Alpaca's stream of consciousness - IS BACK ON THE WAGON!

[Alpaca]

A thought and a request for you lovely gorgeous folk...

Could you put amounts/weights next to your foods for a while as I'm trying to work out if I'm eating too much/not enough etc... And I'd like to religiously copy your menus for a week and see what that does... Obviously only if you're losing on Atkins foods! No point in following someone who is struggling like me right now! Lol

Is that too cheeky of me?? I know you're all incredibly busy so pay no heed to me if it's too much...

I shall crack it ... I got a lovely compliment yesterday... The boss said that I'm whittling away to nothing! Slight exaggeration ha ha... But nice to have it

 

[TIGGERTOES]

Something that's always worked for me is get some natural yogurt in the fridge till chilled then apply it. (although messy and should only be done when you are alone and not expecting any guests of course. ) I've done that for years. If I'm out I use the pill/cream duo.

Hubs knows there's trouble when Rachel's natural comes out. Hehe.

 

[Dietkitty]

Uhm, don't know how to put this delicately so ......... if the foof has had any *ahem action* the other party involved should also be treated

 

[Scrumbles]

A thought and a request for you lovely gorgeous folk...

Could you put amounts/weights next to your foods for a while as I'm trying to work out if I'm eating too much/not enough etc... And I'd like to religiously copy your menus for a week and see what that does... Obviously only if you're losing on Atkins foods! No point in following someone who is struggling like me right now! Lol

Is that too cheeky of me?? I know you're all incredibly busy so pay no heed to me if it's too much...

I'm not exactly the poster child for consistent weight loss lately, but I'm more than happy to show you a sample week's menu with all the weights and stuff if you think it might help? Maybe one from earlier in the year when I was losing consistently? It's all logged in FitDay so it's no bother

I think the key, though, is to be as exacting as possible with the fats. I never just slop cream in my coffee, or slosh oil in a pan; I always use a measuring spoon, because those calories add up fast. And when I'm going to fry with a solid fat like butter or coconut oil, I always weigh it by the gram because otherwise I would probably end up using twice as much as I think I am. I never guesstimate cheese either - my appetite would always tell me to eat far more than the 30g I'm aiming to have!

I'm a bit freer when it comes to protein, though I do still weigh it. (I even weigh lettuce, but don't tell anyone ).

I shall crack it ... I got a lovely compliment yesterday... The boss said that I'm whittling away to nothing! Slight exaggeration ha ha... But nice to have it

You deserve every compliment you get - look at your signature, you've lost OVER A 100LBS!!! That's just crazy, and you should be proud of that achievement every. single. day. You rock! xx

 

[Quak]

Afternoon Di, lovely compliment indeed, and lets face it, you are 100lbs less than you were - so take the compliment and revel in it glad the foof is getting better lol xxx

 

[sammy1]

Hi hope you don't mind me adding what I know bout 'foof' (never heard that word before). Zoe harcombe talks bout it in her diet book. It feeds on vinegar foods and mushrooms, besides other non atkins friendly foods. Good foods to eat are garlic,olive oil, coconut oil, natural live yogurt and the supplement lactobacillus acidophilus. Her book us very interesting and is worth a read by anyone who suffers from candida. Good luck.

 

[ladyfelsham]

I have interrogated almost every coffee-selling shop in my parts of London ... even to the point of actually checking the carton to see the number of carbs.

You are not alone - I do that all the time Can't believe how many places use seetened soya - but it's not rocket science, if I want to add sugar, I'll add it!

And also echoing all of the above - one hundred pounds.....you marvel, you absolute marvel.

Sxx

 

[Alpaca]

Cals = 1893
Carbs = 32

Just back from dinner with pilot... Ate loads!! Hey ho

Night night xx

 

[Alpaca]

Up 1.5lbs this morning - I know I know, I wasn't going to weigh this week - but it's become so much part of my day that I couldn't help myself.

The increase must be because of the 2 small glasses of chenin blanc I had last night at dinner with pilot. I ate completely atkins (although who knows if there was sneaky stuff in it) ... after interrogating the waitress, I ate a smoked chicken and avocado salad starter, with 100% beefburger with side salad as a main - with 2 slivers of pickled cucumber and a half a thin slice of tomato. My foods yesterday did come to 1893 calories though ...

Anyway, the 'foof' is so much better that I'm starting strict atkins on Monday. The strict being:

back to taking my vits - still not started them again
drinking more water - some days I just don't get enough in!
2 cups of coffee with soya milk only each day - rather than the coffee plantation I'm now drinking
weighing / measuring everything

So, new leaf on Monday and will do a couple of weeks and see what happens.

Or, BIG QUESTION!

Do I come off plan for a week and kick start myself again? Your answers on a postcard please xxx

 

[Alpaca]

Thanks Alpy! I'm too pathetic to do JUDDDDDD just don't think I could manage the DD... I don't think I have ANY willpower at all! And to be honest, I'm not even sure I can eat properly anymore as I wouldn't really know what to eat and what not to! lol

Have been in the atkins vice-like clutches religiously for 13.5 months so maybe a little break is what my body needs.

I think Scrummie posted an article about taking breaks... will hunt it out.

 

[ladyfelsham]

Morning sweetie

Your post realy echoes some things I've been thinking about recently - I feel like I've been living and breathing dieting, calories, carbs and so on for so long, it's all I think about. Having this break has made me realise that I might still be the size of a house, but I feel a lot happier not obsessing about food all the time.

I think Alpy is right - take a week off, but still take your vits and drink lots of water - but because you're thirsty and it's hot (at least, it will be soon ), not because it's woe-related - and just see how you feel, then jump straight back into Atkins and se how you get on.

Sxxx

 

[Alpaca]

Just been reading about Leptin. I think perhaps my Leptin needs re-setting. I'm not scientific to really know what its about, but from what I've just read, the recommendation is to have 100carbs a day - keeping to the same overall calorie intake - for 2 weeks which is what they say is needed. Leptin is responsible for hunger - which is exactly what I've been experiencing even though I'm low carbing and it's also responsible for other stuff (brain stopped working at that point so I can't remember what the other stuff was).

But, perhaps I'll do a week or two first just following what I said this morning about drinking water, taking vits, reducing coffee and see what effect that has.

It makes perfect sense though that my leptin levels are messed up right now - only cos of the change in weight loss and the increased hunger I've been experiencing.

Any thoughts on leptin gratefully received.

xx

 

[Scrumbles]

Morning Di - this is what I posted The Full Diet Break | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

I think you should try it. It's a bit scary - and you really should hide the scales while you do it! - but I think it could work for you.

I did 100g carbs and 2000 cals, but you needn't go as high with the cals if it alarms you.

I'm in a losing phase at the moment, but as soon as I stall again I'll be doing another diet break - apart from anything else, I found it gave my mind a rest from dieting, and that is incredibly valuable when you've been trying to lose weight for a long time.

 

[Alpaca]

That's perfect Scrummie and absolutely what I was looking for - thank you SO much! Did you increase in the veg department only or also in grains/pulses? Did you include sugar?

 

[Scrumbles]

Not entirely sure to be honest, but it's all in FitDay so give me a few minutes and I'll have a look

BRB...

 

[Scrumbles]

Okay, so here's a list of what I added over the two weeks:

milk, rice cakes, 85% chocolate, greek yoghurt with a 2 teaspoons of raspberry jam in it, jacket potato, oatcakes, reduced sugar baked beans (half a can on any given day), frozen peas, humous, red kidney beans, red wine, Heinz tomato soup, crisps (once, with the wine).

I wasn't going to have anything sugary, but there was this pot of jam in the fridge that had been there for months so I decided to use it to flavour the yoghurt. Got away with it, but probably wouldn't do it again. The soup and the baked beans were both one-offs and felt "risky" at the time, so I wouldn't have those again either.

My main way of jacking up the carbs was with potato, I guess, and I was fine with that. The oatcakes were a handy addition if I was a bit carb-light by the end of the day. I also gave myself bigger portions of things like onions, garlic and tinned tomatoes because they're quite carby. Starchy veg like peas and carrots featured quite often as well.

What I didn't have (other than the jam and one packet of crisps) was anything wheat-based, or any outright junk - no bread, cake, biscuits, chips, pizza etc. It may be slightly against the spirit of a true diet break, but I didn't want to take the risk of re-igniting cravings in a big way. I've been a huge sugar/bread/cake junkie for years and it's been hard work weaning myself off that stuff, so I felt it was safer for me not to go there.

So, yeah, carby/starchy veg, oatcakes, rice cakes and pulses were my main ways of adding carbs, plus much bigger portions of things I was already having in moderation, like strawberries.

Hope that helps a bit!

 

[Alpaca]

That is SOOOO helpful Scrummie!! I'm more of a lentils pulses person so might look into that too... What made you decide not to have the baked beans again? Were you keeping an eye on the scales? Cals? Carbs? Or was it a gut feel ?

Doesn't really look like you came off plan too much! Although I'd love to re-introduce onions, carrots squash tomatoes and strawbs!

Did you reduce fats while doing it?

So sorry for all the questions but I think it's what I need to do! Xx

 

[Scrumbles]

I just felt the baked beans tasted too sweet, even though they were reduced sugar. I guess my tastebuds are now so sensitive to sugar that they set off alarm bells quite easily!

I was definitely tracking the cals and carbs, if only to make sure I was getting enough of both. When you're so used to avoiding carby food it's quite easy to go short. That said, if I'd allowed myself more grain-based stuff it would have been much easier to get the carbs, so if you go that way, I'd be careful. A couple of thick slices of wholemeal bread is about 30g carbs, so that's nearly a third of your day's carb allowance gone in one sandwich (without including the filling!).

You're right, I didn't go far off plan, but it was enough to feel like I was having a break and "indulging" myself - I loooooove jacket potatoes with butter, so that felt like a real treat to me. And yeah, big ol' bowls of strawberries and cream were very welcome!

I didn't deliberately reduce fats, but I was eating more calories in total and the additional ones were mostly carbs, so the percentage for the fat naturally comes down. I went from being at 67% fat/27% protein/6% carbs to something like 55% fat/25% protein/20% carbs. I tried to hold protein as a constant throughout because I think it's important to get enough of that at all times.

If there's anything else you want to know, just ask!xx

 

[triage999]

Afternoon Di,

If you remember I had a huge stall a few weeks back, just couldn't get stop bouncing between 10.10 - 10.7 for love nor money without starving myself!!

I then went away on my spa weekend and just had 3 days off plan in total and hey presto I've dropped 11lbs in 10 days since coming back.....!

I ate potato, drank more alcohol than you can shake a stick at and ate crisps and a couple if biscuits with full fry ups each morning including toast and hash browns!

Yes I'm now doing S&S on my return but I'm still incorporating food such as my Caesar Salads with loads of chicken and anchovies along with coleslaw and Parmesan so not strictly S&S'ing...but it seems to have worked and I'm not starving! So a diet break does seem a good option....it always seems to work for me and I think the metabolism becomes so used to Atkins it becomes sluggish once again....

It's a bit like when you join the gym, if you stay doing the same excercises for 6 months you get good results in the first 6 weeks then nothing....hence why instructors change the plan every 6 weeks now as it gives your body the shock it needs into having to change its workings again!

I say have a mini break, even if it's just a few days!

J x

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins

 

[Scrumbles]

^^^

ITA. Doing something different is the key; exactly how different you make it is up to you really.

I chose not to go too far off plan 'cos I'm a scaredy cat, lol, but really you could have whatever you want within the cal/carb budget.

Have a bit of a think and a plan and see what you come up with...it's rather exciting when you get going on it, trust me!