back on track 3rd time lucky

Since I havent posted since january it might not suprise anyone that we haven't been following cambridge! Its been unbelievably hard to get back on track. We've been starting fine on a Monday, all raring to go and then failing miserably and not even managing 3 days. To begin with we were doing well managing our food, not overeating making sensible choices, but the last few weeks the old behaviour crept in. Its so hard when we are both addicts. If one of us wants to overeat its just too easy to get the other to join in. Anyway tale of woe over, we finally tried to start again last monday and i can happily say we now have a whole successful week done. Once you've got a week under your belt its so much easier to carry on - its just getting through that first week is so tough. Good news is I've lost 17bs and kel 12lbs according to our home scales. but not sure how much we had put on - somewhere between a stone and a stone and a half. We've just had an official weigh in so we can get an official weigh loss next week. According to the cdc
i'm now 270.5lbs and the lowest i got to was 258 - a difference of 12.5 lbs
kel is now 233.5 and her lowest was 217.5 - a difference of 16 lbs

we're both fired up and ready to get that excess of and get back to losing more - wish us luck!

round 2 day 6

Bloody nora weighed myself this morning and i'm back to where i was when we stopped cd for xmas. Its only taken a week to lose 14lbs. (yes i put on a stone in a month!). to lose so much so quick surely means its all water and glycogen stores which in effect means that when i do get to goal thats about how much i'll put back on naturally not overeating. I think it might be a good idea to get a bit lower than goal - especially since i've put my goal weight as the first weight that will get my bmi to 25! Mind you its not really an issue at the moment since i still have another 6 stone + to lose. I feel really positive about it - having already lost 7 stone I just need to carry on the same way.

Round 2 day 4

Well by the taste in my mouth and the increase in energy i'd say i was defo in ketosis! Feel great and i've lost 8lbs already! i'm meant to be working but keep doing wedding stuff instead - naughty munch. check out the wedding blog here

Ups and Downs

we've been struggling to stay on track the last couple of weeks. The pattern seems to be get weighed on a Sunday and eat Sunday and Monday night. Not good. And even worse eating hasn't just been limited to chicken salad this time. We've been visited by our good old friends chocolate and chinese. A bit of a disaster as far as ketosis is concerned. Wierdly the chinese wasn't anything like i remembered/ imagined, my palate must have changed. I cant say that i particularly enjoyed it for its taste - just the naughtiness of it. The chocolate on the other hand was DIVINE!
Looking at the positive side both weeks we have managed to get control and get back into the Cambridge diet relatively quickly. Our total weight loss to date is
munch 6stone 10lbs
kel 5stone 3lbs
probably best to focus on that positive news rather than the food!

At the beginning of this diet we were adamant that we wouldn't eat any other time except our eating weeks and even though Xmas fell on our eating week we would stick to Cambridge rules and not have carbs. Oh how we've changed! Its kels work do tomorrow so we are going and we are going to eat, there's a Xmas dinner party at friends on Sunday and we are going to eat there too, then we'll do ss until Xmas eve and then have a carby meal with mum, Xmas day we'll be as good as possible and just eat meals - no snacking on chocs or nuts - but there is no way i'm not eating my mums incredible Xmas cake and i'm not resisting the baileys either! Then we might eat on boxing day then ss until new years day wen we are having friends round. A bit different from our initial intentions! I'm not worried though which i was at the beginning. Before my mind was very black and white. either i sole soured or i overate. there was no middle ground of eating normally. And even though we have broken the diet and eaten, which i would class as addictive behaviour, i don't feel like I'm going to eat addictively through Xmas. I might be in complete denial but i feel as if we have eaten addictively in the last few weeks simply because we have been without food for so long and that if we did the version of Cambridge where you can have an evening meal we wouldn't have behaved the same. Not that i think I'm able to do that version long term and still lose weight - i know damn well I'm not capable of that yet without overeating eventually , but i think I'm now in control enough to be able to cope with carbs a few days over Xmas and still get back on cd ss for the rest of the weight loss. I hope i can anyway - there is a little monster in my right now saying 'but if you are eating on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday why bother doing ss on Monday and Tuesday'. I'm not listening - he only knows how to behave addictively - i can chose to ss Monday and Tuesday so shut up! Does this diet shrink your brain? i sound like a right nutter!

oh and that terrible rumour has come true for me - my hair is dropping out at an alarming rate! its fine for me because I've got far too much anyway and its really thick hair but its very messy - it gets everywhere! kel is distinctly unimpressed with it 'dirtying' the house lol!

good news - hurrah

at last! i'm now 18st 13. I am under 19 stone which i havent been for 12 years, basically since mini munch was born! I am so chuffed. last week was really difficult but i did what i said i would and had chicken salad for a few nights until by friday i felt ok to sole source. In total i have lost 6 stone 3lbs. definitely a huge achievement! yea me! A neighbour that we rarely see much of came over to talk to me this morning to tell me how different i look and to say how happy he was for me lol! loving it today!

Week 13 Wi

Hurrah I've lost 9lbs this week. I've really tried hard to get enough fluid because last week i really struggled. Its just to cold to be drinking loads of water - it made me feel all freezing inside. So i got us both a smallish thermos flask and we are having brews or warm weak juice instead. It seems to have worked anyway. I'm now 4 lbs off a total of 6 stone! My Bmi is 41 and I'm in another stone marker, god 19 something sounds good to me, well much better than 25 something! we've been doing lots of wedding planning and haven't spent anytime this week thinking about the diet at all. That's feels really good because it means that food or lack of isnt my main focus and that's how i want it to be when i stop this crazy diet. I want to just think about food when its the time to like making shopping lists and making tea - not all day every day like i had been. Unfortunately it means i have stayed away from minimins and that's probably not a great thing to do to my team - think I'll head over there now and explain.

week 12 wi

Hurrah - I've officially lost 5 stone! I started at 25st 2 and my bmi was 53 and 3 months later i am now 20st and my bmi is 42! Obviously there is still a way to go - i'm still obese but i feel fantastic, and i know i can and will get to goal. Been having a much better time this week already. I have not been going on the minimins forum for the last couple of days and i have stopped thinking about this diet so much. All i could think about was the Cambridge Diet - i felt suffocated by it. So I'm having a break from thinking about it and I'm just doing it!
I have set up a wedding blog because Kel was filling the pc with pictures and ideas i thought it would be nice for her to have one place to keep it all and be able to find it again. In doing it I've found some fantastic wedding sites out there really inspirational. Check out our blog at http://munchieswedding.blogspot.com/

oh and i finally stopped smoking on Saturday so that makes a grand total of 4 days so far. The Champix have really helped and they don't make me feel sick anymore. bonus!

No More Munching

Ok well time to be honest, I’ve had a really bad week work has been a complete nightmare so stressful and my hormones are all over the place. I’ve got my period something I never used to have and it is making me deal with new issues. You may be thinking hang on this is a classic over eater here, finding any kind of reason to excuse her stuffing her face. I hear you and reply...yes you’re probably half right. For the most part though I felt like my body was begging me to eat something and it wasn’t like I thought oh I’ll have a planned day off like the women do on the forum which you know infuriates me. I just wanted to eat and I made my peace with that and just did it. So what did I eat? It was mainly bread but I didn’t eat in an addictive way I just had a sandwich for lunch or a pasty then I joined in the tea and biscuits with the girls at work a couple of days. I just wanted to take some time out and I don’t feel too bad. I made it to week 12 for heavens sake. The worst thing was keeping it from munch, it wasn’t just because I thought she would be royally peed off but more that she might give up too, anyway in the end of course I had to tell her keeping secrets is something we find impossible to do good or bad. Anyway she was just really worried I might give up, but I explained I feel ready to get back to it now. It really was just like I needed to be normal for a while and as you know I’d been obsessively thinking about food for ages and I feel like I’m over it now and can continue on excited to lose again.

Ps. Much to Munch’s annoyance I actually lost 5lb

AAMW

For me add a meal week is an opportunity to control food. After 4 weeks 'in rehab' with no temptation and lots of self-analysis its the week to put myself to the test. Its not about the nitty gritty of the food items i eat. I don't see a problem with having salmon instead of white fish. I'm not going to obsess about food - that's what my pre-cd head does. Its not a week where weight loss is the goal.
the week before aam, kel and i sit down with our notebook and make a plan of 7 meals that are exciting, nutritious, , very low (or no) carb, and low fat. But we don't adhere strictly to the cd manual. We plan as much detail as possible. we plan the portion size to be the size that a regular healthy person would have - not a dieter. We are very strict with ourselves on this point though and i visualise every meal as we plan it. We are very aware of our lack of portion control and that's why its vital for us to plan the week before. I couldn't decide the portion at the time of plating up -= that would be a recipe for overeating! We even plan when we will eat each meal and if it will be together. Kel decided that if she is on late shifts she has the evening meal for lunch and takes a cd pack for tea.

All of this planning is vital for us. AAMW is our 1 opportunity every 5th week to exercise some control over food. That isn't something that comes naturally to us so it requires work. Knowing what, how much and when we will be eating is the key to a successfull AAMW for us.

Munch and Kel's rules for AAMW

1. Follow the plan that was made the previous week.
2. Its ok to be excited about that days food but do not think about it constantly
3. Prepare and cook the meal without eating whilst doing it. Tasting what you are cooking is fine but not eating ingredients before they get to the table.
4. Eat the meal attentively - don't just wolf it down! Enjoy it. Recognise its healthiness. Finish the meal and be ok with that being the end of food for that day. Don't feel guilty about eating, just because you enjoyed it doesn't make it a sin.
5. do not eat anything that wasn't planned - just because you have food in the house this week doesn't mean you can eat it. Food isn't really calling you to be eaten as soon as possible - its for a planned meal.
6. At the end of the weeks weigh in try not to be concerned with the result. (practically impossible if you have gained though). If you sts or lose see it as a bonus. The real cause for celebration comes from achieving your aims of a week of being in control of food.

At this point we have had 2 lots of AAMW but we haven't yet succeeded 100%. My main problem is eating a few little bits while I'm cooking. Kel's problem is having food in the fridge that she is 'allowed' but eating it before the planned meal. This time round was much better that last time but we both obviously still have work to do. Even though i only ate some cucumber and lettuce whilst i was preparing the salad, which most normal people wouldn't see as a problem, for me that was overeating. It makes no difference what the food was. I ate compulsively. I was in a bad mood, i wanted food to anaesthetise me and even though i was aware of what i was doing, for that moment i lost control of food. I'm not going to let it get me down - I'm only 10 weeks into making radical changes to the last 17 years! Its going to take more time and by really evaluating and seeing my mistakes clearly it gives me stuff to work on so that eventually I'll be in control of food the majority, if not all of the time.

btw I lost 1lb!

week 7 wi - HOLY SH!TE

well according to my cdc's scales i have lost 17 pounds this week! I'm finding it very hard to believe since its week 7 not week 1 and i havent done anything different. The lovely people on minimins.com have all been great and think its very likely to be right since i have got a lot to lose but still keep thinking that the scales must be broke! I feel a bit ungrateful for not being over the moon and jumping for joy but i dont want to be all disappointed next week when i found out that it was a mistake! Its very negative and not like me at all but hey - tough!
on a much more positive note everyone can now tell that i've lost some weight and even i can see that i look a hell of a lot better in my clothes.

day 48

well check me out i've stuck to a diet for 48 days - bl**dy nora! Got to say i'm mightily impressed with myself - go Munch! I'm very excited about weigh in tomorrow, according to my scales i've lost 6lbs but i'd really like it to be at least 7 by tomorrow morning lol never satisfied

We're babysitting again tonight which is fab coz Kacey is just a bundle of gorgeous fun. I've never known such a happy child - she giggles about everything - not in a simple way though lol! She is so content in herself last time we had her when she woke up in the morning she was sitting in her cot playing with a dolly and giggling to herself for ages we just couldnt stop watching her. I'll probably be extremely broody again by tomorrow night when we have to give her back but its worth it to spend a night and a day with our adorable little monkey. Lew is mega excited too, he loves her to bits. I'm really impressed actually both with his attitude towards a little one and how he actually treats her. He loves playing with her and talks to her in a fab way - like a little daddy lol - i'm quite surprised really because as wonderful as Lew is I didnt expect a 12 yr old boy to be at all a*sed with a toddler let alone get excited and bang on about wanting baby sibs.

Week 6 Weigh In and shopping trip

When you work a 6 day week it is just not right to get up on a Sunday before 10am but for some stupid reason we booked our weigh in with our CDC for 9. Needless to say after saturday nights overindulgence we found it incredibly difficult to rise and shine and were a tad late! Despite the previously mentioned naughtiness we both lost 6 pounds this week hurrah! This means in total I have lost 3 stone 2.5 pounds and Kel has lost just 1 pound under 3 stone - in 6 weeks OMG so chuffed.

When we got home we decided to root out our old clothes that have been languishing in the garage since we moved house. Kel now has quite a few 'new' outfits but i just have 1 pair of trousers and a couple of tops that now fit. I also found a brand new pair of gorgeous pinstripe trews with the tags still on but they dont do up - yet! So inspired by our fabulous weight loss we went into Hanley to spend my birthday money and the best bit - i bought a top from a shop that wasn't Evans!! YIPEE at last - only us chubs can really understand how god damn awful it is to only be able to buy clothes from one shop and how liberating it is to finally be able to look elsewhere.

So this week we are both very determined and have promised to SS 100% and hopefully we can have a great big loss next. Its all so exciting lol!

Week 5 Weigh In

Well add a meal is over and its back to sole source this morning. Not worried about it at all and i haven't had to read my tirade to myself yet. This week we have really enjoyed eating but been restrained and not gone overboard and have both lost 2lb each. Since i was expecting to stay the same i am chuffed that we have lost anything. I am thinking of this journey in terms of blocks of 4 weeks with a week of aam before starting the next 4 week block. So our totals for this 1st block are

kel 2st 7lbs
Munch 2st 10.5 lbs

it might be a little unrealistic to expect the same losses for this next block of ss but another 2 stone in 5 weeks would be great - fingers crossed (and mouth shut lol)

"Eating Less" by Gillian Riley

This books is great. I'm on chapter 3 already lol. It makes a fantastic point about weight loss not being the primary goal but rather to make controlling the addictive eating the priority. I have always said that even though I am more than double the body weight i should be, it is the horrible way my mind works, the binging, guilt, depression cycle, that i have always found worse than just being fat. Its not just that being fat makes me feel bad - its the awful things i do, like lying about and hiding food, stuffing food in when i dont even want it, taking out my nasty mood on my loved ones, and the headaches and tiredness that I really want to end.

What Gillian is saying is that if weight loss is your primary goal then not only are you not really dealing with the main issue - like an alcoholic making his red face the thing he wants to be rid of rather than the actual act of drinking excessively: but also that weight loss can be the very reason that you become demotivated and overeat.

I'll confess about what made me so miserable last night and made me want to eat everything in the house. As planned I went on the Wii fit as soon as I got home and it said that I was too heavy to use it! Don't laugh! Its like that joke about a fat person getting on the scales and them saying 1 at a time please!!
Now I had been on the wii that morning and the night before so I flew off the handle and was distraught about what weight i must have gained during the day. I suppose I was especially distressed because it was my first day on add a meal and I had chicken salad for lunch. So what did I do? I went on the scales and they said 4lb up from what I weighed the morning before. Did I allow myself to think that you always weigh more in the evening than in the morning and thats why we all know to be consistent in our weigh in times? No. Did I feel good about having managed to leave my lunch till the alloted time rather than wolf it down early? No. I became wracked with guilt about eating - and the solution? Eat some more! So i had some chicken and veg (thank God thats all we have) And the result - a thoroughly miserable munch all night and when i woke up this morning I felt exactly the same.
I guess what i'm trying to say - none to elequently, is that yesterday I fell into the trap of prioritising my weight loss and therefore when the loss was in question I lost the motivation for doing CD so I overate.
I dont yet know the answers - but I do know that i'm putting the scales away tonight and i'll be focusing on not overeating when we have tea tonight. And when I achieve that i'll be basking in some positive self-esteem for having achieved todays goal. I am going to try to go on the Wii again tonight even though this morning i was adamant i wasnt going anywhere near it ever again and if it is rude (lol) I will just understand that my weight fluctuates and i have nothing to feel bad about because i have followed CD to the letter today and I will be able to go on the Wii again soon. So there!

Week 4 Weigh In and Start of AAM

I feel amazing! This week i have lost 8lbs which means I have lost 2st 8.5lbs in a month! I LOVE CAMBRIDGE!! lol It also means that I have finally been allowed on the Wii Fit! I've been dying to go on for ages so went on last night and loved it. So much so that I went on again first thing this morning instead of having a lie-in!! sooo unlike me!

Kel's weight loss this week has been incredible - 10lbs !! I'm so proud of her and she has quit smoking! 4 days now - and i wanted to be her inspiration for stopping lmao - its totally the other way round - i'm still puffing away. I'm going to go the no smoking clinic and get champix like she has.

Its the first day of Add a Meal (aam) today - hurray cant wait !! We are having a chicken salad with artichokes and roasted red peppers as well as the usual salad leaves and cucumber. I have made a dressing by watering down some mayo and adding a small amount of pesto - it has fat content obviously but no carbs so should be fine for staying in ketosis. I made it all last night so that we can have it for lunch today coz Kel working late tonight. I Will make a shake 'muffin' for supper when she gets in.

I am totally clock watching waiting for lunch time! Just goes to show that even with a month in 'rehab' the minute I am allowed food my food addict nature kicks in! I am determined not to eat it before 12 though - I will not give in to my addictive desire ( phrase I've picked up from minimins.com lol). So i'm distracting myself with drinking water and posting this blog and oh yeah - doing some work lol.

Week 3 Weigh In

The official Cambridge Diet Weigh in results are

total weight loss to date

Kel - 1 stone 9 pounds
Munch - 2 stone 1/2 pound

Woo Hoo we're both very very happy!
My BMI is now 49 which means I've met my first goal !!

Weirdly we worked out the percentage of fat lost of our total amount to lose and we have both lost the exact same - 7.9%

end of week 2 weigh in

well according to our scales this weeks weight loss is

Kel 5lbs
Munch 8lbs

which means Cambridge diet total weight loss so far

Kel 19lbs
Munch 18lbs

Day 8 Weight loss so far

Its day 8 in the Cambridge diet house and our weight loss according to our scales is

Kel 14lbs
Munch 10lbs

can't wait for our CDC to come back off her holibobs and weigh us properly because both of us are trying not to get too excited because we just dont trust our dodgy scales!