I need to lose 6 stone. Any big girls want to buddy up?

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DeepPurpleMoon

3:34 pm
15 Apr 16
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MmeMonkey and NG…congrats on your losses!! That’s so inspiring to me 🙂

Caspersmum…I’m new as well…your loss so far is amazing! And don’t be embarrassed…I have 100 lbs. to lose. I’m a good person, regardless of what the scale says. And I’m doing this for myself. I don’t know if I can lose 100 lbs…but I know I can lose 5 pounds, so I’m just going to do that…20 times in a row.

Buttonboots…the cheese idea sounds really yummy! I find if I have a few fermented foods per day…kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, etc…my gut is so much happier.

LA Chubster

4:04 pm
15 Apr 16
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LOL, NG! No, a proton pump inhibitor isn’t a painful thing at all. Or as mechanical as it may sound. It’s a class of medicine that prevents indigestion for those of us who have gastric reflux. It’s simply a pill. The one I take is Previcid, an over the counter med in the US but a prescription one here in Canada. I just used the generic name of the class of drug because I know we come from all over and “Previcid” wouldn’t mean anything to lots of people.

As DeepPurpleMoon says, caspersmum, *lots* of people here have substantial weight to lose. And then there are the people on these forums who are losing baby weight or an extra 20 pounds. The challenge is different for some of us.

I even wrote to Dr. Krista Varady who is the researcher who designed the Every Other Day diet about what the expectations were for those of us who will be doing this for a very long time before we get where we want to be. She didn’t have an answer for me because the research on very obese people — and that includes me! — hasn’t even been funded yet despite perhaps the greatest need.

So I set up this thread for those of us who will be at this for, possibly, years or who may expect to have to work through plateaus at various times or who started out defining ourselves by our weight or who will have to be working through expectations and frustrations over and over before we’re done. And no sooner had I set it up than Buttonboots came along and showed us the way! If you haven’t read her story yet I hope she’ll put up the link to her journal again. It’s inspirational!

I hope you will be right at home here! I know you will be a great asset!

Meanwhile, GREAT attitude, DeepPurpleMoon!

caspersmum

4:53 pm
15 Apr 16
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I find it astonishing that there isn’t the research on very obese people. There are plenty of things in the press about it all. I am pleased with my loss so far and am prepared for the long haul. I used to be unrealistic about what I can achieve with my weight loss and had visions of being a UK size 14 but now I’m aiming for just being healthier which for me is an improvement. Thanks for all your encouragement everyone.

Buttonboots

5:33 pm
15 Apr 16
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I think Dicke Milch may be a bit like kefir…I’m guessing that most cultures have developed some sort of similar milk product!

In the ‘good’ old days, there was no need to add anything. You just left the milk out (covered with clean cloth to keep flies et.c away) and later you would find the natural bacteria in the milk had gone to work….but of course this was done with unpasteurised (sometimes called ‘raw’ or ‘green’ ) milk – which is nigh-on impossible to get outside of a farm in the UK!….Mixing a little buttermilk into your milk helps, but failing that you can use the deliberate-souring method I mentioned using for curd cheese (you heat the milk and add a mild acid) – you just need to work on the proportions with that!

It really saddens me that we are bringing up a generation of children (not just in the UK, it is apparent everywhere!) who have no idea of what I see as ‘basic’ cookery…..There is such joy to me in making good, simple food…a bowl of home made soup with a slab of home made bread slathered with home made soft cheese – life doesn’t get much better!…..And education in food, cookery and nutrition would be the best start in dealing with the obesity crisis. …obviously a knowledge/love of food is not enough (look at me….I love food, am a competent cook – when disability permits!, and know plenty about nutrition….and still ended up morbidly obese…..just ‘obese’ now and working my way steadily towards ‘overweight’!…and then we can start looking at what will be ‘normal’ for me!)

NorthernGal

6:01 pm
15 Apr 16
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LOL LA!
Thanks DPM. What a great attitude as well. 20 x 5 sounds very manageable broken down like that.
Completely agree BB

LA Chubster

6:11 pm
15 Apr 16
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I’m not saying there isn’t *any*, caspersmum. There may be. What I’m saying is that Dr. Varady, who is the only person I know how to contact, would *like* to design such a research project but hasn’t been able to get it funded. And I was only discussing what I know for fact. A very limited store of information! 😏

That’s the way it works in the US. Scientists have to get funded and their ability to get funded has a lot to do with how it can, eventually, get monetized. But how do you monetize a diet that doesn’t rely on selling specialized food or membership fees or equipment or even the books? All I needed to get started evolving my own program was the BBC documentary.

Meanwhile, the opportunities to make money selling conventional diets, reparative medicine and *hope* to obese people are legion. So why rock the boat. I’m sure you know what I mean.

The other question that I’d *love* to know the answer to is when kids might follow some variation on intermittent fasting and what that variation might be like so that they can avoid overtaxing their metabolisms and setting up dysfunctional body responses in the first place. Dr. Mosley’s original inquiry as I understand it — never bought the books; just watched his doc — was on diabetes and longevity and diverted to intermittent fasting when it became clear that it was important for longevity and optimal function.

Certainly, no one’s going to be comfortable depriving growing kids of food! But somewhere along the line to our maturity some period of reduced consumption at least is very beneficial so why deprive them of that prematurely? …whenever “prematurely” may be. ::shrug:: So hard to know what to do when you want the best for your kids and grandkids — especially if you’re aware of possible genetic disadvantages and the pain of a life of obesity. 😖

DeepPurpleMoon

6:28 pm
15 Apr 16
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LA…about kids and food…I worry about this a lot too…I was raised with set meal times, food rewards, and praise for ‘cleaning my plate’. I don’t know if my disordered eating is due to any of these things, but I worry about it with my kid. I don’t force things with her. We pretty much let her tell us when she’s hungry, and then offer her choices that we approve of…for instance, we don’t let her have chocolate when she’s hungry, but if she’d rather have eggs than chicken, or bananas rather than strawberries, we let her. Sometimes she just wants a piece of toast, so I make her whole grain toast, at least. I never force her to eat or yell at her for not eating. I don’t know if this will hurt her or help her in the long run, honestly, but my goal is to help her (and myself) get in tune with her body.

LA Chubster

6:40 pm
15 Apr 16
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Well done, DeepPurpleMoon, and I guess we have to hope there’s lots more info for them to avail themselves of and take advantage of as they hit their teens and young adulthood.

NorthernGal

7:20 pm
15 Apr 16
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So true about research and funding LA. There is no money to be made from this diet directly so it’s not happening. Newspaper headlines were screaming that by 2026 20% of the global population will be obese (and we all understand how detrimental that is both physically and mentally). And yet the UK government is still spouting the same old s**t about what a healthy diet is. My own GPs practice has the standard image up of what a plate of food should look like. The carbs on there are suitable for a hard manual labourer but no wonder the rest of the population are becoming overweight with that kind of nonsense. Sorry about the rant!!

caspersmum

8:45 pm
15 Apr 16
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All you get from our GP practice is you need to lose weight. I find eating carbs slows down my weight loss. Added to that is that I have Coeliac’s disease and gluten free products have more calories because they have extra suger and fat to add flavour that’s missing from having no gluten. I eat very little bread etc now. Everyone’s different so a standard diet doesn’t suit everyone.

NorthernGal

6:27 am
16 Apr 16
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DPM I’m also so aware of what my son eats. I grew up with a major sweet tooth and biscuits as rewards. My partner had biscuits once in a blue moon as a kid and as a consequence when he met me he never ate anything sweet. Because of this we’ve never given our son any refined sugar (except what’s in baked beans, I really should make my own). I know it sounds extreme and generally I don’t tell people because the response is “poor thing, doesn’t get sugar”. Our little fella has a great diet and I trust his ability to choose his own food immensely. His taste buds are unbelievably well tuned and I’m sure it’s because he’s only had home made, sugar free food and mummy milk. If he’s got a cold he’ll ask for berries and orange juice until he’s better. He knows just by picking a piece of fruit up if it’s good or not. He won’t eat a strawberry or other berry because “it’s not good” before he’s even tried. They always look fine so we always used to say “there’s nothing wrong with it” and eat it ourselves. But he was always right and we’d end up spitting it out. Now we trust him and just throw it away. We’ve found sugar free, dairy free ice cream (cow’s makes him vomit) so he can have treats and also Nakd bars are fantastic if anyone else has ever tried these? Sugar free, gluten free, raw bars. Mainly dates so high in natural sugar but dates are jam packed with minerals. Plus we make sugar free cakes on occasions. He is also a suspected Coeliac. His paediatrician wants him tested but that means eating gluten which wakes him with tummy pain every single hour at night so not really able to cope with that. Maybe he’ll just grow out of it as he gets older. In the meantime it means that he gets a much more varied diet with homemade gluten free, sugar free bread (so easy in the bread machine and delicious like Irish soda bread) and lots of quinoa, buckwheat and millet mixed which he loves. Sorry for the long post but it makes me sad to see kids eating so much crap. What age were you diagnosed Coeliac caspersmum?

MmeMonkey

8:32 am
16 Apr 16
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Well done on an amazing weightloss, NorthernGal. Shows holidays don’t have to be derailing.

And thanks to everyone else for your kind words. This thread is really helpful. It’s so good to be able to interact with people in the same ballpark as me, not the “I’m nine stone and want to be eight stone” mob (not that there’s anything wrong with them and I wish them well, but their experience is different.

Last night we went out for posh steak (LCHF!!) and both decided we really couldn’t face dessert. Not sure we would have done that four months ago.

Anyway, off to New York later today so I need to get packing. Happy fasting everyone! I wish you all good weekends. 🙂🙂🙂

caspersmum

12:52 pm
16 Apr 16
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My children had sweets on Saturdays as a treat. I think they enjoyed them more because it was special to have them. No fizzy drinks either. Now my daughters let my grandchildren have these things but only occasionally. One of them was born allergic to the milk protein, dairy free is also very difficult. The problem with diagnosing Coeliac’s is you need to eat normally or the test wont be positive but in the long term it will be better for your son. I’ve only been diagnosed for 2 years. Had gastric problems for a while,then weight loss and vitamin deficiencies. Doc thought I had Pancreatic cancer at first as I was so unwell. I was so shocked but very relieved. I’m 61 yr’s old and I’m told it affects you very young or when your older. It is an auto-immune disease and I’m afraid you don’t grow out of it.
I cook gluten free but don’t bake much for me. With my excess weight I don’t need it. I find alcohol piles weight on me. Don’t really drink now except when on holiday.Had a week away in Italy. Because I’m gluten free I mostly ate grilled meat, vegetables and fruit but I did drink. Thinking Id been quite good with my food choice got on the scales and Id gained 6 lbs, my heart sank. It must have been the alcohol. I was very down for 24 hrs but now I’ve got back on track and have lost 3 lbs of my gain, Yay me.

DeepPurpleMoon

2:45 pm
16 Apr 16
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NG and caspersmum…it’s hard to deal with the people who are all ‘poor deprived child!!’ when you tell them you don’t allow you child 24/7 avess to sweets…it’s great to meet parents who feel the same.

Louisiana, and particularly New Orleans, is known for fatty, rich, and fried food…it’s a difficult environment to lose weight in.

Sadly, I’ve found wherever I am in the US, if I go to a dr. with any ailment at all…they will usually tell me to lose weight without investigating further. Yet they all have the dreaded carb-laden plate on the wall as an example of balanced eating.

caspersmum

4:01 pm
16 Apr 16
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Yes your right, DR’s do judge you on sight. I have a great blood pressure, low cholesterol and a normal blood suger. Yes I have a knee problem but my neighbour who’s very slim has just had a knee replacement and its not his weight. Not everyone overeats because their greedy. I started comfort eating during a difficult time in my life. Now when I’m angry or upset the urge the eat is very strong. It’s a struggle but I’m trying very hard to be positive. If DR’s understood the emotional side of eating better they would have more success.

Lolly_

4:02 pm
16 Apr 16
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I absolutely agree that it’s a different experience when you need to lose a very large amount of weight. Being able to connect in this thread with others who do is a godsend.

I find the discussion on sweets in childhood interesting. I was brought up to normal and regular meals. Good, home-cooked food. No junk food. My mother did an excellent job. But some of my earliest memories were of blissing out with something sweet. I think it was IN me from the start. Diabetes is in my family and with the latest research on insulin resistance and weight gain, this makes a lot more sense to me now.

Environment is hugely important, but some children are more susceptible than others to various things. Well done to all you mothers for being aware and trying to work out the best way for each child.

Happy Birthday and have a fab trip, MmeM!

NorthernGal

5:14 pm
16 Apr 16
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Well done CM for losing 3lbs of holiday gain and not letting it put you off!! That’s fantastic. Very interesting about your symptoms before diagnosis. You must have been really worried. I think more and more people are being diagnosed as a Coeliac. I actually think my dad was probably an undiagnosed Coeliac when he died. I know you can’t grow out of it but I’m kind of clutching on to straws that my little fella just has an allergy rather than Coeliacs which he may grow out of (though in my heart I don’t think so). He’s a really terrible sleeper and as he gets a little older and hopefully sleeps better (please please please let him sleep better!!!) we’ll introduce gluten again and get him tested.

Lolly I completely agree. I think genetics play a huge part too and some of us are definitely more susceptible than others, regardless of our childhood diet.

DeepPurpleMoon

5:56 pm
16 Apr 16
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I agree that genetics definitely predetermine things about us from the start. I guess my biggest concern with my daughter is that she knows she is loved unconditionally…whatever her “things” happen to be. My parents meant well, but when I was 10, they offered me $100 (a HUGE sum of money to a kid) if I could lose 10 pounds. I failed of course, and ever since then I perceive them to be more approving of me when I am thin. It has not done me any favors.

DeepPurpleMoon

5:58 pm
16 Apr 16
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NG, I am crossing my fingers for your little guy.

Austrian

6:26 pm
16 Apr 16
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Now, first of all, congrats to you all, you seem to be flinging the lbs. away left and right. 🙂

Kids and food – I believe that even though most parents really want to “condition” their kids to make healthy choices regarding food, they have to compete with a toxic environment. Commercials/supermarket shelves/peer group starting at a certain age…they all present unhealthy food as alluringly as they can. And parents can’t keep their kids handcuffed to their own wrists.
I work at a school (on baby break now), and every noon I see the kids coming back for their afternoon lessons, and most of them come straight from the supermarket – I see eight graders carrying two liter bottles of coke; I see them cram crisps into their mouths; I see them eat whole bars of chooclate. This happens every school day- of course they could go and get a healtyh meal. They don’t. Crisps, coke and chocolate it is. It is horrendous to watch, really.

As long as obesity is treated as an individual problem (yes, they talk about the “obesity epidemic”, but the blame is on the individual and their “unhealthy choices”, their “lack of discipline”, their “irresponsibility”, really), the kids are frankly at the mercy of the food industry and the media. And these do NOT profit from the kids being healthy. They profit form the kids spending their pocket money on crisps, coke and chocolate – and this is precisely what they want them to do.
We need a political commitment to tackle obesity – and not by shaming overweight people – a tax on sugar,for instance, and that can only be the first step.

*ends rant, gets off soap box

speckles

1:40 pm
17 Apr 16
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I couldn’t agree more Austrian. I work in a shopping mall and every day hundreds of kids descend on the food court and walk away with bags of McDonalds or similar or just as bad go to the Juice bar and think they are being healthy.
The powers that be- if they really cared, would step in and teach nutrition as compulsory in the early years of high school to prevent the bad food choices our kids are making.
Thank heavens we didn’t have that choice when I was at school, but then again we didn’t have the pocket money that kids seem to have these days either. At school, the worst we could do was buy a meat pie once a week in winter.

DPM, I was also “bribed” as a teenager and really took offence to it. It said to me that I wasn’t good enough as I was and they had to pay me to like me. Sad isn’t it but I now understand that was not what they meant and the idea was conceived out of the goodness of their hearts.

LA, you asked about my “cleanse days” and for me it is what we mostly call fast day but I take more care with a holistic approach. I take the time to meditate and to cleanse my energy and this is often when emotional stuff comes up, so I allow myself the time to address it or at least acknowledge it. So much of what we do is emotionally triggered and I am trying to work my way through the issues that I have ignored previously.

I have learned that even though I may have lost weight in the past if I haven’t dealt with the issues that allowed me (and encouraged me) to put on the weight to start with, it will just go back on. So in my determination that I will never be this size again, I am pulling out all stops and doing my best to release the hurt, the resentment, the grief and anything else that is keeping those fat cells stuck to my body.

I have been fortunate in that after studying aromatherapy, this put me on the path to metaphysics and parapsychology and I have taught meditation and spiritual development in the past. A lot of this involved soul searching but it became a bit too much and I put it aside a while ago but now I am ready to pick up the pieces and continue where I left off.

Enough from me for the night.

off to bed to send some more fat cells packing while I sleep.

Lolly_

2:33 pm
17 Apr 16
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Speckles, you have put your finger on something very important when you talk about releasing emotional issues.

We will have the most success if we can take a holistic approach to ourselves and weight loss. We can’t just look at weight loss or anything else in isolation — all of our parts are affected by what we do. I was using food to keep inner pain at bay, and the weight was a symptom — until it became a whole problem unto itself. Dealing with those issues last year paved the way for being able to tackle the weight now with calmness and real joy in my progress.

I no longer fear losing weight. I know that sounds a bit odd, but the “before” me did fear that. Who would I be? What would people expect of me? How long could I hold on by my fingernails until I let go again? And how could I manage without treats?

Be kind to yourselves. We do what we can when we are ready. I wish you all the joy of that readiness!

Buttonboots

3:51 pm
17 Apr 16
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Afternoon!…..I had a stay-the-same week this week….which I am managing to see as positive!

I have promised myself a slightly more expensive lipstick for my next mini-reward – which is between 2 and 3 pounds away!…So I have that to focus on! I WILL get to buy and wear that new lippy! (Due to skin conditions I can’t wear any make-up except for lipsticks – so I make the most of them!)

One of the big ‘break through’ moments for me, was the first time I packed up a bag of too-big clothes for the charity shop – previously I would keep big clothes in the wardrobe for when I put the weight back on again!….Being able to give up the big clothes was an acceptance that the weight I have lost is NOT coming back!

LA Chubster

4:14 pm
17 Apr 16
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How wonderful all the way around, Buttonboots! Turning your good fortune (and diligent work!) into someone else’s opportunity sounds so much like you!

DeepPurpleMoon

5:06 pm
17 Apr 16
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Speckled…I love the idea of treating the fast day as a cleanse day! I may borrow that.

Buttonboots…a new lipstick is going to be my treat for the first 5 pounds lost…makeup is a great motivator for me!

She-Ra

8:19 pm
17 Apr 16
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Hi All, I have been reading quite a lot of your posts and I find them very interesting and motivating i.e children and healthy eating, loose skin, cleansing days … Would you please accept me into this group. I am 5ft 7 and have at least 4 stone to lose.

Lolly_

8:45 pm
17 Apr 16
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Welcome, She-Ra! Wishing you all possible success with IF. 🙂

DeepPurpleMoon

10:29 pm
17 Apr 16
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She-ra…love the name!!

NorthernGal

5:52 am
18 Apr 16
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Welcome She-ra. I too love the name. Made me smile ☺ Wishing you all the best with fasting

NorthernGal

5:54 am
18 Apr 16
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The emoticon I added wasn’t that one – it’s added my rosacea in the cheeky beggar!!

No_stopping_me_now

6:13 am
18 Apr 16
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Well done CM on 3lb loss!

I have done my end of 2 week weigh in and lost 5lbs this week bringing my total to 11lbs. I’m happy with that as it’s a fasting day today and I hope to see the numbers fall again.

Lost 2inches off my thighs (in 3 weeks) which was my main wake up call to start the 5:2 again. I *should* now be fine to go on my walk on Sunday however would like to lose another 1/2 inch to be on the safe side but feeling positive

Lisa57

7:55 am
18 Apr 16
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Morning everyone – new and old
Loving this thread at the moment and am cheering everyone on from the sidelines. Just some of the things that resonated with me – ButtonBoots: absolutely agree that my first ruthless clothes clear out was a big step. No more “just in case” mentality for keeping them. You continue to inspire me. DeepPurpleMoon: If you don’t mind I think I will adopt your 5×20 idea. Scales this week have stayed the same so plodding on…..

NorthernGal

8:06 am
18 Apr 16
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NSMN that is amazing news!!! Well done!

DeepPurpleMoon

4:19 pm
18 Apr 16
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1 ‘official’ weigh-in…5.5 pounds gone! I saw a 7 lb. loss when I weighed on Saturday, which is insane, but I think last night’s dinner was on the salty side. Still…who am I to complain?! Even with the known water-weight factor in the first week of any diet…I’ve never seen a 5 lb. difference! I only lost 9 lbs. total in one whole month of doing the Whole 30!

Needless to say, I’m going to stick with this a while. Now I only have to lose 5 pounds 19 more times!!

Hope everyone had/is having a great Monday 🙂

Lolly_

6:47 pm
18 Apr 16
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Congratulations to DeepPurpleMoon, No_stopping_me_now, and caspersmum! You must all be so thrilled to see this working for you.

I’m rooting for you and your new lippy, Buttonboots!

I woke up this morning not feeling great for the first time in a month but realised that I’d had a very salty day yesterday and I was just thirsty. Two glasses of water and I bounced right back. Note to self: not so much salt, and don’t forget to hydrate!

It’s a revelation to actually be able to feel what’s going on in my body after so many years of disconnect.

Austrian

6:57 pm
18 Apr 16
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Seeing that someone has posted something new on this thread actually makes me smile, because it’s sure to be good news, wise thoughts, thought-provoking discussions, or just friendly and uplifting chatting.

Thank you all and have a lovely evening.

LA Chubster

10:37 pm
18 Apr 16
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I have not been doing a very good job of keeping up here but I do read this thread and I am really stoked by the pounds that are disappearing. It makes it especially rewarding knowing how many times we have tried and given up.

I am so PROUD of all of you!!!

Skyblue69

10:54 am
19 Apr 16
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Morning everyone! Sorry I’ve been missing in action for a few days but have just read through the new posts and wanted to stop by and say welcome to caspersmum and She-ra! Wow some amazing losses I’ve just read about – well done NSMN, DPM and caspersmum, absolutely fantastic well done all of you!

Buttonboots it must have been a wonderful feeling sending all those clothes to the charity shop I can’t wait to do that!

Everyone seems to be doing amazingly well keep up the good work everyone!!

SB

speckles

2:05 pm
19 Apr 16
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Buttonboots, I did the opposite. I have had a bag of “too small clothes” in the car waiting to get to the charity shop and they must have been there over a year.
Every time I have gone there the bins have been full so I brought my clothes back to the car rather than them ending up in the garbage. Now, I have brought them back inside and this last weekend re-washed, Ironed and hung them waiting for the kgs to disappear.
I don’t want to buy new clothes till I am at a comfortable weight so these can make do until then. (then they can go again to the charity shop.)

I have had a very difficult couple of days with a friend in hospital. She un-internally overdosed on pain killers and was rushed to hospital but it turns out (much to my surprise) that she is an alcoholic with severe liver disease.
So the trip to hospital was a blessing in disguise but she doesn’t understand the medical mumbo jumbo so I stayed with her throughout the ordeal. Alas, she refused to go to rehabilitation, saying she can do it herself, So I will need to keep a sharp eye on her. It does explain a number of things about her behaviour though.

Needless to say my Cleansing days didn’t happen but I can live with that as some things cant wait while others can.

I release any excess fat cells that no longer serve me. Night all.( or good morning)

DeepPurpleMoon

4:10 pm
19 Apr 16
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Question for you all…do any of you concentrate on the High-Fat, Low-Carb way of eating that seems to be all the rage in some circles?

Have you seen this website: DietDoctor.com? It’s a lot of info/how-to videos/success stories by a Swedish physician who promotes High-Fat, Low-Carb eating…lots of times along with Intermittent Fasting…he mentions 5:2 specifically.

Just wondering if you guys have any thoughts on that…

LA Chubster

4:28 pm
19 Apr 16
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speckles, so sorry you and your friend are going through this.

I remember many years ago when a friend of mine was in the same place. Keep in mind that you can be there for her but there isn’t much that will happen until she decides that she’s had enough. My friend finally went to Alcoholics Anonymous. As much as I would have liked to be the one to help her they were the folks who really could. Once she entered that community she was drawn in a different direction but she was a healthier person and that’s a wonderful thing!

I’m happy to say she was able to save her marriage and has been sober for more than 30 years.

As for the psychosomatic roots of weight, I’m all for attacking well-being on every front but I wonder how many of us set ourselves up for frustration by thinking we can “think” or “feel” ourselves through this. Surely, intellect and consciousness are involved in *everything* we do and are important assets. But I think with weight, specifically, a lot more of it may be the physiology of our guts than we realize.

There is more and more research that indicates that the floral population of our intestines may not only effect how we metabolize food but what foods we feel compelled to eat. Hint: bad gut flora = bad food choices; good gut flora = good food choices. The good news about this is that we can *choose* to cut off the foods that promote a negative biome like refined grains and sugar so that those bacteria are starved out and increase our consumption of foods high in probiotics such as fermented foods like yogurt. There may be a certain amount of white-knuckling at the outset fighting those cravings but it’s *amazing* how easy it gets once you change that biome!!!

I’ve been on IF for four months, taking a probiotic supplement, and I have seen a complete turnaround in my attitudes about food. I’m amazed how much easier it is to stick to my food regimen but also to prefer better foods and to *want* to move. I delight in being able to indulge my pleasure in making foods that I wouldn’t dream of eating like bread and chocolate. …and not even being tempted by them

You have a wonderful approach and I have no doubt you have great peace and well-being in your life but I just don’t want others to overlook the purely physiological which is well within our power to change right away.

Skyblue69

9:27 am
20 Apr 16
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Oh Speckles what a horrid few days you’ve had. As LA says all you can do is be there for her. I wish you both all the best.

DPM, yes there are a few here on this forum who follow a low carb way of eating as well as IF. Myself and my hubby are half way through our second week of trying this way of eating out (as well as fasting twice a week). Last week I lost 4lbs and hubby lost 3lbs. I think we might stick to it for a little while yet and see how it goes. I’ve been looking at the Diet Doctor website, it makes a lot of sense! And we have followed some of the recipes on there too.

caspersmum

11:53 am
20 Apr 16
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Any addiction is a terrible thing and most addicts hide it very well in the beginning. Good luck to Speckles friend.
After several months on IF and a decent weight loss the eating compulsion still happens occasionally but I seem to be able to ignore it mostly. As for the gut flora aspect I have also seen some research about its affect on our cravings. My dietitian has said to me try a daily pro-biotic supplement for my Coeliac’s but maybe it will help the cravings as well. Will give it a try.

speckles

3:16 pm
20 Apr 16
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LA, you are quite right. It really needs to be a tri pronged approach (or even more) with diet, releasing emotional blockages and treating the symptoms that encourage weight gain such as “gut flora”. I suppose that everything in balance.
I just know that for me in the past I have lost weight only to find myself in a mental and emotional space where I was not comfortable with my new body. So of course I allowed myself to get fat again and I have come to realise that the excess fat is a barrier for me against situations in life that are uncomfortable.
So while I talk about the emotional issues, FOR ME, it is because that is the biggest hurdle to crack. I know I can reduce my weight and have a good figure as I have done it in the past. I just wasn’t comfortable looking “attractive” (with a very large bust) and I do want to be. (without the very large bust)

I also know that I have to put the hard yards in with diet and that the KG wont magically disappear once I release my fears. I am just paving the way for a sustained release of weight I suppose.

Like you I take pro-biotics daily and am having low carb but not no carb except on Cleansing days. I still crave bread but I haven’t had any in a couple of months now, except for the Hot Cross buns at Easter. I do have the occasional chocolate but berries are my treat of choice.

Thanks ladies for you support with my friend. I am praying she will go to AA and counselling but I realise it has to be her choosing not mine or anyone else’s. All I can do is support her.

I release any excess fat cells that no longer serve me. Night all!

DeepPurpleMoon

3:48 pm
20 Apr 16
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Speckles…’paving the way for a sustained release of weight’…you really have a way with words! That really resonates. You’re a strong person to be able to love your friend and still allow her to walk her path as she chooses…not a lot of people are able to do that.

Caspersmum…good luck with the probiotic supplement…I just started my daughter on one (no diagnosed coeliac’s but lots of stomach troubles) and she’s responding really well…her appetite even went up a bit.

Lolly_

4:00 pm
20 Apr 16
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How grateful I am that we can all use this forum in our own ways to achieve success, and support each other as we go. A weight loss journey is such a personal thing, and not everyone will have the same issues or needs. Personally, I have a calm conviction that I have found the right place at the right time, and that a balance of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing will serve me best because that’s what I need to be healthy.

This week, I happily dismiss another unwanted 1.5 lbs.

LA Chubster

4:00 pm
20 Apr 16
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I hear ya about the boobs, speckles. I’m also short but I went from a training bra to pneumatic before I even hit high school. I am just about to buy a smaller size bra but my girls will still need the double Ds :: sigh :: so I know how that feels.

This morning I put on my workout gear. A top I bought just a month ago doesn’t have to stretch over my belly this morning. That’s the other spot that I most need to reduce. I know those 2 will take the longest but I see progress!

Hoping a probiotic helps your daughter, DPM. My b-i-l had celiac as a child but, despite what I’ve read here recently on a number of threads, it was a nightmare for my m-i-l but he managed it through his teens — mostly by eating NOTHING but bananas, toast, pizza, hamburgers and Pepsi 😨 — and now isn’t bothered by it at all. in addition to probiotic supplements there are a number of fermented foods that are also high in probiotics. http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/probiotic-foods/

Wishing you all a happy 4/20!

LA Chubster

4:09 pm
20 Apr 16
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Well said, Lolly! And well done too!!!

Skyblue69

7:59 am
21 Apr 16
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Morning all. Yep I’m also with you both on the boobs Speckles and LA. Hubby once said one of my bras looked like ‘hanging baskets’!!!!

Lolly what a lovely post. I agree with you wholeheartedly! And congratulations of releasing another 1.5lbs!!! Good riddance to those!!

Have a lovely day all!

fitandfab

10:45 am
21 Apr 16
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Hi all, I too am a big girl, have been, on and off since babies – usual story I guess. I am in week 15 of 5:2 fasting and sticking to it pretty well. Trouble is the weight is very slow to move. I have only lost 13 lbs in all that time. But here is my current thinking everyone – if the weight is slow to come off, it is possibly because on my non-fast days I am eating normally, which for me is not bingeing but maybe eating more than my body needs. Three times in my life I have lost over 6 stones and put it all back on because diets always finish, don’t they and then you are back to where you started. So, I figure that if the weight is slow to come off and you can eat ‘normally’ on eating days, then it will be much easier to keep it off once you are down to goal weight because eating days are no different from what they always were but you have the tool of fasting maybe one day a week to keep it off. What does everyone think about this theory? Or am I just plain nuts!! Cheers all you nice people.