Long term calorie counting/exercise diet. Starting Monday 17th August. Anyone care to join me?

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Had no luck with posting this in chat! Must be a skinny bunch in there. Seriously need to shed some weight. After lots of failed attempts over the past few years I'm determined to stick to a long-term plan, reducing calorie intake by a small amount and doing more exercise.

My plan is this - I'm reducing my calorie intake to 1600 per day (to maintain weight I should have 2100) and aim to do a 20 min brisk walk 3 times a week, plus 20-30 mins aerobic exercise 3 times a week (fitness video or Wii fit or swimming).

If anyone is interested in joining in, with maybe a weekly weigh-in then I'd be very glad of the company and support!

Bought some body fat measuring scales yesterday and my body fat percentage is almost 39% which I don't think is good somehow.

had late lunch so ate all that was left in the cafetteria - pie!!! Yuck.

Romy, good luck this week - how are things with the family though?
And Tibni, as always, you are my hero! Sorry to hear the school is still being annoying. I think you're being remarkably calm - no threads all over AIBU ranting?

Nanny - I like your new name too!

nannyogg? no, your hallowe'en name was mewerewolves? i'm so confused!

having a really rubbish week and dh is away.

dd2 got chicken pox on saturday and now a chest infection (pox in mouth and throat so aspirating etc etc lalala), no sleep since friday yesterday i got the legal report for dd2's birth injury out of the blue so spent most of the day crying. today i realised i hadn't received any DLA so rang them and found out i had forgotten to change the address two years ago so didn't receive renewal forms. took car (a galaxy) to garage (i hit a british gas van - oops) and they gave me a ford ka in exchange (presumably i am supposed to wedge the 3 kids inside and tow the wheelchair behind...) but enbough, i'm in a better mood today despite being broke and not allowed out...

and i weighed myself today (couldn't have cared less where the scales were on monday, sorry!) and have lost the 2 lbs i put on last week, and that's with me scowling at davina since the weekend and falling asleep on the sofa instead.

tibni - did the CoG advise you to write the LEA? i thought they would be happier to try to solve in-house first?

bling i still love your hallowe'en name. dd2 wants to trick or treat and currently requires no fancy dress. scabby revolting child (with added darth vader breathing for extra effect)

oh, external family varied. we've been told grandad will have to go into a nursing home (if they can get rid of his chest infection - he's been in the hospital over 3 months now .) that was only yesterday actually, so i spent all morning weeping over dd2's legal case and all afternoon in a flap about grandad.
my mum has started her treatment (they have decided they removed enough breast and lymph tissue to only do radio, which i guess is a good sign...)
er, think that's it... can never remember what i've been whinging about from one minute to the next. was wondering if some happy pills might be of benefit but will keep as last resort!

Oh Romy, you sound remarkably upbeat for having such a rotten time of it. Well done on the 2lbs and I hope things pick up really soon.

I fancied another Halloween name - trawled my extensive back catalogue of names and found this, appropriately enough a witch. I'm sticking with it I think.

Tibni - hoping everything works out for you too. I've started at the gym, I'm really excited about it. Going again tonight!

Thanks Romy. You should hear DP - he's been practising his "Vampire" accent all week in preparation for the Halloween party we're off to on Friday night. He makes me laugh.

You seem to be doing brilliantly all things considered. Is a nursing home a relief or just makes it worse? I am a little clueless on these kinds of decisions as never had grandparents and my parents are still young enough (for now) that it hasn't come up. And great news that your mum is looking better relatively speaking. If they catch it early enough that can make a huge difference.

Nanny - good luck with the gym! My hot tip is in the beginning focus on getting through at least 45 minutes rather than overdoing it in the first 15 minutes and then going home too soon.

i think it is a relief as far as a 'decision' goes, the not knowing whether he would improve enough to be allowed home has just meant that everything has been put on ice really... (including the van load of freezer meals that ss prematurely delivered lol)
unfortunately it has made it rather clear that he is unlikely to make it much longer (he is 93 ) so mil is finding that really difficult. we made a right pair . it's just trying to organise now - he'll need 24/7 nursing care, and mil and her brother will have to sort power of attorney and organise funding...
dh will get back about 9pm on hallowe'en, so fortunately this year the neighbours children will not have to be overly alarmed by the sight of him in his skeleton outfit from his early twenties (the skeleton itself isn't scary at all - it's the fact he can't do it up lol...) last year i managed to persuade him that hanging it up in the window was a much better idea than testing the strength of the velcro - i have visions of it bursting at an inappropriate moment and him getting arrested...

Hi Romy, my dad went into a medical nursing home and it was a positive place for him to be. He was terminal but it got him out of the hospital bed and he got to spend the summer in pleasant surroundings. When he passed away we gave the money to the nursing home to buy extra bulbs and plants - a lasting tribute to the great gardener my dad was. The gardens are beautiful so we knew the money would be spent well.

I too am tempted by the happy pills; all this with school is really taking its toll.

Can someone kick me up the bum! I have spent this week eating crap - due to stress. I don't want to undue all the hard work.

take a deep breath. i wonder how much of it is just the thought of winter coming on you know. i had a few friends who decided to try those daylight bulb things last year, and it did make a difference - you never know if it's psychosomatic though!...

stuff just doesn't affect me so much when the sun is shining.

that was a really lovely thing to do with the bulbs. grandad has been a prolific gardener too - he has an orchard with plums too, so maybe a plum tree or two when the time comes... we've just got to find the right place now though. the hospital aren't ready to release him yet, they are still treating the most recent pneumonia (and continuing infection round his peg), but they have started all the paperwork and asked mil to look for a suitable place...

do feel very sad for mil - she had to do exactly the same for his sister in the last year, as she had no other relatives in the country.

not going to kick you up the bum, but if it stops snowing/ raining, try and spend an extra hour outside before the light disappears altogether...

Tibni - you've done so well. So first, cut yourself a little slack if you're having a bad week. Then... pick yourself up, dust yourself down and get back on the wagon. You've done so well that really, you just need to maintain now. So, before tucking into whatever crap is in front of you, ask yourself if you really need it? or even, do you really need it all. Often, just not eating the ENTIRE chocolate or whatever, is a massive step all by itself.

Thanks guys!

Well we have been out (2 seperate friends are on holiday so we have 2 lots of houses and animals to look after). Then we went to town to buy ribbon and glitter spray for dd gymnastic comp on Sunday. Its the first time I have taken both dc's alone to town and I was so proud of how they both behaved. DS, 7(severe ASD), has always found shopping challenging, dd, 9, is always good.

Well we came back with a tweenies DVD and cakes for both dc's - not me (ds managed to choose his own which is such progress) as well as the ribbon and glitter. Found out Bill and Ben books are out of print so will have to look on ebay / amazon as I have promised ds.

You are right; I need to dust myself down. I have taken all my too big size 12 out the wardrobe! (not going to send them to charity yet) as motivation.

Romy - with my dad it was the hospital that arranged the placement. It was called a "step down" bed - a half way house between hospital and discharge. I don't think they publicise these places well - basically because the NHS or social services pay (although dad was not on any benifits). Not sure if thats any help to you.

that's really interesting - mil got the impression she had to find somewhere, but said the consultant was doing the paperwork for ss, so i'll get her to ask.

Dad was desperate to get out of hospital (never accepted that he was terminal) and pushed for discharge. Social services knew they couldn't provide a package to support him even with me going in daily and providing food etc. (dad lived 20 miles away).

The step down bed was to placate him; they didn't expect him to live another 7 months. Theoretically social services were always attempting to put a care package for him so he could go back to his own home but we all knew it wouldn't happen. I believe the funding was always NHS.

The doctor who owned the Medical Nursing home sent us photographs of the flowers and plants that he purchased with the money we donated. We felt that this was a living memory of dad which still gives me comfort.

oh, that's lovely. really thoughtful of the doctor, when he must deal with so many families in similar circumstances.

i'm still not convinced he's even going to make it out of hospital. he hasn't been out of bed for over a month and is now tube fed, nil by mouth... he only gets rid of one infection to get another one. mil is very sad. occasionally he picks up a bit and has a bright couple of days, but the next infection takes him right back down again and he's very confused. some days he doesn't know he's got a house, let alone want to go back to it...

so tough. you must still miss your dad immensely.

Romy must be so hard for you all right now. It's like life being on hold with someone you care about is so ill.

Dad died 5 years ago and yes being a daddies girl I do still miss him. But time does heal and he still is part of my life in the person I am.

Well school situation got worse so I hit the crap food wise. Think I will take this week off and start again when kids go back and I have my standard work / gym type routine.

sometimes i think schools have no idea what effect their actions have on parents... don't worry about the lapse - although i was musing the other day that actually it can work as a reminder why you don't do it too often. good at the time, but never quite as good as you think it's going to be... and you've done so well, that a week off when you're low won't make that much difference. the scary gym stuff will fix it in no time.
half term and chicken pox has thrown me completely here - we all feel like hermits, and aren't allowed to go to the hospital. if mil comes here she has to go home and shower and change before she is allowed to go to the hospital... i feel like putting a big black cross on the door!

Tibni, I'm sorry to hear about the school situation. I agree with Romy - I don't think schools realise. for them, it's just one child, with problem x. For you... it's your darling baby!

Romy, how's everyone after the weekend?

I weighed in at the same as last week. I'm feeling okay about it as although I was good on main food, I had a few snacks etc and didn't get back to the gym last week. And at least I didn't gain anything, which is a relief.

Am going swimming tonight and DP and I have a good healthy meal planned for later. So we're on track for this week. I'm starting to have people notice the weight loss so feel it's really worth it. If I can just lose another 3 kg by Christmas, it won't be all gone, but I'll feel like I'm really making progress! [I'd like to lose 5 kg by christmas, but that's not realistic. My main thing is to give myself realistic goals and to put weightloss planning within the context of my regular life].

i lost a pound! which on balance i am chuffed about!

life getting back to what passes for normal. the pox is pretty much over - definitely not contagious today - and scabby girl will be back to school tomorrow (inset day today of all things). dh got back on fri, and is finishing work early today so i can get to the library and try and catch up on all the college stuff i've missed whilst we've been housebound lol. i got my car back from the garage on friday as well, and i am absurdly pleased by the paint job. i no longer have to drive around feeling like the beverly hillbillies have come to town.

i do have a niggling feeling that i have dropped a ball somewhere in the last week though, and can't work out which one.... answers on a postcard...

enjoy swimming bling - and hope school gets a rocket today tibni...

Reporting in late - things still difficult here.

I got on the scales Monday and was amazed not to have gained any weight as I am over eating but under exercising.

Bling and Romy - you sound so on track, you are an inspiration to me.

Mantra - Tibni must do better!

my word, I'm not used to being an inspiration. I don't really feel worth, but thanks!

I think once you've been working at it for a while, your body is used to it so you don't gain weight as fast in the beginning, which is probably why you're getting through this period relatively okay. You just got to keep trying.

I am so exhausted though that food is deteriorating - haven't had enough sleep all week, work (continues to be) intense etc etc. But we have a quiet weekend planned so hopefully I can get back on track. I did weigh myself this morning and I haven't gained yet, so that's something.

grandad died yesterday. on monday the consultant spoke to mil and said he wouldn't be leaving the hospital and no need to find a nursing home. he also told her they were removing his feeding and upping his morphine as there was no more that could be done for him. really quite sudden in the end.
thanks for listening when i blethered off topic anyway xx

Oh Romy, I'm so sorry for you and your family. that is sudden - just last week you were chatting about care options.

All the best to you and DH and the rest of the family.

thanks bling, this week has taken us all by surprise a bit

Romy; so sorry to hear your sad news. Sending you and your family much love. Take care and take it easy.

Ok ladies, where is everyone?

Romy - how are things at home? I take it the service has happened already? How is everyone feeling.

I feel like I'm hounding us all a little but... it has to be done! .

I am back down the few 100g I put on the week before last. and this week is good so far with already one gym session yesterday and another one planned for tonight (well, swimming). So I'm feeling good. I am determined to have got down to 71kg by the time my parents arrive in 5 weeks - so another 4kgs to go!

Well done Bling.

I am trying to maintain my weightloss now. I have actually lost a little more so its nearly 2 stone in total.

Its strange because for ages no one commented but then loads of people seemed to notice.

I have a new gym programme that is hard going. Only started it a week ago but I can see how my fitness levels have improved over the last few months. I am doing 3 x 1 mile time trials with dips, chin ups and press ups between. I am a delightful shade of red by the time I have finished. I am so competitive with myself!

Romy - how are you doing?