Weight Loss the Old Style Way! Part 8. Please read posts 1 and 2 before posting.

JBD

Lautz I've got to say that it took me at least a stone to go down a dress size. What you don't realise is that you are losing fat from all over your body [including from around your internal organs], not just from your bust waist and hips. So hang in there, remember every pound lost does make a difference. It's a good idea to exercise as much as you can to improve your muscle tone, and this will help to give you good results as well.
tink1981 I found it helpful to adapt recipes that I enjoy cooking so that I still enjoy my food [in fact I enjoy it much more now]. I use some low fat versions of things I like - homous, feta and halloumi, eg, and I like experimenting with different flavours and spices. That way I don't feel deprived.
By classes do you mean exercise classes? Try to keep active with things that are free [walking, climbing stairs, simple exercises indoors]. Personally I find exercising essential in keeping me motivated and it doesn't have to cost anything.]

slowlyfading

I probably shouldn't post this today....


b - slice of granary toast with PB - 196.85
l - greek style yogurt with honey, banana, strawberries and blueberries - 272 cals
s - slice of granary toast with PB - 196.85
d - 3 grilled LF sausages with mash and broccoli - 308 cals
Total: 973.7 calories.

I have really really struggled to eat enough today. I'm really tired and got a sore throat and generally feel a bit rubbish. I'm not hungry now, so don't want to eat anything else either I also think I'm getting a slight obsession with peanut butter, I seem to eat it daily at the moment - today it was twice!

Should I eat anything else? I'm really really really not hungry....

FairyPrincessk

Hi, I hope you don't mind if I drop in. My goals are a little bit different, but I'm really new to this and its taken a lot of courage to admit both to myself and my OH that I might need to take this seriously. Until about 6 years ago I was always underweight, and for the past few years I've managed to stay in a healthy range. Even now I'm in the middle of the BMI chart for my height...however, I've recently started to slowly put on weight, particularly around my belly and I know this isn't healthy. I think a large part of it is living with OH now, and the fact that we don't have a dining table so tend to eat while watching a film on the laptop. So, while I don't necessarily need to lose a lot of weight, I do need to lose a bit of body fat, get my portion sizes under control and re-set my healthy habits.

Yesterday I joined an online service (sparkpeople) to monitor my calories. I put in a goal weight that is 10lbs under what I think I probably am now, and picked a date about 8 weeks off. However, I don't have a scale and I'm not particularly interested in what one would say. I weigh myself about once a year when I visit my parents, and that has always been a pretty healthy range so I figure if I can get back into my clothes fitting comfortably that should be fine.

However, I don't know if that is a good way to approach it--will I just frustrate myself? I tend to be a bit obsessive and overly critical of myself so I'm a bit loathe to start fixating on numbers. I took my measurements today and I thought I should put them away and check in a fixed amount of time, but I'm not really sure how long. I'm also contemplating monitoring my food on the website for a week, and then winging it for a week, then monitoring again. I seem to get a bit to "into" all of the calorie calculations--what I really want is to just get my portion sizes back in line.

I'm also a bit worried about my calorie balance. I've got a rough idea of how much I weigh and the website I joined recommends I try to eat between 1200 and 1550 calories per day and exercise about 600 per week. However, I've recently started running to help with stress and I also do yoga once a week--by tomorrow I will have well exceeded my workout calories and I've still got at least two runs left this week. The website doesn't seem to be taking this into account. I was thinking that I could just keep up with what I'm doing and then I could enjoy a few drinks at the weekend with the extra calories I burned working out--is this ok? Or will I end up putting on more weight as my body needs more calories and starts hoarding them?

OH and I cook almost everything from scratch, and I work hard to get my five a day in every day as a minimum, so I'm not too worried about the quality of what I'm eating--more the portion sizes! Also, apart from a cup of coffee in the morning and a cup of tea once or twice a week in the afternoon I don't really drink anything but water--apart from booze at the weekend. I will definitely be watching that.

For the record, I'm between 5'6 and 5'7 and I think I weigh about 135lbs. give or take a few. I was right at 130 back in October.

I'm really sorry if this is a distraction from proper weight loss...I'm still a bit uncomfortable discussing this with people so would appreciate any gentle suggestions:)

Rose_Wood

Evening All

Didn't manage to post yesterday as we went down to London to stay with my sister and to attend a breakfast event this morning.

Yesterday
B: Banana
L: Poached egg on 1/2 white roll. HM lemon curd on second half
Stew with beef, carrots and potatoes served with broccoli. Mixed summer fruit and apple crumble and custard
Snack: Cereal bar

Exercise: 4 mile walk and 20 minutes of running (3km).

Today
B: Bacon sandwich. 1/4 Danish pastry
L: Chicken breast. Cereal bar
Wrap with chicken, mushroom, onion, carrot and creme fraiche with salad. Greek yoghurt with a spoonful of HM lemon curd stirred in it.
Snack: Cereal bar, Cadbury's fudge

Exercise
About 50 minutes of walking in all with trekking to and from car, round London etc.

Rose

JBD

slowlyfading wrote: »

I have really really struggled to eat enough today. I'm really tired and got a sore throat and generally feel a bit rubbish. I'm not hungry now, so don't want to eat anything else either I also think I'm getting a slight obsession with peanut butter, I seem to eat it daily at the moment - today it was twice!

Should I eat anything else? I'm really really really not hungry....

It's probably pointless to force yourself to eat if you're not hungry. I think that is your body telling you what it needs today, and it is important to listen to it. Besides, the food that you have eaten is quite nutritious.
I wouldn't worry about the peanut butter either, I know some bodybuilders eat it to top up their protein.
Hope you feel better tomorrow.

DundeeDoll

DundeeDoll wrote: »

In my bid to use up food and lose weight
B last slice pizza
L turkey and salad sandwich
D chilli and rice
S biscuit
E 10000 steps plus gentle stretching

Ok so not quite to plan. OH did me toast for B, outfor lunch where i had chicken fajita and salad. Did opt for rice rather than chips and water ratherthan juice. Tea was turkey salad. S was last sliver of pizza. Also had 2glasses wine. Did 19,966 steps :A looking forward to friday weigh-in

smokybabe

Evening all.

B - Nothing.
L - Banana.
T - Chicken, mashed swede and carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, stuffing and gravy.
S - A slice of homeade sponge cake and a couple of glasses of Martini and diet lemonade.

Molly41

Hi FairyPrincessK x
Just a few thoughts and feel free to ignore them because I am not a professional.

It doesnt sound to me like you need to lose much if any weight as you seem to be on the low side of a healthy BMI. You state you were once underweight and any weight gain will have improved you health status. Perhaps it might be better to concentrate on maintaining a healthy diet and exercise - which you seem to be doing very well anyway as your diet sounds very balanced and exercise sounds positive (if exhausting). If you think you have a problem with maintaining your weight perhaps you should see your doctor as you may be developing an eating disorder?

I hope I have not overstepped the mark x

Kiwisaver_2

FairyPrincessk wrote: »

I'm also a bit worried about my calorie balance. I've got a rough idea of how much I weigh and the website I joined recommends I try to eat between 1200 and 1550 calories per day and exercise about 600 per week. However, I've recently started running to help with stress and I also do yoga once a week--by tomorrow I will have well exceeded my workout calories and I've still got at least two runs left this week.

The website doesn't seem to be taking this into account. I was thinking that I could just keep up with what I'm doing and then I could enjoy a few drinks at the weekend with the extra calories I burned working out--is this ok? Or will I end up putting on more weight as my body needs more calories and starts hoarding them?

For the record, I'm between 5'6 and 5'7 and I think I weigh about 135lbs. give or take a few. I was right at 130 back in October.

I am the same height as you FairyP I am presently 145 pounds and whilst I have lost a bit I am ultimately aiming to get to 140 pounds and see how I feel from there. I have, in my much younger days been in the 130 range and could then eat for England and never put on weight. I know we all carry weight differently but I personally feel that if I were to go 135 pounds it would be a step too far to the skinny side.

It sounds to me like you maybe would be better to try and just make some small adjustments until you start to see the effects; it sounds like a good idea to concentrate on exercise and toning as you are and not worry too much about trying to track calories. If you're exercising a lot then you probably do need more calories and adjusting to some healthier choices during the week should leave you free to not worry too much at the weekends.

I went for a bit of a walk tonight as the sun was shining for a change, but I have lost my way big time with tracking my food. Skipped my cottage cheese and crackers in favour of an invite out to lunch.

B. Yoghurt and muesli
L. Sushi
D. Jacket Potato, Sausage and beans - cheeky bit of grated cheese
S. Banana and some dried apricots

FairyPrincessk

Hi Molly--don't worry you haven't overstepped. I was a bit concerned that the recommendations the website had given me weren't really appropriate for my workout schedule or my lifestyle, much less my goals. I don't really want to lose weight, but I am concerned that I've recently put on some around my belly which is supposed to be an unhealthy place to carry it. If it had been more evenly distributed around my body I don't think I would have even noticed, but I've got a fairly muscular physique otherwise but currently look like I'm a bit pregnant. My family has a history of blood pressure problems, diabetes and my father has serious weight problems so I just want to keep myself healthy before any of that becomes a problem, and I know belly fat can indicate visceral fat which make organs unhealthy. This is the main reason I'm concerned, but its also the reason I don't really want to focus on my weight, as I don't think it needs to come down.

If it helps, my habits changed significantly in September as OH moved in, and most of the change in my body seems to correspond to that. I have to admit that it was pretty reassuring when on the very first day I checked my portion sizes and measured my calories I found two really easy things that could have changed. 1, OH usually dishes up the leftover dinner into containers for our lunch the next day. I work from home so I grab it from the fridge, heat it on the hob and settle at my desk with MSE or a television programme to distract me from my work for a proper break---and I then mindlessly eat what OH dished up--which is exactly the same as he dishes up for himself. Monday I did this as normal, but weighed the whole thing first but stopped eating as soon as I was full and then weighed the leftovers--what I actually ate was about 650 calories, what I would have eaten was over 1000 so I think I've found something really easy to change--make sure my portions are me sized, not OH sized!

The other thing is that we recently got new dinner plates which are bigger and I didn't realize how much bigger until I checked--I've been filling them up the same as I did the old ones so I'm eating about a third more--again without really paying attention to if I need it or not because for the first time in my life I'm eating while watching things instead of around a table with people.

I will heed what you said Molly--I'm not fixating at this point, but I've had several very close friends with eating disorders and I know that my personality is one of fixation. Now that I've identified what about my lifestyle has changed, I think I'll use the rest of the week to figure out what my portion sizes for lunch and dinner should be and then just try to be a bit more mindful. I probably won't use the website anymore after this week while I'm getting an idea of my portion sizes again, as I don't think it is really allowing enough calories for me. Not only do I work out far far more than it seems to think I should (I'm a PhD student and I really enjoy getting away from the desk and clearing my head with a run, then sitting in the steam room after a long morning of writing), but I also don't think the website takes into account that I've had a history of a high metabolism and have a fairly muscular build which should take more calories to maintain.

So, in short Molly, thanks for your input. I was sort of looking to run what I was doing past someone who was more experienced because I didn't know if it was reasonable or not, and it sounds like it isn't. (This is also combined with the fact that I found myself very hungry last night so was eating a banana before bed--I don't want to do anything where I'm that hungry regularly as I don't think it is healthy!) Instead I'll just get a better idea of what has changed recently, try to be a bit more mindful and I'll see my doctor if I'm still carrying excess fat around my waist in six months so that she can recommend appropriate measures.