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.

Just weighed myself. I am 71.0 kg

I'd like to get to 66kg as part one of my plan. By March. Is that achievable?

Still have guests so healthy eating difficult however yesterday I had:
Breakfast - 2 slices fruit loaf
Snack - 1 jaffa cake (how restrained)
Lunch - didnt have time
Dinner - sweet & sour chicken with rice

Lots of tea to drink and a lager with evening meal.

Not ideal I know but will be much easier when kids back at school.

Eustacia that looks like a plan to me!

I need help waaaah!

My plan was to go back to low carbing. I know it works for me and I feel confident in the science behind it.

But I just can't seem to get my head round it for some reason and am cramming all sorts of sweet stuff in my cakehole even though I don't have a sweet tooth!

What do you suggest I do? Had quite a lot of success counting cals before and I like counting and keeping tallys etc - makes me feel in control. Do you think I should count cals, at least for a little while? Or battle on with low carb?

Hi everyone, can I join?

I'm 5'7" and weigh 14st. I want to lose at least 2.5 stone by my birthday at the end of August.

My plan:

Reduce portion size - backed up by dividing food into smaller portions before putting it in the freezer, so that I cannot use the excuse of "it's defrosted now so it has to be cooked"!

Stop finishing the DC's leftovers and learn to accept food waste. (Hard because DS2 is an incredibly fussy eater and on principle I always make him a portion of whatever we are having, but he usually refuses it and I end up eating it.)

No milky drinks or naughty snacks when at work (very fond of steamed milk with a chocolate syrup shot).

When at work, go to salad bar for lunch rather than buy my usual halloumi and houmous roll (sigh).

Eat more fruit.

Substitute Muller corner yogurts with virtually fat free yogurts.

Try to get some exercise - this is the one I need help and ideas for. I work full time and have a very sedentary job, too knackered in the evenings once I've got home, spent some time with the DC and got them into bed, and weekends are usually too busy with household chores and family stuff, so my main issue is how to fit it in.

Openyerlugholes I've never tried low-carb as I LOVE my carbs and would be starving and miserable without them! I have always found low-fat works better for me so worth a try? I don't calorie-count though.

Fluffyanimal welcome :) can you fit exercise in your lunch hour? Or walk/cycle to work?

MegBusset, too far to walk or cycle to work (40 minute drive). I don't take a proper lunch hour because I work a shorter day so as to get home and spend some time with the kids (typically finish around 4.30pm), so my lunch break is as long as it takes to go and buy the food and eat it!

Question: has anyone here used or is considering using Adios tablets?

Thanks meg. Do you just eat healthily and low fat foods? Do you not weigh anything? Do you have any rules? Am a stickler for rules haha!

Have just been to pizza hut with dh oops - business lunch... Am hopeless!

I havent time to weigh stuff or count calories but I am planning to really reduce portion sizes (side plate) rather than dinner plate, and cut out cakes, biscuits. I lost half a stone that way a couple of years ago in about a month.

I am feeling motivated being on here, and feel a bit more focused. Which is good.

I'm vegetarian so most of my meals are pretty healthy and high in veg anyway. The one meal I do measure is breakfast - I make sure I weigh out my 30g portion as I find it really easy to overfill my bowl!

When I tend to put on weight is through snacking (like over Christmas) - all it takes is a hot chocolate and a couple of biscuits every day, and a few squares of chocolate before bed, and it soon starts creeping up. So my rules are basically to have a small portion at breakfast, no snacks or sugary drinks, and try to get some exercise every day (school run usually covers this!).

Thanks both. Right think I will give it a whirl - low fat, healthy food. No weighing but small portions on everything except veg which I will bulk up on.

Will do a big shop tonight.

You're right, I haven't had much raw veg... Partly because my fruit & veg box wasn't delivered this week so stocks are a bit low and partly because I don't really enjoy it and I'm not keen on making this any harder than it has to be. However, I do feel a bit sluggish so next week I'll make the effort to eat more raw things. I'm not counting the cals in fruit or veg unless preprepared in something eg veg bake but I'm being mindful of not having too much fruit.

Today so far:

Tea and oatcakes- 165cals

Teeny piece of caramel shortcake (someone 'helpfully' left a huge plate of these next to the kettle at work) only about an inch square so guessing at 150cals at least I didn't have 3 like I would've previously

Chicken soup 200cals
roll 200cals
yoghurt 50cals

Later today:
Cajun spiced chicken breast 180cals
150g potato 150cals
steamed veg

Small fruit salad

1095 if I stick to the plan, may add a 100cal cereal bar with tea later on

Hope you are all having a good day!

Hello am reporting early jst to keep on track and in a pre-emptive way to avoid a catastrophe later on.

Day 2 so far
B-- wholemeal bread x2 + left over curry
L-- biryani rice 1/2 cup
Snaks -- mixed raw nuts
Lots and lots of.

I really need help with portion sizes. Any ideas about how to reduce the quantity?? It's my undoing

Waitrose ham hock and egg salad- 282 cals
Handful of cherries 52 cals
3 wholemeal pitta 458cals
Portion of lamb keema 323 cals
5 large mugs of tea/coffee with skimmed milk

Hopefully comes to around 1200 cals
On the whole not a bad day

Day 3

I've now been shopping, so hoping to stick to proper meals rather than eating bits and bobs

B - Special K cereal bar and a glass of banana & strawberry smoothie
L - Ham & tomato wholemeal roll
D - Salmon wrapped in parma ham with herb & spinach lentils and roasted garlic tomatoes

7 glasses of water (so far), 1 coffee and 1 tea

Jeans are already feeling slightly looser . I have been really hungry today though. I think I've been surviving on fat reserves for the first two days

Today was better, not perfect but am learning where my weak points are, so not all bad.

B: Porridge with almonds and raisins
L: tomato and basil soup, with a poached egg on toast and an apple
S: couple of handfuls of tortilla chips
D: So hot my mouth is still burning, sweet potato and black bean chilli.

So, I avoided pre and post lunch blood sugar drops by adding protein, but then screwed up by cooking dinner late and needing something to keep me going.

vanfurgston my only idea for reducing quantity is to increase veg, so at least you're filling up on low cal stuff. For example you had a lot of carbs, need curry with spinach side or biryani with a salad. Still, on paper, doesn't look like you ate that much.

Really want a flapjack or something sweet. Somebody talk me down!

Tillyscoutsmum.

Yours sounds yum!

My jeans are loose but only because I bought a 14 in sale by accident (well size 33, who knows what that means)

The salmon was gorgeous (albeit, by the time I ate it, I could easily have eaten a dead donkey !). Its a Jamie Oliver recipe and is pretty healthy and really tasty. Even DH will eat it (with the addition of a garlic baguette)

Have you got any fruit you can have if you want something sweet ? Cherries are good for me - although predictably one of the "worst" fruits in terms of calories. If I'm really desperate, I sometimes nick one of the dc's lollipops . A mini one has got hardly any calories and it lasts long enough for the craving to pass iyswim ?

Forgot to add, shred DVD arrived today so I did level 1 of that tonight too

Ah, had the JO salmon and have planned to do the lentils later in week.

The lolly idea is genius, sadly flapjack is no more slightly sick emoticon.

Will put lollies on shopping list for next week.

ok can i join too please. i will try be good for rest of week but got girls coming round friday night for a post xmas catch up, so it will be lots of wine.

so i will start monday.

need to reduce portion size..........
exercise more (weather permitting!!!!)
half a bottle of wine max, a week.....
no more biscuits......

evening all.im afraid today has not been a good one on the healthy eating front for me
breakfast;nothing
snak;3 fig rolls
lunch;2 slices toast and bag crisps
snak;banana
dinner;grilled burger,pasta,carrots
made mistake following this with a weightwatchers mousse i had kicking around....sooo sweet.q sugar rush and frenzy eating junk(biscuits,kids cake,kids chocolate)
avoid weightwatchers sweet things at all cost...it will be your undoing on the sugary front!!!!!!!!!
havent drunk much water either.ive realised dont like having breakfast in the hurly burly school days.i will try again tomorrow after theyve gone/
open your lugholescarbs are what give us energy and convert to seratonin(among other things).dont deny yourself 'happy eating'
i will finish writing my lines then watch one born every minute as solace and start again tomorrow

Yes I find if I have one sugary thing, even something relatively healthy like yoghurt, I instantly crave more sugar and hit the chocolates. Fruit seems to be fine though.

Today:
Breakfast: porridge
Lunch: cheese and salad on granary s/wich
Dinner: cheesy vegetable bake with baguette
Snacks: satsuma, smoothie

Bit heavy on the cheese and bread!

To reduce portion sizes either use a side plate for your main meal, or use a plate with a big border and make sure your food is within the base circle of the plate. No second helpings.

I have completely failed tonight with dinner so will start again in earnest tomorrow...

liveinazoo - is it possible to clear up kids sweets entirely? I do this every now and again if I feel too tempted. At the very least clear all the junk not worth having in the first place! You can always buy more when you need to - and kids will like the newly bought stuff even more that's for sure.

My method of dealing with too many kids-collected sweeties is taking all of it to work where it magically disappears in the kitchen. Took a 500g box of chocolate toffees today to work and they're all gone. (It's a present and I think they're too bad for the teeth so kids were allowed one toffee each, but no more).

Today:
Breakfast: Kelloggs Optivita cereal with skimmed milk and a teaspoon of sugar.
Lunch: Roast chicken, stuffing and tomato roll with low-fat mayo, satsuma.
Dinner: Small portion of pasta with a tiny bit of chicken, bacon, courgettes, mushrooms and a cream sauce (leftover portion so hardly any meat left in it). Small portion of leftover Christmas pud and cream.
That's the last of the Christmas leftovers eaten up now. i don't normally buy cream so that won't happen again.
Snacks: 2 x Cadbury's chocolate eclair sweets from the DC's xmas tin of Heroes.

Today's report:

B - puffed rice, hemp protein powder, raisins
Snack - raw carrots
L - jacket potato with cottage cheese, quinoa salad
Snack - apple
T - aubergines and cabbage casserole, two small tesco's rolls, plus another third of this roll with a piece of ham (DD's leftover from her packed lunch), one piece of sweet bread loaf.

4 cups of green tea
5 glasses of water

Vitamin C and Magnesium tablets.

No coffee! Very proud of myself, although it's mostly because I ran out Now I bought more coffee (for my MIL), so it will be in the house but as I have now managed one day without, I believe I can resist it tomorrow!

Overall - good on the coffee front, and still bad with bread :(

Will try better tomorrow....