Bridget Jones, 10 years after

BRIDGETecember . Weight-- pounds... Plus forty-two mince-pies. Alcohol units-- Oh, thousands. Bugger off! Come on, kids.

Click to expand...

I am afraid that describes me in a nutshell. What is not funny, though, is the fact that it continued for many Decembers (and Januaries, and Novembers, and you name it), and it is high time to break the cycle.

It is not all bad news, though - life did get better after I divorced the Mark Darcy guy!
Seriously now. Been on Dukan on and off since 2007; mostly maintaining, with occasional lapses that cost dearly. Been 100% strict since joining the forum 2+ weeks ago, and lost almost 11 pounds since then - so, gals, it does work if you work, too.
Will add more later; here are my mini goals, and not setting time-frames, only the direction: onward and downward.
Get to 14s st.
Get to 95 kg
Get to 200 lbs
Get to 90 kg
Get to 13s st
Get to 190 lbs
Get to 85 kg
Get to 12s st
Get to 180 lbs
Get to 80 kg
Get to 170 lbs
Get to 11s st
Get to 75 kg
Get to 160 lbs
Get to 10s st
Get to 70 kg
Get to 150 lbs
Get to 65 kg
Get to 10s st/140 lbs
Get to 60 kg
Get to 130 lbs
Get to 9s st
Get to 55 kg
Get to 120 lbs
Get to 112 lbs
Get to 50 kg
Stop and maintain!

Elena

Nice to "meet" you, Elena, and delighted to see that you've been 100% strict since finding the forum (and perhaps we've helped with that...).

As a fellow Dukan longtimer, with "old school" reasoning, I've particularly enjoyed a lot of your posts reminding of the original diet.

Keep posting
x

yes will be lovely to follow you r journey

I find that my diary really helps me, fractal. Looking forward to reading more from you on yours.

Looking forward to hearing more about you and how you're getting on.

Hi, lovely to see you have started a diary. I hope to be able to glean lots of tips from your experiences!

Thanks for visiting with me, gals! Have a coffee and a muffin, and try not to notice I am a bit under the weather. It is just hard to stay positive during some weeks - internet connection problems at verrrrrrrrrrrrry wrong time, just as I was about to start a super overpriced course (online) and now risking being dropped out!; worried about Mum back home; bank account is messed up, will sort it out tomorrow; dunno... All these are minor problems, I realise that, but somehow I overreact; at least, holding on and not overeating (but overexercising, if anything) and trying to get myself back into a happier mood.
Jo: Thanks, yes, I do think posting here helps to stay focussed. Also helps rethink some things which I would have taken for granted otherwise. And it is nice to help, if I can.
Scrumper: it is going to be a bumpy ride, I am afraid - welcome to join!
DD: you have a point there, diaries do help. Problem is, when I have problems, I get a writer's block - but working on that.
Jagys: Thanks for the support; we are in the same rocky boat so let's keep paddling.
M-mouse: Well, if I get stuck in this diet for some more time, I will become a classic, hehe - experience... a glorified term for all the mistakes I have made so far. Maybe more to come so a friendly kick in the butt would be good now and again!
Off to read on the topics and spam on some diaries
May the bran be with you!

P.S. Huh... couldn't find your diary, Jaqys?

My diary is over at Atkins now, although have that writers block right now

Good for you for keeping on the right food path with the world conspiring around you.

I used to often turn to comfort eating during times of stress, fractal, so I know the degree of temptation. Well done for not giving in to it. You'll be thankful you didn't, once things are going better.

Thanks, girls! Not giving in, no, and temptations are not tempting at this point - in fact, forcing myself to eat. But there is another curious fact I have noticed - when under stress, I stall. That, and not so much stress per se, seems to be the trigger factor - leading to "just one drink to relax" (but it doesn't stop at one so I'd rather stay away), and then the night raids on the fridge, and then the pendulum between self-pity and self-blame goes beserk, and the result is weight-gain. Right now the moment is even more critical, as I am nearing a couple of plateaus that have been extremely tough to overcome in the past - first the 203/205, then 195ish, then 189. They have been weights that at some time or other I maintained more or less steadily despite fancy diets or persistence. The body does have memories, I believe that. If I ever get over 189, it will be more or less a smooth cruise into the low 170s, if my theory is true. If... and when...
I do weigh myself daily, and am immune to letting fluctuations become a distress factor; actually it helps me learn how I react to food, when I retain water etc. Hehehe if I weren't too lazy, might use Fibonacci to analyse the levels of support and resistance! :8855:
Another glorious day; will make a mug of coffee and drive to the seaside for a fag and a breath of fresh air.

Lots of cardio can be helpful in getting over that plateau, if you do stall there, fractal.

You're going to get through it this time, I know you will.

Need some serious headwork, I'm afraid.
Motivation is plunging as stubbornly as the scales are stubbornly glued to 207, bouncing up occasionally. Yeah, I knew I should expect it; and yes, it has happened many times before and I thought I should have got used to this fact but it still bothers me big time. I haven't deviated from the party line, have been drinking water diligently, have been exercising... and still... no result...
Pretty demoralised.

aww hun i can empathise with you think weve all been there ...
I have on this diet and never any other done a lot of head work and im still a work in progress will be for ever ...I have learnt so much about my bad habbits and pit falls ....the girls have pulled me through so many wobbles when them scales are not budging and i want to reach for the comfort food
Think why we started this and also the reasons for doing dukan ....because its so do able ...any diet has sts weeks however good we are I am doing the head work to know i will sts this next two wks with maybe a 1lb gain I know its coming and as long as I try to keep positive I will get through it knowing that loss is just the other side of it ........
Heads are the worst think on diets and putting them right after years of bad management is the hardest part , but remember we are all there for you

Thanks, scrumper! You are so right about the headwork - I guess we are all a work in progress, as long as we are alive. I am fine with that, though, don't mind the effort - but I do need to see results.
Comfort food is not an option; DrD cured me from that in the very first year. But... I feel like switching to another diet, to speed up the process - and you know what, I am not doing it cos I have tried that in the past and paid with even greater stalling. So that's not the answer, either.
When this happens, I feel demoralised because I can't stop asking myself why why am i doing something not right is there anything I am not taking into account... Don't know if it makes sense?

yep i get what you mean i started last june at 216lbs i lost the first stone before dukan ........ getting through the 190s was ok but getting into the 180s felt like it took forever and i am a very impatient person ,
with Jo and the girls i stuck when on my own i would have lost it ! by the time i got to the 160s i hit that stall again but my headwork was telling me ive got this far this is a diet for me and i am losing ok the same as ww ect ....but I am not hungry and with ww ect I would of been binge eating for england as i cant be hungry on a diet
i took 7lb targets which made it easier for me to deal with and jaqys sugessted a treat non food at each new boots, cd, smellys its helped a bit
id love to get this last 5lb off now ,but i know its 4 weeks away but i will get there ...then i have to decide do i do another 7 or start conso you see a work in progress

how are you feeling today hun xxx

Hello there fractal, and how are things?
I can't remember when you restarted Dukan, but I see you've lost 10lbs in how long is it?
As us longtimers know, and TRY to impress on new people when we can, this diet never works quite as well as the first (second or maybe third time in ketosis). Perhaps the "shock factor" isn't there. Perhaps it's harder to muster up the 100% commitment this diet requires. That I don't feel is your problem.

Looking back over your menus, you're doing things the old way; taking no risks with additives and hidden ingredients in purchased products, so there's no problem there. I presume you've checked that your carbs aren't too high with the psyllium husk, oatbran and veg which you, like me, seem to eat plenty of.

Are you hungry? Are you in ketosis, do you think? Or is it just one of those times when, despite exercising rigorously AND doing everything right, the body just isn't playing the game?

It's so tough when that happens. I've recently rechecked my menus - seeing that my weight loss is slow - to see where I can make changes/reductions (because I've rigidly stuck to my plan on day 1 to NOT get into a hypocalorie situation that I have in the past, thereby not having any leeway to cut back).

I (fortunately) do have some room for manoeuvre to try to speed things up.

Hang around... post frequently... answer newbies... when motivation wanes, that's the best method I know. And rejig things. If you're eating large quantities of the same meat/fish daily, change things. A "change is as good as a rest" or so they say...

and take care of yourself

Thanks, girls! Your support is terrific. Feeling demoralised (yep, it is silly, and I know what advice I'd give to someone else; makes tghe whole situation even more pathetic eh).
Jo, you are absolutely right about everything. As to advice to newbies, you know, I feel insecure even about that at the moment! It is a work in progress, indeed; and seems I am lagging on the headwork.
This is not even my 2nd restart; apart from a few periods of pigging out in 2008 and 2009, in 2010 I switched between Cruise and Maintanance-like phase when I couldn't keep up with Cruise proper. Weight-loss has always been gradual while weight-gain almost instantaneous. When I managed to stick to Maintenance, I would indeed maintain with small fluctuations (up to 1 pound) even during TOTMs. I have no idea why this is happening now, really. That is what bugs me even more than the stagnation.
Under a lot of not-quite-stress at the moment, this is the only thing I can think of. Not depressive, too much on my toes for that. I should be in ketosis (no reason not to be; no hunger; energy levels are OK) but not losing. Fighting Aunt Consti again. The carbs are under control. Oh well, will stick it out.
In your experience, ladies, what changes have helped things get moving?
Btw, I am on 1/1 - do you think it is worth changing the pattern to 3/3 or 5/5 temporarily?

Stress can be a factor, fractal. Or hormones are a bit of a bugger, too. Might also be your transit problems causing the weight gain, if nothing is moving.

Exercise and the end of TOTM usually worked for me.

How about trying 2/2 first of all, then increasing the intervals if necessary?

Maybe once you get past this stagnant period, your weight loss will be more sustained? I wouldn't give up yet. It might just take time.

How are things Fractal?