Harcombe Diary by TheRealMe

[welshbrummie]

Great diary. you're doing really well. I can't get it togeter enough to do a diary but i love to read other peoples thanx for posting

You might like to check out theharcombedietclub.com for loads of other THDers and tonnes of support. We're a bit thin on the ground here.

I went to a meeting of Harcombers in Manchester 2 wks ago. There were only about 20 of us so we all got a chance to talk to everyone and to meet Zoe and her husband Andy who does stirling work on the forum.

Zoe did an excellent talk, the food was fantastic and everyone was lovely. All in all it was a really motivating experience - it can be a bit lonely following a diet that is contrary to all the established advice.

Im going to be organising a Harcombe diet club meetup in Birmingham in June if you'd like to come along - the more the merrier. My username on the forum is ginger at last. xxxx

 

[mommyB]

LOL , have to agree I got quite evengelical about it all !! I joined the on line club too but their forum isnt half as good as this one !!

Keep going you know you can do it !!

 

[couteaux]

Hi Jules,

Sounds like you are doing really well! Keep at it

I'm on my 3rd week now and really enjoying the plan.

Great to see someone else on here following THD.

 

[TheRealMe]

Thanks for posting everyone, and thank you so much for the encouragement. It really does help. I'll definitely check out the official site Lorna and would be interested in going to a meeting - a lot would depend upon timing, etc. as I have two dogs that I can't leave for too long. In addition, for the next few months, I'll be supporting my mum through chemo and radiotherapy. She lives around 26 miles or so away from me so I'm going to be travelling a lot!

Having said that, I would love to get to a meeting if I possibly can.

I've not had a good day today. I've got a problem with one of my eyes, one of the dogs is recovering from being spayed and we went to the hospital to get mum's results this morning. By the time I got back I was so hungry I stopped off at the garage and............. well, suffice to say that I'm not looking forward to weigh in tomorrow morning!

 

[TheRealMe]

So, weigh-in ok. No change. Which is pretty miraculous given my eating habits this last week. Obviously, no telling when it might sneak up and get me even yet!

And even after 'getting away' with a bad week, today I couldn't be bothered to make my lunch so ended up having crisps and chocolate. Un. Be. Lievable!!! Which is the me that is doing this? It can't possibly be the one that has been feeling so good on this diet. It can't possibly be the one that is desperate to fit into a whole wardrobe of lovely clothes currently going unworn. It also can't possibly be the one that wants to look good for her daughter's graduation in June, not to mention the wedding in May 2012. So who the heck is it that is sabotaging me?

Well it's me of course. But I've not been concentrating and I know full well that if I lose it even for a second then some evil monster takes over and feeds me all sorts of rubbish. Oh how I'd love to kill that monster off forever. And Zoe has given me the weapon - I'm just too blinking lazy or spineless to use it!

Can you tell how frustrated I am with myself? What would I tell a friend? I'd say, "Put the past behind you and pick up again. You've proved you can do it and you felt so well on it. Just get your head in the right place again and get back to the plan. Just a temporary blip and you are strong enough to beat this monster." Then I'd give her a big hug and she would know that I loved her enough to help her through any problems.

So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to look after myself as I would my best friend. I'm not going to beat myself up, just acknowledge the frustrations and learn from the problems. Then move on, get on, and get back into winning mode.

Well, that's the theory.............................

 

[mommyB]

when I used to feel like I needed a boost i repeated phase 1,got me back on track and gave me a bit of a boost.

Just a thought, but every diet has times like you are experiencing, stick with it and you will triumph ( Now I just need someone to tell me that, being a very naughty girl this week !!)

 

[couteaux]

How are you doing today? Good news on the weigh in. If you are finding cravings really hard it is prob worth going back to phase 1 to beat them again. Do you have time to prep food the night before so that you have healthy stuff to hand? I have a 4 month old baby and find having quick things I can eat v handy! Some days it seems impossible to make things so having it all in the fridge really helps. Tins of fish, ready cooked meat or eggs I can throw into a salad etc.

Good luck, let us know how you are doing x

 

[welshbrummie]

Please dont be too hard on yourself, so you've made a few mistakes, no worries, learn from them and thank yourself for the lesson.


I've been through a period recently of making the same mistake nearly every weekend untill last week when i finally learned that, no, you cant get away with getting just a little bit p***ed. Because it clouds your judgement when your DH decides to cook pizza/garlic bread or order chinese!!!:break_diet:

One slip can start off a chain reaction of craving and binging, so every sunday i was back on phase one again lol

Over it now tho & back on track.

 

[TheRealMe]

Thanks everyone! Your support is absolutely wonderful and I can't thank you enough. You are so right - no need to get all despondent about it. I've been holding on to most of the principles, I've kept off the caffeine too. My biggest problem is chocolate. I have never described myself as a chocoholic, but this last week I've struggled with the cravings and, truthfully, have given in to them most days. Not today though. And I've got some leave from work for a few days so that will give me a chance to get back on track.

You are absolutely right Lorna and Couteaux - as is the saying, "fail to prepare, prepare to fail". On Phase 1 I was very careful to make sure I had everything ready to go through the plan in the book. I knew what I had to eat each day and that's all I ate. Give me a bit of freedom and all hell breaks loose!

And Jane - you can do it! Just hang in there woman, forget the past and move on in the knowledge that you are in charge of your life, not the cravings. You are powerful and strong. Lock that naughty part away!!!

 

[TheRealMe]

Bacon and eggs for breakfast. Tomato soup for lunch (just had to do it!), butternut squash curry on the stove for dinner - it smells delicious and there's enough for several nights. Well worth the effort it takes.

Feeling much better today. Had a really strange tummy upset last night - can't imagine where that came from. Poor water day today - in fact I haven't had any yet! Really poor. Should get through a couple of glasses tonight though.

Enjoy Comic Relief everyone!

 

[TheRealMe]

What an absolutely beautiful day! The sky here is an unbroken deep blue and the sun is shining. How can you not smile at such a sure indication that Spring is indeed on the way? It does highlight how badly the windows need cleaning - and with a conservatory, that's a lot of windows. I wonder if I'll actually get around to cleaning any of them today?

Porridge for breakfast, wholemeal bread with Manuka honey and NLY for lunch. I bought the ingredients for the chocolate balls and nut bars in the recipe book and will try them later! Curry for dinner again. By the look of the amount in the pot, it will be curry for dinner for several days yet! It is delicious though so I don't mind. I think I need to cook some chicken to have with lunches because I'm quite likely to start getting meat withdrawal if I don't have any at all!

So, short but sweet at the moment - can't sit inside with all that lovely weather going on!

 

[TheRealMe]

Porridge for breakfast, bacon and eggs for lunch. Curry for dinner again. I can't freeze it because the veggies don't do too well, unlike beans or meat/chicken. Still, it's tasty and filling so that will do.

At last, I've had a 'proper' day. No biscuits, cakes or chocolate other than the chocolate balls from the recipe book - and they are so rich you only need a tiny bit to take that need for something sweet away. I know, I should be training myself to not want the sweet stuff, but at the moment that's a step too far and if I don't have any for a few days I then seem to binge. This has got to work for me so, in the way I did with getting free of nicotine, I need to adapt plans and advice to make it work forever.

I've been gardening again today. Being out in the fresh air, pushing myself to work really hard, actually working up a sweat (!) feels so great. Much better than a smelly gym - at least for me it is. The wonderful bonus is that there is a very visible outcome to all the effort, and not just on my body!

Being on my own, I have to do a lot of things myself nowadays. And I'm finding that I'm quite good at things I never thought I'd be able to do. Today I've been laying ground guards on the front drive. These stop you sinking into the gravel and make wheeling the bins or anything else very easy, even over a gravelled surface. I paid someone to put the majority down last year, but he didn't finish the job and I was about 20 grids missing. I just can't afford to get him back, so I bought a pack of 10 online and did it myself. I've had them for a couple of weeks but was a bit apprehensive about laying them in case I got it all wrong. But today I've just got on with it and, even if I do say so myself, I've not done a bad job at all! Woman-power!!!!!

On days like the last two, I feel like a different person. Life seems full of possibility again. It has a meaning that I just couldn't find a few months ago. I am so very grateful to be feeling like myself again at last. Even without the lottery jackpot, I'm a very lucky woman.

 

[mommyB]

Girl power !!!

So nice to read such a positive post,good for you

 

[TheRealMe]

Thanks Jane. I know I can be a real misery sometimes so it's only fair that I share the good as well as the bad! My very bad chocolate habit has meant I've gained this week - another 2lbs back on which could be really depressing. But I'm well aware of what I've done wrong. I enjoyed almost every mouthful so I'm just not in a position to moan - the fact is that I can't eat chocolate and lose weight. End of. Not unless I seriously up my activity and that is just not going to happen any time soon.

Here's a revelation - I guess I'd do a lot better if I didn't eat chocolate, cake or biscuits. No Sh*t Sherlock!!!!

I've had a moment of real clarity today. Do I want to be slim or do I want to eat refined sugar and processed food? Today it's the former. So I haven't had any rubbish at all, hurrah! Just need to do this for a few more years and I'll be back in my 'slim' wardrobe!!

Given how much better I'm feeling, I'm definitely saving up for a light box for next autumn. No more SAD for me - the dark days of winter have been dreadful. Just a few days of sunshine makes all the difference so the light box has got to be worth a try.

So, here's to another good day tomorrow. Good luck all you fellow miniminners, may the force be with you, may your determination be strong and may all temptation be resisted!!!

 

[TheRealMe]

Not too bad a day yesterday. Put my porridge in the microwave and forgot to eat it! So by 11 at work I was ready to eat anything. Had a Twix and 4 custard creams. Had my porridge for lunch when I got home at 3.30, then chicken and vegetable curry (no rice) for dinner. Could have been better, but could have been so much worse too!

Plan ahead. How many times is this brought home to me? So why on earth don't I do it? Am I really so inherently lazy or just plain stupid? I do want to feel better about myself. This means eating properly and exercising more. I know this. I know what to do to achieve this. I just can't seem to sustain linking the two together for any period of time. It's so annoying. I get really cross with myself but still don't make that leap into actually changing on a permanent basis. It's weird. Perhaps I need my head examining???!!!!!

 

[TheRealMe]

Much better day today. I did eat some chocolate which isn't so good, but I do feel more in control. I have got a migraine tonight - it's been coming on all day and I kept meaning to take some pills but forgot. Rushing around at work, then doing the shopping. It's been quite a long day and this pain is really the last thing I need. I've taken the medication now which means I'll be asleep within the next hour so won't be getting anything done tonight.

Bacon and eggs for breakfast
Boiled egg and fruit about about an hour later for lunch
Dinner will be NLY and a few nuts if I can face it - nausea is always there with migraine

I've had a revelation today - work have given me my pension predictions and I'm quite excited at the thought of maybe being able to retire when I'm 60 instead of 65! I really wanted to work it all out tonight, but no chance of that. Hoping to do it tomorrow though. Just think - there is the possibility of only having another 6 years to do instead of 11. I'm so desperate to work out the figures to see if I could really make it happen. It would mean some significant changes even now, but it's just got to be worth it. Just another 6 years. Can it really happen?

 

[couteaux]

Hi TheRealMe,

Hope you are feeling much today today! Glad to hear you had a better day food wise, are you still thinking of trying phase 1 to beat those sugar cravings?

I'm back on phase 2, just introducing dairy again. No weight loss for me (big booo!)

How exciting re your retirement! An extra few years to yourself, no work, that sounds fantastic, fingers crossed it is as you are hoping x

Have a great weekend, hope it is very harcombe friendly

 

[TheRealMe]

Arrgghhh! I just spent ages writing an entry and pressed something odd which made it all disappear! Can't do it again, will try again tomorrow!!!!!

 

[missfortissimo]

Your updates are always so nicely written and lovely to read.

I hope you are having success!

 

[welshbrummie]

hey jules how is it going?
Ive done quite badly this month - started again on phase 1 this wk. have joined in with the 6 wk no cheat challenge...in dire need of detox