A Bit Better...

Ok, so I had my Dr's appointment yesterday - and its not as bad as I thought.... by his scales Im only up 1.5kg's instead of the 2.5kgs heavier I thought myself to be, so a little bit of relief and anxiety lessened there.

I was also told that it was quite natural for me to put on some kg's whilst we try and find that elusive sweet spot where my restriction is working 100% of the time. So note to self - try not to stress so much about not seeing the scales drop as quickly as I would like. Actually my Dr was very reassuring in getting my panic rate down and basically told me to stop fretting that what I was experiencing was completely normal and that results are not instant. By the way I asked if he did lapband on the brain - "unfortunately no" was his reply. Another thing which I completely forgot about, and which he had no hesitation in reminding me off, is that I have only been on solids for basically 4 weeks (I was liquids for 4, and then mushies for 4) - again he stated its normal to put on a little here whilst going to this stage.. So I need to relax I guess.

I would also like to take the time here to say thankyou to all who stopped by and responded to my little (ok big) cry of panic... It really helped me to know that there are people reading my blog and it did give me other ways to look at my problem in trying to solve it.

Outi - not a spammer, but a dear friend and I thank you in reminding me about the other things I have going on medically which could attribute to my weight not shifting as I would like it too :) Low carb is definitely, I think the way to go for me.. After reviewing my food journal (Erica - you will be pleased to note that I actually have the calorie king program *grins*) when I wasnt eating as much carbs, I was losing weight. My carbs slowly crept up to around the 65 net total and "voila - milk from a cow" (as my youngest likes to say) and I started putting on weight. So I am going to lower my net carb intake to around 45 - 50 and see how I go from there... If its still too much I will go down lower and keep adjusting accordingly - Thankyou Outi!

Erica - you raised some really good points for me too! Portion size had been getting bigger as I stopped using my ACA plate that I had bought - so am definitely going back to that until portion control becomes ingrained in me for ever! I dont weigh my food, but I do have some rules which I tend to follow in regards to sizing. Basically any type of meat/protein is about a deck of cards in size, vegetables are free in portion size (but I use the palm of my hand generally in measuring) but I dont eat potatoes, corn or pumpkin.. Basically I try and stick to dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, cabbage etc.. So maybe thats something I need to consider and start doing..

My intake in regards to calories for the first six weeks was between 800 and 1000 (I know it seems little, but remember I had only progressed to mushies at this point) I have a couple of weeks after this where I hovered around the 1200 mark (no weight gain) and then after that its around the 1500 calorie mark because of my carbs.. So thanks matie, I do need to look at this and I will be dropping it to see how I go. Im going to aim for 1100 here I think, as now I am doing gym very consistently (five days a week).

I think I am focusing too much on dropping the weight, instead of the changes I see in happening with my body. You all probably know that I am very a much a scale junkie, and that for the last few weeks I havent weighed myself at all, but you know what? I think I need to! because that way if I see myself gain even a little I will start to be more strict with myself in what I am consuming. I think Ive actually proven that too myself these past few weeks, because not jumping on the scale and not monitoring this aspect saw me panic majorly when I gained weight as you all now know.

Gym and my personal trainer have been a godsend. Dont get me wrong I dont like exercise as yet, (not a junkie here!) but my body shape is changing. Ive dropped a great deal of inches in the past five weeks with 32" gone forever and my clothes size dropping in the top from a size 20/22 to an 18 and my pants size dropping from a 18 to a 16, with no muffin top!

I mean the above is great, so why wasnt I focusing on that??

Arrrghhh, I mean seriously everyone is amazed when I tell them of my measurements and the amount I have lost, so why couldnt I work up the same enthusiasm?

Something to ponder.

Again thankyou everyone, for helping me pull my head out of the sand and have a good look at what I am really doing! *hugs to you all*

Comments

[Outi]

You're welcome. :)

Just remember that the thing with calories is that if the intake goes too low you'll body go into starvation mode and you won't lose any weight (in my case if I get in starvation mode (in my case that is anything under 1300 kcal/d) I can actually *gain* weight! O_o). And in a case of a PCOs woman that happens even sooner than with a "normal" woman - because PCOs has developed to prevent women to be fertile when times are bad and be fertile when times are good, with modern western society the problem is that we have it too good. It makes our metabolism very sensitive to react. (This is one odd syndrome.)

But I hope it was just a tiny peak in your weight loss and that things will get better. :) (And you are right, stressing about it won't help, you just get your cortisol levels high and that will do bad things to your weight.)

And by the way, reducing the amount of carbs may help you to find that sweet spot: my cravings have reduced tremendously after I ditched grains (exclusing rice) and potato from my diet.

[Erica (aka Lapbandgirl)]

Hey Veronica,

Good to hear you've chilled out a little since your previous blog comment and taken all advice on board. I'll be interested to see how you go with counting calories and lowering your carbs. Good luck :)

Erika xx

[jacqueline]

Congrats on your weight loss - but do you mind if I ask, What is a muffin top??

[Andie]

Hey there :)

Glad to see you posting again, but I am really sorry you have been stressing out! I hope you find the "sweet spot" real soon! Also remember that muscle weighs heavier than fat and it sounds like you are building up your muscles :) *hugs*

[Laurylyan]

Hello :-)

I've just discovered your blog and authorize myself to write a little comment because of what I read.
You want to loose weight, while eating a lot less and doing a lot of gym.
So yes, your body is reshaping, and you're loosing some fat but gaining muscles. So you're weight stay in it's average same amount.
That's quite the usual process in this kind of "regime". 1st losing fat and gaining muscles, then thining the muscles and so loosing weight. ;-)

Have faith in yourself :-) You'll manage it!

[Bliss]

Hey there ... scroll down this 'affair' entry to before & after pics. Congratulations on a job well done. Losing weight is never easy. Can I give you some valuable advice? Drink water. Make no exceptions to this rule: no tea, coffee, diet stuff or alcohol. Drink water. You will lose weight oh so much faster & KEEP IT OFF!

Have a look to the sideline: read the Blissful Creations site with all my cross stitch stuff too. ((hugs))

[Andie]

Hi, haven't seen you post in a long time, hope you are okay and wanted to let you know I am still thinking of you *hugs*