Alevere / Alizonne

[dm2ooo]

For reasons unknown, the name of the Alizonne diet has changed to Alevere. I have only known it as Alevere and wanted to start a new thread so people can find it under the new name.

I am nearing the end of week 1 and have lost 8lbs so far. I don't count this much as I lose 7lbs in the first week of any diet. I'll see how I go over the next few weeks.

It's a lot of work to follow but I'm getting used to it. Would be happy to swap tips with anyone - particularly on recipes.

Also very happy as I won £500 today which covers a lot of the 1st month costs!!! :)

Hi All - wasn't sure how live this chain was but clearly very lively and I will check in more often as your messages have cheered me up no end - you are all doing so well. I'm two weeks in today and starting to get to grips with the awful taste and smell of the sachets. I had my first weigh in on Friday and was delighted to have lost 12lbs in 13 days. I know that rate won't last but it's a nice start to my 7 - 9 stone journey.
I do have some concerns - I'm not always able to stick to the timings, I work and am often in back to back meetings where i can't just nip out to mix a drink. Have any of those of you further into the programme managed to lose weight even if not sticking to timings?
Spiced cauliflower rice - blitz florets with turmeric, chilli, cumin until a'rice' consistency. Empty into a hot pan with 2 teaspoons of oil allowance and stir for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle with coriander. Serve with a veg curry using beef and onion soup as a base - not bad.

2petcats - Hi there, congrats on your brilliant weight loss! It really does helped to encourage and motivate doesnt it.

I find it quite hard to stick to timings and I'm not in back to back meetings LOL! Its difficult getting into the habit of "eating" every three hours, quite often I end up having to have a drink at 9 and then not being able to go to bed until 11 because I get easily knocked off schedule.

How many different sachets have you tried? I find its trial and error with a lot of them.

@2petcats that spicy cauliflower rice sounds amazing. I'll try it next week.

I have had a really grumpy weekend. On all my diets i think the weekend was always very hard. I just found it so hard not to think about food this weekend, and it was not even unhealthy food i was dreaming of!

I stuck to it, and saved up my daily allowance yesterday to eat a bowl full of strawberries.

I did get on the scales, and i just hope that by Thursday (my first weigh in) i have lost a bit more! Or else i will be the first person on the diet that would have lost NOTHING.

I am getting a bit more tolerant of the tastes, but its still a bit difficult. dm2000 - WELL DONE!

Thanks BexxG!

:)

ohtryingsohard - you do sound as though you are having a tough time adjusting to the diet, it is hard, but now I am in my 6th week it is just a way of life for me now, and I have to say I enjoy some of the food enough that I look forward to it. 2petcats and essy28 both have some good ideas - I absolutely love the herb mash in portobello mushrooms and the curry idea. Just try to look at the positives and hopefully you will see a good result on Thursday.

2petcats - I also find it hard to hide the diet at work, especially during long meeting. I now have coloured water bottles and just fill them with the cold drink selection and I find this works for me. I was stuck in a meeting for hours on Monday where lunch was served - I did the best I could and took some salmon/aspargus off a roll and had some salad, but I still think this knocked me out of ketosis as I don't think I have lost much this week. I will find out on Saturday!

Just had my first weight in mid way through Day 6 and 1.8kgs gone; which is 4lbs! I'm not sure whether I was hoping for a bit more but I suppose that I have only done 5 full days so far and if I kept that up as an average I would weight nearly 3 stone less in 10 weeks - which would be fab!! Sachet wise I feared on day one that I wouldn't be able to stick with the plan because I hated everything I tasted but over the days they're are actually starting to taste quite nice and black pepper helps enormously with the savoury options; plus they're not exactly huge in quantity to force down anyway; especially with a load of veggie stuff! The chicken curry soup; I really like and it's great to make a veggie curry with if you use less water and add extra garlic powder and chilli flakes. The cheese Omelette; lovely with ratatouille made with aubergine, courgette, mushrooms and tinned toms with herbs and I'm next going to try an oven baked ratatouille with the cheese soufflé as a topping to that! Hot choc - much much nicer cold. Orange and pineapple drink; great for brekkie. The only thing I haven't replaced is the vanilla dessert - really not sure about that one but I don't have a particularly sweet tooth. Peanuts, wine, cheese and crisps are my achilles heel!!
BTW - has anyone managed to find a sweetener that doesn't taste vile? I added Truvia to my rhubarb the other day and ended up throwing it away because it was rank!

Hi Crabby1

I think i am going to be the same today after 7 days, so don't worry, its 4lbs lost, not gained!

Thanks for the feedback on the food.

@Wanttogetslimmer - am feeling a bit better during the working week, and i did go back and check the suggestions that 2petcats and essy28 made.

I also made a few adjustments of me own so here goes for all:

Cheesy Feet Omelette
Try adding wilted spinach, and a 1/4tsp of baking power, 1/2tsp roasted ground cumin, red chili powder, ginger powder, and black pepper to taste, and make a very think batter, (spoon drop consistency)
Spray 1 cal spray into a small non-stick pan and drop 4-5 tbsp into the pan making patties. "Fry" on both sides and serve with salad, or roasted Aubergine, Courgette, and swede (limited Veg) chips.

Chicken Nuggets
Add Chives, ginger powder, and paprika before baking them. I find if you keep the batter thick the cakes come out better.

Mushroom Soup
Yuck with out the extras!!
Stir fry button mushrooms, and garlic salt, thyme and black pepper in a non-stick pan, with 3 sprays of 1 cal spray on a high heat. Then mix the soup pack as per instructions in cold water, and add to pan and heat through. Serve with a dash of lemon, sprinkle of smoked paprika!

Going to make a Cheese Omelette (with chili and garam masala) in a small frying pan and then cut it into chunks (so make the omelette thicker like a frittata.
Then wilt baby leaf spinach, and temper it with Spring Onion tops, cumin, garlic salt, ginger powder, some tomato (limited) with allowed 1 cal spray. Add the Chunks of Omelette and enjoy with Cos lettuce leaves.

You can add strips of the omelette to stir fry, or even riced cauliflower with stir-fried veg.

Imagine how happy i was to see that Marcus Warring does an egg white omelette with vegetable greens for breakfast! I may try this at home myself.

Keep Going All!! and i am going to keep trying.

Fab tips thank you ohtryingsohard! I shall try those! Fingers crossed for your weigh day!

I actually bought some Ketosticks on Amazon which test ketones in urine just to make sure that it was working/I was doing it right! If you're eating very low carbs and no sugar I'm not exactly sure how it's possible not to do it right but that's paranoia for you!

When I finish this I'm going to write a book - "100 things to do with a courgette"!

Day Five: first weigh in
So...I only lost 2.2lbs. I know I still have two days to go until my first week is over (I started Sunday, have Thursday weigh ins), but I don't think I've heard of anyone losing so little in their first week before.
I've been following the diet rules to the letter, no cheating.

I'm a little bemused and don't know what to think. If this is "dramatic week one weight loss", then will this diet work for me. If I'm only ever looking at a couple of pounds a week, then it's there any point doing a diet this extreme anyway? Could I be retaining water?

Hrmph

Anyway, silver lining for the evening was receiving new sachets for the week. Have only had the chance to try one- smoked bacon omelette - but it was delicious. Sauteed off a mix of restricted and unrestricted (onion, chili, tomato, mushroom, spinach), added to pan with paprika and salt/pepper.

Highly recommend.

Have a good night all.

Audreypatterson don't be put off by your weigh in -I'm on week nine and at two of my weigh ins I lost '0' lbs/kg! I was gutted and couldn't understand why but overall I've lost over 2 1/2 stone so far. I've put it down to being a woman!! Keep going and think of the bigger picture, I don't look at this diet as I'm going to loose six stone in six months I look at it as I'd like to loose six stone overall. I think if you put expectations of time on yourself and you don't meet those expectations you feel like your failing so keep praising yourself for any weight loss.
This week I made a vegetable version of shepherds pie - diced and roasted lots of veg mixed added a small amount of beef and onion soup topped with the mash potato - was very nice.
Is anybody craving anything? I've heard that lots of people have craved something sweet for me it's been fish!! Can't wait till I can have some.
This week has been the first time lots of people have commented on me loosing weight it has helped boost my confidence as I still look in the mirror and wonder where the weight has gone from.
Keep going everyone and keep posting on this thread - we all understand each others journeys.

audreypatterson

2.2lbs is a step in the right direction and it is a woman thing. You may have lost less then others but you lost it. So don't give up just yet, and keep going. Totally understand that you feel a bit disappointed because you have tried so hard, but keep doing what you are doing, and there will be a loss at the end.

essy28 - was thinking of doing the same for a sheppy pie, i am going to try tonight. Yes i am missing fish! Not so much sweet i try to save my limited options three times a week and have 100g of strawberry. However last night i used my allowance and made an aubergine curry! It was lovely. Onion and Tomato all scooped up with cos lettuce leaves.

I am going to start doing a gentle workout this week, nothing that burns more than 250cals as then i would need to take another sachet.
Last nights weigh in 4kg (8.8lbs) chuffed, but was warned that it would be slower now.

Week 2 Roll on!

Well done ohtryingsohard - what a fantastic loss especially as you didn't think you had lost anything! Also, it may not necessarily slow down that much.

Audreypatterson - like ohtryingsohard says "a loss is a loss", and also you may find you will lose another chunk in your remaining 2 days - it may just have taken you longer to get into ketosis. When did you headaches stop? That is normally a sign of when it has started.

Crabby1 - Try the mushroom soup with the cauliflower rice/cous cous. Use half the water stated, cook the cauliflower and fresh mushrooms and use the liquid like you would for a risotto - I then stirred in some rocket at the end. You can either use the recipe from 2petcats, or you can buy ready made cauliflower cous cous in Tesco. Great weight loss - well done!

Essy 28/ohtryingsohard - for a fish fix try the salmon blinis, they have a fresh fish/lemon taste, and as they are made into patties they also help with a carb craving. They apparently used to have a separate topping, but I was told it is all now incorporated into the patties.

I have also made aubergine crisps this week - the recipe is on the naked Kitchen although you may wish to leave out your sodium tablet for the day! Also I didn't have oregano so I used smoked paprika but half the measure, and used one cal spray:

Aubergine
2 tsp sea salt
3 tsp dried oregano
3 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tbsp olive oil
Preparation:
Slice the eggplant lengthwise as thin as you can, less than an 1/8th inch if you can.
Place an oven proof cooling rack over a baking sheet (line with foil for easy cleanup if desired) or 2 if needed.
Place the eggplant strips onto the cooling rack in a single layer.
Mix together the salt, oregano and garlic powder in a small bowl.
Sprinkle the mixture evenly over both sides of the eggplant strips.
Let sit at least 30 minutes. This will help to draw out some of the moisture from the eggplant.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. With an oil mister spray each side of the eggplant with olive oil.
Place the baking sheet(s) into the oven and bake 10 minutes. Turn the strips over and bake an additional 10 minutes, watching closely the last few minutes as the eggplant will go from nicely browned to burnt very quickly. The eggplant should be completely crisp and browned.
Serve immediately.

Thanks to you all for the great recipes and ideas - it really helps. xxx

That's interesting thank you because salted crisps are the thing I'm currently craving so they would be a nice treat!

Thanks @Wanttogetslimmer !

@Crabby 1 You can do the same with Courgette.

Loving the recipe ideas on here and got ridiculously excited about the crisps. Could do with a good crunch!

Having a super slow week but think it's due to having my first period in 6 years (due to coil hormone running out). I have been reading up on it. Apparently you can put on an average of 5 lbs during your period. That seems a lot - does anyone else experience that? It would explain my slow week and I have been soooo good with my diet.

For those also having bad weeks - I went through a tough time a few weeks into it, obsessing about my weight loss. In fact, my weight loss has been an average of 3.2 lbs a week - some weeks higher, some lower. So I try not to worry about a slow patch unless it carries on - which is never has.

I'm keen to find out if this TOM issue is causing the problem. If not, next week I'm going to add an extra sachet as I may be over-exercising.

I loved reading all your posts. They made me feel better. Nice to hear some more recipes. I have a couple of favourites and will try to find some time to write them up. I'd love to hear more recipes just for the allowed vegetables - I'm rubbish at adding herbs and spices and need to learn. Any ideas?

Thanks @Essy28, @Wanttogetslimmer, and @ohtryingsohard. I felt really deflated after Thursdays news - feeling much better now.

@ohtryingsohard - when I cooked the chicken nuggets, the batter was nice and thick and they came out the size and shape of chicken nuggets, but they were really dry. Any suggestions?

@essy28 - luckily I'm not a fish person, so don't have that craving. Will try the shepherds pie though - was a bit hesitant as I can't imagine stew without the meat. But they I couldn't imagine chicken nuggets without the chicken either...

@Wanttogetslimmer - I'd forgotten about aubergine and courgette crisps. I liked them before the diet, can imagine how much I'll like them now! Yum!

Has anyone pickled their own beetroot or gherkins? I can't find any brands without sugar in the pickling vinegar, so I was thinking of trying myself and looking for some tips?

@dm2000 - I've often gained 3 or 4 lbs at TOM. Interesting though - as I'm new to the diet, trying to figure out the logic. Can I test?: You'd add a sachet because you're overexercising - and assume that overexercising is pushing your metabolism into fasting mode, slowing it down. So the extra sachet provides a few extra calories to convince it otherwise, keeping the metabolism up.

Is the aim to try and keep your metabolism running as quickly as possible for as long as possible each day - breaking fast as early as possible in the morning and then entering it again at the very end of the day - without it dropping into fasting mode? And what happens if it drops into fasting mode? Does it stay there until your next meal? I don't suppose it can last too long if we break fast every morning? Is that right?

I accidentally missed a meal yesterday - somehow dismissed my reminder on my phone without actually getting up to get the food, and didn't realise again until it was time for my next meal. Does this write off the rest of the day, or multiple days?

Hi Everyone.

Final update i suppose, well i might be back to let you know if ive kept the weight off!

I had the final consultation with the doctor yesterday, i had the med-con (breathing test) and my RMR (resting metabolic rate) is 1740, its pretty low and much lower than i would have expected. I am 6 ft and 15 stone. with a reading this low its no wonder i have consistently gained weight from being a teenager. The 2500 recommended for men is of course an average, but i never imaged it could be so far off.

On top of the 1740 there is any calories burned during the day, which after discussion with the doctor is surprisingly little for anyone with sedentary lifestyle/job.

I am hoping to lose a little more over time but with so little wiggle room within the daily maintenance calories it will be hard to do.

We also discussed exercise, i am not a fan of doing it, and from discussion with the doc it has surprisingly little effect on weight loss. As a guide doing regular strength training in the gym for 60 minutes would only burn 156 calories, walking is slightly more, running is of course a lot more, but you need to enjoy running to do it and that certainly isn't within my appetite for exercise. I was quite surprised to see moderate work rate of gardening is almost double that or strength training in the gym.

The clinic recommended i continue with the LPG treatment once a month after completion, although i expect this is just a money making thing for them. i haven't decided on this yet, its only £70 a month i suppose and more enjoyable than the MedGen machine (too hot and horrible high pitch squeal most people cant hear)

With regard to phasing off, it was fine for me, removing sachets and replacing with meals was fine, i feel that in most cases what every meal is missing is a sauce, be it a gravy, dressing, curry style sauce, etc, just are not factored in, replace sachet with 120g of lean protein, which to me means using white meat or fish, well unless i have a salad which i didnt want every day, meant having meat with veg and no sauce.

I feel better and cant recall the last time i was out of breath, only downside ive noticed is dizziness, through the diet i have suffered dizzy spells for a few seconds after getting up, be it sat or laid down, this is still the case and if anything seems to be worse. its possible my blood pressure is too low, i will discuss with my GP if it continues, during the diet i put it down to lack of nutrients, but that doesn't explain it over the past week.

I think that about covers it, apologies for the wall of text, if you have any questions that i have not covered, replay and i will get back to you.

Best of luck everyone.
Andy

Oh i did miss one thing.

I lost 6 stone and 11 pounds in 6 month and 1 day. the first 6 weeks of this was dieting before starting Alevere.

Singy - that is a fantastic weight loss, and it is great to hear that the weight continued to go down during the end phases, even if the food is bland. There have been some great recipes on here that could be used as a sauce such as a ratatouille , and a good crust could be made using a mix of herbs. To keep the carbs and diary low the deliciously Ella cookbook book has lots of ideas - I brought this book when I had a Vegan staying, but Ella had to cut meat, sugar and diary from her diet because of an illness.

It seems every clinic does things differently, I had my RMR done on day one and will get it done again at the end. Also, I get my blood pressure measured every week to nip any problems in the bud. Your dizziness could well be low blood pressure or dehydration if you are not getting enough water in, I think either way a trip to your GP will be best, even if it is just to show off your weight loss.

Have you tried bike riding - less painful than running but good at burning calories, as it acts like high interval training when there are likely to be short intervals of hard work followed by easier bits. High Interval training does seem to be very much the fashion at the moment and there are lots of DVDs out there you could do at home from easier ones like Davina Mccal to ultimate killers like beach body, Shaun T25 ( Shaun T is also expensive, but the best home work out you can get).

I wish you every success Singy - you will be a massive inspiration to us all who are at the start of our journeys and I would love some updates from you as you start your journey back in the 'normal world'.

I lost another 4lbs this week, which I am very chuffed with considering that I ate outside of the diet on Monday - that is now 2 stone 9lbs in 6 weeks for me, and I cannot tell you how great it feels. Xxx

Great weight loss @wanttogetslimmer - and some fantastic tips in there. I wish I had space in my living room for a workout - but might jump on the bike more often to get that little extra exercise.

@singy, Andy, thanks for coming to share. It's great to hear from someone who has been through this journey. I know what you mean about the sauces. I'm really missing the magic that a good sauce or a dollop of cream/butter can bring to some of the meals I'm making in stage 1. On RMR - I was told that you can add a good 500 those burned during the day. Brings it a little closer to your 2500. I'm at 1350 - so with 500 calories, that's 1850 - not the 2000 suggested but not far off. I think when I'm fitter and have greater muscle mass, I might be able to get it up to the 2000.

Hi all,
Really glad I have found this site! I've had all my tests and am due to start on Thursday. I have 6 stone to lose and am facing into the fact that I won't be done by Xmas but has taken a couple of weeks to get the tests sorted etc. Look forward to getting started!

Hi everyone - reading this chain is so encouraging - it's good to know that everyone struggles with something and the ideas for coping and the recipes are great. I had a bad week - not just diet wise - though, I didn't eat anything I shouldn't I had 2 days where I hardly had any sachets ( my Mum was taken to hospital suddenly ) but thankfully, I still lost 6.85lbs which means I have lost 18lbs in 3 weeks - I do have a lot to lose though! My food breakthrough is the vanilla dessert with stewed rhubarb, eaten together, it takes the excessive sweetness away. Let's all keep on keeping on!

Hi everyone, so glad I came on here as soon as I got home. Reading all your posts has encouraged me greatly.

I have had a miserable few days at camp. I spent most of my time in the caravan by myself as I couldnt cope with everyone BBQing and frying bacon. There was a constant supply of cake and wine in the communal tent and I just couldnt cope. To be honest it wasnt that I particularly wanted it, it was more I just couldnt cope with the constant "do you want a cake? why arent you having a cake? You love wine why arent you having wine? Here have a glass". I just cant be bothered having to explain it constantly, I have only told immediate family and a couple of close friends.

I am missing my cup of tea (I take a little milk and a sugar) and toast.

I am all out of sync with my sachets, I have had at least two days this week where I have ended up missing my evening one because it just got too late and I couldnt cope with having to stay up another two hours after. And I've had three mornings where I havent managed to get my drink until an hour after I have got up.

I lost another 4lbs last week so 12lbs in two weeks (chuffed) but after having such a miserable time this week, I will be gutted if I havent lost a lot.

Has anyone done it just having drinks? I do quite like the chicken nuggets with a salad, but have gone right off the mash potato and soup because I have constantly had it since I started.

I dont know. Just not feeling great. I'm probably just super tired.

Sorry for the downer, I'll let you all know how I get on on Wednesday.

Well done everyone!!

xx