And here we are. Again.
No, not really. I have gained weight but I've just had a baby so not beating myself up too much.
After I stopped blogging I kept at the weight loss and eventually lost 7 stone. I was at my lightest ever last January - I had discovered Banting and it shifted a stubborn stone so I was nearly at my goal weight although still flabby. No matter what, my arms and stomach never got firm - too much loose skin. My legs also never became slim and shapely but they were fine and I was generally happy. A size 12 in tops and 14 in jeans.
Then I got pregnant! I was really good for the first few months and then I started to let go - I was just so hungry and tired and never felt sick so I just ate everything and gained 4 stone. Whoops!
After I had my daughter, in October, I breastfed for a month and kept eating. I lost a stone right after she was born but was still up 3 stone. She was/is quite difficult - colicky, reflux... so I was tired and probably slightly depressed and I couldn't be bothered cooking so just ate crap. Which didn't help - none of my clothes fit me - beautiful boots I bought last winter are too small, my winter coats are too tight in the arms... I felt rotten.
Christmas happened and I told myself I'd start dieting in January. I kept putting it off until John's dad sent us photos he took at our baby's baptism. Well, that was a wake-up call! My belly and double chin were very illuminated by the flash! Started dieting the next morning!
So it has now been four days - I'm doing the Forever Clean 9 detox again for a kickstart and I'll go back to ADF. I would like to go back to Banting but John is gone vegetarian and I couldn't be bothered cooking 2 separate meals a day. I know I could do vegetarian Banting but it would be difficult. I'll see - maybe I'll try it after a few months of ADF.
So here goes! I'll update at nap times. 😊
Showing posts with label Weight Loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weight Loss. Show all posts
Sunday, 7 January 2018
Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Before and After/During Pictures
I'm going to be brave and offer pictures of myself. It's nerve-wracking as I still have work to do but I am proud of what I've achieved so far. I submitted pictures to a page on Tumblr which posts before and after pictures. They posted mine so I've reblogged them to my Tumblr page. If you'd like to see them - click this link - http://alternatedaydieting.tumblr.com/
Monday, 23 June 2014
Look Who's Back...
Well, it's me again, back for an update. I've been blogging so little because there's not much to say!
I've lost 4 kgs or nearly 9lbs since I wrote last. So that brings me to 42 kgs or 92 lbs in total.
When I last wrote, I had just started my running club. I was really good and kept it up and at the beginning of June I ran a 9km leg of a relay in a marathon. It was tough but I did it. I then took a break from running for a few weeks. I really don't enjoy it - I find it very boring. And I was told that it would do wonders to my legs, bottom and flabby belly but I saw no difference! The other day I went for a run again and I couldn't even do 5k without walking a bit. It has been really hot here recently to be fair, and I find running in the heat very difficult, so I think if it was cooler I'd have managed more, but it scared me a bit, as I don't want to lose all the fitness I worked so hard to get! So I joined a bootcamp class - starting on Wednesday. Apparently it's loads of different exercises, so boredom can't happen, and it'll work on my arms and core too so I should finally see some tightening up.
I kind of lost the run of myself in the last couple of months. There was a lot on and I ate a lot. I still fasted every second day but my feast days went a bit out of control. I also stopped counting calories on My Fitness Pal, which does keep me in check, so I was eating close to 2500 calories on normal feast days. That's not including my bad feast days, after a night out! Two weeks ago I weighed myself after a particularly heavy weekend, where I had eaten and not fasted for three days. I had gained three kilos, or 6lbs. I think it was a wake-up call though - I fasted for two days, lost the weight and since then I've been back on track - counting my calories on feast days and not going above 1700.
I've lost a kilo in the last week which is great. Maybe the more relaxed couple of months was good for me - gave my body a break from the routine I had got into. It wasn't catastrophic - I only gained that weight at the very end and it's gone now. And it did ram home to me that I have to count all my calories, feast day or not. I just don't have the discipline to eat well otherwise - whereas seeing it written down and seeing my calories going up keeps me in check.
Is it bad that after a year I'm still having to do that? I eat well now on a daily basis but the urge to binge is still often there - whilst I've made a lifestyle change it hasn't been a full mental change. It is better and when I do let myself pig out I get fuller faster and don't enjoy it as much. It's just that I often see blogs from people who've lost weight who say that they now enjoy eating healthily and will never go back to their old ways. I like my soups and my healthy meals but I still love my pizza and crisps more.
It doesn't worry me too much - they say an alcoholic is always an alcoholic - the wish to drink remains. I think I'm like that about food. It's easier to eat well, I enjoy it and I can resist temptation very easily now, but the back of my mind always wants to throw myself on the food and eat it all. I can control it for the most part now though and that's what's important. And the benefits of my new body are more than making up for not binging! I get so many compliments on a regular basis now. Some people don't even recognise me - we were out in town the other night and a friend I hadn't seen in a long time had to do a double take. Each time that happens I feel like cheering.
Can't wait to start bootcamp - defined arms, here I come!
I've lost 4 kgs or nearly 9lbs since I wrote last. So that brings me to 42 kgs or 92 lbs in total.
When I last wrote, I had just started my running club. I was really good and kept it up and at the beginning of June I ran a 9km leg of a relay in a marathon. It was tough but I did it. I then took a break from running for a few weeks. I really don't enjoy it - I find it very boring. And I was told that it would do wonders to my legs, bottom and flabby belly but I saw no difference! The other day I went for a run again and I couldn't even do 5k without walking a bit. It has been really hot here recently to be fair, and I find running in the heat very difficult, so I think if it was cooler I'd have managed more, but it scared me a bit, as I don't want to lose all the fitness I worked so hard to get! So I joined a bootcamp class - starting on Wednesday. Apparently it's loads of different exercises, so boredom can't happen, and it'll work on my arms and core too so I should finally see some tightening up.
I kind of lost the run of myself in the last couple of months. There was a lot on and I ate a lot. I still fasted every second day but my feast days went a bit out of control. I also stopped counting calories on My Fitness Pal, which does keep me in check, so I was eating close to 2500 calories on normal feast days. That's not including my bad feast days, after a night out! Two weeks ago I weighed myself after a particularly heavy weekend, where I had eaten and not fasted for three days. I had gained three kilos, or 6lbs. I think it was a wake-up call though - I fasted for two days, lost the weight and since then I've been back on track - counting my calories on feast days and not going above 1700.
I've lost a kilo in the last week which is great. Maybe the more relaxed couple of months was good for me - gave my body a break from the routine I had got into. It wasn't catastrophic - I only gained that weight at the very end and it's gone now. And it did ram home to me that I have to count all my calories, feast day or not. I just don't have the discipline to eat well otherwise - whereas seeing it written down and seeing my calories going up keeps me in check.
Is it bad that after a year I'm still having to do that? I eat well now on a daily basis but the urge to binge is still often there - whilst I've made a lifestyle change it hasn't been a full mental change. It is better and when I do let myself pig out I get fuller faster and don't enjoy it as much. It's just that I often see blogs from people who've lost weight who say that they now enjoy eating healthily and will never go back to their old ways. I like my soups and my healthy meals but I still love my pizza and crisps more.
It doesn't worry me too much - they say an alcoholic is always an alcoholic - the wish to drink remains. I think I'm like that about food. It's easier to eat well, I enjoy it and I can resist temptation very easily now, but the back of my mind always wants to throw myself on the food and eat it all. I can control it for the most part now though and that's what's important. And the benefits of my new body are more than making up for not binging! I get so many compliments on a regular basis now. Some people don't even recognise me - we were out in town the other night and a friend I hadn't seen in a long time had to do a double take. Each time that happens I feel like cheering.
Can't wait to start bootcamp - defined arms, here I come!
Monday, 10 March 2014
Very Slow and Steady
Well, well, well, here I am again. Quite a lot of news - none of it very exciting but...! I'm now down 38 kilos, or nearly 84 pounds, or 6 stone. Weight is pretty much just crawling off now - 2 kilos in 2 months is pretty dire.
To be fair, I had a lot of things on - again. Had to go to France in February with the school to supervise the French Exchange. We were wined and dined for every meal and I put on a stone in weight!! We were having three course meals, and four glasses of wine with each meal! Like I was explaining to John, you have to go along with it, it'd be rude to say no, but he did make the point that I probably could have sipped the wine a bit slower and not had so many glasses...! But it was nice.
John and I went to Poland the day after I got back from France and had a lovely time there. Just really relaxed and didn't do much. I lost half the stone while I was there, from walking around and eating less richly. When we got back, I fasted for three days and lost the rest of the weight then, so I'm back to my starting point.
Since then, I did a detox for 5 days and for some reason lost 2 kilos and then put them on again. I'm now just back to normal ADF but the weight isn't really moving.
I was doing a bit of running before Christmas, like I said, but since then I've only been doing a bit of Pilates here and there. So on Thursday I decided to get back into exercise properly and joined a running club! That sounds impressive, but actually it's the pilates instructor, who started up running for beginners. The first night, we just ran a circuit 9 times which is 3 kilometres in total, the instructor blew the whistle every minute and we ran or walked as much as we needed to. It lasted for about 25 minutes. I'm not sure, because I forgot to count, but I think I probably walked for about 10 minutes and ran for 15 ish. So I was feeling pretty pleased about that.
However! I went again yesterday and it was awful! We had a different instructor, whom I much prefer actually, but she actually brought us out on a route - so we had to stay together. The other two women in the group were way more advanced than me and after a while I just couldn't keep up and had to walk. I was wrecked and disheartened because it was supposed to be running for beginners and that was for a beginner who's been running for a while already. I got home and John was sitting there having his breakfast and asked how it had gone. I just burst into tears. He was nice though - told me I'd done well and that it was a bit unfair to have me with way more advanced people when it was supposed to be a beginner course.
I'm going to try to avoid that instructor's classes though and go to the other guy who lets you run at your own pace. I've to go for a run on my own tomorrow too so I'm going to try to push myself again to get my fitness up as quickly as possible!
It's not great either as sometimes my fasting day is on a running day - but like John said - I'm hardly running marathons yet - not having eaten won't matter too much energy wise when I'm only exercising for half an hour.
So hopefully that will help - I'm getting a bit sick of my weight not moving. I don't really know why it's not. Possibly due to drinking at weekends and then eating a ridiculous amount the next day but I didn't actually drink at all in January and still didn't lose much. Apparently running is great for actually shifting fat though - so we'll see.
To be fair, I had a lot of things on - again. Had to go to France in February with the school to supervise the French Exchange. We were wined and dined for every meal and I put on a stone in weight!! We were having three course meals, and four glasses of wine with each meal! Like I was explaining to John, you have to go along with it, it'd be rude to say no, but he did make the point that I probably could have sipped the wine a bit slower and not had so many glasses...! But it was nice.
John and I went to Poland the day after I got back from France and had a lovely time there. Just really relaxed and didn't do much. I lost half the stone while I was there, from walking around and eating less richly. When we got back, I fasted for three days and lost the rest of the weight then, so I'm back to my starting point.
Since then, I did a detox for 5 days and for some reason lost 2 kilos and then put them on again. I'm now just back to normal ADF but the weight isn't really moving.
I was doing a bit of running before Christmas, like I said, but since then I've only been doing a bit of Pilates here and there. So on Thursday I decided to get back into exercise properly and joined a running club! That sounds impressive, but actually it's the pilates instructor, who started up running for beginners. The first night, we just ran a circuit 9 times which is 3 kilometres in total, the instructor blew the whistle every minute and we ran or walked as much as we needed to. It lasted for about 25 minutes. I'm not sure, because I forgot to count, but I think I probably walked for about 10 minutes and ran for 15 ish. So I was feeling pretty pleased about that.
However! I went again yesterday and it was awful! We had a different instructor, whom I much prefer actually, but she actually brought us out on a route - so we had to stay together. The other two women in the group were way more advanced than me and after a while I just couldn't keep up and had to walk. I was wrecked and disheartened because it was supposed to be running for beginners and that was for a beginner who's been running for a while already. I got home and John was sitting there having his breakfast and asked how it had gone. I just burst into tears. He was nice though - told me I'd done well and that it was a bit unfair to have me with way more advanced people when it was supposed to be a beginner course.
I'm going to try to avoid that instructor's classes though and go to the other guy who lets you run at your own pace. I've to go for a run on my own tomorrow too so I'm going to try to push myself again to get my fitness up as quickly as possible!
It's not great either as sometimes my fasting day is on a running day - but like John said - I'm hardly running marathons yet - not having eaten won't matter too much energy wise when I'm only exercising for half an hour.
So hopefully that will help - I'm getting a bit sick of my weight not moving. I don't really know why it's not. Possibly due to drinking at weekends and then eating a ridiculous amount the next day but I didn't actually drink at all in January and still didn't lose much. Apparently running is great for actually shifting fat though - so we'll see.
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Quick Update
Well, realised today that I had a few comments on my blog and it gave me a kick to write again.
So update: I'm down 79 pounds now, or 36 kilos, which is 5 and a half stone!! Very, very exciting so see those numbers. My weight loss has slowed right down, just 9 pounds, or 4 kilos, since the beginning of November but then there were a lot of eating occasions in that time. A trip to London, my birthday, Christmas, New Year's Eve... Actually I'm really proud of myself that I kept ADF going over Christmas. Traditionally, that was always the time when I fell off the wagon, and stopped dieting. This time, I kept fasting every third day, instead of every second and as a result I didn't gain any weight, despite pigging out.
In terms of exercise - I do need to get back on track. I was doing Pilates twice a week and I started a Couch to 5K app on my phone, called Zombies Run. I, who could not run for more than maybe 30 seconds, managed to run for 13 minutes, twice! Then Christmas happened and I haven't exercised since. I must start again. Writing this blog is actually motivating me. I'll go for a run tomorrow. Pity it's so wet and cold and horrible but... I don't want to lose all the progress I made. It's such a good feeling to not get out of breath like I used to.
I just went upstairs to try on my test pair of jeans - they have fit for a few months but were MUCH too tight around my belly - but now they fit! I'm sitting in them now as I type. Still a little tight around the hips and stomach but wearable.
Going to France in a few weeks, to supervise a French exchange, and the day after I come back, John and I are going to Poland for our anniversary. Lots of eating going to happen - I'll have to try really hard not to be tempted by delicious dishes in the restaurants, and try to have fish every second day. And no dessert... Hmm. I'll wear these jeans a lot - they'll be unforgiving of any weight gain at all!
Right, I think I'll keep it short and sweet and leave it at that. If I was really good I'd go for a run now... But my electric blanket is on, heating my bed, and my book is looking at me... So is the dog however...
So update: I'm down 79 pounds now, or 36 kilos, which is 5 and a half stone!! Very, very exciting so see those numbers. My weight loss has slowed right down, just 9 pounds, or 4 kilos, since the beginning of November but then there were a lot of eating occasions in that time. A trip to London, my birthday, Christmas, New Year's Eve... Actually I'm really proud of myself that I kept ADF going over Christmas. Traditionally, that was always the time when I fell off the wagon, and stopped dieting. This time, I kept fasting every third day, instead of every second and as a result I didn't gain any weight, despite pigging out.
In terms of exercise - I do need to get back on track. I was doing Pilates twice a week and I started a Couch to 5K app on my phone, called Zombies Run. I, who could not run for more than maybe 30 seconds, managed to run for 13 minutes, twice! Then Christmas happened and I haven't exercised since. I must start again. Writing this blog is actually motivating me. I'll go for a run tomorrow. Pity it's so wet and cold and horrible but... I don't want to lose all the progress I made. It's such a good feeling to not get out of breath like I used to.
I just went upstairs to try on my test pair of jeans - they have fit for a few months but were MUCH too tight around my belly - but now they fit! I'm sitting in them now as I type. Still a little tight around the hips and stomach but wearable.
Going to France in a few weeks, to supervise a French exchange, and the day after I come back, John and I are going to Poland for our anniversary. Lots of eating going to happen - I'll have to try really hard not to be tempted by delicious dishes in the restaurants, and try to have fish every second day. And no dessert... Hmm. I'll wear these jeans a lot - they'll be unforgiving of any weight gain at all!
Right, I think I'll keep it short and sweet and leave it at that. If I was really good I'd go for a run now... But my electric blanket is on, heating my bed, and my book is looking at me... So is the dog however...
Saturday, 2 November 2013
Remember me?
Apologies for the huge delay in writing - busier these days than I was during the summer. I've been feeling really impatient recently with it - not losing enough or quickly enough but I just looked back at some old blogs - I was down 24 kilos or 52 pounds on the 18th of September - today it's the 2nd of November - so just over six weeks later and I'm down 32 kilos as of this morning which is 70 pounds or 5 stone!
That's eight kilos in six weeks - I don't know what I'm getting so impatient about!!
Possibly it's because I bought a pair of skinny jeans three weeks ago in a size 16 which is my big goal. They did fit but were too tight so I couldn't really wear them. Now, three weeks on, they're looser around the bottom and waist but still way too tight around my calves - I can't really sit in them! Maybe that's why I've been getting disheartened - my legs aren't shrinking at all despite doing pilates twice a week and aqua aerobics once.
Also, I have some pairs of size 16 jeans that I used to fit into about 6 years ago and I still can't get them on, even though my size 18 jeans, which were too tight a month ago are now baggy and unattractive on me.
I think I'm just a bit fed up of not fitting into nice clothes yet - I've lost so much and I'm so close to my goal of being a size 16 but it's taking ages to do this final step. I'm easily a size 16 on top - even size 14s fit me but it's my stupid stumpy legs that are slowing things down on the jeans front.
In other news - John and I have been going out loads the last few weeks - big night of drinking every weekend. I've been keeping to the ADF routine fairly well but it's still not good. Last weekend, we went out the Friday night and I got a McDonald's on the way home, then had to work on Saturday so, since I was dying and wrecked, I ate all around me. I did fast on Sunday but on Monday we went for lunch at my parents' house and I just ate everything I wanted again, which resulted in a day of 3000 calories!
Felt awful after that, plus I caught a cold, so fasted on Tuesday and then had two half days of 750 calories on Wednesday and Thursday. Feasted yesterday but stopped at 1300 calories. Thought a week of low calories, lots of soup, and no sugar or bread might do me good. And it does seem to have if the scales are anything to go by!
Back to normal today anyway and I think I've managed to avoid a night out - John and I are going to the cinema. It'll be tough - I'll have to smell his popcorn but I think some time away from alcohol would be a good idea!
That's eight kilos in six weeks - I don't know what I'm getting so impatient about!!
Possibly it's because I bought a pair of skinny jeans three weeks ago in a size 16 which is my big goal. They did fit but were too tight so I couldn't really wear them. Now, three weeks on, they're looser around the bottom and waist but still way too tight around my calves - I can't really sit in them! Maybe that's why I've been getting disheartened - my legs aren't shrinking at all despite doing pilates twice a week and aqua aerobics once.
Also, I have some pairs of size 16 jeans that I used to fit into about 6 years ago and I still can't get them on, even though my size 18 jeans, which were too tight a month ago are now baggy and unattractive on me.
I think I'm just a bit fed up of not fitting into nice clothes yet - I've lost so much and I'm so close to my goal of being a size 16 but it's taking ages to do this final step. I'm easily a size 16 on top - even size 14s fit me but it's my stupid stumpy legs that are slowing things down on the jeans front.
In other news - John and I have been going out loads the last few weeks - big night of drinking every weekend. I've been keeping to the ADF routine fairly well but it's still not good. Last weekend, we went out the Friday night and I got a McDonald's on the way home, then had to work on Saturday so, since I was dying and wrecked, I ate all around me. I did fast on Sunday but on Monday we went for lunch at my parents' house and I just ate everything I wanted again, which resulted in a day of 3000 calories!
Felt awful after that, plus I caught a cold, so fasted on Tuesday and then had two half days of 750 calories on Wednesday and Thursday. Feasted yesterday but stopped at 1300 calories. Thought a week of low calories, lots of soup, and no sugar or bread might do me good. And it does seem to have if the scales are anything to go by!
Back to normal today anyway and I think I've managed to avoid a night out - John and I are going to the cinema. It'll be tough - I'll have to smell his popcorn but I think some time away from alcohol would be a good idea!
Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Getting Stronger!
Just back from my second Yoga class - way better. I really enjoyed it this time - was able to do the exercises better - noticed some improvement in my arm strength and the instructor never has to correct me - I can see how Pilates is helping in doing some of the positions.
I went to Zumba again on Monday and I really didn't like it. The music was very clubby - instead of Latin - and I just was bored. I don't know - maybe I just don't like jumping around - whereas I do like stretching because I can feel it in my muscles and it feels good. Going to Aqua Aerobics next Monday anyway so I might prefer that.
Went to Pilates on Tuesday and I'm beginning to notice a huge improvement. I have so much more strength in my core muscles - I can sit up now from a lying down position instead of having to roll or push myself up. Managed to keep my legs in the air a bit longer too though there's still a lot of room for improvement! I love it so much though - always disappointed when the 45 minutes are over.
So weight-wise, I'm down 24 kilos, or 52 pounds, now - even after feast days. I've been down 25, or 55 pounds, after some fast days but it hasn't stuck yet. I had been having big feast days - 2200 calories or so - so today I had a feast day of 1600 calories to see if it moves things a bit.
Nearly halfway to my next goal - of being down 35 kilos, or 77 pounds, by the end of November. Hope I make it! Things have really slowed down recently. I may need to have another couple of feast days in a row - I always lose weight quickly a week or so after it and it's been a month already since I last did it.
So Pilates again tomorrow night and then that's it for the weekend. I'm going to do some Yoga stretches at home to try to strengthen up a bit more - I'm becoming obsessed! My calves were KILLING me today after Pilates last night - going downstairs was a bit unsteady!
Oh yes, I finally took some more photos of myself in my underwear - first time was in July after having lost a lot of weight already. I hadn't seen any difference since then and it was really bothering me but I can finally see some change. I showed John too and he said he could definitely see it. My waist has gone in, my back is nearly bump-free and I think my legs look a bit leaner. But I'm not sure - that may have been the light. I'm not quite ready for a dramatic before-and-after unveiling, but it is encouraging.
Sometimes wish that weight-loss was faster though! I could go to the gym and run every day but... I really hate that...
I went to Zumba again on Monday and I really didn't like it. The music was very clubby - instead of Latin - and I just was bored. I don't know - maybe I just don't like jumping around - whereas I do like stretching because I can feel it in my muscles and it feels good. Going to Aqua Aerobics next Monday anyway so I might prefer that.
Went to Pilates on Tuesday and I'm beginning to notice a huge improvement. I have so much more strength in my core muscles - I can sit up now from a lying down position instead of having to roll or push myself up. Managed to keep my legs in the air a bit longer too though there's still a lot of room for improvement! I love it so much though - always disappointed when the 45 minutes are over.
So weight-wise, I'm down 24 kilos, or 52 pounds, now - even after feast days. I've been down 25, or 55 pounds, after some fast days but it hasn't stuck yet. I had been having big feast days - 2200 calories or so - so today I had a feast day of 1600 calories to see if it moves things a bit.
Nearly halfway to my next goal - of being down 35 kilos, or 77 pounds, by the end of November. Hope I make it! Things have really slowed down recently. I may need to have another couple of feast days in a row - I always lose weight quickly a week or so after it and it's been a month already since I last did it.
So Pilates again tomorrow night and then that's it for the weekend. I'm going to do some Yoga stretches at home to try to strengthen up a bit more - I'm becoming obsessed! My calves were KILLING me today after Pilates last night - going downstairs was a bit unsteady!
Oh yes, I finally took some more photos of myself in my underwear - first time was in July after having lost a lot of weight already. I hadn't seen any difference since then and it was really bothering me but I can finally see some change. I showed John too and he said he could definitely see it. My waist has gone in, my back is nearly bump-free and I think my legs look a bit leaner. But I'm not sure - that may have been the light. I'm not quite ready for a dramatic before-and-after unveiling, but it is encouraging.
Sometimes wish that weight-loss was faster though! I could go to the gym and run every day but... I really hate that...
Wednesday, 11 September 2013
A New Me
I am a different person - not in appearance but in lifestyle - I am going to gym classes four times a week (and spending a fortune!) Since I last wrote, (which was nine days ago - oops) I have been going to Pilates twice a week, and Yoga and Zumba once a week.
I love Pilates - the instructor is lovely and I really enjoy the exercises, although my muscles are weak and I can't do a lot of them properly. Even keeping my legs in the air when on my back is tough after a minute. I'm already seeing an improvement though - I can stretch further in some positions and the pain in my hips during some exercises is almost gone.
I went to Zumba last Monday week and it was good but I didn't love it. I had trouble keeping up with a lot of the steps. I suppose that comes with practice though. So last Monday, my friend and I decided to go to Aqua Aerobics instead. However, we got there to find that there'd been a mistake and it wasn't starting for two weeks. So we went for a swim - more chat, less swim - and I'll go to Zumba next Monday and then Aqua Aerobics the week after. I would just like one cardio class in the week. Pilates does get me hot but it's not really cardio.
Today, I was looking on Living Social - those cheap voucher websites, and I saw one for four Yoga classes. So I got that and tonight was the first night. It was good - like a calmer Pilates - but I didn't like it as much. Maybe it was the instructor, maybe it was the class dynamic, or maybe the fact that I felt more awkward about not being able to do some positions than I do in Pilates. I don't know. I have three classes left, one a week, so I'll go and see how I feel after.
In terms of eating, I've been good. However, my last few feast days have been quite high - hitting 2100 calories each time and sometimes a bit over. I have lost another kilo but it's fluctuating wildly. After a fast day I'm down, but after a feast day I'm up about two. I don't really count a kilo as being gone until it's still gone after a feast day. I have tightened my belt by another notch though which is encouraging.
Maybe my weight is fluctuating due to my new muscles...! Hmm...
I love Pilates - the instructor is lovely and I really enjoy the exercises, although my muscles are weak and I can't do a lot of them properly. Even keeping my legs in the air when on my back is tough after a minute. I'm already seeing an improvement though - I can stretch further in some positions and the pain in my hips during some exercises is almost gone.
I went to Zumba last Monday week and it was good but I didn't love it. I had trouble keeping up with a lot of the steps. I suppose that comes with practice though. So last Monday, my friend and I decided to go to Aqua Aerobics instead. However, we got there to find that there'd been a mistake and it wasn't starting for two weeks. So we went for a swim - more chat, less swim - and I'll go to Zumba next Monday and then Aqua Aerobics the week after. I would just like one cardio class in the week. Pilates does get me hot but it's not really cardio.
Today, I was looking on Living Social - those cheap voucher websites, and I saw one for four Yoga classes. So I got that and tonight was the first night. It was good - like a calmer Pilates - but I didn't like it as much. Maybe it was the instructor, maybe it was the class dynamic, or maybe the fact that I felt more awkward about not being able to do some positions than I do in Pilates. I don't know. I have three classes left, one a week, so I'll go and see how I feel after.
In terms of eating, I've been good. However, my last few feast days have been quite high - hitting 2100 calories each time and sometimes a bit over. I have lost another kilo but it's fluctuating wildly. After a fast day I'm down, but after a feast day I'm up about two. I don't really count a kilo as being gone until it's still gone after a feast day. I have tightened my belt by another notch though which is encouraging.
Maybe my weight is fluctuating due to my new muscles...! Hmm...
Monday, 2 September 2013
On A Roll!
Well, it's been a great couple of days - I've lost another kilo - which makes it 23 kilos or nearly 51 pounds. It's exciting when the weight drops off quickly over a few days - makes up for the couple of weeks of nothing. I measured myself too and I've lost an inch from everywhere since the last time I measured myself - which was about six kilos ago. So overall, I've lost five inches from my waist, and four inches from my hips, each thigh, each arm, and my chest - though in that case it seems to have come off my back as my bras still fill the same way as before! It's great - I finally have a mostly flat back - the little rolls of fat are gone. I can wear tops now that before clung a bit and showed off the lumps - so I'd cover up with a cardigan. Now those tops are loose around the back.
I haven't been doing anything different - I think it may be the three days of feasting that I did recently. I also have been eating a bit more on my feast days in general - going from about 1600 calories to about 1900. Maybe that's having an effect - I may have slowed down my metabolism by having 1600 calories one day and then 500 the next. Probably not enough.
I had a feast day on Friday, and then was meeting some friends in town on Saturday night. Since I knew I'd drink, and ruin a fast, I decided to let Saturday be a feast day too and then fasted yesterday instead.
John is going to see his parents in Galway on Wednesday and he'll be gone till Friday. I'm so tempted to get a takeaway on Thursday night - Chinese or Indian - both of which I enjoy from time to time but which John doesn't like at all - so I never eat it. Thursday is supposed to be a fast day so I might have two feast days in a row. I don't know though - I have Pilates on Thursday night and having a big meal before that is not the best idea... Hmmm... what to do....?
Zumba tonight - kind of wish I wasn't going - I'm tired after the weekend and a cosy night in would suit me nicely. But I've paid, so I'll go. I am looking forward to how I'll feel afterwards - on a high and really pleased with myself. I put it into My Fitness Pal and it said that 45 minutes of Zumba was 640 calories!! I really don't know if I'm going to burn that much - that might be for people with slightly more stamina than I! So although My Fitness Pal is telling me that I can eat 2300 calories today - I'm stopping at 2000. Don't want to ruin the extra calorie burning effects of exercise!
I haven't been doing anything different - I think it may be the three days of feasting that I did recently. I also have been eating a bit more on my feast days in general - going from about 1600 calories to about 1900. Maybe that's having an effect - I may have slowed down my metabolism by having 1600 calories one day and then 500 the next. Probably not enough.
I had a feast day on Friday, and then was meeting some friends in town on Saturday night. Since I knew I'd drink, and ruin a fast, I decided to let Saturday be a feast day too and then fasted yesterday instead.
John is going to see his parents in Galway on Wednesday and he'll be gone till Friday. I'm so tempted to get a takeaway on Thursday night - Chinese or Indian - both of which I enjoy from time to time but which John doesn't like at all - so I never eat it. Thursday is supposed to be a fast day so I might have two feast days in a row. I don't know though - I have Pilates on Thursday night and having a big meal before that is not the best idea... Hmmm... what to do....?
Zumba tonight - kind of wish I wasn't going - I'm tired after the weekend and a cosy night in would suit me nicely. But I've paid, so I'll go. I am looking forward to how I'll feel afterwards - on a high and really pleased with myself. I put it into My Fitness Pal and it said that 45 minutes of Zumba was 640 calories!! I really don't know if I'm going to burn that much - that might be for people with slightly more stamina than I! So although My Fitness Pal is telling me that I can eat 2300 calories today - I'm stopping at 2000. Don't want to ruin the extra calorie burning effects of exercise!
Saturday, 31 August 2013
I Amaze Myself...
So - it's been a while. Back at work and things are busy. The last time I wrote, I had just finished a kick-start experiment - eating about 1800 calories or so for three days in a row to try to get over my plateau. Nothing happened for a few days, in fact, when I weighed myself right after my three days, I had gained a kilo which I was furious about - considering my calories had still been low enough. However, that kilo went within a day or so and in the last four days I've lost another two kilos - at last! That's 22 kilos now, or 49 pounds. Another mountain left to go but at least now I just look overweight, instead of looking waddly. Eight kilos to go until my next goal weight at the end of November. I should make it - I hope.
I have great hopes that things will begin to move a bit faster though because... I've started going to the gym!!!! Well, I've been to one class. But I'm booked in for three more this week - and since I had to pay in advance, chances are good I'll go. I went to Pilates on Thursday night, and I'm booked in for Zumba on Monday night, and more Pilates on Tuesday and Thursday. It's €8 a go, which isn't the cheapest but it's not too bad either. There's no point getting a membership yet - I do know myself very well after all. If I'm still going in a month, I might join.
I don't know what suddenly persuaded me. I do prefer classes to going for walks but normally I can't be bothered to actually drive to a class. But I was reading on Wednesday night and just suddenly a longing to be slim and toned came into my mind - so I rang and booked straight away. Possibly it's motivated by the fact that people keep congratulating me at work but my weight loss has slowed down - I want it to start up again so that I keep hearing nice things! Also, my "Before" picture, that I took back in mid-July shows no difference to how I look now. Apart from possibly less fat on my back. Quite disappointing really. Another motivator is that I found a load of clothes from about six years ago when I'd lost another pile of weight and there are a pair of jeans that are a size down from now and only go up as far as my knees. So I have a new test pair. My previous test pair are on me as I type, and from fitting halfway up my hips, they now have to be belted on.
So - hopefully a new dawn has arisen. I'm hoping that after a while, I'll start to love these classes. All the people who post amazing "before and after" photos on Tumblr say how they lost weight through dieting and exercising - and they all seem to love exercising now. I'm really hoping I'll get into it too.
I did enjoy Pilates on Thursday - it was tough - at one point I thought my hip was actually going to break off - but I felt really good when I came home and all day yesterday too. I'm in agony though - my muscles are killing me. I can't lift my arms very well - even typing now is hurting them! But it's a nice pain - I like knowing that I actually worked some muscles for once.
Hopefully some of the flabbier bits will start to become less wobbly within the next couple of months!
I have great hopes that things will begin to move a bit faster though because... I've started going to the gym!!!! Well, I've been to one class. But I'm booked in for three more this week - and since I had to pay in advance, chances are good I'll go. I went to Pilates on Thursday night, and I'm booked in for Zumba on Monday night, and more Pilates on Tuesday and Thursday. It's €8 a go, which isn't the cheapest but it's not too bad either. There's no point getting a membership yet - I do know myself very well after all. If I'm still going in a month, I might join.
I don't know what suddenly persuaded me. I do prefer classes to going for walks but normally I can't be bothered to actually drive to a class. But I was reading on Wednesday night and just suddenly a longing to be slim and toned came into my mind - so I rang and booked straight away. Possibly it's motivated by the fact that people keep congratulating me at work but my weight loss has slowed down - I want it to start up again so that I keep hearing nice things! Also, my "Before" picture, that I took back in mid-July shows no difference to how I look now. Apart from possibly less fat on my back. Quite disappointing really. Another motivator is that I found a load of clothes from about six years ago when I'd lost another pile of weight and there are a pair of jeans that are a size down from now and only go up as far as my knees. So I have a new test pair. My previous test pair are on me as I type, and from fitting halfway up my hips, they now have to be belted on.
So - hopefully a new dawn has arisen. I'm hoping that after a while, I'll start to love these classes. All the people who post amazing "before and after" photos on Tumblr say how they lost weight through dieting and exercising - and they all seem to love exercising now. I'm really hoping I'll get into it too.
I did enjoy Pilates on Thursday - it was tough - at one point I thought my hip was actually going to break off - but I felt really good when I came home and all day yesterday too. I'm in agony though - my muscles are killing me. I can't lift my arms very well - even typing now is hurting them! But it's a nice pain - I like knowing that I actually worked some muscles for once.
Hopefully some of the flabbier bits will start to become less wobbly within the next couple of months!
Wednesday, 21 August 2013
Shift Please...
I am experimenting again.
I took 3 photos of myself in my underwear about five weeks ago. I compared myself with them last night, and while there is some difference, it's minimal. I had to really look carefully to find anything. I'm a bit annoyed by this, as well as the fact that I haven't really lost weight in about two weeks - I've been hovering on going down one kilo recently but it's not certain enough to please me. So I'm having three feast days in a row, to try and kickstart things again.
As I've said before, I should be eating 2200 calories on feast days, but I usually eat about 1700 or so. I genuinely find it difficult to go above this - I don't want to eat lots of junk all the time to make it, or have huge portions, as I am trying to form better eating habits. However, I wonder if maybe the huge slowdown in weight loss is due to this - my metabolism slowing down maybe?
So yesterday I had a feast day, and today and tomorrow too. Now, I'm not too happy with myself, because yesterday I had pizza and quite a bit of cheese, and today I had even more cheese and some crisps. I haven't gone above 1800 calories either day but I know that saturated fat is not the way to be going either. Tomorrow is the staff lunch - first day back at work after the summer - and there'll be salads but also cake - all of which I intend to eat. So tomorrow night I'm going to have lots of vegetables - I'm worrying a bit for my insides. I'm also worrying that all this saturated fat will mean a rise on the scales in the morning...
Hopefully then, once I start fasting again, I should lose a bit more weight. That seems to have triggered weight loss the last time I did this.
The reason I'm so impatient at the moment is that I'm bordering on going down the next dress size, and I really need new jeans for work but I want to fit into them comfortably, instead of squeezing myself in, when I go to buy them.
However, aside from all the moaning, I just spent a very enjoyable hour. I tried on all my clothes that haven't fit me in three years and they nearly all fit now, apart from a couple of tops that fit but still look a bit tight. So my wardrobe has tripled which is great!
I can't wait to go back to work tomorrow - I'd better get lots of comments on my weight loss!
I took 3 photos of myself in my underwear about five weeks ago. I compared myself with them last night, and while there is some difference, it's minimal. I had to really look carefully to find anything. I'm a bit annoyed by this, as well as the fact that I haven't really lost weight in about two weeks - I've been hovering on going down one kilo recently but it's not certain enough to please me. So I'm having three feast days in a row, to try and kickstart things again.
As I've said before, I should be eating 2200 calories on feast days, but I usually eat about 1700 or so. I genuinely find it difficult to go above this - I don't want to eat lots of junk all the time to make it, or have huge portions, as I am trying to form better eating habits. However, I wonder if maybe the huge slowdown in weight loss is due to this - my metabolism slowing down maybe?
So yesterday I had a feast day, and today and tomorrow too. Now, I'm not too happy with myself, because yesterday I had pizza and quite a bit of cheese, and today I had even more cheese and some crisps. I haven't gone above 1800 calories either day but I know that saturated fat is not the way to be going either. Tomorrow is the staff lunch - first day back at work after the summer - and there'll be salads but also cake - all of which I intend to eat. So tomorrow night I'm going to have lots of vegetables - I'm worrying a bit for my insides. I'm also worrying that all this saturated fat will mean a rise on the scales in the morning...
Hopefully then, once I start fasting again, I should lose a bit more weight. That seems to have triggered weight loss the last time I did this.
The reason I'm so impatient at the moment is that I'm bordering on going down the next dress size, and I really need new jeans for work but I want to fit into them comfortably, instead of squeezing myself in, when I go to buy them.
However, aside from all the moaning, I just spent a very enjoyable hour. I tried on all my clothes that haven't fit me in three years and they nearly all fit now, apart from a couple of tops that fit but still look a bit tight. So my wardrobe has tripled which is great!
I can't wait to go back to work tomorrow - I'd better get lots of comments on my weight loss!
Monday, 19 August 2013
Sleep The Fast Away
Fasted all day Saturday with surprising ease in the end. I had a bowl of butternut squash soup that I had made, for breakfast, to ease the hunger pangs, and then didn't eat until seven o'clock that evening. I had more soup and three rice-cakes with an avocado. That brought me to about 470 calories, so as a treat, I decided to use up the rest of my calories on some of the chocolates I'd bought for Friday night - the Maltesers specifically. Weighed them out and calculated the calories - I was allowed three! Seven grams of Maltesers is about 35 calories - three Maltesers weigh seven grams. That is ridiculous! When I think of the amount I used to eat without a thought before... Ugh - I feel slightly sick and ashamed.
John went out Saturday night with people from work and came home about three o'clock in the morning. I woke up and got up - he decided to have a couple more beers so I stayed up with him, chatting and listening to music - we made it to bed about two o'clock on Sunday afternoon. I was very good though - just had two cans of Diet Coke, and didn't eat anything. Even though technically I was into a feast day by the morning and could have eaten. We went to bed and slept for a few hours. We were due at my parents' for dinner at half-six so I dragged an unwilling John out of bed and we went. Had some crisps, goat's cheese on honeyed toast with salad, and my mum had made the exact same salmon meal that I had made on Friday night! I also had three glasses of Cremant - so all in all, the meal came to about 1600 calories.
I must say, it seems like a bit of a waste of a feast day - to sleep it away and only have one meal - but on the other hand, fasting before a big meal is ideal really, as it kept my calories down. Sleeping is really handy sometimes - fast days where I sleep in and don't wake until late morning are great - dinner never seems so far away.
I'm back at work on Thursday - big staff lunch organised so luckily it happens to be a feast day. It'll be interesting to see how ADF fits into my working life. I suspect that working will make it much easier - as I've said before - if I'm busy, I don't feel hungry, or at least, I don't dwell on the hunger on fast days.
Oh yes, I'm also down another kilo! It's been hovering for the last couple of days - I've been down after fast days, and back up after feast days, but today is the first day it's down after a feast day. This always happens - I lose a kilo but it doesn't stay properly down for four or five days - I guess that's why you're only supposed to weigh yourself once a week... So that's 20 kilos gone now - or 44 pounds.
Went through my old clothes the other day - I was going to have to go buy new jeans before work as all my nice jeans are way too baggy on me now but I found two pairs that fit me about three years ago when I was a size smaller, and fit me again now! Great feeling - fitting into old clothes. Plus it saves me money. So now I need to concentrate on going down another size by the end of November. My dream (which might sound silly) is to be able to wear a denim skirt, with tights and boots by winter. It's a look I love and have never been able to wear due to my tree-trunk legs.
John went out Saturday night with people from work and came home about three o'clock in the morning. I woke up and got up - he decided to have a couple more beers so I stayed up with him, chatting and listening to music - we made it to bed about two o'clock on Sunday afternoon. I was very good though - just had two cans of Diet Coke, and didn't eat anything. Even though technically I was into a feast day by the morning and could have eaten. We went to bed and slept for a few hours. We were due at my parents' for dinner at half-six so I dragged an unwilling John out of bed and we went. Had some crisps, goat's cheese on honeyed toast with salad, and my mum had made the exact same salmon meal that I had made on Friday night! I also had three glasses of Cremant - so all in all, the meal came to about 1600 calories.
I must say, it seems like a bit of a waste of a feast day - to sleep it away and only have one meal - but on the other hand, fasting before a big meal is ideal really, as it kept my calories down. Sleeping is really handy sometimes - fast days where I sleep in and don't wake until late morning are great - dinner never seems so far away.
I'm back at work on Thursday - big staff lunch organised so luckily it happens to be a feast day. It'll be interesting to see how ADF fits into my working life. I suspect that working will make it much easier - as I've said before - if I'm busy, I don't feel hungry, or at least, I don't dwell on the hunger on fast days.
Oh yes, I'm also down another kilo! It's been hovering for the last couple of days - I've been down after fast days, and back up after feast days, but today is the first day it's down after a feast day. This always happens - I lose a kilo but it doesn't stay properly down for four or five days - I guess that's why you're only supposed to weigh yourself once a week... So that's 20 kilos gone now - or 44 pounds.
Went through my old clothes the other day - I was going to have to go buy new jeans before work as all my nice jeans are way too baggy on me now but I found two pairs that fit me about three years ago when I was a size smaller, and fit me again now! Great feeling - fitting into old clothes. Plus it saves me money. So now I need to concentrate on going down another size by the end of November. My dream (which might sound silly) is to be able to wear a denim skirt, with tights and boots by winter. It's a look I love and have never been able to wear due to my tree-trunk legs.
Friday, 9 August 2013
Dream Life
I woke up today, weighed myself - ANOTHER kilo gone! It must be something in the air. I didn't believe it and reweighed myself, repositioning my feet and all - no, definitely gone. I can't believe it - like I said, I've done nothing different. I wonder if my awful week last week of only two fast days and lots of crisps made this week of proper fasting a bigger shock on my body and kick-started everything again. I don't know but I'm not complaining! I've reached my first goal - three stone gone and just under two weeks till I go back to work!
Anyway, I'm currently having a dilemma. I have become obsessed with Doritos - the spicy ones and have been dreaming of them all week. Every feast day I've been tempted to get a pack but considering they're 1000 calories for a pack, (a big pack but still) I've been putting it off. However, since I've stayed at 1600 calories all week on feast days, I think I might grant myself a cheaty feast day and pig out. I really feel like putting on a film and nibbling, especially since John's working tomorrow night - boredom factor kicking in. I know, boredom eating is wrong but... I have been so good and as a treat... maybe it's ok.
So, my dilemma is this - do I go all out? Eat what I want tomorrow - breakfast, lunch and dinner, which would probably come to about 1800 calories if I let myself go and also have 1000 calories on top of that? Which is nearly 3000 calories in a day...
Or - do I fast until dinner and then just eat one meal and the crisps after? Which would keep things at about 2000 calories?
Or - option three - do I eat normally but promise myself to only eat half the packet - and therefore end up at about 2400 calories or so which isn't hugely over what I should eat on a feast day anyway? The risk with that one is that I won't be able to stop myself and I'll eat all the packet. It would be a good exercise in self-control but I know myself.
What I could do is go for option three and if I break, I'll just have done option one. But if I do that will I be consumed by guilt? My Fitness Pal bar chart will be all red for tomorrow!!
It's a tough one. I just don't really feel like fasting again tomorrow till dinnertime.
I'll have to sleep on it. It's a nice dilemma to have though. I love feast days.
I tried on a pair of jeans earlier - they've been my test jeans since I started my diet. At first they came half-way up my legs, then they came up but wouldn't close, then they closed but felt as though they were cutting my hips in two, and now they close fairly comfortably. Still a little bit squished in them but I could wear them. It's nice to have jeans that fit. My current jeans are way too baggy now - my bottom is all saggy and awful in them but I don't want to buy another pair just yet. I think I probably have gone down a size now but I'm a bit scared in case I try on the next size and they don't fit. So I'll wait another week maybe - try to lose another kilo before I go shopping. I have to buy at least one pair before I go back to work. I also hope that once I have better fitting clothes, that people will start actually noticing that I've lost weight. No one has yet apart from people who know I'm dieting and are looking out for it. My mum says it's because my clothes are the same ones still and even though they're baggy now they hide the progress - I hope she's right. Going back to work will be the test!
Funnily enough, none of my measurements have changed since 3 kilos ago. You would think that it's coming off somewhere, and it's not like I've been building it up in muscle...
So my next goal is to fit comfortably into my test jeans by the time work starts. And my next real goal is to be down another dress size by my birthday, at the end of November. I think I read before that every 10 kilos, or 22 pounds, is a dress size. Obviously that hasn't been the case for me so far, I've lost 19 kilos and am just on the cusp of going down my first dress size but I hope it'll work from now on. So if I could lose another 10 kilos/22 pounds by the end of November - bearing in mind that weight loss usually slows down the closer to your goal that you get - I think that should be manageable. That means losing 0.6 kilos or just over a pound a week.
Hopefully I can do it just following what I'm doing now. If things aren't going too well by October, I may have to consider exercising a bit... Ugh...
Anyway, I'm currently having a dilemma. I have become obsessed with Doritos - the spicy ones and have been dreaming of them all week. Every feast day I've been tempted to get a pack but considering they're 1000 calories for a pack, (a big pack but still) I've been putting it off. However, since I've stayed at 1600 calories all week on feast days, I think I might grant myself a cheaty feast day and pig out. I really feel like putting on a film and nibbling, especially since John's working tomorrow night - boredom factor kicking in. I know, boredom eating is wrong but... I have been so good and as a treat... maybe it's ok.
So, my dilemma is this - do I go all out? Eat what I want tomorrow - breakfast, lunch and dinner, which would probably come to about 1800 calories if I let myself go and also have 1000 calories on top of that? Which is nearly 3000 calories in a day...
Or - do I fast until dinner and then just eat one meal and the crisps after? Which would keep things at about 2000 calories?
Or - option three - do I eat normally but promise myself to only eat half the packet - and therefore end up at about 2400 calories or so which isn't hugely over what I should eat on a feast day anyway? The risk with that one is that I won't be able to stop myself and I'll eat all the packet. It would be a good exercise in self-control but I know myself.
What I could do is go for option three and if I break, I'll just have done option one. But if I do that will I be consumed by guilt? My Fitness Pal bar chart will be all red for tomorrow!!
It's a tough one. I just don't really feel like fasting again tomorrow till dinnertime.
I'll have to sleep on it. It's a nice dilemma to have though. I love feast days.
I tried on a pair of jeans earlier - they've been my test jeans since I started my diet. At first they came half-way up my legs, then they came up but wouldn't close, then they closed but felt as though they were cutting my hips in two, and now they close fairly comfortably. Still a little bit squished in them but I could wear them. It's nice to have jeans that fit. My current jeans are way too baggy now - my bottom is all saggy and awful in them but I don't want to buy another pair just yet. I think I probably have gone down a size now but I'm a bit scared in case I try on the next size and they don't fit. So I'll wait another week maybe - try to lose another kilo before I go shopping. I have to buy at least one pair before I go back to work. I also hope that once I have better fitting clothes, that people will start actually noticing that I've lost weight. No one has yet apart from people who know I'm dieting and are looking out for it. My mum says it's because my clothes are the same ones still and even though they're baggy now they hide the progress - I hope she's right. Going back to work will be the test!
Funnily enough, none of my measurements have changed since 3 kilos ago. You would think that it's coming off somewhere, and it's not like I've been building it up in muscle...
So my next goal is to fit comfortably into my test jeans by the time work starts. And my next real goal is to be down another dress size by my birthday, at the end of November. I think I read before that every 10 kilos, or 22 pounds, is a dress size. Obviously that hasn't been the case for me so far, I've lost 19 kilos and am just on the cusp of going down my first dress size but I hope it'll work from now on. So if I could lose another 10 kilos/22 pounds by the end of November - bearing in mind that weight loss usually slows down the closer to your goal that you get - I think that should be manageable. That means losing 0.6 kilos or just over a pound a week.
Hopefully I can do it just following what I'm doing now. If things aren't going too well by October, I may have to consider exercising a bit... Ugh...
Thursday, 8 August 2013
Growing Up (And In).
Down another kilo!!! That's two this week - so I've lost 18 kilos or 39 pounds so far! Can't believe it, it's so exciting when another bit just drops off. I haven't done anything differently - my feast day on Tuesday was1575 calories, had a fast day of 480 calories yesterday and back on a feast day today - I'm tempted to buy something nice for later, as John is on the night shift and I'll be alone. But that's probably a habit I should be breaking so maybe not.
One more kilo to go and I'll be at my first goal of three stone! Since I have two more weeks before work starts again it looks as though I might make it.
We went to meet a friend for lunch yesterday - I really wanted a delicious-sounding sandwich - goat's cheese, pesto, rocket and sun-dried tomatoes. But it being a fast day I stuck to the soup - Mexican bean - it was nice but the tomato part of the soup was just tinned tomatoes instead of actual tomato soup which was disappointing.
I was starving by about eight o'clock last night so I had a bowl of courgette soup I'd made - so handy having vegetable soup - kills any hunger pangs and it's about 30 calories for a bowl. My stomach was rumbling by the time I went to bed though - so much so that I couldn't wait this morning and jumped out of bed at about half seven to go have some breakfast - avocados on rice cakes.
Fasting till the evening and then having a dinner is really what works best for me.
I was worried last night - I was properly looking forward to eating today and I was lying in bed planning what I'd have, when I thought that it's probably not good to look forward to food so much, is it?? I mean, I know I was hungry but I always feel disappointed at the end of a feast day and slightly excited at the end of a fast day. I suppose as long as it's not making me binge it's ok. And whilst I always promise myself that I'll get crisps for my feast day, I never actually bother. Once the day comes and I'm able to eat what I want, I just go for the healthier option. I'm also getting fussy with my calories. I'm at my parents' house now for lunch and I wanted a treat with my coffee. I found a pack of chocolate rice cakes, which I normally would scoff down. However, they're 18 calories each and quite small. I had one and decided that it wasn't nice enough to waste all those calories on. My sister offered me chocolate cake, which I know is delicious, and I didn't really want any. Too many calories.
I wonder is this good or bad. In the ADF book, by James Johnson, he does say not to self-restrict on feast days, as you will get bored faster. However, if I was craving it I would have it. So maybe I'm just finally learning self-control and food no longer holds its death-vice grip on me. I can look forward to it, and thoroughly enjoy it, but I don't need or crave it. I'm growing up! Hurray!
One more kilo to go and I'll be at my first goal of three stone! Since I have two more weeks before work starts again it looks as though I might make it.
We went to meet a friend for lunch yesterday - I really wanted a delicious-sounding sandwich - goat's cheese, pesto, rocket and sun-dried tomatoes. But it being a fast day I stuck to the soup - Mexican bean - it was nice but the tomato part of the soup was just tinned tomatoes instead of actual tomato soup which was disappointing.
I was starving by about eight o'clock last night so I had a bowl of courgette soup I'd made - so handy having vegetable soup - kills any hunger pangs and it's about 30 calories for a bowl. My stomach was rumbling by the time I went to bed though - so much so that I couldn't wait this morning and jumped out of bed at about half seven to go have some breakfast - avocados on rice cakes.
Fasting till the evening and then having a dinner is really what works best for me.
I was worried last night - I was properly looking forward to eating today and I was lying in bed planning what I'd have, when I thought that it's probably not good to look forward to food so much, is it?? I mean, I know I was hungry but I always feel disappointed at the end of a feast day and slightly excited at the end of a fast day. I suppose as long as it's not making me binge it's ok. And whilst I always promise myself that I'll get crisps for my feast day, I never actually bother. Once the day comes and I'm able to eat what I want, I just go for the healthier option. I'm also getting fussy with my calories. I'm at my parents' house now for lunch and I wanted a treat with my coffee. I found a pack of chocolate rice cakes, which I normally would scoff down. However, they're 18 calories each and quite small. I had one and decided that it wasn't nice enough to waste all those calories on. My sister offered me chocolate cake, which I know is delicious, and I didn't really want any. Too many calories.
I wonder is this good or bad. In the ADF book, by James Johnson, he does say not to self-restrict on feast days, as you will get bored faster. However, if I was craving it I would have it. So maybe I'm just finally learning self-control and food no longer holds its death-vice grip on me. I can look forward to it, and thoroughly enjoy it, but I don't need or crave it. I'm growing up! Hurray!
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Nearly at Goal Number One!!
Apologies again for the lack of posts - we're currently fostering four puppies and another dog. And we have our own dog. Things are mental here!
So, last week was a bit of a disaster in terms of ADF. I found I'd lost another kilo, or two pounds which was great. Had a feast day last Sunday week. Ate away, intending to fast the next day. Then, my friend is back in Cork, so we decided to meet up on Monday evening. I told her to come for dinner - cue wine, Doritos, chocolate... However, I did fast all day in anticipation of a big dinner so I still only finished the day at 2200. Considering I managed that in one meal, it's pretty impressive. Next day, another friend wanted to call to see the puppies. I told her to come for dinner, and she said she'd bring dessert. So, I fasted again, and only intended eating dinner and a bit of dessert. However, within 10 minutes of her being there, we had decided to go buy more crisps and Doritos. I didn't even bother counting, I just figured that I had ingested another 2200 calories. The next day, Wednesday, I felt guilty and horrible - so when another friend asked to come and see the puppies I didn't invite her for dinner and I made her eat loads of dessert to get rid of it! That day was good enough, I had 600 calories. One hundred of those was by accident - I ate a square of chocolate before remembering that I was already at my 500 calorie limit.
So, on Thursday, John brought me for dinner - I had chicken wings as a starter and then a lovely creamy pasta dish with chicken and sundried tomatoes. Since it was a feast day again, I also allowed myself to eat some more Doritos. So delicious. It's 1000 calories per 200g bag though!! I ate a few more than I should have so that day came to about 1900 calories.
On Friday, I was supposed to fast but a friend wanted to meet us for drinks. So I decided to eat and switch my fast day to Saturday. I easily had about 2200 calories on Friday, what with the drink and the crisps my friend kept buying in the pub.
However, since Saturday, I've been back on track. Saturday was tough - I always want to eat loads after a night out and John was being all hungover and munchy. He had a McDonald's - terrible for you but so so tempting. He also finished all the Doritos, whilst I salivated next to him. However, I held firm and finished the day at 494 calories.
Since then I've been good. My feast days are around 1600 calories and I'm keeping my fast days at 480 calories roughly. I didn't gain any weight in that terrible week of eating which was a nice surprise and yesterday I weighed myself to find another kilo gone! And that was after a feast day, which is very surprising.
So I'm only two kilos away from my goal of losing three stone by the time I go back to work. I only have 16 days left though, so I'm not sure if I'll manage it. I don't really mind if I don't to be honest though, having lost 17 kilos, or 37 pounds is better than I ever expected.
Lauren Kim, at http://tryingadf.blogspot.ie/ told me of a calculator on the ADF official website - http://www.johnsonupdaydowndaydiet.com/html/how-to-do-the-diet.html which tells you how many calories you should eat on your feast and fast days. I'm about right with my fast days but for my feast days he recommends 2200 calories! I usually feel guilty if I eat about 1800! It's tempting but I think that knowing myself, I'd end up using all those extra calories on crisps or other junk. So I'm going to keep at my usual limit but once a week I'll allow myself to go that bit higher without feeling like I cheated afterwards. Or at least I'll try. The "My Fitness Pal" app is very good at making you feel guilty if you go over the calories it recommends. On the bar chart section the bar goes red when you go over your daily intake and it really makes me feel like I've failed! Probably a part of what keeps me on track!
So, last week was a bit of a disaster in terms of ADF. I found I'd lost another kilo, or two pounds which was great. Had a feast day last Sunday week. Ate away, intending to fast the next day. Then, my friend is back in Cork, so we decided to meet up on Monday evening. I told her to come for dinner - cue wine, Doritos, chocolate... However, I did fast all day in anticipation of a big dinner so I still only finished the day at 2200. Considering I managed that in one meal, it's pretty impressive. Next day, another friend wanted to call to see the puppies. I told her to come for dinner, and she said she'd bring dessert. So, I fasted again, and only intended eating dinner and a bit of dessert. However, within 10 minutes of her being there, we had decided to go buy more crisps and Doritos. I didn't even bother counting, I just figured that I had ingested another 2200 calories. The next day, Wednesday, I felt guilty and horrible - so when another friend asked to come and see the puppies I didn't invite her for dinner and I made her eat loads of dessert to get rid of it! That day was good enough, I had 600 calories. One hundred of those was by accident - I ate a square of chocolate before remembering that I was already at my 500 calorie limit.
So, on Thursday, John brought me for dinner - I had chicken wings as a starter and then a lovely creamy pasta dish with chicken and sundried tomatoes. Since it was a feast day again, I also allowed myself to eat some more Doritos. So delicious. It's 1000 calories per 200g bag though!! I ate a few more than I should have so that day came to about 1900 calories.
On Friday, I was supposed to fast but a friend wanted to meet us for drinks. So I decided to eat and switch my fast day to Saturday. I easily had about 2200 calories on Friday, what with the drink and the crisps my friend kept buying in the pub.
However, since Saturday, I've been back on track. Saturday was tough - I always want to eat loads after a night out and John was being all hungover and munchy. He had a McDonald's - terrible for you but so so tempting. He also finished all the Doritos, whilst I salivated next to him. However, I held firm and finished the day at 494 calories.
Since then I've been good. My feast days are around 1600 calories and I'm keeping my fast days at 480 calories roughly. I didn't gain any weight in that terrible week of eating which was a nice surprise and yesterday I weighed myself to find another kilo gone! And that was after a feast day, which is very surprising.
So I'm only two kilos away from my goal of losing three stone by the time I go back to work. I only have 16 days left though, so I'm not sure if I'll manage it. I don't really mind if I don't to be honest though, having lost 17 kilos, or 37 pounds is better than I ever expected.
Lauren Kim, at http://tryingadf.blogspot.ie/ told me of a calculator on the ADF official website - http://www.johnsonupdaydowndaydiet.com/html/how-to-do-the-diet.html which tells you how many calories you should eat on your feast and fast days. I'm about right with my fast days but for my feast days he recommends 2200 calories! I usually feel guilty if I eat about 1800! It's tempting but I think that knowing myself, I'd end up using all those extra calories on crisps or other junk. So I'm going to keep at my usual limit but once a week I'll allow myself to go that bit higher without feeling like I cheated afterwards. Or at least I'll try. The "My Fitness Pal" app is very good at making you feel guilty if you go over the calories it recommends. On the bar chart section the bar goes red when you go over your daily intake and it really makes me feel like I've failed! Probably a part of what keeps me on track!
Monday, 15 July 2013
Another Loss!
Down another kilo! So that's 15 lost now, or 33 pounds. Very happy with myself. My measurements haven't changed at all though in the last while - maybe I'm losing it from my toes or something...
Had a lovely weekend - we spent it all in the garden, with the dogs, in the sun. We didn't go out which was a relief. Didn't want to waste calories on drink.
I had Weetabix for breakfast yesterday, with fat-free milk - 237 calories.
For lunch I had wholegrain noodles, with 15g of pesto and 30g of grated low-fat cheddar.
Then we went to Kinsale to the Arts Festival, to watch "Raj in the Rain" - a film about the Anglo-Irish. It was a bit odd but good. Such a pity, all these old houses falling to ruin because the families can't afford to keep them up. Those days are gone - for good or for bad, but the houses really suffer. Our family house is one of these - a big Georgian house that back in the day had land and a farm making money for it. Now it's in the middle of dozens of housing estates and it's dilapidated to say the least - roof leaking, floorboards breaking, no heating... It's lovely in the summer, but in the winter... You can see your breath in the morning when you wake up, and the window panes freeze on the inside. My dad always moaned about the length of my showers when I was living there, but it was the only way of getting warm! Having said that, John moans about the length of my showers now and we live in a modern house so...
When we got back from Kinsale we had an early dinner - fish in breadcrumbs, mashed potatoes and peas. I also had 50g of crisps and a slice of fruit flan for dessert. So that was 910 calories, and about 1883 calories for the day.
I went to my dad's for lunch - had mushroom soup, four multigrain crackers with white stilton with apricots cheese and four strawberries. With milk in coffee my day's at 503 calories.
I normally eat in the evening on fast days, to not be hungry going to bed, so we'll see how this pans out now, having eaten earlier.
Off to France tomorrow - think I may treat myself to breakfast on the plane. And I've decided to say screw the skinny French cousins - it's hot - I'm going to go swimming.
Had a lovely weekend - we spent it all in the garden, with the dogs, in the sun. We didn't go out which was a relief. Didn't want to waste calories on drink.
I had Weetabix for breakfast yesterday, with fat-free milk - 237 calories.
For lunch I had wholegrain noodles, with 15g of pesto and 30g of grated low-fat cheddar.
Then we went to Kinsale to the Arts Festival, to watch "Raj in the Rain" - a film about the Anglo-Irish. It was a bit odd but good. Such a pity, all these old houses falling to ruin because the families can't afford to keep them up. Those days are gone - for good or for bad, but the houses really suffer. Our family house is one of these - a big Georgian house that back in the day had land and a farm making money for it. Now it's in the middle of dozens of housing estates and it's dilapidated to say the least - roof leaking, floorboards breaking, no heating... It's lovely in the summer, but in the winter... You can see your breath in the morning when you wake up, and the window panes freeze on the inside. My dad always moaned about the length of my showers when I was living there, but it was the only way of getting warm! Having said that, John moans about the length of my showers now and we live in a modern house so...
When we got back from Kinsale we had an early dinner - fish in breadcrumbs, mashed potatoes and peas. I also had 50g of crisps and a slice of fruit flan for dessert. So that was 910 calories, and about 1883 calories for the day.
I went to my dad's for lunch - had mushroom soup, four multigrain crackers with white stilton with apricots cheese and four strawberries. With milk in coffee my day's at 503 calories.
I normally eat in the evening on fast days, to not be hungry going to bed, so we'll see how this pans out now, having eaten earlier.
Off to France tomorrow - think I may treat myself to breakfast on the plane. And I've decided to say screw the skinny French cousins - it's hot - I'm going to go swimming.
Tuesday, 9 July 2013
Still Jiggling...!
Well. It's been a few days. I had another cheat day this weekend.
Friday was a feast day, which included, amongst other things, chocolate cake, an avocado, two eggs and a white bread roll. Not all at the same time, I hasten to add. That came to 1964 calories altogether.
I had arranged to meet my dad on Saturday at his workplace for lunch - I brought a picnic with me and it looked so good that I decided to have another cheat day, which I didn't even count but guesstimated to be 2000 calories. I had made smoked salmon pate, cheese and ham pastries, tuna salad, devilled eggs and wraps. So lots of carbohydrates and deliciousness. We had leftovers for dinner on Saturday night and I fasted on Sunday, with a tuna salad for dinner, which was 417 calories. I woke up yesterday to find that I'd lost more weight! I have now lost 14 kilos, or 30 pounds! Very happy with myself. I'm also pleased to notice that my belt is about half an inch away from tightening another notch. I actually managed it this morning but found that it was too uncomfortable when sitting down! So maybe tomorrow. My arms have gone down another inch each (although they still jiggle - a lot) and I've lost another inch from each thigh and one from my hips.
I felt a bit guilty yesterday - I was on a feast day and couldn't resist some more of the leftovers from the picnic. I finished off the pate, with a big hunk of bread, and had half a cheese and ham pastry. And this was after dinner - when I wasn't even hungry! As a result, my day came to about 2200 calories which I wasn't too happy about.
So severe fasting today. One coffee for breakfast, and only water for the rest of the day. I'm going to have a protein-filled salad for dinner which should come to 430 calories or so.
Going back to France in a week for the burial of my grandad's ashes. Whilst we're there, we'll be going to see some cousins who have a pool. With the weather being as amazing as it is, it would be silly to pass up the chance for a swim. Even if those cousins are all tanned and skinny. I'm just going to have to be brave.
My dad's coming over for dinner on Friday, (I'm trying to feed him a bit while my mum's away) which is a feast day, luckily. However, we have plans to go out with friends on Saturday night. So Saturday might have to be a cheat day. Although I don't want this becoming a habit. I might fast on Friday until dinnertime, in an effort to limit my calories a bit. And then fast on Saturday, again till dinnertime when I'll have to eat for soakage. The annoying thing is that I don't really like drinking. But I know if I sip on a juice while everyone else is drinking, I'll get bored. And I do want to go out to see them. Hmm...
Friday was a feast day, which included, amongst other things, chocolate cake, an avocado, two eggs and a white bread roll. Not all at the same time, I hasten to add. That came to 1964 calories altogether.
I had arranged to meet my dad on Saturday at his workplace for lunch - I brought a picnic with me and it looked so good that I decided to have another cheat day, which I didn't even count but guesstimated to be 2000 calories. I had made smoked salmon pate, cheese and ham pastries, tuna salad, devilled eggs and wraps. So lots of carbohydrates and deliciousness. We had leftovers for dinner on Saturday night and I fasted on Sunday, with a tuna salad for dinner, which was 417 calories. I woke up yesterday to find that I'd lost more weight! I have now lost 14 kilos, or 30 pounds! Very happy with myself. I'm also pleased to notice that my belt is about half an inch away from tightening another notch. I actually managed it this morning but found that it was too uncomfortable when sitting down! So maybe tomorrow. My arms have gone down another inch each (although they still jiggle - a lot) and I've lost another inch from each thigh and one from my hips.
I felt a bit guilty yesterday - I was on a feast day and couldn't resist some more of the leftovers from the picnic. I finished off the pate, with a big hunk of bread, and had half a cheese and ham pastry. And this was after dinner - when I wasn't even hungry! As a result, my day came to about 2200 calories which I wasn't too happy about.
So severe fasting today. One coffee for breakfast, and only water for the rest of the day. I'm going to have a protein-filled salad for dinner which should come to 430 calories or so.
Going back to France in a week for the burial of my grandad's ashes. Whilst we're there, we'll be going to see some cousins who have a pool. With the weather being as amazing as it is, it would be silly to pass up the chance for a swim. Even if those cousins are all tanned and skinny. I'm just going to have to be brave.
My dad's coming over for dinner on Friday, (I'm trying to feed him a bit while my mum's away) which is a feast day, luckily. However, we have plans to go out with friends on Saturday night. So Saturday might have to be a cheat day. Although I don't want this becoming a habit. I might fast on Friday until dinnertime, in an effort to limit my calories a bit. And then fast on Saturday, again till dinnertime when I'll have to eat for soakage. The annoying thing is that I don't really like drinking. But I know if I sip on a juice while everyone else is drinking, I'll get bored. And I do want to go out to see them. Hmm...
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
Success
It worked! I lost another kilo yesterday morning and it's still gone today. So that seems to be proof that the odd cheat day works.
Such a relief to see some movement on the scales and also might relax me a bit about feast days.
Yesterday was a feast day. I had a bowl of melon for breakfast - 300g was 106 calories.
For lunch I had a toastie - ham, cheese, bit of mayonnaise and mustard, and tomatoes. With a dessert of mandarin pieces and a quarter of a banana that all came to 340 calories.
In the afternoon, John bought a roast chicken as part of his "bulk up" regime and I picked at that a bit. I counted 100g worth which is 190 calories.
For dinner I had made a Bolognese sauce - I had it with wholegrain noodles instead of pasta but I allowed myself 50g of grated cheese. It came to 650 calories.
With milk for coffee added in, the whole day was 1481 calories. Pretty reasonable. We had planned to go to the cinema and I was looking forward to having some popcorn but in the end we couldn't be bothered. So we're going on Friday night instead. Which luckily, happens to be another feast day so I'll definitely have some then!
Fast today - it's half three and I'm getting hungry. I've had two cups of coffee which is 80 calories of milk. Bit of a waste really - I was allowing myself one cup a day but it smelled so good... Making a proper roast chicken dinner tonight - I'll have some of the meat and the vegetables but no roast potatoes. I'll save that for tomorrow.
I must say, we're saving a fortune on our weekly shopping. I did a shop this morning and it was the first time in a month! I was away for a week in between but still.
I also have noticed that for the first time in my life, I'm being tempted by fruit. I normally avoid fruit - love vegetables but fruit bores me. However, today in the supermarket, I bought strawberries, a melon and apricots and I'm looking forward to them. I've read blogs where people on ADF find that they appreciate the taste of fruit and enjoy them more than before and I always scoffed at them a bit, thinking, "that'll never happen to me". But it kind of is. I think I'm enjoying having a bit of sweetness whilst knowing that it's actually good for me, and not a waste of calories. Having said that, I did buy some 70% dark chocolate today. Going to have one piece on my feast days with a cup of coffee after dinner. Mmmm.....
Looking at the "My FitnessPal" app - my nutrient intake is slowly getting better. My vitamin C intake is high, and my vitamin A and calcium intake is getting better. My iron is consistently low though, I really need to work on that. I was full of confidence last night eating my minced beef Bolognese, thinking, "At last, I'll be stuffed with iron" but no... it's not that high at all. Only 8%.
I may have to start taking supplements. Not ideal but I'm not going to eat red meat or shellfish every day and I am eating a good variety of vegetables already.
Sigh.
Such a relief to see some movement on the scales and also might relax me a bit about feast days.
Yesterday was a feast day. I had a bowl of melon for breakfast - 300g was 106 calories.
For lunch I had a toastie - ham, cheese, bit of mayonnaise and mustard, and tomatoes. With a dessert of mandarin pieces and a quarter of a banana that all came to 340 calories.
In the afternoon, John bought a roast chicken as part of his "bulk up" regime and I picked at that a bit. I counted 100g worth which is 190 calories.
For dinner I had made a Bolognese sauce - I had it with wholegrain noodles instead of pasta but I allowed myself 50g of grated cheese. It came to 650 calories.
With milk for coffee added in, the whole day was 1481 calories. Pretty reasonable. We had planned to go to the cinema and I was looking forward to having some popcorn but in the end we couldn't be bothered. So we're going on Friday night instead. Which luckily, happens to be another feast day so I'll definitely have some then!
Fast today - it's half three and I'm getting hungry. I've had two cups of coffee which is 80 calories of milk. Bit of a waste really - I was allowing myself one cup a day but it smelled so good... Making a proper roast chicken dinner tonight - I'll have some of the meat and the vegetables but no roast potatoes. I'll save that for tomorrow.
I must say, we're saving a fortune on our weekly shopping. I did a shop this morning and it was the first time in a month! I was away for a week in between but still.
I also have noticed that for the first time in my life, I'm being tempted by fruit. I normally avoid fruit - love vegetables but fruit bores me. However, today in the supermarket, I bought strawberries, a melon and apricots and I'm looking forward to them. I've read blogs where people on ADF find that they appreciate the taste of fruit and enjoy them more than before and I always scoffed at them a bit, thinking, "that'll never happen to me". But it kind of is. I think I'm enjoying having a bit of sweetness whilst knowing that it's actually good for me, and not a waste of calories. Having said that, I did buy some 70% dark chocolate today. Going to have one piece on my feast days with a cup of coffee after dinner. Mmmm.....
Looking at the "My FitnessPal" app - my nutrient intake is slowly getting better. My vitamin C intake is high, and my vitamin A and calcium intake is getting better. My iron is consistently low though, I really need to work on that. I was full of confidence last night eating my minced beef Bolognese, thinking, "At last, I'll be stuffed with iron" but no... it's not that high at all. Only 8%.
I may have to start taking supplements. Not ideal but I'm not going to eat red meat or shellfish every day and I am eating a good variety of vegetables already.
Sigh.
Sunday, 30 June 2013
Self-Experimentation
Yesterday was supposed to be a fast day. However, since John was going to be working last night too, my dad invited me over for dinner. As a result, I decided to have another feast day. I was hoping really that if I ate freely, and didn't restrict at all, my next fast day might have bigger weight consequences.
So, for breakfast, I had a bowl of soup, and as a big treat, I had a small white roll with some butter and honey. 361 calories.
For lunch I had... wait for it... some more soup, with wensydale and cranberry cheese and multigrain crackers. That's the last of that cheese though so I'll have to come up with a new snack! That came to 229 calories.
For dinner, my dad had bought crisps as nibbles. The pack was 150g so I assumed that I had half that - which came to 379 calories. Crazy! For dinner we had two small chicken and mushroom pies each, 840 calories (I was on a roll) and for dessert we had strawberries. He had his with cream but I had mine with milk and no sugar. The strawberries were 81 calories and the milk was about 300. So that meal came to 1600 calories, and 2190 for the day in total. Which, considering I didn't restrict myself wasn't too bad really, but to be honest, if I didn't have dieting in the back of my mind, lunch would probably have been a toastie which would have driven things way up!
I didn't weigh myself this morning and I fasted all day. Apart from milk in coffee (123 calories) I just had a small dinner there of a tin of tuna, two tomatoes, some lettuce and some light mayonnaise. 336 calories and 456 for the day in total.
That's it now for today so tomorrow morning will be the test. It'll be interesting to see if the odd cheat day like that will kick my body into losing weight again. It had better.
Surely restricting calories should be enough. I mean, even if it's slow, I can't survive on 2100 calories every two days and not lose weight... Surely!!!
Fingers crossed for the morning anyway...!
So, for breakfast, I had a bowl of soup, and as a big treat, I had a small white roll with some butter and honey. 361 calories.
For lunch I had... wait for it... some more soup, with wensydale and cranberry cheese and multigrain crackers. That's the last of that cheese though so I'll have to come up with a new snack! That came to 229 calories.
For dinner, my dad had bought crisps as nibbles. The pack was 150g so I assumed that I had half that - which came to 379 calories. Crazy! For dinner we had two small chicken and mushroom pies each, 840 calories (I was on a roll) and for dessert we had strawberries. He had his with cream but I had mine with milk and no sugar. The strawberries were 81 calories and the milk was about 300. So that meal came to 1600 calories, and 2190 for the day in total. Which, considering I didn't restrict myself wasn't too bad really, but to be honest, if I didn't have dieting in the back of my mind, lunch would probably have been a toastie which would have driven things way up!
I didn't weigh myself this morning and I fasted all day. Apart from milk in coffee (123 calories) I just had a small dinner there of a tin of tuna, two tomatoes, some lettuce and some light mayonnaise. 336 calories and 456 for the day in total.
That's it now for today so tomorrow morning will be the test. It'll be interesting to see if the odd cheat day like that will kick my body into losing weight again. It had better.
Surely restricting calories should be enough. I mean, even if it's slow, I can't survive on 2100 calories every two days and not lose weight... Surely!!!
Fingers crossed for the morning anyway...!
Friday, 28 June 2013
AAAARRRGGHHH!!
I've been struggling a bit the last few days. I've stuck to the diet but it hasn't been as enjoyable as in previous weeks. I think it stems mainly from my weight barely moving.
I was reading up on weight plateaus online - seems that being consistently under your calorie count can cause it. So I was wondering if I'm eating enough on feast days. But I do get to about 1600 or 1700 calories most feast days. So my body's hardly in starvation mode. Maybe I just need more patience. I mean, I've lost 11 kilos in a month. That's 24 pounds. Obviously, that's really good. It's just that it all flew off at the beginning and it has slowed down a lot in the last two weeks.
So yesterday, for my fast day, I made mushroom soup and had that with my favourite snack of the moment - wenslydale and cranberry cheese with multigrain crackers. That came to 310 calories. We had dinner early as John was on the night shift, so by about ten o'clock I was hungry again. I was going to have more crackers but I held off. I had a two spoonfuls of soup and a big glass of water. It did help.
I was working in the bookshop today. I had a few messages to do so I left home early and ended up with half an hour to spare. Since I'd had no breakfast, I was starving, so went into a restaurant and got breakfast. I'll admit my eye paused on the Irish Breakfast but my extreme lack of funding stepped in there. I did consider a scone but whilst I knew I could have it, I really felt that I should eat something nutritious. So I had a fruit salad served with natural yoghurt, and a coffee. It was really nice and about 149 calories. Whilst the Irish Breakfast, or the scone might have been even nicer, I still would have felt a bit guilty, feast day or not, and I really do need to get more vitamins. My diet is still very high in carbohydrates which don't supply much else.
Lunch was limited, as I was in the shop and a kettle is all we have access to. So I had a powdered mushroom soup and a multigrain demi baguette. 198 calories and lacking in any goodness whatsoever!
For dinner, I made a pork and apple stuffing roast, with carrots, baby potatoes and mushrooms. That came to about 964 calories and I left quite a bit on my plate - which is pretty much unheard of for me. So the day came to 1311 calories in all. I should probably eat something else. I read a blog (can't remember where) about a girl who at 1200 calories reached a weight plateau. She upped her calories to 1700 and started losing again. So, in light of that, I'm going to have a late night snack. I am hungry - it's eleven o'clock and we ate at half five again as John had to go to work. But now I'm tormented by the idea of eating late at night. Arghhh....
As well as following ADF, I'm also trying to break a lifetime of bad habits - snacking in between meals, and late at night, especially when I'm on my own.
What do I do???
I was reading up on weight plateaus online - seems that being consistently under your calorie count can cause it. So I was wondering if I'm eating enough on feast days. But I do get to about 1600 or 1700 calories most feast days. So my body's hardly in starvation mode. Maybe I just need more patience. I mean, I've lost 11 kilos in a month. That's 24 pounds. Obviously, that's really good. It's just that it all flew off at the beginning and it has slowed down a lot in the last two weeks.
So yesterday, for my fast day, I made mushroom soup and had that with my favourite snack of the moment - wenslydale and cranberry cheese with multigrain crackers. That came to 310 calories. We had dinner early as John was on the night shift, so by about ten o'clock I was hungry again. I was going to have more crackers but I held off. I had a two spoonfuls of soup and a big glass of water. It did help.
I was working in the bookshop today. I had a few messages to do so I left home early and ended up with half an hour to spare. Since I'd had no breakfast, I was starving, so went into a restaurant and got breakfast. I'll admit my eye paused on the Irish Breakfast but my extreme lack of funding stepped in there. I did consider a scone but whilst I knew I could have it, I really felt that I should eat something nutritious. So I had a fruit salad served with natural yoghurt, and a coffee. It was really nice and about 149 calories. Whilst the Irish Breakfast, or the scone might have been even nicer, I still would have felt a bit guilty, feast day or not, and I really do need to get more vitamins. My diet is still very high in carbohydrates which don't supply much else.
Lunch was limited, as I was in the shop and a kettle is all we have access to. So I had a powdered mushroom soup and a multigrain demi baguette. 198 calories and lacking in any goodness whatsoever!
For dinner, I made a pork and apple stuffing roast, with carrots, baby potatoes and mushrooms. That came to about 964 calories and I left quite a bit on my plate - which is pretty much unheard of for me. So the day came to 1311 calories in all. I should probably eat something else. I read a blog (can't remember where) about a girl who at 1200 calories reached a weight plateau. She upped her calories to 1700 and started losing again. So, in light of that, I'm going to have a late night snack. I am hungry - it's eleven o'clock and we ate at half five again as John had to go to work. But now I'm tormented by the idea of eating late at night. Arghhh....
As well as following ADF, I'm also trying to break a lifetime of bad habits - snacking in between meals, and late at night, especially when I'm on my own.
What do I do???
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