It's the final countdown! Losing it - Phase 2!

[tizzy51]

Thanks ladies.

TMI warning - I can finally attest that if you pop in enough dulcolax, your body will finally give up holding on to everything in your digestive tract. It's not pleasant or fun, but it is a relief! On top of which, my CDC decided to inform me that she had heard that as you age, even without being on CD this kind of thing becomes more of a problem. Oh joy! NOT!

At least I have a quiet week in the Netherlands - no travel and few social engagements. Must keep focused, do ss (tho' I'm thinking adding a day or two of ss+ given that I lose after eating salads in France) and see how much I can shift off this week!

 

[tizzy51]

I haven't posted on my own thread for some time, so thought I'd check in. I've lost 14lbs in 7 weeks - most people would be over the moon, but I just think it is sooooo slow. Course 2lb/week is a very healthy rate of loss and I can feel my body adjusting as it progresses. I just wanted the entire 30lbs of Phase 2 to come off with a snap!

So, I'm pretty much at my initial goal and am glad I chose to do a 2nd phase. While I'm very happy overall with my loss, my body and how I feel - healthy & strong - my torso/waist are still too large. I know one's waist thickens with age, but I still want it to be a bit less thick. I figure another 10lbs and it will be great. The additional 6 (I still have 16 to lose) will give me a buffer for when I come off ss.

Meanwhile I've started planning Thanksgiving - I host a dinner every year and cook for 2 days straight. What always amazes me is that what took 2 days to cook is demolished in the space of 2-3 short hours! However, it is loads of fun and it offers the space for everyone to reflect on the things we have to be truly thankful for, instead of to focus on the negatives in life. I will put up the menu when we get closer to the date or after the dinner.

OK - am off to France tomorrow for 3 days of meetings. My contract with this client is up in another month or two, so I must make the most of it for the nonce.

 

[ayshaahmad]

Oooh u are so close and 14lb in 7 weeks is fab hun but i know your feelings we want to wake up and just be skinny keep at it and u will be at goal before u know it!
Have fun in france and be gd x

 

[tizzy51]

Hmmm - wasn't as good as I would have liked. :-(
And had some wine (one small bottle - 200ml) on the train on the way home - when we got to Amsterdam, I thought we were in Antwerp and only realized everyone had gotten off when the conductor let me know we were at the final destination! Hic!

Am cold. And tired. Wonder if anyone will notice if I take a nap at my desk?

 

[tizzy51]

So am quite cross with myself at the moment - have lost, gained and relost the same 2lbs in the last 3 or so weeks! It all seems rather a lot of effort to, in fact, STS. Grrrr. Yes I've spent a lot of time in France, yes I don't have a pressing deadline and yes phase 2 is harder than phase 1, but all I'm doing by faffing around is prolonging the agony. And feel rubbish about myself and my ability to manage the diet.

OK - time to put in place a goal. I was 151lbs this morning - by next Monday I want to be 147-148lbs - so 3-4lb loss. FOCUS!! I know I can do this!

On a different front, I told my CDC today that I am experiencing quite a few bouts of dizziness. Last week in the office I really had difficulty focusing and nearly keeled over when I stood up. CDC advice: take more vitamins and eat spinach. Anybody else had/having this kind of problem?

 

[Lily]

So am quite cross with myself at the moment - have lost, gained and relost the same 2lbs in the last 3 or so weeks! It all seems rather a lot of effort to, in fact, STS. Grrrr. Yes I've spent a lot of time in France, yes I don't have a pressing deadline and yes phase 2 is harder than phase 1, but all I'm doing by faffing around is prolonging the agony. And feel rubbish about myself and my ability to manage the diet.

OK - time to put in place a goal. I was 151lbs this morning - by next Monday I want to be 147-148lbs - so 3-4lb loss. FOCUS!! I know I can do this!

On a different front, I told my CDC today that I am experiencing quite a few bouts of dizziness. Last week in the office I really had difficulty focusing and nearly keeled over when I stood up. CDC advice: take more vitamins and eat spinach. Anybody else had/having this kind of problem?

I love your avatar, Tizzy.

Don't be cross with yourself over that 2lbs. It might have taken a lot of effort but you have maintained and you've learnt stuff about how your body reacts to food along the way. I already replied to you on Kira's diary, but I think that pound gain you saw after the Chinese had nothing to do with carbs and everything to do with salt and/or MSG. Try not to read too much into tiny fluctuations though (yes, a pound is a tiny fluctuation if you consider that you could gain a pound simply by drinking a glass of water!).

I think you're doing brilliantly, especially as you do so much travelling about. :clap:

For what it's worth, I don't think vitamins and spinach are going to help the dizziness. My money's on either (a) you needing more fluid - are you still drinking as much as you used to? (b) your body needing a bit more salt because you're exercising more or (c) you're doing too much on too few calories - when you get down to your sort of weight you haven't got much fat to burn! I know it sounds odd, but you might need to start eating more in order to start losing weight again, that or do a little less exercise! Dizziness when you stand up too quickly is what's known as postural hypotension - it's quite common on a VLCD and nothing to get too worried about. So don't get up too quickly - and keep a bottle of water to hand for when you feel dizzy.

 

[ayshaahmad]

Dont be hard on yourself hun u are doing amazing, good luck next week for your 3-4lb goal glug the water and u will be fine! I havent experianced the dizzy spells but what lilly says makes a lot of sense! I dont see how more vitamins will help as cd products have all the recommended vitamins needed for your day so i was told!!!

 

[DaisyG]

Tizzy! I've found your diary!

For what it's worth, it sounds like Lily is right to me - you may need to up your calories if you're doing 65 mins of cardio. Have you weighed your fat? It could be that you're losing fat & replacing it with lean muscle - making you STS but be getting healthier and toning up.

Don't be too hard on yourself - we're both doing this the same way - acknowleding that personal circumstance means we sometimes have to eat, which will mean we lose more slowly, but we will still lose. The maths says so!

 

[tizzy51]

Thanks ladies! I am still drinking 2.5-3+ ltrs of water a day, and I've been exercising all along - on cardio days I do 40-50min of cardio plus stretching, on Pilates days I do 45-50min of Pilates. I should also be doing 2 sessions a week of strength training, but haven't done so in the last 3 weeks. Before I started I went to an exercise physiologist who pinched my fat (delightful experience!) and put me through a series of tests - cardio, stretch, strength - and then gave me a weekly exercise program to follow. He told me I had a lot of muscle mass and I have been exercising to make sure I keep as much of it as possible. I love the fact it burns more calories!

So when I started to get dizzy, even tho' doing the same level of exercise or even a little less, while drinking the same amount of fluids, I got a little worried. I also get tired more easily now than I did (just noticed in the last 2-3 weeks). Before I had loads of energy, now I have periods where all I'd really like to do is curl up and nap. Early onset old age?

I have been wondering if I need to do ss+ more regularly, esp because some weeks when I'm in France, I come back to a weight loss even tho I was eating salad and small amount of meat. Want to get through this week and see how it goes, and compare to next week when I'm in France again for 3 days.

Lily - will keep a bottle of water handy at all times. When doing Pilates this morning, there were a few times I felt dizzy, but didn't think to drink anything (and I hadn't eaten anything either....way too early in the morning!).

Daisy - have no idea how to weigh my fat, other than to go have it pinched again. All I know is that the %fat my CDC's scales show is not correct.

OK - time to get back to work. And, of course, drink water!!!

 

[tizzy51]

OK - had great plans this past week to lose 3-4lbs ... and was sort of on track until Saturday. Friday I weighed in (at home) at 149lbs - first time I've been there since my 20s!!! And then, as I seem to do these days, I sabotaged myself. Went to a friend's for dinner on Sat, made Eton mess for dessert and ate some myself. Ate a bit more on Sunday and even a bit more Mon (estimate I had 1000 cal yesterday) ... by Mon am I had gained 0.5lbs. This morning I just got up, got ready and left for France. Am disappointed with myself as I know better and I'm just slowing the whole process down and for what??

Even worse, I've been dreaming of bags of crisps or packages of biscuits. While I know it's good that I haven't given in to these temptations, I struggle with 2 things - 1) I believe it's only a matter of time and 2) I'm almost looking forward to giving in as much as I dread it! In my future I want to be able to indulge in some of the foods I love, even if they're bad for me. But I dread the results - weight gain, possible slide back into binging and/or previous eating patterns.

I'm also struggling with the fact that I'm quite ok with my current weight - if it weren't for the fat on my torso, I'd stop now. Some of the clothes I bought this summer in the US - and I bought clothes that fit me pretty closely, are now loose, which has me realizing that when I lose the remaining 15 or so lbs to my target, I'm going to need yet another wardrobe (this losing weight is expensive!).

At any rate, my mood this morning is like the weather - grey and overcast.

That said - I want to lose 2lbs by Monday's weigh-in. Just putting it out there.....

 

[angelupnorth]

Tizzy a intake of 1000 kcal shouldn't make a huge difference at all to your loss, You can do it chick !

You are so right about losing weight being expensive, I sold a lot of my large clothes and made around £400 on a auction site but I dread to think how much Ive spent on new smaller clothes. There is no way I want to buy bigger ones again but I also agree that once we feel ok with our bodies we soon become relaxed and complacent.

The last stone is always the hardest but every 1lb off is a 1lb in the right direction x x x

 

[ayshaahmad]

Tizzy keep it up it is hard and of course if u are happy then that is even harder cos u wonder why u are still going and struggling along, you are doing fantastic so don't be hard on yourself!

 

[angelupnorth]

Tizzy keep it up it is hard and of course if u are happy then that is even harder cos u wonder why u are still going and struggling along, you are doing fantastic so don't be hard on yourself!

Well said

 

[tizzy51]

Thanks ladies - sometimes I have the impression I'm beating a dead horse and it's going nowhere - but you're right. A lb off is a lb in the right direction. Just taking a bit (a lot) longer than I had hoped!!!

 

[DaisyG]

Firs off, 149 is absolutely fan bloody tastic. Congratulations!

As you know, sabotage is my thing (and weirdly enough it kicks in at 150lbs for me)

Sometimes it feels like the part of us that is used to food being an emotional crutch will try and scupper us just as we're close to goal - after all its scary - what if we're not as happy as we think we will be? What if being slim isn't the silver bullet that gives us the life we want?

After all, I've used my weight as protection for a long time: oh, I'm single cos I'm overweight, I can't do this cos I'm overweight etc.

Perhaps part of your brain is doing that? I've resorted to listening to slimpods to try and adjust my attitude to food and jus take all that off the table.

Be kind to yourself - you're doing brilliantly.

 

[tizzy51]

Thanks Daisy! How're the slimpods? They helping? Until I started reading minimins, I didn't even know things like slimpods existed...and I'm still not entirely sure I know what they are...but they sound intriguing.

Had a good day yesterday and, so far, a good start to today! How everyone is doing well!

 

[DaisyG]

How are out doing Tizz? Have had frantic week at work. Again.

I think slimpods might be having an effect - its hard to say when you don't eat lol, BUT when I am eating, I'm making good choices and stopping earlier, so perhaps they are having an effect.

 

[tizzy51]

Hi Daisy

I'm doing ok. Have been travelling this week and there's been a death in my family - found out too late to make it for the wake.
Have been doing ok diet wise as well, but with all the travelling etc, I haven't been keeping up with the water. Not sure how things will go for weigh-in - not my highest priority at the moment.

Hope you're having a good weekend!

 

[DaisyG]

Hi Tizz, how are you? So sorry to hear of your bereavement. You hanging on in there?

 

[tizzy51]

Hi Daisy. Good to hear from you. Yes, hanging in there. It's very odd - I don't think my uncle's passing is real for me yet. I'm used to living far away and not seeing everyone very often, so for now he is still "out there somewhere". It will hit home when I'm next at a family gathering and he isn't there...
Mostly tho' I make sure to call my aunt a few times a week - she is hanging in there and getting through it - it must be sooooo hard! To be with someone 47 years and then one day find yourself alone - I can't imagine it!

Diet-wise, still going, but slow. And this weekend I held Thanksgiving with 2 sets of friends, so all bets are off for the weigh-in. However, it was planned, controlled, enjoyed and CD starts again tomorrow.

How're you doing?