new to LLL

[osanago]

Hello!
I am on day 3 & was wondering if it is okay to have full fat cheese, my local supermarket only had full fat goats cheese so I bought that but is this going to effect my weightloss?, also can you eat too much salad & vegetables? My portions seem really big! One more thing, can I eat beansprouts?
Thanks
Emma

 

[HannahNewton]

Its low fat cheese only - but I have had tiny amounts of full fat - to add to recipes. P17 of your book.

I think the guidelines for salad and veg are 1 cereal bowl per day.

I generally have one salad or plate of veg with my main meal and then some veg sticks cut up for snacking on at work.

Beansprouts are not mentioned on the allowed list - but I do sometimes have mixed stir fry packs with them in. They dont seem to take me out of ketosis so I guess they are ok in small amounts.

Good luck!! xx

 

[Laged]

I was wundering the same things, was going to try a stir fry put put it off coz of the beansprouts! But I'll give it a go?

Good luck on LLL I'm just on day 3 too. Xx

 

[osanago]

Thanks for responses, will try & source some low fat cheese then!
I am probably having way more than a cereal bowl as having vegetables & salad, guess I need to look at portion control too.
Good luck to you too Laged!!
Em x

 

[Minerva]

You CAN have too many vegetables - it also depends which one's you're having most of. Carrots for example, are quite high calorie and quite starchy in comparison to the others. Tomatoes are quite high in sugar (and contain citric acid) - which given more than you need - can knock you out of ketosis.

My LLC actually suggests not including vegetables and sticking to lettuce and 'greens' along with the protein. While I don't completely stick to that one, I count my calories - which is the next basic principle of this diet. You generally don't want to go over 800 per day (including packs and other extras) as this can affect ketosis.

But, we're all individuals and finding the right balance for you is the main thing.

Good luck with your LLL journey!

 

[BT9Chick]

Minerva, your post is provably THE MOST USEFUL I have read yet! Lol I've been really struggling the last two weeks. I use a calorie counter app on my mob to record everything I eat (shows Carb, protein and fat grammes as well as calories ingested) and when I compare to the first two weeks when I made good losses to the last two weeks where I've been struggling there is a noticeable contrast Getting weighed on Tues again and not optimistic as been a very emotional week. However, now that I really do understand where I have been going wrong I am alot more optimistic about continuing. Thanks again x

 

[osanago]

Hi Minerva, thanks for your response, I am vegetarian & just find it easier to cook a meal with veg & have salad on the side but I realise this is probably too much & I will have to settle for one or the other. Don't feel like I am in ketosis though & amn't really sure what it is! I loathe to have to start counting calories though as I feel like I spend too much time thinking about food when I want to try & simplify that side of things. I have my first weigh in tonight so will soon see if I am eating too much! Also from experience do you think TOTM will adversely affect my weigh in tonight? Thanks, Em

 

[Minerva]

Hi Minerva, thanks for your response, I am vegetarian & just find it easier to cook a meal with veg & have salad on the side but I realise this is probably too much & I will have to settle for one or the other. Don't feel like I am in ketosis though & amn't really sure what it is! I loathe to have to start counting calories though as I feel like I spend too much time thinking about food when I want to try & simplify that side of things. I have my first weigh in tonight so will soon see if I am eating too much! Also from experience do you think TOTM will adversely affect my weigh in tonight? Thanks, Em

As a vegetarian - do you have the cheese/quark? Or beans? Or quorn?
Personally I really enjoy the quorn mince, the frozen stuff. 75g (quarter of the pack) of it is enough to mix in with a great amount of mushrooms - and you don't have to worry about calories. You don't NEED to count. Just be sensible. Have a small bowl of veg and a nice amount of protein. I can suggest those half cans of butterbeans which are about 100 calories each. Fantastically filling with some cabbage on the side. Also, I can suggest getting some Marigold Boullion for flavour - it is essentially a vegetable stock that we're allowed 2 teaspoons of.
You will be losing consistently, just make sure you don't snack in between meals. Watch your losses and adjust portions accordingly. You'll be just fine! xx

Minerva, your post is provably THE MOST USEFUL I have read yet! Lol I've been really struggling the last two weeks. I use a calorie counter app on my mob to record everything I eat (shows Carb, protein and fat grammes as well as calories ingested) and when I compare to the first two weeks when I made good losses to the last two weeks where I've been struggling there is a noticeable contrast Getting weighed on Tues again and not optimistic as been a very emotional week. However, now that I really do understand where I have been going wrong I am alot more optimistic about continuing. Thanks again x

Thank you again! Are you finding Lite a little easier now? What do you find the most challenging?

Emotions do and can wreak havoc on our losses and obviously - behaviour. If we're stressed and tired, the body will be more likely to hold on to water so our losses will appear smaller than they actually are.

However, remember a simple rule of thumb - if your rough energy intake is about the same every week - the deficit will still be the same with your activity levels remaining (I presume) consistent. You will be losing the same amount of fat weekly - but your body does need time to catch up. Sometimes it may panic that something is wrong (diets aren't exactly the most natural things in the world, and if we look at prehistoric times - weight loss would signify famine and hardship) - so we're programmed to preserve our energy stores and body shapes. It WILL shift though, so patience is key.

 

[osanago]

Hi again, just ordered some marigold boullion from amazon, thanks for tip, I have been having either pulses, eggs or quorn mince and am trying to vary what I eat from day to day. Haven't tried quark, sounds like a star trek character! What is it like? Only lost a pound in my first week weigh in, the counsellor looked horrified but after the initial shock I think I know it will sort itself out for next week. TOTM, camping on Saturday night which meant I didn't drink anywhere near enough water & a good bit of walking resulting in very achy muscles. Counsellor made me pee on a stick & said I am in ketosis but dehydrated so drunk wads yesterday & was up at the loo 5 times last night so hoping to sort that out. Also under major stress which I didn't even consider as a factor for weightloss but after reading what you said above I suppose that is another factor to be considered. Butter beans & cabbage sounds yummy will defo try that, thanks, Em xx

 

[Minerva]

1 lb at the end of the first week? That is quite unusual, however, TOTM can contribute - and if you did some exercise which tore your muscles (the aches and pains..), this means your body WILL be retaining water to repair the damage. Take it easy for the next week and don't do anything strenuous... And yes, keep drinking the water! It WILL get easier - ketosis will make you more thirsty. As for the constant running to the loo... Well, think of it as a body cleansing exercise, though I agree it is highly annoying. You're going to be going much more frequently simply because there are no carbs to 'soak it up' inside!

Plus, the amount of water/what you had to eat BEFORE the weigh-in also makes a difference. I generally try to be consistent and try not to drink more than 2 cups of coffee and stop 2 hours (ish) before I get weighed in. But, I'm lucky that I have my appointment at 1:30pm, so I don't have long to wait.

However, if your Week 2 WI is equally as un-eventful, I would suggest cutting down on the portion size. Maybe, it could be useful to calorie count JUST for a couple of days - to get an idea of what and how much you should be having? That will give you a good indication - because naturally we all underestimate the true weights of things!

As for Quark... I believe it's a type of cottage cheese. But, as cheese is usually quite high in fat and calories, I stay away - plus I'm not entirely sure I'd be satisfied eating white mushy stuff for dinner... I'm quite happy with either prawns, a bit of fish or quorn.

Happy dieting!