LL Starter in May - Thoughts and advice needed?

[summer_wilson]

Well hello - this is my fourth day on the LL programme and it seems to be going ok.

I have not had any headaches yet, have always drunk quite a bit of water which has helped and have even managed to run ea bit over the past few days as normal.

I can't say that it has not been hard !!! I am a little tired but expect that is normal (although I have had the best nights sleep since I started the programme, which is a bonus)!

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice about the mental cravings, I keep wanting to put food in my mouth - I WONT as I am totally committed to the diet, but just wondered if there are any techniques I can use to try and push these thoughts away. I think it might be to take the constant taste away which I have in my mouth at the moment - is this normal?

I also wondered whether anyone had any advice about social occasions and watching other people eat and drink. I am really nervous about this ??

My final question is to ask whether the programme works well on people who just have three stone to loose. When I walked in my first session on Saturday the group did look at me and I know they were thinking well she's not that fat, why is she here !! I am nearly 13 stone and know that I have three stone to loose so was not too offended in the initial looks before we all got chatting. As a result of this I wondered whether my weight loss will be less than those who maybe have more to loose than I do! I hope not as it will be hard to deal with a low weight loss every week - any advice would be very welcome.

Cant wait to hear from you all.

Summer

[Mini]

Hi Summer,

The 'mental cravings' are the big one, once you are in ketosis and real hunger is not the problem but psychological hunger can be, especially if your an emotional eater, for old habits die hard.

Most cravings have a life cycle of about five minutes if you can wait it out and it is best to try and do something to distract yourself.

Here are some of the things I do to distract myself drink some more water as it could be thirst...take a relaxing bath, go for a walk, read a book, post on here, go to bed early, phone a friend, clean the house, write a list of things to do. Look at the Before and After photos and remind myself that it can be done....

I am sure other members can add to this with what they do

We are all on this weight loss journey together and for you that three stone you have to lose is just as big in your mind as someone with ten stone or more to lose. So don't diminish your own challenges or let others do it to you.

Also try not to compare your weight loss to others, even though we all tend to do this as everyone loses weight differently and you can start off slow and then begin to lose more or the other way around. This is why it is best to do body measurements as well as weighing yourself for you can lose inches at times when the scales are showing a small loss.

The guide lines are around a stone a month for a woman and some can lose more and others less as it is a guide line.

Hope this helps.

Love Mini xxx

[sonkie]

Well there is the obvious distraction.....which has become my new addiction....lol

Yes its here I come on here when I feel weak.

[tenney73]

The time that I think i need to munch is on a night when my little girl has gone to bed so I take a glass of soda water up into the office and come on this site or play on the arcade games ( very addictive) and time just passes by. I on my 9th week and have to say it is alot easier now but I have found if you keep yourself busy then you are less likely to be plagued by these mental cravings. A hot bubble bath with a good book/mag is another good one!

[Catwoman]

I was just like you !! At my first meet, everyone was like 'you don't need to lose much' although my BMI was 31.3 and I was 12 stone 10 lbs and only 5 ft 4. I was really worried that my loss would be slower as some people needed to lose 5 stone and more. There was no need to worry. I am now in week two of management, I lost 3 stone 5 lbs in foundation (96 days) and am now 9st 2lbs with a BMI of 22 point something. We all averaged a stone a month and every week differed in the losses we had, some slow weeks (stayed the same one week) and some huge (6lbs, 5 lbs, 5 lbs) so stick to it and don't compare yourself with anyone else coz that just brings you down. Keep positive, keep drinking water and watch the weight drop off !! Victoria.x.

[In search of me]

Hang in there - it is worth it! The taste in your mouth is the lovely ketosis and you'll need to clean your teeth more because the bad breath is probably a bit bad!! I think from prev posts that people on ave loose about 4 ibs a week (my current ave is 3.3!) and as you get closer to goal it can slow a bit but you'll vary from week to week probably! I use all the things (except sex!!) suggested above! Good book, bath, earlynight, doing nails, face or hairpack....I felt very tired initially & the first week for me was hard going with day 6 being hell & soon realised that if I was going to survive that I had to take the diet a day at a time - thinking about the whole loss (in my case about 6 stone) would be too overwhelming & thats the one thing that has kept me going on the bad days. Make sure you drink the water as you can feel uite ill if you dont. ALso listen to your body - if its tored give it rest and if you feel hungry you will soon be able to distinguish (for me for the first time ever!) between physical, emotional hunger...you'll also learn to cope with stress etc using other ways than food & that SOOOO liberating! As people have said post away & ask uestions, shout if you;re struggling. I really would not have got through this if it wasnt for people on here cos they totally get how hard it is! Big hugs & welcome!

[summer_wilson]

Thank you guys - I really appreciate you helpful comments.

Day 6 now - weigh in tomorrow !!! I feel quite good and actually have started to make my own energy I think, rather than relying on food.

Summer