A Farewell.

 

I hadn’t checked this page in yonks… and I realised how much I had loved it when I started. Even though there are hardly any views… making this blog had made me happy and seemed like a companion on a journey I had started.

As I was going through the posts I realised that the Dukan calculator had predicted me to be 62.5kg by September of this year. That was, according to it, the weight I should be. As of November, 2017 that is actually my weight… however I did not use Dukan to get here *hides face in shame*

The story goes something like this… after some time Dukan recipe ideas started drying up. So around the beginning of 2017, I started incorporating more keto recipes. After trying out the keto way of eating, I realised that it suited my body a lot and because of that I didn’t feel as hungry. I also felt it was easier to eat keto based meals every day as I wouldn’t have to think about the fat content of the foods I ate.

Keto recipes are much more available on the internet and I say this a bit guiltily, I know this blog was originally about Dukan but as time went on my eating habits and goals of weight loss were doing better with following keto. I ate curries without carbs, ate my Stevia chocolate. I even made a cake from it with Buzzfeeds ‘Two-Ingredient Cake’ recipe, which was bomb! They also have a two ingredient low carb pasta recipe which I highly  recommend.

I eat eggs, coffee with cream, Thai curries, Korean stews, pasta (from the recipe mentioned above), salads, and I admit to eating that chocolate cake for breakfast… and at many other times after…

I am still not at my goal weight, but closer to it than before. Knowing my body, I know I should lose about 9kg more to be rid of fat rolls.

I guess from this last post I just wanted to say this. You can do it too. You can find a way that suits you, a way that works for you and accomplish your weight loss goals. It doesn’t mean sticking to one regime, it means adjusting it according to the needs of your body and situation. So here’s what I would recommend to you:

1. Do your research and firstly, find products that suit your diet and that will make your life easier when you are starved, haven’t eaten the whole day and need a meal. Everyone needs a backup. I’ll include a list of my favourite things below.

2. It’s okay to have a meal, a day or even a weekend of going crazy. You can always come back to the diet. I had days of eating mac and cheese, fried chicken and pizza. But in the days which followed I would balance my meals accordingly.

3. Prepare your meals beforehand.

4. Include variety… anything you like to eat can be made diet-friendly. Diet is not about eating specific foods. It’s about changing how you eat. Eat at a Thai restaurant, but just have the curry. Or at Shakeshack, but eat without the bun.

5.  As I said… anything you put your mind to you can accomplish it. If you decide you want to change your life right now, you can do it. Don’t beat yourself down, be gentle with yourself and help yourself achieve targets.

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Here is a list of foods I use:

1. Mission Low Carb Tortillas-

to make pizza, tuna melts, burritos, or use as any Indian/Greek flatbread alternative

http://www.missionmenus.com/en/products/view/mission-fajita-carb-balance-whole-wheat-8ct

2. Any brand of Stevia Chocolate. I use this:

http://www.hfbcandy.com/products/simply-lite/

3. Kraft Processed Cheese

My favourite snack or emergency meal with the Mission tortilla. Has perfect fat:protein ratio.  Find at your local Indian or Arab grocery store.

https://www.amazon.com/Kraft-Prepared-Pasturized-Cheddar-Cheese/dp/B003DD6GVS

4. Two Ingredient Chocolate Cake

Made with Stevia chocolate of course.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/amphtml/riemcclenny/need-a-quick-dessert-in-a-pinch-this-chocolate-cake-is-only

5. Two Ingredient Pasta

https://www.buzzfeed.com/amphtml/alixtraeger/this-2-ingredient-pasta-is-the-perfect-quick-and-easy-low

6. Flavoured Seaweed Snack

As a savoury chips alternative… thought Quest Protein chips aren’t bad but they are really very processed.

7. Starbucks Coffee with Cream and Sous Vide Egg Bites 

Perfect, perfect meal and keeps you going for ages. Saved me this summer.

8. Oh yeah! ONE protein bar

TBE.

https://ohyeahnutrition.com/collections/ohyeah-one-bar

9. Quest All Purpose Powder

To make pancakes and crepes!  Drizzled with chocolate sauce ofc.

http://www.gnc.com/fall-sale-performance/476404.html?mrkgcl=1098&mrkgadid=3246676886&rkg_id=h-3fbe90ab32bdb79809b2e4932d747bd4_t-1510511584&product_id=476404&flagtype=nonbrand&vendor=Quest_Nutrition&channel=ppc&adpos=1o1&creative=224556650114&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KCQiA_5_QBRC9ARIsADVww17OK4ue2XqGnblKne08jl8dyp02-OD9lyf6WYGCiMXPxmueSBxcV5AaAlBYEALw_wcB

10. Milk with Lowest Sugars

https://fairlife.com/ultra-filtered-milks/skim-milk/

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So with this I bid you, and this blog, farewell. I still have a long way to go in my journey… but now I have better tools to achieve my new goal of 53kg. And I hope I have been able to provide someone else with any amount of support or help they needed to lose weight. So now… goodbye, and good luck.

A Little Snack

A little snack idea, 2% cheddar cheese, sliced. Also some natural, nitrate free turkey deli meat. And a sachet of mustard.

And of course some green tea water to wash it down!

Chocolate!

There are so many reasons to love Trader Joes, this is one of them. A Dukan-friendly chocolate bar. I’ve tried both, the milk and dark chocolate and prefer the dark, it has a more rich chocolate flavour.

Try it as a cocoa powder alternative-melted and mixed with the Danette instead of cocoa powder, chopped up in the galettes (chocolate chip pancakes!) you can even make Nutella with it!

Jelly and Custard

My darling mother is doing the Dukan with me – she wanted me to share this recipe (and her picture…)

So here it is.

What’s a more iconic or comforting dessert than this? It’s made in a snap too. Just chuck it in the fridge and leave it be for some time. All you need to do is make a sugar free jelly according to the package instructions and make a custard following this recipe:

1 tbsp Dukan-approved custard powder

1 cup cold milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Add everything to a saucepan and whisk well, making sure there are no lumps. Put heat on medium and cook slowly. Meanwhile, in a heat proof bowl add:

2 egg yolks

sweetneer to your taste. You can add more later

When milk has thickened and come to a boil switch off stove and add a spoonful of the hot mix into the egg mix and whisk really well. Repeat process two times then add eggs into the saucepan with the rest of the milk and cook again for 10 mins on a medium flame, or until thickened and coating back of spoon.

Put in bowl and leave to come to room temperature before chilling in fridge.

 

Stagnation and Frustration

It’s been almost two weeks since I started the Dukan Diet and things went very well at first. Now it seems my weight has stalled and is going up and down a lot. Went back to the book to see what Dudu has to say about it. Apparently women retain a lot of water before their period and therefore their true weight will not show until they are done with it. Another thing was that a lot of people gain some weight or their weight stalls after a PV day. Although the guru said that it’s nothing to worry about and to just follow the plan and give it time I’ve decided to follow a new routine: 5 PP days and 5 PV days*. Over the long term Dukan says that both give the same results but it’s more difficult to follow and may effect your determination to follow the diet as is, and it is very, very important to follow the diet to the tee.

So even though it is difficult I’m going to start this new rhythm from today, after having only one day of PV. Crazy as it sounds I want to see results ASAP, as anybody putting in hard work does, though I realise if it makes my will weaker I will go back to 1+1 after the first ‘rhythm’  is complete.

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* There are a few ‘rhythms’ advised by Dukan:

1 PV + 1 PP – easiest to follow. Same results as 5+5 though takes longer to work

5 PV + 5 PP – difficult but gives quick results. End results supposed to be same as 1+1

5PV + 2 PP – For bottom-heavy people or people with cellulite.