Thread for people who are trying out food focus :)

[StealthPolarBear]

And need support

This was recommended by TheHumanCatapult and is www.foodfocus.co.uk. you start by registering your weight etc and tell it how much you want to lose. It then tells you when that will be achieved, which for me was some time in 2013 . You then use it day by day to record all the food eaten, and all the exercise you have done. It is working for me so far (only day 5) because:

-Iget instant results (it tells you day by day how much it calculates you have lost, you won't see it on the scales)
-I see how much I am actually eating
-I'm in control. I can see the impact of whatever I am going to eat before I actually eat it which does help the willpower somewhat!
-It's FREE

Also recipes change and the database may not be updated...

No bloody wonder I'm fat, all these years I'd been convinced by the food industry that I was eating a very healthy 2000 kcals/day and in fact I've been stuffing away a good 2400

yes, I thought on average it probaly balances out.

I have wondered that for years - there MUST be a tolerance as nothing is identical, so why do they make their calories so damn specific - each slice of this cake has 210.45 calories etc

Morning all, just to say i have lost 3lbs first week ! yo feeling good , thanks for all the advice , and keep on loosing.

What usually happens Steath is that three lots of testing is done and an average of the results is taken. Most manufacturers and also customers will do surveillance testing as well, especially if a claim, eg low fat, is made.

Off swimming now, followed by sauna and lunch with dh.

Last day of term for eldest today, lets see how the summer holidays interferes with my plans for slimming, trips to the seaside etc planned so chips and icecream aplenty. I shall be honestly listing all the while.

Well done Wecanfixit :)

Fourthousand holes - thanks for the reassurance!

BTW light alpen bars are great! on 3for2 in asda so have bought a box of choc fudge, box of choc orange, box of summer fruits and a box of apple and sultana!

Hi does anyone have a slimming recipe for Keylime pie? got visitors coming and dont want to blow all the good work i have done this week, thanks.

I was thinking we could share some recipes. I will be specialising in things that are quick and easy to prepare and result in a 'food mountain' as DH calls it

For dinner tonight I am cooking a packet of chicken savoury rice, to which I will add 4 Quorn sausages sliced, a tin of green lentils, and 150g frozen mixed veg. Only thing I need to weigh is the veg. I will add a dash of Henderson's relish for flavour. For those of you who don't live in Sheffield you can use Worcestershire Sauce!
Anyway I worked out for the 2 portions this makes, it is 479 cals per portion.

Ok, I have broken up from school and am back on the wagon as from this moment. I am concerned there might be something actually wrong with me - I seem to have out on so much weight so quickly.

I am going to do this one day , one hour, one minute at a time.

Please help me - I seem incapable of helping myself. Just what do you DO when you get that hideous urge to eat (usually bread/cake/carbs)?? I seem totally out of control at that stage.....

You sounded like i felt a month ago, you are on holiday now so you can relax !, I found the more i thought about it the worse i became, it is a mindset , so i just stopping thinking it was the end of the world and got on with my life and now i feel so relaxed cos i am on my holidays that it is the easiest thing in the world to count the calories and if i have a bad day i just dont panic and know that the next day will be better, YOU can do it I really think the trick is to relax and chill , there are so many other important things in life than loosing weight.

SGZ, I think the answer is I get on the website and see how much I have lost, how much I could lose if I have an egg salad for dinner, what if I have a slice of bread etc...I think the cravings do lessen.

That said, I have had a bad couple of days! Never mind, have kept on top of counting the calories and haven't actually put anything on . Going to have a better couple of days (but not go overboard as mum and dad have the children tonight so DH and I will be having a meal) and then back to it seriously on Monday.
I actually find the food logging thing really helpful - in the past I'd have thought "Oh what's the point I have just screwed it all up" and that would be it, diet over. But this way I have been 100% honest about what I have eaten, I haven't lost weight but as I know I haven't put on I can just discount those days as though they didn't happen :)

South. I have the same problem, especially late afternoon/early evening, I get ravenously hungry and fruit just doesn't satisfy me! I think what I need to do is make sure I have enough cals for a small meal in the late afternoon to tide me over to dinner!
I have been out for lunch and have estimated cals. Again, as SPB has said, I would have just said oh fuck it and just pig out resr of day but website has kept me on track.

South. I have the same problem, especially late afternoon/early evening, I get ravenously hungry and fruit just doesn't satisfy me! I think what I need to do is make sure I have enough cals for a small meal in the late afternoon to tide me over to dinner!
I have been out for lunch and have estimated cals. Again, as SPB has said, I would have just said oh fuck it and just pig out resr of day but website has kept me on track.

SPB I am sorry I seem to have ignored your question a few days ago; got busy, then travelling and couldn't work wireless in hotel, etc. Which is actually part of the problem - hotel food is hard to guesstimate, so is kids' birthday party food, so is stuff from the canteen at lunchtime (when I did FF seriously for a month or so I got very bored with having lunch on my own every day), so is food people bring in for the monthly departmental lunch, so are nibbles at events.... and things often just don't seem to have the nutritional info on them here that they might in the UK (Costa seems to have stepped up recently and actually put calories etc on their sandwiches, which has just proved I was underestimating before :( )

Yes, iswym
DH & I have decided to have a takeaway so I am going to have to guess, both calorie contents and weights. never mind. And I can see why every day, that would be a problem

Could I join in please? I have used food focus before and found it very useful. I started Monday and have lost 3 pounds, dd2 is only 6 weeks though so I think some of that would have come off anyway.

What I think it great about the site is when you fall off the wagon. Rather than thinking you have had a bad day and may as well give up, which is what I am terrible for, you can see exactly what damage you have done. Often that is just not to have lost anything that day, or to have put on a quarter of a pound or something.

I drink options hot choc in an evening too to make me think I have had a pudding! I also look for things that I can have a lot of for the calories. Quantity is more important to me than quality

SPB, it is probably also why I need to lose weight though.... none of those things are very good for the waistline (including work canteen food which is not exactly low calorie (a lot is Indian), and substantial portions) - what I probably need to do is avoid them rather than figure out how to measure them; but it is so much effort [need lazy emoticon]. It is easier trying to eat less of what I do eat - but doesn't seem to be enough less!

May have another go at the start of Ramadan (beginning of August) at least there is less temptation around in the day time.

I am BACK ON TRACK today. going to lose some serious weight this week. Can already see a bit of a difference (nothing anyne else would notice, just me)

I've just signed up and like you SPB, I need to seriously get started.

Well done SPB!!!

Are you able to join us on Tuesday? We can keep each other on track!

I have had a good day, went shopping was not tempted to buy any treats though have bought some sugar free gum.
I have also bought a pile of low cal ready meals for the times when it is just me in the evening or I need something quick to prepare for lunch when DD is being velcro baby!

Have over 400 calories left today and have just had my dinner! I made lemon and herb chicken with new potatoes and veg for lunch, and then a w/w sausage and mash ready meal for dinner.

I don't think so, sorry :( Am really stressed at work
Well done on your calories for the day :)
MPN - good luck - keep us updated
I ahve just stuffed myself with pasta!

Oh in case anyone is wondering, I have tried the WW instant hot chocolate sachets and they aren't anywhere near as good as Options

Woohoo, I weighed myself today and since last Saturday when I started it, I have lost 5lbs!
Going to weigh myself every Monday.

One thing I wanted to know, does it recalculate your calorie burn and calorie intake wrt your current weight?

WELL DONE!!

Yes i think so - I have wondered the same. So obv as you lose weight it will be getting less accurate, and if you ate what it claims would keep you even you'd actually be putting weight on :(
Wonder if there's some way of resetting it, say after each stone?

Stealth/Kara - yes IIRC it does recalculate itself as and when you enter your new weights. Mine was very depressing when mine went below 1200 calories per day. At least it means you are losing weight though which is the aim of the game i guess

But when you reach your ideal weight, you can then set your weight losds goal to zero lbs a week and then you'll know how much you need to maintain. Plus I guess the lighter you are the easier it is to do more exercise [hopeful emoticon]