The final countdown!

L

laralosing

New member
Hi all,

For ages, I've been saying I'm going to lose some weight, and yet I seem to only have gained in the last couple of months! I've gotten in to a bad routine of driving to work, sitting at my desk all day, driving home, sitting on the sofa all evening. Plus indulging in way too much chocolate. I've finally got to the point where enough is enough, I have quit my job, and booked myself a flight to Indonesia! I'm going travelling for a while, and I want to lose weight before I go. I'm feeling really positive that I'm going to make this happen, so I plan on weekly weigh ins and documenting everything I eat in the 3 weeks before I leave on 1st June!

I am 5 foot 6 inches, and weigh... (just going to check now so it's accurate)... 10 stone 11 pounds. I wear a size 12 on top and 14 on the bottom. I know I'd feel better for losing around a stone, although that's probably not realistic in 3 weeks. I plan on eating low carb, no added sugars, lots of water, lots of protein, lots of veg, and some fruit. I will also cycle to work and back every day, and I started today!

Today, I have eaten-
Breakfast- coffee (bad)
10am snack- 6 brazil nuts (25g)
12.30pm lunch- salmon sushi, 6 pieces
3.30 snack- a handful of edamame beans
7pm dinner- roast chicken (no oil), 3 roast potatoes (small amount of olive oil), peas

My main downfall is having snacks too often, and recently, I have caught a bad case of "sweet tooth" form my boyfriend. I used to be such a savoury person, but now I eat way too much chocolate and it makes me moody, spotty and gain weight! So no chocolate for a while, I need to wean myself off sugar.

That's it for today. I plan on jogging tomorrow after work, and carrying on with the healthy eating :) I will document again tomorrow.
 
Last night was a struggle! I am trying not to eat anything after dinner, which I usually eat at 6.30/7.30. I was sooo hungry that I couldn't get to sleep, but I did not cave!! I don't think it helps that I was looking up healthy recipes, and all that talk of food was making me drool.

Waking up this morning, I did not feel hungry, so I guess the hunger can subside! I've always been fearful of hunger, so I generally tend to graze throughout the day which ensures that I'm never truly hungry. I often think I'm hungry, but I think I'm usually bored, rather than hungry. My tactics to combat this now, are setting times for meals/snacks (breakfast 7ish, snack 10ish, lunch 12-1, snack 3.30ish, dinner 7ish). This means that I look forward to having food, hopefully set a proper "appetite clock", rather than just eating whenever I have nothing else to do. I am also drinking a lot more water and herbal tea, to help feel fuller, plus I read somewhere that thirst is often confused for hunger.

So for breakfast, I had a small bowl of porridge, with a teaspoon of honey. I had that 20 mins ago, so I'll wait and see if I feel full still in the next 20 mins, and if not, I'll have a heaped teaspoon of peanutbutter, and eat that reallllly slowly. I ate my porridge slowly, and enjoyed every spoon. I'm not generally a fast eater, but a mindless eater if that makes sense? I just daydream and don't really pay attention, and before I know it, that entire family sized bar of chocolate has disappeared!

I'll post again later today, to update my food diary.
 
I did not come back and update my food diary yesterday, I came home from work with an awful headache, and didn't want to look at a screen anymore!

So yesterday I ate-

6.40: Porridge with teaspoon honey
10am: 6 brazil nuts
10.30: A tiiiiny slice of cake :( - someone from work brought me birthday cake, so I couldn't really say no. Luckily it was a fruity cake with no icing, so I guess it could've been worse.
12.30pm: Chicken salad, edamame beans
6.45pm: Broth, leftover chicken, rice, soy sauce
8pm: Coffee. Not just any coffee, sugary sachet coffee. I bought a 48 packet because my friend recommended them- bear in mind I was drinking almost zero coffee, tea and alcohol, and now I've been having daily coffee because I've got so many damn sachets of it and it's delicious!
Lots and lots of water and herbal tea all day!

So not a great day yesterday. Not awful, but definitely not great. Myfitnesapp says I had 1400 calories, so not a terrible slip, but I'd been aiming for 1200 per day.

Today I must do better! I have just had a bowl of porridge, and I'm planning on having prawns and avocado for lunch, and then probably salmon or chicken with vegetables for dinner.

Not sure when to have my first weigh in. I am not, sadly, expecting my weight to drop off, because I don't have loads to lose. I'm currently 150 pounds, and looking to lose as much as I can in 3 weeks before going to Indonesia, but as a long term goal, I want to get down to 125 pounds or so.

Is it normal to feel so sapped of energy this early on? It's only day 3. I'm hoping that things will take a dip and then I'll suddenly feel amazing! I'm just not used to surviving on so little food and feeling hungry, because I normally eat small amounts, packed with carbs and sugar, all through the day.
 
I'm officially now on day 4! Proud of myself for making it this far, as I rarely do when I start a healthy eating regime. It feels different this time, although I really struggled yesterday, I feel great for not having caved too much.

Yesterday's food-
7am breakfast: Porridge with a teaspoon honey (didn't finish as I was full- I never leave food)!!
10.30 snack: 6 brazil nuts
12.15 lunch: 1 avocado and a pack of chilli and corriander prawns (120 cals in the prawns)
****** this is where things started to go downhill and I was majorly debating throwing in the towel and going to McDonalds! I was so hungry, so many cravings, fed up, and no energy.
4.30 snack: 1 piece of chicken (50 cals)
5.30 arrived home from work in a terrible mood and exhausted: coffee
6.30 dinner: Wholemeal wrap with 1 chicken breast, green pepper, mushrooms, raw spinach, low fat greek yogurt and a squeeze of lemon.
Throughout the day- 2 large jugs of water

Yesterday I had no energy, and really struggled at work, especially in the afternoon. I was sorely tempted to binge and forget about the diet, but I know that if I do that, I will find it extremely difficult to start again the next day. I think I need to try and have heartier breakfasts, so that I don't feel so starved. Today, I am going to have a little peanutbutter on a thin wholemeal piece of toast, and a banana on top for breakfast.

TMI alert- I have not have a bowel movement in 3 days now! I don't feel like I need to, and I don't feel any stomach pain. I'm wondering if this is normal! I think I will up my fibre intake and hopefully that'll do the trick.
 
Think I am starting to lose a bit of perspective.. every time I eat, I feel guilty. I've just had almost a whole carrot and red pepper dipped in hummus (about a heaped tablespoon of low fat hummus in total), and 1 large chicken breast. I feel full and guilty- I think it's because, although it was more low calorie than my usual meals are at the moment, it was a larger amount of food, so I feel fuller, which makes me feel like I've overdone it.

I think I need to get a bloody grip!
 
Yesterday I ate-

7am breakfast: 1 warburtons thin with peanutbutter and slices of banana
10.30 snack: yogurt
12.30 lunch: 1 pepper and 1 carrot with hummus and chicken
4.30 snack: 10 brazil nuts (I was meeting my friend after work and knew I'd be eating a late dinner and didn't want to sit starving at the pub and end up buying crisps)!
5.30-7.30 pub drink: 1 lime and sparking water (boring, I know)
8.30: salmon with soy sauce, ginger, garlic, rice, yellow pepper, carrot, spinach

New day today, and I've had a good breakfast to kick start the day. I've spent the last 2/3 days with no energy, so I'm increasing my breakfast portions, and it's made a big difference!
 
Hi chick! Love your diary :) 3 weeks is plenty of time to lose a few lbs! Your food looks good--I commend your willpower...Only a lime and fizzy water at the pub?! Good woman!
 
Hi Sunflower! Thanks for your comment- it's great to get a nod of approval! I know, I felt sooo lame with my lime and fizzy water, but at least no guilt! I had a look on your diary a few days ago and congratulations on your engagement! I'm sure it's excellent motivation for you as well :)
 
Right, yesterday.. I switched things up a bit. . As I've spent most of the week with 0 energy, I decided I was doing something wrong. So I've actually upped my portion sizes, to see if it gives me more energy and less of the constant thoughts of "I'm so starving, I need a snack" . I'm pleased to report that it really helped! Feeling great today too, after a veeerryy long sleep last night as I crashed out at 8.30pm and woke up at 8am- it has been a long week!

Yesterday's food-
7am breakfast: 2 smallish eggs scrambled (with minimal olive oil), on a warburtons thin
1pm lunch (and I wasn't even feeling STARVING to death at this point)!: chicken, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, rice, yellow peppers, carrots
6pm dinner: spagbol with minimal spaghetti for me. I made it with a little lean minced beef, bulked out with a mixture of cannelloni, broad and garbanzo beans, carrots, 1 small onion, mushrooms, a tin of chopped tomatoes, and herbs/spices. I also sprinkled in a bit of chilli. It was YUM, and it fed me and a hungry man, as well as there being 2 portions of leftovers!
6.30pm snack (in all honesty, I was not hungry so I could have gone without, but I saw the recipe online and was compelled to try it): 1 apple sliced thinly, sprinkled in cinnamon, baked until it's apple crisps/chips :)

I was brave this morning and decided to weigh myself for the first time since Monday. Monday, I was 10 stone 11.8 pounds, and today I am 10 stone 9 pounds (149 pounds). Woohoo! I'm going in the right direction, even if most of it is probably water weight...
 
Ohhhh were the apples good? That sounds amazing. May have to try that. I like baking the peelings from potatoes until they go crispy and they are just like normal crisps except warm and lovelyyy.
 
Sunflower said:
Ohhhh were the apples good? That sounds amazing. May have to try that. I like baking the peelings from potatoes until they go crispy and they are just like normal crisps except warm and lovelyyy.
Click to expand...

Yess they were good, although I didn't have baking paper, so I used foil and some of them got stuck to the foil haha so don't make that mistake!
 
Hi Lara, Glad to see that switching things up has turned things around for you. I think having a substantial breakfast is really important to not feeling hungry & wanting to snack all day. Your food yesterday all sounded delicious. Well done on the loss too! Cheers, Cate
 
cate said:
Hi Lara, Glad to see that switching things up has turned things around for you. I think having a substantial breakfast is really important to not feeling hungry & wanting to snack all day. Your food yesterday all sounded delicious. Well done on the loss too! Cheers, Cate
Click to expand...

Thanks Cate! Although I have taken a massive step backwards!! Last night, we went to see an old friend of mine in London, and we went to this wine bar.. I am generally not much of a drinker, but being in London's oldest wine bar, I felt like I should allow myself a little bit. Well moderation went out the window, as I polished off half a bottle of red wine AND the others ordered a large cheese platter, so I also had like 4 slices of baguette laden with cheese!! Red wine and cheese- can it get much more delicious and calorific?

I'm going to draw a line under it and not beat myself up too much. So here's my food diary for yesterday-

8.45 breakfast: warburtons thin with thin layer of peanutbutter and 1 sliced banana with cinnamon sprinkled on top
1pm lunch: leftovers of spagbol
5pm: 1 fishcake with grated carrots and courgette and a little sweet chilli sauce
8pm: a wholemeal pitta bread with turkey slices, rocket and low far hummus (the idea of taking a sandwich to the wine bar was to STOP myself from eating)!!
9.30pm **hangs head in shame**: a whole lot of delicious cheese and bread.

All day: not enough water
All evening: too much red wine

New day- back on board the healthy eating wagon!

P.S. I've just remembered a slightly drunken comment of mine from last night (I get intoxicated from the smell of alcohol, so half a bottle over 4 hours was enough for me to be feeling pretty merry)- "Oh noooo, I'm going to have to come clean about this on weight loss forum tomorrow!!!"
 
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Food for today-

9am breakfast: bowl of Alpen with banana
12.30 lunch: half avocado, boiled egg, wholemeal pitta bread with hummus (not much food in the house)
5.30 dinner: used an egg and bread to breadcrumb cod (homemade fish fingers!), made some chips in the oven out of 1 large potato, mushy peas. Still really full 4 hours later.

We've (live in bf and I) just finished watching a film, and I was bored.. so he suggested I make a cake! Eek. It's in the oven now, and I'm determined not to eat any. He usually snaffles it within an hour of it leaving the oven, he will genuinely take the baking tin and a fork- he's so lucky he doesn't put on weight nearly as easily as I do!! If I get tempted, I shall google photos of lard. Send self control thoughts my way.
 
I am sending those thought your way, right now! Sweetie, you know if you took up something like swimming, your little bit of excess weight would be gone in no time. I read your comment in Sunflower's diary. 3 pools nearby? Get yourself some bathers sweetie & do it. You would obliterate those memories of school swimming (or non-swimming) in no time at all. Pfft. I bet you would look great in bathers! You asked what my downfall is? I think it's red wine & cheese!
 
Red wine and cheese is soooo goood. I stayed off the cake last night, but there is still quite a bit left. Wish he'd hurry up and eat it!

I so want to swim but I reallly have issues with showing flesh. I wish I would just get a grip and go for it, but it's easier said than done. I won't even wear shorts or vests, because it makes me feel too exposed! I did try a swimsuit on (one piece) a few months ago, and it was awful! I have rather chunky thighs, which I spend my life trying to hide with dresses and tights.

On the exercise front, I have been cycling to and from work every day for the past week, so that has to count for something. That's 30 minutes of exercise per day. I've also been walking a lot more, and I'm a serious fidget bum, so I rarely keep still for very long even if I'm just at home watching TV.

I have booked the day off work for my driving theory test this morning- EEK! Hope I pass. I have done the usual last minute rush to revise (last night) and I'm not totally confident. I am re-taking it because they are only valid for 2 years, and I took it 3 years ago, which means I can't do my driving test until I re-take. I passed first time last time, so FINGERS CROSSED!! At 23, I really just want to get the driving thing sorted.

After my test, I shall wonder to the nearest shopping centre and do some holiday clothes shopping! Nervous to buy summer clothes, because they aren't generally as forgiving as nice layered winter clothes!
 
Hi my lovely--I was EXACTLY the same before I started swimming. I went & looked at all the pools in my area and chose the quietest, smallest one and it's honestly been the best thing I've done. With going to the gym or going out running, I feel exposed the WHOLE time--I'm not comfortable in my skin in general, whack a pair of trainers on that with some running trousers...Urgh. But with swimming, I'm literally only unhappy until I'm in the water, and after that I'm practically invisible to anyone else in there or people walking around because the water distorts everything. And you feel so light and powerful and awesome whilst you're doing it. Have a think about it--I felt the same as you. In fact, one of my earliest posts on here was about 4 years ago when I tried to go swimming at another pool, made it the whole way there, saw how busy it was and just waited outside for hours until it got quiet enough for me to go in. Serious anxiety, there! But now I'm a world apart! Give it a go, you'll be surprised. Swimming has completely changed the way I look at my body and exercise :D

Good luck with your theory! I've taken mine 6 times :( Sure you are much smarter than me!! Have fun shopping--I managed to get some really flattering bits and bobs from Primark of all places!
 
PASSED MY THEORY! Woohoo! I didn't think I had, as the first 5 questions were nothing I'd ever seen or learnt! Asking me about tyre treads!!

Went shopping after theory test and the blooming changing rooms were horrible, do I want a 360 degree view of my derrière? No thanks!! The whole changing room experience is always depressing. I bit the bullet though went and bought a swimming costume today! This is step one towards actually wearing it in public, but I'm noway near confident enough yet. I came home and bf hinted at seeing, so I put it on to assess the damage, but really didn't want to show him. I eventually did show him, and he thinks it looks really good (although he would say that)! The costume is nice, just not keen on how every wobble is highlighted. It does look better at home than it did in the shop- does anyone else get that? I notice such a difference in each mirror I look at! Hard to know which ones are a true representation!
 
Food for today-

8.00 breakfast: 1 warburtons thin, peanutbutter, banana
12.15 lunch: Yo sushi meal- I went easy on the sushi and don't think I overdid it
8pm dinner: rice, chicken, carrots, baby sweetcorn, mangetout, courgette, green pepper, soy sauce, garlic, ginger. Kind of like a stir fry I guess, but with rice.

9.30pm: lots of exercise!!! Bf is an ex marine, so I stupidly asked him to be my trainer.. well he put me through what I can only describe as a gruelling military style bootcamp for half an hour. Still, I feel good for it!
 
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