Hello! Day One Done - anyone want to join me?

[SharkSkinThing]

Just wanted to say hello and see if any other new starters wanted to buddy up for support and advice?

I've got 3 - 4 stone to lose, all gained AFTER having my DS who is now - god help me - 5. All down to long-term sleep deprivation and sugar reliance, and forming terrible habits. And wine to help me cope with the sleep deprivation,

Anyway, hoping to finally turn things around now that he's finally sleeping (sometimes until 5.30am!). Would love to chat to others who are finding that this WOE works for them.

xx

This is just me waxing philosophical, but has anyone noticed the quality of their hunger has changed? Before when I got hungry I'd feel light headed and a bit nauseous and I had to eat right away. Now I feel hungry, but it's not the sick hungry. I feel like I can wait awhile and make a proper meal, rather then just have to get something into me right away.

I totally agree with this. Before, I'd get delirious with hunger and need to eat ANYTHING when I was cooking / sometimes on the way home.

Now I have a much slower growing hunger which doesn't gnaw away at my stomach.

I read somewhere that with poor diets, part of the reason that you're always hungry is that your body is craving nutrients so continues to give hunger signals in the hope that you'll feed it some nourishment. I'm not absolutely sure how scientifically true that is but it does sort of make sense!

My blood sugar has totally evened out though, I've actually found it quite easy to resist sugary foods as I know I'll feel shit afterwards.

I got back in the gym last night too and did body pump - forgot how much I love that class.

Feeling good!

Ah ok good to know it's not just me. And sounds like everyone is doing great.

Weighed myself at the gym and it says I was a further 2 lbs down. :) So very happy with myself.

So that's 7 lbs in 4 ish weeks. :)

fav that kale recipe has my mouth watering. I might need to nip out for more!

I am really craving ginger, too, atm, so might go and get some ginger tea! Must be the onset of Christmas, eating into my brain!

queen - yes, me too. No more eat-my-own-arm-off because I can't wait 5 bloody minutes for my tea. I even - darn darn daaaaaarn - forget to eat sometimes I'm so comfortably sated!

For those that know me in RL, this is unheard of!

Lovely, isn't it? xx

My portion sizes are getting smaller and smaller too, without me feeling hungry, which was always an issue when I did Weight Watchers or something.

I'm just waiting to eek down to my goal weight and the loss to just stop, like it always has in the past. :( I'm not even aiming for a healthy BMI, just mid-way overweight.

Glad you're tempted, shark. :)

Well done, fit. You'll get there! :) I remember celebrating when I moved into the obese category and then even more when I moved into the overweight one and it was unbelievable when I entered 'normal' weight. It took almost two years!

My portion sizes are getting smaller too, except for olives -I munched on a couple hundreds grams yesterday! I'm also not hungry first thing in the morning, finding myself either skipping breakfast or eating brunch.

The plates are smaller but the calories are the same per day. I'm not counting calories but I'm using MyFitnessPal to track my macros, as I'm getting used to the new ratios. I can't believe how much protein I was eating before, doing that silly Scarsedale last year really skewed things up.

I swear I gained weight using MyFitnessPal. I'm rubbish at figuring out how much I eat and I have no time to weigh everything.

Favio, can you explain why eating so much protein is bad?

I'm eating a chicken breast, 2 eggs, some almonds and cheese at the most - is that too much protein for a day?

I don't weigh anything! :) I grew up in Italy where fruit, veg and meat where sold loose and not pre-packed, so I learned to gauge by eye and feel; Dh still finds funny to check how close to the gram I estimate.

Even the cooking is done by eye in Italy, no real recipe to follow. When I bought my first phesant, in the days when internet searching would have yielded no results, I rang my aunt for a recipe; she redirected me to my dad, who asked his wife, who phoned her mum, who called her sister...I was told to double cook it and don't forget some wine! My guests thought it was delicious but to this day I can't remember the exact way I cooked it.

Queen It doesn't look too much protein but it would depend on your height and weight (and a few other measurements), it might even be too little.

For me one chicken breast would be the right amount in one meal but Dh and Ds would need at least double that and then some.

Protein is medically a very controversial subject and nobody really knows what the right amount of protein is right, whether you should have more when exercising (even as an athlete) or not.
In the low carb camp high protein it's considered fine unless you have certain medical conditions -Kidney problems, gout... I've low carb'ed for years (minus a few lapses) but is the first time I've been able to follow a ketogenic diet without being ill at all, whereas in the past I was so ill I couldn't keep it up for more than a week-10 days. The only change from previous attempts is lower protein and yet more fat. We all know what happens to extra carbs, but what happens to extra protein? We know some gets converted to glucose, so could it be that excess protein is used by the body to carrying on fueling a glucose-led metabolism instead of ketone-led? Could it be that the initial symptoms are due to ketones and glucose competing and not to keto-adaptation?

I'm having red wine...oops. In my (pathetic) defence...crap, no defence, just fancied it!

I swear the cheese though is calling me!

I had to go to a work meeting today where lunch was provided. My heart fell as I saw plate after plate of sandwiches being brought out. At the last minute two huge platters of chicken appeared........I was happy and relieved all at the same time. There was no veg or anything I could have had with it so just had a plateful of chicken, probably too much protein in on go but much better than the alternative.

I worry I don't get enough protein! Especially when I see how much other body builders are getting!

I figured as long as the veg outweighs the meat on the plate, and there's a good portion of fat, then all's good.

Hello all,

Great chat, very helpful. I am back on it now and now if course having to go through the same barriers as before...!! But at least I know if I stick with it I will get past rampant hunger stage and reduce sugar cravings, fairly quickly.

I am breastfeeding still, so trying to be aware of my needs in terms of protein, I think I would find it hard to eat too much neat, just because it is quite prices and there are lots of us to feed in my family! So we do have protein at every meal, but often just a small piece - perhaps some pieces of chicken; a 100% sausage; a few pieces of duck on a salad etc etc.but we do eat fattier meats and make sauces or dressings and get more fat in.

We also eat loads of veg. Some roots like beetroot and carrot but mainly leafy greens and salad leaves, an avocado everyday (decadent).

We eat a ton of eggs.

I ate some cream yesterday and it affected me a lot, my tummy felt weird and a felt all spun out. I did it twice and both times the same thing happened - so I think it is not the right fat for me. I seem fine with cheese and milk in my tea ( not a milk drinker) and of course butter which I love!

I think one of the hardest things to leave behind is toast....not because of the bread so much as the excellent vehicle for butter!!!

Had absolutely no sleep last night. Baby was unsettled and then sleeping fitfully next me so I couldn't move without waking him, then it was stormy and I was cold as the baby didn't want a cover on and kept kicking it off. Fell asleep at 6. Alarm at 6.30. Have a meeting this afternoon. Just want to stay in bed and drink tea and read books!

shark oops on wine front, but always understandable...! fav thanks for all your tips and ideas! fit good work on the weight loss! That is great!

Welcome durham ! queen hope your first week with us has been helpful!

Thanks Favadi, that's really helpful. I'm logging everything on my fitness pal and it's looking ok on there, plus I feel pretty good so will stick with what I'm doing for now. Am away this weekend for my birthday so that might be a challenge mind!

Hi Devon! my sister swore by a green smoothie every morning when she was breast feeding, bulked out with natural yoghurt and avocado - would that work for you?

Red wine is low in carbs and sugar right - so it's practically a health food I heard?!

Ouch. My head. That'll teach me.

Ok, I need to stop myself from doing this everyday, but I'm down 2 more lbs. I think that's roughly 10lbs now?

Poor you, shark. I hope you have enjoyed your wine, though.

(I like your view on the subject, queen. )

Well done, fit, it sounds like you reached your keto sweet spot. :)

I wonder what it is about cream, Devon. I would like to try non-homogenised to see if it makes a difference. I went to Waitrose with the sole purpose of buying non-homogenised cream but couldn't find any. However, the non-homogenised milk was in stock and the cream has risen to the top but I haven't been brave enough to try, yet.
I can imagine the cost for your family! Do your children like the cheaper cuts?
I boiled an entire cow toungue yesterday with the intention of setting the remaining meat in gelatine to be used for lunches for the rest of the week. Ds and Dh had a field day and there was only enough for just today's lunch!

Making Gelatine, for glowing skin and shiny hair. :)

Method 1
Make a stock with bones but most importantly with skin (eg a ham shank would be perfect, or in yesterday's case the skin that envelopes the tongue). For fish gelatine, deep water fish is best (eg sole, cod...). It can be done in a slow cooker!

Method 2
When roasting a pig joint with skin:
-season and place the joint skin up on the grill of a grill-pan (or similar),
-add a finger to a thumb thickness of water in the bottom of the pan,
-cover with foil -to prevent water from evaporating- ensuring the foil does not touch the skin or meat,
-roast in the oven between 140-160 C.
-when the meat is cooked, decant the 'water'(ie liquid gelatine :) ) through a sieve to remove any sesoning debris,
-return the meat to the oven at a higher temperature (180 C) to allow the skin to crackle.

When the gelatine water cools down you will have gelatine at the bottom and a film of lard on top. Beware gelatine is addictive! hides spoon

P.S. I found the answer to my own question about protein competing with ketones in a interview by Dietdoctor with Dr Phinney. Indeed, high protein does reduce ketones just not as efficiently as carbs.

*Method 1, the stock itself will cool to become gelatine with a layer of fat on top.

Dear lord I wish I could cook like you Favadi!

I also wish I could find a pig joint. Not much of a chance of that in Abu Dhabi!

I so want a nice ham for Christmas dinner!

I seem to have taken after the Italian side of the family, fit!

A WHOLE COW TONGUE?!!!

Where does one even get one of those?

I know, Queen! It's ridiculous how much my boys can eat! Luckily tongue is roughly 70% fat and 25% protein. Our super lovely farmer, rewards us with one now and again but I guess you could try ask a traditional butcher or an organic meat distributer. It's the right season to ask as organic farmers are culling their animals now (at their fattest).

(For anyone interested: Dr Phinney shows an interesting self-explanatory table about carb and protein % in relation to nutritional ketosis in this @ ~21mins in)

It's too much for me today, the hang over (sharpened by an evil spin class), the cow's tongue, the gelatine!!!

On the plus side I've eaten two eggs today and nothing else!

So, forgive me gang, but I'll join you again tomorrow, and thank you for the water and guilt alleviation!

I had yogurt for breakfast, omelette for lunch and some some smoked salmon followed by vegetable and ham soup for dinner.

I haven't had enough water, I do drink steadily through the day but panic when I get to evening time and realise haven't had enough. I then drink a few pints which leads to a disturbed night going to the loo!

I don't think I eat enough fat but I am mindful and will up it over the next few weeks.

Hope everyone has had a good day.