So, here I am again, about to embark on another effort at dieting.
My weight has risen dramatically in the last two years and I am now at the heaviest I have ever been. It doesn't feel good. My clothes don't fit, I hate clothes shopping, and as I'm getting older, I'm starting to worry about my health. I'm also worried about my fertility - I hope to get pregnant in about two or three years and I know that being significantly overweight will hamper that.
I'm 27 and 5 ft. 8. I don't really want to state my weight yet, as it shocks and humiliates me, but it is waaaaaay over what it should be.
I live a very sedentary lifestyle. I much prefer reading a book with a packet of biscuits and a mug of coffee than moving.
I live with my boyfriend, John, who is about 5 ft. 6, and weighs about 60 kilos. He's very into exercise and healthy eating, and must make an effort to keep weight on.... hence I feel like an ogre next to him. It would be nicer to feel like a lithe goddess...
Having ALWAYS been overweight, I've been on numerous diets. Some have been hugely successful, others not, but I have always put the weight back on and a bit extra. It depresses me and makes me very insecure. I always have guilt in the back of my mind and tell myself every day that I really should diet but... I never want to give up the food I love. I love cooking and food in general. Cheese, pate, pasta, crisps, chocolate... I also love vegetables and soups, however, I find that I can't live without the other luxuries. Everytime I go on a diet I find being in a shop incredibly hard. I find myself eyeing up the chocolate bars, the Pringles, the pizzas, and getting a bit down that I can't eat them as I'd like.
So, a new dawn has broken!! Three weeks ago, my eczema, a condition I've had since childhood, but rarely in the last decade or so, flared up on my upper arms, above my elbows. It was so scratchy that it was waking me up at night, and looked very unsightly - a big, red rash on my white, flabby skin!
It was always caused in the past by eating too much sugar, which I had been eating in huge quantities recently. I work in a school and the end of year had brought vast arrays of biscuits and cakes, donated by grateful parents.
I decided that I needed a detox. Now, I know detoxing is considered a bit of a myth but I figured that following a program that would encourage me to drink lots of water and eat only healthy foods could only do me good. I also knew that this would help me lose some weight and hoped that it would be the kickstart I needed to keep losing.
My mother is a distributer for Forever Living products, which base themselves on the health benefits of Aloe Vera. They also do a nine day detox programme, involving protein shakes, Aloe Vera gel drinks and a 600 calorie meal daily. A friend from work had done it and found it good, so I bit the bullet and took the plunge!
The first two days did not allow for any eating at all - just one protein shake, and various supplements. After that, I progressed to seven days of supplements, two protein shakes and one meal in the evening. Today is actually my last day.
I feel great and found it so easy to follow. It sounds torturous and the first two days were but after that I settled into it and could do it for much longer if needed.
I lost six kilos (roughly 13lbs), as well as two inches from my waist, one from each arm, one from my thighs, one from my hips and two from my chest. That's nine inches!
After having done so well, I obviously don't want to go back to my old ways. In fact, I'm a bit nervous of being let out on my own again, so to speak. So, I've been researching different diets, trying to find one that I feel would suit me. I looked at the Fast Diet and the Two Day Diet, both of which sound similar. I've got into the routine of fasting and feel that I could do that. However, with both these diets, the other five days are still quite limited. You can't binge out - you still have to follow a healthy but restricted diet. I know this is good but I also know that this is what I've tried in the past. It worked for a few months, I got bored and ... it was back to the old ways. I need something that will allow me to eat pasta (albeit in smaller portions) or a bag of crisps without feeling that I've ruined everything.
This is why I have settled on the alternate day fasting. It consists of fasting one day, apart from a 500 calorie meal for women (which I've been doing for the last week with ease), and eating normally the next day. I realise that, again, "normally" does not mean binging, or eating two days worth of calories but I don't think this is something I'll do. My stomach has already shrunk in the last week and I'm having trouble eating even 500 calories in an evening meal. I think this diet will allow me to eat healthily but without beating myself up if I have a slice of cake or a few biscuits. I will calorie count anyway, and if I see myself going over the recommended daily amount, I'll have to rejig things a bit.
I usually eat healthy enough meals - lean protein, vegetables, etc... I think the problem is that my portions are too big, and that I add creamy sauces and cheese if I can. I also snack a lot. Crackers and blue cheese... Mm mmm mmmm.....
I think I might try to make my feast days fairly healthy - count calories and so on - with one celebration feast day a week, where I don't count and I have whatever I like for dinner - roast chicken or pork sound very good after a week of tuna and steamed chicken breast!
I'm also going to try to walk the dog for 20 - 30 minutes a day. If that sounds short, it's because I have to start somewhere and I HATE exercising. I find it terribly boring and long to get home to my couch and book. I feel that a little goal at the beginning has less chance of being dropped.
So! All that essay to say essentially this: I will start my alternate day fasting (ADF) tomorrow. We have to go to a friend's barbecue on Sunday and I will let that be a feast day. Hoping he has burgers...
If you have read this far, you must be very interested and so might also be interested in this blog: "Lauren Tries Out Alternate Day Fasting - http://tryingadf.blogspot.ie/. After reading so many articles on all the different diets and seeing so many conflicting views, this was the blog that made me realise that anyone can try it and it does work. And her feast days seem epic!
So, onwards and upwards! Wish me luck!
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