Conso - help please!

[scooter]

Officially went into conso last night - should have done it about a month ago but really nervous about it so been putting it off but not lost anything for a month so think my body is saying its ready for conso - had 2 slices of wholemeal bread and 40g cheese last night - last time i ate bread or cheese was just under a year ago and seven stone ago - i was so nervous and i dont think my stomach knew what had hit it it was making strange noises all night! I just need some advice from you fellow dukaneers - do i have to have the bread and cheese and fruit every day or is it just if i want it? Also hard rind cheese - are red leicester and cheshire hard rind cheeses? - thanking you in advance, your help on this forum over the last 12 months has been invaluable xx

 

[Saska]

Hi there scooter, sorry can't help with your question but just wanted to say well done you and what a great achievement....wow wow wow!!! You must look so great in your clothes and feel so much lighter! Big pat on the back from me.....Saska

 

[scooter]

Thankyou Saska xx wish i'd found dr dukan years ago - hes changed my whole life - so much more confident feel and look so much better - i actually enjoy shopping for clothes now - before when i was big if clothes fit i bought them regardless of how they looked - i lived in baggy shapeless clothes!

 

[trudyc]

Scooter my understanding of conso is that you are supposed to have the bread/fruit/cheese every day - difficult though to think about eating them every day when maybe you don't feel the need - I know that when I reach conso that just being able to have veggies every day is gonna be AMAZING!!!! Good luck with your journey - you have lost a phenomenal amount of weight - enjoy the new you........ FANDABADASTIC!

 

[anjuschka]

Wow Scooter what an ACHIEVEMENT!!!

Trudy said it - you *should* have the extras every day except on the one PP day that you will keep. But at the start do take it easy, don't force it if you're not comfortable with it / or indeed if your stomach rebels, which can happen - gurgling and wind were my experience! The bread is actually supposed to be 60gr, that might be two small French slices but British shop-bought bread tends to me more like one slice at about 60gr.

As for the Pasta meal - 80gr dried makes about 200gr cooked - but that is a MASSIVE amount really so don't feel that you have to eat all that! I don't think any of us did...

Remember you are also allowed extra-LEAN cuts of Pork and Lamb - for one meal every week.

And one 'normal' meal a week, including a drink - sorry I hate 'celebration' or 'gala' meal, that always creates the wrong image in my mind. Think more like 'healthy meal with potatoes, peas and gravy' for example. And a dessert too. But only one meal...

Basically you're trying to get your digestive system used to carbs and fats again, but your body is still in diet-mode so extracts considerable more calories / energy from the carbs offered, which is why you need to be so careful to introduce them slowly.

 

[scooter]

Thankyou both so much for your advice x i will do as you say and thankyou for clarifying about the bread - i will weigh it in future as i just took it as being 2 slices didnt realise the french slices are smaller! Gala meal is something that i dont feel i am ready for yet!- i am just going to try and get my head around the fruit bread cheese and pasta first - is it right that ham is now on the list of foods i can have freely now im on conso? Also im a bit confused as to what is classed as hard rind cheeses - would red leicester and cheshire be ok? Thanks once again for taking the time to reply and give your advice - this i think will be the most difficult stage of the diet as i was so used to doing cruise it didnt take much thinking about and it just became a way of life xx

 

[CHRISR]

I think they are hard rind cheeses - I just stick to cheddar at the mo but it wouldnt bother me if they were those you mention - its cheese such as feta or soft french cheeses. - good luck on conso, 5 weeks now for me. It is a bit scary and Ive only really been dipping my toe in it - taking it slow especially with bread & potatoes

 

[anjuschka]

HI Scooter - yes the cheese, I would count anything that can be sliced into thin slices, so those are okay. I think it is a distinction made to vaguely identify fat content: you're not yet allowed Brie / Camembert and the like. However I'm not actually sure that Brie does have more fat than cheddar!
And don't worry - just think of conso as cruise PV everyday, plus careful extras.

 

[Elisheba]

Conso is scarry!
Thank you for the great advices here.
Scooter and Chris good luck on your conso.

 

[scooter]

Thank you all so much for your help xx my next step will be pasta i guess but maybe next week - like you chris i dont want to jump straight in i just want to take it bit by bit - i know i am to trust dr d but i am so scared incase the scales show an increase at all - i have just been thro my wardrobe and bagged up all my size 20+ clothes but cant bring myself to throw them and gonna put them in the loft even tho i know i never want to be that size again!- am i normal? Why cant i just bin them?? Thanks for the advice Anjuschka its good to hear from someone who has been thro all stages successfully you are an inspiration - good luck Chris with conso i come on this website every day although i dont always post and have been following yours and elllies progress as you both went into conso bout the time i was due to - you are both doing fantastic - keep up the good work xx one last question!! Can i now eat cooked ham as freely as i would turkey chicken or beef? Thanks again to you all xx

 

[trudyc]

Not sure about the ham but I think you can!!! GET RID OF THOSE BIG CLOTHES - this time they have gone to the charity shop as soon as they have got big - no going back - we are not going back!!!!

 

[CHRISR]

yes ham is ok I agree with Trudy you need to get shut of those now too big clothes whats the point in keeping them if you are never going to wear them again - make some cash on Ebay or take them to the charity shop so someone else can benefit from them - I have had at least 3 clear-outs and its a fab feeling so scooter DO IT x

 

[scooter]

Thanks Trudy and Chris - thats what i needed!! Right tomorrow i will bag them up in charity bags - no going back to the old me!! Had some strawberries tonight - first fruit in a year!! Not a big fruit lover tho but it was a nice change! Thanks again for giving me the talking to i needed!

 

[CHRISR]

it was a pleasure x

 

[Elisheba]

I know it is hard to give those old clothes away, I have the same problem.
You'll feel great after you do it.
Let us know

 

[Supertonic]

Hi scooter, well done on making the leap into conso, it'll be fine once you get the hang of it!
I think red Leicester and Cheshire are both hard cheeses And I would have the ham as well; just take the fat off first.

I still find bread difficult so I don't have it every day even now on stabilisation, I get bad stomach ache and bloating if I overdo it. But I like irish soda bread, which comes in dinky but filling slices, and I also had finn crisp or Jacobs crackers with my cheese, so that took care of the bread n cheese extras in conso without too much adaptation.

I'm still keeping within a 2-3lb range of my conso weight, so it's all fairly stable for me at the moment.

I do know what you mean about the clothes though - even though miles too big, Ive a few outfits I can't bear to part with and theyre in the back of the wardrobe in the spare room, just in case....
Daft, isnt it - in case of what ?

 

[scooter]

Hi Supertonic - thanks so much for the advice - its great to hear from someone who has been thro it and done so well - you are an inspiration! I thought the bread we are allowed had to be wholemeal - can i substitute it with soda bread or crackers? I love dark rye ryvitas would like to have those instead - conso seems a lot less daunting after receiving all the support and advice from you lovely people - taking that first step was so scary leaving cruise after so long it felt like jumping out of a plane - no going back!! But i am so glad i did it and im so grateful for all your support on here xx i have lost up to four stone with ww before and then put it all back on once at target - the 7 stone ive lost on the dukan diet is the most ive ever lost and if you had told me last year that i could lose that amount of weight without going to a slimming club i would never have believed it - dr dukan you are amazing and so is this forum - those two have changed my life forever!!

 

[charly1979]

congratulations on your great achievement! you must feel amazing! and look it too.
i would say give the clothes away that way you will ensure you never gain too much, just like an added firewall preventing future slip ups!!
xxxxxx

 

[dukannotsofatty]

Wow congratulations on your loss, i must admit I'm one inch taller but the weight is almost the same, I really would love to think i could get to 11st something but that is such a scary thought, am so full of admiration for you. well done. Good luck with conso. Just the thought of one small bit of carb freaks me at the moment cos i am so worried it slows my loss down LOL.

 

[anjuschka]

Hi Supertonic - thanks so much for the advice - its great to hear from someone who has been thro it and done so well - you are an inspiration! I thought the bread we are allowed had to be wholemeal - can i substitute it with soda bread or crackers? I love dark rye ryvitas would like to have those instead - conso seems a lot less daunting after receiving all the support and advice from you lovely people - taking that first step was so scary leaving cruise after so long it felt like jumping out of a plane - no going back!! But i am so glad i did it and im so grateful for all your support on here xx i have lost up to four stone with ww before and then put it all back on once at target - the 7 stone ive lost on the dukan diet is the most ive ever lost and if you had told me last year that i could lose that amount of weight without going to a slimming club i would never have believed it - dr dukan you are amazing and so is this forum - those two have changed my life forever!!

Hi Scooter,

just a quick one on bread. Yes it should be wholemeal bread, i.e made with wholemeal flour , but normally Soda bread is, and dark rye ryevita is too I think. Check the ingredients to make sure it has wholemeal flour. Basically it should be wholegrain, not refined white. After a while you get a feel for a portion and I was happy to find some wholemeal Tortilla wraps which actually weighed 60gr. And Also wholemeal Pittas, English Muffins...
After a little time you can relax a bit, can get quite creative, just make sure your bread portion size does not grow and that you only have one 60gr portion a day. I was excited on a day out early on in COnso when I found a posh Wholemeal Sandwich Roll in M&S, stuffed with just leaves and ham, no butter, no mayo... So I was able to have a shop-bought (premium!) sandwich, all I had to do was discard half the bread and eat all the filling ;-)