Slimming World to Harcombe?

[FourArms]

I've been doing SW since 29/8. Initially on EE and now mainly on red days.

However although I've lost 1lb short of 2
stone I haven't lost any weight this week and I've stuck to the plan with the exception of maybe not enough syns / HEB.

Have seen the Harcombe diet and this seems to be more like what I'm doing at the moment although I'll have to swap coffee and skimmed milk for herbal tea and stop my 10 a day satsuma habit ;)

Just wondered what people's losses had been in phase 1 switching from SW? My BMI is still in the low 30s so I've got plenty to lose!

Down 1lb :)

So I'm in the 11's :) :) Which was my Valentines Day target.

Hope you all have a good day!

Well done

Thanks, how have your days been?

I was starving today! Had a pkt of pork scratchings & then my lunch at 12 - not normally hungry until lunch at 1.35!

Wonder if it was low fat brekkie? 2 scrambled eggs?

L - pork scratchings & tuna mayo salad
D - 2 sausages, roast veg (toms, cauli, mushrooms and some onion) cooked in olive oil with side salad

Pork burgers for brekkie & lunch again tomorrow!

Fantastic FA you are really inspirational.

Another bad day for me.

B: Porridge & Blueberries
S: Mince & Veg

Lunch - chocolate. Dont ask me why because I have no idea why I am deliberately sabotaging my weight loss, but I am !!

NSHTH :(

Hope you've had a better day. (((Hugs))))

Had a very bad day yesterday too dh was really down about our situation, we had a misunderstanding ... We've made up now, but I turned to baking to distract myself and made lovely gluten free brownies.

Yesterday

B: cottage pie
L: nothing
D: 4 brownies!!!!!

Today

B: bacon and eggs
L: chicken and veg soup, salad
D: chicken and mushrooms in creamy sauce with mashed swede
S: corned beef with cheese

AND I had two teas with milk and half a sugar for comfort in the afternoon and a small Southern Comfort in the evening. Bit of a right off!

Oh dear Kazz perhaps I had better share my hug from FA and turn it into a group hug.

Thank you FA, the hugs are appreciated.

I have had a slightly better day today but still very carby with a lump of chocolate, a nectarine and a party ring at DD's.

Am following Kazz's advice though and trying to limit the damage. Just because I am off course is not a good reason to give up.

Hope we all have a good day tomorrow.

Thanks for the hug NotSure and FourArms

Had a glass of wine with dh at the pub tonight. Also shared the last tiny piece of brownie with him and snacked on a square of 90% choc.

So I've got fed up of cottage pie and still fed up of bacon and egg, now I'm back to not knowing what to have for breakfast! Will have to wrack my brains tomorrow.

Kazza

Think you need to forget yesterday and have a fresh start today. Hope you and DH are both happier now. Interested in your snacks though - is there no way you can drop those by increasing the size of your other meals.

I'm loving my herby pork burgers for breakfast. Worth a try? I had them with spring greens yesterday!

Are you at your DDs a lot NSHTH? Could you keep LC snacks there so you have a go to option if tempted?

I wonder if being really strict for three days would help you both because I honestly have no sugar cravings at all now. I can try to encourage my mum to have another one of my Christmas sweets and not feel at all tempted.

0.4lb on yesterday - unsurprisingly as I was really hungry the day before so had a pkt of pork scratchings as well as my normal lunch and then got a migraine in the evening (which normally requires coke & chocolate) so I had a coffee and a packet of pork scratchings at 8pm too.

Better day yesterday

B - 2 pork burgers & spring greens
L - 2 pork burgers & salad
D - fish (with batter removed), mushy peas, salad and a latte. Fairly high carb, but that sort of meal is allowed on the Harcombe Diet.

Down 1lb today, so yesterday's gain plus a bit more

Overall I'm down 4lb since last Saturday.

Difficult weekend ahead as we'll be out & about lots. Planning to make a batch of my pork burgers this morning and take lots of salad everywhere.

Have a good weekend :)

Well done

Tbh I take all those things for my lunch at work, but because we're so busy and have to eat at our desks I have to eat them in bits and pieces - so I'll have my soup at 12, then it'll be my turn to go out in my lunch break (we have to leave the office and walk round or we don't get a break at all), then when I come back I'll eat my salad, then an hour later my corned beef and cheese rolls! When I'm at home I don't snack - except the odd piece of chocolate.

Not sure "happier" describes how we feel, huge unemployment and financial worries that won't go away until dh finds a job. But we are trying to support each other and at least talking about it - dh has a tendency to put his head in the sand and then I feel resentful at being left alone with the worry.

Sorry, this all has no place here I feel I should leave you all to get on with it, as I'm not very positive, but on the other hand posting my meals here helps show me that I'm not doing too badly most of the time

Anyway, I hope you all have a good weekend

No stay - I know how much how you feel impacts on what you eat. That's why I put weight on last year but can lose it this year.

Talking and sharing worries is good. It's internalising that leads to real problems.

Thanks FourArms

NO Kazz you can't go.

Being totally selfish I need you guys. If I didn't have this thread I would have given up long ago.

We will all have ups and downs, that is life. You can't cherish the ups unless you experience the downs and the secret to surviving the latter is good friends.

I totally understand how debilitating financial & unemployment worries can be, having experienced two periods of unemployment in the last three years. Unfortunately I think this is becoming much more common as the working environment changes and it is another 'societal reality' we are going to have to learn to live with. After the first period (just after I moved North) I was sufficiently spooked that I saved everything possible when I did find work. It has helped enormously this time (my last role finished in November and I am struggling to find the next one).

Just keep battling through and remember 'This too will pass'

I do spend a lot of time with DD FA and usually go forearmed with an alternative Supper (I freeze loads of pots of mince) so that I can eat low carb / gluten free if they are eating things I can't have. Unfortunately the other day I popped in whilst passing and DD hadn't been shopping. The only thing on offer was the chocolate.

I have tried leaving snacks there but they all mysteriously dissapear. I think the best thing I can do is get some little Tupperware pots and fill them with salted almonds and 90%. If I then put them in the car I will have a secret stash to rely on

Notsure, sounds like a good plan to have some nuts in the car for emergencies. Could you pop some small portions of chilli or something in your dd's freezer and defrost when you're there in the microwave if she has one?

Thank you for the kind words. Our employment and financial problems are longstanding, but we are really struggling now, as I am on a low wage and can cover bills but not mortgage. We may have to sell the house, but it needs money spending on it really which we don't have PLUS I work for an estate agent and really don't want colleagues to see the state it's in It needs new carpets (damn cats!) and decorating, but I just can't afford to we're trying to put it off, but I feel it's imminent and feel really anxious about it.

Still haven't started the ADs - I'm not having probs with the minipill, but am concerned about potential side effects plus we are no longer entitled to free prescriptions and I won't be able to afford the cost - I know that sounds crazy I have a follow up appt with the gp next week, I'll have a chat with her then.

I too am really selfish and value this little group, as it helps keep me almost in the straight and narrow - a lot better than I would be without you all.

We have a lovely smelling stew in the slow cooker for tonight and my dh has just fried me bacon and eggs for lunch

Have a good weekend

NSHTH - I have these lovely teeny plastic pots from Morrisons saver range that were 25p each. In my handbag I have them full of pork scratchings, 90% choc & nuts. (Diff pots!!). I also have the £1 ish packs of olives (near jars of olives) in my drawers at work and in the car. Seldom need them, but it's nice to know they're there :)

Kazza - would a prescription prepayment cert help? Although the pill is free isn't it? I'd try them and see if they help, if they do then it might be worth trying to find the money somehow. Are your son and his GF paying housekeeping now they're back home?

Have a good day, I'm off to a theme park... wish me luck!! Just going to make my packed lunch. I expect I will have to consume lots of coffee to avoid hypothermia!

Thanks for the pot tip FA I will be in Morrisons next week so will look them out.

Have fun at the theme park! If you are in the south I hope the weather will be kind to you.

Kazz the way to deal with the financial issues is head on. The anxiety is not good for your soul.

As an EA you must know that the market is good right now. Have you worked out what you would get for yours? Can you afford something smaller? Would you be better off renting?

My DD rents an enormous house in the country, that she could never afford to buy and delights in the luxury of just calling the landlord whenever something goes wrong. She doesn't have to worry about maintenance costs at all.

When you take control and decide on a strategy you will feel much happier. Then make an honest appraisal of your house. What absolutely must be done to sell. Only do something that will at least double the return on what you have to spend. Get DH painting whilst he is waiting for a new job, it will help him feel more in control as well. Paint the rooms cream (not magnolia) with perhaps one or two bedrooms in a soft blue. People love clean lines when viewing. If the painting is too much for DH alone have a painting party. Invite true friends to a 'turn our life around' party. Make up some big Lasagnes & pots of Chilly, turn the music up and hand them a paintbrush when they arrive. 10 people can easily paint the upstairs in an evening, working together !!

Try the cheaper carpet shops for offcuts, again in a cream or beige colour.

I suspect you don't need those AD's at all, but you do need to feel that you are back in control of your future.

NotSure, thank you

Sadly here in the north where we live the housing market isn't improving much and we would get a terrible price for our horse - IF we could sell it. We don't have friends to come and help paint and the chances of me getting dh to paint are pretty slim Renting may be an issue as we have pets and couldn't afford rent on my salary alone so would need a guarantor. We can't buy a smaller property as our credit rating is awful due to previous unemployment causing us to get into debt and default on payments.

Ds is paying some housekeeping money but doesn't have much either.

These are the thoughts constantly going round my head and causing my anxiety. The situation feels hopeless and there is no safety net and my dh seems to have almost given up.

Sorry, I wish I could try and be more positive. At the moment I'm just trying to look after dh and not spend any more money than necessary .

FourArms hope you had a good day at the theme park

I think a prepayment wouldn't be worthwhile as, as you said, the pill is free and I don't have other prescriptions apart from the ADs. I think I'd feel much better if dh could find a job There is too much anxiety, too much to worry about.

In a way selling the house would take away the immediate pressure financially. I'm in a difficult position as I'll be expected to use the company I work for, but I don't want to use them. And if I don't, they will know! I don't want them knowing about my financial situation, how scruffy my house is, they are all very judgemental and settled and mortgage free, having inherited houses.

B: bacon and eggs
D: roast chicken, braised leeks and buttered carrots

I had a piece of brownie (gluten free) when some friends came over this afternoon.

I really feel for you Kazz but just don't know wht else to suggest without being intrusive.

I am such a control freak that I wouldn't be able to cope with the worry and anxiety. I would need to be managing what is happening.

One thing my Dad used to say was that 'no one will be able to say with certainty that you are ..... (in this case struggling financially) unless you open your mouth and confirm it) !!

Couldn't you present it to your compant as an astute bit of financial planning to get yourself a bigger or better house.

You might just need to use you feminine wiles to get that paintbrush into DH's hands

Thank you NotSure Sorry, just getting it off my chest helps at the moment, I have no one to talk to I think I'm going to have a word with my boss about putting it on the market. Dh doesn't want to move, but because of the hassle involved. Of course I don't want to either, but this has never been our dream house, we tried to sell it 7 years ago just as the market was crashing and weren't able to.

I am a control freak and can't stand the fact I'm not able to turn this around. I'm just worried about my 2 cats and dog and about the decorating/carpets I should sort out before selling the house.

Sadly you don't know my husband My female wiles are not going to persuade him to paint. He never decorates and I can't start feeling resentful about that too

I am not an expert Kazz but do think the market has changed. I also live in the North and because I would like to live closer to DD am constantly watching what is going on price and availability wise.

I actually think there is a head of steam building in the market from the buyer side. People like me who are desperate to move and searching Rightmove every day hoping for the right property to come up.

Also don't underestimate how many people there are (like me) who want the house I buy to be a bit tatty. I get really frustrated when I go to a house where the owners have redone the Kitchen & Bathrooms and put in new carpets etc. I never like the Kitchens / Bathrooms they have chosen and don't want carpets. Neither do I want to pay extra for all the updates they have put in.

Hence the suggestions that if you do decide to improve before selling, don't spend too much and make it as neutral as possible.

I viewed two houses this week. One in a perfect location, which was beautiful outside but totally wrecked in my opinion by a hideous, very expensive kichen and two brand new Bathrooms, (both of which I hated), the other totally the opposite. It was old, with rising damp, woodworm in the roof, a tiny bathroom, no central heating etc. etc.

It is the latter I have fallen in love with and am desperate to buy if only I can get a new job.

Thanks NotSure. Sadly we live in a little pocket where hhouses still aren't selling In York things are picking up and in Leeds, but we live in a village between the two and priced have dropped a lot and only very small cheap houses are selling. We live in a 4 bed and will probably lose £25k of what we paid for it 9 years ago. Working for an estate agent I know what's going on in the area sadly

I just can't afford to put new carpets in, even off cuts, but my cats have made such a mess of them, scratching in the doorways and in the stairs, one stair is threadbare. I think this will knock off even more value. I can probably get away with not painting most of the rooms, but the stairway is filthy with fingerprints and the ensuite has never been painted in 9 years. I'm going to get my boss round anyway if he'll charge a reasonable fee