Taking Control - My Weight Loss Journey

Since the end of April I have lost 3 stone (over 40lbs).
I feel soooo much better for it.
Obviously I feel healthier but I am also a lot happier.
I feel I have claimed a bit of me back again.
I feel I have taken control of my life.

With me and food it really is about who is controlling who.
Since C was born I lost that control and was just treading water to survive.
Every day revolved around her and I had no time for myself.
I ate whatever I could, whenever I could.

Losing The Babyweight - 6 Weeks On

Oops so I may have forgotten to keep you updated for the past few weeks.
It is still going well...

Current Weight: 11st 4lbs
Loss This Week: 2lbs
Total Loss: 16lbs 
BMI: 28.7 (Overweight.... but no longer Obese!)

My wedding and engagement rings now fit again.
I am starting to be able to fit in clothes I couldn't before (although it will be a long time until I can fit in my pre babies clothes). 
I am also starting to be able to see a difference when I look in the mirror.
My next mini goal is to get under 11 stone.
I am hoping I might manage that by the end of the month.

Losing The Babyweight - 4 Weeks On

Current Weight: 11st 8lbs
Loss this week: 3lbs
Total Loss: 13lbs

I've been eating Low Carb High Fat for 4 weeks now.
Bar a couple of slip ups on holiday last week, it has been reasonably easy to stick to.
Helped of course by the fact I am seeing results!

An average weightloss of 3lb a week really isn't bad.
I can't really see any changes in myself when I look in the mirror yet but I can feel that my post pregnancy belly is definately less "saggy".
I can definately see the change in DH though.
He has been following this way of eating alongside me which has really helped both motivation and meal preparation.
His face is slimmer and he definately has less of a belly.

I expect my weightloss to slow slightly as I go on but if I can average 2lb a week then I will be back to pre C pregnancy weight (i.e. 2011 weight) by September.
It's a tall order but not impossible...

Low Carb Real Food - End of Week 1

Current Weight: 12st 0lb
Loss this week: 6lbs
Total Loss: 6lbs

That's almost 1lb a day, quite impressive, even if I do say so myself.
So what's the "secret"?
I came across the Low Carb High Fat diet.
Well it's not really a diet but a lifestyle change.
I won't bore you will the details on here.
If you have the time (about an hour) take the time to watch this you tube video.
It takes everything you think you might know and turns it on its head.

I knew many of the principals already from trying to keep gestational diabetes away during my pregnancies, this is just taking things one stage further.
I some ways this is actually easier.
Here is a sneak peak at my food diary for the past few days.

Breakfast	2 Boiled Eggs	2 Fried Eggs & Bacon	2 Boiled Eggs	Egg and Vegetables	Apple & Cinnamon No Flour Pancakes	2 Boiled Eggs Berries and Greek Yoghurt
Snack	Flapjack	Banana & Flapjack	Flapjack	Berries and Greek Yoghurt
Lunch	Tuna & Egg salad Strawberries, Blueberries & Cream	Scrambled Egg, Spinach & Mushrooms Berries & Cream	Gammon, Egg & Baked Beans Banana & Cream	Smoked Mackeral Salad Banana and Cream	Sausages, Bacon, Fried Egg & Tomato	Ham and Leek Cheesy Bake Banana & Cream
Snack	Cherry Yoghurt	Flapjack	Flapjack	Flapjack	Flapjack
Dinner	Cheeseburgers without the bun Grapes	One Pot Roast Chicken	No Potato Salad & leaves	Venison & Vegetables Cheesecake	Salmon & Asparagus Apple & Chocolate cream	Prawn Cocktail Salad Flapjack

I have high hopes for big results as i'm quite good at sticking to things if I have clear guidelines.
Watch this space...

Losing The Babyweight - The Plan

Last week I wrote about the problems with trying to lose the baby weight while looking after 2 young children.
Writing that post was actually really helpful in getting me to pinpoint exactly what the main issues were for me personally.

Losing The Babyweight - The Problems

There was an article floating around the news last week stating that Mothers who failed to lose excess weight within a year after delivery or put pounds on may be risking their health.

"What we're seeing is the period between three and 12 months after delivery is a critical window during which practitioner and patient attention to weight control may be very important to long-term metabolic and vascular health."

Well that's all very well... but how does one juggle losing weight while looking after a baby (and possibly older children as well)?

36 Weeks Pregnant - Uncharted Territory

This week I am 36 weeks pregnant.  This is an especially important milestone for me as C arrived at 35 weeks and 5 days gestation.  I have never made it to 36 weeks before.  Although extemely relieved to be here (preterm labour is no fun), it did make last week a bit of an anticlimax as I couldn't help but wonder if this baby was going to make a similarly early appearance!

I am definately bigger this time around but do not have the same hip problems I had when pregnant with C. Aside from the increasing tiredness and generally imobility, I am feeling pretty good.  Labour does not feel imminent... but then it didn't with C.  I was enjoying a perfectly normal afternoon until my waters broke.

33 Weeks Pregnant - PCOS, Pregnancy and Diet Part II

When I was pregnant with C I was advised that because of my PCOS I was at increased risk of getting Gestational Diabetes (GD).  I therefore was very conscious of what I ate throughout that pregnancy and did extensive research and experimentation into what food combinations I could and could not eat.  I summarised my findings in a blog post at the time.

PCOS, Pregnancy and Diet

First of all - THE FACTS

• Women with PCOS are at an increased of getting Gestational Diabetes whilst Pregnant
• No-one official has actually suggested I make any changes to my diet as a result of being pregnant and having PCOS
• No-one official has actually suggested I test by blood sugar on a regular basis
• I am not a health professional and can only speak about my own experiences

These points aside, it is reasonably well documented that PCOS (and to the same extent Gestational Diabetes) can be managed through diet.
I have therefore adopted a low carb/low GI diet throughout the pregnancy in an attempt to keep Gestational Diabetes at bay, and have bought myself a blood sugar monitor to help me monitor my progress.
However things are more complex than they first appeared.  Often it is the combination of foods within your meal that affect how much your blood sugar increases.
e.g. A plain jacket potato is bad, a jacket potato smothered in cheese and salad cream is bizarrely actually much better (although higher in fat).
This whole concept has taken me a good 3 months to get my head round, and I am still learning.
The more I learn the braver I am with what I will eat. At first I stuck to salads and high protein foods, and basically avoided any carbs at all. Now I will have the odd McDonalds or Indian takeaway as I know what to pick off the menu.
The Indian takeaway example is an interesting one.....
I went for an Indian a couple of months ago and had a chicken curry dish, avoided rice and just had naan bread instead.  I tested my blood sugar 2 hours later and it was HIGH, bordering on too high.
I thought this ruled Indian food out for me but I had another go last weekend and ordered vegetable curry, saag paneer (a spinach and cheese curry dish) and a small amount of biriani rice. 2 hours later my blood sugar was really low. Amazing... although reassuringly supported the conclusions I was coming to!

1. Cheese is good! - I have read on many websites that foods high in fat can offset the carbs in a meal. This definately seems to be the case for me. Obviously you need to be careful though as too much fat can lead to weight gain.
2. Portion size is important - This might be an obvious one but the bigger the meal I eat (whatever I eat) then more my blood sugar is affected. Eating little and often definately seems to be the way forward.

I will continue to update this post as my knowledge increases.
In the meantime I have found the following link really helpful:
http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Food_and_recipes/The-Glycaemic-Index/