Now to stick to the plan .....

Ok. I've been reading various diaries etc on this site, and decided it's time to commit! I have dipped into these forums before, but never actually posted. My hope is that if I put my intentions down in writing I will be more likely to stick with the plan. We shall see!

I have a family wedding at the end of May, so that is my motivation. I've also been getting joint pains which I think are due to weight gain. I've had a blood test to check various things and no arthritis or thyroid problems showed, so my GP says to walk more. I've been stressed with work, so the exercise will help with that too. If I can lose a stone in weight I will be happy with that.

The plan
I'm going to do alternate days and try walking every day. Today will be a down day. I've just had my usual breakfast of porridge, albiet with some milk. I do worry about getting enough calcium as I am in my late 50's and need to keep my bones strong. I'll try and not eat now for as long as possible, and stock up on some more veggies. Later on I might buy some of that slim rice and mix it in with a home made veggie curry. The rice is only about 7 calories per 100g - so I'm really looking forward to trying it out - what a great filler! I'll get the slim pasta too. I will go for a walk today.

My downfall will probably be alcohol. I like to have a glass of wine (or two!) to wind down after work. But I will just have to go for a walk at those times instead and keep reminding myself that I can still have a drink (within reason of course) every other day.

So, here goes.

hi Jewelly, welcome from another 50 something I been judding awhile & find that posting does help me in keeping accountable, well ish lol ... so good luck with the plan & feel free to ask any questions

Thanks Dee. Looking at your stats, I'm so impressed with your weight loss. That's amazing! Well done.

I've just walked to town to buy the slim rice from H & B. But they don't stock it, so I came back with 2 packs of zero noodles instead.

So far so good. Of course it's only day 1!

I cooked various veggies with a bit of spice and pasta sauce. Added the zero noodles. It was quite nice. I had half and will eat the rest later. It wasn't as filling as I'd hoped. I had some sugar free jelly after. I'm using myfitnessspal to log everything I eat. Now I've just got to get through a Saturday night without alcohol.

Just done a shopping list for Tesco which includes rice cakes, crab sticks and low fat cheese triangles - all useful snacks me thinks.

Note to self: You can eat and drink normally tomorrow! It's just one day.

I'm another JUDDing 50 something too. I'm on HRT at the moment but plan to take calcium tablets if I have to come off them. I drink vodka and diet coke now cos you get more bang for your buck calorie wise Good luck xx

Hi Ladybird

I've managed to steer clear of HRT, although I was tempted at one stage.

I tend to drink vodka & diet tonic when I'm trying to lose weight for the same reasons.

It's so encouraging to see you've lost 18lbs in just 3 weeks. I hope I can stick with it long enough to have the same success. I'm just going to have a tonic and pretend it's got voddy in! Tomorrow is another day.

LOl - I'm a woss. I was screaming for meds at the first flush My weight has slowed this month but I'm still losing about 1- 2lb a week and it's painless. Tonight I'm having voddy and chocolate and had a huge plate of stew and a large dumpling earlier Good luck tonight. I don't have DD at weekends - no will power.

Yeah same as LB I do alternates in the week and then 2 UD's for the weekend, good idea on the shopping list being organised helps to get through those DD's, but they do get easier x

I got through my first DD yesterday. Caved in and had a vodka and tonic last night, but I think my calories are still ok. In total I had porridge with milk and sweetener, spiced veggies with zero noodles, 4 large strawberries, 2 portions of s/f jelly, 1 ryvita, 1 vodka & slimline tonic, 2 coffees with semi skimmed milk. I put it all on myfitnesspal, but can never be sure I've calculated the veggie amounts correctly (or the vodka portion!). I had plenty of water and walked around 3 miles.

I've ordered lots of slim rice, pasta and noodles online from H & B to use as fillers on other DD's. Never got round to food shopping yesterday, so will be going this morning. Work lunches will be salad, unless I can manage to not eat till I get home from work, which i doubt. I'll skip breakfast though as once I start eating in a day I just keep on feeling hungry.

I might alter my up and down days later, but will see how it goes.

LB - I've been having hot flushes for about 5 years now! Not so bad the last few months, but in bed it's always a nuisance. Just as well I'm single!

Lanarkwitch - I see you're in Dubai.How long have you been out there? My sister lived there for a few years. Nice lifestyle. Do you enjoy it?

It was the night time flushes that drove me to take the HRT as I didn't sleep for 3 months and OH was fed up of it too lol. I drank way too much vodka last night. I'm usually a bit more restrained.

Yeah, the night flushes must be annoying for partners - but much worse for us! My duvet is thrown off and on again throughout the night sometimes. I turn my pillow over umpteen times to cool my head and neck. Bedding just has to be cotton only. I had a phase of around 6 months during the menopause where I was super-emotional/stressy, and all my joints hurt. It was a combination of the menopause and giving up smoking that caused me to put weight on. I never had to worry about weight/food before. I suppose I'm fortunate that it's only been the last few years. Once I started putting on some weight I couldn't stop thinking about food all the time!

Just done the shopping and then had my breakfast. It's nice not having to count the calories today.

So, you went a bit overboard on the vodka. Sometimes we just need to do that. It's not always clear why. Not worth worrying about. I must say my quality of sleep last night was much better than usual having only had one vodka though (if that was the reason for it).

Right. Now to try and talk myself into a walk. The sun is shining here, so that should help. I know I'll enjoy it once I get out there!

jewelly said:

Lanarkwitch - I see you're in Dubai.How long have you been out there? My sister lived there for a few years. Nice lifestyle. Do you enjoy it?

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Not a big fan of the place, I was in Abu Dhabi for over 4 years and liked that, we moved to Dubai in December and I'm not getting into it yet, but we might not be here long so I'm reserving judgement!!

Yes lifestyle can be good, but my husband works severely long hours and we rarely have time to enjoy it! Always the same isn't it, you either have the time or the money!

Lanarkwitch said:

Not a big fan of the place, I was in Abu Dhabi for over 4 years and liked that, we moved to Dubai in December and I'm not getting into it yet, but we might not be here long so I'm reserving judgement!!

Yes lifestyle can be good, but my husband works severely long hours and we rarely have time to enjoy it! Always the same isn't it, you either have the time or the money!

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Not sure I would want to live there either, though my sister and her husband seemed to like it. They started in Abu Dhabi too. I went for a couple of holidays, but I wouldn't want more than that.

I never made it out for a walk in the end today. I enjoyed eating without restriction, and managed to keep off any alcohol.

I've just used the johnson calculator and it says my normal calories are 1577, and down days should be just 315! Not sure I can manage that tomorrow (or any day!). I will do my best. I think I will take carrots and cucumber to work with me tomorrow. It's going to be a hard day.

My 2nd DD and I've kept the calories to 348. I didn't eat until 2pm. I had cucumber, carrot, spinach, 5 cherry tomatoes, 2 ryvita and 2 extra light cheese triangles for lunch at work. Then cauliflower with a small amount of home-made chilli on top. Sugar free jelly for dessert. Lots of redbush tea, coffees and water throughout the day. Not too painful. I walked for about 20 minutes.

Up day, so no worries. I'm not pigging out on up days so far. Had a 15 minute walk in my lunch break.

My intention is to stick with this plan for 4 weeks, and then judge whether it's working for me or not. Watch this space!

Oops!

It's my 5th day of JUDD and I must say I am a bit miffed that my clothes seem tighter than ever today! Weigh in on Saturday - so some pounds had better start shifting. I will not be discouraged ....... I will not give up ......... !

jewelly said:

It's my 5th day of JUDD and I must say I am a bit miffed that my clothes seem tighter than ever today! Weigh in on Saturday - so some pounds had better start shifting. I will not be discouraged ....... I will not give up ......... !

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Stick with it, if you're not going mad on ups and sticking to the dd's you'll have a good result Saturday x

Lanarkwitch said:

Stick with it, if you're not going mad on ups and sticking to the dd's you'll have a good result Saturday x

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Thanks for the encouragement. I am doing it 'by the book' so I live in hope. Just going to read your diary ..