Shelly Belly's Bridesmaid Blitz

Hey Guys,

I'm back from my lovely long weekend in which my boyfriend came to Tunisia to stay with me. I managed to pretty much "tread water" with the diet over the weekend, keeping all the meals Dukan friendly, but sneaking in the odd treat (for "odd treat" read "lots of booze") now and then over the weekend. He left yesterday and I weighed myself this morning and it read 11st 13.75. Eek, still in the 11's... just!
I'm looking forward to really cracking on with the diet now, and getting some good results, I have a fridge full of low fat yogurts and jelly and a heart full of determination!! haha!

Today's Menu:

Breakfast: Galette and a yogurt and a big cup of tea

Lunch: Leftover roast chicken and 3 strips of turkey ham

Dinner: Grilled monkfish and an omelette (one yolk, two whites)

And I'll drink lots of tea!!

Hoping everyone has a great day, I'm off to check on all your diaries ;)
 
Well done for getting a loss. Perhaps those extra walks (or other activities ahem...) helped swing the balance in your favour! Whatever it was, keep it up!!
x
 
Good Morning Lovelies,

Had a great diet day yesterday and necked a massive green tea before bed which I think helped with the water retention.
Woke up 11st 12.5lb! :) And I went out for a run with my running team and shaved a minute off my 6k!

Got a tricky day today, as I have to go out for lunch, but I was planning to rock another PP day. I know a great place that does grilled fish, so planning to head there. Then I have a meeting at someone's house in the evening, but they always put on a spread and there is always chicken so I'm planning to put some chicken and salad on my plate and then eat around the salad

Menu du Jour (I do live in a francophone country ;) )
Breakfast: Galette+Vanilla yogurt
Lunch: Grilled Fish
Dinner: Some Roasted Chicken, then yogurt and jelly when I get home :)

I'll avoid veggies today, but it might be tough, so I'll just have to do my best

Have a great day guys xxx
 
Good Morning!

Had a great day yesterday. Diet wasn't bang on, but not too bad. At lunchtime I had a bit of salad (literally just lettuce) with my tuna steak, so that I didn't look like a total crazy, while my officemates devoured massive bowls of cous cous AND an entire basket of bread. I didn't feel deprived at all though, especially when they were rolling around in discomfort all afternoon, having overeaten! Then at 4pm, my manager bought it a massive tray of cakes, because one of our interns was leaving. I won't bore or tempt you with the details, but they were certainly not Dukan ;) but I felt really proud of myself for resisting and cracking open a can of Coke Zero while my officemates when to town on them.
In the evening, my friend came over from Libya. She's here for the weekend. She's Libyan and Tripoli is a really tricky place at the moment, lots of disruption and anguish to deal with everyday. In spite of everything she must have on her mind, she still greeted me with an "oh my God, Gurl! have you lost weight?!?". I think I love her.
We went out for Sushi, and although I thought I could just stick to Yakatori, in the end I just got some Salmon Sashimi salad. It was dressed only with Soy Sauce, so I reckon it was the Dukan friendliest I could do.

So it was a PP day, but some leaves crept it. I think that if you are cheating on your diet with a bit of lettuce, then you are probably doing an alright job ;)

The scales rewarded me this morning with 11st 11.25 :)

Today is gonna be a real challenge. The intern who is leaving is a bit of a living legend, so we have another lunch thing for him today and then a dinner with friends tonight. For lunch I could have that lovely tuna steak again, but tonight it's a Crispy Duck party. I know right?!? Crispy Duck is completely NOT Dukan. Rather than miss out, I called the organiser and have arranged to bring some iceberg lettuce to use in the place of the pancakes... and I have promised myself to just have 3 and no alcohol (lest my resolve waivers). And I am taking along some Vietnamese Boeuf Luc Lac (from the Dukan Book in the recipe section), and planning to mainly eat that. So it will be a little cheat, but hopefully will not derail me entirely. Planning a PP total weekend ;)

Menu du Jour
Breakfast: Galette+Vanilla yogurt
Lunch: Grilled Tuna and Salad
Dinner: Boeuf Luc Lac Salad, three Duck Rolls (wrapped in lettuce)

It's Friday! Yippee!!!

Have a lovely weekend xxx
 
Hey Guys!

I had a lovely weekend. Friday night Duck was a success. Then on Saturday night a friend cooked dinner for me and was really supportive beforehand, asking me the ins and outs of the diet, so that she could make something delicious - and it really was! O n Sunday we went to a coastal town and I had a massive fish platter - The Dr would be proud.

The scales rewarded me and I woke up 11st 10lb this morning! so chuffed. Now I am 3 weeks in and 8lb down :)
I think I'd better work on a little signature thingamy...
 
Oops,

I haven't sorted out the signature thingy, I'll work on it tonight!

Erg! Up a lb today to 11st 11lbs. Had a great PP day yesterday, so it must just be one of those things. Hoping for a big lovely loss soon.
I'm going on a pretty intense business trip in two weeks, to Senegal and Istanbul, so it would be a dream to at 11 and a half st for that - is that a bit optimistic? Maybe - but I think I can do it ;)
 
Ooh, the signature thing did work afterall! :)
 
Had a Good Day yesterday and went out for an amazing tuna steak with veggies at lunchtime.
Really thinking that I'm drinking too many diet soft drinks so I'm going to try to cut down and stick to tea today.
PP day today, and lunch is prepared and in the fridge ready to go.

Down a lb this morning to 11st 10lb again, and ran a 6km before breakfast :)

Happy Wednesday!
 
I need to sort the signature thing out too Shelley x I don't think diet drinks are bad for you in fact they are recommended aren't they ? I've really got to get going with the excercising but everything seems to be working and I'm feeling positive . Love reading everyone's diaries as they are inspirational to us newbies x
 
I need to sort the signature thing out too Shelley x I don't think diet drinks are bad for you in fact they are recommended aren't they ? I've really got to get going with the excercising but everything seems to be working and I'm feeling positive . Love reading everyone's diaries as they are inspirational to us newbies x

Hey Super Nana, me too - especially when I don't see results - like this morning, stayed the same, but seeing everyone else doing well helps me to Trust the Process!!
And you are doing great! I like reading yours because we started around the same time :)

Usually, I think it's fine to drink lots of Diet soft drinks - but I have a terribly addictive personality and so sometimes I drink upwards of 2 litres in a day :eek:!! Especially if I'm in the office and a bit bored. It's a bit of a weakness. 2 or 3 cans is fine, but I don't think guzzling 2lt/day is good for my insides (or financially sustainable!!)
And I'm a rascal, because I know I'm not doing it out of hunger, but rather out of boredom.

I'm hoping to make alot of mindset changes through the diet this time around - fingers crossed ;)
 
Shelly, I take my hat off to you for your amazing coping strategies.when faced with difficult food situations. Telephoning the restaurant to check re salad options was ingenuous. I often check menus when not hungry so as to make my choices in the cold light of day rather than when starving hungry on the day!

Good luck for getting those losses moving again. Luclac is delicious but you might find some water retention after that sort of meal, as with soy sauce.

For diet soda, I agree with limiting it. Too many additives and édulcorants (the Word in English escapes me but I know you'll understand). Plain old H2O works for me... One diet soda a day perhaps? I was down to one a week before my holiday but am now on one a day again. Addictive personality here too.

Keep up that exercise too. Wish I could run! I must forget to breathe as I'm pathetic yet I walk loads and very fast too... 70k last week...
 
This past weekend was tough!!
Went out with the girlies on Friday night - stuck to my no drinking, as not only is it not on plan, but it also erodes all of my self discipline. So I stuck to the Diet Cokes. I was glad I did, because at 2am we ended up in a kebab shop, and if I had been drinking, I would have certainly had one! But I managed to resist! :)
On Saturday night I went out for dinner. PV day, so I was sure I should be able to find something on the menu... Ordered Marmite du pêcheur, which is a seafood stew. It arrived with a massive pie crust! I had to pick it all off! Still I didn't have any. Or wine. All of my friends had dessert! And I couldn't even have coffee cos the coffee machine was broken! I just sipped on some sparkling water - feeling smug.
Sunday I went for coffee with some friends, and while they all had lattes, or caramel-whack-macachinos... or whatever AND Red Velvet Cake. I had a humble ginger tea. I kept right on plan. All weekend. And the Scales have been so unfair to me!!!

Here are my daily weight ins:
Friday: 11st 8.25
Saturday: 11st 7.5
Sunday:11st 7.75
Monday: 11st 8.75 (Err hello!! That las lb does NOT belong to me!!)

So I wonder if it's water retention or something. Just planning to stick at it and hope for a glorious loss soon.
I think I might have to do 2 things:
1. Stop focusing on all this things I can't eat, and actually focus on the things I can - shop feeling a sense of injustice about the diet
2. Stop weighing myself everyday as it's making me a bit neurotic!

Have a brill week, guys xxx
 
Don't worry about the 1lb, my weight goes up and down by 2 lbs throughout the out the week but by the end of the week drops a couple. I too am obsessed with the scales and have found myself weighing everyday again when I said I wouldn't!

its easy to feel deprived on this diet, I've been there in the past and it always leads to a binge. Your right, it can feel so unfair that everyone else can eat all that carby sugary yummy stuff and you can't. The way I look at it now is that I can if I want, it's just that I've chosen not to and saying no feels great. No one is telling me I can't have it but it's the decision I've made because it will make me fat.

Keep going, and make your meals really nice ones that you can look forward to x
 
Thanks for all the lovely support guys, and Tryin Again, you are so right - I must remember that I am doing this for myself and I am fortunately to have the time and the determination to see this through and really make a change. If the scales had been down yesterday, I expect I would have been all smug and proud at how ell it's going, but they really put me off.

Which is why I didn't weigh myself this morning. It took alot of will power and I basically had to get up and glug a massive cup of water to stop myself, but I have decided to wait until at least Thursday. Thursday will mark my 1 month on the diet, so even if there are no daily changes it will be a nice point to reflect on how the last month has gone.

I ran 10km this morning. It felt amazing :) My running has definitely improved.

PP day today and I have leftover steak and a boiled egg for lunch. I have marinated some chicken in Nandos sauce for dinner - I checked the label and was really pleased to find that it has no added sugar or nasties and is very low carb. I miss Nandos, living in Tunisia. I'm not back in the UK until the end of July, for a wedding of one of my boyfriend's friends. I'm secretly hoping for a size 10 dress. It might be a bit optimistic, but at least I should be on the right track.
 
I'm feeling a bit down today. Progress is slow, or not at all and it's really getting to me.
I tried on a size 12 skirt that I used to always wear last night and it was maybe 3inches from doing up. It used to be big on me! It got me really down. I know this is a process. I know it will take a long time. I know that I didn't gain this weight overnight (however much it feels like it), but I had really hoped to see some more changes.
I know people have been commenting that I look slimmer, but I convinced myself that it's just because they see me eating differently.
It feels like the wedding is coming up really fast, and I am fighting daily battles, and it just doesn't seen to be getting easier. Right now my supervisor is sitting across from me with a massive bar of white chocolate...

So last night I got all upset about the skirt and I was working late into the evening from home, and I ploughed through a load of Dukan-friendly fare. Late night snacks of Yogurts and Turkey Ham. I know it wasn't the worst thing, and I didn't exceed my low-fat dairy allowance, but I'm just frustrated, because I wasn't hungry and I just ate because I was bored/down.

I also have to travel next week for work and I'm getting really nervous about sticking to the diet. I'm going to Senegal. I can take Oatbran, but how will I eat it? Maybe mix with hot water like a porridge? I don't think I'll be able to find Low Fat yogurts. Most Sub-saharan African Countries don't even have Diet Coke. Oh I'm ranting, I should be excited about the trip and try not to make it all about food. I'm just nervous.

Today is a PV day and I have made a lovely salad for lunch with boiled eggs and chicken. I hope this bad mood passes and to be feeling brighter for tomorrow. I might read this diary back this evening to motivate myself.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, assessing how far I have come in the last month and to weighing myself.

I hope everyone's having a good day xxx
 
Oh those size 12s will fit in no time! And good on you for bingeing on Dukan food! Not many people would have resisted the temptation to give in and eat that big bowl of ice cream!

On the travel... how long are you away for? Depending on the length of your trip, you could consider just eating the good bits from what's available or just take a mini break. The one time I was away for a long weekend, I packed oat bran and diet cokes and cooked frozen foods, just to make sure I would stay on plan. Got to the airport and ate a Costa's Tiffin (i love those!).

If you are hesitant to take time off now, maybe look at doing PV days while you are away. Will give you more freedom when menu options are limited? Also, from what I know about Senegal (from work), they do have a lot of fresh produce and meat available - we source stuff from there. I bet you could pop into the corner shop and buy loads of veggies to snack on.

- oat bran you could make a batch of cookies (look in the recipe section) - i usually make a batch for the week and just grab and go, they keep in an airtight container
- tins of tuna or similar foods ... but may be heavy in your bag
- i always have my trusty box of splenda with me (the only sweetner i can stomach)

Hope I helped a little...

Let us know how WI goes xx
 
One Month Down!

Okay, so I got a bit of co-operation from the scales this morning, 11st 7.5lb! back to my lowest this year (previously seen on Saturday ;) ).

As I said, this is my one month mark and an opportunity to look back on the past month. Last night I reread my diary and it really helped to put things in perspective.
I started a month ago 10.5lbs heavier and determined as hell. Since then my determination has waivered a bit as I've started to get into the swing of this, and to realise that this is going to be a long, and steady process. The weight is coming off slower this time round, even though I'm heavier. That said, it's coming off. It really is. The results are noticeable and I'm feeling more confident. I'm more organised, making time to prepare my meals, make jellies, make sure I'm stocked up, and I feel much more in control. Clothes are starting to feel loser and more comfortable and sometimes, if I walk a little bit John Wayne style, I don't have my thighs rubbing together. Yes, it's slow, but progress is progress. If it was easy, there would be no western obesity epidemic. But it's not easy. It takes hard work and determination. And I think it's worth it.

I went running this morning, with my friend who has been terribly supportive, and I told her: Yes, it's slow, but it's happening. And I'm just going to keep on going, because even if I don't get where I want to be by the wedding, I will at least be on the right track, and even if it takes until Christmas, even if it takes until next year. I will do this. I deserve to feel good about myself.

I know this all sounds a bit dramatic for a 6am discussion over 20lbs, but there it was! and I believe it too.

So thank you all for your lovely support, I can't wait to see where I'll be next month! Onwards and downwards!!
 
On the travel... how long are you away for? Depending on the length of your trip, you could consider just eating the good bits from what's available or just take a mini break. The one time I was away for a long weekend, I packed oat bran and diet cokes and cooked frozen foods, just to make sure I would stay on plan. Got to the airport and ate a Costa's Tiffin (i love those!).

If you are hesitant to take time off now, maybe look at doing PV days while you are away. Will give you more freedom when menu options are limited? Also, from what I know about Senegal (from work), they do have a lot of fresh produce and meat available - we source stuff from there. I bet you could pop into the corner shop and buy loads of veggies to snack on.

- oat bran you could make a batch of cookies (look in the recipe section) - i usually make a batch for the week and just grab and go, they keep in an airtight container
- tins of tuna or similar foods ... but may be heavy in your bag
- i always have my trusty box of splenda with me (the only sweetner i can stomach)

Hope I helped a little...

Hey Bonkers, thanks for all the awesome ideas! the trip is 11 days, a week in Senegal, and then 4 days in Turkey.
You are actually right, almost all the meals will be buffet style and so, I have done with Dukan in the past in West Africa is HEAD FOR THE PRAWNS!! I love prawns, but the ones here are so sad and little. In West Africa, they're like lobsters! Also at breakfast get the boiled eggs and just eat the whites. You do look a bit mental, but it's worth it.

I am going to try my best to stick to the diet as much as possible. The travel itself will be hard, because you get so tired that your will power goes out the window. I will remember to take along snacks so that I'm covered.

Oatbran Cookies is a spectacular idea! I'll have a bash at making them this weekend. Do you usually make the ones with the wheatbran too? I have a strong feeling that my tummy would appreciate some wheatbran. I could make a batch at least for the first week.

The hotel has a great gym and a pool, and the work is usually so monotonous at these things that I tend to get in a good gym routine, so I should get some good workouts in.

There will be two arch-nemesises to avoid. The AVOCADOS and the MANGOES. Both delicious, both as big as your head :)
 
Hey Gang!

New Month, New Attitude - sorry for being so down the last week, I woke up feeling really chipper today :)

I had a bit of an epiphany last night. When I have done Dukan here in the past, it was usually after a trip to the UK, so I had stocked up on low-fat dairy products. The V. Low fat Philly, 0% Cottage Cheese, Quark and 0% Greek yogurts. There's a brand of yogurts that are 0% here and I would usually eat maybe one of those a day too. I got good at managing my dairy so that it would last for a good few weeks, sometimes even over a month. This time I have just started from here, so all the dairy I have had has been from the local yogurts. Looking at the packet last night, I realised that they're actually quite carby. To compare, the nutrition information is very similar to a Muller Light. And I have been eating up to 5 x 110g per day (the equivalent of almost 3 Muller lights) which could stall even the the most determined of dukanistas. In comparison Quark, Cottage Cheese and Greek Yogurt has much more protein and about a the 3rd of the carb content. So I'm planning to stop eating the yogurts for a while, in the hope that it will get things moving.

Also planning to mix up my oatbran. For the past month, without fail, I've had a galette at breakfast time, but now I'm planning to mix it up, have it at different times, as muffins, cookies, just inject a little more variety.

In my meeting this morning, I managed to avoid a huge tray of croissants and cakes. Not even tempted in the slightest.

It's almost the weekend! I'm feeling happy and excited. Bring on the next month!

Have a great day guys xxx
 
Hello hello!

Week 5 weigh in today - 11st 6.5!
What's that you ask?
Do I weigh under 11 and a half stone?#
Why yes, I do!! ;)

Actually I've been a bit sneaky and snuck on the scales a couple of times over the weekend and I was actually down some from this, but I'm expecting TOTM this afternoon, so this must be why. I really think I knocked it on the head by going easy on the yogurts though, I only had 1 (110g) all weekend.

The weekend was lovely. I was a bit down on Friday as it was my little sister's birthday party, and so I really missed home, but I coped with the only coping mechanism that ever works... food! Don't panic, I didn't eat a whole load, but I did do alot of baking (for other people!). I belong to a bookclub, and it was my book on Saturday, so when you host you usually prepare food that goes with your book theme. My book was about Jamaica, so I mad Beef Patties, Banana Cake, Rum Cake, Rice and Peas... etc... One of my friends thought it was bizarre that I had cooked so much food that I couldn't eat, but I enjoy cooking, and I spent the afternoon chowing down happily on Jerk Chicken and salad.

Leaving for my Work trip tomorrow, so i have been experimenting with different Dukan cookie/Muffin Recipes too. I think I have found one that's a winner, so I'll be making a massive batch tonight - enough to last 6 days :)

Promising to post on here while I'm away, I'm finding that keeping a diary is really helping me :)

Have a lovely week xxx
 
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