Eataholic01's Journal, 03 Jan 21

It can be because you are eating less that your body is now feeding of your fats to sustain energy so might actually make you feel heavier/bigger and the scale may not show immediate difference especially if you started exercising it may cause you to gain some weight as your building muscles. Only true way you will know you are losing weight within the first 6 months is pictures and even measurements 

Post 1 of 2 Hi Eataholic - I actually scrolled through the newsfeed multiple times to find this post because when I initially read it I so wAnted to post and wasn’t in a position to! 🤪🤪 So this is just my take and I do believe I have researched it sufficiently as well - the calories in calories out model for weight loss is huge BUT it is only part of a successful formula for many of us. I am just trying to share my story and a small portion of my research and findings here. I started 6 January 2020 at 92kg, and have struggled with my weight since having kids. I was a stubborn proponent for calories in calories out - I was losing weight, but I’m not going to lie it was hard. by March 2020 I was hitting a plateau, and it was because my body hit starvation mode (which I believe you are in - some people take longer, some shorter), and then lockdown hit SA and boom 9kg of my hard earned 16kg hopped right back on - and I WASNT overeating, I was eating to maintain (so wtf right?). My weight loss came mainly from salads and lean protein, that’s so healthy! My gain came from adding a snack of peanut butter sandwich with white bread, Nescafé cappuccino, oats for breakfast or sometimes other cereals - which are all not super unhealthy right? I saw a few people advocating keto keto - but then some others would post a picture of a meal of mince covered in cream and cheese with avo on the side and I thought “there’s no way that will work for me”... On a lark one day I saw a documentary called FAT FICTION on a download list, and I found it to be absolutely eye opening! It lead me to research about sugar and carbs and insulin resistance, which I know without a doubt I have/had. Of all the documentaries I watched I found this the most eye opening (but will include a list of the ones I found to be great in a second comment). Yes calorie counting can and does work, but if you have a larger hormonal issue at work, you will struggle to find success, and beyond that if you are under eating you WILL enter starvation mode, and your body will slow down your metabolism to “save itself” (survival mode) 

Post 2 of 2 So here is the long and the short for me. I started what I would call a “keto diet” but please don’t run away here! I don’t know if you’ve followed Dharsha - she has some amazing advice, here is my take on it. After watching the documentaries listed below, and some google research (queue the people calling me crazy) but I believe a lot of my weight gain was insulin resistance related - looking back I did basically live on a diet of carbs for many years, not like pasta everyday, but cereal for breakfast, with milk, coffee with milk and sugar, sandwich for lunch, rice with my meat and veg at dinner, exactly what would fall within the food pyramid “balanced diet” - why was I getting so fat?? And this was within a reasonable RDI of calories? Admittedly I would binge sometimes as well on potato chips, a slap of chocolate, half a pizza etc So after reading up on insulin resistance I believe part of my issue was the constant up and down of blood sugar levels, hitting the high, feel good, then the crash and needing more sugar or carbs to get back up... it’s something you need to read up on yourself if you feel this might be a contributor for you. Now finally where I am now... I do follow a ketogenic diet BUT what this means is a diet consisting of low carbs and high fats, but NEVER a bowl of 400g of mince covered in cheese and cream and only avocado on the side as a vegetable 😩 oh my goodness I run away when people post that as a meal, no wonder one of the below posts mention it and 3000calories per day - because what I do is a minimum of two meals a day (I could not survive on OMAD) with a fatty cut of meat/fish or eggs, and LOADS of low carb vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, marrows, spinach, salads etc). For snacks if I am really in need of something sweet then I choose canderel chocolate or WW carb clever ice cream - there are great alternatives! The fat from the meat together with other healthy fat alternatives like cooking my food in extra virgin olive oil, proper butter or occasionally adding cheeses to a meal (although you want to be selective with adding too much dairy) are more than enough to keep me satiated, and the vegetables fill me so much that it’s not even necessary to snack. I haven’t started on a ton of other low carb options like we love low carb breads, but I have done some truly good pizza based and wraps which you get at a spar and fill them up with a ton of veg and salad ingredients and my fatty meats and it is the best I have felt in years! Unlike just calorie counting and cutting it’s the least work it’s ever felt. If you have any want to chat about it please feel free to let me know, or message or so. Documentaries I have watched Fat Fiction The Magic Pill Fed Up Sugar the Bitter Truth Many of these are available on YouTube and if you are in a position to watch them I really really recommend them! Good luck X 

From the bottom of my heart I want to thank everyone for all the insight and help. I s is not expect this kind of response and for people to even care this much🥺 I wouldn’t have thought I was in starvation mode but it does kind of make sense 😬 thank you and have a brilliant week ❤️ Also I was wondering if anyone would want to help me keep accountable to the workout plans? Anyone that has done Chloe ting knows it’s sore and it’s so easy to give up but I think having someone to keep me accountable might help but I’m generally good with keeping up with the workouts.  

Hi Eatahokic - send me the chloe ting workouts or a link there for over this post and maybe I can join you and we can keep each other accountable? 

Hi Waistaway This is the link https://www.chloeting.com/program/2019/summer-shred-challenge.html I prefer the 2019 shred to the 2020 

Thanks Eataholic- I will watch and get back to you 🌟