Summer's On the Way! + Follower Q & A

I would like to begin my getting back to all you lovely folks! Sorry for the delay!

Sunny said...
Woohoo! That's awesome! Congrats on the reward for all your hard work and good luck with the photoshoot, you will be beautiful! :)

B: Thanks so much Sunny!

Deb said...
Wow!!! That is so awesome - CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Can't wait to hear when it will be in stores. And go for the swim suit girl - YOU'VE EARNED IT NOW ROCK THAT BODY!

B: Thanks Deb. I'm not so sure what they'll be doing now, but I'm excited regardless :)

Kathi said..
Can't wait to see the magazine ... you need to post me one please! but I'll bet you gonna buy quite a lot of them :-)

B: I may very well indeed buy several. I'll try to mail you one if you want Kathi! :D

Anonymous said...
Hello, I came across your blog by viewing Dukan's website. I am struggling with losing 25 pounds. I have tried a lot of diets out there and have found them to not work. I'm very leary of trying Dukans diet....How exactly does it work??? I purchased the book today-now I'm just waiting for it in the mail...please advise...

B: Hi Anon. I have tried many diets too. I lost 70 lbs on Atkins and gained it all back. The Dukan Diet is different though. It's changed my life entirely. If you stick with it, you are guaranteed to lose weight. He comes out and says it in the book that as long as you do as he prescribes, you will lose weight no matter what!

Lauren said...
Congratulations! It is proof that hard work and commitment breeds good things. And what girl wouldn;t love her own photoshoot! Can't wait to read about it.

I have been lurking on your blog and actually used it as a reference when I decided to start the Dukan Diet myself. I started a week and a half ago and it is going pretty well. I ended up starting my own blog to help track my progress and keep me accountable.

Thanks for the inspiration and congratulations on all of your success, it is more than deserved.

B: That's great Lauren! I'm glad my story has inspired you to begin writing your own! Remember, you get to choose what the rest of your life holds. It doesn't matter what has happened thus far. All that matters is the story you've yet to write! I'm sure you'll do splendidly. Keep me updated. :)
Girl Friday... I mean Foody. said...
Congratulations. I'm excited and thrilled for you!

B: Thanks so much Girl Friday! :D

hope said...
How wonderful for you! You deserve it girl so enjoy every moment! I can't wait to see it!

B: Thanks Hope! :)

Elizabeth said...
just discovered your blog while looking through the Ducan website. I don't even know you, but I am sooo proud of you!
I am planning to buy the book as soon as I get a chance, and start the diet.

B: That is wonderful Elizabeth. What a sweet comment. Means a lot to me. Let me know how it goes for you. You can do it. Be strong, and you'll do great!
Healersmoon said...
As many others, I have found your blog through the Dukan US website. I've bought the book and I'm about 1/2 way through reading it. I want to make sure I completely understand it before I begin so that I don't sabotage myself.

I have to tell you, I'm thoroughly scared. Scared of failure, scared that I just don't have the willpower. I have medical issues from a car accident that require medications (which caused a lot of my weight gain) and I'm afraid this will hamper my progress significantly. I've read so much about diets, this and that site, this book and that book. They all sound perfectly reasonable. But again and again I fail at them. Food is my completely comfort from the physical pain I am in every hour of every day. It's my escape. I know that with less weight (I need to lose 100lbs), I WILL feel better and probably won't need nearly as much medication. I also know I have no willpower when it comes to my comfort foods - sweets.

I really really want to try - for now I will finish the book while I psyche myself up for this and learn to believe that I can do it. Thanks so much for all your postings. I hope I can contact you and write you along my journey - I really don't have any friends close by, just my kids.

Warmly, Debra

B: Hi Debra,
I think it's quite clever of you to finish the book before beginning. The better you know the tenets of the diet, the better prepared you'll be for the journey ahead. As for being scared of failure, don't be! This time is not like the other times. This time is different. This time you have the motivation and the proper tools to achieve your goals. You can do anything you set your mind to. Believe me, if I can do it, so can you! This diet is unlike anything else. It teaches you how to eat well instead of how to diet. Once you get into the swing of things you'll see what I mean, and you'll be so grateful you began doing something so wonderful for yourself. I would be more than happy to correspond with you. Feel free to add me on FB. :)

Dukandoittoo said...
I love this quote! Who wrote it?

B: I'll have to get back to you on that one. It should be able to be found by googling!

Anonymous said...
You are an inspiration! I just started the DD two days ago and I'm not feeling my best and I am having MAJOR cravings. But reading your blog has motivated me to keep on trucking!

B: Hi Anon. I hope I am inspirational to those of you who doubt what you're capable of. It was looking to another Dukan-er for inspiration that got me off on the right foot. :) I only hope to pay it forward. I've been given my life back, and I am eternally grateful. As for your cravings, if you're wanting something sweet try some popsicles made with crystal light in a popsicle tray. Or if you're craving something that feels like junk food use lean deli ham, fat free mozzarella, and a dill pickle to have a Dukan ham and cheese breadless-sub. Or make yourself a crustless pizza with veggies, meat, and fat free cheese! :)
Anne said...
Hi! You know, I think you need to go to your comfort level and let your body tell you when it's done losing. If you stick with the cruise phase and continue to lose, then go for it. But, if you find yourself doing extremely restrictive eating to budge the scale, you're done.

B: Very good advice Anne. As of right now, I've been slacking quite a bit. I monitor my weight and try to behave a little more if the scale budges upward, but thus far I've maintained my weight for a month straight with very little effort. I may try to lose a bit more, but I'm really relatively quite happy the size I am now. :)

Veerukka said...
My impression from reading the book was that Dukan discouraged going lower than the "ideal weight" because dieters would be more likely to burn out from the excessive length of time in the cruise phase. If you are satisfied with continuing the cruise phase further, I'd continue. HOWEVER, if you up your exercise in the consolidation phase, that might be another option. That would mean you'd have a longer consolidation phase. You would probably have to do a true "consolidation" phase when you reach your goal (lower than ideal) weight. This preliminary consolidation phase would just enable better exercise results. Does that make sense?

B: I understand Veerukka. I agree as well. That is definitely what Dr. Dukan prescribes. For the time being I'm giving the consolidation phase a trial run and seeing how I like it. So far, I've been maintaining my weight while eating a grand variety of things. It's working quite well :)
Anonymous said...
So, as many here, I am about to start this journey as well. I came online to research, etc and found your blog. Congrats to you for your success, you look fabulous! Here’s my question as I’m reading the book and coming up with a shopping list to make sure I’m completely ready to this without any excuses of not having the right kind of foods in the house… oat bran! Can you tell me what oat bran you used/use? I know it sounds like a silly question, but I do not want to assume that the oat bran I have in the pantry is OK, since they say that the “brand” the writer talks about is not available in the US yet. Thanks in advance and again, keep up the great job and thanks for the inspiration! Deb

B: Hi Deb!  To be perfectly honest the oat bran portion of the diet is something I modified personally. I'm sure that my rate of weight loss and ease of weight loss suffered because of this and I would not recommend doing as I did unless you simply find that it works better for you. I know that oat bran can be bought at harris teeter and kroger here in the states. Other than that I can't help you too much more. I apologize. Thanks for your kind words. Good luck on your journey!

Cheryl said...
You know how to lose the weight. You have proved that very well. What you need to prove to yourself is that you can maintain.... This will be hard but stick with it for a few months and see how you do. If you are unable to maintain in that bracket, then get back on for a month and try again...Enjoy this space you are in right now, you worked hard for it, but never never reward yourself with food. Your food is only for body sustinance, we know it can NOT be "Good Girl B, you have been good, here eat a box of cookies"....Keep the Faith.....

B: Wise words as always coming from you my lovely friend! So far, so good. I'm quite comfortable now. Eating plenty of good things and maintaining. It's hard to go back to weight loss mode, but I still very well might :)

Karen said...
Congrats on your awesome accomplishment! I have just purchased the book and am doing some research like the commenter above I'm curious about the brand of oat bran you use/where to purchase!
Thanks so much and keep up the great work.

B: Hi Karen! As stated above, I'm a little naïve about that area of the diet, but it should be easily found at a Kroger or Harris Teeter in your area. Thank you for your kind words. Good luck!

Anonymous said...
Hi there,
I'm Karina, British but living in Belgium. I was happy to stumble upon your site. I have a question, do you or anyone else who follows this site have any problems with loose skin given the amount of weight that you have lost. AND more importantly, what do you do or have you done to minimize the problem?
Thanks so much for your answers and thanks for a great and very informative site.
Karina xxx

B: Hi Karina! As for the loose skin issue, to be perfectly honest yes I do have lose skin. Going from 300 lbs to 175 made that an inevitability for me. However, I must admit that I did not adhere to the exercises exactly as prescribed and if this concerns you I would suggest doing the opposite of me and following them to a T. Dr. Dukan gives descriptions of simple exercises meant to tone all the problem areas in order to tighten skin up. I intend to try harder with the exercise aspect of the diet to possibly remedy my problem. Hope that helps!

Sam said...
It is amazing what you achieved. You can stay where you are as long as you feel great (you look amazing so no worry about that:)). Congrats again!

B:  Thank you so much Sam! What lovely and comforting words. :)


Suzi said...
Just started the diet today! :)

Hi Brianna,

I'm on my second day of the dd diet and wanted to know if I could have protein shakes on this diet? (btw, you look fabulous)
Thanks,
Suzi

B: Hi Suzi! It's great you're beginning. Away you go towards your new happy ending! Protein shakes are probably not acceptable. In the attack phase especially not. You want to more or less eat minimal carbs and minimal fat, and as far as I'm aware protein shakes are very high in carbohydrates. It is possible that you could incorporate them in later as a personal modification to the program however. During this crucial phase of the diet though, I would definitely say not to. Thanks for the compliments! Good luck :)

Anonymous said...
Wow, your story is so inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing! I recently began reading the Dukan Diet book, and am on day 7 of the program. I have a question for you that I was unable to clarify...when you choose an alternating rhythm as you go into the "Cruise" phase, do you have to stick to the same rhythm throughout the phase, or can you keep one rhythm ie 5/5 as long as you can and then change to the 1/1 when you feel like it would be easier and simpler? Nancy

B:  Hi Nancy,
Great question! You can most certainly switch rhythms later. In fact, I would recommend doing it just as you've suggested. In the beginning when your willpower is the strongest and weight loss is the most rapid, you can easily speed it along by doing a 5/5 rhythm. I would eventually progress to a 3/3, and finally a 1/1 as you near consolidation. Hope that helps. :) Mixing and matching is yet another one of the beauties of this plan!

Great news! My photoshoot has been confirmed for Friday, May 27th. The details are a bit sketchy for the time being, but the date is set which means it's really happening. I'm thrilled and anxious! Also, I'll be moving in the next couple of weeks so if I don't get back to you all in a courteously timely manner, I apologize in advance! Thanks to all of you who have told me my story has inspired you. The fact that all of you are finding the strength to begin your own journeys through me is a beautiful reward and a motivational tool that helps me as well. May you all have a beautiful Memorial Day. Remember, even if you are just beginning the diet and summer holds negative connotations for you, the work you're doing now will ensure that next summer is the best one ever! As for me, the girl who spent her whole life fearful of being seen in a bathing suit is facing the prospect of being photographed in one for a national magazine. If I can come that far in less than a year, then you certainly can as well!
Best wishes and thanks for following!

“Summer is where the girls go barefoot and their hearts are just as free as their toes!”