I think I can, I think I can, I think I can

Hello Dukaners! Gosh, day 77 of my dukan adventure; 2½ months on – lets review where I am.  I’ve been away for a few days and have been really successful at sticking to the plan, largely thanks to my understanding family who just let me get on with it without making me feel weird and said all sorts of encouraging things about how they could really tell it was working, etc.  Before I left London (4 days ago) I had a BMI of 23 – amazing to think that just 2½ months ago I had a BMI of 28.  That’s 5 BMI points down, from being a stones throw from clinically obese to 2 points under the ‘overweight’ threshold (yes – I am ‘normal’!! – finally!!)

Where I am mentally:

I can mostly say that everything is pretty much ok.  I’m quite boring really; I can settle into routine quite easily and not get bored of eating the same thing.  Now I know and am comfortable with the parameters of what I can eat, it’s fat free yoghurt for breakfast (cocoa or vanilla) a litre of tea, a dukan sandwich for lunch (PP or PV) and a simple rotating menu for dinner, with the occasional treat (steak, etc.) thrown in from time to time.  I still find eating away from home marginally stressful, but it’s getting better.  The weight is still coming off so I haven’t panicked when recently I was forced to eat cake (a very important work function, I picked fruit cake but retrospectively, cake is cake and I should have just had the chocolate one and been done with it).  I also had a naughty glass (ok two glasses) of wine on Sunday (staying with a friend) because it was horrendous weather (still) and I just wanted to curl up by her fire and have a tasty glass of wine and forget about the world.

I admit, I think it is easier for me than some pals I follow on twitter; I largely work from home so can be in total control of when and what I eat, I don’t have kids so have more time to fanny about making stuff to take to work when I go into the office.  I have time in the evenings to go to exercise class, I live walking distance from excellent shops, etc.  BUT – I still think, even if none of these circumstances apply to you, if the resolve is there, it is possible.  ‘What do you mean?’ I hear you say… well, I’ll explain.  Even though I sometimes feel like I’ve been on the dukan diet forever and I get bored and a bit low, I have now lost almost 2 stone and I am almost ¾ of the way through my weight loss.  The first stone was amazing to lose for myself to prove I could do it, people started commenting at 1½ stone down but now at almost 2 stone down, I am actually really starting to see the body I want coming through and nothing, NOTHING, makes my resolve stronger than getting this close.

I’ll still overeat if something is delicious, or sometimes, just because it’s in front of me.  It’s great that I’m eating more of the right things but I still have the propensity to stuff myself, rather than push the plate away and save it for later.  I must get better at this!  I also find my resolve (and mood) tested by being surrounded by non-dukan food.  It might be a bit passive aggressive but I just find it easier to remove myself or avoid this situations (not always possible)

Where I am physically: 

Ladies (and gents), put your hands on your waist, with your thumbs at the front, slide your hands backwards and downwards a fraction towards your spine – now squeeze.  Two and half months ago I had something that felt like a 6 pack of sausages here, welded to back of my hips on either side, huge fistfuls of fat.  Now slide your hands round to the front and palpate that tummy! Two and half months ago I had something round and taught, often with big red lines across it at the end of the day where I’d slouched trying to conceal the rolls.  Now it’s not all perfect, but my goodness, it’s so much better!  Now (in good lighting) I have the glimmer of a cheekbone every now and then.  Sister #2 said the other day “oh my God, you HAVE a jawline.” None of my clothes fit anymore, which ultimately is going to be the biggest cost of this diet at the end of the day, but my goodness, the thought of buying clothes where I can chose things that look nice and whose sole aim isn’t to cover the wobbly bits…  (I’m going to Greece in September and I think I might actually buy a bikini…) 

If I read back to the start of this blog and how doing this diet meant that I had to admit that I wasn’t happy with how I looked and confront the daunting and self-depriving road ahead, that desire to look better that I felt then isn’t only a memory but is still a tangible, palpable longing. It might be vapid, it might be vain and ‘low-brow’ desire but I guess that makes me a vapid, vain dullard then.  But a vapid, vain dullard with a great arse! (Or soon to be great arse)

Where am I going?

So anyway, quite unsurprisingly I have discovered that my wrists are quite a bit thinner than when I initially calculated my True Weight (9st 11lbs) putting me at slim/medium frame, so I think I’m going to aim for 9st 7lbs (it just feels neater at half a stone!) and will take, what, an extra 14 days to get to?  Actually, I’m doing quite well on progress, I have remained slightly ahead of target in the past few months, so I think I may get down to 9st 7lbs by 15^th June (True Weght Target day!) anyway.

Finally – do you have any questions?  The one things I really hate about blogging is it’s all “me, me, me!” and I’d like to think I could help someone out there, who might have questions, or be struggling (we ALL struggle) – anyway, let me know.

Lots of love, Fatty. Xxxx