The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Kicking The Wine Witch Into Touch!

[Mouseface]

Hello, I'm Mouse

Welcome to the Bus. We're a group of posters who have been on a journey to here, there and everywhere when it comes to alcohol and the abusing of it.

Some of us drink, some of us don't at all and some of us are trying to get there, really trying to just stop the cycle, break the habit and calm everything down. Some of us are desperate to not be 'that' person anymore.

One Day At A Time or ODAAT.

So what have you got to lose? Weight? Saggy, puffy eyes each morning? False friends? The risk of cancers and other fatal illnesses......... why not join us?

We have a resident MonsterCat, Wolf called Seth and Squid called Barry (best not to ask about Barry! )

And, if you want to see where we've been so far, the links below will show you. The first ever thread is the best by far, because the OP is just like you. And me.

FIRST EVER THREAD

PREVIOUS THREAD

mouse Thanks! I am now unlurking and making my way to the back of the bus, past rubbery white thing with tentacles and various furry creatures (some of which I think have evolved from the opal fruits . Hunger is also my biggest trigger - when six o'clock is too early to eat now that it's just me and him and we sit and chat and have a few drinks and tea gets later and later. It's not doing me any good and I have the willpower of a gnat. I start off with fizzy water, but it's not long before I'm headfirst in the fridge chatting to the WW. But, strangely, the fasting thing is different, although I'm hungry (sometimes really really hungry), my mind is in a different place. Also, to get the best benefit from the fasting experience, you're supposed to eat your evening meal earlier, so that you have as much time between that and your breakfast on the days before the fast and on the fast days. I hope I explained that properly! That makes my head in the whole diet thing and I can keep my head in that other place for four days. As I said in the first post, exercising the control not to break the fast is helping firm my sense of control up. The fasting hunger doesn't seem to make me want to drink and throw away all that effort ... Phew, sorry that's a bit longwinded. BTW would love to have BMI of 22, mine's about 27 at mo ... perimenopausal and sitting too long on great fat bum.

Joey - I read something similar but not only that, as soon as Feb 1st hits, people binge because they haven't had a drink for a WHOLE MONTH! and therefore 'deserve' to have a few. Madness and all that hard work undone in just one night.

Yay for all of those out there doing a dry month but then to go back to normal, drinking too much, going overboard, seems a huge waste of, well, everything IMO.

Dame - I'm perimenopausal too! Well, my last period was over 100 days ago, (I've stopped counting now) and I hit 38 at the start of this year. My periods have been like clockwork so to go from that to never knowing when it's going to happen, or having just one day of flooding and agony is Shitey McShite in my book!

We do eat too late, DH and I and that has to stop. There are often days when we eat different things because I don't want a full meal as such.....

I'm hoping that the 5:2 works but as with all things me, planning is going to be the key to success!

mouse I just have a cup of coffee - no sugar - until I get to work and then I have either wholemeal toast twith banana or a bowl of cereal with added whole bran. Lunch is usually home made soup, fruit and yoghurt. Try to drink water during the day. Think it must be evenings that undo me.
Ds has had two friends over today, unusually. They have all played out in the snow and had a great time. Now have a pile of wet socks and joggers in the hall and the boys wearing a selection of ds's clothes! Amazed at how quickly 3 10 year olds can demolish two huge pizzas and a plate of biscuits!

well I have just bought an outfit for a wedding in 2 months, it fits okay but it would look better if I lost some weight, so I'd better join the boot camp!

I'm going to aim to cut out snacks, chocolate etc. unfortunately, not drinking means I like to treat myself to nice things, but lately it's got out of hand!

am not going down the healthy cooking route yet, I am a disaster in the kitchen. yesterday, I made tea - usually DH does it because he is a control freak enjoys cooking. all I had to do was slice up some tatties and pour a ready made sauce over them. well, first I poured all the sauce on before remembering that half of it was supposed to be kept back. so I had to try and ladle it out of the dish... then I dropped the spoon in. seriously, I had to go and lie down afterwards.

drinking wine
not going out, one glass of wine, then bed with a screaming baby
not happy about making plans and not keeping to them
not devastated about one small glass of wine

All fab bus babes .... am a chef, please feel free to ask any food/calorie related questions or suggestions. (from back of bus, trying not to eye up Barry and think of Calamari) ... No, Barry, seriously, only joking xx

OK, I have a question. What the bloody hell SHOULD I be eating to lose weight? Every plan, book, person says something different. Then other day I had a breakfast of cereal , fruit and toast and was told by a nutrionist it was a bad choice as it was all carbs and would cause a sugar spike. He said if having fruit for a snack to have nuts with it. Then I read that nuts are calorie dense and shouldn't be eaten! Carbs/no carbs. Fats/no fats. Somebody tell me what the bloody hell to do!

determinedma, it is a minefield, because there are several different and completely inconsistent ways of managing food and weight.
I think people are very different and not everyone does well on each plan.
It depends what your problem is what you need to do to solve it.
sorry, no easy answers, but if it helps, I low-carb loosely following the advice in the Briffa book: Beat the Diet Trap. he is ok with nuts, but they are fatty, and so if you eat a lot of them you have to eat less of something else.

i think my booze problem is related to a more general carbs problem and eating low carb and high fat / protein helps me keep the whole thing on a more even keel. (and thereby lose weight)

any help?

sadly I think Barry is just the thing to be eating on a low carb eating plan

No-one is eating Barry OK?
He is oily so high in fat.

Ma The best advice I can give you ... Mostly protein to lose weight. NOT the Atkins diet load of bollox, but wholemeal rice, pasta, bread, lots of fish, lean meat and (little cheese) SS milk, yoghurt, loads of veg/salad - avoid peas and sweetcorn if poss. TBH the three-way plate is a good start ... palmful of protein, third of wholemeal whatever, third of veg. Cut down a bit on fat, but not too much, the prob with entirely protein is that a lot of women started to suffer from thinning hair - IMO who wants to be thinner but with constant bad hair days??? Try the fasting diet, the body repairs itself and you can eat sensibly the rest of the time. Sugar is the downfall, esp for us who are struggling with a drinking problem, and believe me, I do struggle. Cereal - NO, unless oats, Bread NO, unless wholemeal, fruit has fructose, just another name for sugar. Eggs are fab, poached or boiled, and keep you full for a long time. Salmon is great for us in the peri-menopause and great for the Omegas. You need some carbs to keep your moods stable, so don't cut them out. Please believe me, I would never, ever, do anything but appreciate Barry for the support he has always given lol xxxxxx

I'm just trying to eat less! and I've got low-fat yogurts, skimmed milk etc.

DH has just been rude about my wedding outfit. he tried to be tactful by saying we BOTH need to lose weight.

oh well he's drinking calories, and I'm not!

Ma I do well by just counting calories. I can eat whatever I like as long as I stay within my calorie limit. I tend to go very low fat, low sugar, lean meat, wholegrain bread & pasta, brown rice, lots of fruit, veg & salad. It's amazing the variety of meals that can be produced out of the basics.

I add low fat sauces to flavour, usually tomato based. I make a massive salad like this - chop and mix in a bowl with low fat french dressing - mixed lettuce leaves, cucumber, tomato, celery, peppers, red cabbage, add grated carrot, a small tin of sweetcorn, a handful of nuts or seeds (chopped walnuts or pine nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seed, etc) and finally I chop small cubes of salad cheese (same as feta but lower in fat - about 30g just for flavour).

Then I toss it all and have a large serving with my meal instead of veg. It's lovely with spaghetti bolognaise for example.

I aim for 100 - 200 cals for breakfast, about 300 for lunch and 500 - 600 for dinner. Usually have only one snack at mid-morning which is a piece of fruit. May have a bit more fruit later if hungry but otherwise just stick to meals and drink various hot or soft drinks.

Fairenuff you've nailed it babe. The only thing I would add .. Water .. lots of water. Don't get dehydrated. x

Teacher's pet, me

Babes, am off now .. dd back to uni tomorrow, after a week off at home - que under duvet a bit weepy, will miss her sooo much. Be strong lovely ladies, I sort of feel that I know you all - if that's not a bit stalkery. bibi La Dame x

La Dame - it's been great having you here today and finally unlurk, I'm glad my dieting dilemma got you out of hiding!

Be kind to yourself when DD goes back tomorrow, you know where we are xx

hmmm, I've just opened this weeks Radio Times and there's an article about the 5:2 diet! it's all the rage, isn't it? does it work?

I thought it sounded like nonsense, but everyones talking about it....

Mouse. I will do 5:2 starting Monday - slight concern re my gastritis which is bad at the moment and worse on an empty stomach - may have to have a few tiny meals as opposed to one 500 calarie dinner _ will see how I go, just watching horizon doc now as I don't want to buy the book.

OK, I'll give it a go starting Monday then. Have made some soup and batch frozen it so lunches are sorted.

I think it will be incredibly difficult to get used to as I eat within minutes of getting up, I'm obsessed with getting some food in me straight away and I NEVER miss meals!

Wortha try though joey don't you think, will deffo help with not drinking during the week as well, there is no way you could fast with hangover!

silver if you're lurking, lovely to see you xxx

Now about all this dieting and boot-camp stuff. I'm not cut out for any of your exercise nonsense, no huffing and puffing for me. And I don't think I'm suitable for a stiletto version (and where is Jesus these days?), so is there some kind of slouchy carpet-slipper shuffle approach to weight loss?

YES!!! Water, water, water, water, water and then, when you think you've had enough, more water. It flushes everything out. It keeps your bowel regular too.... unless you're on so much morphine you've got no chance.

Curry - what's up sweets with your screaming toddler? Are you okay? xx

Joey - SUGAR is one of the BIGGEST killers of diets. Not only that, Aspartame in diet foods is very bad for you and actually helps your body to go into 'starve mode' making you stop losing weight. It has soooooooooooooooooo many side effects, just don't go there!

Ma - I love you, I really do. STOP!! Eat a varied diet of veg, fruit, protein, carbs, fats (low saturated), and lean meats. Oily fish is good.

Do you know what? If you went into most primary schools, you'd find that their lunch menus would be perfect to live off for you and me, the DC and DH and we'd all be lovely and balanced.

My golden rule is NO JARS. So no ready made meals. No added salt when cooking, no added anything really....... the more natural the better.

It's all a bloody do this do that philosiphy Ma.

Do what works for you. If that's porridge breakfast, rivita's for lunch, chicken breast and salad or plain boiled potatoes for dinner etc then so be it.

Variety, low fat, low salt, low sugar but not NO SUGAR, NO FAT, NO CARBS, NO SALT etc or the body will react as if you're in the Sahara and go into starvation mode as Dame says......

Little and often with meals, try serving food on a smaller plate to make it look bigger. There's a million rights and wrongs out there.... so do what suits you. Ma - you've just hit a glitch is all, you'll get there. Let's do it together and with anyone else who wants to join us next week, okay? xxx

Right, I need to go. Nemo has been sick and lost his last feed, he's so upset. I'll be back tomorrow.

Be Brave Babes.

Mouse xx

PS - the dine in meal we had from M&S was lovely. A lovely finish to a worrying/wibbly week.

PPS - Pirates of the Caribbean is on, I'm getting my Jack Sparrow fix......... yum! Desert next. Lemon tray bake or may save that for tomorrow with the beef casserole. Hmmm?

Joey - I have it pinned to my fridge, the article about 5:2. It's the same as on MN and on Horizon. Doc Mosley says pretty much the same for all interviews.

Night all. xx

na you doing 5:2 or calorie counting?