Rising from the ashes...

[Phoenix87]

Hi :wavey:

I'm currently on Day 4 of Exante. This isn't my first time on the diet but it is going to be my last! I am 5ft 7in and I weighed 17st 10lbs when I started. I have done a number of diets over the years and while I lose weight it usually goes to pot before I reach my target. I have always been an insecure person.. in fact I had a picture of me at my lowest weight and I thought "that is where I want to be" and yet I clearly remember standing in front of the mirror that night feeling awful about my figure!

So, I have done a lot of thinking and realise that in order for this time to be different I have to approach it differently. This time is it not only about the numbers on the scales. This time I need to have a complete transformation. I chose the username Phoenix and the name for this diary because right now things have never been so bad (in terms of weight and life in general) and I need to come out of it a different person. Not a version of me from before but something new. I plan on working on my mind and body this time!

Here goes!

 

[Phoenix87]

When I have done this diet previously I have managed 3 weeks and then something has usually come up and 'one meal off' has led to weeks / months of trying to get back to it. My first goal is to get past that and complete 4 weeks 100%. I know Exante say about having a food week after 3 weeks but I need to do this in 4 week chunks and so I have come up with this plan for the next 15 weeks:

Complete 4 weeks 100%
Week 5 = eat on alternate days until the following week then back to TS.
Complete 4 weeks 100%
Week 10 = eat on alternate days until the following week then back to TS.
Complete 4 weeks 100%
Week 15 = eat for a week.

 

[Susie58]

Welcome to the forum Phoenix, love the name .

Having a plan is so important. A lot of us find it difficult regarding adding food, the main thing is to make sure you get back on plan straight away as like you say the days off turn into weeks & months off :cry:.

You will get lots of support on here so you will find posting regularly will help you to stay focused. Good luck x

 

[Phoenix87]

Welcome to the forum Phoenix, love the name .

Having a plan is so important. A lot of us find it difficult regarding adding food, the main thing is to make sure you get back on plan straight away as like you say the days off turn into weeks & months off :cry:.

You will get lots of support on here so you will find posting regularly will help you to stay focused. Good luck x

Thank you Susie! I definitely plan on posting regularly! I am hoping that change, and my new found focus, will be the difference between getting back on it straight away and not. :fingerscrossed:

Worrying about adding food again is partly why I have added the meal days.. I know that sounds crazy, but in my head I am going to be 100% over the next 12 weeks and when I add a meal it is part of being 100% rather than tying it in with something else. I don't know if that even makes sense, lol.

 

[Susie58]

Some people don't have the food week or delay it a bit Phoenix. See how you feel closer to the time x

 

[Phoenix87]

So that's that. Third shake down and 4 liters of fluid - drinking a mix of still and sparkling water, peppermint tea and one can of Asda Cola Zero. I thought the can would be a nice change in an evening but I found it a bit too sweet tonight and it isn't really the treat I thought it would be. That may just be because I am in one of those moods though.

The mind is such a powerful thing, isn't it? One minute it is driving you forward and the next it is trying to stall you. You're right about seeing closer to the time Susie. I have realised tonight how important it is for me to cut this journey up into those smaller chunks.. things are already seeming a bit monotonous, I think because I have done this before, and thinking of this as a 6 or 7 month journey is too much. 4 weeks. I have to make it to 4 weeks. Then it will be another 4 weeks, I know, but it helps a little.

 

[goose]

Here to join your journey x

 

[Phoenix87]

Here to join your journey x

Thank you

Feeling please that another day is done. I wish I could bottle this feeling.. the one that comes after the mind has been full of food thoughts and you push on past and suddenly it doesn't seem at all important. It would be great to open up the bottle and have a sniff at those moments when you want to give in, lol!

 

[Phoenix87]

Day 5 today. I had a vanilla shake with added coffee for breakfast, yum! I have opted this time to do the first 4 weeks as shakes only. I like the taste of them all really, but vanilla with coffee is my favourite!

Came to bed early-ish last night and struggled to get to sleep (that's normal for me lately) but once I did I slept like a log, which was great! When I woke early though I felt awful and so I went back to sleep.

I eventually dragged myself up and had my first glass of water (I have a hot / warm glass first thing) and I realised I was dehydrated! Does anyone else find that? I have been drinking a lot, but only within a certain number of hours, so I think when I go to bed my body panics that there is nothing else coming in!

 

[Darcy15]

Hello and welcome

Sounds like you have a good plan in mind

 

[poppyp84]

How are you getting on Pheonix, is it getting easier yet?

Sounds like you've got a good plan. I'm on day 12 of doing the for the first time and it's starting to get a bit easier but I get what your saying about it being monotonous, I cant think of this in terms of months just days and weeks. Although this forum is great, whenever you have an off day there's always someone here to help.

 

[x-Katie-x]

Love your name, the diary name and the meaning behind it - excellent imagery

I'd recommend cutting your weight loss journey into smaller chunks and aiming for lots of smaller goals throughout as that way you are always close to achieving a goal. I found it helped to aim for getting under a stone and then under the half stone, ie 17st 6lb then 16st 13lb etc and adding other none scale goals such as getting into the next size down, wearing a ring that didn't fit before etc.

I think if you do that rather than aim for the ultimate goal, otherwise it can seem to take forever.

Wish you the best of luck, keep posting and let us know how you are doing

 

[Susie58]

How you getting on Phoenix.

I find the more water I drink the more my body wants. Always have a glass of water by my bed that I can have a sip from whenever I wake up x

 

[Phoenix87]

Hello and welcome

Sounds like you have a good plan in mind

Thank you Darcy! I am a sucker for a plan, lol. I love your signature with the chunks and the bigger picture!!

How are you getting on Pheonix, is it getting easier yet?

Sounds like you've got a good plan. I'm on day 12 of doing the for the first time and it's starting to get a bit easier but I get what your saying about it being monotonous, I cant think of this in terms of months just days and weeks. Although this forum is great, whenever you have an off day there's always someone here to help.

Hi Poppy, It is definitely getting easier. I have had a busy couple of days and I was dreading it because I had been feeling really tired, but I have found the more I have done the more energy I have had! I am sticking to shakes only so that doesn't help with the monotony I guess, but I find it easier so it is self inflicted How are you getting on now?

 

[Phoenix87]

Love your name, the diary name and the meaning behind it - excellent imagery

I'd recommend cutting your weight loss journey into smaller chunks and aiming for lots of smaller goals throughout as that way you are always close to achieving a goal. I found it helped to aim for getting under a stone and then under the half stone, ie 17st 6lb then 16st 13lb etc and adding other none scale goals such as getting into the next size down, wearing a ring that didn't fit before etc.

I think if you do that rather than aim for the ultimate goal, otherwise it can seem to take forever.

Wish you the best of luck, keep posting and let us know how you are doing

Thank you Katie! The smaller chunks definitely help. I wanted a long term view of where I was going to go with this but on a day to day basis I am doing countdowns of 28 days. I think I have to mentally breakthrough the 3 week barrier I have struggled with on previous attempts! Breaking the weight down into smaller bits seems helpful too when there is such a long way to go!

How you getting on Phoenix.

I find the more water I drink the more my body wants. Always have a glass of water by my bed that I can have a sip from whenever I wake up x

Hi Susie, I have definitely found that! I started and I drank hardly any water really so the idea of drinking as much as others seem to was daunting and yet I am now easily getting through it.. although I need to get into the habit of sipping rather than drinking it in one go! I have started drinking water when I wake up now, partly to stop me feeling like death and partly to stop me weighing every day, lol!

 

[BiteChu]

Good luck!
I just started today

 

[Phoenix87]

Day 6: I didn't get on to post yesterday but it was another 100% day! I was worried about having a busy day ahead because I had been feeling so lethargic but my energy is definitely on the up! I also had to have 2 shakes a lot closer together than I usually would because I had forgotten my second one.. that was new!!

Day 7: Another productive day. I stopped in Paperchase today and got myself a lovely new organiser / diary, it reminded me of how much I used to love shopping for going back to school stationary, haha, am I the only one guilty of that?? I added a load of 'to do list' pages, as I am a big list maker, and I filled out one with lose half a stone, lose a stone etc with the bmi I will be when I hit that weight. I found it funny looking at it and thinking I must be one of the only people who is aiming to be 'overweight' by Christmas!!

 

[Phoenix87]

Good luck!
I just started today

Thank you! How are you finding it so far? The first few days can be rough, but it is surprising how quickly it changes and becomes easier.

 

[x-Katie-x]

Day 6: I didn't get on to post yesterday but it was another 100% day! I was worried about having a busy day ahead because I had been feeling so lethargic but my energy is definitely on the up! I also had to have 2 shakes a lot closer together than I usually would because I had forgotten my second one.. that was new!!

Day 7: Another productive day. I stopped in Paperchase today and got myself a lovely new organiser / diary, it reminded me of how much I used to love shopping for going back to school stationary, haha, am I the only one guilty of that?? I added a load of 'to do list' pages, as I am a big list maker, and I filled out one with lose half a stone, lose a stone etc with the bmi I will be when I hit that weight. I found it funny looking at it and thinking I must be one of the only people who is aiming to be 'overweight' by Christmas!!

Lol I can't wait to be overweight I need to lose about 1/2 stone to get there and I've got a medicine review at the doctors in a month, I'm going to make them change the morbidly obese to overweight on my records - I'm not coming out until they do

It's really helped me along the way to do calculations of where I'll be weight wise at different points in the future - all adds to the motivation!

You're doing brilliantly, keep at it x

 

[Susie58]

Sounds like you are getting into the swing of things Phoenix. Making lists is great. Feels so good when you start to tick them off as achieved x