Can you still do green and red days?

[lris]

Hello. I lost a couple of stone doing red and green days about 15 years ago. My weight has fluctuated in the meantime, and I now find myself back where I started, due to snacking and general bad habits.

I don't want to rejoin, never enjoyed the classes (image therapy, ugh), all the happy clappy nonsense. But I did do well on the plan.

Would I be successful going it alone, based on the information I can find online?

Typically, I would use HEXAs for milk in cereal, tea and coffee. HEXB for all bran or oats with fruit for breakfast. Lots of fish, lean meats and veg for lunch / dinner and syn alpen bars and muller lights if I needed a snack.

Does that sound okay? Is it within the current rules, as I know things have changed a lot over the years. I just don't want to be bothered with extra easy, as I never got my head around it. I need something quick and easy to follow for a few months to get me on track and back into better habits.

I do cook from scratch, and I don't drink alcohol, please tell me it's feasible.

Your supper sounds delicious!

I ended up drinking rather a lot of wine yesterday along with some popcorn while the children and I watched a film. So I'll draw a line under that.

Day 6
70.2kg

Breakfast - coffee with HEA milk, muller light and banana
Lunch - pasta with chopped tomatoes, 0.5 tablespoon of pesto (2 syns), 28g cheddar (HEB)
Supper -lentil dahl and rice

Snacks - fruit

Yes, draw a line under it. If you are super strict 80% of the time, you can still get good results. That's what the syn allowance is for, after all.

Day 7
Green

70.0kg

Breakfast: HEA milk in coffee muller light
Lunch: pasta and pesto, cheese and tomato HEB cheese 2 syns pesto
Supper: Jacket potato with baked beans and cottage cheese

Might swap lunch and supper. I think I've found a pattern I am happy with and I haven't been strict with myself regarding wine and the odd treat. Fruit as a snack makes a huge difference to me and I think is why I couldn't get on with low carb

Day 7 Red.

Mullerlight with blueberries and banana. Tea with milk (HEXA).

Leftover beef (delicious, by the way) with green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes (HEXB), broccoli, gravy (4 syns).

More tea, alpen bar, mullerlight, apple if peckish.

I'm with you on the fruit. I think on this plan, if you prefer sweet to savoury and like quantity, it's ideal.

I tried the Whole30 challenge last year, but only lasted three weeks, because fruit was off limits. I even got used to taking black tea. It did work, but was unsustainable, I was constantly hungry and the weight went back on as soon as I started eating normal food again.

I've told myself this is the last time I'm 'dieting'. I want to reset my weight eating as close to normal as I can, and make permanent changes.

Day 8
Green

69.8kg

Breakfast: Belvita Brakfast biscuits (6.5 syns) HEA Milk for coffees (I have 2 x home made cappucinos during the morning which use a fair bit of milk each and eat 2 of the 4 biscuits with each cup)

Lunch: Jacket Potato with beans and VLF cott cheese

Supper: Pasta and pesto, HEB 28g cheddar, tomatoes

Snacks: fruit, muller light

Week 1 tota: l -1kg (-2.2lb)
Total change to date: -1kg

^ So not the dramatic 5 or 6 pounds that some get at the start, but 2lbs off nonetheless and I'm happy with that. I might be more strict this week and see where that takes me.

Day 8 Green.

Allbran (HEXB) with milk (HEXA), banana, tea.

Alpen light bar (HEXB), blueberries and apple, tea, water.

Jacket potato and beans. I like to add half a teaspoon of chilli powder to the beans.

Week 1 loss of 4lbs!

I'm really pleased with that, but don't expect more than a pound per week from now on. I need to drink more water, so will try to be more conscious of that this week.

Two pounds is a great loss. Imagine that every week .

4lbs is fantastic!

I need to lose a stone at the very least (BMI currently at the top end of 'overweight'). Two (or better still two and a half) stone would put me firmly in a 'healthy' BMI band.

I could do with drinking more water, too. We're bound to finish a litre squash bottle this week, so I will try and remember to fill that in the morning and at least get through that during the day. One of my vices is diet pepsi, which I will sometimes drink to fend off hunger, so I need to try to reduce that

Yes, I'm on the very top of healthy BMI and feel the same.

I'd like to be over a stone down by mid-May, then my summer clothes might fit. Good tip about the squash bottle, I have one I can use.

Posting on here every day is a big help.

Posting on here helps me, too.

In the end for supper I added 57(ish)g Salmon HEB and broccoli instead of tomato with my pasta.
Half a TBS pesto is 2 syns.

Day 9
Green

70.0kg

Breakfast: HEA MIlk for coffees and Belvita (6.5)
Lunch: Pasta, pesto, tomato, 28g cheddar (HEB)
Supper: Syn free lentil dahl and rice

Snacks: fruit, muller light

Day 9. Green.

Allbran (HEXB) with milk (HEXA) and banana. Tea with milk from allowance.

Mullerlight with blueberries and grapes. Tea and water. Alpen light bar (HEXB).

Peppered Quorn steak with broccoli and green beans.

Day 10
Green
69.6kg

Breakfast: HEA Milk for coffees, belvita (6.5)
Lunch: Jacket Potato with Beans and VLF cottage cheese
Supper: Chilli and rice

Snacks: fruit, muller light

Day 10. Green.

Mullerlight with blueberries. Tea with milk (HEXA).

Tea and water throughout the day.

Mushroom omelette with salad. Olive oil (HEXB).

Jacket potato and chilli beans. Alpen bar (HEXB) and an apple.

I'm still struggling somewhat with getting my HEXBs. I make time for a cup of tea and an Alpen bar at some point in the day. It feels like a treat, and I have no cravings for cake or biscuits that way.

I tend to plan one each HEA and B and then know that I can have additional cheese or whatever if I fancy it using the HEB allowance. SO I might have a bit of cheddar on my chilli later for example.

Back in the old days - when it was fields around here etc etc - I remember being told that the HEs were to make sure enough protein and fibre were being eaten depending on which colour day you were following. So if you are having plenty of fibre and protein in your food choices anyway, which it looks like you are, I wouldn't worry too much about the extra HEB (although using it for a treat is a great idea).

They only have 1 HEA and 1 HEB on the extra easy plan, don't they? Could you bin the second HEB and spend the syn value on something else. I think it works out as 6 syns per HE choice based on weight allowed.

Yes, I suppose I could drop one of the HEXBs, that's a good suggestion if I need extra syns. Thank you.

Day 11. Red

Allbran (HEXB) with milk (HEXA) and banana. Tea.

Omelette. Bowl of grapes, blueberries and apple. Tea and water.

Homemade burgers with sweet potato wedges (HEXB) done in frylight. Broccoli and green beans.

Day 11
Green
70.0kg (I'm blaming star week!!)

Breakfast: HEA milk for coffees and belvita (6.5)
Lunch: Lentil dahl no rice, pineapple
Supper: Chilli and rice, 28g cheddar HEB
Snacks: fruit, muller light

Ended up having dahl and rice yesterday for supper, it needed eating up, didn't make the chilli, which I will do for this evening

Day 12. Red.

Yogurt with blueberries and grapes. Tea with milk (HEXA).

Omelette and salad. Tea and water. Apple

Spaghetti (HEXB) Bolognese (homemade). Diet coke.

Banana and mullerlight if peckish.

I'm not sure of weekend choices yet, but I think there's some roast chicken in the freezer, and I'm doing a quick top-up shop later. The fruit bowl is almost empty.

Day 12
Green
70.2kg

No happy clappy nonsense allowed here, you're quite safe @NancyDrawed .

Maybe go back to your cereal choice for breakfast? As I am on strictly red or green as I don't really understand EE and how it's supposed to work I'm allowing myself 2 HEXAs and 2 HEXBs every day.

Enjoy your weekend!

Day 13. Green.

Fat free yogurt and berries. Tea (HEXA).

Salad, boiled eggs. More tea. Water. Apple.

Chicken tikka pieces (HEXB). Vegetable curry and rice. Diet coke.

I'm not doing very well at drinking water this week, must try harder.

Same on the water front! Two days listed here because I neglected to post yesterday.

Sat
Day 12
70.0kg
Breakfast HEA milk in coffee and Belvita (6.5)
Lunch: Veg chilli and JP with 7g butter (no idea) and HEB 28g cheddar
Supper: leftover homemade pizza (no idea)

Snacks : homemade microwave crisps

Sunday
Day 13
69.6kg

Breakfast: HEA milk in coffees and Belvita (6.5)
Lunch: Two chubby cubs lasagne
Supper: Lentil dahl and a bit of rice or quinoa or possibly cauliflower rice to up the veg content of my day

Snacks: fruit

Guys you're only allowed 1 HexB but you can have 2 HexAs

HexA is cheese milk, HexB is fibre so brown bread, cereal, nuts, dried fruits

Day 14 Green.

Fat free yogurt and fruit. Tea with milk (HEXA).

Fruit, Alpen light bar (HEXB), tea, water.

Jacket potatoes with chilli (HEXB).

I allowed 20 syns for my veg curry yesterday, we had a takeaway in the end.

@DwangelaForever, two HEXBs and two HEXAs are allowed on old style red and green. I understand that the HEXB allowance is less on EE.