Tuesday 17 May 2011

Keeping going

Well I am now feeling much better I think dealing with Jet Lag while xeroxing was a bit much but I'd rather get it over in one go. Yesterday I think was the first day I felt well the headaches had stopped and my stomach is not griping so much.

I have coped pretty well with temptation I went to a party and only ate the fillings from the sandwiches not the bread.

I will be weighing every Friday but last week on Friday I'd lost 4 pound. I try not get into the weighing everyday as this can become obsessive and unrealistic for me as we fluctuate day to day. I know people who are happy with this and it works for them. Occasionally halfway through the week i give in just to see if it is still working!

I am beginning to realise that food will always be tempting for me but it is whether I choose to let it control me. When I am in the right frame of mind I can be very determined and stay on track but that one slip can send me on a downward spiral that can last for months. I know I have to look at other ways of dealing with my emotions rather than turning to food! I need to develop a mental tool kit. All my life food has been comfort and reward, sometimes Chris will by ice-cream and cakes and will say have it as a treat you deserve it. I think I just need to educate him to choose jewellery instead ;-) lol.

I downloaded an app on my iPad called 'You can do it' it is basically a positive thinking book in it is a list of promises to yourself to make a change for the better so I am going to hand write that out, it is better if you hand write it as you put more into it and take it in better! So this is my first goal, I have tweaked it a bit to my needs I'll put a copy on here so you can see it. I will pin it in a prominent place like a mirror or
the fridge so I see it daily. Each morning I want to read it so it sets me up for the day.


Well what have I been doing differently this week that has stopped me going off plan? Well the first thing is I've just returned from the 4th Annual Low Carb Cruise and it has given me the determination I need. I have some very good friends who together we are supporting each other and we are going though the same thing. I've set myself a goal and I want to achieve it. I don't want to be in the same position next year on the next cruise! Looking at all my photos I just get drawn to the fact I just have to lose weight! I have issues with my tummy I know I need a tummy tuck and will have one, it is one of my goals.

Initially doing this blog is my journey and how I achieve this, my aim though is to turn it into help and support for others on how I've succeeded, I figured I can't do that initially although I will be sharing how I am doing it, I need to help others once I've helped myself. So stick with it while I waffle on as things can only get better! I remember when I was nursing I would often have to advise people about healthy eating I always cringed as how could I a fat person tell someone how to lose weight. Yes I was ignorant back then it would have been the typical hi carb low fat diet that has been 'proven' as a good healthy diet! As a diabetic I would often get referred to a dietician, don't get me wrong these were always very nice 'thin' people. I would just sit there and smile and take in the advice, even then I realised all this starch
can't really be that good for you. When they used to say all you need is willpower inwardly I would laugh I mean this was a person who had no weight issues and never struggled with a lack of 'willpower' I knew then that my eating was so much more than needing willpower! In the end when the diabetic consultant said I'll make a referral to the dietician I politely said no thank you.


The more I listen to the speakers on the cruise the more I have learnt that yes I have emotional eating issues but some of the problems I have been having are down to the foods I was eating. Eating Carbs makes me eat more Carbs and crave sugar and I also never could recognise when my stomach was full. One of the speakers Mary Vernon explained about taste receptors in the bowel and how when eating Carbs these receptors would want you to eat more Carbs. If you increase your fat intake( and I don't mean the plastic fat that is in dairy spreads and margarine I mean real fat) saturated fats are what you need and these apparently turn off these receptors in the bowel so you feel fuller quicker so eat less. This I have found to be true, for the first few day I increased my fat intake, believe me after all the government health warnings of how a high fat diet can kill you this was difficult. I cook my fried eggs in butter and then pour the butter on top and chop it all together this is one way I can stomach it. I was getting where I was literally forcing myself to eat and feeling quite uncomfortable, when someone said if you aren't hungry don't eat. Bing the lightbulb went on I felt so much better, I realised i was satisfied and no longer craved
food. My day is no longer spent thinking about my next sugar fix and my next carb fix. On the 2010 cruise one thing that stuck in my mind, one of the the speakers Dr William Davies spoke about low fat diets, he explained that low fat diets started to become popular in around 1984, and guess what was on the increase following this? High cholesterol!! That to me spoke volumes.

Right one of my goals for today is drink more water, since my blood sugars have gone back to normal I no longer have this dying thirst, before I planned my journeys around toilets and getting drinks, now that has reversed I keep forgetting.

My good friend put this on her status and I really love it, it it so true "A careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word may wreck a life. A timely word may level stress. But a loving word may heal and bless".

So go and heal someone with a loving word!

1 comment:

alphakitty said...

Alisha,

Great entry! I can so relate to your struggle. I am doing LCHF too, lost about 50 pounds (sorry don't know your UK measure), but stalled out...anyway, I was moved by your honesty and your story. Keep up the good work....it's great to feel in control of your diet rather than it being in control of you. :-)