son- dog and pet- dog.

nope can't get my head around it

Watching Angel. Halfway through Season 4. Dude. Some *really* good fight choreography. (o ya, and 'Fred. The Yum!)

Mickey Mouse had a pet dog Pluto, and friend dog Goofy.

Dharma's dog had a dog.

OTOH? All fictional.

I have referred to my plan of getting a second dog as getting a dog for my dog. No prechewing in my house, though.

It's better than Caligula insisting his horse is a Senator, surely. I don't see the harm.

I've done Atkins, Fay, with pretty good success as long as I stuck to it. South Beach seems like it might be pleasanter to follow.

I've done South beach for a little while.

I liked South Beach, lots of vegetables to eat and I ;probably would have stuck on it more if I had cooked more, but I got lazy and didn't.

Did you find it successful, askye? Because this book I'm reading right now is making a pretty damn compelling argument for cutting carbs and cranking up protein, and even fat. I think I'm going to start officially on Monday - I'd been thinking I'd go with the WeightWatchers plan, which is easy enough - but now I'm thinking Atkins may be the way to go. Although I'm a bit gutted about having to limit which fruit and veg are appropriate...still, I think it's worth a try.

On an entirely different note - anyone here ever done the Atkins diet/South Beach diet/otherwise high protein & low carb kinda diet?

I did.

I dropped a ton of weight.

But more importantly than that, I learned a LOT about how my blood sugar affects my behavior and mood. I became aware of what the things went into me did to me in a way I never had before.

I also discovered that when I'm not eating cheap white carbs I'm not a compulsive eater.

Which is amazing, imho. If there are more than occasional cheap whites in my diet I'll do all the classic compulsive things-- eat when I'm not hungry, eat out of sadness or boredom and (most noteably) eat as long as there is still food. When I am restricting them (particularly sugar) those behaviors GO. A. WAY. The first time I left the last slice of pizza to be thrown away I nearly teared up -- traditionally I'd have eaten that if I POSSIBLY could have.

And I learned how to occasionally indulge. If I have refined sugar it isn't by its self or at the end of the meal. If I have pasta I have to have as much or more protien too. It keeps my blood sugar from giving that little bounce that, once I learned to feel it, was distinctly uncomfortable.

The first three days, btw, are the hardest and gave me a headache. I now cut out sugar for a few days and THEN cut the other refined carbs and it makes the transition easier.

So, that's me. And I can't speak for anyone else -- but I would suggest doing the first two stages of Atkins (induction for two weeks and then the less restrictive form) for a month or six weeks if only to potentially learn a lot about what the food you eat does to you.

I did see a difference, of course at first there's a more dramatic weight loss, but even in the second portion I saw weight loss.

Also even though sometimes I really wanted cake or cookies I never felt hungry, there's always the option of eating something more if you are hungry. The desserts int eh book wrent' that great, I remember, that, but that was my only real complaint.

atkins/southbeach diets - what I learned.

The induction periods give me headaches. I can't really do - no carbs/low carbs can be really bad for some people ( and yes, for those of us with diabetes - it can still be bad). However, the induction periods can teach you a lot. As in there is a lot of good food you are skipping by choosing the easy to eat and easy to find carbs. Many people eat 60+% carbohydrates. On my good days I eat 40 - 50% carbs. 40 to 50 % carbs for most women is living at the low end of carbs on the food pyramid. Percentagewise this means my fat is closer to 40 % of my diet.

I have a friend that swear atkins is the only way she loses weight. However, she yo-yos a lot. There isn't any room in Atkins for holiday gatherings , eating at friends', birthdays , etc. So she always seems to be starting over.

I think the south beach plan makes more sense. It takes you off , then slowly adds the 'better' carbs. I think it educates you and your palate.

I'm not actually against any plan - It just needs to be something you can live with.