Sticking a toe in the water...

[Blaze]

Hi all,

I'm tentitively sticking a toe into the primordial water! I've been doing Slimming World on and off for about a year without losing properly as I'd always yo-yo back up again. I've also been going through cancer treatment (all fine now) which hasn't helped as I had to take steroids which made me balloon up and I'm now on an oestrogen suppressing drug (Tamoxifen) for the next five years, which also has the side-effect of weight gain.

I've done a LOT of reading round various diets and have decided to give low-carb, high fat/protein a go as it seems to make the most sense. I don't feel 'well' in myself when I do Slimming World. I have fatigue from the cancer treatment and I've noticed that carbs in particular exaserbate it. I'm also completely addicted to sugar, and I mean addicted. I get moods where I HAVE to have something sweet and I HAVE to cram it into my mouth immediately, otherwise I'm jittery, panicky and moody. Sugar really is like a drug for me.

I'm also a big diet coke drinker. Tomorrow I'm going cold-turkey on it but taking a low dose of guarana/caffeine capsules so I can wean myself off caffeine gradually and hopefully not suffer with withdrawal headaches.

Basically, I'm very interested in eating 'cleanly' now, which I hope will have a major impact on my health and my weight. I have about three or four stones to lose. Tomorrow marks the start of paleo/clean eating.


My food plans for the day:

Breakfast: Blueberries with full fat Greek yoghurt and maybe half a tablespoon of honey.

Lunch: Avocado with salad vegetables and about 35g cheddar.

Dinner: Not fully decided yet, but I have a chicken to roast so I might have some of that with more salad.

Snacks: Fishsticks, hardboiled eggs.

 

[Phoenyx]

Good luck! Sounds like you've been through a lot and is a good time to nurture your body with healthy food!

I'd skip the honey if poss to start with, it can trigger carb cravings and you need to get used to a less sweet diet. That said, cutting out the fizzy drinks will help you no end!

I wish you lots of success on your journey.

 

[Blaze]

Dammit, I already ate the honey. Ah well. I'm quite happy to ease into this way of eating and I'm prepared to feel jittery and rubbish while my body adjusts to lower carbs. I don't want to do really low carbs, just lower.

 

[Blaze]

Today is going well. I've had more carbs than I want to eat long-term, but it's my first day of this so I'm going to ease in gently and cut myself some slack.

Food has been what I planned: Greek yoghurt and blueberries with 1/2 tbsp of runny honey. Dinner was avocado with salad leaves, spring onions, tomatoes and about 40g of cheddar. Snacks have been fishsticks, pistachio nuts and cashew nuts. Going to cut down on the nuts tomorrow.

I've decided on dinner and it will be scrambled eggs in butter, mushrooms and broccoli.

I'm using MyFitnessPal to track all the nutritional information.

 

[Phoenyx]

Today is going well. I've had more carbs than I want to eat long-term, but it's my first day of this so I'm going to ease in gently and cut myself some slack.

Food has been what I planned: Greek yoghurt and blueberries with 1/2 tbsp of runny honey. Dinner was avocado with salad leaves, spring onions, tomatoes and about 40g of cheddar. Snacks have been fishsticks, pistachio nuts and cashew nuts. Going to cut down on the nuts tomorrow.

I've decided on dinner and it will be scrambled eggs in butter, mushrooms and broccoli.

I'm using MyFitnessPal to track all the nutritional information.

Sounds yummy! Youve done really well today, well done! I have problems cutting down on nuts...apparently cashews aren't v paleo (legumes or legume-like). The best are macademias (from a healthy fat perspective). I slipped and had a soya latte today, it was scrummy but a big fat paleo no-no. I can't buy pistachios because I just eat the whole damn pack.

 

[Blaze]

I've got a tin and I keep the nuts firmly out of sight in it. I haven't been able to get my hands on macadamia nuts but I picked up some pine nuts, blanched almonds and brazil nuts yesterday. I think I'll fit in more with primal rather than paleo and I'm happy with that. I know that if I'm too strict with a way of eating, I rebel and that's never good!

No nuts so far today. Raspberries, blueberries and full-fat Greek yoghurt with 1 tbsp of honey for breakfast. It really filled me and I've not needed to snack since then. I'm just now having a black coffee with single cream, no sugar or anything else.

Lunch will be courgette ribbon 'pasta' with tuna, black olives, about 30g of grated cheddar and a homemade tomato sauce.

Dinner, not decided yet but I've still got a chicken to roast.

 

[Blaze]

I slipped up last night and ate a small sausage roll, but never mind. Onwards and downwards!

I've noticed my sugar cravings are practically non-existent now and I'm starting to be able to taste natural sugars - a bit of cream in a black coffee is plenty sweet enough for me now. Appetite-wise, I've realised that I've always had a low level of hunger, because now it's gone! I've had nothing to eat since breakfast and I'm not even contemplating eating anything because I just don't want to, which is amazing.

 

[greeneyedhippychick]

Just thought I'd pop in to wish you all the best with the change of eating plan Blaze. Be kind to yourself and don't be too worried with the occasional slip up. 80/20 rule allows for that and sometimes it's easier to get used to a diet like that. Food is sounding scrummy by the way!

 

[Blaze]

I love cooking and I'm quite enjoying figuring out substitutes for things like pasta and bread. Tomorrow I'm going to pick up an aubergine and use it as a 'pizza' base. I'm also going to my local ethnic food shop, which is truly amazing (and Guardian newspaper award-winning!) to pick up some nut butters, coconut flour and other store cupboard things. Eeeeee! I'm excited!