The last stone mission......ROLL UP!!!!

[clairejen]

Rain, rain and more rain. I want to go back to bed. Fortunately I'm not aching after my dance class, must be a bit fitter than last week. I'm trying to get ready for the regearsal tonight, a load of printing to do for the songs. I've kept off the scales so far this week, not sure I'll last out till Saturday.

Joanne, you seem to go in and out of ketosis with ease, I had a horrible time and neverwant to go there again. Funny how physiology varies. I liked the D flans, the peripheral things were great, it was just all the meat I couldn't handle. What do you use as a sweetener? Maybe you will come to love custard in time! I'm sure the "friend" was just jealous, haggard is shorthand for "slimmer than me" sometimes. I envy you having to eat out two meals a week, living and working where you do it is no hardship!

 

[Maintainer]

Rainy dark and grim here too, very windy too.

The sweetener they recommend is Candarel (aspartame based and you can cook with the new recipe). I only use it for flans, I admit, while others seem to do everything with it. The last thing I want is to keep my sweet tooth raging!

I love meat, so I'm lucky, but I find I am having fish and seafood more than I used to, as time goes on. I do tend to stick to chicken quite a bit, particularly at lunchtime, then have something different in the evening.

I daren't jump straight into a full consolidation phase, so am doing a half half thing. One slice of pain complet each day; one apple per day; both except Thursdays which are pure protein days still. Wednesday evening a "free meal" - first week Sausages!!

I did have trouble getting back into ketosis when I restarted after Christmas on NY's Eve. I had had so many carbs while in the UK that I went from one extreme to the other and it took ages for me to feel full, whereas the first time it was easy because I'd prepared inadvertently beforehand with my own home made low carb diet.

You must be fit with all the dancing you do... this rain unfortunately is interfering with my walk regime. I did manage 1/2 hour fast this morning, fast against the wind half way too!

 

[clairejen]

I'm feeling really exhausted now, after a busy day at work I have had a long rehearsal and quite stressful casting discussions. We will have to wait for auditions to know who we can use in what part, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that it will work out OK. Deep breaths. Now I am trying to unwind gently or I won't sleep well. The rain is still pattering in the background, where is global warming when you really need it?

I suppose I am relatively fit, don't you find it is hard to know how fit/slim/whatever you are in comparison to others of a similar age? I'm slower than I used to be, but still pretty supple. I have the big five oh coming up next month and really want to be able to do the splits by then, something I have never quite achieved but am really close to doing. Pathetic ambition eh? The downside of fitness is having muscular thighs, not very attractive.

Aspartame is not my favourite sweetener, I prefer sucralose (as in Splenda). Once you are in consolidation can you have cornflour (I seem to remember some of the recipes include it)? It will be interesting to see how well you react to the slow reintroduction of carbs, they obviously affect you a lot weightwise. Having some fruit and bread again will be a nice change. What do you do for breakfast, that was something I had awful trouble wanting when it was only protein?

 

[Maintainer]

Weather much better here today than yesterday (well ANYTHING would have been better than yesterday evening when the winds were howling and I gave up on holding my umbrella against them and just let the rain get me...).

If I'm honest, I'm not keen on any sweetener and never used them before D***n, so am not going to get addicted now. The only thing I've put Candarel in is flans and that was fine. Diet Coke has it too. Otherwise, I'll hold out for "real" sugar or at least natural replacements!

For breakfast, I have always had galette, so breakfast has never been an issue for me. OH often makes "porridge" with his sons (of course those sons aren't available in the UK I know...). My positively favourite galette is with diced smoked salmon and zero fat ham (bet that doesn't exist either! jambon dégraissé) in the mixture before you cook it. Mmm!

Cornflour (maizena?) has been allowed since day six for me (phase 2) but as a "tolerated" food, so restricted to one hit of 25g per day and only if not stagnating. Actually, I learned about the "tolerated" foods on Supertoinette, because those were added by the good Dr. after the book was written... Some on the site have had private consultations.

I have had another comment about how I'm looking and that it's TIME TO STOP... ok ok ok!! Need to go shopping first though and Monday will come soon enough.

 

[clairejen]

We can get "sons" here, Holland and Barrett stock them (oat and wheat bran), I'm not sure about zero fat ham althoug there are plenty of low fat ones. Yes, cornflour is maizena, it can be a lifesaver if you are hankering for bread as it makes a very strange egg based bread that if you close your eyes and hold your nose has a similar texture! The things we learn to like when dieting!

I've been lucky on the comments front, there have been some saying "you're not going to lose any more, are you" but only once we've been chatting about it anyway. I think I probably don't look that thin because my boobs are still quite big in relation to the rest of me, it's misleading. We're about the same bmi, I'm on 22.5.

I've had a very dull day workwise, costings for pricelists which means checking up current prices for lots of tiny components, and finding alternatives for those which have been discontinued. Megayawn.

 

[Maintainer]

I still love my galettes and will definitely continue those. As unfortunately my boobs are pitiful, yet my butt quite mighty still(!), that leaves my waist to neck rather thin looking! Even I had to admit that bones poking out isn't a good look!

My work life isn't enthralling at the moment either. Thankfully weekend tomorrow, one hour's overtime means I can leave at 4pm, and get out to the house slightly early!

Vet tomorrow for booster jabs and get the older cat microchipped. She's tattou'ed (vet recommended that form of ID when she used to be allowed outdoors in the countryside, explaining that country folk wouldn't necessarily know about microchips and tattoos are more visible to them) but microchipping will become obligatory in a couple of years here so might as well do it. Bit of a drag as it means driving the 20km to nearest village and back twice on Saturday rather than have the cat accompany us to the hypermarket!

 

[clairejen]

Morning, and a disgusting wet one here again. I am so fed up with this rain, even though I work from home we still have to walk the dog and everywhere is just mud.

It must be so nice to get away for the weekend, despite the driving. Microchipping is voluntary here, and I don't think many cats are done. Our dog had to have one for her passport, although we got her from the RSPCA and they had already chipped her. Couldn't you just do one journey, one of you drop the other and cats at the vet and then do the shopping alone while the cats are being attended to?

Have you cut down on weighing yet? I'm struggling with guilt at not getting on the scales every day, and the conflicting messages of "don't weigh, you might have put on weight and you don't want to know that" and "you must weigh, it's the only way to keep in control" are fighting it out. I want to make it a once a week regular thing, Saturday morning only.

I've got more boring work today, and getting ready for the rehearsal tonight. Better get on with it I suppose. Hope your day is more fun than mine promises to be.

 

[Maintainer]

I adore getting away for weekends particularly as once there we are "at home" also with all our possessions. I wasn't as keen going away too often before buying our country place. Although we'd sometimes go to stay at other people's country places, it wasn't the same at all living out of suitcases!!

As for weighing, the D***n diet tells one to weigh daily, even several times a day, during these first two no carb phases to understand the fluctuations. From phase 3, however, the only day's weigh in which counts is the one following the one PP day. So you can weigh yourself as often as your heart can bear but not to expect to be smiling very often - that's when I'll take the battery out!

Speaking of moving onto phase 3, that has been pushed back a week due to a NASTY weigh in for us both this morning - up 1.2K each! Precisely! We ate smoked fish, quite a big piece to be honest, but it's supposed to be "allowed", but the salt therein must have messed us up. Given that the reintroduction of carbs is necessarily going to also cause fluctuations, I don't feel psychologically sound to start adding carbs with a start weight higher than I wanted. So a week more of phase 2 (and no more smoked fish as sole component of meal!).

The vet's visit unfortunately (well, fortunately I suppose) is just a 10 min job and hypermarket shopping can take an hour so I don't fancy being she stuck with miaowing cat with a waiting room full of dogs (BIG dogs in countryside too!!!). This cat is already tattou'ed, but microchipping is to become compulsory in France from I think it's 2009 so might as well get that done while there. Baby cat is already chipped and it didn't hurt her. Neither has or will have passport cos won't leave the country - the UK has that strange tick rule (needing vaccination more than 24 hrs before entering UK yet less than 48 hours! friend of mine travelling from Italy to UK via France had a nightmare getting that timing right and she had to stay in France overnight to get it right to spare her animal quarantine!), so won't get into all that. Plus with cats it's not exactly what they like to do - travel - and, even when they arrive at destination, it's not their cup of tea being in strange place either. Better they stay "at home" with someone come to feed them.

Dull and rainy here too - I'd far sooner the cold and sun, but hopefully that will return at some point. Have a good weekend, and hope your rehearsals go well.

How's it going Tash?

 

[clairejen]

Oops, that smoked fish sounds like water retention, too much salt making you drink more? Perhaps best to check over this weekend, it may just be a blip.

I can see the thing with cats travelling is a problem, they aren't as keen as dogs or as biddable. We never have a problem with the vet appointment, it would only be tricky if you wanted to go late on a Monday or very early Tuesday. We just work out where we'll be within that 24 hour window and book something suitable, it's quite expensive though.

I'm not sure if I could cope with two houses, the one I've got is always a total mess. And I'd end up leaving stuff I wanted in the other one and getting frustrated. But I suppose by now you regard the country one as your actual home and the flat as a place you stay for work.

 

[Maintainer]

What happened to my friend was that she was holidaying in the South of Italy, returning to the UK at 6pm Sunday evening on the ferry... So she had to have the tick thing after 6.01pm Saturday evening... and couldn't find a vet in the area ish she thought she might be driving through at that time! Obviously easier if holidaying in France to get the timing right, but if in Southern Italy in the car with a 14-16 hour drive to get to Calais, not very nice!

Two houses does require organisation - and a lot of underwear! The former is my forte, and I'm getting better at the latter! I groan every time I see my OH throwing a pair of socks out because of a hole as I know what that'll mean! We necessarily bring dirty washing back to the City to wash, when just there for a weekend as don't have enough, which tends to meal that all undies end up in the wrong house!

Clothes wise - I tend to need bigger thicker jumpers in the country, the sort I'd not wear to the office, so that's fine. I'm lucky in that we have "casual Friday" dress in the office Fridays so always go in jeans, and have spare there... the most difficult time, or leastwise there where I have been caught out before is when the weather changes unexpectedly and I remember wearing a "painting tshirt" one weekend it was nice in April and oughtn't have been...

Have a good weekend!

 

[clairejen]

Sunday evening and I am well overdue for tomorrow's DD. I am just feeling so hungry at the moment, must be the weather or time of year or something, but for about a week I have wanted to keep eating. No ill efects showing on the scales yet, I weighed on Saturday morning and am not getting on them again until next Saturday. By then I hope to get this binge under control.

Joanne, you are better organised than me, and much more so than my DH who hates packing and unpacking. Just as well we stay in one place I think. Talking of staying in places, we are trying to get our holiday plans made and are looking at a week in Le Perche and then a week camping somewhere. This sort of weather we need some plans to cheer us up. You friend must have got in a muddle with her treatment times too because the vet has to be seen between 48 and 24 hours before departure. It works out well for us because we have the appointment arranged for the morning of the last day we are at the place we are staying then have a day of travelling the following day. An expensive business for something quite unnecessary I think, but that's the law so we have to pay.

Have you found anything worthwhile in the sales? I desperately need new jeans and trousers but can't find any I like. All I have got this time around is a turquoise jacket (casual style, I wear a lot of blue) and most of the things on the reduced rails are distinctly unflattering. FIngers crossed the summer will be better.

 

[Maintainer]

Change of plan - seeing this morning that my weight was back to "normal" (can't change my signature for some reason!), I decided to move onto the next phase but gently... so today I'll be having 50g pain complet (weighed it out and 50g represents three teeny tiny slices!) with some 5% cream cheese on AND an apple! WOW an apple!! slowly slowly to reintroduce carbs, fat and fruit...

I think I got the timing wrong above but just meant to say that those timings are ok if you're in France on holiday but when in Italy/Germany with a very long drive ahead of you, not easy to get the timing right in I/G yet awkward to have to get to France at a certain time to beat the "24 hrs before departure thing".

I bought quite a bit in the sales in the UK over Christmas. Given that I haven't worn my current winter wardrobe very often (cos just slimmed into it properly when I quit smoking, and "grew" out of it again, it feels newish to me. I bought jeans at M&S (Per uno) range and have had lots of compliments although I think they get baggy quickly (but don't all jeans?!)...

My DH does no packing or unpacking. I am in sole charge of his wardrobe and therefore get the sole blame when, as recently, I left one pair of his slippers at my Dad's place (leaving him with cold feet the two last nights in the UK when visiting friends), so we bought him more, then left THEM at the house, leaving him cold feet again! MY FAULT of course!

 

[clairejen]

Someone else recommended per una jeans, I'll have to take a look at them. Jeans always go baggy, unless you get them at a size where you can't do them up until you've worn them for half an hour! Well done for getting the weight off again, I thought it was just a blip. It will be interesting to see how the next phase goes, you are doing it very gently so I can't see it will cause any problems, but you seem to react to carbs much more than I do, possibly because on my diet they never went away. Lovely to have fruit again, and it will taste sooo good.

I usually end up packing and unpacking, I can't stand the last minute stress otherwise. He's pretty good about not blaming me, last time we went away he forgot to take a jacket because I asked if I should pack it and he said he'd wear it and then forgot. I do hate starting a holiday having to go out and buy all the things he should have brought but hasn't.

 

[Maintainer]

You're right Claire about jeans - I should have bought size 10, I think, cos the 12s fit me too easily when freshly washed and ironed at this weight, so an hour or so later, they're baggy... so go down a size! They do at least come (almost) to the waist, and have boot leg! (and a nice pattern on the bum!).

300g up this morning having just added so little... yes I definitely seem to have a carb issue going on, but HAVE to do this to have any chance of stabilising definitively so will close my eyes and continue (yikes!). Just the little 3 rounds of bread, the little amount of reduced fat cream cheese on it, and one apple per day being added for now, although I'm "allowed" to add far more. (Yeah right!)

I could only get hold of Golden Delicious apples (yesterday morning at 8.30am in a local tiny supermarket near the office), as hadn't dared "plan" on being at the correct weight Monday morning... GD's are usually so NOT my choice of apple, but last night it tasted ooooh FABULOUS!

 

[clairejen]

Yuck, I hate Golden Delicious, give me a nice cox or braeburn any day (not that I eat many apples, I tend to have pears instead), but it's amazing what tastes good when you've been doing without. When I started to add food after CD the taste was unbelievable, that was when I decided I was only going to diet with real food in future.

I think I'm a size 10 lower half and 12 top at the moment, not sure what that will work out as in jeans sizes. I did have a browse in the Monsoon sale but nothing leapt out at me, remembering these styles from first time around doesn't help. There was a black and white long top which I fancied but it was a 10 and would have been tight on the bust.

The hunger which was bothering me all weekend seems to have faded so hopefully this week will be a restrained one. And at last it has stopped raining, not sure how long for. No floods here fortunately, although I live on the edge of the fens we have good defences and a lower rainfall than the west.

 

[Maintainer]

I'm normally the same as you re GDs, but the other two options were red and looked "thick skinned and woolly", if you see what I mean. "Pink Lady" or "Braeburn" are my favourite. Never find Coxes here alas.

I'm a size 11 bottom, and 10 top, I reckon judging from how my size 12s are fitting at the moment. I shall have to put an extra hot wash on as I really don't like "baggy"! I wore a sweater yesterday which shrank in the wash last year (so it was tight fitting), and I had lots of compliments about my weight, so baggy obviously makes me look bigger too!

My family hail from the fens, but not your side (must PM you...)

 

[clairejen]

This morning has got off to a good start with a nice order from Linkoping, that gets the sales for January to a respectable level and has cheered us. The doom and gloom on the news all the time is way too depressing, I blame the media for building all this recession thing up - they have no sense of moral responsibility. Although it makes a change from them villifying Muslims I suppose.

I have been studiously avoiding the scales except for once a week on Saturday morning, it is how life has to be from now on, even though they look at me pleadingly. Otherwise the maintenance seems to be going well and fairly easily. I really ought to take some more measurements, I haven't done that in a long while and I feel I'm not exactly where I want to be. My waist, which always used to be quite small, is bigger than I would like, maybe the excruciating abdominal exercises we are doing at dance class will help there. You sound like you've really got down to a nice size, how lovely to get compliments like that.

This time of year is very tricky for fruit, although the shops and market have lots of imported berries and suchlike they are never worth the price. I can't understand why the French don't eat coxes, to my mind they are the best eater around.

 

[Maintainer]

There certainly is a lot of doom and gloom on the horizon and I work for a branch office of a U.S. Firm so it's not looking great here!

I should do the same as you with my scales now. Although the book did tell us to weigh daily, and even more frequently than that, during the first two phases to understand our fluctuations etc., in this Phase Three, I'm only really to take account of the weigh in AFTER Thursday protein day. For now, I do feel the need to keep an eye on it, even if I know it's normal to be gaining a little given that I've added food in.

Although I am getting some compliments about how my "body" is looking, I have had more than one comment that I'm looking "tired, haggard, older" etc. so not all positive compliments but I tend to take on board those I like and ignore the others! (I'd go for a flat tummy and wizened scrunched up face myself but OH would have something to say!!) Speaking of OH, he has already noticed that I've gone lower than I said I would, weight wise, and because he's ever conscious that my compulsive eating could easily swing the "other way", he's nagging me to gain some! (There's a thought!!)

Following the "no fruit" part of this diet at this time of year has indeed been quite easy because of the lack of choice/quality around at the moment. Again my GD tasted like nectar. OH has me some Pink Lady's from tomorrow though. I definitely was eating too much fruit in the past though, and the sugar can't have been good for me, even if natural. I feel that I've toned down my sweet tooth no end by eating natural 0% fat yoghurts only and no fruit.

Sun is out and shining!

 

[Maintainer]

Posting first for a change, and hope all is well Claire... how are you Tash? Anyone else? It's true that this thread is SO in the wrong section that it's no wonder that we don't get new people joining us!

Today is my protein only day which, theoretically, is made that much more difficult by my having reintroduced some carbs. So far so good, but I've not missed out on anything yet at this time of the day! Last night I ate a decent sized sirloin steak, 1/4 plateful of salad, and 100g cooked weight plain boiled tagliatelle AND had a small slice of bread and an apple! That sounds like a heck of a lot of food to me, so I'm going to have to twiddle my menus a little for next week as I'm eating a lot of protein still at lunchtime which prevents me from adding carbs as I'm not hungry; then I'm having them all in the evening in front of the TV, just before bed! Bit daft, eh?!

What a "joy" though eating such foods and knowing they're "allowed"! Long may it last...

 

[clairejen]

Hi Joanne, and anyone else reading. I'm a bit behind myself today, a combination of work and trying to clear some space in the freezer - which led to taking out the sloes we picked in the autumn and that meant preparing them for making sloe gin. Hopefully I won't be overly busy for the next few days as my work is getting under control - dangerous thing to say and I don't want to tempt fate. How is the banking sector reacting to the fraud revelations? There's enough turmoil at the moment without that causing panic.

Will you be weighing tomorrow? Fingers crossed there are no gains, I must say it doesn't sound like a massive amount of food to me although I can't visualise 100g of cooked pasta. Are you afraid to move some carbs to lunchtime in case they make you hungrier? I've just about given up on counting calories, I just do a low day then a higher one, I think I ought to be a bit stricter or it could all get totally out of control.