Stabilization CONSOSTAB (shared diary)

[anjuschka]

Hello - I need to shout ;-) 64.9!! YAY I thought I'd never see the 64s again.... That's nearly a K off on last Friday's WI... Ok no doubt that's one of the general fluctuations but nice to see the trend going in the right direction for once!

So I just have to keep this up for another couple of weeks and should be in a good place for December to eat normally and stay the same as long as I don't overdo it until the last week when I have 3 work parties ;-). Anyway - there's more work required in my HEAD now. Do NOT have a biscuit (or two or three) before bedtime, do not have more than one in a day. Watch the bread... And don't just help yourself to dried fruit. Better than chocolate, but still....

This weekend was still 'with visitors', and despite reasonably sensible food, of course I had some biscuits and extras (and my parents brought me a box of Belgian chocs of which I had several last Sunday, but now I am having one a day max).

From Monday onwards I managed to get back on proper 'Conso' eating, I even had a carb meal on Weds, but no more extras (dried fruit and kids lefovers, and late-night biscuits being my weakness!!)

Jo: getting ready: well, I have now bought a small goose and it sits in the freezer. One weight off my mind, got one without spending more than I have to (yes a 'cheapie' from Lidl). At the same time I bought some lebkuchen etc, but was a bit more restrained than last year in terms of quantities and didn't even buy a Stollen, as I'm the only one who likes it and a whole one is just too much if my parents-in-law don't come (we've left that question open to the last second because of potential weather interference)
Baking: yes planning to bake some Lebkuchen and biscuits to give away. Maybe I'll *bake* a Stollen, I found a great recipe with pistacio marzipan!

Running: yes much better when it's cooler, would be nice if it was light and not wet though... As I said last Wednesday I felt comfortable for at least half way, I was not entertaining thoughts of giving up from 5 minutes onwards I have to add that I have only given up early once, I even wrote about it in this diary.

 

[Maintainer]

Well done on the weight! And for immediately identifying where the little things have slipped in. It's certainly easy for it to happen.

I love reading about your preparations for Christmas

Have a good weekend
x

 

[robinhood]

Well done Anja and I'm feeling Christmassy now. Really should write the cards...

Thought I'd update a little.

Food has been mainly Dukan, had the odd glass of wine and extra cheese. No gala meals this week (boo) so relaxed green PV for tomorrow.

We have 'new' scales - they are from my Dad's surgery (and from his Father's surgery previously, I believe) and are ancient, wood and marble - old chemist-style (but apparently very accurate). I've weighed all the kids and their weight (once converted) is roughly what it is in their medical records, so from now on, I'll be weighing in stones and pounds! Have resisted stepping on them myself though, but my clothes are fine and I'd rather go by that - always feel like I'm at the doctor's when I weigh myself (I suppose, I almost will be now).

 

[anjuschka]

Ha ha Laura I like the description of your new ancient scales!

I decided to continue my daily chat post here instead, it was getting a bit long!

It was cold and frosty here this morning too, brr. My next 5K run is scheduled for tomorrow morning before 9am (busy weekend), I'm not sure how I will get on! But I am sticking to my 3runs / 15km per week SO FAR....

...and I have STS as a result - the week before last was a bit 'generous' (still had some Belgian chocolate to 'finish'! And there was a bag of chocolate lebkuchen that I could not resist...).
Last week had one 'bring and share' social event - and offerings in these situations are rather over-carby, you'd be lucky to find a cherry tomato or a carrot stick lurking somewhere, as for chicken legs - DREAM ON ;-). The rest of the week I managed to be 'normal' without the regular extras that were pushing me up before, though as I said, had small extras due to the baking. So this week STS on last, which was up again on previous :-(
One more week and then the whirlwind of Christmas event begins...

However I need to yet again talk about weighing - and the vagaries of the scales, however accurate they might be. I have in the last few weeks stepped on the scales at random times, when getting into the shower after running, mornings, afternoons etc, and more often than not they show less than the post-PP Friday morning WI (today Fri 45.6 same as last Sat which was down on last Fri). So I'll just have to not get hung up on individual weights (I long stopped recording them anyway) and just make sure I keep an eye on the trend... I know it's my broken record thing I say all the time I just need to repeat it to myself because it's frustrating when you're expecting a loss (I can feel it on my belt!) after a week of trying a bit harder to be good

I suppose what I'm saying - and I have said that too, it's frustrating that you can STs on a 'relaxed' week as well as when being more strict....

Laura I wish I could go to monthly weighing but I suspect I might let too much pass if I didn't have the weekly reminder that the weight can go back up! I am so pleased just with this week, I have really really managed to resist the 'sneaked' extras that had crept in over time. It's definitely all IN THE HEAD!!! And in the cupboard...

BTW - my mum who did Dukan just after me is maintaining well since the summer, and has really changed some of her eating habits too.

Ok - back to work!

 

[robinhood]

Quick update from me!

All Christmas goodies made/stored, just have to ice the Christmas cake (I'll have a slice at some point, but I don't like icing, so will need to prise it off). I've managed not to eat any of said goodies yet (well, just a little mincemeat) possibly due to the fact that they're packaged ready for giving (but also because I avoided making the stuff I like best)!

Been on conso for this week as a gala weekend coming up (will try to be reasonable) then plan is to PV + fruit and cheese (no bread/carbs bar the fruit/veg/oatbran) for Monday, PP on Tuesday then off Dukan until the following Monday.

School breaks up for my eldest at lunchtime, then the younger two this afternoon. Husband also on leave for 10 days so will 'see' you after the main event!

Hope all have a lovely Christmas.:xmastree:

 

[anjuschka]

Happy New Year! Stabilization - one year on!

Well, time for my post-Christmas update. Apologies now for what it probably yet another long and rambling contribution!

So here I am, about a year after embarking on the ‘forever’ phase of Dukan. Right now I’m well up on the 63 or 64 kg I was then (can’t quite recall). I started Christmas being already above target and I guess I have gained another pound or three - I have only stepped on the scales once in the holidays, but the last week after new year I have been relaxed about food to say the least! My clothes show no big change but I can tell there’s a little bit more padding in some places (esp in my bra where I really don‘t want to lose it again :-( )

In general though I have been not bingeing (as in sitting there with a box of chocolates and finishing it in one session) but joining in with everyone else (having a chocolate, possibly two!). More restrained that in my old life, but I still had several biscuits and choccies or pieces of cake every day. We had roast Goose with roast potatoes and red cabbage on Christmas day. The day before was DHs birthday and I made the richest ‘chocolate brownie cake’ ever (find the recipe on the GoodFood web site, it uses more chocolate than flour!), one piece and you’ve had enough to last you a day. Nice wine with the major meals, a bit of bubbly on new Years Eve (and some ‘proper’ chocolates), Mulled Wine. All in all I enjoyed my food and did not feel guilty about it. Most of the time at least.

The degree of my healthy / dukan style eating can always be measured by the speed at which the yogurt disappears from the fridge, over the break I think I only made one or two 1L batches so the news on that front is not good ;-) but my cooking in general was quite low-fat / healthy, avoided really fattty cuts or sauces, and I personally had a lot more veg than carbs in those occasions when I decided to have some carbs. However in the last week I have gone back to normal and there are already lots of empty FromFrais and Quark tubs in the bin.

So what about the last year? I have sort-of managed to keep the weight down, but had to work at it. So really Dukan is just like any other diet, there is not magic bullet and the aftermath requires some willpower and change of habits and if REGULAR afternoon / evening snacks and sweets have been your problem with will get you in to trouble again (this is me). You can have them, but only SOME OF THE TIME... My mum who also did Dukan last spring and lost, i would guess, about two stone like me has also kept it off and found it easy, despite lots of travelling and socialising. Of course her lifestyle differs from mine but it’s great to see for me, especially as she (who had dieted many times before) embarked on the diet inspired by my success!

In August I finally got my act together and embarked on the couch to 5 K plan, I was elated when I jogged my first 20 minutes non-stop I would not have thought it possible! Ever. Now I still run/jog about 30mins/5K three times a week and I have managed to keep that up throughout the Christmas break too. I got a GPS watch which now allows me to track my time and distance precisely, and at the weekend for the first time I upped my time distance by 10% to 5.8K in 33 mins (up to now I have been consistently doing 5.2k in 30 mins as measured by my soundtrack and google maps). I am not particularly ambitious and am not planning to enter any races, but I am running for the fun (uh?) and definitely to keep up the fitness. But I may enter the race for life 5K this year, as I know that’s a distance I can cover comfortably now ;-) Yes I know I’m a wimp! Anyway what the running watch also shows me is that I burn ~400 cal on every run which surely helped a bit to balance the Christmas indulgences.

But all in all, despite my love of cakes, I **have** changed my attitudes to food. As well as having to battle with ‘must have this now can’t eat it tomorrow’ which gets me sometime, and in my case that's a direct result of dieting (in my head), I do make better food choices now because I just don’t fancy some of the richer foods. There are times when you can really taste the fat, and it’s not generally nice... I noticed this with regards to restaurant meals - before Christmas I had three different meals out with different sets of colleagues etc and in each case we had to pre-choose from a restaurant / set menu. And it was interesting to me that I did not at all fancy options like: deep fried anything, Roast Pork Belly or Lamb shanks, chips, pasta salads, anything involving Chorizo ;-) all options I would quite happily have chosen before. Don’t get me wrong, I really like most food... But in one case I looked at the menu and it nearly became a case of ‘lesser evil’ than ‘I really fancy that’, until I spotted the salmon option, phew!!

So I have only stepped on the scales once in the holidays and was already over 66[note1], now I have to decide to get back to where I should be. The choice is Cruise or Conso. the pros and cons are: Cruise is faster, being in ketosis means no temptation to deal with, but still followed by 20+ days of strict Conso, and withdrawing all the carbs might be a stress I don’t want to put myself through - I / my digestive system suffered quite a bit doing attack first time round. Conso is slower but will get me there in the end, possibly in virtually the same time frame. So I have decided I will do strict Conso minus Galas, and maybe I will manage to have a willpower strong enough to get me through until my birthday (mid-Feb). Combined with the running I should be able to shift the extra pounds though I don’t think they’re ‘just water’ as seen by the people who fell off the wagon over Christmas and saw massive gains (and I’m not exactly referring to you Jo as you ‘stepped off’ in a planned manner rather than ‘fell’!). So no easy losses expected for me either.

**Update (most of this was written at the weekend)** I am currently doing my second day of PP today and thereafter will do my variation of Cruise, probably mostly PVs! Then I’ll see the weight on Friday and decide whether to cruise for another week or go straight back to Conso minus Galas.

I will/have also move my PP day to a Monday, that will help with a number of things. Firstly the snacking on a day off - temptation when alone at home can be too great some times! Secondly it should help with the running. I tend to struggle with my Thursday evening runs after a PP day, my legs feel a lot more tired - this could be entirely psychological but it’s still a problem. On Mondays I run in the morning and my breakfast is always nearly the same regardless (oatbran porridge with yogurt and an egg) so my energy levels should be better on a Thursday evening after a normal conso PV day.
And finally it help with being sociable at work and not always having to say ‘not today but tomorrow’.

[Note 1] Ah yes and I also stepped on some scales at the doctor’s to double-check my BMI just before Christmas. Fully clothed in winter gear of course I weighed 67kg then but BMI was fine. and I seem to have shrunk, I thought I was 1.70 but I was only 1.69 :-D

So here you have it.

Happy New Year everyone!
:new_year:

 

[couteaux]

Hi Anja,

I really do love reading your updates. I think it is so important that we are all aware of the real consolidation/stabilisation that awaits. We won't be able to "eat whatever we like 6 days a week" we do need to be mindful and realise we still have to be aware of the food we eat and have treats, but make them just that, treats rather than a staple of our diet.

You inspired me to start the C25K programme so thank you very much for that, (says she on week 1 run2 lol) and your support since too!

Your plan to get the extra lbs off sounds like a good one and I am sure you will be back at target again before your birthday!

xx

 

[soshbfly]

The degree of my healthy / dukan style eating can always be measured by the speed at which the yogurt disappears from the fridge, ..

Love this!!! I'm so exactly the same. I realised that when Quark was no longer on my "regular" shopping list, I had really moved on from Cruise !! Yogurt is a true indicator of how well I do in Conso/Stablisation too.

Great update. Congrats on the running - I did the Race For Life a couple of years ago... easy run. If you do, be sure to get in the "runners" section. I did the "joggers" and the minute we turned a corner all started walking - I was fuming! And that was me over 2 stone heavier. Best of luck! I'm doing a 10K in April, so keep us updated - we can commiserate (I'm not a regular runner.)

 

[couteaux]

Love this!!! I'm so exactly the same. I realised that when Quark was no longer on my "regular" shopping list, I had really moved on from Cruise !! Yogurt is a true indicator of how well I do in Conso/Stablisation too.

I am the same here too! I had stocked up on cottage cheese/quark and ff yoghurt pre xmas... I then had to chuck all the out of date stuff by the time I was back on plan. It is definitely an 'on plan' food for me

 

[Maintainer]

A lovely update Anja. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your diaries, both through Conso, and now through Stabilisation.

Happy New Year to you too ...

 

[ellie1969]

I also love reading the diaries of ppl who have been there done it and kept it off/under control... it gives me great hope for the future

Im trying your Butternut squash chicken curry later this week and looking forward to it

 

[alottolose]

Great post Anja and Happy New Year to you too x

You're leading the way brilliantly and helping us all to "keep it real"...helps to see what the other side looks like...Dukan is definitely a marathon and not a sprint x

 

[anjuschka]

Update for Couteaux especially. Ran tonight after a PV cruise day and felt great, much more comfortable than I have for a while, nearly managed 6k (just kept going to the 'next landmark' before stopping) and could probably have done quite a bit more comfortably. I have really upped my protein intake again compared to 'healthy eating' in Stab so that might be a contributing factor. And I'm perfectly willing to accept that a lot of it is only in my head.

 

[couteaux]

Wow, Nearly 6k seems like a lifetime away at the mo! Well done you! It really encourages me hearing how you've done

I'm running this morning but at my last run on Friday I couldn't imagine a time when I ran for 20mins non stop, 1 minute feels like plenty at the moment LOL!

My food went a little crazy last couple days , not toooo bad, but just need to get myself back in check and back 100% it's that tricky time when I feel better and people are saying lovely things but I have a good few months of conso left so need to have a stern talk to myself

Have a lovely Sunday x

 

[anjuschka]

YAY! I'm a loser!

Hi time for a quick update. Woo hoo I AM properly losing again. Nice to see that it's possible

12 days ago I restarted to cruise by doing two days PP then alternating, but only weighed for the first time last Friday, after I'd been doing that for 5 days - and weighed 66.7kg I wonder what my actual post-Christmas weight might have been And another weeks cruising now, and today I stepped on the scales and read 65.4kg I am SO PLEASED
All week I have been stepping on the scales, and the weight has been up and down around the 66 mark (66.5-65.8), up after a PP and down a bit after a PV - odd I know. But this morning was a proper drop.

I will continue like this for another few days until Monday PP and then Tue will be the first of going back to conso (by adding maybe a small slice of bread OR a piece of fruit) in preparation for Weds when I will have my 'Tea' with DD2 at her pre-school, no pulling out of that one

What have I managed? I have been cruising - weekends were PV and the rest PP / PV alternations although some PP days evening meals had a smidgeon of veg in them to fit in with the family cooking. Am allowing myself on fruit joghurt (WW citrus only though) a day. And I may have had the odd dukan-friendly hot choc.

The Christmas bloat has gone and I can feel the padding on my stomach shrinking a little, this might be my imagination though.

After next Wednesday I will stick with strict Conso (likely no celebration meals), see if I can keep losing till I reach my 64kg / 10st again. then I'll have to keep with proper conso a bit longer no doubt - I reckon I need to do at least a month. But I'm already planning my birthday cake for mid-Feb when I will be allowed a celebration meal.

Of course I have kept up the running so that helps too! Last night I managed my best ever - 6km in 35 minutes, completely without stopping or walking (I have gone further in the recent past but walked a little). And it started to rain - bleurgh I was planning to upload my data to this diary but never got round to it.

Onwards and downwards everyone! Well done on shifting those Christmas pounds!

 

[jaqys]

Sounds brilliant. Well done on keeping up the running in the cold.

Hope conso goes well.

 

[anjuschka]

Quick update

Sooo - back to Conso then.

I have given up on the scales - my experience was a bit like what Atropos has just described. As I said somewhere, on Saturday or Sunday I nearly fell off the scales as they read 1 kg down on the previous day (64.3?!??!). I checked about a hundred times and knew it would be too good to be true in the long term. and of course it was, 1lb up the day after and on Tue I was up even more to something in the 66s despite a PP day on Monday and running, and no cheating. Ah well, so now I have stopped weighing, it will sort itself out.

Yesterday officially switched back to Conso - enjoyed my first Kiwi at breakfast time and had some home made Pitta-Pizza (just tomato and cheese), crudites and hummus, some fruit and a bit of Flapjack (hm what an extraordinary Gala meal ) that the kids at DD2s nursery had prepared for the parents.

Today I have really savoured my slice of home-made WM bread with smoked cheddar (only a small portion), and my crunchy apple. It's only been two weeks (or was it three?) but I was glad to have them back!

My next normal meal is at the weekend when the kids want to make Toad in the Hole for all of us (yes I know a second gala meal in a week). I'll not have any other carb meals etc though as I'm still catching up really, but needed ot get back to Conso to allow a bit more flexibility in my social life....

So I plan to carry on like this with no other extras (read biscuits) till my birthday and we'll see how my experience of proper post-cruise conso (as opposed to "consostab for ever") differs second time round.

 

[Maintainer]

I'm having the same sort of relationship with my scales at the moment, so I can well understand your frustration. I thoroughly approve your return to Conso (cos I'd never have suggested you leave it!!).

I'd love you to document what you're eating the way you did last time. I found it very motivational.

Running in this cold must be even worse than walking in it! brrrrrr! My sister bought me some of those furry ear muffs, and I thought I'd be too vain to wear them, but nope! They're great! (Shame there's no hole to insert your earphones though!)...

At least we have changed our lives forever on the exercise front thanks to Dukan. Once upon a time I could never see myself getting up an hour earlier than required to walk to work! Now I miss it if it's raining and I can't (won't!) walk!

 

[anjuschka]

Thanks Jo - you flatter me as usual!

Warning - rambling summary coming up - you asked for it

SO here I am doing my PP Monday. I really wonder why I stuck with Thursday for a whole year before working out that Monday would be better! I guess I was still at home with DD2 on Mondays a year ago which made a difference. PP today is/was easy, not even been tempted to stray (was quite busy too though):

B: D Porridge with Egg and plain yoghurt
30 min run/jog
S: Egg (sweet snack-see below) & a cup of tea
L: Salmon, Herring and Cottage cheese, SF Jelly Yoghurt
S: cottage cheese & cup of coffee
D: curried chicken strips, yoghurt.
30mins cycling and back + choir rehearsal
S: probably a hot chocolate depending on the weather!

The Egg Snack was a treat that my gran used to make for us: 'Sugar Egg' - I just substituted Splenda for Sugar:
WARNING - RAW EGG
Separate one Egg
Whisk Egg white with 2 ts Splenda (or to taste) until really really stiff. Pile into a bowl
Whisk Egg yolk with 1 ts Splenda (or to taste) until really pale and creamy.
Spread over egg white.

Eat. YUM. I hope you're not all screaming in horror (I did hesitate posting this) - it may be a acquired taste, but I very much enjoyed it, and I trust the quality of my eggs sufficientlyto eat them raw .

I will not move my WI day to Tue though, firstly I have found recently that I tended weighed less on a Sat rather than a Fri despite the PP Thu, and secondly I think the 'glycogen depleted' WI kind of creates the wrong mental image for me - as I really am always 1 lb more than the scales might have read. So I'll see - at the moment I am weighing when I feel like it, nor religiously every day, recording any credible loss (not the 2lb drop!) and ignoring any intermittent gains.

This weekend was a bit more Gala than planned - Sat was busy busy and I stuck to my Conso well, having an apple as a snack and a slice of bread thinly spread with boursin (which might or might not be allowed?) with my lunch (salad of lettuce and peppers topped with tinned mackerel in tomato sauce).
But Sunday - last minute lunch time invitation. Baked trout with spinach, salad (normal dressing), boiled potatoes (had a couple small pieces only), glass of wine and a dessert of cherries with vanilla cream (aahhhhh). All home made from scratch, delicious and not OTT.
However we DID also make the Toad in the hole at home (no added fat and sausages well pre-grilled) as that had long been planned with the kids - so that 'kind of' took care of my small carbs and cheese portion which I had not had that day .
Sunday breakfast was eggy pancake with vanilla quark and cinnamon apple. Then I had my muffins to get me safely through all the tea/snack breaks with the kids.
Saturday breakfast my usual porridge - with a WW fruit yoghurt though.

I have so far still stayed off the treats & biscuits. I had one small square of dark chocolate on Sunday night though.

Scales so far have been STS.

I did not run at the weekend, Sat I was still suffering with a dose of flu, and spent the whole day dosed up with extra strength flu relief to get through the busy day. SO I decided to skip that run altogether but resumed today.

And: I HAVE now signed up to RunForLife! Aaargh
[link removed for now]

I'll be badgering everyone for sponsorship donations nearer the time!

Ok thanks for reading this far - I'd better get the tea ready now!

 

[couteaux]

Hoorah! Well done for signing up I'll definitely sponsor you!

I have my PP on a Monday too, seems to work well and for some reason I like having it done and over early on in the week.

Quick running question - do you/did you ever get a stitch when running? I have had it the last couple times I have run now, I managed to run through it, but not sure what the cause would be. Possibly my breathing but it is rather annoying.

Your egg recipe sounds rather marshmallow-ish - sounds v interesting!

Have a great week.