Weight problems! How to read the scales?

I'm so annoyed this morning. So so annoyed.

An integral part of the Dukan for me is the reward of seeing the numbers on the scales go down. I've done enough research (as well as observed my own experiences) to know that the numbers on the scale can fluctuate dramatically.

BUT when you use the same set of scales, in the same time frame (maybe 5 minutes) and find that you weigh between 136.4lbs and 138.8lbs respectively depending on what part of the bathroom floor the scales are on has concerned and angered me.
I weighed 136.4, 137.4, 138, 138.2 and 138.8!!!

I decided after about the second go that whichever number reappeared would be the number. But it didn't reappear. It changed. Every section of the floor I used was, in my humble opinion, flat.

And now its made me question my loss in the last few days!!!! Not impressed

Day 3 & 4? :-S

137.4- the weight that I began the Dukan on in April 2013.

Let me never see these numbers in this order again.

This was yesterday mornings weigh-in after my 2nd attack in 3 days. I was happy.

I ate "porridge" for breakfast- oatbran, sweetener and milk- it comes out like 2 spoonfuls.
Then had the usual crabstick feast
For lunch I had smoked salmon and scrambled eggs- oooh la la!!!

Then I sort of ate a KitKat Chunky.

Then I had the works do. I'm not going to say what I ate there (and drunk) because I figure that although I am simply documenting this for myself- it turns out that people do actually look at this and if you have googled "attack" and end up with a blog about how much wine someone drunk then you're going to be annoyed.

Anyway- I woke up 15 minutes before I was due to begin work this morning- A LOT of wine you see!
But still jumped on the scales. I weighed 1lb less exactly but figured the 2 hours extra in bed could have played a major part and didn't have time to photo it so it doesn't count.

Today I ate a donut, baked courgette with cheese and ratatouille, slice of carrot cake, flapjack, and 3 quarter sandwiches- tuna, salmon and prawn. (There were birthdays at work and left over sandwiches from an away day). I don't know what to have for dinner as my tongue is like a thick fur carpet atm, but I think I may have to do one final attack tomorrow to try and get back into ketosis.

I don't sound as though I mean business do I?

Day 2 of attack?

Hello, hello.

I am quite pleased to say that I've just thoroughly enjoyed a couple of slices of smoken salmon for lunch. I don't know if the same can be said for the office who have to endure the smell.
Usually when I eat smoked salmon on Dukan it feels a bit forced and makes me feel ill. I think I've kept my fluids up well today which is probably why it hasn't made me nauseas. Don't get me wrong- I love the stuff but mainly rolled up with philly and chives. Don't have the resources today!



So yesterday was bad bad bad.

But this morning the scales gave me a beautiful present.

1.4lbs LESS than day 1. Despite my massive hiccup. More like belch really.

So today is Day 2 of my attack- I'm not starting again.
When I'm "dieting" I use a wonderful forum website called minimins and a stranger told me that if I fall off the wagon to jump back on immediately- rather than binge all day and start again tomorrow.
She told me that I am supposed to be doing this to make me happy. I think she's right. What is the point of punishing constantly? Squeezing into clothes and feeling like a pregnant porpoise is punishment enough as it is, right?

So positivity is creeping in today.

Breakfast:-
2 scrambled eggs with skimmed milk, sweetener, and vanilla extract. Absolutely delicious. Not a chore to hoover up these eggs in the morning. I've been getting sick of eating dried out husks of "scramble" so I am now quite generous with the milk and the things go frothy and delicious.

Snack:- 2 slices of quorn ham. YUM. Do have to sneak them again as its not office etiquette to eat ham out the packet.

Lunch:- Smoked salmon (maybe around 50g) and 6 crabsticks. Ok- so I'm noticing that Dukan smells are quite anti-social aren't they?

Dinner:- who knows- I will update later...



Ok. So afternoon snack was:- cottage cheese with pepper and basil and a couple of slices of quorn ham

Dinner:- mixed seafood (mussels, prawns, squid and scallops) with thai green paste and a splash of skimmed milk. Yummy!

Evening snack:- oatbran biscuit with oregano in it and 1 pickled onion.

Fluids:- 2 large cups of tea, 4 pints of water, bottle of diet pepsi, glass of pepsi max

I hope I've done well today. I feel like I may be in ketosis (my breath tastes sooo bad)
If I don't lose anything in the morning I will smash the scales in.

Also- tomorrow I have this work function in the evening. 3 course meal and unlimited free wine. Soooo  I am going to walk to work (40 mins) and count it as a "celebration meal". The show must go on.

I am so sorry to be such a let down to everyone this time but hopefully now that I have started to go through the motions I will soon get the motivation and commitment necessary to continue with an eating regime such as this. Lets just say I'm easing myself in gently?!
No sickness, headaches or starvation today.

Day 1 of attack- how did it go?

I started my first day of the Dukan Attack with a shocking weigh in.

This is 2lbs HEAVIER than when I started the Dukan in April 2012.
I was determined. 21st September 2013 and exactly 4 months until I turn 25 years old!

I ate:-

2 fried eggs
6 crabsticks
cottage cheese
6 crabsticks
mussels
oat bran biscuit

I had the headache from hell. Felt dizzy and hungry until the mussels- I realise I didn't eat enough in the day. Or drink enough for that matter but I did do a shop and stocked up on quark, oatbran, yoghurt, fish, quorn. Etc.

The reason I'm not talking in much detail was because I barely lost a thing when I weighed this morn.

I lost 0.6lb. Last time I lost 1.8lbs!!!!

So yes. Annoyed.

Started the day with determination (day 2).
Scrambled eggs.
Got to work- its SUNDAY!!! and things went downhill
2 chunky choc cookies
cheese and pickle sandwich
ready salted crisps
green apple

I just ordered Domino's.

I will start day 1 again tomorrow :-/

Can Kimberley still Dukan?

Oh...Diets diets diets.
I'm back.

A lot has happened since June 2012 when I disappeared.

Long story short. I'm fat. Again. More than I ever have been (why every time I get fat is it more than last time?!)
I've been trying to be quite protein-y for the last 2 weeks, which means I have eggs and crabsticks in the fridge so I am going to start a 4 day attack tomorrow.
I need oatbran and to read my blog as its been a long time. All I know is that Dukan worked for me last time.

I started Weight Watchers in January 13 in the hope that I would lose about 7lbs for a very important wedding where I was bridesmaid in August. That didn't last long, and after months of binging I ended up being BIGGER than I was at the beginning of the New Year and my dress had to be taken out- sad times!

The fat one on the left

I turn 25 in January- and I DO NOT want to spend the rest of my life like this.

So...here goes...

9th Official weigh in

Wah-wah-wee-wahhh

Almost back to Tuesdays weight. Not sure what happened this week. Apart from football, pizza, crisps and jaegerbombs.

I go to Malta in 5 days to see family that I've not seen in 6 years. Including my highly critical father.

Lets see if I can get to 121lb by then...

Week 9- gaining weight

So things are not looking good.
It looks like the following:-

Tues 19th :-

Weds 20th (after England match the night before) :-

TODAY

Not ideal is it. Hmm... think I'm going to need to get strict.
I'm supposed to be losing not gaining.

PP & PV vs PP,PP,PV,PV

Sooo...
Toying with the idea of having a little mix around with my PP and PV days so that it fits into my lifestyle a little more.

Yesterday (Sunday 17th June) was Fathers Day in the UK.
I was due a PP day but found out I was going out to eat with my grandad and my family so thought I'd change it to a PV day as its always difficult eating PP at a restaurant- particularly as I don't eat meat.
As it happens the menu was diabolical. They didn't even have a salad!
I chose vegetable curry.
WRONG WRONG WRONG
salt
sugar
fat

I left the rice but ate the naan and the poppadom and mango chutney.
And then shared a MASSIVE sundae with chocolate brownie, ice cream, squirty cream, chocolate sauce. The lot.
Then I felt really ill.
Then I had a fish burger from McDonalds.
My god.

Anyway...

So today is PP and then tomorrow will be PP and then I'm back into the cycle.

Now- apart from the going nuts and pigging out "it is fathers day afterall" - (theres always an excuse.)
I think that perhaps this could be the way forward. Its sooo much easier to do PP at work and then at the weekends I can do PV.
Might give this a go for a little while. Not strictly- but if I know theres an event, function, or I just feel like it I'm going to swap my days. Making sure that in a month I'm having at least 15 PP days which is what I would have if it was every other day like its supposed to be.

Now- I need to stay on track.

Not amused- GAIN after PV

Its me again.

Today is official weigh in day.

I'm 124.6lbs.
Not amused.

I was 123.8lb on Weds and on Thurs and today I've somehow managed to put on a pound. Nice.

Positives:-

Its a 0.4lb loss compared to my 125lb of last Friday
A loss is a loss
I cheated in Belgium and STILL lost

Negatives:-

NOT AMUSED!!!


So..
I've decided to make an executive decision and move my 'official weigh-in' to tomorrow.
I knew that after a PV day there's always going to be issues. So I will have to alternate my official weigh in between Fridays & Saturdays so to obtain the most satisfactory results.
Although this seems like I'm massaging the numbers a little I'm doing this for good reasons.

Now that my weigh in is tomorrow:-

I shall be on my BEST behaviour today
I will drink lots of water
I won't get the negative attitude and think "I may aswell eat pizza and cake as I'm not losing weight anyway"
And so on and so forth.

So tune in tomorrow and lets hope for a more chirpy and sane Kimberley.

Sneaky secret

I weigh 123.8lbs on the scale this morning. I know I'm not supposed to weigh- but I did. This means I've lost a stone. Hopefully I can confirm this on Friday- official weigh day. Fingers crossed y'all..

Back on track

So after my little trip to Belgium and away from Dukan and yesterdays shocking weigh in I did an intense day of PP yesterday.

Yesterdays Food Diary:-

Sweet Omelette- 2 eggs with mixed spices and a tiny bit of philly (extra light- obvs)
Fat free cherry yoghurt
Tin of wild pink salmon
2 slices of Quorn ham
1 light Babybel
King prawns cooked with garlic, onion, paprika and cajun spices. Dollop of chive philly.
2 oatbran biscuits- 1 ginger and 1 cinnamon (MUST post the recipe!)

Also:-
4 cups of tea
2 diet pepsi's
1.5 litres of water


And todays weigh in is as follows....
*drum roll*

So- I'm back on track!!! HURRAH!!!
(The scale did say 124.6lb earlier and I didn't take a photo dammit- but beggars can't be choosers and I'll settle for 125lb.)

Plan of action is as follows:-

Do PV today, PP tomorrow, PV Thurs and weigh-in on Friday.
Its going to be REALLY HARD not to peek at the scales in between- and I'm certainly not making any promises. Also- I must bear in mind that weigh in after a PV (which is what mine will be on Friday) is a little different to after a PP. But I need to get back on track and I think this is the way to do it.

Wish me luck

Day 43

I need to post this up here, otherwise there's no point to me creating a blog in the first place.
So I weighed 127.2 this morning. That means I put on 2.2lbs in 3 days. Shocking stuff- particularly as I didn't pig out as much as I could have. But I did pig out- so I guess thats what happens.

Its a PP day today and I'm actually not feeling too dismayed about this mornings weigh in. I'm just ready to continue.
I'm currently munching on a sweet omlette for breakfast and have a tin of luxury wild pink salmon ready for lunch.
Come on Dukan- bring it!!!

Cheating in Belgium

I cheated.

Well, I didn't as I knew I was going to, so somehow that doesn't count.

My holiday obviously definitely wasn't a cheat as it was planned before Dukan.
Jubilee weekend (FOUR DAY weekend!) was a bit cheat-esque but didn't count because I'm only ever going to see one Diamond Jubilee, right?
And this weekend was my friends birthday. A trip to Bruges. With Belgian waffles and yummy things!! So that well, ok- maybe this time it does count. Or the actual day shouldn't count....

So really my only cheat day should have been Saturday, but it naturally started Friday night and extended to lunchtime today (Sunday)- so thats not so good.
I know I'm only stalling myself and ya di ya di ya. But I also realise that a diet cannot be my entire life and being- its a few steps to achieving the future healthier and happier me, but has to pause and let life get in the way on the way. Occasionally. Of course.

So.... it all began on Friday after work when I bought a MASSIVE pizza. I cut myself 2 slices and gave a slice to a friend. I then drank a little (vodka and diet coke- so doesn't cheat the diet really), I then had another slice.
After the night out however I came home and finished the WHOLE thing - minus another slice that mysteriously went missing. (mother!!!)

So thats cheat no. 1.

Then yesterday morning I woke up and ate my oatbran- fine.
The roadtrip to Bruges began where I enjoyed a double choc chip cookie from Tesco bakery- one of those large fresh ones. A homemade cheese straw was then appreciated greatly (how could I refuse a friend who had been busy baking?!) Also- some crisps, 2 Bulmers' on the ferry (I was scared), 3 biscuits.

Dinner was fine again- well- I had a hugee pot of mussels which were great. Loads of garlic on though. And I mean- literally just garlic. Perhaps 5 bulbs worth. Was strong. Very strong. No sauce, no liquid of any description, just diced garlic. Yum. A handful of chips if that. And sprites. 3 Sprites- the thing is they weren't Sprite zero, so each contained sugar, therefore carbs and calories. Meh.

This morning I had a BELGIAN WAFFLE WITH CREAM for breakfast- and there is not an ounce of my being that regrets that. It was delicious and I ate it in a really picturesque location, beside a canal, it was a delight (minus the green bird poo I got on my hand- yuk).
That was the best waffle EVER.
I also had one praline chocolate from one of their little chocolate shops and oh my- it was delicious!!!

I finished the crisps in the car- had 2 chewy lace type sweets and one crunchie rock- which felt spicey.

I think I have confessed everything.
Oh- I had a full fat 7up on the boat.

When I was hungry on the boat I chose the prawn and egg salad- so I was back to Dukan definitely.

So I have eaten a lot. A lot of things that I ought not. However- I could have eaten more- shocking I know- but I really could have. I could have drunk cider last night instead of sprite. I could have eaten my share of chips at the restaurant, bought myself my own batch of Belgian choccies, had ice-cream for pudding last night (oh yea- I tried some mousse and lemon sorbet; more than tried, but didn't start or finish it.), you know- I could have really gone for it. So although I did enjoy my food and have some treats I am happy to revert back to Dukan once more, if he'll have me.


I shall drink my own body weight in water this evening and post my weigh in tomorrow.
I was 125lbs on Friday; wish me luck.

Stagnation

Stagnant.

Not really. Well yes, but not in a negative or unhappy way just in a meh I can't really be bothered way.
But I KNOW I MUST continue. Regardless of whether the old brain fluid is flowing in the right direction or not.

Anyone else ever feel like this??

Its been around 6 and a half weeks now (minus the holiday and a few days of Jubilee celebrations) and I'm cruising...
I've lost 12.8lbs and only have around 5-6lbs to go.
I'm one of those people who NEVER sees things through to the end. I was lucky to have actually obtained my degree and graduated last summer- I was ready to ditch it in the second year. And on those rare occasions I DO finish something its such an awesome elation.

BUT

The finish line is a bit fluid I feel. For example the whole situation I had with deciding on a TW. The fact that the weight fluctuates so dramatically- ie I was 124.6 a couple of days ago and today I'm 125.8 :-/ - when will I know that I've reached 119lb for good?!
I guess that now my BMI is "normal weight" the pressure is off. Now that I am able to squeeeeeeeeeze into my 10's (the stretchy ones) the pressures off.
 I don't want to "give up" but my current attitude tells me that stopping now wouldn't be giving up because I'm not technically "overweight" anymore. God I sound like an idiot.

Anway- would be good to hear the experiences of others...




On a more positive note I just had a wonderful dinner. This will (hopefully) set me straight for the evening...

Very simple and yummy- white onion, king prawns, smaller prawns, a dollop of garlic and herb *light* philly (30g a day tolerated) and some milk to make it saucey.

BMI

As of my regular meet with the scales this morning I finally have a "normal weight" BMI (Body Mass Index) of  24.7

Although I realise there are many factors to consider with weight and whatnot I feel that as a rough guideline the BMI calculator does have its benefits and I am so happy that my number no longer sits in the 

"overweight" category. HA!

BMI Categories:

• Underweight = <18.5
• Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
• Overweight = 25–29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater 

You can calculate your BMI here

CRAVINGS!!!

So its exactly a week since I got back from holiday. A literal holiday in the sun and a sort of holiday from Dukan really.
And I WANT BREAD!!!
I want cake, I want pizza and curry WITH rice and omg I want REAL FOOD!!!

STAY AWAY FROM THE CARBS!!!

Ok- I'm exaggerating. I know that it wouldn't even taste as good as I'm making out. Then there would be the guilt and the punishment. Ugh.

But when I become peckish- it would be great to grab a slice of toast. Or a banana?!!!!

Its ok. Things are going well.
Hopefully I'll have a nice smaller number on the scale tomorrow and this will improve things dramatically!!!

(I was 127lbs Sunday, 128lbs yesterday and 127.6lbs today. When I get to below my Sunday weight- we're back on the move!!! :-) )

On the plus...
I did have a lovely dinner. Rainbow trout with some cajun spices, onion, garlic and a splash of lemon. Yum.
Think I'm going to try and do something with a dollop of light philly and sweetener and hopefully will be satisfied! :-)

Hope all you other Dukans out there are doing goooood!!!!

ATTACK II

So... got back from holiday 22nd May 2012.
Weighed myself 23/5/12.

Day 1 of Attack II

Food Diary:-

Sweet omlette, pinapple activia, tin of tuna, 6 crabsticks, 1x 250ml can diet pepsi, cottage cheese, 3 quorn sausages, cottage cheese.

Day 2 of Attack II

1.6lbs LOSS

Food Diary:-
Oatbran porridge, mango activia, 2 quorn fillets, cottage cheese, CRABSTICKS, fried egg & 2 quorn sausages
(and a small piece of white chocolate chip cookie :-/ )

Day 3 of Attack II

0.6lb LOSS

Food Diary:-

Oatbran porridge, smoked salmon, cottage cheese, quorn fillet, vanilla yoghurt.






Ok...so I don't have my weight and food diaries for the last of the attack and this is because life got in the way a little. But I DID stick to it. (Minus that piece of cookie and 1 chew sweet) and this morning after my first PV day yesterday I weighed 127lbs.
I think thats pretty good seeing as I was 129lbs on Friday.

So...
Wednesday 23rd May- 131.2lbs
Friday 25th May- 129lbs
Sunday 27th May- 127lbs

I've lost 4.2lbs in 5 days!!! :-)
Back to Cruise now and feeling good :-)

By the way:-
This attack phase was EASY compared to the first time round. Feeling really positive. No headaches, no sickness. Nada.
Win!!!

Confession o'clock

I'm baackkkk!!!

Ok- so not sure if I really made it clear that I went off on my hols for a week. One of the MAJOR reasons I started Dukanising my life was to lose some lb-age quickly for my hols.
My goal was to weigh 129lbs by my final weigh in on 14/5/12 and I actually weighed 128lbs which was FAB and a hugeee loss of 9.4lbs in 3 weeks.

So...I got back yesterday. While away I went through various combinations of not giving a damn about what I ate, eating consciously, and somewhere in between where I chose slices of cake over slices of bread instead of having both. (Sure there's some logic in there somewhere.)

Anyway...so todays post-holiday weigh in reveals a GAIN of 3.2lbs

But I'm totally ok with this (would NOT have been ok with a +5lb for example)

So...the plan is now to embark on ATTACK II- whereby I do a 3-4 day attack to get down to my pre-holiday weight and to kick start my body a la Dukan.

I'm expecting headaches and difficulties but hopefully I'll find my way. (Soo tempted to write 'weigh' then- ha!)

Confession(s):-

2 Maxibons

2 Scoops of ice-cream

3 pain au chocolats

4 slices of cake

2 pastries

3 hot chocolates

MANY rolls and slices of toast

LOADS of fruit- watermelon, peaches, oranges, kiwis, pears, bananas, prunes

Paella (RICE)

Pasta (PASTA)

Chips (POTATO)

Cocktails (JUICE & Alcohol)

2 sharing bags of crisps (!!!)

4 small bottles of Strongbow (or 5?)

etc etc etc

Anyway- holiday over. Time for attack :-)

Dukanize your life

Thought I'd share a few of the foods that I have stumbled across on my journey.

Things like Cottage Cheese "Ice-Cream" and Cauliflower "Mash" all help to vary the menu whilst following Dr. Dukan's strict rules and regulations.

One thing that was killing me was the lack of takeaway on a Friday night.

So I made Pizza!

I used a Dukan Galette- which contains the daily allowance of oatbran for the base.
Mix some herbs and chopped onion with tomato puree and a splash of water and spread as far to the edges of the base as possible. Then I grated onto it a light mini babybel (1 a day is tolerated on Cruise).
Pop under the grill until the cheese is melted- and hey presto we have pizza!

Obviously its not like the real thing. My favourites being the vegetarian supreme from Dominoes or the pesto and mozzarella Ristorante pizza by Dr. Oetker. But I'm not going to lose 7.8lbs in 17 days by stuffing my face with either of those am I!
This made a lovely little snack anyhoo- I even used a pizza slice to cut it and live out the fantasy- even though it is smaller than a side plate!!!

Next up for the weekend is...

Curry

This was a courgette and king prawn curry that I found in a Slimming World recipe book. 

I used:- 

1 red onion- diced

2 garlic cloves- peeled and crushed

1 tsp grated ginger- was really hard to get a teaspoons worth

1 tsp mild chili powder- think I used cayenne pepper instead

2 tsp mild curry powder- I used masala powder

200ml chicken stock with bovril- I used half a vegetable oxo cube

1 large courgette- I had half of a small one

1 tin of tomatoes

prawns

Other ingredients in the recipe which I didn't use:-

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

200ml passata

200g very low fat natural fromage frais

6 tbsp very fine coriander

2 tbsp chopped mint leaves

salt

Method according to Slimming World:-

Place the onion in a medium sized non stick saucepan with the garlic, ginger, chilli powder, curry powder and stock. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, cover, reduce the heat to low and cook gently for 3-4 minutes.

Cut the courgette into thick matchsticks and add to the pan with the tomatoes and passata. Bring back to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking.

Stir in the prawns, fromage frais, chopped herbs, season with salt and remove from the heat.

Serve immediately with steamed green vegetables.

My way (or the highway):-

I bunged the prawns in at the beginning with the stock because they were frozen and I'm terribly paranoid about food poisoning. I made wayyy too much stock because I was guessing and as a result things were rather runny. So I ended up with a soupy brothy curry which still tasted lovely. I didn't add the fromage frais because I only had creme fraiche (not sure if they're the same) but have had a terrible experience with it splitting and curdling which isn't what you want when you're dying for indian takeaway and trying to make-do.

All in all. Yum.

Tonight I've had a favourite British dish..

Bangers and Mash

So here I have 2 veggie sausages- dry fried with peppered swede "mash" and 2 spears of asparagus.

I read somewhere that asparagus helps with water retention and as I PUT ON WEIGHT last time I weighed after a PV day I thought I'd give it a go.

I also had reduced salt and sugar ketchup with my bangers- although I'm not a fan and it will NEVER beat good old fashioned Heinz. And I added a dollop of extra light philly to my mash so that it was creamy and yum. 

I realise that the meals I have shared cannot compare to or replace some of the fatty treats that we are used to. But it IS possible to Dukanize your favourite meals and enjoy food.

Cooking is so therapeutic and I find that I am constantly experimenting now that I have rules. In fact- now that I can eat LESS types or categories of food, I find that I am eating MORE of a variety because I'm always trying something new.

Win.

HALF A STONE!!!

Day 16

Total Loss- 7.6lbs