Paul McKenna "I Can Make You Thin!"

Bargain_Rzl

Oh, don't worry Snow White - I usually resist Borough Market just fine - it was more the fact that I started doing this just as my (usually well-stocked) freezer got to the "does not contain anything at all appetizing" point

Snow_White_5

:jWoohoo, I finally made it to the gym!!!! (after 4 months' absence)

downshifter

Dear experienced PMcK's. I'm so glad to have found this thread. I have the original one book/CD from ages ago and his principles etc really suit the way I think. However I have a couple of problems actually managing them in practice.

Eating slowly and consciously is fine, so is eating what you like - well obviously. However I have a problem with 'when you're hungry - eat'. What do you all do then? - after all it takes half an hour or more to make a meal and that's often been my downfall in thepast, nibbling while cooking. Or do you all just grab a bit of bread or something because you're hungry and then cook?

The other problem is 'when you're full, stop eating'. If I've troubled to buy, prepare and cook something, I certainly can't bear to waste it, even just half a potato. And yes, not leaving anything is probably ingrained since a child. Do you just leave it in the fridge and heat it up later? Or how do you manage this? I know over time I'll make smaller portions, but even then there might be stuff left on the plate - not the same as untouched leftovers which can always be frozen etc..

These two issues always seem to stop me from properly doing PMcK and I'd love to get it sorted out. I think it's a great way of losing weight and like others on here, I always skip the bit about stopping craving chocolate - why would I want to do that? It's eating what you want isn't it?

Advice please, thanks

DS

Isklar

downshifter wrote: »

Eating slowly and consciously is fine, so is eating what you like - well obviously. However I have a problem with 'when you're hungry - eat'. What do you all do then? - after all it takes half an hour or more to make a meal and that's often been my downfall in thepast, nibbling while cooking. Or do you all just grab a bit of bread or something because you're hungry and then cook?

The other problem is 'when you're full, stop eating'. If I've troubled to buy, prepare and cook something, I certainly can't bear to waste it, even just half a potato. And yes, not leaving anything is probably ingrained since a child. Do you just leave it in the fridge and heat it up later? Or how do you manage this? I know over time I'll make smaller portions, but even then there might be stuff left on the plate - not the same as untouched leftovers which can always be frozen etc..


DS

Hi DS, I'm not an expert but I've been trying to get into Paul's method for around 4 years, seen him loads of times on QVC and Sky and can give you my take on these two things you struggle with.
When you're hungry eat, I think he means - don't starve yourself. Dont go hungry to try to lose weight. So yes, it does take time to prepare food but that's fine, I don't think he means we have to eat right now when we're hungry, as long as we acknowledge the hunger and then sort out something to eat, even if it takes up to half an hour to prepare.

As for leaving food when you're full, well I think that's an absolute key part to the system. Like he says in the book, being part of the 'clean plate club' is a big problem for us trying to lose weight.
So when I've done the system previously, I often will save the food to have later, rather than throw it away. I find that leftovers make a great grab and go breakfast too! But I'm a bit strange and love to eat cold pizza for breakfast so that may not be helpful to everyone !

Hope this makes sense.

Isklar

Hi everyone, I've got the QVC system and the book, had them for years, but never quite got into the system. I'd do it for a couple of weeks then get tempted to diet, to try to lose weight faster. I KNOW that's daft but that's what I was doing.
Anyway, I'm curious to know, if you don't mind saying, how much weight any of you have lost, or if anyone knows anyone who's actually lost more than a few pounds on the system? I need to lose quite a bit of weight....And am trying to decide whether to go down the dreaded diet route, or to give this a try again.

Maisie_M

Downshifter - hiya and welcome to the thread. Like Isklar I tend to feel hungry and start making something to eat before I get to the starving mode. I guess its about learning your hunger signals. I tend to wait til I am feeling around 4 on the hunger scale ie slightly hungry and have a glass of water. If I setill feel hungry half an hour later I start making something to eat and by the time I get round to eating I am on scale 3. I must admit I still try to time my meals for mealtimes and make sure I am at the appropriate hunger point at that time. that can sometimes mean that I have a small snack instead of a meal when I am hungry just to put me a little back up the scale but in general I can make it work.

With regards to eating to your full and leavng stuff on your plate, I too found this difficult. If it was something I could easily have later then I would save it but if not I binned it. Now I have a small portion to start with and go back for seconds or having an additional something if I feel I am not full. Its not easy but stick with it and you will find your own ways of making the plan work for you.

Isklar - Hi and welcome to the thread too. I have lost 7lbs. I lost 7.25 in November but then was ill in December and put on 1.75lbs of that again as I wasn't following the principles of the diet. I have got back into it again properly towards the end of last week and lost 1.5 lbs. I have to say I have tried every diet going and find Pauls method the easiet and most natural way of doing things. I like having family meals together and only cooking one meal for us all to eat. I find I can do this guilt free with this method and it really suits our lifestyle. I also find that when I am not on a 'diet' I actually stop obsessing about foods and because with this method I can eat whatever and whenever I feel like I need something I spend a lot less time thinking about it. In short I guess what I am saying is that I do like this method and although I haven't lost an awful amount yet I feel its a way of eating for life for me. Why not give it a go for say 90 days (which ties in with Pauls 90 day diary) and see how it goes and how well it works for you.

Good luck to everyone and looking foward to seeing some weigh ins soon :T

Isklar

Hi MaisieM and thanks!
You're doing really well, I know what you mean about trying every diet going.
I've got the 90 day success journal book here and I think I'll do as you suggest, commit to it for 90 days - that takes us, from tomorrow, to April 18th. I think i'll give it a go!

rosie383

Well done Maisie!!! After what you've been going through, you've done well to lose any weight at all!
I am back on track now and hopefully can keep going. I suppose I need to buy some scales. I have just been noticing the difference in my clothes. I have dropped at least 2 clothes sizes over the past few months.
I previously lost 6 1/2 stone following the Rosemary Conley diet. But I had a good friend who brought the first franchise to NI. He was also a fitness trainer, and I went circuit training twice a week with him. So that really worked, and I was fitter than I had ever been in my life. That was a long time ago, and was easier when I was young and single and working. I could run every day, go for holidays up mountains etc.
My life is very different now, and I am very much a housewife, which I love, don't get me wrong! But I can't go for even a quick walk now, as I have an almost 3 year old, so when we go out for a walk, it is at her pace. I get my exercise by spring cleaning. I actually enjoy it, once I can get off my fat backside and get started. LOL
I think the biggest difference in my eating since I started doing PMK, is that I don't obsess about food any more, and I don't tend to eat naughty stuff in secret as much as before.
My portion sizes have drastically changed. I now put far less on my plate than I would have before. I hate wasting food, and prefer to make one sandwich, for example, and make another later if I need it, rather than having a leftover one.
I think the biggest problem with PMK, is if you eat what you like......easiest bit.......but not just when you're hungry. It would be very easy to fool yourself into thinking it's OK to eat what you like, but if you ignore the hunger or full signals, I think it would be very easy to put on loads of weight. Lets face it, full fat, sugary foods taste much better than low fat yoghurts. So we need to do the whole package to make a difference.

Snow_White_5

Hi downshifter and Isklar, and welcome.

My 90 days finish today, and I'm restarting the journal tomorrow, so will be on the same timetable as Isklar. I've only lost a couple of pounds in the 90 days but that's partly because I didn't always stick to the programme properly. At the start I lost about half a stone in 2 weeks but put it back on when I fell off the wagon.

So like anything else, the programme works IF you stick to it.

The hardest part for me has been stopping when I'm full. The easiest is drinking water.

The best thing is that I really feel my attitude to food has changed over the past few months. I don't really have that much weight to lose at all, but it was my dysfunctional relationship with food, dieting etc. that I wanted to change, and I think it's working.

rosie383

I'd love to be in the position of not having much weight to lose. I need to lose about 4 stone(ish). I think Snow White is right. I'm sure with what has gone on with me the past few months, that I would have put weight on rather than staying the same or losing some if some of the lessons didn't get through to me IYKWIM. So for me that is definitely a positive.