9 Weeks on JUDDD & I'm Jumping for Joy!

[stephdray]

At today's weigh-in, I was down to 269 for a total of 17 lbs lost on JUDDD and 21 lbs lost total (was doing WW before). My weight loss pace on JUDDD has averaged to 1.8 lbs lost a week, though at least one of those weeks I was totally off plan and on vacation.

I am thrilled and here are some reasons why.

• 270 was the lowest weight I was able to achieve with Fen-Phen.
• I weighed 270 when I got married sixteen years ago and could not get below it for the wedding, in spite of a low fat regimen and a punishing exercise routine.
• The most I was ever able to lose on Low Carb was 17 lbs--and that was over a very long period of time. I have now matched that. On Low Carb, I got down to 270 and stuck there with only brief flirtations under that number.

Because 270 has been such a set point for me, it was my first goal for this diet. I doubted I could even make it. I'd tried and failed so many times before. But I just accomplished it. Tomorrow, the scale is likely to jump up a pound and I will probably freak out, but I saw 269 so I'm claiming it and changing my stats.

I'm in such a good mood right now I don't really even want to list any downsides to this week but these posts aren't just for me. They're also for new people considering JUDDD. I want folks to go into this mentally prepared. So:

Downsides

Physical Discomfort. Three out of my four down days this week were a breeze and I began to think that difficult down days were a thing of the past, but the fourth one descended rapidly last night into gnawing hunger. I can't seem to find a pattern between the DDs that are ridiculously easy and the ones that make me want to curl around my empty belly and whimper myself to sleep. I will say, however, that the hungrier days almost always seem to be followed by a drop on the scale. The other thing I'll say is that I'm developing a stubborn streak. When the hunger starts to become distracting, I could add 50 calories more and just accept a possible slower rate of loss, but I tend to grimly push through it instead.

Mental Fog. JUDDD has forced me to confront hunger with a steely-eyed gaze. And for the most point, I have done it. I can clean my whole house while hungry. I can run errands. I can have meetings, yell at contractors, pull weeds, etc. I can even exercise a little on a down day. What I cannot seem to do as well on the occasional brutal down day is concentrate on immersive creative tasks, like, say, writing a novel. I use a program to keep track of my word counts, and it's fairly comical the way my word counts seem to keep pace with my calories for the day. (Which leads me to wonder, if I eat 10,000 calories can I crank out that many words in a day? B/c that might be a worthy experiment near deadline. Just kidding!) Anyway, my point is that I've not yet achieved the mental clarity and increased productivity that many report on their JUDDD journey. It's getting better. A lot better. I mean, for a while there, I couldn't write on a Down Day at all. Now I am writing some brilliantly bleak scenes (if I do say so myself). But the occasional mental fog on DDs is my major complaint about this WOE.

Upsides

Increasing Optimism & Confidence. I'm starting to think this is really going to work for me. Certainly, I'm committed to keep going.

Enjoying this WOE. I'm actually liking JUDDD more over time rather than less. Which is amazing because diet fatigue gets me every time. I can't even count the number of times I lost 4 lbs on Weight Watchers or Low Carb, only to have some kind of mental breakdown after months of starvation or deprivation, after which I would eat everything in reach and gain back five or six pounds. I need to knock on wood or something, but I don't feel like I'm in any danger of an imminent breakdown. Sure, there is a little bit of mental pressure right now in which my brain is saying, "Remember when we used to eat every day? Wasn't that great?" But it's not very loud and it's being drowned out by the knowledge that I can have an ice cream sundae tonight if I want one. With real hot fudge.

Fits in my Lifestyle. The triggering event to my blowing a diet and eating every forbidden food that wasn't nailed down was almost always a social event of some sort. I'm Italian. My family loves food. Food is love. Food is cultural. It's enjoyment. It's reward. It's bonding. I begin to think that any diet that fights against such strong forces is bound to fail. No amount of telling myself that food was just fuel was ever going to work. Thousands of years of social evolution have made feasting an important part of people's lives and JUDDD is the first diet I have ever encountered that honors that tradition. You can't feast every day. But by god, you can feast. On JUDDD, I can eat out with my friends. I can be a guest in other people's homes without asking them to accommodate my special needs. I can celebrate with champagne and cake. In short, I can enjoy my life, at this size, right now. I don't have to wait. And that is a precious thing.

Now I need to pick a new goal weight. I'm thinking 250. I haven't seen that number since I was in law school.

[Kissa]

Steph I love this post. It is wonderful that you come in with your weekly update which, as you say, it is so helpful for the all Newbies here.

You are just rocking JUDDD. I am so happy for you.

Forward to 250 it is.

[Saxy1971]

Stephdray, that is fabulous!! I love how you break down your progress for all of us to soak up! Keep up the good work...you're definitely one to watch!

[sdjade]

269!!!!!!!!!!

So happy for you and making your first goal! There is something about hitting "wedding weight" that is so major.

Originally Posted by stephdray

No amount of telling myself that food was just fuel was ever going to work.

This.

Since starting JUDDD, I am unapologetic about LIKING food. I used to feel so guilty at times and tell myself "food is just fuel" you aren't supposed to ENJOY it. Now, I really enjoy grocery shopping and coming up with new recipes, etc. Getting rid of the guilt associated with food (even though I am still a work in progress) is so freeing!

[SoHappy]

Woo Hoo! What an exciting post!

Yes, JUDDD is just plainly different. Eating this way is the most beneficial food plan I've ever encountered. And at the very top of the list in importance, of all the wonderful benefits JUDDD gives us, is that it turns us into a fat burner of excess calories instead of a fat hoarder of excess. It turns on that SIRT-1 gene.

I'm beginning to really believe that revving up that most-often-dormant little skinny gene within us doesn't just help us lose the weight, it protects us against so easily regaining the weight! Just cutting out certain foods doesn't seem to activate SIRT-1. Eating lowered calories every day doesn't seem to activate this skinny gene. But by working with your natural daylight/darkness circadian rhythm, feasting and fasting in the alternating pattern that we follow on JUDDD, experiencing that 36-hour long Down Day period that the JUDDD plan is based on seems to work magic.

I love reading that you've broken through that 270 weight and got to see 269 on your scale, because you'll be seeing it again. And lower numbers as well. Regardless that JUDDD causes the scale readings to bounce a lot.. if you follow your numbers you'll almost always be heading down in body fat as the weeks and months go on. All the while you get to eat cheeseburgers.

Just do the plan. Just do JUDDD. And the magic happens. Isn't it fun?!!!

[Yam-Yam]

Loved every word of your update today, Steph! Congratulations on your new low! Wooo-Hooooo!!!

You might think you are just helping and encouraging new peeps but I'm an oldie who just got a jolt of much needed motivation and joy. KUTGW!! and thank you for sharing yourself and your journey with all of us JUDD BUDDS!!

[vanilla_latte]

Love, love, love your posts!!! Congrats on the new low, can't wait until you get to the next one!

[LoCarbGal]

Steph - CONGRATULATIONS!
Speaking as a complete newbie (Day 2 and first UD for me here), this post is completely motivating, and helpful. And honest, which is what I was looking for when I first came to this forum. No WOE is completely, 100% easy-breezy. I'm still very committed to LoCarb - it's been very very good to me, but there are some downsides, and I can live with them. I assumed it would be the same with JUDDD. Your post helps me understand and be prepared for those unavoidable stumbling blocks.

You and I are close in current weight, and I just came off a plateau that had me stuck at 268-269 for weeks. We can cheer each other on. Personally, I'm psyched to hit the 250's, which in 3 more pounds I can claim. 250(s) - here we both come!

[Babsbabs]

Fits in my Lifestyle. The triggering event to my blowing a diet and eating every forbidden food that wasn't nailed down was almost always a social event of some sort. I'm Italian. My family loves food. Food is love. Food is cultural. It's enjoyment. It's reward. It's bonding. I begin to think that any diet that fights against such strong forces is bound to fail. No amount of telling myself that food was just fuel was ever going to work. Thousands of years of social evolution have made feasting an important part of people's lives and JUDDD is the first diet I have ever encountered that honors that tradition. You can't feast every day. But by god, you can feast. On JUDDD, I can eat out with my friends. I can be a guest in other people's homes without asking them to accommodate my special needs. I can celebrate with champagne and cake. In short, I can enjoy my life, at this size, right now. I don't have to wait. And that is a precious thing.


(I still don't know how to quote properly!)

Yes!!! I totally get what you are saying here! I always felt like I was "waiting" to enjoy life until I lost so many pounds. The day I started JUDDD felt like the day I got to stop waiting, it felt like I was finally done dieting. Strange because I also decided that I would JUDDD long term so it was really the start of a very long term diet.

Happy for you on getting below the 270weight!

[NoWeigh]

CONGRATULATIONS!!
This is awesome news!!

ENJOY!!

[toomuchbooty]

So awesome! You are one week ahead of me on your JUDDD journey and it seems we are going through a lot of the same things! I definitely experience the hungry DD before a drop on the scale. It can be challenging to power through, but rewarding to see that drop!

[sunday]

Oh boy, I can't tell you how big my grin is right now!

Something told me that once the rhythm of JUDDD became comfortable that you would really begin to feel and see the benefits! I can so relate to being Italian and loving food & family! I am German/Choctaw and my family social life is food. Just a fact! But the grand thing about JUDDD is... I still enjoy doing stuff with fam and friends. I have decided I will make it work! For once, I have family wanting to look into this WOE more and some are so amazed when I reply, "it is okay, I am saving it for tomorrow!"

[SoHappy]

Originally Posted by Babsbabs

Fits in my Lifestyle. The triggering event to my blowing a diet and eating every forbidden food that wasn't nailed down was almost always a social event of some sort. I'm Italian. My family loves food. Food is love. Food is cultural. It's enjoyment. It's reward. It's bonding. I begin to think that any diet that fights against such strong forces is bound to fail. No amount of telling myself that food was just fuel was ever going to work. Thousands of years of social evolution have made feasting an important part of people's lives and JUDDD is the first diet I have ever encountered that honors that tradition. You can't feast every day. But by god, you can feast. On JUDDD, I can eat out with my friends. I can be a guest in other people's homes without asking them to accommodate my special needs. I can celebrate with champagne and cake. In short, I can enjoy my life, at this size, right now. I don't have to wait. And that is a precious thing.


(I still don't know how to quote properly!)

Yes!!! I totally get what you are saying here! I always felt like I was "waiting" to enjoy life until I lost so many pounds. The day I started JUDDD felt like the day I got to stop waiting, it felt like I was finally done dieting. Strange because I also decided that I would JUDDD long term so it was really the start of a very long term diet.

Happy for you on getting below the 270weight!

I am answering you to tell you that you can quote any post simply by clicking on the *Quote* button of that post, located down in the lower right corner. The quoted post then comes up on your *Reply to Thread* screen, and you just add whatever you want to say.

And I also wanted to say that I agree about this being a strange eating plan in that you are actively living your life while losing your weight. You're enjoying restaurant meals out with friends, birthday parties, festivals and church suppers. You get to enjoy the foods at pot lucks and wedding receptions. And enjoy the feasts during all the Holidays! And.. every other day of your normal life, free to eat whatever foods you enjoy the most and feel the happiest and healthiest on.

And all the time, you're losing body fat.

And then you're at goal, having lived your life and enjoyed it while you lost the weight, and at goal..... you have to eat more to stop losing more than you want to.

[sorenkkg]

Love reading your posts Steph! Again, you nailed it (for me, at least). Though I'm not as determined as you on your DD, and I've had more off-plan trips since April than I thought I would've (*just realized that if I hadn't, I'd probably make my 199 goal by Nov... ah well*).

Keep up the good work, the posting, and I'm hoping that either you DD creative work gets better (or you keep all your bleak writing for those days) OR you just pile all your *other* work onto DD's and write your face off on UDs

S.

[DD80]

I reading your posts - they ring so true! on reaching your goal and for setting a new one!

DDs are difficult for me too, but I too notice a drop after a particularly hungry day. It is enough that makes me hold out on eating anything more. I have gotten to the point where I was sick of JUDDD, but it is the only diet that after 3 days off, I'm ready to come back to it. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually love the feeling of a good DD after a few days off - like a vacation. It feels refreshing almost - cleansing... I don't know. Still trying to figure out my groove and my "long term WOE," but I feel like I'm closer every day.

t/j - I didn't know you went to law school. I did too!

[Seabreezes]

Congrats on the new lower number. I'm not a newbie, either, but so look forward to your weekly updates. They are motivating to all of us.

Happy writing if it an upday - good luck if it I down day!

Have a great JUDDD day everyone!

[C'Marie]

I am so glad for you! Of course like others have said I also love to read all your updates, you tell it like it is!

[Joyjoy]

Beautiful post. What a crazy thrill, dropping below a number that is The Impossible Dream in your head, and doing it with burgers. Fantastic.
I love your bit about enjoying it more as you go along. Same here, and that's almost as incredible as the weight lost.
So happy you're here, Steph. Thanks.

[SoHappy]

Originally Posted by Joyjoy

Beautiful post. What a crazy thrill, dropping below a number that is The Impossible Dream in your head, and doing it with burgers. Fantastic.
I love your bit about enjoying it more as you go along. Same here, and that's almost as incredible as the weight lost.
So happy you're here, Steph. Thanks.

I loved this!

[Jbinme]

loved reading this! KUTGW and keep the motivating posts coming!

[KeirasMom]

Awesome! Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. I so look forward to your weekly updates.

[SavLexiMom]

Woo hoo!!! Awesome job, Steph!!!

[lowcarbinca]

Excellent!! Congratulations!!

[stephdray]

I'm so grateful for all your posts. I couldn't have done it without you. I mean that. I would never have found JUDDD without this board and there were a few moments in there where I would have bolted for the hills if it weren't for my JUDDD BUDDDs.

Originally Posted by Yam-Yam

You might think you are just helping and encouraging new peeps but I'm an oldie who just got a jolt of much needed motivation and joy.

This melts my heart!

[stephdray]

Originally Posted by LoCarbGal

No WOE is completely, 100% easy-breezy. I'm still very committed to LoCarb - it's been very very good to me, but there are some downsides, and I can live with them. I assumed it would be the same with JUDDD. Your post helps me understand and be prepared for those unavoidable stumbling blocks.

I'm so glad. And hey, I'm with you on the low carb thing. I still think it's the healthiest way to eat. I just didn't have the willpower to sustain it for longer than 6 months at a time, and my weight loss was glacial. I fully support any plan that helps anybody.

And yeah, there are always the trade-offs, so I try to be honest about them. So far, the balance sheet tips way way in favor of JUDDD.

You and I are close in current weight, and I just came off a plateau that had me stuck at 268-269 for weeks. We can cheer each other on. Personally, I'm psyched to hit the 250's, which in 3 more pounds I can claim. 250(s) - here we both come!

Go go you! We'll do it together.

[stephdray]

Originally Posted by toomuchbooty

So awesome! You are one week ahead of me on your JUDDD journey and it seems we are going through a lot of the same things! I definitely experience the hungry DD before a drop on the scale. It can be challenging to power through, but rewarding to see that drop!

Yep! And have you noticed a shrinking stomach? I haven't figured out whether to list this as a downside or an upside because mine is unpredictable.

I can still eat an ungodly amount of calories some up days, but then there are weird moments like this afternoon, when I ate an apple for a snack, and I ate it quickly and then realized that I had actually managed to overstuff myself on an apple.

Like, was I supposed to know in advance that A WHOLE APPLE at one time was just too much food for my new delicate disposition? I'm pretty sure I could have eaten a bushel of apples in one sitting in days past, so I really have no idea what an appropriate serving size of anything is anymore. Here's where things start to get interesting!

[Carly]

269

I'm so glad you decided to stick with JUDDD. Wow... 9 weeks has flown by!

[SoHappy]

Originally Posted by Carly

269

I'm so glad you decided to stick with JUDDD. Wow... 9 weeks has flown by!

I know! Me too. Do you remember when she sounded really *iffy* about it?

[tobelowcarber]

AWSOME

[Erika1962]

Awesome post! Thank you so much for sharing!