The Shangri-La Diet > My SLD Page

I suppose this means I'm committed!

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Aleruda:
I was hesitant to actually post on the forum because A. I've been reading all the archives and experiences, B. I was / am a bit scared that I'm going to absolutely have to do this the rest of my life if it works, and C. I might get addicted to posting. However, I decided it's time...especially since my mind has been attempting to destruct my trust in this process..

To give you a little bit of my background:

I am female, 5'2" and 131.5 lbs. My most comfortable and natural feeling weight was when I was 110 lbs a couple of years ago. At that time I had just dropped almost 40 lbs (post-breakup blues) and suddenly felt natural in my skin. I wasn't dieting or working out crazily (like when I was losing 40lbs), but I was slimming down quite a bit nonetheless. During those few months I told myself I wouldnt worry about what I ate or how much I worked out, I just went with it...and I kept slimming down. However, in the Fall that year things erred on the side of obsession. I started working out / restricting food again, and since then my battle with food has been fairly dark. While I've only gained 20lbs over the past few years (not a TON of actual extra weight, but too much for me), I have struggled SO much with binge eating disorder and distorted body image. The weight gain has only skewed everything that much more for me.

Due to this struggle, I dove into my interests with nutrition and psychology. I am currently getting certified to become a Holistic Health Counselor and plan to work with women who struggle with body image and disordered eating. In school, I have tried many different styles of eating (raw, macro, etc etc) but always find myself coming back to the Paleo lifestyle. I frequent blogs such as Marks Daily Apple and Bulletproof Executive for nutrition / biohacking information, but I also study a lot about femininity, meditation, power of stress and visualization -- I've also studied countless things on diet/binge cycle. Thus, I am keenly fond of Jon Gabriel, Marc David, Jena la Flamme, Geneen Roth, Marianne Williamson and many more with whom I've worked (either personally or in SOME capacity). I was so hesitant to try SLD because I wanted to come to terms with food on my own, but I kept noticing myself saying "no matter what I do, I seem to stay right at 131-134...I must be set there". That brought me back to SLD (I'd read about it in 4HB). I decided to give it a try...why not? I've tried a lot of other things.

My initial fears were that I would never be able to get OFF of it and still maintain my natural-feeling weight (I guess we'll see), and I just didn't necessarily believe it would work. I'll give you my starting story so far:

I've only been taking ELOO about a week and a half, but I have definitely noticed it's effects. However, I have also noticed that I have not lost as much weight as I would have hoped with this kind of AS. I suppose that was partly since I started during July 4th extravaganzas, partly because that meant I was drinking more than usual (on average only 2x / month, but last week 3x), and partly because I also started about a week and a half before my period. Additionally, I think the stress of "not losing weight" means I produce a high amount of cortisol, thus retaining my "protection". That is partly why I decided to let it all out in the forums and begin an actual journey...

I started with about 2T of ELOO between breakfast and lunch, but I switched to first thing in the morning taking about 2-2.5T of ELOO. I have noticed that some mornings I feel a little more nauseous than usual, but not incredibly bad.

I haven't noticed much of a change on the scale other than the same 131-133 change (bloating, timing etc), but I am hopeful. The peace I have with food is priceless, so I will keep going no matter what...this relief is so worth it. HOWEVER -- and it may be due to my period -- but I feel as though I've started gaining weight. I feel thicker, I feel a tad flabbier, I feel like I am bulking out. The scale is stuck at 132ish, so I'm just trying to ride it out.

This morning I took 3T of oil which I am going to cut back on tomorrow. I think I was freaking out / being obsessive. I believe I am going to try 1T just to see if the AS is as good on less calories. I don't count calories otherwise since I am typically only eating whole, natural foods (fish, poultry, nuts, berries, grass-fed beef, LOTS of veggies, little fruits). I am go on and off with adding oats, beans etc, but usually I don't eat a lot of "crap". Now that my binging has been diminished (about 4 months prior to starting this) I don't fall victim to much crap anymore, so that's been a relief as well. I tend to eat when I'm hungry and have been stopping when I'm full lately (a new thing for me!), and it feels as though I've been eating MUCH less.

I want to make sure this doesn't become an obsession for me or that I go too low in calories, but I also want to see some weight loss. I have seen some other 5'2" - 5'4" gals have some GREAT success, so here's to hoping.

I suppose I'll update weekly with how I'm doing, regardless if it's of any interest. It's been really nice even just reading other people's posts for support. I thank all of you that have shared your experience with everyone here and I hope to join you in success.

Thank you, too, for reading.

deMuralist:
Hello!  Good luck with your journey, I will be keeping up with you, cheering you on.

Aleruda:
Did anyone find a delay in weight loss when they started? I am only a week and 3 days into this but starting to get anxiety since I haven't seen a huge improvement... I think this is usually where I sabotage myself, so hopefully the AS will help bypass this part.

Also, has anyone noticed the difference in the rate of loss between people my height/weight (5'2", 131.5) vs. taller/heavier? I've seen some shorter people getting some good results which is usually difficult (in my experience). Any shorties having success?

:) Thanks

deMuralist:
I just read today that you are supposed to give yourself up to one month for serious improvement.  Did you read the book?  I checked it out of the library.  It is a quick read and a good place to start, as often forums can run off on tangents not totally supported by the original hypothesis!

no experience regarding weight loss and height. 

Nufftin:
Yes, give your body some time to adjust to the new regimen. The first month or so, I averaged about a pound a week, then the weight loss came at a higher rate. I've averaged about 1.45 lbs./week over the last six months.

Also, I don't lose weight in a straight line. For me it's 3-5 days of what seems like a plateau, then BOOM, I'll lose a pound. Remember that people who see a "huge improvement" initially are those with a huge amount of weight to lose (50+ pounds). So—patience, grasshopper.

I've lost 30+ pounds on SLD, and I'm 5'7", which I believe is short for an adult male. So there's your n=1 study results for the day.

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