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

[ladyfelsham]

Oh thanks Scrummie, that's really helpful.

That soup sounds lush!Re the rice, I find my tastes have changed, I actually prefer cauli rice or miracle rice these days - but I could certainly do with easing in some porridge after Induction - and good idea to add the flax! I have a home assembled coconut/nut/seed mixture that I want to sprinkle on top too.

 

[Scrumbles]

You're welcome - I can write out the soup recipe properly if you like? I know what you mean about changing tastes - I could have had rice with my turkey tikka masala yesterday, but I'm so used to having things like that on a bed of steamed veggies these days that I chose to have it with cauliflower instead - and loved it!


Well, the last day of my Xmas break is here - 16 days of carby indulgence is coming to an end...waaaaaaah!!! :cry:

So what's the damage?

The day before my break I was 160.4lbs; this morning I weighed in at 158.6lbs, though I was as low as 157lbs about a week ago (when my illness was at its worst). So I've lost almost 2 pounds in the time when I expected to gain about a stone...crazy!

I suppose if I've learnt anything it's that when I'm tracking, I cannot bring myself to overeat. Cannot. Mindless scoffing just doesn't happen. There was only one day when I went over 2000 calories (Xmas day), and only 3 days when I went over 1800, so basically I was still eating either at maintenance or slightly under the whole time, hence the lack of gain.

The problem with that, of course, is that when I stop tracking, what happens then? Will I ever be able to walk this tightrope without a safety net? I just don't know. :/

Making oven-roasted ratatouille from my Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall veg cookbook today. This will be the first recipe I've tried since getting the book for Xmas last year, because at the time I received it I was still in Induction and a lot of the recipes aren't suitable for that (too much starchy veg). This ratatouille should actually be okay for Induction though - as long as you go easy on the onions and tomatoes - so if it's good, I'll post up the recipe


Hope you're all having a great Atkins-friendly day!

 

[dizzydelly]

Well done, that's amazing you've done that over Xmas! Tracking a a good idea, do you use an app or just write it all down? X

 

[Kat1e]

Morning scrumbles

Impressive for a carbfest - well done on staying stable! I understand where you are coming from - that was the last part of my journey when I gave up tracking on MFP last summer. Felt really scary yet I happily managed a month's holiday in France without gaining (note I did not use this as excuse for carbs lol!)

Interestingly although I had planned to do a months tracking now to get myself back in the swing - I just can't bring myself to being so obsessed about cals and carbs again - also used to track exercise - don't want to go back there if I can manage not to. So to lose this new idea of 1/2 stone will just try to be healthy and pretty lean and green.

Life is such a great experiment isn't it. Go for it!
Xxx

 

[Scrumbles]

Well done, that's amazing you've done that over Xmas! Tracking a a good idea, do you use an app or just write it all down? X

Hi dizzy, I just write stuff down and log it on FitDay when I'm on the computer - I don't really do the phone app thing (I'm a dinosaur, lol!).

I think it's the planning in advance that makes the difference, though. I write then eat rather than the other way round. That way I always know that I'm going to be getting some decent nutritious food and don't end up scarfing down nothing but junk and leaving myself feeling ill and unsatisfied.

Morning scrumbles


Impressive for a carbfest - well done on staying stable! I understand where you are coming from - that was the last part of my journey when I gave up tracking on MFP last summer. Felt really scary yet I happily managed a month's holiday in France without gaining (note I did not use this as excuse for carbs lol!)


Interestingly although I had planned to do a months tracking now to get myself back in the swing - I just can't bring myself to being so obsessed about cals and carbs again - also used to track exercise - don't want to go back there if I can manage not to. So to lose this new idea of 1/2 stone will just try to be healthy and pretty lean and green.


Life is such a great experiment isn't it. Go for it!
Xxx

That's great how it's worked out for you, Katie. One day I hope I may be the same, but for now I'm going to have to accept that I'm nowhere near that stage yet. I'd originally planned not to track over Xmas, but I couldn't stop myself when push came to shove. Baby steps... :/

So, I'm officially back on plan today. Starting weight is 158lbs, so my January challenge of a 3lb loss will take me to 155lbs. Doesn't sound like much I know, but for me at this stage, it feels like a lot.

Menu today was: flax muffin for breakfast, leek and potato soup for lunch, chicken tikka masala and steamed cauliflower for dinner, and an ounce of stilton with some sliced chicken for a snack.

Calories came in at 1555 and carbs at 59g. That will be a big enough shock to my system after what it's been used to the last couple of weeks, lol.

 

[ladyfelsham]

Making oven-roasted ratatouille from my Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall veg cookbook today. This will be the first recipe I've tried since getting the book for Xmas last year, because at the time I received it I was still in Induction and a lot of the recipes aren't suitable for that (too much starchy veg). This ratatouille should actually be okay for Induction though - as long as you go easy on the onions and tomatoes - so if it's good, I'll post up the recipe

I've got that book too, I've tried the oven roasted tomato sauce, very nice

 

[Scrumbles]

^^^I shall have to look that one up and give it a go. Have to say, I never really considered roasting any veg other than potatoes and parsnips for most of my life - I've been missing out!

Day 2 and weight was slightly up this morning (ha! of course!), but I didn't have much of a walk in the park yesterday, so that probably accounts for it. It always seems to take a few days for my bowels to get with the programme whether I'm going from low carb to higher carb, or the other way round. (TMI - sorry )

Food today: flax muffin for breakfast, home-made mushroom soup with stilton for lunch, and eggs with chilli tomato sauce and steamed broccoli for dinner. Snacks to be decided, but probably a couple of rice cakes with cream cheese.

Cals will be about 1500 and carbs about 55g.

 

[moonlights]

Hey Scrummie!

Wow get you, losing over the holidays!! Really impressed with you managing to track all of that.

I think that tracking really is key (or will be for me) when it comes to going up the ladder and eventually maintaining. For me, right now, if I let myself have a slice of burgen bread in the morning or a potato now and then I'd end up with carb creep - rather than having just one thing a day and swapping it out I'd end up with something carby at every meal if I didn't keep track, so when I do start to add things like that in I'll have to monitor carefully. Seeing how well it works for you is wonderful.

After doing that long enough I guess the idea is to be in so much of a habit that you can stop tracking and maintain!

Now I'll just be over here being jealous of your Xmas loss!!

 

[Scrumbles]

Thanks ML! I think the nasty virus probably helped with the loss if I'm honest, but I'll take it!

I believe tracking definitely becomes advisable the more you add back into your diet, especially if you're into artificially sweetened stuff.

For example, my breakfast flax/almond muffin may have a mere 3g of carbs, but it has 350 calories, so it packs a hefty punch energy-wise. And because it tastes sweet and yummy and somewhat cakey I could probably easily eat a couple of them in a day, which would barely dent my carb total but add up to a whopping 700 calories, and there is NO way I would lose if I were adding that to my total every day, low carb or not! (It's my theory that a lot of "stalling" that occurs in non-calorie counted diets such as Atkins and Slimming World is due to stuff like that - abusing frankensugars and frankenfats is all too easy, unfortunately).

So I certainly feel the need to keep a very close eye on all that I consume whilst I'm basically learning how to feed myself again, and I don't see that changing any time soon. My good habits will have to have been bedded in for quite some time before I put my kitchen scales aside, I suspect!


Food today: flax muffin for breakfast, salmon and tomato on rice cakes for lunch and chilli con carne with steamed broccoli for dinner. May have some 85% choc with my afternoon tea, but haven't decided yet


Hope everyone has a great Atkins-friendly day!

 

[sammy1]

Great post and I agree with the calorie thing, I know I don't loose unless I keep calories around 1500max, no matter how clean and green I keep. But the good thing with atkins is that once you get into K the cravings go and it is much easier to stick with than any other diet.

 

[ladyfelsham]

Yes I agree 100% - I never bothered with calorie counting on Atkins before, and this time think I will.

 

[Scrumbles]

I think most people are probably pretty safe not to count calories when they first start Induction - as long as they steer clear of too many sweeteners - because ketosis will usually take care of overeating at that stage. When you're further down the line, though, it's a different story IME.

Feeling quite tired today for no particular reason. No movement on the scales, but I wouldn't really expect it yet - miraculously, I didn't gain a load of water weight over Xmas, so I have nothing to whoosh off. I'm still hoping I'll be able to lose 3lbs for the January challenge, but it'll be touch and go.

Today's nosh: flax muffin for breakfast, leek and potato soup with an ounce of stilton for lunch, and the remains of yesterday's chilli with steamed cabbage for dinner. Snacks will be salami slices and some 85% choc (not together, I hasten to add )

Been trying to cut down my caffeine today, which probably explains why I'm a bit tired now I think about it. I have gone completely caffeine-free in the past but I don't feel quite up to it at the moment. When I get over the loss of my Xmas break Magnums, mince pies and Danish pastries (whimper!), I might think about it - for now I still need something to give me a bit of a lift during these dark and dreary mid-winter days.

Onwards and downwards...

 

[ladyfelsham]

Just try and stop me having my first thing in the morning builder's tea - it's the only thing that works to peel my tongue away from the roof of my mouth LOL

 

[moonlights]

I should just brew my tea in the bath, the amount I drink.

 

[Scrumbles]

Lol! I don't help myself by insisting on drinking from a pint mug, and filling it to the brim every time. Still, it's all water, isn't it?

I'm a pound down this morning, so I might make my January target, even with my tortoise-pace loss rate (not that I'm looking to speed things up, btw - slow is fine at this stage).

Don't know if I'm in k or not as I don't have any testing sticks, and I haven't had any headaches or even mild "flu" symptoms. Maybe at my carb level of 50-70g going into k is a gentler process? Think I'll get some sticks - I like to know these things!

Food today: flax/oat porridge for breakfast, cheese omelette for lunch, and steamed salmon with carrots, cabbage and small baked potato. Snacks tbd but probably stilton and sliced salami with tomatoes. Maybe even a clementine if I feel like it (I'm rocking the carbs today, lol).

Calories will be about 1500 and carbs about 64g.

Hope you're all having a great, Atkins-friendly day!

 

[ladyfelsham]

Think sticks might be an idea, just to know you're on the right track, especially with none of the lovely symptoms of fragranced breath, etc

 

[sammy1]

Oh, I have never used the sticks..do you know where to get them, I have tried local chemists but have had no luck.

 

[Alpaca]

Hey Scrummie ... Just popping along to say hi and give you a hug xx

 

[moonlights]

I get my sticks on amazon - boots can be fussy about why you need them.

 

[Scrumbles]

Lovely to see you back, Di, and hugs to you! xxx

OH was passing Boots yesterday and bought me some Ketostix. The girl who served him hadn't a clue what they were and didn't even know if they stocked them, so she had to ask the pharmacist. They didn't ask him any questions at all Guess he was lucky!

I did a test in the afternoon which didn't indicate the presence of any ketones, but I know these things are pretty dodgy, especially if you're taking in a lot of fluids, as I am. Tbh, I'm losing weight anyway, so it doesn't really matter what the sticks say - I'm just curious, as usual!

Another pound gone this morning, so I'm at a new low of 11st 2 - only one more pound and I'll have succeeded in my January challenge (maybe I should have been a little more ambitious after all!) Good to know that I can eat as many carbs and cals as I am and still lose weight - thought I might be pushing it at this point, tbh.

Food today: flax muffin for breakfast, chicken balti with steamed cabbage for lunch and an omelette with cheese and tomatoes for dinner. Snacks, not sure, but I expect some 85% choc to feature somewhere...

Have a great weekend, folks!