Serena A
Can't think of a title
Have posted this in the main CD forum but am feeling self-indulgent so thought I would post it here too 
***
Thought I'd summarise my CD journey which VLCD newbies may find helpful as it might answer a couple of questions along the way (or not - depends on whether you make it through without falling asleep!)
But anyway...here goes:
Stats: have lost 6 stone in total, just over 5 of which have been on CD. Gone from size 20-22 tops/18-20 bottoms to 10-12 tops/8-10 bottoms. More detailed stats are under my username etc.
Background: I've been overweight all my life, went on my first diet back in 1991 aged 16 and have since tried pretty much everything including calorie counting, Atkins, WW, Xenical, Reductil, Cabbage Soup...have yo-yo'd between being 1 1/2 stone - 6 stone overweight and never reached a healthy BMI during that time.
Reason for starting CD: health issues, the main one of which was high blood pressure which for a female of my age (34) didn't bode well for the future. Since doing CD my blood pressure is back to normal and - something I didn't expect - my asthma has all but disappeared!
Losses on CD: I mainly did SS+ (the 4 packs with milk version). "Only" lost 3lb in my first week as I'd low-carbed in preparation but it meant I didn't get the headaches/hunger that many suffer with during those first few days. I've noticed people's losses tend to either be good losses with the odd stay-the-same followed by a great whoosh of a loss the next week, or relatively steady but no whooshes. I was in the latter group and lost a steady(ish) 3lb a week.
Exercise - I've done taebo dvds (a combo of cardio and toning, nothing too strenuous) and toning with light weights pretty much throughout my CD journey. Although it never showed up on the scales I can seriously notice the difference now that I'm at target. I think it's also helped me avoid the issue of loose skin of which I only have a little despite not bothering with bio oil etc.
Ketostix - I never bothered with them apart from when my CDC made me do the odd test to check I was on track. The way I look at it is I don't need a pedometer to tell me that I've gone for a walk so I don't need to pee on a stick to tell me that I've stuck to CD correctly!
Hair loss - my hair is really thin anyway and I suffered with hair loss from around month 3 but for me it has been a price worth paying as overall I feel loads better. It's growing back now.
"Cheats" - I wasn't a saint but on the whole I stuck to CD 100% even when my dad passed away. Saw it as practice for maintaining my losses once at target.
Putting weight on going up the steps - I lost around 1lb a week on all of the higher steps (I've also increased my cardio exercise slightly as I've gone up). The only gain was after my 1st week on 1000 where I put on 1lb because of the reintroduction of carbs, but it caught up with itself the week after where I lost 3lb.
If I could go back in time would I choose to do CD - mega super-duper YES!!!
And finally - me all dressed up...before and after:
Phew!!!
***
Thought I'd summarise my CD journey which VLCD newbies may find helpful as it might answer a couple of questions along the way (or not - depends on whether you make it through without falling asleep!)
But anyway...here goes:
Stats: have lost 6 stone in total, just over 5 of which have been on CD. Gone from size 20-22 tops/18-20 bottoms to 10-12 tops/8-10 bottoms. More detailed stats are under my username etc.
Background: I've been overweight all my life, went on my first diet back in 1991 aged 16 and have since tried pretty much everything including calorie counting, Atkins, WW, Xenical, Reductil, Cabbage Soup...have yo-yo'd between being 1 1/2 stone - 6 stone overweight and never reached a healthy BMI during that time.
Reason for starting CD: health issues, the main one of which was high blood pressure which for a female of my age (34) didn't bode well for the future. Since doing CD my blood pressure is back to normal and - something I didn't expect - my asthma has all but disappeared!
Losses on CD: I mainly did SS+ (the 4 packs with milk version). "Only" lost 3lb in my first week as I'd low-carbed in preparation but it meant I didn't get the headaches/hunger that many suffer with during those first few days. I've noticed people's losses tend to either be good losses with the odd stay-the-same followed by a great whoosh of a loss the next week, or relatively steady but no whooshes. I was in the latter group and lost a steady(ish) 3lb a week.
Exercise - I've done taebo dvds (a combo of cardio and toning, nothing too strenuous) and toning with light weights pretty much throughout my CD journey. Although it never showed up on the scales I can seriously notice the difference now that I'm at target. I think it's also helped me avoid the issue of loose skin of which I only have a little despite not bothering with bio oil etc.
Ketostix - I never bothered with them apart from when my CDC made me do the odd test to check I was on track. The way I look at it is I don't need a pedometer to tell me that I've gone for a walk so I don't need to pee on a stick to tell me that I've stuck to CD correctly!
Hair loss - my hair is really thin anyway and I suffered with hair loss from around month 3 but for me it has been a price worth paying as overall I feel loads better. It's growing back now.
"Cheats" - I wasn't a saint but on the whole I stuck to CD 100% even when my dad passed away. Saw it as practice for maintaining my losses once at target.
Putting weight on going up the steps - I lost around 1lb a week on all of the higher steps (I've also increased my cardio exercise slightly as I've gone up). The only gain was after my 1st week on 1000 where I put on 1lb because of the reintroduction of carbs, but it caught up with itself the week after where I lost 3lb.
If I could go back in time would I choose to do CD - mega super-duper YES!!!
And finally - me all dressed up...before and after:
Phew!!!
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