Chinese Accupuncture

[Blythe]

im really staggered that this is what we need to do in order to loose weight and not sure how i will manage to restrict myself to that amount. Of course when i was younger it was so much easier to loose weight but i do struggle now.

im feeling very motivated...today i had

black coffee no sugar
various herbal teas
2 x bananas
1 x yogurt
handful of raspberries
slim a soup
skimmed milk and bowl of special k

tonight i will have some rice cakes and Philadelphia
either salad or loads of veg

for the first two weeks of this diet i am on calories are restricted to 1200 per day and a sample menu looks like this:

BF - small glass unsweetened fruit juice and special k with milk and 1 tsp of sugar OR 2 well grilled rashers of lean bacon with 1 egg [poached or dry fried] and 1 x 200 g can of tomatoes

mid morning snack - 90g blueberries

lunch - low cal soup with 1 x wholegrain roll [small] plus 100g fresh fruit salad

mid-afternoon snack - ryvita with 20g extra light soft cheese with 2 x cherry tomatoes

dinner - chicken and chilli stir fry with 40g dry weight boiled basmati rice OR the stir fry with no rice but i mini meringue topped with mullerlight yogurt


each day you are given a fitness challenge such as walk for 15 mins and do 8 ab curls

When i joined they gave me some little measuring pots for making sure i don't have too much rice or special k - god forbid!!

i am very excited about getting my weight down to pre 30 y/o levels which i am determined to do!!

 

[Briss]

Blythe, that's very exciting and such a structured approach! I am sure you will do very well.

I joined https://www.fatsecret.co.uk it's online and free. I add my food and they tell me calories etc, I can also enter exercises etc they put me on 1,300 calories a day but I already know that anything over 1,000 and I wont lose any. I had steak for lunch so will have to go without dinner…

I had so far:

Pink Lady Apples 72
Banana 140
Honey 64
Beef Steak 386
Mixed Peppers 15
Cherry Tomatoes 11
Cucumber 8
Apricots 34

I am so lazy with exercises, really need to get myself moving everyday. This is probably my main issue in not losing any weight, just not enough exercise

 

[Briss]

It's amazing after eating a steak yesterday I finally saw a tiny positive change in my weight this morning!! so excited. I also made myself do 30 min of aerobics instead of dinner. I really like this website cos it helped me see that I only eat carbohydrate and fat, there was so little protein in my diet. I will try to eat something meaty/fishy for lunch and almost nothing for dinner like yesterday.

My Dh and I finally agreed to go on a city break this weekend. I've taken 2 days off and we are going to Barcelona. I cant wait! I already decided that I am going to put my diet on hold for these 4 days and eat chocolate, coffee and food in general! but then the weekend after I will do detox and clear my sins… after all this Saturday is 4 weeks of no bad sugars, I definitely deserve a treat. Have to say that my cravings are not getting any better, I am thinking of chocolate constantly. just realised that it will be very hard to do herbs in Barcelona…will have to skip a few days

 

[Blythe]

You certainly do deserve a nice break and done treats too. Well done on the weight loss oh how exciting to get away to Barcelona. I hope you have a really lovely time.

I've been hungry all morning....the Special K is just not cutting it! But I've been drinking loads of water and tea to try and work through the hunger. I've just had lunch and still excited about getting this weight off. I'm going to a 40th tomorrow evening and will stick to vodka!

 

[Briss]

I am so looking forward to this trip, last time we got away was 4 days in Venice almost a year ago (I was ovulating and had this dream in my head that we should definitely conceive in Venice…oh well), no proper holidays since then. I do feel exhausted and my motivation is non existent.

had a beef burger for lunch with no bread/cheese just salad. it was nice but half hour later I was struggling – badly wanted some chocolate! now having tea with 10 raisings! yes, I am now counting them. I actually noticed that I started drinking less tea, for the first 3 weeks that was my main food really but I feel like I cant take it any more.

one shot of vodka is 60-65 calories! but you would need some juice for vodka and that's going to be a lot of additional calories so may be wine? red wine – 150 ml 130 calories.

I am so glad no one shares their baby's pictures with me at work, I have enough of this on facebook. but then how would they know this is upsetting? unless you have gone through what we are going through there is no way you can imagine that baby pictures can be a reason to be depressed. once I am pregnant I am going to be quiet on the topic unless I am asked. and you are so right, B&B is the only place I can go to feel understood, accepted and generally not alone in my misery. I am also really glad I refocused myself into dieting, I am now almost looking forward to AF so I could start my Detox

 

[gingmg]

just wanted to pop back in to update..... after only 1 month of acupuncture finally very few clots this flow!!! hoping it means I'm moving in the right direction.....

my fertility clinic said not to take the baby aspirin... said would only help if i have a particular clotting disorder, and otherwise will potentially interfere with O... don't want that.

Oh my Barcelona, sounds absolutely heavenly. Have fun!

 

[Briss]

gingmg, great news re clots! and really fast result, your acu doc must be very good. What points does he needle? I am still on raw herbs, this morning was in a hurry and had them on an empty stomach. do not feel that great. Looking forward to my first acu session at Dr Zhai's clinic next Friday.

Lost some more weight this morning!! I cant believe this, after eating that burger and not doing any exercises I was so sure I will put some of it back on but no, I've lost some! I think it's probably that fruit/veg does not work for me that well cos I end up just eating carbohydrates but when I add meat (but I have to skip dinners to stay within 1,000 daily calorie intake) somehow I end up losing weight. I still do not understand how this works but I am just so happy, finally some improvement. It's a shame I will have to ruin it in Barcelona, there is no way I can be hungry while trying to have fun and relax but I will try not to go overboard with food.

 

[Blythe]

just wanted to pop back in to update..... after only 1 month of acupuncture finally very few clots this flow!!! hoping it means I'm moving in the right direction.....

my fertility clinic said not to take the baby aspirin... said would only help if i have a particular clotting disorder, and otherwise will potentially interfere with O... don't want that.

Oh my Barcelona, sounds absolutely heavenly. Have fun!

I'm always happy to hear stories about Acu making positive changes to someone. I really hope it results in a bfp for you

 

[Blythe]

gingmg, great news re clots! and really fast result, your acu doc must be very good. What points does he needle? I am still on raw herbs, this morning was in a hurry and had them on an empty stomach. do not feel that great. Looking forward to my first acu session at Dr Zhai's clinic next Friday.

Lost some more weight this morning!! I cant believe this, after eating that burger and not doing any exercises I was so sure I will put some of it back on but no, I've lost some! I think it's probably that fruit/veg does not work for me that well cos I end up just eating carbohydrates but when I add meat (but I have to skip dinners to stay within 1,000 daily calorie intake) somehow I end up losing weight. I still do not understand how this works but I am just so happy, finally some improvement. It's a shame I will have to ruin it in Barcelona, there is no way I can be hungry while trying to have fun and relax but I will try not to go overboard with food.

Well done! Great news I too have been introducing some protein. After reading one of your previous posts I brought some fish last night and just had some chicken now. I'm feeling good but still working through the hunger but very determined to stick with it.

Have a wonderful weekend away

 

[Briss]

Blythe, thank you. you too have a lovely weekend!

I also had fish today. 4 weeks of dieting and I still feel hungry most of the day, when I eat next to nothing I actually feel less hungry. the hardest part is to eat little because I feel hungry within an hour after meals. will be skipping dinner today as well.

 

[gingmg]

Briss- Not sure what points she does, she does some of the same things each time, some different, depending on where it's sensitive when she pushes around. She specializes in fertility, so I just let her do her thing and use it as an hour to rest and relax. I don't ask a whole lot of questions. She always does my abdomen, lower back, feet, ears, and forehead, and sometimes points in my legs, upper back and ovary areas. (some of those points are for my anxiety, some fertility). And she always does that burning thing. Sometimes I think she is just warming the needle and it only feels warm not hot, other times she actually burns me (like last week, I have 3 tiny blisters!!) I don't mind though, she could break out in full song and dance around with chickens for all I care if it will help me have baby

 

[gingmg]

Blythe,
Thanks.

 

[AGspeech]

Well, I haven't conceived yet...but I have been doing Acupunture for about 3-4 months now. If anything right now, I am more relaxed... which is great! I am also taking herbs, I take it 3 times a day. But what she has helped with, is eczema. I developed it recently and she literally cured it with chinese herbs. WOW!! thank goodness. I have been TTC for almost 2 years now and have had 1 miscarriage. We are now looking into infertility and have an appointment next month. She has told me that if we do fertility, we then schedule acupunture with treatments. I am not giving up acupunture, it is too relaxing and gives me "ME" time. Plus it is nice to know that I have someone else "helping" me to conceive.

 

[Blythe]

Hi agspeech

Thats great the herbs have helped already. Have they resulted in any changes to your cycle? Also are you taking raw herbs, powder or pills?

 

[Blythe]

I am on day 7 of taking black cohosh (3 x 40mg per day) and i am still spotting and i can feel my ovaries. I will start opks weds (cd 9) and hope i at least ovulate this cycle and have not messed things up! My temps are also still raised for this point in my cycle.

I am going to my second rosemary conley class tues evening and hoping to have lost some weight

Shiseru - hope you are ok? I see AF came at last. Are you trying iui again this cycle?

Briss - how was Barcelona? Did you both have a good time? It was very grey and miserable in London

 

[shiseru]

Hi ladies

I hope all is well.

My af is weird this cycle, probably due to the progesterone in my body, it was not very heavy. I took femara on the 2nd day (from my own judgement, i don't even know if that was my 2nd day or what) and will be going for a scan this Friday. I started acupuncture again.

I hope this time it does magic, if not i have plans to proceed to ivf, My gynae suspect i got lousy eggs so she said she wants to put me on growth hormones and high stim for ivf. She wants to make the 1st cycle the best because results for 2nd round is usually not ideal, especially i have very low amh. i came across a few articles and forums and research and several women who used it (Saizen) and they had really fantastic results, especially those who were well over 40.

 

[Briss]

Blythe, black cohosh does not sound that great. are you still spotting? I do not think it will affect your ovulation though.

Barcelona was great but i thought it would be much warmer, I had to wear jumper and jacket all the time. My diet is completely ruined, I gained 2 kg cos I could not stop myself having cappuccinos and cakes every 2-3 hours… getting on average 2,400 calories a day. also TMI my stomach stopped working completely from all this food and I did not go to the toilet since Friday!!! I have no idea what's going on, never had that before. had prunes today but they did not help at all. am definitely doing detox this weekend but just scared that I might have damaged my otherwise clockwise system.

Expecting AF tomorrow or Friday, feel totally depressed about everything. being away made me take a moment and look at my life from the outside and I did not like what I saw. I do no not what to do but I feel I need to make some changes, maybe quit my job that drains me completely and find a new husband… I could barely find energy and will to get up this morning and force myself to work.

I did not take herbs for 4 days so will move my acu for next week so I could finish them before taking new ones

 

[Blythe]

Blythe, black cohosh does not sound that great. are you still spotting? I do not think it will affect your ovulation though.

Barcelona was great but i thought it would be much warmer, I had to wear jumper and jacket all the time. My diet is completely ruined, I gained 2 kg cos I could not stop myself having cappuccinos and cakes every 2-3 hours… getting on average 2,400 calories a day. also TMI my stomach stopped working completely from all this food and I did not go to the toilet since Friday!!! I have no idea what's going on, never had that before. had prunes today but they did not help at all. am definitely doing detox this weekend but just scared that I might have damaged my otherwise clockwise system.

Expecting AF tomorrow or Friday, feel totally depressed about everything. being away made me take a moment and look at my life from the outside and I did not like what I saw. I do no not what to do but I feel I need to make some changes, maybe quit my job that drains me completely and find a new husband… I could barely find energy and will to get up this morning and force myself to work.

I did not take herbs for 4 days so will move my acu for next week so I could finish them before taking new ones

Hi briss

Firstly I'm sorry AF is on the way. I will be so so happy for you when I read of your BFP so I'm sorry that its not going to be this month....hold on your BFP could be just 4 short weeks away.

Being away from our usual environment does help us with perspective...not always a bad thing. I know for the past year or two I've been holding my breath and just saving for a deposit and not going out, laughing, properly relaxing. I'm just waiting And waiting. If I could afford to take a career break I would but its difficult to get back in the game (impossible for me).

Would you be able to negociate reduced hours in your place or is a complete change a possibility for you?

I would hold into the husband though....TTC is the toughest test you will face (I hope) and if you can get through this he's a goodun. Having said that I finish with my DH at least twice a month (yes i really am that mature!!) he tells me I'm obsessed and don't see what else is around me and he's had enough of pills and nagging!!

I hate constipation....one of my friends suffers from it badly and can go 2 weeks without going....the docs have tried most things...poor girl

Well my first weigh in resulted in a 2ib loss.....a lot less than I hoped for but something I suppose. I did drink lots last Friday so guess that threw it off. I'm sure you will be back on track soon enough.

I'm back to Acu on Sunday and will book another round of appts but just go every 2 weeks to keep costs in check.

Welcome back and I'm glad you enjoyed Barcelona.

 

[Briss]

Thank you!

reduced hours is not an option unfortunately, I would like a sabbatical for 3-4 months but that's not an option either. I was thinking as far as change of career or not working at all … but this would probably just make things worse. maybe go live aboard somewhere, meet smb new – sounds crazy I know

My DH did not take vitamins for over a week now and had beer and wine while in Barcelona, he wants to do his test on Monday – 3 months since he officially quit beer and then go back to drinking beer… what's in there for me then? nothing to look forward to.

TMI I finally managed to go to the toilet, prunes worked after all … but I am sure there is plenty left. cant believe I did this to myself, just could not stop with the deserts and cakes – it's so cheap in Barcelona and I wanted it all so badly. I have to say that a month of no chocolate did not do anything to my cravings, there are still there. I have not eaten anything apart from 10 prunes today and I am not even hungry! I am probably still digesting what I ate on Sunday…

congratulations on weight loss! it's a step in the right direction. once my constipation gets better I will do another weight in – maybe it wont be as bad as what I got this morning. am back on my 1,000 calories a day but I guess today I will just have some fruit and tea to help my body alone

 

[Briss]

gingmg, I know what you mean. when I went for my first ever TCM session, the doc did all sorts of weird and really painful things for about 3 hours but I was holding on thinking as long as it helps me conceive I will bear anything. Still have no idea whether what she did was good or bad thing. it's really hard to tell

agspeech, that's great that the acu and herbs are helping you relax. 3 times a day – seems a lot. It's probably quite expensive as well. Did your doc tell you what's your deficiencies/unbalances? what is it that she is trying to fix? curing eczema is a really good sign that she is doing something right.

Shiseru, your LH last cycle was so long, was it progesterone? are you still doing acu/herbs to help the treatment alone? good luck with your scan tomorrow.

Blythe, I agree that your temps were slightly higher than usual, do you think it's black cohosh? Hopefully, you will get your positive OPK in 1-2 days. It's very funny that you "finish with your DH at least twice a month" – I have the same but more often than that. My Dh says he is tired of living in constant fear of me leaving him. the solution is very simple just do not do things that upset me, why is this so hard for him is beyond me. I think doing acu every 2 weeks is fine, at least that's how often they do it at Dr Zhai's.

had some more beef today. I think I know now how to lose weight so I will stick to a small piece of meat/fish at lunch and little bit of fruit and veg throughout the day, skipping dinner so I could stay within 1,000 calories but I will definitely be having small pieces of chocolate from time to time. that whole month of no bad sugars did not really make any difference except me feeling miserable all the time. my cravings did not go away, quite the opposite. I was losing weight really well just before I went to Barcelona so I hope to go back to the same pace.

I moved my acu for Monday cos I still have 4 more days of herbs. I do not think it's going to be Dr Zhai, probably one of her assistants. Still, I am curious what points they are going to needle. I wonder if I get raw herbs again. I am quite pleased that although I do get an occasional spot or two it's nowhere near as bad as it was on my previous herbs.

Does not look like I will be able to do FSH this cycle, AF is due today/tomorrow so Cd3 will be either Saturday or Sunday. I am not in a hurry cos I'd rather get more herbs/acu sessions in before the test hoping this would reduce my levels so we can qualify for IVF.

Hubby is doing SA on Monday, I am quite scared to know the results. He is hoping for something spectacular considering the sacrifice he made (beer!) but I do not even know what to think anymore. his last two SA were heart breaking.