Lou Lou's Diary

I have had a very bad week food wise. I have really struggled to control my cravings and myself. I've eaten sweets, chocolate, cheese, late night snacks. Urg! I feel very disappointed in myself. However, today I am starting over and getting back on track. I've done it for the last month or so, I can do it now. One weeks blip isn't going to entirely derail me!!

I googled some foods that are supposed to help with stress and depression. I'm still prone to getting incredibly down at times, never to the extent at which I used to fall, but I know that I'm still prone to it. Since it's not situational and only occasionally hormonal, I figured that lifestyle has more effect over it that anything else at the moment. I have discovered that yes, eating crap really does effect your mood (I know we all know that, but sometimes it's easy to forget) and part of this weeks problem might have been that I felt bad so I ate crap, that crap then had an effect on my hormones and my mood...which made me want more crap. Apparently I should have eaten avocado, cashews, asparagus, green tea, berries etc. According to what I read they are technically comfort foods in that they do something to the cortisol (stress hormone) so that the body relaxes. Apparently cortisol also has something to do with abdominal fat, so when people say they gain weight when they are stressed..there is scientific research to back it up! Who knew?!

Anyway, during my internet adventures I came across an article about emotional roadblocks and weight loss. I figured it would be worth a read since I know my own tendency to eat my feelings. The article stipulated the reasons why people might feel nervous about losing weight, or why they might derail their own progress. It was things like "What am I if not the 'bubbly' one anymore....What if I'm not interesting enough...Who am I to be perfect?..." etc. At first I was frustrated that these things did not apply to me (I hate reading an article hoping for answers and realising that my situation doesn't fit AT ALL) but it then dawned on me that, actually, I am in a great place. None of those roadblocks applied to me...I know I am interesting, I know I am worth taking the time and energy to improve myself, I know that I'm more than the 'fat, bubbly' one. I'm in great place personally, I'm in a great place motivationally. Alright, I'm sad and I miss my ex...but I'm not unhappy. I know my worth and I know that I'm worth THIS. No road blocks for me :) A few small blips here and there will not harm me overall, not in the grand scheme of things, I just need to get back on track. Eating my feelings is less about my emotional well-being and more about my poor choices in comfort food!

As I mentioned previously, I didn't weigh in. And I won't today. I'll give it another week. It's not defeatist (I've decided)...it's writing off a bad week and starting over :p Next Friday! Weigh in! I have to work hard next week to make up for the poor decisions of this week, but it can be done!!
 
I'm sure your next weigh-in will be great! Don't worry about the small blips, just keep going. Also very interesting about the comfort foods. I might have to buy some cashews. lol!
 
I FIT INTO AN OLD PAIR OF JEANS!!!!!! :party:

Now, not the pair of jeans that I am aiming for (although I tried those on too, they do up but with the most horrendous muffin top known to man. They are not comfortable!) but a pair of jeans that I had stuffed to the back of the drawer in despair.

They are my best pair of "going out" jeans and they stopped fitting a while ago. Last time I tried them on was at the beginning of September to go out in Leeds and they were so tight and uncomfortable that I had fossil marks round my midriff when I took them off. And I had to wear a baggy top to hide the fat overspill lol. Anyway, at that point I figured at least they were doing up, at some point they would fit again. And yesterday they fit!!! :D So comfortable, not too tight, not too loose. Perfect.

I have another pair of jeans (skinny) that currently do up but are not very comfortable and have some muffin top issues. They are my next goal :) Once I fit into those I'll be pretty happy. Then it's onto the pair of jeans. Once I get into those I'll be ecstatic.

Onwards and upwards :D
 
What a great accomplishment!! Congrats, you'll be into that even smaller pair in no time.
 
Great job on getting into those smaller pants! Good luck with the skinny jeans!! I'm sure you'll be wearing them soon! :)
 
Thanks all :)

Off the back of my good result with the trousers I hopped on the scales. I haven't budged. Which is good. Which means that the bad food week I had has either leveled back out or the exercise and lack of alcohol is balancing the bad food out anyway. Either way I'm relatively happy and back on track. Hoping for a loss this Friday!

I took some photographs of myself in the mirror yesterday. Up until the trouser epiphany I haven't really felt that I've lost, or looked like I have lost (in my opinion!) I suppose when you look at yourself in the mirror every day you don't notice the difference. i know the scales are telling me I'm losing weight but I just didn't SEE the evidence in myself, you know? Anyway, I thought if I took a photograph for every goal I reach I can refer back to previous pictures and SEE the difference for myself.
It's a shame I didn't take any photographs right at the start of this, it would be interesting to see if I look any different or if the changes are subtle. Once I've reached the next goal I'll take another photo and post them as a before and after...then when I reach my overall target I can post the VERY first and the VERY last picture and be incredibly proud of myself :)

Breakfast: Cereal
Snack: Popcorn
Dinner: Spag Bol
Tea: Humus and salad sandwich.
16k on the bike.

I've noticed recently that I'm eating a lot of bread. I think I'm lacking inspiration at the moment and sandwiches or egg on toast are the easy option. I don't mind for now since it's wholemeal bread and isn't currently causing any gains. Maybe when I begin to plateau I'll look at substituting the bread with something or cutting it out entirely.
Do any of you guys eat bread? If not what do you eat instead?
 
Hi Lou,

Bread in almost any form is a major weakness of mine. Give me a loaf of bread, some butter and a toaster and it won't last long. I have been trying to cut down the amount I eat. Would be pleased if could limit it to a few times a week. If you find a lower calorie and healthy replacement for bread let me know!

The photos are a really good idea. Can be motivation for you but perhaps also when you reach your final goal something to keep your motivated in maintaining. I did start taking photos as a way to motivate myself, but did not maintain that. Your mentioning it is a good reminder for me to do that.
 
You know that scale is not always a good thing, but that is what most of us use to guide us though the weight loss process. I have not lost weight but inches. Still I can be hard on myself because the scale is not going down. Congrats on your process.
 
^Absolutely! I think weight is the easiest to follow in the first instance, I wonder if I have lost much in the way of inches? Currently my plan is to get to my goal weight then focus on fitness and toning *nods* I suppose that will have more of a visible difference.

----

I had a lovely(ish) day today. Took my son to see the poppy installation at the Tower of London then we wandered around Borough Market (I resisted the urge to buy some amazing looking fudge) and then we went to the Imperial War Museum. It was a lovely day with my boy, but REALLY crowded! I hate London when there are crowds! I was a tad emotional for some of the day though. It is where my ex works (and used to live) and I have massive associations of him and London. First time I've been up there since. It resulted in me becoming very upset on my arrival home. It's annoying because I'd been doing a bit better over the past week or two. This is going to be such a long road :(

Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Humus and salad sandwich. Cereal bar.
Snack: Crisps
Dinner: Mug Shots noodles.
17k on the bike. Plus all that city walking :)
 
Accidentally posted in Serge's thread to ask if you ever make wraps instead of sandwiches. I know you were trying to think of alternatives to bread. I think it saves a few calories, especially if you use smaller tortillas.
 
Thank you, I'll look into it :) I actually always avoided wraps as I thought they had a higher calorie and fat content but to be honest I never really bothered to look it up. I suppose one wrap is better than two slices of bread? Anyway, I'll check it out.
 
That's true, the fat might end up being pretty comparable... But I was thinking the same as you regarding calories, 1 wrap should be better than 2 pieces of bread. But I'm no expert!! I do love some things just wrapped in a big lettuce leaf, too, but I VERY rarely actually remember to actually do that.
 
After the emotional kick in the stomach yesterday I am feeling much better. I say "much", I mean I haven't cried yet lol. Today was pretty slow but I've been busy studying which always keeps my brain occupied. I hopped on the scales this morning and there was still no shift.

Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Mug shot pasta
Snack: Banana
Dinner: Scrambled egg, beans and toast
13k on the bike.
 
About bread, I do not eat very much of it as it has to be gluten free, and there is no pleasure in GF breads...

I eat yoghurt with fibre flakes, LCHF muffins(200 cal each, you could probably fill up the batter with grated carrot or potato if you want to lovwer the cals) or Wholegrain crackers (50 cal each) or I eat Salads with quinoa/beans/chicken/tofu/tuna instead of bread or I add a small homemade bun of 100 cals to the meal if desired. It Works pretty fine to me.

Wraps; I use the big leaves of the iceberg Salad, White cabbage or so as the tortilla bread.
 
It's official. I'm bored!!! I actually want to go back to work!! (I'll remind myself of this next time I'm up to my eyeballs in paperwork and screaming children!). A lack of money certainly puts a dampner on my annual leave. I think in the future I will book things up for my time off...holidays, theatre trips, clubs, whatever. Or maybe I just need to make an advanced plan. I always look forward to relaxing and just swanning around doing whatever we want. Of course all my son ever wants to do is play computer games or go to the park.
We had a lovely time in London though and tomorrow, being as its Halloween we're going to watch some films and eat chocolate :) I did get some uni work done too so it's not been a total bust!

Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Cereal bar. Apple. (I know..tut tut)
Snack: Plain crackers
Dinner: Omelette and salad. Yoghurt.
16k on the bike. About 15 minutes yoga.
 
I lost 3lbs!! :D I'm so pleased! It may have been the lack of bread yesterday that really pushed the weight down. It could just be catch up from the last 2 weeks. It's a good decent loss, one which I can hopefully maintain!!

This means I'm 160lbs. Which means any loss from here puts me in the 150's And THAT will be awesome!!
 
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