16 st Low Carbing part 2

[ProfYaffle]

As the first thread is full, I thought I'd start this one to dip a toe in the water and see if anyone else is still around. At the end of the last thread I think a few of us had decided to have the summer off and come back to it in September - so here I am.

Hope a few of the old gang are still around

Fluffy

"Carbohydrates are a common source of energy in living organisms; however, no carbohydrate is an essential nutrient in humans.[19] Humans are able to obtain all of their energy requirement from protein and fats, though the potential for some negative health effects of extreme carbohydrate restriction remains, as the issue has not been studied extensively so far." Wikipedia

Not sure about this. Seems to be twisting a point. Some foods are very nutrient dense and are also higher carb than others ie carrots . Nearly all foods contain different level of carbs so you are getting carbs even on a low carb diet. The only foods that do not contain carbs are fats and oil. Even dairy contains carbs and is higher in carbs than other foods. So it doesn't make sense to say that no carbohydrate is essential nutrient in humans given that nearly all foods contain them.

Desperate be a bit kinder to yourself. You're going through a hard time, it's a very difficult habit to break when eating is your go-to to help you cope. You need to stop putting pressure on yourself. If you are a large 16 now, you won't be a 14 by Christmas - but you will get some AMAZING sparkly dresses in a 16 and certainly should go shopping anyway. Go and treat yourself now, at the size you are, rather than eating more again today. Start with a good breakfast and make a plan to go to the shops and find your dress. Try to have good days - a day at a time - up until Christmas itself. You might shed a few pounds in water weight if you've eaten a lot of carbs.

I know how you feel about the tummy thing. Mine is revolting. I was told at 19 (after DD) that the only way to sort it was through surgery. Since then have had DS and lost and gained several times which makes it worse. I look about six months pregnant! I swear by bodies under my clothes which hold me in. For a long time, I avoided losing weight as I knew I wouldn't look good - the skin gets worse as I get slimmer. However, I feel so much better for doing it. I might look into surgery in the future. I might not. Being ill has made me see losing weight as more important than appearance and breaking that association has certainly helped me to avoid the binges.

As for the diet, definitely have a look at paleo. I couldn't sustain low carb for long, but paleo allows for certain foods, as Always says. The Primal Blueprint (Mark's Daily Apple) suggests between 50-100g cars to be in 'weight loss sweet spot'; I think the perfect health diet (also based around primal) is 100-200g. Loads of success stories for both of these WOE.

www.marksdailyapple.com/welcome-to-marks-daily-apple/#axzz3tKuHWoG9

perfecthealthdiet.com/

Lastly, . I know how rubbish it is at times.

Always, I totally agree with all you have said. Carbs are in nearly all foods and a lot of high carb foods contain essential nutrients. I think it's just that I was making the point that the chemistry of the carbohydrate itself is not an essential nutrient. Did not know buckwheat was a fruit.

Desperately, agree that trying out of different diets one after the other night not be helping. Stick to one that you like.

I used to love low carbing, i love the food and i can adapt it easily for the family. I am not usually hungry - this has been the biggest revelation for me as that usually ruins all diets for me.

I believe the science and think its healthier as esp i had gestational diabetes and can see that i am at a higher risk of developing diabetes in the long run.

I might add in some carbier items such as butternut squash to allow more flexiblity. I am a bit all or nothing and i find strictness suits me.

I think i have an unrealistic expectation of how fast i will lose weight - everyone on the internet seems to lose weight virtually overnight. I have lost 1st 9lbs ish in nearly 16 months which is a snails pace.

I dont necessarily want to be thin (a small size 14 would be great) but i do want to be a healthy bmi. I have been over weight the majority of my adult life and i was nearly 16st at 5ft 5, i wanted to reverse the upwards trend. I want to be healthy and fit, as an older parent i want to be healthy for my children and set a good example.

I also just want to get my weight sorted and find the way of eating that suits me and keeps my weight stable, then focus on something more important. I have spent all my life worrying about my weight and its god damn boring!!

I didnt sleep much last night and thought about why this was failing
not being prepared enough
unrealistic expectations
not enough variety in my diet
not enough variety in my meals
over reliance on dairy
forgetting to appreiecate the health benefits - no ibs
trying to keep my carbs too low

I do wonder if i am having too much fat and hence calories. I am going to try and include more fish in my diet, reduce dairy and include more veg carbs.

Thanks for all your input guys.

ALWAYS - i have always comfort eaten, i am loads better than i used to be. My husband is good at spotting the signs and is very supportive. This diet helps me control my desire to comfort eat but since giving up fags and boozing, food is my fall back! I struggle when i look at the big picture - how far i have to go, diet ruining events (e.g xmas) etc i need to focus on just today and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Part of me think well next week i HAVE to eat a massive chinese (or whatever) so whats the point in being strict now. The problem is i would still like to eat bread but i know its makes my ibs bad and makes me fat. The realisation and the acceptance are still poles apart, bread is not a treat. I am not a dog!

FLUFFY - I will check out the links. Before we had kids i made hubby promise that he would pay for a tummy tuck and bob uplift if pregnancy ruined them! I think he thought i was joking. I am trying callanetics to get my waist back and sort out my massive arms (widest point is across the tops of my arms). I think my rl stress is making me focus on the stuff i can control and i just need to take a deep breath and put it back in its box and stop letting it affect me, its only bloody weight after all.

Thanks for all your advice, sorry that was long. Getting it all out of my head has def helped however.

Hope everyone has had a good weekend.

Still ticking on here. Lowest weight in 5 years reached on Friday. Feeling pleased .

Well done Kinky thats great news.

Yay!!!Kinky

Quiet on here - hope everyone is okay .

I have avoided both the posh biscuits getting opened for visitors and mince pies.

I will probably dream of them tonight .

Well done kinky! I have been quiet since I caused a bit of a storm on another thread when I made an offhand comment about fruit and yoghurt no necessarily being a healthy snack. Thread has now been deleted by mumsnet so you can't read it. I didn't mean much by it but everyone jumped on it and I felt stupid. Just meant low fat yoghurt is sometimes very sugary and orange juice etc. But people didn't like it. So thought I should keep my head down for a while. Anyway, I've plateaud for 2 weeks :( Trying to stay on it and haven't wavered. My dream of being normal BMI by Xmas are slipping away. Any advice?

Hi i am back with a new user name, i was desperately.

Oh i missed the drama, if it helps i agree with you Fluffy, they obviously werent low carbers. You should try explaining to my in laws that butter and bacon are helping me lose weight

Weightloss sadly isnt linear, well done for koko. Have you lost inches? On the bootcamp threads they recommend more water and fat to break a stall, or a week or so of super low carb and limit dairy?

The original mantra was slim by xmas but now its going to be slim by NEXT xmas! How about normal bmi by end of jan? Give yourself a break.

Well done kinky on avoiding the biscuits, i sadly failed with a massive pile of mince pies but i have been doing loads of spinning so i havent lost any weight but i havent put any on either. I will be happy to maintain until Jan.

I have been adding more veg and different foods to my diet to expand it a bit as i had limited it a bit much.

Have a fab weekend everyone

It's surprising how angsty people get about lc diets. Does anyone ever use the forums on Myfitnesspal? They're full of rows about lc vs cico. Some people get really aggravated about other people not doing stuff in exactly the same way as them

Re not being slim by Xmas, I'm similar, have plateaued, won't be at target by Xmas. I'm not that bothered though. I've achieved a lot in the past year and I'm proud of what I've done irrespective of whether I lose another stone or not.

Went to the hospital with dh today. Turns out his tumour is far bigger than we imagined. A portion of it is touching his optic nerve which is the biggest cause for concern. Upshot is, initial keyhole debulking op followed by either radiotherapy or a 2nd op which will probably be a full on craniotomy.

Looks like everything will kick on in January, so not entirely sure I'll be focussed enough to lose weight then either!

Oh gosh prof, that sucks. How is Mrprof taking it?

I dont care what others eat and i have no idea why people get so enraged, i have seen it myself and its madness.

i am off to my first kettlebells lesson tonight, i am very excited!

Prof I'm sorry to hear that. Sending you all much love and hope you are okay as you can be.

Fluffy I missed all of that too. I wouldn't put pressure on yourself with weight, plenty of fat and water.

princess super posh new name .

I think this time of year is a minefield at the bes of times. My motivation to stick with it comes from sheer fear of another fibro crash, so that seems pretty good at keeping me on the straight and narrow. I do keep feeling a bit sad I can't fall face-first into the posh biscuits.

It's only a few weeks. I can do this.

I have now lost exactly 3 stones this year; about 1.5 of that has been paleo. More than that, I feel in control of what I'm doing and that is the main thing. I need to lose another 10lbs to get into 'normal' and hope to lose another couple of stones from here, but not hugely bothered. I'm more worried about my health generally and that I feel better. I think my hair is growing back too as I have lots of random tufts. Not so glam this Christmas .

Kettlebells was hard, aarrgghh. I only used 4kg and 6kg and i was totally red and dripping in sweat. I did 95% of the 35 min class. Way too many push ups for my liking and my love handles area got a massive workout so hoping for no muffin top next week. Loved it though and have signed up for next week.

Kinky thats a great loss in a year and good news on the hair - this is totally the time of year to rock a hat! I must try harder as i have lost 1st 9lbs in 18 months! Big sigh. Just hoping to maintain and increase my fitness over xmas and will worry about the scales after.

Glad you enjoyed it. One of the things I love is that it's so effective in such a short space of time. I've never done an actual class so it'll be interesting to hear how it differs from the DVDs.

Thanks for all the good wishes, MrProf is apprehensive but not too bad overall. It's a huge shock, I think some of the professionals we've seen over the past few years have massively glossed over how bad his tumour was. We were under the impression it's a tiny thing and it's not. In many ways it's like being newly diagnosed again.

Princess - where's your name from? I know I recognise it but not sure where from.

From friends - the one where phoebe changes her name, but i obvs cant spell banana!

I can really feel it today and he did say its surprising how quickly you can up your weights as your body adjusts. I have slightly pulled a muscle in my left thigh so i will be having a couple of rest days with a bit of walking. We did lots of squat swing things bringing the kettle bell up to shoulder level, loads of push up with a hand on the weight to make you uneven and loads of shoulder type presses. We swung the weight around our bodys switching hands - i was convinced i was going to drop it but didnt. It was really really hard, it just showed me how rubbish my upper body strength is. I want my shape to change and i am doing callanetics - i have only done it 4 times but my waist is def firming up - juts need to remove the padding now so you can see it!

It must be such a hard time for you all, esp just before xmas. In one way i suppose you have been in a bit of blissful ignorance over the size of the tumor but now the reality is hitting home. It must be very tough for you all and i am sending my best wishes.

Sorry to hear that Prof. Must be very stressful for you both. Difficult to focus on anything with that on in your mind all the time.

Thanks for advice guys I will try more fat and more water. I will forget about Xmas target. I haven't lost inches u guess my body needs to regroup!

Princess where in your leg have you pulled a muscle? What movement is it that causes pain? I might be able to help.

Thanks Fluffy - The back of my left thigh is hurting, just a bit but more than the soreness i would expect and how everything else is! I have just had a lovely walk at the beach and that has helped somewhat but its still sore.

I like this guy called Gary Crowley who does lots of video clips on YouTube of simple stretches and self massage techniques. Here is a simple stretch for hamstrings from sitting on a chair.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=7GC7IFMiNiI

Also if you have a tennis ball or similar to hand then sit on it in lots of positions under and around your bottom and thighs. You want to find the sore spots and get the ball to put pressure into the belly of the muscle and stay on it for however long it takes for the pain to ease off. That is the point that the muscle relaxes.

Thanks for the link. Legs still very sore today. We are headed to the christmas market in a bit so some walking should help. Then roast pork and all the trimming later, yum.

Happy sunday everyone

Ah yes! Friends, I remember now.

Visited the in laws yesterday, as soon as I walked in fil went " you're losing weight!!" as though it hadn't been mentioned at all in the past year! It was gratifying though as it's the first time they've actually genuinely expressed anything positive about my woe/weight loss etc. (Though we did have to reprise the "What's wrong with fruit ? " conversation for a millionth time)

Also bought my mum some pj's for Xmas. She's been complaining about putting weight on so I got some in size 12/14, only for her to tell me to buy a size 10 the next day! I decided to keep the 12/14 for myself, thinking I'll probably fit into them by spring or something. Tried them on and they're a perfect fit!

Amazing prof, its great when doubters actually see that this woe works. Well done on the pjs. I recently bought some but had to get 18-20 but i blame primark and their rubbish sizing not my love of wine!!

My FIL HAS to do something about his weight now and cant get his head around low carbing as fruit, bread and pasta are all good for you - that what the diabetic nurse said so must be true even though he has put on several stone since being told that! Also didnt stop him having choc brownie and clotted cream and a mince pie for pudding. His ill health due to obesity has really ramped up in the last few years and i really fear for him, i hope he can get it sorted. This is helping me with my resolve as i dont want to be him in 30 yrs and it must be so hard to change such long ingrained habits.

My mil made a barbed comment about not realising i was on a diet so i had great delight in telling her i was 3 dress sizes down! (i should have risen above it).

I am still struggling with the diet at the mo but am doing well on the exercise and i am generally steering clear of carbs just not really doing it properly. I had a sausage roll in town for lunch but have some nice low carb soup for dinner.

Oh well tomorrow is another day! Now if i could just get my legs to stop hurting, kettlebells was brutal!

Generally speaking I don't shop at Primark (mainly because I live in the sticks and the nearest one is miles away) but I do remember getting some pj's from there years ago and I had to go up about 2 sizes!

It's good you're doing well with the exercise. imho it is important to weight loss, it mitigates the slip ups so you don't have to be quite as strict with yourself.

Thanks prof that what i keep telling myself too! Will be better after xmas, i am ready to just do this in the new year. My training for my very difficult (stupid) 10k muddy obstacle course will have to seriously ramp up too so hoping by the time my hubbys 40th comes around in April i shall be twiglet like!

Just need my legs to stop aching, arrgghh.

Prof sorry to hear about your DH. Hope first op goes better than expected.

Fluffy as others have said, go easy on yourself. You will get there.

See now I eat a wide variety of fruit as I believe that the nutrients within them and the seeds have huge benefits to health. I don't eat yoghurt/dairy as I believe that to be way too high in estrogen (87 per cent I think) which we do not need. My point being that we all have different views on healthy eating I guess.