Hi Dawncam
The itching stopped as soon as the GP switched to a different brand 😀
With regard to the other comments about carbs etc. I very rarely eat bread, pasta etc so I've cut that out altogether, I'm not a big potato eater either but I was a massive fruit and veg person (quite easily eat 7-10 a day!) so I've cut them down dramatically. It's suggested that we have 5 fruit n veg (7 is a newer thought) however each portion should be 80 grams. I'm not sure how many actually weigh their fruit but I think many may be surprised that one apple can actually be at least 1.5 times this (pears can be double!) , same for bananas so when people think they're having one serving it's actually more. When losing weight meat portions should be about the size of a pack of playing cards, white fish the size of a cheque book. The best fruit to eat are berries as they have a lower sugar count and veggies from above the ground, those below again contain more sugar, leafy greens are best. Controlling carbs helps regulate blood sugar and therefore blood sugar spikes which can trigger us to eat as when the spike then plummets this tells the brains we need to eat (even though it may not have been long since we've eaten) the more stable you can keep your blood sugar the better.
As for weighing its down to the individual and what they can psychologically cope with. I weigh myself everyday and track it on app that calculates the average over the week and that's what I go off, the average and not what the scales say on the day, this keeps me on track. If I were to weigh myself only once a month I could lose control and put a lot on and for those who know it goes on far more easily than it comes off and I'd rather keep on top of it than let it get to the point where clothes start to feel tight as for me that's too late, but as I said everyone is different and people need to do what works for them.
Exercise is key and 20 mins of high interval intensity training can develop both fitness and stamina far quicker than doing an hour of Zumba, there's been lots of research published on this recently but I've also read that this type of exercise is best for menopausal women.
Hope all the above makes sense and there are some useful thoughts.
Ps the only reason I know about the weights of fruit is that I used to be a leader for Weight Watchers and I used to demonstrate the differences in size and how it can impact on weight loss. Also used to demonstrate what a 125ml glass of wine looked like compared to what people usually use - that certainly was an eye opener 😂