Day 2 - 2nd time round

Felt a bit better yesterday but I did have the withdrawal headache on and off all day which was a bit annoying but I have lost another 1.5lb - got to love it :).

The bacon and egg still seems to be working for breakfast, I'm tolerating black coffee until I introduce milk next week but the real treat yesterday was discovering iced black americanos.  Actually felt like a treat, oh how times have changed.

We are off to the zoo today and the salads are chopped and the water bottled and we just have to try and avoid any temptations while there.

Sorry for the short blog but we are going to the Zoooooooo!!!!!!

Stats:-

Start weight - 15st 10lb
Today's loss - 1.5lb
Total loss - 3.75lb

Day 1 Phase 1 (2nd time)

Checked my weight and I've lost 2.25lb since yesterday morning.  I'd like to say it was easy but I did find it hard yesterday.

It set off well, the bacon and boiled egg worked really well for breakfast and is something that I will do for the rest of phase 1 but then it got near lunch time and the car really wanted a Big Mac meal.  It was quite a battle to make it just go home but I finally won and beat the craving.  I don't very often eat McDonald's but it was so hard to shake the image of the burger and yet I managed to wait another 90 minutes before I had lunch so I can't have been really hungry.

I have got cold, I know not a good time to be doing the diet but it had to be done and yesterday evening I felt awful, the cold combined with the withdrawal symptoms did not go well together.  I can't say I am feeling much better this morning but I know from before that once these initial symptoms go then I will feel so much better than when I am eating junk.

And a 2+lb loss in 1 day always makes it worth well :)

This is last night's dinner.  I couldn't eat it all because of not feeling well but it was scrummy.

Stats so far:-

start weight - 15st 10lb

Weight loss to date - 2.25lb

New weight - 15st 7.75lb

And I'm back

Having gone wild over the last 2 months it is time to get back on track with the diet.  Starting to eat chocolate and cakes and bread over Easter just threw me and I could never pull it back together.  I tried a few times but struggled with breakfast, which left me hungry and by lunch time the diet had gone out of the window.  Just been on holiday for a week and knew that I had to start the diet again properly, so had a little bit of a feed in with the meals yesterday and a bit of a blow out while finishing a few things off but today is where it all starts.

We hadn't totally reverted to our old ways.  We still drink mainly decaf coffee and tea, so we don't have to worry about caffeine withdrawals this time and on normal days we don't have carbs with our main meal and with it being nice weather we are eating lots of salad anyway, so shouldn't be quite so hard as before.

I do have a couple of concerns about this week.  Firstly we have a school trip to the zoo on Wednesday and I am concerned about what we are going to eat but also about how I will be feeling on day 3.  If I feel really bad a coach load of 4 and 5 year olds might not be such a good idea.  Will have to see how that goes.  Then on Saturday I am getting confirmed and I have tea with the Bishop.  I'm fairly sure that there won't be anything that I can eat, no idea how I am going to get out of that one yet but hopefully inspiration will befall me.

Breakfast has always been my problem on this diet, on phase 1 particularly.  I'm funny with breakfast and as much as I like to eat it every day I do normally have cereal or toast.  The porridge made with water is still something I really struggle with eating and I can't seem to face scrambled egg first thing.  So, this week I am going to try with cold bacon rashers and a hard boiled egg.  I can eat this a bit later if I need to or take it to work and snack on it rather than have to face it at 6.30.  I can prepare both in advance, so if I can be a bit organised then getting it ready is quick and simple.  Just hope I can manage to eat it and that it keeps me full until lunch.

So here goes:

I got weighed and I am 15st 10lb which is 2lb lighter than when I started doing it before, so haven't quite put it all back on, which is a miracle because I have gorged a lot.  I will do the same as before and weigh every day during phase 1.

Food plan for today, bacon and egg for breakfast, ham and veg sticks for lunch and pork loin and salad for dinner.

Just need to keep my head on it and try to survive the first 5 days.  Wish me Luck!

Boredom

I've discovered that I'm more likely to eat rubbish when I am on my own.  I don't think that is unusual or that I am on my own with the fact that I snack when bored.  I used to use food as treats, so I would say to myself "once I've done that pile of ironing I will have a coffee and some biscuits" and as much as I still have a coffee, it isn't quite the same and that is when my will power is at its weakest.  I haven't made things easier for myself as I've put chocolate eggs and bunnies out ready for Easter.  I can't deny that I have eaten the little eggs on occasion but I'm pleased to report that the bunnies are still there, looking smugly at me from the mantelpiece.

It is habits like this that are hard to break because it isn't about a craving for a certain food or hunger but an automatic response to certain times or situations.  Some of them have gone without me knowing why or how.  I always had a dessert of some kind, even if it was just a fruit yoghurt or a biscuit but now I rarely have anything other than a cup of coffee and I don't want it and if I do, natural yoghurt is normally sufficient for me.

But I need to get daytime boredom snacking under control.  Now don't get me wrong, I don't sit around when I'm at home on my own but the will power isn't as strong when there is only me to impress.  I need to find ways of stopping it and I'm short of ideas at the moment.  This is obviously going to be the week 6 diet challenge.

End of Burger King

Had an extra weigh in this morning because of finishing Phase 1 again following the Burger King incident and I can definitely say it has gone.  I've lost a further 3lb since Thursday morning!  Meaning not only did I get rid of the 3lb I had gained over last weekend but lost another 4.5lb besides.  If you ever need a quick weight loss for a short time then Phase 1 will definitely work.

I can't say that it is all from dieting though.  That infamous time of the month happened which means some of it must have been due to fluid retention and some medication I take for that has a.....how shall I put this......cleansing effect.  Just goes to show that it isn't always about what you eat.

But whatever the reason it gives me a good start for the next week, as today's weight loss will be shown on next Thursdays stats.

I will be needing new clothes at this rate.

Current weight 14st 4.25lb

Week 5

A return to phase 1 seems to have done the trick because I managed to lose the weight I had gained plus a bit more.  Yesterday morning was the end of week 5 and my weight is now 14st 7.25lb, making a total loss of 1st 4.75lb.  I'm pleased with that after the blow out weekend, I honestly thought I was heading for a gain this week and I do think if I had stayed on phase 2 I would have but I managed to pull it back.

In some ways this week has been easier than the first time but in others it has been hard.  I've found that I've been hungry a lot but I think that is more to do with the infamous time of the month and having to only have small lunches at odd times at work.  I've tried to just stick to 3 meals a day but I have had to have a snack a couple of times because the hunger was bad.  They weren't cravings though, but real stomach growling hunger pangs.

Today is the last day of doing the return to phase 1, so I will report any further weight loss in the morning.  I'm hoping for another pound but won't be upset if I don't.

I have found a couple of phase 1 meals that we can have during phase 2 which were really enjoyable.  Firstly   we had liver, bacon and onions with broccoli, nice and tasty and healthy and last night I made some meatballs in tomato sauce which we had with diced vegetables.  I will be having both of these meals again, particularly the meatballs which were enjoyed by all the family.

I have found the hardest bit is trying to find recipes that all the family will eat.  My husband isn't keen on liver, my daughter won't even try it.  My daughter loved the meatballs but not the tomato sauce they were in.  I try and get my daughter to try everything we have as I would love her to eat an unprocessed diet but don't want it to become a big issue, I would rather she chose to do it.  So for now, it is just about letting her taste and try things in the hope that she will start to enjoy it.  She loves mashed potatoes, which we can't have with a roast dinner but she can, but boiling 2 potatoes is a lot of messing around, so going to look at how well mash potatoes freeze and plan on making a big batch to freeze in ice cream scoop sizes, so that it is less wasteful on the days that we have roasts.

Week 5 stats

Start weight 15st 12lb

Current weight 14st 7.25lb

Week 5 loss 1.5lb

Total loss 1st 4.75lb

A bad....bad...weekend

The diet had been going really well until Saturday.  We had visitors round who turned up bearing Battenberg cake, mmmmm, one of my favourites.  I had intentions of being strong but made the fatal mistake of having a tiny piece and that was it, I ate most of it and as far as the diet goes it was really bad.  The amount of sugar in the cake and marzipan must be huge.  The rest of the day went as best as possible, I was at work which always makes the timing of meals difficult.  Then Sunday happened..

..the only thing I could think of was a Burger King and when the rest of the household agreed, we went crazy and had a burger meal, drink and ice-cream - whoops.  I can't say that I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would but the coke was nice to drink.  While we were off the diet we decided to have some chocolate and I had bread and butter with Jam for tea.  So many thing wrong with that as far as Harcombe that I can't even count.  2 days later and I am still suffering from the ill effects of our binge, sleep pattern a mess, stomach ache and nausea and cravings.

So on that note, we went back to Phase 1 for 5 days to try and get back on track.  We are now on day 2 of that detox phase and it is so much easier than last time because a lot of things we are used to now and I have my recipe books so I'm doing different things and it isn't so boring.  Don't get me wrong I am missing milk again, so very restrictive without but I can drink black coffee and tea easier this time and I don't miss flavoured cold drinks so much.  I'm still not happy with phase 1 breakfasts, some mornings I can't tolerate eggs and the porridge with water is still vile.  I've just bought some nutmeg to try and give it a bit of flavour in the morning but the good thing about Phase 1 is that it is only 5 days.

I'm not promising a weight loss this week.  I checked my weight on Monday morning and I had gained 3lb over the weekend.  I'm hoping the 5 days will get rid of that gain if nothing else.