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My Diet Diary


Lisa O`Brien

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Got my tape measure out this morning. Measured my hips for the first time in about a month [i don`t bother measuring anywhere else; I figure if it`s coming off my hips ,it`s coming off everywhere else as well]. I`ve lost 2 inches. Woo Hoo.!!

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I was in town today and had another longish walk. The weather was glorious.  Lovely daffodils out too. Why can`t Ireland be like this all year round?? Wasn`t too impressed when I went into Sainsbury`s before coming home,to be confronted by divine Easter eggs everywhere. No doubt at Easter i`ll have one or two small ones. As long as I don`t have 8 in a matter of 2 days like I did last year [fat cow !]. Before going into Sainsbury`s I treated myself to a Cappuccino with extra Espresso at Starbucks in the shopping  centre. [The shopping centre is called The Quays,BTW,which is where I get my username from]. Usually if I`m in Starbucks I will have one of their scrummy large shortbreads with chocolate chip pieces in it. But today I just had the coffee. [Gives herself a pat on the head for being a good bunny].

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I think if you are in for the long haul with this......there are definitely some people who put on weight much more easily than others ........then allowing for a couple of treats a week is a good idea because I think that stops the urge to gorge on "forbidden" food.

 

I love hot chocolate but from March onwards especially once we go into "summer time" I only allow myself one once a week......in the real summer I don't fancy chocolate in any form at all so it's easy then .....but I could drink it every day in winter if I let myself.

I'm sure if I absolutely banned it on a weak day I would give in and probably have two for good measure......it's psychological in the end I think.

One great thing though I didn't seriously lose weight and seemed to have managed to keep it off......though still haven't reached my target weight area.......until I restarted ballet three years ago now. Somehow this became a motivation for practical reasons.......I didn't want to stress my joints with too much weight ......so I was able to be much more disciplined.....but NO banned foods .....because I also wanted to look better.....nothing quite as revealing as dance gear is there!

 

It may be early days for you at the moment and the walking sounds good but perhaps you could aim to get back to some form of dancing and this could be a good motivation for you.

 

Eventually anyway I found my mindset slowly changing......that I stopped thinking I was treating myself when I ate things like chocolate and cheese and started thinking I was treating myself when eating foods which I knew were good for my health(as far as anyone CAN know this at any rate) I still eat cheese but less often and in smaller amounts as I found other healthier sources of calcium etc etc.

I think it's best really to eat a wide ranging diet if this is for life and not just trying to lose a couple of stone for a particular event......this nearly always leads to weigh gain again because of the mindset involved in this type of dieting.

 

Regards your son and I agree it is easier to be tougher once your child has left home even for shortish periods(away at college etc) than when they are there all the time......18 is a landmark of sorts. You can say "old enough to vote now ....old enough to do your own cheese on toast!" Well of course he does KNOW how to do it.....but well when good old mum is around why shouldn't she!! There are many teenagers happy for mum to carry on doing all sorts of things for them......even tidying their own room up for them!

 

Perhaps you could get him to do for the both of you ...your ONE cheese on toast allowance a week!!!

 

With the walking home perhaps don't feel you have to do it EVERY week .....unless you happen to miss the bus......but if you can get your OWN choice into this .....even if only once a month initially .....then this is important I think......don't see it as some sort of punishment. Once it feels like a reward you will want to do it when you feel like it and that might be EVERY week or might NOT.

 

Keep us posted on how it's all going xx

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It's amazing how calories can be shaved though. Have your treat of cheese on toast, but have it on thinner bread and put less cheese on, better still try half fat cheese. Also money you saved by not having your shortbread biscuit at Costa can be your reward for getting the bus home, or if you choose to have the biscuit then you burn it off by walking home. You can have all the food you like, just half it. Try going up the stairs twice instead of once, do it as often as you can, them pounds will drop off. Best of luck.

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Did you catch that programme on calories on BBC1 the other night? I only came in partway through it, but I think they were showing how even more "luxurious" foods could be made less calorific by changing recipes, and so on.

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Yes,I saw it when it was repeated this afternoon [sat]. Very interesting the way our brains can confuse us,thinking we were full after eating a luxury brand when in actual fact it was exactly the same as the other shake.

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The Quays, reading your diary with interest... Love my food too! Are you drinking enough water? The brain can confuse dehydration with hunger as you get older. I have found that keeping properly hydrated is a simple and cost free way to regulate appetite, feel clear thinking (and have clear skin!) and feel energised. I used to think that drinking lots of water would make me feel bloated, but actually it has the opposite effect.

 

I watched a programme on TV recently that proved that soup is more filling than a cooked dinner. It showed that is because it stays in the stomach for longer. Lots of healthy soup ideas out there that are cheap to make. Also, got to recommend Tesco's Healthy Living Banoffee Muffin Dessert for a treat. 148 calories. Best thing I've tasted for ages! Going to buy a stash next time and hide them in the bottom of the fridge behind the veg!

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Well I`ve thought long and hard about this,but I`ve decided to leave the Slim4Life group,and go back to Slimming World. From a dieting point of view it`s six of one and half a dozen of the other. But I stuck with the Slim4Life group mainly out of loyalty to my friend,who has just set up the business. She used to run the Slimming World group I was part of for almost a year,but then she left that group,as the powers that be treated her appallingly and she earned a pittance from it. I sent her a long message this morning saying I simply cannot go on struggling to be able to afford it every Monday; the one day of the week she has groups[3] on. Yet there are about 7 Slimming World groups around Newry on various days. It would be nice to be able to go every week and actually know I have money still in my purse when I come out,to say nothing of being able to afford to get back home again,which kind of helps.!!  Familiar with the Slimming World format anyway,so it shouldn`t take me too long to get back in my stride with them.  I just hope my friend isn`t too put out that i`m abandoning her,especially after telling her I will have to probably stay in the group for the rest of my life. She probably thought at least she was going to be guaranteed one long term customer out of it. Turns out i`m the very first to leave after just 2 months. Oh well,I have to do what I have to do.!

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My friend got back to me. She told me she doesn`t care about the money ,as long as she sees me losing weight and inches on a regular basis,and has suggested I come to the group every other week instead of every week. Bless her heart. This means a lot to me,and also means I will be able to afford it.!

Edited by thequays
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She is and i`ve known her for years. Naomi is actually from Dorset originally. Fell for the charms of an Irishman ,like so many !  I met her and her eldest son when me and Sean turned up for the first day at Nursery when both boys were 3. Hard to believe they are both now 18.!! But yes,she`s got a heart of gold,and it is great I can now go every fortnight instead.

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Have you considered putting a little pic of Professor Brian on your fridge door, and anywhere else food may be calling you? It is a simple but surprisingly effective way to stop you snacking or eating anything you know you shouldn't.

Imagine his eyes following you as you reach for the cake! Imagine he is telling you to put the cheese back and step away from the fridge!

It worked for me although the pic wasn't Prof. Cox.

Edited by Jacqueline
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Ooh that might be a good idea,Jacqueline. If I put up a picture of Brian it could incentivise me to lose weight,by imagining  that if I become slim enough he might leave his wife, the American Gia Milinovich, for me.!!!!!!!!!

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Well I promised myself as a treat,2 small Easter Eggs. In the end today I bought one large,Dairy Milk egg,containing 3 x 45 gram bars,at 240 kcal each bar.  It was only a fiver so worked out cheaper than 2 small eggs. Well i`d been looking at the thing in the kitchen since I bought it. Finally relented and I ate one of the small Dairy Milk bars. It is the first chocolate I had had since the middle of January. It didn`t taste all that fantastic,and since I ate it about an hour and a half ago I have felt sick. Something tells me I won`t be stuffing my face with 8 eggs this year like I did last year.!

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You never know, Our Brian could be lost one day, the stars having failed to align correctly. He finds himself on your street and decides to knock on your door to ask directions. You should always be prepared, however unlikely it may seem that this could happen. :ph34r: If you keep him waiting because you are eating cake, he will assume no one is in and go next door.

As for the choc making you feel sick, that is good because it means your taste buds are adjusting to less sugary stuff. If you avoid as much artificially sweetened stuff as you can, you will start to really get the true flavour of things, seeing food as something you can enjoy rather than feel guilty about. Get used to unsweetened tea etc and you will prefer it.

Also, try better quality chocolate with a higher cocoa content. It costs a bit more but it tastes like chocolate should. You will eat less of it but enjoy it more and never go back to the mass produced stuff. Ignore the special offers, they're a con. Go for quality, it's better for you and cheaper in the long run.

I like those mini eggs by Lindt. They are small and tightly wrapped in foil, so can be a fiddle to open but that slows down the speed you trough them! Don't cheat by unwrapping them in advance!

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If you ever need a chocolate fix, I really recommend the really high cocoa content Lindt bars, 99% if you can find it. Without all the sugar it's initially quite bitter, but it does put off chocolate cravings. I kind of like it, but I can only ever eat small amounts (less than half a square) at a time :-)

Edited by Sunrise
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Oh no TheQuays please don't hate yourself :( you deserved a treat, everyone eats chocolate at Easter! (Even Professor Brian :P )Try not to feel guilty- tomorrow is a new day, everyone has slip ups sometimes, you haven't failed by succumbing to your chocolate cravings; its a perfectly natural thing to do! You seem really determined to lose weight so I'm sure you'll succeed- but don't fixate too much upon it, as long as you are of a healthy weight then theres no reason to deny yourself of a treat! Xx

Edited by swanprincess
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Thank you Swanprincess, that`s very kind of you to say. My friend at Slim 4 Life DID tell us all to enjoy the Easter Eggs,and then get back on track the following week. But when I had that initial bar I didn`t particularly enjoy it .Plus it made me feel sick.  Now i`ve polished off the whole egg and I feel i`ve gone back to square one and will have to go "chocolate cold turkey" all over again. I`m such an idiot.

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Idiot or just human.  I am rubbishing at dieting - as soon as I have a 'don't eat food' then you can guess which food it is I crave.  Tip so you don't eat the whole thing at once is to break a portion off, wrap the remainder back up and put it in on a high shelf and then go somewhere else to eat your chocolate - different room, out in the garden - get comfy and enjoy your treat - make it an effort to go back and find the rest of the chocolate and above all force yourself to wait five minutes to see if you can get rid of the craving.   At the end of the day though you will lose weight if you are using more calories than you consume, so perhaps if you have slipped up, console yourself with going on a walk, doing some sit ups or something more physical to burn up some extra calories.  Physical does not have to be exercise outside the home either - washing windows and hovering in particular use up a lot of energy. Most of all though do not berate yourself.  If you are going to loose weight and KEEP IT OFF, then this is a life change and not a short term diet and you cannot live your whole life 'hating yourself' or 'feeling like an idiot' because you ate something off the banned list - everything in moderation. good luck

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Couldn't agree more, 2dancersmum. There should actually be no such thing as "going on a diet" and then returning to "normal" eating afterwards, because IMHO that just leads to yoyo weight loss, then regaining it all - and often more. I learned years ago to listen to my body, and from that I understood that I often need something sweet after lunch - but that desire for something sweet can be sated with one or two squares of chocolate. So I have that and don't feel deprived.

 

I am still overweight because I've been surgically completely menopausal since my mid 30s, and I'm disabled so can't move enough - or fast enough - to burn anything much off. My metabolism must be practically zero! :-D

 

BUT my weight has been completely stable for years now because I limit my portions, really limit saturated fats, eat healthy fats in avocado, salmon, olive oil spread etc, and have a little bit of sugar rather than a shedload of sweeteners and additives. BUT most importantly I never "diet" so my body always knows when the next meal is coming and doesn't have to go into "starvation mode" - and it never feels deprived, so I don't have cravings or feel the need to binge. Everything in moderation seems to be the key.

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Thank you so much, 2dancers and Spanner. Wise words I need to learn from. I think so much of dieting is in your head. Firstly,you have to be in the right frame of mind to actually WANT to lose weight. No amount of goodwill from other people,or your doctor [i have high Blood Pressure and am on 2 different types of medication to control it] will make you want to lose weight. It has to come from within,I think. I am finally ,after years, IN that frame of mind. I used to justify my weight by saying to myself and anyone else who would listen; I used to smoke 30 Roll Ups a day and completely stopped smoking [now 11] years ago, and never went back on them or smoked a single cigarette since that day.[Miraculously,with absolutely no cravings whatsoever;it was as if I had never been a smoker to start with.]  I am also a teetotaller, and never,ever drink alcohol [all tastes like rat poison to me]. I also don`t gamble,don`t spend a fortune on handbags or shoes,but  food is my "drug of choice" if you like,and would say to myself [and to an extent still do] that everybody needs or has "something". Mine just happens to be food,which unfortunately, is the one thing in life we cannot give up.!  But feeling more positive again today. The empty Dairy Milk Easter Egg box is in the bin. I`ve had my chocolate treat for Easter.No more. Funnily I dreamed about the local shop which I was in yesterday. I noticed [i always notice these things] that they had lots of small Easter Eggs still on sale for £1.75 each. I remember in my dream being in the shop and buying about 4 or 5 of these small eggs for myself,and being pleased because last year at this time ,they were completely sold out [which they were]. So even my subconscious is thinking about chocolate. Bloody hell.!

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Go for a nice long walk and then tell yourself that you have burned them calories off. No point in beating yourself up. The thing is for dieting, if it's not in the house you can't have it, and if you want it you have to make the effort to go and get it. Today is a brand new day, make it a good one and you will feel so much better ????

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I was about to say pretty much what 2dancersmum has said: put whatever it is you're craving away somewhere so it's actually an effort to go and get it, and you have to think about going and getting it, and whether you want it. It's the same principle as the one I tried to apply to get my dad to give up smoking: he just used to light up automatically, but if you caught him in the act of grabbing a ciggy and just said "do you really need that one yet?" he'd say "no" and put it away - it was just a reflex action, sort of.

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