Dukan diet

So much for me updating - I completely forgot!

I am now writing a food diary I can periodically copy to here for you. Here's the last two days.

13 Dec 2011
Breakfast    55g bran flakes, 9g raisins, 195g skim milk
    Snack    banana and custard mullerlight
    Lunch    vegetarian lasagne and a tomato
    Snack    -
    Dinner    2 slices white toast, 1.5 tbsp raspberry seedless jam
       
12 Dec 2011
Breakfast    60g bran flakes, 10g raisins, 200g skim milk
    Snack    vanilla + chocolate mullerlight
    Lunch    onion, red pepper, 3 tomatoes, 2 eggs all fried in olive oil
    Snack    banana and custard mullerlight, pineapple in juice (tin)
    Dinner    chicken pie, mash, peas and gravy

Since taking a last minute holiday to Spain for 11 days, and eating everything in sight, my weight has peaked at 14 stone 12 lbs. Considering I never wanted to go over 12 stone, and was suicidal at 13 stone, it's a big suprise to me that I'm still here.

A friend of mine is doing the Dukan diet, you can find his blog here. He has inspired me to buy the book (just ordered only £3.99 on Amazon) and I will start it before Christmas if I can as that will be my 10 days on protein only. On Amazon I had a read of some of the book as it lets you look inside, and I'm impressed. My friend has lost 25 lbs from October to November. That's nearly 2 stone, in 6 weeks. I believe we have as much weight to shed as each other, though the online assessment thinks I'll be at an ideal weight of 10 st 2 lbs by July 2012. I sure hope so! Strict strict strict!

edit: almost forgot to tell you my progress with Xenical!

In the month I have been on it, I had 1 week of very bad side effects with the grease, and whilst that has settled down, I have gained half a stone! I am sure the doctor tomorrow will not be very impressed! This is why I am switching to Dukan - fast results ( 7lb weight loss in the first week I think)

Day 8 on Xenical (Orlistat)

Last Thursday I visited my doctor to tell him how unhappy I was about my weight. About how I have gained 4 stone in 4 years. I asked him whether it could be the contraceptive implant (which I've had for 6 years), the Duloxetine (which I've had for about a year), the Pregabalin (had for 4 months), or the steroidal inhaler (I've had about 6 months but rarely use). The short answer was no. He didn't believe (and people rarely do) how much I weigh, but when I got on the scales it was as I expected (thankfully. There's nothing worse than going along with a problem only for the problem to miraculously clear up for your 7 minute appointment with no trace until you leave the surgery!). I weighed in at 14 stone and a few lbs. The reason I do not remember the precise weight is because I had weighed myself that morning, in the usual way (before food or drink, after toilet, naked). I was 14 stone 1lb, 197lbs or 89.4kgs. It makes more sense to use my reading as then future readings will have the same tolerance.
The doctor agreed to prescribe me Xenical (my suggestion), and advised me not to stop my Duloxetine and Pregabalin in the hopes on losing weight as weight-gain didn't feature highly on the side-effects of either drug. He actually increased my Pregabalin to 300mg per day as I was on such a low dose. I need to stay on the Duloxetine as my weight has now taken over as the cause of my depression and anxiety.

I now hope to record what I eat here, so I can see what I am doing wrong.

Before this week, I would binge eat a family sized madeira cake, share sized packets of crisps, 1kg bars of milk chocolate. And then go back to buy more. My self-esteem, and my pockets have suffered (which may be a good thing as I can't even squeeze any coins in there!).

This week I have eaten much lower fat meals to normal, still allowing myself some usual foods as they are in the cupboards. I will not be replacing them when they run out. I had tried Alli diet pills before, and checked with the pharmacist that they are the same thing (in a 60mg dose). From trying those I was aware of the side-effect of eating chocolate at the rate I used to.

I have been snacking on apples, bananas, clementines (something I haven't eaten in about 15 years!), and mullerlights. I was remembering advice given at Slimming World, as that seemed to work for me all those years ago, but then I remember that those diets are strict, you can't just pick a little from SW and a little from WW.

Here is my first week of tracked weight-loss:
Day 1 - 197.5 lbs
Day 2 - 193.5 lbs  -4 lbs! I was sooooo happy!
Day 4 - 195.5 lbs  +2 lbs
Day 5 - 196 lbs     +0.5 lb
Day 8 - 198 lbs     +2 lbs

So 1 week on, I actually weigh MORE than I did to begin with :'(
New rule: No daily weigh-ins.

Another thing I should mention, to compare start to "finish" is measurements. Here were mine a week ago:

Waist   34"
Hips     43"
Chest   41"
Thighs  28.5"
Calves  17"
Biceps  13"

This whole ordeal of stopping myself gaining and slowly losing 4 stone is not going to be a fast process. I'm not kidding myself. 56lbs. 52 weeks in a year. I hope to be done for Christmas 2012, and if I am running with a bit off pace, at least in time for summer 2013 when I will be 29 years old  :)