Two weeks in 25/03/2018

Okay, I'm two weeks in and two kilos down.

This is good

What is not good is that I haven't managed a single fast day yet.

I am weak.

Although not in all respects.

After some research and some genuine dissecting of my life and how I feel I have decided to go gluten-free. I have not made this decision lightly or stupidly, in the hope that it will somehow make me lose weight, like some people.

I have been feeling depressed (initially attributed to PPD, post-partum depression), I have been feeling perpetually bloated and uncomfortable, even though I've been trying to reduce portion sizes and calorie counting I have not managed to lose an ounce. I have also been extremely tired, even though my hubby has been taking night-time baby care so that we could wean him off all night boob-feasting

If they all have a common cause, then the prime suspect is my thyroid and it's hormonal function.

Hence rejecting gluten, in addition to increasing iron, selenium (Brazil nuts are my friends) and crunchy green veg.

I do not claim to be allergic, just perhaps a little intolerant of glutenous foods.

This means:
No bread
No pasta
No biscuits or cakes
No crackers

Unfortunately, bread and pasta are staples in this house and I have an on/off relationship with rice.

The result is that after two weeks I have not felt bloated, I have lost 3.5 cm from my waist and bust, 2.5 cm from my neck, and 1 cm from my hips.

Over the next two weeks I shall attempt ONE fast day per week, while maintaining the gluten-free approach, and we'll see how the weight-loss goes. I know that the recommended is two fast days but I will see how far one fast takes me and then increase to two when I hit a plateau.

At least I have somewhere to go when I do hit the inevitable stop in weight-loss, I can go from 1 day - 2 days - 3 days without ending up hitting a plateau at three days and seriously considering a 4 day fast week.

2 kilos down 24 to go (we'll see how I feel at that point, if I want to go further)

Tatty-bye for now.

Comments

Using the Right Activity Levels - (or don't lie to yourself)

How active are you? Can you answer this honestly, without padding it with extras you assume will constitute a higher activity level than you actually achieve? You might think that being a parent of an energetic pre-schooler would keep you active, but the sad truth is that it doesn't. What about all the washing, cleaning, cooking, laundry, and playtime? It doesn't account for much besides the average daily movement. You need to ACTIVELY increase your activity levels for it to make any difference to your estimated calorie intake. Doing active things that are part of your daily routine is normal. Otherwise, we could quantify every trip to the kitchen to make a drink or walk to the bathroom as part of our regular exercise. This is not the case. TDEE vs BMR The calorie calculator that I use on my weight loss journey is from the 5:2 Fast diet website. It's one of the better ones for accuracy and tweaking for activity, and weight down to 0...

Finding Normal - The Transition from Overeating to Correct Eating

If you're overweight or in one of the next obesity classes up, there must be an imbalance in your eating habits. It's probably crept up over time, not realising that you were putting a little more on your plate, the extra snacks that turned into a habit, even finishing the kids' leftovers after dinner. Maybe you started drinking more, or you stopped exercising. Perhaps you also quit smoking and transferred your oral fixation onto food instead. When you begin a diet much of the time, you feel some deprivation. You're not just eating what you should be; you're eating EVEN less. I'm switching things up this time. I'm eating what would be reasonable for a person of my size, weight and activity - Okay, perhaps I'm underestimating the activity level a little. NB - Diets that claim you can "eat as much as you want" don't help you get back to what should be standard for your body. They maintain the over-stretched stomach and don...

Hot Weather:Activity Ratio - It's terrible

No matter how determined you might be, when the weather gets too hot, motivation to move goes way down (unless you have a strange fetish for being drenched in your own sweat). Hot weather has thoroughly beaten us here in Cyprus. While we're used to the usual Mediterranean climate, this year has been weird. Winter, winter, (can't be bothered with Spring) mild winter... Crap, it's May already. Here have SUMMER! And BOOM! Straight from low 20s to high 30s (that's degrees Celcius) in just a couple of days. I won't lie, it has drenched me in my own cooling fluid for nearly a week, and my motivation to move has been somewhere subterranean. Just as I had gotten into a routine of walking and quick bursts of high-intensity activity, I now have no desire to move at all. Don't Beat Yourself Up I have a half-baked theory that we shouldn't try to push ourselves too hard in extreme temperatures. I'm heavy, and like many others who struggle with their weight, it ...

Battling the Blubber

Search This Blog