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.

Thanks for that Dwangela but I am vaguely following an old book from the days when I used to be free to go to classes and only had myself to cook for!

My SW book from when it was green and red days (from 1999!) says 1 x HEA and 2 x HEB

I'm not exactly following the plan to the letter, but weigh less today than I did 2 weeks ago (and where I have been stuck for years) so whatever I am doing must be having some effect.

Iris got my days wrong, I meant day 13 and 14 of course!

Sorry, reading that back it looks like I am accusing you of being wrong!

I got my days wrong, Iris, I meant 13 and 14

Day 15
Green
69.4 kg

Breakfast: HEA milk for coffee and 2 x Belvita (3.5)
Lunch: Syn free lasagne (different recipe, not very nice but needs eating!)
Supper: Jacket Potato beans and HEB cheese

Might swap lunch and supper.

Week 2 total : 0.4kg (14 oz, I'll round up to 1lb rather than down!)
Total change to date : - 1.4kg

Monday again. This week I intend to be more mindful of what and when I am eating and drink more water. As long as the weight is going down, I'm happy.

I did not take your comment the wrong way @NancyDrawed, I knew what you meant.

Day 15 green.
Weight lost last week 2lbs.
Weight lost to date 6lbs.

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

Homemade 'fridge bottom' veg soup.

Apple, more tea, Alpen light bar. Water

Quorn pepper steak with green beans and broccoli.

I still need to drink more water.

Well done on your loss this week. Did you take any measurements as well? Although it's too early to see any difference yet, losing inches is a great motivator.

6lb in 2 weeks is fantastic!

I'm not taking any measurements, but hopefully my clothes will feel different as the weight goes down. I do recall the horror of trying to find something to wear for a night out (pre Mar 2020, of course) and discarding top after top after top because they looked so bad with all my lumps and bumps. I've gone from a flat stomached hourglass in my younger years to a definite apple in middle age and carry fat around my middle which I know is paricularly unhealthy.

I could have written that. I loved being able to wear anything when I was younger. It's so much harder to stay slim these days.

It is worth the effort, I keep telling myself.

Day 16 Red.

Yogurt and banana. Tea with milk (HEXA).

Tea, Alpen light bar (HEXB), apple.

Leftover soup from yesterday.

Chicken, new potatoes (HEXB), green beans, broccoli, gravy (4 syns).

Water.

Day 16 - Green
70.0kg

Breakfast:HEXA milk for coffee and Banana
Lunch: Pasta with half tbs pesto (2 syns), 28g HEB cheese and tomatoes
Supper: Lentil curry and rice

Snacks: muller light, fruit

Day 17 Green.

Allbran HEXB with milk HEXA and blueberries. Tea.

Tea, water, Alpen light bar HEXB, apple.

Omelette with salad.

Jacket potato with veg chilli.

The soup has been a hit over the last couple of days, hope it makes a difference on the scales next week.

Day 17
69.6

Breakfast: HEA milk for coffees, 2 x belvita breakfast biscuits (3.25)
Lunch: Jacket Pot with beans and cottage cheese
Supper: Lentil curry and rice

Snacks: fruit, poss microwave crisps if fancy something crunchy!

I am in the habit of eating something alongside soup, usually bread of some description which doesn't suit trying to lose weight! Soup is obviously a great way to increase your veg intake. I might get some leeks later as I need to use up some potatoes and I could have leek and potato soup with my jacket pot instead of beans to see if that works instead of bread. Very potato heavy, though...

Day 18 Green.

Yogurt with berries. Tea with milk HEXA.

Tea, water, Alpen light bar HEXB, apple.

Veg chilli and jacket potato.

Spanish omelette with onions, potato, peppers and ham HEXB.

Day 18
Green
70.0kg

Breakfast: HEB 42g All bran with Milk HEA and banana
Lunch: Pasta, 2syns of pesto, tomatoes and 28g cheddar HEB
Supper: Lentil curry and rice (or possibly harcombe 'risotto' which should be free I think)

I am partial to an alcohol free cider some evenings, (which I don't count in) I imagine that is why I am up and down 0.4kg on a day to day basis. I'll have to have a very dry and lean weekend!

Hopefully, your cider is within your daily syns allowance, so shouldn't sabotage the plan too much.

Green days do make losses slower too. I'm getting impatient, so throw a couple of red days into the mix where I can, even though I'd gladly eat carbs all day long.

I wold love a dramatic loss one week! If I properly meal plan I could probably do alternate red and green days next week. I think I'm heading for a stall this week - I can cope with staying the same as long as I don't go up!

I'm taking the most convenient route to fit in with what the rest of the family eat - so I can cook a big pan of pasta for the children for supper and then have the leftovers for lunch etc. Or do something with rice giving me rice for a salad or to go with a chilli etc. I might do something meaty and slow cooked over the weekend though and could do swede and carrot mash and some veg to go with it. This was all so much easier when I was a single, childless, working (and considerably younger) woman!

Day 19 Green.

Yogurt with berries. Tea with milk HEXA.

Banana, Alpen light bar HEXB, tea, water.

Scrambled eggs and mushrooms.

Italian chicken casserole HEXB with pasta.

A couple of diet cokes.

If you need inspiration (I know I do ), there's a thread in Chat with loads of good meal ideas. Most people are low carbing, but the suggestions would definitely suit red days.

Hope the link works ...
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4189332-those-of-you-who-lost-weight-through-eating-better-what-was-your-main-weight-loss-meal

Thanks for the link, I am aware of falling into a food rut, but I do like my carbs!!

Day 19
69.4kg

(? lowest weight yet on this and I fell off the wagon spectacularly yesterday with a KitKat chunky and some crisps as a mid afternoon treat! I was expecting to be over 70 when I got on the scales this morning, I suspect it'll catch up with me tomorrow)

Breakfast: 42g All Bran, banana, milk (HEA and HEB)
Lunch: Pasta, tomatoes, 28g cheddar (HEB) and half tbs pesto (2 syns)
Supper: Veggie chilli and rice, VLF cottage cheese

Bottle of fizzy wine over the weekend. Have a good one, fingers crossed for a loss on Monday

Day 20 Red.

Yogurt and banana. Tea with milk HEXA.

Tea, water, Alpen light bar HEXB, apple.

Homemade spag bol, mince as a HEXB. Diet coke.

Day 20
69.6kg

Breakfast: Coffee with HEA milk, yoghurt
Lunch: Lentil curry and rice
Supper: Syn free chilli with Jacket Pot and HEB 28g cheddar

Day 21
70kg

Mothers Day
Breakfast: Tea and toast and butter (breakfast in bed brought in by 10 year old ds, how could I refuse?) I'm going to ignore the syns in the butter and say it was HEA milk and HEB slice of toast.
Lunch: Jacket pot and chilli
Supper: Harcombe risotto

Day 21 Green.

Tea and toast in bed today too (but with butter and marmalade . I figure it doesn't count on Mother's Day, so I'm drawing a line under it.

Further tea with milk HEXA, Alpen light bar HEXB.

Roast beef HEXB. Potato and sweet potato mash, carrots, peas and gravy (4 syns).

May not have a loss tomorrow, fingers crossed for half a pound.

Day 22 Green.

This week's loss 0.
Total losses to date 6lbs.

No surprise there, but I'm hoping for a pound or two next week.

Yogurt and banana. Tea with milk HEXA.

Tea, water, apple, Alpen light bar HEXB.

Spanish omelette with onions, peppers, new potatoes and small amount of cheese HEXA. Olive oil HEXB. Tomatoes and cucumber.

Day 22
69.6kg (flickered momentarily to 69.8 but settled onto 69.6 (possibly means nearer 69.7?))

Breakfast: HEA Milk and Belvita breakfast biscuits (6.5)
Lunch: Pasta, pesto (half tbs, 2 syns) and tomatoes HEB cheddar
Supper: Harcombe risotto

Week 3 change +0.2kg

Total change to date: -1.2kg

Interesting that week three weight loss has not happened for either of us, but staying the same is definitely preferable to gaining!

Yes, I think it's about week three that I get bored and frustrated that I can't have week one losses every week.

I do measure cereals and other HEXBs, but not milk. Although I am not using many syns, so assumed it would balance out.

I'm going to be more focussed this week, the days are getting longer and a little bit warmer, and I need my summer clothes to fit.

Day 23 Green.

Mango and blueberries. Tea with milk HEXA.

Tea, water, apple, mullerlight, 12 pecan halves HEXB.

Jacket potato with cheese HEXB and chilli beans.

I've re-read the healthy extras section of the old books, found it on the Old School Red and Green Facebook group, so that's given me a few more ideas.