Dukanista's Diary: Part III!

[Dukanista]

quick morning up date to say WOOHOO! scales are showing 54.3k after yesterday's fast day. so if i have a good week, I may just see that magical target on the scales! to be completely honest, i'll probably be happy if i stabilise at 55, but i set 54 as my tw when i start this adventure, and i'd like to get there and see how it feels, kinda like planting my flag on the summit and saying 'I was here!!'.

hope you all have a wonderful dukan week, and good luck for the monday wi's.

 

[Dukanista]

PS i've also added some new before and after pics to my album. only 1kg lighter than the last lot, but i think i can see a difference, and i feel that the continued exercise has helped me tone up more, even though the scale hasn't shifted much.

and here's me and me mum on holiday in bali: pina coladas on the beach!



...and with my monster plate of grilled chili prawns

 

[Dukanista]

PPS sorry about the pics - i'm sure you've seen MORE than enough of me in my knickers by now! but clothing hides too much and i'm trying to get an objective view of my progress. so please 'bare' with me (that's for Pauline :giggle

Cx

 

[Paulinegin]

Gorgeous pics missus and well done on your first fast day!! Did it zoom by?! (see what I did there)?

P x

 

[Dukanista]

hehe thanks P. you're on holiday now, right? have a fantabulous time and keep us posted.

no, it did NOT zoom by... think they'll have to call it 'slowing' instead of fasting

Cx

 

[greeneyedhippychick]

Those before and after pics are amazing Caro!

 

[Dukanista]

Thank you green eyed! That's a lovely thing to hear. Hope all is well in paleo world today.
Cx

 

[Joodle]

Hey there Caro! How gorgeous are your photos? You look great. Intrigued by your experiments with fasting and paleo, it does somehow make sense...well, enough to make me want to learn a bit more, if not take the plunge just yet.

I do worry about you trying to get down to 54kg, that looks very skinny to me but I totally get you when you say you want to plant your flag!! Your BMI is under 21 though...I can't even imagine getting that low.

Keep us posted with the fasting business - did you get rid of that tiny little last 300g yet?!

Big hug,

Jx

 

[Dukanista]

Hey you! Big hug right back atcha.

Thanks for the nice words. I feel great too, and feel a little silly for caring about hitting that random number, but we all have our hangups I guess

Hmm... I only did 1 day of fasting, and then had a very relaxed week, and so expect to be back at 55 tomorrow. My body seems happy there and so maybe the flag planting will have to be at 54.3!

I think that if you get into the swing of things and stick to the up day, down day pattern, juddd can work. Mon and p and the others are definitely seeing results. But I worry that I would be tempted to eat more bad food than normal on an up day, because there are no rules. I read somewhere that when they tested adf with mice, they did not lose weight because they just compensated for the missing calories by gorging themselves every other day. And I definitely felt more 'entitled' to pig out than usual last week - but this was a very limited test. So the question is, would the health gains you get from fasting outweigh the damage you do on other days?

Some people fast for 18 hours between 6pm and noon the next day, and perhaps that is enough to trigger the good effects but not the bad ones?

I'm not done experimenting just yet, but I can see why dukan works so well because you get into a rhythm with cruise where the rules become second nature and you don't have to think. So my strategy for now is really to introduce new rules that work for me. Like introducing paleo items like fruit and nuts. And having a few drinks here and there. Working so far but it's a learning curve for me too. I don't think it is part of our design to be 'naturally disciplined' and to stop eating before we are stuffed. For me it's more about forming good habits and not putting temptation in my way eg. I now have a tin of mixed nuts at work, and allow myself a handful in the afternoon. But if the tin is visible, or if I eat directly from the tin instead of measuring them out, I can easily eat the whole thing! So I have to pour out a handful and then put the tin away before I start snacking.

Anyway, it has been very cool to come on this journey with you, and I'm looking forward to seeing it through. And I'm still counting on you for a body pump date in London!
Cx

 

[Dukanista]

So as expected, I'm back up to 'normal' at 55.25 this week,a whole kg up from my post-fast weight. But I'm happy with that, as I've been pretty relaxed about food but still managing not to stay quite stable. So I think I will take the plunge and adjust my stats and tw to 55. Then if I do drop further, it will just be a bonus

I wouldn't say I'm following any plan 100%, but I'm sticking to the basics of dukan and eating mainly pv. I've been cutting back on dairy a little and allowing myself fattier meats like lamb and pork, and then adding in limited fruit and nuts. Not really bothering with carbs much since I'm never been a big bread and pasta fan anyway. I'd rather just have extra muffins! And then occasional treats like chocolate or cocktails, but no big gala meals.

All in all I'm really very happy about the way dukan has reprogrammed my system, and I want to make sure I don't slip back into my old ways. If I eat food that is too rich or fatty now, I feel nauseous - and have actually been physically sick once or twice when I over-indulged. Same with alcohol: I feel very tipsy with a glass or two now because my body is not used to alcohol, and I'd rather stay that way instead of getting used to having more. And my taste buds have adjusted quite happily to less salt. Just more proof that we don't really need these things - it's just habit!

So if anything, I have missed conso and am now onto stabilization: I've maintained my 5kg / 11lb loss for 5 weeks now, which I guess means that my body is no longer fighting to get the weight back. Woohoo! And for the first time ever, I feel like I know exactly what I need to eat to be able to maintain this weight, and not feel like the weight will creep up if I relax for a moment. And even better, I don't feel that I'm depriving myself!

In other news... Yesterday was a mad day, rushing to the vet to get the cats (fondly known as the monsters) off to the vet for vaccinations. This whole procedure to prepare them for international travel is a nightmare and takes forever: about 5 or 6 months from beginning to end. So it looks like we can only head off finally at the end of the year, unless I leave them in boarding kennels - and I would hate to do that. And today I have to find an airline that will take pets as 'excess baggage', so I can start to book tickets. All very exciting and scary

Hope you're all dukanning away happily this week - I can just hear all those extra pounds being shed!

Cx

 

[sarafvrm]

What you're doing sounds pretty much like Conso but, as you say, adapted to your tastes, ie extra fruit and nuts instead of the bread, cocktails/chocolate instead of gala/starchy meal. I can feel myself going the same way - I'd rather eat more fruit than bother with cheese, some days, for instance. I think this works, so long as our choices are conscious ones. Best of all, our diets are basically healthy and we know they don't cause us to put on weight, we don't feel deprived so what's not to like! I'm really enjoying reading your posts, Caro. And as for the preparations for moving - the end of the year will be here before you know it! x

 

[Dukanista]

Thanks for the encouragement, Sara! But I've just now returned home after what can only be described as a mega gala meal: seafood salad and carpaccio starters, pasta puttanesca, grilled seabass, veal medallions (ok by this stage I couldn't manage more than a mouthful) and then cream filed pastries. And red wine. I don't think I will ever eat again... Pp all the way tomorrow, or maybe just plain water to let my poor stomach recover!

Night all,

Cx

 

[ceridwen]

That all sounds delicious, and actually pretty healthy (well ok, maybe not the cream filled pastries...yum!). Your previous post sounded really positive and relaxed, so now that you're not trying to lose weight, don't worry over the occasional meal out/gala. Also, congrats on reaching/deciding on your TW. x

 

[Dukanista]

Yeah, the plan was to take a bite and let OH have the rest... Fat chance! Hubby even tried to give me his pastry, as he was so stuffed by then. At least I resisted that

Yes, I am positive and relaxed about food and looking forward to the next phase of this journey. Obviously have to keep an eye on the scale so i dont relax TOO much! But it's been so much fun til now!

I am in a cab on the way home now, well chuffed with myself because there is a new 8% cream cheese spread available here! Plus I have 3 tubs of quark. Bonus!!

Happy Wednesday my lovelies!
Cx

 

[Joodle]

Blimey, reading your latest posts is pretty much exactly like reading what I just wrote! I think we've been on a very similar journey lady (although I did have more weight to lose than you in the first place, and won't get down to your BMI I don't think). This is great - I can't wait for you to get to London! Although we will have to be careful not to become diet bores! But for me, food has always been a little bit of a battle and although I've never been enormous, I've rarely felt comfortable with my attitude towards food. Dukan and minimins has probably got me nearer than I ever have been before - this support has been so immense, it's been the one thing I would credit with any true changes.

Anyway, what am I thinking? CONGRATULATIONS! You've reached TW and very good you look on it too! Let's just keep ourselves here and keep happy with food. Really, I can't believe that we've reached pretty much the same conclusions about how we want to continue eating and how we're going to adapt Dukan to that.

Yay for everything! Have a great Thursday!

Jx

 

[Dukanista]

hello miss nightowl! thanks for your lovely post. yes, i don't think anyone who has struggled with weight is ever 'cured'. I'm an ex-smoker - i stopped 8 years ago for the last time - but i still dream of smoking sometimes, and i know if i had just half a cigarette i'd be back i n the habit.

so i enjoyed myself at the italian and let loose, but probably ate and drank a lot less than i would have in the old days, and in fact the menu was fairly healthy, even though i felt really stuffed afterwards! we were invited by friends who knew the chef, and it was the kind of place where we didn't even look at menus. he just asked what we like and then went off to create masterpieces in the kitchen. and i got to practice my italian and weight is stable at 55.15 this morning, so no consequences from the meal.

you are so on for a london lunch date, missie. can't wait to catch up on the online dating stories in person!

Cx

 

[sarafvrm]

Your Italian meal sounds absolutely wonderful! And it's great to know it's safe to eat like that, because you have the safety net of Dukan conso under you xx

 

[Joodle]

Wow, sounds like a proper fancy pants Italian, amazing. And yes, I think maybe we're all underestimating how much less we're eating now, even when we 'pig out'.

So you think you'll be back in the UK end of year time now? It's gonna be a shocker with the weather!!

Jx

 

[Dukanista]

Yes it was lovely, although the red wine completely knocked me out and I yawned all through dinner

Had a yummy day today with date and nut muffins for breakfast, salmon sashimi for lunch and grilled asparagus and green peppers for dinner. Choc flavored yoghurt for dessert. Just realized I have not done a completely pp day for weeks... although I've had quite a few days that were mostly protein. I wonder if it's really necessary to do the protein thursdays forever? I guess it's a good backup if you do have too many big meals in a week.

 

[sarafvrm]

I'm tempted to give them a miss if I've not had an over-indulgent week. I think if you're doing 'traditional' conso/stab, with 2 gala meals and 2 starchy meals a week, perhaps you need to counterbalance it with one superstrict day. In the long term, perhaps it's more about reminding you periodically where you've come from/ what you've been through/ what you've achieved and the food rules od Dukan generally.

Today's food sounds delish - very meagre though... Were you deliberately trying to counter last night's indulgence? You'll miss all that lovely fish and seafood in England! x