New to the forum

[jdeclercq]

Hi: My name is Jeanette and I live on the West Coast of Florida. I actually started this eating plan on May 23rd. It took a while to stumble across this forum. I have enjoyed reading all of your recipe ideas and personal commentaries. The first week or so was difficult due to the tiredness. That did pass and I feel as though I do have more energy. After week four, I did experience extreme tiredness again and hunger, but that disappeared after about 4-5 days. I do not feel hungry immediately after eating as the portions are larger than what I had been used to eating at any one time. There are still nights I do go to bed feeling hungry, but sleep takes care of that! I stand amazed at how well this diet has worked at taking off the weight and keeping it off, so far. It has been fairly easy to incorporate into my lifestyle, although, most family gatherings (and we have a lot of them) are filled with starches (potatoes, breads, etc.). I have to be very selective. I look forward to being a part of the give and take of ideas and having support and encouragement while on this plan.

[Austen]

Hi Jeanette, glad to hear you are doing so well - how about showing us all with a ticker? I find the results and perseverance of everyone else here to be really motivating - it's great having other people who understand exactly what you are going through and the way you relate to food.

I too have found it almost difficult to eat whole meals - I was a constant grazer/snacker but rarely sat down to eat a proper meal. It definitely takes some retraining.

Good luck with the programme.

[Bronwyn]

Hi Jeanette! Glad you've found the forum and yes, we'll be here for you to lend support, share successes, and everything in between. Yes - this diet is amazing and it truly works. Sounds like you're off to a great start!

[Shasha]

{hi} there Jeanette

A very WARM WELCOME to you :bighug:

I'm so glad that you’ve joined us!

I’m sorry to hear that you sometime struggle with hunger and feeling tired… :comfort: Are you taking your multi-vitamin every day? Does it contain less than 5 mg of vitamin B6 per day? If not please do get those vitamins and make sure the B6 levels are correct.

The tired feeling is most probably linked to a drop in your blood pressure – in which case you should take a second vitamin each day at lunchtime, you can also increase your salt intake a bit as well – if you were on any medication for high blood pressure, please write to your consultant immediately…

If you find that you feel hungry, please avoid the yogurt and the cheese options because they are the least filling meals – rather have egg and veggies or meat / fish / chicken AND veggies – this is a lot more filling and it 'lasts longer'.

I recommend keeping your fruit and your crackers as snacks between your meals ie: mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Remember, you can have ½ a fruit in the morning and ½ in the afternoon if you find a whole fruit too much at a time.

We hope to hear lots more from you and yes, please do get a ticker so that we can see your progress {wave}

[jdeclercq]

Thank all of you for your kind words of encouragement and suggestions. It's great to hear all of the success stories and know that we are not alone in this endeavor. I have followed most of the suggestions recommended: eating protein and veggies for meals and using the fruit, cheese and crackers as a snack, which I haven't had to rely on too often. Love those oranges for in between, though. They provide the sweetness I crave and here in the year round heat of Florida, they are a wonderful refresher and break from just water. I cannot use sugar substitutes as my body reacts to them either in hives or extreme headaches; so, diet sodas are out!
I started out at 174 and am now at 154.5. My goal is to reach 145, which is where I was about 15 years ago. Hopefully, with using this diet plan, my hormonal balance will maintain itself and I won't have the big swings in weight gain as in the past. This is where my curiosity is piqued. After the strict diet and going into the refeeding part, how this will work. I'm willing to take this chance!
And, yes, my multivitamin is well within the range of the B-6 dosage for the recommended daily dosage. The tiredness comes from my body trying to tell me it just needs to rest more often. I'm not relying on caffeine to get "just one more thing done".
Everyone enjoy and be safe on our 4th of July day and weekend!

[Shasha]

{hi} there Jeanette

:cop: I’ve just picked up on a little something in your post ~ please note that CHEESE is not a snack ~ it is one of your meal options. This means that you can have cheese & veg for lunch, but never have cheese as a snack between your meals.

{congrats} on already having lost 19.5 pounds!!! {goodjob} It’s wonderful that you only have 9.5 pounds to go and then you will be where you were 15 years ago!!! YAAAAAY!!!

After the Re-feeding program you will need to study and implement Dr Cohen’s Lifestyle Tips so that you can learn to make healthy eating choices. He tells you what to do so that you do not go back to triggering too much insulin (your fat storing hormone) again… so, starch will be limited to once a day… basically you can eat similar to your Diet, but much more food and starch like bread etc comes back, but in moderation…

[jdeclercq]

Sasha: Thank you for pointing the cheese thing out to me. I have only used it once as a snack and once as a meal substitute. I did not find it satisfying as either. One way I did use it as a meal substitute was from a recipe on this site, the Garlic Bread recipe minus the mayo, but added a dash of white balsamic vinegar to it. Pretty tasty with a salad w/tomatoes.

[Shasha]

{hi} there Jeanette

No problem, just wanted to be sure it’s not an ongoing mistake… Yes, if you feel hungry, rather avoid the yogurt and the cheese meals because they are the least filling meals on your eating plan.

:flirt: I’m pleased you enjoyed Garlic Bread – have you tried the Zucchini Hash Brown Recipe yet? It’s in the EGG IDEAS… :hungry: