Thread: Double Trouble...The Exante Duo!

Hmmnn, not really very pleased with this week's result. Despite being on plan all week, I have managed to gain half a pound!! Well it's really closer to a STS, but the way we round up/down on the scales has gone against me....
Last week I was 10st 7 and 5/8ths (gets rounded down to 10st 7.5)
This week I'm 10st 7 and 3/4s (gets rounded up to 10st 8)
Not really sure what's happened because I've been saintly since my night out last Saturday, but sometimes you can't explain these things. I haven't gone into total meltdown like I do sometimes following a bad result, but I'm a bit frustrated that my goal is STILL staying just out of my reach.

Onto better news, The Man is back on winning form, and has lost 4lbs this week! He says he's been taking things a little more seriously, and it's obviously paid off for him.

So today we have a dilemma - I'd bought a couple of Aldi sirloin steaks this week (£1 off their normal £3.75 price at the moment!) and I was hoping that we could allow ourselves a few extra calories to enjoy them tonight. Now I'm wondering whether that's wise given my poor result or whether I just just go with it. The calories and carbs of the meal are all calculated, and with everything else I'm planning to eat today, I'd be on about 1100 cals for the day rather than my normal 650. Surely that can't do enough to ruin another week's weight loss!!??

x

You no your doing the right things so keep at it.

Well it's taken me a little while to post this – I didn't get around to it on Sunday after the weigh in. In fact the day itself passed in a bit of a blur because.......drumroll please.......something unbelievable happened.....after all this time

I GOT TO GOAL!!!!!!

I really couldn't believe it to be honest (and still can't really!)....my mid week weigh in was a STS, and I didn't 'feel' any lighter, so I was totally unprepared and completely overwhelmed when I got onto the scales and saw 10st 4.5 looking back at me!!
I'm not ashamed to admit that I just stood there and cried for about five minutesafterwards. It felt like all the pressure of the last few weeks lifted off my shoulders...just to know that I've done it, I've finally got here after eleven years of dieting.... eleven years of losing and regaining massive amounts of weight, but never ever feeling the achievement of reaching a goal.

So after that, the day passed very quickly with a mix of celebration and reflection –firstly I celebrated with a nice cup of tea () and then we started taking some 'after' photos of me to mark the end of this part of my journey. First of all I got my biggest trousers out...the pair I wore back in 2001 when I was a size 28 (who should have really been wearing a size 30 if I'm honest). I'm so glad I kept them for all these years now...the photos we took are such a big visual reminder of the person I used to be, and they're quite funny too.

After that I got dressed in the outfit that means so much to me at the moment...the Topshop jeans that I spoke about here recently, and a jumper that I bought from Oasis on Saturday. Both from normal shops in average sizes (14). To me, they sum up the reason for this journey more than anything else. Just the feeling of blending in and not feeling restricted or self-conscious or awkward because of my size.
So I pictures taken in those clothes too, and then The Man put together a couple of photo montages which I'll post later if the file sizes aren't too big.

Despite not wanting to celebrate with food as such, we did have a special meal in the evening to mark the occasion. It wasn't an off-plan meal though, it was a calorie/carb counted steak with salad, garlic mushrooms and just a few home made oven baked chips. For desert we each had a meringue nest with a bit of Rolo ice cream on top (sounds very naughty but I only finished the day at 1100 kcals and roughly 90g of carbs in total)
My only real indulgence other than that was a glass of pink bubbly that I got from M&S the previous day (just a mini bottle)....well if you can't have a bit of fizz on the day you get to goal!


So now the hard work starts...I've been feeling very out-of-sorts this week so far...one minute I'm euphoric about meeting my goal, but the next I'm scared of what comes next – maintenance at this time of year is gonna be hard so I need a strategy.
I've decided that I'm not gonna worry about carbs too much. But I'm gonna stay between 650 and 1000 calories for the time being (kinda WS I suppose), in the hope that I'll lose a few more pounds to give me a Christmas buffer.
Then, on 10^th December or thereabouts I'm going to do JUDD/intermittent fasting. That's when my Christmas social stuff kicks off, so I need a plan that will keep me in check, whilst allowing me to give myself permission to enjoy these social occasions.

Or at least that's the plan....

So finally, I just want to say a BIG thank you to everyone who's posted in my diary, or helped me over the three years I've been on Minis – although I've never met any of you, I do consider you to be true friends. Without you, and all the support and information on Minis I don't think I would've ever done this.

Having said all this –I'm still going to be around all the time on here – I know this is where the hard part starts, so I'll need the support more than ever. I may move my diary though, because in honesty, I haven't used Exante products for months now (The Man does though). I choose a mix of S&S, Boossh, and normal healthy high protein/low carb food.

I just hope that I'm still here this time next year, marking my first year of maintenance!
Wish me luck, it's gonna be a rocky road I'm sure!!!

Love to you all

xxx

Just a few pictures for you....the second ones along show me at the very beginning in 2001, then at the beginning of Exante in September 2011, and finally now Hopefully they've uploaded properly!

An amazing well done Hun!!!!!!


I bet it feels like a dream sometimes!

I wish you all the best in the time coming up, and enjoy your new skinniness!!!!!!

Wow

Wow
Wow !
Dunno what to say really, i am so over the moon for you.
And those pics, its so amazing.

You are deffo MY inspiration

Keep in touch
And well done again
Xx

Well dne Alex, ur such an inspiration!

I remember frm whn u started bk in 2011. You look amazing.
Good luck with the maitenance

Thanks for your lovely comments everyone....it does still feel like a dream at the moment.
In fact I felt like a bit of a fraud adding the 'maintainer' badge to my profile....almost like I need to prove myself first! I did it anyway though, hopefully I'll stay strong enough for it to stay there!!!
x x

Hi Alex

having seen your success story thread I have just read through your diary. Omg, what a journey...massive congratulations to you and the man! I could relate to soooo many of the things you have written, esp with the fear of food/eating everything in site cycle. What makes you a success is that after these blips you have got back on track and continued to post, thats where many of us (especially me) go wrong.

Also thank you as reading your diary took my mind off food for a while

Hi Alex finally got round to your diary (after soo long) A big MASSIVE well done, so proud of you for what you have achieved and so jealous too haha. You must be feeling like your on cloud 9 right now. What a journey you have been on but you have done it now, and you have proven to us all it can be done.

You have done an absolutely amazing job, you should be very very proud of yourself!! Well done!! It has defo inspired me to get my act together starting today lol!! Somebody was already trying to sabotage me but I have said no and I mean no for the forseable future lol!! Keep us all uptodate on your journey you have been a fab ambasador to people who are struggling with weight issues!! Well done xx

Originally Posted by Bananas

Hi Alex

having seen your success story thread I have just read through your diary. Omg, what a journey...massive congratulations to you and the man! I could relate to soooo many of the things you have written, esp with the fear of food/eating everything in site cycle. What makes you a success is that after these blips you have got back on track and continued to post, thats where many of us (especially me) go wrong.

Also thank you as reading your diary took my mind off food for a while

Aw thanks for popping in! You must have some stamina to work your way through 30 pages of my ramblings! I do worry sometimes that people reading it in big chunks must think I'm a complete fruit loop! The last year has taken me on such a learning curve about myself and my relationship with food. Obviously the whole point of doing a VLCD was to lose weight quickly, but I didn't bargain for all the emotional ups and downs along the way....it's been worth every minute though, and hopefully the strategies I've been trying to put in place will help me when it comes to maintenence.

I think the main key for me has been not allowing myself to even entertain the idea of 'cheating' when I'm on-plan. I know I've been off-plan many times along the way, but they've all been planned breaks for specific reasons, rather than falls from the wagon. I've never started a day on plan, and then slipped and had a round of toast thinking 'I'll start again tomorrow'. I think if I'd done that once it would've been a slippery slope for me. Yes, there might have been the odd day where I might have had extra protein, or an extra half a bar or whatever, but I've never given myself permission to slip-up in other ways.
And on a slightly less positive note, my downfall has been my tenency to binge when I've been off-plan. I always buy far too many treats, or plan too many meals out/take aways when I'm not dieting. This often means that I find myself eating things that I'm not actually hungry for, just because I've planned them into my day.

Hopefully maintenance will help with that too - if I can just get around the fact that I am neither on, nor off a diet. I could have the food today, but it will still be available tomorrow....there shouldn't be the need to stuff everything in at once anymore...because this is just normal life now (or it will be when I get my head around it!)

Originally Posted by Rachgleeson

Hi Alex finally got round to your diary (after soo long) A big MASSIVE well done, so proud of you for what you have achieved and so jealous too haha. You must be feeling like your on cloud 9 right now. What a journey you have been on but you have done it now, and you have proven to us all it can be done.

Yay! Welcome to my diary Rach...and thanks for popping in. Don't be jealous, you're doing it...you're getting there! And you'll be where I am before you know it. It may seem like a long way away, but keep chipping away at it. Make more good decisions than bad ones, don't throw in the towel, and you will get there!

Originally Posted by Love Lips Lisa

You have done an absolutely amazing job, you should be very very proud of yourself!! Well done!! It has defo inspired me to get my act together starting today lol!! Somebody was already trying to sabotage me but I have said no and I mean no for the forseable future lol!! Keep us all uptodate on your journey you have been a fab ambasador to people who are struggling with weight issues!! Well done xx

Thanks so much Lisa, that's a lovely thing to say. I hope that comes accross in my diary - that despite somehow getting to my goal, I have struggled, and I know I will continue to struggle. It just happened that I found the right diet at the right time in my life, and I decided to put myself and my goal first for a change. Some people understand, some people can't quite get their heads around why I can't 'have a bit of something' and get back to it tomorrow, but on the whole people have respected me and my decision to put myself first. Luckily I have great friends who've supported me along the way, and are just looking forward to helping me enjoy my life to the full again!

So just a quick update...so you know I haven't fallen head first into the biscuit barrel.
Two weeks after maintenance and I am now 4lbs under goal I lost 2lbs the first week, and 1.5lbs this week, which I've been really pleased about. My plan at the moment is still allowing myself up to 850kcal per day (more at weekends if I need them). But to be honest, I'm still hovering at about 750 really. Old habits die hard I guess, and I'm in such a routine with food that it's hard to know what to introduce first! To start with, I decided to not even bother trying to stay in Ketosis as I don't want a big carb bloat at Christmas. Luckily I seem to have done that without gaining weight, as I'm now reaching over 100g of carbs most days.

What I'm determined to do as my first step to 'real eating', is to try and up my calories with meat/fruit/veg rather than just having a chocolate bar because I can. For instance, tea tonight was fish in parsley sauce with roasted carrots, sweet potato and swede. Much higher in calories and carbs than my pre-maintenence foods, but not exactly a stodge-fest either. And the best thing is that these vegetables are such a novelty that they feel like a treat now!
Which leads me on to my next plan....which is that I don't want to leave all my regular day-to-day foods behind over Christmas in favour of lazy take-away meals and heavy, stodgy home cooked food. I love vegetables, fruit, fish, stir frys etc but at christmas I seem to descend into a world of beige food...you know the score - pork pies, sausage rolls, pizza, chips, white bread, quiche....half this stuff I would never choose during the rest of the year, so why buy it or eat it at christmas?!
I don't mean that I'm going to be an angel. I'm sure I won't be! But I just want to be mindful that the food I'm eating is food that I am actively choosing to eat, rather than just having it because it's there. I'm the same with chocolate and cake too....I would never buy snickers/milky way/maltesers as a treat , so why munch my way through half a tub of celebrations just because they're there! I'd much rather dig out that bar of the Hotel Chocolat stuff I've got stashed away and really enjoy some of that instead.

Or at least that's they plan....and I'm hoping that the intermittent fasting/JUDD approach will help me enjoy these well chosen treats without the guilt aspect (although I'm still terrified of taking the plunge!). I still want to maybe have a pizza/curry/pub meal or whatever...but I don't want it to be one after the other because ultimately I know I'll feel sluggish, bloated and regretful...which is something I would never have said pre-VLCD!

Anyway, that's enough for now. I'll keep you all updated on my progress (psychological, and otherwise )
x

Wow!!! You're doing great with maintenance so far, amazing

Sounds like you have this well planned out

You go for it girl

X