Stabilization CONSOSTAB (shared diary)

Ahh Laura - in a TIPI (teepee??) I'd LOVE to try that. I'm quite fond of camping - but all my experience is BC (before children) when I used to camp for months on end while on excavation.
 
Roll on the Witches' party!

And now my proper post - I'm back on track - BIG YAY. Very happy about the scales this morning - 64.1kg

I've just stuck back with PhI conso, my 'gala' was a nibbles at our Choir AGM (on top of normal dukan-friendly meal earlier), plus an indulgent biscuit when I got home. My carb meal was on Weds with Spaghetti Bolognese. I've even had the odd biscuit on a couple of occasions but that's helped to dissipate the post-gala or Friday night attack of the munchies which I do occasionally succumb to. But telling myself 'you can have a joghurt now and ONE of those biscuits tomorrow' seems to help.

Maybe I did marginally more exercise this week, some extra cycling with DD2 on the back to and from nursery, and a really strenuous yoga workout on Tue (still feeling it!).

This week could be interesting: DD1 birthday party and on Tue a simple family tea (burgers) with the after-school club, which I think I can deal with okay. The week after is DD1s proper birthday - another cake required and she's requested Spaghetti carbonara for tea. Mmmmhhh :D:D

Anyway - I'm quite confident about all of this, and if the weight goes up a bit so it will go down again afterwards! I should really be able to STS though.

But I have to share my party planning! At the moment I'm watching the weather forecast - it's not good for Sunday and we've always had our parties in the garden up to now.... anyway food wise we will have (for a Witches and Wizards party)
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Scary pizza faces (make your own, I have pre-baked mini bases)
Bug rolls
Toadstools (using cherry toms and mini-mozzarella rather than eggs I think!)
Salted Pretzels

Spider cakes (decorated cupcakes)
Scary mice (haribo)
Monster Mallows (mini ones)
Slug eggs (grapes)

Mystery Cake (with purple food colouring for added effect - DD1 insisted!)

Witches' Brew (with green ice cubes)
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We've even printed some menus :D As you can imagine, everyone is getting excited now, and with school finally ending on the 22nd we have a hectic couple of weeks coming up.
 
The food looks fantastic! But you'll have a busy Saturday methinks!
 
Ha ha yes prepping starts tonight - I didn't yesterday in case of accidental licking of fingers... It's not till Sunday afternoon so I should be okay if kids don't need to help too much ;-)
But yes, what you save in money by doing the party yourself (we always do - for now), you spend in time instead. Which is FINE by me and DD1 seem to appreciate it too.
 
Well done Anja, great stuff!:)

Party sounds great, you're so creative with the party food - mine get a bowl of sweets and a cake:eek:. I do like parties at home though, the games are more fun for the parents than the kids;) although at the end of the day we're all exhausted.

Yes, teepee, I'm so lazy with my spelling - sorry. Can highly recommend it - it was quite luxurious camping (compared to our usual) as we had proper hob/fridge provided.

No weighing for me, but I feel fine. Less carbs = more energy, definitely. I can no longer remember how I used to feel eating the 'recommended' amount of starch pre-Dukan, but it was probably quite bad.
 
Thank you all, we've survived. It was boisterous but fun, dashing in and out of the rain, but luckily I had lots of indoor games lined up as well. Particular favourites were Egg and Spoon race using waterbombs (outside obviously) and musical islands indoors (like musical chairs but using sheets of newspaper that get fewer and smaller as they are ripped in half etc, so people have to work together and hold onto each other).

Food went down well, and pinning up the 'Menu' was great too so they could work their way down the list and enjoy their 'green slug eggs'!! I only managed to take some of the pictures after most of it had been scoffed :) - well the cake had to be cut to see the effect. The toadstools tasted yum (tomato & mozzarella, my fave combination!). I used light herb&garlic philly as 'glue'.

Of course I too had pizza and cake etc, so the rest of this week better be back to normal...
 

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Absolutely Anja... everything looks fabulous! You do indeed have a talent there which perhaps you could put to work for you?
 
Thanks I'm very flattered! I'm just good at following recipes with a tiniest bit of inspiration thrown in! And I LIKE cooking and i LOVE my kids so for them I can do anything ;-)
I don't think I want to join the army of home cupcake and whoopie pie bakers trying to turn the fashionable food item of the moment into a business!
 
Anja on the official chat they were saying that you don't need to eat your carb ration on one day and that you can spread your pasta for example out over the week. Have you ever done this or have you just eaten as much of it as you can on one day (which is what I thought we were meant to do).
 
Hi Mouse, interesting question / concept!

No, while doing conso proper I have never spread it out. I like my rules back and white :) **Now** I do what I like :D but still keeping track of carb meals in general.

If anything, spreading it out makes accounting for it harder - you're going back to counting and adding ("hmm so today I had 100 gr and tomorrow I'll have 50gr for lunch and the day after 100gr for dinner" - OOPS.:eek:..)

Also, the 200gr really is too much for most people in one sitting. Which is a good thing, you learn properly about feeling full and not needing to finish a plate full (ti was for me). If you then save the 'leftover' for the next day in my mind it changes the principle of the rules.

Will you also get mixed up with the 60gr bread ration (which I call the small carbs) - after a while I varied that by having lentil soup or indeed a small amount of pasta leftovers instead, but always remembering to have one only.

Anyway that's just my opinion, I'll not go there when I'm doing catch-up conso (which I do when I want to lose a bit, as now) as I'll probably lose count, or get too complacent (always a problem for me). But that's just ME - try it - it might work for you!
 
I haven't yet been brave enough to have that carb portion yet - taking it slowly!! I guess I was just thinking that if I didn't finish a 200g carb portion I could have it cold in a salad or something another time.
 
Hello everyone,

time for a quick Friday checking-in, and time for an advance warning that I may be a bit AWOL for the next few weeks with school holidays, visitors and being on holiday myself...

This week I have STS - phew ;-) - after the birthday party on Sunday, and also some other extras (like another small piece of cake on Weds...) and a family pasta meal at the weekend.
Now today is DD1s proper birthday (I made more cupcakes for school last night) and she's requested ANOTHER cake - I offered her the choice but she just wants the same stripy one again! So that's baking tonight for decorating and eating at tomorrows family (including grandparents) birthday celebration, we're also having as requested Spaghetti Carbonara.

Then I have a week of visitors at home so I'll see how we go - I have planned a normal dukan-friendly week for all of us but sometimes these things don't quite work out, I'll intend to be careful but I don't want to be antisocial. I'm also returning to 'normal' now, i.e conso+extras = stab because otherwise it gets too frustrating and I'll end up giving in to late-night munchies because everyone had chocolate cake earlier and I passed!!

Ah but I can relate a good resistance event from last week: family burger tea at DD1s after-school club. Resisting the burgers was no problem, or the chocolate cake things, or the ice-cream. I just had some 'unadulterated' strawberries and they were lovely.
I had eaten something before going to be safe but really in my mind it was a question of "I'm not wasting my carbs on this" - it was not exactly gourmet fare :) but the kids were hungry and loved it, and the event was all about the socialising!

Another thing: I'll move office at some point - just moving desks. Out of this open space (and away from occasional Cafe (fresh pastries!) smells), into a large friendly office. HOWEVER they always have some biscuits or sweets out. Argh I'll have to practise my resistance now!

Have a good weekend/week everyone.
 
What amazing party food, Anja! The toadstools and cake look particularly incredible.

Glad to hear that you and Laura are both doing well, and especially that you're getting back on track after your holiday (I'm starting to panic about mine, big style).

I've now joined you both on Stab and it seems to be going fine so far. I put on a pound initially, then promptly lost it the week after. Mind you, I am sticking to Conso plus extras in reality. I did have a Nature Valley cereal bar yesterday, but think I earned it after walking 6 miles over pretty rough and hilly terrain.

Good luck with all of your busy plans!
 
What amazing party food, Anja! The toadstools and cake look particularly incredible.

Well the cake was actually incredibly easy - you just spoon the slightly runny batter in takign turns with the colours, one spoonful on top of the other, always in the middle and that is the resulting pattern.

Glad to hear that you and Laura are both doing well, and especially that you're getting back on track after your holiday (I'm starting to panic about mine, big style).

Well my holiday was FINE. I was able to up my exercise and self-control won even though I did allow myself some nice extras every day. It was the week after, at home that took me off target! And I think I might be heading there again - I've got visitors at home and you want to be sociable.

I've now joined you both on Stab and it seems to be going fine so far. I put on a pound initially, then promptly lost it the week after. Mind you, I am sticking to Conso plus extras in reality. I did have a Nature Valley cereal bar yesterday, but think I earned it after walking 6 miles over pretty rough and hilly terrain.

I'm sure you have and as I keep telling myself - the odd one is absolutely FINE just not two or three or in addition to other extras.

I have a work do (colleagues leaving) to attend next Friday, I'm already in 'strict' mode in anticipation... Although that is also part of last weekends aftermath - more birthday cake, a piece each day, and a gala meal on top of that... :eek::eek:
 
Anja - Yes, it's all those little things which can add up and end up being dangerous. I know only too well the feeling of having to stop yourself before you end up taking not just one, but two, three, ten more.

So far we don't have any plans for people coming to stay immediately after we return from holiday (although we may well have visitors not long before we go). I think I know what you mean about the difference, though; it can be much easier to exercise self-control on holiday, than when you're with guests and want to make them feel comfortable at home.

One thing which particularly concerns me is that, looking at our itinerary, I may only be able to manage 1 PP day during the fortnight. I hope that doesn't make too much of a difference.

BTW, have you ever tried hummingbird cake (with fresh banana and pineapple)? I thought of you when I ate it and can just imagine you making it! One of the most delicious cakes I've ever eaten in my life.
 
Anja - Yes, it's all those little things which can add up and end up being dangerous. I know only too well the feeling of having to stop yourself before you end up taking not just one, but two, three, ten more.

Tee hee well last week I managed fine, and Friday I had STS. Phew. Now another weekend later I don't feel so confident but we shall see. Visitors have departed, and I have a week at home with the kids, trying my hardest to stick to Dukan-friendly stuff even if I am eating more snacks/fruit than I should :-( Made a huge tray of oatbran crispbread / biscuits for back-up too. Going over the oatbran allowance is in my book preferable to tucking into chocolate biscuits or worse!

visitors not long before we go). I think I know what you mean about the difference, though; it can be much easier to exercise self-control on holiday, than when you're with guests and want to make them feel comfortable at home.
Exactly. I am not worried about next week self-catering holiday, we'll be busy and active and I won't be tempted hanging around at home...

One thing which particularly concerns me is that, looking at our itinerary, I may only be able to manage 1 PP day during the fortnight. I hope that doesn't make too much of a difference.
this is what I wanted to pick up on: while in holiday mode (at whichever stage I may have been) I have never managed to squeeze in a proper PP day (3 weeks last summer, on week this May, one week coming up now) and no negative side effects so I would not worry too much.

BTW, have you ever tried hummingbird cake (with fresh banana and pineapple)? I thought of you when I ate it and can just imagine you making it! One of the most delicious cakes I've ever eaten in my life.
Oh I'm flattered, but no I haven't, sounds delicious though it's not something I should make as DH doesn't like bananas OR nuts and if the kids turn their noses up at it (entirely possible, though DD1 is getting better) then I'd be stuck with a nice cake to eat by myself :eek::eek:
 
Tee hee well last week I managed fine, and Friday I had STS. Phew. Now another weekend later I don't feel so confident but we shall see. Visitors have departed, and I have a week at home with the kids, trying my hardest to stick to Dukan-friendly stuff even if I am eating more snacks/fruit than I should :-( Made a huge tray of oatbran crispbread / biscuits for back-up too. Going over the oatbran allowance is in my book preferable to tucking into chocolate biscuits or worse!

What on earth would we do without oatbran! :eek::D

Must admit that I've been having a few squares of dark chocolate most days as a treat. Whilst my weight is behaving itself, I feel happy to continue with this, but will have to stop if it all starts going awry.


this is what I wanted to pick up on: while in holiday mode (at whichever stage I may have been) I have never managed to squeeze in a proper PP day (3 weeks last summer, on week this May, one week coming up now) and no negative side effects so I would not worry too much.

Hurray! Anja, you have just made my day! :D Obviously, I shall try my best to stick as close to PP as I can for one day each week, but it's going to be practically impossible to do so during most of our hols. Your words are such a huge relief!

Oh I'm flattered, but no I haven't, sounds delicious though it's not something I should make as DH doesn't like bananas OR nuts and if the kids turn their noses up at it (entirely possible, though DD1 is getting better) then I'd be stuck with a nice cake to eat by myself :eek::eek:

Isn't it funny! Pre-Dukan, I would have been highly delighted at the thought of having a whole cake to pick on by myself, but now - the horror! Our Dukan training obviously works. :D

Now let's just hope that it will give me the same strength that Em displayed and prevent me from scoffing the chocolate truffles I'll be making sometime over the next few days. :eek:
 
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