Diary of a Fat Chick

Frequent

Before I begin, can I just ask that if you know me, you keep this under your hat. I am trying not to make a song and dance about this in my day to day life. Thanks.

So, as I've outlined in the fitness forum, I'm a 25 year old woman who has been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome and a hormonal imbalance, which have contributed, along with my ferociously bad habits and tendency to comfort-eat, to my gaining a stone a year in the last five years.

Now on a regulating medication, and on the advice of my gynacologist, I'm on the path to losing weight. I began this hideous journey last Monday November 13th 2006 at an embarassing 17 stone and 10lbs (I am 5' 11" tall so I don't appear alarming, but I am noticeably overweight). According to the scales this morning my current weight is 17 stone and 1lb, which means that to date I have lost 9 lbs. My goal is to reach 11 stone, or 154 lbs. I aim to do this by shifting 1.5lbs a week until December 31st 2007. I think this is a managable goal.

So.

My first week was absolutely miserable. I felt hungry and depressed (the depression being because I could not eat to appease work stress/relationship stress etc. - which is usually the way that I deal with things). But I pressed on, and was rewarded on Monday November 20th with 7.5lbs weight loss and a total loss of 7.25 inches totalled from waist, bust, thighs and hips. I think I might start measuring my upper arms too, they're pretty flabby and I'm looking forward to saying goodbye to that.

Now I am on the fourth day of the second week and it is so much better. I am sleeping more soundly, have more energy, feeling an inkling of motivation (motivation! how hard is it to hold onto that?!) and pulling up my trousers every ten minutes.

This is my diet for today:

Breakfast:
55g porridge made with half a pint of skimmed milk, with half a tablespoon of flax seeds and half a tablespoon of pumpkin seeds ground up and mixed in (for essential fats), with half a grapefruit, a cup of herbal tea and half a cup of apple juice mixed with half a cup of water. Also a general multivitamin supplement, 1000mg of Vitamin C and 500mg of Chromium. Am thinking of taking up zinc too, as I have read this can help with stretch marks, which I am a little concerned about.

11 am:
2 slices of rye bread, toasted, with a small can of baked beans.

Lunch:
A raw carrot, 150g organic natural yoghurt and a medium chopped banana.

3.30 pm:
A mandarin, half a tablespoon of pumpkin seeds and a cup of herbal tea.

Dinner
1 chicken breast, marinated in a little garlic, chilli, honey, ginger, apple juice and soy sauce, stir fried with lots of vegetables and served with a medium portion of egg noodles.

And that's it! If I am starved I will have a piece of fruit or an oatcake before bed, but I have found that the evenings are the easiest time for me. I am a very busy person and tend to be well occupied at night - it's the boredom in the office during the day that might trip me up.

Before undertaking all of this, I listened well to the advice of a friend with similar problems who found herself with 9 stone to shift. To date, she has lost 6. She is somewhat of an inspiration to me! When you've got half a stone to lose so that you can squeeze into a 10 instead of a 12, you don't really understand the emotional and physical torment of trying, and failing repeatedly, to lose weight. But, this friend gets it. And her advice has finally sunk in. I am not dieting. I've changed my life. And there is no cheating. If I cheat, then it proves that I'm dieting. How can you cheat in just being generally healthy?

I ate a (well considered) small chocolate bar on saturday night, felt no guilt and experienced no weight gain for it. I am going to allow myself a similar treat once a week - if I feel like it. I have also decided to allow myself two meals a month where I eat whatever I want (within reason) - this will make birthdays etc. much easier to cope with. Plus, there is no reason for me to eat every bite on the plate.

Exercise is not up to much right now. I am taking 15 minute brisk walks during my breaks in the day, but I intend to create a regime once I have shed a little more weight. Right now public exercise is still embarassing and very hard on my feet (which, like my hands, are bizarrely thin and delicate). I'm not sounding very attractive here, I know.

But I will be.

Wish me luck. This fat's a ba$tard, don't ya know!

walt0r

Wish ya the very best of luck, it's gonna be tough but you'll do it.

shakeydude

yeah best of luck, if you have a friend motivating you as well that is the business.:)

Frequent

Cheers.

Today's menu so far has been all over the place because I'm completely out of my routine - I'm off work but I'm doing a little volunteer work in my town and eating has been a challenge. None of my meals so far have been at home.

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs (maybe with cream in them? I hope not) on one slice of brown toast (Nutty Doorstep -ugh! My stomach is upset already because of this), plus two cups of herbal tea. I need to get my multivitamins and essential fats (seeds) when I get home.

Lunch:
Half a bowl of mushroom soup. It tasted buttery (and delicious) - that's why I only ate half of it. I had one and a half slices of wholewheat (McCambridge's style) bread, with some butter, followed by half a chicken breast and some chopped cucumber and peppers, and a small apple. I admit I had a Diet Coke, too, which I know is rubbish for me, but, well, I'm making excuses. I had it because I forgot I have given up caffeine.

My plan for dinner is a fresh cod fillet, with home made chips (a medium potato sliced, salted, drizzled in a teaspoon of olive oil and roasted), and a large salad. I'm quite looking forward to that.

Today I can honestly say has been my best day so far. No hunger, no cravings, no obsessing over the next meal. I even had lunch an hour late because I had forgotten about it. However, because I was eating takeaway food from a cafe I don't know the exact calorie content. I might get myself over to www.fitday.com and see.

Last night I went for a brisk 30 minute walk and felt quite energised - I'm hoping soon I might start jogging. I used to jog in my fitter days, but over the last 3 years or so the thought has just been terrifying.

I am still 3 days from weigh-day. I'm curious to know by how much the loss will have slowed down.

Frequent

The fight of the flab continues.

Today so far I have eaten:

Breakfast:
55g of porridge made with half a pint of skimmed milk, half a medium chopped banana, a teaspoon of honey, half a glass of apple juice diluted with water, half a tablespoon of flax seeds and half a tablespoon of pumpkin seeds (boy, do I hate pumpkin seeds).

Snack:
Mandarin and a few more evil pumpkin seeds

Lunch:
A bowl of potato and green onion soup (not so rich and buttery today!) with a slice of wholewheat bread and a slice of delicious tomato bread, and a cup of jasmine tea, which smells like flowers and tastes like butt.

My plan for dinner is bolognese, made with turkey mince, lots of vegetables and a fresh tomato sauce, served on wholewheat spaghetti. I haven't eaten turkey mince in years so I can't remember if it's good or not. We shall soon see.

I am having a hard time keeping off the scales - I am very curious to know how I am doing. A part of you wonders, despite the science, what if all this discipline is for nothing?

I am now going to spend the next hour under a blanket in front of the tv writing up my meals for the next two weeks - which is the only way I got through the last two! Wish me luck.

Frequent

Had a rotten night tonight...I wanted to binge on junk so badly that I ended up in tears.

I resisted, somehow, and occupied myself with making soup for tomorrow. I ate a carrot and a kiwi and now I'm watching Season 2 of The Office on dvd. There's nothing like the humilation of others to help you forget your own.

g'em

Frequent wrote:

Had a rotten night tonight...I wanted to binge on junk so badly that I ended up in tears.

that's such a huge step!! it means that you've really committed to this and even though you ended up in tears what actually happened was that you made a phenomenally positive decision- you decided not to eat what you know is inherently bad for you. You've made that decision once, and you can keep making it. It won't always be easy, and sometimes it'll feel like the world is striving to make you eat rubbish, but you know that you have the free will to say no.

Ok, so maybe this all sounds like horse-poo and contrived and more than a little corny, but really and truly- you did brilliantly!!! Pat yourself on the back, get a good nights rest, and I can guarantee you'll wake in the morning feeling renewed and positive and ready to face the world again. Well done

Frequent

You were right g'em, I genuinely did feel better this morning. Nothing you said sounded contrived or like horse poo by the way - you are too hard on yourself woman! On reflection, I guess what it felt like was hitting the wall. Don't get me wrong - after two weeks I don't think I've hit the 20 mile mark in this marathon - I'm sure there are many more walls to come. The trick is going to be getting through each and every one of them as they come.

Today I ate the following.

Breakfast:
50g muesli, half a pint of skimmed milk, half a glass of apple juice diluted with water, supplements and seeds.

Lunch:
Vegetable and lentil soup with two slices of wholewheat bread, a slice of half fat cheese and some sliced turkey and ham.

There was a long gap between lunch and dinner, and I ate maybe an ounce of cornflakes with a couple of tablespoons of skimmed milk and a mandarin in between.

Dinner:
Takeaway from a local Thai restuarant - stir fried pork with mixed vegetables. I cooked up 2oz of brown rice at home to eat with this. I only managed to eat about two thirds of this, despite how delicious it was.

So, tomorrow is weigh day. I feel a little nervous and anticipatory about it. I will report my progress when I get into work and onto my computer. This week I need to work out a way to get some solid exercise into my routine. I have a very busy life and don't think I can afford the gym right now. All suggestions welcome.

walt0r

Best of luck tomorrow. Don't be upset if you don't lose as much as you intend to, it never quite works out that way. I trying to gain and sometimes forget that it's what's in the mirror that counts more than what the number is on the scale.

gymrabbit

Frequent wrote:

This week I need to work out a way to get some solid exercise into my routine. I have a very busy life and don't think I can afford the gym right now. All suggestions welcome.

I think everyone can make space for some power walking in their week. If you can do it for 45 mins at a go that's what I'd recommend.

Frequent

I will try to pencil that in three times this week.

My weigh in this morning wasn’t bad – I had a total loss for the past week of 3.2lbs, bringing my loss so far to 10.8 lbs. My inch loss was a mere half an inch off my hips, which was disappointing, but I haven’t been exercising strenuously and I also probably have some water retention thanks to my period. Tsk, the sorrows of being a woman.

I realise it will probably slow down quite a lot now, but I am working with a target of 1.5lbs a week, so I am well ahead of schedule. I am motivated to continue.

Smellyirishman

Frequent wrote:

I had a total loss for the past week of 3.2lbs, bringing my loss so far to 10.8 lbs. My inch loss was a mere half an inch off my hips, which was disappointing.

That's fantastic! You should not be dissapointed when you are seeing such obvious results. It will slow down, and your period will have an effect, but you are succeeding in your goal, be happy! Seeing the numbers drop at the end of a hard week really should fill you with energy, not get you down.

Frequent

Thanks Smellyirishman, the encouragement genuinely does encourage me.

So today was not such a bad food day, although dinner was a disaster...

For breakfast I had muesli, skimmed milk, seeds, apple juice, herbal tea and a kiwi.

At 11 I had a bowl of lentil and vegetable soup.

For lunch I ate 4 oatcakes with some fruit spread and light cottage cheese, and a raw carrot.

I snacked on a kiwi and some pumpkin seeds at 3pm.

Dinner was chicken biriyani with brown basmati - I usually make it with white - and the difference was palpable, and disappointing. Brown rice just doesn't work as well in a "stewed" dish. I also burnt the bottom of the pot which gave a rotten flavour to the whole thing. I was not enthusiastic to eat much of it, so this has not been a heavy day for calories. Blinded by the taste of chilli peppers though, my other half not only lashed through his burnt biriyani, but he ate mine too. Now that's love!

As an aside - he has lost five pounds since I started eating this way, simply by eating the same breakfast and dinner as me. He doesn't even need to! BA$TARD!

DonJose

Way to go, have you tried psyllium husks with a glass of orange juice in the morning, psyllium husks congeal so you need to mix the juice fast, try a blender or cocktail mixer. Psyllium husks really fill you up plus they are great for absorbing toxins in your body plus they help lower cholesterol. If you are taking medication psyllium husks should not be taken as they will absord the medication. Keep up the great work.

tuxy

When you get your weight down a bit more would you consider taking up a sport?
The gym is so boring and expensive, to much of a chore. But if you find a sport you like it could work great for weight loss.

Frequent

DonJose, I am afraid I am on medication - for the cysts and hormonal imbalance, so the husks wouldn't be an option...although congealed grains first thing in the morning sounds delicious...:)

tuxy, I loved sports as a teenager...I was school captain of the basketball team etc...but by the time I hit college I was unfit and felt I'd be a hindrance to a university team so I lost my taste for it. I would love to get back into it, particularly women's football, but surely I'd fail any tryouts?

I do play tennis the odd time when the weather is fine and I enjoy that...the ideal thing for me would be sports rather than the gym, and I could do some free weights at home for muscle tone, but I feel at a bit of a loss about what kind of sport I could get into. I love team stuff, but where could I go?

Today so far I have eaten:

Muesli with seeds and skimmed milk, herbal tea and half a grapefruit.

I plan to eat some soup at 11, then a little pasta at lunch, with some vegetable crudites and a pot of yoghurt. For my snack at 3pm I have a kiwi and some pumpkin seeds. Dinner tonight is chilli con carne with lots of fresh vegetables and brown rice.

I am not feeling great, however. This morning, and yesterday morning, after breakfast I have experienced a strange pain in my stomach - almost as though my stomach is full of rocks. I have had problems with Irritable Bowel for years, but avoiding the foods that trigger bowel spasms is how I control it. I have not eaten anything that should cause my gut problems - I have a pretty clean diet right now - but I can't help feeling that this pain is related to the bowel issues. It is a totally unfamiliar pain though.

Anyone have any advice? If not I think I may need to head to the doctor as I am quite uncomfortable and a little anxious.

g'em

Frequent wrote:

Anyone have any advice? If not I think I may need to head to the doctor as I am quite uncomfortable and a little anxious.

If you're feeling worried the doctor should of course be your first port of call. Just remember though, that if you've been giving your body lots of easily digested processed foods for a while, and now all of a sudden you're giving it food that *shock, horror* it actually has to work to break down, there's going to be some physiological adaptations to that. I'm not saying that's the cause of te pain- and certainly, if you have a history of IBS it's certainly shomething to check out - but I know my tummy actually gets a bit sensitive if I change my diet in any drastic way.

Hope it's nothing to worry about, and a huge (belated) congrats on the weight loss- you're doing fantastically!!!

Frequent

I was thinking that myself g'em, but surely if I have been eating this way for over two weeks I would have experienced symptoms sooner than now? I have been ringing around doctors near where I work and am not having any luck with an appointment, so I may wait it out for today and see how I am in the morning.

I actually don't feel like eating anything. This is a first.

S5

Hi Frequent I think you are doing excellent. I'm sitting here reading your diary every day and saying to myself I must start now tomorrow to shift the unwanted stones but today is tomorrow and I'm still the same! I really admire you and hope to follow suit soon, you've given some great food ideas to thanks a mill It is hard though when you've women's troubles, that just adds extra lbs, its not fair.

Frequent

S5, I have battled with my weight for years. I have tried every diet and they all work - it is me that's broken.

I am such an emotional eater, that when I take away food as comfort, it feels worse than is describable. At every other time in my life, when I hit a crisis point - an argument with somebody, a failure, a difficult day in work - I would eat away to my heart's content and feel much better. However, on a day to day basis I was consumed with a sense of failure and inadequacy, not to mention ugliness. It's true that my hormonal imbalance and other issues contribute to the gain, but I wouldn't have been gaining if I had been eating a clean diet. (My partner has had the same diet as me for years and he has never gained weight.)

But this time I have made the decision to fight through the anxiety that arises when I can't eat. And I am being strict with myself. Careful portion sizes, limited snacks - but not so much that I am hungry.

What I am getting at is this. From experience, I can tell you that the longer you deny that your weight is a serious issue, the more weight you will gain. Some days I see photographs of myself and cannot believe where that slim and active teenager went. I ignored the increasing dress sizes, only launching periodically into half hearted diets where I cheated whenever I was down and eventually gave up.

Planning your meals is hard. Cooking meals in advance when you would rather be reading a book or watching tv with a takeaway pizza is hard. None of this is easy.

But can I just encourage you to do it. I read this book on the recommendation of a friend, gave myself a full week to prepare, went shopping, made meal plans, and began.

This time, there is no turning back. I cannot. I will die of a heart attack at 50. I want to enjoy my youth, and my middle age, and my old age.

Lecture over. Today was an odd day, I was feeling sick, so I didn't really eat during the day. I only ate half of my soup, ignored my kiwi and seeds and left the pasta. By the time I got home I felt better and ate most of my chilli and went for a bracing walk in the cold.

I have a meal out with friends on Friday night and I have decided I will eat what I like, but watch my portion sizes, and maybe skip dessert. I'm not mad about desserts anyway. I'm much more of a nachos kinda chick.

rainglow

Frequent wrote:

This time, there is no turning back. I cannot. I will die of a heart attack at 50. I want to enjoy my youth, and my middle age, and my old age.

With such a good attitude, I'm sure you'll succeed

Apparantly it takes 28 days to form a habit, and you're halfway to a habit of eating well already. Keep up the great work...I know it's not easy as I'm a failed dieter myself. I've started six diets already this year, and am patting myself on the back at the moment for doing TWO whole days without slipping - how pathetic!

Frequent

rainglow, you will only not slip if you decide not to!

I am having all kind of revelations (obvious to normal people) this week. This morning lying in bed it occurred to me that my weight and dress size and muscle tone are things that are actually in my control. Well, duh. I have just felt so out of control for so long.

For breakfast this morning I had a little more time, so I had two boiled eggs on one slice of brown toast and half a grapefruit, half a glass of apple juice mixed with water, plus supplements. I couldn't face the horrible seeds defacing this tasty meal, so I will mix them into my yoghurt at lunch time.

I will have a plum and a few brazil nuts...oh, about now.

For lunch I'm having a little pasta in a tomato sauce, a pot of yoghurt (avec seeds) and some raw carrots.

For my afternoon snack I will have an orange and some pumpkin seeds and a cup of herbal tea.

For dinner it's a spicy chicken stir fry with egg noodles - I am getting a little sick of chicken stir frys so I may strike it from the menu for a few weeks after tonight.

Tonight there are people coming over and the coffee and biscuits will be out - but I think I will be ok, my head is in a good place.

Dudess

Frequent, well done. You're doing amazingly. What a great attitude you have! And, I don't know if you write for a living, but if you don't, you should see about getting freelance articles published! Your posts are superbly written and such a pleasure to read! Just one point: I've seen the dreaded 'd' word used a couple of times. Your new lifestyle is exactly that - a lifestyle. Not a diet, which is generally a temporary fix and DOES NOT WORK!!! The diet industry wants people to fail. Why else is it raking in millions (billions?) That's all I wanted to say. Well done again, and the very best of luck.

Frequent

Dudess, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the posts - this is such a narcissistic process, I am surprised that anyone's interested at all! I love to write, I dream of being a writer in fact, but it's easier dreamt than done.

I have read countless success stories, from my WeightWatchers days, of women who have lost 4,5,6 stone and their whole attitude toward life is altered. Apparently beating this makes you feel as if you could beat anything. I wonder if losing this weight will spur me on to greater things!

Dudess

Well I do a bit of writing myself. Maybe do a part-time course, or if you have a good feature idea, email it to the relevant editor - a Sunday paper's magazine or something. But that's for a different forum.
Anyway, I recently stopped being in denial and realised I have to lose some weight too. I'm 5 foot 5" and weigh just under 11 stone - not hugely overweight, but, nevertheless, I definitely need to lose at least a stone. My correct build is supposed to be actually quite skinny - basically no bum, no hips, skinny legs. That's not my aim - it's just my correct build. Any excess in those areas would just be flabby, not curvy. The only big part of me should be my boobs, really. So what has happened is: all the weight is on my stomach. While the rest of me is quite slim, I have much too wide a waistline and it's totally disgusting and puts me at risk of developing type 2 diabetes - in fact, as an apple-shaped woman, I'm six times more at risk of this than a pear-shaped (big hips, big ass, big thighs but flat stomach) person.
So, since October 24th I've been doing loads of exercise and eating healthily - although I've fallen off the wagon a few times - early Christmas social occasions, my graduation, having a miserable cold which made me want nothing but refined carbs and sugar etc (after Christmas I'm going to be much stricter). But I kept getting back on the wagon and I've still lost three and a half pounds - which isn't much in five weeks, but people are saying I look like the weight is falling off. Apparently, sometimes it doesn't register on the scales. I feel amazing and my fitness levels have absolutely soared. Unfortunately there isn't much of a difference to my stomach so far, but I guess the worst parts are always the last to go. I used always kid myself that my stomach could be covered up as long as my legs were slim, but I'd like to be able to have a more varied selection of tops rather than loose-fitting ones, which are often very unflattering.
Anyway, keep it up. You are going to feel and look incredible! Five weeks in, I'm feeling it myself - I can't emphasise how worth it it is!

Frequent

A three and a half pound loss, when your total loss is 14 pounds, is nothing to be sneezed at! You are 25% of the way there!

Something that has really helped me is keeping the junk food just well and truly out of the house. I also have a partner who is holding me accountable. If there is no junk, then I cannot eat junk. Just a tip!

Don't give up Dudess, you can reach your goal weight and get rid of that tum.

Dudess

Suggestions and encouragement noted. Thanks a mil!

Frequent wrote:

A three and a half pound loss, when your total loss is 14 pounds, is nothing to be sneezed at! You are 25% of the way there!

Wow! When you put it like that it makes me realise that I probably have to lose a good bit more than a stone - there's no way 10 and a half pounds would have me at the size I want to be. I'd say it's at least a stone and a half that I need to lose really and, while my stomach is the only visibly 'large' area, there's lots and lots of toning and dewobbling to be done. But thanks for pointing that out! It still makes me feel like I've achieved a good bit. And, as I said, I've fallen off the wagon a few times.
By the way, sorry for going on about my weight loss objectives when you're aiming to lose a good deal more, but you will definitely lose it the way you're going so far. And, according to those in the know, it does get easier.

Frequent

Can I begin today by thanking all those who have sent me private messages. I have been completely surprised and delighted by the positive response to this thread. It even gave me the courage to tell some of my friends last night what I am doing and just how much weight I need to lose. They were amazed that I am 84lbs from my target, but once they were over that, they were extremely supportive. Six months ago I would not have been able to have that conversation with them – not because I don’t trust them, but because of (a) the shame associated with my weight and (b) my sense that any attempt to lose the weight would inevitably fail and thus increase the aforementioned shame. However, this time, the weight is going.

So. This morning I ate muesli, skimmed milk, seeds and juice for breakfast (plus, of course, my zinc, chromium, vitamin C and multivitamin). For my elevenses I plan to eat a plum and a few pumpkin seeds. At lunch I am having two cold boiled eggs, salad and two slices of wholewheat bread. At 3pm I will eat a banana, some seeds and a raw carrot (I find I’m quite peckish between lunch and dinner). I can’t remember what I wrote down for my evening meal – I think it was spaghetti bolognese, this time made with lean beef. I really did not enjoy that bolognese last week made with turkey mince. Wholewheat spaghetti, however, is very nice and I have no complaints about that.

By the way, I managed to avoid the biscuits and coffee last night, despite the fact that there were 6 PACKETS of all scrumptious kinds (mostly provided by guests) and I have now had them hidden from me so that should temptation strike I won’t be able to locate them.

Frequent

Greetings all.

I went to the cinema last night, which is one of the difficult places for me when trying to avoid junk food. I left myself some leeway with calories yesterday, went into Boots and bought a packet of salt and vinegar Snack a Jacks (circa 100 calories) and a bottle of water, and contented myself with that. I actually felt content.

Today I met a friend for breakfast in a dreaded bakery, home of all that is tasty and refined, and had two slices of warm wholewheat bread with a little butter and jam, and an apple juice and a couple of glasses of water. While she chowed down on cream cakes and fresh coffee, I didn't even mind, because while I know I would enjoy those things, I am not physically craving them, and also because I walk around with a glimpse of the big picture in mind nowadays.

I ate a plum and 5 almonds for my mid-morning snack. Today is not a well planned day and I am unsure what I will have for lunch. I think I will attempt to make some grilled falafel balls and eat them with a little yoghurt. I will report on my progress.

Dinner is part of a night out tonight, and I have been quite strict with my portions this week, so I will relax and eat what I fancy. However, I will take the chicken option rather than the beef (which is my preference), I will skip dessert and I will only have one beer. I should still be able to enjoy myself, and I know I will have plenty to eat. The sneak-previews I take of the scales during the week are looking good and I don't want to jeopardise that.

All going to plan, I should shortly be joining a gym with a friend, which I will be attending three times a week during my lunch hour, for 45 minutes at a time. I would really like advice on optimising fitness and muscle tone. I don't plan to spend that time strolling on the treadmill. Your advice is very welcome.

kindle

Go Girl, I have to say your attiude and approach are really inspirational and I am delighted that your are seeing the results of your efforts. I wish you all the best and every success!

K

fred funk }{

Keep up the good work

Frequent

Thanks very much guys.

Last night at the restuarant went ok, I ate quite a lot but it wasn't too carb-heavy, although I did have some ice-cream, later, after leaving the restaurant. However the scales were not angry with me this morning. I was up 0.2 lb from the previous day which is a small price to pay.

Today I ate muesli for breakfast with seeds, supplements and juice, a plum and some almonds at 11, and lunch was my mum's chunky chicken and vegetable soup with a little brown soda bread (how very Irish). I had an apple around 5pm. Dinner has not yet happened because the STUPID GUESTS ARE LATE. Guys, it is almost nine o'clock. Get here!

When they do arrive, dinner will be a small steak, some new potatoes and lots of carrots and broccoli. I am so hungry I am almost blind.

qwytre

Just wanted to say Well done and keep it going. I'll check back in a few weeks and I want to see more good news!

Smellyirishman

Frequent wrote:

However the scales were not angry with me this morning. I was up 0.2 lb from the previous day which is a small price to pay.

Try not to do this, day to day weigh-ins mean very very little.

It is tremendous the effort and commitment you are putting into this, and as you continue it will only get easier.

Frequent

Thanks so much, qwytre and smellyirishman. smellyirishman, I do understand that they don't mean anything much - I only count my Monday weigh in as legit. I think I weight myself daily just to reassure myself that this is working. I do get struck with the fear that maybe I ate more than I should have, or that this is something that will run out after a few weeks...it's irrational, I know, but it helps keep me on track.

Today I slept very late so breakfast never happened. I had soup and brown bread for lunch. The weather is HORRENDOUS, wet, gale force winds and miserable. I really wanted something comforting, so I chose the lesser of many evils and had a latte. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This evening I am being fed by the mother of my partner - she usually feeds us some kind of soup or fruit salad, followed by baked potatoes, 2-3 kinds of vegetable and a roast meat of some kind - typically lamb or beef. Then there will be dessert, which I will skip. I think I'll only have half a baked spud, as they are never new potatoes and always large.

It should be fine.

Frequent

Well today is Monday – weigh and measure day. Last week I lost another 3lb. That means my current weight is 234.6lbs, or 16 stone and 10.6lbs. My starting weight, you will remember, was 248.4lbs (0r 17 stone and 10.6lbs) so I have lost 13.8lbs now in total – just very slightly under a stone. I measured today too, and have lost 4.75 inches in total from my bust/waist/hips/thighs. This brings my total inch loss to 12. Or a foot, as my SO pointed out this morning.

My target for the coming week is to lose 1.6lbs, bringing me down to 233lbs (16 stone 9lbs). I should be able to achieve this without great agony.

Last night the dinner at my mother in law’s was fine – I probably ate a little too much potato as it was mashed, and I had a bite of cake. Quite literally a bite. There was tiramisu (did you know that means “pick me up”?) and a large cream sponge, but I ate just one bite of the sponge and had a cup of herbal tea. So not too bad a success.

I got up this morning and checked my meals for this week, and realised that I had forgotten, in the business of the weekend, to go shopping. So today is a little haphazard. For breakfast I ate the usual muesli, seeds, skimmed milk and apple juice with water. I am finding it difficult to get up in this weather and make porridge, but I must get back into it.

Before I left the house, for my lunch I made a portion of potato salad from some leftover boiled baby potatoes with some light mayonnaise and some herbs. On the way to work I stopped at the deli to pick up some meat and salad. There was no salad that wasn’t drenched in dressing or very carb heavy, so I bought a few slices of ham and some some sliced peppers. I also have a raw carrot with me so lunch shouldn’t be too bad.

My snacks today are an apple and an orange, a few pumpkin seeds and an ounce of cashew nuts.

For dinner I’m making roast chicken with baby roast potatoes and steamed broccoli and carrots. Yum. Wish me luck with a new week. I know the loss is going to start to slow dramatically soon and I need to stay motivated.

Seraphina

almost a stone in under a month, thats pretty impressive!

keep up the good work!!!

Beelzebub

Firstly let me congratulate you on your quest and on your commitment.
It is a wonderful thing you are doing!

I would be concerned about the chromium and zinc supplementation though.
I was taking 500mg chromium picolinatebut after some recent research I stopped. (http://www.dietitian.com/chromium.html)
If you feel that your diet is lacking in zinc or other minerals, you should consult a doctor or a qualified dietitian.
You may already have done this so I apoligise if this is the case.
I'm not meaning to criticise so I hope you don't think that, I am just concerned.

Keep up the good work, you have a very positive attitude, which is more than half the battle I think!

Smellyirishman

Congratulations!

Frequent

Thank you to everyone! It's a real confidence booster to get all the good wishes.

Beelzebub, thank you for the information on chromium, that's very interesting. I took it as a given that it was useful for stabilising blood sugar. It was recommended by Patrick Holford, who is also a nutritionist. Would there be a lot of debate about it, or can I take it that it is just to be avoided? I might do a bit more research on it myself.

As for zinc, I used to take zinc to help with the healing of piercings, but now I take it to help prevent stretch marks from developing. Why have you stopped taking it?

Also I will be starting gym membership soon, 45 minutes, three times a week. I am depending on my diet for fat loss, so this is for heart fitness and muscle tone. Can anyone advise me what I should do? Half cardio half weights? Or some other ratio?

Thanks y'all. How'd you all get so smart?

rubadub

Frequent wrote:

Also I will be starting gym membership soon, 45 minutes, three times a week. I am depending on my diet for fat loss, so this is for heart fitness and muscle tone. Can anyone advise me what I should do? Half cardio half weights? Or some other ratio?

Thanks y'all. How'd you all get so smart?

A mix is probably best. I would definitely recommend weights, heavy weights.

On a calorie controlled diet you risk losing muscle aswell as fat, weight training will help prevent this, and may increase your muscle mass a littlle too, if you do enough. Don't worry, you will certainly not turn into a body builder overnight, and if you did ever get too muscley you simply stop and they reduce in size. I put most of my fat loss down to weight training, I say fat and not weight since I continued to weigh the same while me waist decreased. I am not muscley either, you would not think I lifted at all, but I am 100%+ stronger than I was, and probably have an extra 10lb of muscle.

Weight training increases your metabolism a lot. While building muscle your body draws on its calorie intake for developing and maintaining your muscle, just like a pregnant woman needs more calories to "feed" the baby. It is also a low impact form of exercise so there is no undue stress on your joints due to any excess weight.

check out www.exrx.net

turbot

Congratulations!!!!

I've read up about these things rather a lot recently, so my suggestions are that:

1) You also take HCA / Citrimax (learned this from Patrick Holford) as it reduces the amount of fat you may put on

2) You detox - as one reason people put on weight, is that due to excessive toxins in their system, the toxins are bound to fat to be dealt with later, instead of being excreted

3) Get the BodyDoctor book - which contains really good workouts

4) Get Paul McKenna's book or even better CD series on weight loss, to help you get rid of cravings

5) Decide to master how to cook food that is healthy and yum

6) As well as doing sustained fat burning exercise, you should crank up your metabolism by doing short high intensity circuits that boost your heart rate to 170+ for a few minutes. If it's a full body, super intense, 5 minute workout, thats a good way to boost your metabolism

7) If you train smart and stretch and tone as you go, when you hit 11 stone, you'll be a more toned and pretty 11 stone at that.

Frequent

Thank you for the advice, guys, it's much appreciated.

It has actually transpired from a look at the budget that I may not be able to afford to join the gym after all until January or February. I will make a big effort to juggle finances but I can't really see it happening. I do have some free weights at home and there is nothing wrong with my legs, so perhaps I will begin jogging, weights and tummy crunches etc. at home. I'll need to work out a schedule.

I slept later than usual this morning and didn't have time to make breakfast (BOLD GIRL) so I ate a pot of Glenisk natural yoghurt and a banana on the journey into work. For my snacks today I've got an apple, a pear and some pumpkin seeds. For lunch, the office is going out, so I'm hoping I can take the soup option, or if that's not possible, a wrap. I find it difficult to get wholefoods when out for lunch. Dinner tonight is spicy chicken and vegetables with creole coconut rice (an experiment).

I am not feeling 100% at the moment due to some late nights and a very blocked up digestive system. It makes no sense, as I eat a very high fibre diet. But hey, that's Irritable Bowel for you.

Frequent

Lunch was difficult and I had my first proper failure. That is to say - I gave in to something for the first time, without making a proper decision in advance to do so.

I had a tomato wrap, with chicken, lettuce and a little coleslaw. Nothing much good about that. There was no wholewheat bread and no soup. After this, I was still hungry, and there was no fruit or nuts, so I had a packet of crisps, a 40g bag, with a ridiculous 272 calories.

Thankfully I didn't have many calories at breakfast so it should even out, but it really sucks. I gave in to a craving and had a poorly nourishing lunch.

dellas1979

Dont be too hard on yourself.

What would be amazing is if you realised you had a little slip up and think "so what?" and keeping going on your new regime.

Its only a little silp up. I have to agree with you though, my total down fall anyways are crisps/nachos - savory tasting things. But you are right, they are empty calories and dont fill you up. I try to control myself, but sometimes its just better to have that one packet, rather than obsessing/thinking of what they taste like.

Can I ask a few questions?

What age/height are you?

You know what I think are great (and of course savory for my savory tooth!) oatcakes. I think they are yum. Id eat them on their own. They are filling and nourishing too.

Dudess

Frequent, you've lost pretty much a stone in three weeks! Wow! That's incredible! An average of about four and a half lbs per week! Fabulous! Well done again! You are such an inspiration - especially at this time of year. I decided to call it a day on my new lifestyle until the new year because so much stuff involving food has been happening/will be happening over the next few weeks, but screw it. I'm going to stick with it as much as I possibly can. This change of heart is down to you! Well done again!

Frequent

dellas1979, I am 25 years old and 5' 11". I do eat oatcakes, but let's not kid ourselves - they're nothing on a packet of crisps.

Dudess, good for you! There will always be excuses not to keep going, but we will never lose the weight if we don't stay determined through every social occasion. I had been toying with the idea of relaxing over Christmas but have decided no - I need to learn to enjoy life without regular food indulgences. It's really hard! I do have my very miserable moments, almost every day I have a few minutes of real temptation, but every time I don't give in I pray will make it easier not to give in the next time.

Today for breakfast, I ate two boiled eggs on two thin slices of rye bread, with a mandarin, some apple juice and herbal tea. Lunch was two slices of wholemeal bread with some fruit spread, a Glenisk natural yoghurt and two raw carrots. My snacks were some hazlenuts, a pear and another mandarin. Dinner was really good - chicken fajitas made to my own recipe. I ate three mini flour tortillas, when I had intended to only eat two, but when I did my calorie-count, it was actually under 1,500 so I am not too worried.

I'm watching Lost at the moment, and eating prunes. Things still aren't moving too good down there...

Frequent

Today breakfast was porridge made with skimmed milk, water and apple juice, seeds and supplements, and a mandarin. My snacks between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner are a kiwi and a pear, with some pumpkin seeds. My menus this week have become all jumbled - I have a menu set but I have been working extra hours and still have my usual evening commitments, so for example, I had planned to make vegetarian lasagne last night, but was home so late that I just went for the fajita option, which takes about 15 minutes total to prepare and cook.

Lunch will be a trip to the salad bar for some soup and salad.

I don't know what I am making for dinner, I should get home around 6.15, but there are people coming to the house at 8pm, and I need to get the place tidied up. There are a couple of steaks in the fridge, and we like our meat rare, so I could slap them on the griddle for a minute or two and eat them with salad perhaps. I am probably overdoing the red meat recently - I shall have to take a look at increasing the vegetarian options. I do find vegetarian meals often very unsatisfying, so if anyone has any tips please let me know. I have checked out the vegetarian forum but there is never anything much happening over there.

Frequent

I am sure you will all be thrilled to learn that after ten packets of Senokot, 54 kilos of prunes and the juice of three dozen citrus fruits, my bowel made a move after five frikkin days and I am feeling much lighter. Oh the images! Such a thing of beauty am I.

Breakfast today was 2 fried eggs (cooked without oil), 2 thin slices of rye toast, a kiwi, supplements and some apple juice mixed with water. Breakfast was late and the thought of lunch in an hour is not appealing. My menu plan says that lunch is baked beans on toast but I might go crazy and have a bowl of muesli with some skimmed milk instead. Dinner tonight is listed as chilli con carne with brown rice and lots of vegetables, but I will see what the SO fancies. I think that I will continue to make these two-week meal plans but it is nice to not be afraid of flexibility at this point.

So, some friends came over last night. There was cheese (stilton with cranberries) and oatcakes, red wine, fresh coffee and biscuits, including Jaffa Cakes, which I have been known to stuff into my face one after another in the past. I sipped a small glass of red wine all evening and contented myself with that. It was a genuine effort to resist.

My clothes are beginning to hang off me. It is both good news and very irritating. I have very little that fits well right now, especially my trousers are a problem. Oh well, such are the trials of transforming into a fabulous figure.

justsomebloke

Frequent wrote:

My clothes are beginning to hang off me. It is both good news and very irritating. I have very little that fits well right now, especially my trousers are a problem. Oh well, such are the trials of transforming into a fabulous figure.

actually no, what is really irriating is the fact that you know if you buy any new clothes now to fit you, that come other month or 2 and they will probably be hanging off you aswell and then you will have to buy even more clothes

Frequent

Yeah, I know.