This topic contains 3,042 replies, has 111 voices, and was last updated by Delayedgratification 4 years, 8 months ago.
Haha lolly – “my mum was a sloth and my dad a walrus” actually, my folks were quite active, which is why I need to go back even further… Can I just ask, is your version of LCHF any different to Atkins? And do you have any cholesterol concerns? I only ask as I watched yet another MM documentary (“Trust me, I’m a doctor” BBC, UK) where he eliminated dairy and saturated fat and lowered his cholesterol by 25%, equal to the use of a cholesterol-lowering statin. I had understood that food sources are less significant if you have a normal cholesterol but I’m curious as to what LCHF folk are saying atm about cholesterol.
Pizza – I hope you managed to stare down that blueberry muffin (my favourite, AND home made to boot :-0 ) and who knows, maybe you’ll get to eat it today instead, which is the beauty of 5:2. looking forward to hearing how the first fast went.
Karen, I loved your analogy of caring for a FD like a child, very powerful, even if I did feel like putting my FD-toddler into timeout and going down the pub… Your words are very wise girl, thank you and I’m very glad you’re enjoying the extra fat in your diet 🙂
Jade, yes, I know that damned backwater chugger to which you refer, that wily old rust bucket pretending to have your destination on the timetable but always ending up in the kitchen, next stop fridge, next stop full on food-orgy and meanwhile the sleek Express zooms right by with all your hopes and dreams on board… Haha, I am waxing lyrical but I’m proud to say I rode that Express all the way to Sleepsville and woke refreshed and chuffed with myself. Hope the Chinese on offer was high in vegetable and low on carbs and you stayed in control.
Chubs, I’m missing your witty repartee – please drop by and say hello and whether you have purchased those killer-sneakers yet. I love the idea of rewards that are not food-related.
A shout out to all dear Islanders and may you catch that Express every time. Spring xx
Hi all,
Spring, that’s great news about the FD done and dusted! 6-10pm is the danger time for me, can get through the day, but once home a thousand reasons why having a nibble on something seems like a good idea. On FD today and if it’s sunny til late will go for a walk, or do something to get rid of the hunger pans as had a fun weekend, with a bit too much wine, (and chocolate to boot) but for a good reason, I took my exam and revision is over 🙂 I’ll be happy with a pass..
Yes Chubs, I loved your thread on the rewards, getting into clothes has to be the best feeling? I’m finding the toning exercises really help, Karen thanks for that Fitness Blender, the abs are amazing, and I’ve noticed a change in only 2 weeks..
Am going back to basics a bit this week, as have been bad (the exam was a great excuse) Weighing food again, and am sticking to around 1400 on NFD’s, so logging every thing into Fitbit, boringly, I have a mini goal 20 May, seeing a favourite cousin, so it’s countdown time, after that have goals every month, 2 big birthdays June and July, then August holiday time, this will help to give FD’s a purpose. Am logging every FD on my cupboard, with a ‘babyish’ star for good work, which seems to help me :-0
Yes strange about the weight loss, I lost 10 Ibs last year, only very few people noticed, that was a bit gutting, you kind of need that. I do go for the more ‘slouchy’ ‘boyfriend’ look, so I suppose people seldom see me in ‘fitted’ tops for example. I think it will be double that amount that people will notice, which is my goal anyway 😉
Calling out to all of you! fabulous and positive vibes, we can do it!
Welcome to the island, Pizza 🌴! Hope your first FD went well. I found the first few weeks more interesting than tough, as in “sure. let’s see how THIS goes” – and loved feeling proud that I could do such a hard-yakka thing. (Spring, I hope I’ve used that right, I love the sound of it!) Sure is easy to slip off the wagon (um…train? or maybe wagon train?) but still, the feeling of riding the express train to the end of the line is just awesome.
And SLOWLY I’m starting to like the feeling of nFD control. It’s like being on the local, you get off a time or two but you don’t wander around the countryside in search of “bad yakka.” What the heck is yakka anyway? It’s my new favorite word.
And bear with my philosophizing, but part of my deal is taking advantage of days like this (stress free so FAR) to appreciate how small a role food should play in life. Remember the “normal eating” book by Sheryl Canter? The goal (being normal) was to recognize true hunger, the type that can’t be ignored away, eat a sufficient amount, then stop thinking about food altogether until hungry again. There, see how I slipped in that crucial third step? Talk about a goal. Stop thinking about the next thing to be consumed. I mean, what a waste of mental energy, right? Ha, as I sit here in my jammies drinking coffee and fantasizing about lunch. Or make that dinner – I’m riding the white knuckle express today 💪
Karen, I’d also love to hear more about how you do LCHF. I’ve benefitted so much from kicking out sugar and I know there are other appetite demons on the train. Chubs, I’ve been missing you too, hope all is well? Tango, congrats on finishing!! What a load off your mind, literally. I’m with you on back-to-basics, it’s a standard in Rehab Cave. I don’t foresee daily MFFP as a permanent part of life, but do need a refresher course from time to time when I stay too long on Planet Sure, I’m Normal. Have to remember that all of this is making me healthier and happier. So back I go to Planet Getting There to find something productive to do besides think about my next meal lol 🤔 😀😎😍🌴🌴xx
I took a quick look at the Atkins plan, comespring, and it certainly looks generally similar to what I’m doing. There’s no real magic to this: cut carbs way back (primarily sugar, grains, starchy veg, some fruit) and increase full fat foods. For anyone muttering “heart attack on a plate!” it might be reassuring to check up on the latest studies and evidence which finds that fat is NOT the monster under the bed (although trans-fat is)and that the whole focus on high cholesterol has been a bit of a red herring.
Everyone’s different, but this one’s working for me. It has pulled me back from the brink of diabetes and I haven’t felt so well in many years. For me, this is freedom — I love my food and feel no deprivation. It’s an easy choice for me, and one I will be able to maintain long term.
I love the way 5:2 allows each of us to make our own choices. I’ve learned so much from seeing different solutions here and I will cheer on anything that works for any of us!
Hi there 🙂
Congrats, Tango, on mastering your exam! A step closer to your new career…must feel pretty good 🙂 Good luck with your new attack on the calories. Indeed, now is a perfect time to hit them firmly on the head if they want to sneak into our food too much. But ouch, 1400 calories on NFD? How do you do this, this sounds like being very disciplined. Glad to hear you enjoy the Fitness blender stuff. I still do it, too. At least twice a week. My favorite is the 45 minutes abs workout and HIIT routine. This morning I managed pretty much for the very first time to get through the whole thing without any shortcuts. And some exercises are brutal…
Hi Jade, yakka yakka 🙂 Please don’t stop thinking about eating because then you will need to find another forum that doesn’t discuss dieting and food but boring things like …. (enter whatever you find boring, but I don’t want to insult anyone, guess we all find different things boring).
This low carb affair is awesome. I am sitting here and am full. Just had some strawberries and blueberries with loads of 32% fat cream. Yum! Late lunch/early dinner was tuna/goat cheese fritatta, for brunch I had a cheese omelette (fried in real butter!) with sour cream and avocado/tomatoes on spinach leaves. I mean, seriously, this is heaven. All this fat makes me so happy and satisfied. And my blood sugar level is totally zen and relaxed, not spiking and giving me any craving signals.
Only difficult part is to explain Mr Meier that fridge is full of the full fat stuff. Cannot blame his surprise. I am actually constantly checking calories on my app to not go beyond a certain calorie amount. But if you ask experienced LCHF folks, they do not bother with calorie count any more but only check on their carbs and protein intake.
Let’s see if how the weigh in goes on Thursday. That’s the proof to the pudding. Another reference to food, Jade 😉
Spring, your points about cholesterol are very fair. I looked into that, too. This is the link to only one of many sites from researchers that show that our societies have to rethink nutrition big time: http://fitteru.us/2015/05/earth-shattering-pigs-flying-hell-freezing-nutrition-news/
If you dig into this topic of “what causes what”, the nutshell results are: the sugar industry has managed over time to position carbs as the good guys. You might have heard about Dr Lustig and his war on sugar. He is little David challenging the sugar industry. He is de-mystifying (is that a word?) fat and protein by showing that the only reason for us to get fat and fatter are carbs (our bodies treat all carbs equal. Doesn’t matter whether you are eating whole grain bread fresh from the organic bakery or your ice-cream cone. Body takes carbs to produce glucose and that is what keeps us going but if eaten to much makes us fat).
Sweden is doing a lot of research on all this, up there the LCHF is very popular. According to their research there is no relation between animal fat/saturated fat and heart diseases: http://www.dietdoctor.com/real-association-butter-heart-disease-sweden
Sorry for all these links. Guess everyone can find research on the web that supports their views.
My take on all this is that I tried to lose weight all my live by eating “healthy” carbs and it only made me unhappy and craving for more food. Now for the very first time in my live I eat fat and I am happy (and might even lose some weight). Thing is that when we no longer eat enough carbs, the body starts getting the glucose from a) fat reserves and b) protein. That’s why one has to watch the protein intake as well when eating LCHF.
And I really really really believe that the evil arts of the sugar industry are highly sophisticated and it is very difficult to challenge them. They sell sweets to kids and call it healthy breakfast cereals. Arggggg.
Enough! Sorry. Will watch football now. Very relaxing. Champions league. Soccer, for my new American friends 🙂 Speak soon, take care, Karen xx
Well I went to a wedding reception and in 3 hours undid a week and a half of work– how is that possible ?? I’m up 2 lbs from it but hoping it’s just excess water weight from too much salt and alcohol…. Boy were those things good at the party!! Still dreaming about the scalloped potatoes!! Love a potat with cheese and cream!!
Karen thanks for all the info… Always appreciate being informed.
Lolly– major congrats on your positive steps away from diabetes!! That is huge!
Tango– good luck with meeting your goals… Great to have those… They push us to stick with the hard days and keep on going.
Jade– I totally understand always thinking about what I will eat next… That is the great thing about FD… Nothing to obsess about… I love tea but I’m certainly not going to dream about the next cup of it!!
Spring… That documentary sounds interesting…so many great things we are learning about our health from this type of eating.
Soooo… What does everyone think about The Biggest Loser article out in the NY Times?? Really makes me not beat myself up for all my falied diets and subsequent weight gains after diets ended.
Good night all… Tomorrow is a feed day… Yeah!
Well my 2 lbs I gained are still with me today😓 But my tummy is flatter — why in the world would that be?? This weight loss is going to take me far longer than I anticipated- I was hoping for more than a lb a week but now I see I’m lucky if I even get that. I know it’s good to come off slower and that I have better chances of keeping it off but I get discouraged with the snail pace🐌🐌….. Nothing that hasn’t been said over and over on this thread… I just had to whine a little to you all because I know you understand!!! Thanks for listening!! I’ll try to smile now and get on with it!!😀
Thanks for all that LCHF info Karen and Lolly – I am seriously rethinking the role of carbs in my everyday diet. Thanks to Annette, we’re all old friends of Dr. Lustig and I’ve taken that advice. Just still thinking about the whole grains and whether they should be a part of my everyday life if I wish to be more carefree. And I do! I’m determined to be slim for the duration, no matter what it takes, but it would be nice if it weren’t a daily white-knuckle exercise in self control.
Cali no no, no way you undid your efforts. The scale is a big fat liar on that score. K-lo nailed it, and while I don’t care to become a biologist, I have experienced the same thing – clothes fit when the scales says they shouldn’t. And sometimes vice versa! i.e., the scale is kind but the muffin top tells the tale. More than ever, I hate the scale and love simply feeling right in my clothes. Annette is also a pioneer on that front. But NO ONE hates the scale more than I do. In fact, I moved mine to the basement so that I’m not tempted to get on very often. Now, I just get on when I’m feeling good, clothes fit…and I am just wondering “I wonder what this magical weight is where I feel good and my clothes fit?” And whatever the number, I’m not upset.
Yeah, the Biggest Loser stuff…I do wonder if they’re right that they had a lower metabolic rate than what was appropriate for their lower weight. Obviously they couldn’t eat as much as when obese. I’ll bet they didn’t cut out the culprits that made them fat in the first place. And of course losing that fast had to involve such extreme deprivation that all they could think about was hunger. Look how much we battle on 5:2 just fasting twice a week, to eat normally on the other days! Ah well. I’ll be interested to see if more explanations are to come.
And now, since yesterday’s FD was a bit FU thanks to dining out last night, and also since I have to go to the dentist at 1 p.m., maybe I can practice what I preach and stay on the WKE today? We’ll see! jade xxxx
Hello Everyone,
I am skulking in the shadows, feeling a bit fed up.It seems such hard work, the 5:2 some days and then other times, quite straightforward. I am puzzled by it all.
My body looks so much better than it did but there is a little way to go on that muffin top. The scales seem to stay the same and although I know that they are a lousy guide, I still look at them and then feel a failure. I know that puddings send me on a sugar high and then on a low…but I had one today. I know that ice cream is a gateway drug for everything sweet including more ice cream…and yet I bought it at the weekend and ate it all and lots of other things too. I feel much better without the biscuits, so why have I eaten them this week and last?
I have made so many positive changes to my diet since adopting this way of life and know that i feel better..so why I am doing this?
I can only tell you why I am doing stuff like that: because I feel stressed, feel like I need to be disciplined all the time, feel a craving, a longing for comfort and pleasure, want to relax – and I do it because I CAN do it. I can go and get sweets, ice-cream, bread whatever. I am in control. To look after me, to ease the longing. I don’t care about being rational, being in control, getting closer to my dream weight. In such moments, this is too hard and why should I beat myself up all the time. Tomorrow or next week is still early enough. Plus, I already lost quite some weight, so I can give myself a break. And if people don’t love me the way I am, they are not worth my love. There you go.
I just feel like putting my arms around you dear Annette, you are such an inspiration, and it breaks my heart to hear you’re feeling so low. It IS such a struggle. While I know that you’re going to find your way out of this, adjust to what’s happening for you and turn to face the challenges again (it’s who you are) in the meantime I’m reminded of Thich Nhat Hanh, who says that when fierce storms arise for us, sometimes the best and only thing we can do is to lie down so we’re not knocked over and let it subside. As Karen says, if that means a few ‘forbidden’ foods then so be it. It is just so easy to beat ourselves up, I know I do it all the time, so maybe the NY times article is timely to remind us all that perhaps just looking on it as personal weakness is way too narrow and offers us so little hope for the future. Even if metabolism does drop (and I have suspected this is the case for me after a 50lb loss) then so much better to know what we’re up against I say. There are certainly no easy answers and for me it is very mixed up with psychology (as in, how/what I’m thinking and it’s influence on my feelings, reactions and choices) so the answer is always going to be multi-factorial.
Lolly you wrote recently that even as a young child there was a special thrill around food and I can relate to that: long before I had a weight problem I was just a normal, active kid eating a good country diet, but I knew then that food made me happy in a way that other things just couldn’t. I’m very weirdly wired no doubt but there you have it.
Annete and anyone else struggling at the moment I can definitely recommend the Rehab Cave when things get tough as I have recently spent many months in there. I’m peeking out now with the potential of a loss 2 weeks in a row but that is monumental in the current circumstances – we all of us on the Island may joke about the struggles but it doesn’t detract from the fact it is very tough to win this battle. Hang in there Annette and do keep popping in to let us offer you all the support we can. love Spring xxx
Thank you Karen and Spring.
I have been for a run after work 2 days running which seems to be helping my mood.Just 2 miles in sunshine always makes me feel very happy.
I am attempting a FD today as I know in my heart of hearts that it works, seems to reset my ‘stop eating that rubbish’ filter.I dug out summer clothes last night, that were going to charity and rather than being too big…they fit. So, the evidence is there that I have been a piglet.Ho hum.
Dear Bingeingqueen, I think we haven’t met yet. Great pleasure to meet the woman who started this wonderful thread here!
No wonder you are stressed out. Returning to work shifts your whole prior life balance. Managing a household is already a challenge in itself. If you need to also look after/care for a family (and especially young kids) it becomes a huge challenge! If you then also add a job that you want to do well and where you really want to get engaged, it is time to take a step back and think. You should definitely find someone that you can talk all this through. Of course you are not mad! You are reacting perfectly normal. When everybody needs you to perform, there is little left for you to decide on. I think this fits into what I wrote earlier in response to Annette: all these demands on us coming from outside gives us little room to make decisions for ourselves. One of the few things we still have control on are our decisions on when and what to eat. And with all the outside restraints (I have to perform in my job! I need to be a good mother! I need to be a good wife!), we are eager to treat us well. Which is absolutely fine and no problem at all. A very normal reaction. OUR big problem is, that we associate “treating us well” with too much eating/eating the wrong kind of food.
So your plan to look for someone who can help you to work your head around everything, is absolutely the right way forward.
Annette, great to hear that the running helped. Very often it is tough to get up, get the running shoes on and go out. But afterwards, one always feels better 🙂
Take good care, all. You are all fantastic women and I am very grateful that I can be part of this terrific group here.
Karen
Karen well said!! Queen, I agree with what she said – we have a particular piece in our heads that wants to turn to food (if you’re like me it’s usually high sugar in the form of carbs) for comfort – it’s a way to avoid the discomfort we feel inside. We all have to learn to replace the urge to binge with something to help us deal with our emotions at the time… Shame, disappointment, frustration…. One thing that sometimes helps me is to imagine myself a young child (usually that’s how I feel inside when the upsetting emotions are triggered) and my adult self comforts my young self- just as I would confirm my own children. It’s surprisingly simple but extremely effective in relieving the intense need for self soothing– that’s all binging is trying to do anyway- soothe the emotions. Sounds a little weird but my friend who is a therapist told me to do this once when I was really suffering an emotional pain that I couldn’t get to the other side of and there was a dramatic difference in how I felt. Very relieved !! Don’t know if that is helpful for you but it certainty was for me and I continue to use this technique whenever old emotions connected to my early days resurface and reek havoc.
Best of luck!!
Glad you started this thread – it has been so incredibly helpful to so many!!
CaliB
Group island hug {{{🌴🌴}}}– in the rehab cave!! Such wonderful words of support shared here. Annette and Queen, you both are my heroes. Heroes aren’t infallible, they just keep getting back up again and again, as you’ve done for many months now. It is disheartening to try so hard, to change behaviors, to behave, only to get slapped on the nose for daring to have a biscuit or just a simple breakfast, when before we’d have had 10x as much and perhaps not have gained an ounce. It’s not fair!! But how many possible analogies could be made about fairness….the only thing that matters is to keep the goal. I have backslid quite a bit, in fact was rather shocked to weigh myself and see 4 new lbs since last fall. Probably more, as that was after a FD! But it is what it is. I won’t give up being healthy.
Realistically, everyone has times of weight gain. It’s normal in normal people’s worlds for weight to fluctuate, and if one isn’t obsessed with it, one naturally cuts back. I on the other hand (having been somewhat diligent if not perfect about my 5:2 efforts) might well respond to a weight gain with a fair degree of resentment. Which I then take out on myself, because that’s just perfectly logical 😜 right? I mean what the hell, I’ve eaten fish when I wanted a doughnut! I’ll show you (who is you, I wonder), I’ll go eat a doughnut in my car, maybe even climb in my trunk and eat them in the DARK. Ha. Take that, you…you.
Gosh, how many ways can a day go bad, let’s count: work demands, kid demands, self demands, gloomy weather, unexpected expenses, bad news, moody relatives….sometimes there’s no mental energy left to care about good food choices. So those days are just gone, though to what degree (probably not as bad as before). I have to take advantage of the days when the sun shines and I feel right. Sometimes it’s a long wait! How long has it been now since November, lol? But I know I’ll pick up the hammer and start hammering myself again, maybe in the head, but giving up just isn’t an option. It isn’t for anyone here. That’s our saving grace. I have to hope that it gradually takes less effort. Pretty sure I have a smidgen more control than I did last May.
So I’m still searching too for the magic formula that will make this easy even on a difficult day. Some days I just chuck it, yet still there is the kernel of control, right? Annette, you bought the 6-pack but you didn’t eat them all at once. I would have, before. Queen, you actually have days where food isn’t important!! I have those only if I’m sick. We have the rest of our lives to continue making progress, but we’re making it. One more thing, and please don’t be offended, Queen, as I have no idea if you struggle with anxiety more than you should, but I have family who do, usually triggered by stressful situations – once they were prescribed meds to alleviate it, it was like a miracle for them. They feel normal now, not that they don’t get normally anxious but just not overwhelmed. I truly believe it is an organic thing, not something to be overcome by willpower, cutting out sugar, etc. Just a thought. xx
Well, FUFD take two yesterday, but it was 7-800 cals worth of salmon and veggies, so we’ll put that in the not too bad category. I’m looking for tdee today, riding the no-breakfast train again after several weeks sojourn. Still not normal 😎 – seriously if I have breakfast I’m just focused on my next meal. I guess it’s like fasting till dinner on FDs – if you don’t plan to eat anything, you aren’t contemplating what to eat. Duh, jade 🤔 All right islanders, let’s find the right cave for ourselves today and pat ourselves on the back – we ARE making progress! 👋👋💪🌴💕xx
Hi everyone!
This WOL of life is definitely peaks and troughs! but it does work, the rub is we just have to stick with it, and like all of us know, not very easy.
Today has been a hard FD, and not out of the woods yet :-0. Started with a headache, and I was in 2 minds as to whether I should carry on, but did…then at work, they announced as it was a special training day, they would provide pizza for lunch (unknown in the history of my work) so I had to opt for staying ‘busily’ at my desk, despite about 5 people who tried to persuade otherwise! Back home now, and going for a walk! hopefully can white knuckle it.
Annette I so sympathize with the biscuits, we have a biscuit unfriendly environment where I work, and there’s a biscuit for every day of the week, I just have to avoid, even if it means avoiding the whole ‘area’, also please explain to me the people who appear at my desk with casual handfuls jammie dodgers are thin and have lovely white teeth, doesn’t seem fair? are they taunting me. Annette sometimes I don’t have the willpower, and also find myself face to face with the cupboard, with my hand on auto-pilot, it happens and there never seems to be an apparent reason why, moments of stress usually? and no time for a ‘breather.
Queen, I’m not surprised you feel stressed with all that going on, sending a cyberhug! it’s so difficult with the many demands made on us. Sounds like getting some time alone with someone to listen to you is important. I’m sure there are support groups out there, there are here in the UK. CaliB loved your approach of the child/mother 🙂 I do meditation 2 times a day, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s fairly easy to learn. It has helped me to cope better with stress and anxiety.
Lolly and Karen fab news about the LCHF, glad it’s working for you.
hugs to all xxxx
Good morning lovely ladies and you’ve all summed up these struggles so well. Big hugs to you queen for always being so honest and your insight will definitely see you through this tough time. Don’t ever underestimate the impact of what’s going on in your life though Queen as the demands are many and I love CaliB’s idea of the mother/child. Something similar I find helpful is to think about how I would respond to a friend who came to tell me about all they are dealing with: would I dismiss it or tell them to pull themselves together or would I respond with compassion? If the latter, then why don’t I have that same compassion for myself? I would also echo Karen & Jade and others about finding someone to talk this through with. I’ve found CBT really helpful as well as a lot of Buddhist psychology but I also agree with Jade that meds. can sometimes be really helpful in that they can provide the head space needed to put other things into place. I know you’ll get there Queen, as Jade says, it’s not about the successes as much as it’s about that getting up again and again. Sometimes it’s easier to get up and at other times not so much but we’re here to cheer you on whatever is happening.
Okay, well, I can officially announce that my current stint in rehab has been successful. I’ve lost weight 2 weeks in a row!! WHOOO HOO!!! It’s been a rough ride over the last few months as you know but something has finally clicked again. If I’m honest I’d have to say it’s a combination of the white knuckling and trying to be mindful about the consequences of eating i.e. trying to cut through the denial. The trick is though that I don’t always feel strong enough for that combination and I think that’s where the key lies. It’s not a coincidence that in the last month my workload has significantly reduced, I’m getting more exercise, I have more time to plan meals and FD’s and stress levels are lower – so guess what? Part of me really does believe that our lifestyles make us ill and that appears to be the case for me.
I’m rambling now but before I go I wanted to tell you what a really important bunch of people you are and to thank you for being here to provide such great support. I’m going out for coffee with a friend shortly and I’m going to take you all with me so together we can star down that triple-choc muffin with the huge, crunchy muffin top and tonight you’ll be with me rejecting the chips at the Beer & Burger night with my husband’s work…ready ladies??? Much love, Spring xxx
Ah, Spring, thanks so much for taking us along 🙂 Was fun to spend the day/evening with you.
All, I have a confession to make. I didn’t do a FD for a week now. And for the time being, I am not inclined to do one anytime soon. Reason is quite simple. I am the happiest person with my LCHF diet, lost 800 g in 5 days, am full of energy, am always eating great stuff that totally satisfies me, can easily, really easily wait until I am hungry again (that’s the beauty about eating fat, it really fills you up for more than 2 hours!), and just don’t feel like changing anything right now.
It seems to be way too easy, really, a bit like I am cheating. There is absolutely NO hardship involved in this way of eating.
I almost cried yesterday after my weigh in, seeing that I had lost weight even though I was eating lots of really delicious stuff over the last days, like full fat cheese, butter and eggs. These tears were tears of relief. I think my long long journey of finding the right approach to eating has finally come to an end. I cannot think of any reason why I should not keep this way of eating up until the end of my days. Once in maintenance one can increase carefully the amounts of carbs, but I will definitely never eat bread/pasta/rice again. But rather up the level of fruit and veggies.
And this relief is such a mood lifter! I have a constant grin on my face, I am the nicest person to anyone I meet, no grumpiness at all.
The only big change I had to make, was to give it a try. To dare to eat fat! That was a huge step! It was against everything that I ever read/learned about healthy diets. Instead, cutting drastically down the carbs. Uff, no longer eating as many veggies and fruit as one wants, but being mindful about it so one still gets enough vitamins and stuff without consuming too many carbs.
Thanks, Lolly, without you I would have never heard about it, without your thread I would have never tried it. Should we ever meet in real life I will buy you a great LCHF dinner!
Now my question to all you guys here: can I still hang around here or would you like me to leave? I would fully understand if you rather only have folks around that do 5:2.
Please do let me know.
Karen xx
Hi Karen:
The LCHF (aka original Atkins) diet has always worked, and will continue to work as long as you follow it. The key to continued success, as you pointed out, is to make sure you do not reintroduce carbs into your diet. Research shows that for some people as few as 40 grams of carbs a day will cause the start of weight gain. Most people who are carb sensitive can’t go much over 140 grams of carbs a day without gaining weight. So you can start figuring out how many grams will cause you to stop losing and start gaining and when you get the right number, stay below it. Here is a Q&A session by two of the leading researchers on LCHF. Many questions are answered and you will get a flavor of what it takes to stay on the diet over time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFD2q5iqevY.
Good Luck!
Perhaps I’ll collect on that dinner one day, Karen! It delights me to have played a small part in helping you find your solution, but it’s you who have done your homework. Full credit to you for your open mind.
You described perfectly how I have been feeling — this is so easy, there must be a catch somewhere. I can’t remember when I last felt so well, or so cheerful. So well fed! I’m not binging any more — do I belong in this thread?
I think I do. I am, and always will be, a binger. All I have to do to create binge behaviour is increase carbs. All I have to do to remain sane is stay in LCHF. Problem solved, right?
As simcoeluv so clearly points out, it’ll work as long as you follow it. (Thanks for a great link, by the way!) I’ve experimented to work out my carb level for weight loss. It’s fairly low, but absolutely do-able as a life plan. I am confident that I now know what to do, and I am thrilled to see weight loss while eating well.
If I were a machine, this would be the end of the story. But I am still very human, with all the strengths and weaknesses of my own nature. I can become complaisant with success, prey to doubt or temptation, lazy or forgetful. I will NEVER be a normal eater — I never was, so why would that change? I will always have to stay aware if I want to avoid diabetes.
There are things I can only discuss with those who truly understand — other bingers, practicing or not. And I am grateful for your company on this road. My 90-day commitment to walking has given me a couple of times a day to reflect on how lucky I’ve been to find this forum, truly in the nick of time. To all of us, I wish the joy Karen has found. We need to hear the good news, too!
Karen and lolly– so inspired by your journey to wellness and weight loss!! Congratulations to you both for finding what works best for your bodies… That’s the key as we are all different in our processing of calories. Many of us on this site are feeling less like binging than we used to but like AA is to alcoholics this site is necessary for many of us to stay committed to a diet that decreases our habit/addiction to binging…. No matter what diet you practice, this thread is for you for support in times of success and struggle. I feel blessed to have found such an honest supportive community that truly understands the ups and downs of being a binger. So Karen stay here as long as you feel a need and a connection to this group- I think I speak for everyone when I say you are welcomed here with open arms!!
Hi there,
Yes CaliB I agree ;-0 this is a very special group, and we all have different needs and journeys, so Lolly and Karen (like the Oasis song) ‘Don’t go Away, but say that you’ll stay, forever and a day!
Lolly thanks for being so candid, I will also never be normal in terms of both food and body image. I have been through periods of non-bingeing, when I lived overseas, but can’t fathom out why! if I could I’d have written a book by now 🙂 I’m also hypothyroid which doesn’t help the mix (hormonally) although I’m a but more stable now, but have had to have my dosage tweaked. Underactive thyroid can masquerade as depression/perimenopause as the symptoms are similar, depression, weight gain, and lack of energy. I was misdiagnosed at first and was put on anti-depressants, which did help, but am much better now with the right meds.
Simcoeluv, thanks for the useful link, and for the info about LCHF. There are bits of it that I really like, but for the moment I’m going for the low carb, as don’t want to restrict myself too much to one way or another. I think the idea of keeping carbs low each day is a useful one (especially if there are healthy fats around)I checked certain foods that I logged into my Fitbit, and the ‘innocent’ pear has 20 grms of carb? nothing wrong with a pear, but I suppose for me it’s watching the carbs mount up during any given day. A glass of wine doesn’t have as many carbs as I thought, about 8grms, (good news) but then I suppose it’s weighing up the nutritional value.
I’ve got 2 FD’s done and dusted this week, one with a bad headache, which was not good, but for me a ‘run’ of good FD’s = more successful FD’s, just a FUFD seems to signal a few more to come. Hoping this ‘run’ will last, have 4 more to go until goal day, bday tea in May. 2 Ibs down, but am more interested in the my clothes that fit better.
have a great weekend everyone!!!
Karen good heavens please don’t leave the island! 🌴😟 All ideas are helpful and most welcome, and what works for you may work for another but regardless it works for YOU and I’m thrilled about that. Tears of relief indeed dear girl 😂 and you too Lolly. We all are searching for what works for us, which is why I soooo appreciate the attitude of all here, respect for each individual struggle. No my-way-or-the-highway but a recognition that no one size fits all when it comes to cracking the nut of individual body chemistry or psychological issues or just plain old habits. However, I’m touched that you even asked, Karen – shows a deep empathy for others. But what I’m trying to say is that our struggle to find the right way unites us and that part is most important to me. ♥️♥️♥️
Spring old girl well done!! Back in the saddle 🏇 and kicking ass. I’m back in the saddle but feeling a bit in that limbo as I’m still shedding the newcomer lbs. But still enjoying some sense of relief at rediscovering self control. I do like the feeling that fasting gives me, even if it’s just for 3/4 of the day (which on 5:2 is actually the way it works, though this week that evening meal was a bit over 500 cals). I did do LCHF for a few days, then OH wanted pasta…and I’m not sure whether the gain was just in water retention or what. Keep sharing please, though, Karen and Lolly – I’m intrigued and it’s more doable than I thought as long as it’s not as strict as in the old Atkins heyday.
Tango, kudos on your week! Thank you for your candor as well. Glad you have the right meds now, it’s scary to think about all the misdiagnoses and the pain that can cause. xxx
I’m pleased to have bought a new pair of jeans that fit just perfectly, Levi’s Denizen super stretch. Oh do I love them! They are also midrise, just north of the old muffin top 👍 – So not mom jeans 😱 but not constantly reminding me of the flabby bits either. Heaven knows I remind myself often enough without my clothes chiming in every time I bend over. 😏
My attempts to get better with my nFDs went pretty well this week. Backing off the insanity somewhat – you know, the old hurricane’s a-coming everyone rush to the store for milk and bread!! In smaller terms that was me on the night before any FD lol. Which was the same kind of insanity I was trying to avoid by doing 5:2 in the first place. But as I said above, we all have our issues to work through and that’s mine – just have to back slowly away from the cliff a/k/a fear of being deprived. Slow but sure 🐢 – does win out eventually. 💪
One more group hug {{{🌴}}} as I head back to the Rehab Cave. Have a great day all you gorgeous islanders!! 💕🔆🌴🔆💕 jade xx
Dear all,
thanks so much for your lovely words – such great group – will hang around the island with great great pleasure 🙂
Simcoeluv, thanks for the link. Will now dive in even deeper in the science of LCHF to ensure it works for life. I am aware that it will be a life-long challenge to keep the carbs down, but I am pretty sure I can make it. (When I met my husband 20 years ago, I also knew after 1 week that he would be the one that I will grow old with). But will let you know how I will do, and it feels soooooo good to know that you are here and can support me :))))
Lolly, you nailed it: we will never be normal eaters. We are all food addicted, with different kinds of food of course. And it is good to name it. That is a very important step. Cali, thanks so much for your support. Indeed, we are a bit like an AA group. But I cannot imagine that any AA group out there is more supportive than our island 🙂
Tango, very well done on the two FDs completed! Great to have some food days ahead. The positive side effect of any serious diet is that one really gets into the details, the fine-print. Finding out about what kind of food does what to your body. The fruit that, while healthy, needs to be also eaten mindfully. The butter, while high on calorie, has the talent to satisfy us way more than any other fat. (At least for me. I always avoided butter.)
Jade, your words also really touched me. Thanks for that 🙂 Well done on being more and more self-controlled. We all have to find a way that works for us, each way will be different. I had to laugh one the rush to the store thing. Exactly! Always have a full fridge, too.
Tonight I am going out with some family and friends. I will take you with me, like Spring took us along the other day. And my one glass of wine I will drink to all of you! xx Karen
Hello Everyone,
Just popped in to say ‘Thank you’for your kind words and support, it means a great deal.You all keep me sane and help me to keep going.
I have been thinking about what I like to eat and what makes me feel good. There has been discussion about low carb and high fat which has made me consider what to try and what to avoid. I know that I feel much better with whole foods and avoiding sugar, but at 55 I feel that my body/hormones might be ganging up on me which is making it difficult to lose weight/inches.
I am going to try for a week to get back to avoiding sugar, eating more wholefoods and going without rice or pasta or bread(never done that before), just to see if there is any difference at all.Essentially I will be eating salad at work every day. I have just made some hummus and tahini, and made some yoghurt made from full fat milk(very very easy to do).My breakfast is homemade meusli (porridge oats/dried fruit) and has been my staple food for as long as I can remember. I like it and don’t want to give it up.
I will report back at the end of the week and let you know how it and I went.
Keep up the good work ladies.
Annette, I’m in the same boat, though I’ve been rowing it a few more years than you ☺️ – age and hormone shifts brought me here, because my natural “ebb and flow” was no longer ebbing. But that is my age conundrum, I guess – fight it or give in. (Oh hell no to the latter.) So I’m also dodging the grains lately because there are so many other good things to eat. Not exactly doing LCHF though because, like you, there are foods I don’t want to cross off the list, mainly fruit. Must feed my grape addiction, you know 🍷😍
But this is interesting. Karen, I watched enough of that video to hear the docs explain that each person’s “tolerance” level for carbs is different, based on their degree of insulin resistance. Some people have a low threshold of 20 g/day, others 100 (maybe more?). All of which is to say that just cutting down could have a positive effect. So that is what I’m going to try, a kind of moderate carb thing. Maybe a grain-free thing. Definitely need to hide the loaves of bread. Who knows, it’s fun to experiment though 💪 Loving all the ideas being shared!
Full day at work tomorrow, oh it’s going to be brutal but perhaps I can power through a FD. Good luck to everyone this week! Hugs ♥️🌴♥️jade xxx
Such wonderful news Karen, I can really hear the relief in your words and I would also like to say to both you and lolly that I’d also love you to stay on the Island and keep sharing your experiences. I’m a big fan of all the different views and approaches around here and having recently spent a long period of time not doing 5:2 very well (in the rehab cave, basically) I’m definitely sticking around for the support. I have to dash but will be back tomorrow for a longer read and catch-up. love Spring xxx
Hi Jade, I am attempting to follow the wisdom of Lustig, but without pasta/rice or potatoes for a week. I am not giving up fruit either.I had heard about this carb tolerance level notion but I have no idea how you might find out what level you were. Any ideas? I have had a look at the menu for the coming week and there is not much choice, so there may be rice or potatoes for lunch, but then I will be carb free in the evening. This is an improvement, so that will do for the moment. Three more weeks until half term and then I can choose exactly what to eat for those 7 days.
Today I had salad to avoid the pasta and ended up with this cheese in pastry with hummus and leaves. Not perfect, but I did my best! Tomorrow is Risotto-my favourite and something the boys loathe, so my only chance to eat and enjoy. I will too.
I am simply trying to choose food that I like and that makes me feel good. Not always easy but I am improving overall.I am training for a 10K(did a 5K yesterday in 24C which was brutal and miserable) and so I am mindful that I need to eat well and sensibly to be able to do my best.
I do so appreciate an open mind, annette! I know it takes a bit of a shift to get into LCHF thinking, but I thought these links might help a bit. I do so admire your determination to run!
http://www.lowcarbdownunder.com.au/an-introduction-to-lchf-for-athletes/
http://www.maxworkouts.com/articles/entry/can-endurance-athletes-thrive-on-low-carb-high-fat-diet
http://eatingacademy.com/how-a-low-carb-diet-affected-my-athletic-performance
There are plenty of other posts out there on the athlete/LCFH subject. I found it quite interesting to see the move away from carb-loading happening. Food for thought!
Hi Annette:
The way carb tolerance is figured out with Atkins is to start with the ‘induction phase’ of 20 g. of carbs per day for two weeks. Most lose weight during the induction phase. Then you start slowly adding carbs back into the diet until you stop losing weight and start gaining. That will give a personal tolerance level.
Although Lustig focuses on sugar, you can substitute the words ‘pasta’, ‘flour’, ‘potatoes’ and/or ‘rice’ for ‘sugar’ – because they are all sugars without fiber and produce similar results in the body.
Thank you simcoeluv, very interesting. I may have to try carb free when we break up as I have no control over what is available at lunch time for the next few weeks.But I am making better choices, so that is good.
Thanks Lolly_ Interesting links. The 5K yesterday was part of a series of races so there were lots of club runners, toned and with little body fat many of them. I have been curious as to how they achieve this and maintain it. Maybe they are simply consuming less carbs. I already have a glass of milk shortly after a long run and that always makes me feel better. I am going to see if i notice any difference in how I feel with less carbs in my daily diet, hardly scientific but if I was slimmer and faster for the next 10K that would be wonderful.
HI, guys! Remember me?
I was having a rather hard time after my friend Sam had that heart attack. I’ll spare you the gory details. I think you all know them anyway. Frustration with lack of results, discipline sags, event happens, all hell breaks loose. Yadda, yadda, yadda…
After I lost control I decided to give myself a one week vacation from 5:2. I was gonna put some limits around out of control, so that’s what I did. When the new week began, I resumed my program determined to have one clean week. And I pretty much did. It got a little sloppy at the end but nothing too bad. Now I’m in my second Second Start fast and today went very smoothly indeed.
I also got myself a journaling app. I’m keeping track of my food (in a narrative way) and my exercise there so I don’t have to blather on with every boring detail. And, should I want to go back and see if any problems creep up on me again, I’ll be able to find and read through a week or so.
I also sat down and calculated what I’m eating ’cause I’ve never done more than choose what *seemed* “sensible”. Turns out I’m pretty much in line with the TDEE of my goal weight. So that’s good.
SO, bottom line: if my results have slowed to this snail’s pace, that’s how it’s gonna be. Period. End of sentence. That’s what I’ll have to live with!
So, next step is I made a list of the up-side and down-side of staying more or less where I am now.
Down-side
• I wanted to be able to fit in “normal” petite-sized clothes (I’m VERY short and the clothes that fit my girth are badly proportioned for everything besides my stomach). That’s not gonna happen. I’m not going to die thin.
• My life, henceforth, will consist of salad and protein & veggie meals except for perhaps one meal a week.
• I may end up with a metabolism that can’t handle more than pygmy-sized meals. (Everyone seen that NYT article about the “Biggest Loser” people who have no metabolisms left?)
Up-side
• I feel *undeniably* better every single day than I did before I started 5:2.
• I am able to get up and down on the floor (grandmas HAVE to do this on a regular basis) without a 10-step procedure that resembles a giraffe at the watering hole.
• I have made the gym a regular part of my week and my stamina and recovery are greatly improved.
• I look much better in my clothes than I did even if I am conventional-American-fat. And I have a greater selection of clothing options than I did when I began.
• If I end up without a metabolism I’m going to save A FORTUNE on groceries.
I think I’ve got to suck it up and stick with it! Results (or lack thereof) be damned!!!
Yes, she and the manuscript-length posts are back. 😖
Chubs! I’ve missed your face, glad you are back! As for your post, yep yep and yep. And frankly, if my metabolism is efficient, I guess…yay? I’ve always been short so could never pack away the food like my tall/guy friends. But I mean if I’m full, then I’m full – if I can manage hunger/weight control, I don’t give a **** how many calories are involved. Hey there Simco and Annette, I don’t know if I can do </=20g carbs/day…but I’ve said that before and ended up doing it. For now, my goal is simply to keep cutting back until I feel normal. HAHA. I just might bump into it someday!
I’m off to bed after a pretty-low-carb FD, catch up more tmw. Stay strong all you islanders 🌴💪🌴
Welcome back Chubs, I’ve really missed your newsy posts but I’m also sorry to hear of the aftermath of your friend’s heart attack – take good care of yourself. I do look forward to your witty updates – please stick around 🙂
Warning: brain-dump ahead so feel free to skip –
Reading through your post as well as Jade and Annette’s reminded me of just how ALL important mind-set is for me, in fact it’s 100% of the struggle. Thinking about the wide variety of approaches that people are finding helpful on this thread, it got me thinking about all the different diets/approaches I’ve taken over the years – in my teens (late 1970’s) it was all about getting rid of carbs – no bread/potatoes/rice/pasta and definitely no sugar/biscuits or cake. Does any one remember the Israeli Army Diet? Or the grapefruit diet? What about high protein or Atkins or awful meal replacement shakes or a week of eating vegetable broth?? Remember the Rosemary Conley phenomena of ultra low fat? There are many others I could name, including a couple of goes at WW and on most of them I lost weight when I adhered. Friends and family also lost weight when they adhered but in every case I gained the weight back and in most cases some more for good measure. What was the problem? Psychology, pure and simple: food is something I use to comfort myself and when the chips are down then nothing else works quite as well, whether that’s 6 days, six weeks or 6 months into a ‘new regime’. So, was 5:2 any different? I have given this a great deal of thought lately and if I’m honest, it was successful because I was ready. Something had flicked on my internal “that’s enough!!” switch and 5:2 was the latest thing so I decided to try it. It worked well for me, in large part because I didn’t feel the same sense of deprivation and it was so much more ‘do-able’ than I’d anticipated and that worked well with my rebellious psychology. I lost weight for a couple of months, gained some back over Xmas, and after 13 months of 5:2 I’d lost 25kg (about 55lbs) and was feeling very good about finding the holy grail of dieting. Sadly, in October last year I stopped losing weight and began to gain a little, plateau, lose a little then gain a bit more. It’s been a struggle for the past 8 months, at first I lost and gained the same 10lb over and over again and then it crept up to 20lb and I’ve managed to beat that down to 10lb again. Right now, the “that’s enough!!” switch is firmly off and it’s a major struggle and FD’s have become about deprivation in a way that they weren’t for the first year. I haven’t gained back all the weight because I’ve forced myself to weigh in every week and face the music and this has helped me to remain mindful of what is going on for me, and try to make those minute-by-minute decisions to think about what goes into my mouth. However, the minute I stop being mindful (and stress will do it every time) I eat to relieve my feelings and then I’m gaining again. My sad conclusion is that I did expect magic from 5:2 because whenever my “that’s enough!!” switch is flicked to on I imbue whatever approach I’ve chosen with certain magical powers. Of course I’m not conscious of this until afterwards but eventually the spell is broken. I’m sorry if this is a downer or if isn’t making any sense to any of you, but I think what I’m trying to say in a very convoluted way is this:
It makes no difference what approach I use to lose weight(really stupid fads notwithstanding) as the approach is not the thing – eventually it’s my thoughts, feelings and actions that are going to determine the outcome. It’s a little embarrassing at my age to admit I’m only just growing up, but better late than never 🙂
Brain-dump over and sorry to be so long-winded but it has helped me to put it down here in black and white. I hope you all have much success over the next week and come back to share it with us. Spring xxx
Oooooh, spring. I can just *feel* your frustration and deflation through the ether!
Yes, I’ve been on a lot of those diets. …tho I missed the Israeli Army diet and stayed determinedly several arms’ length distance from the Cabbage Soup diet. I had some good success with Atkins and The Carbohydrate Addicts’ diet and have incorporated some of those concepts into 5:2. I’ve also lost 50 pounds before, kept it off for 2 years and then ballooned back up to where I started, all in the 5 years before I discovered 5:2.
The thing that’s remarkable for me, is that in each “successful” diet — and when I gave up smoking some 40 years ago — it was EASY. There were a *lot* of unsuccessful attempts that weren’t. …and they collapsed in short measure with not much to show for the effort. But the times I *did* get results are the times I was able to stick with something because something about that approach didn’t require the teeth grinding effort that kept me working against myself.
That’s why I believe there is a biological/metabolic element to this that can’t be overestimated. And that magic combination is what we should probably be trying to hit because bullying ourselves around and even reasoning with ourselves has very limited potential.
I just got a book about the micro biome. I only started reading last night. I’ll pass on anything that seems helpful or promising. But, meanwhile, why not make a list for yourself? Concentrate on what you’ve improved in your life if you never lose another ounce. And what you can enjoy now even if ounces start creeping back. I found it comforting and reassuring and it shored up the mental attitude that I’m having to rely on just at the moment.
You might also make another list about what conditions and foods worked for you when 5:2 was working and what might be different now. And, in the meantime, there are two things that I believe help me the most in case they’re helpful to you. One is keeping busy. I spend a lot of time reading, pumping it out at the gym, and walking shopping malls just to keep myself distracted. The other is taking a probiotic to make sure I’ve got the good little guys working for me to offset the bad guys who want the bad foods.
And, finally, just imagine all of us putting our arms around you and doing all we can to give moral support. Stick with us even if you can’t report the “success” of losing weight because feeling good about yourself — wherever you are at the moment — is an important kind of success too and who else appreciates that and will applaud you for it like us?! We’re all in this together, girl!!!
Hey Chubs- welcome back! You were missed! So sorry to hear about your friend… It’s understandable you needed to put all diets on the back burner for a while to deal with the current situation. Glad you are back and wishing you great success as you head back into your weight loss plan.
Spring– thanks for sharing your story– First off I’m so impressed that you lost 55 lbs in 13 mos– major accomplishment!! I definitely can relate to the utter disillusionment when plateaus are hit and weight and bad habits creep back in- once the honeymoon period of weigh loss is over- the marriage issues set in and pretty soon our old ways start sabotaging our success!
I think we all relate to that story- I’m curious if you are on the maibtainence thread of this forum and if so how others are dealing with weight gain and plateaus?
I am down to my last 12 lbs and it is like trying to take a life preserver from a drowning man!! It is very stubborn and relentless!!
I appreciate all of your insight- definitely hits home for me!
FD today- I will try a gym workout and see if that lifts my fat burning up at all. I have my mom in town for the next several months so my bad habits of eating when I’m not hungry are coming back– I need to reign that in and be mindful again when I eat!
Best of luck to everyone!! This is a hard journey but look how wonderfully deep, compassionate and caring we all are with each other– suffering does have its silver lining!!
Thanks so much for the kind words Chubs and CaliB, you’re part of a great encouraging group and I truly appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. I’m very much a lists person Chubs and write lots of them, listing what I hope to gain by losing weight (i.e. not having to ‘touch’ the hips/legs or arms/shoulders of other people on the bus…) so thanks for the suggestion of writing a list about staying where I am. I thought your own list was inspired!
CaliB, yes, the 5:2 honeymoon is definitely over! I had to laugh at the life-saver to a drowning man image of the last 12lbs 🙂 so all the best with shifting those persistent pounds. Unfortunately I’m not on the maintenance thread as I still have around 50lbs more to lose and I know that has something to do with where I’m at right now. I often think if I’d ‘only’ had 50lbs to lose that 5:2 would still be the holy grail but because I have a LOT more to go the road has disappeared up around the bend and I’ve been feeling like I can’t go the distance. That’s where the psychology comes in of course and I needed to remind myself that I don’t have to tackle the whole road today, only a small bit of it and breaking it down into one minute, one meal at a time does help. In fact despite the brain dump yesterday I’ve lost weight the last 2 weeks and expect a small loss this week thanks to the grown-up white-knuckling and the minute-by-minute vigilance. I guess in a nutshell my rant was about needing to accept that life will always happen so, no matter what happens, I need to keep making the right choices.
Thanks for the reminder that life is good and of course there’s so much else going on in my life that makes me happy so I’m going to push that weight-obsessed part of me right back into her box. It’s not all about food and as I’m listening to Eva Cassidy sing “Sometimes it amazes me how strong the power of love can be…its too good to slip by, too good to lose, too good to be there just to use” I’m reminded of just how much love I have in my life. Love Spring xxx
Oh goodness Spring…the Israeli Army Diet sounds intriguing! And you sound like you need a cyber hug!! {{🌴}}}. Every word you wrote sounds like my own thoughts. I’m embarrassed at my age to still be searching for that holy grail also. Indeed when I’m “on” I can do anything, but boy when it stops being new, I can be very fickle. So I do think there is something to all this internal chemistry, but I sure as hell haven’t figured it out yet. Here’s s mini rant then – I loved the feeling I got from eating whole foods, felt satisfied…but then WHY WOULDN’T I FEEL SATISFIED, as I was no longer losing but actually gaining a bit. I mean, that’s what I was doing with the old 3 squares a day. Thank goodness there’s a long-term health aspect to this 5:2 thing or I’d have given up a while ago.
So in the meantime, since I haven’t given up, I still think there is an answer in our individual reaction to food. There are foods I truly LOVE only when truly hungry (usually protein and veg), foods I love when slightly hungry (fruit, nuts), and foods I love pretty much anytime (bread, potatoes, sugar-coated anything). I know you’ve all tried Atkins, Scarsdale, etc. I hated Atkins, it felt weird. I felt weird.
I never tried a modified low-carb approach though, just cutting out grain and going easy on (but not cutting out) fruit, and I have to say I have felt wonderful these past few days. I know I’m not allergic or anything, but not having all that bulky stuff in my system makes a big difference. And I tell you what, when you’re just “not eating” grains, you REALLY start to recognize true hunger. I seriously cannot pig out on veg or even fruit. Annette are you finding the same thing? Karen and Lolly? Tango, what are you up to? What the heck happened to Penguin, she waddled off again!🐧 Cali, I am also on the “last few” and agree, it is murder. I think part of my problem has been complacency. I’ve been close to goal, give or take a few, so I often said WTF I don’t wanna do the 2 part of this thing. The switch was definitely OFF, Spring! But the lack of control bugged the **** out of me and still does. So here I still am ♥️🌴
Chubs if you find out anything interesting on the biomes, please do share! I think it’s fascinating and love that new things are being discovered to combat the unbelievable manipulation the food industry has managed over the years. 👿
Eek, it’s way past lights out here in the Rehab Cave – hugs and love to all of you💕🌴jade xx
ps Hey Spring, we crossed – here’s an extra hug {{♥️}} Eva is great therapy, what a golden voice….
Haha dear Jade – a post guaranteed to put a smile on my dial 🙂 lights out in the cave indeed – who made you cub-mother around here??!! 😉
I’m loving all the hugs and they are doing me a power of good. I’ve been so on point today and eaten a hearty brunch with my son (Bacon & Eggs and Ciabatta and awesome coffee) and then didn’t eat again until hubby cooked a salmon steak stir fry for dinner. Feeling good now ahead of my second FD tomorrow (okay, that doesn’t fill me with any joy) but I’m just going to take it an hour at a time.
I’d also love to hear from penguin, Queen, mcca and a few others too – how’s it going girls?? Love Spring xox
Interesting posts and thoughts, Ladies.
The clothes are tighter and the scales are showing another increase. It is both depressing and frustrating as I am eating better quality and less food. Food is provided at work and I have no control of what might be on offer, and it is hard to make the choices that I would like to sometimes.
The allure of the 5:2 was and still is that I can enjoy the food that I like, eat far less for 2 days and shrink the body.I am struggling to see where I am going wrong. I am trying to eat less carbs in the form of rice/pasta/bread and I can do that(I was fantastic on Monday and Tuesday)Today was Risotto followed by the most delicious cheese cake and I really enjoyed it. Tomorrow will be a FD and I will try to do Saturday as well.I am trying to fit in 3 short runs and one longer run in preparation for the fast looking 10K.
I am wondering if I am fighting an uphill battle with menopausal weight gain and will have to be tolerant of much much smaller losses. I also wonder how much habit has to do with food choices and that stress response to particular foods. The other evening I was desperate for something sweet,but there was nothing in the house, so it was a small bowl of homemade yoghurt made from full fat milk, with some flaked almonds and half a dozen raisins. It really didn’t hit the spot where a bar of chocolate would have, but I was satisfied and didn’t even think about walking to the shops(5 minutes away)which I would have a year ago. I shall have to take these moments whenever they occur!
It is so frustrating that having given up sugar in my tea and daily puddings, and eating better quality food with more wholefoods…that I am struggling. But what is the alternative?
Hi Annette, you’re so right that it’s a struggle and menopause does not help in the least if water retention and appetite changes are a part of your experience. I’m so often flummoxed with what the scale says and there was a time about a year ago where I was suddenly losing 2+ pounds every week for a month and my diet was not ideal, to say the least. I couldn’t understand it at the time but again, I think I just have to put it down to the fact that we have complex, dynamic systems that do there own thing.
I’ve recently had to accept that I just don’t need very much food at all now. Whether that’s due to the ‘Biggest Loser’ phenomena with a change in metabolism (many people dispute this occurs, but that study certainly had reliable ‘before’ data for comparison) or whether it’s because satiation hormones have dropped so I’m basically just eating more without noticing because of higher hunger levels is, in the end, moot. I don’t have access to a nutrition and exercise physiology lab that could tell me so I just have to titrate my intake until I am losing and then worry about maintenance if I ever reach my goal weight.
I wonder is it possible for you to take your own lunch to work from home? I know lunch is provided for you but that might be one way to get around the food on offer which sounds lovely but doesn’t fit well with your desire to reduce sugars/carbs? I know you are doing so many things right so it is very frustrating when the results don’t happen.
Okay, well, it’s a FD for me and I’m going to run the dogs around the block a few times to distract myself. Winter has arrived this week so it’s all gray skies and rain and chilly winds and I couldn’t be happier. Not sure the dogs are quite as excited. Love Spring xxx
I know your all tucked up snug in your little beds and I’m all alone here with the lard-baton but I’ve snuck back in the hopes that at least one of you has insomnia and if not, then I can re-read the ‘You can do it!!’ FD cheer squad postings and hold out for another 50 minutes before dinner. I can do it. I CAN do it. I can DO it. I can do IT. I. CAN. DO. IT.
There. Now there are only 48 minutes left to go on the white-knuckle Express. Toot toot. Love Spring xxx
Annette- I hear you! I am also wondering that same thing as I feel menopause is reeking havok on my metabolism. Not to mention all the other lovely things it brings!! My husband is always amazed at the changes he is seeing in me right before his eyes!! I was once freezing all the time and now I get so hot it’s like I’m a furnace!
Has anyone else felt like fasting forced them to go to bed earlier? I absolutely cannot stay awake as late as I used to.
I increased my exercise this week in the hopes it will help with my lack of movement on the scale in the right direction but it made me so hungry that I ate all day long! My body feels stronger and I’m happy for that. I think I will start weighing myself less frequently. If the numbers are up I’m so upset, if they are down, I reward myself with a little something special. Time for a break!
I have 3 days of events back to back that involve food next week– trying to figure out how to deal with it- 2 of them are food shows where I taste and decide on food to bring into our market. One has a Japanese Sake tasting component— oh dear!! I am terrified I’ll gain back all the weight I’ve lost!! I’m coming up with a strategy of looking at food but not tasting it all– hard for a binger like me!!
I look at naturally lean women that are my age and also had 3 children and I am wondering what they think about all day long– I know it’s not the scale or the pastry they ate that they know will cause trouble later. I guess they have different problems that they have to solve- we all have something!!
At least I have all of you that truly understand this path we are on and at any given moment I can reach out and post to you all about my obsessive thoughts about food and weight!!’ That’s priceless!! Thankful for all of you!!
Cali- Some fast days are easy but when the binge thought enters your head its so hard to ignore. Its a mental battle and sometimes the urge is just to strong, especially when things are not going well. We can only keep trying and hopefully it will ease in time. As for the menopause, it does make a difference. My symptoms got so bad and I was so down, I thought I was depressed. Went to see doc and burst into tears. Doc said you need HRT. I was reluctant but in 10 days I was a different person.I cant imagine not having it now.
Trying to lose weight at a certain age is very difficult. Your job sounds like it makes it even harder. I don’t know why so people draw the short straw and struggle and some people eat anything they want and remain stick thin. I’ve had a friend for nearly 40 yr’s who is like a pencil but wow can she eat. She eats very fast and will wait to see if you leave anything on your plate and will eat that to. As long as I’ve known her she has eaten way more than I have but here I am trying to lose several stones and she’s still stick thin. Nature and genetics is not fair.
Good morning Jade and Cali and casper, and good to see you back casper!
Wow Cali – what a job!! Funny how what sounds like a dream job can not always be so ideal – is it permissible to politely ‘remove’ the food into a napkin a bit like the spittoon when wine tasting?? I know it would take some guts to do it though, without offending the suppliers 😉 well done on the increased exercise too.
I have to concur on the skinny friend thing casper. I put it down to their being kinder than I was in a past life although I also have thin friends with great appetites who also don’t eat when they’re not hungry and I think that’s the key. If I only ate when I was hungry there wouldn’t be such a problem and this non-hungry eating will always be a tendency I need to be aware of and just find something else to do. I’m glad you found relief with HRT too and the menopause can really mess up the system, although I also have friends who have sailed through barely noticing it. Genetics again?
Thanks for the rehab-cave encouragement Jade – I did make it through with only a teaspoon of peanut butter (no sugar/low salt) at the end of the day to help me sleep. Have lost a small amount this week (300gm) so slow and steady but definitely in the right direction. That’s a loss 3 weeks in a row so GO ME but of course as soon as I say that the trouble starts, so just keep that to yourself.
I’m also wondering how are people going with the 90-day-challenge?? That’s something I’ve really surprised myself with and I’ve only missed one day of doing 30 minutes of moderate exercise since April 6th. This is definitely a new record for me and I know I owe it to you lot for the encouragement and camaraderie. Love Spring xx
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10:27 pm
2 May 16