Canadian's Weight Loss Diary

[Canadian]

The protein powder seemed to work! Or maybe it was the chocolate milk. Either way, 90 minutes ago I was famished and now I'm no longer hungry. I'm happy to say today was another DD success! I just hope the scale is moving in the right direction. I don't plan to do a liquids only fast every DD but I may plan to do it one DD per week or something like that going forward. We'll see.

 

[Lovehatecarbs]

I'm going to take a break from weighing myself. Based on what I'm doing I should be losing but the scale said 212 this morning! I'm trying to be rational about it - I drank a whole bunch of water yesterday evening, after all, and do feel bloated this morning - but it's nonetheless so, SO discouraging. I don't want to give up on this diet because reading about other people's successes has me convinced that it can work for me too, and it's something I know I can stick with long term. So that's why I may not weigh myself again until the end of the month. In the meantime I need to just keep putting one foot in front of the other - metaphorically and literally - and trust that I'll eventually see the results I'm so desperate for.

I'd like your thoughts... I'm seeing mixed opinions about lower calories on UDs. I haven't been deliberately eating below my allotted calories on UDs but I haven't been counting either. On another site I noticed some posters say they didn't start losing significantly until they increased their UD calories. Yet some say if you're quite heavy to start with then shaving off a few hundred calories shouldn't hurt as long as total intake isn't low enough to send one's body into starvation mode. What do you think? I'm reluctant to deliberately increase my calories because I'm scared I'll gain more weight...

I agree - have faith in the diet and yourself, count your calories and weigh in after a couple of weeks. The scales were all over the place for me but gradually moved down - good luck

 

[Canadian]

Thanks! I'm hoping I'll do the same as you and gradually see a loss. It's so motivating to hop on the scale after a DD and see a smaller number, but I think the problem is I've come to expect that. Now that I've been doing JUDDD for a few weeks, progress is slowing down. I've seen a lot of people say the same thing, so I know I'm not alone.

I'm going to have to be more mindful on my next UD. The good news is I filled up on a bunch of fresh fruit - blueberries and watermelon. The bad news is I drank Coke, ate a bunch of crackers and had a donut, among other things. (The annoying part is I don't even like donuts so I have no idea why I ate it.) I went crazy for carbs today and didn't even work out. So I probably cancelled out yesterday's excellent DD. Oh well, tomorrow's another day. I'm determined to end July on track and headed in the right direction!

 

[Lovehatecarbs]

I've just started mixing it with low carbs to give it a boost as I've stalled - but that was after I'd put 4lb back on - I've lost 2 of that. Major carb cravings yesterday - need some low carb snacks to save the diet

 

[Canadian]

Mixing it up sounds like a good idea, Lovehatecarbs! (What a fitting name you have, LOL!)

 

[Canadian]

I'm not doing a liquid fast today, but I am aiming for another ~600 calorie DD.

So far I've had:

2 cups of iced peppermint tea
2 cups of water with lemon juice
Green beans with fried garlic mushrooms...with the cooking oil added in, my very rough estimate is about 350 calories

I have such trouble estimating calories! It seems so tedious and I don't want to spend my day looking up the calorie count on the foods I'm eating! But I also don't want to eat prepackaged foods with nutritional labels on them every day either because I feel a lot of prepared foods are unhealthy. So estimating it is, then. I think I do tend to overestimate my calories simply because I'd hate to underestimate them and sabotage myself.

Will either have tomato soup or a protein shake for dinner tonight, depending on whether I feel like something hot or cold.

 

[Canadian]

I lasted until 8pm and then blew my DD. Disgusted with myself.

 

[Canadian]

I've been frustrated and took a break from JUDDDING but I'm back and ready to try again. DD tomorrow. Need it badly. Have probably regained the few meager pounds I was able to lose in July. Blech!

 

[Canadian]

It's the middle of the month - so hard to believe! I haven't weighed myself at all in August and I haven't been JUDDDing like I should. I'm afraid to get on the scale. But since it's the 15th I figure it's the perfect time to make changes and get back on track. A few thoughts:

1) I struggle to drink 8 glasses of water a day but I've been making an effort to do better.

2) I need to cut out Coke. I've started drinking it nearly every day. I use it as a crutch to help me cope with migraines...and now I've started craving it.

3) I'm going to exercise for an hour every day (to be made up if I miss a day). I'm already more active than I used to be but I can step it up more.

4) No more junk food! It's time to get back to salads, lean meats and lots of veggies. Carbs and sweets need to be treats, not staples.

5) JUDDDing: I think planning my DD meals in advance will help me. I think my protein powder will also help - haven't used it much yet but will.

 

[Lanarkwitch]

Hi Canadian, glad to see you back, a few of us are having another go at it. Definitely planning your DD meals in advance is the best recipe for success, the less you have to deal/think about food on a DD the better, they do get easier though, some I sail through and some are torture

 

[Canadian]

Hi Lanarkwitch, it's good to know I'm not alone in finding some DDs to be torture! Today has been great so far although the real test will be tonight...I'm an evening eater for sure. It's my first proper DD in quite a while; I've made other attempts but then lose willpower. I've been mindful to drink plenty of water and I've had my protein powder in a glass of juice twice today, once at about 11:30am and once around 4:30pm. It really does wonders to curb my appetite IF I take it soon enough. I have a bad habit of not eating until I'm absolutely famished and then I overeat (and make poor choices). Planning is so, so important for me.

Edit to add: I also ate a grapefruit tonight. So today I've had that, a glass of orange juice, a glass of mango juice and two small scoops of protein powder at 70 calories per scoop - it was probably more like 50. So I stayed well under 500 for the day and didn't wind up with a headache or anything! I'm still feeling satisfied, too, so I'm going to take a multivitamin and hit the sack early before that changes!

While I've fallen off the wagon with the eating in recent weeks, it hasn't been a total loss. I've established an exercise routine and am committed to doing it every morning. I start with stretching with and without an exercise ball and do a few situps and pushups. Then I do about 40 minutes on the Gazelle...I use the tracker and do 250 calories/day. I know I'll need to change it up once I get in better shape and at that point I intend to resume C25K. I may also look into Zumba or some other fitness program at that time as well - will see what interests me when the time comes.

I still haven't stepped on the scale yet this month but that's okay. I'm feeling optimistic that I'm on the right track regardless of what the number says. I'm doing things to strengthen my muscles and have stopped being as sedentary as I was, which is huge. I know if I'm building muscle I can expect to gain some weight, so I'm trying to be mindful of the way my clothes fit. I have one pair of jeans in particular I'd like to get back into. But I'm not gonna lie, I'd still love to see a big drop when I do finally work up the nerve to get on the scale, LOL.

 

[Lanarkwitch]

Well all of that sounds like progress to me, DD failures are not uncommon, cos frankly its hard not to eat all day! Sometimes getting just one or 2 back under your belt can get the momentum going again so well done you! I would love to get my butt moving at something, but I seriously lack motivation there I can tell you. Fingers crossed the scales are kind to you when you do decide to get back on them xxxx

 

[Canadian]

I haven't been doing JUDDD lately. I didn't lose any weight in August but I have been making small changes like drinking more water and exercising. In September I'm going to be going back on JUDDD, giving up Coke, continuing to drink lots of water and working out more. I'm starting C25K again tomorrow.

 

[Lovehatecarbs]

I haven't been doing JUDDD lately. I didn't lose any weight in August but I have been making small changes like drinking more water and exercising. In September I'm going to be going back on JUDDD, giving up Coke, continuing to drink lots of water and working out more. I'm starting C25K again tomorrow.

I plateaued so did low carb for 2 weeks which showed me I was eating too much sugar and bread. Mainly sugar from low fat yoghurts and white bread sandwiches at work. So I'm now back on 5.2 but have adjusted those too things

 

[Canadian]

Thanks, that's good to know! I don't eat white bread at all but I do eat Greek yogurt on a fairly regular basis. I seem to be doing okay so far - after yesterday's DD I've dropped 2lbs. It's nice to finally see the scale move again.

DDs are tough for me, not just because of hunger but because when I don't eat it triggers migraines. Yesterday I spread my food out and ate regularly for that very reason but by evening (when I get hungriest) I had a migraine. I wasn't even able to sleep it off and still have it this morning. I try hard not to take painkillers but I'm so frustrated. If I'm going to have migraines every second day then I'm going to have to find a different program to follow because being in pain 1/2 the time just isn't an option.

 

[Lovehatecarbs]

Thanks, that's good to know! I don't eat white bread at all but I do eat Greek yogurt on a fairly regular basis. I seem to be doing okay so far - after yesterday's DD I've dropped 2lbs. It's nice to finally see the scale move again.

DDs are tough for me, not just because of hunger but because when I don't eat it triggers migraines. Yesterday I spread my food out and ate regularly for that very reason but by evening (when I get hungriest) I had a migraine. I wasn't even able to sleep it off and still have it this morning. I try hard not to take painkillers but I'm so frustrated. If I'm going to have migraines every second day then I'm going to have to find a different program to follow because being in pain 1/2 the time just isn't an option.

I agree - for some people fasting just isn't a good option - if I was taking my painkillers regularly I couldn't fast. See how you go - there's something about an 8 hour fast or window - don't know much about it but that might suit you better

 

[Canadian]

I've seen people on here mention different methods of fasting. I don't always know what the shorthand they're using means but would like to find out more about it. I try to fast every second day although it doesn't always work out that way. I fast for somewhere around 36 hours although it can vary. I've done another DD today and so far there's no migraine so I will keep pressing on.

 

[Lanarkwitch]

Not sure if this helps but it might be useful if you are worried about fasting too long, taken from another forum though but will summarise.

Week 1 Eating window, no complete fast, eat only between 12pm -8pm no calorie counting ( adjust 8 hour window to suit)
Week 2 Eating window, no complete fast, eat only between 12pm -7pm no calorie counting (adjust 7 hour window to suit)
Week 3 Full fast, from 7pm one day to 7pm next day, use DD cals ( adjust 24 hour period to suit)
Week 4 Full Fast (36 hr) use DD cals

Transitioning in can help with symptoms, I normally have quite a bad migraine issue but fasting has never bothered it for some reason, nice to see you back Canadian

 

[Canadian]

Thank you for the info and the suggestion! I don't always get migraines on DDs, so maybe I just need to continue on and, if I do feel a migraine coming on, call it a day and try for a DD another time. Not sure.

On another note, do you happen to know what this 5:2 talk I keep seeing is? I take it people only fast two days/week, is that right? (Maybe that's more for maintenance?) I've been looking around the site trying to find explanations but I guess I haven't stumbled on them yet.

 

[Lanarkwitch]

5:2 was made popular by a guy called Michael Moseley (spelling?) there was BBC documentary Horizon episode that he did about fasting and then he write a book possibly called the Fast Diet or 5:2 Fast Diet or something like that, and yes you are right 5 UD's 2 DD's, same as basically what we're doing although I do 4:3 it's a grey area about losses for women folk on the 5:2 protocol as it has been noted across the web that the diet has huge appeal for men, who are unfortunately faster losers than women so to me the stats that fly about regarding the 1.5 lb per week weight loss is terribly skewed IMHO, however many JUDDERS on other forums are now using 5:2 for maintenance and it seems to work well for them.