My progress so far

Thanks Sarah, although how on earth you manage to stick to the diet while making cakes I dont know - I've tried cooking for Angela a few times, and survived but when it comes down to some of the really nice stuff I'd rather go hide while its cooking

It's so hard if you have a partner/friend who is putting on weight - I really wish someone had sat me down ages ago and got the message across to me that I was putting on the pounds. Most people don't feel comfortable, I guess they are worried about hurting your feelings or starting an arguement. I think my attitude to this has changed, and those in my closest circle of friends are worth the risk, not over a few pounds but if they start to put on some significant weight. The risk to their health and wellbeing is just too much to let slip.

I hate eating the diet food in front of anyone, regardless of it being a shake, bar or soup. I've very secretive at work - making it away from my desk even if I eat it back at the desk. I just dont want the questions and silly comments like "oh you need to stop losing now" - I'm still almost 4st above my target, and my BMI is way above "healthy".

Hi Max,

I really enjoyed reading about your progress, and what led you to this point in time.

It seems the majority of people who wind up here are invariably very experienced dieters. I dread to think how many tshirts we've all earned, and videos we've starred in.... that sounds rather dodgy though! Ahem, moving on...

Your story resonated with me, and it struck me as rather strange that a few stones in weight just seem to creep on, while you're getting on with life, and you hardly notice, until it's too late. I asked my boyfriend a few weeks ago 'why didn't you tell me I've become the size of a cow before?!' His reply was that he didn't feel it was his place to tell me how I should look, and he was confident that eventually I'd get to a point where I would be unhappy enough with myself to do something about it. He was right, of course.

My losses had been steadily good, until a few weeks ago, when several celebrations and events have taken place, where it really hasn't been possible to be 100% on plan. Like you, I tried to stick within the basic principles of low/zero carbs and lean, healthy protein, green veg/salad. It's made my loss now static, but I'm grateful to have not gained, and it was better for me to not feel under further pressure about eating/not eating in a more public situation. The last thing an overweight person wants to do is to draw attention to their eating after all, so pulling out a Kee shake or bar when everyone else around you is joining in with a meal just isn't do-able for me.

Today is Day 1 of getting fully back into the plan. I've got mainly soups and chilli meals to eat, as most of my shakes and bars have gone. I think that's also made things difficult to stick with, so I'll order some more bars and shakes this week. My work involves being out all day at events a couple of days most weeks, (I bake cakes and sell at festivals/shows) where I can't prepare food easily, so shakes and bars are a discrete couple of meals I can have. Having to eat while the public are milling around, and where I don't get a break away, you need to find something that you can pick up/put down, in between serving customers too.

Like you Max, my long-term goal is to end up living by a Slimming World diet. I do feed my family with those principles at the moment, so that they will be used to it. It certainly is the most healthy way of eating I have ever found, and to aspire to continue to live like that can only be a good thing. I have really missed the mixed variety of fruits doing Kee, but then if I stick to it and reach my goal, that is what I have to look forward to anyway.

Good luck with the rest of your journey, and well done for achieving such great losses so far.

Sarah

Thanks Martin - it is odd how some people really dont get on well with some of the packs, I know of friends who've had the same reaction, just pleased that it wasnt me!

I did try the pre-made meals from Kee over the weekend, all much tastier than I expected and looked like real food - in fact they left me feeling really quite full. They dont seem to have impacted my weight loss either, which was my main worry. I tried all three, with the Provencal being the best in my opinion. I wont be having them regularly, mainly down to the cost, but I certainly think they could be a good change now and again.

Hi Max

It's good to read of someone else whose weight problems seem to mirror mine.

I seem to have done loads of different diets, and to be honest, all have been successful, but I always just seem to revert back to my old eating habits. I too found Atkins very easy, but smelling like a dog didn't go down too well at home. I found Herbalife another way to lose weight pretty quickly, but, it seems I'm an all or nothing kind of guy, and restricting myself to one meal a day, was difficult. Portion control, when having one meal a day was a big problem for me, and eventually I gave up. I too have a long term goal, and it is to eat as a Slimming World member. I found this very easy to follow, and the whole family loved the food. We don't eat processed food at all, so making the meals wasn't a problem. But, when You need/ want quick results, and have a few stone to shift, 1 - 2 lbs a week is difficult.

The heaviest I got was just over 2 years ago, when I nearly reached 18st; that spurred me into action. I did LL for a few months, as I too didn't realise there were similar options. It was actually a doctor who my wife knows, who told her about KEE, once I'd been on LL for a while. The hot food made me gag, so the shakes and bars were the only option for me. I managed pretty well, but I did have issues in the way they tried to make you see food in general. Obviously the cost was the other big issue, and at half the price, this is far better, with the same results.

Your losses have been great up until now, and I know that you'll get down to your target weight by sticking to this diet. It can be hard, but those nice steady losses are great to see, and do really help you stay motivated.

Martin

Hi Everyone,

Thought I'd better take the time to put down how I've done so far.

I've done a number of diets over the past 10 years, some very sucessfully some not. I first put on weight after a major car accident some 12 years ago, which forced me to stop doing sport but left me eating the same amount. That combined with a lifestyle that included too much in the way of junk food and eating mainly late at night slowly let the pounds pile on. I guess I didnt notice it until it was too late and I must have gained about 10st.

Eventually about 7 years ago I was planning a long trip around Malaysia and Thailand, carrying out some conservation work, as an extended holiday (3 months) and realised I had to lose weight and more importantly get fitter. I used Atkins, which I found very easy and must have lost about 4 stone in 3 months. Loved the diet, ate lots of cheese, cream and steaks! Looking back I regret doing "my" version of Atkins, as a few years ago I had my gall bladder removed with massive gall stones and a serious infection - and I'm very sure this was related to my interpretation of the atkins diet. Incidently I've read the new version and I dont think its as bad now, more focus on "good" carbs and less on fat heavy food.

I had a great time travelling, although I was still way heavier than I would have wanted. Unfortunately I returned home lighter but didnt continue with any diet, and so over the next few years I just got heavier and heavier - I think I must have peaked at well over 21st maybe even as high as 23st. Dont think I ever looked that big, and I dont believe people would have said I was that heavy, but I guess I hid it well.

So the past few years have seen me bring the weight down slowly, using the new atkins and the GI diet - and just calorie counting. I think the best I had was last summer when I was down to 19st 4lbs - but then Christmas and a "break" put me back to 20st 4lbs.

However in January this year I got engaged, with our wedding planned for August this year. It was the final incentive to really get my weight down, as I cant face the idea of seeing me in the wedding photos for the next 50 years! I fell back to Atkins as I knew I could lose some decent weight on this, but I struggled - losing only about 2lbs a week. Not an issue if I had 12 months but I had a massive ticking clock in my head counting down to August. I was told about lighter life - and snapped up the chance to join. Wish I'd done some research at the time and found the Kee diet but ah well. It was a real struggle to get on LL - having to get my GP to agree to signing the forms and then finding out I had high blood pressure and they wouldnt sign me off till it was under control - so I wasted 6 weeks. Eventually started on LL on the 10th March, and did it for 4 weeks losing 10lbs, 6lbs, 6lbs, 4lbs. Then back to the same issue, had another form to get the GP to fill out and just after I'd had my regular appointment. Luckily someone on the LL forums mentioned Kee - so I researched it and jumped at the chance. Same sort of food and same plan but without the overhead of paying for counselling. Plus I find the majority of the food nice with much more variety and of course I can get more than 1 week at a time.

So at present I've lost a total of 3st 11lbs since the 10th of March. I'm losing on average 5lbs a week, and although I know I shouldnt I do weigh myself each day - I track that against the excercise and food/water so I know what works for me and what doesnt. I usually lose 1lbs a day, maybe an ouce or two under. Oddly enough some days nothing, but at the moment I'm putting it down to doing to much activity or not drinking enough on those days, there does seem to be some correlation between the two. At this rate I will reach my target weight just after the wedding, but I'll be off the diet for a week before hand as we will have guests etc. I plan to return to the diet after the wedding, for the four weeks before we go off to Canada for the honeymoon (no chance of following it there!) and then if I need to I will return to it in the lead up to Christmas.

I'm confident that I wont return to my old bad habits, my attitude to food has changed significantly - and I plan to move back to the GI diet post reaching my target. Of all the "diets" I've done this one seems the best one to maintain my weight - I wont be losing on it but I certainly wont be gaining weight. I find the food fab, healthy and very easy to manage, we cook really good food, so good that other people want us to cook some of the dishes for them. And it really doesnt restrict you on what you can eat, it just gets you to change bad carbs for good carbs.

I love the Kee diet, just wish I'd found it months ago. I'd choose it over any of the others, especially as I'm not paying for someone to read from a book at me once a week!

I cant lie, it is hard some days, my super slim girlfriend fiance eating steak and salad next to me at dinner doesnt help either! But I have found ways to help me keep motivated:

Measurements: I get Angela to measure me each week, chest, waist, tummy, thigh & neck. I record them each week and can see the inches drop off - this is a massive motivator.
Clothes: Every two weeks I go through my clothes, throwing away the stuff that no longer fits (and its surprising how quickly I'm having to get rid of stuff thats now way too big) and of course I'm moving my way back down through the clothes I couldnt fit into. Not long to go before I will be forced into buying new stuff.
Weighing: I know the advice is to only do this each week, but I do it daily and track it via an app. Each day I lose something it makes the day easy, I know it also puts me on a downer when I dont but that does add incentive to stick to it for the day.
Fat/Bone/Water/Muscle: My scales also measure the percentages of these for me, which I record weekly. It's great to know I've lost 12% of my body fat but the rest are stable, although water is up.
Water: I use an app to track how much water I drink each day.
Photos: Ok so I didnt take any photos on day one, I do have photos from the engagement in January which helps but I think I should have taken a few photos of myself on day one (and as naked as you can bare). Angela sees the change in my but i dont, however when I look back over some older photos its a massive change, and something that can really help you.

I have an iphone - there are lots of apps to help you but the two I use are Weightbot which allows me to track my weight daily, giving me my BMI and progress to target. And I use Hydroid - which tracks my water intake, using a simple interface with pictures of various water containers, I just click on one when I've finished drinking. You can configure how much is in each container, i.e. a plastic cup has 200mls. I think some of these apps maybe available on other platforms.

Oh one thing LL did do for me was get me to the GP, and as a result it looks like I've got a problem with my heart (pretty sure Angela would make a comment at this point), which could result in a nasty operation - I'll find out probably after next week when I have an MRI. I'd never have found out if I'd not had my blood pressure checked and the subsequent scans. There is a good chance the first I'd known about it was when I pretty much dropped dead. So it is worth getting a health check, even if it is just a blood pressure check.

Well this is a lot longer than I planned, hope some of the things in here help you. You can do this, after all I'm doing it!

Max