No going back!

[southwestgirl]

Back again - have been off on the boat with no net access.

Yesterday -

B - two hardboiled eggs
L - smoked salmon with watercress
Snack - part of a pack of pork scratchings
D - home-made lamb burger with more watercress

Today -

B - two hardboiled eggs
L - omelette with chorizo, sliced mushrooms, and a bit of grated cheddar. Plus small handful of rocket.
Snack - two slices of Emmental cheese
D - roast duck crown (cheap at Sainsbury's!) plus spring greens.

And have gained another pound this morning.

 

[southwestgirl]

Oh yes - and seem to have an infection, starting anti-bs today. Maybe once that is out of the way, things will improve.

 

[moonlights]

No idea what's going on there I'm afraid, SWG. There's certainly nothing wrong with the diaries you post.

You could possibly try a fat fast for three days - it's meant to start the most insulin resistant off on losing weight - but I've done it a few times a few years ago (stupidly only because I wanted to lose weight 'faster' not for valid reasons) and it's not much fun.

 

[Kat1e]

Oh - hope anti bs work soon!

 

[southwestgirl]

Right, back again, sort of. Have had (ok probably still have) kidney infection, three days into a week's worth of anti-b's and not feeling too brilliant, sleeping a fair bit. Fortunately my OH loves to cook!

Yesterday -
B - protein shake
L - part of a packet of pork scratchings
D - Italian grilled fish with broccoli (cheapie pollock 'bricks' from Sainsbury's, thawed then grilled in halogen oven, then a smear of tomato pesto, rasher of crispy bacon instead of expensive pancetta, plus mozzarella sliced on top and all grilled again until the mozz melts.)

Today -
B - homemade zero carb yogurt
L - bacon and egg
D - courgette 'noodles' with mushroom cream sauce (from Rose Elliott's Vegetarian Low Carb book - can recommend!)

I have a strong suspicion that recent thirstiness and being wiped out after meals has been to do with this bit of unwellness brewing.

 

[ladyfelsham]

So sorry to hear you've been so unwell SW - hope the a'biotics are kicking in!

Interested to hear about your yoghurt - how do you make it?

 

[southwestgirl]

Thankyou ladyf am def feeling better than I was earlier.

Ah, the yogurt! I got this a long time ago from a US low carb/diabetes forum. I make it in a bulk yogurt maker that I got from Lakeland (also years ago) - have just looked it up on the website and they still sell them except that they cost £12.50 back then and now they are £19.99. The idea is that you leave the stuff to ferment for 24 hours instead of 8 hrs per the instructions, and all the lactose gets used up by the bacteria. Basically one dollop of yogurt from the previous batch, plus one litre of full fat UHT milk, stir gently to mix, put pot in yogurt maker and leave to ferment for 24 hours minimum. And then chill in the fridge.

There were people on the forum who were diabetic, they reported that they had no blood sugar spike from this stuff at all. So that means, no metabolised carbs. Good, eh?

 

[ladyfelsham]

Oooh wonder if that would work with my Easiyo? I've just got some brewing now, so will leave it until tomorrow night and see Thx!

 

[southwestgirl]

Actually I have tried this with the Easiyo mix for Greek yogurt, we use the Easiyo big white pot thingie on the boat as no electricity required. It has kind of become second nature to leave it to brew for ages now. It worked fine for us, although I do think that the results are better with the Lakeland heated version.

Today's food -
B - bit of low carb yogurt
L - tuna with mayo and chopped spring onion, lambs lettuce with chopped avocado. (Loving the cheap avocados at the moment)
D - bit of fried steak, pea shoots from Sainsbury's. And a cheesecake cupcake, thankyou Moonlights for the idea!

 

[southwestgirl]

B - bit of low carb yogurt
L - runner beans 'spaghetti' with pesto - (stringless runner beans sliced lengthways into 4 or 5 'strands', cook for 4 min, drain, stir in a bit of pesto and olive oil, sprinkle with parmesan. Rose Elliott again!) - plus a cheesecake cupcake. These are seriously addictive.
D - pork chops on the barbecue, watercress.

 

[southwestgirl]

I need to write down how I made the cheesecake cupcakes in case I forget how I did it. Not quite the same as moonlights' version, but she gets the credit as it was her idea.

200 grams full fat soft cheese
2 large eggs
100ml double cream
bit of Splenda
2 capfuls of good vanilla essence

Soften the cheese, stir in the eggs one at a time, add the sweetener and vanilla essence, and finally stir in the cream. Make sure there are no lumps, it makes a runny mixture.
I then scraped it all out into a jug, and poured it into 6 very lightly buttered silicone muffin cases plonked on a baking tray. I am far too lazy to do anything like a water bath, just 20 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees C. Probably don't need to butter the silicone cases, but I did just in case.

They rise, and get browned a bit on top. When you take them out of the oven they collapse again, par for the course with baked cheesecake. Cool in the silicon cases, then just pop them out and put them in the fridge to chill.

 

[southwestgirl]

B - one and a half devilled eggs
L - chipolatas and fried egg
D - cheeseburger pie, spring greens

Have definitely got my appetite back, and my energy as well. Still on the horrible anti-b's, one more day of them left. But feeling a whole lot better all round, so maybe they are nice anti-b's after all.

And - oops - was supposed to weigh in this morning, completely forgot. Am probably still 12-13.

 

[ladyfelsham]

Glad to hear you're feeling better and bursting with energy

 

[southwestgirl]

So, I have now got myself a copy of New Atkins New You, and I have been reading it. Today I started weighing everything and writing it all down, working out the carbs and adding it all up. Couple of things are apparent - I have not been eating enough vegetables up til now. Today I have had 12 grams from veg and my goodness what massive helpings.

The idea now is to keep on with induction, by the book, and see how it goes. I did weigh myself this morning, and horrors I have gained another 2 lb and am up to 13-1. That won't do......

 

[moonlights]

My only suggestion would be to cut out the yogurt. I realize your method is meant to make it low carb but without scientific apparatus you can't guarantee that - and it's the only thing you seem to eat that isn't strictly on plan.

I had a little total Greek yogurt in a dressing for a couple of days running, a few weeks back, and gained 3lbs, which came off as soon as I stopped eating the yogurt.

Worth a try?

 

[southwestgirl]

I agree with you moonlights. I have had no yogurt today, not allowed in Atkins induction, and won't be having any whilst I'm on induction. I am not exactly pleased about the weight gain (understatement of the year) have to get this under control, a few weeks ago I weighed 5lb less than I do now. Maybe dairy is a trigger for me, only one way to find out! I do like my yogurt but I'd like being the right weight a whole lot more.

I finally have a date for my 'urgent' surgery - end of July. I would really really really like to not be 'obese' by then. That would mean getting down to 12-8 ie losing 7lb in just over a month..... it ought to be possible, it just feels a bit unlikely.

 

[Kat1e]

Hi SWG - hope going back to basics works for you - worth fnding your "problem" food!

 

[southwestgirl]

Hooray hooray - I am losing again. I should not be weighing in til Tuesday, but this morning got on the scales and woo hoo back to 12-13. Goodness that has cheered me up. I am never never never going back in the 13's again. (If I can help it.)

Seriously, I am eating so much more veg. Am weighing everything and working out the carbs, writing it all down in a notebook. Feeling v good about this!

 

[ladyfelsham]

Well done on the loss SW

 

[southwestgirl]

Thankyou ladyf, it feels good to be back on track again. Now, I want to get down to 12-8, then I will not be obese any more according to the charts. Just 5lb to lose.

Am struggling today to eat all I am supposed to. Am completely not hungry, have lamb fillet with rosemary baking in the oven at the moment and it smells lovely, tenderstem broccoli all ready to have with it. Am only going to get to 14 grams of carb total if I manage to eat it, and only about 8grams of that from veg. Hmmm. Ought to be more. Oh well....

Have also been thinking - and talking with OH - about why I want to lose weight. It is not about appearance - I am ok with how I look - it is about quality of life: not getting health problems due to the excess weight, not getting knackered knees due to the weight (this is starting to be an issue), not getting diabetes etc etc etc.

Maybe will feel hungry in a bit.