J2's Diary...Again

Back yet again for what I think is my third restart. Every other one has been short lived with the diary being abandoned after about a week. It's now make or break. I'm on the edge of doing irreversible damage and never ever losing the weight. I am now heavier than when I started the first time, my work uniform is tight and life is generally rubbish.

Short Term Target: Lose 5 stone 4 pounds by Christmas
Mid Term Target: Lose 8 stone 4 pounds
Long Term Target: Lose 11 stone 4 pounds


Philosophy:

I don't believe in clean and green. Low carb food is naturally high in micro nutrients so as long as I hit RDAs of vitamins/minerals I don't care where they come from!


Strategy:

Maximum 1800 calories per day
Minimum 100g protein
Maximum 30g carbs per day (Occasionally I will go to 50g if I feel it is needed to avoid coming off the diet)


Weigh in is on Monday morning each week. I don't know if anyone will ever read this...but time to get started.

J2BLUE said:

Back yet again for what I think is my third restart. Every other one has been short lived with the diary being abandoned after about a week. It's now make or break. I'm on the edge of doing irreversible damage and never ever losing the weight. I am now heavier than when I started the first time, my work uniform is tight and life is generally rubbish.

Short Term Target: Lose 5 stone 4 pounds by Christmas
Mid Term Target: Lose 8 stone 4 pounds
Long Term Target: Lose 11 stone 4 pounds

Philosophy:

I don't believe in clean and green. Low carb food is naturally high in micro nutrients so as long as I hit RDAs of vitamins/minerals I don't care where they come from!

Strategy:

Maximum 1800 calories per day
Minimum 100g protein
Maximum 30g carbs per day (Occasionally I will go to 50g if I feel it is needed to avoid coming off the diet)

Weigh in is on Monday morning each week. I don't know if anyone will ever read this...but time to get started.

Click to expand...

Hello!

I wouldn't completely knock clean and green, I wasn't so sure at one point.... I think if you are losing as is stick to it, if not give it a go

Keep popping by, lots of lovely people here, very supportive

We're reading J2, don't worry, and we're behind you 100%! Good luck!

Do you think 5st weight loss by Christmas do-able tho, quite a lot to lose in 5 months, a stone a month (20 weeks left, 3.5 lb a week)?

I'm don't mean to sound negative and that you can't do it, I believe the human spirit can achieve ANYTHING it sets it's heart out to do. But, I have recently changed my thinking to slow and steady which has given more confidence and assurance to go on (only 5 days in, mind).

I'm just saying as I've set myself unachievable targets (over and over) and dropped out (over and over) when not been able to achieve it, even early on. I'm not saying that yours are unachievable, everyone is different, just something to consider?

I wish you every bit of luck, sorry for the essay!

Hi there J2, I'm sure you'll see some good losses. Don't know if you can try some clean green day - you never know you may like them x.

Good luck on your journey x.

Hi James and welcome back

I'm back on induction this week too so we can help each other out - along with everyone else - they are all so supportive.

As Teeney says, don't knock clean and green altogether, Jim swears by that approach for his incredible weight loss - I guess try one thing and it doesn't work, maybe give C&G a go?

All the best

Susie

Thanks for the replies all, forgot all about this thread...mainly because I haven't been sticking to it. Atkins that is, not a diet. I've lost a staggering 3 pounds. Which at my size is like taking a glass of water out of the ocean; but a journey starts with the first step and all that.

I am absolutely sick of my life. I have a rubbish job wearing a uniform that is too tight. I have no social life, no girlfriend and quite honestly, right now, no hope. Not looking for sympathy so please don't give me any It's up to me to change. Right now...I wish I could bottle the utter frustration and anger I feel right now. If I could, I could stick to the diet easily until goal.

Here we go, starting Atkins right now, will provide daily updates from now on. Menu plans and if you're especially unlucky, some daily thoughts which I will try and keep as expletive free as possible.

Next weigh in Monday. Now off to go and kick something.

Well, hopefully you didn't hurt your foot or break the thing you kicked?!

I know how you feel from the perspective of uniform being too tight and you are absolutely right, you, and only you, can change that fact!

In my case, I honestly believed I had a food addiction, I just couldn't stop putting food in my mouth. Since ketosis has kicked in I feel better able to control my eating and no need for secret eating and binges. I can decline freshly prepared cakes and scones. I now sometimes don't finish what's on my plate.

If you can get through that first week or so and hit ketosis, you'll be able to stick to it better and it'll give you the new start you need! Good luck! x

AtkinsFTW said:

Well, hopefully you didn't hurt your foot or break the thing you kicked?!

I know how you feel from the perspective of uniform being too tight and you are absolutely right, you, and only you, can change that fact!

In my case, I honestly believed I had a food addiction, I just couldn't stop putting food in my mouth. Since ketosis has kicked in I feel better able to control my eating and no need for secret eating and binges. I can decline freshly prepared cakes and scones. I now sometimes don't finish what's on my plate.

If you can get through that first week or so and hit ketosis, you'll be able to stick to it better and it'll give you the new start you need! Good luck! x

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Didn't hurt my foot, thankfully cats are quite soft...joke, joke

Thanks for the reply. Thankfully I slip in and out of ketosis quite easily. The first time I did Atkins, I took to it easily. Since I regained the weight I have struggled to maintain any diet but i'm quietly confident that it will be different this time. Got a lot of anger and frustration to hopefully fuel me to keep going.

Today's menu:



Few comments on the menu:

1) It's cheese heavy, I realise that but cheese is extremely nutritious and I think Atkins only limits it because it is very calorie dense. Counting calories removes the issue as far as i'm concerned.
2) I count calories because it is proven beyond all doubt (in my opinion) that calories do matter.
3) There's a lack of veg but that will be changed. I need to go shopping but the Premier League starts today and a man has to prioritise.
4) 2 mini cod liver oil capsules are less than 1g of fat which I have had counted as 9 kcals. I had these in my fridge and I thought for 9 kcals I might as well get a small hit of omega 3 and ensure 100% RDA of vitamins A and D.

Good to hear on the veg front, I've got a yummy broccoli and spinach bake that's really easy to make, if you want it - for a day when the Premier League isn't on, naturally

Another good way to get your veg down is to make a green smoothie

Morning and welcome, you sound so focused and have really thought this through, if the going gets though at any time go back and read your first post and you will get your motivation back.

Thanks people

Today's menu:


The salad and veg will start once i'm in ketosis...

I don't know where this sudden motivation has come from but i'm incredibly fired up at the moment. I just don't want to accept my life any more and i'm going to fight so hard to get to where I want to be. I can close my eyes and remember how it felt to be 18 stone down from 25 stone. I didn't realise it at the time but in hindsight I was 'there'. Obviously 18 stone isn't actually 'there' but it felt like it. My confidence increased, I could buy off the peg, I got a decent job and looking back at how I looked compared to now I could cry quite easily. I won't though...lol. I never knew what I had until it was gone. at 26 stone you feel like a beached whale. At 18 stone you just feel like a 'well built' man and i've always been able to carry a couple of extra stone.

I have 1465 days until I am 30. I can't get to 30 and still be here, or worse, heavier. I just won't allow it. It's VERY ambitious but my target is to be 23 stone something by the time I go back to work after 9 days off on the 10th September. It's not unusual for people of my size to lose massive amounts in first few weeks and I will exercise heavily. Tomorrow I hope to be in 25s.

The fight is on. I'm so sick of worrying about everything, about having every achievement in my mind being divided by 10 because i've never won this battle or having every mistake feel like it is magnified by 10 because i'm this size. I'm not doing it any more. I'm getting back to where I was and then i'm going on to claim everything i've ever wanted.

Excuse my language but the thought of getting to 30 and not having achieved anything scares the living sh1t out of me.

Morning, great motivational post, you will do it.

Well, you certainly have the right attitude to achieve your goal, good luck, you can do it!

Thanks for listening to my ramblings I'm now 10.5 pounds down from when I began some sort of diet. Hoping that my losses will pick up now i'm fully on Atkins. Loving it so far. Officially in ketosis now as well

Today:



You're going to see a lot of those burgers. Often I don't leave off until 6 and they are very quick and easy. I will make more effort to be a bit more adventurous on Sundays/days off.

My menu is still cheese heavy but I don't really care. It provides great protein including casein which keeps you fuller longer and contains loads of vitamins and minerals. Today until 18.30 I had only 416 calories of cheese. Imagine if I had a croissant and jam. I'd have been hungry about 10am. This is definitely the diet for me.

Well done James, you are doing brilliantly!

Thanks! And thanks for reading


Time for a bit of honesty lol, i'm not going to add significant amounts of veg in any time soon...I know, I know, Jim says clean and green and Atkins himself said we should be eating it but i've been tracking my vitamins/minerals and finding i'm hitting every nutrient adequately. That isn't the main reason though. Last time I did Atkins, I said I thought adding in veg slowed weight loss and a few people agreed with me so I don't think it was just me being daft. I will continue to keep an eye on my nutritional values and last time I did Atkins I did it very similar (within 20g carbs) values and my skin cleared up 100% and I never looked or felt healthier. So there we have it, i've been honest, and fully intend to add in significant veg once i've got a nice kick start.

Another thing I now believe (the evidence is overwhelming in my opinion) is that low carb with 50g carbs is as effective as low carb with 20g or less as long as calorie levels remain the same. I have read a hell of a lot in the last year and Lyle McDonand and Anthony Colpo really destroy the argument that the lower the carbs the more weight you lose. It's only my opinion so I could be wrong but I agree with them. McDonald is a fanatic about details and really does read every study going. Colpo also cites masses of studies in support of this theory and although he does have a couple of books out (one fits the low carb idea that saturated fat is nothing to do with cholesterol) he doesn't seem to be attacking low carb to sell books. His sources and evidence is very hard to argue with and he has a free 100 page ebook which destroys the metabolic advantage theory and can be found here > http://www.thefatlossbible.net/They_Are_All_Mad.pdf

Not trying to sway anyone to leave low carbing in favour of high carbing, I really believe that if more people did low carb they would be far more successful. It's just great for to know anything under 50g carbs you're going to be in ketosis and you're going to lose as much weight as if you were 0g carb. At least that is my impression, feel free to argue and prove me wrong! I'm still going to try and remain as close to 30g carbs per day as possible, but i'm going to follow Protein Power rules where you can have literally anything as long as you are within your carbs so if you see the odd slice of bread or bar of bourneville (26.5g carbs) etc I promise I won't be off the wagon!

Yesterday and today:



Nothing to report right now. Still motivated. Still angry.

Evening James

Great to see your menus. I'm not a fan of them tbh, I do like my leafy greens -= but if it works for you, then go for it!

Can I help on the anger front? Happy to be a nice old lady that you chat to

ha, thank you Just angry in general about where I am. It's good motivation really. I'm 26 tomorrow and i'm always miserable for several days before and on the day of my birthdays because it's yet another year wasted. Every time I promise myself that this is it, this is going to be the year. Next birthday I will be at goal etc etc. Frankly it's all rubbish. I am motivated right now. Every day it strengthens. I have so much to do it for. I really can't face it any more. I simply have to stick to it.

As for my menus, i'm surprised i'm not getting more stick for them I don't think anyone else is reading haha. The menus are what they need to be right now. Uncomplicated low carb food that tastes good and helps me hit my vitamin, mineral and protein targets. There is honestly far more nutrition there in terms of vitamins and minerals than you would think and I do take supplements which I will start listing to hopefully reassure people. Thanks for your comments though and my menus will get more healthy in terms of fruit and veg when i've got a bit of a kick start. It worked for me last time and it will again! I realise the value of plant foods and I will add them in for health soon but right now there is nothing I need physically and mentally as much as quick weight loss and this is the way there for now.

Thanks for reading. Oh and i'm sure you're not old!