Char's Diary

[Char]

Welcome to my first diary entry! This is a little terrifying to start, but I have gotten so fed up with myself and my ballooning waistline that I have decided that I need to do something to take back control of my life and my body!!!
As suggested, I'm going to start off by answering questions found in the the 'Welcome to Journals/Diaries at WLF' entry so I can get a clear idea of what I want to achieve (and give whoever reading some insight into my life and goals!)

1. What is your current height and weight? I am currently 5'7" (170cm) and 242lbs (110kg)
2. If you were at an ideal weight now, what would that weight be? My ideal weight would be 165-175lbs (75kg-80kg).
3. At what weight would you like to be at four months from now? I hope to be down to at least 95-100 in four months if possible!
4. Why do you want to lose weight? I want to fit clothing better, take control of my body and my health and stop hating how I look at myself in the mirror.
5. Do you want to lose weight for a specific life event such as wedding or reunion? If so, when is that event? I am hoping to go to Hawaii at some point in 2018, but it hasn't been confirmed yet. The earliest it would be is March 2018
6. What obstacles could get between you and your weight loss goals? Mostly just self control and the risk of being discouraged if nothing happens
7. Why do you think that you now have a weight problem? I have struggled with my weight for years but never really known how to effectively get it under control. I have little to no self control when it comes to food and I struggle to commit to exercise plans long term.
8. What lifestyle changes do you think would help you lose weight? I will need to add a lot more exercise and a lot less snacking and impulse buying of crap food!
9. Have you lost weight in the past? If so, what has worked in the past to help you lose weight? I did do a boot camp with my dad for 6 weeks about 5 years ago in prep for his wedding where I had a strict diet to adhere to as well as going to hour long exercise sessions 3 times a week where I lost about 5-10kgs
10. Why do you believe that you did not lose weight or you gained the weight back? It was a short term program and afterwards I just went back to regular habits where I wasn't as restricted food wise and didn't have a trainer helping me along.
11. What, if anything, has not worked for you in the past in helping you to lose weight? Why do you think it did not work? The only thing I can thing of is restrictive dieting- when I have dieted before I've gotten to the point where I feel deprived and even though I try to battle through by sticking to healthy choices I always fail by bingeing on treats.
12. Would you try writing down all food and drink consumed for a given period of time? Absolutely!!
13. Do you cook at home often? If so, what do you cook? We do cook fairly often at home, I share cooking duties with my brother in law and we aretrying to incorporate as much veggies as we can into the meals. If it's a crazy busy week or one or two of us aren't home is when we do takeaways or easy fixes like oven pizza.
14. How often do you go out to eat? Where do you go? I don't tend to go out to eat too often, but when I do it's always with friends at a celebration where we have no restrictions and a few wines added in
15. What are your three favorite foods? Sushi, pizza and mac and cheese.
16. What are your three favorite restaurants? I don't really go to restaurants, my main fave would be Epolitos pizzeria or Longroom bar
17. What are three things you can do differently when it comes to food? Stop buying unnecessary snacks, cut down my portion sizes and stop eating when I'm full.
18. If you woke up tomorrow and your body was exactly the way you want it, what would be different? Absolutely! I would feel much more comfortable in my body and willing to put myself out there in the world more.
19. Do you eat when you are not hungry? Yes, very often
20. Do you binge eat (large amounts at a time)? Yes, especially on the weekend when I'm at home
21. Do you hide your food or eat in secret? Yes, very often
22. Do you eat when you are sad, nervous, or depressed? I don't specifically turn to food as an emotional crutch, but I do enjoy a couple of alcoholic beverages if I'm ever feeling down
23. Do you eat as a reward? Sometimes
24. Do you eat while watching TV or using the computer? Yes, quite often
25. What do you normally eat for a meal? It changes a lot. I don't eat breakfast normally, for lunch I either have tuna and rice, leftovers or I buy something from the places near my work, like a sandwich, burger and chips or a butter chicken curry with rice and naan bread. Dinner changes very often, but we tend to have a lot of meat, pasta, rice and potatoes, or stir frys.
26. What type of snacks do you eat? I usually eat popcorn, then my guilty snacks are chocolate bars, chicks and guacamole, pies and whatever I find at the supermarket that takes my fancy.
27. In terms of exercise, what, if anything, are you currently doing? Little to none- I occasionally walk from home to the train station which takes 20min, and I'm intending to join a new dance class in June.
28. Where do you go for exercise? A local public gym? School/work gym? Home? If I ever do exercise it would definitely be at home.
29. What, if anything, are your three favorite types of exercise? Skipping rope, dance (in tap and choreographed jazz) and using the Wii Fit
30. What is your daily/weekly/monthly/yearly motivation to move towards your goals? I'm hoping to lost at least 5kg per month, working towards a consistent burn and hopefully then losing at least 20kg by the end of 2017.
31. Do you have rewards for certain goals? Once I hit 90kg (or a weight where I have lost enough superfluous fat getting in my way) I plan on buying an item of clothing from any store I can't currently buy from due to size limitations.

WHEW! What a novel. To anyone who's read this far, major kudos to you!
Now is the hard part. WHERE DO I START??
I seriously need some guidance, so I can start kicking my ass into gear and becoming the sexy woman I know I should be.

Much love,
Char

 

[Trusylver]

Welcome

The first place to start is begin logging your food, so we can suggest small changes which can be made. Small changes are easier to stick to long term and once they become habit the further changes can be made.

Extra exercise can come later, although it is important for good health, weight loss is mostly about diet.

 

[Rebel lee]

I found it helpful to download a calorie counter app. I was shocked to see how man cals were in certain foods.

 

[Disconfigured]

Hi! I'm new too I'd agree with the others - get an app, I used MyFitnessPal for a while before I changed to just using the Fitbit app. If you have a calorie intake goal in mind, these really help stick to it! They show how many carbs etc are in everything and really help you to choose whether to have that extra piece of chocolate or not!

Good luck on your journey!

 

[M2M]

Hi Char!
Welcome to the group

I have found that coming here is a great way to stay focused. It holds me accountable and that really helps.
If you're just starting out, I'd recommend making a few key changes, ie., making sure you're drinking water, prep some good healthy foods in advance along with having healthy snack alternatives to turn to. Go for a walk

Good luck!!

 

[Char]

Hello friends!
Well, I have certainly tried to make some small changes already, hopefully they'll stick!! I downloaded a food tracking app and bought myself a 1.5L water bottle so I can make sure I'm drinking more at work.
Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast: Bacon and vegetable quiche from my local bakery (it took me up until lunch to actually finish it, my morning was so busy!). I also made a coffee at the coffee machine at work and added 2 sugars as usual.
Lunch: remainder of the breakfast quiche, a can of tuna and a single serving pot rice.
Dinner: homemade pita pocket pizzas, one with pizza sauce, salami, mushroom, red capsicum and topped generously with mozzarella cheese, the other with basic pesto, salami, mushrooms and the same generous amount of mozzarella cheese. I also had a big bowl of goody gumdrops icecream (bubblegum flavoured ice cream with candy gum drops in it).
I'm also trying out brushing my teeth as soon as I know I'm done eating so I'm not tempted to snack.
I also bought a bag of carrots, a tub of hummus and some little containers so I can start packing healthy snacks.

Onwards and upwards! As I said last time, thanks for reading

Much love,
Char

 

[Cate]

Hi char & welcome to the forum. Your answers in your intro were almost identical to what I would have put. It felt uncanny reading them! Even your height & weight now are very close to what I was 10 years ago. Your goal weight range is also the same. I am currently back up to 5 kg over where I want to be. You can do this hon. It is so worth it!
One thing that has really changed for me over the years is that even the thought of that ice cream you had makes me feel sick, whereas once I would have scoffed it down with great delight.
Tonight we had a delicious small plate of 1/2 an apple each, 1/2 a mandarin(clementine?), a few walnuts, 1 little piece of Brie & another of tasty cheese, about 6 grapes each & a few small pieces of fresh pineapple. It felt like a banquet! After having that I feel sated & I have no cravings.
Btw- I use My Fitness Pal too & have a Fitbit ( charge 2). I haven't been using either for the last 2 weeks, but will be again tomorrow. If you want to add me, send me a pm. Cheers, Cate.

 

[Char]

Hello friends!

Hope everyone is doing well, here's my update on what I ate yesterday I also increased my water intake a lot, managing to drink about 3L of water over the course of yesterday which is a big improvement!
Breakfast: savoury brioche with spinach, feta and olive, coffee from work coffee machine
Lunch: tin of tuna with single serve rice pot, choc mint protein bar (I discovered a while ago that protein bars have a lot less sugar than normal chocolate bars, so when I feel like a choc bar I'll buy protein bars instead. Let me know if this thinking is rational or not!!)
Dinner: pita bread pizzas (I had basil pesto, mushroom, salami, Camembert and mozzarella on these ones), one bowl buttered popcorn
Dessert: goody gumdrops ice cream
Snacks: 1 mandarin for morning tea, carrots and hummus when I got home from work

I'm a lot more conscious of what I'm eating now that I'm tracking it, so hopefully this is a good sign of something that'll help me keep on track. I usually struggle the most with eating on the weekend as I like to sleep in then eat whatever I feel like once I get up, plus it's a lot more common for me to be out either buying food court food or out with friends having a few drinks (which I know are empty calories!)
Hope everyone's doing well!

Much love,
Char

 

[Rebel lee]

Hello friends!

Hope everyone is doing well, here's my update on what I ate yesterday I also increased my water intake a lot, managing to drink about 3L of water over the course of yesterday which is a big improvement!
Breakfast: savoury brioche with spinach, feta and olive, coffee from work coffee machine
Lunch: tin of tuna with single serve rice pot, choc mint protein bar (I discovered a while ago that protein bars have a lot less sugar than normal chocolate bars, so when I feel like a choc bar I'll buy protein bars instead. Let me know if this thinking is rational or not!!)
Dinner: pita bread pizzas (I had basil pesto, mushroom, salami, Camembert and mozzarella on these ones), one bowl buttered popcorn
Dessert: goody gumdrops ice cream
Snacks: 1 mandarin for morning tea, carrots and hummus when I got home from work

I'm a lot more conscious of what I'm eating now that I'm tracking it, so hopefully this is a good sign of something that'll help me keep on track. I usually struggle the most with eating on the weekend as I like to sleep in then eat whatever I feel like once I get up, plus it's a lot more common for me to be out either buying food court food or out with friends having a few drinks (which I know are empty calories!)
Hope everyone's doing well!

Much love,
Char

All protein bars arent created equal. However, most will always b better for you than a full on choc bar. They norm have less sugar and then the added protein is a huge bonus.
Your food looks yummy. The ice cream well thats prob hard to walk away from. Im a sugar junkie and it took a looong time before i really lost the craving for it.

 

[Char]

Hi friends!

Another weekend over far too soon! As I suspected, my eating wasn't very spread out as I slept in both Saturday and Sunday. Below is what I ate over the course of the weekend:

SATURDAY
Breakfast: 3 homemade eggless milkless pancakes with maple syrup, 1 homemade mocha
NO LUNCH
Dinner: we had a snack dinner, which is essentially a cheeseboard of different items that you graze on rather than a full cooked meal. I ate some Camembert cheese, blue vein cheese, mussels, pimento olives, gherkin, poppy seed and sesame crackers, surimi, rice crackers and onion dip and a glass of cider.
Snacks: 2 mandarins
Water: 1.4L

SUNDAY
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with kale, packet vanilla latte
NO LUNCH
Dinner: 1 chicken drumstick, roast pumpkin and kumara (sweet potato), peas and corn, 1 Heineken. (Went to my parents for dinner)
Dessert: 1 small slice feijoa and coconut cake, 1 small slice custard tart, canned whipped cream
Snacks: popcorn, carrots and hummus, 2 mandarins, 2 pancakes, 1 bowl multigrain cereal.
Water: 1L

We went grocery shopping on Saturday (I live with my sister and her boyfriend and we do a shop once a fortnight and split the cost evenly). I got a box of frozen kale and also avoided grabbing any unnessary snacks, as well as picking up a 1.5L water bottle to encourage myself to drink more at home too.
I'm going to try to adjust my weekend sleeping schedule by going to bed earlier so I can utilise my time better and therefore fit in a consistent number of meals, however I found that even without 'lunch' per se I still met my calorie goals with all the snacks. Maybe I need to focus more on square meals on the weekend?

Much love,
Char

 

[Rebel lee]

Weekend are hard. Seems i always have people that come out of the woodwork wanting to go out to eat.
Your not alone

 

[M2M]

It definitely helps me to have a plan for meals on the weekend, otherwise, I'll graze alllllll day long lol!

 

[Char]

Hi friends!

Definitely fell off the radar this week, it's so hard to get into a habit of writing a daily diary entry!! I never was one for diaries as a kid.
I have still been tracking my food, and done better on my water intake especially over the past few days. I downloaded an app called 'Waterlogged' that lets you enter how much you've had and helps you track towards a goal while updating the icon based on how much you've drank- my current goal is to have at least 3 litres of water per day, which I have been more or less achieving, however I'm not enjoying having to pee all the time! I had a moment on the train home yesterday where I seriously thought I was going to wet myself (thankfully I didn't!).
Rather than posting the last four days worth of food, I felt like sharing some thoughts today. I stepped on the scales again tonight and I weigh exactly the same as I always did, yet I haven't indulged in my over snacking on chips and chocolate as I had been in the past few months especially. I'm trying to make healthy choices, but still finding it a little difficult to know what actually makes a difference. I know it's a slow journey, but I'm feeling myself get discouraged already!
Admittedly I haven't upped my exercise much, apart from now having to walk 20min to the train station 3-4 times a week, however I really wanted to see if tracking my diet would make any difference on its own before starting the exercise, as they say diet is 80-90% of the problem.
I am joining a dance class next week, so it'll be very interesting to see if that helps to kick start anything!
Has anyone tried going sugar free or drinking slim teas or adding green tea or anything like that? The internet always says those are keys to dropping the pounds but I'm a bit wary.
Help!

Much love
Char

 

[Rebel lee]

Hey there just thought id pop in for a quick visit.
I went mostly sugar free for awhile. I'm a sugar addict so it wasnt easy.

 

[allthefoods]

Just a thought, you may want to weigh yourself first thing in the AM instead. If I weigh in the morning, and weigh again that evening, I can easily weigh up to 3kgs more than I did at the start of the day with my water/food intake!! Not to mention daily fluctuations, fluid retention, hormones etc. Well done on just sticking with it, it really does take time but it's so worth it!

I eat a fairly low sugar diet, I'm more of a meat tooth than a sweet tooth though! I typically have one cheat meal each week which is usually either pizza or hot chips but sometimes (like yesterday, ha!) I will have something sweet. The rest of the week is very low sugar and fairly low carb (especially on days I don't train). I find fats much more satiating and tasty than carbs though! And there are definitely better substitutes out there now if you want sweet food, either baking things for yourself (natvia is a great sugar replacement, also things like coconut flour or nut flours are great substitutes for white flour), Halo top is great instead of regular ice cream (expensive though, but if I want to eat a whole pint of ice-cream I think the cost is worth it) I've also found great recipes for things like chocolate fudge/ peanut butter fudge that are really low sugar/carb instead of chocolate.