Strange but true....

Since i started dieting people have gone out of their way to keep me informed about  what they are eating. Just last night, my friend, Tigeress in the UK who has always been very slim and has never really being into food decided to regale me with what she had been eating and how she had suddenly become a glutton.  I was minding my business at around 9.00pm, watching tv, topping up on water and trying very hard not to watch Come dine with me (more honestly, i was trying not to think about the suya i had in my fridge...don't ask me how it got there!) when my dear "lepa" Tigeress started to ping me frantically on my blackberry.  I asked her what was up and she asked me to check out her DP.  And there was a bowl of spagghetti bolognese with cheese.  She then proceeded to tell me about all the things she had planned to cook for the next month and so and so forth.  After about 5 minutes of this pointless chatting, i had to politely tell her that i was on a very low calorie liquid diet consisting of strictly oats, soups and shakes and that she should never speak to me about food again. Like she didn't know that already!

Tigeress' Spagbol "with cheese and peppers"

The members of my bbm group are also guilty of the same thing.  Since i announced my weight-loss challenge on the group, they have felt the need to post pictures of everything they eat, from the exciting to the downright mundane.  Just the other day, a member of this bbm group came to visit me in the office and i went down with him to have lunch.  I had to sit and watch him polish off a plate of eba and soup whilst i sipped on water and complained  about how unfair it was that i couldn't eat.  That evening as if to worsen my torment, he posted a picture of his dinner of two pieces of fried fish, efo and bread.  Strange combination if you ask me and not particularly exciting but anything to torment Flora!

There is also my friend who is all the way in Lebanon, who makes a point of posting everything that goes in his mouth all day long, and that is a lot.  This is what he posted this morning (are those the yummiest looking eggs or what?).

Apparently this what the lebanese eat for breakfast...don't know how they work together!

Right at the beginning of my diet, another very slim friend of mine posted this with the caption Hello Flora....meet my friends?

Hello Flora....meet my friends!!!

Seriously, how mean can people be?  When i started this diet, part of my strategy was to make sure everyone knew i was dieting and what my targets were. I even started off trying to lose weight for charity but i got such a lukewarm response.   I felt sharing my experience with people would keep me motivated,  but it turns out this is my biggest mistake.  To confirm it, I just found an article on The mail online today with the title "Want to know the secret to successful weight-loss? Don't tell anyone you are on a diet." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2067745/Want-know-secret-successful-weight-loss-Dont-tell-youre-diet.html.  I wish i knew this before i started.  The article however talks about how the compliments you get from people who are trying to be supportive (because they know you are on a diet) might derail as you begin to feel you have accomplished your goals.  Unfortunately, it is not really working out that way for me.  These people are not being supportive! They want me to FAIL!!!.  I should be soo lucky to get compliments.  When i announced that i had lost 5kg in the first week, some people were so quick to point out that it was water weight.

I wonder if people are deliberately trying to sabotage my diet or are they really just insensitive?  Honestly, i think they are just insensitive especially this lot i just told you about....i still love them though.

Next weigh-in is in a couple of days. Will keep y'all posted!!!

Day 16: Food is all around me...it's everywhere i go *singing*

The last time i was here was exactly a week ago and a lot has happened since then.

I had my second weigh-in yesterday and had lost only 1.4kg in 7 days....very disappointing considering i lost 5kg in the first week.  I have now lost a total of 6.4kg in 2 weeks and my target is to lose 20kg meaning i have 13.6kg to go.

Weekends are really bad for me.  I manage to stick to my diet very well during the week but weekends are a different story.  On Friday night, i went to hang out with some of my friends and couldn't resist having a shot or two of brandy.  By midnight i had hunger pangs and could not resist the suya that was placed in front me.  My goodness, that Suya tasted soo good.  I woke the next day and to my surprise i had lost 0.5kg and i was still in Ketosis.  Alcohol has that effect though because it makes you dehydrated and i was still in ketosis because i had the brandy straight without any mixers.

I vowed to be good for the rest of the weekend but then i had promised to make ogbono soup for a friend of mine.  After cooking what i consider to be the best ogbono soup i have ever made with pomo, shaki, cow leg, beef, stockfish, dry fish, isam, ngolo and snails with ginger, of course i had to taste it.  So i had a bowl of soup with a bit of everything in it.  I still have some of the soup in the freezer and it takes all the will power i have not to have some.  It is no wonder i have been feeling so lethargic lately.  Anyway, i felt i wasn't doing so badly since i hadn't had any carbs.

On Sunday, i had to attend my nephews baptism and i woke up that morning resolved not to cheat....AGAIN!  I had my first shake before i left the house and loaded up with water.  I was sure i was going to be strong enough to sit there, sipping my water whilst everybody around me tucked in.  To cut a long story short, by the time i left my sister's house, i had had moimoi, fish with some efo. As if that wasn't bad enough, my sister who recently discovered her baking skills forced me to have a slice of cheese cake and lemon cake.

Walking to my weigh-in yesterday i passed a woman selling boli (roasted unripe plantain) with fish.  On a regular day i would have stopped.  It is so rare to find boli and fish in Lagos.  I just looked straight on ahead and continued to my weigh-in thinking i can't wait to finish this diet.  So once i hit my target, boli and fish will be lunch (until i get tired of it) and i will be back at square one trying to lose 20kg again.

There is food everywhere you turn.  As i walked into the CWP Consultants office, i could smell something delicious.  Alas one of her staff was eating rice at his desk. As far as i am concerned that is taking the biscuit.  Of all places to be tempted!  I was going to complain but felt there was really no point.

After my weigh-in, i walked back to the office depressed but determined to do better.  Alas, my boss invites for me lunch.  In fact he didn't invite me for lunch.  He asked my colleague to join him for lunch and he politely declined saying he had already eaten.  What do i do?  I volunteer that i hadn't had lunch and he asked me to join him.  I ran to my office and downed a small bottle of water and grabbed a second bottle thinking that i would just sit with him, sip my water and use the opportunity to discuss some issues.  One look at the chicken and shrimp curry and i almost snatched the spoon from his hand to help myself.  So straight from my weigh-in i went and had chicken and shrimps.

Thank you Prince G for this hilarious
description of what i am feeling.

I ask myself, is it that i am just a really weak person? Or is it that i like food too much? Or maybe it is because it is not realistic to expect people not to eat anything but CWP soups, shakes and oats?  I have heard of people who have done this diet for months without cheating....is it really true that they don't cheat?  I love food! I love to cook! This diet is hell for me.

Like i said in an earlier post, it is a slippery slope.  Once you start to cheat, you won't stop.  I know the weight will still come off because i am eating soo much less than i was.  Even with all the cheating, i am probably still consuming less than 1000 calories a day.  But i am miserable.  I feel so tired all of the time because i am constantly battling myself about the things that i can't have or about the guilt i feel because i have cheated.  This is meant to be an empowering process but it doesn't feel that way anymore.  The first week was great but the second week has left me feeling sorry for myself.

I am not trying to discourage anyone.  I know other people on this diet are going through the same thing.  I am a member of a bbm group and other members of the group are constantly talking about the temptations the face.  It is really hard but the reality is nothing good comes easy.

I have a trip to Dubai planned for the New Year.  If i stick to the diet, i will be looking super hot in my holiday photos and the shopping will be out of this world.  Maybe i will even get that Chanel bag.  We'll see.....

Day 9: First Weigh-in and Cheating

So, i had my first weigh-in yesterday and i have officially lost 5kg (11 pounds) in one week!!!!

 It feels wonderful.  Discipline does pay.  The first time i did CWP (Cambridge Weight Plan) the most i lost (which was in the first week) was 2kg and you are expected to lose the most amount of weight in the first week.  

Now i know why you cant afford to cheat.... not even when you really know how to.

Cheating on the diet is pretty easy, just don't eat Carbs. I have however come to understand that there is a delicate balance which means that you can't combine doing Atkins and Cambridge.  You have to do one or the other.  Both diets restricts carbs and require you to achieve and remain in ketosis however, the impact on the body is different.  Whilst Atkins encourages you to top up on fats and not count calories, Cambridge limits you to less than 500 kcals a day (if you are on sole source).  I am not a scientist so i cant really break it down.  All i know is that there is no point cheating when doing CWP.  Besides, the minute you start to eat, it is a slippery slope back to your old habits.  And here is what old habits look like!

I have stocked up on fibre and flavouring for my water.  It cost me N8,000.00 for both of them plus N13, 500.00 for my meals for the week and N2,000.00 for the Cambridge Bag.  In total i spent N23,500.00.  This  diet is so expensive there really is no point cheating.  If you are going to do, do it right or don't do it at all.  I hate to think about how much i spent the first time i tried the diet and all the products i had to throw out because i gave up and they expired.  No point deceiving yourself. I am sure i sound like a CWP Consultant...oh well.  It is the truth.  I am only speaking from experience.

I am so looking forward to my skinny self and my Peruvian weave which i will be splurging on once i hit my first target and boy would i have earned it.  I'm going to be looking hot! hot!! hot!!!

Day 7: This is no joke....

I have now gone past the point of coping just fine to the realms of hell!!!

Last night the craving for pepper and the sensation of actually chewing something was soo bad.  Having fought the urge for most of the day, at midnight i succumbed and had a piece of smoked peppered fish.  I have gone six whole days without cheating and now i am consumed with guilt because i ate the tiniest bit of fish. Seriously?!!!

As usual, i hopped on the scale the minute i got up and to my horror, i weigh the same as i did yesterday.  It must have been that piece of fish. Really????  Now, i'm feeling demotivated.  It is for this exact reason you are advised not to weigh yourself everyday, but i cant help it.

Anyway, i need to vent.  This diet is driving me crazy.  I spend all my time running to the loo as i am consuming 4 ltrs of water everyday.  This translates to peeing every 10 minutes or so and it is such a pain. I mean how won't you lose weight when you can't sit still for 10 minutes...makes sense. The thought of going anywhere far scares me because sometimes the urge to pee is soo strong i think i'm going to go right there. Imagine being stuck in Ikoyi-VI traffic.  But the water works.  I think the more you drink, the more weight you will lose (...yeah, cos the more you will move around).  For instance, i think i did barely 2ltrs yesterday and that may be the reason why i didn't see a 0.5kg loss which is the minimum daily loss i expect....for now.

As if the peeing is not bad enough, between last night and this morning i have spent about 5 hours on the loo (i exaggerate not) and still no success. Too much information....i know, but my fellow cambridge dieters can relate.  I am in soo much pain right now and it feels like i'm walking around with a stick shoved up my arse!  It hurts soo much i have given up.  At my weigh-in tomorrow, i'm definitely getting the flax seeds.  No diet is worth this amount of pain.  I must admit, my consultant advised me to get the flax seeds but i refused because i have slimmer tea which usually does the trick (and i was being cheap).  I have had 4 bags of slimmer tea (in one cup) and it is not working.  All it does is make me have contractions but the pain is so bad, i just don't want to push.

So sorry guys, this is way too much information...but it is what it is!

Here's another fat picture of me. Despite the challenges of the diet, i don't want to look like this ever again.

Day 6: Coping Very Well

Jumped on the scale this morning and was pleasantly surprised.  I now weigh 87.5kg.  That is  over 5kg lost from my starting weight of 93kg.  Wonderful!!!  My official weigh-in with the Cambridge consultant is on Wednesday so.....we'll see.

This time on the diet, i am determined not to cheat for the first 14 days and to drink the recommended 4ltrs of water daily.  Drinking that much water is hard as i am having to pee every 10 minutes but the effect on the skin is wonderful.  I have also found that the more water i drink, the thirstier i become.  I don't know if that really makes sense....but that's how i feel.

Also, some more wonderful news, i tested myself for ketones a couple of days ago and i am in Ketosis.  The ketostix really help as  they keep you motivated not to cheat.  The only trouble is i feel compelled to test for ketones every time i pee now.  Chances are that i will be going through a bottle of Ketostix a week.

I promised to post my goals/prizes, so here goes:

Goal 1: Lose 10 kg: Buy myself that wonderful peruvian hair.

Goal 2: Lose 12kg: Start rocking those suits that i bought months ago and still cant wear.

Goal 3: Lose 15kg: The most expensive Spa date i can find

Goal 4: Lose 18kg:

Goal 5: Lose 20kg:

I still cant decide what my treats for goal 4 and 5 are yet but i know it includes a Chanel bag and a holiday. Another picture of my overweight but still beautiful self!

Day 2 - Excruciating stomach cramps, evil nurses and dirty hospitals

Ideally i should have started this blog yesterday which was "Day 1" on my second round of the Cambridge Diet but i didn't.  I am starting this diet at 93kg....how depressing.  I am determined to go to down to a size US12 this time so i do not intend to cheat like i did the first time.

My starting weight is 93Kg with a BMI of 34.  My target is 73kg and this is because i haven't weighed in the 70's since my teens.

So far soo good, but i have food on my brain.  I keep craving the Kingclip and prawns from Ocean Basket but i think i will save that as a treat for when i reach my first mini target.

Today, i encountered evil nurses at the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta after experiencing really excruciating pains in my stomach caused by gas. I was at the hospital to visit my uncle who was having stomach surgery when the pain started.  My mom rushed me to the emergency room but i didn't get to see a doctor after waiting for over an hour at which point the pain which was caused by gas had pretty much disappeared.  I would say all nurses are mean but there was one who was being nice to me.  I wonder if it is because she is my uncle's friend's wife.....hmmm.

I will set my mini-targets and treats for myself tomorrow.

I know i can do this!!!  Here's a picture of me at my heaviest.