Here is the women's flex plan for you: Breakfast 1 Dairy Serving 1 Protein Serving 1 Fruit Serving 1 Carbohydrate Serving Lunch 1 Fat Serving 2 Protein Servings 2 Vegetable Servings (2 Tbsp. Fat Free Dressing, if desired) 1 Carbohydrate Serving Afternoon Snack 1 Dairy or Protein Serving 1 Fruit Serving Dinner 2 Fat Servings 3 Protein Servings 1 Vegetable or Fruit Serving 1 Carbohydrate Serving 2 Vegetable Servings (2 Tbsp. Fat Free Dressing, if desired) Dessert 1 Dairy Serving 1 Carbohydrate Serving lean protein=55 calories, 3g fat dairy/protein=12g carbs, 8g protein, 3g fat, 100 calories vegetable=5g carbs, 2g protein, 25 caloires fruit=15g carbs, 60 calories carb=15g carbs, 3g protein, 3g fat, 80-120 calories fat=45 calories, 5g fat free food=anything 20 calories or less (you are allowed 3 of these a day) Protein is always the minimum stat required, everything else is the max

I flex enough meals that I only get a box ever 2 months or so. I've been doing that for a good while now. Last week every dinner was flexed since I was also feeding 2 kids every night.

NS is based on the ADA dietary exchanges and plan. If you want to learn how to eat on your own just call and ask a counselor for the day off plan. They'll break down what each meal counts as even further. It isn't exactly all about calorie counting... it's about getting the right ratios of protein, carbs, and fats in as well.

All this talk of tea got me wanting more... went into Teavana and now have [url=http://www.teavana.com/Th... Biscotti[/url] and [url=http://www.teavana.com/Th... Nut Brulee[/url]

I think you hit most of the bullet points. I get asked all of the time but I have an easier generic answer, it's Nutrisystem. But what it all boils down to is everything you said, and I do expand into each of those catagories as well. My advice to anyone that wants to start is always the same... don't take your diet so seriously that it makes you stress out over it, don't set unrealistic goals and expectations and don't think you can just jump in and do everything at once. Start slowly and work your way in if you need to. You have to be ready to do this both emotionally and physcially at the same time to get the results you want. I don't deny myself anything that I really want I just question whether I really need it and make myself think about it and wait before I go for it instead of making an impulse decision to eat something.

If you have a Teavana store near you, be sure to go in and smell all of the teas. I currently am using from Teavana: Chai/Chai Blend (Samurai and White I believe) Snow Geisha White Tea (Cherry Blossom) Zingiber Ginger Coconut Rooibos Tea Azteca Fire® Herbal Tea (really good with the Snow Geisha too) I originaly started out with an infuser pot... but then found it was more hassle than it's worth. I just use a 16 ounce measuring cup and dump in the leaves, my truvia and then add hot water (with ice cubes to make the water temperatures correct) and then let it steep the recomended amount of time wiht an occasional stir. I then strain it as I pour it into my 16 ounce mug. I've also used the large tea bags they make that you fill yourself and they work well but I don't get as much flavor as I do when using the previous method mentioned.

Congratulations!! You're racing to the finish line now. :)

If you're lifting properly there is no reason why you should be winded, sweaty or tired... I rarely ever sweat when working out. If you're building your muscles properly it's all about going slow and steady with the weights to build them up. If you're moving fast then you're probably not getting the full benefit of the workout.

[quote=Labhrain]. There is nothing "Slim-Fast" about Atkins. Just because the company makes the products available doesn't mean they are a required part of the plan. They are certainly frowned upon as meal replacements by Atkins, as well. That's nothing like Slim-Fast.[/quote] The advertising capaigns do lead people do do that though. They don't suggest you go learn about the diet, they just suggest you buy their products and market shakes and bars just like slim fast does. It is very similar. The boxes certainly don't tell you they're frowned upon as meal replacements. You'd have to be much more involved in Atkins to know otherwise.

[quote=wahoowa96]By the way, old school Atkins never advocated staying away from high fats. Yet another reason do discount your "knowledge" of Atkins.[/quote] Really? do you have the book from the 90s? I have a copy of it somewhere, I'll have to find it now. It does suggest eating leaner meats and not high fatty ones. I read that book many many times and was a very active member in the Atkins communities back then. We would write in and get advice from the clinic for free. The DANDR used to be our little bible that we always had handy for reference. I know it pretty well from front to cover. I challenge you to show me where it is suggested that you eat things extremely high in fats, especially saturated ones on a daily basis.

Eat your veggies... if you eat those then you won't find yourself feeling so constipated. Lots of healthy, green low carb veggies will do wonders for your body. :)

[quote=k8yk]I have often wondered about this. I see the advice over and over- don't eat the Atkins bars or drink the Atkins shakes, they make you stall. How can you trust a brand that would produce a product that doesn't work and that actually is detrimental to progress? Does the same company that sells the books and runs the sites make those products? How can you believe a word they say? I think it is mighty hypocritical of the Atkins company to make those things. I've read the Atkins book (original one) and I believe you are supposed to avoid processed foods, right? So why is it okay to sell these things? It's all about the money. Sad, really.[/quote] As an old school (read that as before he died) Atkins follower, I can tell you that the products and the actual doctor part are two different things. When he passed away the medical part pretty much went away and they turned into what I know refer to as the slim fast plan. I seem to recall his children kept the food business but they were not ever involved in the actual practice. It is all about the money now, it didn't used to be that way. Dr. Atkins was against processed foods. I learned about eating whole, unprocessed foods while on it. I ate healthier than I had ever eaten in my entire life while on it. I'd dare say even healther than what I'm doing now with Nutrisystem because I am using convenience packaged foods along with my whole foods. I was already into the lifestyle changes when the bars and shakes started coming out. They were not for phase 1 originally, they didn't recomend them for most phases of the diet and they did warn people that it could cause them to stall and instead encouraged us to eat our veggies and proteins (but say away from high fats and nitrates). As for the labels, I would never accept that as 2g of net carbs, it is 6g clearly marked. But they are not the only company guilty of fudging numbers on nutrition lables. Just take a look at Sobe LifeWater, they claim that it's 0 calories but then list carbs and have no sugar alcohols listed. If something is less than 5 calories they can claim it has none, even though a bottle of I can't believe it's not butter spray is really about 900 calories. Once you learn to read labels it's up to you to interpret it the way you want. I count my Sobe Lifewaters as 60 calories when I drink them instead of the 0 they tell me they are just to be safe. 6 carbs x 4 calories x 2.5 servings = 60 calories.

Height is directly correlated to weight versus size of clothing. I know people heavier than me that wear smaller sizes because they are shorter than me. I'm 5'7 and I'm wearing size 14/16 jeans at 185 pounds. I can wear the 14s but I don't like they way they fit in the stomach yet. When I was 155 many years ago I wore a size 8. Try not to compare yourself to other people. Unless they are the exact same height and build as you are then there is no comparison.

If I remember correlty the green is at 75% and then you'll get blue at around 5%.

I'm a Jif lover too. I think anyone that loves Jif understand what that means. :) I am a PB2 convert. I love the stuff mixed with sugar free syrups from Davinci.

[quote=MirrorImage]I'm referring to FS's daily totals, specifically for grams of fat, protein, and carbs. If you take the number of grams of each of these totals, and multiply them by the number of calories/gram and add them up, then the number you get is often, but not always, pretty far off from what FS gives for your total daily caloric intake. [/quote] Then check each food you've entered. The numbers are only as good as what you give it. If one of your foods is off then your total numbers will be off. Stop and look at each items numbers and figure out if the calories are right on it or not... I think you'll figure out where your problem really is if you do that. It's not the math from all items totalled, its that you have an item or two listed that are not correct in your daily foods listed.

Yep, put it on my droid back in May last year... haven't left it since. The app on the phone brought me to the website. I love this site. :)

[quote=MirrorImage]I've given up on looking for accuracy with Fat Secret. My actual daily caloric totals are consistently around 50 calories more than what FatSecret records. Check yours. Multiply the Carbs and Protein by 4, the Fat by 9, and add them together. [/quote] If your numbers are off its because the foods you are picking aren't accurate. Correct them in the database and your issues will be resolved. :)

Looking grat Kat :)

Grams are more exact than ounces as you can get more specific increments. Thats why you'll find packaging using them. Saying 28g versus 1ounce can give a variance on the 1 ounce quantity sinc most scales only weight on .10 increments and the grams are in 1 unit increments. I have yet to see a digital scale that did not measure in grams.