Hi, thought I'd best pop back and give an update on how I've gotten on.. lots of good news.
My last full day of TFR was on wednesday and I'd managed to get down to 172.3lbs (12st4.3lbs), I'd kinda hoped to reach 12st but I'm
very happy with the result, I'd been worried about moving on to refeed a lot, terrified tbh that I'd balloon up and not be able to exhibit any willpower, the stability and predictability of the TFR is if anything a bit too easy.. so it was with a heavy heart I made my way to the pharmacy on thursday morning for the start of refeed..
I had kinda been hoping to be given all the answers but the reality is that refeed and maintenance is up to yourself, the pharmacy can give you advice but you're the one that has to accept responsibility for your diet.. daunting.. but it was time to get stuck in.
I opted for a small selection of the regular TFR shakes to keep as a backup and just got one box of the Caramel maintenance bars.
Day 1 refeed
Had 2 caramel bars during the day, they are rather tasty, heavy going tho, where before LT I could have wolfed down multiple bars of chocolate in one sitting I was actually feeling kinda full halfway though each bar which I thought was great, first indication that my appetite might have shrunk. Had plenty of water during the day (still not enough tbh), and stopped off at M&S to buy my first food !!
I'd decided before starting refeed that my first meal would be a nice tuna salad, was going to have a boiled egg with is as well but forgot to pick that up.. lettuce, radish, onion, tomatoes, peppers, tuna and some balsamic vinegar.. it was lovely, and I was totally stuffed. Never in a million years would I have thought I would enjoy a salad so much, and the palate reset stuff is true, I never liked cucumber or tomato before, they were lovely !!
So that was the day 1 food down, and I had no idea what to expect, weight loss/gain.. worry worry worry..
During TFR I made a point of not buying clothes and intended to buy my first new clothes when I started refeed, rather than going on a major spree I opted to dip my toes in the water and just grabbed a pair of jeans and shirt while I was food shopping... great success !! My pre-LT sizes were waist 42", shirt size L-XL. I was soooo happy to leave with a 32" pair of jeans and a SMALL shirt, SMALL !!! I couldn't believe it, now to be fair other shirts would only fit in a medium, but god the feeling of elation to buy that shirt was worth every second of the past 3 months.
Day 2 refeed
1.1b off !! Another positive boost
Another caramel bar for breakfast, then a big salad bowl with chicken and egg at the office canteen, stuffed again, theres zero deprivation about the refeed so far. I was heading to a quiz straight after work so rather than an evening meal I just had a small pack of cooked chicken with me, tasty and I was hungry at no point during the evening. I had a little treat consisting of 2 crisps lol, again I think its awesome that a small treat like that satisfied me where before I could have had multiple packets
Day 3 refeed
.2lb off, yay still losing, not at all concerned about the amount as I'd seen during full TFR that some days you stay the same, and some days you go up, but the overall downward trend doesn't change.
Breakfast of another caramel bar, they're not as sweet as you'd think tho, kinda like a thick cake I find. And I had another plain chicken salad for lunch then an evening salad with mexican chicken. I had my first real treat, I was so tempted to buy a bar of chocolate when out shopping and compromised by getting a Freddo bar, it was lovely, but very different to how I remember chocolate, I let it melt in my mouth rather than speeding through it, I'd never have the patience to do that before..
Day 4 refeed - today
1.8lb off, started so far with a shake and will go grab some veg and baking potatoes later, first big test today with a regular meal.. fingers crossed
