Well I haven't posted in a goodly while thanks to a particularly nasty viral infection which left me with Bronchitis.
3 weeks later and I still have the remnants of that cough!
The up side is - for the first time in over 3 weeks, I feel I have my energy back, so much so I am contemplating starting up my yoga practice again - something I haven't done now for a month.
The down side is - that for the last 3 weeks, I haven't been exactly true to my eating goal - in part because I had to be grateful for whatever the family were prepared to make, and when I was feeling better, I still only had the energy to grab whatever was easiest in the cupboard.
The illness didn't affect my appetite, just my ability to even think about venturing in to the kitchen.
Just prior to the illness, I would have been able to report that I had lost nearly half a stone - 7lbs. I'm not convinced that is still the case - but its ok.
My eldest son came home from Uni just for the weekend, just past. And he hasn't seen me since Christmas - and he wasn't aware of my eating amendments - the first thing he said to me was, Mum you're looking great - you've lost some weight.
Someone pay that boy!!!
The interesting thing about this, is that actual weight loss, measured on the scales, has been slow and laborious - but my son said he could see a definite change to my middle section and legs.
It was nice to hear it from that perspective, because I was pretty sure there was a difference to see - not that anyone else is really looking that closely, and because, weather wise we have all been swaddled up looking padded anyway.
So the virus was nasty - but thankfully now its gone.
And today - my diet is back where it is supposed to be.
My issue, strangely wasn't with the sugar per se (except when hubby decided to use up eggs whites he didn't need having made homemade custard, and proceeded to make the most delicious meringue as well. Epic fail!) - but the carbs - everyone resorts to carbs.
Still I don't mind slipping off the wagon occasionally, when I can make the jump back on again - and that is where I am at today.
Its nice to be better too.
Showing posts with label Weight Loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weight Loss. Show all posts
Monday, 18 February 2013
Monday, 21 January 2013
Slow Progress....by Heather
Slow Progress. Ummm.
Neither Katy nor I are fond of the scales - but I have stepped on them intermittently since the New Year to find generally, my weight loss is small and slow. But it is a loss. I said in the New Year, that I could feel weight piling on, and I honestly could, it was unnerving; but in a wave of positivity, I am happy to say that this is not the case now.
I am holding my own.
I feel lighter, no bloat going on and I am feeling less headachey, less irritable and actually, yes more energetic. I am finding myself missing the sugar much much less. This is actually a BIG thing for me - its big enough for me that in honesty, I should be raving from the rafters - I would never have thought I could lose the craving - but as I sit here and think on it, I really have. I like it. But don't feel I need it.
But the weight, on the scales, is very much still there - I was aware when I started this journey, it wasn't going to be easy. My consultant had already told me that my medication may cause some weight gain. Forum's on the web I have found, show me that many women, following the same route, have also lumped on weight - in fairness, I am actually something of a steaming success in comparison to their tales of weighty woe.
But I'm not going to be a poster girl for lbs lost on anyones wall yet.
Slow progess too in the digestive transition stakes. This is a topic I'm not terribly familiar with and something I am more happy leaving Katy, the herbalist to tackle. But it is causing me difficulty - and this is I know exacerbated by my being a coeliac.
You see Katy is the natural healer of this outfit - and I'm the natural medical disaster!!
I have gone to some lengths this weekend to tackle the slow transit problem - and I might encourage Katy to talk about natural alternatives she has steered her clients toward.
If all improves, I will talk more about the initiatives I have employed - I have spent some time checking over menus to improve the fibre content of my diet whilst not compromising on the reduction in carbohydrates I am working with.
The holy grail it may be, but I want something that means I don't suffer cramping or colic; that doesn't give me drastic urges to go at anytime day or night and doesn't irritate that fine balance I have that can throw me the 'other way'!
First and easiest remedy - water. Personally I really struggle to drink the stuff, stupid as it sounds. I have no idea why, I used to love and only drink water when I was a kid - so why I am water averse now, I don't understand. So that really has to be my first port of call - that, and moving around. But much more about that next time.
Neither Katy nor I are fond of the scales - but I have stepped on them intermittently since the New Year to find generally, my weight loss is small and slow. But it is a loss. I said in the New Year, that I could feel weight piling on, and I honestly could, it was unnerving; but in a wave of positivity, I am happy to say that this is not the case now.
I am holding my own.
I feel lighter, no bloat going on and I am feeling less headachey, less irritable and actually, yes more energetic. I am finding myself missing the sugar much much less. This is actually a BIG thing for me - its big enough for me that in honesty, I should be raving from the rafters - I would never have thought I could lose the craving - but as I sit here and think on it, I really have. I like it. But don't feel I need it.
But the weight, on the scales, is very much still there - I was aware when I started this journey, it wasn't going to be easy. My consultant had already told me that my medication may cause some weight gain. Forum's on the web I have found, show me that many women, following the same route, have also lumped on weight - in fairness, I am actually something of a steaming success in comparison to their tales of weighty woe.
But I'm not going to be a poster girl for lbs lost on anyones wall yet.
Slow progess too in the digestive transition stakes. This is a topic I'm not terribly familiar with and something I am more happy leaving Katy, the herbalist to tackle. But it is causing me difficulty - and this is I know exacerbated by my being a coeliac.
You see Katy is the natural healer of this outfit - and I'm the natural medical disaster!!
I have gone to some lengths this weekend to tackle the slow transit problem - and I might encourage Katy to talk about natural alternatives she has steered her clients toward.
If all improves, I will talk more about the initiatives I have employed - I have spent some time checking over menus to improve the fibre content of my diet whilst not compromising on the reduction in carbohydrates I am working with.
The holy grail it may be, but I want something that means I don't suffer cramping or colic; that doesn't give me drastic urges to go at anytime day or night and doesn't irritate that fine balance I have that can throw me the 'other way'!
First and easiest remedy - water. Personally I really struggle to drink the stuff, stupid as it sounds. I have no idea why, I used to love and only drink water when I was a kid - so why I am water averse now, I don't understand. So that really has to be my first port of call - that, and moving around. But much more about that next time.
Thursday, 10 January 2013
Weight Loss - What to Eat? .....by Heather
I have lost about 3lbs.
My weight loss to date has been less than half a pound a week.
From a standard weight loss regime perspective, this represents small and slow loss - however, it is a loss overall and I have not actually been dieting per se,what I have done is simply cut out the added sugar.
I have faltered too - often unknowingly, I think something is ok to eat, only to find it isn't. But I learn every day.
Also, I won't lie. Reducing sugar like I have leaves me with a hollow sensation, even when I haven't really made very much effort to reduce my meals in many other respects and technically I know I'm really not hungry. I also know that in days gone by, following this sugar restricted diet would have seem me dropping off the lbs much more readily - a few weeks would have seen a much more obvious loss.
When I talked about moving on to part 2 of my plan - I talked about reducing my reliance on carbs - and I have spent some time looking at my regular menus and family favourite meals - and what I realise is we have a very heavy reliance on carbohydrates for practically every meal. This actually shocked me a bit.
Generally my overall goal is to lose some weight now, especially that dangerous middle weight that in my age bracket signals some serious crap around the internal organs - 2 stone would satisfy cosmetically and would probably do the biz with regard to my hip/waist ratio; but that's not really such a small thing to accomplish.
So whilst I aim to work toward an overall healthier diet that will be a blue print to work to for the rest of my life, in order to really move this 'overweight' I am carrying, I have to make some sacrifice now to start to actually shift weight more consistently, and more in line with what the standard diet suggestions of 1-2lb per week.
It's been quite interesting this week - looking at new foods, things I wouldn't normally eat or tweaking old favourites. Traditionally when I start looking at trying to lose some weight, I always fall back on apples, bananas, raisins, diet yogurts (full of sugar of course!) to fill the void. This time, even though fruit doesn't fall in to my 'added sugar' ban, they are particularly sugary in terms of the biochemistry of the things once they have been swallowed.
I want to try and break some of my old habits, because clearly, now, I have to shake things up a wee bit - or else my actual weight loss will be negligible.
Time is a constricting factor for me during the week - kids and office hours, mean I am stripped of time for leisurely breakfasts; I'm sorry to say I eat my breakfast on my feet - it's gluten free porridge with linseeds in mug, I make it sloppy so I can drink it as I herd the kids from bed, to breakfast to bathroom and make packed lunch.
I do intend however to be more considered about my weekend breakfast - I like porridge and don't really want to forsake something I really have always liked and is very convenient during the week - but weekends will see me shake it up a bit and go for more protein based meal options - like hey ho, Bacon & Eggs say.
Lunchtime will see the drastic change - instead of opting for the lazy cheese sandwich, I will be thinking more leafy and more protein based.
Instead of snacking on apples, bananas, and raisins - instead I am thinking of Greek yogurt, nuts and even some Almond Milk or some nut butters - organic unsweetened peanut butter or almond butter - not entirely sure what to do with them other than spoon them in my mouth - but this gives me something else to investigate over the weeks to come.
Our main meals are a challenge simply because I don't want to be massively out of step with the rest of the family, I don't want to be cooking two meals at a time - for both time and money considerations. We have started migrating from white flours to whole grain - but for the sake of our home economics, I have stuff still in the kitchen cupboards that need eating before the change occurs wholesale. I will over the weeks to come introduce recipes as I find them to hopefully balance the plate for the entire family and reduce our preponderance of carbs in our dinner.
Alls good really, it will be interesting these next few weeks to see how it develops.
My weight loss to date has been less than half a pound a week.
From a standard weight loss regime perspective, this represents small and slow loss - however, it is a loss overall and I have not actually been dieting per se,what I have done is simply cut out the added sugar.
I have faltered too - often unknowingly, I think something is ok to eat, only to find it isn't. But I learn every day.
Also, I won't lie. Reducing sugar like I have leaves me with a hollow sensation, even when I haven't really made very much effort to reduce my meals in many other respects and technically I know I'm really not hungry. I also know that in days gone by, following this sugar restricted diet would have seem me dropping off the lbs much more readily - a few weeks would have seen a much more obvious loss.
When I talked about moving on to part 2 of my plan - I talked about reducing my reliance on carbs - and I have spent some time looking at my regular menus and family favourite meals - and what I realise is we have a very heavy reliance on carbohydrates for practically every meal. This actually shocked me a bit.
Generally my overall goal is to lose some weight now, especially that dangerous middle weight that in my age bracket signals some serious crap around the internal organs - 2 stone would satisfy cosmetically and would probably do the biz with regard to my hip/waist ratio; but that's not really such a small thing to accomplish.
So whilst I aim to work toward an overall healthier diet that will be a blue print to work to for the rest of my life, in order to really move this 'overweight' I am carrying, I have to make some sacrifice now to start to actually shift weight more consistently, and more in line with what the standard diet suggestions of 1-2lb per week.
It's been quite interesting this week - looking at new foods, things I wouldn't normally eat or tweaking old favourites. Traditionally when I start looking at trying to lose some weight, I always fall back on apples, bananas, raisins, diet yogurts (full of sugar of course!) to fill the void. This time, even though fruit doesn't fall in to my 'added sugar' ban, they are particularly sugary in terms of the biochemistry of the things once they have been swallowed.
I want to try and break some of my old habits, because clearly, now, I have to shake things up a wee bit - or else my actual weight loss will be negligible.
Time is a constricting factor for me during the week - kids and office hours, mean I am stripped of time for leisurely breakfasts; I'm sorry to say I eat my breakfast on my feet - it's gluten free porridge with linseeds in mug, I make it sloppy so I can drink it as I herd the kids from bed, to breakfast to bathroom and make packed lunch.
I do intend however to be more considered about my weekend breakfast - I like porridge and don't really want to forsake something I really have always liked and is very convenient during the week - but weekends will see me shake it up a bit and go for more protein based meal options - like hey ho, Bacon & Eggs say.
Lunchtime will see the drastic change - instead of opting for the lazy cheese sandwich, I will be thinking more leafy and more protein based.
Instead of snacking on apples, bananas, and raisins - instead I am thinking of Greek yogurt, nuts and even some Almond Milk or some nut butters - organic unsweetened peanut butter or almond butter - not entirely sure what to do with them other than spoon them in my mouth - but this gives me something else to investigate over the weeks to come.
Our main meals are a challenge simply because I don't want to be massively out of step with the rest of the family, I don't want to be cooking two meals at a time - for both time and money considerations. We have started migrating from white flours to whole grain - but for the sake of our home economics, I have stuff still in the kitchen cupboards that need eating before the change occurs wholesale. I will over the weeks to come introduce recipes as I find them to hopefully balance the plate for the entire family and reduce our preponderance of carbs in our dinner.
Alls good really, it will be interesting these next few weeks to see how it develops.
Monday, 7 January 2013
Heather's Plan Part 2 .....by Heather
I do think that my learning curve is set to start today.
A few days ago I talked about the start of my lifestyle diet plan - which was all about the sugar.
Ditching the sugar additives in my food was all about making what I believe to be better choices, healthwise, for my overall diet. I really think that Robert Lustig's lecture explains this far better than I could here. True, by limiting the amount of added sugar in my diet, I am instantly cutting out the cakes, and sweets and biscuits, and the ready meals and the rubbish sugary drinks etc etc. Which is all good from a weight loss point of view.
However, if I'm honest, whilst I love most of these things, I have known for a long long time that these things have to be limited, I have never done sugary drinks - I hate Coke and Pepsi et al. I don't have added white or brown sugar in any drinks or breakfast cereal; so saying I am dropping these things out of my diet is no biggy. The biggy for me is in not having a pudding after dinner, or if I'm feeling virtuous, a sweet yogurt say. Not having a chocolate bar during mid morning break or a few biscuits with my afternoon tea. In times gone by, just cutting these things out has been enough to bring my weight to some acceptable level - not a perfect model figure, but one that looks vaguely acceptable.
I have never had to think harder than that - until now.
Ditching added sugar overall (all items with sugar/syrups/'oses' 3 or higher in the ingredients listing) has and will for some goodly time I know, been hard. Despite eating unchecked, all other foods, life without sugary food feels hollow - literally. And I'm not exactly sure whether it is addictive or not, but I have this weekend, thought of little else than what I can't have.
For all of that, I don't believe my weight has shrunk measurably - ok, I think I do feel less bloated, but that is because we are now back at work, having previously been off for Christmas - but weight loss? No I don't really think so.
So, part 2 of my plan, is to be kick started today. And I am already in a quandary with it - and I am sure will blog in more detail over the days to come.
My present weight (and the fact I would like there to be less of it) is presently being exacerbated to greater or lesser degrees by 2 facts, for which I appear at least to have little direct control.
Fact 1 is I have a thyroid disorder.
Fact 2 is I am menopausal
I will revisit both of these wonderful arrivals in my life, I'm sure - but not right now. For now it is enough to say that their existence makes for complications to the matter of my losing weight.
Undeterred I move on the the second phase of my plan of attack - like Air Chief Marshall Dowding, I haven't as yet dropped the pencil!
My corollary to the sugar ban is the management of my carbs.
I have been reading with interest Peter Attia M.D. at the Eating Academy - presently, I'm seriously not in a position to emulate him - however he does say that his present eating regime took some time to refine and become use to; I am not entirely sure I want to go so far. But seriously I do want to start introducing modifications.
I like Carbs. A lot. Especially the grain variety and what manufacturers can do with it!
I have thought for some considerable time I needed to look at managing the carbs more vigorously.
There is a slight added point for me, with regard to carbs - I am a coeliac - not the end of the world but it adds to the mix. I am also a coeliac who isn't averse to cheating a bit. I realise its only myself that gets cheated - but hey, my husband makes fresh pasta to die for!
I wasn't sure exactly what the best way to manage my carbs was - for a start, my family, some months back moved wholly to brown bread - but there has been a general reluctance to change to brown rice, brown flour or wholewheat pasta - since the new year however, my husband has agreed that the family will make a wholesale move to wholegrain where at all possible.
I took the view, that I would happily forgo gluten free bread altogether, be that brown or white (include here too any gluten free equivalent to muffins, crumpets and rolls) - I have experimented with different makes and found a few really good attempts at providing real alternatives for coeliacs; but I think that all too often I default to bread and it wouldn't hurt my weight loss attempts to shelve it, unless it feels absolutely necessary to a meal.
But just moving to wholegrain isn't going to help me with the waistline. And it was whilst reading a grubby copy of 'Women's Health' magazine over the holiday, that I read about using mobile apps to track Gi and GL foods - and so I downloaded a couple of apps last night.
I've flirted with GI before - but because it targeted my most foody nearest and dearest, I lost interest.
Part 2 of my lifestyle diet plan is to stop flirting and just proposition the thing!
Right now I don't have a full handle on it all - so homework for me this week is to read up and learn. In the meantime, I will track my meals and see what its saying about what I eat - I have an immediate and not so startling inkling that its all gonna be 'red' - the key will be to see what this means exactly and refine plan part 2 to shape what my carb eating should entail, and whether GI is relevant or just a useful tool
Be assured, I will be revisiting this again shortly.
Friday, 4 January 2013
Heather's Plan. Part I......by Heather
So here is my plan, part 1.
Sugar obviously is my first point of call. But I am conscious that just like giving up the ciggies, I am going to have some serious issues just dropping all sugar - sugar consumption is also more complicated than just cutting out the white stuff in drinks.
Katy is particular irked with a whole list of 'no's'; but for me it makes for an easy reference point - eat what I will except...... All products that contain added sugar - either home made or shop bought where sugars/any product ending in 'ose', corn syrup, syrup, treacle, mollasses, appear in the ingredients list - 3rd place and higher.
The kinds of products that are easy to spot are: sweets and chocolate, sweet pastries, cakes, puddings and biscuits - but other culprits would be ketchups, pickles and chutneys, pasta sauces, yogurts, rice puddings and custards, curry sauces and pastes, tinned tomatoes, baked beans, tinned pasta types, ready meals, squirty cream, hot chocolates and malty drinks, almost all breakfast cereals, juices and other soft drinks and some breads
Not an exhaustive list but you can't fail to get the message - and this is why this is part 1 because this is a big ask. I am effectively boxed in with not much in the way of escape or diversionary tactics available to help me out when I get the call. At least smokers can call on nicorettes!
And I don't doubt that I am going to find this hard, I've tinkered around the edges of this before, and it doesn't take long before I am thinking of nothing else. Going in to a shop is like bringing a vampire into the blood bank - and it affects my mood. Without a sugar fix I get really ratty, depressed and lose concentration. Actually having Googled this phenomenon, I really don't know whether this is a real physiological response to sugar withdrawal or all in my mind. But the outcome is not - grouchville here we come.
What I can't quite believe, is that by encouraging my other half to watch the Lustig lecture the other day, he is pretty much with me on this and wants to start looking seriously at incorporating a sugar reduced menu family wide. (My daughter is gutted) but we are hoping that our youngest son will benefit from this approach because of the 3 kids, he is more prone to weight gain and has the crappiest diet. It's not just this though - we are on board with the health benefits and we as a family are pretty 'up' for cooking from scratch, my husband enjoys cooking - and despite what looks like a depressingly comprehensive list of goods on the NO listing - we are committed to filling our lives with quality, fresh food.
I'm not big on new year resolutions - but if I had one this year, it was to work hard at including more veg to our meals generally, having more than one serving per meal and if necessary turning sergeant major on our youngest and force him in to a more healthier approach.
Last nights meal had a bottle of tomato ketchup accompanying it, sat in the middle of the table - and both my youngest son and daughter looked at it forlornly, like an old friend was about to die; because I had said there wouldn't be anymore replacements once it had gone.
I haven't gone mad. The whole family will not be catapulted into sugar oblivion, as I. Not yet anyway.
Sugar obviously is my first point of call. But I am conscious that just like giving up the ciggies, I am going to have some serious issues just dropping all sugar - sugar consumption is also more complicated than just cutting out the white stuff in drinks.
Katy is particular irked with a whole list of 'no's'; but for me it makes for an easy reference point - eat what I will except...... All products that contain added sugar - either home made or shop bought where sugars/any product ending in 'ose', corn syrup, syrup, treacle, mollasses, appear in the ingredients list - 3rd place and higher.
The kinds of products that are easy to spot are: sweets and chocolate, sweet pastries, cakes, puddings and biscuits - but other culprits would be ketchups, pickles and chutneys, pasta sauces, yogurts, rice puddings and custards, curry sauces and pastes, tinned tomatoes, baked beans, tinned pasta types, ready meals, squirty cream, hot chocolates and malty drinks, almost all breakfast cereals, juices and other soft drinks and some breads
Not an exhaustive list but you can't fail to get the message - and this is why this is part 1 because this is a big ask. I am effectively boxed in with not much in the way of escape or diversionary tactics available to help me out when I get the call. At least smokers can call on nicorettes!
And I don't doubt that I am going to find this hard, I've tinkered around the edges of this before, and it doesn't take long before I am thinking of nothing else. Going in to a shop is like bringing a vampire into the blood bank - and it affects my mood. Without a sugar fix I get really ratty, depressed and lose concentration. Actually having Googled this phenomenon, I really don't know whether this is a real physiological response to sugar withdrawal or all in my mind. But the outcome is not - grouchville here we come.
What I can't quite believe, is that by encouraging my other half to watch the Lustig lecture the other day, he is pretty much with me on this and wants to start looking seriously at incorporating a sugar reduced menu family wide. (My daughter is gutted) but we are hoping that our youngest son will benefit from this approach because of the 3 kids, he is more prone to weight gain and has the crappiest diet. It's not just this though - we are on board with the health benefits and we as a family are pretty 'up' for cooking from scratch, my husband enjoys cooking - and despite what looks like a depressingly comprehensive list of goods on the NO listing - we are committed to filling our lives with quality, fresh food.
I'm not big on new year resolutions - but if I had one this year, it was to work hard at including more veg to our meals generally, having more than one serving per meal and if necessary turning sergeant major on our youngest and force him in to a more healthier approach.
Last nights meal had a bottle of tomato ketchup accompanying it, sat in the middle of the table - and both my youngest son and daughter looked at it forlornly, like an old friend was about to die; because I had said there wouldn't be anymore replacements once it had gone.
I haven't gone mad. The whole family will not be catapulted into sugar oblivion, as I. Not yet anyway.
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