Feeling calmer today. I've been working from home today because I had to go in for my 4 weekly blood pressure check. The results were fine. Actually my blood pressure has been fine ever since I started cutting back on the Carbs 12 months ago, Before then my blood pressure was a litttle high and stayed that way for years. So I must be doing something right.
Its ToTM today - I'm dosed up on pain killers but it hasn't been too bad - I've managed to keep working all day. Hopefully it will mean an even better loss on the scales on Monday. I'm pretty confident - my scales are still slowly dropping I reckon I should lose somewhere between 4 -6 lbs over these last 2 weeks which will take me well over that 1st stone mark.
Actually I've just realised today is 25% through the first phase of 100 days - wow that was quick. Obviously because I have so much weight to lose I will have to do a second phase but it means I am an eight of the way through to the new me!. I'm going to get hubby to take some pictures of me at Day 50 and Day 100 - I've alreday got my day 0 pictures and I'll upload them on to here. I'm really hoping the difference will be obvious by then. You know I can't believe how easy this diet is - obviously I'm still tempted and I still get hungry, but not to the point where I am even close to giving into it yet - and knowing my past history that is amazing!! Roll on Day 28 I can't wait to get back on thise scales
Well 3rd week over. This has been quite tough. It hasn't helped that I wasn't able to go to the class yesterday for my official weigh in. Due to the differences in the scales I'm not sure what my loss is, but I do know it was a loss. I've estimated 2lbs. It might have been more but I don't think it would have been less.
I'm away on a 2 day management team building thing and I am really fed up. Some of the activities are fun some are just stupid (like painting with our fingers!!) but I though we had gone away to take a strategic look at our business and identify a way forward. We are in a bit of a crisis at the moment with vacancies in the top manageemnt slots and we are all pulling in different directions and I can see the business collapsing if something isn't done soon. On top of which the way I was treated over the recent interviews for the top post was appalling. I wasn't shortlisted - ok - but then one of my colleagues was instructed to put his CV in after the closing date and was interviewed (He didn't get the job but that is not on!) Ever since then I have felt totally ignored and under valued. Unless something changes I don't think I can stand it here much longer. I've asked to see the top man in our business because something has to happen - I have to try and sort this mess out. It's the way I am.
Sorry for the dispairing nature of this email but I was so frustrated in the session this morning I was close to tears in the bathroom and I'm not the crying type. I just want to scream very loudly ARRGGHHH . Or better still hit someone - we're are doing clay pigeon shooting this afternoon - I'm not sure it's wise to stick a gun in my hand in this mood.
The Psyllium Husks are working - I won't go into any more detail than that but it's a great relief.
Went to the gym this morning for a swim - I haven't been since I started the LL coz i knew cutting back would affect my enegry levels. Some of the others in my group reckon their energy levels went up but mine didn't?! My hubby reckons it was because I was moderately active beforehand anyway (I used to go to the gym at least twice a week including a SPIN class which is murder). Today I went to aqua aerobic class, did 1/2 hr swimming beforehand too. It felt good. I've decided to swim more frequently as it's great for toning and strenghtening which I need for this diet as the weight comes off.
I'm away tomorrow night which is my usual LL class as we've got the teambuilding event at work. As it's a 2 day overnight thing I'm going to have to explain my diet to the people I work with or they will be expecting me to come into dinner. I didn't really want to do that because then everyone watches you all the time. I expect most of them will be drinking pretty heavily as well in the evening but I just feel relieved to have an excuse not to join them. I will just leave when it gets too rowdy!!
oooh I'm really looking forward to this , especially the 6am start to get around London before the peak hour kicks in.
Tough week this week. Someone eating chips on the bus and the smell of salt and vinegar drove me mad. I went out with friends on Thursday and they ordered food. A variety of Tapas dishes laid out on the table in front of us. One side of my brain kept saying, a little of that won't hurt, or no-one want's that last piece of bread you have it, and the other side of my brain had to keep slapping it down. I resisted so I feel quite proud but it was an internal struggle. I also seem to have been more hungry this week too, don't know why maybe it's a last ditch attempt of my body to get me to eat something,,,but I will not give in. I've still felt hungrier on other diets and the meals when I have them do actuallly feel me up. The other issue is the bowel movement one - it was 6 days between movements and I felt bloated and horrible and when it happened it was not good! I've now invested in some Psyllium Husks. They are a source on insoluable fibre that swell in water and make that sort of thing easier supposedly so I'll give it a go this week.
I've also redone my measurements - I know its only just under 3 weeks but I've lost almost a stone and I feel far less bloated and it shows I've lost 3 inches off my waist!! Not much elsewhere but it's a good start. So I'm enetering my 3rd weekend more positive and I know I will do this this time.
Almost a fortnight over - in some ways this week has been easier - I'm into the swing of things and only feel hungry at meal times. In others it has started to get harder
- For one I'm starting to crave real food. I'm hoping the weigh in tomorrow will be good enough to keep me focused.
- For the second (if you squeamish about bodily functions I'd look away now) I had the worst case of constipation I have ever had. Actually I rarely suffer from the affliction, I have IBS but that usually results in the opposite problem. I was so smug last Monday at my class when the others were discussing how to manage the constipation some of them were suffering. I thought - ha that's not going to happen to me I WAS SO WRONG!
Saturday morning found me on the loo for an hour. I was exhausted for the rest of the day. I have sworn I am never going through something like that again so I have upped my water intake I am going to try drinking 5L a day now instead of 4L. I managed it yesterday - although we decided to go to the cinema last night, I went to the loo before we left, when we got there and half way through the film as well. I just kept telling myself the more you wee, the more you lose....
The film we went to see was Miss Potter. It was good, Renee's accent was ok but I wish she wouldn't pull all those strange faces when she is playing an eccentric british woman, she did the same in Bridget Jones. It's quite good not eating out as my hubby is having to take me out to other places instead, hence the theatre and the cinema in 1 week. hee hee.
Bit depressed today.....issues at work getting me down. I started thsi job 15 months ago and loved for the first 12 months then it all seemed to go wrong. We were told we were going to be reorganised and various suggestions were floated past us, which would have resulted in some major changes to my responsibilities. Which in itself I didn't have a problem with, but no decisions has been made so we have been left hanging not knowing where we are going and when. Now our boss has announced he is off - which probably explains why we have had no decisions from him - and although they interviewed to replace him they have decided not to appoint. So where that does leave us - floating in the wind I suppose. I just hate uncertainty it's not the way I work I like to know where I am heading and what i am trying to achieve. I like to have a VIsion and Strategy but I can't set my own for my Division until one has been set for the Group as a whole. So I'm just getting more and moe frustrated.
It doesn't help that I just jumped on the scales at home to get my mid week reading to discover I've gone up 1/2 lb. That just can't be possible can it? I'm only eating 500 calories a day and I haven't cheated once, not even a nibble although I was sorely tempted tonight. I have always used food to cheer myself up in the past - now I've got to go cold turkey (arrgg more food)
I'll try to be more upbeat tomorrow, after all it is Saturday and I don't have to work.......whopee!
Happy Brirthday to me....Happy Birthday to me.....
Guess what day it was yesterday? I'm now 38. Thats kind of a none age. I remember hitting 30 was a bit of milestone and 36 when you realised you were closer to 40 than 30, but 38...umm no really strong feelings about it really. My hubby on the other hand will be celebrating a big milestone later this year....50. That seems sooo old as I keep telling much to his dislike. Only teasing him though, the age difference is only a number as on every other level we are the same age. We enjoy the same things, the same holidays, activities, films etc. He is fitter and more active than me (I would say healthier but the doctor has identifed a raised a cholesterol level he has to tackle). He may not be tall dark and handsome but he is small, bald and cute.......enough of the husband appreciation!.
Well yesterday we went to the Theatre for my birthday as we couldn't go out for a meal as we usually would. One of the benefits of living in London. We went to see "Wicked", the Wizard of Oz spin off. It was brilliant, particularly the actress playing the wicked witch. If you haven't seen it - its' basically the story of Wizard of Oz told from the wicked witches perspective. Without spoiling it for anyone - the premise is that the wicked witch wasn't wicked at all - so it was actually quite sad in places and it makes you see Dorothy in a slightly different light.
I really enjoyed the show but it wasn't a good day for me physically. For some reason I was feeling quite nauseous most of the day (I think it is the food packs but I'm battling through) I also got really bad stomach pains as it the other TOTM. By that I mean mid-cycle pains. I have polycycstic ovaries, although I only found out or at least had it confirmed about 2 years ago , My periods have always, from day 1 been extremely irregular, my average cycle is 42 days but can be anywhere from 28 to 90 days. They are also painful. I have learnt over the years how to manage them (I refuse to allow them to rule my life and will not miss work because of some female weakness). I dose myself up with painkillers and make sure I am not doing anything that involves activity of any sort. Physical activity (even walking) on the first day of my period leads to me being very sick - ooh I have some memories.
Anyway the point is I have learnt to manage that part of the process but a couple of years another odd thing started to happen. I started to get very sharp, painful, I don't know whether to call them cramps or stitches, in my lower abdomen. It was like having a knife stuck into me if I moved to quickly or in particular sat down to quickly. I also noticed in seemed to occur in one side more than the other so I started to not the dates my in cycle diary and found a very strong pattern. Exactly 2 weeks after the pains my period would start. Thats how I realised it must ovulation pain. Thats when i went to the doctors who agreed it probably PCO and he sent me for ultrascan which confirmed it. I never went back to see the doctor though he'd already admitted there was nothing they could do - so I live with it. The positive side is that I now know to the day when my period is due so I can make sure I manage it to reduce it's impact. I find there is always a silver lining!!
Anyway back to the point. I got my ovualtion pains really badly last night, in both sides (does that mean both ovaries are ovulating?) Unfortunately pain killers don't tend to work on that sort of pain - so I was in a fair bit discomfort, at least the show helped to distract me.
Still sticking to the diet and jumping on the scales every day although I shouldn't - and it is slowly going down, but I won't be losing 7lbs this week.
Well I've completed a week. Well done me - it's not been easy but actually it's not been that hard either.
Well the big news my first weigh in........7.5 lbs off
Thats more than I've ever lost in 1 week before - it's fantastic. I wasn't the biggest loser in my group, actually the majority lost around 10lbs each but I'm not disappointed with that it's not a competition.
So I'm really pleased, and I've got me "meals" for the next week now, I've gone mostly for the shakes, with just 3 soups just to break up the sweetness a bit, This week I'm allowed bars instead of 1 soup/shake. I greedily bought the nut, toffee and lemon bars. The nut bar was a mistake - its just reconstituted cardboard with a few nuts thrown in. The toffee bar was quite nice though. I'll try the lemon tomorrow.
I also bought the water flavourings. It is very nice, really makes the water go down easier but......the flavourings have added inulin, which is a fibre that helps your bowels to work properly. It certainly worked on me...too well . I'll be rationing it's use in future.
Well I'm super postive now, I know I can get through this so fingers crossed for next weeks weigh in.
Can't believe the first week is almost over and I've stuck to this diet 100%. I have even managed the water - although it was hard work yesterday and I'm struggling a bit today as well (another late morning!)
Well good news - my breath stinks . Obviously not so good for my hubby but it means I must be in ketosis - bad breath is one of the side effects. I've invested in gallons of mouthwash and breath freshner and I must remember not to breathe over anyone at work. I feel good today, not really hungry just a bit peckish at meal times and full after I've had my "meal". Hubby had a pizza for his lunch today - although bless him he choose a pizza topping he knew I didn't like to tempt me less- but still the smell of it wafting over the kitchen...ummm. I stood right behind as he tried to eat it wafting the fumes up my nostrils. Then I had my chicken soup . Actually the soup, watered down a bit and with added herbs was not too bad but it does still leave a really awful aftertaste which I can't do anything about other than gargle with mouthwash.
So I'm feeling fine and I'm confident that I will lose 7lbs this week - positive thinking is what it is all about.
. Or better still hit someone - we're are doing clay pigeon shooting this afternoon - I'm not sure it's wise to stick a gun in my hand in this mood.
. I was exhausted for the rest of the day. I have sworn I am never going through something like that again so I have upped my water intake I am going to try drinking 5L a day now instead of 4L. I managed it yesterday - although we decided to go to the cinema last night, I went to the loo before we left, when we got there and half way through the film as well. I just kept telling myself the more you wee, the more you lose....
I'm now 38. Thats kind of a none age. I remember hitting 30 was a bit of milestone and 36 when you realised you were closer to 40 than 30, but 38...umm no really strong feelings about it really. My hubby on the other hand will be celebrating a big milestone later this year....50. That seems sooo old as I keep telling much to his dislike.
. Obviously not so good for my hubby but it means I must be in ketosis - bad breath is one of the side effects. I've invested in gallons of mouthwash and breath freshner and I must remember not to breathe over anyone at work. I feel good today, not really hungry just a bit peckish at meal times and full after I've had my "meal". Hubby had a pizza for his lunch today - although bless him he choose a pizza topping he knew I didn't like to tempt me less- but still the smell of it wafting over the kitchen...ummm. I stood right behind as he tried to eat it wafting the fumes up my nostrils. Then I had my chicken soup 
. Actually the soup, watered down a bit and with added herbs was not too bad but it does still leave a really awful aftertaste which I can't do anything about other than gargle with mouthwash.