ladyfelsham
Back to SW again
Great that you have decided what to do and are preparing for it!
Carbs are evil blighters - but oh how I do love them
.
Carbs are evil blighters - but oh how I do love them
.
Out on my broomstick and flying light as a feather
- Thread starter Lisa-Ann
- Start date
Lisa-Ann
Full Member
Thank you @ladyfelsham & @Allotrope I'm counting down the days now until I can get back on plan. But, I will enjoy my holiday & get some naughty carbs out of my system in the meantime.
This weekend has been quite therapeutic as I've sorted through my wardrobe & made myself get rid of a few dresses, tunic tops, old ugg boots & dolly shoes. I'm terrible at holding on to clothes. In the last few years since my huge spike in weight gain, I've lost myself a bit as I've not been updating my wardrobe & I've been rotating the same items of clothing week after week & year after year. I kept telling myself there was no point in buying clothes while I was still a work in progress. Not a great idea though as a few years down the line, I've still not shifted the weight & the clothes I was wearing did not make me feel good about myself. So now I'm going to try & dress as though I'm already at my goal weight. I'm going to phase out the leggings, dig out some jeggings that fit me now (little compromise until I can get back in proper jeans). I'm going to wear vest tops & cardigans again & stop worrying about hiding my wobbly bits. Living in leggings & baggy tops has not given me the incentive to lose weight as I've not felt uncomfortable, well that is unless I've been invited to a fancy do or something. But, long story short, there are so many brand new items of clothing in my wardrobe (still with tags on - guilty pleasure) that I'm looking forward to getting into as I go down in weight.
I really need to do this now. I've been so fed up for years holding on to this weight. It's held me back in so many areas of my life. My hormones are all over the place. We've been trying for a baby for years & it's not happened for us. My BMI is too high for fertility drugs or IVF & I'm on the threshold age wise as I'll be entering my 40s the end of next year. I went self-employed a couple of years ago, but have barely made a success of my business & now we're struggling financially. I've just recently signed up with a couple of employment agencies looking for the type of jobs I'm qualified to do in youth work, higher education teaching, welfare rights & housing worker roles, but was told by one of the recruitment workers that because I've been out of the field for a couple of years employers would bypass my skills & qualifications in favour of someone else who is fresh in the field & will accept a lot less money. When I was asked about salary expectations, I said I'd want to match my previous salary for a comparable permanent role; but, that I would consider less for a temporary role. This worker advised me to drop my expectations by more than six-grand. Anyway, the point is, I feel like I'm failing in a number of areas of my life & I attribute much of my shortcomings down to my weight. If I was at goal weight I'd have better self-esteem & confidence. I'd be able to get pregnant. I could be more out there with my business & get it fully off the ground & maybe then I wouldn't need a conventional job & could concentrate on running my own empire, as you don't get rich working for someone else. However, current situation, I miss my career & the drive & sense of purpose it gave me & I definitely left the field too soon. In hindsight, I was mad to accept voluntary redundancy when I did from a well paid job; but, in the same respect I have learned so much along the way. I know that I'm game to take a risk & see where it lands me. Plus, I've not faired too badly & have still managed to run a house & a car. I do miss being able to impulse buy or just to splurge on new things as & when the mood takes me, but I've had a couple of years of time freedom & you can't put a price on that. The point of all this is that I need to get my life in order & the crux of it is my weight.
I'm counting down the days now until I can get back on plan. But, I will enjoy my holiday & get some naughty carbs out of my system in the meantime. This weekend has been quite therapeutic as I've sorted through my wardrobe & made myself get rid of a few dresses, tunic tops, old ugg boots & dolly shoes. I'm terrible at holding on to clothes. In the last few years since my huge spike in weight gain, I've lost myself a bit as I've not been updating my wardrobe & I've been rotating the same items of clothing week after week & year after year. I kept telling myself there was no point in buying clothes while I was still a work in progress. Not a great idea though as a few years down the line, I've still not shifted the weight & the clothes I was wearing did not make me feel good about myself. So now I'm going to try & dress as though I'm already at my goal weight. I'm going to phase out the leggings, dig out some jeggings that fit me now (little compromise until I can get back in proper jeans). I'm going to wear vest tops & cardigans again & stop worrying about hiding my wobbly bits. Living in leggings & baggy tops has not given me the incentive to lose weight as I've not felt uncomfortable, well that is unless I've been invited to a fancy do or something. But, long story short, there are so many brand new items of clothing in my wardrobe (still with tags on - guilty pleasure
) that I'm looking forward to getting into as I go down in weight. I really need to do this now. I've been so fed up for years holding on to this weight. It's held me back in so many areas of my life. My hormones are all over the place. We've been trying for a baby for years & it's not happened for us. My BMI is too high for fertility drugs or IVF & I'm on the threshold age wise as I'll be entering my 40s the end of next year. I went self-employed a couple of years ago, but have barely made a success of my business & now we're struggling financially. I've just recently signed up with a couple of employment agencies looking for the type of jobs I'm qualified to do in youth work, higher education teaching, welfare rights & housing worker roles, but was told by one of the recruitment workers that because I've been out of the field for a couple of years employers would bypass my skills & qualifications in favour of someone else who is fresh in the field & will accept a lot less money. When I was asked about salary expectations, I said I'd want to match my previous salary for a comparable permanent role; but, that I would consider less for a temporary role. This worker advised me to drop my expectations by more than six-grand.
Anyway, the point is, I feel like I'm failing in a number of areas of my life & I attribute much of my shortcomings down to my weight. If I was at goal weight I'd have better self-esteem & confidence. I'd be able to get pregnant. I could be more out there with my business & get it fully off the ground & maybe then I wouldn't need a conventional job & could concentrate on running my own empire, as you don't get rich working for someone else. However, current situation, I miss my career & the drive & sense of purpose it gave me & I definitely left the field too soon. In hindsight, I was mad to accept voluntary redundancy when I did from a well paid job; but, in the same respect I have learned so much along the way. I know that I'm game to take a risk & see where it lands me. Plus, I've not faired too badly & have still managed to run a house & a car. I do miss being able to impulse buy or just to splurge on new things as & when the mood takes me, but I've had a couple of years of time freedom & you can't put a price on that. The point of all this is that I need to get my life in order & the crux of it is my weight.
Lisa-Ann
Full Member
We really need to do this don't we @Allotrope
I need to catch up with your diary to see how you've been getting on. I've not started the BSD Monday as planned, because I came on my monthly.
Lisa-Ann
Full Member
Oooh it's been a while, but nevertheless, it's time to update my diary and keep myself accountable. I've been doing Exante total solution since the 18th June, so 4 weeks on Sunday. I've more or less stuck ridgidly to the plan, apart from adding food-week in a few days earlier than planned, to coincide with a couple of events. If any one knows the plan - food-wise, I probably over ate on calories, but I did stick mainly to protein and salad and tried to keep the carbs low. My long-term plan is to drop some weight quickly, really reduce my BMI overall and then continue on my old favourite 'Atkins'. My current incentives are to increase my fertility and possibly fall pregnant by the end of this year. I've been trying for a baby for years without success and in the last couple of years I've suffered a few miscarriages and the doctors all put this down to my weight. I also turn 40 at the end of this year, so time is imperative. Health is another incentive as I've been put on medication for high blood pressure in the last 12 weeks. They've been trying to get me to take medication for this for 2 years, but I've always refused up until recently. Again, although they don't fully understand the mechanics of what is causing my blood pressure to be high, my weight is the first thing that comes into question. So, my resolve is finally strong and because I'm not doing this purely to look good in the mirror and to buy smaller clothes, I'm finding it easier to stick to. I do still struggle with cravings, but I'm learning that I'm not physically hungry and the cravings are usually in my mind. I'm also reading the 'Beck Diet Solution' to help with the psychological aspect of being on a strict plan. Plus, I decided only to weigh myself every four weeks so I'm not due to step on the scales until Monday coming. I didn't want to mess with my head if my losses weren't as great as others when I'm being so restricted. So that is what's going on with me in a nutshell, now to catch up on some diaries and I'm praying the Atkins forum is thriving once again as it's been so quiet for a long time. Broomsticks x
pigletville
Silver Member
Welcome back. I'm currently on Exante too, switched over from low carb to get over a plateau and have every intention of switching back after a couple of months.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Lisa-Ann
Full Member
Welcome back. I'm currently on Exante too, switched over from low carb to get over a plateau and have every intention of switching back after a couple of months.
Good luck.
Thank you Pigletville
I'll have to check out your diary, before I ask you a million questions about how you're getting on. Good luck with your journey too. I have to say you've done amazing so far judging by the stats under your username. I hope I can do as well as you. lisa x
Lisa-Ann
Full Member
So, the bathroom faerie returned the scales so I could weigh myself this morning. I have lost 1st 8lbs in four weeks. I'm really pleased with this loss as I've moved down two stone brackets on the scales. I've also lost inches from all over, which is amazing. Anyway, pre-planned evening off today and I will try to stick to just chicken and salad with mayonnaise on the side. Then I'm back on Exante total solution properly in the morning and will weigh again four weeks from today. I'm debating whether or not to do food week in a few weeks time though as I'm wondering whether it hinders losses. I can't help but feeling my loss would have been greater had I not done food week. Although, I mainly stuck to eggs, ham, chicken, steak, salads, green veggies etc with small amounts of cheese and nuts, I didn't actually work out the calories, instead I concentrated on keeping the carbs low. I guess I'll just see how I'm getting on in a few weeks and make the decision then. Broomsticks x
pigletville
Silver Member
Congratulations! That's a great loss. Good luck for the next week. 
pigletville
Silver Member
Hey how's it going?thank you Pigletville
AliGal
Eating meat
Have you measured yourself too? Inches reduce when scales don't. I'm smaller inches than when I was last this fat - mainly because I've been low carb recently, and have more muscle than before. I had an inbody 770 which shows high muscle mass. MFP has a section to track measurements. My goal is to loose inches and get below half my height - 33 inches. Currently 40 inches and much larger hips and thighs - as I do go in at the waist! I look forward to keeping you company.
Lisa-Ann
Full Member
Hey Pigletville and AliGal, how are you both?
I'm on day 41 and I'm doing a restart today. Unfortunately, I've not really been able to get back on plan properly since adding food. I wasn't terrible to begin with mainly protein, green salads and veggies, but more recently the naughty foods have slipped back in, you know the ones - high calories, high fat and high carbs. 
My partner shook his head at me and said "you've probably put all your weight back on, all that hard work for nothing." I bloody well hope not, but then I have had 3 perfect weeks on total solution, a fairly good fourth week including food and then 2 more not so good weeks unable to get back on plan that have literally gone from bad to worse. Anyway, I'm not going to weigh for another two weeks at least. I did measure myself when I weighed last AliGal and I lost inches from all over and made a note of it on my phone. I was really pleased as it's so nice to have the non scale victories too. It's interesting to hear how your body can measure differently dependent on muscle mass and which plan you follow. Do you both have your own threads I can follow? Broomsticks x
Lisa-Ann
Full Member
So, it feels a bit like I've been making it up as I've gone along recently. I'm not going to beat myself up about it as that's life, but I won't be quitting either. My short term plan is to get back into nutritional ketosis where I feel so much better and then I want to follow total solution properly. In the meantime, I am allowing myself some sensible extras such as sugar free jelly, chicken and the odd boiled egg, alongside my 3 packs. I keep craving cashew nuts so it's taking a bit of will-power not to pop out and buy some. Plus, I did have an apple today, which cost me about 13g of carbs but I figure it's better than what I could have had, damage limitation and all that.
Lisa-Ann
Full Member
Okay, while I'm thinking out loud - once I'm successfully back on plan, I may bypass food week and only add it in if and when I notice my losses slowing down, as it's been my complete downfall in the last 3 weeks. I'm also wondering whether it would be better to weigh weekly rather than 4-weekly as it might help to keep me focused. I've had one weigh-in so far on the 16 July (1st8lbs down) and I'm not due to weigh again until the 13 August. I'm so worried about that weigh-in though and about the damage I've done in the last few weeks. I'd hate to step on the scales and see them go back up, so I might have to delay my next weigh-in.
I'd hate to step on the scales and see them go back up, so I might have to delay my next weigh-in.
Lisa-Ann
Full Member
AliGal
Eating meat
Okay, while I'm thinking out loud - once I'm successfully back on plan, I may bypass food week and only add it in if and when I notice my losses slowing down, as it's been my complete downfall in the last 3 weeks. I'm also wondering whether it would be better to weigh weekly rather than 4-weekly as it might help to keep me focused. I've had one weigh-in so far on the 16 July (1st8lbs down) and I'm not due to weigh again until the 13 August. I'm so worried about that weigh-in though and about the damage I've done in the last few weeks.
I know it's tough. Just take it one day at a time - and maybe post here your day's plan, and then post how you did - good or not. Don't disrupt the rhythm of your weigh in. Just face up to whatever it says. Add in measuring your waist (and maybe more) each month. Maybe take a photo front and side each month too. Sometimes the scales don't move as much as we convert fat into muscle - so measurements are also brilliant at tracking. if you are quite tubby, like me, it takes a lot shed to see it by eye. It's like a loo roll. When new, a loo roll doesn't become smaller fast - but as it gets smaller, each couple of sheets makes it smaller v quickly. I think that's why those of us who start at over 20 stone may have to shed 4-6 stones before people really start to comment.
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