Question for Iris!!

[sandyk]

Just to echo everyone else - Iris you're an absolute inspiration. Have you ever thought of motivational speaking?? Seriously! Am I right in thinking that you're a fellow Irishwoman? Something about nuns and convents gave it away...

Anyway, just wanted to say that I really needed to read a post like yours. If I could only achieve that much of a balanced outlook I think I'd be half way there..

Can I just ask you a quick question regarding your long term weightloss? ..What did you do when life got in the way of counting calories? Was it just automatic for you after a while? Or sometimes did you not actually count and just generally eat healthy?...
I've got an incredibly busy year ahead of me (starting a postgrad in Primary Teaching in Sept), and while I don't want to- and basically won't have the time to -obsess over calories, I also don't want to wind up a lot heavier at the end of the year. I know that weightloss shouldn't be a priority this year, but it'd be a wonderful achievement if I could keep myself together, and hopefully lose a bit, throughout it all. I desperately don't want to fall into the trap of eating junk and drinking endless cups of coffee like I did my first time at university...

Any help or advice for my preemptive attack on the flab would be gratefully received:cross:

 

[acegirl]

Well I say Iris is a star! Excellent advice. Especially about keeping oneself happy during the process. Weight loss can be done reasonably, rather than torturing with hunger then [understandably] losing interest and going back to old ways.

 

[Iris]

i have been doing CD for a month and have swapped to calorie counting...any idea what will happen no doubt the 1st week ill put on weight?
im eating 1300 calories a day...
to maintain my current body weight i need to eat 2400 so i know i will lose eventually but really worried bout this 1st week mayb i wont wi for a couple of weeks...can anyone offer any advice or has anyone else been in my position?
xxx

Hi Laurie - I'm not sure of the precise science, but I think that the first week or so after eating real food again, following a food replacement diet, you may find you put on a few pounds, mainly fluid, due to your body replenishing its depleted glycogen stores.

I don't think it's anything to panic about - the body is a remarkably efficient engine and won't take too long to re-adjust itself to having a decent amount of calories again. Any temporary weight gain should even out speedily as you continue with the calorie counting.

1300 sounds reasonable to me - although if you're exercising frequently I'd consider raising it a little. Just experiment and see what feels comfortable to you. Maybe also consider calorie cycling - not having 1300 every day, or the same foods or exact meal times every day. Vary it up a little - have maybe 1500 on monday, 1100 on tuesday, 1400 on wednesday, 1200 on thursday - that kind of thing can help with keeping the metabolism ticking over and stop your body from getting stuck in a rut.

Good luck - let me know how the cal counting is going!

 

[Iris]

Iris is a true great help your right there

Thank you kindly. I'm afraid the thanks button has again expired... there shouldn't be a time limit, my decrepit brain can't keep up!

 

[Iris]

Just to echo everyone else - Iris you're an absolute inspiration. Have you ever thought of motivational speaking?? Seriously! Am I right in thinking that you're a fellow Irishwoman? Something about nuns and convents gave it away...

Anyway, just wanted to say that I really needed to read a post like yours. If I could only achieve that much of a balanced outlook I think I'd be half way there..

Can I just ask you a quick question regarding your long term weightloss? ..What did you do when life got in the way of counting calories? Was it just automatic for you after a while? Or sometimes did you not actually count and just generally eat healthy?...
I've got an incredibly busy year ahead of me (starting a postgrad in Primary Teaching in Sept), and while I don't want to- and basically won't have the time to -obsess over calories, I also don't want to wind up a lot heavier at the end of the year. I know that weightloss shouldn't be a priority this year, but it'd be a wonderful achievement if I could keep myself together, and hopefully lose a bit, throughout it all. I desperately don't want to fall into the trap of eating junk and drinking endless cups of coffee like I did my first time at university...

Any help or advice for my preemptive attack on the flab would be gratefully received:cross:

Hello Sandy - nice to see another Irishwoman on here! And one who endured the nuns, too? The things we've seen, eh?

You're right that it's impossible to count all the time, and some days you just don't want to know! After a while you do get a rough idea what most stuff is, but I did go through many distinctly rocky patches! But when I overate one day, I just tried to draw a line under it and not use it as an excuse for going on a six month choccie bender (I did that a lot in the past).

I suppose at the end of the day there's a small voice of sense lurking at the back of the mind that will keep you generally on track, if you decide to listen to it. I've found that the volume and audibility of that little voice is usually dependent on the proximity of chocolate in the area, though! But seriously, you can live normally and go out for meals, but if you have a rich main course, maybe skip the pudding, or if you know you're having a takeaway in the evening, have a salad for lunch, that kind of thing. I think one of the easiest and most painless ways to keep on track without having to think about it, is to become a fruit and veggie fiend. Stockpile pineapple, apricots, mandarins, berries, whatever you like in the fruity line, really, so that it's always there to grab when you're hungry. And whenever you can bulk out a meal with vegetables, do it - eat as much of them as you like!

A portable box of munchables really helps when you're on the go - dried fruit, nuts, a banana, a couple of Alpen light cereal bars (the choc fudge flavour has helped me avoid the siren call of the Snickers on many occasions!) basically stick whatever you like in a tub or in your handbag so you're always got a healthy alternative there when muffins and croissants seem like the easy option. But still, have the odd croissant - very important not to totally cut anything out or you'll get sick of it all so quickly.

I don't think the old coffee will do much harm so long as it's not several cups of the cream-and-brown-sugar type every day! You can make up a pretty tasty mocha-esque thing with some coffee and a sachet of Options/Highlights hot choc, add a pinch of cayenne and cinnamon, sweetener if needed, and it seems to warm the old cockles nicely and stave off hunger. Only other big tip I can think of right now is make sure you get enough protein and good fats... can be easy to cut too low on both of them when you're watching the calories, but protein (especially in the morning) is really great at filling you up for a few hours, and some healthy fats in a meal make it more satisfying, I think.

Just remember the kind of eating that made you gain weight - so long as you steer clear of too many blow-outs and binges and biccy tin raids, you can take off the weight and eat really well and have the odd treat at the same time. Good luck with it all, and with the post-grad teaching studies - a classroom of kids would have me shaking in my boots, you're a brave woman!!

p.s. I could never do public speaking - total mumbler, I'm afraid.

 

[Iris]

Well I say Iris is a star! Excellent advice. Especially about keeping oneself happy during the process. Weight loss can be done reasonably, rather than torturing with hunger then [understandably] losing interest and going back to old ways.

Thank you! I've been admiring your posts lately myself - I think you hit the nail on the head regarding the dietary pitfalls of sugar, especially. Too much is made of fat while sugar can often kind of fly under the radar, it seems. I know which one I find infinitely more addictive, though!

 

[pumpkin2008]

Hello Sandy - nice to see another Irishwoman on here! And one who endured the nuns, too? The things we've seen, eh?

I'm from Norn Iron lol, and although I never had dealings with the nuns myself, a few of my friends did, a few schools here are still run by nuns. Where are you guys from?x

 

[Iris]

I'm from Norn Iron lol, and although I never had dealings with the nuns myself, a few of my friends did, a few schools here are still run by nuns. Where are you guys from?x

You're lucky you managed to dodge the nun bullet! I ended up at three schools all run by the penguin brigade.

I grew up near Newcastle... would love to move back there some day, I love the town so much. Something about the ocean and mountains combo (and Maud's ice cream parlour, no doubt!) that is just wonderful. I'm living just outside Downpatrick these days.