NOW, or NEVER, no EXCUSES thread part 4.

[Tortoise]

Here we are, thread 4 .
Time for me to have a large kick up the arse and lose weight! (After Easter!)

Doh! Loss not gain.

Weighed in this morning, 13st 6.2, thats 2.6 lb off since last Monday . I haven't been as good as I should have so I'm very pleased with that. I had two strawberry, fresh cream meringues on Friday evening which were very nice but a shocking number of calories. Still, all the shortbread from Christmas has now gone and there are only a few biscuits left, once they're gone it will be easier not to pick at stuff during the weekend.

Well done you two ,that's a brilliant loss, I weight on Friday or Saturday so am hoping I lose some of the 4 I put on!

Zalen that's great, you're getting near your 13 st 4 point where you give up. Are you still in the zone? You could be approaching the 12s by the end of the month.

Thank you cookie, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you on Friday.

I went to lidl today for only the second time and just couldn't believe how much cheaper things are, for example pasta, peanut butter, their version of Cheerios. I needed a night off from cooking so tea was just a Bernard Matthews turkey steak with baked beans. I think dh will be pleased to be not given something weird. I've been experimenting with aubergines and spinach recently, and he's a bit of a roast and pie lover.

Thanks both, yes I'm approaching my sticking point (13 st 5.2 this morning) but I'm determined to blast through it this time, I'm back in class so that bit of exercise each evening helps to smooth over any missteps in my diet. I'm determined to be under 13 st before the 25th, got to look my best for Tom .

I tend to shop in Aldi myself though was a Netto regular for years until they were bought out by ASDA. The range may not be as wide as the larger supermarkets but I find plenty for the basic staples and then get a few extra bits from Sainsburys to liven things up a bit.

5 1/2 lbs in ten days, that's ambitious. I hope you get there. Do you have an outfit planned?

I have weighed and put on weight! Less than half a kilo but that's why I shouldn't do it more than once a week as I am now craving ice cream as I know we have three tubs in the freezer. I don't even like it! Oh well, back to salad for lunch, experimenting with bulgur wheat today. I hope I like it or I may have to break the diet and dive into the ice cream after all.

No outfit planned, I may have to shop .

As of this morning I'm down to 13st 3.4 so it's not looking bad but this afternoon I'm feeling insanely hungry, I've already eaten my pre-class banana and had an apple too. Luckily the sum total of cash in my purse is 5p so I can't go and raid the vending machine. Hopefully the Kit-Kat shelf in the office fridge will be empty by now if I do weaken and go to check it.

I have to confess that I weigh daily, it helps to keep me focused but I know it doesn't work for everyone.

Good Luck avoiding the ice-cream, that is my biggest problem to be honest, luckily I'm the only one who eats the interesting flavours so for everyone else I just keep some Vanilla in the freezer and I have no trouble keeping away from that.

I weigh daily too! Probably not the best idea for me as my scales seem to have a mind of their own. This week, so far they seem to be being kind to me so I am hoping for a weight loss on my next official weigh in. I was thinking of going tomorrow for weigh in but I can actually make Monday afternoon when they normally do it and I can also do the class before hand so I think that will be best!

Ooh kit Kats, your office fridge has them? How can anyone possibly stay slim with temptations like that around? I would find it so difficult to be thin if I was back at work with temptations everywhere.

I used to weigh 4 or 5 times a week but I try not to as it can put me in a bad mood when I don't lose. Managed to avoid ice cream and end the day under calories until I felt peckish and ended up with two thick pieces of bread and butter. It would've been ok if I'd gone to bed at 9! I also had a large cappuccino which I'm not proud of, gah, empty calories and caffeine.

I think you have to be realistic if weighing daily and know that there will be fluctuations, for example today I've gone back up to 13 4, there's no real reason why I should have gained, I went over my calorie allowance by 86 but that was more than compensated by 1hr 15 in class. Still that blip will help keep me focused today when I start thinking 'but it's FRIDAY!'

Good luck for the official weigh in arty, whether you do it on Friday or Monday and well done for avoiding the ice cream Johnny. At least they're only two finger kit-kats, but when I got up to 4 or 5 a day something had to change, I now have a total embargo on kit-kats. I have a Slimfast heavenly delight chocolate bar every day instead, only 10 calories less but it's the principle of the thing!

So I weighed again and was down. I do need to stop because I do get demotivated when I've been really trying hard and I put weight on even though I know it's just natural fluctuations.

Hideous weather today, horribly loud thunder storm. It doesn't feel right eating salad in this weather but I have a fridge full of it.

Arty, I hope you have a good weigh in either today or Monday.

Hope that thunderstorm isn't heading this way, it actually looks quite nice out, I can definitely see the sun shining off the cars in the car park through the small gap in the blinds around the office.

Just found out I won't be doing overtime this evening or during the weekend so will be getting lots of work done on my cross-stitch, keep my hands occupied so I can't nibble

Lucky you, we have flooding near here. Lots of roads were closed and a 5 minute car journey took me half an hour due to the diverted traffic. Please send some sunshine my way!

Sitting here with the hairy bikers cookbooks now. Yum! I get so much pleasure looking at the pictures even if I can never be bothered to cook anything from them!

I couldn't resist popping to the Nurse for my weigh this afternoon and I am so glad I went - 1.3kg loss!!! Phew finally. DH has abandoned ship for the week and gone to China so I am hoping for an easier week regarding food - oh and I have the job of doing the shopping! (me and shopping dont really mix - I either walk off with someone elses trolley or lose the car in the carpark!!)

Weather not great here but thankfully no thunder storms or flooding.

I am sat here grinning like a loon Little things.......

That is fantastic. I'm so pleased, it's a good loss.

Excellent loss arty, sorry I composed a message on Saturday afternoon when I found myself in work after all but somehow lost it. 13st 3 this morning so I'm very happy with that, although yesterday it was 13 2.6 which would have been even better

Hope everyone has a good week, 5 days until Coriolanus, getting very excited

I had intended to send a longer message on saturday but had children demanding my attention.

Anyway well done everyone, Zalen you're nearly in the 12s . Arty, are you going to the nurse today or waiting til friday? Good luck, if it's today.

I had a weekend of children's parties so dds were happy and entertained. But I completely lost my willpower. There were food for adults at both and I just ate and ate. When I was overweight I used to wonder if people were looking at me, as I went back and forwards to a food table, noticing that I ate more than anyone else in the room. I used to come away from parties mortified by my behaviour. I don't suppose they did notice but I was still embarrassed. Two years later and I still have no ability to stop after one crisp or biscuit. So at the weekend I munched vast quantities of cakes, biscuits, crisps, marshmallows, chocolate fingers. I couldn't even begin to enter it into mfp.

I am so angry with myself as I had managed about 11 days without a snack. I don't even like snack food, I have really been enjoying eating well over the last fortnight, I love vegetables and healthy food. So diet starts again today. I do need to work out a strategy for dealing with parties. I don't mind blowing calories on things I enjoy but just not party food.

Didn't weigh myself as it was a stressful schoolrun this morning. Will try to tomorrow.

Yes, I can't believe it Johnny, I don't think I have been in the 12's since before DS2 was conceived and he's now 9

Well done on 11 days with snacking, I do snack but it's built into the slim fast plan which I'm vaguely following. I find it helps to know in advance that I will have x, y or z as a snack so I find it easier to avoid the random snacking that has been my downfall in the past.

Next weekend will not be good diet wise, I've just booked my son and I a table at a nice looking restaurant near the theater for a pre Coriolanus meal. It looks quite pricey and I doubt I'll stick to my diet but it's basically a once in a life time thing so I'm really not going to worry about it.

^ without snacking ^ doh!

Well I weighed this morning and have lost a pound, so 10st 10, I'm disappointed as hoped for a bigger amount as been so strict since the new year. I just don't seem to ever lose any more than a pound at a time, if that At this rate I won't reach my goal for another 6 months at least , probably more.
I also have a few days away booked and a few meals out , making my progress slower too
Bit fed up today to be honest!

Cookie, even a lb is brilliant. You're well into the 10s now. I completely get how you feel, I know it seems slow, but by the time of the graduation you could be another 20lbs down. Between June and December last year I only lost 11lbs (put half back on over xmas, gah!) but that 11lbs was enough to make me shrink a clothes size, from 12 to 10 (with a few vanity 8s thrown in) so it really made a difference.

Today I have discovered ryvitas. I have always refused to eat them as I remember my mum dieting in the 80s by eating ryvita and they were like eating dry, dusty cardboard. I bought some rye ones today and to my surprise they were quite nice. I've also bought rice cakes but I'm pretty convinced I'll hate them.

Well done Zalen and Cookie, I have decided to wait until Friday for my weigh in, fingers crossed its another loss as I have been fairly good. I certainly feel like I am losing.

I like Ryvitas and quite often have them for lunch with a cheese spread. I am in the throws of looking for a low calorie mushroom soup if anyone knows one??!!??

Hope everyone has a good week.....

The only mushroom soup I ever buy is Heinz for dh. He seems to like it. For some reason I love mushrooms yet cannot stand mushroom soup. In fact I have two packets of mushrooms in the fridge, So I might have to have an mushroom omelette tonight.

I want to make the mushroom soup as I have a huge punnet of mushrooms to get through - I over bought on Saturday as I knew I needed a fair amount to make my beef stroganoff - just not that many!