Minerva's on a mission!!

Hi Minerva, I've caught up on your diary now :) Your trip sounds amazing, I'm very jealous! As for the exam thing, good for you, it wasn't going to help your future and you weren't hoping to take it further, and you sound much happier :)

Well done on the loss!
 
Hi Lottie, thank you for your kind words :) You're right, I am feeling much happier and so much less stressed. I can finally concentrate on doing housework and redecoration and not feeling like I'm putting life 'on hold' for study! :) After I get back from holiday I'll start looking for work as I expect it will be a while until someone actually offers me one due to quite limited work experience. Meh, I'll cross that bridge when I get there. :)

Bee - I'm not sure Atkins would be for you as it's very meat orientated. On Induction phase I'm only eating 20g carbs per day - which means severely limited vegetables and salad. It really does feel a bit like a egg and meat fest at the moment :p I'm still counting calories along side (though apparently I'm not supposed to ..?) and staying below 1000. As an example - the other day we marinaded some chicken legs in tandoori spice and yoghurt. Dinner consisted of 4 drumsticks and 2 thighs on a bed of baby salad leaves. It's a lot of meat! But was delicious...

On more - SnS related note --- today we had an AMAZING breakfast. For 5g carbs (as opposed to 12g in a SnS porridge pack) I had pancakes and they were delicious. :)

2 eggs (2g carbs)
60g Asda's Light Soft Cheese (2g carbs)
1/4 tsp cinnamon (1g carb)

Whisk/whizz ingredients together in a blender and pancake-away! :D It should make roughly 4. The batch has roughly 226 calories.


It's not a full week on Atkins yet, but so far I have lost 4lb! Last week I lost 8. Pretty good for week 2 I'd say :D


Hope everyone's having a good weekend!

x
 
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Lou_G said:
wow that's amazing results on atkins! I LOVE meat

you're doing great - nice to do with with OH and eat together sounds like you two have a great relationship :)
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Thank you! :D I'm getting a little sick of this much meat and eggs, but it's not so bad. The sauces/flavours we can use are very limited unfortunately as everything has carbs.... The OH is a foodie too, he gets big just like the rest of us mere mortals (he can't eat and get away with it...). So we do usually try to coincide diets :D Helps so much! :D


----
Day 14 :)

Weighed in this morning at 12st 9 - only 1lb up from the final weight I had before I had the two weeks off. :) Goes to show - that even if you go crazy for two weeks (and I did...) it'll all be off again in two weeks if you stick with it 100%! :D Still have 3 days of diet before we're off! May as well keep the momentum going as long as I can. :)

We went to OH's parents for a Father's Day BBQ yesterday - we brought some steaks from our local butchers to have - but they proved VERY popular with everyone!! Melt in your mouth sirloin, a butcher with a good name is better than any supermarket ;) I had to shepherd the OH away from the wine and the cake though, he was pining for them. I didn't care much in all honesty, I stuck to my two small steaks and a bit of lamb.

I'm finding with 20g carbs or below I'm getting really bad ketosis brain. Funnily enough I didn't get it on SnS as the carb content in them is actually pretty high (near 60g per day) which would explain maybe why weight loss was a little slow for me? Unfortunately I'm not someone who gets the "ketosis-high" with lots of energy etc, I just get foggy and all my sense of humour disappears... I do not like it. :( I'm more snappy with the OH and he doesn't deserve it, but at the same time I want to lose the weight quickly too. Blergh. Maybe the lack of caffeine also contributed, who knows. :) Haven't had any for two weeks to detox a little bit.

I'm glad we both dieted for two weeks before we go away, rather than go feeling bloated and having confidence at sub-zero. Whatever damage we do will be off in two weeks following our return (we're both planning on tasting some authentic Black Forest Gateaux from the Black Forest in Germany! ;) and their famous pretzels and all the other stuff in Belgium and France lol) ...

When we get back, first two weeks we'll be getting the gain off... after that I have roughly 4 weeks to shift whatever else my body decides to shed before all the guests come from all over. :D ... A few days off for that... and then more casually Atkins off the rest before Christmas!! :D I DO NOT want to be fat again this Christmas!!!!


I'll be back a little later to catch up on diaries, hope everyone is doing well!

x
 
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I don't thrive on the ketosis either I'm all moody/sleepy/paranoid/withdrawn I think I need more fat ideally but I'll just get this month S&S over and then get on the atkins/paleo/primal wagon

Although when I did Dukan in 2011 I felt amazing, and that is low carb low fat so maybe it isn't that - maybe I'm just a moody cow ;) Meal replacements are no-way as satisfying as MEAT grr :D:D

The best thing about travelling is eating all the food, I love it! yum yum - enjoy it while you're there, you're totally right, you can rectify it in 2 weeks when you get back :D

Schwartzwaldekirschetorte!!! Best word from German at school. I've been to the Black Forest it was snowing and my ears popped as we went up. I was only 15 though on a school exchange trip I would love to go back as a grown up :)
 
Lou_G said:
I don't thrive on the ketosis either I'm all moody/sleepy/paranoid/withdrawn I think I need more fat ideally but I'll just get this month S&S over and then get on the atkins/paleo/primal wagon

Although when I did Dukan in 2011 I felt amazing, and that is low carb low fat so maybe it isn't that - maybe I'm just a moody cow ;) Meal replacements are no-way as satisfying as MEAT grr :D:D

The best thing about travelling is eating all the food, I love it! yum yum - enjoy it while you're there, you're totally right, you can rectify it in 2 weeks when you get back :D

Schwartzwaldekirschetorte!!! Best word from German at school. I've been to the Black Forest it was snowing and my ears popped as we went up. I was only 15 though on a school exchange trip I would love to go back as a grown up :)
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Rofl, you learnt how to say Black Forest cake in German class? Hahah and it stuck! I suppose it's rather a cool word ;) Your exchange trip sounded like a blast, I'll report back to you about it! I can't wait, I love European forests and stuff. Reminds me of home. :)

Mmmm food will be amazing I'm sure. It all tastes different over there. We can't reproduce it in the UK, something in the air or climate just ... changes it. When I go home to Latvia - it's always the food that brings back the feeling like I'm ... where I'm supposed to be. The smells, the air. Can't explain it really. :)

Ketosis really sucks!! Blergh. I hear you on the extra moody/sleepy/paranoid/withdrawn bit. 20g carbs per day and I feel like my whole body is filled with lead, going up the stairs is a chore. It's hard to move and my brain just ... feels HEAVY. I can't sleep very well either. Just... Meh.

AT LEAST ----- I have stuck to the diet all the way to the end!!!! Bar one glass of white wine this evening! OH gave up today and declared he's off the diet and tucked into some bread rolls and ice cream. I did not participate and kept on the Atkins. With the stress of EVERYTHING, packing, shopping, organising, having bathroom contractors come in for quotes, getting cat settled in with OH's parents... I just said f*ck it, one glass of wine is deserved!! Plus on Stage 2 of Atkins you can have a glass ;) ... lol I'm making excuses now. Either way, I feel a little more relaxed, ready for the early start and trek over to Calais tomorrow morning.


So I will be back soon!! Ready to get back to it :D Good luck to everyone and :bighug:

x
 
Hello :D

I will be back on Monday, to tell all about diets and holidays and the like :D

In short though - +16lb over 10 days! *shock* But, I know that actually my water weight at it's fullest is about a stone. =| It just goes on (and off) too easily to be anything else. Got back to the UK on Monday and have been counting calories (1200 per day or so) since then. Have lost some lbs since the first Wi on getting back so I'm pleased :)

On Monday I'll restart Atkins induction - but until then, I'm being careful and on Saturday we have a street party and I'm making 3 cakes o_O ... Thought I'd enjoy some fruit and veg (and maybe a little cake and wine) before I go back into food exile for 6 weeks :p

Hope everyone is well - I'll catch up with everyone soon!

x
 
Morning Minerva! You sound very much in control and that's is brilliant! Look forward to hearing about your hols!
 
Thank you Kira! :D How are you getting on? Do you have a diary I could follow? :)

Well.. Day 1!

Feeling reeeeeeaaaalllllllllllyyyyyyyy bloated. Ugh! I deserve it though, tooooooo much wine at street party on Saturday - and some cake throughout the day. Miraculously gained 7lb in just 2 days :eek: Then again the incredible heat + TOTM due any day now - the combination of all these these factors isn't helping. Street party was good though - a lot of the neighbours came out and there were tents with lots of food, lots of music, dancing, games and bouncy castles. My carefully maintained vampiric white glow got tarnished with some sunburn! Damn it!!

I have nearly 7 weeks from today to lose as much as I can. :D Not setting a figure as I don't want to get disappointed, it'll be whatever it will end up. :) I'm just hoping I can get back under the 13st's in the next 2 weeks!! I've been waaaaaaayyyyyyyyy too naughty. Damn those tasty German foods and my greed :p Oh well, at least English food is nowhere near as tasty.

In 7 weeks I have a mini-diet-break as we have lots of guests coming for a party... it'll only be for the Bank holiday weekend, so it won't be as disastrous as this break :D After that - it's getting the rest off - because as I said in some earlier post - I don't want to be fat again this Christmas :D Sick and tired feeling like a fat lump at these family events, it's horrid!!

As for how the diet plan will go... I'm a little undecided. I find Atkins induction too harsh, it makes me feel pretty shoddy. VERY foggy and my body physically hurts. BUT having said that 100% SnS doesn't really work for me (no idea why?) - the weight losses are 0-2lb per week - same as I'd get just calorie counting. Maybe the carbs are too high in it for me personally?

Sooo... while I'm getting back into it for this first week I'll mix up the two plans a bit - two small straight protein meals and 1-2 packs? I'll see how I go. :) Keeping carbs below 40. Next week I'll reduce this down further.

Now for the horrid carb withdrawal... how I hate it so...
 
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Good luck min!! Carb withdrawal sucks but once it's done it's done :) i'm having stupidly low losses on s&s but sticking with it as i'm kind of used to it

Sounds like you've had a great time :) are you more chilled out now? Xxx
 
Minerva hope you be through today with relative ease. Whilst the sunshine is glorious it doesn't necessarily make dieting easier!

I think the combo you propose should be fine as there will be less carb intake. Though do take a vitamin as s&s suggest on three packs.

I have gained 6-7 pounds from mid May and just get seem to get back in the groove to shift it. I've tried to start every day telling myself I'll get back onto track. So I start again today on s&s if only to,shift this half stone and then tackle the remainder. I have a diary on silver section but I've no idea how to give you a link! I'm such a dinosaur as techy stuff!

Will let you know how I get on later today. I'm sipping my water froma pint star bucks mug next to me!
 
Hi there. I'm restarting today as well after a weekend off that became several days... Not looking forward to carb withdrawal either but need to do this. I don't want to be fat at Christmas either! Good luck, Minerva!
 
Lou_G said:
Good luck min!! Carb withdrawal sucks but once it's done it's done :) i'm having stupidly low losses on s&s but sticking with it as i'm kind of used to it

Sounds like you've had a great time :) are you more chilled out now? Xxx
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Hi Lou :) I'm a little bit more chilled out emotionally. But the street party wasn't great for me; I had my friend with me though, we stuck together like glue, but she noticed I got very antsy and anxious - which wasn't actually a conscious decision? Well, a bottle of wine helped, but only just...!

How are you getting on? Don't tell me about stupidly low losses on S&S!!! I know! Lol. 1 lb per week. Part of the reason I gave it up - I know the calories are low (so we should theoretically be losing 2lb or so), but I felt quite bloated on their formula, I think the carbs were higher than needed for ketosis to happen for me personally. I know this because I know what ketosis feels like - and I never felt it!
Either way though - it's going in the right direction! If anything, the packs are providing a control mechanism, without which we'd be a little bit more lost and more prone to falling off completely. :)

Kira said:
Minerva hope you be through today with relative ease. Whilst the sunshine is glorious it doesn't necessarily make dieting easier!

I think the combo you propose should be fine as there will be less carb intake. Though do take a vitamin as s&s suggest on three packs.

I have gained 6-7 pounds from mid May and just get seem to get back in the groove to shift it. I've tried to start every day telling myself I'll get back onto track. So I start again today on s&s if only to,shift this half stone and then tackle the remainder. I have a diary on silver section but I've no idea how to give you a link! I'm such a dinosaur as techy stuff!

Will let you know how I get on later today. I'm sipping my water froma pint star bucks mug next to me!
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Half a stone is really not much! But I know that it can 'feel' like a lot when you're used to a smaller frame. 7lb at 14st and at 8st feels radically different...! :) How is your re-start going? I'll go find your diary a little later :D

Spanglymum said:
Hi there. I'm restarting today as well after a weekend off that became several days... Not looking forward to carb withdrawal either but need to do this. I don't want to be fat at Christmas either! Good luck, Minerva!
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Christmas really is one of those events we don't want to be uncomfortable at!! So much family around - some we may not have seen for months/since last Christmas and the last thing I'd personally want to worry about is my flab and getting paranoid about everything.
How is your restart going? Did you have a good birthday? :)

-----------------


In my news - my week is a bit... Undecided. Monday and Tuesday - kept calories low (700 or so); then yesterday ended up at 2000. Not because I wanted any straight carbs - there were biscuits and stuff around me all the time (as OH hasn't gone on the diet yet - he says next week...!). I was missing fruit. Had lots of bowls of low-fat yoghurt and frozen raspberries - which amounted to quite a lot - OOPS!!

I think the main culprits are
A) I love and miss fruit and
B) Doing a mixture of S&S and Atkins is not working - if I have S&S my carbs are too high and mentally that's ruined the Atkins - and then it's a bit like - oh, who cares, keep calories low, but keep carbs below 100 - and then it's a bit messy. And
C) OH is not on a diet yet - which shouldn't make a difference, but in the first week it does psychologically, when he's munching biscuits, ice cream and all the rest of it more often than he should and I'm sat there feeling hungry. Note- NOT sorry for myself, just a bit put out. :)
D) The knowledge that I'll still be chubby when my friends come over - I just feel so disappointed that on S&S from January I lost so little :( 5 months to lose 3 stone. That's just ... awful. I did stick to it quite rigidly - with the rare night off, but, I'm just annoyed and discouraged with the whole thing. I wanted to be a size 12 or so - but instead will be 14/16 still. :( Ok, it's better than size 20 - but still!!!

So there we have it, I'm not doing so well :p BUT I'm trying!!
 
Hey! Minerva it is the "trying" that makes all the difference. I've found in the past when I stopped trying I gained even more weight because I simply stopped being conscious of what I was eating and why.

On the S&S I agree the losses do appear to be less particularly when I compare it to my previous losses a few years ago on Cambridge. I guess with the S&S being "meals" the carb content is higher although I have to say I did get into ketosis on S&S. I wonder what Exante products are like in comparison?

I've faffed around on my re-start and attempting again to stick to plan or close to it as I can as I have 3 personal training sessions a week so I need either an extra pack or larger protein meal on the day before I train. Changed my diary thread to "I must STOP faffing around!" I suspect I will change it again! I was doing so well maintain for some time around 8st 8 too but this extra 7lbs put on 2-3 inches on my waist, almost half an inch on my thighs! So I really need to get a grip!

You are past your half way point I see from your stats and even just calorie counting and having a small deficit in calories will make the difference. I just need to remind myself of that just in case I don't stick to S&S it isn't the end of the world but continuing to watch calorie intake would still make a difference!
 
Hi min, don't make light of what you've achieved, when you were a 20 you would have been over the moon to wake up a size 14

14 is not 'fat' it's just that you had your eyes on the 12, you will get there eventually but don't let it ruin any plans; my one regret in life (in my old age lol) is not enjoying things or not going to things because I thought I was too fat - and missing out on life

To be honest I still do it now and know I will regret it in the future, so feel qualified to give the advice but not to take it ;)

Be proud of what you've achieved so far, 3 stone in five months is not pathetic, it's fantastic and you worked hard for that

Xxx lots love xxx
 
Hey! Minvera just dropping by to say hello and hope all is going well. Hope you are enjoying the sunshine?
 
Helloooo... I'm on Day 7 amazingly enough. I made it through the dreaded week 1!! the week before I tried to start but the rebellious child was shouting WAY louder than I could cope with, so I gave in (oops)... and annoyingly enough it extended the 'off-the-diet-bit' to almost 4 weeks... ouch.

I'm just eating meat/eggs mostly with a little salad and keeping carbs at or below 20g per day. I don't think I'm doing Atkins right though... It's a high fat, moderate protein and low carb diet without express counting of calories; yet years of VLCD's have made me scared of calories and fat... so as a consequence I end up at 800 cal per day somehow. But if I lose slowly (if at all ...) on a VLCD at such low calorie thresholds how am I supposed to lose when eating more? I can't get past that one. :confused: Soooo confused....

I have roughly 4 weeks to try to get below BMI 30 which is 11lb away... I don't think it'll happen. :( Ugh.


At least the renovation of the upstairs is going well, the bathroom will be finished this week.. Then in two weeks they'll paint the bedroom and the stairs/landing and carpet will go in and it'll be done :D Theoretically I could paint the bedroom myself, but the landing is tricky - it's quite high and I'm dead scared of ladders, let alone ones that sit on the stairs!! ARGH
 
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