Amy's weight loss diary

A

amy1985

New member
I apologise if I'm jumping into this too soon (being my second post at all)- I need some accountability and my facebook friends are getting sick of me ranting about this stuff (and I've gotten a few concerned messages from people who think I'm working myself into the ground and/ or starving myself. Which I don't think I am).

I'm calorie counting and aiming to go to the gym somewhere between 5 days a week and every second day. I calculated my BMR, maintenance calorie allowance, and reduced it by 500 calories using one of the first sites that came up on Google (then verified on other websites)- I'm 167cm tall, weigh 73kg, am 25, female, and I would guess I'm lightly active (exercise 3-5 times a week, am not sure whether it's light or moderate, went conservative). So I'm aiming for a calorie deficit of 500, am happy with 500-1000 deficit if I don't make it, and if I don't get up to 1200 I stuff something down my gob to get there. My aim is 1837 calories per day (and my program gives me fat/ carb/ protein recommendations, but I have no idea what to do with those)

Edit to add: 8 May 2011- the post I'm linking to is me explainig how my calorie counting works: http://weight-loss.fitness.com/weight-loss-diary/48726-zandolas-diary.html#post780112

My gym program (aimed at weight loss, fitness, stamina) is currently as follows: 3 minutes warm up on the rower, hold stretches for ten seconds each, ten minutes on bike, 15-20 minutes on cross trainer (a hill program), 3x15 leg extensions, 3x15 leg curls, 3x15 calf raises, 3x15 bicep curls, 3x15 tricep extensions, 3x15 crunches with ab cradle, 3x15 crunches with ab cradle with my legs on an exercise ball, 3x10 leg raises, 40 seconds holding the plank position, 3 minutes on the rower to cool down, and stretches held for 15 seconds. (I've increased some of the reps and times as I've found it easier)

I'm backdating this to be accountable for yesterday's blowout (and lack of gym attendance of late) as well as enquire as to whether I'm doing the right thing with this. Apologies if this is quite long. My calculations are in part from the stuff on the calorie counting program I'm using (cron-o-meter), and in part copied from the nutritional information on packages. (I'm not very good at writing down how much water I'm drinking, although I make sure I write down everything else as best I'm able)

Friday 1 April:
Breakfast: 50g porridge oats (178 calories) made with 300ml water (approx, I didn't measure it), and 100ml of 0.1% fat milk (35 calories).
Snack: 75g plum (34.5 calories)
Lunch: a 415g can of Heinz baked beans (which I should've looked up before I ate it, yikes- 390.5 calories)
Then went to the gym, drank the whole of my 700ml bottle of water during that time. Found gym session very difficult as I'd had something due the previous day and had been very stressed (and hadn't attended the gym leading up to deadline as a consequence)
Snack once home, another 75g plum (34.5 calories)
Dinner- a portion of some low GI vegan lentil patties I found on a recipe website (which I won't link, don't want to break policy, you'll have to trust me- 261 calories)
A 260g bag of spinach, steamed in the microwave, nothing added (65 calories)
Dessert: 170g low fat Greek yoghurt (eyeballed, but it's a 500g pot and I eat it in three portions over 3 days, so it works out- 136 calories), 80g summer berries (thawed) (21.6 calories), 11g granulated sugar (2 teaspoons, made it a little more just in case I overdid it- 42.6 calories)
Late night "oh crap I haven't made it to 1200": 125 orange (61.2 calories)

Total calorie intake:1259 calories (58g protein, 222g carbs, 20g fat)

Saturday April 2:
Breakfast: a gala apple (133g- 66.5 calories), oats (178 calories), made up with milk (300ml cooking, 100 on top, 140 calories), with 80g thawed berries (21.6 calories)
Went to gym, tiring but better than day before, drank 800ml water
After gym: Was quite late in the day and had had nothing since breakfast, was feeling faint, at boyfriend's, had a Lindt truffle from the box he gave me for Valentine's day (79 calories)
Dinner (I know, I'm an idiot): More of the lentil patties (261 calories), 260g spinach (65 calories)
Realising my calorie count was still very low and stuffing my face: 100g pickles (23 calories), a slice of rye bread (93 calories) with 15g strawberry conserve (38 calories)
Also had 800ml (made up) of sugar free lime cordial (19.2 calories)
Total: 984 calories (this is a pattern that's concerning me)- 42g protein, 145g carbs, 21g fat.

Sunday 3 April:
(Big) breakfast: 50g rye bread (93 calories) with a teaspoon of honey (5 calories- went from the back of the pack). 50g oats (178 cal), made with water, 100ml milk (35 cal). Coffee (brewed from grounds, 3 cups, apparently only 7 cal), and another 80ml of milk (28 cal).
Snack: plum (34.5 cal)
Lunch: 2 slices rye bread (186 cal) with 60g low fat plain cottage cheese (eyeballed, but I use the pot over 5 serves so it evens out- 42 cal), and 20g red onion (7.4 calories). 2 big oranges (425g- 208.2 calories)
Snack: 2 rye crispbreads (22g/ 69.3 cal), with 40g Branston original pickle (43.6 cal), and a cup of strong black tea (effectively nil, apparently) with milk (50g, 17.5 cal), unsweetened
Dinner: 200g steamed carrots (calculated from raw, 82 cal- only things added water and heat) and courgettes (also calculated from raw, 275g/ 46.8 cal, again nothing added), a spiced orange roast chicken recipe I found (but won't link) and adapted to cut meat from 1.2kg to under 500g (calories calculated from portion not weight, 249 cal), wholewheat couscous prepared with water (50g raw, 180 cal).
Snack: 325g grape tomatoes (95.6 cal) and 800ml lime cordial (19.2 cal)
Total: 1627 cal (73g protein, 285g carbs, 19g fat)

Monday 4 April (no gym today)
Breakfast: oats (178 cal), made with water, 100ml milk (35 cal) on top, with berries (21.6 cal). 750mL coffee (7.5 cal), and 120ml milk (42 cal)
Lunch: 2 slices rye bread (186 cal), 75g cottage cheese (52.5), 75g tomato (13.5), with dried basil and pepper (no idea how to weigh these, guessed on program at 3g basil- 7.5 cal, and 1g pepper- 2.6 cal?). 75g plum (34.5 cal), lime cordial (400ml, 9.6 cal)
Dinner: wholewheat couscous made with water (50g- 180 cal), spiced orange chicken portion (249 cal), 80g plum (36.8)
Crap why aren't I near my calorie goal late snack/ meal: potato, boiled with skin (no salt/ butter)- 250g (180 cal). 170g Greek yoghurt (136 cal), summer berries (85g- 23 cal), a dessertspoon honey (14.16g- conversion from dessertspoon obtained from honey weight website- 14.2 cal)

Had a very long break between food (lunch and dinner) that day (7 hours), and by the time I got to dinner I didn't feel very well, but I was out all that time and couldn't bring myself to pay for/ eat the rubbish that was on offer where I was, so I just suffered.

Total: 1470 cal, 76g protein, 242g carbs, 21g fat.

Tuesday 5 April (went out without planning... and didn't go to the gym... oops):
Breakfast: oats (178 cal), made with 400ml milk (140 cal), 100g berries (27 cal), and a dessertspoon of honey (14.2 cal)
Lunch: 2 slices rye bread (186 cal), 60g cottage cheese (42 cal), 20g red onion (7.4 cal), 100g tomato (18 cal), and 50g Branston pickle (54.5). (Started to think about going out after this or would've cut back)
Snack: 80g plum (36.8 cal) and 500ml of coffee (5 cal) with 80ml milk (28 cal)
Oops: didn't realise I was being taken to "premier seats", free food on offer, student, can't resist. Had (approx) 80g corn chips (393.6 cal!!!) and 80g salsa (21.6 cal), and a 350mL cup of pepsi (147 cal), and 750ml water
Dinner (had pre-planned from Nando's website): Nando's half a chicken (352.6 cal), with lemon and herb baste (found on Nando's Australia website, assuming two serves, 60.2 cal). Side of sweet potato mash (one of the better options- 236 cal), 500ml mineral water.
Dessert: chocolate ice cream (194.4 cal) (I don't regret that one little bit, as it allowed me to quell my chocolate/ ice cream cravings without the rest of the big tub from the supermarket taunting me from my freezer/ a big fat binge)

Total: 2142 calories (or 117% of my goal). 102g protein, 323g carbs, 58g fat.

Any advice (particularly on my "safe range" and how to incorporate going out/ bad days, and being way under but not hungry) more than welcome. (And accountability- if I only wanted advice I'd stick to my boyfriend, who tells me I'm wonderful as I am no matter what I do)
 
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Hi Amy. Are you Australian? Its good you are here wherever you come from. I think this is the right place to obsess about food and exercise. I haven't been here long either but from what i've seen you can do pretty much what you like.

I think the links ban is about spamming. I think its ok to show links to a recipe. If you want to do it, try it and if they don't like it, they will tell you. I saw a comment by a moderator yesterday that gave me this interpretation.

I am not a calorie counter though I am familiar with the notion about not eating enough and the effect on metabolic rate etc. However, mostly i see people over compensate because they are afraid of going into starvation mode, eat too much and then wonder why they are not losing weight.

I think the best thing to do is make a good detailed record of what you are eating. After a week, see how much weight you lost. Modify your diet according to the weekly loss rate. If you are restricting, exercising and not losing any weight, whilst keeping an accurate record of your food, then you could ask us if we think it looks like not enough food, just for an outside opinion. If we say yes, then you should try upping your food intake for a week and see if that gets better results

I sometimes notice people trying to compensate no weight loss by merely increasing their exercising when they are already doing something regularly. I think things get a bit frenzied that way.

On the other hand, if you are comfortable about what you have eaten, rather than force some food in when you are not hungry and if you lose weight, keep doing the same thing. I don't see the point in forcing yourself to eat more when you are not hungry.

If you are not losing weight and we say it looks like you are eating more than starvation rations, then you'd have to consider cutting back.

I hope this makes sense.

I am pretty sure there are no calories in a cup of black coffee. Sometimes i have my doubts about the accuracy of those things.
 
Hi fortyfour, thanks for your response. Yes, I'm Australian, although I currently live in the UK.

I read in the rules that new members can't post any links until they have 10 posts- once I get there I think (if I read the rules correctly) posting recipes is ok, but I don't want to break the rules so soon. I got the meals from an Australian website called "Taste" (googling Taste Australia reveals it as the first result), searching for low kilojoule recipes (I changed the meat down in the chicken recipe I used, and do for most recipes from that website).

I'm still experimenting with the calorie counting thing, it's very early days. My attitude on it generally is that if I feel hungry, I'll eat (as when I ignore hunger I begin to feel faint- and I'd rather be much bigger than I am than feel sick all the time), and I'll try to make better calorie choices. I'm also trying to stick to basic nutritional guidelines (between 5-7 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, less than 100g of meat, that sort of thing). What does concern me is when I'm well below that magic 1200 number. (And on Monday when I ate quite a bit more after dinner it was as a result of a lecture from a friend who said I had to get up to at least 1500. Was absolutely stuffed after that) On the days where I've been significantly below my calorie count I haven't been hungry (except Monday, but I was only hungry when I was out, and when I was out I had the options of crap, rubbish, or junk, so I opted to be hungry until I got back).

I've been exercising for about three weeks now and have seen no change in weight (my boyfriend has commented on a slight difference in subjective bust size, but whether he's just trying to make me feel better I don't know). Given I'm primarily working on strength I suppose I could be putting on muscle and losing bulk (at least for part of it), and I hope (really hope) that I'll start to see a shift on the scales soon. (I don't want to lose it in a week or a month, but the idea that it might take a year, which one of my friends suggested, is a little depressing)

I'm actually very comfortable with what I've been eating. I can see I'm making better choices (under calorie counting- I've stopped eating regular bread, for example, and rye bread is a lot more filling for less calories), but I don't feel deprived or hungry (as I have been under previous attempts to lose weight). I am very tired a lot, though (I have a treated underactive thyroid and so that can be ruled out as a possible cause). Instead of craving "bad" food all the time, I now see myself as saving up for it (although did it a bit too early last night. That was instructive as to how to have treats without binging, in any case) and am not so concerned about it. And in large part (apart from some shifts from things like bread, sugar, and dried fruit which are quite calorific) this is what I've been eating for awhile. (Well, I'm eating less, but that's because forcing myself to record my intake makes me stop and think "am I actually hungry, or just bored/ thirsty/ procrastinating?". I'm not suffering under normal conditions, if that makes sense)
 
OK- food, exercise etc for today. (So far? It's 9:15pm here)

Wednesday 6 April

Breakfast: 50g oats (178 cal), made with water, with 100ml 0.1% milk on top (35 cal), and a dessertspoon of honey (14.2 cal).
Lunch: A serve of low GI vegan lentil patties (from an Australian recipe website- 261 cal), with 260g steamed spinach (65 cal)
Gym: 700ml water
Dinner: a serve of spiced orange chicken (from same website, with amount of meat radically reduced- 249 cal), with 300g steamed zucchini (51 cal), and 400g steamed carrot (164 cal)

Total thus far: 1017 calories, 57g protein, 141g carbs, 23g fat.

Went to the gym about an hour after lunch (which I ate late because that porridge seriously keeps me full). Felt like I'd overeaten and a little bit sick, but I got through it, and in fact did extra cardio (my program is 15 min cross trainer/ 10 bike, and I did 20 cross trainer/ 15 bike. I'd do more but I have weak knees and I've been finding especially the bike very difficult). With the weights I did, I incorporated a trick a friend of mine told me about, "shocking" the muscles by using different weights. So for each of the 3 reps for my leg work (leg extension, leg curl) I used different weights within the range of what I could manage (making the first very difficult to finish a set, the second moderately difficult, and the third a little on the easy side)- and although it was tiring, it was a pleasing sort of tiring. (Difficult to explain) I also spoke to the swimming instructor about getting some coaching in to help increase my stamina in the pool, as that's much easier on my knees and I enjoy it (if I weren't so damned unfit). Will make an appointment for a session when he gets back from holiday (a couple of weeks). Between gym and eating dinner (which I knew I needed to eat regardless) I was wavering between feeling starving hungry and feeling like I'd overeaten, which was weird.

Was very frustrated at the gym- have been a member for a little over three weeks now (and have recently started calorie counting)- my weight has not moved at all. In fact, I asked one of the gym instructors and he asked "what are you eating?" in a tone which made me think he was expecting "oh, you know, McDonalds for breakfast, all-you-can-eat-buffet for lunch, lard to wash it down, Burger King for dinner". I know I shouldn't expect to see immediate results, but nothing in three weeks? (And I mean nothing- my clothes fit the same, I don't feel smaller, etc) I'm finding it all a bit demoralising at the moment- I thought I was doing so well. (I found changes to be made to my diet to be not terribly significant- I already had a reasonably healthy diet, just cut a few things like regular bread) I am getting fitter, and I know that's a good thing, but I'm seeing none of the other things I want to see with it (not even any additional mental clarity, which is a key motivation as to why I'm doing this).

On a bit of a downer this evening. I know it's early days, but my boyfriend (who's been a member of the gym the same amount of time as me, goes less often, and eats way, way, way more crap than I'd ever dream of) has lost 2kg in the last three weeks.
 
As an addendum to last night, I had a plum (80g- 36.8 cal) and a serve of wholewheat couscous (50g from dried- 180 cal) because I was well under 1200 calories and I shouldn't do that. Revised total 1233 cal, 64g protein, 186g carbs, 24g fat.

As I've now reached 10 posts (complying with the letter of the law), here are the recipes I referred to earlier.

Low GI lentil patties: (the sauce doesn't go very far, but it's very nice nonetheless)
Spiced orange chicken: (I edited this to only have 485g chicken in it, and calculated the calories on a recipe calculator. I don't know if that's right, but I couldn't bring myself to make this with over a kilogram of chicken)
 
Amanda about your knees on the bike

Just briefly, check a couple of things

Is your seat the right height? Your leg should be slightly bent when you heel is on the pedal.
Are you cycling on a high gear. Lower the gear. Cycling should be on the lightest gear possible.

If its not either of those then its just from spinning too fast, a problem that would only come from riding in a gym. Slow down a bit so you can ride more comfortably for the duration. And consider reducing the duration and buildng it up more slowly.

It takes time to develop the knee muscles you need for cycling.

There is an exercise you can do for your knees that is suitable for cyclists and runners.
Lie on the floor with a rolled up towel just under the lower end of the thigh, near your knees. Then you lift your feet so that your legs are straight. Do this repeatedly. Understand you are not lifting your leg very much at all and your thighs are still resting on the towel.

Read this link with regard to calories. It might answer your question about hwy you are not losing weight. I think this is the right link. Ask me again if there's nothing pertinent. I found it intersting



An orthopaedic surgeon told me this exercise after i had injured my knees from running too much in heavy shoes.
 
Thanks again for your reply.

My knee problem is a long standing issue which is quite complicated to explain- basically I was misdiagnosed with a knee problem in my teens, and the misapplied treatment has led to general weakness in my knees to this day. I know from previous experience of rebuilding fitness that more exercise makes it better (and I'm starting to see improvement on the cross trainer), but it's slow going (little-no improvement on the bike so far). I'm just taking it slowly, allowing myself a little aggravation but not pushing it into pain. I don't think it's a problem specifically with how I'm cycling. (At least, none of the instructors in the gym have commented) I'm cycling on the lowest intensity and trying to build up to a middling speed (I have no intention of going really fast) and then working on the intensity, which is quite challenging on my knees. I've been building up the intensity on the cross trainer and that's something I've been getting better at (from an intensity of 3 being quite hard for 15 minutes two weeks ago to an intensity of 5 being almost comfortable for 20 minutes when I went to the gym yesterday).

Thanks for the suggestion for the exercise, I'll give that a go.

I think you shared the article you were talking about. I definitely found it interesting. I'm not sure of the role of my metabolism in all of this- I have a very underactive thyroid and am on medication (approaching the maximum level of medication recommended by the NHS, hence my characterisation of "very underactive") which essentially gives me thyroid hormone- I don't know the details but I can't imagine that the body can stop that from entering my system even if I am starving, and thus my metabolism wouldn't be affected by that? (I don't think I am starving, to be honest, I'm still "listening to my body" and very rarely feel I'm doing without- I've read all of this "oh, calorie counting can't possibly work because you're starving all the time and you can't keep up with that because no one has that sort of willpower" online and it just doesn't match with my experience at all)

I suppose I am doing more muscle training than I anticipated- I'm just following the program I had set up for me. Presumably the muscle buildup will help with my stamina (and my weak knees) and help me keep up aerobic exercise in the future?

Had a reasonable day today until I had to go to uni and realised midafternoon that I hadn't eaten lunch. Got the lowest calorie reasonable looking thing I could find from around university and it made me feel ill (and was more calorific than I think it should've been- but a lot of the options were just outrageous) not very long afterwards. Will teach me to either be more organised or just go without when I'm out (which is about the only time when I suffer- the combination of "I'm not paying that!" and "I'm not eating any of that crap!"- in fact one of the other students suggested I get my quick food fix from McDonalds, and my instinctive and immediate response was "ewww!")
 
Thursday 7 April

This day may continue to pose challenges for me during the weeks when it's on (not next week), as I have a long afternoon at universities with little to go with except vending machines. I'm out of practice packing lunch for myself (I can get most of my work done at home and so can wander to the fridge and make a sensible option there), and I really do need to eat in that time period to keep up my concentration (and possibly keep me awake- that room is damned conducive to sleep).

Anyway.

Breakfast: Similar to usual. 50g oats, 80ml milk (28 cal), with 75g blueberries (ran out of the pack of summer fruits, bought the blueberry pack at the same time as part of an offer. You get more blueberries for the weight but they're slightly more calorific- 24 cal). 2 cups of coffee (5) and 80ml milk (28). Total: 263 calories
Lunch: another oops. Left my place for my class and realised I hadn't eaten. Got to uni, got through first half of seminar and was starting to feel woozy. Had about half an hour to find something vaguely sensible. There wasn't a lot on offer (some of the sandwiches are nearly 600 calories per 100g!!!), so I went for a Greek salad from the convenience sized supermarket nearby- seriously this was the best option they had (277g, 357 cal, including a princely 27.1g fat. Sigh) Filled me up, but began to feel nauseous about halfway through the next seminar, so I suffered through that.
Snack: on the way home I had a granny smith apple (if the same size as the next apple I had- couldn't weigh- 80 cal). I was still feeling sick but this helped me curb it. When I got home I had a cup of peppermint tea (6 cal) which also helps me curb nausea.
Dinner: Decided I had to eat even though I wasn't feeling great. Had remaining portion of lentil patties (261 cal), and 350g raw carrot (eaten raw tonight- 143.5 cal). Total: 404.5 cal
Dessert: saw I had some calories left to play with, wanted to treat myself (I'm enjoying being decadent and still fitting within my diet. Took a granny smith apple (80 cal), chopped it up into small pieces, put it in a bowl, covered it in cling film, microwaved it for about a minute, then added 75g blueberries (24 cal), a dessertspoon of honey (14.2 cal), and 170g (eyeballed, but I use the pot in 3 goes and the pot is 500g, so close enough) of low fat Greek yoghurt (136 cal), stirred it all together. Will be doing that again, that was amazing. Total: 254 calories.

No gym on Thursdays, if I went I'd either meet peak time and not be able to use any of the equipment, or go before class and fall asleep in class.

I've also revised my calorie goal as I think I was allowing myself too much before. I was thinking about a 30% cut from maintenance, but that was too much, so recalculated my BMR etc, realised I'd done my maths wrong, and have cut my original goal by 100 calories (now 1737). Will see how that goes.

Apart from having to wait until after 4pm for lunch (combination of commitments and being an idiot), and feeling ill from eating that horrible salad, no problems with food today. Very satisfied.

Total: 1364 calories (79%), protein 44g, carbs 193g, fat 44g (yikes).
 
I've also got hypothyroidism and am on medication though my dose is not so high about 125mg per day i think. Because i am on medication and am fairly stable, i tend to presume its not affecting my metabolism at all. I've had it since 1997. Luckily it was diagnosed before i was showing any symptoms. A fluke really. But interestingly, my grandmother has it (i found out later) and if i'd known, i could have been aware that i was a contender. I don't know if my mother has it. We don't get on so well so don't discuss much. I am surprised if not because we are similar in many ways.
 
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism right at the time that I started to show symptoms (I was 13- 1999- and had a goiter for a bit. Let's just say kids can be cruel). They were watching out for it anyway because I'd developed a condition (unrelated) which can be associated, and I have an extended family history (mother, maternal great-grandmother, two maternal aunts, paternal grandmother- apparently it's a generation skipper, so I got it from my paternal grandmother, and if I were to have a daughter, she'd get it from my mother). I'm on 1200mcg a week (200 a day, but I skip it on Sundays). I don't want to use it as an excuse or anything, but sometimes I wonder if all this metabolism stuff really applies to me, because, let's face it, the overwhelming majority of my metabolism comes in the form of a pill and has done for getting on towards most of my life!
 
the overwhelming majority of my metabolism comes in the form of a pill and has done for getting on towards most of my life!
Click to expand...

I think that makes it sounds overly complicated. You could always check up on your idea with an endocrinologist though.

I think its too easy to find excuses in all but the obvious places. We just have to eat less. I know its hard. That's why we want there to be another explanation. But most often there is no other.

Thanks for confirming the generation skipping of this disorder. That would make sense then about my mother.
 
Oh, no, I'm not using it as an excuse, I just wonder how much this sort of stuff applies to me (in fact, most of my wondering comes at the other end- how can my metabolism shut down from a lack of calories when most of my metabolism comes in pill form? Is it really that big a deal if I eat under 1200 calories? etc)

I need to go grocery shopping today (almost out of milk, fruit, and rye bread) and I need to decide whether to get anything different or whether to try anything new. On the one hand, this is all working really well- on the other hand, it's pretty repetitive and I probably don't have enough variety in my diet. Would appreciate suggestions on recipes/ ideas on low calorie (and/ or low fat/ high nutrient) stuff to incorporate into my diet. I'm thinking about getting some peanut butter, apparently in moderation it's very good for you. I love it, but I've never been able to do the moderation thing before- maybe now I can now I look a lot of stuff up before I eat it? (I craved cupcakes while counting but before I joined the program, worked out a single cupcake had the same calories as some meals, and my cravings instantly vanished. Gross)

Edit to add: I'm going to weigh myself first thing in the morning from now on. The scales at the gym (what I was originally going on, but it was pointed out to me elsewhere that these aren't necessarily reliable) put me at 73kg, and unchanged. So I started weighing myself at home (I find the scales a bit difficult to read, but I was given them, and free is free, right?) yesterday and this morning, and this I've gone from 74.5kg to 73.5kg. I know it's almost certainly not significant on that time scale, but a change is a change, and it's made me feel much better about myself. (I'm going to be weighing myself at more regular intervals, first thing in the morning, from now on)
 
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I always like to weigh myself first thing in the morning. There's no doubt that its likely to be the best weight of the day.

Any of the bean lentil dishes are good. They are somewhat high in calories but they are so healthy and you can make good delicious dishes with them. YOu can mix them with rice or bread for a whole protein but otherwise they are high in protein and best of all you won't binge on it.

Lentil soup is delicious. My favourite recipe for this is as close to the way the turks do it as you can find. A little bit of tomato paste in it is good but it doesn't need lots of vegetables and some vegetables in it can ruin it in my opinion. Find a turkish food joint and see if you like it and ask them how to make it. There's no added fat or meat stock usually. I want to make this again soon.

If you make roast or steamed vegies, it can be nice to serve it with tzatziki. (spelling) yoghurt with garlic. Its also good on meat if you are a meat eater but i don't think you are.

the indians have a nice yoghurt soup with besan flour dumplings. (chickpeas)

It can be fun to try some indian vegetable dishes. Their food is best eaten with rice i find. And calorie wise its better than naan bread though that is very delicious. I love their potato and pea curry.

You should try my ratatouille recipe. Its a great dish, easy to make and it will last you through several meals. The recipe is in the link at the top of my post. I had it tonight with pasta. No cheese. I've given up cheese while i am dieting.

Tabouli is a good salad dish. I haven't made that for a long time though.

You can make rice and vegetable bakes. But you have to be careful that you don't include too much of things like cheese. You'd have to search for a recipe.

Stir fries are a good thing.

Vietnamese spring rolls

Sushi/norrie rolls. I can't make them as good as those i buy even though i use the mirin.

Well that about exhausts my ideas for the moment.

Except one more thought. If you are eating nuts and seeds, once you start throwing these in your meals, the options become endless. If they are not a problem for you, it only takes a tbsp to make a stir fry that bit more exciting but dont' forget they are high in calories, though good fats.

Cellophane noodles are good.

If i want something easy, i might have a can of heinz asparagus or celery soup. I'd eat the whole lot too. With bread even.

a bought read prepared thing that is yummy is chinese vegetable dumplings. They are not too cheap though. You find them in the freezer section. Just steam and serve with or without soy.
 
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Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to compile some recipes (from sites like Taste and others I've come across), make a list, and go shopping a bit later (and make my boyfriend check my receipt so that I don't cheat- as well as document everything I eat here). I think recipes with nutritional information are the best way to go because you have a reasonable idea (more or less) what's going into you. I've tried working out calories from stuff I've just chucked together and I can't figure it out. (I've cut cheese from my diet, apart from low fat cottage- I think I have some parmesan lurking in the back of my fridge, but if I use that it'll be in the way suggested in the Symply Too Good to be True recipes- a few tablespoons to make a cheesy sauce, for a meal to serve 6 or something.

Going to head off to the gym soon, wondering if I should incorporate some brisk walking into my workout, work on my knees (and maybe small bursts of running? would have to be 5 min tops), although I'm already doing a lot as it is, and I'm self conscious that all the thin/ muscular/ beautiful people in the gym will think I'm wasting time on their equipment. :rolleyes: (although that being said, they're the morons who stand on the very limited equipment, doing nothing or next to it in the way of exercising, texting :smash:)

Edit to add: I think this means I've lost some weight. I'm getting dressed ready to go to the gym, and what I do sometimes to save some time/ undressing awkwardness in the changing room is put my gym clothes on underneath jeans and street clothes. I'm low on clothes because I've put on weight and can't afford to buy any more- down to two pairs of pants. It's too warm to wear my bigger ones, so I thought I'd try my gym pants (like yoga pants, I think) with my smaller pair of pants (jeans) over the top. I can get the jeans on over the yoga pants, it doesn't hurt, the material isn't pulling, and I can sit down! :hurray:
 
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Just got back from the gym. Had an absolutely kickarse session, everything went exactly as it should, and I increased some of the reps. Really enjoying the "shocking" of muscles that a friend suggested, it feels really good. Speaking of feeling really good, I noticed the front of my thighs feel a lot firmer today than I would normally expect, which is progress. I also broke through a major psychological barrier- because of my weak knees, running of any sort has often hurt a great deal, and so I avoid it. Today, because I felt so good (in addition to what I'd planned to do), I got on the treadmill and walked for 15 minutes (at a pace where it would be almost as comfortable to run- so, very briskly) and interspersed two very short bursts of running- ok, 2 lots of 90 seconds, it's not earth shattering- into that. It's a big step for me, and I asked if I could have a more difficult program. I go in Wednesday to talk to them about it, and I'm psyched.
 
You can probably purchase one of those knee support straps (dunno the proper name, I invented that one!) Someone at the gym suggested I get one of those as I have an ACL injury but my knee hasn't really bothered me so I guess I didn't really bother looking for one
 
Thanks for the suggestion :) I know from previous experience I can work my knees back up to normal, it's just slow and frustrating early on. I'm having a lot of trouble with resistance on the bike in particular, and today when I was struggling a bit (but I got through- did the whole 15 min on resistance level 6 rather than the 1 I usually use) I thought about how I'd gotten through this before, and the answer was running. OK, I was in rehabilitation for a relatively serious illness at that stage (I had massive complications from glandular fever which left me bedridden for awhile), but the suggestion was to walk on the treadmill, increasing the time by a minute a day, and when I was walking a reasonable length of time, start incorporating running into it, 30 seconds at a time and increasing 10 seconds a day. At the peak of my fitness I could run for 10 minutes, which isn't huge, but given my knee problems it was incredible. That's why I started the way I did- not as baby steps as I'd done before, but easy does it. I know it works.
 
Oh, and some guy in the gym today was trying to hit on me/ was gawking as I did some of my exercises. I was a bit creeped out, but at the same time I couldn't believe it, given the weight I have to lose and that my workout gear shows... everything :ack2:

But mostly it was just a distraction.
 
Alright, food diary time. Was very pleased with myself when I went shopping today, didn't buy anything substantially off the list (the only thing I bought was spinach, because I'd forgotten I was out of it when writing the list, and it was half price). Not even tempted by the cakes as I usually am.

Friday 8 April

Breakfast: Thought I'd try something a bit different this morning. The usual porridge (50g, 178 cal), made with water, with milk on top (only about 50g as I ran out of milk- 17.5 cal), but with strawberry conserve (15g, 38 cal). I used to remember loving that as a kid, but it must've been with a whole lot more sugar and/ or more jam. Not doing that again, was a waste of calories.
Lunch: Was late and so I just wanted leftovers. Spiced orange chicken portion (249 cal), with 50g wholewheat couscous (180 cal)
Snack: 2 wholegrain rice cakes (58 cal), 200g of tomatoes (36 cal), with some pepper (a gram? I still don't know how to measure herbs- say 2.6 cal). Later I had a granny smith apple (80g, 41.6 cal)
Dinner: Had a variation on this - reduced meat to 410g, replaced cinnamon with 1/4 tsp nutmeg (no cinnamon in house), replaced chilli pepper with another teaspoon of chilli flakes, and used 2 tbs of lemon juice from a bottle rather than juicing a lemon. According to the recipe calculator I've been using (), that's 373 calories. Very filling not for any reason other than the fact it's very spicy and I have some trouble with the burning sensation (taking my time over eating it). Served with 1/3 pot (about 170g) low fat Greek yoghurt, a smidge of dried mint (took out mint from original recipe- and when I say a smidge, I mean the jar I got it from is 9g and I barely made a dent- I counted it as 0.1g, or 0.3 cal), and 50g wholewheat couscous (180 cal). Also had 260g steamed spinach on the side (65 cal).
Dessert: had a kiwifruit (80g/ 39.2 cal) because I couldn't stop my mouth burning. I'm really sensitive to chilli, I really like that dish but it's painful.

Total calories for the day: 1594 (92% of goal), 95g protein, 204g carbs, 44g fat.

Need to get some red meat back into my diet- I'd consider becoming a vegetarian, but my iron is perpetually low and supplementation alone doesn't cover it. Am going to make a chilli con carne (with substitutions for some of the chilli) soon.

Edit to add: had to buy sultanas for this recipe, and they're taunting me from the kitchen. I used to be able to eat a packet of these at once, but the calorie count on them is horrific (95 cal for 30g!). I love sultanas, but I'm not going to have them unless they're in a recipe. Or maybe on porridge, in limited amounts. Must be good.
 
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Hi Amy

Its interesting reading your recipe and comments lol. I hate chilli too although i don't mind a little bit. What i do is leave is out altogether or reduce significantly. It won't make the recipe worse. I didn't use to feel so bad about chilli until i went to india and found it hard to find food that i could eat on a daily basis. (tourist areas are better but i was far from tourist areas quite often).

You can also eat some raw salad vegetables like cucumber to help. But yoghurt is the best.

Also when eating chilli dishes, don't mix up your rice or cous cous thoroughly. Only mix it as you are putting it in your mouth. Then you can take another spice free spoonful of cous cous if you need to. I learnt that from the indians. Though they don't all do that either. But i think its easier to keep chilli at a level you can tolerate.

As to counting calories in things spices and herbs, why bother. They've mostly got none given the amount you use. Don't sweat it.
 
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