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

Wow! Amazing Scrum... Fantastic loss! Xx
 
Well done on the loss.....just goes to show it is not all about calories.
 
Three weeks and I'd be going buggy too, absolutely. So glad the change up is working for you - and 180s! Sounds so much better than the 190s, doesn't it. My first mini goal is getting into the 12s/170s, too.

I have to say that I seem to lose more after higher calorie days myself, as long as the fat-carbs quotas are reasonably within the Atkins guidelines. But I am not sure that would be the case if I did it daily and I'm not ready to test it right now :) we're all different - which makes finding the ideal way of eating such a pain.

Well done on the 1.5!
 
Hi scrumbles, well done on the loss and of course beating the OH:)
 
Three weeks and I'd be going buggy too, absolutely. So glad the change up is working for you - and 180s! Sounds so much better than the 190s, doesn't it. My first mini goal is getting into the 12s/170s, too.

I have to say that I seem to lose more after higher calorie days myself, as long as the fat-carbs quotas are reasonably within the Atkins guidelines. But I am not sure that would be the case if I did it daily and I'm not ready to test it right now :) we're all different - which makes finding the ideal way of eating such a pain.

Well done on the 1.5!

Too true! So many things play into it - gender, age, illness/meds, dieting history - it would be impossible to write a diet programme that covered everyone, all the time. Atkins gets closer than most, though. (IMO)

I posted this in Di's diary but I'll mention it here too The Full Diet Break | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald This is what convinced me to try a diet break, and I'd say it's definitely worth considering in the event of a stall. I can't prove the supposed physiological benefits - I had no way of knowing what my hormones were doing either before or after - but I can certainly vouch for the psychological ones. I made specific mention at the time of how liberating it felt to be doing something different, and to be neither expecting nor hoping for weight loss for that time period. You don't realise how much that can play on your mind and affect your mood until you temporarily remove that burden (if I can call it that). I won't deny that I watched the scale climbing with some trepidation, but it never went beyond a total 3lb gain (from memory), and in the end all I put on was one measly pound, which could even have been residual water weight from TOTM, so the scare-factor was pretty minimal really.


Today's food should come to 1530 cals and 25g carbs, which would be spot on. Tomorrow is another higher cals/carbs day :D, so I'm looking forward to that. Strawberries and cream...yum!
 
I totally get you on the psychological effects of dieting. Tbh diets make me miserable - they make me more self conscious and less comfortable with myself. I feel fatter even if I'm losing weight because my thoughts are so inwardly focused. I'm happiest when I'm not thinking about what I eat. But that way comes weight gain.

Mmm strawberries. I must have some rhubarb soon for my fruit fix.
 
I know that my brain is happiest on low carb. When I focus too much on calorie counting or VLCD, my brain goes into meltdown and i feel so cold all the time. Hate it.

Love low carb because it doesn't make me feel like that :)
 
Morning Scrumbles:)
 
Morning!

I am scared. There's this big, blazing yellow thing in the sky, and I don't what it is!!:eek: :D Looks like I'm finally going to have to go for that walk (now I really am scared, lol).

If I'm honest, I get very obsessive when I'm dieting. I can never relax into it and just trust that it will work. And it takes a looooong time for my self-perception to catch up with reality. There are days when in my mind I'm every bit as big as I was last November, nearly 4 stones ago...how messed up is that?!

In fact I wonder if I've ever thought I was my "proper" size. Looking back at photos of myself as a student, I can see that I definitely was at that time, but I don't remember feeling that I was. I'm naturally pear-shaped, so I think I still looked at my bum and thighs and saw myself as too fat. :( What wouldn't I give to be able to go back in time and slap some sense into myself. :rolleyes:

Anyway, food today should come in at 1700 cals and 27g carbs. We're having chicken tarragon tonight as I have more than my usual calories to play with - can't wait!

Have a great day everyone - and look out for that big yellow thing in the sky :eek: :cool:
 
Oooh dinner sounds lovely, never had that before, how do you make it?

And enjoy the walk, isn't it lovely to see some sunshine instead of that incessant rain!

I know exactly what you mean about body image, I've had a pie eyed view of myself for years. I look back to pics of myself, when I was but a slender thing of 8 stone, yet can recall feeling fat and dissatisfied. Ridiculous, eh?
 
Chicken tarragon is dead easy - wrote about it back on page 1 originally:

Take a whole chicken and put a mix of 30g butter, 3-4 cloves of crushed garlic and a dessertspoon of dried tarragon in the body cavity. Roast it for the time/temp you normally would, breast-side down for the first hour, then turn it over for the remaining time. 15 minutes from the end of the cooking time pour a couple of tablespoons of brandy over it and ignite, then pour about 100mls of double cream over it and finish cooking. Done!

Went for that walk, but I don't think "enjoy" is quite the right word. I'm actually pretty mortified at my state of fitness: it was exactly 1 mile, it took me 20 minutes, and I had to stop twice because I was knackered
:eek::( I used to walk six times that far, much faster, and never stop once. Geez. How did I get like this? I'm fine in the diet department, but I think I could probably use a bit of tough love when it comes to exercise...:rolleyes:



 
At least you got out there and did it Scrumbles. 4 stone is mega you should feel very proud.

So unused to the sun my first thought was you saw a UFO :)
 
Thanks, Val...I do feel proud...until I actually try to move my body and realise there's been a couch stuck to my butt for so long I can barely drag myself round the block, lol. But I'll get there. :)

I have a new problem. Well, it's not actually new, it's a flare up of a chronic condition that hadn't troubled me much for a while.

I've suffered with mild Acne rosacea for years, but lately it's been getting worse. Quite a bit worse. So I invested in a serum that's supposed to help, and it came with a handy little leaflet detailing all sorts of things that can make the condition worse. I read it and nearly cried because quite a few of the key parts of my diet are possible triggers: curry spices, chilli, tomatoes, tuna, pickled and smoked foods to name but a few. Hot drinks can also be bad, and don't even mention alcohol (fortunately, I've given that up anyway, but it's a bummer for the future :().

Also, I shouldn't be taking a multivit that contains Niacin (B3) because that is known to make things worse (guess what my current multivit has?? Gahhhhh!!!).

So it's all a bit of a PITA. Not only am I restricted by Atkins, now I have a bunch of other no-no's to work round.

Rats.:rolleyes:

Anyway, rant over. Yesterday's food was delicious but I was rather low on carbs (only 18g in the end) so I'd better try to have a few more today.

Breezy but fine here today, so I'm going to drag myself out for another walk. Can't wait...:cool:
 
Thanks, Val...I do feel proud...until I actually try to move my body and realise there's been a couch stuck to my butt for so long I can barely drag myself round the block

Ahh so THAT'S why I can barely walk around, I'm a furniture removalist LOL.

Big big hugs hun, it's hard to start exercising when it's so tough on you physically - but you're doing it and that is brilliant - tomorrow will be better, and then the day after that and in a week you'll be prancing about like a gazelle :)
 
Actually, today wasn't better 'cos I didn't go for my walk :p. My excuse is that I have some muscular problems from the previous two days, so I've been stretching to try and ease them, but I really should have gone. If I don't go tomorrow, feel free to kick my (couch-conveying) butt. I need it!

Still sticking to my plan - 1530 cals and 21g carbs today. Tomorrow is my big food day, so I'll be trying to hit 1830 cals and nearly 30g carbs. Haven't weighed since Monday, so I'm really wondering what's going on. This has been my first full week of zig-zagging my calories, so I'm very interested to know if it's kept things moving. Determined to wait till Monday, though...no peeking!:cool:

Watching the England-Sweden game at the moment (not a huge footie fan but I always watch the international tournaments). Not sure my nerves can stand it without alcohol! :eek:

Have a great weekend, folks!
 
Such discipline with the scales! (I'm a terrible peeker). Have you planned your food for tomorrow?
 
Such discipline with the scales! (I'm a terrible peeker). Have you planned your food for tomorrow?

As the week progresses, I think it's more to do with cowardice than discipline: I want to know, but I'm scared of being disappointed, so that keeps me off them. By the time Monday rolls around, I almost dread it - bonkers, really!

I didn't plan my food, but it'll be the usual kind of things I eat (fish, beef, cheese, veg), just more of it to make up the numbers. I probably ought to think about adding another food back in this week (I've been fine with berries and carrots) but can't decide what to trust yet - might try pulses as I'm quite fond of those.

Done any walking today yet? :)

No. :p I'm thinking about it, though...honest!


So, today I've had a cheese omelette and a frankfurter for breakfast, a smoked mackerel fillet with steamed kale and cheese sauce for lunch, and dinner will be some kind of mince beef concoction with more steamed kale and cauliflower. Add in a couple of snacks of Edam and cooked prawns and that should be 1830 cals and 25g carbs (would have liked it nearer 30g but it's not quite going to work out that way).

I'm trying to reduce my consumption of hot spices, tuna and tomatoes for the sake of my rosacea, but I know I'm still eating too much smoked food, so I'll need to have a think about that. Probably should eat less of it anyway tbh.

I should head off for my wind-assisted walk, so have a great day, folks!
 
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