Come diet with me

[Glenshee]

This thread is for everyone who wants to stick to their diet, and would like to benefit from public support in doing so.

Rules for participants:

1. Define your own limits - post them here or keep to yourself, but be clear and specific about which foods are allowed and which ones are not;

2. Keep your diary - post here on a daily basis what you've eaten, and how this deviates - if it does - from your goals;

3. Be honest;

4. 1 month commitment required - which means that even if you have a diet slip, you are still expected to keep posting your daily reports (and hopefully get back on track in the meantime) until at least 1 February;

Feel free to talk about anything health and diet related - especially the difficulty you're facing when trying to change your eating habits - but please be supportive and sensitive to other people's decisions/choices. Negative or judgemental posts about somebody else's ability to keep to their promises strictly not allowed.

Remember - this thread is more about making it happen than talking about it.

Believe in yourself! You're doing this to become a better YOU.

I'd like to join in too please... Will start officially on second of jan but will be trying no to do too much damage between now and then.

I'm 5'9 and I think I weigh about 12.5st, will check tomorrow morning. Goal weight is 10.5st by end of may and ideally just under 10 by next Christmas (10 is the real target but 9st 13 psychologically works better for me) I have a 7month old and was 11st 8 when I fell pregnant so planning on a massive effort in jan to get as close to that as possible by a big black tie do I have at the beginning of feb.

The plan is to stick to 1200cals a day with unlimited veg(except potatoes). I will limit White carbs as much as possible. I will drink 1.5l of water each day.

I've ordered the 30day shred DVD today and will start that as soon as it arrives. Does anyone know if it needs any additional 'kit'?

Looking forward to it!

Thanks Glenshee.

I dont know how to make specific goals really.

Although I need to cut out cake (can I start of Jan 5th when the kids go back to school) (have some cupcakes in the oven at the moment )

I think I need to have a proper lunch each day too (often have a piece of toast), and a smaller evening meal - we often eat at 8-9pm when DH is home and kids are in bed.

EustaciaVye - no one else can set your goals, - they have to be yours and the ones you believe in!

I think that for most people the key is to eat as little 'empty' calories and as little processed foods as possible. Bread/toasts, sugar, chocolate, processed stuff fills you up but gives you little opportunity to benefit from nutrient-rich foods. Fresh and raw foods are a bit hard to enjoy after a piece of toast with jam aren't they?

You could try having cakes/bakery on Saturdays only - you will then have something to look forward to during the week - but then gradually you should become used to having not as much anyway, even on those Saturdays when 'you're allowed'.

The other option is to only eat sweet things that you baked yourself - this way you will avoid all the unnecessary sugar and additives that comes with purchased stuff, and you will be less likely to indulge impulsively (not to mention that your baking enthusiasm probably has limits!).

What do you think?

Today's report:

Breakfast: puffed rice, raisins, hemp protein powder
Snack: raw carrots
Lunch: raw veg salad, chicken, potato wedges
Tea: buckwheat with mushrooms and cooked carrots and onions
Dessert: 2 baked apples with cinnamon

Water: 5 glasses
5 cups of green tea with lemon throughout the day (too many perhaps, they just sneaked in ;) )

NCIS - what do you normally eat on night shifts?

MamaGeekChic - you're ambitious!

I do remember my own shock after the birth of my first child, and impatience in wanting to get back to pre-pregnancy sizes. It takes time, sure, but then again it took 9 months to get 'round' so why should it take any less to get back in shape again?..

Good luck and thanks for joining! :)

openyerlugholes - please keep posting :)

Hello, hello I'm here! Have been quiet as not starting until Monday. Need to get rid of all the booze and junk food before then...

I'd love to join if you'll have me! I've been trying to keep a food diary recently as I'm constantly suffering from stomach cramps/frequent bathroom visits after meals, and am beginning to wonder if I've got an intolerance to something.

I had my gallbladder removed a few years ago and lost a lot of weight on a no-fat diet, but found myself eating a LOT of sugar instead. I need to knock this on the head really, as most of the time I don't even enjoy eating sweet stuff, it's more like scratching an itch IYKWIM?

I'm currently 5'6" and a size 14-16, would like to lose my barrel tummy and gain some muscle tone/eat more healthily.

I will:

• Stop drinking Diet Coke
• Try eliminating wheat/yeast/dairy to see if my stomach probs improve
• Drink lots more water
• Do the Shred again. I did it in the Spring when I lost 2 stone after the birth of DS2, and found it to be really effective at toning and increasing muscle/strength. MamaGeekChic You will need a pair of 1kg weights, but they are super cheap in Argos etc. :)

I may not be albe to check nito this thread every day but I'll do my best!

EquestrianStatue - welcome - please keep reporting as often as you can.

Did you check whether you might have histamine intolerance? forum.allergyuk.org/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=275 This is what I've got and am battling against. Yeast, cheese, yoghurt have extremely high amounts of histamine in them... Additives/preservatives/colours also not good.

forum.allergyuk.org/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=275

That's very interesting, thanks for the link! It seems hard to know where to start as things that seem OK one day are possible culprits the next.

Hello! I'm starting on 2nd of January.

No alcohol for all of January
No cake/ chocolate
More water
Porridge for breakfast not several rounds of toast with jam and peanut butter

That's exactly how it is. It feels like allergy but it isn't really, because you only react to histamine above certain threshold. This threshold itself varies - for example hormonal changes, stress or other illness etc may reduce your ability to cope, which is why a piece of cake and a coffee may be fine on one day (when you're feeling particularly healthy), but not the other day when you're worn out or been eating offending foods for extended periods. It is also accumulative - I feel that symptoms only start to fade after 3-4 days, so you may feel bad because you've eaten something wrong a couple of days ago - which further complicates tracking down the offending food.

Welcome TheChristmasCountessOlenska - thanks for joining :)

just spent 20minutes trying to remember where to find you all again.ok.hope you all doing ok.my goals are:
drink more water
eat more fruit and veg
stop using large sandwiches as a substitute for proper tea
stop eating my body weight in sweets/cake/general junk
try and fit in a couple of sessions a week on the wii fit

eat breakfast,not belguim buns/sweets at 11am

i didnt manage to eat but did have 1/2pint skim milk by 9am
snack-banana
lunch-sandwich,baby plum tomatoes and handful grapes
snack-natural yogurt and sunseeds
tea-braised beef and mushrooms,carrots and jacket potato

am currently fighting the urge to hoover upthe kids syrup sponge and custardbut the selection packs ar escreaming my name....this week is going to be the toughest i know when ive managed to break the habit i be fine.meanwhile HELP!!!!!!!

Thanks for reporting liveinazoo!

I also have a bad habit of finishing kids' desserts :( - as does my dad who raised me and my brothers... I guess you just need to filter out somebody else's stuff entirely from your mindset - not yours, not yours, not yours... You didn't choose to open them, so now they're opened why should you eat them?.. Bin or put away straight after the meal

And yes I guess the thread isn't in the most obvious place, I now noticed similar threads in 'Big/slim/whatever weight loss club' but the thing is my own diet isn't about losing weight, and so it didn't cross my mind to check there...

weight loss isnt my main aim either!

Hello there :) I'd like to lose half a stone or so, to get back to pre-Christmas fighting form! Mostly crept on through not being as active, and muesli and mince pies every day since Dec 1 . Sugar is my downfall!

My aims:
Porridge or Shredded Wheat for breakfast
Low fat sandwich and soup for lunch
'Normal' dinner but not going crazy on portions
Lots of fruit and veg for snacking
Fruit tea and water for drinking
One glass of wine max in the evening
and no chocolate before bedtime!

any tips keep me off the chocolate glenshee

Today's report:

Breakfast: puffed rice with raisins, and hemp protein powder

Lunch: buckwheat with mushrooms and carrots, raw veg salad (cucumbers, celery, lettuce), raw carrots with humus

Snack: half a packet of sweetened dried cranberries (lots of sugar - oi!)

Tea: fried potatoes, mushrooms, aubergines, piece of bread, homemade pastry with veg (too much bread for tea - oi!)

Dessert: 2 baked apples

Throughout the day:
3 glasses of orange juice
4 glasses of water
5 cups of green tea

Not eating after 9pm (very tempted but thanks, no thanks).

liveinazoo - I was initially having a 'lazy saturday' as I already mentioned in this thread - so when I was coming off tea and chocolate I was trying to only have tea and chocolate on Saturdays but not throughout the week. Then after several weeks I started to forget (in the most literal sense) that I want them on Saturdays, because eventually your body gets used to the new diet...

You can also try substituting with Nakd bars www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/store/nakd-nudie-bars/default.aspx (they're expensive but not as expensive as your health IYKWIM). Cocoa bars are made from raw cocoa and cashews so loads healthier than regular/average chocolate, and rather similar in taste.

...similar to a taste of a chocolate bar, I mean.

MegBusset - great stuff, welcome! I crave sugar too, but it's definitely possible to be happy without it :)

I like your goals.

Do you like tea or coffee? - i.e. will it be an effort to avoid those? (One of my biggest struggles, so I'm looking for a supportive shoulder :) )