Amy's weight loss diary

ASo happy your back on the bandwagon :)

I hope your jet lag gets better soon and you don't have trouble sleeping. Have you got any of them prescribed sleeping pills left to help your body settle into a routine again?

Is it strange being back home? Bet it seems really small after spending 6 weeks at your mums big house.
 
AEverything seems a lot smaller in the UK than in Australia- it's hard to explain. Not just the size of the houses, the scale of things, the lack of open spaces (or there are much fewer of them). And actually, it's sort of strange that it's not strange, if that makes sense. It almost feels more intuitive to be back in old Blighty, which is quite unnerving.

The jetlag is getting much better, thanks. I'm almost back to normal now, just feel a bit sleep deprived- I'm sleeping through the night. The sleeping tablets are a bit of a cost-benefit thing- they make me feel horrible the next day, so I try not to take them unless I have to. I took one on Tuesday night, which I think was the right thing to do, but I didn't feel good at all on Wednesday. I'm just going to try to get by without them- it's now a lot more like recovering from a series of all-nighters before a big assignment's due.

Bandwagon... yes.... :leaving: That was actually what I came on here to talk about. I've had a bad day diet wise. I went to the mega super huge shopping centre for my area today, which is about an hour's travel by bus (one way) from my place. (I went to get a special present for my boyfriend's anniversary- sort of plays into bad day) I got there and realised not too long after that I was very, very hypoglycaemic and it was after lunchtime (I can be terrible at time keeping- when I don't have to be somewhere, I come and go whenever I want). So I did the first of two good diet things while out today- I went to Eat, looked at their soups, and got a soup for 255 calories (a very big one, too, and it was very nice). That seemed to hit the spot, but a little while later I realised that while I was full, my blood sugar was still low, so I had the apple that I'd packed. That resolved things. I then went and bought the present I'd intended to spend for my boyfriend (it was expensive, but I hope it'll last him a long time- and it's for us being together a year, I wanted it to be really special). Then three bad things happened. One, I decided to keep shopping, found some things I'd been thinking about getting, and ended up overloading myself because they were cheap and exactly what I needed. Two, I realised I probably shouldn't have worn a jacket, as the centre was heated, and I was starting to feel uncomfortable (2a- the fact I hadn't worn ballet flats in nearly two years started to get to me, and I developed blisters and needed to sit down). Three, I started to feel guilty about the money I'd spent on the present. All of these resulted in sitting down to have a rest... and ice cream (somewhere indoors and cooled rather than heated to sit, a chance to put down all my crap, and a way to displace my guilt into something I know I can manage a bit better- as much as I know ice cream isn't diet friendly, I also know that I already compensate for splurges, my first two days recommencing calorie counting I was stupidly under, and in any case it'll all work out if I don't make this a frequent occurrence- which I won't). Then I had to walk back to the bus station, which was on the other side of this massive place, and through all the heating. I succumbed and bought a 500ml lemon Fanta from a vending machine, which made me feel a lot better.

So. Ugh.

I plan to eat my very low calorie vegan stew thing for dinner tonight, and not eat anything else. And you'd better believe I'm going to be counting this.
 
ANow, given binge... do I cook properly or do I eat something really small so I don't blow my calorie allowance for today? Opinions welcome (I'm erring on the side cooking properly- particularly given yesterday I was comfortably in my calorie allowance, and the two days before I was under 1200)
 
AWill post yesterday's food diary (ended up eating, screwing up and thus overeating)- but for the moment... testing testing.



This is just a copy paste of my ticker, it's not going to remain in my signature as I want it to, but this is an appropriate point to put it because it's weigh in day. 67kg according to the scales that I've been measuring on this whole time. So while it's not good, it's not as catastrophic as I thought (I know I haven't lost 2kg in the last 5 days!)

Am going to be having an interesting and exciting day out with my boyfriend today (I can't say anything at all about why, it's a secret, but :hurray: )

Also, I can't figure out where to buy batteries for my digital scale. It's been coming up "low battery" for days and the weights are wandering (as in I put something on, it shows 10g, I turn around to get something else and it now shows 8 or 12g- I'm putting the weight that first appears, but that shouldn't happen)

Anyway, food diary. Some level of guesstimate here for the ice cream (I took the values- supposedly from the USDA- for chocolate ice cream and the cone, and did some googling for what a scoop size in the UK is).

Friday 19 August

Breakfast

Tesco frozen blueberries70g22.4
Tesco light fromage frais150g69.0
Tesco Scottish Porridge Oats30g108.0
0.1% milk334g116.9
0.1% milk51g17.8
Coffee, brewed from grounds, prepared with tap water950g9.5
0.1% milk66g23.1

Subtotal: 366 calories, 31g protein, 50g carbs, 3g fat. 35/57/9

Lunch and stuff while out
Eat Old Fashioned Chicken and Egg Noodle soup627.7g226.0
Ice cream cones, sugar, rolled-type15g60.3
Ice creams, chocolate, rich132g336.6
Fanta Icy Lemon500g170.0

Subtotal: 792 calories, 33g protein, 103g carbs, 26g fat. 17/53/30

Dinner:
Pepper steak 19 August (334.75)334.75g238.5
Kingsmill 50/50 bread (slice 40g)80g180.0
Flora Original10g53.1
Tesco very fine green whole beans126g34.0
Squash, summer, zucchini, includes skin, raw152g25.8
Peppers, sweet, green, raw153g30.6

Subtotal: 562 calories, 36g protein, 61g carbs, 17g fat. 25/44/28/3 (I'd never seen a fourth value on my pie chart before, but apparently- yay google- when it comes up it's protein/ carbs/ fat/ alcohol. Good to know)

Went for the bread because it was incredibly liquid (yes, I tried reducing it), went for the Flora because... I'm bad.

Pepper steak contains (to serve 4):

Tesco beef stock cubes (cube=11g)11g31.9
Water, tap, drinking450g0.0
Onions, raw276g110.4
Very Lazy Garlic4g3.9
Tesco sundried tomatoes43g64.5
Alcoholic beverage, wine, table, red100g85.0
Sauce, worcestershire10g7.8
Tesco Pepper Steak435g587.2
Flora Cuisine10g63.3

Total: 1721 calories :)eek:), 102g protein, 215g carbs, 47g fat. 3324.3mg sodium (222%). Final split (protein/ carbs/ fat/ alcohol) 23/51/25/1
 
AAhh, you didn't do too bad, it was only an ice cream and a can of fanta. And you needed them bot because you were hypoglycaemic. Your calories for the day were fine, I remember some wise person once telling me that every day that you eat better than you otherwise would have done isn't a wasted day. It was good advice, that :p

You should have taken your coat off in the shopping centre :) That's what I do. I am really glad you decided to go out and treat yourself to some new stuff, and I can't wait to find out what the surprise is, and what you got your bf for your anniversary.

What sort of shoes do you normally wear? Are you feet still wrecked? x
 
AThanks Ruth :)

I normally wear flat boots or sneakers, I'm very practical most of the time. I love ballet flats, but I don't think they're worth buying here as it's cold and wet most of the time, but I brought my favourite pair back from Australia. I didn't know you could get blisters from old shoes! (My feet are fine now, but my legs have been killing me since Friday, not sure why)

So... good news and bad news. Good news: Saturday was amazing, everything I could have hoped for it to be and so much more. I'm still bouncing off the walls- and I swear yesterday I was grinning so hard for most of the day that I blinded most of the people around us. I still can't tell (I'm fully aware I'm only psuedo-anonymous here, and this is a big, big secret and will be for some time- between me and my boyfriend... oh and my best friend in Australia because I can't keep my mouth shut, especially not with her). This is something that will probably remain secret for months- don't hold your breath. (Was the first of probably several days of research and weeks if not months of working stuff out).

Today was pretty damn good too- the transport authority for the area had a deal on where you could use the whole light rail network for free today, so my boyfriend and I decided to explore the outer suburbs. We didn't really plan, and were lucky to find a market on, which was a lot of fun. I got an awesome set of cups, saucers and plates for £15 (four sets of cup, saucer, side plate), very pretty and in excellent condition. Was very pleased with myself- I'd been looking into cups and saucers and was thinking of getting two of these: http://www.marksandspencer.com/Maxim-Coupe-Cup-Saucer-Set/dp/B000TYZD0Y?ie=UTF8&ref=sr_1_1&nodeId=42966030&sr=1-1&qid=1313949991&pf_rd_r=1G37V29727AREC54HQPE&pf_rd_m=A2BO0OYVBKIQJM&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_i=0&pf_rd_p=215485807&pf_rd_s=center-3 Then I got home and took a closer look (I'd seen "pretty, good condition" when I bought them)- English bone china. A new cup and saucer (as in one cup, one saucer) from this range would set me back more than I paid for the twelve pieces. Stoked- and pleased to explore a new part of England.

Bad news- the obvious, I'm afraid. Saturday was so unbelievably fantastic emotionally that we decided to end it with "date night", and went out to eat. We like to find interesting, non-chain places, and so went into a Brasillian place just off one of the main strips. All-you-can-eat. Bad, bad move. So very full when we left. Then we went to the movies and got ice cream. We had been good before that- porridge for breakfast, ~200 calorie soup from Eat for lunch- but dinner was pretty disastrous diet wise.

Sunday- same thing. Tried a few things at the market (tiny little tastes of cheese, beef jerky, and steak burger), then realised we needed lunch. Not too many options in that part of the world. Opted not to go for market food- the stuff to eat on site wasn't that great. (Also, resisted the yummy looking cupcakes and other sweets) Had a choice (other than fish and chips, which I vetoed, and places like Greggs- sod that) between tapas- which was very expensive and would've taken an hour to prepare- and Italian. Opted for the latter. Billed as "better than Mama makes", and oh boy were they not kidding. Huge portions, really fantastic. Were considering not having dessert, but, sitting in this highly obviously family-owned-and-run place, overheard "Papa is in charge of the desserts" and guessed that they would be the highlight. Damn straight- I had a lemon meringue pie and it was sublime- we were on the very outskirts of our area (in fact, so far outskirts that we'd moved into the next county), and it was so sensational that I'd go back to that restaurant just for the dessert. (Was a nice touch when Papa came over to ask us what we thought- obviously very proud of his work, and rightly so!)

So... yeah. Diet busted again. Tonight I've had my vegan stew (normally a lunch thing, but low calorie- calorie wise I shouldn't eat, but I really have to) for dinner, and tomorrow I start again again.
 
A:iagree: less than 1800 cal for a 'bad' day is not that bad! Absolutely and certainly not what I would consider a 'binge'!

When's your anniversary? Can't wait to hear what happens!
 
Ai dont think it was so bad calorie wise.Maybe health wise but ithink your still ok!
when is your anniversary Amy?

Do u feel its more difficult to eat as before because of your vacation back home eating.?I find it hard to get back on track even with a couple of bad days.

I know youll make thinkgs as before and hoping youll be strict with the rest of us and make us calorie count as before!
 
OMG two things come to mind as to what your big surprise is.


!. He's proposed or

2. You are preggers.


when are you going to tell us?
 
AThanks guys :)

Our anniversary is a week from today- that's also going to be a bad food day (planned, unapologetic). We're going to the bar where we met for a drink and possibly lunch (we're not sure if this place serves food, but if it doesn't we'll eat somewhere nearby), then we're going to the other side of the city for something my boyfriend will surprise me with (I know it'll take about an hour and a half, and roughly where it'll be in the city), and then going back to my place. Among other things, I plan to cook the first meal that I ever made for him. It's almost embarrassing, as my cooking has improved exponentially in the last year, but it has a lot of sentimental value and will mean a lot to us. If he has anything else planned he hasn't told me.

In terms of why my food's gone wrong- circumstances and failure to plan properly. On Friday I didn't expect it to be so hot inside, nor did I plan to buy some of what I did (which was very heavy and so I was quite sore). On Saturday we just got caught up in the emotions- it was an incredibly emotional day, and we decided given the high we were on to keep the day going. On Sunday... I just didn't think, and so we ended up somewhere with no healthy options (and ok, we probably overdid it, but again, we got carried away). The circumstances for Friday and Sunday are unlikely to repeat themselves, and the circumstances on Saturday could be much better planned for, so I'll do that.

I don't think it really has much to do with the fact I've been away- I've been looking forward to getting back to it, and have been pleased with the successes (like the vegan soup) so far.

Andrea, I can't really say much (it's all under wraps), but I can say that it's not either of those. We've been together less than a year, it's too soon to be getting engaged, and it's really a terrible time in both of our lives to be having children (at the risk of altogether too much information, we're significantly more careful than I suspect is necessary in that regard). But it is something of similar magnitude and similarly a "relationship" thing.

And so begins a new day. Trying to decide whether to go shopping before or after I have breakfast (after is probably a better idea, but there's an ingredient I want with breakfast that I'd need to go and buy).
 
AI WANNA KNOW YOUR SECRET!!!!!! So looking forwards to you divulging! I can't think what it could be!

The Italian and lemon meringue pie sound delicious, but no more! Tsk tsk. You are supposed to be getting back on track after gaining 10lbs. I really want you to lose it again fast. And eating calorific desserts isn't going to help. Considered yourself well and truly told off :) You obviously have a good head on your shoulders, and I'm sure it won't happen again as you won't be finding yourself in those circumstances again, but still...

Do you miss your Mum? When are you going back to uni?
 
AThe secret will come out in good time. It'll be awhile, but it'll come out (you may have forgotten I have one by then, but still...)

No, I don't plan on finding myself in those circumstances again. I've got a cushion in my calorie allowance for bad days, but considering I'm calculating on sedentary at the moment it's not a very big cushion (and doesn't allow a massive amount of leeway between 1200 and my goal). It also certainly doesn't account for three bad days in a row!

I do and don't miss mum- I'm glad things are getting back to normal, and I know she's always there if I pick up the phone (I have a good phone plan) or send her an email. In some ways being under her roof for as long as I was was a little stifling (although nowhere near as bad as I expected). Uni is sort of a continuous thing- I don't get summer holidays. But I really should go "back" more than I have been in the last week.

Yesterday was reasonable if a little odd food wise. I had a normal breakfast and then started to feel ill. I was thinking about making some more of my vegan stew but I can't find my lentils (I'm sure I have some) and so I opted for a leftover dinner portion for lunch, and then felt much worse as the day went on (tired and nauseous) and tried to use food for that purpose. I also need to drink more. The last thing on the list was a "midnight snack"- I know I didn't need it, but my stomach was growling almost to the point where it was painful and I couldn't get to sleep, so I went and got a muesli bar. Which got me over 1200 calories, which is no bad thing. I was going to not think about that rule given I hadn't been feeling well.

Monday 22 August


Breakfast and coffee:

0.1% milk 318 g 111.3
Tesco Scottish Porridge Oats 40 g 144.0
Greengage 58 g 24.9
Tesco summer fruits (from frozen) (80g- 1 serve) 48 g 13.0
Spices, cinnamon, ground 0.6 g 1.5
Coffee, brewed from grounds, prepared with tap water 253 g 2.5
0.1% milk 51 g 17.8
Coffee, brewed from grounds, prepared with tap water 230 g 2.3
0.1% milk 64 g 22.4
Coffee, brewed from grounds, prepared with tap water 249 g 2.5
0.1% milk 40 g 14.0

Subtotal: 356 calories, 21g protein, 56g carbs, 3g fat. 24/66/10

Snacks and lunch:

Gala apple 166 g 83.0
chicken experiment 18 Aug 429.5 g 369.9
Nectarines, raw 112 g 49.3
Pears, raw 141 g 81.8

Subtotal: 583 calories, 20g protein, 83g carbs, 20g fat. 14/54/32

Dinner and midnight snack:

Kingsmill 50/50 bread (slice 40g) 80 g 180.0
Flora Original 5 g 26.6
Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average 103 g 18.5
Special K chocolate chip bar (21) 21 g 83.0

Subtotal: 308 calories, 10g protein, 52g carbs, 6g fat. 13/68/19

Total: 1248 calories, 53g protein, 193g carbs, 31g fat. 1372.2mg sodium (91%). Final split 17/61/22
 
AI'll add two things. One about Saturday and the surprise. We were comparing several things and I had to ask (I wasn't sure how relevant it was) how much weight gain or loss would affect the information I was being given (answer: some, but given the weight I want to lose, probably not too much). One of the salespeople all but told me off for wanting to lose weight, and was horrified when I said I wanted to lose about a stone! (A stone is about 6.5kg, on Saturday morning my weight loss goal was 7kg)

And despite how evil and wicked I've been, I've yet to touch my Australian lollies/ sweets, except to package them up for other people. I. Have. Not. Had. One since I left Australia. Not sure how long that'll last, but I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for that, as all of my favourites are there.
 
Sounds like you are doing good but i must say i don't like the sound of that significantly too much carefulness blah blah blah. But lets go no further with that topic. :)
 
AOh it's nothing to worry about, Andrea- it works and we're happy with it. But as you say, probably something to leave alone here.

Am really pleased mum sent me this recipe- it's filling, yummy, and low calorie.

This is the original recipe (notes of what I changed below)

Salmon and Dill Crustless Quiche

Serving size: Serves 4
Special options: Gluten free
Course: Lunch, Main, Snacks

Best made close to serving.

INGREDIENTS
4 eggs, lightly beaten
300g sour cream
415g can red salmon, drained, chopped
2 green onions (green shallots), chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
baby rocket leaves to serve

METHOD
Grease 23cm flan dish. Whisk the eggs and 3/4 cup (180ml) of the sour
cream in bowl until combined; stir in salmon, onions and dill. Pour
mixture into prepared dish. Bake, uncovered, in moderate oven about 35
minutes or until firm. Serve quiche topped with remaining sour cream
and rocket.

Not suitable to freeze.
Not suitable to microwave.

I replaced the sour cream with milk, and added all the milk to the recipe, I added more vegetables and less salmon, I couldn't find dill in Tesco so I skipped it, I skipped the "to serve" stuff. I also added a very small amount of Parmesan cheese on top.

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/image/id/271542/width/1000/height/800

That's to serve 4. 209 calories/ serve as I made it. Yum.
 
AGoing to get an early night (haven't felt great today, but better than yesterday), so here's todays calories (have tracked some water but then forgot to do the rest, so won't include it in final stats):

Tuesday 23 August

Breakfast
Tesco Scottish Porridge Oats30g108.0
Water, tap, drinking1200g0.0
Tesco summer fruits (from frozen) (80g- 1 serve)80g21.6
Spices, cinnamon, ground0.7g1.7
0.1% milk104g36.4
Coffee, brewed from grounds, prepared with tap water500g5.0
Subtotal: 172 calories, 8g protein, 29g carbs, 2g fat. 19/66/15

Lunch
Pepper steak 19 August (334.75)334.75g238.5
Tesco very fine green whole beans337g91.0
Subtotal: 329 calories, 28g protein, 27g carbs, 9g fat. 35/34/26/6 (last one is alcohol)

Snacks
Gala apple167g83.5
Nectarines, raw118g51.9
Kallo Wholegrain rice cakes (10g- 1 cake)20g58.0
Vegemite15g28.6
Subtotal: 222 calories, 6g protein, 47g carbs,
 
AYUM That crustless quiche looks so yummy! I'd just call it a fritata, actually, but I think they are a little different.

And "I recognised the "you're missing out... initialising binge in..." sign and decided to crush it" - :hurray: This is awesome.
 
AWarning: will be talking about/ soliciting advice on bad food below

Yeah, I've got no idea what the difference is meant to be between a quiche and a fritatta- but that's just what the recipe (my mum sent me) said.

Having a good day. Take two of the vegan stew went much better than take one. Have been trying to find some things to complete/ complement the bone china cups I got the other day, but the 5 (count 'em!) charity shops near me have nothing that would work.

Need some suggestions for anniversary food (if this will trigger a binge, please look away now). I sort of have the basics in order but I'm trying to work out the definites, as it's on Monday. My boyfriend's taking care of lunch (we'll eat in or around the bar where we met). Then we're going to a surprise, and he reckons we'll be back at my place by 4pm. I have an idea that we'll have proper afternoon tea- home made scones with clotted cream and Tiptree strawberry jam, nice leaf tea, using the bone china. Is there anything else I could make to go with it (I'm happy to give leftovers away, but this is sort of a big deal and I want to treat it as such)? I'm thinking maybe chocolate dipped strawberries, and/ or cake, and/ or slice.

For dinner, I know what I'm making but would like more help to make it more fancy. I'm making the first thing that I ever cooked for my boyfriend- sweet and sour chicken (down to exactly the same sauce,- Marks and Spencer Sweet and Sour cooking sauce- although I'll use better breast meat and different veg), followed by my "baked apple" (as I've always made it it's chop up an apple, add some brown sugar and sultanas, mix it up, microwave until slightly soft but not too mushy, serve with vanilla yoghurt or ice cream). Any suggestions on how to make it better? I've thought of finding an alternate baked apple recipe (actually baking it properly, for example), maybe serving it with the best ice cream I can get my hands on (what would that be and where would I find it?), and for the dinner, serving with organic free range I-wouldn't-normally-pay-this-much-for-beef-let-alone-chicken chicken breast, proper stir fry vegetables, and egg noodles instead of rice.

Anyone got any suggestions/ recipes? (This will not be calorie counted. It's our anniversary, damnit)
 
Exciting!


Maybe have a look a different apple pudding..I've made this one before and it's lovely http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3331/toffee-apple-pudding

Orrrr:-


http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/sweet/baked-apple-and-almond-pudding.html

http://southernfood.about.com/od/puddingrecipes/r/bl40320n.htm


Your pudding already sounds delicious but if you want to try something different those might be fun to try.


As for ice-cream.."Posh ice cream is usually made with clotted cream. You can get it from Waitrose. Very sickly though.
 
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