Spotty's Road to Slimdom

[spottydoris]

Morning all -

Last night I managed to behave myself without giving in. I took my OH to an Ugly Duckling gig (old 90's hip hop act). It was good but they didn't go on until gone 10pm, so I am very sleepy today. Why would they delay so late on a school night!? Honestly... I am such an old woman at times.

Regardless of bags under my eyes today, it was nice to go out with my beau and do something different

Only 10 days until we move house. Starting to get VERY excited now! I am fully expecting the move itself to be horrendously stressful, but 24 hours of hell will be followed by lots of good times I'm sure of it. We are having our housewarming the night after we move in - ambitious, but at least it makes it 'ours' straight away, and then we can tidy up and get settled without interruptions

New house also means getting my little furballs back. Have missed my two cats LOADS. Will get them the following weekend to save them the stress of fireworks etc. Can't wait for cuddles with them!

Anyway, diet wise it's day two of my re-start today. The scales were a little less forgiving this morning, I think the evidence of my two day binge out is coming to get me - 12st 12.5lbs this morning. *Grumble moan grumble*.

Once the hunger pangs go again I am going to try and limit my portion sizes a bit... I think I was probably eating a bit too much (as someone pointed out earlier, excess protein is no great thing either)... so, will start logging what I eat again and see how I get on.

My proposed menu for today is:

B: 3 rashers bacon and grated cheese omelette
S: creamy coffee, water
L: ham, grated cheese, iceberg lettuce, cucumber, 1/2 tomato, mayo
S: cooked left over pork chop, black coffee, dr pepper zero
D: steak, mushrooms (in butter/garlic), cabbage or spinach

I might actually start logging in MFP again too...

Hope everyone has a good day.

SD xx

 

[Quak]

Afternoon Anna, menu sounds good, and yes the scales always creep up a couple of days after a binge, but keep it up and they will start heading back the other way. Glad you enjoyed the gig, was it in a pub or a theatre type place? xx

 

[mightymonocle]

hey SD, 90s hiphop - I lovvvvvvveee 80s n 90s hiphop! decided to check them out on youtube, they seem awesome, glad you enjoyed the gig. glad to hear you're back on the wagon, menu sounds lovely x

 

[spottydoris]

Afternoon Anna, menu sounds good, and yes the scales always creep up a couple of days after a binge, but keep it up and they will start heading back the other way. Glad you enjoyed the gig, was it in a pub or a theatre type place? xx

Thanks Quak Hope the scales go the right way - getting a little bit sick of this now. I know I had two days off, but in 9 weeks that isn't much (I expect consequences but...), but I am now back to where I was in week THREE. Heart breaking.

Gig was in a venue where I live in the Midlands x x

 

[spottydoris]

hey SD, 90s hiphop - I lovvvvvvveee 80s n 90s hiphop! decided to check them out on youtube, they seem awesome, glad you enjoyed the gig. glad to hear you're back on the wagon, menu sounds lovely x

Hehe, yeah, it was fun. My OH is a hip hop artist so it was a bit of a risk, but think he enjoyed it Proper old school stuff and they worked the crowd like true pros! x

 

[spottydoris]

Morning all!

Well, a bit of a crap start to the day... didn't sleep well at all, found out I didn't get a job I was going for (the day shrouded in mystery from a couple of weeks ago), then managed to whack my ankle on the side of my bed, choke on shower water and stall my car on a busy roundabout. Anyway - I made it. All I need now is to get the sack from my current job and everything will be full circle!

Food wise, I SO nearly caved last night. I even got as far as putting an after eight chocolate in my mouth before thinking about it (while being glared at by my OH!), removing it, and handing it over.

I did end up having half a decadence bar instead - it was that or something far worse - so my idea of staying completely lean, green and '72 Atkins didn't last!

Just logged my food in MFP from yesterday, and I had far more carbs that I realised! Could someone pop over and have a look, tell me if those values are right? Annaphylactic's Food Diary | MyFitnessPal.com
7g carbs in a ham salad? 1g carbs in sugarfree jelly? etc...?

If this is right then this could be why things aren't shifting very fast, as this was a 'good day' for me. I usually have more frankenfoods.

Today so far, for instance, has been terrible. The bad morning I've had included getting up late and missing chance to make a proper Atkins brekkie so I've made do with some cheese, a pepperami and some tea with cream/sweeteners - and that is showing as 3g! I thought it would be nothing, maybe 1 for the sweeteners (2 tsp).

ANYWAY. Can't believe I am in week 9 and I am only just twigging.

Any advice would be great - like what are great LOW/no carb meals (not recipes because I don't have time, just ideas). What is the best veg to have at night? I know people say 'leafy greens', but when I checked cabbage in my carb counter book it looked quite high, so I usually have brocolli and cauliflower, but these are high too!

SD xx

 

[Quak]

Hi Anna, I am bad at underestimating too - I never count sweeteners and I use quite a lot (me bad). Not sure what carb counter you are using but here is a link for the Atkins site, for example half a cup of savoy cabbage or broccoli seems to be coming in at between 1 and 2 carbs so not too high at all really. Hope that helps.

Atkins - Carb Counter - Vegetables

 

[xwendywoox]

Hi Anna

Ah bless hope your day improves! I have had mad sweet/sugar cravings since my carb binge at the weekend. I know this will stop in a few days but it can be so difficult sometimes. I was running round the kitchen last night trying to find something 'legal' to curb my craving, and ended up with a can of Dr Pepper zero! Didn't really help much but managed to get me through it...JUST!

I don't keep track of carbs either, and you have set me thinking that might be why things aren't shifting as quickly for me too? Problem is I don't really get the time to track every little thing and it seems such a hassel. Might be worth it though if it speeds up the old weightloss. You will have to let me know if works or not.

Hope your day gets better hun!

xwendywoox

 

[spottydoris]

Thanks very much for the messages ladies!

Quak - I don't really use a counter, I have the little Atkins pocket book (but I don't tend to use it!) and then rely on My Fitness Pal to tell me when I log my food. Will start checking properly and have a look at that link.

My main issue is that I have no idea about weight and size of portion. I mean - what is a cup!? In my mind a cup isn't massive. When you talk about half a cup of cabbage that doesn't sound much. I would imagine I have more like 2 cupfuls of greens (salad or cooked) per meal. So that's 12 on veg straight away!
With meat and cheese as well, I log it in MFP and then have to 'make up' how much. I have no idea what an ounce looks like regarding meat - in fact, aside from size (small, medium, large) I am pretty hopeless. Maybe I need a lesson in identifying what 50g of grated cheddar looks like, how heavy an average steak is, how many ml of cream I use in a cuppa etc..

Anyway - will get there.

Veg wise, I have so many problems 'going to the park' as it is, so don't really want to start cutting down veg... but maybe I'll have to. I dunno.

The sweeteners are also an issue, I have 2 in each drink (was 3) I have - which is usually 2-3 per day. So that is 4-6g in drinks... which is basically my daily limit not taking into account anything else that passes my lips!

Wendy - looks like you and me got some homework to do. I did Atkins before successfully (albeit in my younger years about a decade ago), and didn't count anything - that's why I loved it, just knew to cut out certain foodgroups and *VOILA!* all sorted. Looks like it will be more structured this time around.

If I could do shakes again but still be able to be social, have dinners with my boyfriend and eat out at will (lol) - I would. Haha. At least I knew where I was each day, e.g. lighter than the day before; I didn't have to apply thought to anything and I got slim! Ahhh, I miss you VLCD days sometimes. Lol.

How is everyone's afternoon going? My day is definitely picking up, but let's see how long it lasts.

OH wants us to head to the local rugby club to watch a match later, so that should be nice... more to the point, it will get me out of the house and out of reach of the Naughty Cupboard.

xx

 

[Quak]

I think a cup is about our equivalent of a coffee mug size...........

 

[spottydoris]

Ok. I probably have at least one of those each time. Oh I don't know. I had some measuring cups at home and thought they were smaller. Unless you mean a small coffee cup I'll figure it out and get myself organised!! x

 

[lucy4loop]

Hi Anna, get some digital kitchen scales and convert cups into grams for everything (I think one cup is 170g, but google it to be sure), for a few days to see what it looks like. I still tend to measure everything as I know I can be over generous when pouring/ serving!

 

[spottydoris]

Good idea, but surely a cup measures differently depending what is in it?! Is that not the case? If not, I will definitely use that system as it will be far easier!

x

 

[spottydoris]

Morning everyone -

*Flogs self with sticks of bamboo*

Guess what? Cheated again

Not massively like at the weekend, but still, too much. Was good all day, and had a good Atkins friendly supper of roast beef, cauliflower with a bit of grated cheese, sweetheart cabbage and sauteed mushrooms... then we went down to watch the rugby and it was f-r-eezing out. Got home and OH put on kettle and before I knew what I was doing I ate 2 homemade vanilla/butter biscuits and had a cup of tea with a splash of milk.

I know it's not going to make me pile on the pounds, but I don't know why I did it!

I think I need a sweet treat that can be warm/room temperature. I used to have a bar with a black coffee but I am trying to resist the bars this time around (as much as I can)... but jelly is just too cold on these dark chilly nights. Any suggestions? Unfortunately I cannot stomach MIMs - the flavour of the flax makes me want to gag. I have tried ramming the ingredients with sweetener and cocoa but I still hate them. Booooo.

Anyway - scrambled egg and smoked salmon for brekkie and a nice beef salad ready for my lunch. Creamy coffee warming me up as I speak and planning a full day of zero hiccups... then another tomorrow and another the day after that. Here's hoping!

Feel like a total let down.

Anna x

 

[Quak]

Don't think you should have done too much damage but I know, it is hard when you are having cravings. If you don't like mims have you tried making the oopsies, I know people on here use them as savoury bases for stuff like sandwiches and pizza but I used to have them with a spoon of splenda and some cream poured over and found them really yummy for brekky or an evening snack it that helps. Or just some cream whipped up with some cocoa and splenda in it? xx

 

[spottydoris]

Time to say goodbye... to Atkins... for a bit... I think.

Thanks Quak.

I've been giving the diet some thought.

I just don't feel like my head is in this at the moment... I hate constantly writing that I've slipped up. There are only so many times that you can do it before you've got to consider if maybe the mindset isn't right.

Going to give myself a bit of time off (still being low carb to reduce impact, but not Atkins as such), look at my options (stay low carb, or look at other diet options again - calorie counting, Slimming World, Cheat to Lose etc) and see what I want to do. It's no secret that the last 9 weeks have been slow for me anyway - and today I'm only 7lbs lower than my starting weight (well, 5lbs technically as I lost the first 2lbs myself before starting Atkins - so that's only about 0.5lb per week, and surely that's achievable on diets that are far less expensive, don't mess up my 'toilet regularity' and are less inconvenient if eating out at friends' houses etc?)

I dunno.

I LOVED Atkins first time around, and I know 'scientifically' it works... I agree with all the principles and will always choose low carb over low fat, but I'm not sure it's working for me right now.

Thanks for all your support and I will continue to post here if that's ok? Let you all know what I decide.

Spotty xxx

 

[xwendywoox]

Hi Anna

Saddened to hear you might be giving this up :cry: but you are definately right about being in the right frame of mind! It can be so difficult sometimes when you're not quite there in your head. I have been there before and that's why I am here now :sigh:

If you give yourself a break like you said, limiting the damage whilst doing so, you will hopefully get there and figure out which is the right path to take.

Post soon!

((big hugs)) :bighug:

xwendywoox

 

[Jim]

Hi Anna, you need to do whatever works for you love, keep us posted please

 

[spottydoris]

Hi all,

Well, have given myself some thinking room - and have been eating whatever I want, whenever I want (which has been lovely, but I feel like crap and am back up to 13 stone, which is just miserable).

Have read up on a few different ways of eating, and I think I am going to try the Cheat to Lose diet that ClaireCat is doing. If it doesn't work for me then I will revert back to low carb, but I have some events coming up (all Saturdays) which make the weekly 'cheat day' quite attractive. Also like the fact it works on upping the metabolism.

So, I am planning to start this Sunday. I move house on Friday, and am having a house warming on Saturday, so Sunday is the most sensible idea... plus the first day is a cheat day, so that is a nice start

The only downside is that you don't get a cheat day for the first three weeks and I am going to a ball on Saturday 12th, but hey ho - if I managed a wedding on Atkins, I can do this.

So, the first three weeks look like this (priming phase)...
Sun: Cheat day
Mon-Sat: Low carb
Sun-Sat: Low GI / low carb (alternate days)
Sun-Fri: Low GI
Sat: Cheat day

From then on the weeks stay the same... two days low carb, two days low GI, two days high GI and one cheat day where you eat whatever you want all day... continuing to cycle til the weight falls off!

This is interspersed with regular exercise (particularly on low carb days).

Sounds good, just got to get my head around what I will be eating when so I can figure out a way for it not to disturb things at home (shopping, meal times etc).

Will be back and 'blogging' from Sunday/Monday. In the meantime, wish my luck with my researching!

SD xx

 

[spottydoris]

P.S. I'm going to weigh in and take measurements on Sunday morning (as suggested in the book), so will check in then and let you know how much I've gained back in this week and a bit. Gonna be scary.