* A mission to not be the fat girl on campus *

[daisydress]

Hello to anyone reading!
I'm Sarah, i'm 21 and I am training as a primary school teacher.
I'm kinda hoping that keeping a diary will help me to keep on track with my healthy eating, i'm really struggling and I only started on Monday! I haven't broken it yet but all I think about all day and night is food- I dreamed that I was eating a pizza last night
I was a size 12 for years and suddenly now i'm a 16/18 and I don't know how it happened! Well I suspect it has something to do with starting at university and eating family size bags of crisps for dinner, but it literally seems like one day I was fairly slim and the next I realised nothing fit anymore and my stomach had ballooned. I'm really reluctant to buy new clothes so i'm having to wear stretchy leggings and dresses everyday which I know is stupid but I can't quite face up to the fact that I managed to put on so much weight in about 8 months.
I was about 11 and a half stone and now i'm 14 stone I would love to go down to 10 stone but i'm just going to get rid of the weight I've gained to start with and see how I feel from there.
I'm just calorie-counting at the moment, around 1200-1400 calories a day and I do quite a bit of walking. I can't handle the idea of a more restrictive diet. I also have a 'cheat' day once a week where I can go up to 2000 calories. That's what I did when I dieted a few years and it helped keep my cravings in check to know that I could have something a little naughty once a week.

I have some goals but i'm not sure how realistic they are?

June 1st- 12st 12lb (180lb)
August 1st- 11st 6lb (160lb)
October 1st- 10st (140lb)

I am not sure if that'll work out but it'd be great if it did!

 

[daisydress]

So far this week (4 days) I have consumed 3766 calories, I am thinking that this probably isn't enough but all the food I am eating is really healthy so I am not sure how to up it without ruining that. Generally I have porridge for breakfast, soup and a wholemeal roll for lunch and fish or chicken with vegetables for dinner. I don't like to make things that take too long as I don't get on well with my housemates and don't like to be with them in the kitchen- they always make comments about what I eat But if I keep snacks in my room there's a risk that i'll just eat them all in one go. I bought a 6 pack of crisps a couple of months ago and ate them all in one evening one after the other So i'm not sure how to consume a bit more without consuming a lot more, if that makes sense.

 

[Periwinkle]

I think you're having enough calories xxx so long as you're not hungry all the time you're grand. Your average day seems good! Are you taking in dairy? What type of veggies are you having? What soups are you having? Homemade or carton? xx

 

[daisydress]

I think you're having enough calories xxx so long as you're not hungry all the time you're grand. Your average day seems good! Are you taking in dairy? What type of veggies are you having? What soups are you having? Homemade or carton? xx

Thanks for your reply I have milk in my porridge but not really other than that. I switch between sweetcorn, spinach and peas. At the moment i'm having convent garden soups out of cartons because they were on special offer but when they go back to full price I will probably have to make my own.

 

[Periwinkle]

I'm not on a calorie counting diet so my advice wont be great but I reckon -

You should try to introduce more variety of veggies if possible. Sweetcorn is higher in calories than a lot of other veggies.

If you can, you should move to making your own soup - it works out a lot cheaper and lower in calories than the packets.

What are you snacking on between meals?

I read you said you're thinking about food a lot - completely normal at the start of a diet. Your body is gonna have to get "used" to the new regime and you will feel a bit deprived at the beginning. You must stay determined.

The calorie counting forum will be of great help to you! Those girls (and fellas) know the score

I'm doing a VLCD btw

 

[daisydress]

I'm not on a calorie counting diet so my advice wont be great but I reckon -

You should try to introduce more variety of veggies if possible. Sweetcorn is higher in calories than a lot of other veggies.

If you can, you should move to making your own soup - it works out a lot cheaper and lower in calories than the packets.

What are you snacking on between meals?

I read you said you're thinking about food a lot - completely normal at the start of a diet. Your body is gonna have to get "used" to the new regime and you will feel a bit deprived at the beginning. You must stay determined.

The calorie counting forum will be of great help to you! Those girls (and fellas) know the score

I'm doing a VLCD btw

I have sweetcorn because it seemed a healthy way to have more calories, is that bad? I don't snack between meals, I don't really have time! I used to eat chocolate or crisps between lectures but I have just cut them out and not replaced them.

I will go have a look there, thanks for the advice Well done on following a VLCD, I couldn't do it!

 

[Periwinkle]

The way my diet is adding "more" calories is foreign to me right now! The guys in the calorie counting forum will be much more use to ya

 

[daisydress]

I am not feeling so well this morning and it's such a lovely day outside- it really makes me want to tuck into a tub of ben and jerrys. But I will resist! I get to see my lovely boyfriend tonight, we're long distance during university term time, which will really cheer me up but he's quite good at tempting me into eating naughty foods so will have to be very controlled.

 

[Periwinkle]

Keep drinking tons of water xxx it'll distract you from cravings and help with the weight loss.

 

[tweekedgirl]

Hey daisydress, sounds like you're off to a good start. Remember, the great thing about calorie counting is that you can have everything in moderation, so if your boyfriend has some sweet treats waiting, just have a few and stay within your daily limit. Since you've got a couple of stone to loose, I'd recommend starting at a higher number of cals per day, around 1600/1800 and then as you get closer to target you can reduce this. This is also the best way forward to avoid any stalls. If you set yourself a 1200 limit right from the get go, if you then stop loosing weight you can't go any lower without risking your health.

As for you saying you're looking for things to boost your calories, nuts and fruit are great for this. A small portion of nuts (50g) is around 200 cals, so they're a healthy way to add calories, and also contain other good things your body needs. If you're worried you'll eat the whole bag, weigh out a portion, seal the bag up, and then take the portion to your room and keep nibbling at that. You'll still feel as satsified as if you'd eaten the lot (I find this is especially useful for me with Walkers Sensations. If I had the whole bag in front of me I'd never stop!).

But good luck and I look forward to hearing how you get on x

 

[daisydress]

Hey daisydress, sounds like you're off to a good start. Remember, the great thing about calorie counting is that you can have everything in moderation, so if your boyfriend has some sweet treats waiting, just have a few and stay within your daily limit. Since you've got a couple of stone to loose, I'd recommend starting at a higher number of cals per day, around 1600/1800 and then as you get closer to target you can reduce this. This is also the best way forward to avoid any stalls. If you set yourself a 1200 limit right from the get go, if you then stop loosing weight you can't go any lower without risking your health.


As for you saying you're looking for things to boost your calories, nuts and fruit are great for this. A small portion of nuts (50g) is around 200 cals, so they're a healthy way to add calories, and also contain other good things your body needs. If you're worried you'll eat the whole bag, weigh out a portion, seal the bag up, and then take the portion to your room and keep nibbling at that. You'll still feel as satsified as if you'd eaten the lot (I find this is especially useful for me with Walkers Sensations. If I had the whole bag in front of me I'd never stop!).


But good luck and I look forward to hearing how you get on x

He made me pasta and garlic bread, I had a half portion and a piece of bread and still came in on target
That is good advice actually, I may raise it to 1500 and I will get some nuts.
I only started officially dieting on Monday but the week before I did tons of walking and it obviously help because I have lost 7lb since my last weigh in 2 weeks ago! It feels amazing to see the numbers go down.

 

[daisydress]

Well yesterday was my cheat day but I ended up being so busy that it was usual porridge for breakfast and just a nutri grain bar for lunch. Had a far too large helping of risotto for dinner though and two large glasses of red wine at the pub so that was quite naughty but total calories only came to 1800 so I'm pretty pleased Back to 1200 today then maybe raising it to 1400/1500 from next week.

 

[daisydress]

Yoghurt for breakfast but then had a cheeky small glass of red with a friend. I have no idea how to work out my lunch as it was a buffet type lunch, I had a handful of nuts, some halloumi, a mini yorkshire pudding and a breadstick. Very strange combination but hopefully not too bad for me, anyone else have any idea how many calories that'd be?

 

[daisydress]

Back at university and hiding away from the kitchen even though i'm starving and would like some breakfast. I just can't face going in there and trying to make small talk with people I know dislike me

 

[daisydress]

Chicken and chips for tea, messed up

 

[ununpentium]

Hey, we're roughly the same height and starting weight. I want to get down to 10 stone too, maybe 9 and a half.

Don't worry about messing up just make sure it doesn't turn into a binge. Draw a line under it and start afresh!

 

[Periwinkle]

Hey hun,
how are you getting on??

 

[daisydress]

Hi guys, thanks for your posts I have been eating really well during the week when I'm at university but at weekends when I come home it's a lot harder and I have had a few naughty meals. But I am nearly under 13 stone now so I am going to try even harder to be good!