AJ's LL Management Journey!

hi aj
im so glad your feeling better and posting again.
re your son , maybey if you bring sweet/chocs eating in the open in a non confrontational way it might help a little .
you know im thinking a bowl with some broken up chocolate or biccies in ect after dinner or infront of the tv at night / weekends , it will maybey make it less tabboo or exiting for him , (perhaps he feels the need to secret it as youre abstaining , i dont know just a thought ???) . im saying this as my hubbies swedish family do this as a pretty much regular occurance as a family watching tv or playing games and apparantly this is the norm , every one pics , and its part of the social time they are sharing , (there is no real problem with obesity in scandinavia)i dont think ive ever seen the kids with thier own pack of sweets or chocolate ect , its always just there for them all to enjoy as a family .
this is something i would really like to introduce at weekends ect post management both for me and issas wellbeing around sweets, i dont know , maybey it worth a try ,
anyway im so glad youre up and posting again ive missed youre updates and input , ive been poor with mine as ive had an imotional struggle this week with issa being off sick and havent felt able to keep posting daily as im so sick of thinking of food , feel better now im back at work , and shes feeling good again :D
terrible he !! such feeble beings !!!!
take care hon
 
SO glad you're back AJ. I love reading your posts! Hope your back is well on the mend for you.

I have concerns over my son too, oddly enough. He will be 13 in early May, and has always been quite a skinny chap. He is not overly tall, although not quite the smallest in his class, but now I cannot beleive the amount he puts away!

He is getting pretty chubby, and regretfully is not one for loads of exercise either, despite encouragement. He has suffered lots of teasing etc at school (he has vibrant red hair) and has never been popular, so his few forays into the world of extra curricular sport have been limited by the amount of verbal he can take! He does skateboard in the summer months, so I am grateful for that.

I too wonder if his flabby bits will decrease as he enters, what I hope will be a growth spurt. His mood is showing signs of puberty, but his body isnt yet! I try to encourage healthier eating, but his predilection is burgers (which I d try to make myself) and pizza. He isnt a big chocaholic, thankfully, but loves to bake (?!?) and eat his own cakes...

Lets hope we can both get to grips with these lads as well as you obviuosly have with your weight!!

Thanks again, AJ!
xx
 
Hia Sez,

Believe me Sez, he will have a growth spurt and shoot up past you!

Jamie is a skateboard fiend too. Although he prefers skates and bikes. His legs are covered in bruises from falls etc., because he has no fear of falling over. Jamie loves cooking too! He doesn't get that from me. He's just made himself two lots of smoked salmon/cheese scrambled eggs. Lentil soup after, and he's already had two toasted hotcross buns as well.
 
AJ do you have the name of the thread for Karions maintenance diary please I can't find it! You mentioned it a few days ago and it sounds really interesting. I am glad your back is getting better now and read this thread every day with avid interest although I won't be starting maintenance until the end of the summer!
 
I'm really pleased.

I checked my body fat percentage today and it has gone down again from 28% (originally 49%) to 25% today.

So 25% of 10st 6.5 lb of me is fat (around 2 and a half stone) rather than (almost) 50% of 17 st 13lb (around nine stone). That makes around 6 and a half stone of my total weight loss is fat.

What a result!

That also means that I am within a normal fat% range now, as well as being a normal BMI, AND having a waist measurement of 29"!!! Hehehe!
 
I'm really pleased.

I checked my body fat percentage today and it has gone down again from 28% (originally 49%) to 25% today.

So 25% of 10st 6.5 lb of me is fat (around 2 and a half stone) rather than (almost) 50% of 17 st 13lb (around nine stone). That makes around 6 and a half stone of my total weight loss is fat.

What a result!

That also means that I am within a normal fat% range now, as well as being a normal BMI, AND having a waist measurement of 29"!!! Hehehe!

WOOHOO! That's amazing AJ, well done you :) :bliss:
 
wow!!!
that is fantastic aj , you should be soooo proud , make sure you mark the occasion , maybey with a lovely treat (something non foodie :D )
should have a fab massage or manicure or something (although i am totally biassed as a salon owner and addict !!!):D
 
Hia Sukie,

Yeah, I was just thinking of having my eyebrows done this afternoon. It won't affect my sore back because I usually lie down to have them done.

It's so boring being off work, particularly since I can't do any jobs around the house that really need doing! I'd love to have my hair washed/blow dried (a real treat) but that's impossible - it would be too painful to have to sit for that long.

Congrats on starting week three

! ! !F R U I T ! ! !
Things'll certainly start getting more interesting on the food front from now on.

Ta ta for now...
 
Good for you AJ - what an amazing change!:D

As someone who doesn't have scales which monitor fat percentages, is there any way I can find out my figures? I know you can weigh yourself in Boots but is there anywhere you can go to measure the other stuff?
 
That's fantastic Amanda!! Wow!! Well deserved
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Goombagirl,

I bought a set of scales which do measure body fat % and just check the body fat% once a month. You can use the pay scales in Boots or Tesco and get a printout showing the same information. Just do it once a month to see how you're doing.

You can get it measured using the calipers method but you need to find someone who is experienced if you want an accurate measurement.

Thanks Karion and Joolz for your comments! Means a lot.
 
Had a shock today.

I was walking along the high street this afternoon and saw me reflected in a mirror window and didn't recognise me!

When I realised it was me, it was like it was for the first time. I finally realised that I've arrived at where I've been aiming for, for so long. Maybe now I will find it easier to relate to this new body. It's funny how the eyes play tricks. I wrote down all them numbers yesterday but somehow they didn't mean anything. Today I saw me objectively, and it was a nice shock!

I had said at my LL meeting on Tuesday that I would make an effort to eat more because I hd realised that I wasn't eating enough yet. I had taken Karions advice (ta duck) and gone on to the WLR website and keyed in a typical day's menu. The site works out all the cals, fat, carbs, etc for you - it's great. However, it tells me that I should be eating about 1800 cals a day to maintain, and I/m not eating more than 1400 really. That doesn't include any extra cals for exercise either.

Anyway it's Thursday now, I am still procrastinating about sitting down and working out a new healthy menu. It is not as if I haven't had time this week, being off with bad back and all. So, what's going on here? Why don't I get on with it?

I have tried to eat more today but seem extemely reluctant to actually do so. Apparently I don't want to put any weight on. In fact, I really, really don't want to put any weight on. I could add lots more reallys.

There, I've said it.

What's the worst thing that will happen if, when I go back for weigh-in (it'll be in 3 weeks because of holiday) I've put on weight? Is it really a big deal? Well, actually yes it is, is the answer. I don't want to, that's the bottom line.

Had a good think about it this afternoon, and have realised that subconsciously I am not yet ready to stop losing. That a number keep cropping up that I want to aim for. It's not something I have consciously thought of, but it's there. Nine stone 13lb. I will stop when I get to this weight. Honestly. I think that I've decided that this is ok. Originally, I chosen 10.13 to aim for because any less would be ludicrous, I mean, I couldn't even imagine 10.13, let alone any less!

That'll be 8 stone lost and I'll still be a size 12, but a slightly smaller one.

It should be more difficult from now on anyway to lose much more weight because cheese is this week, that's usually a lot of calories, and next week is bread, there's another food which contains a lot of calories. Of course chocolate etc., is the week after that and I have decided to eat it! So hopefully things should pan out quite nicely be the end of the twelve weeks.

Of course my activity level this week has been minimal and I see that continuing until I sort my back out. Happily that will be next week, me hopes!!

I took son to the gym after school today, it was the sixth (last) week of his course and I've booked him in for an induction on Monday morning, after which he can go and work out on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 3.30 and 5. He's looking forward to it. He can become a member for £10 a month or pay for each session £1.50. I could go with him and do my own workout! I can become a member for about £20 a month or pay £5 per session. Once my back is ok it'll be a nice little 'mum and son' activity!

Gotta go and make the tea; roast chicken, couscous (never had before) and roasted peppers, and salad veg.
 
Hi AJ, cous cous is lovely, I am sure you will enjoy it!
Thanks for your support re my son, Jake. Strangely, he is beginning to be very into cookery too. He thoroughly enjoys his weekly food tech lessons at school, and has produced some delicious looking dishes. Today he brought home a layered dessert, biscuit base, jamaican bananas, fruit jelly, mandarins in juice (juice thickend with arrowroot for a glaze) choc topping and Cadburys flake!! Boy was I drooling, it looks great and it is sitting in the fridge screaming at me as I type!!

AJ,

I too aim for initially about 11stone, but at just under 18 now can barely imagine it! I am a bit concerned over your desire to lose more, and am worried that the goal post might keep shifting as you edge closer to the outside of your diet "comfort zone". Please tell me to butt out it you like, but please also have a good long chat with your LLC. Tell her how you are feeling, and ask her opinion on your ideal weight.

Please please dont go the other way, and make yourself ill over this. You have acheived something totally fantastic, and whilst a buffer zone is a great idea, please be careful!!

lotsa love,
 
Hi there Sez,

Yeah, Jamie came home from school today all excited because his Home Ec. teacher will be back next term. She's been off ill for a few weeks and he's really missed the lessons.

I'll take on board what you say, Sez. This is all new territory for me, so I'll be careful. I'll monitor what happens over the next three weeks anyway.
 
AJ. We've had money going missing from the house for about the last six months. I have discovered this evening that its my 13 year old daughter. She's spending the money on sweets and stuff. I remember starting doing the same thing at the same age. I know she's finding puberty really hard. I had a long chat with her this evening about other ways to handle feeling sad and explained that its just part of growing up. Like your son Lydia is slim and a good weight but that is also because she is very active. I have told her to ask me if she wants something. She said she was scared. I said whats the worst that can happen. She said 'You'll say No" at that point I definitely saw a light go on on her little face.

My sisters house is full of goodies and no-one has a food problem . The children don't pinch stuff ( mind you they are younger) and there is no forbidden foods. I read something about the kind of guilty pleasure you can get from breaking rules and getting away with it and how that can become part of the behaviour.

On the other hand Sainsbury's have been doing BOGOF on Millionaire shortbread so I have bought a few packs over the last couple of weeks and am amazed that there are still a couple of unopened packets in the cupboard. I was talking to my 14 year old daughter about and she said she would prefer if I didn't buy them as she found them a big temptation when she was bored ( I wish I'd had that insight at her age!).

So who knows the right answer. I do think though that children have to learn to take responsibility for their food choices because no one will hide the biscuits from them as adults!

What I am clear about now, both as an individual and as a parent, is that this behaviour is the symptom and not the problem and thats what we need to focus on.
 
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That's a fascinating post Cake. It's certainly food for thought! Perhaps if I have fairly healthy options available (like malt loaf which is lower in fat), then he may chose them?

It may be time for a chat, like you did. I'll see what he says!
 
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