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Weight loss ups and downs - 800 Calorie - Newcastle

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
ColinUK said:
Thank you!

COLIN-R91 is the key bit of the referral code but I think it only works on first orders.
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Hopefully they won't check the address- I'll ask my daughter to do it. She's married. Mrs Allnighter
 
ColinUK said:
As long as you’re not insisting we fly to Libya or somewhere like that feel free to hijack!

Shakes for breakfast and lunch plus a “proper” meal is certainly sensible.

You talk about the exercise you’re doing and I’m wondering if it wouldn’t be wise to up your calorie intake if you were to stay on the shakes.

Newcastle diet et al is all about high calorie deficit for a defined period of time. There’s always different ways to use it though and some have used meal replacements for two meals and eaten sometime for the third. Some take weekends off and use products midweek to basically do a 5:2 approach.
At the moment I’m in a hybrid state where I’m starting to reintroduce the shakes but I’m not up to only shakes just yet. That’s likely to be from Monday for me.
Even then if I’m hungry I’ll have an extra one, or chomp down on some cucumber or a few olives etc.
The key is, as is often the case in life, tweak it so that it works for you.
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Thanks Colin

I imagine you would feel a bit fed up with shakes. I find there is an Exante base flavour and despite the brilliant range of flavours, it could get monotonous. I alternate with Optifast to add variety.

Good luck with the next chapter. It was your original thread, found from Googling Newcastle Diet, that persuaded me to give the diet a go and join Diabetes UK.
Your example is also why I'm posting stuff - it may help someone else down the line.
 
Weekender said:
@ColinUK , @Feathers @travellor @Lordy48
Hi all - Day 17 for me and I'm having some challenges and would welcome your advice and experiences.

I'm very grumpy and also feeling fatigued, and my family are getting fed up with me.
It seems that these grumpy and fatigued feelings are getting worse as it goes on.

I've decided to mix in a 18:6 fast with the 3 shakes and a salad. So I have my first shake at 12 and nothing after 18:00
I'm also trying to fit in swimming, walking etc - as I read that exercise helps burn more visceral fat. Over the 17 days I average 1,400 activity calories a day over my basal metabolic rate (1,900)

I feel pretty good from 07:30 till about 10:00 - the fat metabolism is doing its job
From 10:00 to 12:00 I'm particularly grumpy
After the first shake at 12:00 the wheels come off and I feel exhausted and have to lie down. I'm supposing this is caused by switching from fat metabolism to food metabolism - like crunching gears from reverse to forward.
I don't have energy to do much then have the Shake 2 at 2pm ish
A salad at 4pm and final shake at 6pm - occasionally with a 2nd salad
The evening then is just a 'bit hungry' (I hate it if we are watching Channel 4 - its wall to wall to food ads!)

I've lost 10kg so far and for the last 10 days I'm losing an average of 0.32 kilos - which will result in a loss of 22.72 kg after 8 weeks. So I guess I'm over doing it.
But I can't see how spreading out 3 shakes and a 2x salad / veg over longer would make a difference.
Maybe I should have more calories than it says in the plan?

Or is feeling grumpy and tired just normal and something to put up with? I explained to my family that cortisol levels rise when fasting and so grumpy is normal - but they weren't having it 🙂

I would really value your experiences please .
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Delayed reply - didn’t get the notification until today
Grumpiness was a constant with me for the first two weeks, I was a piggy wee moo! But I felt it settle down about week 3 or 4. I just did shakes and soups on the Counterweight plan, advice from other people who had completed it was to spread them equally and try keep to a routine so I had one at breakfast, lunch, about 4pm and then 7/8pm. After week 3 I didn’t feel hungry but I still wanted to eat, and sometimes I’d cheat and have a wee bite of something. This was more me just wanting to eat then being properly hungry and something I’ve had to kind of deal with and ask why I just want to scoff bad foods ‍♀️. I did have a 10 cal jelly every day which I saw as my treat and I felt that helped me a lot. I occasionally had some carrot sticks too. But mostly it was shakes and soups only. Spreading the meals like this evenly kept me from getting weak or dizzy, if I did miss my normal time and was a few hours off I did feel a bit rubbish. I would get dizzy quite easily at the start but I think it was a combination of the low calorie diet but also just moving and doing physical activities again because I’d been so inactive for so long! When I started my diet I was 26 stone, I’d been 27 stone the year before, and I sat on the sofa most of the time. By week 4 I had this burst of energy and wanted to try doing more but I wasn’t quite able to due to the low calories and needing to build my body up and get it use to doing stuff again. My advice would be try eating regularly rather than the fasting, see if that helps. Limit your exercise and activity, after all it’s a very low calorie diet and you don’t want to push your body too much. I’m on week 4 of food reintroduction, now eating 1400 calories a day and no more shakes. I can walk 10,000 steps a day and I’m doing weights and circuits 3 x week now I am eating again, I’m managing it and feel so much better. But I’d never have managed that while on my 800 calories a day. I’m down to 21 stone 1 now, 4 stone 13lb lost since March - still alot to loose but it’s going the right way. However if you are miserable on this plan it’s maybe not for you, and that’s ok - it’s not the same for everyone. But if you can maybe make some changes and stick it out hopefully you’ll get some good results. Definitely not easy though, completely sympathise
 
Hi, it's fantastic to read about your progress. How wonderful that you are starting to strengthen up. That should be a big step forward in quality of life.
Week 5 for me now. I've noticed I get very strong food cravings in the evenings, but that I'm not actually hungry. Hopefully I will learn to just ignore these in time.
Best of luck, your story is a real motivation
 
Weekender said:
Hi, it's fantastic to read about your progress. How wonderful that you are starting to strengthen up. That should be a big step forward in quality of life.
Week 5 for me now. I've noticed I get very strong food cravings in the evenings, but that I'm not actually hungry. Hopefully I will learn to just ignore these in time.
Best of luck, your story is a real motivation
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Yeh the food cravings are hard, even now that I’m back eating food the craving for ‘bad’ foods are still there and I still battle with it. Just need to remind myself why I’m doing it and allow small treats now and then. If only chocolate, pizza and cakes were classes as healthy food lol and just think you’re nearly half way there, you can do it!
 
Taking advantage of the Penny Sale I’ve just ordered a tonne of shakes. And I’ve used the referral credits to almost cover the whole lot!
So I’m very grateful for all those who have signed up.

What’s going on for me?
Well mental health has improved as I’ve given myself space to start to deal with things.
There’s a possibility that the long running legal thing may finally be settled this week but there’s no guarantee.
Food is more sensible now than it has been over the last few months. Still having the odd thing I perhaps should steer clear of but they’re much less frequently than previously.
Weight has stayed pretty much flat but I feel more comfortable in my skin.
I’m about to unfreeze my gym membership and I’m determined to walk proudly into the free weights room and know I’ve every right to be there regardless of whether I’m looking more like I’m carved out of lard than alabaster!

Off to the folks this weekend to do a tonne more gardening as I’m hoping that 15 saplings will have arrived and I’ve a tonne more persuading to do as I want then to agree that I build two raised beds from the lawn over the wall onto the patio.
 
Nothing better for the soul than a bit of gardening. Nice to hear the clouds are clearing for you.
 
Weekender said:
Nothing better for the soul than a bit of gardening. Nice to hear the clouds are clearing for you.
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The thing to do is just remember that they’re only clouds. Not only do they pass but the skies are always blue above them!

How are you getting on?
 
ColinUK said:
The thing to do is just remember that they’re only clouds. Not only do they pass but the skies are always blue above them!

How are you getting on?
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I would say, good. I think. I was saying to a friend that I think it's a blessing that 40 years of binge beer drinking can be wiped away in a few months. 2 stone down, and ideally another one to go.
I can't get on with weights, but I know I need to get to grips with them if I want to maintain my fitness. That's the next challenge I guess.
 
Hi folks 🙂

It's been quite a while since I've been around here - but I've come back because I'd accidentally let my weight get out of control again. And I'm specifically here because I started the Newcastle diet about 3 weeks ago, after reading Prof Taylor's book.

I've not read the whole thread (waaay too many pages!), but I've seen enough that I can see my experience hasn't been totally dissimilar to others: First week I was pretty listless and down on energy; but I seem to have got over that, for the most part. I still get hunger pangs in the evening, which chunks of cucumber & salad leaves don't really satisfy (and tonight I caved slightly and had a 200cal portion of dry roast peanuts); but the 15kg/2.5st goal keeps me off the snacks, mostly. So far, I'm about half way to my target. I weigh daily, which can be depressing if it goes up overnight (even on less than 800 calories), but the overall direction is good.

I also try to spread my meals evenly - 8am, 1pm and 6pm +/- 1/2 hour. I got caught up with some work today & didn't have lunch until nearly 3pm; by which time I did notice I was flagging a bit. Possibly psychosomatic though?

Anyhow... just thought I'd chime in as another Newcastler (no Newky Brown, though! Boo!). Is it worth the pain? I hope so! If my blood sugar meter is to be believed, I'm now pretty much always in the 4.5-7 range, so I reckon my insulin resistance is already dropping again, even though I'm not there yet. Not going to test it with cake, though!!

Cheers,
Ade.
 
Hi Ade, I'm on the same path - read the book and started 5 weeks ago. I recognise everything you say. Yes, I would say it's definitely worth it. There were a few challenges including constipation, low blood pressure, slowing metabolism etc which I waffle on about, with graphs on this Thread . I weigh daily too, and I get an up every day or so, I also hit a plateau this week (5) which I learned is normal - but very demotivating. I look forward to hearing more about how you get on 🙂
 
Bit of a breakthrough.
Therapist said that it’s very common for survivors to want to change the way their bodies look in order to distance themselves from the trauma and also to protect from it happening again.
Others I’ve spoken with have either dieted or exercised obsessively but consistently.
Generally they’ve only experienced sexual assault either once or only from one person if it’s multiple incidents.
I had three.
First I was a slightly plump teenager. Then I exercised and bulked up. Cue the second. After that I lost lots of weight and shed all the muscle. I was clearly underweight. Cue the third. That led to zero exercise and lots of eating to put on fat and become “less attractive” and be less at risk.
I’ve also dyed my hair blond, black, blue, ginger, orange, red, had highlights, lowlights, grew it long, shaved it all off, worn huge specs, gone for coloured contact lenses, worn flamboyant clothes, dressed to disappear.
It’s all related to the sexual assaults.
I’m still struggling with food but there’s a glimmer of understanding why I do what I habitually have done for almost 40 years.
That has to help reframe my relationship with my body and my health.
 
And I’m rereading Prof Taylor’s book.

Slowly but this is a marathon not a sprint.
 
Given what you've gone through Colin, it's no wonder you have been all over the place with your food and body. I sincerely hope that you can work your way through and become the person you should have been. No one should have to go through what you have. Rooting for you xxx
 
ColinUK said:
Bit of a breakthrough.
Therapist said that it’s very common for survivors to want to change the way their bodies look in order to distance themselves from the trauma and also to protect from it happening again.
Others I’ve spoken with have either dieted or exercised obsessively but consistently.
Generally they’ve only experienced sexual assault either once or only from one person if it’s multiple incidents.
I had three.
First I was a slightly plump teenager. Then I exercised and bulked up. Cue the second. After that I lost lots of weight and shed all the muscle. I was clearly underweight. Cue the third. That led to zero exercise and lots of eating to put on fat and become “less attractive” and be less at risk.
I’ve also dyed my hair blond, black, blue, ginger, orange, red, had highlights, lowlights, grew it long, shaved it all off, worn huge specs, gone for coloured contact lenses, worn flamboyant clothes, dressed to disappear.
It’s all related to the sexual assaults.
I’m still struggling with food but there’s a glimmer of understanding why I do what I habitually have done for almost 40 years.
That has to help reframe my relationship with my body and my health.
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Colin, I will say up front that I haven't read your whole thread, but one thing I will (I hope) always remember from when I was having therapy, moving on from a nasty skirmish with anorexia is the Psychiatrist making an offhand remark that chimes loud and clear. I'll paraphrase, but the essence was, .............

"It took a long time to walk this far down this (destructive, unhappy, unwell) road, don't be impatient on the return journey (to wellness and happier times)."

When I struggle with almost anything these days (decades on) I still recall those words. they chime for so many scenarios.

I do hope you can make your way to healthier, happier times at your own pace and in your own way. You deserve it.
 
ColinUK said:
And I’m rereading Prof Taylor’s book.

Slowly but this is a marathon not a sprint.
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Good job @ColinUK - I found his book incredibly motivating - stay stong mate, and the rewards will come 😉
 
ColinUK said:
Bit of a breakthrough.
Therapist said that it’s very common for survivors to want to change the way their bodies look in order to distance themselves from the trauma and also to protect from it happening again.
Click to expand...
Hi @ColinUK I hope this eventually leads to peace of mind for you. Awful trauma you've had to endure. Lovely to hear from you. We've missed you🙂
 
ColinUK said:
Bit of a breakthrough.
Therapist said that it’s very common for survivors to want to change the way their bodies look in order to distance themselves from the trauma and also to protect from it happening again.
Others I’ve spoken with have either dieted or exercised obsessively but consistently.
Generally they’ve only experienced sexual assault either once or only from one person if it’s multiple incidents.
I had three.
First I was a slightly plump teenager. Then I exercised and bulked up. Cue the second. After that I lost lots of weight and shed all the muscle. I was clearly underweight. Cue the third. That led to zero exercise and lots of eating to put on fat and become “less attractive” and be less at risk.
I’ve also dyed my hair blond, black, blue, ginger, orange, red, had highlights, lowlights, grew it long, shaved it all off, worn huge specs, gone for coloured contact lenses, worn flamboyant clothes, dressed to disappear.
It’s all related to the sexual assaults.
I’m still struggling with food but there’s a glimmer of understanding why I do what I habitually have done for almost 40 years.
That has to help reframe my relationship with my body and my health.
Click to expand...
Hi Colin, thank you for being so open and sharing your insights. I'm sure lots of people who have suffered from abuse will recognise the truth in what you say. I'm glad to read that you are finding your therapy helpful. I doubt I would have learned to live with myself and others without it. (11 years of it 20 years ago!). I think what @AndBreathe writes is very valuable, the process can take a while, so be patient. My wife who is a therapist (and survivor) recommended The Compassionate Mind by Paul Gilbert to me and gave me her copy. Apparently we can teach ourselves to be compassionate towards ourselves and others. Our self loathing is a response to our history and can be unlearned. When I get a chance to put this bloody stick I keep beating myself with down, I might get around to reading it one day. Keep on going, it sounds like you are on a good path
 
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