My SW diary, by Bess.

[Bess]

Thanks Gail, yes, not too bad. Been very busy which is a bit of a pity because I took my eye off the SW ball for a bit. I wasn't able to concentrate and check things properly.
I think I've probably been eating too much, even of the right food really, (a whole packet of crab sticks nibbled over an afternoon? ) so I'm going to cut down a little.
I bought the Alpen light bars and the Weetabix ones and the quark Jules mentioned. Now I need to try to concentrate more.

Unfortunately due to work commitments I couldn't make my 1st weigh in yesterday morning. I could have gone to another - but- well, it was dark, I've been away from home with other people who need me and so.....I copped out. But stupidly, had an extra glass of red wine into which I dipped a chunk of white bread. Revolting to some, but I love it -must be my convent upbringing! Then crashed out in front of the TV with the family so no counting/recording of food.

No sympathy, I need a shove in the right direction. So this is it. There's no point in keeping this diary if I'm not honest though is there? Weight this morning still 13.12. So no damage done, but I must get a move on and concentrate properly. After a while it'll become second nature I hope.

 

[Bess]

Food today:

Super free:
Watercress
Banana
Tomatoes
Salad

Free:
Quark
Prawns
Jacket potato
Sweet potato
Salmon
Bacon
Eggs
Muller light

HEA nothing.
HEB Alpen light bar x 1

Syns:
Choc bar 4.5
2 x red wine 12
Total syns: 16.5

I've checked this and I think I'm right with the categories.

Felt quite full all day, resisted the urge to nibble unsuitable things.
I was disappointed not to be able to find on the SW site, Sainsbury's 50 bite size chocolate bars. Eventually I found only one kind listed which was the 'light and whippy' one at 4.5 syns. None of the other types are mentioned. Pity, I thought that would be a useful tool.

 

[gl12282]

Hi Bess,

I agree that you are right with the categories. If you can't find something on the syns online (and sometimes things aren't obvious but are there - the search facility doesn't always work that well in my opinion) then the rule of thumb is 20 cals per syn. So if you know the calorie value you can work out the syns.

It WILL become 2nd nature in time so don't worry about that. But I agree, you definitely need to try to get to a WI (at least for now).

At least you weighed in at home and all looks good so well done !

I agree that snacking on crabsticks is not as good as snacking on superfree but actually, sometimes superfree just doesn't do it for me. If so, I don't feel guilty, just try and eat good free foods (like crabsticks) and move on. That only becomes a problem if your losses slow down. As I've said many times, for me the most important thing is that I stay on plan (because that way I will either not put on or lose). So don't worry too much for now.

Glad you're getting on ok.

Gail x

 

[julesm]

Hey Bess, sounds like you're getting on great! Keep it up lady!! And get thee to a weigh in!!! Lots of love!xxxx

 

[Katycakes]

Sounds good Bess... it's early days, I think you are doing really well to get the hang of it so fast. It sounds a bit different from when I did it, and very do-able... plan to investigate further. Keep going, it's going to be fab!

xxx

 

[Bess]

Thankyou everyone, and especially Gail for the tip on syn values! 20 = 1 syn, very useful.

Ok, today. I won't bore you much longer with this, but I really appreciate your input until I have the hang of it!

Super free:
Fruit salad - banana, Kiwi, apricots, plums, oranges.
Leeks, onions, chilli, cabbage, mushrooms.

Free food:
Chicken, bacon, prawns, rice, cottage cheese, quark, fat free yoghurt, baked beans, noodles, pastrami, sweet potato. Muller light.

HEX 1 Alpen light bar, parmesan cheese, Soya milk.

Syns:
Choc bar 5 syns
Red wine 18 syns
Hot choc drink 2 syns
Total 25. oh dear.

 

[Bess]

Sunday. 6/3/11.

I'm a bit disappointed/cross with myself. Am very reluctant to post here, as I really want to go and hide, but I have vowed to myself that this time I am not going to s***w things up. I like SW, it does fit in with my life, I no longer feel like a pariah at meals times or when we eat with friends. BUT I am being a bit lax with syns and I think I may be eating too much. Not actually sure about the latter actually. The exercise has slipped a bit lately too, I have just been too busy.
I am going to post today's food exactly and will appreciate all comments.

Breakfast: I egg omelette, with mushrooms, cooked in 2 drops (!) of olive oil, cottage cheese and a Muller light yoghurt. Coffee with unsweetened soya milk.

 

[Katycakes]

Bess, give yourself a chance... and well done for not running to hide. If you want to make it work, it will work... and the SW boards will support you. One day at a time... you will get there hun.

xxx

 

[gl12282]

Hi Bess,

Don't be disappointed with yourself. You have made the commitment and you are here. You should be proud.

I agree that you must write ABSOLUTELY everything down. I don't but I know that when I don't I have a tendency to undercount my syns. I usually think that I am somewhere in the middle of my syns (ie 5-10) but when I write them down, am usually closer to 10-15. However although I still mean to write them down, as I'm still losing I'm not too concerned but I definitely will do if I start to slow down.

I know that you are only adding a dribble of oil but I would recommend either counting a syn or 2/3 for it as you don't know how much is there or getting some fry light. Did you have enough mushrooms in your omlette to count 1/3 (bearing in mind that the 1/3 should be of the egg/cottage cheese/muller light not just the egg) ?

I also think that this is the reason that you must try and go to WI every week. That's part of the reason that I prefer to WI at home. Because if I was going to class, I wouldn't be able to go every single week (because of work/social stuff) and although I am motivated by me and what I want to achieve, I am definitely kept focused by my weekly WI (wherever that may be).

So glad that you feel the difference and that this seems to be a plan that you can stick to (which is so important). Big hugs. Don't be disappointed, be proud.

Gail x

 

[julesm]

Hi Bess, don't be so hard on yourself. It is definitely harder to do SW in the beginning because everything takes longer. Ive been doing SW for nearly 5 months and now its like second nature, i dont need to take any lists or books to the supermarket, i rarely need to look syns / HEXs up in my book etc. But tgat takes time. You need to give yourself time to get used to the plan.

I do think to do this you need to get used to sticking to the plan to the letter especially for the first few weeks- Defo get your mitts on some Frylight!!!

I don't think it seems like you're eating too much but I do think for the plan to work you need to follow it properly- you won't be getting any extra taste / benefit out of using a few drops of oil for example.

You can eat loads on Sw and still lose weight - my mate who did her first week last week ate 8 Quorn sausages in one go along with a bowl of pasta and still lost 2lbs! But you need to eat the right things.

Also I agree with Gail that you need to go to group to pick up some tips- for example that same friend didn't realise that pureed fruit wasn't syn free and has been having loads of smoothies all week - its tips like this you pick up while talking to Other ppl / your consultant.

Also like Gail I find WI keeps me in line! Please don't feel disappointed with yourself- changing your lifestyle is a big step!!!!

X

 

[Bess]

Did you have enough mushrooms in your omlette to count 1/3 (bearing in mind that the 1/3 should be of the egg/cottage cheese/muller light not just the egg) ?

Gail, Jules, Katy, thankyou all so much for your kindess and support. I feel very optimistic about this, thanks to you. I went a bit off plan yesterday, but not badly. So I'm drawing a line under that and starting afresh today. I'm keeping a food diary, as you suggest and will write down absolutely everything that I eat but will only post it here if I'm unsure about anything. I was so heartened to read Jules, that SW has become second nature to you now!

Gail, I don't quite understand what the above means? Can you explain again please?

Very busy week ahead, WI tomorrow, will report back. xx

 

[Bess]

A Good Day! All good food and 8 syns. Hooray! Weigh in tomorrrow. Hmm....

 

[gl12282]

All I meant before was that 1/3 of your meal should be superfree not just 1/3 of your omelette (does that make sense now ?).

Fingers crossed for tomorrow. Keep us posted.

Gail x

 

[Katycakes]

Everything crossed for the WI Bess.

xxx

 

[Bess]

Thanks Gail, I see what you mean.

Weigh in-hmm. I lost 1lb. Still, better that way than the other and I am getting the hang of the diet much better now. I know what did it, not losing more I mean. I did lose about 3lbs on my scales in the first week, but the weekend came, friends came round for a meal, I let it slip, knowing there wasn't a weigh in on Tuesday and so on.

Next Tuesday I can't make the meeting either, but I have a plan. My scales are set lower than the SW ones, but they tally, if you see what I mean. So, I will weigh myself at home next week and not cop out. I hope to lose 4lbs in a fortnight. All looking good so far, apart from the pancake which I've just eaten but I've synned it at 6, so hope that's about right.

I bought 2 recipe books from the class. One Extra Easy recipes and one for desserts! I think Jules mentioned that one, a tiramisu rings a bell somewhere!
And, one of my daughters is joining me, she can't make a class because of work shifts, but is using all my stuff and I know will encourage me, she's a real stickler for getting things right and I'm a bit sloppy, so she'll be very good for me!

There were some lovely slim people at the class today, I wondered why they had come and it turned out that they had lost 2 and 3 stones respectively! I was very pleased to see them because I want to lose 2.5 stones and they looked great. One older slim woman said that she had been on a diet for 35 years and had to keep coming to SW or she'd eat so much and be the size of a house. This made me feel a bit sad because I hoped that SW would retrain my brain into healthier eating permanently, but perhaps it will, I feel very optimistic now.

Many, many thanks everyone, for all your support on here, it's you who encouraged me to start, without that I know I wouldn't have bothered and I'm very glad that I did.

 

[julesm]

Yes the Tiramisu from the desserts book is outstanding!!! As is the "Fluffy Chocolate mousse" although it doesn't look as good as it tastes!!!

Well done on your loss. Good luck for the week ahead xxxxx

 

[gl12282]

Weigh in-hmm. I lost 1lb. Still, better that way than the other and I am getting the hang of the diet much better now. I know what did it, not losing more I mean. I did lose about 3lbs on my scales in the first week, but the weekend came, friends came round for a meal, I let it slip, knowing there wasn't a weigh in on Tuesday and so on.

Next Tuesday I can't make the meeting either, but I have a plan. My scales are set lower than the SW ones, but they tally, if you see what I mean. So, I will weigh myself at home next week and not cop out. I hope to lose 4lbs in a fortnight.

And, one of my daughters is joining me, she can't make a class because of work shifts, but is using all my stuff and I know will encourage me, she's a real stickler for getting things right and I'm a bit sloppy, so she'll be very good for me!

One older slim woman said that she had been on a diet for 35 years and had to keep coming to SW or she'd eat so much and be the size of a house. This made me feel a bit sad because I hoped that SW would retrain my brain into healthier eating permanently, but perhaps it will, I feel very optimistic now.

Many, many thanks everyone, for all your support on here, it's you who encouraged me to start, without that I know I wouldn't have bothered and I'm very glad that I did.

Hi Bess,

Well done on your loss. It really doesn't matter how much you lose, (although I understand the desire to want to lose quickly). if you keep losing, before you know it you'll have a stone less to lose or 2 stone etc etc).

You hit the nail on the head about needing to WI. I'm not sure that it necessarily matters how you WI, you need to do it every week. So if you WI at home next week (using todays' weight as a guide for your loss) then make sure you post it here. Every week counts so we will be watching.

Great news about your daughter. I hope she gets on well too.

I have also met people who have been going to class for years. I think SW has retrained my eating habits but I don't for one minute think that I couldn't go back where I came from. As you know I don't go to class very often but my gut feeling is that I may need to continue to WI weekly (somewhere - home or group) for the rest of my life. I fully intend to keep on with the SW plan if/when I get to target because I know that if I don't I will regain some or all of what I have lost. However that doesn't mean I will be on a diet for the rest of my life. I don't feel as though I'm on a diet now (my tummy is full from my flake bar and 2 alpen lights) which is why it has worked for me. I can't have absolutely everything that I want when I want it (that's how I got here in the first place) but I can have it if I choose the right times. So for me, I will probably always need to watch my weight and weigh in some way shape or form, but that feels like a small price to pay for how it has made me feel.

Well done again Bess. Have a great week.

Gail x

 

[Bess]

Another 1lb gone!

 

[Katycakes]

yessss!!!

xxx

 

[gl12282]

That's great. It's so lovely to see the numbers coming down and then the clothes feeling looser !!

Isn't your WI day Monday though ?

Have a lovely weekend.

Gail x