Elegance

This is what I have decided to aim for. At nearly 60 I am never going to have the figure I could have had in my teens if I had not got derailed by sugar and insulin. But I have decided that I can aim for elegance. Something that was in short supply when I staggered around at over 200lbs.

I felt I was getting there yesterday. We were invited to an engagement party for a couple of people who I taught 10 years ago. I wore a white and black long skirt. White heeled shoes, black top and black and sliver overblouse and a white large hat. You could not see any lumps and bumps and I did feel I looked good!

The meal was lamb and pig on a spit with salads so I had a good plateful and then put together my puddings. Pavlova and black forest gateau. I did not eat those and asked for a cup of coffee instead.

Only going to weigh on Sunday as if I get on the scale now I might find a gain because of the extra food and alcohol I have been consuming over Christmas.

Today I get back on the 3 meals a day with no snacks plan.

made 170.8lbs

Well I did not make the 170 but I am only 0.8lbs above that so as far as I am concerned that is success.

I will make sure I take my irvingia tomorrow. Maybe even a double dose! and will enjoy my food at meal times and try and stay away from the snacks.

I have been going back and working out how long it has been taking me to lose 10lbs. Took me 50 days to lose the last ten. It may be much slower than other diets I have been on but it is much steadier and I feel so much better.

I know I can be a normal size next year. Happy Christmas to those of you who celebrate it.

Not going to make 170lb by Christmas

Just had 2 days away from home Christmas shopping and picking up the first new dining room chairs we have bought in 35 years!

Amazing to feel in such good control over my appetite. I did eggs before I left and then had lunch at 12 grilled chicken and salad. Despite buying chocolate and nuts and cheese, all my downfall foods, I did not eat anything till supper which was more chicken and a greek salad.

Next morning I opened one of the cold meat packets and ate that as it was difficult to organise a cooked breakfast. Lunch same as day before. Had tuna, tomato, salad dressing and blue cheese when I got home. Another 0.6lbs down this morning. Some maybe fluid but I will be happy to maintain this weight over Christmas.

Got in lots of interesting cheeses and olives and nuts. Plus different fish. So will be plenty for me to snack on if I feel the need. Going to try and stick to the 3 meals a day and stop eating between meals.

One pound a week

This is the steadiest diet I have ever been on. I dont get wild mood swings and feel generally happy and I dont get eating binges where I eat everything in sight. I have lost 25lbs since I started on the irvingia and the Richards Leptin diet in September. So that is just over 3 months to lose 25lbs. I am now losing at the rate of 1lb a week but it is not a steady loss. I see no movement on the scale for 4 days and then over 2 days I lose a lb and then it holds again for the next 4 days.

I am used to previous diets where I lose one and a half to 2lbs a week but on those I am much more restricted in my food and I battle with cravings and will power to stay on the diet. This is much better for my brain as well as my body.

I am looking forward to getting under the 170lbs and then under 168lbs within the next month. Even if the weight loss drops to 2lbs a month I know I will still make my goal over the next year and will have cured my obesity.

Looking for answers to obesity

I worked out I have nearly 200 books I have bought on obesity and dieting. If I can discover why I have the ability to put on weight so easily I stand a chance of keeping it off once I lose it again. I never want to be over 200lbs again.

From what I have read it is my : insulin, leptin, BGL that have been the problem. Wild swings in BGL caused by eating too many carbs ( which are low calorie so have been the base of my diet for years) means that the glucose level in the blood is either far to high or drops to quickly and gets too low. The brain then screams for more sugar and as short while after a meal your will power goes awol and you are eating again.

When you eat low carb you dont get these wild swings and the BGL stays within a satisfactory range and it is much easier to resist food outside mealtimes in the afternoon and evenings. Your body also starts to manufacture the enzymes to burn up the stored fat and you have an endless supply of energy on tap from the fat on your hips and thighs and belly.

I have been having bigger breakfasts recently, had tinned kipper with my eggs yesterday. Today will be left over braised rump steak and 3 days ago was bream in cream sauce.

Keeping up with the 45 mins on the stationary bike in the evenings. I think it is helping me sleep for longer as before I started this I would be waking at 3.30 not able to get back to sleep. Now I wake at 5am which is much better.

Stationary Bike

Four days ago I set the stationary exercise bike that has been gathering dust in the lounge up in the computer room in front of the screen. Since then I have been putting an episode of All creatures great and small on the computer and watching each episode while pedalling. I try and do a bit of interval where I speed up for 30 pedals and then slow down again.

I have lost another 0.4lbs in those days and getting down to a weight I have not seen for over a year and my legs feel thinner and yesterday I got into a blouse I have not worn for a long time.

Will keep up the pedalling. I cant say I enjoy it but I can endure if for 45 mins if I have something interesting to watch!

Sure it is going to help my insulin resistance and my leptin problem.

Fete

Went to the fete yesterday and made some mince pies to sell on the cake stall. Normally I love pastry and mince pies and would have eaten 3 or 4 of them. This year I can leave them alone as I know what they do to my body.

Had to pay for an extra portion of lunch at the fete as the 2 kebabs and salad did not fill me up! I skipped the pudding table altogether.

Managed to do another 45mins on the bike while watching a DVD I had not seen before. Tried to do interval training where I speeded up for about 30 pedals and then slowed down again, Will try and keep that habit going.

Had hoped to be 170lbs by Christmas, could still make it if I am careful.

Michelle

Forgot Irvingia again

Yesterday I did really well up to the evening. In the morning I was busy moving the computer desk out of the dining room ( I am not tied to the phone line any more so moved the whole caboodle into the office). Realised it was lunch time and had not taken my irvingia an hour before. So decided to skip it. Big mistake. Afternoon was fine but after my tea I got the munchies. I kept going back to the fridge for blue cheese, cold meat and then had cream cheese with sweetener, cinnamon and vanilla. Ended up finishing the bowl.

I have put it behind me now and am learning from the experience. I have not eaten like that for about 3 months ( before that I always used to eat like that!). It would seem that because I did not take the irvingia my brain did not register that I had eaten my tea and then a couple of hours afterwards I started eating again.

I need to get back into being in control around food. Last night I was verging on the out of control again.

New day today and I will take the tablet and keep in control. I was hoping I was 'fixed' but yesterday showed me the cravings are just there round the corner waiting to come back and make me obese again.

Month Loss

I was hoping for another drop in the scale this weekend but it has not happened. Maybe it is the cream?

I worked out in the last month I have lost 4.8lbs. So I am happy if I can continue to lose weight at that rate.

I had to turn up my jeans by about an inch yesterday as the bottoms were getting caught under my heels. They are much looser than they were but as they are stretchy they are not ready for throwing yet.

Going to write Low carb booklet

I decided yesterday that I will start today putting together a low carb dieting booklet to sell.

I saw a personal booklet binder in our local computer shop so can get that plus some plastic covers and cardboard for the front and back. Will make it A5 size so will also buy a guillotine to cut the A4 pages down.

Looking up booklet printing and they say 2007 has a template option to print a booklet automatically. I have not upgraded to 2007 so it might be worth it to get that function.

Was going to start the text today. Will plan out chapters and see how far I get.

Obesity is a leptin problem

It is wonderful to have the confidence to know that I am not going to find myself overeating and binging and putting the weight back on again.

I am trying to think about to when my hormones first went out of sync and I would find myself continually hungry. I would say it was at primary school. I would always go back for seconds of main course and pudding if I could get it.

I very rarely have a problem in the morning as long as I have a cooked breakfast with plenty of protein and oil. Yesterday was poached eggs and fried mushrooms at 7 and I only started feeling hungry at 11. Now I dont continually worry about food in the afternoons. I know I can wait for 5 hours and then have a tasty supper and then I dont eat again before bed.

It takes 3 hours in the morning after I wake up to feel hungry again, so my leptin is working well and persuading my brain that there is plenty of food and still plenty of fat stores so there is no need to be panicky about food.

I am still 35lbs overweight but feel so much better and starting to feel bones emerging again from the fat.

Forgot Irvingia

Amazingly was so busy on errands yesterday forgot to take my irvingia before the restaurant meal.

Made a good choice fish fillet and salad and had no cravings all afternoon despite shopping.

First hunger pang kicked in 4 hours after the meal and got home to have tuna and cheese salad at 7.30 and was in bed by 8.30. Did not leave the 3 hours between food and bed but was too tired to stay up.

Great leptin worked and I felt satiety after the meal without taking the product. So maybe I will not have to take it for the rest of my life. Just if the cravings come back.

Blood type diet

Have just finished the above named book. Found it a very different approach to dieting and losing weight. I was a bit of a sceptic but in my case he is spot on.

As a type O I should be eating more of a cavewoman diet. Meat and veg. I should not be having grains and milk.

I have found my dieting progress much steadier and more controllable now that I dont have milk at all. I also used to take wheat bran every day but he says that wheat bran is also not recommended for Type O.

My DH is type A so he should be eating less meat and more veg and grains. Mealtimes are not going to be easy!

Neanderthin

That book arrived in the post yesterday. I had ordered it from Amazon. His hypothesis is that obesity is an autoimmune disease like arthritis etc. Only just read the first few pages so will see where he is going to take this.

He had arthritis and then diabetes and cured both with going back to a caveman diet.

I definitely had an intolerance to milk and feel so much better now I have given it up and various little health niggles are cured. I also had a problem with wheat but as I gave up all wheat products 3 years ago that has not been so much of a problem.

Surprised to find I have lost 2lbs in 3 days this week. Weight loss has been slow around 0.8lb for the past few weeks and I was not expecting it to speed up again. The blurb on Irvinigia says it can take 8 to 10 weeks to start increasing weight loss. If this is the effect of the irvingia then I am very happy.

Still no cravings in the afternoons and I am learning about hunger something I never really experienced when my weight was so out of control and I was binging all the time.

Primal Blueprint

Just got the above book yesterday and it is making a lot of sense.

For so many years I have been dieting using artificial sweeteners in desserts and low fat/low calorie meal plans. I have been hungry almost every day and as soon as the weight has gone I start putting it back on again and it takes me months before I can summon the strength to get my eating under control again.

This way of eating with nothing sweet and no starch seems to give me a slower weight loss but it is steady and I dont have to worry about the rebound hunger. This gives me confidence that this is going to be my last ever diet. As long as I stick to the main principles I will be able to stay at my new normal slim weight.

On the move again

Please to see a small weight loss again today. Only 0.2lbs so not a vast amount but the scale is going in the right direction.

Had 3 nice meals yesterday. Poached eggs and bacon for breakfast, roast chicken and veg for lunch and salmon salad for supper.

Reading Eating less and she recommends we change our focus to controlling our eating habits rather than controlling our weight. If we can get our eating habits under control the weight loss will happen automatically.

Only another 0.6lbs to go and I will have lost 20lbs while on irvingia. Noticed my jeans are much looser in the legs and are longer so may have to turn them up. They are not being stretched by the fat that used to be there!

Being able to not have cravings in the afternoon is such a big thing for me. Since starting on irvingia I have not been visiting the fridge once in the afternoon to look for a little something. I have my lunch and then am satisfied until it is time for supper.

I feel now I can eat this way for the rest of my life and finally I have a handle on this obesity. I will never be obese again.

Paleo Diet

The book came yesterday so I read it in an afternoon. I was interested to read it but felt he has unnecessarily down on the low carb diets. Also I dont know any woman who can eat 2200 cals per day. That maybe the recommended calorie intake but on that I would be putting on at least a lb a week. I am not sure if his recommendations were aimed at the obese who want to lose weight or people looking for a healthy diet.

Also I would imagine that early man started taming animals long before he started growing grain crops. So cheese and yogurt may have been on the menu before the grains.

Also the fruit that we can buy now is very different from the fruit that would have been obtainable in the paleo era. Todays fruit is much sweeter and is now available all year instead of only at certain seasons.

Am waiting for Neanderthin to turn up and see if that says anything different. Lost 1.6lbs this week. Not staggering weight loss but at least is steady and consistent. I weigh less every Sunday than I did the Sunday before.

Not eating between Meals

With the assistance of Irvingia I am still managing to go between lunch and supper without having any calories at all.

I noticed yesterday I could walk up the hill from the pigs without stopping to take a breather and without getting breathless. Something I could not do a couple of weeks ago.

Weight has not dropped for a few days but I am not going to cut my calories. Already on 1200 so am going to stay on that level and wait for my body to start dropping the weight again.

Best diet is one you dont know you are on

Came across the above quote in a book called Mindless Eating. Thought it a very good idea. That is what I want to do, to get to the point where this is just the way I eat and I no longer feel that "I am on a diet".

I am enjoying this way of eating and know I will never go back to the way I used to snack and overeat as I did before.

Had chicken and greek salad for supper last night as we had guests in for the meal. Ate a bit more than usual but was still in control and served the ice cream for dessert without wanting to have any.

Living Low Carb

Got a really good book the other day. Living Low carb by Jonny Bowden. Wish I had ordered it years ago as it gives the lowdown on 35 low carb diets and is extremely informative.

Have decided I am probably going to be on Irvingia for the rest of my life to keep those cravings at bay. I never want to go back to eating in a trance the way I used to do. It is better to keep taking that rather than being obese and having to take diabetes medication.

This is the diet and pills for me

This is what I have been looking for the whole of my life. I am becoming unobese for the first time in my life.

Lost another 0.8lb in the last 24 hours so that is 1.6lb so far this week. I am eating so well at my meals but now not having any calories at all between meals.

I dont feel I have to do exercise to lose the weight and with the help of irvingia I just dont overeat anymore or have cravings I cant control.

Yesterdays lunch was a left over chicken leg, with the skin covered in a tomato ratatouille and heated up in the microwave served on a bed of cabbage cooked with butter and spinach.

Nails are still nice after giving up the milk completely. I have never had such strong nail. They look like fake ones but they are real!

This is the diet for the rest of my life. No sweeteners, no pudding, no fruit, no diet drinks. Just good flavourful savoury food with sauces.

Inflammed Fat

Am reading my books again about leptin resistance and inflammed fat. Fat produces its own hormones and causes problems in the body that keep the body fat.

I worked out I lost 14lbs the first month on this Irvingia assisted diet and 4lbs the next month. I would usually not be happy unless I was losing at least 7lb a month and would feel that 4lbs is hardly losing weight at all. But the big plus here is that I am eating great food ( brushing the dust off my recipe books looking for interesting meals) and I do not having any cravings for rubbish food and if I am hungry there is a meal just around the corner.

Was thinking I will be happy to get down under the 168lbs as that is 12 stone and then will drift slowly downwards to under 11 st or 154lbs. Does not matter if this takes 6 months or a year or more as I am eating so well and feeling so satisfied on the eating regime.

Breakfast today will be 2 eggs with a couple of slices of chicken pastrami. Lunch left over chicken with green veg. Yesterday I made a chilli peanut sauce to go with the chicken. Supper was a tinned salmon salad with cream and blue cheeses. I have found a way of eating I can follow for life and am going to be slim for life.

Not expecting Loss

Found this morning I am 8oz less than yesterday. Was not expecting that weight loss at all. They did say that irvingia increases the weight loss after 8 weeks or so but I was not expecting that to happen to me as I usually lose more at the beginning of a diet and then stall.

Yesterday I had family in for Sunday lunch and had veg and chicken myself but again went through the afternoon without nibbling or binging.

Trying to work out an average weight loss so I can get some idea of how long this is going to take me.

Feel that once I get under the 12 st or 168lb then I am more on the normal side of weight loss rather than being obese. So that is 10lbs away. Could be there by Christmas.

Slow Dieting

Got under the BMI 29 today and lost another 0.4 of a pound so that is 12oz this week.
Normally I would feel a failure for losing such a small amount of weight but this time I dont.

I am not craving or binging or in any danger of finding my weight going up by 5 or 6lbs any day. Each day the weight is either the same or has dropped a bit. I am enjoying my 3 good meals a day and am not feeling deprived and waiting till I get to the end of the diet. So if it takes me 10 months and I succeed that is better than taking 5 months and then yoyoing back up again.

Yesterday did a nice chicken thai curry with peanut butter in it for lunch. Am dusting off the cookery books to find interesting meals.

Did Well

Got through GS party without overdoing the food. Had the inside of a mini quiche and a chicken wing. Asked if they still had strawberries available and they did so ordered 10 portions of strawberries and cream for all the adults. So a nice treat and fitted in with the low carb eating. Did not feel deprived at all.

Also had a swim in the pool so got some exercise without having to plan it.

Scale today same as yesterday. This is a much slower weight loss than I am used to. Half a pound a week but it is consistent and I dont feel miserable on the diet so this is all good.

Small Loss

Usually put on weight after a trip to town so pleased to see a loss even if only 0.4lb or 6oz.

This plan seems to give a much slower weight loss compared to previous diets but the weight does not bounce back on again and I dont feel deprived so am happy to accept that it is going to take a while for the fat to shrink.

My body seems happy to give up the weight rather than me try to exercise and starve it off and then have a rebound afternoon when I put it all back on again.

Beef Curry

I made a really nice beef curry yesterday with the left over roast. I found I had a tin of coconut milk in the pantry and put that in it. It was so good I broke my rule and had a bit extra sauce with some veg for seconds.

There was one portion left over so I have frozen it and will have it one day when I do chicken pieces for DH.

No change in the weight but still feeling so much better.

Again under 180lbs

I saw 179.8 on the scale on Friday, but then did not see it again until this morning. Now plan to get under the 180lbs in the evening.

This is a much slower diet than I have ever done before but as long as the weight loss is steady I am enjoying the food then I am happy.

Noticed trousers are longer, the material is no longer being stretched by my thighs so now material catches underneath my foot. I may need to turn up the hems!

This is progress.

Big Tea

I went over on my eating yesterday. D cooked up some rump steak at 3pm as they had missed lunch. I wanted to try it as it was from a different butchery and is known to be a good one. Was very nice and tender and there was plenty so I went back for another dish, and another! Decided to make that my tea and added tomato and avocado and some blue cheese to the last 2 bowlfuls. Then took an irvingia and HCA tablet and decided not to eat again before I went to bed which I kept to.

Hopefully it was just a one off as I would not normally have cooked rump steak available at that time. So enjoyed it, did not feel guilty and kept control although I ate more than I usually do for tea.

Intolerance

Have worked out I have food intolerance to wheat products and milk. Fortunately I do seem to be able to eat cheese but try not to have too much hard cheese. I go for the softer cheeses, feta blue cheese and cream cheese.

Most of the wheat products I gave up about 3 years ago but I found it very difficult to give up milk in my tea and coffee through out the day.

I would think that it is only a small number of calories so I continued to take milk all day.

I feel so much better now I have given up milk entirely.

Under 180

Finally this morning the scale dropped below 180lbs. I have been wanting to see that figure for over a week and a half and finally done it.

I am sticking with the plan to have 3 good meals a day and no snacks and no milk. I am sure I am intolerant to milk. My nails are also much better when I give up milk.

I am intolerant to milk and wheat and wheat products. I used to live on milk and bread so this is a big change.

Am Winning

Am still looking forward to seeing the scale drop below 180 but I am happy with my control around food and the meals I am eating.

I started the different irvingia Leptin Boost yesterday and found exactly the same lack of cravings and good control around food for the whole day. So it also works well.

Controlling cravings

I nearly had my first craving in almost 2 months yesterday evening.

I had a nice salad with tuna and half an avocado ( keeping the seed to plant as it was a nice buttery one with yellow flesh) at around 8.30 I thought I would like an extra piece of blue cheese. That is the first time I have felt an urge to eat outside meal times in nearly 8 weeks. Luckily it was not that strong so I took a couple of Vit C tablets and sucked those instead and later went to bed.

I hope the cravings are not returning and that I am going to be able to control them. I did a deal with myself that I could have a piece of blue cheese with my eggs this morning instead of eating it last night.

Anniversary

Yesterday DH and I celebrated being married 35 years. We went out to a local restaurant for a meal in the early evening.

I had a smoked chicken salad and decided to have a proper drink beforehand. So ordered a gin and soda and put a couple of sucralose tablets in it. Was really nice with a couple of slices of lemon.

We had strawberries and cream for dessert and I have a cup of filter coffee.

So was on the diet plan and had a good evening. No loss today but did not expect one.

Doing milk instead of cream but only one mug

I decided today to go back to milk in my first cup of coffee of the morning. I usually leave a bit in the mug and go back for a refill so each mug gets blacker! On my third already.

My weight has stalled for a bit and I wonder if it is too much cream. Will try this for a few days and see what effect it has. I feel thinner it is just not showing on the scale.

Cream V Milk

I am still undecided about the cream or milk on a diet. Recently I have been buying cream and I usually have some in my coffee first thing and again after supper.

I made a tasty chicken dish with mushrooms and cream and have had that for lunch for the last 2 days. My weight has stayed around the same. I wonder if it is the cream. I could try using milk in coffee and recipes as it has less calories but more sugar. Maybe now I have got the cravings under control I will not get such a bad reaction from the sugar in milk.

Goats

Having real problems trying to keep baby goats alive. Last time I kept goats the babies were really tough and needed no help. In the last week we have had 3 nannies kid. The first 2 both had twins that were born dead. Yesterday the twins were born alive but I did not realise how weak they were till the evening. They had not managed to stand since they were born in the morning and the goatman had not made sure they had had a feed. I bought them up and fed them by bottle last night. One died at 12 and the other was dead when I got up at 3am. Hoping I can figure out what is going on. That is 6 dead kids within the week.

Still on track diet wise. I feel this diet now just goes on in the background while I get on with my life. Feeling much more confident now with the irvingia that I am not going to wreck my diet with an overeating binge. The afternoons are now zipping quickly past and it is soon ready for supper.

Liquid diets can be fatal

Read an article in the UK paper about a woman using a commercial liquid diet to drop form 16st + to 14st + in a few weeks when trying to lose weight after having a baby. She died from lack of potassium. So sad and so unnecessary. These liquid diets should be banned as all that happens is when a person has lost weight and come off the liquid meal replacement all the weight will come back on again and bring its friends!

I have never tried liquid diets and I dont want to. I am happy using real food and irvingia to get my weight down.

The No S diet

Just got a book from Amazon about the No S diet. Which is no sweets, no snacks and no seconds except on S days which is Sat Sun and special days ( holidays etc).

It is basically what I am already doing but I am adding a low carb diet into the mix as well.

Off to town for the day. I often have a problem with snacks on the way back just because I buy them and then eat them in the car. so will have to be aware of that and try and head it off at the pass.

If I get today and tomorrow right I could be under the 180lbs by Sunday and I dont want to blow that and find I have put on 5lbs instead!

Relentless weight loss

I dont think I have ever used that heading before. Usually it is relentless weight gain!

Another 0.8lbs off on the scale this morning. Keen to get under the 180lb mark. Should do that next week sometime.

It is so liberating not to have to worry about overeating or going off my diet in the afternoons.

I just dont go there the other day. DH pointed out a bar of chocolate was missing from the fridge yesterday. 6 weeks ago it would have been me who had eaten it and thrown away the wrapper. But I could tell him I used it in his birthday cake on Sunday.

Food is just not that important anymore. I eat my meals and then forget about food for the next few hours. This irvingia has done something to me that no other diet or eating plan or tablets has ever done before. I am no longer obsessed with food.

Nails and Dieting

Six weeks from the time I started the irvingia and finally got my eating under control and again my fingernails are growing past the ends of my fingers.

I have noticed before that my nails seem to respond very quickly to a change in diet. I used to think it would take 6 to 7 month for the nail to grow out from the nailbed to the end of the finger.

While I was binging and overeating my nails would always be soft and flaky and never looked nice.

I am hoping now that I can control my eating and the weight is coming off that I will also have pretty nails and they will not start to flake and break again.

Irvingia the Diet Enabler

Was very interested to read yesterday that on the low carb forum where I reccommeded Irvingia a few weeks ago 2 ladies have decided to try it.

They are both now reporting very good results from it. The one is over 100lbs and in 2 weeks has lost 15lbs and says she is finding dieting so much easier.

The other has taken a while to notice any difference in her habits but now says she is able to take a small amount of food not on her diet and is much more in control around food. She is also feeling better and walking every day.

I am calling this a diet enabler because with it it is far easier to stick to a diet. You feel satisfied with less food. You dont binge and snack at inappropriate times. You dont feel as though you are living in a fog the whole time.

It will be interesting to see if the effect is sustainable and that we all lose the excess weight and are then able to maintain that new slim weight.

So far I am far more positive than I have ever been that this is the answer for me and for all the obese people in the world.

Feeling Good

I dont think I have ever felt better on a diet.

I am enjoying my food and the freedom from constantly snacking and binging after lunch is wonderful.

I am feeling lighter and slimmer and see no reason at all why I cant finally get down to the normal size and have a normal appetite after all these years.

Son found some more Irvingia in Cape Town so will get that this week. I am making sure I always have a supply in my handbag so I can take some at the right time if I am out of the house.

Exercise

Well got out my Disco burn colleen Nolan DVD yesterday and did the warm up. I did it because I wanted to not because I felt I had to.

I think this diet will work without the exercise but I dont want to end up all flabby so I better try and use my muscles.

Also looked at the one about interval training. Just for a short time you run as hard as you can on the spot and then go back to normal activities. So am doing that around the house to up my calorie use and make my legs work.

Thirty Pounds Down

Am today under the 13st again. I was worried in case I had lost the plot entirely and was heading back up to over 200lbs again. I think if I had not found the irvingia supplement that is where I would be heading now.

Differences I have noticed with Irvingia.

I no longer crave anything sweet.
I feel satisfied after a normal portion of food.
I dont snack and binge in the afternoon and evening.
I can feel hunger without having to do anything about it. I can wait for my meal.
My brain is quieter and I can concentrate on other things instead of constantly thinking about food.

Interesting another lady on the low carb forum has also tried irvingia and has lost 15lb in 2 weeks and has not cheated once and has no longer got a sweet tooth.

There is some great truth in this product about fixing something that is broken in the obese.

Leptin Diets

Rechecking through my books to see which diets work with Leptin instead of against Leptin.

Got Master Leptin, Leptin Boost Diet Rosedale Diet and Fat Resistance Diet.

I plan to do an analysis and compare one to another. Some say you can eat snacks, others say no snacks. Some say you can only have egg white and not the whole egg!

The Diet I have worked out does not allow snacks but allows 400 to 500 calories for a meal and does allow whole eggs. I do not like waste and the idea of throwing perfectly good egg yolks away is a very big waste.

Found some cream yesterday so now having cream in my coffee first thing and also if having with meals. Not having cream outside mealtimes as I am on a no calories between meal diet and it is working.

Blip gone

Good to see a small drop in weight from 2 days ago so the move upwards was just temporary water weight.

For the first time with dieting I feel that my set point is moving downwards as well. I feel my body wants to get thin along with me. Usually I find that on a diet my body is wanting to get the weight back on again and every day is a battle to stay the same weight or drop a bit more.

Keen to get under that 182lb, that is 13st UK size so looking forward to getting into the 12 stones and then only a short drop to get under 12 and back into normality instead of obesity.

Blip

Had a bit of a blip up on the scale. Only 0.6lb since yesterday but there is no reason for it. I stuck to the meal plan yesterday and felt satiety after my meals so I am happy to wait it out and know the scale has to move down again.

Busy learning new skills. Drove with the trailer yesterday to pick up some new farm equipment. Was asked twice to reverse it but that is a skill too far for me! Will have to practice quietly on my own sometime on the farm. Got all the stuff safely back so was happy with that achievement.

The feeling of control around food is unbelievable. I have never had this level of control around chocolate, biscuits dried fruit etc.

14lbs down

I started the tablets on the 12th Sept and today is the 11th Oct and I am exactly 14lbs less than I was then. Am very happy with the progress and now that my abnormal cravings have stopped I dont see any reason why I cant get this obesity under control and finally get down and stay at a good weight for my height. I am aiming at just under 140lbs to begin with and will see how my body looks at that weight. Having been obese for most of my life I am not sure what my correct weight is.

Did lunch at the club after church yesterday. Was later than I normally eat at 1 whereas I usually eat at 12. But I coped fine and did not desire any snacks or cakes at coffee time. Had chicken and the low carb salads and pleased to see a small loss this morning. Did not have any diet coke as I know that stalls my weight loss. Had water.

Four weeks and counting

I am trying to think back as to the differences between this diet and all the ones that have gone before. All the previous ones were of limited success. I would lose some weight but as soon as I came off the diet the weight would come back on.

Even on those diets I would have really bad cravings in the afternoons and evenings and would often blow my dieting efforts in a couple of hours of binging.

In 4 weeks of taking Irvingia plus I have not had one out of control afternoon or evening. I have eaten my meal and enjoyed it and felt satisfied to wait for the next meal.

Weight today 13,8lbs less than 4 weeks ago. Would have been nice to be on the 14lbs but that is what the scale said and I am not fudging it. I know now I will never find the scale going up by 4 or 5lbs after a binge.

This will be the start of the next 4 weeks. I have 7 weeks until Christmas so would be nice to lose 2lbs a week and lose another 14lbs by Christmas. Once I am under the 174lbs I will be nearly home and dry.

Satisfied with food intake

On previous diets I have never felt that I was eating enough to make me feel full. I would actually desire second or third helpings. If I left the table after one helping I would then be trying to resist cravings all afternoon.

Since taking the Irvingia I have been leaving the table after 1 plate of food and feeling contentment until the next meal. I might have a few hunger pangs after 3 hours or so but have not had a binging session when I am out of control around food.

Will have some left over pork sausage with my breakfast eggs so looking forward to that.

This is what it must feel like to have a normal appetite. I have never know what it is like to have a normal response to food until now.

Cravings have gone

For the first time in my life I am able to control myself around food. I eat my meals, one helping only and then I stop eating until the next meal.

I have now lost 13.4lbs in less than 4 weeks. It is not that we do not have nice food in the house and food that I would normally binge on. There are muffins, dried fruit, fresh fruit, cheese and cereal. All food that I would previously have found it difficult if not impossible to resist. Since starting irvingia I am completely at peace around these foods. I can look at them and not want to eat them.

My next order arrived in Lusaka yesterday so I now have 8 months supply. That will take me down under the 140lbs for only about the 3rd time in my life.

Once you get your brain right low carb dieting is easy. I have never had such an easy time on a diet.

No more Binging

For years I have had a problem with the desire to eat more food in the afternoons after having had a good meal at lunch time. If I was on a diet I would try and control this desire and try and get out of the house so I would not be continually visiting the fridge or the pantry to look for food. My intake over 4 or 5 hours could easily add up to over 600 cals or more. I just did not seem to have an 'enough already' button and would continue to eat.

Since the first day I have been taking Irvingia Plus I have found I have had no desire at all to eat in the afternoons except at meal times when I am hungry.

It seems this is all due to Leptin resistance. The message from my fat cells and stomach was not getting through to my brain to say we are all full down here. So I carried on eating trying to get that full signal. Now I get the full signal after my meal and am happy not to eat until supper time. This is what it must be like to be normal. The way I used to eat or not eat was not normal at all!

My skin is feeling good. Interesting to see if this diet has any effect on my nails. Muffin top has gone forever.

Three good meals a day

Went out last night but had my salad ( big one with tuna and feta) beforehand and did not have to use will power to say no to food on offer. Normally I would have either gone ahead and eaten it, a steak roll, or justified that it was meat so allowed on Atkins and just eaten the steak. As it was I genuinely did not want to eat it, my brain was contented so passed on the food.

Am going to go through my low carb dieting books and check again which says yes to snacks and which says no. Maybe someone without a big weight problem could have a snack and still lose weight. My experience is I am better have larger meals and no snacks. Seems to suit my hormonal response to food better.

Aiming to get under 182lbs in the next week.

The Hard Core Leptin Diet

Got off the obese BMI this morning. Now officially 29.9 BMI

This is what I am doing. So pleased it is working.


The Hard Core Leptin Diet.


Leptin is a hormone made by your fat that tells your brain you have eaten enough food and there are plenty of fat stores so it is not necessary to eat any extras.

Obese and overweight people have leptin resistance, where the message does not reach the brain saying plenty of food here and plenty of fat so don’t eat any more. So because of the leptin resistance they are permanently hungry and eat on autopilot.

When you were a child or had a normal appetite you would eat your meal and then run off and play or get busy with the rest of your life and not obsess about eating more food after you have recently had a good meal.

To correct leptin resistance you can take a supplement from RSA called Irvingia Plus which will help the leptin get through to your brain and so your body will feel full. You can also take HCA which is also an appetite control supplement. Both of these are made by Solal and can be purchased at Dischem or other chemist in SA. Link in Lusaka will order for you. The recommended dose is 2 capsules before meals but I have found one capsule of each product before lunch works for me. I no longer want or need to continually eat after lunch and feel satisfied with the food I am eating. One container of Irvingia plus contains 60 capsules enough for 2 months and the HCA contains 90 tablets enough for 3 months.

On this diet you eat or drink no calories at all outside meal times. So only water, black tea or black coffee between meals. You may have a small amount of milk or cream with your drinks at meal times.

No diet drinks and no artificial sweeteners. You will find you no longer have a sweet craving after a few days. No desserts.

This is basically the Atkins diet but with the change that snacks are not allowed, butter is not allowed, snacks are not allowed and you use olive oil for cooking and salads.

Eat no diet products. Nothing that says low fat on it.

Fruit is not allowed as it contains sugar which turns to glucose.

Take a good multivitamin and mineral tablet every day.

Make sure you are leaving 5 hours between each meal and eat your evening meal as early as possible so you leave 3 hours after eating before going to bed. Meal times could be breakfast 7.30, lunch 12.30 and supper 5.30 bed 9.30. Change the times to suit yourself, but keep the spacing.

You must have breakfast. Do not skip meals. Do not have seconds or thirds. Dish up your plate with normal portions and do not add any more.

Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. Tea and coffee do not count. 2 on rising. Warm water is easier on your system. 2 at breakfast, 2 with lunch and 2 in the afternoon. You can have another couple in the evening if you can fit them in.

Broken cooked eggs causes inflammation in your body fat. So breakfast is a choice of poached or boiled eggs. Put some olive oil in the dish, add flavour of your choice: herbs, spice etc. Break the eggs into the poaching cup and poach over low heat until the yolk is how you like it. Two eggs for ladies, 3 or 4 for men. At the weekends you may have some tomato, sausage or bacon with your eggs. Make sure the sausage is all meat and does not contain any bread or flour filling.

You can change menus for lunch and supper around if you need to but it is better to eat your bigger meal of the day at lunch time if at all possible.

I have a cooked meal at lunch time. Low carb. So roast chicken or steak or grilled fish. You can eat the skin that comes with your portion but not all of the chicken skin (!). Steak can be cooked in olive oil. Then any green veg, cabbage, spinach etc. You can make sauces without flour.

Atkins says no onions or tomatoes but I find adding half an onion to lunch and a tomato for supper does not stall my weight loss.

No potato, sweet potato, bread, rice, pasta or any other starch. You may be able to introduce these foods back in small quantities once you have lost the weight.

Supper is a big salad. Get a vegetable serving dish and cut up 2 cups of mixed salad leaves. Chop up a tomato. Add either half a tin of tuna or salmon, or a tin of sardines in oil, add some feta cheese plus a bit of blue cheese for flavour. Stay away from hard cheese for now. It is too easy to eat too much of it. Add a dessert spoon of virgin olive oil and enjoy. You could also add a small amount of left over meat if you had fish for lunch instead of the tinned fish.

What sort of weight loss can you expect? If you can get your leptin communication correct, you may find you are losing weight faster than you ever have before. Depending on how much you have to lose you could find a weight loss of over 5lbs the first week and then 2 to 3lbs each week afterwards. Men will lose more.

You should feel hungry about 2 hours before your next meal but the hunger pangs should not be uncontrollable the way cravings are. Your body should be able to switch over to burning your fat for the last 2 hours before the next meal and during the night. This is the way your body is supposed to work so let it get on with it and don’t give in by eating between meals.

Good Day

Another day gone and yet another day without any sign of failure. I have been so used to failing on diets I cannot believe that this is so easy.

My calories are around 1100 a day and I am perfectly satisfied after my meals. The gremlin in my head that has been urging me to overeat for the past 50 years has been bound and gagged and blinded by the irvingia plus capsules. I no longer have the urge to snack or binge after meals.

Yesterday bought myself a leather jacket. First one I have ever owned. Throwing out the fake one that is all torn and broken.

Another couple of good days and I will be below the 30BMI and only overweight rather than obese.

Still dieting now with Irvingia

Was not sure if I would find this again. Not posted for nearly 10 months and in that time have been binging my way back up to nearly 200lbs again.

All my life I have been looking for that magic something that would help me lose the weight and keep it off and also to control the binges and make me feel satisfied with the quantities of food I am allowed.

Two weeks ago I found a product called Irvingia which is said to overcome Leptin resistance and enable your brain and stomach work together to make you satisfied after a meal.

I have been using it ever since and have lost 10lbs and found the afternoon cravings, nibbling and binging have just stopped from the first day I took it.

I am still using the low carb diet as I know I also have insulin resistance.

This is the answer for me. Low carb plus irvingia plus. Only another 40lb to go.