I have read those books but never started them because I thought I couldnt stick to them...I have tried he Curves diet twice before and after losing 4 lbs I fell off the wagon...LOL but I am in for the long haul this time. I am not having as many cravings or anything, everything in moderation..like I ate on vanilla wafer and that was a "treat" for me.
The other night I made this concoction...1 tbsp peanut butter, 2 tbsp cool whip and 2 tbsp cream cheese and dipped some plain pork rinds in it and it satisfied my need for peanut butter
I froze the remaining mixture in a shot glass---I wonder how that will turn out..??
Anyway, I highly recommend using fitday.com to track your foods etc.. and these forums have been extremely helpful..They keep me motivated too!!!

We dont have any classes going on in our Curves yet,but I think I January they will start.

Good Luck to all...Happy LC'ing

Thanks for the welcome. One thing I was wondering while reading the book from Curves was that if the original book he wrote is still available somehow... has anyone tried looking for through their local library or anything like that?

It's just that to me the book from Curves kinda feels like a "Readers Digest" version of what to do, it would be interesting to read the complete book.

Sandra

Mjsturg1, you're kickin' tookus!



I got messed up yesterday. Woke up at 3:00 am & couldn't get back to sleep this morning & had to eat earlier than normal. Uh-oh, it's only 12:15 and I've already had almost 1,000 calories! Oh well, maybe it will even out over the 2 days?

Mj, you've been on it since 11-4, right? Schwarz, you start 11-11, I started 11-6 (I've always got to be different ). That's good, that means we'll be cruizin' phase 2 together. I have a feeling I will stall pretty quick, though. Hopefully not, I'd rather start phase 3 after I've reached my goal.

Mj, have you decided how long you will stay in phase 1? You don't have that much to lose.

You guys have any ideas for getting more protein/less fat? What are your percentages? I've been eating shrimp, ham thought about tuna but I can't stomach it w/out Miracle Whip! I really don't like the shakes. BUT, I guess I can suffer for a while!

Hope you all are doing great and staying motivated!

Amy

Hi Sandra,

We must have posted about the same time...

I searched Amazon and several used book sites to no avail. Only his current book shows up. I was wondering about it myself. I'll ask at Curves Monday to see if anyone there knows about it.

See ya,

Amy

I'll ask out my way about a possible 'original' book too. I sent a message through the Curves website inquiring about an 'original' version of the present-day book also. We'll see what comments come back. ...I'll keep you posted.

I'm in the midst of making my grocery list to get things ready for next week. Are you girls following the diet plan directly from Heavin's book, or are you following just any LC plan but using Heavin's guidelines?

Question: I'm just looking at Monday's menu for the High Protein menu. What size of portions should I be going by for things like cottage cheese & strawberries, or salad, etc. It's fine to give an idea of the food you're supposed to eat, but how much of it should we really be taking in? Or am I supposed to be following the 1200 cal plan even though I'm going for a high protein diet?
I'm a bit confused here!

I am assuming that you did the test in the book to see if you were carb intolerant or affected by calories...

As far as the low carb part , you can have UNLIMITED protein and 20g of carbs so for me... I eat cantaloupe for breakfast which is normally a big chunk of my carbs for the day (usually like 10)
I have tuna w/some hardboiled eggs for lunch and some sort of meat/cheese and green beans for dinner for snack I eat a sugar free jello w/cool whip.
Also I might snack on pork rinds or sunflower seeds...

Really the only portion control you need is when carbs are involved...ex// fruit and veggies etc..

I will only stay on the first phase for a week,the Monday I will increase my carbs to 40g...

I am doing the <20g carb plan, but limiting it to 1500 calories a day. I found before that I can't lose above that. I'm hoping with the exercise, that will change.

For protein, I've been eating low-fat cottage cheese, cold shrimp, skinless chicken thighs (don't like white meat), ham, and I had a few rib eye steaks that I finished up. Can't do THAT for a while, too much fat for this plan. I still don't know if he's recommending more protein grams than fat grams, or if it's a percentage of calories for the day. BIG difference. Any thoughts on that? With the other LC plans I did, fat was always the highest percentage. Hmmm.

For carbs, I try to eat low-carb veggies, like those red peppers and spinach! Does anyone know how many carbs in a VERY well cleaned out potato skin? That's the best part, anyway!

I also like homemade chicken soup w/no noodles, just broth and chicken. Especially this time of the year!

Hey Mj, do you know your calorie counts for the day? I always wanted to think calories didn't matter, but I've found they do for me. That's why I hope Heavin knows what he's talking about. I don't want to eat like a pig, but some days I would like to be able to get up around 2000 without falling apart! Well, actually, I just want to be able to NOT worry about it at all, ya know?

See ya later!

Amy

I went through the little tests in the book & yes ...I'm carb intolerant. I've known this for a while being hypothyroid ...has similar symptoms to hypoglycemia.

I guess what I get hung up on is the fat thing (having been on Atkins who allows unlimited fats). If I have to limit my fats now, how should I look at something like ie: cottage cheese. The higher the fat content, the lower the carbs are. Yet if I now have to lower my fats & go for the low-fat cottage cheese, it is automatically higher in carbs (even though low-fat cottage cheese is lower in calories than regular cottage cheese). So ...which is the better of the 2 evils???

Regarding the low fat vs low carb debate and which is the better way to go. I think it comes down again to what your body can tolerate and what your taste preference might be.

The program I've had the best results on is a clinical program here in Canada - Dr. Bernstein which is both low carb, and low fat - so when it comes to specific products he will take the low fat road - ultra low fat cream cheese, ultra low fat miracle whip etc. I don't mind the cream cheese so I've stuck with it, but I found the miracle whip absorbs into the product (ie tuna fish) I mix it with, so I've gone back to just the "light" version.

I think sometimes we can get too focused on toeing the line with a specific program. I've decided if I prefer something one level away in order to be able to eat something - then that's what I'm going to do. For example I'd never get any tuna eaten if I didn't have a good whallop of miracle whip in it, and I just don't believe those 2 or 3 extra tbsp are going to put me over the edge. I've still had amazing weeks of 4 lb losses.

Trust yourself and your body!
Sandra

Thanx Sandra ...now I've got a bit of an idea to go by. So ...I guess the low-fat road will be the preferred way if my taste buds can handle it.

I'm right there with you, Schwarz. I was struggling a bit with the fat thing myself. You know what though, he doesn't make a big deal about the fat content, and I don't think he ever says 'low-fat', he says 'lower fat', so, makes me wonder if we're stressing over nothing. Although I still don't know if he would go by actual grams or % of calories.

I have 2 cartons of cottage cheese right now; 4% fat which has 4g carb per 1/2 cup and 1% fat which has 5g carb per 1/2 cup. Not much of a difference. They were 2 different brands.

I HATE most low-fat things, such as cheese. I'd rather not eat it at all! Sandra, I'm the same way with tuna! Gotta have the Miracle Whip (light is fine). I'm really going to pin down the owner of the local Curves this week. They were at a Curves conference in Florida last week. I'd like to hear what they have to say. It's too bad Curves doesn't have a forum.

Amy

I am also following the Curves diet. I started Oct. 28, and have lost 5 lbs so far. I had lost 2 lbs the 2 wks before when I started the atkins diet. But I think that I need to limit my calorie intake also so that is why I decided to follow the curves method. I started going to Curves 1 yr ago with very little results. Tried lowering my calorie intake. I lost inches but could not seem to shake the lbs. I had to stop the curve classes because of back problems, but am now following the diet. My husband & I are going to Punta Cana in Jan. and I really want to lose weight before I go. The plan says if you have more than 20 lbs to lose then you should follow phase 1 for at least 2 wks. I am doing 20 g of carbs & 1200 cal for 2 or 3 weeks then will go to phase 2.

Have a good day...

Welcome Angel! Glad to have you join us & work through this WOE. Let me initiate you to our thread by bombing you with lots of questions.

Are you doing your diet under the supervision of Curves or are you doing it on your own? You started out with the Atkins diet but are now doing Heavin' diet? Are you noticing a big difference between the 2 diets? Are you really supposed to do Phase I longer than 2 weeks? How have you found the last almost 2 weeks being on Heavin's diet? (has it been difficult to stick with it? makes you crabby? etc) How do you do the 20 g of carbs & 1200 cal together? ...do you just follow the 1200 cal plan & substitute any carbie things (Melba toast, carrots, etc) with protein? Do you drink the shakes? (do you get the Curves brand?) What supplements are you taking? Is your 5 lb weight loss in addition to the 2 lbs you lost while on Atkins?

Way to go on loosing the 5 lbs!!

are you trying to scare her off?!? Just kidding, those are great questions. As Nat posted on another thread, it's VERY hard to do both low-carb AND low-fat. It's not something I want to do forever!

Welcome, Bonnie, you're braver or more disciplined than I am. 1200 calories with low-fat would leave me hungry all the time. I'm chicken, aiming for 1500.

Well, I gained a lb after my 'foo-pah' (as my hubby would say) yesterday (68g carbs-even though that was way too high, it was still way over 20). But I'm sure it's water, so back to the grindstone today.

I'm going to ask the following questions at Curves tomorrow, would you gals like to add to the list & then we can all ask and compare notes? I'll probably have to wait for someone to call me later in the day as the morning staff doesn't seem to know much about the eating plan.

1. Can you give me a guide as to how much fat I should be eating, either percentage-wise, or gram-wise?
2. How long should I go without losing any weight before I move to phase 3 to jump-start my metabolism?
3. Is Gary Heavin's first book, The Sweet Joy of Sugar Free Living, available?


Amy