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LCHF - 11 weeks completed on my new way of life!

PoppyPetal

Well-Known Member
Well, I never really thought that I would manage with this new way of eating but I was determined to make life changes to improve my health. I have managed to not only survive during this time but have never felt hungry and have not really missed the old foodstuffs, this coming from the biggest chocoholic and carbaholic (a new word) going. I'm so, so chuffed that I have managed to lose 13kg, a little over 2 stone in old money in this time. This was my first target although there will still be many more to reach along the way. I am determined that when I go back for HbA1c in September that it will have vastly improved. Now I just need to keep focused and carry on refusing the cakes, chocs and biscuits at work ! Next target is to lose another 7kgs, but it will take as little or as long as it takes. To all those newbies if I can do it you certainly can!
 
Well done! You've achieved so much in such a short space of time. Posts like this are so encouraging.
 
Thanks Zand. It is all really down to everyone on this site and from all of the posts I have read including yours that gave me the belief that maybe I could actually do this. I don't post much but lurk a lot and have picked up so many helpful hints and food ideas from everyone here. It's great that everybody is so positive about the lchf. As I say I still have a long way to go but I'm taking the view that I will get to where I need to be one day. Incidentally I have done this without any exercise so far as even walking is painful because of an arthritic knee but I'm having physio at the moment to try and improve my future mobility.
 
Thanks Brunneria & Salvia for your kind comments. Sud5nala when I say chocoholic I really meant it. I used to eat a large bar of chocolate every day. I have lidl's dark chocolate in the cupboard if I ever really need it but I just don't feel the need anymore as the bar has been there for weeks now. Also keep a couple of squares in my desk drawer in case any of the temptations at work get too much but again that's been there for weeks untouched. I really hope I can get rid of my sweet tooth altogether. My only sweets these days are sugar free jelly or strawberries or raspberries and double cream with an occasional sugar free ice cream from a local ice cream shop. I have checked with the meter and know the ice cream doesn't affect my bs.....
 
Well done, Poppy, that's a great result. You may find that your arthritis does improve, I never had a proper diagnosis but both my knees were very painful before LCHF, as were my thumbs actually, especially in cold / damp weather. I used to find myself rubbing my thumbs, like Scrooge! I often wonder if it's the addition of more fat soluble vitamins that has naturally helped. I used to take chondritin and glucosamine - now I walk 5 miles a day and rarely have a hint of pain. And of course, losing 50lbs has to help!

So glad that you have adjusted well to LCHF, people are often surprised by how easy / satisfying the diet is. I just wish more people would give it a go!
 
Hi Dawnmc,

Well today's food has been:
Breakfast - coffee and spoonful double cream
Mid morning - coffee with 20ml full fat milk (was at work so no cream)
Lunch- large mixed green leaf salad, dollop homemade coleslaw, cucumber and small tin of tuna. (Main ingredients stay the same every day and just change the tuna for salmon, ham, egg, mini omelette, mackerel, roast beef, chicken etc)
Dinner- stir fry of cabbage, spinach, broccoli,tiny carrot, fresh ginger, garlic and onion served with dollop of soy sauce and a salmon fillet. Really yummy I have a stir fry 2 or 3 times a week. If I don't have a stir fry still have large amounts of cabbage, broccoli, courgette etc. Sugar free jelly and double cream.
May have a cup of tea and half dozen almonds , hazelnuts or walnuts later but don't always.

My breakfast is the same every day. If I am ever feeling the need to eat I will have a Greek yoghurt full fat with a few chopped nuts or raspberries. As a quick to make meal I can tolerate porridge well as long as it is made with water and served with cream. I try to plan ahead as much as possible and prepare containers of ready washed and chopped veg so it just needs throwing in a wok or steamer when I get in from work. I eat a lot of chicken and fish but also have beef, pork and lamb. I cook everything from fresh, make my own curries, stews etc. Use the slow cooker at week-ends and make batch meals to freeze. I was terrible before and used to eat a lot of processed foods and ready meals.

Hope that gives you some insight into my day!
 
Sorry plus odd treats a couple of times a week which are a scoop of sugar free ice cream or small packet of pork scratching or so... Thank you AtkinsMo. I am lucky not to live in the cold and damp! I think losing more weight will help too. Well done you on losing 50lbs. I have a long way to go to get that far but am really determined this time.

Yes, I had trouble getting my head around the high fat bit and people do think it's odd but once I realized that I was losing weight and enjoying cream in things it has made it easier. I think everyone is so brainwashed with the low fat diets and foodstuffs to lose weight it is very hard to change everything they've heard and been told for years. It is only when you read this site and diet Doctor etc that you can see it works for a lot of people. This is really a lifestyle choice for me now and I regard myself carb intolerant. I just hope my next results are as good as others who have worked hard to make it happen!
 
Your typical days food sounds lovely. I also do a lot of stir fries, on Saturday we were with a crowd having Chinese take away. I took along a new version of cauli rice (for me) and I have to say it was delicious. I started off with a handful of fresh cashews and fried them in extra virgin coconut oil, drained them, then to oil I added a finely chopped onion, softened and lightly browned. Next was a bag of Asda's frozen raw king prawns, defrosted, stir fry till just cooked, remove from pan. Then I added grated cauliflower, natural sea salt, black pepper and a few drops of water, stir fry that till just cooked 3-4 mins, add back prawns, onions, cashews, a tablespoon of dry sherry and a shake of soy sauce and a teaspoon of chilli paste , sprinkle with chopped coriander - absolutely gorgeous and a fine accompaniment for our Special Foo Yung.
 
Excellent work poppypetal................keep it up.

Double cream is truly the elixir of life.................I must average 150ml a day, which keeps my fat percentage above 70% on a good day. Add it to anything I can, including omelettes and scrambled eggs.
 
Hi Tabbyjoolz,

Thanks for that. I am still carrying on with no major blips and only the occasional thing off plan. I'm pleased to say that having completed week 16 of my new way of life I have now lost a total of 17.8 kgs which I think is about 2 stone 10lbs if my maths is correct! I never believed this was possible at the beginning but like yourself I feel so much better for it. Please stick with this new way of eating and you will see results.

Hi AtkinsMo that sounds delicious even though I hate cauli. Can't manage to get myself to like avocados either despite trying them several ways

Hi Jasperville,

I truly intend to eat this way for life now. I love the double cream in omletes and eggs as well as in coffee and desserts. I am just hoping that this will not have raised my cholesterol in my next Hba1c next month. It just feels so bad adding cream to a lot things (low fat diets still in head) but it does make everything taste so nice. Have your Hba1c's been good since doing this.

By the away I will post again once I reach 20kg loss which is my next goal , so hopefully not too many weeks away
 
Wow! PoppyPetal, you've done extremely well, especially losing all that weight in only 16 weeks. I'm jealous I've lost just over 2st / 14.6Kg but it's taken me almost a year However, by losing it more slowly, it's probably best for me as it means I'm used to my diet (lower carb; increased fats)

Like you, eating fats goes totally against the grain, but I've found that Olive Oil on salads makes them so much more palatable (I used to hate salads) and a small portion of cream with some fruit is wonderful Again, like you, I'm a bit anxious about my next cholestrol test, due in a few months. So, only time will tell, eh?

Anyway, well done. By the way, 1 Kg = 0.157473 stone

I'll look out for your updates with eagerness ...
Julie
 


Results below Poppypetal.................Hba1c down, Cholesterol and Triglycerides down. I no longer believe that saturated fat/cholesterol are bad for you, so it is Cream and butter +++ for me. If you need more confidence in being high fat, I would recommend reading "the Big fat Surprise" by Nina Teicholz
 
Hi Energize,

My target on starting this new way of life was one lb a week so 52lbs over a year but I have been losing around a kg a week consistently which has come as a great surprise. A very nice one though! I keep telling myself not to be disappointed if it slows down but so far so good. Also have not done any exercise whatsoever for health reasons but am going to start gentle exercise very soon. If things slow down I will then start looking at protein portion sizes and then intermittent fasting too. Just be happy that you are losing as it is not a race. Jasperville says this cholesterol and trigs were down after eating the high fat so I hope ours are too.

Hi Jasperville,

Sorry your results don't show but it's really good news that your cholesterol and trigs have gone down. Not too long to go before I see my new results. Hopefully all will be better.

By the way for any newbies thinking about doing lchf it does really work, you don't feel hungry despite the lack of all the carbs. You quickly get used to making better food choices, enjoying freshly prepared meals, having more energy and actually feeling so much better in yourself. Please, please give it a try.
 
I did a full bloods test 6 weeks in, all the markers have improved - the key ones are below. so you can compare. My diet is similar to yours. I'm still counting calories because I just don't trust myself to gorge on nuts. Maybe eventually I will get more confident about it, for the moment I am just happy with the 1 kilo per week weight loss !

I've lost 15 kilo's in 3 months most of that on the LCHF diet.
 
Just a warning, for those of you actively losing weight. For many people on LCHF losing weight, the total cholesterol will go up initially. That is because fat is being liberated from the fat cells to be used as energy and of course it is transported by the blood stream around the body, so frequently shows up as raised total cholesterol. There is no need to worry about this at all, it is perfectly normal and expected. Once you have stopped losing weight, for the vast majority of people total cholesterol will go back down, usually to levels below where you started, but there are a minority for whom it stays high.

Personally, I wouldn't be concerned about that either, as a dyed in the wool cholesterol / statin 'sceptic'. Ken Sikaris talks about it extensively on YouTube videos that are posted on here. Because, with high HDL and low trigs (which LCHF almost always produces) the LDL will be 'large fluffy' not linked with CVD at all. You can have LDL actually measured and differentiated into its various types, but that is an expensive test and not normally done in the UK, but very much the norm is, high HDL, large fluffy LDL.

For 3 years my doctor and I agreed that I would not have cholesterol tested, then I forgot to have it crossed off the annual blood test request this year, and Lo and behold, it had come down! Still above the so called target but significantly lower than before.
 
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