Extra Easy-All the Way!

[Lella_77]

Hi All,

So I have decided to start posting my food diary. I have lost a stone so far with SW doing mainly red and the odd green day but had a break for a few weeks but not gained any weight (phew!) and am back on it now. Please feel free to tell me off if I am doing it wrong or being naughty! I am going to go for Extra Easy all the way this time to see what happens. You have all inspired me with your weight losses so here goes...

I will share photos of my meals once I am allowed to post them. (I think I need to post 50 times before I can do that-does anyone know if that is right?)
I am currently 17st 2lb and want to get down to about 12 stone. YIKES! :sigh:

Day 1 Monday
Breakfast
4 Rivita Original HEX B
2 x Dairylea Spread, 3 splashes of skimmed milk, 1 tsp grated parmesan (used later for dinner)HEX A

1 x Banana
1 x Satsuma

Lunch
Tesco Chicken BBQ snack pack
Ainsley Spice Sensation Cous Cous 1.5 syns
Lettuce, Carrot, Cabbage
30% Less fat Salad Cream x 2tbs 3 syns

Dinner
Turkey low fat Bolognese home made with
tomato passata, carrots, onions, mushrooms
pasta shells
Lettuce, Carrot, Cabbage
salad cream 70% less fat 1 tbsp-1 syn

snacks
1 x Special K Double choc cereal bar 4 syns
2x sugar free M&S butterscotch drops
3 slices wafer thin ham
1 tbs homemade rice pudding-3 syns (just to be on the safe side!)

Total syns-12.5


Day 2 Tuesday 29th April
Breakfast
Fruit Salad-Malon, Blueberries, Strawberries
2 x slices 400g Hovis wholemeal bread toasted-HEX B
2 hard boiled eggs
1 tbs HP sauce-2 syns

Mid Morning-1 tangerine

Lunch
Pasta and Bolognese sauce (left over from last night)
Lettuce, Carrot, Cabbage
salad cream 30% less fat 1 tbsp-1.5 syn

DinnerChunky Frittata made with eggs, sweetcorn, mushrooms,onions, Frylight.
Tomato and red cabbage salad
Half pack of Express Mexican rice-2 syns

HEX A -1 tbs grated parmesan cheese , plus 2 splashes skimmed milk in tea, 1 Costa skinny latte (small)
Snacks
1 x pack Frazzles (from multipack) -6 syns
Half a Special K Bar with a cup of tea later tonight! -2 syns

Total syns-13.5

xxx xxx

 

[Llamasoks]

Hi Hun,

Your diary looks really good so far, maybe try and mix up the superfree though, you seem to be having a lot of the same veggies, I know not everyone agrees on that but I find the more different types I eat the better my body loses, as you're confusing it into weight loss! I can't see any reason for you having a little gain, but if you're only on day 3 your body is probably just getting used to it. What are your portion sizes like? I know it's free and superfree food but you still need to use common sense and not eat past full etc.
X

 

[Jlou]

Hi Lella

I too have just started a diary through Minimins and looking at your stats we are quite similar (although it won't let me update mine at the moment), I shall be following your progress with interest though.

Good Luck

JLou

 

[Lella_77]

Thank you for helping me Llamasocks,

I will try to mix up my veggies more as suggested.I think maybe portion size of the carbs may be the issue. I am not over eating but, coming from an italian family, when you eat pasta, it is a decent portion. Maybe it tipped me over too much because I had it Monday night and the left over Tuesday lunch. I had a pasta bowl sized portion each time and made sure i had at least one third veggies, if not more and I am not eating until I am past full.

With the rice, I counted half a pack but actually had one third of it, my husband had the rest, so I don't think it was that. But maybe having carbs at both lunch and dinner is too much for my body. Carbs has always been my problem food, thats why I was so attracted to EE as It would be perfect for me if I can get it to work.

I will try to reduce the carbs, have smaller portions and mix up the veg and see if it helps.

So broccoli and spinach tonight!

Thanks again for your help Llamasocks!

Lella xx

 

[Lella_77]

Hi JLou,

Will be great when I can see everyone's dirt, at the moment I am new on here and it is not allowing me to click and view anyone's links. (I have to post 50 times evidently)
I am planning to post photos of my meals up when they allow me to. It would be great to compare our progress. I cannot see your stats apart from your height which is the same as mine. It would be great to compare our progress! Are you planning on doing Extra Easy?

Lella

 

[Lella_77]

Dirt??? So sorry, I mean Diary!!!

 

[Jlou]

haha dirt...diary may be the same thing depending on how good we've all been!

I have started doing extra easy but to be honest I'm not sure whether I'll stick to it, from looking around I seem to think that people have more success on mainly red days and virtually cutting out carbs and just having protein and veg. At the moment I don't feel with extra easy like I'm on a diet at all - apart from not having the naughty things! My meals are quite similar to what I was having in terms of the actual food on the plate but they've been prepared with less fat and I've not been having as many sauces and dressings etc but I can't believe this will make that much difference...we'll find out on Saturday for my first weigh in!

xx

 

[Llamasoks]

Carbs might be the issue, in the long run it shouldn't be a problem, you'll still lose, but i always tend to avoid carbs before weighing in as they make you a bit bloaty, so your sneak peak could have just been carb overload! Pasta etc was my issue too, but luckily if you eat slowly you wont actually need all that much to fill you up, try weighing your food according to actual portion size - you'll find it's still filling but not nearly as much!
X

 

[Lella_77]

Eating slowly is something I need to learn to do. I WOLF it down most of the time! I read somewhere you are meant to chew 10-20 times before you swallow.Must try to be more conscious of what I am doing! Thanks for trying to help me Llamasoks. I think I should reduce the carb quantity. When you say weigh your food according to actual food portions where do I find those quantities listed?

Lella x

 

[Lella_77]

Here's my diary for day 3....


Wednesday 30th


breakfast
Fruit salad -melon, strawberries, blueberries
natural unsweetened yogurt


Lunch
prawns
lettuce, tomatoes,
salad cream 30% less fat x 2 tbs -3 syns
2x slices hovis bread 400g per slice HEX B
3 slices wafer thin ham


snacks
1x packet frazzles-6 syns
1 baby bel and skimmed milk for tea HEX. B
1x banana




Dinner
Went out with hubby for dinner tonight to a lovely little local Lebanese restaurant.....tried to as good as possible.....
Charcoal grilled chicken on skewer
grilled onions, grilled peppers, shredded cabbage, cucumber, radish, carrot, tomatoes, onion, parsley, lemon juice.
steamed rice with a few chickpeas (small portion)
tzatziki x 4 tsp -2 syns
chilli sauce 3tsp -0.5 syns
small piece of flatbread/ pitta-4 syns


1 x Elizabeth shaw mint-1.5 syns
half Special K cereal bar-2 syns


Total syns 19 (using 4 syns left over from Monday ) is that allowed???

 

[Llamasoks]

Eating slowly is something I need to learn to do. I WOLF it down most of the time! I read somewhere you are meant to chew 10-20 times before you swallow.Must try to be more conscious of what I am doing! Thanks for trying to help me Llamasoks. I think I should reduce the carb quantity. When you say weigh your food according to actual food portions where do I find those quantities listed?

Lella x

It should be on the packet, there's a list for healthy extras (which I assume you have as you know what they are!) but like the back of pasta, I think a portion is 75g per person, which is quite small, but filling!
X

 

[Lella_77]

My Diary today

Thursday 1st May

B
2 poached Eggs
Grilled tomatoes
Baked Beans
Mushrooms-2 syns (allow for what they might have been cooked in)
HP sauce 1 tbs-2syns

L
Potato and Watercress Soup
mixed salad from salad bar at work
0.5-1 tablespoons of each of the following: lettuce, carrot, chickpeas, mixed beans, tuna, pasta tubes, roasted carrots and swede, beetroot, peppers, cabbage, broccoli.
Salad Cream 30% LF-2 tbs-3 syns

Not having any more syns today to allow for anything that may have been in some of the salads-most things were undressed except for the carrots were roasted and I have one small spoon of coleslaw so this should cover them.

Snack
Fruit

D
This will be:
1 grilled Pork Chop
Steamed Broccoli
Peas sautéed with onions (no fat)
SW Chips (may not have these if I can manage without)

 

[Lella_77]

Jlou am still not convinced myself. Also on red days you can have 2 hex b's which means you can have carbs with one or 2 of your meals, it just means it is measured, which might be better for me as I am not very good at portion control when it comes to carbs.I agree with you, I don't feel like I am on a diet at all except for cooking with no fat which doesn't bother me and having limited bread.

Llamasoks-thanks for the portion size info. Yes, this would make sense. Crikey-75g of pasta! Most italians would sniff at that! But, yes I should eat it more with a protein and more veg rather than making it my main meal.

Most people who do well on EE seems to favour potatoes over pasta. A lot of SW chips in all the photos. They all seem to have great weight losses. I think it is easier to get the third of the plate proportions right when you have a protein, veg and carb on one plate.

Starting to eat lots more variation of SF now!

 

[Llamasoks]

A good tip for the chips is use other veggies if you want more SF or less carbs, I sometimes use butternut squash to make chips, just cook a bit longer, or celeriac - maybe a mix of all 3, good variety but you feel like you're having chips
Your lunch sounds great though, lots of veggies in there!
X

 

[Lella_77]

Thursday Food Diary contd.

I had spinach and mushrooms instead of peas
sprinkling of Parmesan a babybel and some skimmed milk for my HEx A
camomile and honey tea

 

[Lella_77]

Thanks for your tips llamasoks- I used butternut squash for mash on a shepherds pie last time I was on SW was yummy!

 

[RM07]

How are you doing your HeX-A's? It's a bit confusing and looks like you are trying to split it over a few things, I'd be worried that I was going 'over' the HeX-A allowance.

2 x Dairylea Spread 3 splashes of skimmed milk, 1 tsp grated parmesan (used later for dinner)HEX A -are these the triangles? 2 x Dairylea Light triangles are a HeX-A so that would be your allowance for the day meaning the 3 splashes of milk and parmesan would need to by syned if you were following EE

With my milk I have a jug that I've marked off where I should fill it to. I have semi skimmed milk so pour out 250ml but I use this over two days. I'll mark it down on my diary for the first day and then the second day I will have 30g cheddar or something else for my HeX-A.

 

[abisaurus]

Here to subscribe Im a bit loaded down atm but cant wait to have a proper read through your diary .x.

 

[pixie-gem]

Hi Lella,

Finally managed to get on the computer so could see your signature.
How are you feeling now about EE? I prefer red/green over EE, but it has a portion of control with the weighing of carbs or meat, and i need that control in my life, as i have practically no self control sometimes!
If you love pasta then Red not be great for you as the hexb allowance of pasta is tiny (much smaller than the recommended portion size which as llama says is 75g) and rice isn't a hexb.
Try your best to stick out the week, it's nearly over now anyways, and if you aren't happy with the result, try red or green next week maybe?
It's tough going from one diet to another, i've yo-yo'd more than i care to admit, but I've seen many people do such great things, they make me want to do better everyday.

Good luck hun, you'll do great x

 

[Blondienut]

Lella,

I think we have similar stats....I've just started EE also. Am 17st 7lbs - cant believe it but want things to change now more than ever. Maybe we could spur each other on. I've never done SW before so finding it hard tiger my head around it. Here's what I had today

Breakfast- bacon (without fat) on 2 slices of wholemeal bread (Hex B) extra light flora (0.5 syn). Grapes, mandarins

Lunch-tuna pasta salad with cucumber, tomatoes, extra light mayo (1 syn) . Muller light yoghurt

Dinner- SW chicken curry(made it from scratch-very proud of myself!) with SW chips. Muller light. Youghurt. Curly wurly (6 syn)

Snack-hummus (1.5 syn) and celery, choc biscuit (5.5 syn)


I'm not going to classes but signed up for 3 months online....my first weigh in will be next Wednesday.......

Hopefully we will both be celebrating next week!!!!