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

[clairejen]

Hi everyone
Had my weigh in yesterday, had lost 2lbs which is good for 790, especially considering I've had no exercise for the past week because I've felt ill. Now I'm better, went to dance class last night and I really notice the difference of eating again. I was under 10 stone by my scales this morning which is the maximum level of my future weight control plan, 7lbs to go to target, although I may not get there till late January!

I went through a big time of confusion over the weekend, too much conflicting information on which foods and food components are "good" and which are "bad". If you look hard enough there is someone out there on the net rubbishing every diet and maintenance plan going, and after looking at several I'd got to the point of thinking there was no answer to the perfect weight control plan. So, I decided that all I can do is find the way that suits me, like I do for exercise. A regime is only good if I can stick to it, I want to take pleasure in food and get all the nutrients I need, balanced with the exercise I enjoy, so overall there is no calorie excess. I can't see myself weighing food, looking up values, counting calories etc for the rest of my life, so I am going onto the Dukan stabilisation and maintenance plan when I finish CD in 10 days time.

Nic, sounds like you've been going through the same sort of journey as me. I've been finding exercise a real help, it gets the metabolism going faster and releases endorphins (I love endorphins), which seem to help me get my head in the right place. I'm sure you'll find a lifetime eating plan which suits you, whether you go for GI now or want to keep the comfort blanket of LL for a bit longer. I can relate to the negative body image thing, once the fat is nearly gone we are then confronted with not liking our bone structure, knees, hips etc (OK - we're women, we're not meant to be satisfied with how we look!). Good luck with the last few pounds, and the start of real eating.

Marilyn, I envy you enjoying the shakes, I really don't like them much, although they are OK as muffins or mousses. The more I have food the more I realise how much I prefer it to the CD products, but since I have only 10 days to go I am not too worried now. Do you find exercise improves your metabolic rate? I'm sure it is the answer for me, but everyone is different. I'm not too bothered about coming out of ketosis, for some reason I don't have it as well as other people. I discussed it with my CDC and she thought this was because my diet was pretty healthy before CD and I didn't have a huge weight problem so I didn't see the massive benefits that others seem to get. In retrospect I should have done 790 form day1 I think. Oh and I'm already taking extra vitamins, I started as soon as I fell ill (habit, I always do). Good to hear you are enjoying food and finding things to suit you, I'm looking forwards to being able to cook for two again instead of doing separate meals. Hope it all continues to go well for you.

How's everyone else doing? Anyone hit target yet?

 

[Marylyn]

Maintenance & Exercise

Hello again Clairejen

I'm very glad to hear that you are doing fine. Keep positive, enjoy your new figure and there's no reason why you can't enjoy real food.

I haven't got all the results of the study, but I have managed to glean this little gem. I am now no longer insulin resistant, which is wonderful news. This has been established by feeding insulin and glucose into my bloodstream and taking blood samples.

I own "The Low-Carb Cookbook" by Amanda Cross and I remember reading this paragraph and wondering whether I was insulin resistant.

This is what it says:

The link between carbohydrates and insulin resistance.

The hormone insulin plays a major role in the metabolism of carbohydrates and their conversion to energy in the body. When you eat carbohydrates, they are converted into glucose in the bloodsteam, which triggers the release of insulin. This virtually escorts the glucose to the body's cells, where it can be used as energy. If there is too much glucose, the insulin turns it into glycogen, which is stored in your muscles and liver ready to be converted back to glucose when it is needed.
However, in the high-refined 'carb' world in which we live, we often have too much glucose floating around in the bloodstream, and then insulin converts it to fat. And our body cells may become so flooded with insulin that they cease to be responsive to it, so the pancreas keeps producing more and more insulin in an attempt to get energy to your cells. This is known as 'insulin resistance'.

I'll sign off here, because there may not be enough room for the next bit so I'll continue the message.

 

[Marylyn]

Continuation

This is from Amanda Cross's book

Are you insulin-resistant?

These symptoms can all be indicative of unstable blood-sugar levels:

• Fatigue
• Mood swings
• Brain fog and an inability to function at your best.
• A craving for carbohydrates, followed by a feeling of bloatedness and dizziness after eating them.
• Constant hunger
• Continual yo-yo dieting, without ever shifting excess fat.

If many of these symptoms apply to you, then it is time to go into dietary 'rehab'. It sounds as if you are a carbohydrate junkie.

_______________________________________________

So this is one of the reasons why I was finding it so difficult to lose weight.

It is a chicken and egg situation. It isn't known if we become insulin resistant when we gain weight, or if we are insulin resistant and then gain weight. Other research has to be done to establish this.

The thing is having lost my weight, I am now sensitive to insulin and this is going to make losing weight easy and hopefully I will stay sensitive to insulin.

I have lost another kilo, since I took my calories up to 750 and I do believe that exercise helps to boost our metabolism. Also when we gain muscle, this helps to burn fat also.

I'm not talking about becoming "Miss Universe", just doing some exercises that will build some muscle around your body that will tone you up at the same time.

I hope that this has been helpful to you all. I wish I had all my results, because there is more interesting facts to be revealed, like the before and after fat biopsy which will reveal other facts.

I think I've probably become "milk-shake conditioned" having little else over six months. The Lipotrim was fine, but I find the Cambridge Diet shakes intoxicatingly good. I intend to use them even when I'm at goal, because they are full of goodness. Those bars are delicious too and I've been having two of those a day, I know, I know - but they're so scrummy.

Anyway bags of whisht now I've said enough.

Marylyn with love and regardsxxx

 

[olijames]

Hey Marilyn

WOW..great results so far and more to come...fat biopsy? Cant wait for the next science bit! And as for the bars..I've had 2 LLbars today...nut and fruit , not together..oh what have i said 'Cadbury's fruit and nut...mmmm!'....I think for me with the bars its the 'chew' factor! Great that you like the CD packs so much as will keep you motivated..TBH Im sick to death of the packs..infact I'd requested a 'lucky dip' bag of packs this week...have had only mushroom and choc since Feb...had chicken today..YUK!!!!!! Aftertaste haunted me all afternoon and still now.....

So great to read about the insulin intolerance...mood swings? Yo-yo ing? Mmmm sounds familiar!

My good intentions re exercise have gone to pot so far this week...must get into it..i did notice i toned when i was into gym and swim in summer....its just so much harder going after work when its dark and you know youre not gonna get in til after 6!

Anyway great to hear your wonderful news..keep us posted

Hugs

 

[clairejen]

Marylyn, sounds like you're really getting things under control, congratulations. It's amazing to have a light shone on this stuff after blundering in the dark for so long. I have great faith in exercise too, partly because it makes me feel so good (endorphins are the tops). My lifetime plan includes some carb control, and your information makes me realise why this is so important.

Nic, I feel the same in the packs, and I'm tired of the bars. I want to get away from a "sweets as treats" mentality, and the bars don't help there. Making yourself exercise is always harder in winter, is there someone else you can go with? I find classes are good because I'm with friends, they expect me to be there so I feel I'm letting them down too if I don't go.

I'm on 1000 plan from today, 2 packs plus about 700 calories of food. I get to have fruit!!! I have missed fruit so much. No weight changes, but I think I have to get off CD and stabilise on food before I have any more progress.

Big hugs all round.

 

[Marylyn]

Exercise in Winter - so hard!

Hi Nic and Clairejen

With the best of intentions the dark evening draw in and this really drains any impetus to go to a gym or swimming.

However, a little exercise at a time is just as beneficial as going and doing a flat-out work out at the gym and this is something that with a bit of motivation you can build into your day and your son will probably be glad to join in too.

Put on some of your favourite music "Dancing Queen" by Abba will get your endorphins ready. Walk up and down the stairs for 5 mins. That's it. Next hour play hide and seek with Oli, going up and down the stairs even if you know he's hiding in the kitchen. He'll love it and the fun factor will get your endorphins going. You might find Oli will want to keep this game going for longer than 5 mins, but this is all good.

If you have an exercise video, put one of those on and just do five minutes and allow a cooling down period.

If it is a sunny day, get wrapped up as it is cold and take a brisk walk for 10 mins.

I know our commitments at home with house-work, cooking, ironing + a zillion other things we do tend to tie us down. BUT these activities don't really get our endorphins going and it is these circulating in the blood-stream that give you the enthusiasm you need which will carry you through the day.

The next day, set a timer and do the same as before, but add another minute only. Even if you feel you could do more, it is by building your stamina gradually and not taking too much time about it that will enable you to do something every hour.

Before you know it you will have built 40 minutes exercise into your day if you start at 10.00 a.m. and finish at 6 p.m.

This will be just as good as working out at the gym. If you are sole-sourcing you shouldn't be doing too much in the way of exercise, but if you are building your calorie intake to 750, I honestly think this will give you some good results.

Just as a matter of curiosity, I understand Lighter Life is a very expensive option. The Cambridge Diet costs £1.58 per sachet from my CDC. I never had to pay any consultation fee although some CDC's do charge.

I recommended a friend onto the study I was on and she will have her weigh-in on Friday. She's doing really well and as she has 4 stone to lose, I am very relieved to know that she will be under strict medical supervision. She had lost 3 stone on Lighter Life herself.

You can appreciate how relieved and happy I am to have shed 14 kgs, that was impossible to shift. 15 long years of yo-yoing or not losing anything at all. Such an uphill struggle that was totally demoralising. The looks that I'd get at weight watchers when I would be weighed made me feel such a failure. Then Rosemary Conley club, and Slimming World. What a total waste of money and time.

This is why I would say to anyone who is experiencing difficulty in losing weight, please see your GP and make them listen. So many GP's feel at a loss, because their patients with obesity won't do anything to help themselves.

I think it is a dreadful extreme action to have to undergo gastric band surgery or that other operation, stomach stapiing, but sometimes it seems the only alternative, because obesity brings people to a life or death situation.

Keep telling yourself the last stone will come off - it is hard shedding it, and it may be a slow process. Don't make it a painful process, even if it takes till next Spring the strategies that you are putting in place now to keep your weight stable is challenging in itself and this is what you will need to fall back on when you have lost your final stone.

Good Luck and regards to all
Marylyn xxx

 

[Marylyn]

Hi Nic and Clairejen

With the best of intentions the dark evening draw in and this really drains any impetus to go to a gym or swimming.

However, a little exercise at a time is just as beneficial as going and doing a flat-out work out at the gym and this is something that with a bit of motivation you can build into your day and your son will probably be glad to join in too.

Put on some of your favourite music "Dancing Queen" by Abba will get your endorphins ready. Walk up and down the stairs for 5 mins. That's it. Next hour play hide and seek with Oli, going up and down the stairs even if you know he's hiding in the kitchen. He'll love it and the fun factor will get your endorphins going. You might find Oli will want to keep this game going for longer than 5 mins, but this is all good.

If you have an exercise video, put one of those on and just do five minutes and allow a cooling down period.

If it is a sunny day, get wrapped up as it is cold and take a brisk walk for 10 mins.

I know our commitments at home with house-work, cooking, ironing + a zillion other things we do tend to tie us down. BUT these activities don't really get our endorphins going and it is these circulating in the blood-stream that give you the enthusiasm you need which will carry you through the day.

The next day, set a timer and do the same as before, but add another minute only. Even if you feel you could do more, it is by building your stamina gradually and not taking too much time about it that will enable you to do something every hour.

Before you know it you will have built 40 minutes exercise into your day if you start at 10.00 a.m. and finish at 6 p.m.

This will be just as good as working out at the gym. If you are sole-sourcing you shouldn't be doing too much in the way of exercise, but if you are building your calorie intake to 750, I honestly think this will give you some good results.

Just as a matter of curiosity, I understand Lighter Life is a very expensive option. The Cambridge Diet costs £1.58 per sachet from my CDC. I never had to pay any consultation fee although some CDC's do charge.

I recommended a friend onto the study I was on and she will have her weigh-in on Friday. She's doing really well and as she has 4 stone to lose, I am very relieved to know that she will be under strict medical supervision. She had lost 3 stone on Lighter Life herself.

You can appreciate how relieved and happy I am to have shed 14 kgs, that was impossible to shift. 15 long years of yo-yoing or not losing anything at all. Such an uphill struggle that was totally demoralising. The looks that I'd get at weight watchers when I would be weighed made me feel such a failure. Then Rosemary Conley club, and Slimming World. What a total waste of money and time.

This is why I would say to anyone who is experiencing difficulty in losing weight, please see your GP and make them listen. So many GP's feel at a loss, because their patients with obesity won't do anything to help themselves.

I think it is a dreadful extreme action to have to undergo gastric band surgery or that other operation, stomach stapiing, but sometimes it seems the only alternative, because obesity brings people to a life or death situation.

Keep telling yourself the last stone will come off - it is hard shedding it, and it may be a slow process. Don't make it a painful process, even if it takes till next Spring the strategies that you are putting in place now to keep your weight stable is challenging in itself and this is what you will need to fall back on when you have lost your final stone.

Good Luck and regards to all
Marylyn xxx

P.S Nic I've just realised you are at work teaching so you haven't got the freedom to take the above advice. However, you might possibly be able to do a bit of pacing in the classroom, keeping an eye on your charges.

 

[Jubbly]

Yay!! Fourth month weigh in and I lost another 4lbs even though I'm on 1000 (I deserve it though I reckon after losing only 2lbs in the last 3 weeks). Only 4 more lbs to go before I'm 9 stone (target) hurrah!! These Cambridge steps really DO work, although I was starting to believe I wouldn't anymore (have been v v good this week though). Planned meal out on 2/12 with wine but am going to be extra good until then. Only 7 packs per week from next week too which will be a relief with Christmas coming up. Can't seem to get started at gym though....

Coley where are you? And everyone else who started on the last stone mission? How is everyone doing??

 

[Marylyn]

Hello Jubbly

Very well done on losing that 4lbs. As you know, this last stone is difficult to lose and you have to find the right way for you.

I'm very glad that the CD steps are working well, as they should, because every calorie counts especially for the last stone and you are obviously very disciplined and motivated which will get you to goal soon enough.

I am going to be counting my calories, sometimes they will be approximate, but I can always err on the side of imagining I have had that bit more. This morning I had 30 g of oats 110 cals 1/2 tsp sugar - I think that is 14 cals - Tblsp milk not sure about 14 maybe - GRAND TOTAL 138.

That was very satisfying and the same calorie count as a pack of diet. It will be the only carbohydrate I will have today, because I don't want to get bloated, but it is nice to have something real too and I've always loved porridge on a Winter's morning.

I would be very glad to hear from the other girls too. It is always interesting to hear what strategies they are employing to lose the final stone.

We're here to support each other gals, where are you?

Marylyn xxx

 

[FatFairNForty(ish)]

Nicole! Where are youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu?

 

[clairejen]

Hi folks
No weight change yet here, but I'm happy with that since I had worried that eating a bit more yesterday (on 1000 plan) would cause a gain. It was so good to have more freedom on the food front and even a few carbs, one thing about not having had much variety up till now is how much I'm appreciating the flavours as they're reintroduced. Last night I ate the same as my DH for the first time in 7 weeks (items not quantities or course!). We had chicken marinaded in soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic and ginger, on a kebab with mushroom, cherry tomato and turkey bacon, served with green salad and couscous salad - I'm still drooling at the memory. Today I have made a diet cake, like a sort of baked cheesecake made with 0% fat fromage frais and using artificial sweetener. And I am soooo unwilling to eat the two packs of CD.

Jubbly, yay for a 4lb loss, that's fantastic. Looks like you'll hit target with ease and be able to have a proper Christmas. Good to hear you're having success with the steps, I'm stopping after 1000 because I'm going on holiday then it will be the run up to Christmas so it's just going to be totally impractical. But I will be following an alternative regime. I never could force myself to the gym, tbh I found it dull. Aerobics didn't inspire me either, and as for swimming, all that getting wet and getting dry again, yuck.

Nic, how's it going chez vous?

Marylyn, I think you have a point about accepting slow weightloss for the last little bit. I'm just straining at the leash to get off Cambridge now, and be able to know exactly what I'm giving myself rather than following their slightly obscure rules. At the moment I am calorie counting like you but only for this week, then I will be doing a carb controlled, low(ish) fat regime - I am tired of writing down everything in a notebook, food should be fun.

Hi FFnF, you sneaked in there.

Good luck and waves to everyone.

 

[Coley]

I am drowning in a sea of books and presentations and clients and more worrrrrk!!! arrrrrrgh!!

Alive though....barely...

 

[clairejen]

Hi Coley, I remember what it was like, every second was taken up with something. And that weird feeling when it is suddenly over, all the dissertations, essays and assignments handed in, exams finished and your still in hyperdrive. Took me ages to calm down and get back to reality. Good luck with it all.

 

[clairejen]

Hi everyone, how's it going? I have had a hopeless couple of days, no sooner had I recovered from my cough than I picked up a stomach bug, not good. So now I have no idea where I am, can't keep food down even if I felt like eating it in the first place, certainly don't want pints of water. There's no point in weighing and measuring myself either, it won't mean much.
So I'm forgetting about dieting for now, because small amounts of high sugar food are about all I can safely eat. Hopefully another 12-24 hours and I'll be in the land of the living again.

 

[Jubbly]

Oh dear, hope you are feeling better today? I was so, so, so tempted to order a pizza tonight with boyf when I saw the state of the kitchen after the weekend. We then decided chicken tandoori (madras for him) would be better but then I thought 'no I'm treating myself big time this weekend' so was good and had cabbage and brown pasta and chicken (though I cooked it in some oil for the first time since diet started). V restrained. Starting to flick through the next stages in the booklet as well. Even though you are supposed to still have 2 diet packs on 1200, money means I am going down to one from Friday so am going to do 1200 but with a little something extra to make up for the calorie loss (I'm thinking a banana and custard or sticky toffee muller light, yum yum). Probably going to reintroduce drinking every weekend from now on also with Christmas coming so we will see how that affects everything. Unfortunately, water intake has sunk down to its lowest levels with new job where I'm running around and it is making me hungrier. Still haven't made it to gym yet....

 

[olijames]

Hey all!

In a nutshell had 'planned' meal yesterday..was lush ...well worth wait.... and now Im back on track...11st 5...12lb to go! This last stone is so so stubborn! Coming down with something too...sore throat, bunged up, aching...arghhhh..MUST FIGHT IT!!

Marilyn..love your exercise ideas and your right Oli would love it....x Still planning to get back swimming and to gym....so much on at school...3 nights this week..dark wet nights...really crap arent I?

Love you and leave you...hugs...who needs chocolate......ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[clairejen]

Hi everyone, great to see were all hanging in here.

Jubbly, I admire your restraint, it is really hard to ease yourself back into real life again. The cold and dark evenings don't encourage anyone to exercise, I was too ill for class last night, but I'm definitely going on Wednesday. Now you are eating again you should get a fair bit of water from your food, so I wouldn't expect to have to drink quite as much as on SS. Still a good idea to keep it up though (ghrrrr - I hate water).

Nic - chocolate?, it's still calling me (but faintly from a distance). I hope you don't get sick, although it's a good way to shift a few more pounds! Don't you find food tastes so much better now we've been off it so long?

I'm nearly well again, having to be careful what I eat, that sounds ridiculous since we all are - but in a different way. I don't know how many calories there are in kaolin and morphine. The weight I lost from the bug hasn't reappeared yet, if it stays off then I'm less than 3lbs off my 9.5 stone target! I have a big clothes problem, not a lot of size 12s in the wardrobe and the old 10s are still a little bit tight. I don't want to buy much until I've stabilised.

Hugs all round, speak to you soon.

 

[FatFairNForty(ish)]

You are ALL doing so amazingly well! I'll continue to "lurk" here and gain inspiration and insight into how things will be for me this time next year! x

 

[clairejen]

Hi folks, how are we doing? Hello FFnF, thanks for the encouragement. Thinking about what will come after SS is a great idea, I didn't pay it enough attention so the whole food thing was a bit of a shock! It still is in a way, I can't imagine eating properly again yet.

The weight remains the same, so I haven't regained anything. I'm not bothered if the last 3 lbs takes a while to go, just so long as I don't put anything on. It's only 10 days till we go to Germany so I must try to start eating normally but this bug still isn't allowing me any quantity of food. I dread being faced with huge portions and only being able to eat a few mouthfuls, I see I'll be resorting to the kiddies menu.

I've suddenly thought of a problem with my target weight, I may end up inbetween clothes sizes. It hadn't occured to me before but I think I'm going to be a 10-12, which may mean everything is either too big or too small. I'd forgotten how much harder it is to find a good fit when relatively slim.

 

[Maintainer]

I've suddenly thought of a problem with my target weight, I may end up inbetween clothes sizes. It hadn't occured to me before but I think I'm going to be a 10-12, which may mean everything is either too big or too small. I'd forgotten how much harder it is to find a good fit when relatively slim.

I have done exactly as you're saying and am rather inbetween clothes sizes too! Having said that, in some shops I'm not, so it all depends on the cut of the clothes and how tight you like them to feel...

I'm still reading (and have been fascinated by Marilyn's input) but, as I'm maintaining now (real food style!), I'll pop up if anyone needs help with that side of things knowing nothing myself of weaning off VLCDs...

Good luck!

PS - with my healthy eating plan, my last stone took longer than the three previous added together, so DON'T despair if you get stuck!