Lose weight 27

grannynise

Dont' know if any of these will work for you Bails - we all need such different ways to motivate ourselves and even then what works one week/day changes the next I find!


set really very tiny goals and celebrate (even just by telling us) when you reach them
keep a food diary honestly and reward yourself for keeping it even if you eat 'wrong' things
reward yourself for sticking to your plan even if the weight doesn't drop off as it should
go out to eat in restaurants where you can have lovely (but within your plan) food
NEVER EVER eat food you don't enjoy

I don't find that focusing on negatives helps me ... I realise from looking at my list that for me it's all about celebrating infinitessimally small bits of progress (just like training an animal --- did anyone else ever have to do a behaviour modification experiment with a Siamese fighting fish? It was part of my degree with the OU - no animals were harmed I promise!)

funkyfunkymonkey

Reporting a 1.6lb loss this week on 14379 calories. Exercised 6 days out of the 7, included 36.4 miles cycling, 12.7 miles hiking/walking and a horse riding lesson.

I am now only 1lb over my original maintaining weight (set over a year ago), which is possibly unrealistic anyway.

FFM

dmv_2

Granny you made me smile with the animal behaviour modification. When toilet training my dog as a pup she struggled to know when/control her number 2s so i got into the habit of giving her a dog choc drop from the fridge whenever she did it outside. Soon I would find her sitting at the fridge whenever she had done one outside looking all excited and pleased with herself!

Bails - I never eat anything "bad" unless its 100% worth it otherwise I become demotivated.
I do have to make myself eat veg but I try to add ones I like even when they are more expensive as a reward eg red peppers.
When I reach a self set mini goal I reward myself with my fave "expensive" fruit eg pink lady apples as opposed to normal ones which I think are ok but not amazing. Cherries, strawberries, mango whatever it is I fancy to remind myself that healthy eating can be very yummy and that I dont NEED bad foods as rewards.
Also a friend of mine does this and I'm going to start it myself as it really works for her. She puts £2 a week in her weigh in jar (adjust amount accordingly) and when she reaches bigger goals eg 7lb/14lb loss etc she will treat herself to something that makes herself feel good with the money. For her this tends to be clothes/fashion jewellery etc but it could be pamper stuff etc anything. She says it makes her feel good about her hard work and spurs her on during those tough weeks.

Need to cut the grass when OH is awake, do uni work and some cleaning today. Dinner will be potato, bacon and onion bake which isnt the most healthy meal but its cheap, yummy and filling and you dont need a huge portion so I dont think its too bad. Off to have some cereal and start the day, have a good one all.

funkyfunkymonkey

KPC, I keep a food diary and it works for me. I do log my binge days WITHOUT EXCEPTION - I would only be cheating myself if I didn't.

This week included a meal out (steak and guiness pie with chips, followed by waffle, icecream and chocolate sauce) = 2200 cals, 5 icecream sundaes (homemade - 277 cals per helping), some jelly babies (335 cals), a couple of binges of special k whilst watching TV (600 cals - that's alot of special k honey and nut - yum), a jam doughnut and a choc eclair yesterday .

So, even though I had some 'mega' binges, I still ate sensibly for the rest of the week, my food diary + posting on here has kept me very close to my maintaining weight for roughly 18 months. The most I have exceeded it is by 4lbs and that made me really knuckle down to sorting it out. I couldn't bear the thought of going up to the next 'stonage'.

So, stick with it, it does work - log those 'naughty moments' and if they are only few and far between, enjoy them.

FFM

funkyfunkymonkey

Bails, Granny's advice is spot on as usual. When I was losing weight I only ate really great tasting food - so every meal was treat and I looked forward to it and enjoyed it.

I cooked alot of the recipes from Rosemary Conley magazines, which are usually very easy and tasty. OH still looks through the magazines and requests meals - trouble is now that the weight is off, I have become a bit more of a lazy cook - too busy out and about cycling and hiking.

Every time I went down a size, I cleared my wardrobe of the larger clothes - there is no going back now :rotfl:. I've just got my largest pair of trousers - just to remind me.

Your up coming trip would also be motivating :j, you will be so much more mobile and fit if you reduce the weight you have to carry.

DMV, when our dog has been to the loo she comes racing in wagging her tail and telling us all how good she has been - I guess that goes back to the praise she received as a pup when she got it right

FFM

bails

Thanks guys I really appreciate it. I don't restrict any foods and my emphasis is on making meals I really enjoy - the problem I have is that I don't love cooking that much so I find it quite an effort to plan and make lovely things each day. I guess I need to remind myself I'm worth it

I tend to focus on the positive, eg how many f&v/litres of water I've had and this motivates me to get a healthy intake of these. Maybe it's just as simple as being a more regular part of the thread for a while and commiting that way as well?

I've started a food diary for the week and done my measurements, although I find it hard to remember to keep it up after a few days. Maybe that could be my first mini goal Granny!

Thanks again and any more help gratefully received xx

ps I'm really intrigued to know what OU course you were doing now Granny?!

funkyfunkymonkey

Bails, my food diary is a 4"x6" notebook and I keep it beside my place setting at the table. So, every meal time it's there ready to be completed. Admittedly, because I often have my breakfast, lunch and snacks at work I fill it in at teatime (or sometimes before I go to work because I've packed up what I am going to eat).

In the evenings if I have a nibble, snack, binge I make sure I fill it in at the time - that way I know I am exceeding my daily allowance and I do it consciously - OH thinks I am a bit OCD, I probably am :rotfl: but it works for me

When I was losing weight it used to live in my handbag and go everywhere with me. Because it is small and handy it was no trouble to fill it in, anytime/anywhere.

Good luck, it's good to have you back.

FFM

1HANNAH

you are all full of great advice as always xxx

I have been and looked at the photos and I can see that I was a good size until starting senior school at 11. Prior to that it was set school lunches then all of a sudden I had money in my pocket and could buy chocolate instead. So it was from age 11 up that the weight piled on. It hasn't really answered the questions as to why I started with the binges but it has laid to rest the thought that I was always big.

So far so good today, keeping on track. I must admit that although I do keep a food diary there are big gaping holes on days were there have been a binge. Its like I don't want to admit that it has happened. Must say though that usually after a couple of days I will blurt it all out to my mum whilst we are exercising and she will get me back on track again for a while. I will make an effort to record what I have had anyway as I guess I am only hurting myself.

Drinking plenty of water (squash) is another thing that I find helps me.
We also try making recipes out of the RC mags, we usually make them once then adjust the recipe to suit

Missy™

Hi everyone!

Bails, by looking after yourself you ARE helping other people. Since you feel more motivated to help others than yourself directly, what about thinking of all the ways that achieving your personal goals will positively impact and benefit everyone else?

I can think of dozens if not hundreds of reasons why a fitter, healthier me is better for my loved ones than the me of a few years ago .

Another great week for you FFM! You're still a brilliant example of maintaining. Are you going to re-evaluate your 'maintain' weight? You've mentioned a few times that you don't feel it's as relevant as it was before you were doing so much exercise?

Hope everyone's having a lovely weekend

Brighton_belle

some great advice going on.



Like you bails, I am going through a big phase of loss of interest in cooking, which makes it all more of an effort. I seem to be able to put the brakes on when I hit the next stone level up, but can't seem to shift myself more than losing a few lbs to stay under. I know all the things I could be doing but just no motivation. But at least I'm not letting it all pile back on. I certainly won't eat any food I'm not really enjoying and try to consciously choose to eat what I do, so at least I enjoy the lest than best choices I might make.
I'm not a binger, never have been, but like you sary, I am constant grazer. Partly becasue I really like food, it's nice... and also I think to subconsciously try and over come fatigue by giving myself fuel. Oh, and my meds make me hungrier of course.

I think logging in on here regularly bails between now and going away may well help keep you focussed. Weighing n for the chart matters still to me and I can't lie:D So it does mean I do keep an eye on my weight and regularly have day ones... even if by day 4 I'm off with the munchie fairies again