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

[surprise]

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.

Ahh, just gone to log my cals on food focus and the site is down!

Had a really good meal (no desert or choccie) for our anniversary and I did the driving so no alchohol.

If I can keep going I hope to have lost a little by Monday. I put 2lb loss down which is 3330 cals - as i'm new to calorie counting not sure if this is realistic yet.

must be too many mners trying to register lol.

tibni, you star! no alcohol and no dessert?! your willpower is amazing!

Food focus is back! Think i'm getting slightly addicted already

Didn't feel difficult resisting desert because I felt full. Normally I would eat to feeling slightly sick but not wanting to leave good food!

lol at romy's dr who impression. though if you stumble across david tennant, i get first dibs

eek! you can have him! i like mine a bit, er, manlier, lol. bit prissy for me.

PMSL at Romy's zombie walk!!
I may be doing my own zombie impression today due to stiffness - my mum looked after the kids for us yesterday so we could get out for a walk in the hills, which was lovely, but I was trying to keep the pace up all the way round and may pay for that today!!!

tibini - happy anniversary. Well done on the willpower!! I like the idea of you driving so not drinking, normally dh and I take turns, but driving, like you say, means no drink so fewer calories - plus brownie points with OH, which I could always trade for a lie-in

romy - I'm afraid I've convinced myself I'll have lost weight by monday . No matter how sensible a talking to I give myself when I start out, it always feels like I'm putting effort in and I get excited by the idea of losing weight, so get really disappointed if it doesn't happen fast. Which is ridiculous. It's healthy to lose it slower, plus I want to get fitter and more toned, and muscle weighs more than fat, so I know I won't lose masses of weight; but I'll still be disappointed at the weigh-in when I weigh the same/more [pillock emoticon]. Just keep reminding me that Surprise started this thread as a 12 week exercise!!

cece - my dr's surgery have a lifestyle advisor, whatever that is, but maybe yours will have something to offer to help you.
bling - did you get your early night? Much respect to anyone who can manage the gym in the morning!
sonnet - did you get for your swim in the end? lol at " it makes you focus on food"
PMSL at us all getting obsess with foodfocus. \mind I was when I realised the calories in cheese. Deffo one for me to reduce!

Hold up - she didn't start it as 12 weeks, where did I get that from?? Oh I am so not firing on all cylinders today [sigh]

OMG I just weighed out a portion of cereal - I think my portions are normally 3 times that! There's no way 30g would keep me going until lunch!!

(I'll stop posting in a minute! )

Morning all! No, sadly, I didn't get my early night. DP is a night owl so although I go to bed earlier than him quite often, I still find it hard to go to bed while he's very clearly in up and about and perky mode. Darn it!!! And dinner wasn't the best calorie meal - haven't loaded it up yt but we had strogonoff. - I had the ingredients and didn't want to waste them. But I was super stingy with creme fraiche so hopefully that helps a bit.

I think I will have lost a bit of weight by monday. Admittedly, I'm going for less weight loss per week than a lot of you - only 1lb. I think when I put into Foodfocus that I work in an office so am fairly unactive by day, it reduced the calories I need just to get through to day to such a low amount that to lose much more than 1lb a week will involve starving myself!

Does any one else think it's a bit strange how many of us have had anniversaries since we started? Me, Tibni, and I'm sure at least one other?

Morning!

2Happy i'm the same and get all over excited about weight loss - it's why I'm trying to keep away from the scales until Monday. Rationally I know it's not what I do in the first couple of weeks that matters but the long term.

I had the same reaction to cheese . Being veggie I often throw a chunk on salad or jacket potato for protein; my little chunk has more cals than the quorn burger and ciabbata roll.

Going to mums today and taking over a birthday cake for her from the dcs. Mum doesn't do healthy eating so it will be a challenge to get through lunch! Might take over a banana or something, banana sandwich, yum!

Intending on getting to the gym this evening then at least once over the weekend.

Hope you all have a good day and the Davina muscles have eased off

davina muscles are... better but still there, so i think it's time to warm them up a bit. the dog walking doesn't seem to be having the desired effect. thought i'd try a '30 min workout' tonight. that'll tick my goal of 2 dvd workouts a week, too. although haven't managed swimming yet, but dog walked every day...

2Happy - i've got the same cereal habit as you...

i'm now scraping the barrel of what to eat with what is left in my house. i wanted to get to the weekend without bread, and i think i might just do it, but i am going to have to brave the supermarket. the dcs are back on sunday, and so is dh (i have been lolling in silent contemplation for a week) so i'm going to have to buy man and kid friendly stuff too. fortunately mine eat tons of veg and only get yoghurt for dessert (not a domestic goddess) so in theory it needn't be disaster. somehow i always end up with more than i bargained for though...

My Davinda DVD arrived! As I didn't get to gym and am unlikely to do so on the weekend, please send me lots of reminders on how fabulous it will be to do it as soon as I get home tonight.it's quiet at the office so am optimistic that I can get out of here early enough. And DP has been putting me to shame by heading out for a run the last couple of evenings so if he's off doing that, I can do my Davina in peace.
Have never done an exercise video before...

listen to jacky, listen to jacky, listen to jacky
it's fun, honest.

That's it Romy, you're a very good cheerleader. Do you do the outfit too?

Me Bling, my anniversary is Sunday..DD is off to grandma's for the night on Saturday and I'm making fajitas (lots of salad), no chocolate but probably a beer or two.

Planning some long walks as well over the weekend..

Feeling quite virtuous today as I had strawberries and grapes with pancakes for breakfast (only small pancakes 95 each).

I'm making a lemon and rocket risotto tonight.

I managed to input house cleaning as exercise on food focus but only got 78 cals out of it - didn't walk the dog either...I'm going to have to get a Davina DVD aren't I? (also an exercise video virgin)

Not too confident about Monday as the weekends are a killer for me..can't we weigh on a Friday instead?

oo. we could agree a time and all suffer exercise together!

i've just been a teensy bit naughty. Had a craving for tomato tart so have picked my toms and put them in the oven on (gulp) puff pastry and pesto base. will make it last and savour every mouthful though
still, davina to look forward to, so i'll burn it off... won't i? i haven't dared try to put it into food focus...

no no medogs. monday. bad girl.

can i come round for dinner?

bling
that really wouldn't be pretty.

but dds would love it.

Last time I did an exercise video I ended up with a cut to my head which bled a lot!

I was off work and at the time DH and I shared a house with a lodger (male). I thought DH and this other man had both gone to work... So I start exercise video in lounge. It was summer and very hot so decided to do it in my bra and knickers .

After about 15 mins I suddenly realised there were footsteps on the stairs - it was the lodger coming down.... I ran as quick as I could to our downstairs toilet. Unfortunately their was a step down into it and as I leapt (ha) into it I hit my head on the wall....

2 mins later I was locked in the downstairs loo in bra and knickers with blood pouring down over my face and the lodger banging on the door, asking if I was OK!

LOL

Off for weekend so will try to be good!

does laughter burn cals?
have a lovely weekend!

Medogs, some reassurance on the weekend ... every Monday is after a weekend. So it doesn't matter if we weight in on Mondays or Fridays because if we did fridays, we'd just get fatter over the weekend, then lose it in virtuous dieting during the week. But ultimately, the number of lbs lost per week remain the same.

I can see how that might not help, but it helps me!

Office is in hilarious Friday shut down mode. Which would be better if we didn't all have ridiculous amounts of work to do for our new boss.

Lemon and rocket sounds delicious. Mmm..,. Am entirely stumped for dinner ideas. Need to see if dp can come up with anything.

hilarious text from DP, that I think expresses what we all feel... "Was a victim of a starbucks choc chip conspiracy this morning. I don't know how it happened. Before I knew it I was chomping down on one. I am sure they spiked my drink!"

damn damn, the deli by my office made me buy a massive sausage roll.....

cece that's hilarious! Sorry about the cut and the blood and everything but that has really got me giggling..

Monday weigh in then..sigh..I suppose it might help me curb my temptation over the weekend (some hope). I get your point though bling and agree entirely...just not expecting too much this week..

And don't be fooled by the risotto - I'm no domestic goddess, but I've been trying some stuff cooked from scratch lately and the risotto is one I've only done once before. We might end up with beans on toast yet...

You're still welcome to join us Romy, as long as you bring Davina with you...

if you can't have a sausage roll on a friday, when can you?!

thank you Bling, but i'm doing soooo badly, now i'm cravin wine and it's only 3.30!!