Week 7 - Summer Low Carb Bootcamp - are you still with us?!

[BIWI]

Morning all

Here's the spreadsheet - sorry to keep you all waiting!

So we have four full weeks before our final weigh-in - still time to lose half a stone if you stick at it.

Here's to a good week ahead

jim sorry to hear about your anxiety attack and great idea about seeing gp asap. I would suggest that it might be more productive in a work and wellness sense to get the meds and go back into work to help sort it out. You'll have kudos at work but also i find that practical positive action works much better in an anxiety situation because you are actively working to reduce the cause of the anxiety. If the anxiety is about what your colleagues or boss will think of you for making the mistake then they will respect you for owning up and turning up to fix it. Going off sick may make the situation worse and then you'll be in a vicious circle of not being able to go in and face them and feeling bad for not doing so. This sort of thing could spiral where you never feel you can go back. It sounds like a fab job you have and a great employer so it's worth holding on to. So my guess would be that your anxiety will improve not only with the meds but also with the practical side of tackling the work issue. Treat it like a blip and koko!!!

Hope your dad is ok btw. It's horrible feeling out of control with situations. At least with work you can take control.

Jim everyone makes mistakes and with everything you've got going on its bound to happen, you've done exactly the right thing my owning up to the mistake and seeking help. I know you weren't keen to go back on meds, but you've recognised you need them right now and if you've come off them before then you can come off them again, when the time is right

hey Jim - well done for getting help straight away. I think your employer sounds quite understanding. I agree that for me taking action in undoing a mistake helps me but thats my situation. If you feel you need time to get over it ask your GP. Hope you feel better soon X

jim get signed off, it is an emergency as much as if you had a raging fever or something. I remember the horror I felt when my GP signed me off for anxiety but I needed that time. Take it easy, focus on yourself and your dad unmumsnetty hugs

Sasha, about to reveal something I've never told anyone :(. Last year at the height of my low cal/low fat phase I bought a little box (maybe a tic tac size box) of caramel sugar free sweets from M&S. One cal per sweet or some such, and as I was constantly hungry I thought they might fool me into thinking I'd actually eaten. Set off for long walk along beach with the dog, sucking the first one. Very nice. Had a second. Two miles from the car, and sucking happily on number 3 my stomach started to gurgle and I got horrible cramps. I walk/trotted back along the beach as fast as I could, bum clenched and in horrific pain. Made it to the car, but by that time I felt as if I was in labour. Realised I couldn't drive in that much pain, and (stupidly) thought if I maybe let some wind out the pain might ease off and I would be able to get home. Big mistake . I cried for about the next three hours, couldn't get off the toilet even to shower, and binned all my clothes. The car needed a professional valet to be useable. I blamed everything on the poor dog, who couldn't defend herself. Said she had suddenly become violently ill. My DH thought we should take her to the vet, but I insisted it had clearly been a self limiting response to something she had scavenged on the beach and she seemed fine. Since then, I'm neurotically careful not to touch anything with sugar alcohols in it.

Oh ilovecherries how awful. I had a similar experience with those horrendous fat binding pills years ago. Drove to something i was really looking forward to, had the most awful accident thinking i just had wind and had to drive straight home. The car was fine but I wasn't really. Totally humiliating and awful. I stay away from sweeteners too. Horrible things.

I had a dreadful day yesterday. Every so often I overdo it and I feel like I'm being tortured I feel so ill. It got worse and worse as the day went on. I used all the strategies i could to try and deal with it but in the end got a thai green takeaway with rice to cheer myself up. Only the rice was bad really. I don't think i did too badly tbh. My brain was all 'oh now i've had some rice i can binge too yes?' And even though i felt horrendous i reminded myself that those feelings would fade pretty quickly and no way was i binging. So I didn't. That feels good. Something really seems to have shifted.

Back on it today. I had a burger with cauliflower for breakfast. It was nice.

Clear thanks for the book recommendation, I've been meaning to buy the IPD for a while.
I don't really know why I am the way I am. For as long as I can remember as in from being a child, I have been a secret binger, have found satisfaction from refusing food or eating little while in the presence of others and also have hated my body.
This WOE helps to remove my cravings to binge and forces me to focus on eating meals. I am working on other things, recognising trigger foods and trying to always eat aware when on my own, where possible at a table with a plate and cutlery and little distraction. The only thing that's concerning me is that it plays to the satisfaction in refusing food in front of others.

ilovecherries Poor you! I like the blaming the dog tactic, I would usually blame the cat for any terrible wind but he hotfooted it out the minute I started. That is awful for you though at least you weren't at work or something, I must thank my lucky stars I was at home, although I did come within a hair's breadth of shitting the bed. DH says "Shit the bed" to everything so would be hellishly awkward if I'd actually done it!

Even last night I thought "Greedy Bitch" so I can certainly see the funny side. My family can barely contain their mirth.

My torment continued as I got in touch with Amazon and had a very awkward chat about the consequences of what I'd bought. Don't think I've ever had to type diarrhoea so many times. They've said bin it and they'll refund and pass on the feedback. At some point I'll leave a review. The stuff is basically toxic.

Very kind DH, who I begged to work at home today as I couldn't possibly do the school run in case I shit myself, has bought me some Ritter 75% Dark Chocolate. Its 24g carbs per 100g, which he said was lowest in the shop, so not sure if thats of use to anyone? He's done it on the proviso that the Atkins stuff is chucked, as if anyone could stop me, because he doubts "the plumbing can take any more". Fucker.

So when the gp offered to sign me off for 6 weeks I panicked and said I'd rather work through it. I think that's the right decision for me, if only sit worrying at home anyway.

I'm having a crisis apparently, so I've got short term diazepam, propranolol up to 4 times a day whenever I need a calm down and fluoxitine for continued treatment plus a referral to the crisis team I need to call this afternoon

Bollocks.

I found 4 low carb burgers and 12 low carb sausages in the freezer so I'll be ok for a few days. I also have 3 eggs in the fridge. I've thrown out the rest of the bread and cake.

I feel awful, bloated and gassy and can't go AF is due too which isn't helping.

I'll drink lots of water and hope it improves.

DP just sent me this accompanied with the caption 'I can't make it better, but I can make pizza' - I love him a little bit

Looks like I'll be trying fathead pizza for the first time tonight..

cherries a similar thing happened to me with those M & S sweets The ones in the little boxes they keep by the tills.
They're the work of the devil.
Those and sugar-free polos.

I also had a few 'near misses' and had to stay close to a toilet for 2 days.

I'm having a crisis apparently, so I've got short term diazepam, propranolol up to 4 times a day whenever I need a calm down and fluoxitine for continued treatment plus a referral to the crisis team I need to call this afternoon sad

Jimmini try to think of it as a positive.
Someone has listened properly and is helping you do something about it.
With all the support, I'm sure you will start to feel better, very soon now.

Jim well done on getting the help you need. If you want to meet for a creamy coffee and a chat with someone who's been there PM me.

Stir frying broccoli and cauliflower in loads of coconut oil. Delicious. These veg only have a bad rep since people boil them to blandness and don't cover them in lovely fat!

Jim could you not take 2 weeks and see how you get on?

Fathead pizza is lush and super easy

Jim - glad you've seen the GP and got some help.

PS - I think I love your DP a bit.

I'm swinging past le supermarche after work to pick up fathead pizza ingredients and halloumi! thanks guys :)

styled she didnt have a choice but to listen to me bless her, I was in full on teary, blubbery mess mode before i even sat down in the waiting room

I've had my meds and some chicken pieces from the hot counter at morrisons, feeling a lot calmer and I've managed to fire out a few emails while the dogs nap on my knee. They should prescribe basset hounds on the NHS :)

I'm going to take the weekend "off" everything. Do what i fancy when I fancy and not worry about getting things done. I'm still going to eat low carb though, that's second nature now and it actually takes me more "head space" to think of ways to eat carbs rather than to just not eat them!

I quite fancy packing up a backpack and just walking off somewhere with the hounds, see where I end up sort of thing. If the weather is good tomorrow that's what I think I'll do.

It's going to be ok. As soon as I'm over the hump I can come off the meds and go back to normal. Thanks for the love as always guys

ilove - I shit myself in the car just the other week! I mentioned before that I think too much cream had a BIT of an unfortunate effect on me but.... well we had dinner at the Harvester and I had a coffee with cream afterwards. Dropped my mum home and let out what I thought was a fart on the way home.... Oh was I wrong.... had to sit on a plastic bag and scarper inside dead quick at home....

You are not alone... at least you had the dog!

Thanks for the compliments I have hated dresses since I was a child so it's well out of my comfort zone to wear one. I'm still not quite sure how you're supposed to walk in it!

Well done for getting the help you need straight away Jiminny. Being able to ask for help is a sign of strength in my book. I'm curious about these meds though, what are the diazepam and propranolol for? I've had post-natal depression for years and all I've ever had is Sertraline which makes life more manageable but doesn't really make the severe bouts of depression any better.

Jim Sorry you're having such a horrible time. Glad your DP is looking after you - sounds like a keeper

styledilemma wow! I had no idea some chemists were like this! That astonishes and baffles me.

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Sasha, while I am very sorry about your explosion situation, I wanted you to know how much I enjoyed your descriptive writing--your style is very good!

For as long as I can remember as in from being a child, I have been a secret binger, have found satisfaction from refusing food or eating little while in the presence of others and also have hated my body

If I were you I'd really want to understand why that is! Seriously, I'd enter into some form of counselling to explore it, if possible. It's very interesting that you remember always being that way.

My reason sounds rather dramatic--I was sexually molested at about 12 or 13 years old and ate my way into surrounding myself in a layer of fat to protect me and make me "unattractive" to Men so it wouldn't happen again.

Years later I'm still dealing with the fallout from that, but I know my initial reason, and that helps a lot because it doesn't really have any power over me anymore.

I don't think there's necessarily one big thing for everyone. It can be a combination of so many factors. But I definitely do recommend exploring it.

Healthy body, healthy mind, etc...

Yes, those are the ones, Styled. They are evil. Stunt, you look absolutely lovely in that dress. I've rediscovered dresses the last year and now I'm used to them, I'm finding them very comfortable. Jim, hope you feel better soon - the beta blocker will probably have an immediate effect. I have a pack of rescue propranolol because sometimes I seem to be over sensitive to my thyroid mess and feel like shit, and they are miraculous, albeit it's only symptom control.

Stunt Diazapam is a heavy duty benzodiazapene which is essentially a tranquiliser - it's used in the very short term to calm anxiety and get you "down" when you're completely strung out so you can sleep and think rationally essentially. I've never been given it before, but this is the worst I've been so I think I worried her a bit. Seems to work anyway, I'm pretty chilled, even managed to just have a perfectly normal call with a colleague without incident. Side effect is drowsiness mainly and I do feel a bit sleepy and dreamy. Better than I was earlier though so all good.

Propranolol is a beta blocker. When she checked my heart rate it as too fast and I've been getting some random palpetations, so the beta blockers slow your heart and take away the sick feeling of panic. They also prevent anxiety from becoming full blown anxiety attacks/ panic attacks. I've had these before but I'm rubbish at timing them so tend to take them when i know I'm going to go into situations where I know I'll struggle (before my drive in the morning to work, before meetings/calls).

Fluoxitine is Prozac, it's an SSRI which is used for the longer term treatment of a few different mental illnesses, anxiety being one of them. It increases your uptake of seratonin basically. It takes a few weeks to start working though, hence why it's not an immediate help which is what the diazapam is for.