Venturing over...

[MissPinky]

I'm sure you'll relax as time goes on!

I'm on 1500 now, and it's taken me a few days to settle into the swing of that, even. I seriously wobbled when I moved up to 810 from SS+ - the fear of not having ketosis as my friend anymore was massively overwhelming. Your comment about the 'safety net' rings true. It did feel like that. As I've gone up each step it's been less wobbly with each, but there's still been a discernible wobble. It's a very human reaction to the changes we go through on this, I think.

 

[MissPinky]

From what i see, maintenance and life beyond CD is all about balance. If you over eat, there is a need for acceptance, and then just get back "on track" the following day and let the weight come back off naturally. It seems this is how "normal" people eat....which is brand new to me, and most of us i think! lol
Just dont get trapped in the binge/starvation routine as that will make you worse in the long run!
xx

Well said, Lizz!

Balance is key, and also isn't perpetual. To appreciate balance I think you probably have to be reminded of what the extremes are like just occasionally, but not all the time. (Crikey - that would be exhausting!) Extremes help you recognise and appreciate the balance point all the more, I think, and probably make you want to return to it more and make it the place you're at most often.

Had a good experience of this today at work - I stuck to my eating plan. Prepared meals, designated snacks etc. A lady was leaving so there were nibbles out and about late afternoon. It would have been rude not to... so I did. I've gone over my calorie count for today, but I've done a power walk tonight as a kind of 'peace offering' to myself and tomorrow I'll be on count/plan and I'm okay with it. Incidentally, whilst I partook in the nibbles, I chose carefully and had about a third of what I would have done before CD - that was my compromise. (Good job, really - the millionaire shortbread was damn nice...)

 

[boardwitless]

Very helpful thread and just at the right time for me - Thanks all:clap:
Have just weighed myself (admittedly first thing this morning and bare *rsed nekkid and found that I am at my target - I just want to get a couple more pounds off to allow for clothes (and water weight) when I go to my CD next time as it would be rude to strip off in her kitchen

 

[MissPinky]

Well done for being at target!

For me there's no other way to weight than starkers. First thing in the morning. And better that be after a 'loo visit' too... (although they can't always be conveniently ordered to the time of the weighing)

 

[LizzMB]

my goodness i was cross today that i had to wear trousers to weigh in which in my mind weigh a lot more than the summer dress i used to wear! lol
Its amusing the extremes we all go to before a weigh in!

When i'm off CD, i will be a butt naked post-toilet weigher too! lol

x

 

[MissPinky]

my goodness i was cross today that i had to wear trousers to weigh in which in my mind weigh a lot more than the summer dress i used to wear! lol
Its amusing the extremes we all go to before a weigh in! ...

For the first time last week I went to my weigh in wearing my jeans. It's been linen trousers all summer, because they're the lightest trousers I had. It's reassuring to know I wasn't the only one with 'light fabric logic'!

...When i'm off CD, i will be a butt naked post-toilet weigher too! lol

x

Haha!

 

[MissPinky]

Evening all. Crikey - has it really been 2 weeks since I last posted?

Life's been a bit manic - the kind of manic that BC (Before Cambridge) would have entailed returning from work and ringing the Chinese/Pizza house, sinking half a bottle of wine and drowning my sorrows. 5 days a week. And I've not done that at all! Not even contemplated it - now that I thought would happen...

It's been a cake-filled, yoga-filled, work hassle-filled time - and little or no break from it. The cake thing is my celebration cakes sideline - a collaboration with 2 dear friends for a multi-tiered 50th birthday cake meant many Woman Hours spent over a period of 10 days, and much bowl licking and fondant scrap snaffling. A nasty head cold in amongst all this meant face mask while working (!) - jam is definately better for glueing fondant to cakes... - and feeling like p** for a week. All this would ordinarily have meant a Bad Time food wise. BC. As it is I enjoyed it, the cake was adored by the recipient and all 50 who partook, and the cold is going away. The work hassles aren't but I don't care as I'm off on holiday next week.

I'm settled into Maintenance - having used 1000 through 1200 through 1500 steps as a 'model' for my new Planned Meals - and the plan works. That, and cunning acquisition of plastic tubs (brightly coloured helps, although is purely psychological!) that I now know when filled to the top contain a specific amount of salad or fruit, so I don't have to weigh it! I know the basic cals count from filling it with my preferred food types. So I can even do it bleary-eyed in the morning before work.

And so I take my measured psychedelic food in my cute pink lunchbag (okay - that's psychological too - it makes me feel happy and so motivates me) and my CD bar (not giving those up!) and my fruit and my Sweet Treat (a WW cake slice, Alpen Light bar, or some other treat that comes in around 100cals) and I last the day sticking to my Plan because I have 4 small meals evenly spaced out, and a medium sized one in the evening - and that means I'm never hungry (sometimes I even feel I am eating way too much quantity - feasting like royalty!) and my metabolism keeps going. I thought the discipline of CD would never suit me - it seems that the opposite happened - it's given me a sense of freedom! And the opportunity to eat cake on a daily basis - with a compromise...

And my weight has stabilised - it fluctuates during the week between 65.0 and 65.5 kilos. Up and down then up and down - I'm graphing it, because I'm a Geek. Because I know it goes up as well as down I don't panic. I was quite worried I might - but so far that's not happened.

Still in a size 10-12 depending on the shop size tendency. Still keeping a calorie cap. I decided as I started Maintenance I had to find a calorie intake that stabilised my weight - for me, 1600 cals per day seems to be 'it'.

I am now reading Gillian Riley's 'Eating Less' book - a search on this forum reveals many posts about it. So far so good - weird starting point for me as I have lost the weight (CD) and am seeking to maintain it - I have the feeling that the intention is to use the techniques THEN lose weight as a result. Well tough. I'm sure it'll work this way round too.

So far so good.

Am checking in occasionally (time permitting) and reading other people's diary posts, we each have such a unique journey through this. I've concluded there's no right or wrong here - just learning from our own experience, our own mistakes, the experience of others and their mistakes too - and we should never beat ourselves up too badly for making mistakes because without them we wouldn't know success when we reach it! Keep the goal in mind, keep your eye on the desired prize and just keep moving forward. Sometimes you have to sidestep or step backward temporarily to circumvent an obstacle, but as long as it's temporary and you basically keep moving forward you'll get there - my line manager tells me this on days like today when the sh** gets too much and I want to walk out of the place because the current obstacle seems insurmountable.

Enough from me - love and hugs to you all XXX

 

[LizzMB]

I've concluded there's no right or wrong here - just learning from our own experience, our own mistakes, the experience of others and their mistakes too - and we should never beat ourselves up too badly for making mistakes because without them we wouldn't know success when we reach it! Keep the goal in mind, keep your eye on the desired prize and just keep moving forward. Sometimes you have to sidestep or step backward temporarily to circumvent an obstacle, but as long as it's temporary and you basically keep moving forward you'll get there

That is so true hun and a perfect example of what i want my eating to be like post maintenance!
I think there is a certain acceptance involved that "life" happens and that occassionally gets in the way!

I have long thought that the art to weight loss and maintenance was perfection....all this "100%" on the lower plans makes you think you always have to be like that and for those bits you do, but as you get to "normal" then its far better to be balanced than anything else.

Your doing super hun and your stability and control is inspirational!

Keep up the good work hun! and where do you get the bright tubs from? Love the idea of being able to have something already measured out.....(i'm so lazy! lol)

xx

 

[Bess]

I've just read all through your thread for the first time - don't know why I've never seen it before?

You have done so well and are an inspiration to me. I think I should have worked up the plans properly too, but reading your experiences helps a lot. I wish I was in the same frame of mind as you are, but I'm working on it!

Well done Miss Pinky!

 

[MissPinky]

Life does indeed happen - that's such a great way of putting it, Lizz!

Perfection is an interesting one - because life so isn't! I've had days where I've 'gone over' (not massively - but consciously) and then I make sure moderate after that - usually by ditching some carbs (to which I'm a little over sensitive). It's a bit like a pendulum, and it is about balancing it all out.

My friends say I'm Project Managing this! Subconsciously I probably am - instilling order on what I know would be chaos if I didn't. I knew that PRINCE2 qual would come in handy for something not work related!

The bright tubs are a brand called 'Sistema' and they're a 3 pack of 400ml storage tubs - you get an amazing bright lime, a deep aqua and the absolutely best hot pink ever! I found them in Waitrose - but other supermarkets stock them, and a search for 'sistema klip it' will show them up on eBay in glorious technicolour. I get 200g of mixed red and blue/black berry fruit in (which I absolutely adore) if I fill to the brim - there's a lot of air in between berries... Circa 70 cals. And with salad stuff (leaf, cherry toms, cuc, pepper, some sliced leeks etc) about 90g if I almost fill it, at circa 40 cals.I also bought some little tiny cliplid storage tubs that I now know hold half a tin of tuna - and I know that comes in at around 70 cals, so if I fill one of those, I'm measured. And I love tuna salad... Sadly they're plain old clear plastic :cry:- ah well. Seriously, it's little 'perks' and timesavers like that that the brain can hook into and hang onto. Anything to keep us on the straight and narrow!

 

[MissPinky]

I've just read all through your thread for the first time - don't know why I've never seen it before?

It hides... mainly because I don't post to it very often! I struggled to find it last night...

You have done so well and are an inspiration to me. I think I should have worked up the plans properly too, but reading your experiences helps a lot. I wish I was in the same frame of mind as you are, but I'm working on it!

Well done Miss Pinky!

Keep working on it because you'll find your own version of it that works for you. You're not far off your goal by your stats. I have used the plans as a guide for the kind of eating pattern I'm following - and indeed the meal ideas really helped. Didn't do them all (I'm veggie with fish - and many are meat ) but they gave me an idea how to better balance the plate. Could you use them in a similar way, or would it not suit your preference/lifestyle constraints?

 

[Bess]

Well it should, but 1. I'm a bit sloppy. I shop according to what looks good, buy loads of veggies, some fruit and cook accordingly and:
2. I work late into the evening so someone from the family cooks and naturally I eat what's there.
Actually, all of it's good, always has been but it's me....................and the extra's...
It's my brain that needs retraining 100% of the time. It functions very well 99% but the damage I can do (mainly to my self esteem) in that 1% that's left which is always in the evening. That's what I need to concnetrate on.
For instance, now it's 3pm. So far I've had: I kiwifruit, 2 small rashers of bacon, with a plain omlette. All 'dry fried'. Black tea.
1/2 toasted teacake with scraping of butter and black coffee.
Home made French onion soup with 1/2 slice of wholemeal toast and grated cheese.
Fruit yoghurt .

See? good sensible choices....so far. Well we'll see what tonight brings. Full of willpower now as ever...but....later?

 

[MissPinky]

Sounds entirely like good, sensible choices. What do you think it is about evenings? - someone else cooking? or some other association? - hope you can get your head around it!

I struggle with evenings on stressful work days - like this week, which has been utter pants so far I would just grab and nibble BC, but I am planning to go have a 30 minute 'stomp' round the locality to burn off some frustration. It's a fine line between that and a Weight Watchers cookie (my compromise biscuit of choice)... so I will grit my teeth and stomp and with every step envisage stomping on the opposition...

 

[Bess]

I think it's habit mainly...and the 'party' atmosphere every evening when we all get together again. But really the habit.

The rest of yesterday's food went as follows:
2 packs of snack a jacks 87 cals each.
1 'Food Doctor' bar (Yuk) 130

Late supper 9pm: Small meal of chicken, small baked potato, ratatoullie (sp?).
Only 1 sm glass of red wine :happy096:

But still hungry (?) so 2 slices of wholemeal toast, one with almond butter and one with butter and damson jelly.

Black coffee.

Actually, after writing that down it doesn't look as bad as I thought. I'm trying to remember if there was anything else and I think not. I did concentrate hard on not binging. I suppose even tho' I waited for a while before the toast (and they were one at a time) I felt I shouldn't have eaten it. I was so hungry though.

Perhaps things are getting better?

I find your posts very helpful Pinky, I think you'd make a very good CDC. Sorry work was bad yesterday hoped the run helped!
How tall are you? I was looking at your stats - very impressive, well done!

 

[MissPinky]

Last evening doesn't look bad at all, Bess. Except the Food Doctor bar - with you there! (ew!) You're mindful of the situation and the triggers, and that's half the battle.

I'm 5' 6" - used to be slightly shorter as I had a back injury some time ago that caused all manner of posture issues. But one good chiropractor later and regular Yoga, and I'm upright and taller

And the stomp helped a lot!

Had a bad day today - ate as planned... but the variety of mini oranges I've had this week seems to be the cause of much wind and bloating, and I am like a bear with a sore head with it The rest (2 slightly manky ones) are going in the bin and I will have to resort to a fennel oil massage to soothe it. I don't normally partake in oranges but felt obliged after a stinking cold... am replacing them with chewable Vitamin C. Seems safer... for everyone in my vicinity!

 

[MissPinky]

Evening all. Been a bit quiet as I've been on holiday... much needed and much enjoyed. Hope you're all well - I've to catch up over the next few nights on how you've all been doing, now the washing pile is diminishing. This was my first 'thin' holiday in adult life! So much more energy to do so much more... we had a whale of a time in Cornwall, and loved every minute of it

Had a strange dip in weight before we went... then evened out once there! That was odd, but the key thing is no massive damage got done even though I actually ate very well when we were away - although I did manage to stick pretty well to my Plan for the most part. Some evening meals out were bound to happen and 3 courses were had and thoroughly enjoyed! Picked carefully, and some concessions made. I think all the activity offset any major damage though.

I did permanently gain some weight, however. Not too bothered about this as it's on my ring finger... DOH took me totally by surprise and popped the question, and after doing a stunned rabbit in headlights facial expression (which I apparently still had for around 5 days after) I apparently said 'Yes' and a diamond ring was popped onto my finger!

We've talked a lot and CD is a BIG factor here - it not only changed my shape and weight, but changed so much about me, my outlook, my approach to life and my personality in positive ways that it's played a massive part in this turn of events for him (and thus for me). CD is totally transformational!

Must dash for now... still catching up on the housework See y'all later...

 

[Bess]

Congratulations Miss Pinky! So pleased for you both and I hope you'll be very happy. Fantastic CD helped you so much too. Well done you!

 

[MissPinky]

Just checking in after one of the busiest few weeks I can remember. Feeling a bit distant as although I've dipped into 'Mins occasionally it's never been sufficiently long in duration to post anything anywhere. Primarily work mess and general annoyances - although outside of that wedding planning is a new mystery to me and quite time consuming.

Anyhoo... I have been reflecting on my Maintenance so far and had some realisations and revelations that may (or may not) be helpful to share.

I've not gained any weight, firstly - quite the opposite. Over a period of 7–8 weeks I've slowly decreased to the point where at the time of writing I've dropped to 10st. It's been progressive and actually unintentional, but I'd set my daily intake to around 1600 calories (making a kind of Cambridge Step for myself) and using Perfect Diet Tracker I've been tracking... and noticed that since the weather got colder (last 3–4 weeks) I've lost about a kilo over that time having been stable before then. Clearly my metabolism is busily trying to keep my body warm! Plotting it out visually and reviewing the trends has helped me to see where that came from. I'm about to up my 'Step' to 1700 for a couple of weeks and see if I can stabilise and if I do I'll keep it there (which is just slightly higher than my calculations say my base metabolic rate intake should be).

Regularly diarying my food intake has actually helped me to conquer that insecurity where you tend to think 'if I have that I will have put on weight by tomorrow/the weekend'. I can now see that I havn't put on weight by tomorrow/the weekend, and am gradually getting the confidence to keep a notebook but (due to the time issues previously noted) I only enter my data into Perfect Diet Tracker every 3 days or so. Effectively that means 'I'm on my own' and I have to live with my daily food choices and find out later whether they exceeded my targets or were really unbalanced nutritionally... and the surprise is that they are not wildly out in either target calories or nutritional balance! It seems that a CD style approach has embedded a new food habit! The liberation I felt when i realised I can make choices without running back to the software before I eat was amazing!

And I have a couple of pieces of chocolate pretty much every day as a treat, and (of course!) my daily cake (WW or 'mini' portion) to stop me feeling deprived! Still havn't had any Haribo though... I think I'm cured where that's concerned.

I am conscious that I have to fight urges mentally - especially when there's mucho stress at work - because really that's one of the key reasons why I piled on weight in the first place. Imagine my fear when the brown stuff started hitting the fan like old times and my head started going 'Booze!' 'Pizza!' 'Chinese take away!' 'Sod this!' in the car on the way home! But I seem to have formed mental dialogues and arguments that my brain just dishes out now, but it's quite strange to almost watch the battle between the me that's going 'oh sod it just have that' and the me that's going 'actually, you don't want to do that - you want to do this instead'. That's not been easy, but the effort is paying off. And the longer I do it the more entrenched it becomes.

In a nutshell, Maintenance is going well, and I know I'm lucky because it can be such a struggle - and I have struggled and failed myself in the past after other weight loss. But for some reason whatever I've done through CD this time has worked and keeps working. I still have a bar a day - maybe it 'ties' me to the diet and the discipline? (I'm no psychologist). But I tried a Snickers the other week and I prefer CD peanut bars!!! Less sickly and much more satisfying.

I don't know if any of this strikes a chord for anyone. All I can do is post my experiences in the hope they are useful in some way.

 

[Bess]

Yes they are Miss P, very useful, it's what I am striving for. I think it's brilliant that you are checking after a few days and finding that it's all ok. Congratulations and very well done, you should be so proud of yourself.

 

[herewego]

Hi Miss P - Well done for maintaining so well! I'm wondering whether I'm pushing myself too hard. I have set diet tracker to 1200 as I would like to lose a few more lbs, but I end up going over regularly and maybe that's what triggers my wobbles. Maybe going up to 1500 or so would give me an easier and more steady journey...

Keep posting when you can - you are a true inspiration to those of us clinging on to maintenance for dear life