Working Solutions Russian Doll - One Day at a Time

[xSherrie.Chointellex]

Another good day. I started off with a banana shake ... I liked it but will probably get some ground cinnamon to add a bit of 'oomph' in future.
A toffee, nut and raisin bar for lunch, Thai chicken soup (with a sprinkling of chilli and black pepper) and that was my day.

I felt hungry a couple of times but had a drink of water or a coffee and the feeling passed. I was hungry - I didn't rush to 'resolve' it and guess what - I'm still here to tell the tale. Must be a lesson in there somewhere

Oooohh cinnamon sounds good

Its crazy isn't it, it must mean that we don't have to eat as soon as our head/tummy tells us too! We will still survive haha x

 

[Russiandoll]

Well, another day under my belt and what a challenge it was! I went out last night so a bit of planning was needed. As I planned to take a bar with me, I had soup for lunch ... vegetable topped with a generous sprinkling of fire eaters and some black pepper.

We were going to a do near London so stopped on the way and my other half had a KFC 3 piece variety meal. I had a black coffee and my bar. I was SO proud of myself for showing such self-control! But to be honest, it wasn't nearly as hard as you'd expect. I think of it this way ...

there are plenty of foods I have regretted eating afterwards but NO foods I have regretted NOT eating.
I cannot EVER remember waking up of a morning and saying 'Oh sh** - I wish I had eaten that pizza/chinese/curry last night' but I'm enjoying saying 'I'm glad I DIDN'T'!!

I'm feeling very determined this time ... a feeling sadly lacking on other restarts I've attempted. There are several 'danger zone' events ahead but I'm not going to stress about them now. I'll approach them and plan for them like I did last night.

I'm visiting my daughter in Plymouth tomorrow and won't be back until Thursday evening so my weigh-in will have to be Friday morning. It'll all even out by the end of the month though.

 

[xSherrie.Chointellex]

there are plenty of foods I have regretted eating afterwards but NO foods I have regretted NOT eating.
I cannot EVER remember waking up of a morning and saying 'Oh sh** - I wish I had eaten that pizza/chinese/curry last night' but I'm enjoying saying 'I'm glad I DIDN'T'!!

I love this!!! What a great way of putting it into perspective! I have to admit though I had a split second of 'ooh I so wish I was that lady' when I saw a woman coming out of my favourite chinese with a big bag of food haha x

 

[DustQueen]

Glad it's going so well well done x

 

[Russiandoll]

Well, here I am at the end of my first week. I haven't 'weighed in' because I've been at my daughter's in Plymouth for the last couple of days so couldn't use my own scales. I'll do that tomorrow.

I have stuck 100% to the plan (except maybe I could've consumed more water - 2L a day was as much as I could manage). I've not found it nearly as difficult as I thought I would and have even overcome some major challenges .... like sitting opposite someone eating a KFC, someone eating a full English breakfast and someone eating bacon rolls. I was very proud with the way I dealt with those situations.

I don't think I'm going to have the amazing first week results experienced by some. For starters I have metabolic syndrome ... my body doesn't metabolise carbs like 'normal' people and I gain weight easily and it's a struggle to lose it. But also, I ate a diet fairly low in starchy carbs before I started Exante so I don't think I had a huge amount of glycogen to lose. I was in ketosis in day 3 so it was used up quite quickly.

Anything will be great - anything over 7lb will be awesome. Will post it tomorrow

 

[xSherrie.Chointellex]

Im really looking forward to seeing how you've done RD! Well done for getting through those tempting situations and feeling proud of yourself for it

Big pat on the back from me x x x

 

[Russiandoll]

I now have full faith in this diet. Week 1 done and I'm down 10lb!!

I showed willpower that shocked even me this week ... my first week and I sat opposite someone eating a full English with just a coffee - opposite someone eating a chicken meal at KFC with a coffee and a bar and next to someone chowing down on a bacon roll.
But NONE of those things would have given me the feeling I have today for having been so controlled and I've been justly rewarded.

I'm off shopping today for the family. I'll be getting myself some ground cinnamon for my banana shakes and some more chilli powder, black pepper and fire eaters. Having these sprinkled on my soups makes them look 'restaurant' quality and I love the taste kick.

Bring on week 2!!

 

[xSherrie.Chointellex]

Well done RD! I knew you'd do really well! All the hard work is worth it x

 

[Thetrigos]

Well done RD that is a FAB result you should be so proud of yourself!

 

[Sarette]

Huge well done to you RD! Here's to week 2! xx

 

[Barb]

Debs, this sounds like the old you, the positive 'I totally can' you! Fantastic, 10lbs is amazing and the good thing that is coming through all your posts is the sheer determination. I would say your light bulb is well and truly back on. Well done, so glad for you.

 

[Russiandoll]

Debs, this sounds like the old you, the positive 'I totally can' you! Fantastic, 10lbs is amazing and the good thing that is coming through all your posts is the sheer determination. I would say your light bulb is well and truly back on. Well done, so glad for you.

Thank you Barb. I really DO feel more like 'the old me' after what I can only describe as the worst 4 years of my life.
Having lost my young nephew in tragic circumstances in 2007, then watching my dad fade away and die because of cancer in 2008, redundancies and virtual bankruptcy in 2009 followed by almost losing my youngest daughter in 2010, I'm happy to say there is now a very bright light at the end of a very long, grim tunnel and I'm feeling happier than I have in a long while. I'm just grateful I didn't end up at my original weigh ++ and managed to maintain after an initial surge in my weight gain.

There are things I want to be able to do and for that, I need to be lighter. I want to enjoy life as fully as I can and am putting things in place to enable that.

Thanks for your support Barb - you've always been there for me even back in the dark days. I'll be forever grateful xx

 

[xSherrie.Chointellex]

Big hugs to you RD :bighug:

 

[Russiandoll]

I went to see Al Murray at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton last night - what a laugh! He was hilarious!

To my right I had someone munching her way through a large bag of peanut M&Ms and to my left was another woman happily making her way through some chocolate clusters. During the interval, it seemed like everyone (except me) was enjoying small tubs of luxury ice-cream. I was fine though and sipped on my bottle of water.

I had a soup quite late when I got home at around 10pm-ish which isn't ideal but it was too early to eat before we went and by the time I got to bed I was exhausted.
I slept and slept .... in fact I didn't wake up until nearly 2pm (which was 1pm because the clocks had gone back). I haven't laid in like that for many years.

When I got up, I the room was spinning and I felt a bit sick. I thought I was in for a bout of vertigo but I suddenly thought about the time and realised I had anything to eat or drink for 15 hours. The tanks were totally empty.

I checked my blood sugars (I have type II diabetes) and the reading was the lowest I've seen since I was diagnosed in 2001 so I had a bar, a coffee and a large glass of water. Twenty minutes later I felt a little better but still slightly hung-over and lethargic.

I had a shake a couple of hours later to get some more energy into me but today has been a bit of a write off all in all.
Lesson learned - I mustn't go for that long again without something inside me.

 

[xSherrie.Chointellex]

Well done for being so good!
Hope you feeling even better now, I've actually felt quite rubbish today also. Even contemplated having a small plate of chicken breast and veg to get my energy up but have decided against it. I cant get a taste for food otherwise I wont stop eating and its too early on in the journey.

Hope tomorrow is a better day for you, have the scales beens friendly this weekend? x

 

[Russiandoll]

Well done for being so good!
Hope you feeling even better now, I've actually felt quite rubbish today also. Even contemplated having a small plate of chicken breast and veg to get my energy up but have decided against it. I cant get a taste for food otherwise I wont stop eating and its too early on in the journey.

Hope tomorrow is a better day for you, have the scales beens friendly this weekend? x

Sorry to hear you're feeling a bit rough as well. Maybe it's part of the journey as we're both feeling under par.

The numbers on the scales continue to drop (another couple of pounds according to my scales) so all good!

I've bought a really nice quality waterproof jacket (Goretex so would've cost a fair bit new) from a charity shop so I can go for walks in not-so-nice weather BUT there's a 6" gap across my tummy where it won't meet. I knew this when I bought it but thought this would be a further incentive and another indicator other than the numbers on the scales as to how I'm doing. I'm looking forward to the gap narrowing until I can finally zip it up ... maybe I should take a sweepstake as to when this might happen

Have a good evening and a great week x

 

[xSherrie.Chointellex]

Thats a brilliant idea! Sometimes just reading the scales each day doesn't really show us just how well we are doing, we need to SEE it and what a perfect way to spur you on. When are you going to try it? Each official weigh in day?

I have a pair of jeans that I bought my mum, they're a size 8 and she's a size 8 but they are massive on her so I'm guessing they are more of a size 10. I was thinking of using them for the same reason but I daren't try them yet, I think it would dishearten me right now as I have a long long way to go until I would be able to get into them, might try them after I've reached the 2st mark.

Same for you RD, have a good evening and great week ahead x

 

[Russiandoll]

Back to work today (I work in a school). I had half a bar and a coffee before I left and the other half at break time (11am). Had a shake at around 3pm and still have my soup to go.

I won't be able to do this after the 14th as that's when I start my second job (5-10pm) and it won't be convenient to mix a soup there. So my plan then is to have a shake at my morning job (11am), a soup at around 4pm and a bar at my evening job. Hopefully this'll work out.

I haven't told anyone at work that I'm on this diet - I'm waiting for someone to notice. My guess is this'll happen when I've lost around 2st ... in a month or so.

Another day under my belt

 

[tubbynomore]

Hi RD, well done on 10lbs in your first week. You did amazingly well losing 10stone and you will do it again.
I can tell from your posts how determined you are. It is hard to sit and watch others eat but having to cook for the family and not pick is the worst challenge ever.
Good luck with week 2 xx

 

[xSherrie.Chointellex]

Did you find today any easier being at work RD?

I always wanted to work in a school lol what do you do? x