Jess' Journey

After over 2 weeks on here, I’ve decided to add my musings to the diary section. I’ve never been a big journal writer, but I quite enjoy reading others’ entries so figured I’d give it a try!

I’ll start with another intro (posted originally, but just to kick this off properly, I’m including an excerpt here.)


I'm Jess, 39 and this is my first proper attempt to lose weight in at least 10 years! Here's a bit about my dieting history:

• Lost a significant amount of weight about 11 years ago (over 100lbs) and did very well maintaining (within 10lbs either way) since.
• I never got "slim" but to the 190's and then started going out and celebrating new body (thus drinking!) and I never lost any more than that. I've been a US 14/16; UK 16/18 for many years and have been relatively happy with that.
• Only minor diet in past 11 years was a brief stint on South Beach after my daughter was born (to shed 15lbs of baby weight).

I’ve chosen Dukan now and at this point for several reasons:

• I’m turning 40 this year…. I’m not overly bothered by my physical size or appearance, but more so that I love working out, running, etc. and I know I’d enjoy it more with a few less pounds
• Heard about Dukan via the Middleton press and loved the Stabilisation and Consolidation phases idea
• My Mom visited over the Spring break and she’s yet again put back on more weight. She breathless at every little thing and can barely climb a set of stairs – that is not a position I want to be in when I’m 64. I was blessed to get her skin genes (she still looks VERY young) but unfortunately the fat ones too… that could easily be me in 25 years if I wasn’t paying attention.

I have found Dukan very easy to follow (without a food lapse to date) and here's why:

• The attack phase was a bit restrictive, but the results were amazing (11lbs in 4 days)! Once I made it past the first couple of days, any carb cravings disappeared
• The alternating rhythm of the plan lends itself to keeping you out of a rut. I do a 1/1 pattern (1 pure protein day and 1 protein/veg day) and that actually manages the keep it interesting
• If you are creative, it really isn't restrictive - I don't feel like I'm missing anything and I've NEVER gone this long without cheese (total cheese-aholic, so I thought! ).
• It does what it says on the tin... lose weight quick fast in Attack, slow down for a bit when move to Vegs in Cruise, and then it picks up again.
• The best part about this diet is the long-term commitment and plan to keep the pounds off! Its manageable (as you don't have to give up carbs for life) and its totally transitional... you work your way there slowly while having the major weight loss up front. My biggest fear in ever starting a diet was repeating my teens and 20's - yoyo dieting when I lost 30lbs only to gain 40lbs back. This is the absolute FIRST diet I have committed to since I settled in this weight 11 years ago and it was his plan to keep it off that hooked me.

So what I am doing food-wise (won’t go into any detail about the last two weeks) but I will say that my creativity is working. I love to cook and I’ve found I can make a soup/meal out of anything and I really, really feel totally satisfied.

I’m not a sweets eater, so I’ve been lucky on that front. Not even eating lots of yogurts (maybe one a day for the calcium). I’m making coffee/cinnamon gallettes for a snack (to get my oat bran) and I dabbled with the muffins, but I still haven’t mastered a batch that keeps well after the initial bake (but I’m trying!!)

I’ve had some problems with my tum – got the dreaded ketosis flu… not fun! But like everyone said – the post-illness period is euphoric… cleaning, working out, running around – all no problem! I’m definitely in ketosis as well as I tested yesterday with a dark colour (if you saw my post).

I’ve had two small lapses – a glass of red wine at a BBQ on Easter and then 2xglasses of Champagne during the Royal Wedding celebrations… but nothing with food. Not even oil, cheese, nothing!! Even when I’m making my daughter food (mac & cheese or potatoes or whatever – if it gets on my finger it goes on a napkin and not in my mouth!!) I’m feeling well-pleased about that J.

I’ve decided to make this a time goal, rather than a weight goal. I have no idea what I want to weigh (Dukan said 165 was good and I’m thrilled with that). The lowest I’ve been as an adult for any period of time was in the 190’s (and that includes my teens). I’m already at 187.9, so expectations are exceeded! I go on holiday early July (Portugal beach holiday and then back to UK for 2 days when I head to US – Houston and Vegas). I’d like to be on Consolidation then as I’m sure I’ll be able to manage that without issue. My guess is that I could be close to 170 by then, but if I’m 180, I’d be happy with that! I work out several times a week, so I know I carry a lot of muscle so I’m trying not to get obsessed with the scales (but that’s hard as you know when its going down!!!)

So that’s me… hope I didn’t bore too much – just wanted to get as much in there to sum up last two weeks.

Here we are then today… what did I do?


Food – PV day

• B= Coffee w/skim milk & Splenda, 1 x Egg, Chicken Breast, and Asparagus w/30g of Extra light creamed cheese
• L = My Cioppino soup base (in recipe section) with a Rock Turbot filet, 3x scallops, and 150g of baby prawn
• D= Grilled chicken breast, sugar snap peas & onions in a chicken stock (1xcube) with 1 tsp of cornstarch and dashes of Tabasco… makes it take kind of Cajun!
• S=1x 125 Fat Free Activia Raspberry yogurt. And will make 1x Gallette in a bit which is 2xTbsp oat bran, 1xegg, cinnamon, decaf coffee grinds, and Splenda

I drink loads of water all day (gave up Diet Coke too when I started this… I’m convinced that’s help with my cravings!). I’ll have a peppermint tea with my Gallette and that’s all I drink. This is a pretty standard PV day for me… Whatcha think??



Exercise

• Yoga/muscle strengthening for 30 minutes this morning
• 1x hour of Zumba in about an hour

I hope I did this right!! Sorry for the multiple posts… thought I’d break it up in a natural chapter like fashion J.

great start to a diary Jess, loving the stylish layout!

looking forward to reading more from you

Brilliant reading so far, Jess.

I hate to tell you this, but I think that sugar snap peas come under the same banned label as normal peas. Hopefully, someone with more knowledge will come along and either confirm or deny that. I love them, but have been avoiding them for this reason.

Your plan sounds like a good one, and one that you should be able to achieve and, hopefully, stabilise. You have a very good incentive, healthwise - as you say, you really don't want to end up struggling and breathless like your poor mum. I have asthma and can tell you that it has improved by a huge amount since being on Dukan and losing my extra weight. It's definitely worth all the effort for your health, never mind the fact that you should also feel and look slimmer.

Thanks for sharing - looking good so far!

your story reads a bit like mine, I'm a little bit older (yes it was *that* birthday, last year, that also made me act) except I never really dieted before and had been a size ~16 since my 20s, to a 16/18 when I finally got my act together last summer.

Your plan to be 'in Conso' on holiday is quite sensible - I kind of did that for my holidays last summer (no alcohol, no galas though) but came back (with a small loss) to Cruise on my return because I still had a way to go.

My mum, inspired by my efforts has also just lost ~10kg since Jan - yes I too seem to have inherited her genes and body shape....

The Activia yoghurt contains sugar. Not recommended... personally I steered clear of all fruit yoghurt till Conso, and then I made sure they were the Shape or WW ones with sweetener not sugar. I have *now* just bought the first pack of Activia 0% fat...
As you may have noticed we like to be strict around here Not sure about the sugar-snap peas either...

And for the Philly extra-light - try Quark (not Sainsbury but Goldenacre from Asda or the Tesco one) instead - same taste, maybe better, but 0% fat and no limits.

Thanks for sharing I look forward to reading more

Thanks so much ladies - I can TOTALLY see the benefit of this.

A few things in response...
I think I'm a victim of mixed messages in that I was originally coached from the website but I now also have the book. For my PV days I was advised ANY green veg was good except avocado which is actually a fruit. I've also got some mangetout (like them with the sugarsnap peas)... do you think they're okay?

RE: the Activia yogurt... this is getting really confusing as well. I can't tell you how long I've spent at every yogurt aisle in Aberdeen as I was searched for "fat-free" & absolutely no mention of sugar in the ingredients... the Activia I bought had that. The only sweetner was Aspartame (sic?) but absolutely no sugar (other than natural sugars from the raspberries, I assume). I originally bought the Mueller Light Vanilla & Toffee fat-free, but their labels have "sugar" in them... that's why I'm even off any fat-free vanilla as I can't find one that doesn't list sugar and aspartame as sweetner. So now I only use natural fat-free and add vanilla extract and splenda (except for a quick snack and thus the Activia)... PHEW!

Finally re: Quark - I'm totally there. I use it IN everything, but this morning I was hankering to spread it ON my egg for a little extra kick & thus the switch to Philly (an old fave of mine!). Most mornings I actually put Quark in my eggs (or whatever else). I also use fat-free cottage cheese.

Thanks again for the feedback and personal comments... I can already see why these diaries work !

can you get total 0% yogurt? i've found it to be the lowest carb yogurt out there and it is sooooo thick and creamy, it feels totally decadent eating it.

Emmma said:

can you get total 0% yogurt? i've found it to be the lowest carb yogurt out there and it is sooooo thick and creamy, it feels totally decadent eating it.

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Hi Emms, yes that's what I'm getting - all 0% fat yogurt (and everything else, it seems!! ). Just read a post about putting Vanilla Mueller lites in the freezer and that sounds yummy, so I may have to lift my ban on the Mueller Lites.

I quite liked the Activia yogurt - plus I liked that it was only 125g vs. the 200g pot of Mueller.

soshbfly said:

RE: the Activia yogurt... this is getting really confusing as well. I can't tell you how long I've spent at every yogurt aisle in Aberdeen as I was searched for "fat-free" & absolutely no mention of sugar in the ingredients... the Activia I bought had that. The only sweetner was Aspartame (sic?) but absolutely no sugar (other than natural sugars from the raspberries, I assume). I originally bought the Mueller Light Vanilla & Toffee fat-free, but their labels have "sugar" in them... that's why I'm even off any fat-free vanilla as I can't find one that doesn't list sugar and aspartame as sweetner. So now I only use natural fat-free and add vanilla extract and splenda (except for a quick snack and thus the Activia)... PHEW!

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Yes I agree completely. Anything ending in 'ose' (like fructose) etc is a sugar too. So I just steered clear of all fruit yoghurts full stop. For some reason the Muller toffee and vanilla were okayed (as in two per day max) by the powers that be so I did have those and the WW versions, but mostly stuck to plain which I sweetened myself or added cinnamon (experiments with ginger and mixed spice were not quite so successful!)

And for some reason I have now convinced myself (though I have no access to suitable info right now) that *for example* the activia 0% have added sugar, whereas the WW ones don't. Probably not true and they're all the same! Bottom line - beware of fruit yoghurts with bits in they should not be allowed in Cruise!

Plain yoghurt: I actually make my own now from UHT skimmed milk, and strain it to get a 'greek yoghurt' effect...

And I agree - quark, my life saver!! I dollop it onto salads as well.

I am never one to let a research issue go easily... and this is evident by the fact that the first thing I did this a.m. after entering kitchen was grab a pot of the Activia and look at (and up) the ingredients and here we go:

Fat Free Yogurt with Bifidus ActiRegularis® (Skimmed Milk, Skimmed Milk Powder, Yogurt Cultures), Raspberry (9%), Water, Fibre (Oligofructose), Stabilisers (Modified Maize Starch, Carrageenan, Xanthan Gum), Acidity Regulators (Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid), Concentrate Elderberry Juice, Flavouring, Sweeteners (Aspartame, Acesulfame K)

The only dubious ingredient to my still-untrained eye is the bolded one. I did look this up and it appears harmless as well:

Definition: Oligofructose is an oligosaccharide - a type of sugar molecule with several branches. Oligosaccharides are, for the most part, not digested in the small intestine, therefore they add very little to blood glucose. However, they are broken down via fermentation in the colon (large intestine) where they can contribute to the health of the colon (for this reason, they are sometimes called prebiotics).

Okay, besides now knowing how a*al I am , what do you guys think now? Not trying to beat a dead horse, but I REALLY did quite enjoy this yogurt (over the Mueller fruit ones) and its only 125g... come on ladies... whatcha think?? One 125g pot a day? I want to be strict and adhere perfectly, so if you still think its a no-go, I'll forgo as I'm doing this baby 100%.

I too am adoring quark having only rediscovered it quite recently.

I used mange tout that I grew in the garden last year (but not every day) and suffered no ill affects.

If you want to have your yoghurt I would go for one as a tolerated item (due to the fruit) and then if you start to stall it is something you know you can cut out.

I haven't touched mangetout either, Jess, except for occasionally during a Conso gala meal. Since peas are banned veg, I figure that they are also banned, being pea pods with little peas inside. I'd steer clear if I were you.

I agree with you that the Activia tastes far better than both the Mullers and the WW yoghurts. However, I believe that info from the Dukan site (which is often conflicting, admittedly) apparently stated that acceptable yoghurts in the UK were the toffee and vanilla Mullerlights and the WW vanilla, toffee and citrus. So I've stuck to those throughout - apart from a brief initial period when I did eat Activias, before I heard that they weren't suitable.

With the raspberry Activia, then I'd definitely advise you to avoid that as it contains pieces of fruit which are banned during Attack and Cruise. Looking at the rest of the range, it all contains pieces of fruit, with the exception of the vanilla variety - and that contains fructose syrup. So I'd say that it's wise to steer clear of them, to be honest.

Having said that, I did eat a couple of the vanilla ones whilst on a weekend away in London as they were the only fat-free yoghurts I could find within easily transportable distance of our hotel. It didn't seem to do me any harm, but I wouldn't want to risk them unless I had no other choice.

I had some of the shape zero yogurts to no bad effects at one point.

Moved onto the sweeten it yourself though to keep costs down, with the occassional purchase of the ww ones when needed for convieniance.

If youre not having other tolerateds and they are smooth go for it, if you stall or find you are getting hungrier than usual stop.

Otherwise hello and great start, youre very focused which is terrific.

4 May

Thanks again for the feedback. I'm taking it all in and appreciate the positive comments .

Today has been a cr*p day to say the least, but I'm lucky that I don't go to food when I'm stressed (now a glass of wine would be totally different, but its hardly mid-day!!)

Had a senior employee of mine resign, my UK Visa application came back today unfufilled as they changed the forms and fees 6 April and I mailed mine 7th April! I'm supposed to travel out of country for work 2x at the end of this month which will be impossible when my passport is at the Home Office, and to boot my internet has been down (I work from home so that's a necessity.) Fortunately, I can get on my neighbour's wireless.



On the plus side, I started the day well - did 30 mins of yoga this morning and discovered a new PP (albeit late) breakfast meal that I'm still eating:

• Mixed Quark with a bit of cottage cheese and some savoury seasonings.
• Added cooked chopped turkey strips
• Mixed in like a cheesy mixtures and spread inside slices of turkey and lean ham like little rolls
• Grilled thinly sliced turkey slices until crispy (saw this on another thread) and used them like crisps.

Looked pretty too And yes, I did nibble on some turkey this a.m. before my day got going - I'm not one to skip food 1st thing in the morning as I'm convinced it wreaks havoc.

Hope you all are having a better day!

Sorry you're having such a bum day Jess - it can surely only get better.
Can you sort the passport situation out for the end of the month?

Great diary, Jess, and it makes very useful reading. What a pain about your visa / internet - hope they get sorted out - but at least on the food side of things, it's looking good.

m-mouse said:

Sorry you're having such a bum day Jess - it can surely only get better.
Can you sort the passport situation out for the end of the month?

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I could pay an additional £400 to do the application in person (and a trip to Glasgow) but I begrudge that... I'm already paying £1000!!:sigh:

Will get everything back asap and hope for the best... will just have to buy a flexible flight and reschedule if needed... not much I can do.

Commiserations in the passport department!! And good luck to get it sorted. I have to travel to London to get mine (and the kids) done every time (German embassy) - lucky I live in Cambridge and not further afield!

Your breakfast sounds delicious! Amazing what one come up with isn't it And I agree - I could not start the day without breakfast either - definitely a recipe for disaster.

Poor you! Hope everything gets sorted out okay, Jess.