Stabilization CONSOSTAB (shared diary)

[dukandebut]

I am definitely going to have to try to make some cardamon cake (I daren't try the focaccia because of all the luscious olive oil).

Hope your friend does as well as you've done, Anja. Please keep us updated on her progress.

 

[anjuschka]

Lovely post Anja.

The yoghurts are a tough one because those he really recommends are the 0% fat Sveltesse Ferme & Fondant vanilla, lemon, coconut ones available over here. In a perfect world, they'd have found an equivalent over there before publishing the book. Mullers (toffee and vanilla) aren't far off, but are double sized, so who leaves half?!

Will your friend be joining us?

I'm working on it, but if you thought I was busy - she's manic! Very busy at work I don't think she'd be allowed to post like I do. I am sharing all my recipe links etc of course.

Yes the yoghurt thing you wish they had made it clearer, no need for an equivalent just take you the ref to something that does not exist over here or make clear that it is stuff available 'on the French market'...

I am definitely going to have to try to make some cardamon cake (I daren't try the focaccia because of all the luscious olive oil).

Oh no I would not go near focaccia either! the second half of my cardamom cake batter was made into 9 'cupcakes', and most of them wandered into the freezer now so I can retrieve them slowly...

Glad the baking went well, Anja. My lot will eat banana cake quite happily too but have never had cardamon cake - definitely one to try soon!

I'm having a stricter week after the gala weekend (from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon) so PV + cheese today and PP on Thursday *sigh*.

Good luck to your friend, I'm not surprised that your success has inspired her as you've done all 4 stages properly and are a real success story (unlike me who has cheated quite a lot).

Now Laura you flatter me and I'm not sure it's deserved! Yes I have stuck to the diet, but that does not mean I haven't cheated and the hardest part is *now* of course.

I'm planning the Easter holiday food now, my mum will be in Conso(I) by then jippee!

PS forgot to add we'll be having Spaghetti Carboara at the weekend and yes I will be using cream and bacon to make it. I think once every few months is allowed ;-). Used to be one of my favourite dishes made by my mum when I was little and I've not made it for a long time now.

 

[m-mouse]

The yogurt think does drive me batty since very few of them are actually ok eg the mullers containing sugar and most of the others seem to have fructose or somethingelse-tose in them. Even the WW toffee and vanilla have sugar and sweeteners in them according to mysupermarket - but I guess so long as we use them in moderation..... I don't really like the mullers apart from the raspberry and cranberry one - which I can't help thinking would be lovely in that yogurt cake!

 

[Maintainer]

I think yes Mouse "moderation" is the key word. I've had one of the smooth French ok ones (125ml pot, with 4.6g carbs in) each day this year. Some, however, might go for the full litre cos "they can" and that's when we could see issues...

 

[m-mouse]

Yes exactly, so in moderation I don't think the vanilla flavoured ones such as Danone or activia are really any worse than the mullers or the ww ones - although saying that I have just got used to buying the natural myself and bunging some sweetener in!!

 

[Maintainer]

and that's why it's a good song to sing to newbies... rather than have them start with bucketfuls of Mullers on attack...

<and we're in the wrong thread>

 

[m-mouse]

oops!

 

[anjuschka]

First things first

The yogurt think does drive me batty since very few of them are actually ok eg the mullers containing sugar and most of the others seem to have fructose or somethingelse-tose in them. Even the WW toffee and vanilla have sugar and sweeteners in them according to mysupermarket - but I guess so long as we use them in moderation..... I don't really like the mullers apart from the raspberry and cranberry one - which I can't help thinking would be lovely in that yogurt cake!

etc etc etc

Should we try to get a 'FAQs' or similar sticky for the Main forum? Or maybe 'yoghurts' and 'oatbran'? It just *might* save some typing in the long run with every new member (me included) asking the same questions / making the same mistakes...

 

[anjuschka]

Hello, it's nearly the weekend and time for my proper diary entry.

I'm relieved to report that I have STS, despite slightly overdoing (3 pieces in a day?) it in the cake department on Sun and Mon!!

On top of that I had a several near-normal meals (not exactly Gala in the grand sense though): Thai green chicken curry home made with light coconut milk and bought paste (about 2TB), Moroccan chicken with chickpeas and a BIG helping of couscous (got my quantities wrong....). Chilli Con Carne with beans and small portion of Rice. Home made fishcake (contains mash) and cauli (no cheese sauce!) Some wine at the weekend. Can't recall the rest in detail... it was all 'healthy eating' and low fat though.

I have however skipped the cheese on several days and the small carb portions too, so I really crave a nice slice of bread for tomorrow!.

But I had lots of Veg, Coleslaw in particular which resulted in bloating :-( luckily a near PV (+ 1 fruit & 1 carb) Weds and a PP Thu (not very white, had roast beef) remedied that.

So I too am slipping into a Weekend / weekday pattern but I guess that's inevitable! This week I am DETERMINED to have a more balanced approach and not to overdo the weekend so that I have to catch up in the week and skip things. We shall see.

I have started eating Muesli (proper whole-food muesli, not sugar-laden crunchy cereal) at some breakfasts (like today) the only side effect is that I have then 'used up' my small carb portion for the day... But it's lovely and makes me feel a lot more 'mainstream' in the food department! It's also nice and crunchy

I still seem to be struggling with transition issues - wondering about adding a TB of linseed to my brans. I hope I have time for more Oatbran biscuit experiments this weekend!

Anyway - the weather is gorgeous and I need to dash to school now - everyone have a good weekend!

 

[m-mouse]

Well done Anja.

 

[Maintainer]

As you say, Anja, I think for most of us it's inevitable to fall into a weekday / weekend routine if only that we've more time for ourselves and cooking at the weekend than when at work. It's good that you're constantly monitoring things, and pulling back or relaxing when you sense things might be going too far in one direction or other.

As for a Sticky, you're absolutely right. We do all type the same things over and again but there are so many variants, and whether one follows a "pure book" or a "pure book + advice" method makes all the difference!

 

[anjuschka]

Off topic: Japan appeal result

Just to update you, my friend raised £810 for Save the Children. I am so impressed!

 

[dukandebut]

Just to update you, my friend raised £810 for Save the Children. I am so impressed!

Wow! That's a fantastic amount. She's done incrediby well.

 

[robinhood]

Excellent work by your friend (and you and all others who contributed cakes - and bought them).

Just a quick update, I'm 200gr up on 4 weeks ago but water retention responsible, I think, so possibly have lost. Finding it fairly easy to maintain just finding the PP day a struggle when I have to do it - we have 1 invitation and a birthday to contend with this weekend so I don't think I can avoid a PP day next week.

 

[anjuschka]

Excellent result Laura! All I can say is I wish I was like you!

Me I'm having a FRUSTRATING time today - up over 1kg on last week DESPITE not overdoing it, in fact being very snack-free. I am TYRING to put it down to a blip & transition (never my strong point) but I was feeling so confident about WI today that it was quite a shock, in a way. Last week (before WI) I'd eaten quite a bit of Rhubarb so that may have made for a particularly 'good' weight...

I look fine, no bloating, my tummy is better than it's ever been, in fact I thought the padding has been shrinking this week. Of course I don't measure myself...

But I was so 'good', only had 1/2 a home made choc crispie cake on Sat, maybe a biscuit on Sun, but no choc, cakes or other treats, no touching the kids' leftovers. Yes one proper Gala meal (Spaghetti carbonara), but not even followed by an indulgent pud or otherwise. A glass of Wine on Friday. I have been having my bread and carbs (never the full 200gr) and cheese most days, and 2 or 3 (if you count the morning juice) fruit a day too. But staying away from dried fruit. I did add 1TB of ground linseed a day (except Thu) that's about 70cal. It's really helped my digestive system so I'm not dropping that again. Pre-Dukan I used to 'automatically' get it in my bread and cereal but clearly not as much these days.

So, ho hum, onward I plod, I was hoping for a good 'starting point' before the Easter invasion. I have just outline-planned two weeks worth of visitor-friendly healthy meals with 'adjustable carbs' (Dukan-friendly Moussaka with Potatoes on the side anyone?), with only 3 'galas' (lamb joints are not low fat, however hard I try...) in them. I'll share the menu when I'm done - but remember that I am in Stab and my mum is on Conso from next week, so there will be some carbs, pork, lamb and cheese featuring.

Despite the result I needed to reward myself for this past week of (what I thought was) restraint so this morning had half a small 150gr tub of full-fat yoghurt (every few months I need a little live yoghurt to make a new yoghurt starter culture), with a teaspoon of honey. Yum

And before you ask: TOTM is unlikely.

Anyway - hope everyone has a good day, sorry to bother you with my moaning as soon as things don't go my way

Good news on the work front - have been told / assured unequivocally that my post here is not under threat, in fact that it's fairly protected. That's great news and makes up for the non-pay-rise ...

 

[anjuschka]

Finding it fairly easy to maintain just finding the PP day a struggle when I have to do it - we have 1 invitation and a birthday to contend with this weekend so I don't think I can avoid a PP day next week.

I have found that making a Dukan Bread sandwich helps with lunch, I have 1TB of oatbran at breakfast in a 'pancake' that's really just a thin Galette - topped with Vanilla-flavoured quark or some such thing. In desperation I have 1 individual tub of FF/SF jelly and use it like 'jam' on the pancake and to add to yoghurt.
Last night I had my old favourite the pawn omelette, but I find stir-fried (marinated) chicken also quite good - having veg the rest of the week makes the whole no-veg experience quite bearable really.

I am also quite partial to rollmops herring (much less sugar than marinated herring) - so yesterday I had a dukan-friendly version of herring in dill sauce, by chopping up a rollmops, adding FromFrais and lots of fresh Dill (from the freezer).

 

[dukandebut]

Anja, I know how weight fluctuations during Conso can make me feel a bit panicky, so I can really sympathise with how you must be feeling.

However, I truly believe that you're just having a bit of a temporary blip here. You've been good and this unexplained gain is most probably due to one of those difficult to pinpoint factors, like hormones or transit issues. I'm pretty certain that you'll have a pleasant surprise with your weigh-in next time or the time after that.

I guess that we have to become used to these temporary ups and downs, even though it's difficult to do so. Overall, they will even themselves out. So please don't worry.

 

[anjuschka]

Thanks DD nice of you to say so. Yes I just need to regroup and not slip into 'sod this - give me a biscuit' mode! It's hard to think that this is supposed to be the rest of my life now, I really don't think I can keep it up. I am definitely not eating 'what I like', not even a little bit - at least not this week. But yes I have weathered weekends of joining in celebrations and cakes so I should be able to cope!
I may have to do strict and relaxed periods, which I thought I was doing as per Easter coming up now, just the scales did not agree.

So it really might be better and go to monthly WI like Laura does, but I fear that allows me to relax too much.

 

[robinhood]

Anja, if your stomach has never been better, maybe your exercising has paid off in more than one way and the 1 kilo gain is muscle. Or possibly as you were below your 'true' weight, maybe your body will fight to get you up to that weight over time? I know that I am unlikely to be able to maintain below 63 - did get there bf my eldest - to 60 actually - but as soon as I stopped the feeding, within a couple of months (if I remember) I was back to 63 and stayed (despite another pregnancy) on track to be back again (was 65 kilos a few days after having my second baby).

Oh and it's lovely not having to weigh in, I don't think it's made me any more complacent.

Anyway, waffle...

 

[dukandebut]

Aw, Anja, you've been here before, doubting yourself and convinced that you'll never be able to keep it up for life. But you got through that and regained your morale and positive outlook.

This has just been a bit of a bad week for you, morale-wise, and that's bound to happen occasionally as our bodies are affected on a temporary basis by all kinds of factors. The important word there is "temporary" - because that's all it is. Things will improve again and you'll feel relieved and much, much happier.

As I already said, I can heartily sympathise because this is exactly the kind of thinking that I put myself through. We need to be strong, though, and to realise that we ARE going to be okay, and we ARE going to make this work. (I'm not just saying that to make you feel better - I truly do believe it.)

We just need to get used to the idea of these fluctuations and to be able to relax a bit more about it.

I'd give you a great big, comforting hug if I could.

You WILL be okay, I promise.