and f*@k it i said!

I'm taking a break off DD. This "not losing any weight" business has really put me down, and I need a boost in my spirit and in return I will get my motivation and will power back.

I will take a break today and tomorrow. I wont binge or over do it, but I will eat like a normal person. I had a tiny bit of Victoria sponge cake, from a colleague's birthday cake. I am going out tomorrow, and I WILL indulge in mojitos. And on Sunday, DD aaaaaaall over again. Or maybe Monday lol Just kiddin!

I am not beating myself up for going off rails. On the contrary, I think it has lifted my spirits and will get me all pumped up all over again to "start" DD again, and hopefully come out of this "no weight loss" rut.

So that's it from me until Monday.

Have an amazing weekend.. I know I will ;)

stuck on 76.5 kg - pl (day 2)

I am getting really frustrated. I think I am doing everything right. I haven't even cheated once, and the scale just doesn't want to budge. I've felt like giving up so many times for the last week, my mood has changed completely and I am feeling really really frustrated.

I really don't know what to do. I started the Cruise Phase yesterday, added some veggies to my dinner, and had some tomatoes with my ham and Quark breakfast today. I hope this works cause I don't know how much longer I can hold on for :(

cruise phase - pl (day 1).. or not

I'm a creature of routine; I woke up this morning ready to step on the scale, and guess what.. NO SCALES! My lovely flatmate hid them in an attempt to stop us all (my, sister, her and me are on DD) from weighing ourselves! WE are all getting getting REALLY frustrated as the scales haven't been budging AT ALL!

I know I said I was not going to weigh myself everyday, only once a week, but as I am starting the Cruise Phase today I was hoping to keep a record of how much I weighed before starting PL.

I think my body needs a break from PP, and starting PL will probably get my metabolism all geared up again. So I have decided that other that officially starting the diet all over again, I will trick my self into believing that is what I am doing by spending 5 days doing PL. Isn't that really what the Cruise Phase is all about? Doing 5 days PP, which really is nothing more than an Attack Phase week without the label?

I've got a plan in place now, but I am a bit torn right now, don't know if I should finish this day as an attack or move on to cruise without knowing my current weight. Any thoughts?

i think i need to start all over again

I am really disappointed with this week's weight loss. So I have thought about starting DD all over again and, with a few little teaks.

1. I will incorporate the oat bran. I did so well on the first week without it that I thought I could complete the attack and cruise phase without it. Obviously, BIG mistake.

2. I will prepare ALL my meals, well at least I will try to. This way I know exactly EVERYTHING that goes into my mouth.

3. 20min brisk walking every day A MUST

I have been reading Katrina Conquista's blog, and her journey on DD has been amazing. I feel so happy for her but so disappointed that my journey has not gone as well as hers. She has steadily lost weight, and I mean proper weight: 4 kg on the first week, 5 kg on the second, and between 1.5 kg and 2.5 kg on the other weeks. She has lost an amazing 35 kg! And she looks absolutely stunning!

I think everyone on the DD diet should check out her blog. Its packed with yummy recipes, and lots of tips for all of us trying to lose weight.

So back to my "starting all over again". This is only at the "thought" stages at the moment. I think I will sleep on it and see what the scales show tomorrow. And then I shall decide.

attack phase (day 12)

I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't resist it :(

Weigh-in: 76.4 kg
Down: NIL!
Total loss: 3.9 kg

I am not happy today, not happy at all. I was so good yesterday, apart from the M&S prawns (which don't really count as being super naughty). I took Kuma for a looooong walk, even played fetch with him. And guess what. The scales didn't appreciate my extra effort. Scales suck!

I have learnt my lesson, if you say your not gonna weigh yourself.. DON'T BLOODY WEIGH YOURSELF!

attack phase (day 10 & 11)

I've decided I am going to stick to the Attack Phase for a wee bit longer. I am not feeling hungry, I am not feeling tired or weak, I am not really missing veggies that much, so what the hell, I'll just go ahead and do a few more attack days before I start Cruise Phase.

Monday 17/05/10 - ATTACK PHASE (DAY 10)
Weigh-in: 76.5 kg
Down: 0.3 kg
Total loss: 3.8 kg
I'm going to be honest, I haven't really been doing much exercise. I haven't even taken Kuma out for walks at night. I think if I did, I would most probably lose more weight. But then again 3.8 kg in 10 days?! I cant complaint. Just makes me wonder how much more i would have lost by now.

Tuesday 18/05/10 - ATTACK PHASE (DAY 11)
Weigh-in: 76.4 kg
Down: 0.1 kg
Total loss: 3.9 kg
I've been eating out quite a lot. Steaks from pubs, prawns with chili and coriander from M&S. To the eye this would seem harmless, but if you take a closer look you'll realise all this foods have been marinated in non-Dukan condiments such as sugar, oil, etc. I think I'm going to start cutting back a bit, and play it safe with my roast chicken, smoked salmon, cottage cheese and yogurt. And to know exactly what I am putting in my mouth, i will do my best to bring my packed lunch with me everyday to work.

I have quite a lot of weight to lose, so I will make an effort and take Kuma out every evening for at least 20mins. This can also be an experiment, to see how important the prescribed 20mins brisk walking is on the diet.

On another note, I think I am going to contradict Dr. Dukan. I don't think weighing yourself every day, even less every hour, is helpful. I fond it frustrating so I am ttherefore banned from weighing myself everyday and will cut it down to weighing myself once a week, and if I find that too hard to follow then I will weigh myself every 3 days.

And I leave you with a little photo of todays lunch.. yummy but I think a bit too much :)

M&S Hondurian Prawns with Chili & Coriander and a dolop of cottage cheese

friday dinner date with dr. pierre dukan

So on Friday after work we (work colleagues) all went to a Thai restaurant called Thai Thai to celebrate 2 of my colleague's birthdays. I was very adamant at the beginning because this would have been the first time I would have taken Dr Dukan out for dinner with me. So what did I do? I prepared myself. I checked out their website if found a starter and a main course that were Dukan friendly.

The hardest thing about dining out with Dr Dukan is not being able to have any alcohol. The restaurant had an amazing cocktail menu, that just watered my mouth. But I was lucky that 2 of the girls sitting next to me were not drinking.

The starters arrived...

Satay Chicken. Grilled chicken skewers with satay sauce on the side.

And then main course.. Weeping Tiger (grilled steak with chilli sauce)

So all in all dinner didn't go too bad. Actually it went quite well and I am very pleased that there were options on the menu that I could actually have without feeling guilty.

I also know that my food was probably marinated probably in stuff I wasn't allowed to eat (like sugar), but I also know that that wont be a reason to go off rails. At least I hope the scales wont think otherwise!

smoked salmon rolls

INGREDIENTS

(serves 1)

3 slices Smoked salmon

2 tablespoons fat-free cottage cheese

1 teaspoon chopped capers

1/2 lemon or lime

3 toothpicks (optional)

Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a bowl mix cottage cheese and capers. Place a slice of salmon flat on a plate. Place a dolop of the cottage cheese and capers mix in the centre of the salmon slice, then roll. Stick a toothpaste to hold together if necessary. Repeat with the 2 other slices of salmon.

Once all salmon slices are rolled, place together on a plate. Squeeze the lemon juice over them. Add salt and pepper to taste (although salt not really required as salmon and capers are naturally salty),

Voila!

so does it work?

Friday 14/05/10 - ATTACK PHASE (DAY 7)
Weigh-in: 76.8 kgs
Down: 0.4 kgs
Total loss: 3.5 kgs

Hell yeah it does!

In my opinion this is an extremely effective and healthy diet. One where you don't starve yourself but don't have to necessarily stuff your face with trans fatty foods (that's for you Atkins!) in order to lose weight.

I think what I like the most about this diet is the fact that I can have fat free dairy products. These are such life savers! I can continue to have my Starbucks skinny lattes, and ease the lack of sweet stuff with aspartame sweetened yogurts and diet cokes.

To start off the diet may seem bland and boring but lots of spices are allowed and if you do a little research you'll be able to find lots of recipes suitable for the PP phase (pure protein).

I can consider myself a master of the diets, I have been there done all of them. I don't know if its because this time around the whole weight loss process feels different, but I cant truly see myself sticking to DD, losing the weight, and keeping it off. I am not depriving myself (well I am, but it doesn't feel like it), and I haven't really found myself feeling hungry nor craving sweets and carbs. Hallelujah!

The only downside to this diet is expensive. This is not a very "on a budget" friendly diet, but that doesn't mean it is impossible to following, you may just get bored of eating the same old food 24/7.

I know I am only 7 days into the diet, and it is probably to early to review. But so far so go, no complaint, and what can i say, the scales do show what the diet promises.

To follow.. yummy recipes for the Attack Phase! Stay tuned!

attack phase (day 6)

Weigh-in: 77.2 kgs
Down: 0.3 kgs
Total loss: 3.1 kgs

I am relieved to see the scale drop again, even if its only 0.3 kgs. I think I have to up my water intake as I have been very lazy and only been drinking about 1 litre.

Exercise wise I have been taking my dog Kuma for a walk, but that isn't really much of a proper walk as he likes sniffing around quite a lot. I don't know, I don't really feel like exercising much. By the time I get home at 8ish, I really cant be bothered to do much.

As promised by Dr Dukan, I haven't been feeling hungry, and if I get any cravings for anything sweet I just have a chewing gum (I bought 4 different flavours!), a yogurt or a diet coke and it does the trick.

Lets hope the scales drop a little bit more tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed x

amazing start, disappointing 5th day

I started this blog yesterday, 4 days into my Dukan diet. So this is a quick recap of what has happened since Saturday, when I started the diet.

Friday 07/05/10
I recieved my Dukan diet book in the post. I was so excited that decide to jump straight into it. Weighed myself before going to bed - 80.9 kgs! 30 kgs to lose.. let the battle against fat begin!

Saturday & Sunday 08,09/05/10 - ATTACK PHASE (DAY 1 & 2)
First weigh-in: 80.3 kgs
I had to come into the office, and had to be there by 8am. Sleepy head as I am I didnt get up until 7am. So had to rush out of the house without having any breakfast. To my advantage skimmed milk is allowed in the diet, so I grabbed a lovely grande skinny latte from Starbucks, and some roast chicken breast slices from Somerfields.

The rest of the day and sunday were pretty much the same. Fried eggs (no oil) and iced latte for breakfast, grilled chicken or salmon for lunch and dinner.

Sunday weigh-in: 78.7 kgs!
OMG! I couldn't believe it. Only 1 day on DD and 1.6 kgs down! I know this was mostly water loss but still oh so motivating!

Monday & Tuesday 10,11/05/10 - ATTACK PHASE (DAY 3 & 4)
Weigh-in: 77.8 kgs
Down: 0.9 kgs down
Total loss: 2.5 kgs
The kilos keep coming off, I am over the moon, and its only been 3 days!!!

Breakfast: Venti iced latte from Starbucks with sweeteners, and 100g raist chicken breast.
Lunch: Roast chicken breast, low fat cottage cheese with onions and chives (2 table spoons), and a Fage 0% fat yogurt with sweeteners.
Dinner: Lean beef spiced burgers (2 small ones), and 2 tables spoons natural low fat cottage cheese. Another yogurt for dessert.

Tuesday weigh-in: 77.8
Down: 0.3 kgs
Total loss: 3 kgs
Not the best of losses, but hey better that than nothing! And to be quite honest 3 kgs in 4 days is not bad at all, not bad AT ALL!

Breakfast was the usual.
Lunch: Decided to go to my local pub and have a steak. Ask for an 8oz silion steak with no sides, no chips, no saladas, no nothings, and a diet Pepsi.
When lunch arrived, I took a sip of the Pepsi, it didnt really taste right. I doubted it was diet, but then again how could I tell if I never drink Pepsi. So I ate my steak and drank my "diet" Pepsi. Went back to the office and had my usual yogurt for dessert.

Wednesday 12/05/10 - ATTACK PHASE (DAY 5)
Weigh-in: 77.5 kgs! WHAT!?
Down: +0.2 kgs
Total loss: 2.8 kgs
Im gonna be honest, I had a gut feeling that was going to happen. I had a feeling the Pepsi I drank was not diet, and I had a feeling the steak was a wee bit to oily. And it showed on the scales and I was gutted. Usually I would have said "fuck it" and start binging, but for whatever reason I have faith in this diet, and this was only a littel bump on the road. I cant complaint really, this diet is made up of 2 of my favourite foods meats and diary.

the attack phase

Excerpt from the Daily Mail publication 23 April 2010.

The Dukan Diet starts with a short, sharp 'attack' phase where you eat nothing but protein - just meat, fish, eggs and no-fat dairy products. You can spend just one day here - or as many as ten days if you have a lot of weight to lose - and many people can expect to lose as much as 7lb in five days.

You may experience bad breath and a dry mouth during this pure protein phase. Both are signs that you are losing weight. You should welcome them as proof of success.

Ease them by drinking more water. Constipation may strike after four days on attack so add a tablespoon of wheat bran flakes to your oat bran. But keep drinking.

During this phase, eat freely any foods on the following list - eat as much as you want, whenever you want. You must adhere to this plan strictly.

Anything NOT on the list is forbidden ... for now:

1) Lean beef and veal or rabbit, not pork or lamb (trim all fat and avoid ribs as too fatty). Eat meat grilled, roasted or boiled and without using butter, oil or cream (not even low-fat versions).

You could also 'dry fry' it - rub the surface of a frying pan with a few drops of oil on kitchen paper. Lean minced beef can be prepared as burgers or meatballs (mixed with an egg, spices, capers or gherkins) or enjoy frozen beefburgers (if less than 10 per cent fat).

2) All chicken and turkey (not goose or farmed duck) but remove skin before eating and avoid the outside part of the wings (too fatty).

3) Ham if low-fat and lean, also cut rind off. Avoid deli, cured, and smoked hams (too fatty).

4) Beef, veal or chicken liver.

5) All fish white or oily, fresh, frozen, dried, smoked or canned (but not in oil or in any sauce containing fat), even crab sticks.

6) All crustaceans and shellfish.

7) Up to two eggs a day. Stick to 3 to 4 yolks per week if you have high cholesterol, but the white can be eaten without restriction.

8) Non-fat dairy products such as 0% yoghurt, fromage frais, quark, cottage cheese, and skimmed milk. Natural ( plain) and flavoured yoghurts (coconut, vanilla, lemon) are allowed without restriction, but non-fat fruit yoghurts (containing fruit puree) should be limited to two a day (or avoided if you want a lightning start to your attack phase).

9) Sweeteners (Canderel, Silverspoon Sweetener) or Stevia (a natural sweetener available from health food stores), vinegar, spices, herbs, garlic, onion, gherkins, pickled onions (as condiments, but not in large quantities), lemon juice (on food, but not to drink), mustard and salt (in moderation), sugar-free natural ketchup in moderation, sugar-free chewing gum (can slow down the mechanical swing towards eating whenever you feel under pressure).

Additional rules

Drink 1.5 litres of water per day (plain or carbonated) particularly at mealtimes to help you feel full. Tea, coffee and diet drinks (no more than 1 calorie per glass) can be included in this total.

Eat 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran per day (as porridge, sprinkled on yoghurt, or made into a pancake).
Walk briskly for 20 minutes every day. This is a non-negotiable doctor's prescription.

Avoid all butter and oil.

introduction

After struggling with my weight for nearly 15 years, and coming close to turning 30, I have decided enough is enough. I have embarked on this journey hoping to lose the 30 extra kilos I am carry around with me everyday, and most important of all keeping them off for life.

This blog will document my everyday journey with The Dukan Diet. I will post a daily food journal, daily weigh-ins and useful tips recipes for those of you who are are planing on starting or are already on the diet.

I have created this blog mostly for personal support, as a source of motivation. But I also hope to encourage and help people that find themselves in my situation, to reaching their desired weight and lead a healthy future life.

Thank you for joining me (if you have), in this amazing experience I am about to embark in.

Love,
M x