Day 6 - important information + frustration

I wanted to tell you first what happened yesterday and what I later realized.

I don't really remember my day yesterday, besides what I blogged about it. But I do remember that I chew a LOT of sugar free chewing gum. To be honest, about 2 whole packages.  

And I felt like SHIT. I had PMS (premenstrual syndrome) symptoms. I felt bloated, I had abdominal bloatings, which was super uncomfortable. When I came home from work, it even started to get worse. I had horrible diarrhea and I felt like I was sick. 

During the day I thought maybe it was because my body didn't have enough food, and that's why I had those stomach aches. But then I remembered that I had similar symptoms when I was overeating on sugar free protein bars (like 2 years ago). Those protein bars contained sugar alcohols, to have less sugar.  What are sugar alcohols? I will come to this in a second.

However, when I remembered it, I looked on the package from the chewing gum and read something like this since it was in German: Too much consumption of it has a laxative effect.  DANG. I was chewing gum a lot the past 2-3 days, but at Day 5 I got the symptoms.  Of course the first ingredient listed on the package was sugar alcohols.

Please read the following article from http://www.ynhh.org/about-us/sugar_alcohol.aspx which I copied. It has everything you need to know about this topic, just be careful with chewing gum. In case you chew a lot of gum and have similar symptoms, just be aware that it is not because you don't eat enough. So don't worry.

Eat any sugar alcohol lately?

If you've looked lately at the "Nutrition Facts" panel on a pack of sugar-free gum or candy,
you might be surprised to see that it contains "sugar alcohol." Don't let the name fool you.
These ingredients were given this consumer-friendly name because part of their structure
resembles sugar and part is similar to alcohol.

Not one in the same

Don't be confused. Although they share a similar name, sugar alcohol and alcoholic beverages do not have the same chemical structure. Sugar alcohol does not contain ethanol, which is found in alcoholic beverages.

What is sugar alcohol?

Sugar alcohols, also know as polyols, are ingredients used as sweeteners and bulking agents. They occur naturally in foods and come from plant products such as fruits and berries. As a sugar substitute, they provide fewer calories (about a half to one-third less calories) than regular sugar. This is because they are converted to glucose more slowly, require little or no insulin to be metabolized and don't cause sudden increases in blood sugar. This makes them popular among individuals with diabetes; however, their use is becoming more common by just about everyone. You may be consuming them and not even know it.

Identifying them

Common sugar alcohols are mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol, isomalt, maltitol and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH). Sugar alcohols are not commonly used in home food preparation, but are found in many processed foods. Food products labeled "sugar-free," including hard candies, cookies, chewing gums, soft drinks and throat lozenges often consist of sugar alcohols. They are frequently used in toothpaste and mouthwash too.

Check carbohydrates

So why are sugar alcohols used so often? For one thing, they help to provide the sweet flavor to food in many products marketed towards individuals with diabetes. But, beware! There is often the misconception that all sugar alcohol-containing products are "free foods." Some of these products may still contain significant amounts of carbohydrates. It's important to check the food label for the total carbohydrate contained in the product and talk with a registered dietitian to determine how it will best fit into your meal plan.

If a manufacturer uses the term "sugar free" or "no added sugar," they must list the grams of sugar alcohols. If more than one sugar alcohol is used in a product, the "Nutrition Facts" panel will list the amount of sugar alcohol it contains under the total carbohydrate. If just one sugar alcohol is used, the label will list its specific name, for example, "mannitol" or "hydrogenated starch hydrolysates."

Pros and cons of sugar alcohols

On the positive side, sugar alcohols contain less calories (1.5 - 3 calories per gram) than sugar (4 calories per gram), and they do not cause tooth decay like sugar does. Therefore, many "sugar-free" gums including Trident® and Extra® are made with sugar alcohols. Sugar alcohols also add texture to foods, retain moisture better and prevent foods from browning when they are heated.

Unfortunately, there are some negatives associated with sugar alcohols. The most common side effect is the possibility of bloating and diarrhea when sugar alcohols are eaten in excessive amounts. There is also some evidence that sugar alcohols, much like fructose (natural fruit sugar) in fruit and fruit juice can cause a "laxative effect." Weight gain has been seen when these products are overeaten. The American Diabetes Association claims that sugar alcohols are acceptable in a moderate amount but should not be eaten in excess. Some people with diabetes, especially Type I diabetics, have found that their blood sugars rise if sugar alcohols are eaten in uncontrolled amounts.

Day 6 - frustration

Today was a bad day for me. A really bad day. I don't know what happened. I felt really good the first few days. Of course I had appetite, but it was manageable. TODAY, when I woke up, I needed food. I was SO so so so weak, you can't imagine. I was going so slowly, and felt like I was on the verge of fainting. I needed something to eat. Seriously. 

So even before I went to work, I took my prepackaged meal, that I wanted to eat for lunch and that my granny has prepared for me. It was fried fish and I ate 5 bites of it. I felt so much better after it. At work everything was normal.  At 11 am I got hungry again and at 11.30 am I decided to have 5 bites of a cinnamon bun. After 5 bites I stopped and it felt good. But I still felt not really satisfied. At 1 pm I had to go to a course to university and after 2 hours, in the break, (and I don't know why I cave in) I bought a really calorie dense cinnamon, chocolate bun that has about 500-600 calories. JESUS, I felt so bad after it so out of frustration I bought another meal right away, pasta. Yes, pasta. And I ate it all up. I think those both had about 1000 calories together. Yuck.

I felt sooooo bad after it. You can't imagine. I felt like a failure. After university I went to a coffee shop (Nespresso) and I wanted to buy coffee. They gave me coffee to taste, with it a biscuit and I ate it. I ate it because I thought "To hell with it, I screwed up my day anyways.) After that I went to a store to buy me snickers, so I can have a fresh start tomorrow. And you know what. I ate 1 snickers bar on the way back home.

At home, I needed something "salty" and I ate a piece of fried fish with a little bit of salad and an oven-baked apple. After all this food I am - no wonders - so full that I barely can move. 

Of course I feel really bad about it, but I just don't get why my hunger went worse after the first few days. Why I felt weak and had NO energy at all ( At Day 2 or 3 I felt like a new born and at Day 6 like shit!!!).

I try not to think too much about it and I will start a 3 day challenge of eating just snickers for lunch and for dinner. I am afraid of weighing myself, so I will weigh myself only when I feel better in my own body again. I just feel really swollen right now what makes me feel uncomfortable. I feel like I gained all the weight back just in that one day today. Seriously. And I hope so much, that I will get though tomorrow. I WON'T GIVE UP! NOT THIS TIME! SCREW IT. I'M DONE WITH GIVING UP. I'M DONE SO MUCH WITH IT. I want to feel slim and attractive, I want to feel good about myself and not like a failure. I won't be a failure tomorrow. Everyone has bad days, I'm just human. I need to keep this in my mind and not be too harsh to myself. Wish me luck.

Day 5 - not the best day

So today is a little hard for me because maybe my expectations of feeling all great were too high. I woke up like usually and had black coffee for breakfast. Right before work I also had a red bull light because it really helps me to get through the morning. At 11 am I started to get REALLY hungry and at around 12 am I ate my five bite lunch of quark (it’s almost like greek yogurt) and strawberries. But after that I felt still really hungry.

Now it’s 1 pm and I bought chewing gum and caffeine free coke light, and it helps. But I still feel the urgent to eat something. It’s not like real hunger. I feel more nervous and nauseous.

In addition my collegues brought chocolate bars, candy and cinnamon buns for the whole team and it’s really hard not to take when you actually want to eat. BUT I am not going to throw the towel. Not this time. I just hope that time will pass fast today so I can have dinner soon. For dinner my granny will give me some fish and carrots. Not really calorie dense which makes me feel nervous. I would prefer a snickers bar instead, seriously. Because I don’t think that 5 bites of fish and carrots will have more than 100 calories lol. But in the end, it’s even better, because then maybe I will reach my goal faster. But still, deep in my mind I would prefer the snickers.

I think I will have something really calorie dense tomorrow for lunch and tell my grandma that I will buy something on my own. She just loves to prepare food for me (that’s why I had the quark with straws) and will have the fish. She just doesn’t like to hear that I eat crap like chocolate bars. But she should understand that I even lose weight with chocolate bars.

Anyways, I think I will take my scales tomorrow from home so I will be able to weigh myself the day after tomorrow. Will keep you of course up-to-date if so!

Wish me luck for today! I really hope that tomorrow will be a much better day for me.

Day 3 + 4

Didn't have time yesterday, so here briefly how my day was:

Day 3

I moved temporaly to my grandparents and i was afraid of telling my grandma of my five bite diet plan because she would think i have an "eating disorder" .... BUT i told her and she is fine with that! She always wanted me to get slim and for her this is better than binging on sweets like i did. She already recognized that i lost weight!!!! And this feeling was AMAZING. And the feeling that I was kind of supported by my family even better. They are not encouraging me to do that, but they accept and respect my decision and wish me to reach my goal. :)

In the morning of Day 3, I was 1 kg (2 lbs) less than the day before and I was thrilled. Seriously I couldn't believe my eyes.... Because that meant that I lost 3 kg (6 lbs) after 2 days!!!

Isn't that just amazing?

SW: 72 kg.
CW: 69 kg. (After 2 days)
GW: 50 kg.

For lunch I had the first time no peanut bar, but eggplant salad (2 bites) and cheese (3 bites).

Afterwards I went to the gym to do some strength training. To get enough energy I had Red Bull light right before and it really helped.

For dinner I had meat and rice (all together 5 bites).

I was kind of hungry in the evening again, but it felt better than the past days. Soda and lots of chewing gum helped me. My goal for Day 4 is not to chew too much gum, because of the sugar alcohols that it contains.

Day 4

Unfortunately I couldn't weigh myself, because I forgot my scales at home and my grandmother's scale isn't good. But I will weigh myself next week, when I will take the scale from home.

When I woke up, I had black coffee for breakfast. Afterwards I went right to the gym and began with 10 minutes fasted cardio and then various strength workouts. I had enough energy despite I didn't eat anything. Maybe it's because of the Red Bull light I was drinking before lol.

I also went to the sauna, but that really messed me up. I felt sooooo weak and exhausted afterwards. I literally thought I was going to die. But after I drank 1l (about 32oz) of water right afterwards, I felt better. The sauna helped me to get warm again, as I am freezing a bit through my little calorie intake, especially in the evening/night.

At home for lunch I had rice and meat (5 bites of course). It's amazing how this is enough for me now. Sure I could eat more, but it seems like my body is fine with the tiny portions now. I don't feel that hungry and surprisingly I am not that weak as I expected.

For dinner I will have the same as for lunch. I am so excited to see next week, how much I dropped down. I know that I shouldn't expect wonders, as it's going to be slower and slower now, BUT I hope that next week I will be at least 1-2 kg less than yesterday. Fingers crossed!

Day 2 - Amazing results

Before I will tell you about today morning's weigh-ins, I wanted to tell you briefly about yesterday night. I started to get really hungry at around 6 pm, I was freezing SO much, and had minimal energy. In my head all the time a voice said to me: "Fuck it, eat something! And it felt like a rollercoaster for me, because on one hand, I WANTED to do this challenge so much, on the other hand was it too easy for me to grab something out of the fridge.

BUT, I stayed strong! After reading Dr. Lewis book, I felt so strong. I remember saying him in the book, that there are two kinds of people. Those who wanted to lose weight and really wanted it and those, who wanted to lose weight and didn't really want it. And I remembered it, and I remembered all the depression I had due to my appearings, that I just couldn't give it up. I REALLY wanted it.

I didn't want to drink a lot of soda in the beginning, because I know from the past, that the sweeteners in it make me even hungrier after a while. But I needed something for my guts and so I bought a bottle of Coke Light (caffeine-free, because I don't want to get caffeine addicted, I've been there so, thanks no).

It helped me to manage my hunger attack. But still I felt pretty weak. And I hoped that time will pass fast, so I could go to sleep faster.

TODAY, when I woke up, I felt somehow "light". I weighed myself and I lost unbelievable 2 kg's. (Which is about 4 lbs.) I know it's water weight, but this is even better, because who needs excess water in the body, that makes one look swollen?

SW: 72 kg.
CW: 70 kg. (After 1 day)
GW: 50 kg.

I felt so motivated and energized. I was literally smiling the whole morning.

I got black coffee for breakfast. But then at around 11 am, I got a little hungry, so I ate my peanut bar lunch (just 5 small/normal bites) that early. When lunch break started at 12 am, I got really hungry. I feel a little dizzy, but it's not "too" hard. I saved my life with a Lipton Zero Sparkling Ice Tea that has 7 cal./can.

After that I will have probably a Red Bull Light. You see, my initial plan not to drink too much soda, is kind of destroyed. Soda just helps me through my "hunger pains". It's not even real hunger, it's just huge, huge appetite. And I will get there, to overcome them. I won't have such a huge appetite soon. Hopefully.

Real Day 1

So after telling you why I failed in my previous post, I want to tell you how today (the Real Day 1) was for me.

I woke up not hungry at all. Which is pretty amazing, because I always wake up hungry. Yesterday night I read the book and today I woke up like another person. The mind thing is everything. You need to change your mind to get started.

I had a black coffee for breakfast at about 10 am. During unversity classes  I didn't feel hungry at all. The class ended at about 12 am and then I thought "Now I could eat something". Dr. Lewis suggests to eat 2 snickers bars (one for lunch and one for dinner) to get a good view about how small the portion of 5 bites is, as one snickers bar is about 5 bites. So I had a peanut bar (similar to snickers) for lunch at about 12 am. After 5 small bites I didn't really finish the bar (about 1 bite was left), but I threw the last bite away. Five is five, so no excuses. And throwing the last bite away felt AMAZING. I mean it's just one bite, and I didn't think of the calories I saved, but about the fact, that I could say no to myself and I really stopped then. I felt strong and controlled and this is very important in the weight loss journey.

For dinner, which will be in about 3 hours after work (I am now at my lunch break writing this lol) I will have another peanut bar. Just to make it even easier for me. I will inform you on instagram, how I will feel today in the evening. For now, (it is about 2 pm), I start to be a LITTLE hungry, but very managable, and it doesn't bother me at all. It is even good, because it shows, that the stomach gets less than it used to get, so there will be some change with my body soon. (hopefully lol).

Of course I had a multivitamin pill after my lunch with a glass of water. I take calcium and multivitmin pills every day after I ate something.

NEW START - What I did wrong and why I won't fail again...

So as you could probably read on my instagram (FiveBiteDiet), I failed the first few days on the diet and ended up binging at home. I felt completely like a failure.

When I started the challenge some days ago, I ordered Dr. Lewis' book "Why Weight Around" on Amazon. Luckily it arrived yesterday. It is pretty thin and when I opened the delivery package, I was a little disappointed. Is a book that thin really going to be a good book or was it just a waste of money? At the same time hope arized, because I thought: Maybe it will help me to get on the wagon again.

I read it in about 2 hours, maybe less. But after that (and during the reading) I felt so so so incredibly motivated. Suddenly, I understood what exactly I did wrong during the first days.

To sum it up for you a little bit:
- Before you do the Five Bite Diet, I really recommend to read the book. For that one purpose: to get REALLY motivated. No "sum up" of the book will do the job what the book actually does.
- Do NOT prepare your meals as "Five Bite Meals". As you can see in my previous post, I cut the sandwich into 4 pieces and added a slice of cucumber to get the fifth piece. Do NOT do this. I don't know why, but I am pretty sure it was the reason, why I actually felt really hungry. Dr. Lewis also wrote in the book not to do this.
- Instead, get the food you want (it can be anything you like) and eat SMALL (or just normal) 5 bites of it. The rest immediately throw away, so you are not tempted to eat the rest. I did the mistake, that I bought for example a small bun, which I thought is a small portion so it will  be my lunch. In the end, that bun had way more than 5 bites (let's say 12 bites). My next meal had eventually 15 bites and that's always another portion size than before. The stomach can't get used to a certain size, because he gets all the time different portion sizes. The hunger receptors in the stomach can't get used to it and you are always hungry. This time (Or better say today at the "Real" Day 1), I had a peanut bar, which eventually had 6 bites, but after 5 bites I threw the rest away. And it felt GOOD! The next meal, my dinner, (I think it will be the same bar) will also have 5 small bites, so the portion size is axactly the same as before. My stomach will get used to the portion size in a several days.

I hope this helps you if you find yourself struggling in the beginning. Today, on my real Day 1, I feel like I can do it, I feel so incredibly motivated and strong. And all I can say it is just because of the book, because it helps you to change your mind concerning this diet. It is all about the mind. The failure and the hunger. And you CAN control it.

Day 1

Today is the first day.

I think my weight is about 72 kg. I am 170 cm tall so my BMI is 24.9 and overweight starts with 25. Jesus. My goal is a BMI of about 18. I want to reach 50 kg's because I know there will be weight gain after the Diet. So that I can be roughly 55 kg.

Actually I wanted a "smooth" beginning, so I didn't start with 5 Bites. I had ice cream and some buns with nutella for breakfast. I think it's about 1000 calories. But my second meal I will have 5 bites. Tomorrow I will do it right. Just didn't want to have an extreme start.

UPDATE:
Had 5 Bites of wholewheat bread with salmon, butter and cucumber. Actually 4 and 1 bite extra cucumber. I feel satisfied, still feel a little sick of today's "breakfast". Can't wait for tomorrow to make it right. And I started an instagram account: FIVEBITEDIET
If you want you can follow me.