Weight loss notes

Weight loss notes are coming to a halt. Losing weight is a very personal and tough process. When I do well I want to shout it from the roof tops. When things aren't quite so good I can feel really down and let it overspill into everything else. I don't want it to colour everything else. Therefore I am not going to make it a focus on this blog... apart from the occasional shout if I'm doing really well!

 

 

Weight loss notes April - May

• Monday 15th April, first day - 14stone 13lbs.
• Monday 22nd April - 14st 8.5lbs => 4.5lbs lost
• Monday 29th April - 14st 4.5lbs => 4lbs lost, 8.5lbs overall
• Monday 6th May - 14st 7.25lbs => 2.75lbs gained,  5.25 lost overall
• Monday 13th May - 14st 3.5lbs => 3.75lbs lost, 9.25 lost overall

I've not written much about trying to lose weight because I generally find weight loss blogs boring. I tried to write one myself in the past but keeping it inspiring was hard work especially on a bad week. I want all my effort to go into losing weight, not creating blog posts around what becomes very narrow subject of have I lost or gained.

We all know how to lose weight, eat less and do more. You don't need me to tell you how to do that. What I can say is how I succeeded this last month. The first two weeks I followed a meal replacement plan. The third week I tried to just eat sensibly which I found pretty hard. With hindsight I think that this happened to collide with pmt kicking in which didn't help (pmt was mild this month so I didn't realise at the time). I'm now back on the meal replacement plan though it varies as to whether I use this for one or two meals each day. The weekends I have been on real food for all meals and less strict but not stupid. I've not done any extra exercise but I have been doing heavy gardening almost daily, my muscles can definitely feel it.

So far I have managed to lose 9lbs. I haven't yet noticed any significant difference in how my clothes fit but hopefully next month I will. Fingers crossed that I can keep this up!

Snack bags

Buying snacks is expensive. You can save money by purchasing a larger bag... but somehow that larger bag doesn't seem to last any longer than a small one.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a pile of ziplock food bags. My intention was to split up larger packs of sweets/chocolate/nuts into more sensible portions, around 100 calories each. This has been a brilliant ideas! It has educated all of us in just how small a portion 100 calories is. In practice many of the bags have been 110-120 calories due to sizes of items eg small twix bar, but this doesn't bother me too much.

I have learnt that every item has to have it's own bag even if it is already wrapped in packaging. The process of unzipping the bag adds a delay that allows you to reconsider if you really want it - this doesn't really work for my boys but it does for me. 100 calories of peanuts is just enough. You don't get many sweets for 100 calories. I am saving money too!

One unlooked for bonus is that my partner is also happy to use these with the result of him consuming much less. Before he would have polished off a large packet of peanuts without being aware of it. Also, with him snacking less I think about snacking less often. Win, win.

Meal replacement plans

I feel a bit mixed about these, my head tells me that they are a waste of money and I'm better off eating 'proper' food. But they are convenient for cutting down on my food intake, the rules are simple and give me no leeway for sneaking in the odd extra few thousand calories.

I am using the Tesco version (simply because it is cheaper) as a jump start for my weight loss program. I have two tins that should take me through the first two weeks, I suspect that this will be sufficient for my needs. This period will allow my body to adjust to eating less without the temptation of adding just a little bit more food to my plate every meal.

Just for fun, here are my pro's and con's:

Pro's        
I get to drink milkshake twice a day
I don't need to think about what I'm eating throughout the day
After the first few days of being hungry my appetite shrinks
It is very convenient
Convenient is great.
My children get jealous.

Con's
It never mixes properly
Looks appetising but the taste is 'off'
Texture is slimy
I don't like the flavour of artificial sweeteners
It just seems wrong.

Popping candy

I recently found this in the baking aisle of our local supermarket and I'm loving it. A small amount tipped into a ramekin allows me to enjoy it, one tiny piece at a time. Each bit will crackle away in the mouth filling it with sugary sweetness for several minutes.

A great way to treat myself when I have the munchies whilst consuming but a few calories.

A time for doing

Three weeks ago, fed up with waiting for it to warm up, I treated myself to some large thick socks and two pairs of thin leggings for layering under my jeans. The idea was that I would stop lamenting about how cold it is and start doing stuff again because I am ready to do stuff again. As is the way of these things they have been used for less than a week thanks to the return (finally!) of our usual, mild weather.

I also made another decision, with me feeling warmer it is time to tackle my weight. I have successfully lost weight twice in the past (weight loss story can be found here) and, when everything is going well, it is actually not hard at all. But trying to lose weight when I'm stressed, being pulled in many directions at once or even just feeling a bit low does not work. My life is not perfect now but neither is it bad. The small changes that I've been making over the past few months have given me a better sense of worth and I feel pride in what I have achieved.

There are many diets to choose from, I know from experience that I will hop and change ideas from time to time, the trick is not to get bored.

Wish me luck!

January mission

I have my usual new year wish list, and right at the top is wanting to lose weight. However, wanting doesn't mean that it happens. This year instead of diving into the new year starvation diet I've decided to wait until spring before cutting back. I have several reasons for this:

• When I'm cold I feel hungry (it's winter at the moment)
• I find it hard to stay motivated when the days are short
• I'm still surrounded by left over Christmas temptations - I cannot afford to bin food
• I don't want to spread myself too thin (weight loss requires perseverance)
• I don't feel ready

I have successfully lost weight twice before. By successful I mean that the weight stayed off for several years and this was because I made lifestyle changes that I could maintain. The first time I was in my early twenties and had put on weight due to working in an office. The biggest change I made here was that I started to walk home from work, about 4 miles. This also helped me mentally as I was able to de-stress on my way and got home feeling refreshed and ready to do stuff rather than collapse on the sofa. My weight would fluctuate (I'm never going to be slim) but I felt healthy.

I put on a large amount of weight after having my first baby. This was eventually lost through walking, again. I walked everywhere, my pushchair went through 5 sets of wheels during this period! Things ground to a halt with my second baby which coincided with my first having to walk alongside us. Suddenly my 4-5 mile treks weren't very practical with a 3yr old walking too.

I have tried running in the past, and enjoyed it, but personally I feel that walking is what succeeds for me, but this takes up a lot of time. Building this into my life at the moment is hard especially as I don't want to be dragging my boys along with me. I like walking on my own, I don't like dealing with whining especially on a cold wet morning when I'd rather be staying in the house too.

My January mission is to get up early in the mornings 3 days a week to go for a short walk before my partner heads off to work. The walk is short because I don't enjoy being out in the dark. As the days get longer I anticipate being out for longer, I'm quite looking forward to it. But dieting is on the back burner until I feel stronger in myself.