angelica_95's Journal, 19 February 2016

Well done you! Fab work :-) 

Hi Angelica - how are you going this week?  

Hi Wendy, sorry for the late reply. I have been ok this week, I had my god daughters birthday on Wednesday last week (so a week ago) and then went to Bali on the weekend, and spent two days in Perth just now so my eating plan went sort of out the window. I am going to try and be good these next few days, because back to Bali I go on Saturday for 24 hours, and then Perth for 24 hours. Bali is hard to be good, because there is all that Nasi Goreng/rice dishes/and if all-else-fails Maccas is pretty cheap and cheerful over there :( so as you can imagine, pretty difficult to follow a LCHF diet. The high fat is no problem... its the Low Carbs that prove to be very difficult. Anyway, Onwards and downwards. I didn't hit my goal of 87.5 kgs by the end of February, but I will try to be there by the end of March. No pressure otherwise I will give up. I just need to know that I am going in the right direction - downwards. Hope you are doing well!  

Hello, lovely to hear from you. Nasi Goreng - didn't she build that big wall to keep out the rabbits?? Question - what do you mean by LCHF diet. I get the low carbs thing cos what energy we don't use is stored as fat but given we are trying to burn of fat why do we need more? As for your travelling etc, I get that better than just about anyone else here on this site. I was on the road for years. I'll tell you more about that one day but I KNOW it is sometimes impossible to "prepare" food while on the move and how sometimes you think you are going to one place and then something happens and the next thing you are heading somewhere else so all you plans go straight out the window. Got it. When I was away, I would stop at roadhouses and give them a laminated list of what I wanted so they knew what to do and eventually on my regular stops they got to know me and why I wanted certain meals and they became quite supportive. The other thing is I have always worked odd hours and mostly night shift and sometimes I work/am awake for up to 30hours at a time. Most people can't believe it but sometimes depending what we do, that's how it goes. Like now I have been up since 07.00 this morning and am working on establishing a charity business and then at 19.00 I start my 12 hr night shift and then I will be home again at 07.00 and then I will go straight to the lake and do a 2 hour walk/hike and then come home around 10.00 and have bout 5 hours sleep and then get up and go to my partners home so by the time I go to bed around 23.00 I will have had 5 hours sleep in 40 hours. I know cabin crew sometimes put in long days as well and often on your feet. Is there any planning you can do for when you get to Bali?  

Nasi Goreng did build the wall, but unfortunately, Nasi Goreng also built the thunder thighs as well LOL ! It is so refreshing to know that someone else is on the road as much as me! Except they haven't yet built fly-through road stops - just a matter of time I say :) It is really hard to prepare food especially when security takes just about everything off you before you leave Australia (even cans of tuna!). I am currently in Perth, and because I had some food on the plane (mind you not really diet friendly food) - I am not hungry now. The problem with that is that it is really easy to order room service here - when the munchies do kick in later on at night - I will try to sleep before then so I can avoid eating more naughty stuff. I have been so bad in this last week :( The point with LCHF diet is that the HF actually keeps you satisfied, even more than the protein, but believe it or not, you actually lose weight! I started in October last year, and since then have lost about 8 kgs. I know it is slow - but slow is good, and it is more sustainable than eating Low Carb and Low fat. I did that and lost a LOT of weight (Dukan Diet) - but then it found its way straight back to me (and then another 10 kgs on top of that). I stopped drinking low fat milk, infact, I drink long black coffees now with a dash of cream and NO SUGAR. The cream tastes great and I might have 2 of those a day. I swapped to unsweetened almond milk because of the low carbs in it, and use that in a "cappaccino or latte". I try not to eat any bread, pasta, rice and starchy veggies. I have a protein shake for breakfast and then lunch might be a tuna salad or a steak or chicken and then similar for dinner, which might be around 5 pm. On days that I have worked odd hours, I will wake up late, around 1 or 2pm and then have the protein shake and then have dinner at about 6pm and that will be it for the day. Sleep is really important too. I find that it is easy enough to stick to, except when I am overseas. Perth is ok because they have all the things I can have - subway salads are a good way to go when you are on the move. I worked out that I am averaging a loss of about 1.5 kgs a month which I am more than happy with. I need to lose another 20 kgs. I am not giving up this time. Anyway, you are doing really well with your loss! If Im not mistaken you would like to lose another 21 kgs or so? We are in the same boat then! I think it helps when you have people to chat to - about your everyday challenges! Where are you from in Australia? 

Hey Angelica, I'm in Perth too. I was just saying the other day about how lucky we are to have such a fantastic outdoors to get out and about, such a nice coastline to walk or cycle hey? 

@Wendy. We need more fat because amongst other thing, it helps us to feel full, thus eat less. It also has almost zero effect on blood sugar. Unlike carbs, there is no mechanism to store fat, provided it is fat alone (not fat AND carbs together), so it is burnt off. Plus, fat is good for us, and plays many vital roles in our wellbeing. But fats ain't fats. We need GOOD fats, which means meat, oily fish, butter, cheese, nuts, olive oil, macadamia oil, avocado oil, virgin coconut oil, and no frankenoils like canola. I try to eat 70% fat a day (you will be surprised what that looks like) and split the rest between protein and carbs, 20/10 if I am good, and maybe the opposite if it is a treat day :) Despite the huge amounts of fat, and massive amounts of kj (12k and up) I lose weight, I feel fantastic, and my bloods reflect this. Try it. Forget counting calories and trying to run them off, it doesn't work. Count the carbs, walk, see the difference. :) 

Hi Biggergus I know so many people on here swear by the LCHF diet and it certainly seems to produce results. I don't know a whole heap about it but I did notice that a lot of people on it have really high numbers for sodium - way over the RDI. Do you find this? And if so, does it have any detrimental affects or do you not notice it? I don't think this type of diet would suit me (I'm a solid input v output gal) but I'm genuinely interested as it seems to have a huge successful impact on so many people I come across :-) 

Hi Angelica ... Justine & Biggergus ... I'm into the LCHF diet but to the extent that I am in ketosis ... which I monitor with a diabetic blood monitor (Optimum) I aim at a daily calorie intake of 80% fat , 15% protein and 5% carbs .... its changed my life .... don't need to constantly eat because I'm NOT hungry ... I have had injuries which mean I can not exercise much, so by living this body fuel lifestyle 'Ketogenic' or whatever you like to call it ... I have lost 22 Kg in 12 months and have another 20 to go. It will be easy. This was a hard year ... last March I had a motor cycle accident and suffered a heart attack a few days later from the drugs I was administered. So that set me back a bit as I gained weight in hospital and had to start allover again. ... Sorry for the rave but I think if you seriously get into this type of diet you will love it and won't look back .... it only takes a few weeks to get used to it and then you are away ..best wishes 

Hi Firefish. So sorry to hear about your accident and the problems you had following it. It sounds like you are back on track and recovering well and it's great that you have found a diet that suit you. As I said, I generally hear nothing but good things about LCHF and can see that it works for lots of people. I mentioned sodium as it seems a lot of people on this type of diet have really high levels, what's your experience? I also read that this type of diet was ok for short term but not long term - what do you think? Whilst I don't think this type of diet would work for me (I already have too many restrictions to try to figure out haha) I'm genuinely interested to know more as it seems like such a success for so many people. 

Hi Firefish! I started off the LCHF diet also by cheking my ketosis levels with the sticks - I aim for 70% fat and split the rest 10 % carbs and 20% protein. Lately I have been so naughty and haven't really been following it - and you are right. When you follow the LCHF diet you are not hungry and it is really easy to follow! I lost 8 kgs in 5 months and I was never hungry! Just lately (in the last month or so) I have been super busy at work with increased international trips, some which I wasn't prepared for, so I ate whatever I wanted to. Not a good move, as I found myself constantly wanting to eat all the time. I started LCHF again today. I had my morning lemon water and my almond milk caffe latte. (unsweetned almond milk is very low in carbs - much less so than normal milk). I have to get my mojo back. Problem is, I have my last international trip on Thursday. It is difficult when you can't bring your own food in to the country and there are no places to cook your own food. I rely heavily on the hotel (think nasi goreng and hamburgers and pasta) A steak will cost me around $70 australian dollars at the hotel so I don't think that is reasonable. When I mainly stay in the country it is completely do able because all the cities I go to have supermarkets, and reasonable places to eat. I love the LCHF diet. It keeps me satisfied 99% of the time (there are days that I crave a bit of chocolate - but I am a girl after all :) - I need to drop another 20 kgs like yourself but haven't really put a time frame on it. Good luck with your 20 kgs and hopefully we can all encourage each other with whichever diet we decide to follow. Being a healthy weight is very important, but more so is the motivation and encouragement, and maybe even diet tips we can offer each other. Keep us posted on your progress! :) 

what is the LCHF diet please. I weigh 85kg and so want to be 70kg (if possible). The doctor said I have a fatty liver also that is why I want to go down in weight. thanks 

Trinity Girl LCHF is low fat, high carb. No grains, moderate proteins, high fat. Not just any fat though. My gastroenterologist recommended LCHF for me when i was diagnosed with fatty liver (liver is 22cm+). So i was told to embrace food in its normal state - real food. No breads, pasta, soft drinks, juices. Nothing that has fructose. Include lots of good fats! Avocado, butter, olive oil, coconut oil. No vegetable oil or sunflower/blended oils. Lots of veggies...minus carbohydrate high veg like potato. Include good grass fed meats, eggs and fatty cheese. Hope that helps. Google LCHF food lists. ☺ 

Yep. What she said. What are the symptoms of fatty liver anyway?  

these two dudes are great ... http://2ketodudes.com/ 

Hi Angelic. Hope you are still on track? 

No, ... actually it is Low Carb High Fat !  

HFLC lifestyle.... Look up Banting or THE BIG BREAKFAST BANTING DEBATE Charles Lubbe (South Africa) – http://mymoringa.co.za http://mymoringa.co.za/pages/how-to-start-on-the-big-breakfast The Real Meal Revolution Prof. Tim Noakes (South Africa) http://mymoringa.co.za/pages/how-to-start-on-the-big-breakfast 

Hi Wendyeriksen, I went so far off the track I ended up in another eating plan (this time the eat to gain 10 pound diet). Not great, but Easter is hard. Just to give you some idea, Good Friday is Fish and Chips day. Not only did I have that (complete with potato cakes), I also had a huge lunch, as I was going to work on Easter Sunday so I couldn't celebrate with my family... funnily enough though, I was so sick after wards, I ended up taking time off from work the following day, which impacted my work schedule on Easter Sunday, so, it turned out, I was free to celebrate Easter with everyone. Oh my. What I didn't eat. It didn't stop there, Eater Monday was a bit of a disaster too. I am trying to find the track today, chocolate has been present but I am getting glimpses of the track every now and again... I hope to find it completely tomorrow. I have put on weight, but cannot bring myself to post it - I want to get back to my weight pre easter so I can post it and get more motivated. I feel awful physically and generally unwell from all the crap I have eaten. I am meant to be on a LCHF diet - instead it is High Carb, High, Fat, High, Protein, and of course HI weight gain!. I am glad I stepped on the scales this morning. No excuses now. I saw the damage of 3.2 kgs up. I can not un-see the damage. Will check in tomorrow with hopefully better news. Hope you are doing better than I have been. :) 

Wow good on you so proud of you. You go girl :)