Back on my diet and feeling optimistic!

[FlamedToACrisp]

DAY 1
Starting Weight: 17st 2.75lbs
Exercise: Spent 6 hours painting the living room and hallway.
Mood: Optimistic

Breakfast: 1 banana.
Lunch: 1 roll with butter, thin cheese and loads of salad; 1 handful of cheese savouries.
Dinner: Cottage pie with sliced potatoes on top, lots of extra veg.(The bloody cottage pie took ages to brown nicely with spray-on sunflower oil instead of butter)
Drinks: Diet Pepsi.
Snacks: 2 nectarines (I don't allow myself any sweet things except fruit until after dinner); saucer of sweet treats to last me all evening (15 assorted sweets and a Freddo)

how rude!

@Namechange3007 - I didn't mean you!

Sadly I don't like water at all

Haha! What was rude? Seriously you are doing great. I'm trying too but it's very hard.

I’m not bad on water. I currently feel poorly so can’t imagine I’ll be consuming loads.

Try some squash or a cold tea infusion or soda water? If all you're drinking is diet pepsi that's an insane amount of caffeine (and pretty expensive, I'd have thought!)

DAY 8 (yes, I realised I had 2 x Day 5!)
Weight: 16 st 9 lbs
Exercise: Apart from putting the bins out... not much!
Mood: Alert

Breakfast: Jam and cream biscuit and 2 ibuprofen
Lunch: Corned beef salad sandwich (granary bread) and 2 nectarines
Dinner: Visiting a local army camp, so lots of stodge - A big wodge of pizza, potato wedges, salad, 1 garlic doughball, Bakewell tart, custard.
Drinks: Diet Pepsi.
Snacks: none (no sweeties tonight!)

I've probably overeaten today, but I'm such a fussy eater I was just glad to be offered something I was willing to eat. I should have skipped the pudding, but it looked yummy. Tomorrow is another day... and I don't suppose I'll enjoy looking at the scales.

@ALoadOfTwaddle I used to drink squash, but I hate the low-sugar versions and I can't find any sugary ones. I joke, "It's only the caffeine that keeps me going!" but I am concerned about my intake.

DAY 9
Weight: 16 st 9.25 lbs
Exercise: Another lazy day
Mood: Concerned. DH is not well.

Breakfast: Jam and cream biscuit and 2 ibuprofen (I get a lot of twinges in the morning, we really need a new bed)
Lunch: 5 Dark Ryvita with thin butter, Marmite and tiny bits of cheese, and 2 nectarines
Dinner: Chicken thingy with batter on, oven chips, half a mini tin of beanz-and-sausages. Not a good choice but I didn't have much in the house.
Drinks: Diet Pepsi.
Snacks: saucer of sweet treats; slice of granary toast with butter and Marmite in the middle of the night

Starving!!!! I need more fruit but didn't bother to go shopping

OP you’re doing well, but do you think you need to look a bit closer at what you’re eating? You can have breakfasts that aren’t biscuits that would actually fill you up and be so much better for you. You’re eating lots of chips and processed foods and things that can’t be making you feel good. You can lose weight and not be starving! Plus it sounds like you might need to learn more about food and nutrition for long term success. What you’re doing now is not healthy or nutrition rich eating, even if some weight is coming off.

@Stepstepmother I know my diet isn't healthy, but there are so many low-calorie, nutritious foods that I just don't like! Also, if I don't have my sweeties at the end of the day, I end up eating sweet things and making excuses. I am going through a very stressful time right now and I hate deciding what's for dinner. I love things I can just lob in the oven and not worry about. Once I get into the routine of dieting, I'll look at my portion sizes and try to eat a wider range of foods.

DAY 9
Weight: 16 st 8.25 lbs
Exercise: 3 hours trudging around a muddy field, banging in stakes for an event tomorrow. My fitbit loves me - GOAL!
Mood: OK, a bit stressed

Breakfast: none
Lunch: Cheese salad sandwich (granary bread), 2 gruyere and poppy seed twists
Dinner: Liver and bacon, Smash and baked beans
Drinks: Diet Pepsi; glass of orange juice
Snacks: saucer of sweet treats

Oops! that should have been Day 10

I wish I could eat that much and loose weight. I'm a lot heavier than you and can't even think of bread, lasagne, mash etc. I eat a lot of salad no dressing, lean meat and vegetables. My only treat is a frozen ice pop. If you are ok with this diet ,go for it.

@MrsT1405 how sad - do you not move around much? How are you doing on weight-loss? I heard you can make your body go into starvation mode if you eat too little (not that it is likely in my case )

I can't see why my 'diet' works for me, tbh, as I'm not very active and loathe 'exercise' for the sake of itself when there is so much work to be done in the world! I'd much rather scrub a floor, mow the lawn or clear out the loft than go to an aerobics class.

I don't measure my portions or anything - I just look at my plate and think, "That's not a greedy plateful." Once I stop losing, I'll be more careful.

I wouldn't worry too much about the diet Pepsi unless your drinking litres of the stuff. Most people drink tea and coffee which also contains caffeine, and many dieters add sweeteners to it.

It's not a health drink but you know this. If it helps you stay away from calorific food then it's not the end of the world in my opinion.

DAY 11
Weight: 16 st 8.75 lbs
Exercise: Lots of walking! Reached my Fitbit Goal for the second day in a row.
Mood: Confident and relieved now this big event is over.

Breakfast: none
Lunch: Cheese and marmite sandwich (granary bread), 1 gruyere and poppy seed twist
Dinner: Jumbo sausage and part-portion of chips from the local chippy - no one had time for food shopping
Drinks: Diet Pepsi; cup of tea (too polite to say no when someone handed it to me)
Snacks: completely FORGOT I was on a diet and had a slice of cake and a choc digestive! In my defence I was insanely busy. And... it was cake. I only remembered as I swallowed the last mouthful!

Well, this was definitely NOT my diet's finest hour! I will be amazed if I haven't put the lot back on by tomorrow. I'd like to say I'll make a special effort tomorrow, but the truth is, I won't. I'll be at the hospital with my DH all day and night, and will have to eat what I can buy. Rats!

Blimey OP, that's 8lbs in 11 days - good job! As you say it'll probably slow down quite soon, but it goes to show just a bit of concentration can do wonders to get you started, and you don't have to make dramatic changes right away to see results

I am enjoying reading this. I am a similar weight to you but I am going for the 800 cal a day intermittent fasting approach.

DAY 12
Weight: Couldn't weigh as was at the hospital with DH
Exercise: Over 10,000 steps - I think this is my Fitbit record! Upstairs, downstairs, along the corridors... my poor legs!
Mood: Concerned for DH, wasn't thinking about calories etc.

Breakfast: 1 slice toast and marmite
Lunch: Cheese and ham sandwich (oatmeal bread, no butter), bag of crisps, 1 banana
Dinner: leapt into the hospital canteen 10 minutes before it closed and had to grab the nearest thing - lukewarm jacket potato with butter and cheese - the serving size had far too much cheese, but I didn't eat it all, no wonder some nurses are overweight!
Drinks: Diet Pepsi
Snacks: 1 banana, 1 Twirl, 3 large choc chip cookies because...umm... umm... OK I shouldn't have but I did

@Belindabelle 'intermittent' fasting? How to you stop yourself putting it back on on the eating days?

DAY 13
Weight: Couldn't weigh as was at the hospital with DH
Exercise: Quite a bit of walking.
Mood: Very, VERY guilty!

Breakfast: 1 slice toast and butter
Lunch: Primula sandwich (granary bread), 1 orange
Dinner: pizza sub, 2 rashers of bacon
Drinks: Diet Pepsi

..and then it all went horribly wrong

Snacks: 2 large choc chip cookies, bag of crisps, THREE Mr Kipling apple pies, 28 assorted sweets, 1 flake... what was I THINKING??? Oh dear oh dear I really don't want to weigh myself tomorrow. I feel sick.

Limit your money, op. If you've got enough left over after you've bought your main meal you're going to buy snacks. Just take enough for the potato down with you to the canteen next time.

@ALoadOfTwaddle we're back from the hospital now. DH is resting in bed, and I will start the diet again tomorrow.

My mistake was eating one cookie left over from the hospital... actually my mistake was BUYING the cookies in the first place. I just can't resist sugar, that's why it's best if I leave it to the end of the day, eat it then go to bed.

I'm the same, op. I just don't have it in the house.

DAY 14
Weight: 16st 8.75 lbs I thought it would be far worse!
Exercise:
Mood: Organised and determined

Breakfast: none (my Tesco delivery hadn't arrived and I was waiting for fruit!)
Lunch: Cheese salad sandwich (yummy crusty bread), bunch of grapes
Dinner: Roast chicken, roast potatoes, peas, mini corn on the cob, gravy
Drinks: Diet Pepsi
Snacks: 1 banana, half an apple; saucer of sweeties

…. aaaaaand… I'm back in the game! I can do this.