Thread 2.The 2019 Bunch:- eating well, pooping well, feeling bloody marvellous!

[TulipsInbloom1]

Second thread for those who are determined that 2019 is THEIR YEAR.

Fridge do you want to add your spreadsheet link below for ease?

Drinks wise things like gin and slimline tonic or vodka and diet coke would be good options. And maybe something like fish with a salad side for dinner? I reckon you can do this! Use the excuse that you don't want to over eat if you are going dancing or something as you will feel too full!

Those are great tips, thank you! I have been calorie counting in MFP and cutting out the ‘unhealthier’ carbs e.g white rice, white pasta, white bread etc. (As well as cakes/biscuits/crisps etc)
One meal over the weekend will definitely be tapas... apart from avoiding the patas bravas am not sure what would be the best options there! Another meal will be brunch and I have my eye on the sourdough with avocado...
Not sure what the the other dinner will be. I was hoping sushi but think the majority will want curry and won’t go for sushi!

Fatcat My honest opinion is that you should go and enjoy your hen weekend and not worry about your menu choices! Personally, I would make an effort not to snack or go overboard with really calorific drinks, but would just enjoy my meals out and get back on it on Monday.

I'm really starting to feel the benefits of Dry January now! Is anyone else? My skin looks really bright, I'm sleeping much better and I feel as though my metabolism is revving up again. In fact, my dad is visiting this weekend and I had planned to have a few glasses of wine with him, but now I'm not actually sure that I want to...I'll buy wine, but might just leave it for my husband and dad to drink.

fatcat I think those are great drink suggestions.

My advice when going out is be mindful of sauces and carbs that are high calories but don't fill you up.

So if I go out and there is no obvious low calorie option then I would have a smallish steak with salad (no chips) or a fish without a sauce and vegetables.

With a curry I would go for a tomato based sauce not a creamy sauce. I usually have a jalfrezi sauce but that is spicy, so I don't know if you could manage a madras or I think a rogan josh is a mild one that's tomato based.

With a tapas I would try to go for meaty options, no potatoes, maybe avoid things that are deep fried / battered. Hmmm not much choice.

And now I'm sitting her salivating about deep fried calamari. Time to get off mumsnet!

Didn't realise we has a second post!! Thursday is my weigh in day and if I lose 3lbs I'll have lost half a stone!! Not confident for it though! Will see though. Weigh in at 5.30 so feel.like not eating til then haha (I will though obvs)

Thanks mrbob

Fatcats - it’s your hen! Go, have a ball, eat as well as you can, but don't fret about it. Nobody ever said "my hen was brill... you should have seen the avacado toast "

Good luck Dwangela

Fatcats - congratulations on your upcoming wedding! I’d also vote for enjoying the hen weekend and aiming to eat well but not stressing.

Let us know how it goes Dwangela!

Good luck @DwangelaForever
Really struggling to shift any weight -
Anyone have ideas of where I'm going wrong?
Typical day -
Breakfast - one slice toast brown with butter
Lunch - fat free yog and banana
Tea - chicken wrap with salad, small spag Bol, jacket with salad and tuna - nothing massive!
Then doing a 1.7mils walk and exercise bike burning about 500 calories

Using Mfp and reckons intake is about 1000 calories a day but not loosing any weight!

Tea - chicken wrap with salad, small spag Bol, jacket with salad and tuna

Are you having all of those? I assume it's chicken wrap with salad OR small spag Bol OR jacket with salad and tuna?

Your lunch doesn't sound very filling, neither does your breakfast really. I'd be inclined to combine these to one, satisfying meal. Either a brunch / late breakfast or just lunch.

An example would be: big serving (half can of chickpeas) of hummous with a big selection from peppers, celery, cucumber, carrot. That would be around 250 calories and much more filling.

I'm also noticing carbs with two meals. I try to use carbs sparingly when looking to lose weight, aiming for only one (or none) meal having a carb portion. Of course you'll still getting carbs from your other foods - veg, fruit, dairy, pulses etc, so the carbs are still there. Just not over done.

Bolognese for example. I have just the bolognese sauce, no pasta. Or have the bolognese sauce with green veg instead of pasta. Your tuna salad, I'd just double (or treble) the size of the salad, have more tuna and skip the jacket potato.

Fatcat, I love Padrones in a tapas bar. Small green peppers fried with lots of salt. I am sure they must be better for dieters then patatas bravas... also garlic prawns ...

Thanks @FATEdestiny yes it would only be one of those - we have lunch at 2pm at work and I leave the house at 7am so find it hard to get to 2pm before eating hence the toast first thing.
I will give your suggestions a try though Thankyou :)

@Pinkroseuk I'd pile on weight on that diet due to all the carbs and I'd feel bloated and lethargicI know people are different and diets are just calorie restriction but consider lowering the carbs. My meals:

B- scrambled egg and salmon
L- Usually dinner left overs but salad with avo and any protein and a good oily dressing or mayo
D- as Fate says bolognese sauce with cheese, zero spaghetti or courgetti or a big selection of green veggies.

I've been losing steadily on Low carb high fat. Med type diet. Might be worth a try.

Thanks @NakedAvenger
With things like spag Bol we tend to ram it with veg as it is but will try just with more veg and no pasta-
I have lost a stone so far but not getting any further - so frustrating

2nd week weigh in today, lost 4.5lbs, 12.5 total now. I’m pleased with the numbers but still have 4/5 stone to go!

Sorry. Should have said that menu is 20g carbs and around 1100 cals

A change on eating habits can kick start loss again. I know if I stall on low carb then a bit of carb cycling can kick it off again. It's worth a try. Portion control is key though!

pinkrose are you properly weighing things? It's really easy to underestimate how much you're eating. I used to eat loads of salad and wonder why I was overweight but I hadn't realised the 3 tbsps of olive oil I used had 450 calories!

If I were you I would increase the protein and vegetables as I find these more filling. So instead of a chicken wrap I might just have twice as much chicken and no wrap. And - if you're not doing this already - I would bulk the spag bol with peppers and mushrooms.

I really love eggs and will often have an omelette with whatever herbs I have in and lots of vegetables. The same with soup, I am eating lots of soups at the moment.

@StealthNinjaMum I'm not weighing everything but basing most things on previous things I have weighed if that makes sense!

Yes we would typically have spag Bol with mushrooms peppers and corguettes in as well.
I hate eggs so have tried to avoid anything eggy but might have to try and force them down!

Sorry pinkrose I see you already add lots of veg.

By the way a stone is fantastic, but obviously I can see how frustrating it is when the loss slows down. Are you close to your target?

No worries @StealthNinjaMum
We get a veg box for four people each week between the two of us and still end up topping up from supermarket!
I have another 3 stone to loose so a quarter of the way there- I was given 4 months to loose it and that ends beginning of March :/

Yes it makes sense I tend to estimate my food.

I was just wondering how I lost weight last time. This time I am just living on soup and salad so very boring but I'm only cooking for me whereas before i was cooking for stbexh and didn't mind spending more time cooking.

I just googled hairy dieters and found a good cassoulet recipe, a paella and a skinny lasagne which I didn't cook because stbexh would have noticed he was eating diet food and complained!

Link here

www.bbc.com/food/recipes/skinny_beef_lasagne_87277

They look lovely @StealthNinjaMum
I will give them a go-
Yes think it would be easier if I didn't have hubby to feed and I could do it alone but he eats loads so if I give me anything diet related he would be snacking unhealthy stuff all evening!

2lbs off this week delighted! 6lbs in total.