Thread: My Maintenance Diary + food pics

Hi and Welcome

I have been doing Slimming World for a month now and have lost 1 stone 1/2 a pound so far. Am loving it, don't feel I need willpower as this "diet" is so much more flexible than any other I've failed at, and I'm still running on enthusiasm alone. Long may it continue!
A bit about me... I'm from Sunderland therefore football is very important to me (if you came here you'd understand) I have a season ticket at Sunderland and try to get to a few away days a season. This isn't frequently possible as I work Saturday mornings teaching violin at a local music academy. I really enjoy the relaxed and fun atmosphere that we teach in. I also have several private pupils who I teach violin and piano to. I recently lost my job teaching violin in a school as they'd had their budgets cut and that was me out the door. But taking a positive from a negative I decided to use the free time I'd gained to start Slimming World and I weigh-in on a Thursday at Shiney Row. The other four days a week I spend working in the Finance Department of a 16-19 training organisation. I've been there two years and I mostly enjoy it, although I do get a bit bored from time to time. I am a qualified Secondary School teacher but decided about 4 years ago that that kind of teaching wasn't for me and I left my job at a school in Basildon to return home to the North East having been away for five years. I don't see myself returning to full time classroom teaching without a serious overhaul of the education system (don't get me started).
I like the outdoors, love walking be it at the coast or in the country and I really enjoy going up to Northumberland, where my parents have their caravan, for holidays or just a weekend away.
I also love dancing. I was never overweight as a child / teenager as I attended dancing lessons three times a week, this time 10 years ago I weighed my lowest adult weight of 7 stones 13 lbs. I don't wish to get back to anything quite that low but anything in the 9s is my ultimate target. I now do two dance classes a week. I went back to tap dancing last year, which was always my favourite, and the dance school recently started a new class "commercial jazz" both of which I do on the same night.
I just bought a bicycle a couple of days ago and (having assembled it myself - an achievement for me as I'm not DIY-minded) went for a short ride in the park tonight. It's a lot more difficult than it was as a child, I was exhausted after only 35 mins and I think my thighs and back have seized up, and it hurts when I sit down!! It was fun though, even with the rain coming thudding down in the last five minutes, and I'm definitely going to make the effort now that I've gone and bought the thing. I'll say it here first that it is a target for me to complete my works' annual bike ride, from Allenheads in Northumberland to Roker in Sunderland (half of the C2C route) a 57 mile ride which takes place in July. I hope to be ready to do it this year, if not next.
What else?
I'm single still looking for Mr Right, but hope that the weight loss will give me some confidence in that area.
I love reading - try to read a book per week though sometimes I get stuck with a particular one but always finish so it can take me longer. My favourite book is "A Fraction of the Whole" by Steve Toltz.
I love music both playing and listening to it. I play in a contemporary orchestra and we do gigs from time to time. We play everything from The Beatles, to 70s Disco to Film scores and I really enjoy it. I love BBC 6Music radio station and it's pretty-much always on in my house and at work. If you've never heard of it and you like good music go... now...find...

Right, that's me. Please add me as a friend (if you like), if not, thanks for stopping by and good luck with your weight-loss.


Andrea xx

Slimming World has really made me fall in love with cooking. I'm not an experimental cook, I like to follow a recipe but the food somehow tastes better when you've created it yourself from scratch.
Here's a few sample of the delicious food I've been enjoying on Slimming World:

Salmon Pate
(Hovis Nimble Malted Wholegrain - HExB)
Prep time:15 mins
Syns
EE - Free; O - FREE; G - 10
Recipe


Surf and Turf w/ mixed salad and mushrooms
Prep time: 30 mins
Syns
EE - Free; O - FREE; G - ??


Spinach and Cottage Cheese Cannelloni w/ mixed salad
Prep & Cook time: 40 mins
Syns
EE - 1; O - 6; G - 1
Recipe


Salmon fillet and Stir-Fry veg
Prep & Cook time: 30 mins
Syns
EE - Free; O - FREE; G - ??
(I have stirred a little light soft cheese into veggies to make them creamy using cheese as HExA)

This is my "before" picture, taken on the morning of 22nd March 12 just before I went to SW for the first time...

hi ther here to follow your diary - even if i am from the opposition he he , u r doing FAB so far keep up the good work , wish sw had worked for me but i ate 2 much ! the only time it worked was when i did red days so am back to ww were i left . the idea was to lose all my weight with ww or get down close then go back to ww to maintain but that didnt happen lol i ended up losing the same half stone for about a year then put antother half on while on holiday last year in the end i gave up sw and went back with my tailk between my legs to ww with 1.5 or there abouts .sw is a fab plan if u can not eat till your fit to burst was always rubbish at judging when i was full ! and because most of it was free i just thought stuff it in saying that i took my diary to leader and she couldnt even see were i was going wrong . sorry for rambling keep up the good work x p.s your meal look delish

Hi Andi
Yes, it does seem to be working so far *crosses fingers* I think I agree that the red days are the best, I'm finding with extra easy there is that temptation to eat too many carbs and it makes me feel bloated and blocked which is not good at all.

I tried ww a few years ago. I found that it was really slow for me and I lost heart and ended up cheating. The lady at the group wasn't the best tbh she always seemed to be down /depressed which didn't help my motivation. It seems to be working for you though which is great I reckon you'll be adding another silver 7 on to your signature before too long.
I fell off the wagon a bit yesterday though I met a friend for lunch and made a very sensible choice of Moroccan spiced king prawns and herb salad,



but the amount of alcohol!!
Oh dear, I met her at 12:30 and got home at 12:45am this morning, needless to say I'm feeling a bit worse for wear today.

Have just made myself some dinner


Thai Green Chicken Curry w/rice and salad leaves w/youghurt and cucumber dressing
Prep time: 45 mins
Syns
EE -3; O - 10; G - 12

I had some spare stir fry veggies which I chucked in to increase the superfree and though with the salad on the side that definitely makes it at least 1/3rd. I'd normally chuck in a whole can of light coconut milk but used chicken stock instead then just added a few table spoons of coconut milk. It really didn't affect the taste at all, still yum! One good thing with feeling a bit fragile is that I couldn't stomach much so there's plenty left overs for later / tomorrow.

I feel like I should do some exercise but really just want to go back to bed, I may force myself to do something a bit later on.
I don't feel like the alcohol has had too much of an adverse affect on my weight but that's possibly because I only had those prawns and salad and a banana to eat yesterday. (I definitely drank my calories).

I was very pleased that I managed to resist the temptation of the pizza my friend ordered when we got in, it smelled fab though. I took myself off and tidied the place up a bit (a wierd compulsive thing I do when sh*t-faced), another positive was that I walked the 45 min journey to the town centre to get my bus rather than getting a connecting bus.
All in all a good time was had by all.

You weren't rambling at all, I may have just taken that mantle.
Thanks for you support.

Right, I'm off to locate the paracetamol.

Oh My Giddy Aunt! Have just been to the food diary section of the slimming world website and in-putted all the drinks I had yesterday coming to a grand total of *drum roll*....

47.5 syns!!!



That's more than 3 days-worth in one go...

Superspeed soup for me the rest of the week I think...

Well, toady's been a bit bleurgh!

Felt fine this morning, up nice and early to make sure I got in a good breakfast and prepped my lunch.

Started the day with a cup of Green Tea (have decided to take on the challenge of three cups a day to see if it makes any difference to my weight loss. (http://www.minimins.com/slimming-wor...challenge.html (The Green Tea Week Challenge!)) And followed that with 30g unflavoured porridge oats (HExB) made with skimmed milk (HExA - but not all of it). I also chucked in 1 level tbsp of Linseeds (3.5 syns but worth it to get things moving), and a level tbsp of sultanas to sweeten it up (3.5 syns). Here's the thing, the SW website states that 25g of sultanas are 3.5 syns but I have no idea of knowing whether a level tbsp is more or less than that. I'm guessing less so am erring on the side of caution by recording them as 3.5. If anyone can enlighten me... I also munched a banana on my way to work just to get the superfree in. I always struggle with the 1/3rd at breakfast.

By 10 o'clock I was feeling like death. Felt so groggy, like I'd taken 7 antihistamines and was really struggling to keep my eyes open at my desk (not helped by the fact that I didn't have enough to do - again). I think things got progressively worse as the day went on. I'm definitely considering a teetotal lifestyle if every time I have a drink it takes two flippin' days to recover!!

Lunch was superspeed soup (Mixed beans, lentils, split peas + millions of veg: carrot, leek, onion, courgette, green beans, sugar snap peas, green/red/yellow pepper, spinach, fresh peas, garlic, chicken & veg stock cubes, passata, dried herbs; blitzed up when cooked but still with a few chunks in it (hence the fact that I didn't bother with a photo as it doesn't look particularly appetising). I followed that with my second cup of Green Tea (with lemon this time) but think I left the bag in too long as it was really bitter towards the end. I also tried to drink plenty of squash throughout the day and had a can of diet coke with lunch. I am a bit concerned that after all this liquid consumption it doesn't seem to be getting through though... probably going straight to my liver to try and detox but I do feel bloated this evening and am concerned that water retention is going to scupper me again.

Had one violin lesson to teach after work but came straight in and went to bed for an hour as I think I would've fallen asleep on the spot otherwise.
I am a very sleepy person but I have noticed a big difference since I started SW. Not that I have "more" energy per se but definitely that I'm "less" lethargic. I'm very partial to an afternoon nap on a weekend but this seems to have disappeared completely from my routine in the last few weeks.

I got up, forced some more soup down for dinner then hauled myself off to dance class. I felt less energetic than usual but still managed to do both classes even though I had the raging heartburn again and felt a bit pukey. My legs still feel a bit squiffy after that bike ride on Friday so I don't think that helped. When I got in I washed down a zantac with the last of my skimmed milk and that seems to have settled the heartburn down lots.

Have just had a nice relaxing bath and stuck the oil burner on to end the day with some relaxation and my third cup of Green Tea.

All in all, I'm pleased the day is nearly over but to end on a positive, today has been the worst I've felt since starting SW but I've got through it without cheating or doing anything to sabotage my diet. I could've easily reached for the biscuit tin but didn't, which reassures me that I'm stronger and more determined than I've been on any other diet I've done before.

Here's to tomorrow...

HEX A
HEX B
3 x Green Tea
Total Syns: 7

Just going to update on my food for today:

Breakfast
1 cup Green Tea
30g unflavoured porridge oats (HExB) made with skimmed milk (HExA) with linseeds and sultanas (7 syns) but I didn't finish it as I'd left it standing for too long and it had gone all thick and minging so at least half of it went out for the birds.

I didn't have any superfree though but feel I made up for that during the rest of the day.
Had about 3 mugs of squash throughout the morning to try and keep drinking

Lunch
Superspeed soup
Apple
Pear
(Had three more cups of Green tea and lemon in the afternoon)
Before dinner I went out on my bike again. Went the same distance as last time (and managed to stay on it on the really steep bit so that was some improvement at least)

Dinner
Turkey Steak
Mixed veg Stir Fry

I really didn't feel hungry this eve, and was rushing to go out so didn't manage all of it. Quite a bit of veg went back in the wok and some of the turkey went in the dog.

All-in all I haven't really eaten much at all today and haven't really enjoyed my food. My appetite's really diminished (not necessarily a bad thing) but I hope I don't go into starvation mode and start storing everything. Need a bit of variety tomorrow I think as I'm getting bored eating the same stuff.

Have been to the pub quiz and had 2.5 pints of soda water. This is the third week in a row they've had no diet pop, grrrr, but I can't trust the cordial as it'll be full of sugar.

HEX A
HEX B
3 x Green Tea
Total Syns: 7

Breakfast
Mug of Green tea
2 slices of Hovis Nimble Wholemeal (HExB) lightly toasted
Tinned tomatoes, ham, mushrooms, peppers, onion, chilli (for breakfast I know - I'm a bit of a chilli fiend)

I wouldn't normally have everything so savoury for breakfast but have been inspired by Lou's success-express-diary (Success express diary with pictures) where she piles the veggies on at breakfast. It was actually delish but did make me late for work

3 x mugs of squash during the morning

Lunch
Mixed salad leaves (Sainsbury's herb salad & Steve's Leaves Wasabi Rocket [yum]), carrott, pepper, cucumber, sweetcorn
Ham, cottage cheese (fat free) and a boiled egg
Diet coke
Strawberries and pineapple
Mug of Green Tea with Lemon


2 x Green tea with lemon throughout the afternoon

I also managed to resist the crisps and caramel wafers that were doing the rounds this arvo so pretty pleased with that.

Dinner
Mackerel "kebab" (called such because they stick a wooden skewer through it and call it such) with chilli and garlic from fresh fish counter at ASDA .
Couldn't decide between salad and veggies so as you can see

I had both Salad leaves, cucumber and white cabbage. Veggies as breakfast but with courgette added.

Mug of green tea.

Just realised that I hadn't had my HExA so have just heated up a large mug of milk to take to bed with my book. Must get it finished tonight, only 35 pages or so to go.

HEX A
HEX B
3 x Green Tea
Total Syns: 0 (no I don't feel I'm depriving myself, have had three lovely meals which I thouroughly enjoyed and if I have a loss on the scales tomorrow then it will be worth it)

3 positives for the day:
1. Was much busier at work and got the hint from my boss that he can't wait for my colleague to retire (which he could've done 3 years ago) so that I can have his job (and do it properly)
2. I cooked / assembled three meals from scratch
3. I wasn't tempted by the nasty foods at work (and why always on a Wednesday, the day before WI? not that it'd make a difference, I AIN'T HAVING IT!!!)

I haven't done any exercise today but am blaming Amazon for taking so fricking long delivering my 30 day shred DVD and it was chucking it down when I got home so no chance of going out on the bike. (I think they're good enough excuses, anyway I'll be walking 2.5 miles to group and back tomorrow so that should make up for it).

Cheery-bye

Hi was just catching up on your diary sounds lie your doing really well and your meals look lovely. My cooking has def improved since being on SW and I do enjoy cooking just wish there was more time I'm always knackered after work! Anyhows good luck for WI tomorrow and hope the hangover has fully gone mine seem to last days these days too!

Oh and I'm also a footy gal birmingham City season ticket holder for all my sins! Hope your looking after my sebby larrson up there he was my fave player for years and def my fave swede ever

Hi Jo

Thanks for replying, I was starting to think I was just waffling away to myself there.
Thanks for the good luck, hope I'll be ok.

Seb's been great for us this season, scored some worldys, and I can't really remember us having a decent set-piece specialist in my lifetime, never mind one as good as him! Seems to have got a bit leggy towards the end of the season, don't know if he's carrying an injury. There was guy bought a general sale ticket next to me at the last match and all he did all game was have a go at him. I wanted to have a go at him, probs would've had I been in my usual inebriated state, but thanks to SW, I was actually sober (for a change). It really pees me off these plastic fans that just rock up for the odd game and sit there and moan all the time.
Your lot are pretty certain of a playoff place now aren't you? Chris Hughton has done a great job hasn't he? Even us Sunderland fans thought it was a disgrace the way he was treated by the filth up the road, just shows they've no idea really. And what with the miracles Agent McLeish is working at the Villa I guess it's been a good season for yous? How funny it would be if you swapped places with them. I'd love it if they went down, that would show Mr. Bent how big his "massive club" is. (Not that I'm bitter about the lying b who kissed the badge and said he wanted to become a club legend, then off he went at the first sign of a nice big paycheck - such a shame he's injured and going to miss the Euro's, couldn't happen to a nicer bloke )

Eee look, you've set me off!

So do you go to group or are you doing it from home? x

oooh, so excited! Postie's just come with my 30 day shred DVD (Who'd have thought I'd be saying that a few weeks ago? Not me!)

Off to group now

Subscribed your food pics look fab!

Oh just read your whole diary and loved how detailed and honest you are!

Don't know how much you want to lose but please come over to Team Tinsel it's a 4 stone by Christmas challenge and were on week 2 - it'll be great if you could join us!

Em x

Good luck at group Not that you need it mind! lol

Loving your enthusiasm You're doing so well too! Well done

Food looks flipping lovely - I shall return to stalk you