My progress from restarting through to Xmas

[vj]

Did you stick to your plan at the meal?
A colleague asked if I'd lost weight and I lied and said no to avoid further questions. I just wish people wouldn't be personal, not their business and makes me feel awkward. She then persisted with "well you look like you have" so I just thanked her and elaborated on my poor eating habits. Inside I was telling her to bog off, maybe my body language said that because she changed the subject.

 

[BordersGirl]

Did you stick to your plan at the meal?
A colleague asked if I'd lost weight and I lied and said no to avoid further questions. I just wish people wouldn't be personal, not their business and makes me feel awkward. She then persisted with "well you look like you have" so I just thanked her and elaborated on my poor eating habits. Inside I was telling her to bog off, maybe my body language said that because she changed the subject.

Yeah, I stuck to plan. Had chargrilled plain chicken that came with a little salad (mixed lettuce leaves and 2 cherry tomatoes) and I gave away the chips and bread so felt very virtuous. The friend whose birthday it was is doing Lighterlife and she hadn't had anything but packs since starting on the same day as me (she hasn't had a break like I did) but is taking a (sensible) week off now as she's going to Spain to celebrate her milestone. She had the same salad and king prawns which were posed as a starter so 8 king prawns. We both enjoyed the food very much. I had 2 diet cokes which I know contain citric acid but it can't have been too bad as I'm 1lb down since yesterday as of this morning.

People do ask me if I've lost weight and I say yes I have lost some thank you and that's pretty much the end of the conversation. If they do ask what diet I've been doing I just say something very low carb and that's usually the end of it. I don't care if people know to be honest.

 

[vj]

That is brilliant, well done. Giving away your chips must have been trickier because they were right in front of you. We went out the last weekend and I asked to swap the potatoes for peas. Couldn't trust myself to have them on the plate.
We had FIL over for a light lunch yesterday so I did a buffet of French bread, meats, cheeses, peppers, then some biscuits & crisps for my girls. I happily ate the peppers & meat but had 2 pieces of cheese. I know I'll be in ketosis but needed to taste something different. Mmm Stilton.
Monday to Friday always seems easier because of the routine but we are all home on the weekend and I just have to try harder. Needless to say I drank tea all day yesterday, just couldn't face water. Need to try harder with that today.

 

[BordersGirl]

Giving away your chips must have been trickier because they were right in front of you.

I did ask to replace the chips with extra salad but they screwed it up . It wasn't so difficult as luckily the chips were in a separate dish so I didn't have to take them off the plate, I just passed the dish over.

I know what you mean about the weekends. During the week it's easy, I have 2 packs while I'm at work followed by spag bol and veggies or a bit of salad when I get home. At the weekend I am now often substituting the spag bol for some protein and stick to about 100g of plain chicken, prawns or fresh fish plus the veggies or salad. I've been doing for this for the last 3 weekends including this one. Calorie wise it's about the same as the pack so I don't think it's doing me too much harm, and it's not every day, and I'm still losing weight. Sometimes you just have to do things that make this diet bearable but be ultra sensible about it. Carbs are a definite no no for me as I don't want to be yo yo ing in and out of ketosis as that would just be too hard. I do think that's it's important to stick to the discipline of the packs for a few weeks though so that you get into a routine and make sure that you can stick with the diet. If you go off piste straightaway you're probably less likely to stick to it long term. Those are my thoughts anyway. . I was 100% until I took my break after 6 weeks and then when I back on I was 100% for a week before I started introducing a bit of protein.

I just made up the porridge. I quite like this now as a weekend treat and it makes a change from the shakes. So I will have a bar at lunchtime and then some salad and probably 100g of cod for evening meal. Had some plain chicken last night and veggies. Back to spag bol / cottage pie tomorrow . I do avoid cheese though due to the calories I know it's laden with.

I drink a lot more tea than water. Decaf earl grey and I definitely count it in the liquid allowance as I don't see that it's much different from flavoured water.

 

[BordersGirl]

3.4lbs off this week and I'm pretty happy with that as I've lost a stone in 3 weeks since restarting .

Now just hovering above 15 stone. Hope to reach my next goal of 'getting into the 14s' by next WI.

 

[BordersGirl]

Made it to my goal of 'getting into the 14s' this morning and have now moved to the 'obese 1' BMI category. Pretty pleased with that as it's TOTM and it's been hard going the last 2 days. 3 more days until WI. 7.6 pounds to go to next goal of losing 3 stone

 

[fatfighter]

Well done hun! x

 

[Punkmilitia]

Made it to my goal of 'getting into the 14s' this morning and have now moved to the 'obese 1' BMI category. Pretty pleased with that as it's TOTM and it's been hard going the last 2 days. 3 more days until WI. 7.6 pounds to go to next goal of losing 3 stone

That's great news, I bet you feel fantastic!
Won't be long till you get into the "overweight" BMI category!

 

[BordersGirl]

Had a bit of a crap weekend and ended having some 'extras'. I always find it difficult at TOTM as I feel hungry, rubbish, and know that even if I'm 100% I will have a crap loss that week.

So on Sat I had about 100g of plain chicken and a latte coffee (89 cals, 7g of carbs in the coffee but it was gorgeous!), and on Sunday I had the same again plus a few cashew nuts. Not a disaster but not particularly good either.

I was 100% yesterday tho and so far today. I haven't lost anything on the scales since Sunday. WI is tomorrow and to be honest I'm not expecting to lose anything in addition to my small loss this week as it usual for me when it's TOTM .

I'm going to see what happens in the next couple of weeks as last time it was TOTM I had a rubbish 3 weeks only losing 5lbs in 3 weeks and I was 100% every day.

 

[fatfighter]

When you're having a hungry day why not have a CD SS+ meal? You're still more or less on plan and it shouldn't have any effect on your losses x

 

[BordersGirl]

I should have followed the advice I give to others and had an extra pack but it was one of those weekends when food kept winking at me and my willpower was weak! I'm not familiar with SS+ - I'll have to look it up.

 

[fatfighter]

Here's the list of what you can have. It's not a huge amount but you'd be surprised that the protein is really quite filling (oh and chicken breast is allowed ) x

 

[BordersGirl]

Thanks fatfighter. I already substitute my 3rd meal pack at weekends with 100g plain chicken or fish and have it with the veggies or salad from the S&S approved list. Only this weekend I had another 100g of chicken in addition to that. At least I was relatively sensible and chose things that wouldn't kick me out of ketosis. No way would I do that unless on a planned break as it's damn difficult getting back in. 100% again today and back on track

 

[BordersGirl]

As per usual TOTM strikes again and I stayed the same for the last 4 days weighing in at 14 stone 13.6lbs as I had 4 days previously. So that's 1.8lbs this week .

Hoping for a better week this week.

 

[BordersGirl]

Hopefully left slow losses associated with TOTM behind as I'm down to 14st 12lbs this am, so 1.6lbs down from WI on Wed. At least I should lose at least couple of lbs this week and hopefully a bit more.

 

[Fuffs]

You are doing so well

I am not expecting anything amazing as I swapped from Atkins last week. I lost 2lbs saturday-wednesday and was all set to throw my scales out of a window...Then yesterday my weight dropped by another 5lbs and then another 1lb this morning. So was 8lb down this morning. Weigh in will be Wednesday, as that is when I switched to a proper VLCD. I was doing celebrity slim with a veg soup sat-wed.

You really are doing very well. I have enjoyed reading your diary

 

[BordersGirl]

Just been thinking about some of the issues I have with food and what I need to learn on this journey and I'm recording this so that I have something to look back on when I'm in maintenance and read how I felt at this time.

Having done a VLCD twice now and understanding the lack of hunger that ketosis brings I know that most of my hunger comes from eating the wrong type / too many carbs and a dip in blood sugar always makes me feel starving so I fill up on carbs and high sugar things and the cycle goes on. It's a real hunger, but one impacted by blood sugar levels, and one that I can look to avoid if I choose the right foods. No more carb laden breakfasts and lunches when I finish this. I will try to stick to a lower carb breakfast and maybe salads for lunch instead of high calorie sandwich fillings stuffed into a big baguette. And cut out too many carbs in the evening meal saving things like pasta and rice for weekends.

I get a sort of 'boredom' eating too. When I started this diet I was constantly surprised by how many times I would walk past the food cupboard or fridge and open it to see what I could have whether I was hungry or not (mostly I was not). Of course I then soon remembered that I was on this diet and couldn't have anything at all but it was the realisation that I was doing it without even realising that was the lesson on this journey. I need to learn self control in that area and this VLCD is helping me with that as I'm far more aware of what I'm doing rather than being on auto pilot. I also realised that I had started to eat bad things when my OH wasn't around so that he didn't comment which really was the start of the slippery slope I think. Luckily this VLCD has nipped this in the bud. I also notice how many times my OH goes to the cupboard for biscuits or snacks (not that he has to worry particularly as he's much slimmer than me!) and I think I used to copy him a bit and him getting a few biscuits would mean that I did the same and I can't afford the luxury of that many snacks without it having an impact on my weight, and nor can I afford to dish our meals up in 2 equal portions - his plate needs to contain more than mine.

There's also that thing where certain foods will prey on my mind and I won't be content until they're gone. My mother who doesn't have weight issues can have a large bar of chocolate in the fridge and eat a couple of squares when she feels like it and make the bar last a week or more. If I have something like that in the fridge it doesn't last a day. I'm constantly thinking about it and 'just having a little more' until the whole lot is gone that day. Better if I don't buy any at all, or only a small amount that restricts my intake.

Another thing I did when I finished the VLCD the last time and was having success at maintaining was to check every single label at the supermarket before I bought things. I vowed that I would only buy healthy things and not get tempted by BOGOF offers, but once I started on the slippery slope I hit the supermarket offers in a big way again. I'm still doing it now as I'm shopping for my OH rather than myself mostly but hope that I can go back to just buying things I need and should be eating when I'm at my goal weight.

Lots of things to think about but lots more time to plan my maintenance routine as I'm a long way off goal yet.

 

[Fuffs]

It is good that you are taking this time to get to understand your eating habits. Many people dont think about the fact that this should be as much a mental transition as a weight transition.

I have forgotten most times I have tried to lose weight. I have got to know myself pretty well recently. Self control is what I need more than anything lol

 

[BordersGirl]

Oh yes, everything starts with self control! Won't be long before you leave the '20s' behind and get into the teens the rate you're losing :clap:

 

[Fuffs]

I cannot wait for that day In April, I planned it for my 30th Birthday. Wanted to have lost 7st. Well life has happened and 25th November is not far off now. So, hope to have achieved it early 2012 now

I am planning a weekend off for my birthday. It is on a Friday. So not going to go mad, but must factor in some of my favourite food and drink

I guess before now, having a break meant going totally off the rails. But this year I have changed and I am enoying the change

It is great to read what you are up to too. Keeps my mind focused. Too easy to get caught up in posts of when people have gone off the rails. I am trying to focus on positive journeys at the moment. So thank you