What great news !! weight loss is always good !!

I also when I buy butter, bacon and pork, all look at me with a strange way …. it will take for people to know that fat does not hurt!

You said that adapted well LCHF? with time you will see that it becomes increasingly easy and natural not consume carbohydrates.

Happiness to you and many kilos off

Rise and shine dear ladies!!! It’s a wet and windy winter’s day here so not much is shining but it’s been good to catch up with the Island goings-on.

Very glad to hear you escaped the clutches of Nurse Ratched Jade 😉 and WELL DONE lolly on another 4lbs, that’s great work! Chubs, too, a shining example despite the hassles of moving that can provide myriad excuses and can get a ‘I’ll do it when this is over’ chorus going. Inspirational, all of you.
Annette, let us know how the Ice Cream goes – I used to make my own ice-cream when I lived in a very remote part of another country where you couldn’t buy it but haven’t done so for many years. If you add in lots of berries (and perhaps some pistachios?) it might also reduce the sugar load per serving, as that seems to be where you’re happiest.

I’m eating for Australia at the moment. I’m currently rebelling at every flimsy roadblock I put up in the name of moderation and just can’t be arsed, as the kids would say. I’m sick of trying frankly, so I’m focusing on staying active and eating good stuff that I actually enjoy. This is a frustrating place to be (i.e. not losing weight) but it seems all my Big Girl Pants are in the wash. This is emphatically NOT a plea for sympathy, just a ‘this is where I’m at’ post and I take complete responsibility for it, but thought I’d write it as honesty has always been my favourite thing about this thread 🙂

Strength to those of you fasting today. Love Spring xxx

Good morning ladies, spring- great to have a sense of humor about where you are in this process and acceptance that this is the best you can do for now. Life is a continuum of ups and downs and if we roll with it then we are much better than if we fight with ourselves constantly- it will change again when you are ready– until then enjoy every moment!!

Chubs- you’re “black sheep” comment had me laughing!! I too used to drink kombucha daily until I started LCHF and happened to glance at the carb content- before I only looked at the calories and added sugar. I switched to sparking water as I really liked the effervescence. I’ve been happy with the switch- the only thing I miss are pizza and bear claws.
Btw- I found a great low carb pizza recipe that uses eggs and cheese as the crust. It’s so delicious and completely satisfies my pizza craving- if interested let me know and I’ll post it.

Jade- I can so relate to where you are- I was there myself- you feel stuck and like nothing is ever going to work- hang in there- you will find what works for you!! Sometimes it takes a while to find that perfect fit for your body to respond to — we are all here to support you!!

I am happy to report that Ramadan has been going very smoothly this year- in past years the first week was always so painful for me. I know that doing the fasting these last few months and switching to LCHF has put my body in a fat burning mode- now I don’t get hungry all day b/c I’m eating my own fat! I’m so amazed that this actually works- I really had my doubts but now since switching to this way of eating 3 1/2 wks ago I have lost 8 lbs!! That’s a miracle in my book.

Time to wake the kiddos and get them to school.
Have a fantastic day!!

Lol Spring, I’m eating for the rest of the planet! Hello from Camp Recidivism🌴🔆 It’s a new spot between the bad girls isthmus and the rehab cave. I’m not feeling it right now for LCHF, not if I have to look at fruit as off limits. I guess it all boils down to what one is happy with. Chubs, k hear you loud and clear re the kombucha. I was happy with whole foods, I was even sorta happy when I cut out grains (not that I felt allergic, I was just overeating them). But putting fruit on the endangered list is too restrictive for me. I might try it again, who knows, but I know how I react when I am overloaded with rules, and it’s the way I was yesterday. I was like a caged leopard, which is an odd analogy because a leopard would be searching for meat, but I was after the best, most perfect, luscious pastry in the world. Sadly, I was in WalMart and might’ve still settled for cream horns had there not been 12 in the package. Ha, even I have my standards!! But I did settle for Toblerone and Cadbury, shared it with a good friend later and enjoyed a bit before then too!

All right, I need to rewind the tape of the past year and go back to basics. Fasting is cool, I like what it does, the reset, the appreciation of simple things, all of that. I don’t like eating fat when I want grapes. Actually I don’t really like fat at all, unless it’s on a carb. I appreciate all the viewpoints here, and please please continue to share. I love hearing what works for anyone else, it’s always worth a try! And if it doesn’t work for me, it’s still interesting and I’m so pleased for you😍. But I feel as though I need to relax and stop trying to improve myself for a bit. And by that I don’t mean giving up, but just going back to 5:2, avoiding junk, mostly. Keep it Simple Stupid. The rest of my life is complicated enough at the moment!!

And now I have to clean my house before the cleaners get here, lol. Good cardio. Gotta work off that chocolate! Hugs islanders, we may have different paths but the goal is the same💪🌴xxx
ps Hey CaliB, we crossed💕 – thanks, you anticipated what I said! We are all looking for the right thing, and we’ll all find it eventually if we keep looking. Good luck with Ramadan👍

Again I see many with distrust of the consumption of fats (good).

  Two years ago I removed my food all vegetable oils, margarines and processed, replaced by lard, butter, olive oil, coconut oil and milk cream and fatty cheeses.

Meat also with the natural fat.
 
Besides having lost more than 20 kg, my bookmarks the last blood test show that I’m on the right track, all very good! levels when he was 20 years (56 years now).

I still have a lot of weight to lose, but in a matter of health could not be better.

I have helped with this information.

Hi Annette:

There has never been any study that showed the higher percentage of fat in the diet, the fatter you are. It just sounded good to those pushing the low fat diet. Here is a recent study that addresses the issue a bit: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/06/08/eating-fat-doesn-t-make-fat-study-finds.html

Hey Tango, I could have written your post today! And to all you lovely LCHFers, I’m not challenging that you like it or that it wouldn’t work for me. I just don’t like that much limitation in my choices, and like you Tango I don’t like butter all that much, but do like olive oil. So I guess it is more the Mediterranean for me. Glad to see you blazing another trail there Annette☺️

The problem with LCHF for me is just feeling too deprived, which I didn’t feel when I cut down on carbs but still had fruit and any veggie I wanted. Easy to pass up bread etc. So I will definitely focus on the good fats but without counting carbs. I just wanted to assure everyone I do know LCHF works, it’s just not making me happy at the moment.

Chubs, enjoy hugging that dear son of yours💕 And hugs to all of you, I am firmly back in the rehab cave. Loving the island way of life 🌴🔆😍xx

Saw a programme the other night where they were advocating a diet that had a wide range of food to improve gut health, thought that full fat yoghurt was the best thing to eat for that too. They also thought that eating plenty of fat in the form of butter, eggs, nuts, cheese, olive oil as well as fruit and vegetables was very good and referred to it as Mediterranean, but without the pizza and pasta.
I don’t know that I am eating a high fat diet, but it is rather higher than it was. I am eating less carbs in the form of rice/pasta/bread less often. That is my approach of nothing banned or forbidden. I made ice cream(4 eggs/300ml cream/100g caster sugar) the other day(No ice cream maker) and we tried it last night, and it was lovely but I wonder what they put in ice cream to make it soft scoop?It was simply creamed and eggs frozen although I may have over whipped the cream.
I eat breakfast before I run at the weekend which is when I would run 3+ miles. I have gone back to eating homemade meausli (porridge oats/dried fruit) as I simply feel better and now add the nut/seed mixture on the top as I like the taste. I usually eat breakfast, wait an hour or two depending on the weather and then run. Post run, I have a glass of milk when I walk through the door to re-hydrate and replace some protein for my poor muscles. I usually do a little over 2 Miles after work in the afternoon, just 2/3 times a week. It is humid and hot in the UK and I find it hard to run.
I look in the mirror and wonder who the hell that grey haired woman is looking back at me! On the plus side, I have a body that is in much better shape than it has been for the past 20+ years. There isn’t much that I can do about the battle scars of pregnancy, but I do hope to lose a bit more of the belly as I fight against middle aged spread.
Jade, why don’t you eat the fruit and vegetables? Eat more of the good fat, less of the carbs and forget counting calories? A food that is more calorific is simply one that our body uses differently. I will try and post the Micheal Mosley article from the paper and he explains it all rather more eloquently.

I make ice cream without an ice cream maker too. If you separate the eggs, beat the white to a fluff and mix it back in gently that helps. Also, take it out of the freezer and stir it with a fork or even beat with a whisk while its in the process of freezing. A little gelatine might also help, but I’ve not tried it.
I liquidise the cream with strawberries sometimes and add that in too, sweetening with some stevia.

Take it out ten minutes before serving.

Exactly, Annette – fats are no longer a bad thing in my mind, so I’m using full-fat dressings (usually homemade to avoid sugar – my homemade ranch with blue cheese crumbles is delicious). Also love nuts and like adding olive oil to things like hummus. So yes to higher fat, but no to truly low-carb – thogh I’m still limiting the grains but not banning them. We all know what happens then! I turn into a 2-year-old 🍼🍼😫

And thank you dear Lolly – you are so sweet to encourage me. Apricot, I may have to try that ice cream, I don’t have a machine either but sounds doable.

I’ve certainly learned that bucking the old ways is good. I love having a salad that doesn’t taste like cardboard. Thanks to all for the great ideas shared here – it is all helping me understand what’s the best healthy solution for me. Happy spelunking, islanders! Drop by the rehab cave for some good fats💕🌴💪🔆 xx

Yeah Jade!! So happy to hear that!! I feel like you had a peaceful breakthrough of feeling satisfied and content– perfect!! It’s what we all crave for. I do believe we all find it in our way and in our own time. I’m in Ca clapping for you and hoping the same for myself today as well and all the rest on this thread- great inspiration!!

Hi everyone!

Jade, that’s a fab news! 🙂 thanks so much for inspiring us! hope it continues to feel good 🙂

I’m feeling a quite lack lustre with fasting at the moment. I’m not sure if the liquid only FD’s were a very good idea. I feel like I’m ‘running’ on empty and I didn’t lose anything, despite 2 weeks of doing them. I think there was some compensatory eating? as I’ve said before the body doesn’t lie! Anyway it’s depressed me because I can’t seem to shift these last 10-12 Ibs. Have read a bit more about perimenopause (which may explain my mood) and often what they don’t mention is that estrogen levels actually rise (not fall) at certain stages of perimenopause (sore breasts, nausea, cramping and PMT) This is me down to a ‘T’ and it’s about every 2-3 weeks all/or some of the symptoms, not a pretty cocktail. I’m annoyed that there really isn’t much guidance for women, and it seems like something you have to just get on with, for a long time! So that’s my theory about why I’m plateauing. Am also going to Dr, to check my thyroid function (blood test) because it could be that it’s has gone out of whack. I’m just going to do 2 normal and ‘painfree’ FD’s this week, and get back to basics.

Annette, thanks for the yoghurt recipe, I’ve just sent off for milk thermometer, can’t wait!. Chubs, I’d forgotten about Macadamia nuts, thanks for the reminder, they have B1 and Magnesium, really important for us perimenopausal ladies..

I think the higher fat content is helping 🙂 I have waltzed easily past the usual suspects in the supermarket, and have had no particular inclination for chocolate. I’d still like to test my cholesterol level though now, to check if I’m ok, as read there are no symptoms generally for high cholesterol.

Hope you all have a lovely Sunday..xxx
Tango

Annette- truly great news and so exciting that your body is handling the race stress so much better- I think the extra fat has been good for the recovery aspect. I would love to hear about the MM video so do update us when you can.

Tango-I am also in peri menopause and have been for 3 1/2 yrs now- I started taking maca powder in the form of a product called Femmenessence- there are several formulas depending on what stage you are in- for peri menopause I take the maca life formula. It has been a total lifesaver for me. The accupuncturist that recommended it said it is the only product her group of practioners have found helpful for peri and post menopause symptoms. I get mine from Amazon.

Apricot- great info on fats- I will check out the reading you mentioned. I too have found that increasing my fats and lowering my carbs and now I only eat in an 8 hour window has been working wonders on my weight loss.

Jade– hope you are continuing to feel good and in control– wishing you all the best on that front!!

Queen- best of luck on your search for what works for you for weight loss. I had to (very reluctantly) lower my carbs down to 40 gr a day and increase my fats and protein to 100 gr a day and eat in an 8 hr window and — bingo…. Success for me but more than that all my cravings are gone and I am content… Not my usual feeling on a diet. Some people don’t like the high fat but I live for high fat and would gladly eat fat over carbs.

I am happy to report that I am finally within 5 lbs of my goal weight and pants are fitting that have been hiding away for years in the back of my closet. Hoping to reach goal weight by August as I have a big trip planned. The last 5 may hang on tight!

Wishing you all a great day- or night!

CaliB

That’s fantastic Annette, no wonder you feel thrilled to bits. You did so well, 20 mins faster is huge! It’s many years since I ran 10 miles, I was nearly half the age I am now 😨. I stick to swimming these days, less hard on ageing joints! And the last time I did a long one was two years ago, 2 miles, just had a banana before. I starch packed for a 10k swim three years ago, finished ok but as it was the first and last, I’ve not had anything to compare it with! Now I think I’d try going very low carb for that just to try it out, but you have to get well adapted a couple of months before.

So when is the next? You can’t just rest on your laurels!

Bingeing Qeen, it’s so confusing when they don’t talk about real foods. You don’t have to have that quantity as fats or oils, but whole milk yogurt, eggs, avocado and nuts are all high fat. Then if you add butter to your veg to serve, or cooked something in olive oil, coconut oil or butter, or used an olive oil based vinaigrette, you’ve probably pretty much got there. But also I suspect they are talking about the average man on 2400 kcal, too. Think percentages rather than grams.

I’m on FD and I’ve just had coffee with half a teasp of MCT oil in it, which I’m hoping will stop me being hungry until later today as no sugars and no insulin spike but a tiny bit of fat to keep me going and encourage more out of my cells!

Annette there are several medical people on here who would know better than I, but it may be that your body was able to use the fat that is in your skeletal muscles effectively as well as the glycogen stores there. And you have been getting yourself nice and fit too, well done. Runners often “hit the wall” or “brick” at around 16 miles, when the glycogen has been used up and the brain is crying out for it. That’s where some sports doctors now think the Keto diet has advantages, as the brain has been trained to run on the ketones provided by fat as well as on glycogen. But all this is fairly new stuff and controversial in some quarters. Dr Tim Noakes, Dr Phinney and a sports doc in Australia have been working with this, and they get controversy all the way.

Thanks for that info Apricot! I’m like you Queen, I find LCHF fascinating and want to know more about the effect of food on mood and energy. So here’s a question – as I’ve posted recently, LCHF just doesn’t suit me as a full time way of life. But many days, it suits me just fine. Could there be a benefit to doing LCHF some of the time? And I don’t mean the benefit of eating whole foods, but the ketosis or whatever shifts things to using body fat. Probably not, even as I type this, I’m thinking that ketosis requires a few days just to get started. Anyway, just a thought. I need an escape hatch from any total restrictions, so I’m still pleased with the modified approach.

I managed my FD yesterday without too much trouble. I got bored midafternoon and almost caved, but luckily I wasn’t really feeling hungry, just bored. So many useful tips I’ve learned here – ha ha BALT for the win🏅! So today’s goal is to skip breakfast. To answer your question, Queen, I do try to still skip morning eating but if I’m truly hungry I’ll have some eggs. No way can I have carbs at breakfast, you’d see a full-throated lizard chasing me the rest of the day. Hey that gives me an idea I’ve been wanting to do for a while, to list the tried and true things that help me stay in control. Maybe I’ll get to that soon.

Make it a great day, I’m emerging from th cave for a bit of sun – happy surfing, islanders!🏄🌴🔆😍

CaliB- thanks so much for the info vis a vis peri-meno 😉 I feel like misunderstood teen at the mo 😉 and my energy levels have plummeted, I’m going to get my thyroid blood test checked first, but think your suggestion might be ok for low thyroid sufferers.

Jade-as I understand it, the LCHF can be rotated, so 3 days of low carb, (20grms) and then back to normal carbs (50grms) anyone tried this?

Queen-breakfast, not so often now, and no longer on the porridge oats, just greek yog/berries OR boiled egg and avocado..depends on how much time.

Annette-well done 10k 🙂 did I understand that you ate salmon? or was it muesli before? I will be back running as soon as I see the physio about my knee. I’ve had to wait so long for the physio that my knee is virtually better, lol, however I dare not run until I’m aware of some strengthening exercises, as don’t want to mess if up for my Latin classes. Some can’t handle fats before races, but I guess it’s just trial and error. My sister ran a marathon on a handful of Special K, 🙂

Apricot-glad you get to swim, I love swimming but not in the sea where I live, not convinced it’s very clean! I do quite a lot of strength and weight bearing exercises, recommended by the King of 5:2, MM, he does squats, push ups, lunges 3 to 4 times a week, as well as HITT. I *hate* dumbbells but heavy weights, really make the difference, and last week cos my energy went down the drain, I did no strength training at all, result: my arms already feel a bit wobbly, amazing no?

My nod to trying to make my lifestyle less stressful is a weekly yoga class, great for flexibility, not so great for weight loss. Best thing I’ve taken from that is the ‘downward’ dog (do it everyday) and also ‘child pose’ check them out, you feel quite ‘blissed’ out. I also meditate most days, 15 mins x 2, it can be a chore, but it is a real help. There’s a bit of a misconception with this, in the 15 mins, your mind does wander, but bringing it back to focus is part of the deal, and just having the 15 mins, means a little bit of space 🙂 was intrigued to read that Ruby Wax the comedian has written a book on it.

Fasting tomorrow, good luck everyone! xx

Good morning fasters and non-fasters 🙂

Lovely to hear of all the good stuff happening, well done Annette on the run and Jade on the normal (I always knew you were normal) and Tango, CaliB, Apricot & lolly doing so well, despite the challenges of peri-menopause.

So lovely to see you too Queen and congratulations on the successes and for sharing the challenges – I too can binge on anything if the urge hits and it doesn’t often fit neatly into “I binged because I ate X Y or Z’ more like ‘I binged because it helped me to cope with my feelings’. A shout out to Karen and Chubs (hope it’s going well on the road) and to penguin too.

I had a good FD yesterday and feeling okay today, so maybe the tide is turning for me too Jade and I can emerge from the rehab cave for a little surf & sun. God knows we need it here, being in the chilly grip of winter. Spring xxx

Loving all the great ideas on this forum lately– I have been slowly increasing my carbs to include berries and a little brown rice – quinoa and lentils are next for me. I’m terrified of reawakening my cravings and binging but I need to know which foods do this to me. So far so good…. I feel like I’m walking in a mine field and any minute I may explode if I make a wrong choice. What I know to be true now is if that happens I just fast the next day and that seems to calm down the cravings. Sometimes I feel like an alcoholic skirting on the edge of the drink!!

We get up at 4 o’clock to eat before beginning our fast for Ramadan and today I was not able to go back to sleep before I had to get the kids up for their summer beach programs. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long and arduous day. I can already feel the bad mood slipping in. I will be a whole lot of fun at work today!!

I have been making a homemade buttermilk dressing and enjoying salads in a way I have not done for many years. Having a full fat salad dressing sure changes things for me.

I do agree with Annette my skin and hair have definitely changed tremendously since starting this high-fat low-carb diet.

I would love to respond to each one of you on all of the wonderful things you have brought to this form recently but I’m just too dang tired and grumpy to do it now!! Just know your thoughts and ideas always help get me through the day!!

Hello Everyone,
First FD in a few weeks and all went well this morning. Sadly not much in the way of choice for lunch, so made the best choice that I could. Dinner is the Parmesan-topped salmon(which I have been thinking about since lunch!) and all in all, I suspect I will clock up more than the 500, but never mind. I have done my best with the choices that I could plan and those that I couldn’t.

I have another 4 weeks until school breaks up for the summer-whoppeee! I am going to try these weeks having 2 FD a week and continuing with more fat/less carbs and see just how I feel, look and whether the waist shrinks anymore. I am going to be so disappointed if the waist doesn’t get smaller, but it won’t be for the want of trying.

I want to eat good food that nourishes me, without stressing about how much protein/fat/carbs is in every damn thing. I will always like cake/chocolate/ice cream but I can learn to have them less often and perhaps appreciate them more.

I am loving all the intelligent questing in this thread! You all spark me to challenge my thinking and test my theories and it’s a gift to be here.

Another 3.5 lbs. for me this week, and feeling fabulous. Of course, my brain immediately started calculating 3.5 times X weeks…. It doesn’t work like that, more’s the pity, but it sure beats the gloomy outlook I had just a few months ago. So, I’m taking my time to savour this result and trying not to look too far down the road. Today is the only day I can be in.

Cheers to you all.

How was Ikea Jade? Did you go in for a couple of things and leave with a car full?
I survived the Fd until 10 pm when I caved in and had some seed/nut stuff and then felt so much better and sleepy.
Today I have been looking for food all day. It has been a rice twice today, so not great but much much better in the grand scheme of things this week.

Lolly…that is AMAZING. I have never lost 3.5 lb in a week, I have maxed out at 2 lb and was thrilled with that the one time it happened.I stood on the scales this morning post Fd to see that I am exactly the same. Rather demoralizing but for me very very normal, it usually takes a few days to show any difference. I am hoping that the vibes from Tango will help shrink my waist a bit more.