Day 170 - Settling Into Step 2

Hello lovely people! Hope you had a great week and are looking forward to the weekend. Things have been really great at my end. Diet is going on pretty well, lost 2.2lbs this week on Step 2 and I don't cry when I enter a shop looking for clothes to buy.

I'm enjoying making salads and grilling tofu, squid and chicken breasts. Will be trying out a recipe I saw on the CWP website this weekend. Hopefully it tastes good.

Will share pics once I prepare the meals.

Cheers.

Day 157.... Step 2 Beckons

Oh my goodness! The week has been absolutely fabulous! I'm becoming smaller by the day and I'm loving the compliments that are coming my way.

Meanwhile, my consultant and I have agreed that it's time to move to Step 2. This step allows 3 Cambridge products in addition to a 200 calorie meal, made up primarily of proteins and veggies. To ensure maximum success on this Step, I have actually created recipes on MyFitnessPal with measurements calculated to ensure that the meals are actually 200 calories. This is a lot of work but once the recipe is created, you are sorted for life.

I must say I'm very excited that I will be eating stuff other than the products. Considering how long it's been, I'm sure my palate will appreciate the difference in flavors.

Weigh in was great this week. I lost 1kg/2.2lbs. I'm actually eager to leave the 80s and move to the 70s.

Will be sharing some images and recipes once I start. Till then, enjoy the weekend y'all.

Cheers.

Day 149

I still can't believe I have been on this diet for over 21 weeks. It's been one heck of a ride these last five months with each week being filled with extreme joy as I watched the number on the scale go down each time I stepped on. I remember the day I fit into a pair of UK 14 jeans. Oh my! There were tears in my eyes as I screamed "they actually fit."

To say it was so easy would not be entirely true. There are times I miss eating my favorites like grilled chicken, salmon and the likes. I however console myself with the fact that I would be able to eat these in moderation if I do what's right and lose all the weight. 

It feels good to finally get clothes that fit every time I enter a shop. I'm even scared that I may end up spending too much on clothes now 😍😍, but I'd rather do that than spend on medication as a result of me being obese.

At the moment I weigh 84.8kg, the lowest I have ever been in over 17 years. My first goal is to get to 80kg, and then slowly move to 70kg as I progress through Steps 2 to Step 5. I ultimately want to weigh at least 64kg to be in the normal BMI range, but I also want that to happen at a much slower rate than what I have now.

I'm just so grateful to the Lord that I finally found a plan that worked for me and helped me lose over 30kg in 5 months.

I can't to see what the rest of the year will bring but I'm so happy!!!

Day 132

Can you believe I have been on this diet for four months? Wow! I'm even surprised at how it's fully become a normal routine for me.

At the moment I am currently at 60lbs lost and still have about 40lbs to go. By the grace of God, I'm hoping to be able to lose all this by November.

The plan is to move to Step 2 once I get to 176lbs and then move through Steps 3-6 till I get to my goal.

Will share come progress pics on my next post.

Cheers.

100th Day on Cambridge Weight Plan

Wow! Now I know why procrastinating can lead to a wasted year. When I started the program on the 13th of March, my motto was to take things a day at a time. That strategy worked! I have managed to do 12 weeks on Step 1, a week on Step 2 and then go back to Step 1. Determination absolutely leads to success. All we need is to just put in the effort and trust the process.

Today is exactly 100 days since I started the Cambridge Weight Plan. I still maintain that it is the easiest diet I have ever done in my entire life. Seeing the numbers drop consistently was enough motivation to just keep going. I have lost almost 50 lbs in 100 days and I feel more confident and healthy. My blood pressure which was always hovering around 130/90 or 120/80 is now at 100/70.

I have started taking swimming lessons and exercising is so much more fun than it ever used to be. A number of people hear about the diet and think it isn't realistic and try to discourage me, but I never budge. They weren't there when I had to buy new clothes every single month because the old ones wouldn't fit. Neither were they around when I would wake up choking for air in the middle of the night.

The program in my opinion is realistic as it helps you change your relationship with food whilst training you on portion control through the Steps program. So you start with just the products, and begin to introduce normal food as you lose the weight and incorporate exercise into your routine.

I'm so happy and can't wait to see what happens by the end of 2018, as I have dedicated this year to ensuring that I enter 2019 as a healthy, non-obese gal.

Here's to another 100 days by God's grace.

Days 44 - 64

Wow! It's been that long. I've still been on plan but have been too busy to post on here. The plan is going pretty well and I'm still losing, in case you were wondering whether I fell off.

Today is Day 64 and I have lost 35lbs in total. I'm super happy about that, as I can finally wear a number of clothes that didn't even fit three years ago because of my weight gain. The plan now is to hold off buying new clothes till it's really necessary.

Anyhoo, I have 20 days left to complete Step 1 and move to Step 2. I'm a bit nervous about the fact that I will be introducing real food but, I'm sure the meal planning is what I'm worried about. At the moment I don't have to think about weighing, cooking and measuring my calories, but from Step 2 I'm going to have to deal with that. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

My consultant entered me for a summer weight loss challenge spanning twelve weeks. The goal is to lose at least 4.4lbs each week till the end of the 12-week period, translating to a total of about 52lbs. On average I lose 3lbs meaning that if I'm able to keep this going for twelve weeks I could lose an additional 36lbs to what I've already lost.

This is going to be exciting and I will keep you posted.

Cheers.

Days 35-43 and Weigh In

The days are going by with ease and I have stayed on track. This diet isn't as hard as it is made out to be once you settle into the rhythm of things.

Fell sick due to the TOTM and still stayed on plan. Was so nauseous that I even ended up taking shakes instead of doing my usual spaghetti Bolognese for dinner. You can therefore imagine my disdain when the scales read a loss of 1.2kg this week. Why?????

I know that the weight loss slows down a bit but I can't be doing all this hard work to see such a minute loss on the scale. Next course of action is to start working out and see if this will make a difference at my next weigh in.

6 weeks down, 6 more to go and I'll be done with Step 1 of the Cambridge Diet.

Days 22-35

Still on track. Lost a total of 18lbs in four weeks and lost, an additional 2.9lbs in Week 5. So far this has been my lowest loss, but it is better than nothing at all, or a gain. 

I've stayed on track 100%. Thank God for the ketosis that takes away the hunger. Drinking 4L of water daily has been pretty hard. I usually average 3L daily but I'm trying to do more.

I'm almost halfway through Step 1 and I'm hoping to have lost at least 50lbs at the end of twelve weeks. That would be phenomenal (fingers crossed).

On the non scale victory front, I wore a pair of trousers that I haven't been able to wear since I bought them in 2016, which is great. I also wore a blouse that became too tight to wear last year due to my weight gain today. It fit quite comfortably and will probably be lose by the end of the eight week if I keep losing.

The food isn't bad either. I am totally in love with the spaghetti bolognese and cous cous, a dash of pepper and they actually taste like food prepared at home. Who knew diet food could be yummy?

The chicken tikka is alright but, the soups are definitely not for me.

Anyway, I need to get back to work. Talk to y'all later.

Cheers.

Days 13-21

Hey. So it's been a minute since I last posted. Work has been crazy and tiring, hence my inability to keep up with the daily posting. Thankfully, I'm back so let's get this narrative going, shall we?

I stayed on plan and lost 3.8lbs in the Week 2 Weigh In.

Week 3 was a breeze and I lost 3.1lbs at the weigh in, bring me to a total of 15lbs lost in three weeks. I'm chuffed with that!

Can't wait to see what Week 4 brings.

22 days down, 62 to go!

Days 10,11 & 12

It's been a pretty busy weekend. I'm still on plan and can't wait for Wednesday's weigh in. I have a feeling I won't lose so much this week even though I've been 100% on plan. I did notice that my face is getting slimmer.

Not much to say today. Tried the Spaghetti Bolognese and liked it, though it could use a little pepper.

Cheers.

12 days down, 72 to go.

Day 9 - Water Struggles

Been feeling gassy today. Wondering what exactly in the products are making me feel this way. Honestly, I like that fact that I feel lighter from eating little food. Spoke to my consultant and asked her for the Cambridge Weight Plan booklet.

Breakfast was a Chocolate Mint Shake and Lunch was an Apple and Blackcurrant smoothie. The smoothie is really sweet so I tend to add more water than prescribed on the sachet. 

Dinner was the original porridge. Tasted yummy as usual. Can't believe people don't like the taste of the porridge. 

My main challenge today was water intake. I've been asked to drink 4L daily. As I type this post, I'm still sipping water. Been able to consume 3.4L so far. If I stay up a bit late, I may be able to complete the task.

Day 9 down, 75 to go.

Day 8 - Week 1 Weigh In Surprises.

I lost 3.5kg, that translates to 7.7lbs! Whooooaaaaat!! I'm so chuffed about that. The Cambridge Weight Plan suggests that people lose an average of 14lbs a month. That translates to about 6.3kg. This means that if I lose at least 1kg every week from here on out, I would achieve a weight loss of 18kg in 12 weeks.

However, I can only estimate the kind of loss that I would be achieving once I see the scale figures at the end of Week 2. So let's wait till then.

On the food front things have been going pretty well. I am still amazed by the fact that I no longer feel hungry and tired when I wake each morning like I used to; and it's only been a week! Wow!

Some colleagues are still trying to sabotage my weight loss efforts by asking me out to lunch, especially when they know I'm on a diet. To be honest I haven't told many people that I'm on this diet. Only five people plus my consultant know about my journey and I plan on keeping it that way, at least until the results begin to show so much.

Breakfast today was a chocolate shake which was quite yummy. It was quite lumpy even though I shook the shaker pretty well. Will probably have to use a blender next time.

A note to everyone, water works. Drink as much water as possible. Though it makes you visit the washroom often in a day (which I consider exercise, considering the distance from my desk to the washroom), I believe it flushes out the toxins out of your system.

Lunch was a strawberry shake I didn't really like. Surprising since I love strawberry flavored foods. 

Anyhoo, this evening I had the rice pudding. I love the rice pudding but don't like that I have to wait about 10 minutes after adding hot water before consuming. Quite cumbersome. WIll probably do more porridge in the future.

Day 8 down, 76 to go.

Day 7 - It's A Week!

OMG! I'm so excited! I did it! I was able to control myself and avoid all the wrong things for a week. Thank you Jesus! My consultant is excited to see my weigh in tomorrow, as I will be taking a shot of myself on the scale and sending it to her.

Yesterday, I think I overexerted myself a bit at work, as I was quite exhausted after dinner. Had to retire to bed quite early.

Interestingly, I haven't really experience dthe ketosis symptoms mentioned by many on Instagram and Facebook. All I had was saliva in my mouth upon waking for two days :). Is that ketosis?

Can't wait to see what happens on the scale tomorrow. If I lose at least 3 kg, I will be pleased.

Day 7 down, 77 to go.

Day 6

What a day! I resumed work today and had to deal with a flood of aromas every single time I needed to head to the water dispenser.It was okay though, as I know why I'm doing this diet in the first place.

Had a cappuccino shake for breakfast, that was really good. Lunch was a vanilla shake, followed by rice pudding for dinner.

Everything was going pretty well, till I suddenly started feeling pretty tired. I did a lot of work-related walking today, plus the numerous trips to the bathroom. Perhaps that was the cause.

Water intake was great too. I did the 4L and then some.

I'm a bit nervous about my weigh in. TOm has a funny way of messing things up. Fingers crossed though, as it is in two days.

Day 6 down, 78 to go.

Day 5 - No Hunger

It's been five days already! Five days since I decided to give the Cambridge Weight Plan a go. My first weigh in is on Wednesday and I'm quite optimistic about it being a very good weigh in.

Today has been quite a slow day for me as TOM came knocking and the cramps that came with it made it impossible to move about as much as I normally would have. 

On the meal front, here's a summary of what I took today.

Breakfast:

I tried the apple and cinnamon porridge. It was good, but I don't see myself taking that often. 

Lunch:

Lunch was a toffee and walnut shake - absolutely horrible. I did not taste the toffee in the shake at all. In fact, it was quite bland. I'm never picking that shake again. 

Dinner:

The chocolate mint shake I had this evening was quite an interesting one. I loved the fact that I could taste the mint with each sip of the shake. Will I have it again? Definitely! However, I'm sure I would prefer plain old chocolate.

I resume work tomorrow and I must confess that I'm nervous about meal times at work. I do not need any naysayers talking about how this diet may not be ideal and blah blah blah. My plan therefore is to be discreet when making my meals. Will be doing more of the shakes at work and having the meals and porridge at home.

Day 5 down, 79 to go.

Day 4 - Getting A Hang Of This

Hey guys. Hope y'all are having a great weekend. So this morning the lady who does the laundry came in and set a giant bowl of rice and kontonmire stew right close to where I was working. I muttered a silent curse and got on with it. Like I said to a friend at the start of this journey, I have eaten every single thing I could possibly crave for so I can give them up for a year if I have to.

This morning I tried the Original Porridge for the first time. It tasted really good and got me remembering my childhood, when we would be given a steaming, creamy bowl of Quaker Oats 

before heading out to church. 

I think I mentioned before that I really liked the rice pudding, so much that I asked for more from my consultant. Picked up my stash for the week and realized that it included an apple and strawberry yogurt bar. It was quite chewy but nice.

This coming week I get to try the Apple and Cinnamon porridge, Chocolate Mint Shake, Toffee and Walnut Shake and the Cappuccino shake. 

I know it's only Day 4 but I'm really nervous about my weigh in. I feel lighter but I would great if I could get out of the 110s. Fingers crossed.

Day 3

Today has been a really good day, aside the fact that I woke up with saliva in my mouth, which was accompanied by a strange taste. Weird, as this only happens when I'm down with Malaria. Told my consultant about it and she mentioned that my body was probably reacting to the change in diet.

I had the vanilla rice pudding for breakfast and the lactose free vanilla shake for lunch. I love the rice pudding so much that I'm gonna have that again for dinner. At the moment I don't have any other savory meal options though Cambridge has a few such as the Spicy Couscous, Macaroni and Cheese, etc. 

I tried the Couscous for dinner last night and, honestly I'm not sure I liked it. I mean, I managed to eat it but I probably will eat less of it in the days to come. 

Tomorrow I get to meet my consultant to pick up supplies for next week as I will be at work and won't be able to pick them up when my supplies for Week 1 run out on Tuesday. 

Still drinking my water though. Almost finished my 3rd bottle for the day. One more to go and I will have hit my 4L goal for the day.

3 days down, 81 to go.

Cheers.

Starting All Over With The Cambridge Weight Plan.

After deep thought and consideration, I've finally decided to try the Cambridge Weight Plan. I know a lot of people are going to ask why I won't just do the normal exercise and diet thing. Truth is I've done that and achieved minimal to moderate levels of success. I either lose till I'm halfway through to my goal weight and then give up when I hit a plateau.

After carefully reading about the plan and meeting with a CWP consultant, I started the program yesterday, 14th March 2018. For those that don't know much about the plan, you are basically replacing foods with meal replacement shakes, soups, smoothies and savoury meals. This program forces the body into fat burning mode, since there are no carbs available for the body to use as energy. The program which comes in various stages, allows you to discipline yourself with the Sole Source stage for about 12 weeks before introducing normal foods gradually into your diet.

To be honest, I was quite skeptical when I heard about the program, but that was until I saw someone I've always known to be big lose tons of weight on the program. That was my cue to try.

Today is Day 2 and so far it's been great. I won't lie and say I haven't resisted the urge to engage in mindless snacking ( I tend to like roasted maize and groundnuts in the afternoon), but with my goal in mind and the grace of the most high God, we shall overcome.

Starting weight is 253lbs and I hope to at least leave the 200s by June.

Let's see how this week goes.