Starting Phase One Today

Hi

I am not usually a forum type person, but have decided that it looks nice here and may help me by giving me somewhere to record everything and get support and advice (particularly if I am going wrong somewhere ;-)).

So, I know that I have problems with blood sugar, cravings and an underactive Thyroid and have absolutely no will power whatsoever with sweet things, so this is going to be hard, but going from past experience a few years back when I just ate healthily (i.e. cut out chocolate etc) I know that I have never felt better, so I am determined to do this again! I am not desperately overweight but I know I am not healthy and should be slimmer. I am 5ft9 and today I weigh 12st1 - my goal is 10st8 as that is when I have felt my best. Although I would be perfectly happy with 11st. I try not to focus too much on weight as I know from the past when I have been very slim (as in size 8) I still weighed 10st7 on average as I was very fit, however, I am aware that due to physical issues I am nowhere near as fit as I once was, so I can't really blame muscle for my extra weight at the moment!

I am really not a typical breakfast lover and so generally struggle finding something that is a typical breakfast food that I like, so this morning I am having ham salad and I have already had a cup of Chamomile tea. Lunch will probably be tuna salad and then dinner I have some homemade sausages (with no gluten) which I may do as a casserole with various veggies and tinned tomatoes - something like that anyway! I will report back when the decision has been made!

I have bought a tub of NLY but I really hate the flavour so I am going to force it down for the benefit of my health and see if I can get used to it! My plan is to use it in some cooking as well, like curries and marinades which will be a bit more pleasurable I hope!

Oh my god! I have already been struggling (shows just how awful I am!). Serious blood sugar dips already and feel really horrible - in fact my stomach is more bloated than usual :-(. Had to stand in the Post Office right next to a load of chocolate on special offer (can't resist a bargain anyway, but a chocolate bargain is almost impossible!) and nearly gave in, but I didn't so very proud of myself! Managed to just about make it home without collapsing and then resisted tucking into the pretzels that are taunting me in the cupboard (which are still calling at me while I am sitting in the kitchen... I can hear them... really I can....). I have just had to make myself an omelette with onions and a couple of cherry tomatoes to try and stop myself passing out so have wolfed that down and am hoping I will feel better soon! Trouble is, eggs don't really agree with me so we will see how we go! I really wasn't prepared to have almost fallen off the wagon on Day 1! Anyway, so, so far I have eaten ham salad for breakfast, 30g porridge with water for a kind of brunch (didn't have much time) and then just now the omelette. I am even thinking about trying to eat some NLY now - that really is desperate for me!

I do hope this gets easier...

It is pretty amazing how quickly the weight drops off, I have been doing this diet since last Tuesday and its going well (although I have had two bad days this week) and so I've restarted phase 1 today.

I struggled mostly with missing caffeine, but I lost 4.5lbs in about five days - so it was worth it.

I've just obviously introduced foods back into phase 2 that cause my cravings, hence the two bad days. I'm putting it down to experience (ha)

Well done Twiggy for resisting the Chocolate! Tomorrow is my last day of phase 1 and I have felt fine on it and found it quite easy. I have been having bacon and eggs for breakfast - I did try porridge and NLY once but it was not my thing and made me feel sick. I have had ham & egg salad for lunch and for tea either steak, fish, chicken or pork with 50g of brown rice with either roasted, boiled or stir fry veg. I have managed not to have any snacks and I am surprised I have not felt hungry. I think I have lost around 5 lbs so far so its been worth it. Keep it up and report back x

Thanks everyone. I haven't given up yet (she says on only the beginning of Day 2 ;-))! Last night I had roasted butternut squash, onions, red pepper and cauliflower (who knew cauliflower would be so tasty cut up small enough to get it all crispy in the oven :-)) and homemade sausages and I only needed 2 of the 3 sausages I had put on my plate which was interesting. So I have saved the sausage to have today with some eggs :-). The best thing for me last night was that I managed to resist the urge to eat anything sweet after dinner as that is almost habitual for me - I just had a nice cup of Chamomlie tea.

I have decided I am going to weigh myself everyday and at various times, just because I am interested in how it fluctuates (if it does!). Standing on the scales is not something that bothers me as such, so I think I am safe to do this - and it satisfies my fascination ;-). So interestingly last night I was 12st3lb!! Obviously the weight of the veg in my stomach or something ;-). I will keep a track as it may be helpful to people to see what happens (sacrifcing myself for science ;-)). And I just figure - worst case scenario - if I put weight on eating healthily and cutting out my 2 most enjoyable groups of food (chocolate and bread) then it must mean that my chocolate and bread diet is actually better for me so I can go back to it :p

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Originally Posted by Twiggy123

Hi

I am not usually a forum type person, but have decided that it looks nice here and may help me by giving me somewhere to record everything and get support and advice (particularly if I am going wrong somewhere ;-)).

So, I know that I have problems with blood sugar, cravings and an underactive Thyroid and have absolutely no will power whatsoever with sweet things, so this is going to be hard, but going from past experience a few years back when I just ate healthily (i.e. cut out chocolate etc) I know that I have never felt better, so I am determined to do this again! I am not desperately overweight but I know I am not healthy and should be slimmer. I am 5ft9 and today I weigh 12st1 - my goal is 10st8 as that is when I have felt my best. Although I would be perfectly happy with 11st. I try not to focus too much on weight as I know from the past when I have been very slim (as in size 8) I still weighed 10st7 on average as I was very fit, however, I am aware that due to physical issues I am nowhere near as fit as I once was, so I can't really blame muscle for my extra weight at the moment!

I am really not a typical breakfast lover and so generally struggle finding something that is a typical breakfast food that I like, so this morning I am having ham salad and I have already had a cup of Chamomile tea. Lunch will probably be tuna salad and then dinner I have some homemade sausages (with no gluten) which I may do as a casserole with various veggies and tinned tomatoes - something like that anyway! I will report back when the decision has been made!

I have bought a tub of NLY but I really hate the flavour so I am going to force it down for the benefit of my health and see if I can get used to it! My plan is to use it in some cooking as well, like curries and marinades which will be a bit more pleasurable I hope!

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Hi twiggy. Welcome. Not many of us on here ATM but its a good supportive little bunch. Your food is sounding good, stick with the yoghurt its amazing how your tastes will change within the week! Good luck and stick around let us know how you go x

Best of luck twiggy! the first days are def the hardest and it will get so much easier! i'm on day 11 and it is almost routine to me now, cravings are gone the majority of the time! You can do it keep up updated :) x

Thanks guys :). Well I am still doing it and it is day 3! It actually hasn't been as hard as I thought and I don't think that my body is craving chocolate, but my taste buds and my brain, so I am managing (so far) to stop myself eating any! That is a surprise to me as I normally have such sugar ups and downs that I thought I would be a mess by now! And really, I normally eat a lot of chocolate/cake, probably 3 normal size bars a day, or a big bar easily and then maybe some other cakes thrown in, so it really is a big deal!

I weighed myself yesterday morning and was 12st so 1lb down! Will weigh myself again when OH wakes up so I don't disturb him! I am still bloating which is interesting and feeling generally a bit headachey but I am ok - what I am really struggling with is breakfast and what to have. I woke up hungry this morning but I just don't know what to have as I tried to eat some NLY but honestly nearly threw it back up again, I really can't stomach it at all, so I am going to have to give up trying. Eggs are a bit like that as well as I can only really manage one before it makes me feel sick (I have a bit of an egg intolerence after having a bad one which made me violently ill a few years back and since then my body seems to not appreciate them so much!). I did have some porridge with water which, although pretty gloopy and unappetising, didn't make me want to throw up so is edible, but I have to cook that in the microwave ideally (as it just gets stuck to saucepans so would rather not do it on the hob - yes I have rubbish saucepans :rolleyes:) and I can't do that until the OH gets up as it will wake him up. So I am sat here properly starving (as in empty stomach starving!), wondering what on earth I can eat! I was unorthodox on the first day and had salad and ham, so I think I may be doing something similar today or I am just not going to cope! Does anyone have any other ideas or shall I just continue to be unorthodox? :confused:

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Originally Posted by Twiggy123

Thanks guys :). Well I am still doing it and it is day 3! It actually hasn't been as hard as I thought and I don't think that my body is craving chocolate, but my taste buds and my brain, so I am managing (so far) to stop myself eating any! That is a surprise to me as I normally have such sugar ups and downs that I thought I would be a mess by now! And really, I normally eat a lot of chocolate/cake, probably 3 normal size bars a day, or a big bar easily and then maybe some other cakes thrown in, so it really is a big deal!

I weighed myself yesterday morning and was 12st so 1lb down! Will weigh myself again when OH wakes up so I don't disturb him! I am still bloating which is interesting and feeling generally a bit headachey but I am ok - what I am really struggling with is breakfast and what to have. I woke up hungry this morning but I just don't know what to have as I tried to eat some NLY but honestly nearly threw it back up again, I really can't stomach it at all, so I am going to have to give up trying. Eggs are a bit like that as well as I can only really manage one before it makes me feel sick (I have a bit of an egg intolerence after having a bad one which made me violently ill a few years back and since then my body seems to not appreciate them so much!). I did have some porridge with water which, although pretty gloopy and unappetising, didn't make me want to throw up so is edible, but I have to cook that in the microwave ideally (as it just gets stuck to saucepans so would rather not do it on the hob - yes I have rubbish saucepans :rolleyes:) and I can't do that until the OH gets up as it will wake him up. So I am sat here properly starving (as in empty stomach starving!), wondering what on earth I can eat! I was unorthodox on the first day and had salad and ham, so I think I may be doing something similar today or I am just not going to cope! Does anyone have any other ideas or shall I just continue to be unorthodox? :confused:

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Have you tried Greek nly? I like that. You're much more considerate of oh than I am lol. Wouldn't stop me eating!! Lots of people eat salads, cold omlette, leftovers etc. whatever works really. I had some puffed rice and skimmed milk then some shredded wheat. Have over eaten a bit this morning. Won't fill me for as long as bacon etc but I enjoy cold cereal sometimes x

RKM - thanks, but Greek is the same - I think it is almost psychological! Anyway, I have now had my porridge and definitely feeling better - I actually put some raw oats in there as well this time which gave it a much better consistency so will do that in future as well :-).

I have just weighed myself this morning and I am 11st13lb so it is definitely going in the right direction! I have got one of those body fat and water analysers and my body fat has reduced a little (although I can't now remember the numbers so will write them down in future!) and my water % has gone up to 50% which is better as I was at 47% on Day 1. All interesting stuff :).

Taking the dog out for a walk now and am going to buy some special bacon as a treat for my lunch - I am not a massive bacon fan but every so often I fancy it and today I do, so I figure if I can tell myself that I am 'treating' myself to it instead of a whole chocolate cake for example then I should keep resisting the urge to eat sweet things :-). I do have left over curry from last night that needs to be eaten but because I fancy the bacon I am just going to have that - the curry can wait until this evening :p

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Originally Posted by Twiggy123

RKM - thanks, but Greek is the same - I think it is almost psychological! Anyway, I have now had my porridge and definitely feeling better - I actually put some raw oats in there as well this time which gave it a much better consistency so will do that in future as well :-).

I have just weighed myself this morning and I am 11st13lb so it is definitely going in the right direction! I have got one of those body fat and water analysers and my body fat has reduced a little (although I can't now remember the numbers so will write them down in future!) and my water % has gone up to 50% which is better as I was at 47% on Day 1. All interesting stuff :).

Taking the dog out for a walk now and am going to buy some special bacon as a treat for my lunch - I am not a massive bacon fan but every so often I fancy it and today I do, so I figure if I can tell myself that I am 'treating' myself to it instead of a whole chocolate cake for example then I should keep resisting the urge to eat sweet things :-). I do have left over curry from last night that needs to be eaten but because I fancy the bacon I am just going to have that - the curry can wait until this evening :p

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Great results already!! Hope you enjoyed the bacon and curry. Keep up the good work x

Well I am a little bit disappointed to be honest as it is now Day 6 and I am 12st exactly! Seeing as I started at 12st2 I don't really think that is anything to shout about! I am trying to tell myself that I suppose I am not really that overweight so I guess if you only need to lose one stone then it perhaps doesn't drop off as fast?? But I think I am clutching at straws! My body fat started at 30.1%, went down to 29.9%, then up to 32.4% and is now today at 28.9%:confused:.

So at this point in time I am not exactly convinced by the diet to be perfectly honest as I have completely stuck to the rules and although I definitely feel better and generally less bloated that is kind of common sense anyway as I have cut out all the cr*p! So, I have decided that I am going to basically continue with eating lots of veg, no potatoes, no chocolate and definitely no wheat for the next week or so and see how it goes. I am pretty sure I am ok with dairy as I don't have much of it anyway - I probably have the odd bit of cheese and one cup of tea with a dash of skimmed milk in it anyway, so I am sat here with my first cup of tea and enjoying it :D.

One thing I would like to discuss is how people are finding it coming out the other end so to speak. Sorry if I am a bit graphic for anyone, but I have hardly 'produced' anything at all since I started. I have had a LOT of gas and wind (which I guess is the vegetables although I normally eat a lot of veg) but when I sit on the loo, which is only once a day, I only get rid of something the size (and consistency!!) of a golf ball which is being generous! :eek:. I realise that if you are eating less rubbish, you will have less 'waste', like with my dog for example who is on the BARF (raw food) diet and so doesn't eat any processed rubbish and she has lovely (if you can describe any poo as lovely!!) firm smallish poos that don't smell bad at all, in comparison to most dogs who eat tinned/dried food who have terribly stinky, giant ones, but she eats much less than me and produces much more in a day!! I can't honestly believe it is healthy to do what I am doing - there must be more waste surely? Maybe that is why I appear to not really be losing any weight! Does anyone else mind sharing whether they are experiencing the same, or is it something wrong with me?! :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Twiggy123

Well I am a little bit disappointed to be honest as it is now Day 6 and I am 12st exactly! Seeing as I started at 12st2 I don't really think that is anything to shout about! I am trying to tell myself that I suppose I am not really that overweight so I guess if you only need to lose one stone then it perhaps doesn't drop off as fast?? But I think I am clutching at straws! My body fat started at 30.1%, went down to 29.9%, then up to 32.4% and is now today at 28.9%:confused:.

So at this point in time I am not exactly convinced by the diet to be perfectly honest as I have completely stuck to the rules and although I definitely feel better and generally less bloated that is kind of common sense anyway as I have cut out all the cr*p! So, I have decided that I am going to basically continue with eating lots of veg, no potatoes, no chocolate and definitely no wheat for the next week or so and see how it goes. I am pretty sure I am ok with dairy as I don't have much of it anyway - I probably have the odd bit of cheese and one cup of tea with a dash of skimmed milk in it anyway, so I am sat here with my first cup of tea and enjoying it :D.

One thing I would like to discuss is how people are finding it coming out the other end so to speak. Sorry if I am a bit graphic for anyone, but I have hardly 'produced' anything at all since I started. I have had a LOT of gas and wind (which I guess is the vegetables although I normally eat a lot of veg) but when I sit on the loo, which is only once a day, I only get rid of something the size (and consistency!!) of a golf ball which is being generous! :eek:. I realise that if you are eating less rubbish, you will have less 'waste', like with my dog for example who is on the BARF (raw food) diet and so doesn't eat any processed rubbish and she has lovely (if you can describe any poo as lovely!!) firm smallish poos that don't smell bad at all, in comparison to most dogs who eat tinned/dried food who have terribly stinky, giant ones, but she eats much less than me and produces much more in a day!! I can't honestly believe it is healthy to do what I am doing - there must be more waste surely? Maybe that is why I appear to not really be losing any weight! Does anyone else mind sharing whether they are experiencing the same, or is it something wrong with me?! :rolleyes:

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Remember that the body fluctuates. That's why you should only weigh etc once a week max. You've lost 2lb which is great, especially when you've been able to eat nice food and have made great health improvements. You're right that you don't have a lot to lose so you won't lose a stone etc straight away. Your bowels will catch up I have days like that, yesterday was one, but earlier in the week it seemed to be never ending, pardon the tmi. It's just going to take some time to adjust and learn what's new. You're doing great so stick with it xxx

I just get slimatee from holland and barratt. That soon clears and problems up!!

Thanks guys. I am just really not sure that this is doing anything for me with the whole weight loss thing! I have actually only lost 1lb in a week and my body fat has gone up again to 31.1%. The only thing that I think I have been doing 'wrong' I have just realised is that I haven't really been eating my quota of rice, but surely that should be a good thing rather than bad??

I have now introduced dairy, but as I said, it is minimal anyway, but I honestly at the moment feel like I may as well be stuffing my face with chocolate like I was before as it seems to make no difference at all! Yes, I am feeling better in myself but I feel that this is the lack of wheat mostly - and I didn't eat very much processed food in the first place (I am a bit of an organic, ethical meat eater which limits your choices with processed food anyway!) so really the main changes in my diet are no bread and sugar. I will carry on for another week and see how I go and I won't weigh myself I have decided until Monday and hope that something has happened by then! I understand that weight fluctuates, but actually having weighed myself a lot, I can see it is fluctuating, but it has only fluctuated between 11st13 and 12st2 - and the last 2 days between 12st and 12st2! And seeing as I actually started at 12st1 it is a little disheartening as you can imagine!

Good news is that things are better the other end this morning :p

Sorry having a bit of a moan aren't I?! Anything to avoid submitting my tax return today!! :rolleyes: