Weasey's Re-Feed

[Saddlebag]

Hiya Weasey. Dukan sounds like a good solution for you as the long and structured refeed/ maintenance plan seems to work for you.
I have been altering recipes to make meals I enjoy lower calorie. I made a shepherds' pie type thing the other day which was really nice. I used turkey mince instead of beef, fried it in fry light with some carrot, onion, celery and peas and added a little chicken stock. Put this in a dish and for the top I used mashed sweet potato instead of potato. I don't know if you can have sweet potato- if not, I bet that celeriac would make a good alternative.
I use turkey more than anything now as it's lean and so much cheaper than chicken. Tofu is an acquired taste but I do have it in stir fries- it just takes on the flavour of whatever you cook it with.
I have a sandwich for work every day too, on brown/ wholemeal bread. Bread is high in calories so I don't like to fill it with ham or cheese- I use a low fat laughing cow triangle as a spread, or lighter than light helmann's mayonnaise, then put loads of iceberg lettuce in and cucumber. It looks and feels like a big sandwich but the filling has very few calories.
During the day I have a tupperware box full of raw veggies like carrot and cucumber to munch on.
I'm not trying to teach you to suck eggs, it's just when I started eating properly again I had practically forgotten how to cook!

 

[weasey]

Thanks Saddlebag! It's always good to have hints and tips! I'm thinking through how I might apply the Dukan approach in practice and suggestions are gratefully received. It sounds like you are doing great in refeed .

 

[weasey]

Another slight change in direction... I have decided to do a mini Dukan diet! So this week I am doing the 'attack' phase - basically just lean protein and a bit of oatbran. Next week I'll be doing the weight loss part of the diet (alternating protein days with protein plus veggies days). Depending where my weight is at that point I may do it for another week. I want to be back at a comfortable size 10 (currently I squidge myself into some of the bigger 10s!). Once there I'll continue woth the Dukan transition diet (as outlined a few posts ago) for 2 years. I've discovered that I really need the structure.

 

[AliGal]

Hey Weasey. Good to catch up and see you are using various strategies.

I'm phasing off (aka refeeding) slowly as I feel I have the right mix of sveltness and weight loss, I could loose more but don't want a tummy tuck. I now have a slice of brown bread and a slice of cold meat for breakfast and a low fat yogurt plus the protein evening meal - carrots and onions re-introduced with a longer list of veg. Yea!

 

[weasey]

Yay! Sounds like you're on your way! Do Alizonne have a structured plan for after the weight loss?

 

[AliGal]

Yes - phasing off Alizonne takes 7 or 8 weeks. The first 70% is 5 sachets a day and salad at lunch and low carb veggies at supper. Phase 2 is the next 20% or so - 140g fish or 120g chicken or lean meats with supper veggies. Then we start phasing off: The breakfast sachet is replaced by small portion of cereal, a slice of bread and lean ham and a 0% yog for Phase 3 . Weight shd continue reducing. Phase 4 is some citrus fruit instead of the midmorning sachet. Veggie range increases.

I don't have the other info with me - but I'll post it later. When we re-introduce more carbs, we alternate days with extra carbs with days without.


When we get to goal and phase off, the clinic does a new medgem which will give me my new BMR so I'll know specifically for me how many calories I can have in maintenance. It's interesting that quite a few Alizonners have low metabolic rates - so if they ate the recommended 2,000 calories, they'd put on weight. My BMR at 21 1/2 stone was only 2,200. The clinic belives in the usual nutritional approcah. I will live lower carb, beacuse I know it suits me and like paleo style real food cooking.

My biggest learning over the past 9 months is that people who pay as much attention to maintian ing as they did to shedding the weight will be the ones likely to maintain. My heart breaks when I read about people wanting to 'return to normal'. We must develop a new normal if we want to stay at out target weights. So it's good to see how you, BG and others are approaching it.

 

[weasey]

I look forward to seeing the full details. I know what you mean about people wanting to get back to 'normal'. But I was like that at the start. I'm glad that I was on the programme for so long as for the first couple of months I was very resistent to the thought that I would need to change the way I ate at that point. I gradually lost that resistence and actually started looking forward to it! I did spend a lot of time thinking about it though through the programme.

I find maintenance tough. But that's not surprising - I have a lifetime's relationship with food to change. But I am getting on top of things and sorting things through and I feel positive and optimistic about being the weight I want to be and maintaining that long term. I know that I need structure and so have put that in place. It's a shame that it took me a while to find that out but I'm there now. Who would have thought before I started that I would have lost so much weight and now be eating so differently and enjoying exercising? Even I think I'm an alien!

 

[BordersGirl]

I hate it when people criticise VLCDs for being ineffective as so many people pile on the weight when they stop. It's only because our pre diet 'normal' really isn't normal at all because we wouldn't have got to the sizes we were if that had been normal. Like with all diets unless you adjust your mindset and eating it'll pile on again and more. I really hope people understand this and take the time on a VLCD to understand what needs to change for them.

My TDEE is below 2000 calories so I know that I need to have a plan that keeps calories to a max of around 1800. Hence I'm keeping calories to a hard limit of 1200 during the week when I'm working as I find it really easy on work days, and I have up to my TDEE at weekends. It also means that I should in theory lose a little more over time (haven't done it long enough to know yet though). I've just proved that I can have a couple of weeks off, eat and drink what I want and then lose it afterwards pretty quickly so I'm now ok with having a free rein on holiday when I will also have alcohol. I'm sure that this time round if I can keep alcohol to holidays and special occasions I will make a better job of maintaining. Quite apart from the empty calories it makes me hit the snacks. So it's more BGUDDD than JUDDD but I'm hoping that it works for me . If it doesn't then I'll look at something else. The main thing is that I'm weighing regularly (at least 4 times a week) and my weight is pretty stable. I gain a little over the weekend and it comes off during the week but I'm sure that most of that is because of the difference in carbs.

 

[LucySera]

Sounds like you two really have your heads in the right place when it comes to maintenance! It really is another step of the journey rather than being 'released' from a diet lol! But it's definately something to feel positive and excited about too. I think keeping a maintenance diary here will really help, and I know I plan to do it over the long term to help me keep track.

Although I gained most of my weight very suddenly on medication and a sudden drop in exercise, I think having done a VLCD had taught me to look at my eating far more in depth. Although I was skinny I didn't have a super healthy diet - I ate a lot of simple carbs + a LOT of ice cream and although I canceled out the calories through exercise it probably wasn't great for me long-term. Post-VLCD I want to enjoy my food, but also eat for health - simple, good foods. I imagine the first few months I'll sometimes have to remind myself not to fall back into old habits, but having this forum will definately help me to stick to the right path.

Weasey - I think it's great that you're enjoying exercising! I think that being active really complements a healthy diet, but it's finding ways of exercising and enjoying it that makes it sustainable Really interested to know how you get on with Dukan too since I don't know that much about it - although I've heard exciting snippets of conversation about tasty oatbran muffins... err... but that's probably not the point, ahem.

 

[Saddlebag]

I know what you mean about the eating 'normally' thing. My whole outset when it came to maintenance was that I refuse to live as though I'm on a diet. My old normal became unthinkable and I have a new normal. So even though to some people it looks like I eat like a rabbit during the week, I do it so I can drink or eat old foods at the weekend. I have been really surprised at how I can bounce back easily after a weekend- in the past I've always fallen completely off the wagon after having a blip, but now because I have worked so hard at it I feel almost protective of my figure! I don't want to sabotage all my efforts so really want to get back to healthy eating when I've been eating weekend foods.

 

[weasey]

What is so wonderful about maintenance too is that it's where people's personalities make a huge difference to the right way to go. So for me it's about having some structure which I'm working within (all be it a far more generous one then when on the diet) to keep me on track and so that I don't have to think about it too much. For BG and Saddlebag it is about understanding the wish to have more on the weekend and compensating for that during the week. I'm really looking forward to seeing what works for other people too. It really is about understanding your own personality and working with it.

I'm really optimistic about this maintenance journey - it won't be without it's issues I'm sure but the direction is the right one and I'm excited to see where I'll be in a few years.

 

[SerenityValley]

Of the man people I have seen lose a lot of weight, you're one of the ones I expect to still be slim in a few years.

 

[weasey]

That's really nice of you to say! It's something that I need to work at every day and some days I do well and other days not so well. And that's fine as long as I'm being mindful and I keep working at it.

 

[weasey]

Yay!!!! Today I did my first ever sit up! This may not sound like much to those of you who can already do them but I have never in my life done a sit up before. I've been exercising hard for the last 4 weeks in order to get ready for my activity holiday but have been completely unable to even do a bit of a sit up. Today I managed it all the way up and my personal trainer said that my face was a picture because I couldn't believe that I'd actually done it! Yay!

I am also on the Dukan attack phase to take off a few lbs which I have added during maintenance and that is going really well. I feel really relieved to have a structure to work within. Next week I'll change tp the Dukan main weight loss phase for a couple of weeks and then on to the transition phases which should help me to maintain. The transition phase will last about 2 years for me - which is frightening and comforting at the same time...

 

[Saddlebag]

Well done Weasey! I am the same with press ups- I've got the girly ones down to a tee but can't for the life of me do a proper one... One day I'll get there.

I know what you mean about it being frightening and comforting at the same time. Frightening because Dukan is the unknown really and knowing you'll be strict for some time yet, but comforting because you've got it all planned out and have set yourself 'rules'. I'm quite enjoying being strict with myself during the week. When people offer me food I shouldn't eat and I say no, I get a little kick out of it and secretly pat myself on the back! My colleague bought a bag of haribo to eat in the car at work the other day, he was all excited that we were going to have a sweetie fest and when I said I didn't want any (which was a lie, I could have eaten them all by myself in about 5 minutes) I was very proud

 

[Lose2Win]

Hi Weasey, how's the exercise and maintenance going?

 

[weasey]

Hi - The exercise is going fantastically. I am working out 4 times a week, twice with peraonal trainers and twice on my own. On ecercise days I am often also doing an exercise class and a bit of swimming - I've gone exercise mad! I'm really building muscle too - its really strange to see my body changing shape again - but now due to added muscle rather than lost fat...

The weight is ok. Am maintaining but at a higher weight than I want to be. Am doing the Dukan diet to lose a bit which seems to be working. Am only doing Dukan because the diet has a phase for after losing weight to help you to maintain and as I want to follow that plan (honestly any plan will do but there aren't many out there for maintenance!) I though it'd make sense to use the diet to lose the extra I've got at the moment. Probably a good 7 to 10 lbs to lose.

I feel confident though that I can do maintenance. I have had some slips and yet the world hasn't caved in. I am working out my coping mechanisms and working on why I eat and what I eat. I like having the structure of a plan so it'll be good to get on the Dukan transistion phase.

How are things going with you?

 

[weasey]

I don't know what the weight is doing but at last my clothes are starting to feel a little less tight again! Woohoo! The slightly larger clothes that is. Maybe I should try the slightly smaller clothes again...

 

[Lose2Win]

Hi - The exercise is going fantastically. I am working out 4 times a week, twice with peraonal trainers and twice on my own. On ecercise days I am often also doing an exercise class and a bit of swimming - I've gone exercise mad! I'm really building muscle too - its really strange to see my body changing shape again - but now due to added muscle rather than lost fat...

The weight is ok. Am maintaining but at a higher weight than I want to be. Am doing the Dukan diet to lose a bit which seems to be working. Am only doing Dukan because the diet has a phase for after losing weight to help you to maintain and as I want to follow that plan (honestly any plan will do but there aren't many out there for maintenance!) I though it'd make sense to use the diet to lose the extra I've got at the moment. Probably a good 7 to 10 lbs to lose.

I feel confident though that I can do maintenance. I have had some slips and yet the world hasn't caved in. I am working out my coping mechanisms and working on why I eat and what I eat. I like having the structure of a plan so it'll be good to get on the Dukan transistion phase.

How are things going with you?

I don't know what the weight is doing but at last my clothes are starting to feel a little less tight again! Woohoo! The slightly larger clothes that is. Maybe I should try the slightly smaller clothes again...

Wow it sounds like you're doing great especially with the exercise. This will also undoubtedly account for your clothes fitting better- you're getting leaner.

I on the other hand am not doing so great :-(. I've gained over 20lbs which I'm struggling to lose. I started SnS on Monday and I'm hoping to shift it by November. I was doing well until today when I had a slight slip, but I'm not beating myself up as I know I can do this.

You are such an inspiration. I love reading your progress it gives me hope.

 

[weasey]

Wow it sounds like you're doing great especially with the exercise. This will also undoubtedly account for your clothes fitting better- you're getting leaner.

I on the other hand am not doing so great :-(. I've gained over 20lbs which I'm struggling to lose. I started SnS on Monday and I'm hoping to shift it by November. I was doing well until today when I had a slight slip, but I'm not beating myself up as I know I can do this.

You are such an inspiration. I love reading your progress it gives me hope.

Good luck on shifting the weight. I currently have about half a stone which I want to get off. I added it after reaching goal before I had really sorted out what approach I was going to take. For me having a plan is super important.