Right, here we go again - losing weight because I need and want to. Come and join me.

[StealthPolarBear]

I am at the age where it is just a matter of (short) time before I develop a health problem relating to my weight - joints, Type 2 diabetes or even a heart attack. It really is that serious.
I am sick of not having any "nice" clothes (don't want to invest until I lose weight ).
I did it in summer, stuck to it for ages which is something I have never managed to do. I CAN do it again.

So here's the plan. Back to foodfocus as of tomorrow. No days off (logging, although I may choose to eat more than I am "allowed". Everything must be logged.
No excessive competitiveness with myself. I truly believe this is part of the reason it all went wrong.

3 or 4 lb to lose every week. Might sound a lot but it's easy when you're big - I'm sure I could do it by just eating 3 normal sized usual meals a day. So pathetic if I can't.

Coming back here to report on progress. Caring and supportive thread but not accepting bullshit excuses!
Anyone want to join me?

Thanks Inigo. Apologies, I wasn't being very clear, was wondering if any changes to SW?

With the WW thing the reduction of minimum points to 26 was introduced just before Christmas as there were some people who struggled to lose on 29. I think if you are on more than 29 they have left them alone (I'm on 31). Try 29 and if you lose on that there's no need to reduce to 26.

Not sure why I'm struggling to stick to WW, I followed it successfully for months before last summer. But I keep trying to do it and am consistently alright until about 3pm then blow it. I started on SW before I switched to WW and think maybe it might get me going again. Just need one good week under my belt and I know I'll be OK, just struggling to get one day at the moment.

I'm having a bit of a problem in that I want a day off but know if I do that I will lose all motivation. I almost need to compete with mysellf and a day.off leads.to the oh screw it attitude. Does anyone else have this?

stealth Im having lots of difficulties today.

Im letting myself be misled, first me and DH went out for a large breakfast and Ive caved in and agreed to go to Maccy D's for tea (TBF it has been a long time since we've been)

Now Ive got the dilema do I count today as a write off and have <a class="break-all" href="//www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=www.chocablog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/chocorangebox.jpg&imgrefurl=www.chocablog.com/reviews/terrys-volcanic-popping-candy-chocolate-orange/&usg=__EZit87SdrPJeEO5S3NeuJex6_x4=&h=521&w=480&sz=390&hl=en&start=1&zoom=1&tbnid=amqCxtazjHuzZM:&tbnh=131&tbnw=121&ei=AvIGT-XCHcnc8AOp_5WvAQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpopping%2Bcandy%2Bchocolate%2Borange%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1T4SNYK_en-GBGB433GB436%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">This
Or do I try to do some damage limitation. I was in Asda it was on offer and I absolutely love it, the problem is I cant have a couple of bits I always eat the whole lot.

Anyway, Ive not been doing too well at all. Food focus really has shown me what Ive been doing wrong. Before I registered there I was happy to just cut down a couple of things at a time now I just cant stick to my calorie goal Although I must be burning more than what Im writing down as I dont include the school run in my exercise log, I dont apart from yesterday as I was desperate count going up and down stairs either so I must be burning more calories than what the normal calories burned says I am aren't I? [hopefull smiley]

On a more positve note Ive just ordered the Shred workout DVD so as soon as that comes I'll be using that to burn off more calories.

Anyway my food for today is:

Banana
Large breakfast and half a coke at wetherspoons
Carton of Ribena Light
Half a bottle of J2O
Maccy D's for tea
possible a popping candy chocolate orange.

am i right in thinking you had no lunch?
Have you actually logged what you've had? You might find you're still under your calories and that might inspire you to resist!
I'm the same though - I was doing so well the other day, then agreed to a takeaway with DH. In all, my takeaways are healthy - chickpea curry and veg rice, but then there's a huge chunk of garlic nan. The worst bit though is once I had all that, I had the oh screw it moment and had about a third of a large tin of roses. When I half heartedly attempted to log it I realised I'd had over double my daily allowance
So like I say - it's all or nothing for me. Which means no days off or I go mad :(

I suppose I need to ensure that on my "days off" I restrict myself to under my "maintaining" calories - so not losing, but not gaining either.
Problem is, part of having a day off is not having to obsessively log everything.

think I might have answered my q and yours. Log it all. Hopefully youll be under your max limit to not gain. So that way, you write today off, but are still "on the diet" - I think that's what I struggle with - I mess up and that's it, diet over.
And then cram as much choccy orange in as you can, within your allowed calories. Start again tomorrow.

This is why I do my calories as a weekly thing, it gives me more flexibility, a couple of days at 1100 calories mean a bottle of wine tonight!

Stealth and 'notvery*, all of us know all the sayings - it's not what you eat occasionally that does the damamge it's what you eat every day, if you've had a blow out, forget it and move on.

Ooh that's an idea too

I have logged it all apart from the possible choc orange and its already a little bit over my daily allowance (not the one to lose weight, but the one to maintain it) As I had a big breakfast I wasnt hungry, but I feel really thirsty now

lilibet This is my first week, I didnt really log my calories until Tue, I weigh on a Sunday, but what I have done so far is a tiny (about 50) calories or so for this week

Really have no motivation, but I do find it harder in winter as its cold and dark so the hot choc and biccy's come out. Also in summer I like more fruit and will happily sit and stuff strawberries on a night.

*Thats 50 calories over my normal calories burned amount

BTW the breakfast was at 10AM so was a late one. I know its naughty to skip meals, but I could look at it like I had a banana for breakfast, an all day breakfast for lunch and big bad maccy D's for tea.

Ive done rubbish today havent I? I blame DH not that I can say no or anything

Sorry 4th post in a row unless I cross posts with anyone.

I have remembered that I do overestimate with what im writing logging. For example, I didnt eat all my breakfast at wetherspoons this morning, but have logged it as eaten it all as per the information on their website so it might not be that bad :)

i been very good food wise and i ran 3 k this am BUT had 2 glasses of wine last night, and will have at least 3 tonight as going out.

that sounds good mabs

sorry :( nvi. Sounded like a good idea at the time. Definitely blame your DH!

hi!
stealth im finding that 4 days in and im starting to struggle. It friday night and i'd give my right arm for a large bar of galaxy and a glass of wine.

notveryyou have more willpower then me as that chocolate orange would have been long since eaten!

well done mabs, exercise is my big downfall. I really need to do more, i walk about an hour a day but this isnt going to be enough to shift the weight that seems to gather round my middle!

wynken i'm reallynot getting on with the new weight watchers plan

Oh Mabs you are making me feel guilty with your exercising.

I ended up sharing a bottle of wine with DH yesterday and another tonight.

Foodwise I have been OK today

2 slices of toast with Lurpak lightest spread and marmite.
Banana and a packet of sugar free polos.
2 jaffa cakes
a ham and cucumber sandwic
Diet coke
pheasant and cabbage casserole with no potatoes

The weekends I am finding the hardest.

lydia I faded out of WW when the change over happened as did a lot of peopl I know.

stealth it is that day off thing isn't it, good for 6 days, bad for one, ten soon it will be good for 5 days bad for 2 etc. Could you not have a little treat everyday and work it in to your count?

Well I was pretty good yesterday, stayed pretty much within my limits foodwise and swam for 30 mins/44 lengths!

I also did a comparison between WW and myfitnesspal, which was interesting - my food/exercise yesterday seemed to score quite a bit better on MFP than WW but not sure why? On WW I did OK but not by a long way, on MFP it looked positively saintly (even after I had an extra bit of chocolate due to having done so well!).

But haven't been so good today, I was quite good for the first part of the day (and took DD swimming too, though that isn't a huge amount of exercise for me) but then MIL popped up to ask if we would like a night out while she babysat, and as we don't get to go out together often, the answer to that always has to be YES

So I have blown today's budget a bit with a big pub meal of chicken, black pudding and chips and 2 big glasses of wine - though at least we didn't have any starters or puddings so it could have been much worse! Still, I don't feel too guilty as it doesn't happen often.

Back on the wagon tomorrow hopefully, DH has promised to take the kids in the morning for a bit so I can get to the gym.

lilibet - we do sound similar. I think I must just be greedy too and am realising now that my 'normal' portions are literally double what an average woman should be eating.

My DH also always tells me what a lovely woman I am just the way I am, and has never been negative about my weight.

But he then unintentionally makes me feel terrible by saying he needs to lose weight... and I outweigh him by almost 20lb and he is 4 inches taller than me and I suspect that he has got more muscle and I've got more blubber.

I have been very lazy the last couple of days, and haven't gone out for a walk - or indeed done any exercise. But at least I haven't been eating like a hog either.

I haven't been perfect, and am still enjoying my 2x cups of milky sugary coffee a day, but I have been eating reasonably well - veggie soup and a bit of wholemeal toast for lunch, penne with tomato sauce (the proper tiny portion which almost made me cry) and a huge green salad with oil and vinegar instead of my usual blue cheese dressing last night and a sweet potato, cauliflower and lentil curry tonight with the most minuscule amount of rice you've ever seen in your life... I swear, my cat could eat more than that :(

I also miss my wine and cheese :( I don't think I like this dieting malarkey.

Come on, we can do it! It's tough when you are a few days in, but stick with it.

I'm on mfp and weigh myself every day. I know that once a week doesn't keep it real enough for me and I know that if I see a gain, even if it's a few oz or so, I can act immediately. Get weighing, it can keep you motivated to see losses and makes the tiny portions and lack of cheese almost worthwhile.

A day off dieting every week or so can help kickstart your metabolism and make your body think that food isn't restricted and that it can burn as much as it likes. My problem though is going back on the diet the next day - I find it impossible.

I'm finally finding out what works for me (after years of dieting) and it seems that religiously tracking calories, no days off, weighing every day and a huge competition (with a cash reward at the end) with DH seems to be working (well, it's week 2 so we'll see )

Have a great day and don't let the weekend get the better of you.

"religiously tracking calories, no days off, weighing every day and a huge competition (with a cash reward at the end) with DH seems to be working (well, it's week 2 so we'll see )"

Agree, although the competitveness is with myself and I'm not sure about the daily weighng. Counting cals has been th e only thing I seem to stick to for more than a day, else I just do not notice the amount of chocolate an cheese I am eating, and have no concept of portion size.
I do have treats, pretty much every day - I eat chocolate most days. What I want is a day to have my normal portion size of pasta, or an indian takeaway...but then it's so hard to get back to it the next day

And yes butterflies, you're right, This is a tough tme, few days in, first weekend. Let's get through the next few days without eating our bodyweight in pasta or an entire kg bar of dairy milk (can you still get those? ), think how good it'll feel on Monday to still be on track, and no doubt a lb or two lighter than even now!

Good news: I can fit into my size 16 jeans
Bad news: I then have to make a tough choice - wear the jeans or breathe

Think my aim may be to be comfortably wearing those jeans by what - end of Feb? March?

Breathing's kind of non-negotiable .... reckon you'll be breathing by end of February.

well done Stealth ! you must be toning up :) I drank last nite and will today, bit stressed. Five - i am sad, i like the excercise - it clears my head!