How do you BOTT? - your methods and tips for others - what works for you?

We have a few new people.. and there are some of us that have been doing that over and over and over... 

I guess it is funny thing with regain - you can lose it - then it is back, and back.. and in same situation we become "happy" where we are - only to be reminded by our Closet, or one of our docs ..that things are NOT where they need to be.. 

How about we share - without judgement or criticism what works for each of us - and even what does not work? 

The truth it is - what works for one person - may not work for someone else.. there are many paths to the same point...

Lets share...

Let me start to explain a few things about me: I have food allergies, Secondary adrenal insufficiency (SAI), I have IBS-C and I am menopausal on HRT.

I am on daily Cortisol replacement and I deal with severe RH (reactive Hypoglycemia) that can be partially blamed by my SAI (the other part is the bad food choices).

I also have a Type A personality - and I get bored easily..so if something does not work fast enough for me - I may drop it... I ratehr take drastic measures and lose my wight fast(relatively) that work on losing 0.5 lbs every other week. 

Here is what works for me in losing stage phase: 

Food choices: 

• Low carbs
• no grain
• no artificial sweetener
• no dairy (even butter is iffy)
• FODMAP low - free diet to help with my IBS (google to learn more)
• Miralax (to help with my IBS-C)
• fruits - only berries and only 1-3 servings per week
• Low carb - high fat (relatively) - 100 gr of protein daily
• Nuts (specially Late Night Snack-LNS to keep my BS stable at night)
• no alcohol, no soft drinks.
• only liquid calories in a form of protein shakes with a very small amount of carbs in it. 
• I try to eat and drink as natural as I can, trying to avoid highly processed foods.. 

My meal schedule:

I try to follow Intermittent fasting (IF) ( describes diets that cycle between a period of fasting and non-fasting. In some contexts, fasting allows the consumption of a limited amount of low-calorie beverages such as coffee or tea.) I

I found what works best for me is to modified IF - I try to have 12-14 hrs per day I only drink non caloric drinks. (coffee, tea, water, etc.).  For various reasons (explained below - if you choose to read) the time I eat food is between noon-11 pm every day.

I try to fit my eating in 10 hour or  less window so if the previous day my last snack was at 10 pm - I can start eating (or drinking proteins) at or after 12-noon. If I am not hungry I may wait longer or I have some light protein shake or some light 100 cal snack. 

Then until my LNS (typically at 9 -10pm or so) I try to eat no more that 200 cal meals/snacks every 2-3 hours.. and I reserve most of my calories and food for dinner..

I really don't count calories too much.  I know that with my restriction - I can't eat a lot and when I do - I really hurt... 

Note:I use stevia in liquids because the truvia has dextrose= form of sugar. When I am out and don't have my stevia (package- pure stevia) - I may use some saccharine.. 

So here will be my typical eats when I am trying to lose weight and do it fast:

• morning 6-7 am: coffee + coffee - + miralax + stevia;  vitamins and minerals..
• 8-12  drink my liquid : green and herbal teas.. water
• noon - 2 pm. I am typically hungry by then - so I will eat lunch: meat or eggs or fish + low starchy veggies..or if I am not hungry I drink protein shake made with coconut or almond unsweetened milk ( need fat and proteins) 
• snack: around 4  - can be protein shake; or some small snack - making sure i get fat+ proteins..
• 6-7 snack or a meal - depends how day went - it may be some cold cuts or piece of chicken and some veggies.. ( I do miss my cheese) 
• LNS: typically nuts or nut butters. or my own backing product (like protein muffins or protein cookies, protein bars, etc) 

 

what is important to my diet: 

Carbs. I try to stay under 40-60 gr of net carbs, making sure I get at least 10-20 fiber from real food (i don't trust most companies when the "add fiber" - I dealt with too many RH episodes due to that). And I try to limit my carbs to 30-40 per day.. (from non starchy foods) 

Proteins: I tried to get at least 80 -100 gr of proteins from different sources. ( getting better with that since I found some good tasting vegan proteins- really miss my whey). 

Fats: I don't really try to limit those. My body will tell me if I had too many (nausea and runs) so I try to keep my fats at every meal to under 10-20 depends what else is in the food. (liquid - need to stay at 5-8 gr, drinking slowly - in protein shakes); but I tolerate most nust - tolerate too well. I like bacon,.sausage, eggs, avocado, and use coconut oil and coconut milk in my many recipies.  I also use nuts and seeds oils and try to avoid most "vegetable oils" IMO _ canola oil is not really good for us.. 

I don't do low fats..or fat free.  For my coffee - if I have it in afternoon- I add coconut milk or almond milk.. I use that also for my protein shakes. 

Calories: I do track my calories by realy tracking all my other foods, and try to stay at 1000/ daily on weekly basis. That means that one day I would have 1400 and the next couple days ..800... 

I gain weight when I eat too many carbs and ..drink wine.. wine is my issue for weight gain.. I eat wine - and not only I get more calories from wine - but I also can eat more ... and make poor choices.   

 

BTW: I learned about the IF from someone who was able to lose 10 lbs on her already small frame in rather short time... 

Also check 5:2 diet.... if you interested. (google it) 

 

Note about eating so late: 

I have to have LNS - around 10 p.m.  Due to my SAI (adrenal issues) -  I am not really hungry until my cortisol kicks in in the  late morning.  I can judge if I took enough or too much how hungry I get.. Also - my cortisol is low in evening or night (and I can't supplement - or I would not be able to sleep)   so no only my body have a hard time converting stored sugar into blood sugar  (need steroid for that) but during that time my BS have tendency to drop really low (like really  really low - 30's and below).  Because of that - I need to eat food in evening and make sure i have some high fat+proteins+complex carbs food as LNS so my body has some"food" to be able to slowly digest and use in 8-12 hours.  Nuts works for me - because not only it take a while for my body to break them don - but they also do not "spoil" inside me while I am sleeping...- don't we all know the sour taste  in the morning if we eat something late at night? nuts don't do that to me.)

 

I try to eat fruit, veggies, starches, meat, dairy and no junk.  My general diet is 1600 calories, but frequently I eat something like rf cheese nuked over flax seed tortilla chips or a sandwich made from low fat sausage, rf cheese, veggies and whole wheat bread or a great salad with craisins, dressing, croutons, nuts and seeds along with lettuce, tomato, cucumber.  Each of these adds 500 calories to my day.  It was happening often enough that I slowly gained weight.  I don't remember the last time I ate a candy bar or high fat ice cream or sundae or donuts/cakes.  I simply eat too much healthy food.  I am a lot like my 100 lb. lab.  She cries at her bowl for another scoop of kibble before bed.  She doesn't need it, but too often I give in to her because she looks so hungry.  As I am writing this I realize I should grab her leash and take a walk around the block.  We both might forget about food and sleep better...hmmmm!  Tri

I try to follow the high protein 80-100 gm/day, low carb, plenty of water. My down fall and dare I say, addiction, is Dr. Pepper and Snyder's snap pretzels, When I eat the snap pretzels, it is almost like I am inhaling them! I don't know why but I adore them. When I analyze where I am going wrong, it is always way too much carbs, which I love. I am not much for sweets, but I love my Snyder's snap pretzels and my Dr. Pepper. That is why it is so difficult to stop them, but I must.