Diet in Denial

Today my friend gave me a nice top she’d bought on a whim but then decided it ‘was not her colours’. Great I thought, until I got it out of the bag – it was huge!

Convinced it was going to swamp me I tried it on.

REALITY CHECK!!!

I could barely get it over my head. Further reality check, once on I could not get it off!

Seriously…

So what are my options?

I’ve tried most diets and all fail because I love my food and enjoy wine. Life is for living, right?

So can I have my cake and eat it?

Atkins Diet

I tried the Atkins Diet for a couple of weeks and lost 8lb. More importantly I was never hungry because while I could not drink alcohol I could eat as much of certain food as I liked. Although I was banned from eating carbs such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice etc. or even fruit, milk and some vegetables in the early stages I never missed them.

But with every upside there is a down: the potential side effect of bad breath constipation, nausea, insomnia, dizziness to name a few, did not rest well with me. Plus the experts evaluation of the Atkins Diet was not that encouraging for long term health.

Weight Watchers

A non-starter for me I’m afraid. There are no classes where we live and I’m not going to pay £12.95 per month to join an online class. I need ‘people motivation’.

SlimFast

You buy ‘shakes’ etc to replace meals. This is a fad diet.

Slimming World

I actually like the idea of this diet because:
“There are no gimmicks, no special food to buy, no pills, no shakes, no tiny portions and no calorie counting.” BUT unfortunately there are no classes near us and I’m loathe to pay £60.00 for a three month online class when I need ‘people motivation’

The 5:2 fast diet

With this diet you eat normally for five days and restrict calorie intake to 500 calories per day on the other two. I can manage this. I found an online support group for this diet and it’s FREE. I’ve now signed up and set my goals and started a diary.
thefastdiet.co.uk

Diet starts tomorrow with 500 calories.

Anyone want to join me?

 

picture courtesy of pixabay.com

21 thoughts on “Diet in Denial”

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  1. Cut out carbs!! Go LCHF!!
    The real food of Portugal will do you just fine!! Begin by applying the non GPS rule… no grains, no potatoes and NO SUGAR!!
    Simple… life will be better!! 😉

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  3. foodie…now that’s a tuff one….thing is it’s hard to lose weight but even harder to keep it that way once you lose it..that’s a bit negative pov but i admire people who try…i came here to look at your pic’s and i can’t believe i’m gabbing about diets..ha,ha

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  4. eat less and exercise more and you will lose weight from them moment you start but the best thing is to work with your body rather than against it..we all have a certain body shape and metabolism so go for it PiP..

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    1. Hi esc! The problem is that I am a foodie 😦 What’s worse I am full of excuses… just one more glass of wine, extra dessert,, oh, one biscuit won’t hurt. I was exercising quite a bit. Walking (hence the fitbit) then I hurt my back and I’ve been comfort eating/drinking….. One of my friends said : Move more and eat less.

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  5. I agree with Isa. My husband was also diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes last year and after much research on my part I put him on a diet – low carb, high fat, reduce sugar (most fruits, except berries) and some vegetables with high sugar content are off too. He lost 10kgs in 3 months and blood sugar gone normal. I too lost 3 or 4 kgs eating the same way.
    This was all contrary to what a nutritionist told him to do which was to eat what he was eating just change white rice and white bread to wholewheat!! He would never lose anything just by changing that for sure!
    Good luck Carole, you really need support, it’s great if someone else close to you eats the same way, joins you for walks, etc.

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  6. Honestly? No Diets. Eat sensibly but dieting will merely send your body int a downward spiral and it will inevitably return to normal once you end the diet.
    Based on experience, your best bet would be to join a Walk/Run for life program or a local equivalent. YMCA program or something similar.

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    1. Hi Ark, I have invested in a FitBit so up until a f ew weeks ago I was walking regularly and hiking a fair distance every week. Unfortunately we don’t have Walk for life groups in my corner of Portugal. 😦 Over the last month I’ve had problems with sacroiliitis so walking has been difficult and probably the cause of my sudden weight gain. I need to do something drastic to remove this weight before it becomes too comfortable. 😦

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      1. I hear you, and I empathise.

        I would venture that having the novelty of the Fitbit tends to make you want to use it more than you would without it? Push a bit here push a bit there. Just one more turn around the house/garden?

        My daughter has one and initially it seemed she was checking it every 5 minutes!
        So there is the risk of overdoing it a bit and this is when we pick up injuries.
        It’s because of the over enthusiasm factor that I am dubious of the benefit of novelty gadgets like this.
        But if it works for you, then great. We’re all different I guess.

        I have to watch my knees these days and have taken to using a static bicycle at home ( too lazy to join a gym!) to supplement when not jogging
        It helps a ton and there is little/less strain on the joints or lower back.

        I’m not one for diets but I have also begun to reduce my intake of bread and eat more veggies and fruit. And I don’t drink or smoke anymore which helps a ton!

        Drastic measure will often produce drastic results – and not always positive ones either, so please be careful.

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  7. The problem is everybody talks about fat when they should be talking about sugar and white flour. I’ve recently develop diabetes type 2 and attended a NHS 4 hour seminar on how to change my eating habits. It works. Start by cutting all the rubbish, crisps, cakes, biscuits, ice-creams, then reduce the portions. My portions used to be gigantic! Then you start swapping the food. Certain foods and fruits are allowed but others where the sugar content is high only in small portions and not every day. Also change everything from white to wholemeal: rice, pasta, bread etc… Finally, you attack dairy and substitute either by ‘milks’ made out of rice, oat, soya, almond. some taste really good others not so, you have to pick one you like.
    This worked for me, lost 10 kilos and my sugar went down. So far, not taking any medicines. Even if you don’t have diabetes, you’ll lose weight and will feel so much better.

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    1. Hi ISa, you are right it is about changing eating habits but on the whole I do eat a healthy diet as I tend not to eat processed foods. I’ve ceased to worry about the fat content since doing the Atkins diet and study the sugar content instead. With me it is probably not so much what I eat but how much, so portion control is a good suggestion!

      Talking of sugar I’ve just read an interesting article
      8 Ways Food Companies Hide the Sugar Content of Foods
      https://authoritynutrition.com/8-ways-sugar-is-hidden/
      And labelling the food to conceal just how much sugar they have added.

      I used to buy low fat natural greek yogurt until my daughter pointed out they were high in sugar. Now we just eat the standard Greek yogurt.

      you mention
      ‘Finally, you attack dairy and substitute either by ‘milks’ made out of rice, oat, soya, almond. some taste really good others not so, you have to pick one you like.’ I have tried these in the past and they do contain sugar. I am now trying to restrict tea and coffee to once a day and replace the other cravings with natural mint or lemon tea. Have you tried this?

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    2. Reading this I am jumping up-and-down shouting ‘hurrah’!!! And I have now studied nutrition for 1/3 of my life!!! [yes, we DO know more every year!!]. Attack the sugars, attack portion-size! I do not go without ‘dairy’ – the calcium, vit K etc are necessary and the alternates do not provide enough but a carton of organic milk lasts me almost a week! Do I ”sin’ ? ‘Course, I am human . . . but then I pull myself up by my bootstraps and smile having had gorgeous fun with friends . . . . . .

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  8. I have tried everything when back in the UK. When I first came here I lost half a stone through getting the house ready. Now back on, despite getting a dog. Can cut out sweet things with a little willpower, but it’s the wine……!

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  9. Hi, funnily enough I came across your old posts on dieting last night as I’m just about to embark on a diet fitness plan in Portugal. Unfortunately I don’t live near you but if you want to share support via email and telephone I’m up for that. Totally understand if not. I’m probably going to do a healthy version of the slimming world diet and moderate carbs. No red day green day rubbish. I think it’s the healthiest diet really. Low fat, no gimmicks and doesn’t restrict any food group except junk etc. Good luck with yours.

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  10. NO! NO! NO!! About 1200-1500 calories at the minimum!!!! YES, I DO know what I am talking about!! Methinks it easiest to abrogate just ONE ‘sin’ every week . . . . one less helping of fat or sugar, one more of vegetables and fruit [just two per day!!] – no pain, huge gain – yep, you do not have hugely unhealthy and unsustainable weight losses a la ‘Biggest Loser’ but your life is worthwhile and fun . . . . and slowly, slowly . . . well, you did not put it all on at once – so why expect to take all of it off in a trice 🙂 ?

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    1. Eha, no i did not put it all on at once, you are right 😦 It crept up on me gradually but now here it refuses to shift. I do eat healthily for the most part.
      The best diet is probably Slimming world but the cost of the online subscription is too high for me. My sister has been on the 5.2 diet for ages and she is doing well and is maintaining her weight loss. With the 5.2 I am only dieting twice a week. Someone has also emailed me the link to The Blood Sugar Diet
      https://thebloodsugardiet.com/
      which is also 5.2 or similar

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