really good... both the ice cream bars and the bread slices are only 5 net grams.... i think i'm in heaven.

i also tried a sugar free low carb version of "fantasy fudge", you know, the kind you make with kraft marshmallow cream if you're not on a LC diet. it turned out ok, but a little strong.... it needs some tweaking. i'd have tried it sooner but i had to order alot of the ingredients from netrition.

Those treats sound really good. Yesterday I went to the 99 cent store (it's really close by) and I actually found some Sweet-n-Low Choc-Cherry bites with 2g net carbs. I was sort of suprised, but sometimes they do have low carb items. I really like the Atkins endulge bars. Wal-mart does carry a large selection of Low-Carb products, huh?

Well, I've decided to join the gym again. I've been having a really difficult time staying on track, so I'm hoping that if I start exercising, then that will motivate me to stay on track. I think I will sign up at tonight. It's only $20 a month at the place I go, which is a county-run Sports Complex.

It sure is getting hot, isn't it? Enjoying the pool? If we do move, we will have to find a place with a pool and fitness room.

Lady C--
Today we are moving in to a new apt. I have since leaving Binion's found a new job and we decided to both be closer to work (we work at the same restaurant). I think this move will signify a new chapter in my life. I'm hoping to continue with a low-carb lifestyle and incorporate exercise into my free time. I was reading on the homepage of this website about the first low-carb lifestyle book written in the 1860's. It's actually pretty interesting. Well, I'd better get going here. I have to get all my info switched over. Have a nice rest of the week.

congrats on the new apartment, and the new job!

i had overlooked your last post, sorry... i have a hard time finding many low carb things at the walmart neighborhood market. i don't go to the big walmart often. i need to ask the market to carry more things... they DO carry the hood calorie countdown (low carb) milk though, which is good for when i want something sweet, cuz i have to have milk with sweets!

albertsons seems to have the best selection. i hate going to albertsons. but they carry walden farms brand of bbq, alfredo, syrup, salad dressings... and they carry russel stover chocolates, the low carb ones. i LOVE their "net carb chocolate truffles"! they're awfully pricy, but they're sooooo good! and only 0.2 net carbs per piece. you have to try them!

did you know hungry howie's has a low carb pizza? their thin and crispy crust... i'm getting a five topping pizza, and each slice only has 11 carbs. that's including onions, green peppers, pepperoni, beef and sausage....

i plan on eating LOTS of it, so i just took my carb blocker pills LOL.... that delivery guy better get here quick, i'm hungry!

ps, the pool has been my best friend lately

Hey there! Long time no chat! It took longer than expected to get the phone line switched over. I had no idea of all the different low carb products (like sweets) on the market. Those truffles sound awesome! Really. By the way, where is a Hungry Howie's? That sounds like something I'd really like to try. And I'm glad I'm not the only one who relies on the carb pills when indulging also. I'm currently out of pills. I took a special "trip" to Vons today just to get some, and they didn't have any at all. I use the Natrol brand for $5.99 at Walmart. I love Wal-mart!! In my opinion, they do work just about every time for me. Especially if I just go a little over my set amount of daily carbs.
I think I'll be keeping a lookout for more low-carb items at the regular grocery stores.

A question: How long have you followed a low carb diet? For me, I think it's been on/off since 2002, after I read the Atkins book. I think it's fairly easy to follow too. I noticed that after not eating carbs, I really don't have cravings for them .

oh girl, i've been craving carbs like crazy lately! i had DREAMS of cap'n crunch berries cereal the other night LOL. don't worry, i didn't have any. in fact, i can't even figure out why i wanted THAT cereal anyway! applejacks or fruitloops maybe, or even honeycomb, but capn crunch??? well maybe because it has less sugar than the others and my brain was registering that fact :P

of course, aside from weird moments like that, my only real high-carb cravings are mexican food. yummm......

oh, and i started low carb on march 12....

ok, hungry howie's... the one closest to me is at vegas valley and nellis. according to their website, the only other one here is on the 1500 block of n. buffalo... so way east, or way west... if you're somewhere in the middle you're SOL.