Losing Weight in the Land of Chocolate and Cheese!

:) Noted. Weird... I feel like I'm on here all the time, but I think at the moment I'm just reading everyone else's ! Not even commenting half the time - I really should - just reading.

Yep, Xenon, it was DELICIOUS! :)

Okay. Here I am. What would I do without you? I promise, though, that as I turned on my computer here, right now, I was about to do an update :) Really!

So.. it was the weekend. hmmm... My hubby has been an athletic machine and has gone for enormous rides every day. I just get visions of the big bike tour we did, and just shy away from it. I could go for a lovely ride around the lake with him - 70km - but I worry about all the things that happened on our tour. I'd want to go at a reasonable pace so I can actually really enjoy it, look around, stop often to look at things... and he's always just about speed and distance. Our biggest fight for the 6 monhts of our tour happened when we both made the decision that one particular day, 3 months in, that I was going to set the pace. So I was just really enjoying it, going at about 22 or 23km/hr. Yes, that's slow for flat roads with a tail-wind, but it was up to me. When my hubby finally blew up, it got ugly. I actually picked up my bike and threw it into a field...

SO instead, I have been doing no exercise. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

If housework counts as exercise though, I've been a madwoman with that! Had people around for dinner saturday night, and then we had some last minute visitors on sunday night too, so we had the yummy left-overs from saturday, with a few more things bulking it up.
One thing I'm happy about is that both times, although we told our friends they didn't need to bring anything, they both brought chocolate. Lots of it. Good stuff. But I didn't actually want it. Saturday, I just ate some fresh berries, and sunday the chocolate actually came out AFTER the dessert, so I was totally satisfied. I think that in the past I probably would have also eaten it without even really wanting it... but now I'm being conscious about it.



Sunday FOOD (actually VERY similar to Saturday's food, except on Saturday I had porridge for breakfast and a little left-over curried spinach for lunch)

Breakfast
- Sesame Bagel with cream cheese, lettuce and tomato
- Milk coffee

Lunch
- black coffee, mini almond biscuit (came with coffee)

Dinner
- 2 glasses white wine
- 4 Kofta made with paneer, lightly pan-fried, in a spicy tomato sauce
- Broccoli and carrot with a little coconut milk and cardamom sauce
- Saffron rice with lots of spices, nuts and sultanas.
- small slice pavlova with lite cream and fresh berries (sunday only)


MEANWHILE I have been scared to get on my wii-fit. Yesterday morning I decided not to weigh myself, because I KNEW it would be bad, and that puts me on a bad step for the whole day. :( Today I woke up and had done pretty much the identical thing to the day before, so also wanted to avoid it. But I didn't... and I had actually LOST! That was awesome. I seem to fluctuate wildly though... so we'll se ewhat happens when Wednesday finally rolls around.
 
So... I think I look really pretty today. :) It's such a nice feeling, after not feeling it for what seemed like an eternity, it's nice to occasionally have this. As a testament to this feeling, I'm wearing my chunky black 'heels' for the second time ever (I use the term 'heels' loosely. It's as high as I have ever been - probably 2 inches MAX) and I'm walking tall and proud. It feels weird to say that 'I think I look pretty'. We are so conditioned to not say things like this, and to only say negative things about ourselves. Whoever is reading this should try to think of a really nice thing about themselves. It's much harder than thinking of a bad thing...

I heard about this programme called the C25K programme. Couch to 5 kilometres. It's meant to train to from absolutely nothing to being able to run 5km. It's just a website I think, but I'm going to look into it.
 
I love that feeling, it's great when it comes along. Here's to hoping it becomes a more permanent fixture for both of us! (Oh, and anything that's not flat is a heel. Says someone who still can't walk in heels)
 
HELLS YEAH! I'm pumped! and there is a link to a metric version that is PERFECT for me and the 400metre track down the road from me :)

I have been trying to go running, but I just burn out and get totally exhausted... so I'm going to do this! I might try to make it a bit longer though... see how my body feels...

AMPED!
 
:D AMY! Yes, I am SO glad that you understand this concept of a heel! I wonder what class I missed out on where suddenly everyone was able to do it, and I was completely not. Hmm... when did that happen?

So Amy, your picture has inspired me, seeing as I feel so nice today. I'm going to put up a pic too. :) BUT, please note you can see my head! Haha.

Things to note:
- Apologies again for the lighting - it's my only option
- I still have to wear leggings
- This is a HELL tight skirt, and I couldn't wear it when I started this diary just three weeks ago!
- I just got this little cardigan thing - I like it because it has the little tie around my waist, which is my skinniest bit
- YES, those are heels
 
:D Thanks Sunflower! It's like a really nice fine knit/crochet thing - just enough nanna for me to love it :)

* * *

Okay so I know this is my bajillionth post for today... this is what happens when I'm away for two days.

BUT I just did my first ever session from the Couch to Five Kilometre programme. According to them my first session should be a brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

So it took me 5 minutes to walk briskly to the Sport track (it's fate) and then, with my music, I went for it. for... about 25 minutes. And I was STUFFED! I did try to walk as fast as possible when I was walking, and then push myself in the jogging section... When I got home, though, about ten minutes ago, I was TOTALLY pooped. Then I thought about what I've eaten today. Not much. So I had two puffs of my puffer (nearly snorted it up my nose by accident, thinking it was my hayfever medication - how much more dorky can I become) and just had almost a whole 200g tub of lowfat cottage cheese. Now I feel a million bucks. :)

FOOD
Breakfast (11am):
- Vegetable soup with 1 thick slice rye bread (250Cal)
- black coffee with a dash of Full milk (25Cal)
Lunch: -
Snack:
- 150g low fat cottage cheese (135Cal)
Dinner
- 1/2 cup saffron rice with nuts and raisins (220Cal)
- Bowl of Chillie (80g beef mince, spices, MASSES of veg) (300Cal)

EXERCISE
- 35 min interval training - power walking and running (200Cal)

TOTAL
930 Cal - 200 (a bit low, I know. I wasn't hungry today)
 
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You do look great, and I'm glad you feel it! :party:
Your right, it isn't big headed to like ourselves, or the way we look, it should be a given thing.

I love the feeling of wearing heels too, but where i am always in flats i can't walk in anything higher than an inch haha. I live at number 48, but a pair of high heeled boots got delivered here instead of 4B (B was confused with 8). They were size 7 and they fit on my feet, which is amazing, and I was marching round the house in them feeling a little bit sexy, and there was a knock at the door, and it was the woman from 4B wanting her parcel that had been delivered here by mistake. I was wearing her bloody shoes lol :eek:
I want to get a pair of "home heels" so i can get used to walking in them. My sister Rachel is 5 foot 10, and she always wears four inch heels. I love her confidence. And I love yours as well!

I looked up the couch to 5k running programme, it looks brill. Looking forwards to seeing how it goes! I would like to start jogging, the trouble is i live in a really busy part of london and there is nowhere for me to run except the street. I don't ever see anyone jogging around here like i have in other areas I've lived.

I agree with you, it wouldn't be a good idea to go on a bike tour with your hubby, Just seems like you have different approaches to it :( Next time it might end up with him getting thrown into a field instead. On the plus side though, you would get Madonna arms if you hurled him enough times. Maybe you could sneak a bow and arrow out with you, and give him punctures from behind if he is going too fast. That'll teach him.

Hows your writing going?
 
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Ha, somehow we managed to survive a 6 month bike tour! God knows how... :)

Writing is going MUCH better now I have put those intensive German lessons on hold and am doing it only 3 times a week. Thanks so much for asking! I had a meeting with a writers group today and got some more incredible feedback, so I'm glowing. :blush5:

This is going to be a short one. I'm freaking exhausted. The last three nights I have not had more than 3 hours sleep. And I don't have any reason. I wake up after an hour and that's it, I can't go back to sleep. I hear the bells ringing every hour and get more and more agitated about it... I told one of my fellow writing friends today, and she sat me down after the meeting and gave me a stern talking to. STRESS. I need to look after myself. All that jazz. Weird, I know, but yes, I'm adjusting to a new country where nearly everything is unfamiliar, I can't speak the language (very well at all) and I'm out of my depth a bit. Yes, I'm coping, and yes, I am SO happy with our situation, but I am stressed a bit. So my mission today is attempt 30 minutes of doing nothing. Which will be tough.

No appetite. Linked to no sleep? To stress?

Also, after my brilliant day yesterday, I put on 0.5kg. What the? :(
 
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I somehow missed this in my brief absence yesterday. You look amazing. I love how you put yourself together (and while you've mentioned some downsides to being tall, damn tall women hold their weight so much better than us more average girls)

Have you considered going a day without caffeine? I find easing off definitely helped me (had the first good night's sleep for a long, long time on the first day I went cold turkey- not going cold turkey anymore, experimenting with how I manage things). Or a bath, or relaxation music (I'm not into that mumbo jumbo but there can be something soothing about it), or self-hypnosis or something? I like lavender oil for that kind of thing. Not sure how actually effective it is, but I associate it with my grandmother and/ or sleep, so I think it puts me in the right frame of mind.
 
Oh- and sleep hygiene. If possible, keep your bedroom as dedicated as you can to sleep (and sex). I sleep a lot better now I have my own bedroom, as opposed to "my own room where I do everything".
 
Thanks for the tips Amy. Acutally, they are REALLY helpful. We are in a weird situation at the moment where our bed really SUCKS, but our sofa bed is huge and comfortable, so we have been sleeping on the sofa bed for the past week to decide what to do. That must be why - I'm not in the bedroom, my 'bed' is definitely not only for sleep, etc. I told my man that I might have to sleep alone in the bedroom tonight to catch up... Also, I will definitely go for a long hot bath before bed... I have a real soft spot for a good bath...
___

So after just saying I had no appetite, I went and ate lots. And not because I was hungry either. I don't really know what I was thinking. I remember rationalising it by saying that I have had too few calories the today and yesterday, so I should stop my body from going into storage mode... Cals are still low though.

Breakfast
- stewed apple and 2 wholewheat crackers (170Cal)
- decaf milk coffee (140Cal)

Lunch (1pm)
- Small side salad (came with a creamy dressing, damnit) with a slice of rye bread (160????)

Second lunch??? (3pm)
- 1/2 potato rosti with speck (STACKS of fat) (400Cal)
- 2/3 cup leftover chillie (STACKs of veg, lean beef, very little fat) (120Cal)
- 1 fererro Rocher (stupid friends bringing chocolate over, and then not eating it all) (73Cal)

Dinner (7.30pm)
- 3 broccoli florets (back to not hungry) (25Cal)

Total Calories
1088

Edit: After too few calories for two days, I had dessert. 700Cal of it. Whoops. Little Indian desserts that hubby brought home from work. Who knew these things would be so evil???
Total Calories: 1800

Exercise:
- None. But I did manage to fall asleep for two hours! Hope that doesn't stop me from sleeping tonight...
 
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I lived in halls (university residential college) last year and I know what you mean about beds sucking. If it's a long-ish term to permanent solution, I'd recommend a matress pad (I got a memory foam one on a really good deal and it made an enormous difference. Before, I could feel every single spring and woke up in agony. After, it was *almost* good, and my back pain vanished). Or an air mattress (I have an Aerobed one for guests and it's surprisingly comfortable) or even sleeping on an old/ cheap duvet (put it under the fitted sheet) makes some difference.

There's something quite soothing about candles as well (scented or not) if you like them. And there are varied reports on hot milk versus herbal tea- I find either wam milk or peppermint tea (can't stand chammomile) puts me more into a "bed" mood.

Shouldn't you be trying to get those calories up if you can? When I see I'm that low it's an excuse for dessert (not that I really need an excuse for dessert... :leaving: ). Or something with a higher calorie density or that you find trivial to consume (glass of milk?) so it doesn't bother you eating when you're not hungry.
 
First, just stopping by to introduce myself. I'm Ashley! :) I'm back on the diet journey myself and poking my nose in other diaries. I read your initial post and your last post. Sounds like you are living a dream! I wouldn't mind living in Switzerland! But alas, we are a close knit family and probably won't be doing much moving. Some of the foods you post sound really interesting! I hope you don't mind me asking you for some recipes from time to time.
You have such a wonderful luxury of being tall. I know that it must have some downs, but I would love to be your height! My husband is 6'2 and I am 5'3. I have always dug the taller guys.
Anyways! You had a total have 1033 calories for the day? Are you planning on having a snack? It doesn't seem like enough. I read somewhere a while ago (on mayo clinic's site I think) that it is advised to stay at 1200 or above to help maintain your body's organs. Below that puts stress on the body or something like that. But then again I dunno if you do this all the time. You have quite a long diary. :) Take care! I'll poke my nose in here again soon to bug you for food ideas.
 
Hi Ashley!!! Thanks for stopping by! Firstly, good on you for jumping back on that wagon. Making that decision is a big step in itself! I completely understand about the close family thing... I also am incredibly close to my family, so it is sometimes really hard to be on the complete other side of the world from them. The thought of perhaps having kids here without my parents around is something I'm really struggling with, but all in good time...

Now girls, about my low calories. DON'T WORRY! I had the same idea, once I had counted them all up and realised they were still under 1200 (didn't realise that is the magic number, it's just one that seems to crop up a lot) and made positive (?) steps to counteract that.

Yes, I had dessert. I had NO IDEA, however, that those yummy Indian things that my hubby brought home from work (some kind of cultural day thing) would be SO calorie dense! I ate them and then researched the calories later - fatal, of course. I had just eaten 700 calories! For such a teeny amount of food!

So I'm back up now. It is annoying though.... I mean, I was on the Cohen's plan (doctors, blood tests, etc)for four months and was only eating 400 calories a day - just enough to survive, apparently. And while it REALLY worked a treat, I think it really perpetuated a lot of my mental issues with food. Surely if I eat less, preferably as little as possible, I'll get skinny, right? WRONG. I need to be HEALTHY. That is my plan.

It's just strange that I have no appetite.

Bath time. Then bed time. Nighty night! Wish me luck!
 
:eek2: 700 calories? :eek2: (I'm thinking about an appropriate response, realising it'd be a long list of expletives, and I figure that wouldn't be appropriate so I'll just keep stumm) But it's good that you got about 1200, anyway. It's just a shame about the number.

400 calories a day? How is that even possible? I... can't even. I'm glad you decided to go for healthy, that sounds like a recipe for disaster all around.

If the appetite thing keeps up, is it worthwhile talking to your doctor?

Hope the bath and sleep hygiene works, or at least gives you some respite from sleep deprivation.
 
Lucky you having no appetite, I don't know whats happening with me today, but all I can think about is foodfoodfood!

Glad the writings going well, I really hope you get published soon and I can buy your book!

Hope you get a good nights sleep tonight. I agree with amy that you should get a memory foam matress topper, or as a temporary measure you could just put spare duvets/curtains/blankets underneath the sheets.
 
Yeah, actually, today I had my first bread craving in ages. Damn Lidl for having such good smelling bread.
 
I slept!!!!!! NINE STRAIGHT HOURS!!!:smilielol5:

Thanks for your tips and support, girls! The problem with the bed isn't realy the mattress (in fact we are probably just going to put it on the floor) but the fact that the bed is so saggy, so we are always falling in ontop of each other. And my man always whinges I'm so hot (his 'little radiator'), so it just doesn't work. Last night it did, though!

SEVEN HUNDRED - I know!!!! And it was only 120grams!!!!!! Live and learn... I'm not too worried about the no appetite thing. It's a nice change, actually! Rainbow, I'm usually exactly like that too! I think it is just from the sleep issue... so I expect it will come roaring back now.

So it's Wednesday. Although the scales are telling me bad things, I so FEEL more toned. And it's my Swiss Netball training tonight, which is bound to be a lot of pain with fitness and strength straining. I'm also going to do my next round of C25K running today, and there's a stack of housework to do.

Today's Weigh-in: 87.0kg
Apparently I'm +0.2 from last week, which is sad. I looked at my daily graph, though, and it seemed wednesday last week was some kind of weird anomaly, where I lost 1.2kg from the Tuesday, and put on 0.8 on the Thursday. So I'm not going to have a hissy fit. The gradual trend is a definite down, so that's good.

Measurements (I haven't done these in the past 6 months, so this will be my starting point) :
Waist: 74cm / 30inches
Butt: 113/ 44
Hips: 112 / 44
Thigh: 68 / 27
calf (right):44 / 17
Bicep (left): 30 / 12
Boobs 91 / 36


But today, my first priority is my writing. :) I love it! And the fire is burning in me... Yesterday at my meeting, it was decided that there was pretty much no constructive criticism to provide, and that the only thing in the way of me getting published and being a roaring success (their words I promise!) is time. :) :) :) It is so so sooooo satisfying to know that I am not wasting my life away. To give you an idea, they likened me to John Irving, Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie... gives you an idea of my style, anyhow. So off I trot!
 
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That's fantastic, you must feel great! (or very groggy, I often feel groggy the first good night's sleep in awhile) Do you need a thinner duvet if you're so warm, with maybe a thicker one he can keep on his side?

And I love your attitude with regards to the weight. And the way you talk about your writing. I can almost see the fire in your eyes, I love it.
 
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