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?

Oh dear, back up to 83.2 kg today. Not a huge surprise as I have been ill. Just delighted to be feeling considerably (if not totally) better now.
Going to doc next week to sort things out hopefully.

Really going to try harder in November and considering going dry for the month too. I don't find wine difficult to give up generally but there are evenings when I crave a glass. I tend to just drink because dh has a bottle open. Have until tonight to decide!

Also considering giving up coffee too!

Sorry, that was a very 'me' 'me' post and forgot to mention that it is standclear here but I have namechanged as I do regularly every few months.

eltsihT I feel the same as you - much more motivated to do better! It's half term here this week but in some ways, I find that easier, as less sleep deprived. Also, have had dd ill and off school first week Oct, visitors here second/third week, dh away and me ill third/fourth week - excuses, excuses as these things will always happen - but hoping for a better month ahead!

Uphillanddowndale12 I think managing the needs of elderly parents IS one of the most stressful situations to be in (emotionally as well as physically as the role reversal is so hard to handle) so glad to see you are being less hard on yourself. I hope you are able to find the nursing provision you need this week x

Waves to everyone else!

I've gained as well eltsi. Not a huge surprise, but rather frustrating.
I'm also motivated for the week ahead now.

Good luck with it Rivier!

Come on everyone! At the risk of sounding like an American cheer-leader "we CAN do it!"

Hi everyone,
I've weighed in at 11 stone 5 (72.3 kg), a little down on last week.
I'm also thinking about cutting out or at least down on the wine - I know weight loss is supposed to be slow, but it seems a bit of a slog and it would be good to hurry it along a bit.....
I didn't eat any Halloween candy though :)

Well done Grumpy glad one of us has kept the show on the road !!!

Wish I could -say the same about Halloween sweets--

Morning all. Well done grumpy and glad to hear others have a determined attitude for the week ahead. My weekend hasn't been too bad (only ate two celebrations from the trick or treat bowl!) but it has been very relaxed with little snacks here and there so need to get back on the mind set today.

Best wishes for getting your mum's stuff sorted uphill.

Glad to hear you're feeling better salix (although your name change had melted my brain a bit this early in the morning!).

I have found cutting down on wine really (embarrassingly) hard so it's nice to hear that others will be joining me.

Good luck all!

Sorry about namechange Helen, just call me SC!

Well done for being disciplined over trick or treat bowl.

I have an enormous platter of sweets in the sitting room. Don't really want dd to eat them all but she would like to keep some I'm sure. Not sure what to do with the rest.

Hello everyone,

Mondays seem to be a good day for me as I weighed 63.4kg this morning, slightly down on last week despite having a big spike in weight towards the end of last week. It's a bit of a milestone for me, as it means I've dipped below 10 stone for the first time in a very long while.

Sorry to hear progress for some of you has been a little derailed - life's a bugger at getting in the way of creating those new habits, but that determination will see you through, I know. Whoever said it's a marathon, not a sprint was not wrong...

for the week - just because

Sending in return Julie! Well done on dropping below 10 stone!

Julie
well done in hitting a milestone!

SC how about putting the candy in a cupboard? Then DD can eat it (but not all at once) and it's out of the way of temptation.

I would if I had kitchen cupboards Grumpy!! [Long story ] Will send a good half of it to the office I think.

I am ashamed to admit that I have had a tonight.

I start off with such enthusiasm at 7am and all my resolve has disappeared 12 hrs later! Hopeless!

SC do you have a massive wine rack instead of cupboards? :)
Enjoy!

Congratulations on your milestone Julie! Well deserved and very inspirational.

Avoiding wine is bloody tough SC! Must be doubly difficult if your dp is opening a lovely bottle in front of you. I've decided to take every day as it comes, and just try not to have wine when I'm having an ordinary night in at home. Well see how it goes though.. Work has been weirdly non stressful for the last week but it can't last!

Yesterday's menu:
B - protein bar
L - minestrone soup, mixed nuts
D - venison burger, potatoes, chard. Fruit and natural yoghurt
No wine (even played guitar hero while 100% sober ) and bed by 10.30.

Well done Julie.
Yesterday:
B: porridge, pear walnuts, cinnamon
L: pumpkin hummus sandwhich, carrot, apple, walnuts (freshly collected by colleagues husband and daughter, so we had fun covering the place in shell trying to open them)
D: thai curry soup with noodles/mushrooms/cabbage/aubergine: ate a lot, if only one plate
but then ruined it by having some pumkin hummus while watching tv even though I wasn't hungry

Today:
Same breakfast and will be the same lunch.
Dinner plan is rice and dahl (which is in portion sized tupperware in the freezer so shouldn't have the opportunity of eating more). I also won't be back till at least 20.30 tonight, so less time to eat crap and I went for a run this morning.

Your menu sounds lush rivier. Love fresh walnuts. How do you make pumpkin hummus?

Ohhh, lovely (and nutritious) menus on here Helen and Rivier!

Grumpy No wine racks either but plenty of bottles !

THanks Helen, Actually, this week is a bad one in which to go dry, as it's half-term and we are in "holiday" mode and we are about to go away for a few days.

So I've decided to be realistic and not drink for 3wks of November which is better than drinking for four, right? (Not that I intend to be drinking every night this week either!)

I know I should be doing better overall, and therefore this sounds like an excuse, but I tend to get hung up on perfectionism ie mad thinking such as "I haven't done my 15 mins on exercise bicycle every day for first few days of month, therefore I will give up until the start of next month" that sort of thing (not a real example as it happens - but you get the idea).

So very much trying to buck that trend with this diet and try and be more realistic and not set perfectionist standards which I can never reach.

Problem is, I'm not reach the less than perfectionist standards either atm but small steps and all of that and I really am determined to do better.

Yesterday:
b one boiled egg, one brown roll (no butter)
l salami salad sandwich + one apple
s green salad + one-pot dish of lamb, haricot beans, carrots, onions with parsley +

3 toffees from Halloween treat bowl

Did walk a lot though!

Keep going everyone!

One other thing - I drink black tea and coffee throughout day - with half a teaspoon of sugar in each.

I am trying artificial sweeteners but haven't found a brand I like yet.

So now I am alternating each cup of tea and coffee with a cup of hot water instead (sometimes with a slice of lemon or fresh ginger) but not always. It's surprisingly OK when you get used to it (as long as the cup is washed out thoroughly in advance and there are no residues of washing up liquid or dw tablets left behind to taint the taste!). Have also upped my plain tap water intake from 2 glasses a day to four and reduced coffee intake from 3 cups a day to two (so far).

Again, v small steps, which I am hoping will pay dividends in the long term.

Have a good week everybody!

So many delicious foods mentioned - I particularly like the sound of pumpkin houmous too!

I feel I have trained myself not to crave sweet things over the last few weeks. Genuinely don't seem to be missing them, so the next challenge is portion sizes. And finding time to cook a proper meal

Another stressful day in the office so far means that I'll miss lunch again (Tuesdays are rubbish). Talking of which, better run... already late for a meeting!

Would anyone like to share what job they have?

Rivier I remember you are a GP.
Helen, you have mentioned shift work and mad stressful days/nights (Nurse? Paramedic? Police force?)
SP and Julie you have both mentioned 'the office' but that could be almost anything!

I am a scientist (molecular biology, cell biology, immunology), currently making new types of cancer therapies. I also head up some of the technology development, which sounds fancy, but actually means playing in the lab finding new/quicker/better ways to do things :) I work for a small biotech company, ~35 employees. I spend about half the day in the lab (good for moving about and not snacking), but there are nearly always biscuits in the tea room and everyone brings in cake for birthdays, holidays, significant events etc. etc. (less good)

SP? I mean SC of course! Not even a typo, just a complete brain fart!

I have been pretty good so far this week, and well done Julie! I really want to get below the 10stone mark too.

Grumpy your job sounds facinating. I am a biology teacher but only work Monday's as Tuesday's. The rest of the week I am at home with my ds who are 2 and 4.

Your job sounds fascinating Grumpy!

I don't work a lot (expat tax issue + dh who travels at frequently and at short notice) but about to undertake huge renovation project (s) + volunteer 3 x half days during term time + help dh out with confidential stuff for his business (usually = 9-20 hrs per wk) + do a bit of editing work intermittently (used to work in publishing) anything from 10-30 hrs per month some of which is unpaid, so nowt very thrilling I'm afraid. (We have similar issues to you Grumpy ie lots of food being circulated in office at lunch time/cake for birthdays etc.)

Gosh Eltsih so many life science related careers on here!

SC how can that be described as 'I don't work a lot'??????? It sounds like loads to me!

Eltsih does that mean you have to teach sex ed to year 9s ? My son is now year 10, but last year they had to put strawberry condoms on fake willies........

I am in Scotland so I just get to do the sciencey bit, the sexual health bit is done in health and wellbeing classes.

So I get to avoid lots of embarrassing questions and playing with condoms in class!