This is a long post - sorry about that!

Here's my compromises with the SB Program, and I'd be interested in hearing how others are dealing with it. (particularly those who don't have unlimited funds, time and/or a cook and maid)

There's no way I'll ever be "pure" enough for the SB Program, so I'm just adapting it. I can't afford much meat without hormones & other nasty stuff. Organic vegetables are very expensive and I don't have much to spend.

My time is at a minimum so her menus and recipes for the most part are not helpful.

Here's my menu for the day: AM - 1 protein shake shake (Unjury with low-carb milk); 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese, 1/2 cup fresh raspberries with a dollop of Cool Whip Free and Splenda. Lunch - Crock pot roast beef with onions & bell peppers, stewed tomatos & okra. I'll probably have more of that for dinner just before 5 when I leave work. I have a rehearsal tonight so I won't get to eat in the evening before 10. At that point I will have a low-carb popsicle or ice cream. I also take a very good vit/min supplement as well as policosanol and CO-enzyme Q10. My medications are: glucophage, diovan, sinemet, lamictal and wellbutrin as I am diabetic and have high blood pressure, restless leg syndrome and bipolar disorder.

I've had to make compromises just to work the program into my schedule and budget. I have to cook meat ahead and it has to be very tender and moist because I have a gastric band. I use frozen vegetables virtually 100% of the time. I use a liberal amount of low carb ketchup, sauces, cold desserts, milk products. They don't seem to make me stall and honestly, they allow me to stick with it. Otherwise I go nuts.

The bit about hormone testing is a problem. It doesn't look as though it is ever going to be offered through her website. I've read a lot of conflicting information about the best way to test and who's qualified to do it. There is no concensus that I've seen so far. If there ever is SB approved testing again, it will be too expensive for me. I did find a compounding pharmacist and my primary doctor gave me a prescription for bio-identical estradiol, estriol and progesterone. I'm post-menopausal. SB doesn't seem to think estriol is important - but I've read otherwise. One source thinks it's as protective against uterine cancer as progesterone. I have no way of being absolutely sure I'm taking the perfect amounts but our best guess will have to do. My skin is in much better shape and I sleep better since getting on the hormones.

Exercise - Ugh! I think I'm in the exhausted adrenal category and I do just a little exercise at present. I think she's right about exercise being too taxing for some of us. I use my blood sugar as a guide. When I do too much it goes up and stays there for a long time. That was a shock when I discovered it. It certainly is counter-intuitive.

Sleep - This is worst part. I stay up too late - can't wind down - and have to get up too early. I'm push it all week, try to catch up on weekends, but really pay for it. This is an on-going problem and is probably related to my bipolar disorder because that's notorious for messing up the body's clock. I'm working on at least being able to relax on a regular basis. I have short meditations with music and a very easy version of yoga I do three times a week. (I've been getting a massage once a week too - I wish it didn't cost so much.)

That's about it for my program. I'm finally losing but I resorted to an adjustable gastric band to help me manage my huge capacity to eat. It's certainly possible to eat too much protein and I did it all the time. I was hungry all the time and my cortisol levels are 3 times normal. All apologies to SB, but I can't afford to wait any longer to see results. I was just getting sicker and sicker. Now I've lost 20 lbs. and feel a lot better even though there's still about 150 to go.

Anyone else struggling with the Program?

i hope you get some sleep

I think any program can be hard. I also have to adapt to what I do with her. I don't do the testing, I don't want to. I want to do the best I can, and I do well when I follow her first book, not the others, although they have good info in them. I don't by the "organic stuff" either, I just do the best I can. Not all of us have the money of the people that go see her, and that is where she is somewhat out of touch. I love her eggs with the cream cheese, it is fast and easy to make.
Do the best you can, and you heal you should be able to make changes with the meds, and I think she would be fine with bioidendical hormones as she talks about that in some of her books.
Good luck,
Tanya

I guess I needed to see this thread. I got my husband following the SP,
he uses the last book as it is the shortest for him to read. Busy I guess.
I have read them all, but I still like the first one, as it addressed low serotonin,
and that's what brought her to my attention, that and weight control. Anyway, we have been really tight with money, may have to sell the house
and downsize, etc. So buying the right foods for him has been sort of difficult. Talk about being out of touch (I do the food shopping, not him)
anyway, I can find some of the foods at our Trader Joes, but I know they are
not available everywhere in the US. I can't afford organic, hfs anymore. Used to shop there more (like Whole Foods). Anyway, we do the best we
can, right? Wanted to say that gluten free is helpful to us both, seems to help with the weightloss and with my physical well-being. Thanks for sharing
here!

I think just eating much more whole food--whether its organic or not is a good first step,,,and I would guess it would be a trade up to buy fresh food instead of processed ...is junk food really cheaper??

I agree about modifying SBP to fit your situation the best you can. We can't afford organic either, and meat goes more than a day before being eaten, but that's the way it is, and I don't think that that sort of thing is worse than eating processed junk.

Frogbreath, good luck to you on your journey!!

I agree that it is difficult to make changes to an already hectic schedule. I had many of the same difficulties, but it comes down to priorities. I used to stay a lot later at work and never worked out, but as I got more tired and run down I realized that it was better for ME if I left work on time, most days, and got to the gym. It took me months to change my late night working habits and get to work earlier, especially since my boyfriend is that way and he didn't want to change. As far as cooking. I cook most dinners. I went out and found as many 30 min recipes as I could and I freeze leftovers. I make the time. Also, you should work on dropping the Cool Whip and Splenda. But it is only my opnion.

Arcticat-
When you started TSP did you gain weight or did you just start losing immediately? I am gaining quite a bit and feel very bloated. I am thinking of giving up wheat and seeing if that makes a difference.

are you in Healing or Maintenance, healing calls for you to be gluten free for at least 1 month, that was the first thing I did...

According to the self-test in her Program book, I have a healthy metabolism so that's what I have been following. I'm going to stick with this for 1 more week and then think seriously about doing the Healing plan.

I didn't track my weight in the beginning. I focused on what was going in my mouth, since I knew it was a whole let better than what it used to be, so I don't know if I gained, but I know I didn't loose or gain for me to notice. My weight came off VERY gradually, so I dont really know when it started. Just that I only lost 5-10 lbs over a year, but I have kept it off.