25 stone to 19 stone in 8 months.

[WelshJojo]

Just wanted to remind myself of how far I have come.

5 years ago I weighed 366 pounds (26 stone 2)

Here are two printouts from the leisure centre weighing machine from that time.

Today 327 (23 stone 5)

That's fantastic x well done x

 

[366to266]

Thank you ladies for your positive feedback.

I know it's not much of an achievement, losing only one stone in four years of on-off-on-off dieting, but it's better than gaining and ending up at 30 stone.

Funny to think it took 4 yrs to lose a stone, and yet in just 9 weeks I have lost almost 2 stones.

Viva calorie counting!

Helena

 

[366to266]

Bad day today. Thy seem to be alternating.

I ate too much chocolate and must forgo dinner. I ate bacon sandwiches... too much.

Felt depressed and miserable all day, and listless and bored.

Still, it could have been worse: at least I didn't pig out with a takeaway like in the old days. Gotta feel proud of that.

And tomorrow is another fresh start day. Another chance to be good.

Helena

 

[Angel72]

Hi Helena, I've just read your initial entry and a lot of it rings true. I daren't even fly these days. I think you've got a marvellous attitude and determination to shake off bad days and keep going. I hope tomorrow is a really good day for you and you feel better. You've certainly made me feel better as I know there is company on this journey

 

[366to266]

Hi Helena, I've just read your initial entry and a lot of it rings true. I daren't even fly these days. I think you've got a marvellous attitude and determination to shake off bad days and keep going. I hope tomorrow is a really good day for you and you feel better. You've certainly made me feel better as I know there is company on this journey

One of the greatest things about the internet is that we "meet" people around issues we share. Even if you and I were at the same party we might not have discussed dieting, for example.

I was a bit taken aback when you said you daren't fly. To my mind you may be worrying unecessarily. I was a LOT fatter than you in 2010, and I took two holidays abroad that year, flying both times with a BMI of about 64 (I'm 4" shorter than you and then weighed 366lb). It was a squeeze but I managed, and somehow managed to waddle about in the heat to see the sights.

Also, when I flew to Poland last year, though I was about 25 stone 9, I didn't even need an extender belt (with BA). So perhaps things aren't as bad as you think. Your BMI is only 51 (something I am looking forward to with anticipation!) I'd happily fly now, though mine is 58 ish.

So, yes there is company on this journey, and LOTS of it. So many people go so damned tempted by the non-stop array of delicious but fattening food on offer 24/7 and so many of us had/have emotional issues around food.

Good luck, and please do not give up!

Helena

 

[366to266]

Been enjoying my chicken soup breakfasts. Will recommend to others, esp my niece who is also on a diet (so I read on Facebook) and is eating cornflakes for breakfast, thinking it a "health" and "slimming" food and yet finding herself so hungry that she overeats later.

Chicken soup: 300 calorie high protein breakfast

I took a cubed chicken breast that I have been marinading since yesterday and poached it in the soup I made two days ago. I ladled the soup into a wok containing the chicken and cooked it on high till the soup thickened and the chicken was cooked through.

The soup was easy to make: prepared vegetables sold in bags. Asda havel lots of these. This time it was butternut squash and sweet potato, plus a bag of leek and cabbage. Boil this up with two pints of chicken stock and let it cool. Keep it in the fridge and it lasts for four portions of the chicken soup.

It is super-delicious, very filling, ideal for winter mornings, high in protein and fibre and vitamins. A perfect breakfast, I'd say!

You can use just about anything for the marinade and any veg for the soup, according to your own taste.

 

[Llamasoks]

Ooh I've never thought of having soup for breakfast, might have to give that a shot! Think it would be especially nice on a weekend morning in this weather - snuggled on the sofa under a duvet with soup for breakfast!
X

 

[366to266]

Ooh I've never thought of having soup for breakfast, might have to give that a shot! Think it would be especially nice on a weekend morning in this weather - snuggled on the sofa under a duvet with soup for breakfast!
X

Yes it's really curious isn't it, how we get hide-bound into believing we have to eat certain foods at certain times. It's completely without any rational, practical or logical basis.

Reminds me of so many really zany discussions I had when I was on Atkins. People used to grimace when hearing that I ate, for example, leftover roast pork, sardines and boiled egg, or a piece of baked cod for breakfast. They would call me a weirdo and protest that these were "not suitable" as breakfast foods. But when I asked whether they thought bacon, sausages or kippers were "unsuitable" or "weird" breakfast foods they saw how illogical they were being in arguing that pork or fish in one form was OK but in another (and healthier!) form was weird.

Anyway, please DO give it a shot. It is working very well for me in waking me up, fuelling me for the morning and shutting out hunger for many hours. It may well work for you also.

With 200g of chicken, using the butternut squash recipe below, each portion comes to about 300c.

 

[Llamasoks]

Especially when you consider places like Japan have rice for breakfast, there's not set foods, just food!
X

 

[tranquility]

Oh yes I quite often have soup for breakfast and casserole. I also like rice pudding for breakfast but don't make it very often.

I like butternut squash and red pepper soup with a small can of tuna stirred through it.

 

[PrincessSparklePants]

Nothing at all wrong with it - as long as you feel full and enjoy it! If you enjoy it you're most likely to stick to how you're eating and being good!

 

[366to266]

Especially when you consider places like Japan have rice for breakfast, there's not set foods, just food!
X

Kedgeree (fish and rice) was very popular in the UK until about the 1930s....

 

[Llamasoks]

Kedgeree (fish and rice) was very popular in the UK until about the 1930s....

I wonder why it changed, seems very silly to have certain foods for certain times, though admittedly I'm guilty of saying "don't be silly, it's too early for that!" when the OH comes up with breakfast ideas!

 

[366to266]

I wonder why it changed, seems very silly to have certain foods for certain times, though admittedly I'm guilty of saying "don't be silly, it's too early for that!" when the OH comes up with breakfast ideas!

Partly I think because in the 1960s because of the frauds of Ancel Keys fat became the "enemy" and, with the simultaneous push from the cereal producers, who began to peddle cereals as a "health food", high carb sugary cereals became popularised. I know people who still eat sugar-laden cereals for breakfast, even though they find them unsatisfying. Because they think fry ups are evil, eggs are full f cholesterol, sausages and bacon full of fat, they just cannot think of what else to eat.

 

[366to266]

Just stumbled across this photo of me, taken in August 2010, when I was 26 stone 2. The man in the photo is my ex. We split up 2002 but met up again 2010 (and 2011) when I happened to be visiting the town in which he lives. Standing next to him I look enormous! He's a superfit, daily-cycling, health-mad vegan!

 

[366to266]

Done eating for today. 1800 calories.

Dinner was something I've never had before: roasted brussels sprouts and sweet potato. A bigly portion for 400 calories.

 

[366to266]

Today: home made chicken and coconut fat-free and rice-free curry. Made with freshly ground spices, grated fresh ginger, garlic, and fresh coriander etc. Served with lightly steamed fresh kale.

Not sure it was worth the effort. Took ages and made an unholy mess and a lot of washing up.

I'm not that interested in cooking, really.

 

[366to266]

I'd never tried mixed roasted veggies until last week. I find them delicious. because they are so low in calories one can afford to drizzle some olive oil or butter over them, which is needed to give flavour.

My main problem at the moment is that I am eating far too much chocolate. I keep saying I will only have one small portion a day but I can't control myself.

 

[TracyGWill]

I empathise entirely about the chocolate! I do have to have my daily fix - not ideal from a nutritional point of view, but it keeps me (relatively) sane! How many calories a day are you using on it? xx

 

[366to266]

I empathise entirely about the chocolate! I do have to have my daily fix - not ideal from a nutritional point of view, but it keeps me (relatively) sane! How many calories a day are you using on it? xx

Tracy, I am too ashamed to say.

When I first started on this new diet I had trying unsuccessfully to do Atkins for ten years. I used to go zero-sugar for a few days then binge on one to six chocolate bars.

When I switched to calorie counting in August, I was incredibly grateful and relieved that at last I was allowed one little bar of chocolate every single day. I felt sure I would not ever need to binge, because it was no longer a banned food.

I have been thinking long and hard about this today, and I can think of five things caused me to go off the rails.

1. Started taking it for granted that I could have chocolate and began to abuse the privilege. "Give me and inch and I will take a mile.." springs to mind.

2. Discovered that, with judicious food choices, I could consume three decent meals for an expenditure of just 300 or 400 calories per meal. On an 1800 calorie limit, that has left between 600 and 900 calories per day available for extras, and I started using most of them on chocolate.

3. I have been learning to cook without fat, and have got really good at it ~ too good in fact! The lack of fat in my meals means I am often peckish all day long. Not hungry enough to want an actual meal, but needing a nibble. I do have cold meats and fruit available, but weighing that up against the cache of chocolate bars, the latter win every time.

4. Instead of getting a five-pack of mini bars such as Cadbury's Fudge delivered with my groceries, which had to last me a week, I discovered the even smaller "treat" bars, which are only about 50 to 80 calories each. This seemed a brilliant idea: I could have two or three of these, for very few calories. HOWEVER, these are only sold in packs of 35 or 40, not, say, 10 to last me a week. And because there are a great big pile of them in a basket in the larder, and they look so tiny, it made me want to grab one of each type when I made a cuppa, and really enjoy indulging in 4 or 5 little treat bars for elevenses. Then I'd do the same when snuggling down on the sofa of an evening. Yesterday was completely stupid, and I am terribly ashamed to admit that I expended about 500 calories on this junk.

5. I have been feeling unusually weepy, depressed and lonely for the past few days, and I think that seems to lead me to the chocolate for a bit of comfort/enjoyment/solace, whatever.

But this really has to stop. If only there were someone here who could dole me out one bar a day. It's bloody hard when all you have between you and the impulse to binge is your own willpower!

When I did my Asda order on Saturday (for Tuesday delivery), spotting that treat sized Mars and Maltesers were available on their own (not just in a variety pack) I added those to my order, plus a pack each of Asda's own Aero-type choccie treat bar (white and milk) plus a 35-bar variety treat pack. When I logged in on Monday to make a few adjustments, I saw that I had ordered over 100 chocolate bars! My halo must have been shining because I deleted the whole lot! Yes, everything!

However, on Wednesday I lapsed again. I was in Lidl and they had these treat sized caramel bars (like Mars) and on impulse I grabbed a bag. Told myself that as they are only 80 calories each, they were a good choice. But they are TINY. One bite! I think I had FOUR yesterday. So that 80c turned into 320, PLUS I had a few other types of bar. Disgusting, really.

And it has to stop.

Despite being within my 1800 calorie limit every day for the past 5 days, I have gained... GAINED! five pounds in 5 days. This pretty much confirms that the quality of the calorie consumption is as important as the number. I feel absolutely disgusted with myself for throwing away not only the 5lb loss, but the additional weight I would have lost this week had I not eaten that crap.

I once said that I would be content to eat just one Slimfast Caramel Bar (94c) per day. I think it's time to start doing that for real. I'm going to throw every other chocolate bar into the bin in the street opposite my house as soon as I have posted this.

Leftover calories should be spent on having more fats like olive oil on my salads, butter on my toast and fats on my roasted vegetables.

If I feel like a nibble I should eat a meat sandwich and drink a pint of tea or water. Only then may I have a chocolate bar, if I am still "craving" one.

Helena