Scrumbles' diary...life after losing a third of me...

[ladyfelsham]

I like the one carb sauce on Mattesons sausage, makes for a lovely snack

 

[sammy1]

Hi hope your weekend went well.

 

[Scrumbles]

Hi hope your weekend went well.

It did indeed, thanks! Went visiting the folks on Saturday and managed to completely ignore them eating crisps, toffee cheesecake and a ton of fondant fancies in front of me (rotten lot!) Mind you, it helped that I had my own low carb muffin and some squares of 85% choc to eat!

I like the one carb sauce on Mattesons sausage, makes for a lovely snack

I'd like to try the One Carb, but it's yet another thing I'd have to acquire by post (along with the syrups, coconut oil, liquid hermesetas and probably other things I've forgotten!)

If there's one thing that's going to stop me adopting the low carb lifestyle permanently, it's probably the lack of local availability of the items I need to keep things interesting. I was reading a blog by Peter Attia about the reasons people don't stick with low carbing, and that's definitely one of them: we live in a society where high carb is the norm, so that's what's predominantly available whether you're buying from supermarkets, going to eateries or trying to find a snack on the move. Wherever you go, it just isn't as easy for low carbers, and it takes a strong will and decent spending power to keep on swimming against the tide. Easy to see why people quit when they're constantly surrounded by the foods they shouldn't be eating, and finding it awkward (and pricey!) to obtain the things they should be eating.

Gonna have to give it my best shot, though...or it's back to 17 stone for me...

I use ketchup mainly in marinades etc - although I probably don't consume all of it when used like that.

My body is being very odd. Gave me all the signs of Pms when totm was due but a week later... Nothing. It's been gradually edging later by a couple of days every couple of months but this is unusual for me. It's probably psychosomatic but I feel like its affecting my weight.

It probably is affecting your weight. I know insulin is the hormone we're most concerned with, but estrogen plays a pretty big part in the fat storage/release process too. I'm pretty sure that my estrogen levels are on the wane now, and that's affecting how I lose weight - it was never this hard or this halting in previous decades. :/


Official weigh in today, and I have lost a whole pound. Not exactly breaking out the champagne for that, but at least my bunny ticker is finally on the move, and I'm in the 11's

I'm staying under 1400 cals for the time being, and my carbs are around 25g per day, though I'm perfectly happy for them to go over 30g if that's how the day happens to pan out.

Looks like a nice day, so I really ought to try and get some exercise...()

 

[ladyfelsham]

If there's one thing that's going to stop me adopting the low carb lifestyle permanently, it's probably the lack of local availability of the items I need to keep things interesting.

I know, it is a major hassle sometimes - but I just try and see the online shopping as part of my normal grocery shopping (which I do online anyway) - and I'm very good at closing my eyes to the extra cost

But you're right - it's a high carb world out there! To get to work I pass - two fish and chip shops, a Greggs, a specialty pie shop, a Paul Rhodes patisserie and five restaurants...and if I forget lunch and go to the cafe, on offer is - baguettes, sandwiches, baked potatoes, lasagne, etc

But well done on the scales moving at last!

 

[stubbsey]

When i first did atkins there were more low carb products in shops as there was a surge of popularity in the atkins plan at that time, lots of chocolate bars and sweets, all of which gave me terrible wind!

 

[sammy1]

Morning, I would love if the supermarkets did some of the low carb sauces....maple syrup etc. I don't mind too much that there are not a lot of bars, they don't agree with me......lol as I was typing me I was thinking wind, and when I checked post I had typed wind!

 

[Scrumbles]

The only Atkins bars I've ever had are the coconut ones (the imitation Bounty) and I don't recall any...um...unfortunate side effects! I wasn't too fond of the aftertaste, mind, and that's my problem with a lot of sf stuff :/

My weight is down to 165.8lbs this morning, so that's 2lbs in the last five days since I started trying to lose again. Either it's a coincidence or this strategy is paying off - hope it's the latter because I do like to be in control

My two new syrups turned up a couple of days ago. I've tried the vanilla and it seems fine, though to be fair I've only used it in muffins along with other flavourings, so the taste hasn't been all that exposed. I'll open the caramel tomorrow and see what that's like - I adore caramel so I really hope it's good

Planning on making my old lentil and carrot soup today. Bit on the carby side and only suitable for later stage OWLers, so I won't give the recipe unless anyone would like it?

 

[sammy1]

Good well done on the loss, you are doing great. I posted on my thread that I don't like lentils....don't know why I put it there instead of your thread....I think I am loosing the plot!

 

[ladyfelsham]

Oh yes please feedback on the caramel, I fancy making chocolate caramel chocs

 

[stubbsey]

Well done on theloss xx

 

[Scrumbles]

Thanks, guys!

Sooooo, not been here for a few days, but not a lot's been happening truth be told. Been keeping cals on the low side (1300-1350 mostly) and carbs in the low 30g's per day, but totm has been messing with me (starting way early, stopping, starting again, making me feel ravenous, making me feel sick...the works!) so it hasn't been easy. I may see another pound go this cycle, but it's been sloooooow.

Thus, I've decided that in a few days I'll be taking a proper diet break. I've been continuously in ketosis for nearly 3 months since my last break, so I think it's time to give my body a look at something different for a week. I've also been hankering after potato and leek soup and my winter veg soup (with potatoes), so this will be a chance to get that out of my system

Had a nice weekend of leaf-gathering and pruning in my back garden, but now have a not-so-nice sore back as a consequence Ho hum.

Susie, I can't say I'm a fan of the daVinci caramel syrup. It was better than the Walden Farms stuff, but that was disgusting, so that's not saying much! Mind you, I have weird reactions to artificial sweeteners at times, so I'm probably not the best person to be casting judgement on it tbh. Also, thus far I've only used it in muffins and in conjunction with other flavours, so maybe not the fairest of tests! I'll try it in something else over the next couple of days - if I can think of anything to put it in, lol!

 

[moonlights]

Aww I was hoping the caramel would be good - what tastes off about it?

 

[coffeelover]

Enjoy your diet break Scrumbles. I have the sf davini english toffee syrup and love it. Very carmely toasty and delicious. I had potato yesterday and I realize now they make me really bloated, wonder why as it doesn't have any wheat?

 

[ladyfelsham]

I have the egg nog and I have to say it is lush in hot soya milk with coffee

 

[Scrumbles]

@ML, it's a bit hard to say. It's not that it's particularly unpleasant (I'll use it rather than ditch it), but there's a slightly fruity note to it that sounds like it would be nice, but isn't (to me!), and also a bit of an aftertaste, though I find that with practically all artificial sweeteners. I suppose the bottom line is that it just doesn't taste convincingly of caramel to me...I guess it might to someone else, though.

@Val, I nearly went for the English Toffee - wish I had now With 3 BIG bottles of syrup to use up, it'll be a while before I buy any more :/

I don't seem to have a problem re: potatoes and bloating, but then we all seem to have different "poisons"! Do you have a general sensitivity to carbs, perhaps?

@Susie, I've never even had real egg nogg, let alone a sf syrup version, so I shall have to take your word for it!



Not having a good day today for one reason or another. Started with my credit card being rejected this morning, which of course resulted in a lengthy call to my credit card company, speaking to a lady I could barely understand half the time (English was not, I suspect, her first language) and the eventual cancelling of my current card So now I will have no credit card until my new one arrives in a week's time, and I will have to go round changing all my payment arrangements to the new number I wouldn't mind so much, but this happens to me a couple of times a year, and it's a pain in the **** having to register a new card in lots of different places each time. Grrrrr. Am I just unlucky, or is this par for the course??

There are other things going on too, and I can feel myself getting awfully close to a stress-binge of some kind I always want to eat when I'm stressed, and it's never lettuce that I turn to, surprise surprise I'm keeping a lid on it by drowning myself in cups of tea at the moment, but I don't know how much longer that will distract me...

 

[coffeelover]

Aw Scrumbles sorry your having a crap day. I usually pay for most things with paypal and send money to my son through them too and have had good luck with it. Also when I bought a bogus product they resolved it very quickly.

I never turn to lettuce either Scrumbles but your doing great.

I tried to order the pineapple syrup for making sweet and sour chicken, but they're out on the low carb megastore, I know what you mean though about collecting syrups I have just 2 but they last for 2 years. Even at that doubt I'll use them all. Egg nog has a lot of rum in it, so even though I've not have the syrup bet it's tasty.

Yeah I think with the potatoes it's the carb sensitivity.

Hope your day gets better lovely x

 

[moonlights]

Oh scrummie. I hope things get better too. Don't binge, but if you're off plan anyway and need to, give yourself permission to eat whatever you want for one day. Then you won't have the awful negativity that accompanies a binge - you'll have told yourself you can.

 

[ladyfelsham]

I always want to eat when I'm stressed, and it's never lettuce that I turn to, surprise surprise .

Oh sweetie here's a big hug back at you ((((((((Scrummie))))))) It's a shame lettuce isn't on the list of banned substances, I'd be shovelling it down!

Don't worry about the card, it's a blip and will get sorted, just a bit inconvenient - and I agree with Val, I do everything via paypal these days.

 

[Scrumbles]

Well, I managed to hold out last night, and I'm glad I did because this morning I'm down to 164lbs - that's 3lbs down on last week's official weigh in! One more pound and it will be time for my next progress photo. Blimey.

I expect that will be it for this month's cycle - I'm down to averaging a pound a week at this point - so I'm still going on my diet break even though I look to be losing. I'll probably start on Friday to coincide with my shopping arriving - potato and leek soup, here I come! (ridiculous what you can get excited about after a year on Atkins, isn't it?)

I'm glad I dodged a binge, but I'm not particularly happy about how I did it. I worked out that I drank 2 pints of coffee and 3 pints of tea yesterday; I basically drowned my uncomfortable feelings in caffeine instead of burying them in junk food. I suppose it kept me on plan, but I don't regard it as a positive step forward in dealing with my emotional eating. All I did was substitute one crutch for another, and who's to say I won't revert back to shovelling junk into my mouth in times to come when I'm more relaxed in my diet? Not good. I need to learn to deal with those feelings in other ways or there will be a hazardous path ahead...

Anyway, today has dawned much more brightly so I'll try not to dwell on what's gone and start planning my break. I'll be having up to 1700 cals and 100g carbs per day, so that opens up quite a few nice possibilities. I'm still intending to avoid wheat and concentrated sources of sugar, but anything else goes provided it's within my limits - really looking forward to it now (potatoes!!)

 

[sammy1]

Great post and well done, 164..... enjoy your new plan, I will be interested to see how you get on.