Less thinking more doing!

[zeke]

It's annoying that there is so much confusing and conflicting information out there.

Never a truer word spoken! A constant source of angst whilst I am trying to get on to some kind of diet (and then whilst on it).

I've tried paleo and it really does work - found I was soooooooo satisfied after a couple of days on it I was only eating 2 meals a day. No idea why I stopped but I did quite soon - almost certainly because I wasn't organised enough to keep going at the time. I am still very interested in it though.

I do think SW is good, and it does work, but I see it more of a stepping stone onto a diet that has more healthy fats and less sugar (including sweeteners) - and something to step back on to again when needed. One step at a time though - SW has got me off the gin & bar snacks habit and it is definitely got me eating a lot better than before. I haven't had a mug shot yet this 'round' but it is good to know that there are two in the cupboard if I need them in an 'emergency'. The evening sugar free jelly, berries and mullerlight has helped me not feel deprived when I fancy something sweet.

I am using at least 2 syns a day on healthy fats - plan is to slowly increase that and decrease the sugar/sweeteners. I guess I will just have to keep reading and keep experimenting to find what is right.

I think there is conflicting information within the sugar free crowd too. Personally I don't think it is ok to have a load of natural sugars in the form of dried fruits and maple syrup etc (honey is the one thing I don't really like so no issue there!) if you are trying to really reduce sugar - a little bit as a treat, yes.

Anyway, I don't want any complete absolutes in my diet - it HAS to fit in with every day life. I suppose it is good to have something to tweak - and an interest in making food more interesting and tasty long term.

 

[Torn_Tranquility]

Here, here. It has to work for the person doing it. I'm much happier using olive oil again - the spray is worth the syns, and if I want to toast spices, I will use it by the tablespoon! I think it's actually good for us to have some oil. I try and use syns on sauces etc. rather than "empty calories" - but at the same time, I can sometimes go the whole day without any, without really noticing - so I have to have whatever's in! I don't lose if I cut syns out entirely - but that fits with the logic side of our bodies needing some fat.

 

[zeke]

That's a good point - I was only thinking yesterday that I want to step away from the frylight again too and back on to proper oils. All in moderation, of course.

I am quite excited for the books to arrive now (they should be here late afternoon) and have the motivation to cut more sugar out. Well I think I have that already (watched some stuff on youtube about it last night) but it is the morning and that's not when I go looking for something sweet.

This is what I ate yesterday (as a bench mark):

B: 40 g Porridge (HxB), chopped apple and strawberries, splash milk, black coffee
S: Apple, black coffee
L: SW chips (mix potato and sweet potato sprayed with frylight), salad, tsp sesame oil (2 syns), ww tuna with mayonnaise and sweetcorn (2 sysns)
S: white coffee, raw carrot
D: SW Chicken Jalfrezi, steamed Kale, orange & purple carrots
S: 2 glasses of sugar free tonic water, strawberry mullerlight, strawberries, white coffee x 2, mini sorbet lolly (3 syns), 3 mini orange Diam bars (3 syns)

I would normally have a sugar free jelly with the mullerlight (but son had ate them all!).

Evaluation:

Black coffee in morning meant I stayed within milk allowance (HxA) so didn't use syns on that. I still had 5 coffees (last two decaff) though and not enough water. More water today and maybe a herbal tea in the evening instead of one of the coffees.

2 apples and 2 lots of strawberries. Sugar free diet suggests 2-3 small portions of fruit a day. I know berries are on of the better types. I think this was ok but I couldn't easily swapped the second apple for a carrot stick and more variety would be better. I've got a couple of mangoes in the fruit bowl but know they are super high in sugar...

Frylight and sesame oil. Neither brilliant. I do love sesame oil though. EDIT - Sesame oil is good, I think...

Sugar free tonic, mullerlight, sorbet lolly and mini diam bars - all rubbish really but better to have those than eat high calorie stuff. Don't think the ww tuna was great but it was what I had in the cupboard (and still two left).

Anyway, this is my baseline 'good standard average' day on SW - 10 syns.

 

[zeke]

Feel quite full of beans today Nice change!

The books have arrived - haven't had chance for a proper look yet but in the 'I quit sugar' book, the following needs to go in week 3 (until the end of week 8):

• Fresh and dried fruit, fruit juice
• muesli and muesli bars
• jams
• condiments containing sugar, especially tomato and BBQ sauces, balsamic vinegar
• flavoured yogurts
• honey
• agave
• palm and coconut sugar
• chocolate, soft drinks, etc.

I plan on following it (alongside SW) - so now I am on the week 1 cut down on sugar phase, which I have already started really. Week 2 is all about adding in the fats and this may be the point where it clashes with SW too much - cross that bridge when I come to it.

After the 8 weeks - the following is advised:

• try to keep to foods with less that 3-6 g/100g of sugar
• eat 1-2 pieces of fruit a day. Mostly berries

Noticed that quite a few of the sushi recipes in the YO Sushi book have sugar in them - I will avoid those...

 

[Torn_Tranquility]

A lot of Asian cooking uses sugar, in my experience. It is used to create some of umami taste - so that could possibly be done using different sauces (again, could be high in sugar though). It's a minefield! I'm really interested to see how you find this.

I only drink my coffee black these days! I resent not having my HEXA for cheese. Bit jittery now - too much coffee whilst trying to work on my dissertation... must drink more water.

 

[zeke]

Thank you - you sound like you know your food! I haven't got much of a clue - I'll just avoid the recipes with sugar in! Haven't tried any yet.

I only had one white coffee today and realised afterwards that it wasn't any better...I was thinking that the HxA would be better spent on cheese too. Don't want to change everything at once though.

No progress today on tweaking really apart from the coffee. DH and DS also had a Chinese takeaway and I took a prawn cracker...and that turned into four. Bad timing when I had the munchies. Came up stairs to get away. At least I went for two walks today - a short one in the morning and a longer (1 hr+) one in the afternoon.

I may just come off slimming world for a week and just do sugar free, and see how it goes, when I am ready.

 

[Torn_Tranquility]

I grew up in Hong Kong - so Chinese food was what I learned to cook first. I also love cookery programes and food based books!

 

[zeke]

I'm very tempted my cookery books and love cookery programs too - sadly that doesn't seem to translate to skills and knowledge for me!

I bought a book called 'sugar' owtte a while back - tried to find it yesterday and then remembered I had decluttered it! I did read it though first and hardly any recipes in it. This new one seems a lot better anyway.

Weight is still sticking - as is normal for mid-cycle. It can go on for ages though - well over a week...it was the patronising response at group to a STS I had that resulted in me not returning (and ultimately the end of the last stint on SW as I was so hacked off) despite having several weeks left on a passport.

I've only had a black coffee so far today...might go and look at recipes in the sugar free book - still time to go shopping and catch breakfast...

 

[zeke]

Nope - went with my bog standard 40g porridge, chopped apple and strawberries with a splash of milk.

THURSDAY! OMG! I really need to start getting some stuff done...

 

[Torn_Tranquility]

My mum worked in catering, as a chef and cookery teacher, so I was in fairly good hands! I know - this week is flying by. Despite being up early, I've just been lounging around, catching up with a few emails and things.

I'm really lucky with my group. Consultant and everyone there are so supportive.

 

[zeke]

I thought I had finally found a great group too - then the area supervisor turned up (fairly new consultant) and it all went horribly wrong. It was the area supervisor who was the worst - she (sort of) apologised to me afterwards and said she was just 'using me' to drum the main points home to the group. Great. The consultant also completely denied something she had definitely said the week before (recommended something for a syn) - bizarre. That is me and groups done - I've tried enough now to know they just end up irritating me!

Just been to supermarket (again - rare is the day I don't go - good job it is so close) and bought a pint of whole milk. So HxA allowance goes down to 175 ml (from 250 ml for semi) - not ready to completely give it up yet. Also got avocados for syns and greek yogurt rather than mullerlight (0% though - can't be bothered to measure it).

 

[Torn_Tranquility]

I sometimes feel like the supermarket is my second home.... Between there and uni, I often wonder why I actually pay rent on a flat!

I'm actually on my second consultant. The first one was amazing, but left to run a group closer to where she lives in the city, which is fair enough. A lot of people left when the new consultant started - she was quite nervous and people just didn't warm to her in the same way. Then just after Christmas, we moved to a new venue, so lots of lovely new members. And I'm now on the social team! I enjoy it, most of the time... I love getting to talk to people and see how they're doing week to week. I don't think I'd be able to hold myself responsible doing it from home!

 

[zeke]

I envy you a lovely friendly group like that - being part of the social team is great

I'm all over the place now!

Just logged on to MFP and I am exactly 9 lbs heavier than when I did that last time. . Oh well - only one way to change that! I've gone down the path of having a non SW friendly day so swapped to MFP. It looks like this:



See why apples are classed as a high sugar fruit now!

 

[Torn_Tranquility]

Wow - I never realised apples were so high in sugar!

 

[zeke]

Wow - I never realised apples were so high in sugar!

I know! A mini bag of jelly tots only has 8.8g - obs apple is still better though.

Today has got a lot worse - I've got practically nothing done today (apart from very basic housework every day kind of stuff) & now eaten several extra items. No idea where all those beans I had yesterday have gone! Feel so tired. Good job I have arranged to go for a walk with a friend this afternoon, and I am out this evening (no alcohol or eating involved).

 

[zeke]

I'm toying with the idea of monthly weighing.

Now I'm getting older these periods of effectively STS seem to be getting longer. When I went on a diet in my twenties I could almost bank on losing 7 lbs in the first two weeks followed by an average of 2 lbs/wk for a further 8 weeks and then hitting a period of STS that went on longer than a week - it was generally the end of the diet then, but that was ok because I was well within the healthy range then too.

On my last diet it was a extended period of STS that ended it.

Even though I know it is normal etc and think I cope with it - the reality is I clearly don't. I few days - yes - 10/14 days - no. Weekly weighing won't solve that either - I definitely find daily weighing better than weekly. I think. This period of STS is just too early into my new diet.

Having said all of that - I know a lady who lost 5 st on SW (and has now kept it off for years) and she lost an average of 3 lbs/wk almost throughout (following RED days and doing lots of exercise - not following EE and being just above sedentary!) and she was a good 5+ years older than me when she started.

So - that's two things I don't know about now - what diet to follow and when to weigh

Gut feeling - stop weighing so regularly - weigh in an ad hoc fashion. Concentrate on properly changing eating habits by experimenting with food and really listening to my body and when it is full. Eat healthy fats but not excessively: 1/4 to 1/2 an avocado is fine - a whole one isn't; a tsp of oil in salad dressing is fine - a tbsp is not; a sprinkle - to a small handful of nuts/seeds is fine - half a bag is not. Avoid sugar and sweeteners where I can. Lots of veg and a little fruit. Plenty of fish, lean meat and a not so lean bit now and again. Wholegrains etc - but not tons.

So - think this diary will focus more on my pursuit to find lovely, healthy filling foods and recipes that fit in with everyday life and the occasional weigh in (maybe every few weeks or so). That is a decision!

 

[Torn_Tranquility]

I like this idea! We have people at group who, although they weigh, don't know the result or don't know their actual weight. They find it a lot easier, as they're not getting hung up on the numbers. It's harder when you're doing it at home! So it sounds like monthly weighs could be a great option for you. Even with SW, I've always felt that everything needs to be in moderation. Personally, if I use all my syns on crap like crisps and chocolate, I simply don't lose.

 

[zeke]

Thank you!

That's interesting - that you have people who don't know their losses or actual weight at group. Do they still get told when they have lost each half stone award?

I feel happier today! Just brought a few things with a view to trying out a couple of YO! recipes today - including sauces that contain some sugar (but not masses, especially in quantities used). Not point in going all purist and then scoffing a bag of jelly tots in a weak moment - oh and now I know how much sugar a simple apple has...

Just made Japanese pancakes for lunch - mainly superfree/free ingredients (mainly cabbage really!) - I like it - DS rejected it (that was predicted). Hope it will be nice cold too. Not sure I like it enough to make it again exactly how it is but worth a tweak I think.

 

[Torn_Tranquility]

Japanese pancakes sound interesting! I love cabbage - everyone at my group thinks I'm just vegetable obsessed. I won the raffle last night: a small squash (I'm not sure what type yet, but it's rather cute!), beetroot and heritage carrots. Lots of my favs - annoyingly, we're not going to be eating much at home this weekend, so I'll probably chuck them in the oven and roast them to snack on. My consultant thinks it's hilarious, as I always seem to win the raffle when there are beets or heritage carrots in there. (or vintage carrots as my mother insists on calling them...)

It varies - one of the girls simply doesn't want to see the number on the scales. She is happy to know what she has lost or gained, and gets her awards there and then. Others will go a month without knowing anything, then just get a sum total at the end of the month and collect any awards at that time. Others are in between, so they find out when they have reached each half stone loss as and when it happens.

 

[zeke]

What a waste of a day!

So, DH decided he wanted to celebrate his birthday last night. DS was at a sleepover. Neither of us fancied going out for a meal. So, we decided to have a few drinks...and forgot about dinner.

A couple of weeks of not drinking at all and my tolerance is a lot lower. I still feel hungover now and I only managed about a third of my breakfast and a third of lunch. How silly!

The good news is that I am more than happy to go back on the wagon now!

I would say being vegetable obsessed is a very good thing!