Things that happen when you eat carbs...

I've just completed my planned week off, excellent that it coincided with Christmas, as it's all about food in my family.  In addition to adding a few pounds, which of course is to be expecting with the refilling of glycogen stores, I was also aware of a number of other effects of going back to my old eating habits.  I toyed with what to do for the this week for some time, stay as low carb as poss, eat low gi this week and a hundred other combinations.  In the end I figured it would be an interesting experiment and a timely reminder to go back to how I used to eat and see what happened.

First things first, I gained a total of 6lb.  One of those was a late sneak in from the very end of the previous week, when I forgot to consider the amount of non-meat in cocktail sausages (!) then 5lb for this week.  Overall, I'm very impressed with that, considering my week 1 loss was 11lb, my expectation was that I would pop back on a minimum of half a stone.  The next biggest thing was that I could not physically manage the volume of food I had previously won medals for.  I tried, believe me I really did try, but I had to conceed defeat on several occasions where I literally felt that I was full to the brim and there was no more room at the inn. 

Important to note for me, is how eating like that again made me feel.  Bloated, sick, uncomfortable, sluggish, tired and restless at the same time.  I just didn't feel like I'd felt for the previous 12 weeks, my energy seemed to be entirely gone as did my drive to want to get up and do anything.  Some unusual things to note too - I get terrible short term arthitis type pains in my hands on waking, my finger joints are stiff and painful and I have to wait for my hands to "wake up" before I can use them properly.  My fingers snap from straight to bent like trigger finger.  It wasn't until this came back this week that I really considered how long it had been since I woke with that pain - clearly there is a link to eating carb.  My left hip has been increasingly painful over the last couple of years too - again this pain has returned this week when it had been fading (with the lessoning weight I thought, I'd not considered the carb link before).  My skin is dull, my hair is lank.  Quite frankly, I'm astonished at the difference in me!!

So, sticking with the plan, today I'm back onto 4 packs a day.  I don't plan to suplement this at this stage, but will consider additional low carb additions for the first few days if needed to get back into ketosis.  This morning I felt incredibly hungry, proper hungry too, cause now I know what that feels like!  I intend to track my carb intake on the SS support site, and note my calories.  I'm going to start reading Beck from the start again, and will complete every exercise in writing, even the ones I've already put into action, so I have a record of everything achieved.

This weeks target - drop that 6lb gain and get back to 3 stone off.

Did I mention I hit 3 stone off yet? :)

I know I did already, but it's not been so very often in my life that I've done something I just want to shout about, and 3 stone off in well under 12 weeks has impressed me no end!  Not least of which is my ability to stick to something, and actually find it easy enough to stick with.  Perhaps it's because I feel like I'm having cheats when I want them, which gives me the space to work through the need to have them, but by cheating on plan, I'm still able to lose.

Just had a quick morning look on mm as I usually do, and someone has posted a compliment on my profile pic.  That sort of thing doesn't happen to me.  I'm so touched someone took the time to type that out, I can't tell you what that means.  I'm on a bit of a high too, yesterday was our annual family Christmas gathering, we all get together to exchange presents and have a bit of a catch up, and the compliments were flowing there, which was lovely.  Best of all was my mum's reaction to my weight loss, bless her, she was so proud - and really that's worth everything, I'm so chuffed that she's so proud!

And did I mention I'm a size 16 now.  How did that happen.  It's not just a one off fluke, I've tried that size on from several different shops, even a Primark 18 is too big.  Love it!!

And did I mention the girl on the YSL counter in Debenhams?  She was quick to tell me how amazing their new serum is, that's she's 40 next year and loves it, so I should use it too to stay looking young like her.  I didn't have the heart to tell her that 41 has long since passed me by....

Love love love this plan, love love love the results and love love love what it's doing to me!

Still not returned to work! Oh my!

Well that was something a little more than a bug.  I have been completely floored by only my third ever episode of flu, and man, it doesn't half take it out of you!  Ended up seeing the doc on Monday as I was heading towards a week with a fever temperature, only to discover I then had bronchitis and was signed off work all week!  It's now the last day of that and I am just about feeling human again.  I ventured out in the ice and fog yesterday to see if I could actually function normally walking round and going in and out of shops and talking to people with the different temperatures.  I was a bit wheezy and a bit rattley but on the whole I could nearly function!  Scary to think that such a teeny little virus can knock off kilter so completely.  I've still got the cough, still taking the inhaler, and I've forgotten what my normal voice sounds like, but at least my head doesn't hurt so much now.

As for the plan - well l've stuck to it with license.  It's been more important to get myself through this illness but I was determined to stay in ketosis too.  Most days I didn't feel like eating so getting down a pack was a bit of a chore, some days I gave up at 3, but other days I was managing 4 and protein or an extra bar.  Figured it would all work itself out in the end.  And so it did.  I've had an 11 week + weigh in this morning as yesterday I was so very close to my target, hoped an extra day would do the trick.  And indeed it did!  Day 78 and I'm down 3 stone!  Yay!  11 weeks and 1 day, 42lb lighter.

And, yesterday, not only did I get into a size 16 dress in New Look, it also fitted!  I even tried on a 14, and whilst it was a little on the snug side, I do have to conclude that my boobs are not a 14 and perhaps I shouldn't wish for them to be!

Happy happy days!

Bleugh - first on plan poorly!

Up to now I was feeling quite smug with myself.  All these bugs floating about in the ether, even my beloved had a nasty attack of the shivers that I nursed him through, and I didn't pick up a single thing.  Figured the 4 packs and their complete nutrition offering was so much better for me than my previous food of choice that I was in the optimum health to avoid it all.  I think that is pretty much true, but there comes a point when even the fittest person (and I certainly can't call a position anywhere in the top 1000 of that list) is going to get struck down.

And so it has arrived.  Following a weekend of sneezing that I didn't think too much about, other than being a little concerned I might be developing an allergy to my kitties, yesterday I got that "taste", the one in the back of your throat that heralds the arrival of the bugs.  Hot bath and early night didn't fight it, and this morning I woke with a shocking temperature with every single part of me hurting - even my hair was hurting!  So the challenge begins - how do you treat a fluey type bug with an associated gastric element without coming out of ketosis?  How do you keep your fluid and calorie intake to a level where you won't start to shut down when you have absolutely no desire for eating alongside no hunger?

So far I've managed it with paracetemol and sleep!  I always find that sleep is the best healer for me, and know I'm not well when I can sleep for hours.  Today I've done that, slept for hours and hours and hours.  I feel a little better, managed some fresh chicken at lunchtime and had a cottage pie pack for tea - struggled a little with that one but figured I needed it!  Tried to keep the fluids up and made sure I've topped up regularly with paracetomol.  As long as I don't speak I feel relatively ok, but talking sets off the coughing and that darn well hurts, and hurts everywhere.  So the secret may be to keep it all to myself for a few days.  Had a rare day off work today, fully expect to be having at least another one tomorrow.  Nasty bug!

Day 60

Oh my life, what a day.  I've challenged myself this week and I think it's a challenge too far that I'm not quite fully prepared for as yet.  Which in itself is fine as it's a learning point to explore and find out more about.  Part one of my challenge is to not get weighed this week, not until weighing in day.  That part is ok, it's certainly not easy but I've moved the scales away so they don't stare at me endlessly when I'm having one of the very many loo trips necessary to flush out all this fat.  The other part is to strip back the plan and just do packs for the week.

First few days, ok, but I could feel a rebellion brewing up!  So, I decided, that today, being in the middle of my week and being a Sunday, which was always my hardest day to stay on any plan before this, that I would allow protein and veg today and extra packs if I wanted to.  It's that time of year when everyone is updating Sunday status's with talks of roast dinners, and I just allowed the idea of all that to get inside my head and strenghten my giving in muscle!  So, purchased 200g of rump steak and leeks.  I planned to eat it all in one go to get it over and done with, but couldn't face more than half the steak, so I stuck with 100g.  Had it with the leeks and a pack of mac cheese.  Then mid afternoon I fancied a wafer with a coffee, so I had one.  Then I had the rest of the steak and another mac cheese for tea, and a chocolate truffa bar.

In itself it was a sort of experiment, I've done 59 full days of this without a single cheat (apart from a small onplan overdose of smoked salmon!) and I was curious what it would be like to feel too full - before starting this journey that was my standard feeling, and I wondered if I missed it.  I have the answer to that now - NO!  It's awful, I feel sick as a dog and so darn uncomfortable!  I don't want that amount of food and I sure as heck don't need it.  So, still on plan, didn't have anything I shouldn't have, but an interesting experiment to give in to my desires and cravings in a controlled way.

Feels like I'll be staying on plan over Christmas right now, but we'll reserve a judgement on that til we get there, certainly not making any decisions right now, got another 29 days of fat shedding before that one gets here!

Day 56.....

And it's just normal.  My head has changed.  I'm doing Beck and I've done the task in the next chapter before I've even got to it!  It's official weigh in in 2 days and to date this week I've lost a pound.  That's not a great deal, particularly given the low amount of calories I'm consuming, but my head is saying that it's good, its a loss, its all going in the right direction.  And that in itself is utterly amazing.  Previously I would have only lost a pound.  Now I've lost a pound so far.

I was thinking last night, I've never ever stuck with a plan for so long without cheats.  I should confess at this point that I did have a weak moment last Thursday night, and I did do a cheat, well I felt like I was doing a cheat at the time and had that associated guilt.  I bought a large pack of very fine smoked salmon (and yes, I did get it as a treat, and yes, thats entirely wrong and I do need to do some more work on that) and had some with my pack.  And it was totally delicious so I had some more..... I felt terrible afterwards, but it was a lesson to learn.  And in the grand scheme of things, it's not much of a cheat, it was on plan, I just had a bit much.  Bought some nice electronic kitchen scales yesterday and measured the rest of the salmon into 100g portions to freeze.  I was quite surprised how much of it made up 100g, I'd been guessing before - so in reality, even my one cheat wasn't as much as I thought it was - I maybe went over by ooh, say 20g!!

I'm going to set myself the challenge next week of not getting weighed.  For a whole week.  I'm going to focus on the plan, ensure I get enough water, go back to basics, 4 packs and nothing else, and no weighing in, and see what happens.  It's something unthinkable a few weeks ago, but I feel ready for it!  Seems like a silly thing, but those bathroom scales hold the key to my approach to each day - step on them and its gone down and a good day will be in store, when they've gone up, the world ends.  It's insane, but it's how it is, and it's a habit of obsession that I need to change.  So, the challenge is set, I weigh in for week 8 in 2 days time, then no more weighing til the following Thursday.  Eek!!

Today is an amazing day

I don't quite know why but I felt it needed recording.  I'm so very happy today.  Perhaps this is the total euphoria that's been talked about, taken me a while to find it if it is!  I am smiling, can't stop smiling, so very happy!  (And anyone who knows me knows this is not normal!).

Tried on an old too small top, it looks entirely different on me and fits so well.  I'm wearing it tomorrow, it's fabulous.  Even thought I'd get out my very small dress from the wardrobe, it fits perfectly apart from my bust, and I really don't mind about that one bit.  I did some measurements a couple of days ago, and from starting LL, I've lost 21 inches from bust, waist and hips - just 3 of them from my bust, so they have clearly decided to hang about!  9 inches from my waist which is just plain daft!

I've accomplished a big task at work today, I did something I needed to do at lunchtime, and I've come home and spent an hour sorting out my spare room.  I really feel I've acheived something today.

And it's made me very very happy.  If this is my future, bring on tomorrow :))))