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

I hope all's well with you Tash... bit of a hectic day for me today. I found out on Friday evening that I now need glasses (old age thing!!), and so spent seemingly hours today trying on every sort of frames under the sun (alone), then later with a friend, then back again to order them... I feel relief that "the deed is done", and I know that plenty of people wear glasses since they were young, but somehow starting to wear them at 44 years old is probably tougher!! I've chosen something not too visible, even though my friend wanted me to choose something far more daring... "not this year", I yelped! I hope that no one will notice them! Just for reading.

On the diet front, no problems this weekend (as in ketosis), but I had a bit of the old Sunday night munchies, and overate on the protein! DUH! Perhaps I'm like a child who just needs a dummy on a Sunday evening? Food for thought! I blame the boring football match! Should have just gone to bed with a book (oh no, I couldn't, cos conscious that I needed glasses felt my eyes hurt all weekend! totally psychological that!!).

So I shall see you maybe here tomorrow. Lovely weather here so hope Claire's having the same up where she is... perhaps less so tomorrow (but they do keep changing their minds, those meteorologists!)
x
 
I thought I'd better bump this thread up in case Claire posts this weekend... no idea where Tash is... or what she's eating (TASH??!).

I'm doing ok on my back to Protal second week and just have a little left to lose, but all my clothes are fitting nicely again which is a big relief. I just had to get control back over my eating... so another weekend ahead of me, with no fruit but thankfully some veggies, then next week will be my last then I'll "consolidate" again.

Hope you had a great time Claire... hope the weather was good and that you had some lovely walks with your dog.

And hope Tash is well and happy wherever she is!
 
Heellloooooooooo!!!

Am very well thanks. Busy with the kids/ work/ home and also planning on work being done on my kitchen.

Diet is okay - seem to be retaining fluid at the moment but am much happier both with my weight and with my control over what I put in my mouth which is good.

Nice for you to see the scales going down Joanne and I'm sure the control is a good feeling for you too.

Hope you had a fab holiday Claire!!

Have a great weekend folks - hope we get some sun!!

Tasha
 
Hi everyone,
We got back late on Saturday, been busy doing all the post holiday stuff. It was fantastic there, beautiful weather and a stunning place. I can't say I feel ready to start work again, but it can't be helped. On the food side, we overate appallingly and the scales have leapt up dramatically, I dared them this morning and was 9st12lbs! That is 5lbs in one week, can't be real I tell myself. So it is back on the diet for me, I hope I can follow the good example you are both setting. It will probably take me about three weeks to get back to nine and a half, so here goes - bran galette for breakfast.
 
Welcome back Claire - and you certainly picked a good week, weather wise, to be over here... You know yourself that one cannot really gain 5lbs of fat in that short a time, so I'm sure you'll find the water leaves you quickly... drink plenty eh? When you say "bran galette", aren't you using both the oat and bran meal? The "oat" is the one which would help you right now, rather than bran!

Ignore my "good example" because putting oneself back into ketosis as a result of binge eating isn't exactly a good example to set anyone... but it has helped me to be back in control and I feel happier (although JUST as dubious about leaving this lovely controlled state, and going back into the real world where temptation exists and can cause weight gain!)
x
 
Down to 9st9.5lbs this morning after a not terribly strict down day yesterday. I did cycle into work and had a dance class in the evening so good marks on the exercise front. There was a hude pile of papers waiting for me, this week will be a busy one.

Joanne, relying on ketosis for loss is better than ignoring gains. I just can't go there, I hate that transition. But it is something you are happy with and works for you, so if you have to do it for a couple of weeks now and then it is not a hardship. I do use both wheat and oat bran in the galette, just call it bran as that is what they both are. Are you consolidating now? It must be hard not to have fruit in the strawberry season.

Better get the bike out, another sunny day here so I must make the most of it. Have a good day.
 
Hello! No not consolidating yet, as still 1K up on what I'd like to weigh... but off on holiday to the house again in 10 days so wondering whether I'd not be better (safer?) being in ketosis up to the 14th (when there's a village meal and dancing, when I'll obviously come out...!). Pondering at the moment...

To be honest, fruit hasn't been too much of an issue (yet) as have only stopped eating it for two weeks. I did used to eat far too much fruit (aka sugar!) in my previous diet plan so I did need to be more reasonable with it. Total abstinence is taking it a bit far, I agree... but no strawberry picking etc where I am, so few temptations there!

Back to work after a holiday is such a drag; maybe you can have another week later on... I forget now: is this job permanent or for the summer only?

Gotta run!
 
Hi, got home slightly earlier today. I'm getting on top of work again, should be more or less under control in another couple of days. There just seems to be such a lot to do when I get home again.

The village where your house is sounds lovely, a proper community. You might find it easier to keep in ketosis for the extra few days, then know you can enjoy your holiday with a low start weight. That was my intention but sadly it didn't turn out like that. Do they have any food specialities in your area?

The job is temporary but may turn permanent, no idea when I'll find out though. The assignment is for one to three months, and I've done one already. So any time between now and the end of August things will be decided I suppose. I won't take a holiday until September anyway, no point hitting the school hols crowds.
 
Morning, and glad that you feel more on top of things at work now. I always hate those first few moments, when you see 300 unread emails and a pile of unfiled paper on your desk/chair/floor(!), but (usually) within 30 mins, it's as if I've never been away grrr! I must admit that I always go in early after a holiday - just so that I can get things straight before anything new comes in!

It's true that ketosis is something of a security blanket, and it is indeed VERY easy to resist all temptation... when there is none! Hardly real life though, I am aware of that, so I do hope to turn my thoughts to the "whys and wherefores" of my behaviour this summer...

The specialties in my area are cremant, wine and champagne! Food? Oh I guess a bourgignon, but can't say that I've ever had one there... must admit that, apart from a creperie and a pizza joint, we've never eaten out there... silly driving a 40km roundtrip for dinner somehow (particularly with the petrol price at the moment!) and of course our weekday residence is SURROUNDED by restaurants (which we don't frequent either!!!!)...

After this one week in July, I too will wait until September and the kids are firmly behind their desks once more... I have taken 1/2 day next Friday precisely because of the bad traffic Friday evenings during school holidays...

Weight wise, all well, but again not surprising really... I do so love eating this way too. (Breakfast: oat + bran meal muffins with smoked salmon in the mixture; lunch: salmon, prawns, boiled egg and chicken, dessert: fat free fromage blanc; dinner: big grilled faux fillet steak; dessert: flan). Easy peasy. I could live this way forever (but I guess my kidneys wouldn't thank me!)
 
Hi, late back from work again, they wanted the annoyingly time-consuming directors' expenses anlysing before I left. Cycled again, it rained a few drops on the way home but was quite refreshing! Annoyingly I got bike oil on the hem of my linen trousers, I'd rather not resort to cycle clips but I can see it coming. It has taken a while to catch up with the backlog waiting after my holidays, especially since I have had the outstanding VAT schedules plus now the month end reconciliations to do. And of course I am slower than the last girl as she was used to the system there.

Scales unchanged after yesterday's UD so I am quite happy there. I'm too busy to pay it a lot of attention at the moment. Have you had a chance to look at your book yet? I think one of my problems with eating is that I tend to eat too fast, comes from having a busy life, and so I end up eating more before my brain tells me I've had enough.

I'm with you on not wanting to travel too far to eat, we rarely eat out around here except at Indian restaurants occasionally. I think if I lived in France it would be very different, your restaurants are much better value than ours. Is the increasing price of fuel going to make a difference to how often you go to the country?

Your menu sounds delicious, but I would like some salad with it. Are you reconciled to egg custards now? I remember you disliking them at one point.
 
oh no re bike oil; I hadn't realised one needed clips, so used sexy bulldog clips the first time I rode the bike (shorts flatter few, and definitely not me!!). Then I bought some clips, rode around with them, obviously unaware of them so hadn't noticed I'd lost one somewhere en route!! ah well! Back to bulldog clips eh?!

No I'm not going to read the book while in ketosis as I think I'll gloss over the issues feeling that I'm "cured" simply because one FEELS cured while in ketosis... I am psyching myself up for it though!

I'm actually a slow eater - comes from years of "dieting" and knowing one should BUT, despite that, I still eat beyond fullness simply because it's on my plate! With PP days, I use small plates to avoid seeing large ceramic voids but I'll still always chew while everyone else is, whether I need it or not! DOH!

So far the fuel price hasn't altered our number of trips this summer but I will be cutting down during the winter, I'm sure... staying in the City in the heat is so horrible. I thought I'd die in the 32°C heat yesterday (outside) and probably 35°C inside when I got home! Fortunately today we have cooler weather in from your direction, so I'm regretting my white (bet it turns transparent if gets wet) skirt!

Funnily enough, I get used to no salad or anything with it, and use the egg for a sauce (by leaving it quite runny yolked). Mind you, I do fall upon salad ingredients with great glee on a Friday when they're once again mine, and it is nice to have something to CRUNCH!

As I've always said to newcomers to any diet: "wait until you get hungry and your tastes change!!!!" I now like fromage blanc, natural yoghurt, flans etc etc... I needed a dessert right?!!

Nearly home time - if you don't hear from me again, you'll know I've been arrested by the anti "transparent white skirt" police!
 
Did the police get you? I cycled in this morning but had to ring David to collect me as it started pouring. It had the added benefit of getting me off work on time, an increasingly rare event. They've asked me to work full days Wednesday and Thursday next week as we have a new finance system being installed, what chaos that might cause I can only guess.

I'm wondering if long socks to tuck my hems into might not be the best option. I can change out of them when I get to work. I was first to arrive this morning and had to tangle with the lock and alarm system. The alarm was easy and even said hello to me but the locks were impenetrable. At one point I thought I had got my key stuck in the lock, wouldn't that have made me popular.

Your heat sounds way too much for working in, although I assume you have aircon in the office. It has been quite pleasant temps here, I haven't checked the forecast yet.

I like yogurt, flan etc so wouldn't have a problem there, I made egg thickened sauces like hollandaise when I tried D***n, it seemed like I was forever cooking. Scales are looking goog here, I'm down another 3/4lb, still 1.75 to go but it looks like it should be a fairly smooth ride. I'm keeping the UDs in check and having fairly but not ultra strict DDs.
 
yay, it sounds like you're doing really well with the old cutting back... it's not as hard as we fear at the outset, and in fact I quite enjoy the being back in control feeling, don't you?

I was lucky with the rain... it stopped just in time!

Today is fine... we do have aircon at work, but individual offices can be switched off, so I prefer to do without if I can... sometimes a one hour blast in the afternoon is nice, but dreadful going outdoors straight from aircon, I find...

Rather than long socks and hems etc... which don't sound great for the old street cred... if you can change when you get to work, can you not wear leggings or something? Hmm I'm just wondering now how you'd get your trousers to work... my previous boss used to cycle to work quite regularly but, now that I think of it, she wore skirts quite often so put legging beneath those (modest!). Long socks it is then! Tartan with fluffy balls on the back preferably (and send us a photo!!)

I really don't cook much as I do batch bake at weekends, and my man helps out too as he's always home before me... because we both eat them, I make 10 at the weekend, and he'll do a midweek batch if need be... back to veggies tomorrow and that will be nice, I admit...
x
 
Hi girls and hope you both have a lovely weekend,

A City weekend for me, and not the best weather forecast (which actually suits me just fine as I can't bear being stuck in an overheated appartment in the heat!)

Still staying in ketosis, a lovely safety blanket, and will even turn down the pleasures of strawberries and clotted cream as a result! Never mind - there'll be another occasion!

Speak next week and take care
x
 
Hi, it is verging on Sunday evening and I have to confess I have been bad, bad, bad. I seem to have done nothing but eat all weekend, plus I overate on my DD on Friday, pretty much unheard of for me. I have no excuse, no idea why I did it, and just need to pull myself together.
So here goes
________________________________________________________________

Ruled a line and ready to start again. I think I am not drinking enough, never was good at that and I tend to forget at work.

I've been trying to sew myself a jacket, it is causing me a major headache. I was careful to check my measurements against the pattern and then discovered that the pattern was three inches bigger across the back than I am and consequently three inches smaller across the front! Luckily I had started with the lining as I expected the odd fitting problem, nothing that drastic though.

Hope you have both been better behaved on the food front than me, I'm sure you have. Joanne, did you visit any good markets? We have lots of strawberries around now, they are grown locally. Not sure I'd fancy clotted cream with them, the pouring stuff does me fine. Tash, how are you?
 
Good for you, Claire... a bit of what you fancy and all that... and that line is a good thing to do on a Monday morning also.

I stayed on the straight and narrow: refused strawberries and cream (clotted because my friend is from Devon - it really is a one off!), pork pies, crisps and all other "UK delicacies" given to us for cat sitting last week... R enjoyed all. Being over bored/hungry/fanciful or perhaps just because it was "Sunday night", I overate but stuck to flans, chicken, crabsticks etc but admittedly ate all very late... so did prepare myself for a gain on the scales.

But 1.1K? I thought that particularly CRUEL given that R (who also ate a couple of Magnums, bread, cake etc) *only* gained 1.6K. I'd have been better off joining him!

Anyway I've changed the batteries in the scales, as they kept showing different weights for each of us this morning, and I'll continue as planned (albeit with a heavy heart) that this is my last five days in ketosis before moving back onto Consolidation Saturday on holiday! (YIKES!)

I'm useless at sewing, so wouldn't have a clue... I did however start knitting a lovely little baby matinee jacket for a pregnant friend. When I'm in the mood to knit, I can sit for hours (not good as I'm already "broad round the beam"!!).

Tash? Maybe you have better news?
 
Seeing the scales rise when one has been good is so unfair. But for me, having been seriously bad, the extra pound and a half is deserved punishment. Annoyingly it didn't happen until I had been good all day Monday, I wonder if it was down to drinking a lot more water.

Monday was an awful day at work, my colleague was off sick and the financial controller heading off to Germany and needing a ton of work doing before he went. So I had my work, his work, Sarah's work and whatever the two bosses wouldn't sully their hands with. Luckily today was quieter so I got caught up a bit. Tomorrow and Thursday we have training days so I may not get on here until the evening.

Consolidation time, that's a big step. How long will you spend in that phase? Sometimes I get very tired of this constant weight watching, especially when I look at my colleague who is tall and slender and eats constantly. Most unfair.
 
We oughtn't consider a rise after a nice treat a "punishment" just a reminder not to continue in the same vein. Else how can we ever enjoy treats?

My gain was cruel, given my virtuous performance this weekend, and the change of batteries took the kilo off! ooof!!

The Consolidation phase lasts 10 days per kilo lost, but that's a bit farcical for me really as I've lost and relost the same ones a couple of times, so I shall stick at it for a while I think. Because I can have 2 x three course meals per week, 2 x carbs per week, and 40g bread 6 times a week (of course I won't though! not all, not every week), it'll be a good way of reintroducing carbs (again) and hopefully remaining in a structure...

If I lose the plot on vacation as usual, any further discussion of Consolidation will be obsolete, so I won't waste any air time talking about it right now!! Realistic that I am... one thing I'm not going to do on my return, however, is weigh myself. "Normal people" don't do that and because I never have an issue with getting straight back in the saddle first day back at work, better I do it with the memories of delicacies eaten than the sight of those darned numbers whirling in front of my eyes!!

I hope they'll be sharing their salaries with you as well as their work (if only)... hope the weather is better where you are
 
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