Back at target, still thinking...

[Scrumbles]

Been doing some number-crunching today to see if my calories are where they should be and I've worked out that my daily average for the past 28 days is 1414. This is pretty much what I was aiming for, so if I get no result on the scales in a couple of days time at least it won't be because I failed to hit my calorie target.

Can't say that I'm any more hopeful of a loss at the moment as I don't really feel any different - my clothes certainly don't seem looser - but you never know!

I've realised I'm going to have to weigh in a day earlier than intended because my weigh day falls on Monday 16th, the day after the first of the family celebrations, so to be fair I really ought to weigh on the morning of the 15th before the damage gets done, lol!

I might try to offset some of that damage by cutting calories either side of Sunday, but I don't want to set myself up for bingeing by restricting my food too much, so it will probably be more of a token effort than anything else. We'll see.

 

[hotsue67]

...that'll do nicely! (I like the way you think!)

I'm going to have to 'fess up that I have in fact had a slice. I worked out that the total calories in the half-size version that I made comes in at an eye-watering 4,362! Thus a very modest slice - about a twelfth of the cake - is 363 calories, ie. a meal!

So I called it "breakfast" and ate it, lol!

I've realised that if you read from the beginning of this diary it looks like I'm forever eating cr@p and making rubbish choices that leave me short on calories for proper, filling food, but I think the main reason is that I've picked a really bad time to start trying to lose weight. This time of year is always a minefield for me food-wise because of Easter and the family celebrations, and, barring catastrophe, that ain't gonna change. Tbh, I'm resigned to being less than angelic for the next few weeks, and I'll just have to negotiate it the best I can whilst still enjoying myself - life is for living after all And I know that come mid-April I will have a clear run at eating healthier pretty much all the way to Xmas, so as long as I can keep some kind of focus I should be okay. Fingers crossed, anyway!

I think I can keep within my calorie limit today in spite of my indulgence:

Breakfast: cake! 363 cals

Lunch: half tin of Heinz lentil and bacon soup, 2 Snack-a-Jack cheesy rice cakes, 193 cals

Dinner: salmon salad with jacket spud, 534 cals

2 Caramels biscuits, 162 cals

Milk in tea and coffee, 130 cals


Grand Total: 1382 cals


Not a lot of food there, and right now I am eat-an-elephant hungry, but that's the price I pay for those calorie-laden, sugary, fatty treats. Ho hum!

That's the beauty of calorie controlled dieting though you can sometimes 'spend' that calorie allowance on goodies, but it's all about energy in and energy out at the end of the day,,, and no, it's not ideal to always use them all on choc cake or chips, but sometimes it's necessary or just you really fancy it!!! . So the flexibility is there, so don't feel guilty. It's not everyday.
During my 5 stone weight loss journey I used to have a McDonald's once a week and chocolate/treats if I needed them. on some occasions healthy food just isn't always available either or you just fancy something naughty but you know it's a case of counting up those calories and
cutting back later. Of course you do get a lot more healthy food for your calories so it makes good weight loss sense to spend them wisely!!
life is for living though and food is such an enjoyable part of it! ; )) you are doing amazingly well keeping within your calories. Go you!!


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[Scrumbles]

You're right, of course, and the freedom to be as good or bad as I choose is one of the most appealing things about calorie-counting for me, but I suppose because I know - or think I know! - what sensible healthy eating is, I've a strong tendency to beat myself up for making the "wrong" choices. There's always a little voice in my head saying, "Isn't that what got you fat in the first place??" and to be honest, I can't really deny it because it certainly wasn't due to an over-fondness for lettuce, lol.

And this is compounded by the fact that I lost the bulk of my weight 3 years ago on Atkins followed by low carb plus calorie-counting, and during that period I tamed the "sugar beast" to the point where I thought I had it beaten: I ate so little sugar that I temporarily lost my taste for it, and I'm kind of kicking myself that I allowed myself to get so hooked again

I have issues! Sigh...

Well done on losing 5 stone, by the way - that's a similar amount to me, so I know what a hard slog that is! How have you been finding maintenance? Would be very interested to hear your thoughts.


Had my official weigh-in this morning and I have lost 2lbs in the past month, which is 1-2 pounds less than my original projection, but given that I was looking at a gain earlier this week, I'll take it!

I won't be changing anything: if this is the rate I'm going to lose at on these calories, then I'll just have to be patient. At least I am losing - that's the main thing!

 

[worldwidewren]

sub

 

[hotsue67]

You're right, of course, and the freedom to be as good or bad as I choose is one of the most appealing things about calorie-counting for me, but I suppose because I know - or think I know! - what sensible healthy eating is, I've a strong tendency to beat myself up for making the "wrong" choices. There's always a little voice in my head saying, "Isn't that what got you fat in the first place??" and to be honest, I can't really deny it because it certainly wasn't due to an over-fondness for lettuce, lol.

And this is compounded by the fact that I lost the bulk of my weight 3 years ago on Atkins followed by low carb plus calorie-counting, and during that period I tamed the "sugar beast" to the point where I thought I had it beaten: I ate so little sugar that I temporarily lost my taste for it, and I'm kind of kicking myself that I allowed myself to get so hooked again

I have issues! Sigh...

Well done on losing 5 stone, by the way - that's a similar amount to me, so I know what a hard slog that is! How have you been finding maintenance? Would be very interested to hear your thoughts.


Had my official weigh-in this morning and I have lost 2lbs in the past month, which is 1-2 pounds less than my original projection, but given that I was looking at a gain earlier this week, I'll take it!

I won't be changing anything: if this is the rate I'm going to lose at on these calories, then I'll just have to be patient. At least I am losing - that's the main thing!

Well done, you are being consistent and it's getting results. : )
I lost 5 stone with calorie counting and moderate exercise, sounds simple but I made the decision to stop the madness with fad diets and I did some crazy ones : /
I went from 16 stone to 11 stone which I achieved by summer of 2012 so almost 3 years in maintenance. I always thought I would like to try getting to 10 stone or just under.. But to be honest having been overweight my whole life.. And I mean whole life... To be a size 12 sometimes 10 and be fit and healthy felt good and I decided that I would try to stay between 10-7 and 11 stone...and be content.
And to be fair I've dropped lower a few times and gone over a few times but usually hover
around 10-10 eating around 2,400 or more cals a day average and exercise 2/3 times a week.
I'm a calorie bore... I do sometimes waste them on c... Quite often... But that's ok now and again.
I had a hernia operation at the end of last summer and slipped out of my exercise routine a bit, and have been a bit lazy getting back into it,. But carried on eating the same.. Thus my metabolism has slowed a bit and I have slipped over 11 stone again.. So have got to cut my daily intake or get moving again regularly or both!!! It really was a case of eat less and move more for me to shift the weight and I've been a bit complacent!
My clothes still fit but I can feel those extra few pounds settling round my back and middle! So need to stop it now!!!
I guess we will never be able to take our eyes off the ball will we? !!



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[systema]

Well, it's official: no more fasting for me. Not now, not ever.

I don't generally consider myself a quitter, but I have had to finally admit defeat for the sake of my sanity, if nothing else.

Yesterday was a slightly above average day calorie-wise, and my calories were weighted heavily towards the end of the day, but still I woke up this morning SO hungry I just couldn't take it any longer.

Bottom line is that I simply don't function when I haven't eaten for too long. If it were "just" hunger maybe I could put up with it, but the emotional knock-on effect on me is horrendous: I am listless, miserable, tearful, angry, brain-dead and wretched. I can barely live with myself, let alone expect anyone else to put up with me.

The whole experience has been dragging me down so much that I feel I'm constantly on the verge of some kind of epic meltdown, like a huge binge or something, and life is too short to feel like that. I probably shouldn't say this on a weight loss forum but in all honesty I'd rather spend the rest of my days a couple of stone overweight than ever feel like this again. Seriously.

Right, that's got that off my chest! It was a worthwhile experiment, but I think I've established once and for all that fasting is not for me, and whatever strategy I eventually adopt for maintenance, that ain't gonna be part of it. Phew!

Today's food:

Breakfast!: porridge with cinnamon and nutmeg, 245 cals

Lunch: tuna salad, 256 cals

Dinner: ham with jacket potato and chilli/tomato/pepper/onion mix, 482 cals

Hot cross bun with 9g butter, 273 cals

Milk in tea and coffee, 130 cals

Grand Total: 1386 cals


Bit of an extravagance having a hot cross bun again, but they were on special, and it's a trade off against my usual dessert and biscuit, so it's fine.


I have to say that this is probably the very worst time of year for me to be on any kind of diet because there are no less than 3 family birthdays to negotiate, not to mention Easter, which is a big deal food-wise in my family.

I'll do my best, but I know that there will be at least 4 off-plan days in the next month and a half, so I'll just have to be very strict with myself around them and ensure that they don't turn into off-plan weeks. Yikes

This is one of the most honest posts I have read on here in a long while

 

[systema]

Thanks, sue!


As to staying strong, I'm going to need to in the next few days! The first of the family birthdays is on Sunday and muggins here is making the cake, which happens to be this one: (WARNING! EXTREME FOOD PORN IN THE FOLLOWING LINK!!) Sticky Toffee Cake Recipe - Great British Chefs

Problem is, I've only made the thing once before and it was a while ago, so I've had to make one for practice , which means there is a freshly-made sticky toffee cake in my kitchen right now! To say it's calling my name is an understatement; it's practically shouting the house down, lol! If I disappear from here for a few days you'll know that I fell face down into the thing and never emerged


Anyway, today's food will come to round about 1450 calories - unless the cake nabs me, then it'll be about 1456725 calories...

That made us laugh out loud this morning - OH said he will eat the rest for you it you want (and he will not gain one ounce).

 

[Bella-slimmer]

Well, it's official: no more fasting for me. Not now, not ever.

I don't generally consider myself a quitter, but I have had to finally admit defeat for the sake of my sanity, if nothing else.

It's an individual thing and if it's harming your health then it's only 'quitting' in the same way that quitting smoking is quitting! (i.e. well done for knowing yourself well enough to know it is not the right way of eating for you!)

I hope this week goes reallly well!

 

[Scrumbles]

Well done, you are being consistent and it's getting results. : )
I lost 5 stone with calorie counting and moderate exercise, sounds simple but I made the decision to stop the madness with fad diets and I did some crazy ones : /
I went from 16 stone to 11 stone which I achieved by summer of 2012 so almost 3 years in maintenance. I always thought I would like to try getting to 10 stone or just under.. But to be honest having been overweight my whole life.. And I mean whole life... To be a size 12 sometimes 10 and be fit and healthy felt good and I decided that I would try to stay between 10-7 and 11 stone...and be content.
And to be fair I've dropped lower a few times and gone over a few times but usually hover
around 10-10 eating around 2,400 or more cals a day average and exercise 2/3 times a week.
I'm a calorie bore... I do sometimes waste them on c... Quite often... But that's ok now and again.
I had a hernia operation at the end of last summer and slipped out of my exercise routine a bit, and have been a bit lazy getting back into it,. But carried on eating the same.. Thus my metabolism has slowed a bit and I have slipped over 11 stone again.. So have got to cut my daily intake or get moving again regularly or both!!! It really was a case of eat less and move more for me to shift the weight and I've been a bit complacent!
My clothes still fit but I can feel those extra few pounds settling round my back and middle! So need to stop it now!!!
I guess we will never be able to take our eyes off the ball will we? !!



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Wow! 3 years in maintenance is great! I haven't managed more than 3 months yet, lol. I'm sure you'll soon get rid of those pesky few pounds: you know why they went on (hope you're fully better from your op, btw), you know what works for you and you have a great attitude, so you'll get there

And yes, we can never take our eyes off the ball. That's something I still struggle to accept, but I know I must or be doomed to stay on this rollercoaster for life. (perhaps if I keep saying that often enough it will eventually stick!)

Interesting what you say about exercise. That definitely seems to be a common denominator among successful maintainers, so I need to give it some thought. Whilst I'm not exactly bone idle, I find it very hard to do exercise for its own sake - bores the c*** out of me! - so I will have to find ways of getting moving that have some kind of purpose. My go-to has always been gardening - love it, can dig, rake, hoe etc for hours - but that is seasonal and weather-dependent, so I can't rely on just that. Hmmmm. Will definitely have to think...

 

[Scrumbles]

This is one of the most honest posts I have read on here in a long while

Thanks, systema - I appreciate that. Sometimes you have to say what's on your mind!

That made us laugh out loud this morning - OH said he will eat the rest for you it you want (and he will not gain one ounce).

Lol - that's very thoughtful of your OH! However, my OH is obviously a similar model to yours and is doing a very good job of disposing of the "practice" cake - he's more or less finished it already - and no, he won't gain any weight from it either! Even in his 40's he can eat an obscene amount of junk (in addition to the substantial healthy meals I make) and gain virtually nothing. I've been telling him for the last 20 years that it will catch up on him and it still hasn't - how is that ever fair? lol!


Needless to say, I am on my best behaviour today after yesterday's food/drink fest: there was wine, chocolate, cake and strudel with double cream...and I sampled it all I haven't a clue how many calories I had, but I did say "no" to the crisps, so I saved a few at least

I'm aiming for a little under 1400 today, but if I go a bit over I won't beat myself up about it. I'm prepared for it to take a couple of days to properly steady the ship, but I know I'll get there!

 

[Scrumbles]

It's an individual thing and if it's harming your health then it's only 'quitting' in the same way that quitting smoking is quitting! (i.e. well done for knowing yourself well enough to know it is not the right way of eating for you!)

I hope this week goes reallly well!

Thank you, Bella!

I think I made the "quitter" remark because there's always a part of me that thinks if other people can do something, then I'm being a wimp if I can't

But of course, that is silly - I'm just being...me! Seems that something in my brain chemistry can't handle regular, deliberate fasting, and I've come to terms with that now, so it's all good

Hope you have a great week too!

 

[Scrumbles]

Feeling a little fragile today, probably because I'm still carrying the after-effects of Sunday's indulgences.

I managed to keep my calories down to 1394 yesterday, and today, if I stick to what I have planned, they will come to 1418, so I'm back on track, but I'm definitely more "crave-y" than usual and may have to give myself a stern talking to now and again!

- what I want: thick slices of toast dripping with butter and jam!

- what I can have: half a tin of soup with a cheese snack-a-jack and a leftover sausage

Bit of a difference, eh?!

To be fair, I'm not particularly hungry, I'm just wanting stuff that I shouldn't have - what's new?

 

[zeke]

It's tough when you have the munchies! I find I get them for days at a time :sigh:

Hope today worked out well for you?

 

[systema]

I think once you get on the muchies trail it seems to go on for a while.(it does with me).

Re OH's - mine is well past his 40's and eats what he wants and still does not put on an ounce, he eats more or less the same meals as me but with a cheese sandwich here and there, a piece of cake when he wants and has been eating biscuits here that are like waggon wheels in UK (something I never buy) and is still the same weight as when he came. He brought kgs of Mature Cheddar here so he could still have his sandwiches and I am eking out the low fat cheese triangle I brought with me.

 

[Scrumbles]

It's tough when you have the munchies! I find I get them for days at a time :sigh:

Hope today worked out well for you?

I think once you get on the muchies trail it seems to go on for a while.(it does with me).

Well, the real reason behind the munchies turned out to be TOTM, which hit me full force yesterday. Bleurgh.

Still, I didn't cave in. Stuck to my calorie allowance (1400 or thereabouts) though I did shuffle things around a bit to allow for some extra chocolate, or "medicine" as I like to think of it at this time

Generally, my medication of choice would be Lindt of some description, but, having seen the mixed reviews online, I've been curious to try one of the new recipe creme eggs, so I finally had one yesterday. My verdict: can't tell the difference from the old one I don't know what other people are tasting regarding the chocolate - there are obviously lots of connoisseurs out there! - but I would never have known there had been a change if it hadn't been publicised. I obviously have too little experience of eating junk/chocolate. Ahem.

Last night we had roast chicken for dinner (yum!) so today will be chicken salad with a baked spud for main meal, and I'm having a couple of snack-a-jack rice cakes with cottage cheese and tinned sardines for lunch. Breakfast was my usual porridge (I've weaned myself off cake for the time being ) and adding in a couple of chocolate treats, the calories will come to just over 1400. Sorted!

Hope everyone's having a great (calorie-counted) day!

 

[Scrumbles]

Sooo, not much food excitement today.

Breakfast was my usual spiced porridge, lunch was a couple of Snack-a-Jack barbecue-flavour rice cakes with cottage cheese and an ounce of mature cheddar divided between them, and dinner will be chicken salad with jacket spud (for the second glorious day in a row, hurrah!). Treats will be 2 caramel biscuits and a Lindor ball, and the whole lot should come to 1390 calories, give or take.

If I can manage it, I think that might be the first time I've come in under 1400 cals this week, so go me! lol.

 

[Scrumbles]

Well, I did manage to stay under 1400 cals - 1369 to be precise - which is just as well because yesterday came to 1439 and today round about 1500!

Not sure why I'm having a bit of a blip this weekend - I just...am

I'm not upset, bored, tired or any other reason that you can think of for feeling in a non-dieting mood, I just can't seem to be all that bothered to resist the urge to eat stuff I shouldn't. Weird.

Hopefully I can snap out of it by tomorrow...no, strike that, I WILL snap out of it tomorrow. I need to because next week is going to be an odd one with OH going away and me being left to cater for myself alone. Usually when that happens I end up eating convenience rubbish because I resent spending time preparing meals just for me, then having to waste more time washing up afterwards, but that won't fly when I'm trying to lose weight!

Perhaps I'll batch cook something in the slow cooker and eat it over several days? That would annoy me less than having to cook every day. Yeah...that sounds like a plan - I don't mind eating the same meal for days on end in the name of laziness, lol!

 

[systema]

Well, the real reason behind the munchies turned out to be TOTM, which hit me full force yesterday. Bleurgh.

Still, I didn't cave in. Stuck to my calorie allowance (1400 or thereabouts) though I did shuffle things around a bit to allow for some extra chocolate, or "medicine" as I like to think of it at this time

Generally, my medication of choice would be Lindt of some description, but, having seen the mixed reviews online, I've been curious to try one of the new recipe creme eggs, so I finally had one yesterday. My verdict: can't tell the difference from the old one I don't know what other people are tasting regarding the chocolate - there are obviously lots of connoisseurs out there! - but I would never have known there had been a change if it hadn't been publicised. I obviously have too little experience of eating junk/chocolate. Ahem.
Hope everyone's having a great (calorie-counted) day!

Do you mean the big round shiny red Lindt medication. We went to the Christmas markets in Germany and stopped in Auchan - we were last off the coach and instead of rushing to the market we had passed an Aldi down the road so thought I would go there for a bottle of wine, or 2. On the way we saw lots of people carrying large cardboard boxes and wondered what they were doing so watched them and they were coming out of a large wharehouse with the word LINDT over the door. Penny then dropped as I could smell chocolate - it was the discount place for Lindt. Well what a place, it was enormous and filled with all sorts of Christmas goodies as well as the usual selection. It was a case of forget the Market here we are going to another one tomorrow so we spent ages in there and could not believe the prices - almost 1/3 of UK prices and not seconds or anything. Bought lots Christmas goodies and those red shiny balls in a very large box but had to limit them to 2 a day when I found they had 80 cals each.

We are hopefully going back to German sometime over the Summer and a visit to Auchan is definitely on the Itinerary.


p.s. was reading somewhere yesterday that Aldi have produced an egg which is supposed to be as good as the Cadbury one but reading the reviews on there most said the inside was the same but the chocolate outside was akin to what some imagined dog chocolate is like.

 

[Scrumbles]

All I can say to that last post is O..M..G!!!! Now I feel like this ->:17729:

I have never heard of Auchan but if it has a Lindt discount store, that makes it my dream holiday destination!

Yes, those shiny red balls are definitely my undoing at this time of year, though I'm actually more into the limited edition pink ones at the moment: white chocolate with a strawberries and cream filling...yum!

I haven't diarised (is that an actual word - doesn't look right at all!) for a few days because with OH away I'm trying to get a load of jobs done that are more awkward when there are two of us kicking around the place, so I'm on a bit of an internet hiatus right now.

Mind you, there's not a lot happening anyway. I'm sticking to my calories (mostly!), my food is very samey (I fired up the slow cooker and made a vat of goulash, so I'm having that every night at the moment, lol!) and I don't have any weight reports because I'm not due to weigh again until April 16th. So, yeah. I'm in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment.

Things may be changing after Easter, though. Once I get this carb-fest season out of the way I'm seriously considering going low-carb again because looking back at my stats from when I was this weight three years ago, I was losing pretty well and pretty consistently on these daily calories and <40g carbs a day, and I could do with a bit of a boost. It might also be a useful exercise in trying to tame my sugar addiction which gets seriously out of hand every year at this time.

I'd have to temporarily give up potatoes, rice, oats and pasta as well as the sugar, which is rather a blow, but I've done it before and if it gives my body a shake-up then it's all to the good.

We'll see. It really depends on my mid-April weigh-in. If I get 3 pounds or so for the month, I'll stick with what I'm doing; if it's 2 or less, I'll be looking to change the game.

Watch this space...

 

[Honey-J]

Here's hoping you lose the 3 lbs your wanting in April. Good luck x