A small corner for changing my life

[Honey2006]

I don't think I've ever started a thread here, but I wanted a small safe corner to post about my weight loss journey. I find it incredibly therapeutic to post online and track my progress, but the site I used to use (43 things) has long since gone.

I weight 268 lbs today, or 19st2. Five years ago, I lost 150lbs + to go from 350lbs down to 192lbs. I held on to that weight loss for a year or so, but met the love of my life and the weight started to come back.

I've managed to hold on to 82 lbs, but it's creeping back on faster, and so after dabbling with 5:2 and Paul McKenna to zero real effect, I am going back to the programme that helped me to lose the weight, namely Slimming World. I am doing it online (that helped last time) and I'm going to use this small corner to write what I'm doing and how I'm doing. Hopefully that will work for me :)

Next Saturday is going to be the first weigh-in, so fingers crossed that I see a 2-4 lbs loss. I think I should be able to do that without too much problem, but we'll see.

Eeeeek!

[puppydogmummy]

Good luck and keep us posted!

[FlopIsMyParentingGuru]

Good luck. And remember that you're in it for the long game not the next week's loss.
I re-registered just over a year ago and am nearly five stone lighter. I've got a little more to lose and it's really slowed down this year but is generally on the down still.
It can be done. Celebrate (in a non food way) that you've made a positive step. My last treat was a swim by myself in an open air pool on Tuesday night!

[Diamondangel8]

Good luck and let us know how you get on. Remember to eat lots of speed food and drink loads of water. x

[Honey2006]

Hi guys, thank you for the support!!! Well, day one in earnest and I am feeling pretty good. We did a major shop today and I have planned the week's food / meals, so that feels organised. Today I've had:

• toast (not great but all I had in)
  
• pear and apple as snacks
  
• ravioli for lunch
  
• diced carrots for snacks
  
• skinny cappuccino at station with Mum
  

Dinner is going to be sausage and butterbean bake which should come in at about 4 syns, and I'm going to have salad with that and maybe some mixed veg too.

I'd forgotten how much I like the simplicity of Slimming World compared with say 5:2 etc. It works psychologically for me, reducing my sugar dependency, reducing my cravings, never feeling hungry and feeling good about myself. Back to basics we go, because this always feels very doable long-term.

[FlopIsMyParentingGuru]

I found that it can take a week or so to get into your stride and get things in stock to replace foods you used to have but won't anymore. So remember to have grace with yourself about that.

[Honey2006]

Day 2 and all going swimmingly well so far - I love the fact that this way of eating seems to calm down my cravings completely.

Breakfast: magic porridge
Pret skinny latte
Snacks: apple and a pear
Lunch: left overs sausage and butterbean bake and a salad (no dressing)
Dinner: SW mushroom and bacon tagliatelli with a salad
All let down by a hot chocolate bought for me on the way home, but still - day has been good.

Biggest achievement - there were cakes and cookies and chocolate everywhere at work when I went in, and I resisted them all day, woo hoo!!!!!!!

My skin is looking nice, I'm having an ACV shot every morning (ACV with hot water, meh), and I'm doing dry body brushing which is making my skin glow nicely. And as my partner remarked last night, my bottom is very soft haha.

Feeling good, feeling positive. I am doing this for me and I want it so badly - I want to get back to where I was. Yay :)

[Honey2006]

Working from home today and feeling good!! I've got to avoid the challenges of nibbling through the day when I get bored/want a break. The thing I really like about SW is that I can plan to have snacks easily, and that it's not about the hunger.

I am finding it astonishingly easy on day 3, I think it's the fact that I'm not having sugar but the food cravings have gone right down to zero. I'm starting to feel good and more than that, I'm starting to feel optimistic. SW might not be the best diet in the world, but it's the one that I can do long-term for years - why on earth did I ever move away from that?

The plan for today:
B: magic porridge
L: omelette and salad
D: SW paella
Snacks: fruit

So far so good, will check in later on. In terms of other stuff, must make an effort to shape my eyebrows and exfoliate my face.

[KP86]

You're doing great so far :)

I've been doing SW for four weeks so far and have lost about a stone or just over (TBC at group tonight).

I've also found it very easy. The hardest part is using up the fattier cuts of meat (which means syns!) we have in the freezer from LCHF which I was doing for four months - lost about 10kg net (was more but regained when I stopped the diet and went a bit mad on carbs). My initial SW goal is 20kg, which will take me to 78kg, or around 12.5st I think, and I'll reassess if I want to lose more when (not if!) I get there.

I don't tend to use a lot of syns, LC meant no fruit so being able to have as much fruit as I want has been a treat in itself.

I haven't found myself feeling too hungry, either. And if I am, it's easy to grab a piece of fruit or have some ham as a snack.

[Honey2006]

At 3:40, back on time, came the cravings and the urge to dive head first into crisps / chocolate or SOMETHING. It's a weird urge, it's not about hunger I think - that's there, it's more about fancying a little something as a reward, as a diverter. I can at least see it's there and I was ready for it today. I hope!

Never sure whether the trick is to eat or not eat. Today I tried eating - raw carrots and a couple of peanuts. Hmmmmm.

[Honey2006]

Thanks KP86 - sounds like you're doing really well!!!! That's a great loss :)

[Honey2006]

Another day another dollar. Yesterday went well, that's three days where I've stuck to plan, no sneaky bingeing, no booze, lots of fruit and veg. I'm feeling pretty good, just hoping that I see a loss on Saturday!

Today is going to be all about getting myself happy and sorted for next week when I'm off. The plan today is:
B: magic porridge and raspberries
L: bacon/mushroom pasta and salad (leftovers)
D: gnocchi and beef and salad
SNACKS: fruit and a skinny latte

So fingers crossed for today, woo hoo :)

[KP86]

Your meal plan looks yummy.

I weighed in last night, another 1.5kg (3.5lb) off, so I'm thrilled.

I've had a peach and two plums for first breakfast, and might have some scrambled eggs soon. Definitely coffee!

Lunch today is lasagne, it's not exactly SW-friendly, as DH added most of a bag of cheese on top (grrrr, I told him to only use a little but I was out) and that works out to about 12-15 syns for a large serve.

I've got sport tonight which is why I'll have my main meal at lunch time and then I might have a ham and salad sandwich or bowl of fruit for dinner when I get home if I feel like it.

Snacks: fruit, Muller Light, ham and cucumber and carrot sticks with quark to dip

[abigwideworld]

Your meal plans sound so yummy!

I'm having lasagna later on in the week. It's a tricky one to get right on SW but so yummy.

[Honey2006]

Hey KP86 that's an awesome loss, huge well done!!! How much is that in total?

Abigwideworld: I love lasagne, is it a vegetarian one or a meat one?

Doing well but having a bit of a slump and realised that yet again it's the 4 o'clock dip. My energy levels are low, and my optimism has dimmed a bit. So I'm going to have a coffee and power through till home time, and then it's a really nice dinner (hopefully!).

It's hard not to want instant results, as I said, I went from 350lbs to 190lbs between August 2010 and May 2013. I am so gutted to have let five stones creep back on, but glad that I held it off for that long and didn't regain the lot.

What are my main reasons for weight loss?

• clothes: this is shameful, but I absolutely love clothes and shopping (charity shopping!) for different ideas/colours/styles. That was awesome
  
• health: my right leg is so sore and I know that losing weight will make a significant difference
  
• feeling free: I loved feeling so free and healthy; nothing HURT the way it does when you're fat. Right now, my foot aches, my bra chafes a bit, my thighs are rubbing. A lot of that goes when Iose weight
  
• feeling strong: walking anywhere
  
• confident: people aren't looking at me because of my weight, here's a nasty truth, the world DOES treat you a whole let better when you're thinner. It's wrong, but I don't want to be a pioneer for fact acceptance
  

Anyway, therapeutic to write all that here in my small private corner :)

[KP86]

Total loss is 17kg (about 38lb) since Feb. 15lb-odd since starting SW a month ago. I'm sooooo close to being under 200lb, maybe 2 or 3 over?

You've done amazingly well over time, and good on you for putting a stop to your current slide and getting back on the wagon, so to speak.

Maybe organise yourself some SW-friendly snacks, especially now that you are recognising that afternoon slump. Aim for something around 2/2:30 to see you through the afternoon.

[Honey2006]

That's a great loss, well done KP86!!

Well, it's Friday and I've done four days of SW and am ready for day 5. Official weigh-in is tomorrow but I'm hoping for a good loss to get me going. I'm feeling good about myself, I feel just a little bit less bloated, my clothes feel a tad looser, I just feel better for DOING something I guess.

Today's plan:

B: magic porridge + raspberries
L: leftovers (gnocchi/beef) + salad
D: frozen ready meal

Snacks: apples
Drinks: 2 x glasses of wine

I know it's not great, but am meeting a friend after work and getting the train home, so I have a frozen ready meal in the freezer which is something I guess.

Then it's the weekend, and a whole week off. I'd love to see a loss tomorrow, a good one, say about 3-4 lbs. Next week is difficult because I'm going away for three days for my step daughter's wedding. Great for the day, difficult for the days around it of going out for meals etc. I am going to stick to SW though and hang in there!!

[abigwideworld]

Honey sounds like a lovely week :) I always find SW relatively easy to follow when eating out, as you can always go for meat/baked potato/veg, or a salad with dressing on the side. I'm sure you'll have a lovely time!

[KP86]

Just spent 20 minutes going through my (admittedly quite limited) wardrobe and trying on stuff that I've been waiting to shrink back into. Most fits, and some are even too big :)

Some jeans which I couldn't wear at the beginning of the year are now at least a size too big (which is a shame as they are from Australia and I really liked the cut) and my only long formal own is also too big now. Lucky we don't have any fancy events coming up soon, haha!

I have a large pile of too-big clothes next to my drawers which I'll donate to a charity in a few months. I never want to have to wear them again, but unfortunately last time I did something like this (and it was a KS bed covered in clothes) I did regain the weight and had to re-shop. Some items may be able to be adjusted to be smaller, which means I can hang onto my faves.

Shrinking out of clothes is officially awesome.

[abigwideworld]

Congrats KP86! I did a similar thing in December where I threw out all my bigger clothes. But in February I got pregnant and now nothing fits!

[KP86]

We are also hoping for #2 soon, which is one of the other reasons I'm reluctant to donate.

But in all honesty, I have enough to lose that I could safely continue SW and weigh the same or even less at birth than what I do now. I gained 25kg (4st) in my first pregnancy, a lot of which was swelling and fluid. 15kg gone in the first month but the 10kg which was poor food choices and general sloth-ness hung around.

It's completely unrealistic to not gain, but a girl can dream, right?

[Honey2006]

abigwideworld: you're right, I need to be careful about making good choices and I should be fine!

KP86: awwwwww. good luck with that, sounds like you've got a great plan!

Well, it's lunchtime here and I am STARVING! Big bit of praise to myself - I've managed to not eat any of the cakes and sweets someone brought in to work today, am proud of myself for that. I do feel like my lunch though, so time to go and heat it up and enjoy. Bet people come and chat to me while I'm eating it, gah!

I have to say that I had forgotten how much I like this plan. It's not so much the weight loss (well it is!) but for me personally, psychologically, this WORKS. I stick to it because I like it, I don't feel deprived, it's simple and it can work long-term. I don't think allowing myself sugar treats are the way forward, they seem to kick of cravings like you would not believe.

Am going to be ready for the 3:30 - 4:30 slump today as well!!

Hope you are both having a good day.

[Honey2006]

Woo hoo, 5 lbs down :) I weighed in this morning at 263 lbs / 18st11. That's a good start to this journey, and next week I'm aiming for a 2 lbs loss to take me to my first half stone loss. That was a sweet feeling and made me feel like it was all definitely worth it this week, yay

[KP86]

Well done, that's a fabulous loss.

Makes you feel good, hey :)

[abigwideworld]

That's a fantastic loss, well done :)

[Honey2006]

Thanks guys, that's nice of you! Hope you're having a good weekend :)

I'm feeling good about the loss, I had a few (3) glasses of wine on Friday night and felt dreadful all day yesterday but I tried to make good choices, low fat and healthy. Then I had my free/cheat meal in the evening, which was pizza from Sainsburys - it was delicious!

So today's plan:

B: fruit / 2 x digestives
L: pasta / tomato based sauce + Veg
D: steak + stirfry
SNACKS: fruit