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.

That's good to know, Nancy, especially as and when we are able to eat out once again.

Toast and butter is my downfall, so I'm avoiding all bread at the moment, alongside scones, teacakes, cakes, pastries and biscuits. I tell myself I can have them again once I'm at target. And in the meantime, I treat myself to carb heavy days, following the SW green guidelines. Plenty of rice, pasta and potatoes feels like a good tradeoff.

I'd rather have the losses, whilst my motivation is high. There will probably come a time when I get fed up of this way of eating, but it's not yet, thankfully.

A pound off here which i'm very pleased with, and is my usual green days loss. Very inspirational to read about done good solid losses, and i'm stealing a few ideas from the menus.
Mine as always is very dull. Breakfast porridge with jam (HEX A &B), never count jam 🤣. Lunch gnocchi with passata and cheese (HEXA). 4 syns for 200g gnocchi. Snack pear and 2 rich Tea (4syns) Tea plant nation vegan burger (squeezing in as free 🤔) with wholemeal bread roll. Apple, 2 more rich teas (2 syns).

Well done diege!

Anything that isn't a gain is acceptable to me (although as I said up thread, I wish I had Iris's discipline, her losses are what I wish I was getting - sticking to the rules would no doubt help!!)

I love toast and butter too, and have avoided bread since the start as one slice is never enough. I have just ordered the two chubby cubs cookbooks, looking for a bit of variation while the children are off school and I can relax mealtimes somewhat. If I'm lucky the younger ones might eat what I'm eating too.

@diege, a pound is more than acceptable, especially on green, well done.

Yes, the school holidays need a plan @NancyDrawed, so it's a good idea to have some strategies to deal with that.

Day 37 Green.

Yogurt and banana. Tea with milk HEXA.

More tea, water, apple and grapes.

Leftover homemade lasagne with salad. Mince and olive oil as HEXBs. Loads of veg. Cheese as 12 syns.

Hoping to enjoy some sun in the garden later. Time to think about getting summer clothes out of storage, and putting winter jumpers away.

Thank you 😊 As a veggie its green days every day here, and have never really lost more than a pound, which i've always been pleased with!
Ivy yes, not too long left for the jumpers, though we've been promised wintry showers for the weekend here.
How are people 'managing' chocolate at Easter? I have a very sweet tooth and know I have a hotel chocolat order en route from DP! 😫 A piece a day 🤣 or just down the lot?!

Food today...
Breakfast- buttermilk pancake HEXB 😉
Lunch - beans on toast HEXB, pear and apple.
Tea- m&S lentil cottage pie (4 syns, estimate). Fat free greek yogurt.
Treat- creme egg 🤣 8 syns.

Day 37
69.6kg

B: Coffee, HEA milk, HEB 42g All Bran and banana
L/ S: Leftover all day breakfast / pasta pesto / JP beans and cott cheese

Chocolate at Easter - I haven't bought an egg for myself but might have a bit of the dcs. I think it'll be a flexible syn day! Fancy chocolate I would probably syn based on the 1 syn = 20cal estimate and then make a decision as to whether to stretch it over a number of days.

I just couldn't limit myself to one square, so I won't have any.

I'm not a goody two shoes, honest, more an all or nothing kind of person.

Yes chocolate is a dilemma for sure ...I am also an all or nothing person but will probably take the 'all' approach...
I'll for once believe in the old jelly weight sw theory and be 'extra good' the next day!

Day 38 Green.

Yogurt and berries. Tea with milk HEXA.

Chicken salad, no dressing HEXB.

More tea, water, Alpen light bar HEXB, apple.

Jacket potato and chilli beans.

Day 38
69.6kg

Breakfast: HEA milk, HEB 42g All Bran, banana and milk
Lunch: Jacket Pot, beans and cottage cheese
Supper: Pasta pesto (2syns) HEB cheese

Two chubby cubs books - food looks great, but I'm weirdly disappointed that the syn values aren't in there (of course they can't be, it's not a SW book!) I'll have to look on their website if there's something I want to cook to see if it's on there, otherwise I will have to go through each ingredient and work it out myself which is a bit of a faff but not the end of the world.

Day 39
69.4kg

Breakfast: HEA Milk and Belvita (6.5)
Lunch: Jacket Potato, beans and cottage cheese
Supper: Pasta pesto HEB cheese tomato (2)

Day 39 Green.

Allbran HEXB with milk HEXA and banana. Tea.

Omelette and salad.

Alpen light bar HEXB, more tea, water, apple.

Savoury rice with peas, sweetcorn and red pepper. Diet coke.

Have seen that Thornton's continental chocolates are 3.5 syns each, and managed to eat just 3 last night...I know its the calm before the storm though.
Today's menu..
Breakfast - buttermilk pancake, pear
Lunch- homemade veg curry with chapati (which i'm counting as my extra B choice 😆). Tea.
Teatime- cheese omelette with 2 Quorn sausages. Apple, tea.
Snack - either 3 chocs OR creme egg.

@diege, I admire your restraint, I could not eat just three chocolates.

The only way I managed was by saving them up until bedtime then brushing my teeth straight after...Thankfully the dcs have seen to most of them (just the anticipated hotel chocolat pink champagne truffles to 'deal with' now!).

Day 40 Red.

Yogurt and grapes. Tea with milk HEXA.

Omelette and salad. More tea, water, apple.

Fish from the chippie (batter removed) with mushy peas HEXB, and may steal a couple of chips from DH's plate (and check syns, obviously ).

Enjoy the bank holiday weekend everyone, shame that the weather is going to be rubbish!

Day 40
69.6kg

Breakfast: Banana, HEA milk for coffees
Lunch: Beef stew and veg
Supper: As above - highly imaginative!!

All went a bit to pot yesterday as it was end of term and I ended up getting treats for the children which I couldn't resist helping them with. Crisps are my downfall!

Day 41 Green.

Allbran HEXB with milk HEXA and banana. Tea.

More tea, water Alpen light bar HEXB, apple, mullerlight.

Homemade veg curry and rice. Diet coke.

Just about held onto the wagon yesterday 🤣 Indulged in a very calorific pudding (cookie dough cake with icecream AND a portion of tiramisu) but held it together for the rest of today. A safe day today - weetabix for breakfast, then an egg salad for lunch with boiled potatoes, and veggie bolognese for tea. The Easter sugar-fest will recommence tomorrow! Happy Easter 🐣 weekend everyone!

@diege, I have a tiramisu mullerlight for later, and I'm hoping it won't be a disappointment. I'll report back.

The mullerlight was a disappointment; I've discovered that I don't rate coffee flavoured yogurt.

Ah that's a shame iris!
Well I've fallen off the wagon and had half an Easter egg and a walnut whip 😫 ...I fid enjoy but feel quite sick now...

Day41 70 kg
Veggie ds has decided to go back to eating meat after 2 years off, which is probably a good thing in terms of his protein intake, but means I will be cooking for myself on green days.

Day42
69.6kg

B: All Bran HEB and milk HEA
L/S: JP, beans and cottage cheese or veg chilli and rice or pasta pesto

Easter egg chocolate (not expecting a loss this week, staying the same would be a bonus)

Day 42 Green.

Yogurt and berries, tea with milk HEXA.

Alpen light bar HEXB, more tea, water, apple, mullerlight.

Roast lamb HEXB with potato and sweet potato mash, green beans, carrots, peas, broccoli and gravy (4 syns).

Still resisting the Easter chocolate! I was given a box of Thornton's by a well-intentioned friend, but they are DH's favourite, so I'm hoping he will help me out.