Keeping up appearances.......

Honey_Bear

• No computer after 9.00pm. Still being good.
• Lights out by 11.30pm. Still sticking with this.
• Five fruit and veg a day. Dates, sultanas, multi-veg soup (so THAT's what to do with bags of frozen mixed veg that don't taste of any of the individual constituents) and mushrooms
• 15 minutes flying a day, sticking to the new schedule: Monday: Dusting/dewebbing; Tuesday: Kitchen; Wednesday: Floors; Thursday: Bath/shower room; Friday: Windows/Paintwork. I think we may have one person arriving this weekend and two in the middle of next week so, very sadly, I'm going to have to spend more than 15 minutes over the next few days getting the house back to non-minging standard. Shame, really. I'm blaming it on the dog. I've never known an animal shed like him.
• Go flour free. Successful so far.
  

joeyjimbles

I sometimes eat back my exercise calories - the ones from zumba or step class or a super long, fast dog walk - but usually I only have half or 2/3 of what MFP estimates them to be. I don't have any gadgets so I think that's a safer bet as the consensus seems to be that they overestimate the burn on their exercise calculations.
I have my settings set to lightly active and then add on the daily exercise which after a lot of trial and error seemed to be more successful than setting it higher and then getting bothered on days when I didn't get to exercise. I think it probably averages out but this way I get to see the effects of my exercise, and it means if I want a glass of wine on the weekend then I have to get off my bottom and do something to earn it as I'm not giving up food for it.

HappyNow

Honey_Bear wrote: »

I have a tendency to eat bread and pasta as my 'can't think what to make for this meal' meals, in other words, three times a day.

:rotfl::rotfl:My fall back is baked beans

Honey_Bear wrote: »

• No computer after 9.00pm. Still being good.
• Lights out by 11.30pm. Still sticking with this.
• Five fruit and veg a day. Dates, sultanas, multi-veg soup (so THAT's what to do with bags of frozen mixed veg that don't taste of any of the individual constituents) and mushrooms I know the ones you mean. I buy them sometimes though I'm not sure why. They really don't taste of anything much, do they? Nice colours though.
• 15 minutes flying a day, sticking to the new schedule: Monday: Dusting/dewebbing; Tuesday: Kitchen; Wednesday: Floors; Thursday: Bath/shower room; Friday: Windows/Paintwork. I think we may have one person arriving this weekend and two in the middle of next week so, very sadly, I'm going to have to spend more than 15 minutes over the next few days getting the house back to non-minging standard. Shame, really. I'm blaming it on the dog. I've never known an animal shed like him. Mine not only sheds like mad, she also drags sticks in from the garden and shreds them on the carpet when no-one's watching. Messy.
• Go flour free. Successful so far.

• joeyjimbles wrote: »

  I sometimes eat back my exercise calories - the ones from zumba or step class or a super long, fast dog walk - but usually I only have half or 2/3 of what MFP estimates them to be. I don't have any gadgets so I think that's a safer bet as the consensus seems to be that they overestimate the burn on their exercise calculations.
  I have my settings set to lightly active and then add on the daily exercise which after a lot of trial and error seemed to be more successful than setting it higher and then getting bothered on days when I didn't get to exercise. I think it probably averages out but this way I get to see the effects of my exercise, and it means if I want a glass of wine on the weekend then I have to get off my bottom and do something to earn it as I'm not giving up food for it.

I'm set to lightly active too, which is probably a bit of an exaggeration most days! It's trial and error for me at the moment because I'm only on day 12 but I have to confess that I factor in 152 calories of wine and 67 calories of smarties each day .

HappyNow

Update:
Money: No waste. Spent £30 on a haircut and £41 at Teskies. Unfortunately I'd forgotten half of the shopping again so I'll have to go again soon. When will I learn to make lists?
Myfitnesspal: I went over by 110 calories yesterday but otherwise I've kept to 1600 or below every day. Not really looking or feeling any different yet, but it's only day 12.

Honey_Bear

HappyNow wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl:My fall back is baked beans

See next post on going flour free for baked bean-type conversation.

I'm set to lightly active too, which is probably a bit of an exaggeration most days! It's trial and error for me at the moment because I'm only on day 12 but I have to confess that I factor in 152 calories of wine and 67 calories of smarties each day .

I simply don't know how you can stick to the starvation rations regime which includes vino and smarties and have any energy to do anything at all, Happy. I hope it bears fruit really soon, though.

HappyNow wrote: »

Money: No waste. Spent £30 on a haircut

OH cut my hair on Friday, thus saving me a fortune. I'd done it myself twice earlier in the year and he had to neaten it up so this time I went straight to the 'expert.' He loves all of that acting stuff but thankfully didn't ask if I wanted anything for the weekend when he'd finished. Swept up after himself too, but not before the dog had trailed through all the trimmings. Which reminds me, I forgot to tip him.

Honey_Bear

• No computer after 9.00pm. Still being good.
• Lights out by 11.30pm. Didn't manage this last night because we were out, and sleeping wasn't helped by having had two tiny cups of real coffee after dinner. Radio 4 Extra and the World Service are so DULL during the night at weekends.
  
• Five fruit and veg a day. Dates, fennel, tomatoes ... er ... must put beetroot juice back on the shopping list ...
  
• 15 minutes flying a day, sticking to the new schedule: Monday: Dusting/dewebbing; Tuesday: Kitchen; Wednesday: Floors; Thursday: Bath/shower room; Friday: Windows/Paintwork. I was wrong - it's not until Wednesday! I have a bit of catching up on the Flying front because I've been concentrating my energies on cushion recovering, which is going very slowly but I'm learning a lot. They may not be as scrappy as I first thought. The house if very hairy and all food cooked here is now seasoned with a light sprinkling of black hair. I found myself calculating that straining the homemade yoghurt was a great way to get the hairs out this week. Ooops.
  
• Go flour free. Successful so far and I'm pretty certain I'm feeling a teensy bit better every day. I really, really like the GF bread the local Co-0p sells, particularly toasted but I strongly suspect it not entirely *ahem* fart-free. Either that or the dog's got a major digestive disorder.
  

joeyjimbles

Hope all well. Just popping in between marathon ironing sessions, OH has been off again and sees the washing machine as something that should be working all the time, sadly he doesn't feel quite the same about the sorting, ironing and putting away which drives me to mild distraction.
1600 cals doesn't feel too restrictive to me as long as you weigh things and think about what you're doing. MFP actually gives me just over 1500 but with an hour's something fitness every day plus 4 or 6 mile dog walk I get way over that. And I'm losing 1-1/2lbs a week which is fine and sustainable. As I enjoy cooking I tend to think about what I want to eat eg. curry, and then work out a way to have it within my allocation, which makes it interesting and usually tasty. Friday's dinner was a chicken, spinach and lentil curry with (a little) rice and baked veg pakoras, chili relish and yogurt raita. OH declared it better than our local takeaway so very MSE too.
My can't be bothered to think/cook item is baked potato with cottage cheese and chili sauce or hastily defrosted savers prawns in yogurt marie rose sauce.

HappyNow

Honey_Bear wrote: »

OH cut my hair on Friday, thus saving me a fortune. I'd done it myself twice earlier in the year and he had to neaten it up so this time I went straight to the 'expert.' He loves all of that acting stuff but thankfully didn't ask if I wanted anything for the weekend when he'd finished. Swept up after himself too, but not before the dog had trailed through all the trimmings. Which reminds me, I forgot to tip him.

:rotfl::rotfl:You are very brave!! I would not in a million years let Mr H anywhere near my hair with a pair of scissors, even to save £30!

Honey_Bear wrote: »

• The house if very hairy and all food cooked here is now seasoned with a light sprinkling of black hair. I found myself calculating that straining the homemade yoghurt was a great way to get the hairs out this week. Ooops.
  
• Go flour free. Successful so far and I'm pretty certain I'm feeling a teensy bit better every day. I really, really like the GF bread the local Co-0p sells, particularly toasted but I strongly suspect it not entirely *ahem* fart-free. Either that or the dog's got a major digestive disorder

Dog hairs, or the leftovers from Mr HB's scissor work? Either way, even I wouldn't fancy your bulked out yogurt much and I'm HUNGRY! Sorry to hear about the effects of the GF bread. You could always add in a few of my Tesco sugar-free mints for added impact

joeyjimbles wrote: »

1600 cals doesn't feel too restrictive to me as long as you weigh things and think about what you're doing. MFP actually gives me just over 1500 but with an hour's something fitness every day plus 4 or 6 mile dog walk I get way over that. And I'm losing 1-1/2lbs a week which is fine and sustainable. As I enjoy cooking I tend to think about what I want to eat eg. curry, and then work out a way to have it within my allocation, which makes it interesting and usually tasty. Friday's dinner was a chicken, spinach and lentil curry with (a little) rice and baked veg pakoras, chili relish and yogurt raita. OH declared it better than our local takeaway so very MSE too.

I agree, it's all in the planning - which I'm rubbish at. I tend to start by adding the days wine and smarties and work backwards from there. It's the 15th tomorrow so the half way mark, but if I'm still finding it easy-ish at the end of Suptember I will carry on - unless I'm looking too skinny of course :rotfl::rotfl:

Honey_Bear

HappyNow wrote: »

You could always add in a few of my Tesco sugar-free mints for added impact

That'll be the sorbitol, then. And I think it may have been the dog, after all. Hope so, but whatever it was, the impact has lessened, thank goodness.

I tend to start by adding the days wine and smarties and work backwards from there.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

It's the 15th tomorrow so the half way mark, but if I'm still finding it easy-ish at the end of Suptember I will carry on - unless I'm looking too skinny of course

You do realised, don't you, that if your Super-slim Strict Slimmer's Skinny Plan works you'll be able to publish a book and make millions. I can just see the headlines in the Mail: Breakthrough Smarties and Wine Diet: Scoff and Swill All Your Favourites and Still Lose Weight!

Honey_Bear

• No computer after 9.00pm. Still being good.
• Lights out by 11.30pm. This is having a huge impact. Because I'm going to bed and reading rather than playing games on the computer or surfing, I'm nodding off much earlier than I used to, which means in turn that I wake up earlier, feeling brighter. Then with the additional energy (not a lot, but enough to get stuff done) I go to bed earlier to read because I'm tired. Excellent.
  
• Five fruit and veg a day. Dates, peas, courgette, broccoli ... er ... must put beetroot juice back on the shopping list ...
  
• 15 minutes flying a day, sticking to the new schedule: Monday: Dusting/dewebbing; Tuesday: Kitchen; Wednesday: Floors; Thursday: Bath/shower room; Friday: Windows/Paintwork. Catching up day, today, on the flying front, but I did swish and swipe the kitchen floor and start on the sitting room window yesterday. It'll take a lot longer than the saved up 15 mins per day, though.
  
• Go flour free. Successful so far although I flatly refuse to give up the Saturday night pizza. I'm pretty sure it's working; I think I was just overloading on bread and pasta.