24 Weeks (6 Months) on JUDDD -- Lose a Little More by XMas

[stephdray]

Today I weighed in at 256 lbs, a loss of 1 lb total this week and 34 lbs total, 30 lbs of which were on JUDDD at a rate of 1.25 lbs a week.

Like everyone else, I'm staring down the barrel of the holidays. Mine will start this Sunday as everyone on both sides of the family will be feasting at my house and, in some cases, sleeping at my house for the week. I foresee 7-10 days of orgiastic eating in my near future and I am not even going to kid myself that DDs will be possible, so I'm going to count it as a vacation. I also foresee a 6-10lb gain. So I'm bracing myself.

And here are my strategies:

1) I'm going to buckle down and lose as much weight between now and Sunday as I can so that I have a margin for error. Potato hack is back.
2) When my in-laws arrive, I am going off rotations until after Christmas

I foresee some hellacious recovery Down Days in my future, but I feel pretty confident that I'm not going to fall off the wagon. I'm just going to drag my feet behind it a little bit.

As always here are the upsides and downsides of my week.

Downsides

Shaken Confidence. You'll notice that I said I was pretty confident that I wouldn't fall off the wagon. A few weeks ago I would have said I was certain. What's the reason for my jitters? My Down Days have been great, but my Up Days remain wildly out of control. At first it was because I wasn't counting and because I had lots of social events. But the last two Up Days, I actually made a concerted effort to stay at my numbers and I failed spectacularly both times because I wasn't prepared to fight hunger on an Up Day. It alarms me how many calories seem to be needed to make me feel satisfied at the moment. I'm going to blame it on TOM but it startled me. It's almost like my body has figured out the pattern of eating and has decided to come up with a new coping mechanism to get around the calorie deficit. I'm a tiny bit scared that getting back down to reasonable numbers might be a challenge.

I'm Spoiled Now. Seriously, JUDDD may have ruined me for all other diets. The ability to suffer deprivation only one day at a time may have totally destroyed my tolerance for longer bouts of deprivation. The first time I tried the potato hack, for example, I ran screaming after the second day. I can do anything for one day. But for three days? Now that seems like FOREVER. And my inner rebel resents it. "Hey, we have a deal. Feast one day. Famine the next. Mess with my feast at your peril."

Upsides

Need New Clothes. This is an exciting upside. It's also a little bit of a downside because I don't have time to go clothes shopping at the moment and I have no idea what size I am. What I do know is that all my pants are too small and I'm holding everything on me with safety pins.

It's a Christmas Miracle. I lost another pound without seriously trying! This week, I ate salami, red velvet cake, eggplant sandwiches, reuben dip and a Wendy's Son of Baconater. Get out of town! So, what I've learned here is that if I seriously only diet every other day, I will still lose weight, albeit very slowly. And if I diet hard one day and count my calories and eat in a healthy reasonable way the next, I will lose a lot more. Never before in my entire life have I lost any weight during the holiday season. This is ridiculous!

Happy Holidays JUDDD BUDDDs--especially my secret santa who sent me the coolest little booklet of stickies and magnets. Next time we talk, I'll be all bent out of shape by holiday bloat. Until then, I plan to enjoy it.

[KeirasMom]

Another pound with hardly any effort!

Enjoy your holidays and family and food, and jump right back into rotations when it's over.

[Carly]

Steph,

You have come so far from the days of not being able to function on DDs and being pained by hunger pangs that I know the new year will find you full of confidence to continue JUDDDing full force. You have learned a lot about yourself in this process and you have eloquently written about it so that others can benefit. So with that... I wish you and your family the happiest and healthiest holiday season- full of scrumptious food!

[Seabreezes]

I, along with everyone else will look forward to your continuing saga in the new year. Enjoy all of your family and the celebrations that go on with them.

Next year will see even less of all of us weight wise. Isn't it exciting to know we can enjoy the holidays and have a specific plan to recover in a short time if needed.

Merry Christmas............

[sdjade]

Congrats on another pound lost. Wow!

Originally Posted by stephdray

Wendy's Son of Baconater.

This totally cracked me up.

[Luv2Eat]

Another fabulous post, Steph! I agree about getting spoiled from other diets. Low fat I can handle, but low carb - way too restrictive for this former vegan. I still love my fruit and vegetables - thought I was gonna die on low carb. Besides, low fat doesn't work for me, tried that for over three decades.

JUDDD is a miracle! I'm eating food that has been on my black list for decades and still losing or not gaining. Seriously digging this every other day deprivation.

I started JUDDD two months after you and I'm also experiencing the overeating on UD's, have started to go back to more low calorie food so I can eat more.

Enjoy your time off from dieting!

[LoCarbGal]

Steph, how exciting that you're still losing! Who cares if it's slow, if you're barely trying! I'm sure you'll have a good week and get a head start on all of it. Sounds like you'll be a busy girl! And the safety pins......oh yeah, I'm right there with you! Have a wonderful holiday with your family!

[calichris]

Originally Posted by stephdray

1) I'm going to buckle down and lose as much weight between now and Sunday as I can so that I have a margin for error. Potato hack is back.
2) When my in-laws arrive, I am going off rotations until after Christmas

Steph, first of all, your whole post makes me smile. I love the effortless one-more-pound-gone and your planful realism about the holidays.

I'll be interested to see how you do with the potato hack, because I had the same reaction you did in day two. (two days seems like forever ) Then after it was over I lost a little of my former feeling of control because I had felt deprived ... after only three days! Not everyone has that reaction though I think.

[Joyjoy]

Steph, congratulations. A pound down is fabulous.
Do you wonder if your crazy UUADs are a phase, like your painful DDs were a phase? Just curious about your thoughts on that.

[Yam-Yam]

Wow, Steph! 34 pounds gone. Awesome!

We used to talk a lot about "pants on the ground" syndrome around here. Sounds like you are experiencing it! Time to get rid of those safety pins and buy some new pants! Oh, such a terrible problem for a JUDD BUDD to have!

[sunday]

Originally Posted by stephdray

Today I weighed in at 256 lbs, a loss of 1 lb total this week and 34 lbs total, 30 lbs of which were on JUDDD at a rate of 1.25 lbs a week.

Like everyone else, I'm staring down the barrel of the holidays. Mine will start this Sunday as everyone on both sides of the family will be feasting at my house and, in some cases, sleeping at my house for the week. I foresee 7-10 days of orgiastic eating in my near future and I am not even going to kid myself that DDs will be possible, so I'm going to count it as a vacation. I also foresee a 6-10lb gain. So I'm bracing myself.

And here are my strategies:

1) I'm going to buckle down and lose as much weight between now and Sunday as I can so that I have a margin for error. Potato hack is back.
2) When my in-laws arrive, I am going off rotations until after Christmas

I foresee some hellacious recovery Down Days in my future, but I feel pretty confident that I'm not going to fall off the wagon. I'm just going to drag my feet behind it a little bit.

As always here are the upsides and downsides of my week.

So, what I've learned here is that if I seriously only diet every other day, I will still lose weight, albeit very slowly. And if I diet hard one day and count my calories and eat in a healthy reasonable way the next, I will lose a lot more. Never before in my entire life have I lost any weight during the holiday season. This is ridiculous!

Yay for the hack! I did the tater hack for 4 days & lost 5 lbs this week. I even had one glass of wine somewhere in the midst.

I think the realization that you are never going back to where you were; has so much to do with enjoying JUDDD than anything else that I can gain from this WOE.

Steph, I hope you know how much reading your words has helped many other JUDDD budds discover these little nuggets of JUDDD wisdom!

[GrannyPants]

Originally Posted by stephdray

It's almost like my body has figured out the pattern of eating and has decided to come up with a new coping mechanism to get around the calorie deficit. I'm a tiny bit scared that getting back down to reasonable numbers might be a challenge.

Yep, I've been wondering the same...

[sorenkkg]

Go with it Steph! I think many of us are in the same boat-- my DDs have gotten a bit slack (like a MD this week) and my UDs still involve leftovers from my brunch last sunday (read: cinnamon rolls).

I know that I can do it-- my DDs lately are pretty good, actually (the eating is a choice) so I *know* that after the holidays, I can rock the DDs and the UDs and see some loss.

yes, we'll have some bloat and actual gain from foodtasticness in the coming week and a bit.

And we can enjoy it, b/c nothing is "never again", just "not every day, and not quite in this amount". But for now, enjoy the family and friends, and if you feel like having a salad, go for it
or not.

And if you want my cinnamon roll recipe, PM me or FB, b/c WOOO it's crazy easy and tastes amazing (read: start with pizza dough store bought).

Oy, rambling again and it's not even DD-caffeine related!

S.

[Joyjoy]

Soren, I'd like that recipe. Christmas morning. Sounds fantastic.

[gotsomeold]

Speaking from vast personal experience, my body knows when a food adventure is coming (shut up subconscious mind!) a week or more before the party actually starts. And it starts demanding more food way before the event.

Three things I found helpful:
1) Take a taste. If the taste is not extraordinary, don't eat anymore of it. Eat something else that is delicious instead (or, if Auntie Sue made the meal, end up having an unexpected DD). Mindful eating may go up-up-and-away, but I have never been dragged down by guilt or regret at the end of that day.

2) Whenever possible I change to a Fast 5 style of eating - try to have one big meal and very little else. Some days this does not happen of course. But, for me, anytime I can keep it low seems to help overall.

3) Schedule the return to rotation thoughtfully. I don't plan my first return to normal DD for a day I am likely to be invited to an unexpected party, or traveling, or dealing with feeding leftovers to a starving hoard. I plan my first 'the party is over' DD for a day I know I can be successful. Usually by then, my body is demanding a low-cal, low-food day.

Happy Holidays everyone!!!!

[sorenkkg]

Ok, will send to Kristin and Seabreezes. Let me know if anyone else wants it, crazy easy!

[TryingJudd]

me, me, me please. I see cinnamon rolls in my future.

[sorenkkg]

coming atcha!

[Rayne_W]

Yes, please!

[sorenkkg]

Sent!

[KeirasMom]

Me too. Might have been easier just to post it.

[sorenkkg]

Seriously. Ok, I'll post it and link back

ok, here we go. Sorry Steph for the threadjack! (but seriously, these are great )

Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls

[LoCarbGal]

OMG, those sound good! I've printed the recipe and will look forward to treating loved ones on an UD!

[Kissa]

Not a British thing, .

[sorenkkg]

It's pretty tasty though Cindy-- maybe if we call it a sticky bun, would that be more British? A treacle roll?

What's the breed on your lovely cat? She looks positively outdoorsy!