Starting the no 'S' eating regime today to lose weight, anyone want to join in?

[standclear]

Hi, have got decidedly porky over the past few years.
I feel tired and lethargic, and none of my clothes look good anymore.
I also need to lose weight for health reasons and increase my (currently woeful) level of exercise.

I want to follow a simple and 'do-able' eating plan that is fairly simple and that I will be able to sustain ie hoping to lose 0.5 kg each week.

I'm planning to follow the no 'S' "diet":

book here

A summary of the basic rules is:

no snacks
no sweets (it's an American book so that covers puddings as well as biscuits and confectionary)
no seconds

except on days that start with 's' ie the weekend, and 'special' days ie birthdays and big holidays such as Christmas.

I've got the book so can answer further questions but that is basically it!

I'm going to be using MFP to log calories and I have also found the free NHS weight loss plan (includes exercise) helpful too

see here

I am planning to post my weight here every Sunday too (but that is not obligatory of course).

The other reason for posting on here is that I don't want to bore my family and friends to death about it in rl!! But it would be nice to have some companions along the way .

Anyone want to join in?

Yes, eltsihT v sorry to hear about the funeral.

Good point about sugar cravings Rivier and well done re: cycling which should certainly burn up the calories!

I hope you're ok EltsihT

Rivier - house calls by bicycle sounds incredibly romantic!

I had an ok day yesterday:
B - protein bar
L - reduced fat spaghetti & meatballsmeatballs, beetroot crisps
D - prawn & pasta salad, pop chips, banana
Bed at 11 but got a "lie in" till 7 which felt luxurious!

Now need to focus on how good it feels to stick to the rules for a few days in a row. Just 2 days till the weekend. We can do this!

Hahaha Helen, that's hillarious. Something from the dark ages, maybe.
This week is not going well. I've not being doing a good job, but I'm not giving up.

Helen what are pop chips?

I am definitely not overly interested in what everyone else is eating

I had a slice of omelette for breakfast but have a work lunch today in a Thai restaurant, so that will be too many calories (I know we're not counting, but still.....).

Hi all,
Just checking in to see how you're all doing. Impressed at the refusal to let minor setbacks turn into excuses to give up - that's always my downfall...

Telling myself that I can do today - one more day til the weekend. I'm not sure I've done a single day when I've completely stuck to the rules yet, but I've definitely been better than usual. You are all very motivating!!

to you all

I seem to have let myself in for another evening of continuing education classes (I'm sure there's a better name for these things?). When all I really want to do is relax as I'm working tomorrow as well.

I really wanted pumpkin risotto for dinner as well, but that'll take too long.

Aargh - now I really want pumpkin risotto for dinner too, but likewise have no time to cook it! (or indeed to buy any of the ingredients )

So tired. Just want to scoff chocolate all evening but am DETERMINED to have one day of sticking to some rules. Well, I'm determined now at least. We'll see how I get on...

Hey all, I had a really good Wednesday and Thursday, no cheating at all

Dh came back from Canada yesterday with sweeties so I made him put them on a high shelf so I can have some tomorrow. He also brought back maple syrup so we are going to have French toast and bacon for breakfast tomorrow. Suspect weighing in on Sunday will not be my friend.

Was having a good day today but ds2 didn't eat his carrot and cucumber so I polished them off when putting his plate away.

We are having lasagne for dinner (just need to make the White sauce and build it) and prawn risotto for dinner last night so not sharing the risotto cravings

It was a lovely funeral my uncle was 94 and had lived a full and interesting life.

eltsihT Very sorry for your loss. Good to hear that funeral was a comfort though and that your uncle had lived such a full life .

Am also not looking forward to Sunday's weigh-in. I have been ill this week (with shivery flu-type thing) so was a lot less active than usual. Unfortunately my appetite was unaffected

Helen thank you for the encouragement [sending in return]!

Rivier our doctor here makes house calls by bicycle (and I have friends in the Netherlands where that is v. common too). Sorry to hear your hrs are so long this week.

Julie ditto! I have not had one single day (well, except today) when I have stuck to rules either but have definitely put a break on the constant snacking! Still have work to do on portion size!

Waves to Grumpy and everyone else!

Grumpy - pop chips are like low fat /baked crisps (I think they areare air popped or something). Imo they are surprisingly nice, especially the salt and vinegar flavour.

Rivier - ha, yes, to me it seems incredibly quaint, but I guess in a lot of places it is totally standard. Weekend & evening working is a pita though. You have my sympathy.

I hope you feel better soon, stand - and remember that sick says are s days.

How did you get on yesterday julie?

EltsihT - well done for wed and Thurs!

My past few days have been a lot better, if not exactly perfect. Posting here really helps - the problem is when I don't have time to post as that inevitably coincides with being stressed and therefore temptation to break the diet!

Have a good weekend everyone.

Hello all. After cutting our added sugar completely for around 4 months, I had some birthday/holiday/period related setbacks. But i'm back on it now and weighed myself this morning and it turns out that I didn't do too much damage after all! :) I'm only 2 lbs above my best iyswim. Lets hope I can get back to that by December.

Rather sheepishly, I have to admit to a fail with my 'determination'. 2 jammy dodgers and a slice of toast after dinner. I don't even like jammy dodgers and they were stale old manly ones too - what is wrong with me?!
Oh well, onwards and upwards, and hope you all enjoy your rules- free weekends

"Manky", not "manly". Although old manly biscuits don't sound much better

at manly biscuits. Jammie Dodgers are quite girly, I think.

I had a bit of a rules fail yesterday - nice Thai lunch, but for some reason eating garlic/spicy stuff at lunchtime always gives me cravings for sweet stuff in the afternoon, so I ended up eating two large pieces of candy that someone had brought back from the states.

Tried to offset the crime by only having the DCs leftovers for dinner (some vegetables and a bit of savoury rice), but then had lots of

stand sorry to hear you've been ill. Illness and dieting isn't really a good combination!

65.8kg last week. 66kg this week. Not overly surprised but really geared up to do well next week.

I start working again as a high school teacher tomorrow so will just have to wait and see how much my stress levels rise

Yesterday was ok (for an s day)
B - 2 weatabix with 1tsp if sugar
L - homemade leek and cauliflower soup with bread & reduced far cheese
D - salad with prawns & reduced fat mayo & a bread roll. 3 fruit pastilles
Snacks - banana & yoghurt with a sprinkle of muesli, salad leaves & mayo
Drinks - 1 glass of wine, 1 gin & slim.
Didn't make it to bed till midnight which was silly.

The only bits I regret are the salad & mayo and the g&t as I didn't actually want either. Just eating /drinking for the sake of if which is just daft, even on an s day (Julie, your jammy dodger episode sounds EXACTLY like something I would do).

Welcome back Mrs risotto - I'm sure you came lose the 2lb by December.

Good luck with your return to work EltsihT!

And good luck everyone else weighing in today.

Morning all,

Weighed in at 11 stone 6 (72.7kg), half a pound down on last week, total loss 5lb (2.3kg).

I would really like to get down to 11 stone (70kg) by Christmas, before starting phase 2 in January.

This week might be a challenge as I've got my mum and dad coming today to look after the DC for half term, staying until Thursday. So I'll be cooking big family meals every night.....will just have to be strong on not having any desserts. I'm making pear and raspberry crumble tonight!

Hi, still feeling rather ill and wretched but weighing in at 82.6kg, down from 83kg. Not much to shout about but at least it's a loss.

Well done for the weight losses on here!

And keep going everyone!

Does anyone find that they feel great during the week and lethargic/ bloated over the weekend? Not going mad on the s days, but I think my body is telling me to ditch the sugar completely!

Yes, I do, and I've also noticed that I can weigh 1.5 - 2 pounds more the day after eating sugar/carbs, which is more than the weight of the extra food!

Well done grumpy and standclear .

Re the weight gain after eating sugar, my (very basic!) understanding is that sugar binds with water to form glycogen which sits in your liver and causes the weight gain. I think that's it, anyway .

Personally I don't usually get lethargic at the weekend, just find it very difficult to eat sensibly when there aren't any rules to follow. That said, yesterday was actually ok:

B - porridge with 1tsp sugar & 1/2 a banana
L - veggie haggis & cheese toastie (yum!)
D - baked sweet potato, reduced fat cheese & veg
Snacked on celery sticks and fruit
Bed by 11 and no booze

Have a good week everyone.

Well done for weight losses - and can add mine of 0.8kg.

I should be pleased but feeling very down after a falling out with DH yesterday. Nothing major but he was blanking my efforts to make up with him all evening and now he's gone away with the DC for half term so I'm on my own til next weekend.

I'm at work all day, so daytime's not a problem, but anyone got any tips to help me avoid comfort eating my way through the next 5 evenings???

julie
Well done on your weight loss and shame about the falling out
How about:
painting your toe nails?
clearing out your wardrobe?
sorting out boxes of household paperwork?

A bit dull, but will keep your hands busy and you might be glad you've done a few jobs!

Hello!

eltsihT Best of luck for your return to work today!!

msrisotto good luck with the 2lb weight loss - and glad it's not as much as you had anticipated - you can do it!!

Julie and Helen can totally identify with consuming things that you don't really even want to eat - I do this too - no idea why!! It's maddening!

Helen well done re: your very healthy menus

Julie sorry about your dh being difficult - not nice to be left for a week with things unresolved. Grumpys ideas are good - was going to suggest sewing/knitting/painting - something you really enjoy (that doesn't involve food!)? Box sets are a danger (I find) because I associate them with snacks. Treat yourself to some beauty pampering?

Grumpy good luck this week with your parents staying! (I find it very difficult when visitors are staying and food cooked by other people seems more appetising somehow!) Sorry, that wasn't very encouraging was it? Stay strong!!

MadauntofA hello and ditto to the sugar struggle. I crave it and then feel terrible when I indulge. Definitely feel more sluggish at w/es too. I am going to attempt to cut sugar out of my tea this week - not looking forward to it - but needs must!

Keep going everyone and hope you all have a good week!

Ah julie, unresolved arguments are horrible - can you call and clear the air?

Failing that I have two ideas

• sticking a note on the fridge reminding yourself that comfort eating will make you feel worse not better.
• I will make a deal with you. I've had a really stressy day at work and am absolutely gagging for a glass of wine. I'll stay off the vino if you stay away from the comfort food?!

Hope one of those helps!