Lose Weight 32

margaretclare

Oh-oh. Weight seems to be creeping up again.

73.2 kg this morning as opposed to 72.5 kg last Wednesday. A gain of 0.7 kg. Not good news.

It cannot be what I eat. I eat very normally and healthily. I don't binge or snack. I've just had a boiled egg, slice of wholemeal toast, teaspoonful of marmalade, brewed coffee, and that was breakfast.

I have my own fitness programme. Cannot charge up and down stairs (we have no stairs anyway!) but here's what I do:

Monday: Stretch and tone in the WI hall. This is slightly gentler than the 50+ aerobics which precedes it, and it is about the right level for me. Some of it can be done holding on to the back of a chair and some even sitting down. It stretches and tones every muscle, though!

Tuesday: half an hour's one-to-one swimming teaching.
Wednesday: going for a walk in the woods using my trek-poles.
Thursday: adult swim - practice on my own, usually 45 mins.
Friday: as Tuesday.

I've read that older people should aim at half an hour's exercise 5 times a week to maintain fitness, cardiovascular health etc. Well, that's what I do.

Most of the food items that some older people seem to like, I've junked long ago. Biscuits, cakes, anything with white flour and white sugar, don't eat any of them.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong/not doing!

On the plus side, I'm trimmer, firmer, leg muscles much stronger than they were a couple of years ago - all that kicking in the pool!

margaretclare

Dinah93, in response to yours, I can't say I'm doing anything any better, but I no longer eat breakfast cereals in any shape or form. Usually it's a boiled egg with wholemeal toast. I wouldn't eat paninis or ready-meals of any variety, no matter which celeb chef promotes them. And why are you eating Quality Street? Dark chocolate - yes, possibly, if it's the kind with 70% cocoa solids it is said to have anti-oxidants which are good for you, but still....I haven't eaten any chocolate for ages. We were given a box of Quality Street for looking after little dog, and it stayed in the car for a month until we gave it away.

I would say, you need some good-quality protein and less carbs. But hey, what do I know? I'm obviously not doing it right either.

victory

I would say carb heavy but then again SW works with lots of carbs don't know how but a many a person has lost, breakfast a bit too much they say 28g of cereal? too much choc? Not enough lean meats, or not enough veg? The ratio is not right, could be anything? If you follow one diet the other one tells you that is wrong and to do it another way...

One says carbs the other not, it really is a what works for you, the way your body digests carbs, fats, cals, a personal thing I reckon:D

Dinah93

I normally make all my own food, but as I say, we're clearing the cupboards from all the stuff we had when we moved in (before we had a kitchen to cook in!) so it seems wasteful to bin things, the uncooked risotto rice has a much longer expiry date on it - hence using the premade stuff that you only add hot water to. The quality street, yes, bad I know, but I had a splitting headache and I knew sugar would cure it and it's all there was in the office. The pannini was actually the first 'real' food I've eaten for breakfast or lunch in nearly a month - I was on steroids in Feb and for some reason they knocked my appetite so I've been eating mostly cereal and then a little of whatever I make for tea. Btw has anyone weighed out 28g of cereal? It's absolutely tiny! I'm not sure if this is just how our perception of quantity has changed but that looks like a tiny portion to me (in shreddies terms its about 13 shreddies! for bran flakes you're looking at half a cup full) Today is the last of using up the risotto, what would people recommend bringing to work for lunches? I have some meat in the freezer I can defrost (no chicken or turkey left), plenty of pasta, rice etc, lots fo tinned tomatoes, spices, all kinds of beans and pulses, some peppers, sweet potatoes, green beans, onions, mushrooms, new potatoes, spinach. I try to avoid soup as I just bulk it with bread.

Missy™

Dinah93 wrote: »

Btw has anyone weighed out 28g of cereal? It's absolutely tiny! I'm not sure if this is just how our perception of quantity has changed but that looks like a tiny portion to me (in shreddies terms its about 13 shreddies! for bran flakes you're looking at half a cup full)

Yes when I first started weighing my food I was surprised at this! I still eat cereal and I allow myself 40g as a portion (counted in my calories of course).

I eat plenty of carbs, I like them, so for anyone who may not wish to go the low carb route - it can be done!

bettyB_2

STS for me - getting a bit annoyed with this but then I remember I have been ill and living on pop tarts and wotsits so i made my own bed in that respect...

Day 1 of the No S diet for me!! No snacks, no sweets and no seconds - apart from on days starting with an S!!
http://www.nosdiet.com/

I spent a lot of last night reading the website, and it really makes sense! It's not faddy, no food is 'banned' specifically and it's something you really can stick to for life because it's just the way normal people eat - the way I have longed to eat like my friends who are stick thin, and the relationship I want to have with food.

I agree with a lot of his sentiment - for example (Quote from the website)
"I'm baffled because the things that wind up being forbidden are often so absurd: beets, for example. I guarantee you, no one ever got fat from eating beets. If you see a fat person eating beets, that's not why he's fat. Carrots, formerly the quintessential health food that people used to carry around in zip lock bags as a healthy snack, are now vegetable non grata.
...
It's not the carrots, it's the carrot cake (etc.). More to the point, it's you eating so damn much of the carrot cake. People refuse to look at the obvious suspects because the implications are so unflattering to themselves -- that they simply eat too much and that there is no "stab in the back" substance to blame. The forbidden food diets pander to this suicidal vanity. They are not just harmless (if unmaintainable) games. They are dangerous distractions. They are blinkers. They keep you from seeing and confronting the real problem. This isn't "murder she wrote." It's not the mousy schoolmarm whom no one suspected who winds up having "dunnit." It's a brazen attack in broad daylight. Take a look in the mirror. The guilty party is staring right at you."

the first bit about the carrots is exactly what I was trying to articulate to my friend who's on the Tony Ferguson diet (the one in Boots) and was telling me how she can't have any carbs or even carby veg like carrots! I remember saying, it's not the carrots that made you fat!!

I like how up front this advice is - I need to take personal responsbility for my actions. I am not fat cos I had some toast with butter for breakfast, I'm fat cos I had loads of it throughout the day. Snacking is 100% my issue, and I have to get some willpower and realise thin people do not munch all day long cos they are bored/upset/etc they eat at meal times and they enjoy what they eat.

and no one is perfect and you can't deny yourself anything for life, that's why that Saturday/Sunday/Special day exception is there - I see my friend on a Saturday and she will have some cake with lunch, but a part of me says 'she can eat cake with lunch and not get fat why can't I?', but I bet she doesn't do that every day! Treats are just that - treats - rare, occasional, deserved treats that are not 'evil' - they are not the reason I am fat it's the frequency with which I shove them in my gob that is the reason!!

Sorry for the rant - I feel as though I have had an epiphany - this is the only diet that has spoken to me in my own language, my own tone, and said plainly It's your fault now sort it out!
"Take a look in the mirror. The guilty party is staring right at you."

bettyB_2

Dinah93 wrote: »

Btw has anyone weighed out 28g of cereal? It's absolutely tiny! I'm not sure if this is just how our perception of quantity has changed but that looks like a tiny portion to me (in shreddies terms its about 13 shreddies! for bran flakes you're looking at half a cup full)

28g is the Slimming World reccomended portion - the govt guideline portion is usually around 30 - 50g depending on the density of the cereal (rice crispies Vs museli, for instance)

However, I have found it's good to weigh out cereal - very easy to accidentally pour a double serving into a big cereal bowl without knowing it!

Matryoshka

Dinah93 wrote: »

what would people recommend bringing to work for lunches?

A chicken salad is filling - roast your chicken, add lots of seasoning to taste (I take the skin off as I can't stand it not because of the fat), prepare your salad or buy it in the shop, tear your chicken into shreds, mix in with the salad and voila!

You can also try the above with sardines. Add a bread roll if it won't fill you up but it should

PrincessJelly

Fred, this week I have lost 1lb.... a miracle really as there were two birthday parties in the last week with lots of cake!

sarymclary

STS for me this week. I didn't get to WI as I was poorly, so not been weighed. It's * week anyway, so don't think I'd have had a great loss anyway, as I feel really bloated.

Dinah, having looked at your meal plan, I also thought it was high in carbs, and low in protein, and I'd definitely be having much more veg with my main meals. If you want to try a simple experiment, a basic principle that I follow on the SW plan is that 1/3 of my plate has to be fruit or vegetables. Even when I'm not strictly following the 'plan', I use this as a good guideline for me to know how to structure each meal. 60g of shreddies is quite a large portion. If you struggle with feeling hungry if your meals aren't large enough, try having more filling foods. Porridge would be a much better breakfast, made with milk/water & sweetener, or sweetened naturally with fruit or honey; it's also very cheap to buy. My children were pouring far too large portions of cereals, so my youngest 2 now use my little set of flat-bed scales every day to make sure they have the right size portion we have agreed on. My youngest likes a large breakfast, and struggled to have smaller bowls of cereal, so he has his weetabix or shreddies bulked out with some fruit like a banana, pineapple, strawberries, mixed berry fruits (£1 a bag frozen from Sainsbury's).

Your evening meals look quite small on a couple of the days. Are you feeling hungry between meals? The foods you listed that you have would make a really hearty, filling soup, especially if you added pulses into it. I have a big bowl of my veggie/pulse soup, and never need to have bread with it, because it's more like a vegetable stew. It can also be used as a base for a casserole/stew if you get bored of it. I try to restrict my bread intake to only w/ends, or just a couple of slices of wholegrain low calorie bread mid-week with a meal like bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc. I know that pasta and bread really bloat me, and make me retain fluid, thereby not losing weight each week. Even wholewheat doesn't help me. I seem to naturally want a higher protein diet, so I make sure my meat is lean, and I incorporate lots of tasty vegetables, with low fat sauces, or just tasty gravy.
I get the feeling you're not wanting to miss out on sweet things, hence having the chocolate, quality street and ice-cream. How about doing a deal with yourself for a week or two, and say that you can have these treats (that's what they are, they certainly aren't in any of the essential food groups!), but, you only have them at weekends, and then you don't go OTT, but allow yourself a taster. If you struggle to control sweet cravings in the week, why not get some very low fat/calorie hot choc drink, or some sugar-free jelly to have a spoonful out of the fridge whenever you feel a craving. See if that helps shift your weight after a couple of weeks. It's all about understanding our weaknesses, where the pitfalls are, and dealing with them. If the sweets at work are hard to deal with, move them away from you, avoid walking past them, or ask people in the office to put them away. Also remember, you don't always see the reward for your efforts on the scales for up to 2 weeks.... in just the same way that we think we get away with over-indulging one week, only for it to catch up with us the next one.

Margaret - it looks to me that you're doing everything right. You eat healthily, and had been losing without making any drastic changes there, so maybe your body just has these fluctuations naturally? Your body will be benefiting from all that exercise and good nutrition, which in the end is what we all need to be aiming for.

Well done to anyone who has lost this week.