Dave's diary - back on plan, back on Minimins

[MarieN]

Hiya Dave, just dropping you a quick line to say keep up the good work as I know you've been working hard this week on the plan. You should try and get on here more often if you can because there are so many people wanting to know how you're doing - even if it's just a very quick mail with your weigh in results

 

[evethewitch]

hope your still working hard dave and yes u should get on here more as long as u are still doing well we will forgive u

 

[AnneT]

Where are you

Probably stuck on a train somewhere?

 

[Hathor]

Wow Dave - you are doing well, sorry I've been missing,
x

 

[Lonestitcher]

Well Dave, just a note to say...

WE MISS YOU!!!! COME BACK AND POST!!!!!

You haven't been on since the 10th October and your diary had slipped down to page 4. PAGE 4!!!!!

Hopefully everything is going well with both you and your family and your absence isn't due to anything bad occurring.....

Hope to read from you soon (or at least before the New Year!!) and if you just pop by to read and don't post....

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

 

[Laddiesboy]

Hi all, Happy New Year!!

Sorry for my prolonged absence, I've planned several times to come back to my diary and update it with a view to posting more regularly but something always seemed to come up. And of course, the longer I left it the longer I knew a proper update would take. Vicious circle!

Anyway, that's enough of my excuses and I really am sorry and hope you can forgive me. I'm back, and I'm staying

It's been a long time since I last posted so this could take a while ...

My last post here was 10th October, and looking back in my SW book my weight back then was 15st 5½lb. By middle of November I had that down to 15st 1½lb, which was my lowest weight reached. And from then it all went a bit bad ...

I had planned to stay on plan pretty much all of Christmas and New Year period, other than when I had an organised meal/night out planned when I was gonna just enjoy it off plan. I never even made it to December before coming off plan though, and then I pretty much stayed off plan until the New Year began!! I put on loads of weight, my heaviest getting back up to 16st 12lb at the end of December.

Some of that gain I genuinely didn't mind, as I had thoroughly enjoyed myself while putting it on, but some of it I really do regret as it was pointless just pigging out for no reason. Old habits die hard I guess.

I renewed my interest in the plan and made a reasonable start to the New Year losing 7lb in three weeks. But then last week again I went back to my old bad habits and binged every night (having been on plan all day every day until then) on cookies and cakes. I have no idea why I have this self-destruct mechanism in me and if anyone has any ideas I would love to here them!

Following long chats with my friends Marie and Alistair, and also with my SWC and the other members of my SW meeting Tuesday night I have again found myself in the zone

My WI Tuesday was 16st 11½lb, and I will never get back up to that weight again. The only way is down. Again lol.

That's the weight stuff out the way, so onto brighter news ...

I completed an off-road cross-country 10k run a couple of weekends ago called the Run Rampage (website Run Rampage 2010 all rights reserved - Home if you fancy a look). OMG it was soooooo hard!! The first 4k was ALL up and down hills. And by hills I mean mountains! They were so steep you couldn't run up OR down them! And when someone unfortunately broke their ankle at the top of one of them even the emergency land rover couldn't get up it!! I made it round, in 1hr 11mins which is nowhere near my road running 10k time but to be honest I was just happy to have finished it at all lol.

I have a place in the London Marathon!! I'm still very disappointed that Slimming World didn't let me into their team but my company bailed me out and gave me a place. Very much looking forward to the experience

I am also doing the 3-peaks challenge end of June - get to the top of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and finally Snowdon all within 24 hours and having to eat/sleep in a minibus between them all. Everyone I have spoken to that has completed it tells me it is the hardest thing they have ever done so that will be a real achievement to complete.

Even though she doesn't come to meetings with me, my wife Alison has lost 6 stone on SW. My SWC wants us to enter the Couple of the Year competition, and we are well up for that lol. Only problem is that my maximum weight - NEXT TUESDAY!! - can't be above 16st 5lb, so I HAVE to lose at least 6½lb this week!! Good thing I like a challenge lol. I have lost that amount 5 times during my time on SW so it isn't impossible, but it will be hard. The thought of qualifying for the competition is further focus for me on the plan this week, not that I needed any more. Fingers crossed!

If successful the finals are over a Saturday and Sunday - we come back from a week's holiday the day before on the Friday. I guess I'm staying on plan for my holiday haha

Anyway, that I guess bring my diary up to speed, I hope you're all ok and got through the christmas period better than I did, and thanks for the messages and replies on here I really do love them.

Back soon ♥

 

[Derbynanny]

YEAH You are are back so nice to 'see' you and look forward to all your updates about your dieting and marathon adventures.

Good luck getting the weight off to enter couple of the year.

Teresa

 

[why_d]

fingers crossed for a big loss for you this week!

 

[Laddiesboy]

Thanks ladies, it's good to be back

Was a little tight for time today so after work I went up the gym and did just over 20 mins on the rowing machine (was gonna do 20 mins but found myself close to the 5000m mark so decided to stay on to reach it lol) then did 20 mins on the cross trainer. Hadn't used the cross trainer before and was surprised at how hard it was!

We've been to our friend's for dinner, a roast. Us seasoned SWers know that a roast can easily be done on plan but our friend isn't an SWer so this one wasn't. I had turkey (cut the skin off of course!), carrots, broccoli, caulifower, peas, roast potatoes and a little gravy. I don't know what to syn for the spuds and gravy but I had only used 2 syns beforehand today and know I am within my total for the day easily. I managed to politely turn down the yorkshires, stuffing balls and also sausages in bacon. If we had made this meal at home I would have known the exact syn values of everything but as I was unsure of a couple I decided to play safe. Feeling very pleased with myself lol.

ttfn ♥

 

[why_d]

Thanks ladies, it's good to be back

ahem *cough cough*

 

[Laddiesboy]

ahem *cough cough*

Whoops, my bad! Sorry

I'm very pleased to say it is 12:00 and already I have finished work for the day! Even had time to pop into town to buy a new CD - Muse's new one - tooooons for my iPod for the gym this afternoon

 

[jayne3110]

Good luck this week
xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[funcurls]

Welcome back Dave, I have been thinking of you and fantastic to see that you've nipped it in the bud and are well and truly back in the zone! I know you think you've put loads back on but you really do have to think about the bigger picture and think how very far you have come from the beginning of your journey! Perhaps you should go back to the start of your diary and reread it all (if you haven't already!) It's extremely inspiring stuff and makes you realise just how much determination a person (you!) can have and with that determination you achieved great things!! And you can do it again, and the fab news is you don't have to do it all over again- just a small part of it, all you have to do is rekindle the enthusiasm and drive and it looks like you have got that back already- the tools that will make it so much easier!! You know what you're capable of, so go for it!! The way I see it is that realistically many of us are going to go through periods in our lives that challenge our attitudes and make us gain a bit, but the ONLY important thing is that we make the decision to correct the damage afterwards before things really spiral out of control! We can't change what's past, but we can certainly change how we approach the future! Lovely to have you back for inspiration X

 

[*EB*]

Nice to have you back - good luck with all you have going on - sounds very busy!!! Marathons, 3 peaks and Super Slimmer xxx

 

[Laddiesboy]

Thanks for your messages of support ... they helped me weigh in at 16st 4lb this week ... meaning a loss of 7½lb and also means we are eligible to be considered for couple of the year 2011 competition.

Alison and I went to another group this morning, over Herne Bay way, to do the paperwork for couple of the year and to have a couple of 'now' photos taken. I had already handed over our 'before' photos at my group last night. Scary viewing lol. Our friend Marie also came along as she couldn't get to her own group Monday night due to work. Was good to see some old friends in that class as I had been there before, and my SWC Sal made Alison and I get up in front of everyone and give a chat and answer questions - very scary!!

As the weigh in would suggest, I have been 100% on plan this week, still feeling very focused too. I have also been to the gym every day except for one when I played golf - and the way I play golf that is a LOT of walking haha.

We've just had lunch at Wetherspoons - I had my favourite, the 5 bean chilli with yellow basmati rice and tortilla chips. Possibly the best ever use of 4½ syns in the world?

Had a quick flick through the new SW mag and am looking forward to trying the syn free potatoes dauphinoise recipe, it looks gorgeous

Anyway, gotta go now now! Hope you're all having a good week and feeling comfy and focused on the plans. Good luck with your weigh ins

ttfn ♥

 

[Derbynanny]

Well done !

 

[Saddle Bags]

Wow Dave you are such in inspiration to me and many on this post I should imagine. You have done fantastic and continue to do so. Keep going!

Well done.

x

 

[Laddiesboy]

Thanks to you both, I love logging into Minimins and seeing replies on my diary they really help keep me motivated

I've got some exciting news ... my scales this morning started with a 15! OK, so at one point very briefly before Christmas they started with a 14, but what's done is done there and they have been at 16 for a while so it is another victory for me haha

I've got a tricky weekend coming up;
Tomorrow evening I am going to my old nemesis Pizza Hut for a friend's birthday celebration, then back to a pub afterward. I have spent a lot of time between the Pizza Hut website and the SW website working out syn values, and have a list of 4 or 5 possible meals I can have - all pastas of course as the pizzas are along the lines of a squillion syns for just one slice - and who has just one slice anyway? I plan to not have a starter or dessert, and will be drinking only Pepsi Max while there arty0027: When we get to the pub I will stay for one pint of diet coke then come back home again. The fella whose birthday it is knows I am on SW (as is he, but I suspect not that night ) and he understands why I'm not staying for the night nor drinking alcohol.

Assuming I get out of Pizza Hut without eating several sharing-sized portions of their delish hot cookie dough dessert, it is onto Saturday ...

Saturday evening I am going to a dinner party at a friend's house. Starters is mushroom soup, main is chicken stuffed with Philly and wrapped with Parma ham, served I think with veg. Desserts I don't even wanna think about as her other half makes the most AMAZING desserts :sigh:. After dinner we are having drinkies. My hands are tied with the food as I don't get an option, so I will keep my syns to just 2 during the day (have to have light salad cream with my salad!). No idea what the syns will be in either the soup or the dinner but I don't think they will be too bad. Assuming the chicken has the skin on, I will take that off of course. Most of the base ingredients in both seem to be syn free or close to it, so it could have been much worse. I intend to avoid the desserts entirely, I will need the mental strength of 5 Stephen Hawkings' but I feel like I will be ok. As for the drinking ... well ... I do plan to drink ... but instead of bottles of lager and wine I will stick to Morgan's Spiced Rum topped up (to the top) with diet coke. There are syns in the rum, but obviously not the diet coke, and topping them all the way up (and having singles) will help keep the syns down. Normally I would have fewer syns the day before and/or after but I am kinda stuck for options this week!

Which leads me to Sunday ... we are off to my aunt's for her 40th Birthday get-together, buffet lunch. OMG I am so rubbish at buffets. I also know my nan's macaroni cheese will be there, and it is TO DIE FOR . I haven't really come up with a plan yet to deal with Sunday, I think I need to get tomorrow and Saturday out the way first!

I'm working tomorrow morning, and intend to go out for a 6 mile run afterward. Saturday I am off all day and will be going to the gym, and Sunday morning prior to going over to my aunt's I will again be on a 6 mile run.

I'm not setting myself impossible targets, nor putting too much pressure on myself, but this weekend is a real test, and I intend to get on the scales Tuesday night and have a loss of some kind. And if I can do that after a weekend like this, then I have surely cracked it

I guess the proof will be in the pudding ... or lack thereof!

ttfn ♥

 

[Laddiesboy]

Oh, and I forgot to mention : I've added a few 'before' photos into my albums. There are several more but I can't upload them for some reason Grrrrr.

They are all on my FB page and you're welcome to take a look if you're interested: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/Laddiesboy

ttfn (again!) ♥

 

[why_d]

your facebook pics are blocked from nonfriends... do you accept random friend requests? lol