trying to lose 40lbs by end of March 2017

[Pinkemi]

I am trying to distract myself from the vending machine.. I just walked past it earlier and realised that they have Chocolate Tiffin in there.. AND my favourite flapjacks. Seriously? My two favourite things are back in stock!? Don't they know I'm trying to have a HEALHTY LIFESTYLE CHANGE! GAH! lol

I have to admit that today is dragging again.. I seem to have lost all motivation with my job this week.

On a side note though... I have been knitting a blanket now for.. I dunno.. 3 years?! I kept picking it up.. doing loads then getting bored and forgetting about it for months on end!

I have just started it up again and am getting through quite a few squares. I think now that I am coming towards the end of my wool (I have about 4 balls of wool left to make squares out of) it has become easier to see the finished product. (light at the end of the tunnel?) At least all this knitting is stopping me from picking in the evenings!

 

[Pinkemi]

Morning all!

So I managed to resist all temptation yesterday! woo! I am pretty proud of myself I have to admit.

Got home and my lovely husband-to-be had cooked a healthy chicken stew with new potatoes, cabbage and carrotts. (I know the new potatos aren't great.. but better than pasta I guess!) It did mean that sadly my carb amount was 186grams... (highest its been in ages) but it was healthy eating.. so i'm not stressing too much about it!

Sadly I never made it to the gym as got stuck in terrible traffic on the way home. Instead of my normal hours drive.. its took 2! So I walked in the door at around 7:30pm.

This weekend I am off to Poland.. eeeh cant wait! We are off to Warasaw just for a couple of days.. So lots of walking and visiting christmas markets. I'm just going to have to make sure I can stay away from those mince pies!

Food today... Nothing so far. Ive had my morning cup of coffee and trying to work out what I should eat. I'm WFH today so have more flexability on food choices. (Although no bacon in the house. )

Weight- 14stone 12lbs! (Now I cant screw this up this weekend!!!)

 

[Pinkemi]

Breakfast- 35g of Halloumi, 1x hard boiled egg, 33g of green olives, 1x babybel and 4x salami slices.

Slightly more calories then I wanted for breakfast.. but my thinking is.. If i have a big breakfast then I wont want a big luch! Hopefully I can then keep snacking at bay whilst working from home.

I have noticed actually that its really difficult to keep to a 1,200 calorie range on this plan... as obviously we are trying to feed ourselves with more fat! and fat is normally full of calories.

I do wonder about the whole.. too much fat thing. I know for sure that eating more fat and protein keeps me fuller for longer.. but should i be eating so much salami as I am? Its all just processed meat. But then I find slices of chicken just.. boring.

 

[solange]

Hi Pink, Poland sounds so nice, I always fancied the Christmas markets myself. Don't know if I could resist mince pies though!
Fat. It seems to be the latest fad. I don't go with it at all myself and shall not be drawn into it. What I am doing is, if I have a higher carb day then the following day I have a lower carb day and it seems to be working!!
I'll heave a sigh of relief when I get to maintenance which at my snails pace could be a while........

 

[Pinkemi]

Solange.. they do say though that you are better to do it at a snail's pace as it means you will be more likely to keep it off!

I think this is why I havent' been stressing too much about my higher carb days. Im eating better then I have before.. and thats what is important! If I can just get my exercise back on track then I will feel great!

 

[Pinkemi]

Just completed the ABB workout on Shaun T's "FOCUS T25" DVD.. OMG! I had forgotten how much it hurts! 25mins of pure hell.. But i feel so much better afterwards.

Last time I attempted this workout I got 2 weeks in before I gave up. I used the excuse of "life got in the way." But actually its a what.. 10 week program? I should be able to fit in 25odd mins of exercise everyday.. I'm just being lazy! Wanting 30mins extra in bed.. or more gaming time in the evenings. If I am going to lose all this weight before my wedding in April.. and my hen party mid march.. I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!!

 

[Pinkemi]

Lunch-Chicken casserole eaten like a soup.

Didn't fancy my soup and this was left over from last night. Thought the soup would keep better over the weekend.. Wasnt bad actually. Might ask OH to make it as a soup more often !haha

 

[solange]

Exercise has to be enjoyed before it becomes a chore! Well, I think so. I can no longer do anything that involves getting on the floor and getting up fast like 30 day shred which I used to love (fast furious and over in 20 mins). Now I am lighter I may try it again!!! Why not???
Yes, no sweat with carbs. I just had 2 slices of lovely wholemeal Duchy of Cornwall bread with honey roast ham. Tonight is lasagne al forno (made by Waitrose!) with broccoli and some of Neils allotment grown new potatoes for him with butter (none for me)......still loads of carbs though!!! I shall enjoy.
I hope you can chill a bit and you may find it all slots into place. Bless you, hen party AND wedding, calm, calm, calm!!!!!!
Hugs x

 

[Pinkemi]

There is no harm in trying! Even if you try and find you can't do it.. at least you tried.. you know?

Supper-
So I've just been told that we are out to Pizza Express with the future mother in law tonight! Gah! I love pizza...

Ive had a look at the menu before we go.. and Im going to start with the superfood salad and then have the "skinny" version of the goats cheese pizza. (you know the smaller ones that come with Salad. lol)

And if i stick to soda water and lime.. that should keep me low-ish on calories etc.

This will push my carb count up to 163grams. But.. we should hopefully be doing a lot of walking around the christmas market this evening so i should burn some of it off! *fingers crossed!!*

It will mean though that I am eating 1,900 calories for the day. *sigh* DAMN IT! Maybe I can get away with no starter.. ill have to see..

 

[Pinkemi]

Oh.. My.. Goodness.. that ABB workout was obviously a lot harder then I thought it was.. I'm hobbling a little today!

So yesterday I managed to resist all the tasty treats at the Christmas fayre.. EXCEPT a cup of mild cider. I was freezing and needed warming up.. and thought it would be better than having a hot chocolate.

For supper they didn't have the superfood salad starter on this deal we were using.. so I had the tomato, pesto and mozerella starter. Still better then garlic bread!

This morning I have sucummed to a bowl of porridge... which has taken me to 27g of carbs already! gah! But i made it with Almond milk which has thankfully saved on some of my carbs.

Man this is hard.. I dunno how you guys who stick to 20g or less a day do it! Your food choices must be so.. boring.

 

[Pinkemi]

Well.. I'm back from my weekend away and have put on about 4lbs..

I tried my best to follow the damn diet whilst I was away.. and hoped that the amount of walking that we did would have evened things out a little bit! But we eneded up drinking a lot of beer and Vodka, and I dont normally drink so I'm sure that has something to do with it. Gutted.

Breakfast- 2x babybel
Lunch- Honey roast Ham, boiled egg and spinach with olives and feta cheese.
Snacks- NONE! I have to be good today!!

 

[ladyfelsham]

Hi Pinkemi - and well done on your great losses so far!

I'm a bit of an old hand at LC (lost three stone but put it all back on sadly - but am back on it again now) so I hope you don't mind me offering some suggestions -

- don't worry about calories when you're doing LC - the point of LC is to keep your fats high (like, 70%) - they fill you up and burn body fat so much faster, and calorie counting doesn't figure at all
- strict Atkins induction says to eat under 20g carbs a day for 2 weeks to get you into ketosis - I didn't worry this time and am still losing |(20lbs in about 2 months) - I've cut out all bread, potatoes, starchy veg, pasta and rice etc.
- keep things really simple - get your carbs from spinach and other leafy greens (they really do speed things up) - and go easy on the dairy for a bit
- you'll find you do get really full quickly - but portion control doesn't come easy and some days I just want to eat the entire fridge! Be prepared for it with stuff like ham and boiled eggs in the fridge.
- cook everything in good coconut/olive oil - I also have a tsp of coconut oil every morning - also helps speed weight loss
- other breakfast ideas - omelettes, BLT with avocado (good for you but watch the carbs), leftover dinner - chicken for breakfast? Of course . With veg!
- cravings - you will get them for a while - so either go with them and try to minimise the damage by drinking lots of water OR make LC versions.
- water - drink lots of it - 2-3 litres at least. You'll stop peeing in the night eventually .
- Atkins Flu - some people get flu like symptoms when they drop to 20g carbs because their body is flushing out the toxic carbs. If/when this happens, drink lots of water and try chicken broth (homemade) or use a chicken stock cube, and keep your salt levels up. It soon passes and then you get a huge burst of energy .
-SWI's (sneaky weigh in's) - I know it's so so tempting to jump on the scales every day - we're all guilty of it - but try to do it just once a week if you can. One thing Buffy and I have both learned is that LC losses aren't consistent every day and it's too easy to step on the scales, have what looks like a gain and get discouraged.

Recipes - I love the Diet Doctor - https://www.dietdoctor.com/ and Ruled Me http://www.ruled.me/ - both have great recipes, and the Diet Doctor is a mine of information, plus before and after stories - check this one out! https://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf-made-lindha-half-the-woman-she-used-to-be - I weigh a bit more than this lady so she is my guru! And note the comment about how she says she has no excess skin.

Hope all this helps!

Susie x

 

[Pinkemi]

Hi Susie! Thank you so much for all the information! That article on Lindha is inspiring! I can't imagine being that small!

I really struggle to not calorie count! Mainly because I have been doing it now for so many years.. Its like second nature! Even logging the bad stuff or the bad day. Bad though i guess.. as i just log it and carry on.

My main issue I guess is the fact that I just need to lose that 40lbs by my wedding to make myself feel better! I need to get that motivation back!

 

[Pinkemi]

Actually you know.. whilst we are on the subject of motivation.. I should really get back into the habit of going for a walk at lunch time. (I've been using the bad weather as an excuse!)

I also wanted to start my Focus T25 program again (seeing as its really only 25mins a day!) but have not been able to get up at 6am to do it. (I have to leave the house for 7:30am.) See.. there I go again making excuses when actually Im just LAZY! The thought of exercising is not as pleasing as the thought of eating and sitting infront of the tv. LOL

i do envy those people that can wake up early in the morning and get their workouts in.

 

[Pinkemi]

So.. I didn't wake up early AGAIN and actually ended up over sleeping. GRR!

And it is FREEZING! Literally -3 outside. (brrr)

Weight- 15stone 2lbs.

When am I going to learn that a weekend of bad eating is going to make me put on again?? I know people say you should be able to enjoy your life whilst dieting.. but at the same time I don't have the time frame to be able to do that! I MUST get my butt back into gear. I just want to comfort eat when its this cold.

I keep trying to go back to starting induction again.. but the food is so boring. I think thats the issue.. I'm bored with the same old meals. Might be time to jazz things up a bit.

 

[ladyfelsham]

What sort of thing are you eating? Post some menus hun and I'll see if I can come up with suggestions x.

 

[Pinkemi]

I wanted something warm and filling for this morning's breakfast.. as it is so damn cold! So I had a bowl of porridge, with the thinking that if I use almond milk with it then it will help keep the carb count down. Sadly.. it is still 27grams of carbs.. and then another 5g for the linseed I sprinkled over it. (I've been having really bad issues with keeping everything moving.. EVEN with having Aloe Vera juice in the morning. )

Susuie.. My typical breakfast has been a mixture of the following:

hard boiled eggs,
salami slices
babybels.
cold chicken sausage and bacon

I have to run out of the house most mornings so tend to eat breakfast either in the car (for the 1.5hrs drive) or when I get in at my desk for about 10ish. I have been trying to put off breakfast to as late as possible until my stomach actually rumbles!

Lunch has mainly been either:

homemade vegetable soup (mainly cauli based)
cottage cheese with celery or carrots
or humous with veggies

I throw in babyel, pepperami's etc to that to try and bulk it out a little bit.

Supper is normally what ever my OH has cooked.. or if I am cooking then I will try and do meat and two veg style suppers. We sat down last night after I had a bit of a binge on Toblerone.. to discuss what we are going to do about our weight.

He has agreed that we will try and stick with meat and two veg style suppers from now on. And if we have a rice dish then I will try and not eat the rice.

Talking of Rice actually.. I think we are meant to be having chicken paprika with Rice tonight for his sisters birthday.

 

[ladyfelsham]

Ahhh the porridge won't be helping - ditto hummus, beans are uber high in carbs. And linseed can bind you up a bit. My absolute go to for 'movement' is spinach. You really cannot beat it, so try and have some every day.

Breakfasts can be greatly improved with a little beforehand prep. Try making bacon and cheese mini quiches the night before - they freeze well, so leave them out the night before, then in the morning zap in the m'wave and go. Ditto omelettes - and they really fill you up! Although harder to eat in the car . Or bacon, tom and lettuce wraps - zap the bacon before you leave so you have something warm to eat - and how about making some chicken stock 'soup' in a travel mug? Other B's I like are celery sticks with a smear of cream cheese (not diet version) and wrapped in bacon or ham.

For lunches, I love a big salad with some meat in it - warmed up. You can get fab peppered roast beef/ham chunks from S'burys - zap 'em for a minute or 2, then throw on top of lettuce/leafy greens, add some mayo/herbs and it's gorgeous. Or do the same with the meat but add in wilted spinach with a butter/seeded mustard sauce - yum!

Dinners - get your OH to make cauli rice, it is so simple and wonderful! In fact, make friends with cauli mash too, I absolutely love the stuff and it goes great with slow cooker casseroles and l/c sossies. I use the leftover slow cooker sauce as soup the following day but you can also use xantham gum to thicken it up - but just a bit, otherwise it's like wallpaper paste haha.

Sorry to harp on about it but preparation really is the key to making this work - and cutting out all the carby carbs. I'm out at a friend's for dinner tonight and am taking cauli rice with me, plus some bacon/celery roll ups for my starter.

 

[Pinkemi]

Linseed binds you up? I thought it was meant to be used for the other issue??

I guess this is basically my issue.. is that I haven't prepped enough. I go in stages.. one week I will be really into it! Like the past few weeks making my homemade soup.. prepared.. raring to go! Then other weeks (like this one) I'm like.. meh.. what is the point!

I think the other issue is the.. embaressment seems like too harsh a word but I guess its actually the word I want to use... Embaressment of having to take over something different.. you know? I HATE people knowing that I am on a diet as my family and friends feel like they are then able to comment on it. So many times I have heard "you shouldnt be eating that if you are on a diet." or.. "whats the point in cutting out carbs? they are good for you!"

I just need to snap out of it.. remember that food is fuel and that I need it to live.. NOT that I live for food! Ya know?

 

[Pinkemi]

Lunch- Homemade veg soup

Although I have to be honest.. I didn't much fancy it. But I have to use it up otherwise its a bit of a waste. I also have to make sure i dont eat too much today seeing as we are off to celebrate a birthday later! I'm going to try and eat just the chicken paprika without the rice.. like a soup. And tell anyone who tells me not to, to just SHUT IT! lol

I can be strong...