Calorie counting for the new year, anyone want to join?

[FlabCrab]

Hello :)
I have a 11lbs to lose, and planning on calorie counting as it’s worked well for me in the past. I’ll be using Nutracheck and on 1450 calories a day. I really need accountability so I’m planning to post my calories and meals each evening, and weigh in every Thursday starting tomorrow.

I’d love some company!
Happy to talk to myself if not though (and I fully expect I will be as it’s a bit of a boring thread 😂).

I was planning to start on the 1st but due to being absolutely disgusted with how much I’ve eaten over Christmas I’m starting tomorrow instead

I’m also planning a general lifestyle improvement - much less time on my phone, and some kind of exercise every day.

Good luck to anyone else looking to lose weight in the new year! 💪

First day at work for me. I had the meals prepared, so easy to stick to it.
First day back at the gym too. I am going back tomorrow too. I feel really good, it makes me feel quite happy, I think it is the endorphins.
I have breakfast muffin again, lunch salad/ new potatoes/ spinach/ mayo tuna, dinner home cooked soup and a Friday treat banana and peanut butter toast.
All ready in the fridge, so I know I will stick to it.

Yeah, I like seeing other people's intake too @FlabCrab - can be good for ideas and inspiration!

Sounds very organised @MushMonster - how are you getting on cutting back on the milky coffee? I have replaced my morning cuppa with hot water and lemon and restricting tea during the day. I drink a ridiculous amount of tea usually so I'm finding that a challenge.

I have been under my calories (1500 max) all week, and have exercised every day and the scales have not budged one bean!!
What is good though is 6 days so far with no wine! That’s an accomplishment though as have been watching Hairy Bikers this week they are going everywhere and tasting yummy things, drinking all the wine, beer and fine
How’s everyone else getting on?

4lb down since 1 Jan although I didn’t start properly calorie counting until Monday & caved on some of the Xmas treats on 1/2 Jan so im quite happy with that.
Dry Jan going well. Im enjoying it. My skin is looking much better. However, giving up my daily milky coffee might be a step too far!
I’ve decided to try to avoid carbs in the week from Monday too.

Organisation is key @MushMonster! Well done!

Well done @Slidey23! I think it can be quite normal to have no loss on the first week, then a bigger loss after week two. Stick with it!

@Daisy829 that’s amazing!!

@Slidey23 well done on the exercise. I can’t bring myself to do that yet. Im naturally very lazy! I’ll get there though.
Im enjoying this thread. Thank you lovelies x

Haha, gin not fine!

Yes, well done @Daisy829 that’s amazing!

Thanks @FlabCrab, am remaining optimistic and hanging in there. Nice thread though, thankyou for starting it!

@WhatWouldTheDoctorDo I have bought lemon tea, and I also have a lemon and ginger. That has practically no calories.
It is the most difficult part for me!
I do not use any sugar, and stick to black coffee or just a tiny bit of mik if I have more than one coffee.
I have resd that lemon water helps to reduce weight too, so well done to you!

@Slidey23

I have been under my calories (1500 max) all week, and have exercised every day and the scales have not budged one bean!! What is good though is 6 days so far with no wine! That’s an accomplishment though as have been watching Hairy Bikers this week they are going everywhere and tasting yummy things, drinking all the wine, beer and fine How’s everyone else getting on?

This is quite normal and the reason why so many people give up. It will fall off you, most likely in one go! It will be due to water retention, that your body may be keeping to prepare glycogen reserves from your fat stores. Or it may have to do with your hormone levels. That happens to me too. I will not loose weigh on the two weeks before my period, but then all comes off on the next two weeks. I also had some inflamation issues which I think I have found the source, I am allergic to rye and most likely barley and I was eating it in small amounts in brown and seeded breads. But I can tell you that by my experience, if you stick to the plan, you will loose it. Do not worry if the balance does not follow straight away. It will eventually. And the immediate reward is to feel healthy and better for those of us with these issues. Keep going!

@Slidey23 That happens to me every time I diet. It’s so disheartening isn’t it. I’m finding this thread helps me stay motivated though.

I’ve had a good day today. Made a really healthy meal of pearl barley, chickpeas, black eyed beans, kale and sweet potato.

Hope everyone else is having a good Friday. The weekend is always a challenge for me 🤨

I normally don’t eat until lunch but I was starving this morning and had a thin bagel with Red Leicester, a banana and some Skyr yoghurt. That came to 517.

I had a mad day at work and worked through lunch, grabbed an apple mid afternoon.

Dinner was roast chicken, roast potatoes and broccoli. To be honest I thought sod it and dished up (via the scales) the amount I wanted. Still came in 44 cals light for the day

The nutracheck app certainly has opened my eyes to how little I drink and how little fruit and veg I eat. I make healthy dinners for the family but don’t really eat them myself.
Tested positive for Covid today and can’t taste anything. Craving food that’s really tasty and comforting but can’t be bothered as everything tastes of nothing!

@Cassimin I really liked that about the app. I really like the little charts you can get to see your intake of fibre, protein etc.

Sorry to hear you have covid 😟

It's opened my eyes about what constitutes a portion of fruit and veg @Cassimin (sorry about the covid)

Good points about hormones and weight loss @MushMonster. @Slidey23 - I lost two stone two years ago (plateaued after that, but wasn't very disciplined to keep going), but I was gutted the first few weeks when the scales refused to budge. It slowly and steadily dropped after that though so don't despair!

Today I had

Scrambled eggs with toast 261
Lentil & bacon soup 243
Chicken stew 232 (would have been higher but some dumplings I made were inedible)
Snacks - raspberries 13

So very low on the calorie front (830) , so I will be treating myself to a wee snack and glass of wine later. I also did a bodycombat class.

Thanks for all your positive comments @MotherMole @MushMonster. I’ve not really thought about hormones. I’m very motivated at the moment so I’m happy to keep going as logically it’s got to work eventually. If I aim too low calorie-wise I end up starving and overeating.

@SockFluffInTheBath what I’ve liked about calorie counting is that no food is off limits and you have what you like if you measure it. It’s a bit of a pain to measure and I don’t bother to weigh low cal things like salad veg but it helps you get used to portion sizes for the higher cal things. Hence you can definitely have the odd roast potato or two!

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. Just checking in with my update. Still loving the Nutracheck app, coming in under my 1600 calories daily. I done my first weight yesterday that I will treat as my starting weight, sadly I was half a stone heavier than I thought I was. I cook a lot from scratch and I love how the app converts my recipes into calories.

Feeling slightly nervous about going into week two. Hopefully I can stick with it and not go off track.

I have been doing dry January as well and have definitely noticed I am less bloated. I am never away from the toilet must have lost gallons of water this week 😳

Thanks for a lovely thread that keeps me going 💐

@StarryNightSparkles well done.
My days been a bit tricky. I wasn’t hungry when I woke but had a banana then we took the kids swimming & decided to go to the cafe after. Nothing healthy at all! I ended up with half a portion of chips. I counted them & had something decent to eat when I got home. I’m out tonight but driving. Toying with calling in at subway later for one of their salads.

Tomorrow I’m going for a pub lunch and I can’t decide if risotto or roast dinner is going to be lower in calories. I’m thinking roast dinner but ditch the Yorkshire & roasties but I’ve got a really sore tooth that I’m on antibiotics for so risotto will be easier to eat!

@Daisy829 it's sad how swimming cafes are still selling nothing but fast foods. They need to move with the times and have more options for people. A big take away salad sounds really refreshing and healthy. Sorry to read about your sore tooth hope it gets better soon. That is a tough choice for tomorrow my pick would be the roast although not having roast potatoes or Yorkshire puddings would be difficult. Not sure how you make risotto, does it not have a lot of oil in it.

Hi!

I’m only checking in to catch up on everyone’s news, I haven’t counted today or yesterday as I’ve got a cold and feel rubbish. I haven’t eaten loads but I just didn’t have the energy to weigh and count.
Feeling loads better now though and I’ve got a good day planned tomorrow!

Not sure how you make risotto, does it not have a lot of oil in it.

You can use hardly any. It’s the rice mainly that makes the calories.
Tesco do an amazing low calorie risotto ready meal. I don’t really approve of ready meals officially but off the record they’re a good means to an end!

@FlabCrab sorry to read about your cold. Glad you are on the mend. Thanks for the info re risotto, I might try making it one day. Hope you have a fab day tomorrow. My plans for tomorrow are a long walk and then home to look up recipes for next week.

Well done @StarryNightSparkles keep with it! We have a long walk planned tomorrow too.

Toothache is just the worse @Daisy829

I've had a dreadful day calorie wise - and accidental calorific breakfast (DH's fault) following by a postponed Christmas family gathering. Despite turning down several glasses of fizz and being fairly restrained at the buffet table my estimated calories for the day are sky high. I'm going to have to be very good over next few days to balance out my week. I've set nutracheck to run from Wed to Tue with Wed being weigh-in day.

However, I did get out for a couch to 5k run earlier so that's something!

Sorry you've not been feeling great @FlabCrab hope you're much better soon!

Hi!
Im also using nutracheck, I'm on day 7 of calorie counting and been "given" 1200 a day. Can't actually believe I've survived a week!! I've never calorie counted before, always done slimming world so the portion sizes have been an eye opener! Got 2 stone to lose.

Thank you! Yes I’m fine I’m just being pathetic really

Well done @addictedtotheflats! I highly recommend working out your actual calorie allowance though, 1200 is really low, you might have a pleasant surprise!

@WhatWouldTheDoctorDo well done on the 5k. I've still not started any form of exercise 😳 will look at that next week. @addictedtotheflats hello and welcome. I used to do slimming world also but couldn't stick to it. Definitely agree with @FlabCrab 1200 is really low. My daily calorie is 1644. I don't use them all daily but it's good to know that they are there or to save up for a meal out etc