Total Solution Double Trouble...The Exante Duo!
- Thread starter Alex_1978
- Start date
Alex_1978
Gold Member
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
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
Bananas
Gold Member
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
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
Rachgleeson
Gold Member
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.
Love Lips Lisa
Full Member
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
Alex_1978
Gold Member
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!)
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!
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!
Alex_1978
Gold Member
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
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
Rachgleeson
Gold Member
sounds like your head is really in a good place, wish i could say the same about me You always have such positive words, i am dreading christmas with it being so early in to my re-re-start of my journey. Another 4lbs gone, thats amazing well done.
You always have such positive words, i am dreading christmas with it being so early in to my re-re-start of my journey. Another 4lbs gone, thats amazing well done. 
vee67
Full Member
Hi there
i have spent the last couple of hours indulging in your diary - which is absolutely fabulous - I've laughed with you, cheered for you, felt sad with you and been absolutely amazed at your journey. many people have already said you are inspirational - I think you're more than that - you're honest, you're real and if I can follow in your footsteps - however scenic the route - I'll be one very happy woman.
really thank you for sharing - I've enjoyed our time together
Love Vee x
i have spent the last couple of hours indulging in your diary - which is absolutely fabulous - I've laughed with you, cheered for you, felt sad with you and been absolutely amazed at your journey. many people have already said you are inspirational - I think you're more than that - you're honest, you're real and if I can follow in your footsteps - however scenic the route - I'll be one very happy woman.
really thank you for sharing - I've enjoyed our time together
Love Vee x
Alex_1978
Gold Member
Aww Vee, that's the loveliest post ever!
It never fails to amaze me that people would wade through pages worth of my waffle, but I'm immensely flattered that you did, and so pleased that it might have given you the hope that it can be done.
As you now know, I am just as flawed (if not more so) than most people, and there's nothing special about me or my determination/mindset when it comes to dieting. I don't mean that to be self-deprecating...I just mean that if I can do it after 11 years of a relationship with food that could probably be described as 'disordered' then anyone can
Good luck with your own journey... I hope it's not quite as scenic as mine, but whatever happens just don't stop trying... because you never fail until you give up altogether! (and that's something I need to keep in mind when it comes to maintenence as well!)
I hope to carry on updating regularly so there'll be more of my story still to come. In fact this is where it all begins I suppose!
Pop in anytime and let me know how you're doing
xx
It never fails to amaze me that people would wade through pages worth of my waffle, but I'm immensely flattered that you did, and so pleased that it might have given you the hope that it can be done.
As you now know, I am just as flawed (if not more so) than most people, and there's nothing special about me or my determination/mindset when it comes to dieting. I don't mean that to be self-deprecating...I just mean that if I can do it after 11 years of a relationship with food that could probably be described as 'disordered' then anyone can
Good luck with your own journey... I hope it's not quite as scenic as mine, but whatever happens just don't stop trying... because you never fail until you give up altogether! (and that's something I need to keep in mind when it comes to maintenence as well!)
I hope to carry on updating regularly so there'll be more of my story still to come. In fact this is where it all begins I suppose!
Pop in anytime and let me know how you're doing
xx
Alex_1978
Gold Member
Happy-ish to report a STS this week.
Happy, because I've hit 850 calories every day, and I haven't gained (coming up from 650-750 the previous week)
The 'ish' is because I'm worried that increasing by much more may cause a gain My plan is to stick with 850 for this week but throw in about three 1000 calorie days....and then this time next week I'm stating JUDD/Intermittent Fasting because all the Christmas social stuff is kicking off...
Can't tell you how nervous I am about taking the plunge, but I have to get myself back to a normal calorie level and a normal social life at some point...I just hope it doesn't all go t!ts up on me!
Happy, because I've hit 850 calories every day, and I haven't gained (coming up from 650-750 the previous week)
The 'ish' is because I'm worried that increasing by much more may cause a gain
My plan is to stick with 850 for this week but throw in about three 1000 calorie days....and then this time next week I'm stating JUDD/Intermittent Fasting because all the Christmas social stuff is kicking off...Can't tell you how nervous I am about taking the plunge, but I have to get myself back to a normal calorie level and a normal social life at some point...I just hope it doesn't all go t!ts up on me!
Rachgleeson
Gold Member
a sts is great, i am sure you will get you eating back to normal without any major problems. Might just take time
Alex_1978
Gold Member
Lol, careful Stapo...or I'll get big-headed!
Just popping in to report a small loss this week, taking me to 10st exactly. I've been a bit daft this week though, as I've been daily weighing (something I never normally do) and I saw 9st 12.5lbs on a couple of days, so 10st feels like an anti-climax when it shouldn't!
Anyway, as planned, I'm now making the transition to intermittent fasting/Judd, and I've just completed my first up/down weekend. It feels strange to be allowed up to 1700-2000 calories every other day, and I must admit that I've been very anxious about the potential weight gain, but I know I need to give it a chance...especially over the Christmas period, as a way of managing social events without going bonkers (as I keep saying, lol).
My plan is to enjoy my up days in a healthy way, enjoy social events in whatever way I like, and get through the down days as if I was still on a VLCD I plan to weigh in on Wednesday morning when I will have done 2 ups and 2 down days, then it's my works do, followed by another down day.
I'll weigh in officially on Friday morning as I'm then going away for the weekend which I'm planning as an intermediate day, an up day, and then a down/intermediate day on Sunday. Hopefully that should be enough for me to maintain...most people trying to lose weight do three downs and four ups every week, but I only want to maintain.
What's against me is the fact that I'm coming from 15 months on a VLCD and I have no idea what my metabolism is like as a result!
Anyway, that's enough analysis....sorry if I'm repeating myself but I'm on my tablet and can't scroll up to see what I said last time!
X
Just popping in to report a small loss this week, taking me to 10st exactly. I've been a bit daft this week though, as I've been daily weighing (something I never normally do) and I saw 9st 12.5lbs on a couple of days, so 10st feels like an anti-climax when it shouldn't!
Anyway, as planned, I'm now making the transition to intermittent fasting/Judd, and I've just completed my first up/down weekend. It feels strange to be allowed up to 1700-2000 calories every other day, and I must admit that I've been very anxious about the potential weight gain, but I know I need to give it a chance...especially over the Christmas period, as a way of managing social events without going bonkers (as I keep saying, lol).
My plan is to enjoy my up days in a healthy way, enjoy social events in whatever way I like, and get through the down days as if I was still on a VLCD
I plan to weigh in on Wednesday morning when I will have done 2 ups and 2 down days, then it's my works do, followed by another down day. I'll weigh in officially on Friday morning as I'm then going away for the weekend which I'm planning as an intermediate day, an up day, and then a down/intermediate day on Sunday. Hopefully that should be enough for me to maintain...most people trying to lose weight do three downs and four ups every week, but I only want to maintain.
What's against me is the fact that I'm coming from 15 months on a VLCD and I have no idea what my metabolism is like as a result!
Anyway, that's enough analysis....sorry if I'm repeating myself but I'm on my tablet and can't scroll up to see what I said last time!
X
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Alex_1978
Gold Member
Ps, the tablet is my new Samsung Note 10.1 that I treated myself to as a reward for getting to goal I took half of the money from some money that I got ages ago from cashing in some old jewellery of my mum's (not her nice stuff..just things don't have an emotional connection to).
Sadly my mum and dad died 8 & 7 years ago respectively so they never got to see me at goal weight I know they would've been proud though....my brother reminded me the other day about when I did slimming world years ago. I was doing well at the time and whenever I used to surpass another milestone my dad would go into the pantry and drag out bags of potatoes to demonstrate how much weight I was losing....bless him I'd forgotten all about it, but it made me smile now I can say that I've finally done it....
I took half of the money from some money that I got ages ago from cashing in some old jewellery of my mum's (not her nice stuff..just things don't have an emotional connection to).Sadly my mum and dad died 8 & 7 years ago respectively so they never got to see me at goal weight
I know they would've been proud though....my brother reminded me the other day about when I did slimming world years ago. I was doing well at the time and whenever I used to surpass another milestone my dad would go into the pantry and drag out bags of potatoes to demonstrate how much weight I was losing....bless him I'd forgotten all about it, but it made me smile now I can say that I've finally done it....
