Slimming World to Harcombe?

[FourArms]

I've been doing SW since 29/8. Initially on EE and now mainly on red days.

However although I've lost 1lb short of 2
stone I haven't lost any weight this week and I've stuck to the plan with the exception of maybe not enough syns / HEB.

Have seen the Harcombe diet and this seems to be more like what I'm doing at the moment although I'll have to swap coffee and skimmed milk for herbal tea and stop my 10 a day satsuma habit ;)

Just wondered what people's losses had been in phase 1 switching from SW? My BMI is still in the low 30s so I've got plenty to lose!

Notsure - you are so right!

The problem is that successive governments won't upset the food industry, so 'healthy living' messages are still about calories counting - which just doesn't work long-term.

Zoe Harcombe herself rants about the wrongness of the 'eat well' poster which is in health centres everywhere and basically peddles sugary, processed crap.

Well said NotSure I totally agree with you. I am furious that we have been misled all this time about what is a healthy diet. If you watched the programmed last year called The Men Who Made Us Fat and similar, it seems to all be down to financial gain. People were making money out of selling us a lie.

Now we are all left with a sugar addiction that is difficult to break, both physically but more importantly psychologically. We have been rewarded with sugary treats all our lives that sugar is connected to feeling good in so many ways. We have been beating ourselves up that we can't lose weight when it is not our faults! That makes me really cross.

I'm struggling on and trying my best, mainly concentrating on eating gluten free still, but very close to Harcombe, most of the time. Not worried about the weight at the moment, more worried about coping with my IBS.

(Not a newbie, name changed from SolidGold)

Word is slowly spreading that sugar is the problem, not fat, though. There have been a few tv shows and there was an interview on Chris Evans Breakfast show on Radio 2 yesterday. Also I think the Swedish government have changed their advice about a healthy diet, stating low carb is better than low day (or words to that effect).

kazz I am honestly beginning to question whether IBS isn't also down to Sugar.

I have been Gluten Free since I was very young but have still experienced stomach / gut issues diagnosed as IBS after a series of very invasive tests.

I am amazed by the fact that since starting Harcombe the only stomach / gut issues I have experienced were during Christmas week when I let a little bit of sugar back into my diet. Ditto with headaches / migraine.

I am so convinced about the health payback of Harcombe so far that I almost don't care if I lose weight. That will just be an added bonus !!

Maybe it is down to sugar ... I still get cramps, but then I'm still having the odd glass of wine and some dark chocolate

I'm no expert, but could it be a combination of everything which have led to the conditions Harcombe writes about - eg candida.

You may find if you follow the programme strictly and avoid the substances you cannot tolerate - eg wheat - you may be able to tolerate them again in the future.

As soon as I eat most bread now, my sinuses fill up, although when I'm on holiday abroad I seem to tolerate it better.

Eating fresh, unprocessed food seems so obvious, but we have all been conditioned to consume mass-produced rubbish masquerading as food.

kazz just one square of 90% Lindt gave me both stomach cramp and a Migraine last week. The Migraine link could be the other way round because I have always craved chocolate just prior to Migraine, but the stomach cramp was interesting.

You might be right FOA the stomach / gut problems might be Candida !!

The bread thing isn't that unexpected. I am Coeliac (diagnosed very young) and have always been interested in understanding more about Wheat intolerence. I understand that the rise in Gluten issues in the UK started post war when we began to import American wheat. This has a much higher Gluten level than our native wheat, which we embraced because the additional Gluten gave us soft springy white bread.

Other countries use less American wheat. They like their bread more solid.

Yes, could be candida, especially with the amount of sugar I consumed over christmas. I do take probiotic capsules every day and have done for over a year now, because without them my IBS becomes intolerable.

Have you read Wheat Belly? And also White and Deadly (or similar?) Very interesting reading. I have them both on my kindle, I don't think I've finished Wheat Belly, so will go back to that when I've finished my current book. There's another book by John Briffa about dieting that is also very interesting and fits in with what Zoe Harcombe says about dieting and food.

Which probiotics do you take Kazz.

I have thought about taking a course and never know which ones to buy.

I buy the capsules from Hollabd & Barrett, they're often on special offer of buy a second for a £1.

I totally agree with you all regarding the diet industry. I too have spent goodness knows how much over the past 15 years or so on sw,ww and whatever fad diet has been in favour at that time and have gone up and down by 4 stone putting on slightly more after each loss.

Interestingly enough I have never tried low carb as didn't think I could live my life without bread and pasta, but am finding that I can in fact live perfectly well without them. Who'd have thought it!!

Unfortunately I did have a bit of a slip earlier. Finished off the kids chomp bar earlier and before I knew it I'd had 3 of them! I think I've managed to stop now, on previous diets I probably would have just written off the day and had a massive binge.

I've also started the 30 day shred, on day 2 so aching a lot :-)

I guess the thing to remember with Harcombe though is that it's not a diet, it's a way of eating. And if we go back to our old bad habits, we will put the weight back on too. Phase 3 is about finding a way of eating with the odd treat so that we don't put weight on. I need to get my head around that, to know I can't just go back to eating chocolate and crisps without putting weight on.

I can't ever go on to Phase 3 - once I start eating carbs in any quantity, I will put on weight.

I could probably do it if I could exercise an hour every day, but don't have time.

So, my way of eating for the foreseeable future (until i retire and can walk a fair distance most days) is phase 1 with dairy, and carbs only once a day. Plus wine at weekends and the odd dark chocolate.

It's much more difficult aged over 50!

Wow! Lots of posts today :)

Will catch up later when I'm on a computer not a phone, but just wanted to report that I fitted into a size 14 when shopping today :) And the 16s looked big!!

Fibre, I'm 49 and can tell it is getting more difficult to lose the weight and inches too

I too think I cannot eat any carbs or at least sweet things, as I then lose all self control and can't stop. I don't think that's going to ever change, so if I want to be healthy I will have to stay phase 2 for the rest of my life.

I'm craving sweet things today, but my dreaded period (nightmare!!!) is due tomorrow, which I think is playing a role. I've had one square of some 90% Lindt chocolate that I found in Sainsburys which was quite something. Now I'm going to have a bath

Congratulations four arms

Well done FA what a boost !!

Great news FA, well done

Evening everyone,

Coming in to give a quick wave before I head off to bed. Will catch up more tomorrow- it's been a long day.

Back on the wagon but just wanted to ask if anyone had noticed any differences in their skin? I am combination/ oily anyway but spots seem to have gone into overdrive. And I have them in places on my face I don't normally. Could this be a bit of a detox effect?

I think so LQ, but when it settles down you'll have skin as smooth as a baby's bottom :)

I also think its detox LQ. If anything my skin has become slightly drier !!

Sorry Kazz, just realised I didnt respond to your earlier question. I have read the Briffa book and the other two sound familiar.

I meandered off to see if I could find them in my bookcase and then got sidetracked. I dont think I have Wheat Belly but am certain at some time that I have read Pure, white & deadly. Another good book is Fat Chance, the bitter truth about sugar by Robert Lustig.

I want to read the Briffa book too. Is it good? I feel as a Science teacher I need to fully understand the science behind the diet!

0.2lb off today which makes me overweight (my spreadsheet had rounded the figure but actually I was only 0.1lb away yesterday!

Good day today.

B - scrambled eggs
L - tuna mayo salad (I used shop bought mayo. It was low carb - 1.6g per 100g, my level tbspn was 0.2g - less than my herbal tea! It did have some sugar in the ingredients, but must have been a teeny amount as it was listed 3 places after egg yolk of 7%. I wasn't keen on travelling to work with raw egg mayo!).
D - mince & gravy with onions (cooked by my DM with Bisto :( - served with a slotted spoon to drain and then I didn't eat any gravy on the plate ), cauli, green beans and a big bowl of salad with oil & lemon dressing.

Feel tempted tonight. Won't be drawn in though! Having a coffee instead :) Only 3rd of the day - much easier at work!

FourArms the book explains a lot. I like to understand the science behind it too

Dreaded period started today, I got through my day at work though. I ate sensibly until tonight, but have given in to chocolate cravings only a few squares of dark chocolate though.

The Briffa book is interesting FA but a slightly different take to Harcombe.

Are you limiting your coffee because it is caffinated ?

You may remember I told you I had to come off coffee some time ago (it was causing me health issues). If it is of any help I did it by starting with Taylors of Harrogate 'Take it Easy' Cafetiere coffee for a few weeks and then moved to fully decaffinated.