Losing Weight in the Land of Chocolate and Cheese!

decisionmaker

decisionmaker

New member
Well I'm back again! All of you guys on this forum are such a fantastic bunch, and I know that by being on here I will get the motivation I need :)

Why am I here?

After losing about 20kg with Cohen's, I have had quite the adventure! After spending 8 months cycling and camping around Europe with my new husband (averaging 85km a day), and really not losing any more weight at all (what the? STILL with a BMI above 25? And STILL with enormous legs and butt?), we have recently moved to SWITZERLAND! I am loving it, really really loving it, but I need to watch myself and make sure I don't spend my days oscillating between fondue and lindt.

I'm 6ft tall (184cm) and currently weigh 89.1kg, which is a BMI of 26.3. Also, my hubby and I have been talking a lot about babies lately, so I'm trying to get my body healthy for that prospect too :)

So, as for my eating plan:
I'm planning to simply eat as healthily as possible - lots of veggies, whole-grains, low-fat dairy (though there's not many options of that here)... not too many carbs (but not going back on cohen's)... Try to get good habits and break my bad ones that have crept back... like a latte and a muffin every morning, for instance.

Exercise:
I have officially become a part of the Swiss Netball Club (we just came runners up in a big European tournament in Brussels!), but I have been a bit slack due to a recent tearing of a bunch of ankle ligaments. Now I'm back, and am attempting to motivate myself. Cycling to my German classes every day, instead of taking the tram. Going for a jog in the afternoons at least 4 times around the local track, maybe around the lake if I feel motivated :) Anything that keeps me moving!

So that is the very brief story of me at the moment. I'm looking forward to being active here again!
:seeya:
 
Yay, another tall girl! How much is 89kg in pounds? I think our BMI is similar as well and I'm around 5'10-5'11 :D

You camped/cycled around Europe! That is so cool! Where abouts did you go? What was it like?
 
Hi Sunflower! :) WOW that was quick! Ah, being big and being tall is tough... we all need to help each other out!

89kg is... according to google... 196 pounds. I would love to get into the 70s... 74 is my absolute ideal, but I don't think I've been there since I was about 14, so 79 and I'll be happy :)

Yup! We cycled over 5000km... Not to bore you, but the list of countries we went to are Germany, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria... and now we've ended up in Switzerland. An income, a house, and all that glorious stuff!!!

Thanks for dropping by!:Angel_anim:
 
Today... well, baby steps.

We have WiiFit here, and my hubby and I do the body test every day. Today, apparently, I put on 0.6kg. This made me sad, because I was really good yesterday: I went for a run *GASP*, and I had spent the previous two days exercising like a total madwoman at a netball tournament. I have been eating really well too. :cuss: So gRRRR. I figure that I'm pre-menstrual so I'm all bloated - that's the only thing I can think of (though on wii it doesn't give you that option as a reason for gaining weight. Boo.)

It's tough not to fall off the wagon, that's for sure. I know that when I'm hormonal like this I am just SO HUNGRY all the time, and I just want to eat total crap. So, even though today could definitely have been better, I'm reminding myself that it sure could have been worse. Pretty sure I'll have put on weight again tomorrow... I know, I know, I should just weigh myself every week... I'm a bit self-destructive like that though. My husband is on call this week and will be staying really late at the office, so I'll have to make sure that's not an excuse for me to eat like an idiot. I'm one of these people who eat badly in private, but healthily in public (even with my husband), so that's why this forum is good for me, I think.

Breakfast:
- A small bowl of bircher muesli (I'm in Switzerland after-all - it's what they do) with four fresh raspberries
- black coffee

Snack:

Lunch:
- Spinach frittata (home made, with low-fat cottage cheese. I had too much though)
- Freeze-dried apple chips (50g)

Snack:
- 3 prunes
- 1 small chocolate muffin (BOO)

Dinner:
- Pan-fried chicken schnitzel (not so great)
- steamed carrots, zucchini and asparagus with a drizzle of lemon juice and teeny olive oil.

Exercise:
None. Bad. But I'm so tired and headachey.

Water:
9 big glasses

AH! Writing all this makes me feel so self-centred! But, hey, that's what this is for. :) Hope that everyone out there in forum-land is having a good day!
 
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Here are some pics of me as I am. Right now. SCARY. BUT - I remind myself how far I've come already. And that if I am strong (and avoid schnitzels and chocolate muffins) I can look like my avatar :)

I also put in a pic of me playing netball on the weekend. It gives you an idea of how tall and big I am, and how much I feel like I stick out for all the wrong reasons. That is what I want to change.

Please ignore the following:
1. My hair. UGH. I have recently had it all chopped and have no idea yet how to deal with it.
2. All of the bags in the background :) This is our cycling gear that has yet to find a place it belongs, other than the corner of the bedroom.
3. Yes, I really did feel the need to explain these two things.
 
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Hi decision maker. What should we call you because DM is too long and short and anonymous.

I am interested in your diary but its my dinner time and then i am going away on friday for two months - on a cycling journey!! This will be my fourth long tour.

In 2013 I plan to cycle round france!! I have the challenge of saving enough money though and i have to fly there from Australia.

Anyhow, i think you look great and you are probably one of those people for whom BMI is not an accurate picture. I am sure you are already at a healthy weight for your height given your picture and a lot of that weight would be muscle weight that's why i think your BMI is high. So i think you really shouldn't worry at all! Ask for you doctor for confirmation of this. I am sure if they are sensible they would agree. You don't seem to have much fat on you at all right?

I think its great you've come back to keep another diary. Congratulations on what you lost on the cohens diet. You might find my diary interesting from the point of view of the way i allocate my food and recipes and stuff. I eat pretty healthily. Also i think you might find what i say about the ups and downs on the scales helpful cause i weigh myself daily. Right now i am very much in a up phase because i am too busy to do any exercise and a bit stressed so i dont want to cut back food.

I know its getting to be a long diary and probably a bit boring too. But i am following a good diet and ( don't expect everyone or anyone to copy me) but i think there are lots of ideas there for others.

If this sounds arrogant, its because i'm 47 and i've been around. :)
 
One more point to clarify, at the top of my healthy weight range i look lumpier than you do in those last two pictures. And you don't appear to have an unnaturally large backside. I would stop worrying and hurry up and get practicing making that baby if i were you.
 
I LOVE the title of your diary :) I always say cheese and chocolate are my blood type lol. Congrats on all the weight loss, I know you want to lose more, but you look great! And you are so cute! :D
 
Haha XENON! :) Yup... I totally get ya... I suppose you aren't trying the blood type diet then? Or maybe you are? hehe. And thanks for saying I'm cute! Still have to figure out my hair situation... :)

:blush5: Thanks so much, fortyfour! :) That made me feel so lovely. And yup, we sure are practicing with the baby-making... but we are still in the 'practicing' part, haha. I feel like I need to build up a bit of a support network here first, as my family and my old friends are all literally on the other side of the world... and it's weird for me to think about having a baby here without them...

WOW you are going on a cycling trip!!!! Cyclists unite!!!! Congrats for heading out there and doing it! Are you braving the lycra? ;) Have a fantastic time, and I can't wait to hear all about it! If you ever feel like reading about me, a non-cyclist, venturing out on a year-long cycling and camping trip with my crazy fit cycling husband, check it out at . There is SO MUCH there, though, but I think the first two or three entries might be funny. :)

It's funny that you think I am already at a healthy weight. I know that a lot of people use the excuse of being 'big boned', but I truly think I am. Even when I was really little, I was very muscular and always the tallest kid, but was no-where near being overweight. Just toned and healthy looking. I think it's my Scandinavian blood. My sister, on the other hand, was a reallllllly skinny little kid, and really short - we are total opposites.

BUT I can't kid myself - I definitely still have quite a few kg to lose. The top half of my body has always been pretty little. My arms, my boobs and my belly have always carried very little weight. I'll attach another pic of the weekend that kind of shows how little I am up top... But my bottom half is still really big. I carry all my weight on my thighs and, strangely enough, on my knees. haha. So my aim is to just look proportionate - right now I am a size 10-12 on top and a 16-18 on the bottom, which makes me feel ridiculous. When I lose weight, nothing in the top will change - just the bottom. Which is what I want. :)

That's what I was hoping all that cycling would fix! But nup - just the same...

I am actually feeling much happier about myself though, and my body image is nowhere near as awful as it once was. On occasion, I feel downright HOT, which is awesome :)

Good luck with your cycling, and thanks so much for stopping by! I'll definitely take a look at your diary for some hints and tips :)

x Joh
 
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Nothing you said made me change my mind about your BMI. I still you are in a healthy weight range. As i said, i feel pretty fat at the top of mine. But i am no longer the top i am about midway to less than than midway. And starting to look a bit better.

I'll check you out on crazy guy. I haven't got time now though. Everyone is a novice the first time they go somewhere. But learn quickly cause cycle touring is dead easy right?
 
Fortyfour: 'Dead easy'? Ha! If the emphasis is on dead, then absolutely! Haha. My first cycle tour was a week on the Great Ocean Road, which was spectacular. I LOVED it! And yet, one week of cycling is different to a solid six months doing it... I still sure am glad I did it, but it was TOUGH! Not so much a holiday as a lifestyle choice :) Congrats on the weight-loss, by the way! I'm going to hunt around for some pics of you :)

______________________________________________________

TODAY

Well, it's been a REALLY good day so far! The biggest change I have made is drinking STACKS of water. I forgot how good it feels to flush out your system! And it's like the constitution of the inside of your mouth changes, making you feel like you want water in your gob all the time... it's a feeling I really enjoy. Going to the loo every two hours, though, is a pain, but hey! I just think about all those toxins I'm flushing away!

Also, I felt so crappy yesterday... today is just the total opposite. :D I woke up about an hour-and-a-half before my alarm feeling totally refreshed (which never happens), and had some 'quality time' with my gorgeous man before I choofed off to my local cafe with my notebook. I'm in the process of writing a novel at the moment, and am struggling to feel motivated after spending three hours learning German every morning... so it was great to actually get up early and bash it out before my brain exploded with all that genativ/akkusativ/dativ/nominativ/masculin/feminin/neutral crap.:banghead:

Also, exercise-wise, I have been building myself up to it all day. I rode my bike to the cafe in the morning, and then to my German lessons (WOW the view was incredible today. Sun shining, the Alps in full clear view over the lake... I don't think I will ever get bored of that view!). Then I rode home, had a yummy healthy lunch, put on my sport gear and headed straight out to the track down the road from me. I am possibly the shittest runner in all of Switzerland, but I am trying! And although I feel humiliated jogging at a pace that I am sure many people could walk at, with incredibly fit, fast and muscular men zooming past me at a million miles an hour, I'm doing it. Jog there, 5 laps today (I only managed 3 last time!) and jog back. I'll aim for six tomorrow!

______________

Breakfast:
- Small bowl Bircher Muesli (200Cal)
- Milk coffee (150Cal)

Snack:
- Black coffee
- 2x small wholewheat crackers (46 Cal)

Lunch:
- spinach fritata (200Cal )
- Green salad with lemon juice and a few drops soy oil (40Cal)
- small banana (100 Cal)

Snack:
- Herbal tea
- mini chocolate truffle (80Cal)
- 1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese (50Cal)
- 1 small wholewheat cracker (23 Cal)

Dinner:
-before netball small tub bircher muesli (120Cal)
- after netball 80g Salmon with stir fried veg and soy sauce (250Cal)


Snack:
- 5 fresh raspberries (5 Cal)
____
Exercise:
- 2x 15 min cycling (-150Cal)
- 5 laps jogging (plus there and back) (-175Cal)
- 90 min netball training (probably 60 minutes exercise) (-400Cal)

Total Calories: 1164
Exercise: - 715Cal
 
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So I felt like I was eating all day yesterday, and yet, because I didn't go and splurge, I actually had very little calories... in fact, probably too few. Especially with all my exercise yesterday.

Today has been much less obsessive, but I am still trying to make healthy choices. Or at least avoid the bad ones.

My hubby works at Google here in Zurich and they have enormous, delicious cooked lunches every day. I went in for lunch today and managed to avoid all the REALLY bad things, and pretty much had to run out the door early so I didn't go for that incredible looking slice of frozen chocolate cream stuff... mmm. I was so so hungry by the time I got there though (maybe from not eating enough yesterday too?), so I'm pretty proud for not going for all the terrible options.

___________________________________

Breakfast:
- Soy latte (couldn't bring myself to have another black coffee) (140Cal)
- Small cup Bircher Muesli with 3 blueberries (200Cal)

Lunch:
- small roasted vegetable wrap with mozarella (200Cal)
- Tablespoon guacamole (50cal)
- Cauliflower salad (50)
- raw tomato with a drizzle of pesto (40)

Snack:
- one scoop lemon sorbet (50cal)
- 4x wholewheat crackers (95cal)

Dinner:
- Chicken schnizel (again! But now at least they're all gone from the fridge and I won't re-buy)
- steamead veg

Snack: (I went out for my writing circle meeting... avoided a lot of the food!)
- 2x slice of baguette with brie cheese
- 4 fresh cherries
- 5 pistachios


Exercise:
2x 15 min cycling
40 min walk
(no jog today. I pulled a hip flexor muscle at netball... just letting it recover before Sunday's tournament)
_______________________

Okay, off to go do some writing :)
 
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Hi decision maker,

Just had a look at your pics, and i agree with fortyfour. I love your bum! Its got a lovely rounded grabbable shape! You are very toned, not suprising considering the amount of excersice you do. I am in awe of your energy. You have no cellulite as far as i can see either lol.

Wow, all the travelling you've done is incredible, it must feel great to be galivanting friom country to country on your bike. You are doing really well, why don't you measure your body fat percentage, they say that athletes should do that as an accurate indication of whether they are too large or not, because all the extra muscle gives a distotred bmi.

If you are not happpy with what you weigh, well, its always good to eat healthily anyway and take the best care of your body. I don't envy you doing that in the land of choccie and cheese tho!
 
Hahahaha You girls are hilarious. :blush5: It makes me reel to think that there are people out there who would not consider me particularly overweight... Like I've already said, I carry it all in my bottom half. And HAHAHA I LOVE that you love my bum! That most certainly is a rare thing for me to hear!

Yes, I definitely have muscular legs. But I can't spot a muscle in there with a magnifying glass. I've always had 'tankles' and very triangular, stumpy legs, so I'd just like some definition. That's why I'm giving jogging a try - it seems that no other exercise I do seems to make a difference to the shape of my legs. My cellulite has definitely diminished in the last year, but by god it is still around! And there's probably somethign about currently living in a country where all the women are very very tiny and I have to wear XL shirts (what the? Like I said, in Australia I'm a size 10-12 on top) that is probably distorting stuff for me a bit.

I love you girls for saying this and making me feel good about myself. But, Ruth, like you said, it's always good to just attempt to be more healthy. I think if I just lost 5kg, even, I'd feel a lot healthier, and my flab wouldn't be bubbling over the top of my jeans so much. So there, let's make that my mini-goal. :)

Thanks, guys. Grababble!!! hahah. :D

________________
In general life news, I think it's really really important for people to know that I am currently the happiest that I have ever been. Sorry if this makes you a bit nauseous... haha. But... well, it's for so many reasons... I am just really aware of how lucky I am to live in what has to be one of the most incredibly beautiful countries in the world, to have such a loving marriage, and to be able to work on my novel fullo0time with a man who is so supportive and eager for me to achieve, and to support me in the meantime.

I think the big thing for me is that this is perhaps the first time in my life where my level of happiness is not entirely connected to my weight. I've been 5 years now free from an eating disorder (in fact, this is the first time that I have ever put that in writing... and this is largely the reason that I needed to stop cohen's... though it was great for me for a while too... but that's another story!), and even my current desire to lose a bit of weight is not making it rear its ugly head. I am feeling so much more balanced, less anxious... just really healthy, mentally.

Maybe I'm growing up... :)
 
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TODAY'S FOOD

Breakfast:
- Small bircher muesli (made with yoghurt... bits of fresh fruit)
- Small milk coffee (150ml)

Snack:
- Mini chocolate truffle (came with the coffee - I should have just left it instead of putting it in my bag 'for Duncan'.)

Lunch:
(went out with my writer friend)
- Fettucine and steamed veg, with 4 meatballs and tomato sauce
- shared a small green salad

Snack:
-Coffee with 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 brownie

Dinner:
(So happy with myself! There was a big function at my husband's work, and I managed to avoid so many terrible treats... and only had one beer!)
- Carrot, cucumber and capsicum sticks with tzatziki dip
- 2x wholewheat crackers
- Freeze-dried apple chips (25g)
- 1x beer

EXERCISE
Total exercise fail today. Am taking it a bit easy... my ankle is still sore and occasionally swollen, :nopity:and I have a big netball tournament on Sunday, so need to look after myself for that.
- 2x 15 min cycling
- 20 min walk
 
I have a slight phobia of tiny people, they make me feel so garguntarian! I realy want to go to china, but i fear it. I feeeeeaaaaaaar iiiiiiiiiiiitttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even if you are relatively small by western standards, the stallholders in chinese markets always thrust the XL's at you. They'd be thrusting me their rain canopies lol.

I'm so glad your happy, its infectious!

Were you anorexic? Golden bennet. What was it like? So glad you have been doing well for the past 5 years.

My ankles are killing me as well (think its all this walking i've been doing-im not used to it!), but at least i haven't got a netball tournament. What team do you play for?
 
decisionmaker, you have the same body type as me! All the weight's in my hips and thighs and butt. Ugh! At least we can look pretty good in an a-line skirt. :p

I also truly empathize with the difficulty to resist the yummy sweets. I definitely have a sweet tooth. When I'm wanting the candy/cookie/cake/ice cream/whatever, I've been asking myself- "Which do I want more? The sweets right now, or the hot body later?" then grabbing something healthy to munch and a glass of water. It's SOOOO hard though. :p

Keep up the good work!
 
Hi gals! Thanks for the messages :) It's nice to know we're not alone. :grouphug:

Rainbow: Ha - tiny people ARE scary! Especially as a 6ft tall giant! :) I went to Vietnam with my man a few years ago, and it was even worse than that - I'd walk into a shop, they'd look me up and down and say 'there's nothing here for you'. BOO! Even for a little singlet top or something! Crazy. But, it was a fantastic experience, and that's just one tiny funny thing that happened in three weeks of incredible memories - don't let it stop you from going to china!

Also, with my ED thing, sorry to be a pain, but I don't think I'm quite ready to talk about it yet. No, not anorexia. And... well, the worst part about it was the knowledge that it was evidence that I was completely out of control, when normally I'm a very level-headed, pretty intelligent woman... and was really really really f*king up my body. So terrible all round, really. And after about 7 years of it, it just becomes a lifestyle. You don't even question it. ... hmm, seems I can talk a little bit about it!

OH! Netball! I am playing for SWITZERLAND! TRULY! Man, this makes me wiggle with pride and excitement :) :) :) This tournament on Sunday is IN Switzerland, though, so we are playing for Zurich. It's AWESOME :) I'm GS, but lately I've been fit and fast enough to play GA quite a lot too. Yippee!


Amy (?): Ha! I know, right? The funny thing about me and my sweet tooth, is that I have recently been talking about how I have somewhere along the line switched from being a chocolate fiend to a cheese maniac. And yet, my diary sure doesn't show that! I think that maybe because it's that time of the month for me, I have very little discipline with sweet things... And it's great that you are managing to do that little self-talk when you want something a bit indulgent... That's a huge step, I reckon! And... A-Line skirts for the win! :)

x
 
Woke up today so early because of this ridiculous hey-fever. :banghead:Downed a couple of tablets and managed to get back to sleep PROPERLY this time. SO then I woke up at 11.30!!!! CRAZY!

Hubby won 150 Francs (=$) at poker last night. I lost 50, so he shouted me breakfast this morning. Woot! :)

Food

Brunch:
- Large milk coffee (250ml)
- Sesame bagel with lettuce, tomato, philly cheese and 1 rasher of bacon, fat removed (as much as possible)

Snack:
- 2 wholewheat biscuits with 1tbs low fat cottage cheese
- blood orange (mmm!)
- 1/2 carrot

Dinner:
- Veggie fajita, homemade (Capsicum, tomato, corn, kidney beans, mushrooms, green beans, onion. Stir fried with lots of cumin, paprika, chilli, coriander. Add some veggie stock and tomato paste. With a wholemeal wrap)
- 1 glass white wine

Exercise:
- 30 min WiiFit (says I burnt 112 Calories)
- 20 min walk
- 2 x Climbing the stairs... I'm trying to do this every day now instead of the elevator. We live on the 4th floor - quite a hike!
 
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