Started the book

Finally made a start on the ebook this last weekend. Not sure how long it will take me to get it ready to be uploaded to Amazon. I would guess it will be ready Feb/March 2013.

I was thinking the other day of how to tell if your eating is under control. First thing is that you dont crave carbs in the afternoon and you are in control of your eating habits. You can comfortably go for 4 to 5 hours without eating. You are not obsessing about where you next meal is coming from and what it is going to be and whether you will get enough on your plate! You can fit into the same pair of non elasticated trousers for months and years at a time and they are not outsize!

I am still a work in progress but I can fit into the same trousers I bought in July this year. So that is 5 months at a steady weight. Before I would either be wearing my smallest trousers for about a couple of weeks and then find I could not get them on again.

You dont have pads of fat at the back of your neck, on the inside of your knees and a roll around your liver.

These are all signs of an insulin imbalance. Watch this space for more news on the book that may change your life.

Going to write an ebook

Got the programs downloaded to start writing an ebook on weightloss and weight maintenance.

Been on holiday and put on 2kg of which 1kg has gone already so I feel that I have finally got a handle on my weight problem.

Nice to go into regular shops and buy nice clothes that will do up round the waist!

Until we are given the right information about how we get fat and how we can get unfat and obesity problems will just continue.

supplements that work

I have never been a big believer in taking supplements. I usually take a multivit and that is about it.

I have been reading up about serotonin and how it gets into the brain. It seems that binging is one way of ensuring the brain gets enough serotonin. To put it simply when you eat a lot of carbs the insulin produced sweeps all the other amino acids out of the blood stream into the cells and leave the one amino acid, tryptophan in the blood stream which then gets a first class ticket across the blood brain barrier. Of course the binging has other side effects, obesity, depression feeling of being out of control around food.

So there is a better way. First thing is the 5 HTP is the mid chemical between the amino acid and does not need a ticket to cross the blood brain barrier so I take it 40 mins before lunch and supper. 200mg per day.

The brain also reabsorbs the serotonin and ginko keeps the serotonin in the synapse instead of it being broken down again. So a capsule of ginko in the morning also helps.

The third new supplement I am taking is coenzyme Q10 which is needed by every cell in the body for energy production.

For the first time in my life I think I know what normal feels like. I can easily go all afternoon with no extra food or snacks.

I am keeping up with the scandinavian low carb high fat diet and am now waiting to see the kilos start going again.

The warning say dont take 5 htp or ginko if you are on drugs for depression as they dont work well together and it can be dangerous to your health.

5 HTP

I have been reading up about Serotonin and how a lack of serotonin or serotonin receptors can cause problems with overeating and obesity.

Also the amino acid that is made into 5 htp can also be made into another substance called kynuenine which cannot be used a serotonin and also cannot be changed back. The more insulin you produce the more kynuenine you make and the less serotonin. I got this from a book called Boost your Serotonin levels by Michael Murray.

I believe now I have been self medicating for years with carbs trying to make more serotonin but the insulin production has been halting the process. That is what causes binging.

The other thing that 5 HTP helps with is depression and sleep. I did not think I suffered from depression until I started taking 5 HTP and found my brain has another gear I never knew about. I am also getting 2 hours more sleep each night and I found that from the first evening I took a capsule.

I am now taking one capsule at lunch time and one in the evening. Decided I did not need to take one during the morning as I never overeat in the morning and am not planning to sleep.

Am keeping on with this experiment and now have enough 5 HTP for 4 months at the rate of 2 a day so will see where this takes me.

So far all signs of binging and cravings have gone and no nibble need after meals. I feel more satisfied after my meal and dont think about food till the next one.

Window reflection

Spent most of last week staying at a hotel and doing business. Sorting out contracts and insurance. Went with DH which was nice.

Had 9 meals that I did not prepare myself so knew that even if I made good choices I would still find a weight gain when I got back. I now call that travelling weight and plan for it. Usually about a 2lb gain which I expect to go over the next 3 or 4 days.

I enjoyed watching my image in the shop windows as we walked past. Such a change from the reflection I used to see.

Was so nice to enjoy the moments and not be worrying about where the next meal was coming from or whether there would be enough. I did use my olive oil spray on some salads as I asked for no dressing as the dressing often contain sugar. So I would just spray the salad with my own oil.

Fading away

Went to our local show yesterday. Was a long day and I was tired by the end but DH wanted to stay for the fireworks and they were splendid so glad we did. Got home at 9 having left at 9 in the morning.

Tried to make good food choices. Had chicken burger with extras for lunch and no bun. Extras were bacon and cheese and more salad. By 5 I was hungry again so this time had a beef burger with the same. When I got home I fixed some veg with tinned salmon and melted some cheese on top of it. Did not get on the scale this morning. I only drank water.

Got some nice comments about how I looked. One girl has known me since I got married and she was asking me what I was doing. She said I though you could only do that for a week. I said no I am going to be doing this for the rest of my life as it is the only thing that has ever worked for me except for starvation and that never lasted very long and would end in a binge!

One lady was selling skin products so I bought a selection of her range to try. If I like it I may ask if I can be her agent her and sell for her. I have been looking for a nice beauty product I can trust and have a hobby with.

I am not fading away still got over 40lbs to go but I am a lot narrower round the hips. Lost 5" there since January.

Under 13st

Have been battling a bit this month. With the trip away weight has not been going steadily down. I did add the loss today to June so that is 1.9kg for June so over 4lbs.

I ordered some 5 htp and started taking that a week ago. I think it is helping with the afternoons and I am feeling better with it. Got enough for 2 months and then will order more. The book about it has not turned up yet.

Had a trip to town this week and bought a nice black sparkly cardigan which will go with black and white dress as well as black trousers. Also found some cheap T shirts in various colours. They have a very nice neckline but long sleeves so bought one in each colour and will make them short sleeves.

Finally into the 12sts. I expect to be here for about 4 months. It seems to be taking me that long to lose 14lbs. But for the first time I am not dieting down as hard as I can in order to get to the point where I am going to stop dieting. I have accepted now that I am always going to have to not eat grains and sugar if I want to have a normal figure. But I can eat fat and cream and enjoy nice meals. I am happy with that.

I am finding it strange to be getting more male attention these days. As a grandmother who has always been obese and not used to attracting attention it was a very unexpected thing to happen!

'Calling' the scale weight

I find it very difficult to call my weight each morning. On previous low cal low fat diets I would know that if I was 'good' then I would be rewarded with a weight loss. On this diet with high fat and high calories my weight the next morning has been a complete surprise. Sometimes it is a nice surprise but the past 4 mornings it has been a nasty surprise. The number on the scale has been increasing every day till I was 900gms higher than 5 days ago.

I was beginning to get frightened that this would be a relentless gain and I would carry on seeing the weight gains ( or not seeing it if I gave up weighing again) until I was over 200lbs again.

I did not eat less than usual or watch my calories but ate my usual LCHF meals. This morning 500gms have gone. Had I tried going back to my low fat low calorie approach yesterday then I would have attributed the weight loss to that. Fortunately I did not do that.

I do need to get walking again. Been too busy recently and also watching Wimbledon on TV. I know the low carb high fat approach is right for me because the binging episodes are no more. They are not just under control, the urge has left me.

Reading Tales from the Scales and am seeing where I have come from. these girls weighing over 300lbs are just the same as I was. I am so relieved I have finally found this way of eating and my appetite is going to be normal.

Garden of Eden

Had 3 days away in the Zambezi Valley below Kariba dam. Have never been down there and it is beautiful. Later in the year it would be very hot but it was just a pleasant temperature with a bit of chill in the evening. I would love to go there again. So peaceful with the river drifting past the open door of the rondaval.

I made the best food choices I could. Did have a couple of gin and tonics before dinner. Had the full sugar tin and shared with husband. Skipped the starters as they were very carb heavy, pasta and rice. Did not have the dessert and ordered coffee while everyone else had their dessert. Kept to mainly meat salads and veg with olive oil. Breakfasts were full english and I asked for no beans. We went out on the river at least twice a day. Saw elephants and plenty of hippos, crocs and some Kudu. A lovely trip.

Feel much better about the shape of my body. Managed to get in and out of boats with ease. They did not tip too much!

Noticed nails are growing out again. Maybe the effect of adding fat and oil back to my diet 5 months ago. Will see if they start flaking and breaking again but maybe this diet is what my nails have been needing as well.

Forgot my weight!

Had to check my phone to see what weight I was 2 days ago. Thought when I got on the scale I had gained 200gms but have actually lost 100gms! Was surprised as I have never done that before. Perhaps my weight is becoming less important in the great scheme of my life!

Was reading a book yesterday and resting it on my midriff realised I could read to the bottom of the page without any difficulty!

Started on the life coaching course yesterday, they say a year but I hope to complete it in 6 months as being retired I have more time. I like working in the early morning as my brain is fresher then. But I am finding since starting on the fat diet that I can also work on things in the afternoons. All I used to want to do in the afternoons was read or watch TV and eat. Now I go for a walk with my little kettelbel and finish jobs that I might have started in the morning. Life is far more productive.

Kettlenetics

Got a set of kettlenetics with the weight last week. Had a go at the basic dvd and also the upper body exercises yesterday.

My arms ache when I pick up the kettle full of water! Will keep on with this as it is focussing on my core muscles and my arms. Legs are getting a workout when I walk but upper body is a problem area.

Putting chicken thighs, with the skin, into slow cooker for lunch. Plenty of onion and garlic and chilli. Is winter here now so hot food is very welcome.

Well under 84

Scale went to 83.7kg this morning so well under the 84 I was yesterday. This way of eating just keeps on working without starving or struggling or depriving myself. Looking forward to getting under 13 stone again. Should manage that in the next couple of weeks. I am expecting to be above 12 st when I go to UK in Sept but should be on the lower side of 12 and a half.

Had no birthday cake yesterday even though it was on offer. Did not even lick my fingers when I was cutting a piece for gs and got icing on my fingers!

I just do not want to go back to living in a glucose/insulin fog where everything is so much effort and I never get things completed and my afternoons are just a washout as I try to stay out of the fridge and pantry.

Did some exercise yesterday. Kettlebel in the morning for about 20mins and a walk with the dogs for 40mins in the afternoon.

Looking forward to my eggs and butter in a few hours time. Until then coffee will keep me going!

Down again

Scale first stopped at 83.9 but when I got on again to check fat levels went to 84 so I can wait till tomorrow to drop below the 84kg.

Started taking Monolaurin a week or so again so dont know if that is why my weight loss seems more steady. Just one capsule in with morning with my vitamins.

On part 3 of the Scandinavian Diet course. Looking forward to continuing with that. Think it is going to take another 3 months to complete and by then I should be another stone or 14lbs less than now.

I now trust this diet that it is not going to let me down the way I have been let down on so many previous low fat diets.

Not obese anymore oh joyous Day!

Got on the scale this morning and found another 200gms gone. Put that into the ticker without much hope and suddenly 29.9 BMI came up on the ticker!! Its official I am no longer counted amongst the obese. I am just overweight. I wondered a few weeks ago, as this was going so slowly, whether to increase my height just a tad! or put in a weight that I had not got to yet! Pleased I did not as this is genuine.

Yesterday I had 2 boiled eggs and butter for breakfast, some left over shin stew with spinach and cabbage ( cooked in butter) for lunch and ratatouille half a tin of salmon and 25gms of red Leicester cheese. The cheese comes in a 100gm square blocks and what I am doing now is cutting each block into 4 and using one a day. I am sure that some days I was eating half of a block in one go. One block melted on my ratatouille and the rest eaten in chunks as I waiting for it to warm up!

My next goals are going to be to get under each BMI level. 29.9 all the way down to 24.9! I am finally doing this and am feeling great. Not tired and hungry. The hours in the day simply zoom by and all of a sudden it is time for another feeding!

I love this way of eating and yesterday I was obese for the last time in my life. Now I am going to be slender!

Thirty BMI

Got to 30 on the BMI scale this morning. So these are the last few days I am going to be obese in my life. I will never ever get to this size again now I know the secret of losing weight and keeping the weight off. It has very little to do with calories and is mainly connected to how little carbs I eat and how much fat and oil I consume. lower carbs higher fat equals weight loss. Higher carb low fat equals weight gain. Simple when you finally understand it.

Good Kindle book by John Mclean the Low carb revolution. Only available as a Kindle edition. He like me is fed up about all the misinformation about obesity and the causes of obesity that have been aimed at the obese for so long and it is all wrong.

We are not fat lazy people who dont exercise. We are people who have a hormone problem and the main problem is insulin. We produce too much too often and it turns all our nutrients into fat instead of burning it off as energy the way normal people do.

I am going to be normal but I am not going to be eating a recommended 'normal' diet. My fat intake is going to be far higher than the food guidelines and my starch intake is going to be far lower for the rest of my life.

stable weight

Something I have never achieved has been a stable weight unless it has been at the top end of my weight gain. Then I could stay over 212lbs without any difficulty. But each time I lost and gained my top weight would be a bit higher. I never thought I would have the ability to get it under control.

Since I have started the LCHF diet my weight bobs around one weight for a few days and then does a little drop, bobs there and drops again. I never put on the 5 to 6 lbs I could put on overnight when I was binging on carbs. I have at last got control of that destructive behaviour. I thought maybe it was physiological, something to do with issues in my childhood or that I had emotional problems. It was something I had done for so many years I did not believe it was possible to stop the cravings and I would have to live with them and try and control them all my life. As soon as I added fat back into my diet the cravings and overeating stopped. They have never returned in 5 months.

 I am in control of my eating and my weight for the first time in my life. I no longer have to look at a starvation diet to keep slim for the rest of my life.

Antibiotic causes weight loss?

Since the beginning of the week I have been struggling with a 500gm gain for no particular reason. Not binged, not eaten more than I usually do.

Yesterday I started on a course of augmentin as I had a infection in my gum after a visit to the dentist. Dont want to lose the tooth. Today the 500gms have gone plus an extra 100gms so on a new lower weight!

Something to do with inflammation? I cant live on antibiotics for the rest of my life! Got 4 more days tablets and maybe will then see a weight increase again. Can only be water and not fat.

I can change a tyre

Yesterday I set off to collect milk from a local farm. On the way I heard a nasty knocking sound from the back of the car and stopped to find I had a flat tyre. My first thought was to phone home for help. Get DH and the mechanic to come and sort it out for me. So I rang but no reply. Managed to leave a message with sil.

Decided to get started on my own and see how far I could get. I was taught how to change a wheel by my father over 40 years ago. All his daughters had to learn how to do it before they were allowed out on the roads on their own.

I was trying to think the last time I had had to do that on my own. 25 years ago maybe? At over 200lbs I would be absolutely exhausted after crouching down for so long and manipulating all the different tools. This time it was a breeze. 15mins and the old wheel was off, the spare one on and tightened up and I was on my way again and I was not even breathing heavily!

It is not only the weight loss but also the walking for 40mins every afternoon that has made me fitter and given me more stamina.

I did not know I had it in me. When DH eventually rang me I was able to say it was all sorted and I was on my way again.

wetsuit

Signed up for a course on the Scandinavian diet yesterday. Here is the link.

http://www.scandinaviandiet.co.uk/

One of the first tasks was to visualize an outfit to be wearing when your weight has normalized. The outfit I visualized was a wetsuit. If you are obese you would never dream of trying to push all the rolls and bulges into a wetsuit. There is no where to hide. Every bump and saggy bit is on show.

I have had a dream of doing an open water scuba course but would never dream of doing it weighing what I do now or what I used to weigh 4 months ago.

But maybe by the time of my birthday next Feb I will be down to a standard size and can see if I would like to scuba dive. DH has said we can go to Mauritius so will look for a hotel that has a diving training course attached!

Maybe having a bit too much cream these days. It is nice to have a treat but as I have the cream I want to use it up! Only having it once with the main meal and then put some in coffee after supper but it is a good glug rather than a measured spoonful!

Scale up

Hi,

Scale is up 400gms this morning but I know my fat is not up by that much. Did a town trip, 8 hours round trip yesterday, that always pushes the scale up higher than when I have my normal routine at home.

So know that the diet is working, it has to work, it cannot fail so will get back into my home routine and see the scale drop back to my before town weight soon.

This is the only diet for me

I have tried so many things to lose weight. Gone to slimming clubs and paid good money! Bought bottles and bottles of tablets and capsules to try and get my appetite under control. Some of them helped a bit and I lost some weight at the clubs but as soon as I stopped dieting the weight all came back and brought friends.

This seemed to be something I just could not do. To lose weight so that it stayed off. My extended family would never know when they saw me on trips overseas whether I would be 10st or 15 stone.

I believed all the bad press about fat and oils. Far too many calories, if you are dieting remove all the fat, dry fry your food in a non stick pan. Never knowingly eat fat. I did what I was told and what I was taught. I am a Home Economics teacher so know all about calories!

It did not work. At 60 I was obese, fatigued and fed up! Then I read escape the diet trap by Dr Briffa. Fortunately I never gave up buying and reading dieting books. I had a dream that one day I would find a diet that worked for me, that solved my obesity problem for good and let me eat the food I enjoyed.

This is it and it contains a lot of fat. Good fats. My body just loves running on fat. I dont feel my age at all now. I am busy and productive the whole day. I dont get the afternoon slumps and binging. I enjoy all my meals. I can forget about food for hours at a time. I am finally becoming slim and am going to stay that way all the rest of my life.

A high carbohydrate, low calorie low fat diet was completely and utterly wrong for me. I should have been told 40 years ago that there are alternatives for people like me. I look around and know I am not alone with my problems. There are millions of us all struggling with misinformation.

Put fat back in its rightful place in your diet and your body will thank you in every way.

Fat metabolism

My body is now running mainly on fat. Fat from my body, 34lbs so far, and fat that I eat. I am no longer fat phobic and no longer 'dry fry' my foods or grill and throw the fat away.

My rings are loose, my watch has moved up my arm as my wrists are thinner than they have ever been.

I just dont get hungry until just before a meal and I dont binge any more.

I am enjoying cooking again. I like making nice cream sauces to go with my food. I add herbs and spices to my stews. I used to worry about doing the cooking as on a low fat low calorie diet I would be eating and picking all the time I cooked the food. Now I can wait and sit down to a nice satisfying plateful of good nourishing food and know that I am still going to lose weight. Lost just over 4lbs this month. Not a massive weight loss but if I can do the same for the next 6 months I will have lost another 2 dress sizes.

One thing I did find is that I was using a chilli and garlic spice mix and it stalled my weight loss for about 5 days until I went back to a small shake of cayenne spice instead. Some of these spice mixes have chemicals in that can stall weight loss. I love my ratatouille with some oil and hot spice on it.

Scandinavian Diet

I found 2 kindle books on Amazon yesterday about this very low carb diet. There is no doubt for me that this is the way I have to eat if I am going to finally say goodbye and good riddance to obesity.

I am looking at seeing how to become a licensed coach for the Scandinavian diet. I would like to help others get their insulin under control and finally feel good about themselves.

Once you get over the first couple of weeks on eating this way it becomes so much easier. You dont cut calories so you hardly ever feel hungry. You can eat rich fatty foods so your blood sugar level stays stable. You dont eat carbs so your brain stays clear and energetic all day.

Story of a girl of 19 in UK where they had to take the walls of her house down to get her out as she weighs 840lbs. She is now in hospital. Until the Drs and obesity 'experts' take a long hard look at the different effects of insulin they are never going to solve the obesity problem.

LCHF

Well it looks as though this is what I am doing.

http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2012/05/20/7533/swedes-lob-dynamite-into-a-controversy-high-f

Link there to a diabetes article about how this is a better diet for diabetics.

I believe is also a better diet for the obese. I have been losing weight without difficulty for the first time in my life.

Hope to be no longer obese in the next couple of weeks.

Half way

Just changed my ticker weight this morning and realised I am half way to 11st or 70kg. This has not been mind blowingly difficult. In fact it has been the easiest diet I have ever done as it has controlled the craving and binging from day one.

So that is 15kg down in 4 months. Even if it takes me 8 months to lose the next 15kg I am not worried as I dont feel this is a diet where I am ever going to lose control around food again.

One of the books said when you can walk past the sweet and chocolate racks at the supermarket without a pang of desire to buy and eat something then you are cured. I can do that now. I can buy chocolate for my DH and put it in the fridge and it can stay there open for a week or more but it has no hold over me. I dont want it. That is the cure.

Fat Feet

Over the weekend I had to adjust the straps on my slip on shoes. My feet were sliding too far forward in my shoes. I had fat feet!

I know the fat is going it is just going from places I never thought were fat! Total since the beginning of this month is 1.5kg which is about 3.3lbs. Not a mind blowing weight loss but at least it is downwards and not upwards and I do feel that my food intake control is at 100% whereas before it was about 80% in the mornings and down to 10% in the afternoons and evenings when on a low calorie diet.

My trousers that I could not get into 3 months ago and now feeling looser particularly around the legs. maybe it is the walking I am now doing. About 40min each afternoon and I even jogged for 100 paces yesterday. I counted them!

Major goal at present is to get below the obesity BMI. 29.9 here I come.

At Last

Finally seen some movement downwards on the scale. 500gms less than yesterday which is a lot for me but then no weight loss for the past 6 days.

I did say I would not change my ticker until I had seen the same figure 2 days running but I could not resist!

Funny thing was that the fancy scale showed a lower weight but a higher fat percentage. Am over the 40% again. So does that mean this weight loss was mainly water? Its very confusing.

The important thing for me is the scale is moving down and not up and I am still feeling satisfied with my meals and not craving or binging. Have cut down a bit on my supper portion but still not feeling starved before I go to bed.

Very keen to get under that 30 BMI and finally no longer be obese.

same weight

Weight is still the same as it was a week ago and I have been walking every day. On previous diets this would be the point that I would think blow it and give up. But not this time. I am eating well and enjoying the fat I have added back into my food. My eating disorder is cured. I no longer have any urge to binge in the afternoons or evenings.
What I did decide to try yesterday was to put my tuna cheese tomato melt supper into a smaller bowl and measure out less of it. I still enjoyed it and did not feel any hunger pangs later before I went to bed. So will try that for the next week and see if I make any progress.
This was never going to be a crash diet. I am eating too well for that but I was hoping to see even a half pound loss in a week. Maybe next week I will lose a pound!

To be un obese

That is my present goal. To get under that 30 BMI. I could maybe increase my height by half an inch or so! That would be one way to do it.

Worked out that I think the 29.9 BMI will be at about the same weight as when I drop below the 13 stone or 182lb or 83kg. At my present weight loss rate that is going to take about 6 weeks. I could get there faster by decreasing my food intake but then run the risk of craving and binging in the afternoons. So am going to carry on eating the way I am doing now.

I am thinking of getting some of those arm shakerators at the fitness shop in town to see if I can firm up my underarms. Maybe a lost cause but I can but try.

I find it quite interesting to see where the fat is going from this time round. I am no longer going low calorie anti fat dieting. This is a controlled insulin diet and definitely the fat is being mobilised from different places and being moved about! I find this quite strange. My fingers and backs of my hands were quite thin a few months ago and now they have got a new layer of fat on them. Makes the back of my hands look younger rather than thin and boney!

My body has its own agenda. It will do this in it's own time and it's own way.

What is the long term plan?

I was planning the future on my walk yesterday.

Decided one thing I would like to do is to help obese people get rid of their excess fat. I am quite good with computers so would buy a projector and set up a slide show to explain how this high fat low carb diet actually works. Then set up meeting and meet maybe once a week or every 2 weeks. No booing or clapping allowed!

The obese get so much flak and blame for their condition and I feel it is totally unfair as you have no control over your hormones and they are just taking dietary advice to eat more carbs and less fat which is completely wrong for their bodies.

I was also planning maintenance for when I finally get rid of all the excess fat. I dont want to go too low as I dont want to go all wrinklie and old. At present I am on 3 meals a day and about 28 gms carbs and 1500 cals and losing about 4 to 5 lbs per month. My eating schedules are 7am, 12.15 and 5. So what I thought I could do is leave the morning as it is as I am not particularly hungry then but add a snack maybe about 4pm and then put my supper back till 7. So the snack would be mainly protein and fat with a small salad. So adding about 300 cals and a couple of carb grams.

If I found I was putting weight back on then I could drop the snack and move my supper forward again. Will play with the schedule once I finally get to a 'normal' weight.

I Can Whistle

I learnt how to whistle when I was about 8. We had a three note whistle to call the dog and I could do it quite well.

I dont know when I lost the knack. I could usually manage a faint breathy sort of whistle but the proper piecing one was beyond me.

Now I have realised why. I have lost far more fat in my cheeks than I usually do on a diet. This high fat way of eating has blocked my insulin response and the fat loss is not occurring in its usual pattern. Usually my face stays round and fat while other parts of me get thinner.

The reduction in my cheek fat has increased my whistling ability. I was out with the dogs yesterday and one went missing. Tried my whistle and it was back to a full strength 3 note loud whistle. Something I have not been able to do for 40 years!

The dog found me!

Half life

Dr Atkins said that the degree of insulin resistance you suffered from is directly related to how much better you feel once you cut out the poison sugar.

Maybe he didn't put it exactly like that but that is my interpretation.

Since I have cut out all the sugar foods and re introduced good fats I feel like a new woman. I have energy in the afternoons and evenings. I start jobs and finish them. I am not constantly watching the clock to see if it is time for a feed. Dare I say it but I even forget about food for hours at a time!

This is the way I should have been living for the past 50 years but because I believed the hype about fats and oils being bad and making us fat I was stuck in a glucose fog for years. I suffered endlessly with different diets all cutting my fat lower and lower and allowing low calorie carb foods which made the problem worse. Like throwing petrol on a fire in the hope of putting it out!

Walking is making me feel much better and brighter and with an added bonus of losing 400gms over the last 24 hrs! Am sure scale will be up again tomorrow but as long as the general trend in downwards I am a winner.

walking

For the past 4 days I have been taking a 40 min walk in the afternoon. On previous diets I have been walking in the afternoon to get out of the house in the hope of preventing a binge. Afternoons have always been the worst times for me when it comes to will power. Sometimes it would just defer the binge to when I got back but sometimes having felt good that I had exercised I would be able to hold my food intake to a low level. This was the case the last time I dieted when I was on a low fat low carb diet.

I never realised that I could lose weight on a higher no of calories as long as I kept my carb gms low. It may not be a fast weight loss but the scale is gradually creeping downwards without me having to deprive myself and feel hungry most afternoons and evenings.

So far I am enjoying the walks and the dogs do too. The weather is nice, no rain and not too hot. At the end of the walk is the hill up to the house. Would be good to do that without taking a breather but at present I stop and admire the view! These walks are not designed to increase my calorie useage but I expect they will do that. What I hope they will achieve is to increase my sensitivity to insulin. My muscle cells have been resistant to insulin which is why the glucose has been stored in my fat cells for so long. If I can increase the mass of my muscles and also get more 'doors' opening on my muscle cells then my hope of staying slim for life is more achievable.

I can already feel an improvement in my thigh and calf muscles just from these last 4 days. What I must not do is obsess about the walking. If I cant go one day it is not the end of the world! Just take one day at a time.

Bracelet

The other day I bought a pretty charm bracelet. I dont do jewellery except for ear rings. I have 3 icecube trays with earrings on my dressing table and try to match the earrings to the outfit. When I was over 200lbs I did not even wear earrings. I tried not to draw attention to myself. Difficult when you are the size of a house!

Anyway I saw this bracelet a few weeks ago at the shop. Decided last week to try it on and it would not fit round my right wrist. So did not buy it. On the way home decided to get it anyway. Has lots of glass beads and trinkets dangling from it. Then discovered I can fit it on my left wrist. So have been wearing it this week below my watch.

I am making more of an effort with my hair and makeup. Maybe I have finally got a handle on this obesity. I certainly dont see that scale going up again the way it used to on the low calorie diets. It may not be fast but it seems to be consistent.

Have started walking for about 40mins each afternoon this week and feeling better for it. Need to exercise my muscles.

To answer sue. I dont have anything artificial so no fake sweets. Also I might have a glass of champagne for a celebration once in a blue moon but I dont drink. If you are going to drink then vodka and soda would be your best choice.

What I eat now

Hi

Yes I found the Briffa book Escape the Diet trap very helpful.

My daily food intake looks like this.

2 softboiled eggs with about 15gms butter.

Coffee with milk and cinnamon during the morning plus glasses of warm water.

Lunch is usually meat or poultry with the fat. Small amount of gravy plus any green veg I have available. One helping only.

Afternoon tea with milk plus water.

late afternoon supper

half a tin of salmon or tuna in oil. Or a tin of sardines. Ratatouille cooked with olive oil, cream cheese and 25 gms of hard cheese grated on top. Heated in microwave so its like a pizza without the base.

Evening decaf coffee.

If I have to snack which I try not to do. Cold meat, cheese, peanut butter. Try to go for protein and fat at all meals. I did have an apple with cheese yesterday.

This way of eating has stopped my uncontrollable binges in the afternoons and evenings. But I do sometimes nibble but I now do that in front of my family and not in secret.

Changed Metabolism

Is it possible to change your metabolism? I always thought not.

I have had an obese metabolism all my life. I always had cravings for sweet things and carbs in the afternoons. I could put on 50lbs over the course of 6 months after the end of a diet.

I would try all the low calorie diets I could find. I would eat bread and marmalade because they were low calorie without realising that the problem was caused by the sugar and starch in my diet.

Once I got that it became so much easier to work with my body to lose weight rather than fighting it the whole time.

I am no longer frightened of losing control in the afternoons and evenings. I may be going overboard at present and having too much fat and oil but the aim is to find a balance. How much of satisfying foods I can eat and still lose weight, then how much I can eat and maintain that new lower weight.

I dont mind feeling hungry just before a meal. I know I can have nice filling food when I do eat.

I was reading the 21 day womans weekly diet yesterday. Low fat and mainly low carb but each serving of food was under 300 cals. So that is 900 cals for the day! Far too low for a sustainable way of eating.

I am aiming for a 5lb loss each month. If I get it I am happy. If not there is always next month.

To binge or not to binge! Atkins is the answer!

Adding back and taking away

What I have found with this diet that it is as much about adding the fat and oils back into my diet as it is about taking the sugar and starch out.

One without the other does not work. Eating fats and oils with sugar and starch will put on weight. Not eating sugar and starch without adding fat and oil back into meals makes you hungry and craving food.

To stabilize your blood sugar you need to do both together. My intake is still about 200 cals lower than it used to be on a 'normal' diet which would put weight on.

This is not a crash diet. I am learning again how to eat without weightgain. Something I could do as a small child but I lost the knack somewhere along the way.

Veins

For years I have had lumpy veins on my legs. Legacy of a twin pregnancy 30 years ago.

Even when I lost weight a few years back the veins did not reduce that much. In fact they seemed to be more prominent once the surrounding fat had gone.

On this diet with a higher fat level I have noticed that the veins are reducing. Whether it is because of the better blood pressure I dont know. Or maybe because I am finally adding fat into my diet my veins and arteries are more elastic and there is less strain on my whole system.

One thing I would like to do is have them operated on but I know I have to complete the weight loss phase and also know that I will never put the weight back on again. Maybe in 12 months time I could think about it. I think both legs would need doing.

Now that I am so much in control of my eating I can make plans like this. Before I was just waiting and anticipating the day that the diet went out the window. That is just not happening any more. I dont need will power I just needed to up my fat intake.

Onwards and downwards

Am feeling that this is working. I was thinking back to my first diet in the 1960's. I had to weigh everything. I think I lost about 35lbs in about 6 months. So that averaged about 6lbs a month but I struggled. I had cravings. I had to go to bed early as I was hungry. I never left the table thinking I had eaten enough. It made me miserable even as I was getting thinner.

This time I am losing between 5 and 6lbs a month. I have a lot further to go this time. All those low calorie low fat diets messed up my metabolism so much I now have 70lbs to lose but 30 of those have already gone.

This is so much easier. It makes me happy. I leave the table feeling satisfied. I am never hungry in the evenings. I enjoy my food and I dont weigh anything.

Went rock climbing and swimming yesterday as we went on a picnic for GD 12th birthday. I think I even surprised myself with what I could do.

I am going to eat this way for the rest of my life and just maybe I might find I have a size 12 body somewhere in here. I have seen it once, a very long time ago for a very short period of time!

Fat percentage 39.9

Finally am seeing some changing numbers on the fancy scale I bought. I though it was stuck in the 40's as I have been seeing over 40 for the past 2 and a half months. This morning was 39.9% so making progress.

Cooked a mutton leg roast yesterday and have kept all the fat that came out of the tin. My grandmother used to do that. So now I have some fat I can use in cooking. On my low fat diets I would have thrown the fat away that came out of the roasting tin. Now fat does not worry me as I know I can consume quite a bit and still lose weight every week. My body much prefers to get it energy from fat rather than from glucose.

Was reading Idiot Proof Diet yesterday. They took a year to lose 70lbs each. I have lost 30 and have another 40lbs to go. So may take me another 9 months but I am enjoying this so much it does not worry me. This is the diet for the rest of my life.

Obesity caused by lack of fat in the diet?

As Gary Taubes has written in his books our bodies need fat in the diet. But good fats and not the bad transfats or masses of processed grain oils.

Adding calories from butter to my morning eggs has made such a difference to my diet and how I am able to cope with it. I measured the knob of butter yesterday and it is 15gms which is about 100 cals plus 2 large eggs gives me a breakfast total of 240 cals. That holds me without being concerned about food till around 12 when I start thinking about lunch.

My afternoons are now productive. Instead of trying to distract myself from my cravings and tendancy to binge I now get on with projects and tasks without any drifting towards the food stores for another little something. My tendancy to nibble while I am preparing food is also under control. I sit down and eat one plateful, no seconds and am happy to leave the table feeling satisfied and know there is another nice meal coming up in 4 or 5 hours.

Got into a new pair of jeans yesterday. Looking forward to a few milestones in the next month or so. Getting under the 30 bmi, getting under 40% fat on the scale and getting the weight loss up to 30lbs in 4 months.

This has to be the easiest diet I have ever attempted.

Background diet

This is the diet I have been looking for all my life. When I think back to the misery and struggle and sense of failure I had over the last umpteen years trying to get my weight under control I feel a sense of disbelief that in fact it can be so easy.

On this, I feel satisfied when I leave the table, I never pick and and nibble at food when I am preparing meals, I dont binge in the afternoons. I dont feel hungry between meals.

This way of eating is almost becoming automatic. I dont think about it much. I dont obsess about food. I eat my nice fatty meals and then food becomes unimportant until the next meal.

I have not had a stall once in nearly 4 months. This month looks like being about a 6lb loss again. Month before that was 6.6lb loss. I can now slide my rings off my fingers. I read about someone on the internet who lost 50lbs in 3 months on Atkins. I will never ever lose at that rate. Think it is better to do it slowly and give my skin time to adjust. I hope I dont get saggy and baggy. I am feeling my skin is more elastic because of my high fat level. Will just have to see how it goes.

Was ready about vanity sizing. What used to be a size 16 40 years ago is now a size 12 in UK! The clothing manufacturers have increased the size of the waist and hips on their clothes to accommodate the growing size of the ladies!

Eggs and Butter

I was reading the other day that this is the breakfast that the American explorer who went to live with the Eskimos ate with his wife every day. It is now the breakfast that I have 2 eggs and half an ounce of butter. It is amazing how that little can keep me from being hungry till about 12 or 1 o clock. I have now got my D and GD on the same breakfast. The menfolk are still going for their cereal as well as the eggs and toast.

I ordered 3 copies of Dr Clark High Protein Fast Food Diet yesterday. Going to give one to each of my D and keep one copy for myself.

We all have issues with eating too much carbohydrate. One D went back to induction yesterday. She had gone travelling, missed breakfast so bought fritters and then it was all downhill for the rest of the day and she struggled the next day to get the control back over her eating.

Once our bodies get that taste of sugar from the carbs it just wants more and more and wont use up the fat stores.

How I wish I had found this information years ago. It would have saved me a fortune on clothes. I would not have the fat, medium and slim wardrobes that I have now. Fat items are being put on one side as I know I am never ever going to need them again.

Changed personality

Dont feel I am the same person than I was 5 months ago.

For a start I am 2 stone lighter. I am more confident about myself now that I have finally got a handle on a) why I found it impossible to control my weight and my eating habits and b) what I needed to do about it to finally lose the weight and more importantly keep it off for the rest of my life.

I have finally stopped feeling apologetic for exsisting! and feel I have earned the right to make time for my own needs.

Next week I have booked in for the 3rd facial in my life! I need to start caring for my skin which has had 60 years of pretty hard life.

Can honestly say I am enjoying this way of eating and am never going back to bread at every meal.

Ketone test

Yesterday I had no milk at all. I am a big coffee drinker about 6 mugs in the morning. One after lunch and dinner and tea in the afternoon.

For all of those yesterday I had cream instead of the usual milk. When I tested with the ketone strips in the afternoon I was on the next block of colour and not the usual pale pink. So giving up the milk did make a difference. So as long as I have cream I will use it. Not sure if I will carry on once the weight has gone. That will be my first introduction of carbs. To put whole milk back in the diet.

Used fitday yesterday. 1561 cals and 28gms carbs. The page is much easier to use now and is much quicker on a dialup connection. I had given up as it was so slow to find the foods and get the quantities sorted. I will go back there another day to check my food intake.

Milk

Well that was unexpected. Have lost 400gms in the last 2 days. The only thing I have changed in my diet is when I have coffee outside mealtimes I have been putting cream in it rather than milk. I have not been taking cream regularly because it is sometimes not available. I did not think it would make that big a difference but it seems I am wrong.
Will keep on with the experiment and see what happens. I have read that milk is very insulaemic it makes your body produce more insulin from the gms of carb in the milk. That is why babies get so round and fat and cuddly on just milk!

So good review point. Scale showed fat % of 40 this morning so will be good to see that drop into the 30's soon. 4" off hips and waist and 3" off chest. Total of 13kg or 28.6lbs or 2 stone since I started this 4 months ago.

I was assuming that the weight loss would slow up soon. I still have at least another 40lbs to go. But maybe if I can watch my milk intake it might be faster than I thought. Would be good if I can keep losing at 6lbs a month.

Rings will now slide off my finger whereas before I could not move them!

Booked a hotel booking for Sept with my mother. Asked if they can have berries and cream in for my desserts while mother is tucking into cheesecake! Then I could also have decaf coffee with cream and not feel I am missing out.

Snakes and Ladders and Steps

I was thinking yesterday that my previous diets have been more like a game of snakes and ladders. I would go up really short ladders when I was losing weight and then would be overtaken by a binge and down the long slippery snake I would come. It is amazing to me now that I managed to lose the amount of weight I did on these low calorie low fat diets. It was a major fight between what my body seemed to want and what I wanted to happen. Once I had lost the weight I would no longer have the incentive to fight my body and my weight would come storming back with extras.

The weight loss seems much slower this time. I am happy to see the scale move down by 100gms a few times a week. Certainly not every day. But I feel that each little drop is permanent. Because I no longer have the urge to binge I am not frightened of finding I have put 1kg back on overnight. My body is steady on the next step of the ladder before I drop weight again.

I like projecting weight loss. Looks like another 2kg by the end of this month so that is 4.4lbs. So at this rate will take me 3 months to lose a stone which is 14lbs. I feel better, look better, can fit into more of my smaller clothes. For the first time I can see what my diet is going to be when I finally find the slim me under the flab I have been carrying around for years. So its a win win situation.

Goals

I like to have some goals that I can achieve quickly as well as some long term goals. The 2 goals I am aiming for at present are to drop off the obese BMI and I need to lose about 6lbs to do that. The other is to have my fat percentage on the new scale drop below 40.4 which is where it is at present. I expect the 2 things are linked but have no idea which will come first!

I have set up a spreadsheet showing kg lbs and st and lbs plus the BMI figures. So as I drop 100gms at a time I can see what the equivalent is in the other scales.

My new scale does not have an option to weigh in lbs or st and lbs. In a way only being able to weigh in Kg is actually a help as I have no connotations linked the kg weights. Whereas the st and lbs weight I can remember weighing that weight at my wedding or that weight after the birth of my first child.

Kg weights are clean somehow. So I just get on the scale. See if the weight has gone down or not and there is no baggage attached to it.

Felt I have less fat on my jaw line and noticed my lower calves have emerged from their layer of fat. This is definately working. Bit slower than my usual low calorie diets when I try to eat even less to see the scale go down faster. That does not seem to work on this plan and I know if I try it I would binge. So nice not going to bed hungry! This is going to take time but I have the rest of my life to get it right.

Blip up

Had an upward blip on the scale today when I expected a downward one. No reason for it as far as I can see. Food choices were good yesterday. I did have tinned trout as a treat rather than tuna. Very expensive and only 3 small fillets in the tin and I had all of them! Used the oil as well. In fact I think there was more oil than trout and it may have had more salt than my usual tinned fish.

So for today will blame that and expect the extra lb to go over the next couple of days.

Wearing my jeans regularly now and the muffin top has almost gone. Still deciding the fate of my elasticated trousers. Do I give them away? Burn them. Keep them in case I need them again!! I dont think so. This is the eating plan for the rest of my life. I have never found a way of eating that suits me so well and heads the binges off at the pass.

My binges were solely caused by a lack of fat and oil in my diet. Once I allowed myself the fat and oil the binges went away.

Did another couple of hours in the combine yesterday and can now do the augering and off loading soya into the trailer.

I would never have had the confidence to try this when I was at my top weight. I would have had difficulty getting up the ladder! If you want to completely forget about food drive a combine! There is so much to think about on the controls and the grain and what is in front of you.

nearly 2 stone

Worked out by the end of the week will have lost 2 stone or 28lbs since mid January when I finally put fat back into my diet after 50 years of low fat meals.

There is no doubt in my mind that the added fat and finally shown me that I can successfully lose weight and that the binging episodes I suffered from were caused by low and unstable blood sugar and not some character flaw.

I still have another 40lbs or so to go but feel confident now that I will get there and stay there. As long as the out of control eating episodes do not return then life can only get better and my body slimmer.

Looking forward to getting back to the slim end of my wardrobe and all the nice clothes I bought 4 years ago when I was at my smallest.

Zips

Starting to get into some of my trousers with zips. For the past 2 years I have been in elasticated trousers so was very chuffed this week to find I could get back into these trousers. Remember buying the pair I wore yesterday in Cape Town 4 years ago.

Yesterday felt I needed more food after supper. Maybe I did not have enough for supper. Have not eaten outside mealtimes for a while. Went to the fridge and got some cold meat and cheese and was happy with that.

I have to keep my fat intake up or the binging and munchies will come back.

Another 100gms gone this morning. This is a much slower diet than anything I have tried before but then I want this to be my last successful diet. I never want to put on 60lbs again. So another 40 or so lbs to go, 4oz at a time!

Ticker

Just realised I have a problem with my ticker.

I have been using the UK system for dates with the day first then the month then the year. Just noticed ticker is set up for USA system with the month first then the day then the year! Trying to change the data but it wont accept it. Also went through and deleted a lot of old data. Before I was using lbs as I had a scale that worked in lbs. the new scale is in KG but I used the same ticker data so I had lbs and kg showing together. Hopefully I have got it right now and will try and do the dates correctly from now on. Does not seem to affect the display at all.

As I had hoped the scale is moving downwards again. Have not seen 87kg before. So making slow progress. I remember reading about a lady in one of the Atkins books who would only lose 5lbs a month so stayed on Induction nearly the whole time. I think I am going to be doing the same. I have a serious carb/insulin problem.

But I am happy that I dont see the scale go up as my eating is no longer out of my control. So each week I lose about a 1lb. This is very slow compared to my previous dieting attempts when I wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible so would try and starve my body into slimness. This time I am working with my body. It will get rid of the fat at its own pace and I must not try and hurry it.

I am not looking too much at calories now but a 1lb a week weight loss is around 500 cals per day of fat used up. Which is 55gms of fat or about 2oz. But once this fat has gone it has gone for good.

See UK is worried about the out of control obesity over there. This is the one and only answer. Not move more and eat less. Not shakes and slimming potions. Just get back to good plain natural protein, healthy fats and oils and low carb vegetables.

Michelle

slow but sure

I am now getting used to this way of eating and not finding it too difficult. I can see that I am now satisfied with less food but it is more nutrient dense food. They had a silly weight loss system I read about once where you eat more food with less nutrient density to 'fill you up'. That to me now would be a recipe for overeating which I used to do often.

You either leave the table not feeling you have eaten enough and find yourself binging a few hours later or you eat too much low density food to try and get the nutrients your body needs.

My body is satisfied with smaller high fat meals. I eat less and can go longer between meals and am satisfied.

Yesterday was a wedding and I managed to get into a suit I had not worn in a couple of years. I felt I looked good. I had a cheese salad at 12 and then a few pieces of biltong around 5. I felt that was the less harmful of the snacks on offer. Half a glass of champagne and a plate of meat and salad at 8pm. Was in control the whole time and made good choices.

This is the way my body was designed to run. Not on that endless glucose roller coaster.

Confidence

There is something about not being enormous that gives me confidence to start chatting to strangers.

At my heaviest I would try and not be noticed as I felt embarrassed about my size. Now I am feeling thinner I will strike up conversations with people in queues etc.

Made good food choices on business trip and another 300gms gone since I got back.

Getting into jeans now.

Sugar Addiction

I have just ordered some books on sugar addiction as I am sure this was part of my problem.

With cutting out fat, which is what I did for years, I ate more complex carbohydrates to try and fill me up. Trouble is it did not work. All that glucose just made me more hungry after meals and I ate more bread to try and feel sated.

Some of these books are also advising on what I have already discovered. My body is much happier on a higher percentage of fat and I dont put on weight as long as I dont eat grain carbohydrates. At present I am continuing to lose weight.

I dont know where this is going to stop and what I am going to look like when my body weight has stablized. I can already see fat has gone from my forearms and face and the bags under my eyes have gone.

Maybe I was never supposed to be obese but the dieting advice I received over the years was completely wrong for me. Eating bread and pasta and potatoes even though they are low calorie just fed my sugar addiction.

Now I am on a medium calorie eating plan with added good fats and am feeling so much younger than I have felt for years.

My body is thanking me every way it can for finally stopping the sugar diets!

The Fat Diet

This is the most phenomenal diet I have ever tried. It is just amazing how well it is working for me when I have failed at diets so many times.

This diet/way of eating fixes the underlying problem with my metabolism. I dont handle sugar well and have problems with low blood sugar in the afternoons if I have a high carb low calorie lunch.

This is not a low calorie diet. I am eating about 1500 cals per day and am adding butter and good oils back into my diet after being fat phobic for 50 years. I also have between 20 to 30 gms of carbs each day from milk and vegetables.

It is so wonderful to sit down to a meal and feel free to eat as much as I need and leave the table feeling satisfied and know that I am not going to feel hungry again for at least 4 hours. Next time I am hungry is time for another good meal.

For me this is a one way street. Knowing what I know about myself now I can never go back to eating the way I did. Trying to go low calorie so eating carbs with very little or no fat. I did not even enjoy it but thought I had to eat that way to try and keep my weight down. Guess what it did not work.

This is not a crash diet. I am presently losing 1 and 3/4lbs each week but it is very steady. I rarely find the scale going up. Just a nice steady almost effortless weight reduction.

Something I never even dreamed was possible. I thought the obesity and struggle was my lot for the rest of my life.

Jeans

Got into a pair of jeans yesterday. Glorious day.

Yes they are my biggest pair but 2 months ago I would have been no where near being able to zip them up.

Have got a rack of jeans in various sizes so will be great to work my way back through them.

In a few months these jeans may be too big!

I never thought I would be free of that behaviour around food in the afternoons. It has been so much a part of who I thought I was. It was just something I had to live with and fight every afternoon. That burning desire for calories in the afternoon. When I was dieting I would have a reason to try and ignore it but when I was off the diet or feeling weak I would give in and the diet would be a complete mess till the following day when I would start all over again.

Even now having not binged for 3 months I still have that waiting feeling around 3 or 4pm to see if it is going to start again. Whether my blood glucose will drop too low and I will be back in the pantry or the fridge. Every afternoon I make myself a cup of tea around that time and there is no desire to eat abnormally.

To me this is the biggest breakthrough. I always knew how to lose weight, only this is the easiest method I have tried. But with the out of control behaviour I was concerned about putting it back on again as I have done so often in the past. Now I have understood that behaviour and am eating so it never happens I have faith that the weight I am losing will never come back on again.

It is all about reactive hyperglycaemia and insulin. This is a cure.

Normal relationship with food

In 50 years I have never had a normal relationship with food until now. Food, especially carbs, had such power over me. If I knew there was left over chocolate cake, or dried fruit with museli cereal I could not relax in the afternoon until it was all finished or till I was so stuffed I felt sick.

I know now that was a symptom of a disordered carbohydrate metabolism. I ate too many carbs for lunch and as it was low calorie and low fat it hit my system very fast. I ended up with high glucose, followed by high insulin. The glucose would be stored in the fat cells but there was still too much insulin and my glucose blood level would come crashing down and I would have reactive hyperglycaemia. Then I would binge and the whole sorry process would start up all over again.

I believe know that the problem was caused by a) lack of fat and b)too many carb grams.

I am consuming around 30gms of carbs these days. Mainly from milk in my coffee and vegetables including tomatoes and onions.

I have increased my fat intake from zero ( a left over reflex from my years of low fat dieting) to around 50gms per day of butter, olive oil and coconut oil.

It seemed totally counter intuitive to be adding calories back into my diet when I want to lose weight but I had tried everything else I could think of and was still 100kg. It was a blind act of faith and boy is it paying off.

This is just a breeze. Weight is dropping. Another 200grms over the past 2 days. I am eating well and leaving the table satisfied and can forget about any food in the pantry or fridge till the next mealtime. Carbs have lost their hold over me. Free at last!

New You Atkins cook book

The above book arrived from Amazon yesterday. It is a 2012 one so quite up to date.

What is useful is that the recipes are graded as to whether they are suitable for Atkins phases. 1 2 3 or 4 and whether they are quick weekday dishes or weekend dishes that need more time.

They say that you can now have up to 5 cups of low carb veg on Atkins even in the early stages. Some of the recipes need baking mix which is only available in USA and UK but if you stick to the meat veg meals ( rather than the desserts and baking) all the ingredients are readily available in most supermarkets.

Yesterday I made DH some fish fillets dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and fried in olive oil. For mine I did egg and dessicated coconut ( unsweetened) and fried till coconut brown in crispy and the fish cooked. It was delicious and something I will do again.

I am really beginning to see progress here. My face is much less round with fat cheeks as it was before. I worked out I need to get down to around 85kg to drop under the obese classification and be simply overweight.

I have so much more confidence in myself and my ability to finally do this. All due to putting fat and good oils back into my diet. It may not be fast but it is steady and fairly consistent.

I want to be slim!

Is that too much to ask. To be a 'normal' weight after 50 years of yoyo dieting. For a few brief moments I have been under the 70kg but most of the time I have been up in the 90's.

For the first time, on Atkins, making sure I add the fat, I am beginning to think that maybe it is going to be possible.

To finally lose the weight and keep it off.

The struggle to lose weight is not building up day by day as it does on a low calorie low fat diet.

I take each day as it comes and my blood glucose is remarkably stable. I do not get binging moments or cravings.

I look forward to my meals. Am satisfied as I leave the table and often dont think about food for the next 3 to 4 hours.

I made a ratatouille the other day with olive oil, herbs and some spice. Am having that for supper with half a tin of pink salmon, some grated cheese and some of my hung yogurt cheese. Heat up the lot in the microwave. Quick supper and very tasty.

I am having tomatoes and onions every day and it is not affecting my weight loss at all. I could not live on a diet that bans tomatoes and onions.

My downfall food is bread and cereal. Any grains and I know I would be back on the binging wagon instead of this slow drift weightloss which seems to happen by magic.

7.7lbs a month

That is what I lost last month. This is not so much as losing as normalizing my weight. I dont feel on this diet that the less I eat the lower my weight will be. I eat a good 3 meals a day with added fat and oils and wait to see how my body is going to react.

Before I would be trying to punish my body by with holding food to get a lower weight the next day. It would all end in tears when I lost control around food and went for a binge.

It is amazing to me how that destructive behaviour has gone. It had been part of who I was for so long, since childhood. That daily battle with food every afternoon never went away. I was always waiting for it to start. I would buy 3 chocolate bars in town, eat 2 on the way home and then share the last one with DH!

Now I dont do that any more. Not once in nearly 3 months. It is not that I am resisting the craving. I just do not suffer from them any more. I can easily go 5 to 6 hours without food without any distress whatsoever.

The answer for me was not pills or potions or injections. It was the healing power of good fats and oils. Just adding in around 300 cals of butter, olive oil coconut oil has been enough to cure my eating disorder I have had for over 50 years and I have dropped 11kg in 10 weeks. Only 20 kg to go to get to a normal body!

wheat Belly

Read a couple of good books which just arrived from Amazon.

When you eat at the refrigerator pull up a chair and Wheat belly.

The wheat Belly is a new issue in 2011. The Dr is saying that he believes the nature of wheat has changed over the last 50 years and this plus the instructions to people to give up fat has lead to the mushrooming obesity and diabetes that we see today.

I know that bread is one of my main downfall foods when dieting and I do need fat to stop the binging so I believe he may have the answer to the problem. It is not sugar so much as wheat.

The refrigerator book made me laugh out loud. I will be passing it on to my daughters as I am sure they will enjoy it too.

Why we need fat

For years as a fat person I have tried to cut fat out of my diet whenever I could. I have non stick pans and learnt to 'dry fry' vegetables so that I would not have to add fat. I would never add butter or cream to my foods. I believed what I was told that the reason I was fat was because I was eating too many calories and that if I cut down on my calories I would lose weight.

Guess what It did not work. Fifty years later I am fatter than when I started.

What no body told me was that our bodies need fat and oil in our diet. Certain fatty acids are essential and the body cannot make them. It is not so much about calories as about carbs and insulin that are the cause of the obesity problem.

Now I add a small amount of butter to my eggs. I fry my veg in a little olive oil. I am losing weight and feeling I have so much more energy.

Ladies Diets

While I love the idea of eating all the protein and fat that I want and it has certainly got my cravings and binging under control for the first time in my life I have been finding the weight loss slower than I would like.

So many of these Low carb books are written by male Drs and I wonder if they are aware of the needs of the ladies.

I decided a couple of days ago I was fed up looking at the same number on the scale so took a look at what I was eating.

Luckily I am just not hungry in the mornings so for the past 2 mornings have changed my normal fried omelette and mushroom breakfast to 2 boiled eggs with a dab of butter on each. It has worked and I am now another lb down. Still found I looked at my watch at 12.10 thinking it was coffee time and it was lunch time. So did not make any difference to the rest of the eating for the day.

Keen to get below 14st again!

Attitude to Binging

Because of my long history of craving and binging I have never really felt slim and normal. I have always had the concern that a binge was only a day away and I would start putting back the weight that I had fought so hard to lose.

Because, by adding fat back into my diet, I have cured the binging episodes I now feel that I am on the right course to normalise my body weight. I dont feel that next week I am going to be 7lbs more than I am today.

However this does seem to be a slower process than I am used to. Its a hare and a tortoise method of dieting.

Is it better to be a tortoise and keep the weight off or a hare where the weight drops rapidly but comes back equally rapidly!

I do hope I will have dropped another lb by the end of the month. Just to give me the encouragement of getting under 200lb.

Funny thing is I feel slimer at this weight than I did when I was 170lbs last year. Something to do with being in control of my eating habits for the first time in my life.

seven hours without food

I had my breakfast as normal yesterday. Mushrooms fried in olive oil and a tomato/onion omelette at around 8.

I set off to sort out my D computers at 10.30am and started the antivirus update at 11am. It was painfully slow as it had not been updated for ages and eventually finished at 2.40pm. I could not leave it as the staff are not very computer savey.

So by the time I got home for lunch it was 3. I was surprised at how well my system coped. I was hungry yes but did not feel the need to send out for a pie or burger or some high carb thing. I had the control to be able to wait for my meal and that is very unusual for me. Previously I have been a clock watcher to see when is my next feeding time!

Life does seem less blaah these days. Dont think activities have changed but my attitude has. Have more spontinaity. Am being less frumpy and stuck to my chair!

Learning not to put on weight

Sometimes I think that is just as important as knowing how to lose weight.

We can go into self denial mode, maybe only for a short time before we binge, but the reward is the scale going down.

I have managed in the past to lose 50 to 70lbs over the course of about 10 months in this way.

Because I never understood the underlying metabolic problem that caused the obesity as soon as I came off the diet the weight started coming back. A lb here a couple of lbs there and then I was on the slippery slide back to where I started and maybe even heavier.

This way of eating with 30 to 50% of calories coming from fat is not a low calorie diet. I am eating about 1500 cals per day. So once I come off the 'diet' I am not going to find myself eating everything in sight. That will mean much more control over what I decide to eat and not have that eating without thought that has troubled me in the past.

Am getting into smaller size clothes and looking forward to being able to wear more of my nice smaller outfits.

Once you start doing this, taking a chance on adding good fats back, it makes losing weight a dream come true.

Tim Noakes

Hi

Some news in SA on low carbing.

Sports guru is now saying that carb loading is the wrong nutrition advice. He has just lost 15kg with Atkins low carb and says that is the diet answer. His father died of diabetes after being told to carry on eating carbohydrates.

Was on TV and in the magazine I bought.

I am still plugging away. Found some woolworths diet drinks in town yesterday with sucralose rather than aspartame which I hate. So bought some of those. Tonics, lemonade and bitter lemon. If I do have a sweetened drink will only have it during a meal to try not to produce too much insulin. I will have to see if the cravings come back after the meal.

So far my cravings and binging are so far in the past I can hardly remember what is was like to suffer like that. Every diet in the past I have had binging episodes in the afternoons. Rarely in the morning but afternoons and evenings were always the worst.

Low carb has cured that.

Diet for Life?

I have been a yoyo dieter all my life. Losing 50lbs this year 60lbs the next. I could never hold my weight at a 'normal' weight.

It is going to be interesting this time, once I have lost the next 42lbs, 18lbs have gone already, to see if I can now hold a low weight. Now that I have learnt that my body runs better on a high fat diet.

My low blood sugar episodes in the afternoons are now a thing of the past. I no longer have cravings and drive to find food mid afternoons.

If I can carry on eating like this I really have hope that I might finally beat my obesity problem for ever.

The diet is satisfying, filling and I have no need to nibble or eat for 5 hours after I have eaten.

Fat free diets dont work

For years I have been having a fat free diet.

Low fat milk, dry 'fry' food in a non stick pan. I truely believed that if I ate fat I would be even heavier than I already was.

Now I know that was a total lie. Eating fat as part of a low carb diet is the dieters answer to prayer.

It is satisfying, you dont eat too much, you leave the table having felt you have had a good meal. It holds you for 5 to 6 hours till the next meal and you dont even think about food. It cures the craving and binging. Yes that has gone for good.

I will never go back to my low fat diet. I buy butter by the lb and big bottles of olive oil. I also add cream to my chicken and mushrooms. Make stronganoff. Add proper mayonnaise to my salads.

Every time I get on the scale my weight is down. Failure is not just lurking round the corner any more.

At last something that works without denial, without starving.

Fat Power and Binging

Back under the 200lb on the scale. I never want to go above that again and maybe, just maybe, now I have found this way of eating I never will be that heavy again.

I do find this very counter intuitive. Before on diets I could make bargins with myself and could see that if I ate less on one day the scale would go down.

This diet I eat practically the same quantity of food each day. I make sure that I have my 15gms of butter at breakfast, 25 grms or so of good fat, butter, olive oil, cream or mayonnaise with each of the other 2 meals. I rarely need a snack but if I do it can be peanut butter or a small apple with some hard cheese.

I have had absolutely no urge to binge in the last 2 months. I cannot believe it was so easy to cure that out of control behaviour. I thought I would always be fighting the urge to binge. I can now walk past the fridge in the afternoon or my husbands open packet of biscuits without even a thought of finding a high carb snack.

How I wish I had discovered this 45 years ago. Dont think my life would have been different but I would have been much happier in my skin.

A diet that works

Seen a new number on the scale this morning.

I cant believe this is working as I am adding butter and olive oil back into my diet. I gave up all fats and oils 50 years ago when I first got fat.

Having never willing added calories to my food I am finding this a very strange way to lose weight. But it is working and I feel so much better. Less hunger, more positive getting things done.

It is not particularly speedy. About a lb a week but I can live with that as long as I can continue to eat like this.

Fat is the answer

Amazing I have found my blog again. Thought it had vanished into the ether.

Not posted for a year. Weight started to go up, carb intake increased and I just gave up again!

This is now something new. 7kg gone and I am not starving. I am consuming fat and oils. Butter cream and olive oil at every meal. Been on this now for 2 months and I have hardly felt hungry.

Dont have any cravings or being tempted to binge in the afternoons.

Weight loss is slow but I am feeling so much better and eating so much better so at present I am prepared to let my body set the pace.