Hannah's Lighter Life: The RTM Edition!
- Thread starter hanmac
- Start date
hanmac
Getting her sparkle back
Day 9
Had an awful day at work, almost popped home at lunch for a bit of a howl (am I the only one on a VLCD who feels far more emotional than normal!!) Usually i can deal with work situations head on, but today I just felt like tearing up! Thankfully powered through and got things done. Came home feeling really down but sat with a cup of black tea and my bar, strangely watching the Great British Bake Off (have no appetite so it's not making me hungry!) And now I feel so cheery!!
Also randomly decided to try on all the jackets in my coat cupboard. A few lately i'd given up on wearing as they felt tight, uncomfortable on the shoulders and like they were squeezing my arms. And today I could not believe how many fit!! It's only been a week but the difference is insane! Really boosted my mood and gave me the extra motivation to keep going (whereas normally after a day like today i'd be drowning my sorrows in glass of vino!)
Hope everyone is having a good Tuesday )
H xx
Had an awful day at work, almost popped home at lunch for a bit of a howl (am I the only one on a VLCD who feels far more emotional than normal!!) Usually i can deal with work situations head on, but today I just felt like tearing up! Thankfully powered through and got things done. Came home feeling really down but sat with a cup of black tea and my bar, strangely watching the Great British Bake Off (have no appetite so it's not making me hungry!) And now I feel so cheery!!
Also randomly decided to try on all the jackets in my coat cupboard. A few lately i'd given up on wearing as they felt tight, uncomfortable on the shoulders and like they were squeezing my arms. And today I could not believe how many fit!! It's only been a week but the difference is insane! Really boosted my mood and gave me the extra motivation to keep going (whereas normally after a day like today i'd be drowning my sorrows in glass of vino!)
Hope everyone is having a good Tuesday )
H xx
Spanglymum
Gold Member
Sorry to hear about your rubbish day at work but well done for keeping on track. I watched the bake off too, although typical me, I'm wondering if seeing all those pastries will make me release insulin and mess up ketosis. (See, you're not the only one in a, shall we say, slightly delicate mental state right now! ;-) )
Glad you agree re the book idea. Think I'd best take it offline before someone else gets in first!!!
Glad you agree re the book idea. Think I'd best take it offline before someone else gets in first!!!
nzmegs
Silver Member
Spangly -I love the idea of a rush of insulin because of WATCHING cakes being made! I also sat down and watched the Bake Off. I mentally squirrelled away the things I want to eat for when I am off the diet. I used to do this a lot. tell myself that IU can eat that when I am finished. Strangely - I never did.
I have bread proving right now actually. Once it is cooked I am leaving the house for a walk to avoid the deliciousness...
send me an email if you want to discuss the book idea! Something tells me that there is room in the market for a 100 books on this subject. people lap this kind of stuff up.
hannah - i am sorry to hear you were feeling rubbish at work. I often feel lonely at home on my own, but actually I don't miss office politics one little bit. yes, you are right - being on this diet is hard and messes with your mind. it makes you extra sensitive. the good feelings will kick in soon. just stick with it.
I have bread proving right now actually. Once it is cooked I am leaving the house for a walk to avoid the deliciousness...
send me an email if you want to discuss the book idea! Something tells me that there is room in the market for a 100 books on this subject. people lap this kind of stuff up.
hannah - i am sorry to hear you were feeling rubbish at work. I often feel lonely at home on my own, but actually I don't miss office politics one little bit. yes, you are right - being on this diet is hard and messes with your mind. it makes you extra sensitive. the good feelings will kick in soon. just stick with it.
hanmac
Getting her sparkle back
Day 11
Another crummy day at work yesterday, but todays been better, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...the weekend!!
All is going okay on the other hand though, had a doc appt yesterday and she weighed me - and I said 'oh my BMI is above the healthy range, how much weight do you reckon I should lose' (didnt mention I was on Exante, my last doctor had a huge vendetta against diets like this so steer clear of mentioning it!) and she replied 'oh half a stone and you'd be fine'...which obviously isn't the case as i've worked it out myself! But gave me a confidence boost as it made me think I don't look that overweight, if that makes sense, and I know after losing another half a stone i'll be happier already. Helps to break it down into chunks!
Yesterday was also my bestest chums birthday so she popped over for a cuppa after work, usually I would have used this an excuse to buy a big ole birthday cake, for us both to have a slice, and then for me to end up 'having' to finish the cake, and polishing it off on my own for the rest of the week! So this time I just got a doughnut, popped a candle in it and it was exactly the same gesture!
Have another slight weekend dilemma though. Said friend this weekend would also like to go out for a birthday lunch on sunday, and has invited me round for some wine and curry on Saturday night. I feel terrible as it is her birthday, and noone wants to be a party pooper, but at the same time I just don't want to eat...I'm determined to do a month with absolutely no food whatsoever. I haven't told her i'm on Exante, and last night she was asking about a work night out and I replied 'oh it was good but glad i stayed sober', then she started trying to dig into why i'm not drinking (my response of fancying a break didn't seem to cut it) and she even said 'oh god I hope your not trying to lose weight'. And i just changed the subject but this is what makes me a bit anxious about telling her, as whenever i've tried to lose weight before on less extreme diets, she's always been the one to say 'oh you don't need to lose weight' etc. and right now that's not what I need to hear. I know i need to lose weight, but I know what she's like.
ARGH. Not sure what to do - any suggestions much appreciated! was torn between trying to just eat a little bit of meat and veg, but I know she'll have crisps, drinks etc. the full works, and if I dont eat them she'll suss somethings up! Trying to think of a non-food related alternative...
Anyways, hope your all having a good week - over the halfway mark now!
H xx
Another crummy day at work yesterday, but todays been better, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...the weekend!!
All is going okay on the other hand though, had a doc appt yesterday and she weighed me - and I said 'oh my BMI is above the healthy range, how much weight do you reckon I should lose' (didnt mention I was on Exante, my last doctor had a huge vendetta against diets like this so steer clear of mentioning it!) and she replied 'oh half a stone and you'd be fine'...which obviously isn't the case as i've worked it out myself! But gave me a confidence boost as it made me think I don't look that overweight, if that makes sense, and I know after losing another half a stone i'll be happier already. Helps to break it down into chunks!
Yesterday was also my bestest chums birthday so she popped over for a cuppa after work, usually I would have used this an excuse to buy a big ole birthday cake, for us both to have a slice, and then for me to end up 'having' to finish the cake, and polishing it off on my own for the rest of the week! So this time I just got a doughnut, popped a candle in it and it was exactly the same gesture!
Have another slight weekend dilemma though. Said friend this weekend would also like to go out for a birthday lunch on sunday, and has invited me round for some wine and curry on Saturday night. I feel terrible as it is her birthday, and noone wants to be a party pooper, but at the same time I just don't want to eat...I'm determined to do a month with absolutely no food whatsoever. I haven't told her i'm on Exante, and last night she was asking about a work night out and I replied 'oh it was good but glad i stayed sober', then she started trying to dig into why i'm not drinking (my response of fancying a break didn't seem to cut it) and she even said 'oh god I hope your not trying to lose weight'. And i just changed the subject but this is what makes me a bit anxious about telling her, as whenever i've tried to lose weight before on less extreme diets, she's always been the one to say 'oh you don't need to lose weight' etc. and right now that's not what I need to hear. I know i need to lose weight, but I know what she's like.
ARGH. Not sure what to do - any suggestions much appreciated! was torn between trying to just eat a little bit of meat and veg, but I know she'll have crisps, drinks etc. the full works, and if I dont eat them she'll suss somethings up! Trying to think of a non-food related alternative...
Anyways, hope your all having a good week - over the halfway mark now!
H xx
Clinquant
Gold Member
Hi Hannah As a long time lurker and relatively new poster I hope you don't mind me responding. I think I sabotaged so many of my opportunities to nip smaller gains in the bud by compromising and eating so that others didn't disapprove. Regrettably, after 3 or 4 years of maintaining, albeit with some ups and downs, I regained all my losses. Having more weight to lose does make the VLCD route much easier to justify but if you have no desire to eat, why would you compromise your chances of success. We all know how hard the first few days are if you were thrown off course and had to start again.
I would say the best thing would be to be honest with her and say what you are trying to do and, even if she doesn't approve, it is really important to you. You can say that you really want to celebrate her birthday with her but can you do it without food. The decision to eat or not, is entirely yours. I appreciate that is easier to say than do and it might not feel possible, but it is an option. Weigh up your choices and think how you will feel on Monday. It sounds as if you need to have a good weekend after a difficult week.
I hope that doesn't come across as preachy. It is certainly not something I find easy at all and I may have to come back and look at my own advice before long - particularly if I choose to carry on over Christmas and beyond.
Good luck!
I would say the best thing would be to be honest with her and say what you are trying to do and, even if she doesn't approve, it is really important to you. You can say that you really want to celebrate her birthday with her but can you do it without food. The decision to eat or not, is entirely yours. I appreciate that is easier to say than do and it might not feel possible, but it is an option. Weigh up your choices and think how you will feel on Monday. It sounds as if you need to have a good weekend after a difficult week.
I hope that doesn't come across as preachy. It is certainly not something I find easy at all and I may have to come back and look at my own advice before long - particularly if I choose to carry on over Christmas and beyond.
Good luck!
nzmegs
Silver Member
Hi hannah - i think you know what the right choice is. it isn't an easy one but it has to be done. the fact is that the party/dinner will be so busy, lots of people lots of drinking and you will find that no one will be watching what you are eating or drinking. You are there for your friend and she needs to be there for you too.
if she is sabotaging your diet it is because you are letting her.
That is harsh - but so true. Only you are in control of your eating and it is entirely up to you what you do on occasions like this - but you must choose based on what you want and not what makes you feel better in terms of your friendship. in a months time, you will be back to normal and it will all be forgotten.
If you can try to save at least two packs to have at the party - one soup and one bar. have the soup at the meal and stretch it out across all courses, then cut your bar into peices and freeze them. Pull out a peice every time you want to have snacks. no one will notice what you are eating but they will see you partaking in something. sip sparkling water in a wine glass and it all looks normal in everyone's eyes.
Besides there is very little which is more normal than a woman saying "oh, i am on a diet....again!" Once those words pop out of your mouth, the conversation ends and all questions stop. it is boring for other people, but explains quickly and simply that you won't be eating what they are.
Good luck!
if she is sabotaging your diet it is because you are letting her.
That is harsh - but so true. Only you are in control of your eating and it is entirely up to you what you do on occasions like this - but you must choose based on what you want and not what makes you feel better in terms of your friendship. in a months time, you will be back to normal and it will all be forgotten.
If you can try to save at least two packs to have at the party - one soup and one bar. have the soup at the meal and stretch it out across all courses, then cut your bar into peices and freeze them. Pull out a peice every time you want to have snacks. no one will notice what you are eating but they will see you partaking in something. sip sparkling water in a wine glass and it all looks normal in everyone's eyes.
Besides there is very little which is more normal than a woman saying "oh, i am on a diet....again!" Once those words pop out of your mouth, the conversation ends and all questions stop. it is boring for other people, but explains quickly and simply that you won't be eating what they are.
Good luck!
hanmac
Getting her sparkle back
Hi Clinquant!
Thank you for responding
I took your advice! I'll write a longer post on what happened but you gave me the kick I needed to realise it's better to be honest, than sneaking around and coming up with bizarre excuses all the time!I've seen some of your posts on Spangly's diary (had a catchup session last night with a big mug of black tea! who needs parties...) and good luck for your journey too
hope you have a good weigh in too.H xx
hanmac
Getting her sparkle back
Hi nzmegs,
Not harsh - completely true! I think before I wasn't 100% ready to commit, so everytime someone made a comment I used it to jump off the bandwagon. But right now i'm firmly on it and feeling so much better, there's not a single part of me that whats to sacrifice what i'm doing for the sake of one night so I know it's the right decision.
Hope everything is going well with you, and your week is getting a bit better
H xx
hanmac
Getting her sparkle back
Day 14
Wow, two weeks down...where has the time gone?!
I can only hope the next 6 weeks fly by just as fast!
Thought i'd have a Sunday morning catch-up, watching the Great North Run is motivating me to get back into running (but possibly once I start eating again, at the moment i'm wiped out by the stairs at work!)
So last time I posted I had the dilemma of telling my friend i'm on a VLCD and what to do for her birthday. So she text on Friday asking if I still fancied tea at hers on Saturday night, and I bit the bullet and told her (think it was easier to do it by text than in person, wimpy I know!) and explained that i'd been waiting until I was past the initial hurdle of starting before telling anyone, and that it's not forever but its something I need to do for myself now. And she did understand, I suggested a night with a DVD or going to the cinema, but she arranged to go out with friends from work instead. Which is completely fine, it gave me a quite evening in where I sorted through all my clothes - tried on a whole bunch that two weeks ago I couldn't even get into and fit already, it's crazy!! But there's one black dress that I'm determined to get back into...before I started I couldn't even get it over my bum, a week in a tried it on and got it on but couldnt even get the zip to meet, and last night I got it on and could hold the zip together but not quite zip it up. I just couldn't believe how quickly it's changed. It's still far too tight, I think even if I got it zipped up in a weeks time I wouldn't be able to sit down! But i'm confident that in a few weeks it'll be good to go! Tried on a gorgeous coat in TK Maxx that caught my eye when I popped in to get some housey bits, it was a size 10 and fit perfectly (reduced from 750 pounds to 150...eek!!) But am determined to wait until i'm finished to buy anything. Whilst sorting out my drawers sorted out things i'd never wear so theyre off to the charity shop and theres a nice space for my new slim wardrobe ready and waiting.
Weigh in tomorrow! Eeeek. Not sure what to expect really. I feel so much slimmer but know that might not translate into a dramatic weight loss, but shall see, i'm feeling happy so I hope it's reflected in the numbers. Today i'm off to my friends party. She's going to text when they've finished eating lunch so I can pop to the restaurant/bar for a lovely glass of water haha. But means I can still be sociable, and noone will even comment that I wasn't at lunch.
Ordered new packs on Thursday, Exante now has a toffee shake that I am ridiculously excited to try. They should arrive tomorrow
Hope your all having a great weekend, despite the crazy weather!
H xx
Wow, two weeks down...where has the time gone?!
I can only hope the next 6 weeks fly by just as fast!
Thought i'd have a Sunday morning catch-up, watching the Great North Run is motivating me to get back into running (but possibly once I start eating again, at the moment i'm wiped out by the stairs at work!)
So last time I posted I had the dilemma of telling my friend i'm on a VLCD and what to do for her birthday. So she text on Friday asking if I still fancied tea at hers on Saturday night, and I bit the bullet and told her (think it was easier to do it by text than in person, wimpy I know!) and explained that i'd been waiting until I was past the initial hurdle of starting before telling anyone, and that it's not forever but its something I need to do for myself now. And she did understand, I suggested a night with a DVD or going to the cinema, but she arranged to go out with friends from work instead. Which is completely fine, it gave me a quite evening in where I sorted through all my clothes - tried on a whole bunch that two weeks ago I couldn't even get into and fit already, it's crazy!! But there's one black dress that I'm determined to get back into...before I started I couldn't even get it over my bum, a week in a tried it on and got it on but couldnt even get the zip to meet, and last night I got it on and could hold the zip together but not quite zip it up. I just couldn't believe how quickly it's changed. It's still far too tight, I think even if I got it zipped up in a weeks time I wouldn't be able to sit down! But i'm confident that in a few weeks it'll be good to go! Tried on a gorgeous coat in TK Maxx that caught my eye when I popped in to get some housey bits, it was a size 10 and fit perfectly (reduced from 750 pounds to 150...eek!!) But am determined to wait until i'm finished to buy anything. Whilst sorting out my drawers sorted out things i'd never wear so theyre off to the charity shop and theres a nice space for my new slim wardrobe ready and waiting.
Weigh in tomorrow! Eeeek. Not sure what to expect really. I feel so much slimmer but know that might not translate into a dramatic weight loss, but shall see, i'm feeling happy so I hope it's reflected in the numbers. Today i'm off to my friends party. She's going to text when they've finished eating lunch so I can pop to the restaurant/bar for a lovely glass of water haha. But means I can still be sociable, and noone will even comment that I wasn't at lunch.
Ordered new packs on Thursday, Exante now has a toffee shake that I am ridiculously excited to try. They should arrive tomorrow
Hope your all having a great weekend, despite the crazy weather!
H xx
carrieclaus
Gold Member
Good luck for weigh in! Your doing completely fabulous!! Xxx
Spanglymum
Gold Member
Wow! Sounds like your shape is changing really quickly. I'd be so happy to be able to fit back into my size 10s. I used to love TK Maxx. Still do in fact but after massively overspending when I reached goal I have to be careful. Got an amazing silk Jil Sander dress from there, reduced from £1300 (!) to £110. And a crepe Calvin Klein dress reduced from £499 to £79. Sigh.
I will get back into this stuff again, eventually! I reckon your figure must be pinging back because you're all young, unlike crinkly old me lol.
Sounds like you're doing fab!
Sent from my HTC One using MiniMins.com mobile app
I will get back into this stuff again, eventually! I reckon your figure must be pinging back because you're all young, unlike crinkly old me lol.
Sounds like you're doing fab!
Sent from my HTC One using MiniMins.com mobile app
hanmac
Getting her sparkle back
Day 15
So weighed in this morning and I now am...
82.6kg!!
I am dead chuffed, was secretly thinking in my head 'please be something starting with 82....' and it's even better than I expected!! So with 7.5ibs off last time, and 5.5 this week I am on unlucky number 13ibs lost, but for me it's lucky, almost a stone in 2 weeks, this is why I love this diet! I dont feel hungry, I'm sleeping like a log and I actually get excited about getting ready again. Went to my friends party yesterday and didn't feel like the odd one out, in fact got a bunch of compliments on what I was wearing (noone mentioned weigh but I prefer it like that) and was more than happy to be in photos, recently when I had my photo taken i'd cringe waiting for it to go up on facebook so I could remove the tag, but every photo I saw last night I actually liked!
Hopefully I don't sound too gushy, i'm just really pleased. I've been feeling so much better, it's nice that this is reflected in the numbers too, but overally happiness is key (and as you can probably tell...)i'm definitely happy today!!
Only side effect i've been getting this time is persistent pins and needles in my feet...am I the only one?
Hope everyone had a good weekend and happy weigh in's
H xx
So weighed in this morning and I now am...
82.6kg!!
I am dead chuffed, was secretly thinking in my head 'please be something starting with 82....' and it's even better than I expected!! So with 7.5ibs off last time, and 5.5 this week I am on unlucky number 13ibs lost, but for me it's lucky, almost a stone in 2 weeks, this is why I love this diet! I dont feel hungry, I'm sleeping like a log and I actually get excited about getting ready again. Went to my friends party yesterday and didn't feel like the odd one out, in fact got a bunch of compliments on what I was wearing (noone mentioned weigh but I prefer it like that) and was more than happy to be in photos, recently when I had my photo taken i'd cringe waiting for it to go up on facebook so I could remove the tag, but every photo I saw last night I actually liked!
Hopefully I don't sound too gushy, i'm just really pleased. I've been feeling so much better, it's nice that this is reflected in the numbers too, but overally happiness is key (and as you can probably tell...)i'm definitely happy today!!
Only side effect i've been getting this time is persistent pins and needles in my feet...am I the only one?
Hope everyone had a good weekend and happy weigh in's
H xx
hanmac
Getting her sparkle back
hanmac
Getting her sparkle back
Oh my days - I have spent my whole 23 years of living believing that pounds were shortened to -
I B S e.g. 7ibs...
but today I only just realised, it's lbs - L not I!! LBS!!
Ahhhhhhh, Its a revelation!!
I feel like such a fool...
So if you've ever looked at my signature and though 'I wonder why she's written ibs instead of lbs' now you know why! It was purely because I typed '7ibs' into google and google being the genius it is wrote 'did you mean 7lbs'...you learn something 'new' every day!
Hope everyone's having a good Monday.
H xx
I B S e.g. 7ibs...
but today I only just realised, it's lbs - L not I!! LBS!!
Ahhhhhhh, Its a revelation!!
I feel like such a fool...
So if you've ever looked at my signature and though 'I wonder why she's written ibs instead of lbs' now you know why! It was purely because I typed '7ibs' into google and google being the genius it is wrote 'did you mean 7lbs'...you learn something 'new' every day!
Hope everyone's having a good Monday.
H xx
hanmac
Getting her sparkle back
Day 16
Have managed to solve the 'pins and needles dilemma', it was getting really bad, almost constantly in my feet everytime I crossed legs, changed legs, stood up etc. to the point the other night I was in bed - could feel them in my feet and made the mistake of typing 'pins and needles symptoms' into google - NEVER RECOMMENDED!!
So now i've managed to reassure myself I dont have brain tumour, turns out that by adding salt to my soups they've stopped! Reading online apparently it's common in ketosis for salt levels to get low, resulting in pins and needles. Very bizarre as I never had this at all last time, but very glad its over.
Also today i've had no appetite whatsoever, it's now half 10 and I'm forcing down a bar as I completely forgot to eat it earlier. But got me thinking, if you ate 2 packs a day would your body go into starvation mode and you wouldn't lose weight? Not that i'm planning on doing it! Just interested in what the effects of a difference of 200cals would be.
Anyway - enough ramblings for this evening Hope you're all doing well!
H xx
Have managed to solve the 'pins and needles dilemma', it was getting really bad, almost constantly in my feet everytime I crossed legs, changed legs, stood up etc. to the point the other night I was in bed - could feel them in my feet and made the mistake of typing 'pins and needles symptoms' into google - NEVER RECOMMENDED!!
So now i've managed to reassure myself I dont have brain tumour, turns out that by adding salt to my soups they've stopped! Reading online apparently it's common in ketosis for salt levels to get low, resulting in pins and needles. Very bizarre as I never had this at all last time, but very glad its over.
Also today i've had no appetite whatsoever, it's now half 10 and I'm forcing down a bar as I completely forgot to eat it earlier. But got me thinking, if you ate 2 packs a day would your body go into starvation mode and you wouldn't lose weight? Not that i'm planning on doing it! Just interested in what the effects of a difference of 200cals would be.
Anyway - enough ramblings for this evening
Hope you're all doing well!H xx
hanmac
Getting her sparkle back
Day 21
Sunday...funday?
Have been a bit down past few days, we've had really crummy weather, work has been a bit of a nightmare and it's amazing the so called 'friends' who aren't around as much when your not drinking.
But ce la vie - today the sun is shining and its the weekend!!
Hoping for a good loss tomorrow, fingers crossed. Had a week where I know i've lost weight but I feel like I look the same (if this makes sense?) I know it takes time for your body to catch up but felt a bit 'meh'. And started wondering if one glass of wine would really be so bad. But do not fear, I've persevered. New batch of Exante products came on Monday, the red bean chilli is much nicer than the Spag bol, but both are a nice change in texture. The new Toffee shake is thankfully not as sickly as I expected - so overall pretty pleased with the new packs. Just need to try the new Mint Choc shake.
Hope everyones having a good weekend, and happy weigh-in's
H xx
Sunday...funday?
Have been a bit down past few days, we've had really crummy weather, work has been a bit of a nightmare and it's amazing the so called 'friends' who aren't around as much when your not drinking.
But ce la vie - today the sun is shining and its the weekend!!
Hoping for a good loss tomorrow, fingers crossed. Had a week where I know i've lost weight but I feel like I look the same (if this makes sense?) I know it takes time for your body to catch up but felt a bit 'meh'. And started wondering if one glass of wine would really be so bad. But do not fear, I've persevered. New batch of Exante products came on Monday, the red bean chilli is much nicer than the Spag bol, but both are a nice change in texture. The new Toffee shake is thankfully not as sickly as I expected - so overall pretty pleased with the new packs. Just need to try the new Mint Choc shake.
Hope everyones having a good weekend, and happy weigh-in's
H xx
