Time to maintain!

[Marguerite]

Yesterday was my last diet pill. I took them one a day for the last seven months. They were supposed to curb my appetite and also stop my metabolism form going into slow-mo because I have been dieting. I don't think they did anything much to curb my appetite, I have done this on willpower. But part of it too, was telling myself I only had to do this for six-seven months.

Now the doctor has told me, I have to continue doing this for at least 18 months. Now, without the pills. They are limited in how long they can work, anyway.

One potential problem with the pills - they can push blood pressure up. But now I'm off them, this is not longer a worry.

So the diet continues. From all I've read, that means I'll probably gain back some weight but it should stabilise at a lower level than I began.

The guide will be - my liver function test results. When they drop closer to normal levels, then I can relax my vigilance a bit.

So I'm no longer likely to lose weight, but if I can avoid gaining back most of what I lost, I will still be a winner.

Time to maintain!

Marg

 

[trinityroyal]

Marg, you've achieved amazing results with the diet pills and your very controlled eating regimen. I am impressed by your ability to control your intake.

I guess in a way it's like the kind of eating regimen you need to follow after bariatric surgery. Tiny quantities, several times a day, being very careful with the types of foods you choose. Only without the (dangerous and scary, in my opinion) surgery itself.

Hope the maintenance phase goes well, and you continue to see positive progress with your liver.

Trinity

 

[1905]

Knowing the pills did nothing to curb your appetite,then you lost all that weight by your own willpower. Keep doing what you're doing Marg, I know you'll continue to lose.
After all this time, you've incorporated these eating habits into your lifestyle. You won't go back to your old ways, your liver and your body will just get healthier.

Now, no worries about your blood pressure.
And I think you will continue to lose more weight.
-Alyssa

 

[busywend]

Maintain you shall! Just keep up all the good habits you have acquired in the last 7 months.

You can do it!

 

[Marguerite]

Tinirty, you said, "I guess in a way it's like the kind of eating regimen you need to follow after bariatric surgery. Tiny quantities, several times a day, being very careful with the types of foods you choose. Only without the (dangerous and scary, in my opinion) surgery itself."

That's it exactly! Not easy sometimes.

I do know I can break the rules for a special occasion, as long as I keep my fluids up and go back to being vigilant. We've been invited to lunch on Sunday and I've been asked to bring dessert. I've sent the hostess a list of three possibilities (two of them chocolate, all of them easier than they look) and I'm waiting to hear back.

Otherwise - drinking lots of water helps (or, in my case, drinking it as decaf iced coffee based on water) and avoiding all other drinks except water. Eating a helping of my special muesli when I get the munchies (no matter what time of day) is also a fall-back.

It's early days yet. Thanks for your support!

Marg

 

[SearchingForRainbows]

Marg,

You are an amazingly strong woman. You've worked so hard to shed those pounds. You find a way to break through every obstacle you encounter in your journey to health. I have confidence that while the maintenance phase is going to be a challenge, you will succeed!!!

How did things go at lunch Sunday?

Although I haven't posted much lately, I think about you often and hope your liver function test results bring excellent news. WFEN

 

[Marguerite]

Lunch on Sunday went well. I had offered to make dessert - I baked a chocolate pudding and made some chocolate custard pots as well, in case one or the other was a failure. I took ingredients to help finish off bits - I made the pouring sauce for the pudding while I left it for the boys to slice up - I should have supervised, the slices were far too big! Then I served up the chocolate pots - yumm! I had a full helping of each, feeling very decadent.
husband & I were both feeling as full as ticks afterwards, no room for much dinner. We had a wonderful, relaxed and happy afternoon, with friends. difficult child 3 played happily with the daughter of the house, a very bright 10 year old. They are very good friends who understand one another well.

From a dietary point of view, although I broke my diet for the day I didn't do too badly. Apart from the slab of pudding, the chocolate pots were tiny. They're supposed to be served in coffee cups, so I found some small demi-tasse cups to set the puddings in. I put those onto their matching saucers, each with a strawberry fan on it. A gas-charged cream whipper made a swirl of whipped cream on top really easy, so the assembly looked like a small cappuccino for each of us. But the demi-tasse meant that each serve was small. A good thing, too - it was really rich.

An easy recipe - I nicked it from an episode of Oprah but I've played with it a bit more to improve it.

I've been watching the sales since, for signs of 'damage' - but no worries. No weight gain from it.

So last night - I made chocolate pots again. They're still in the fridge, I did have a tiny serve tonight from the little bit left over after I filled six little cups last night. This one seemed to set even firmer (don't know why). So I'm thinking of inviting mother in law to dinner tomorrow night, even though it's not a special occasion or anything. As long as I get home early enough tomorrow to put a roast chook on, then we can have a lovely dinner which is still OK for my diet. A tiny amount of chocolate pot for dessert will be perfectly OK.

No guilt, because I have planned for it. That makes it even more enjoyable!

Anyone wanting the recipe - say the word!

Marg

 

[trinityroyal]

Marg, those chocolate pots sound delicious and yes, I would love to have the recipe.

 

[Marguerite]

Here is the recipe:
Cheating Chocolate Cups
Put in blender:
250 g semi-sweet choc chips or chopped chocolate - needs to be chopped small, like choc bits
Three eggs
4 T castor sugar
2 T preferred liqueur - ie rum, Tia Maria, hazelnut

Blend. While blending, add
One and a half cups of VERY hot milk, poured in thin stream while blending. I microwave the milk and pour it in while it's still got big bubbles rising to the top. The almost boiling milk should melt the chocolate chips and cook the egg smoothly.

Pour into small tea cups and chill in the fridge, 30 minutes or even overnight. Serve topped with whipped cream, try and make it look like cappuccino. Be sparing - this is VERY rich. If possible, serve in demi-tasse cups. Put the cups on their saucers. This is a recipe for the silly little cups you NEVER use, the ones only good for macchiato. I have a coffee set which is so small, you couldn't drink out of the cups because your nose wouldn't fit. Perfect for this.

I top the whipped cream with a sprinkle of chocolate and put either an after-dinner mint, a strawberry fan or wafer biscuit on the saucer with the teaspoon. Strawberry fan is really easy - get a large strawberry, with the green bit still on. Make some vertical slices to the strawberry from tip to almost the green bit. Then press the strawberry gently to fan out the slices, still attached at the green bit. Serve immediately.

Chopping the chocolate takes the longest. I'm still adjusting the recipe, you might find you need to fiddle with it a little too. But use DARK chocolate, not milk. If you want it not too strong you can add more milk (and maybe more egg) or less chocolate. Maybe cut back the chocolate and add coffee instead.

I did this for dinner tonight - it was so easy. I'd been out in the city with difficult child 3, we got home at 4.30 pm and by 5 pm it was time to begin dinner. Cooking a roast dinner is quite easy when you're in a routine, we served it up at 7 pm with roast vegetables, home-made gravy and steamed asparagus and peas.
A lot - and seemingly, a lot of trouble. But not really, when you're cooking for more than two or three people.
After that it was really quick and easy to reach into the fridge and pull out a few cups prepared earlier and the cream whipper. Saucers out of the cupboard, a swirl of whipped cream, a quick strawberry - and voila! mother in law was impressed.

By doing it in small cups, you really don't have much at all. It is also so very rich that you don't need much to give you your chocolate 'fix' for ages.

One 250 g block of chocolate (the recipe above) makes 6-8 chocolate cups, more if you stretch it a little further. The only fat is in the chocolate and a small amount in the milk and the little bit of whipped cream (which can be left off). Just over 30 g chocolate per serve. 9 g of fat and 15 g carbs. Certainly not for every day, on a really strict diet like mine, but if you're going to break your diet there are many worse ways which don't taste half as good!

Marg

 

[trinityroyal]

Oh Marg, that sounds wonderful!
And I have just the set of cups for it. I'm going to try this for difficult child's 19th birthday dinner in a few weeks.

Thanks!
Trinity

 

[Marguerite]

A possible adjustment - cut the chocolate back to 200 g, increase the eggs to 4, the milk to 2 cups. And leave it overnight in the fridge, not just half an hour.

A cute variation - chocolate creme brulee - you sprinkle on a thin even layer of castor sugar then flame it with a kitchen supply blow torch until it caramelises into a toffee shell. Stop before it burns too black. The traditional way is to put the chilled custard pot under a pre-heated grill; to keep the custard chilled you wrap it in ice cubes. You do this immediately before serving. The blow torch is the quick way to do it.

Marg

 

[SearchingForRainbows]

Marg,

I'm glad you had an enjoyable day last Sunday. The chocolate custard cups sound delicious!!! I'm going to print the recipe as the holiday season is almost here. It's hard to believe that another year has almost gone by... WFEN

 

[trinityroyal]

Oooh. Chocolate creme brule. I love creme brule, and this sounds like a delicious innovation. I'm going to have to try all of these. Very soon.

Thanks Marg.

 

[Augustine]

In my opinion chocolate cream are the causes of fat and over weight. We must avoid to eat the chocolate cream.

 

[buddy]

well, everything in moderation. I dont restrict anything anymore and I have stopped the rollercoaster and have consistently lost weight. Unless a dr says not to eat something, I think it is ok to live life and be smart about it.

 

[Marg's Man]

Augustine and Buddy,

This thread is so old it's not even a dinosaur - it's completely fossilised.

Marg went off those diet pills three and a half YEARS ago.

Marg's Man