A new dawn, a new day, a new diary.

I thought a new diary was in order, since my last diary was about me wanting to lose weight for my holiday. Now that's been and gone I still have several stone to lose, so a new beginning felt more appropriate.

A bit about me. I'm 28 and due to health problems I have next to no mobility some days and other days can manage a bit. I've gradually been putting more and more weight on but decided enough is enough. I'm definitely an emotional eater, if i'm stressed i'll eat, if i've been good i'll reward myself with chocolate, happy occasion = food. It's not a good mindset. I lost 2 stone a few years ago through calorie counting but it just wasn't for me because I could use my whole days calories on eating junk food, so SW seems to be a better approach and is changing the way I think about food. I'm sure in part my lack of mobility doesn't help but I can't keep blaming everything on that because I know I over eat and there are definitely a few health problems that i'm hoping will improve once I lose a few stone.

Starting weight: 18 st 13.5 lbs
Current weight: 15st 9 lbs
Goal weight: 11st (ish)
Starting size: 20/22ish (even found some 24's in my wardrobe, must have been in denial)
Goal size: 12 (ish)

Feel free to join in and have a chat with me. Tell me off if I'm being naughty or commiserate if you've been naughty too, everyone's welcome

Since my last post on my old diary, a lot has happened. I spent the end of September and most of October going back and forth between hospitals in London to see my nan and aunt. This led to some very bad eating habits as we would only have take-aways and chippies to eat from by the time we left the hospital.

My nan passed away toward the end of October and we had her funeral a few days later. I had a holiday two days after that and when I came back my aunt who was supposed to be home had become sicker. The day I got home I noticed my pet rabbit's health had rapidly deteriorated, he had to be put to sleep the next day which was absolutely devastating.

Since then my depression has come back in full force and i've really been struggling to stay on plan. I can't keep up with uni work and I just sit in my room all day with the curtains closed staring at a wall.

But last night I was sitting eating Doritos and thinking this isn't making me happier. So I might be feeling down but I'm definitely not out. I need a plan.

1. I'm going to write a meal plan for the week.
2. Plan my syns.
3. Have some fruit with breakfast or lunch every day.
4. Open my curtains and get out of bed (even if it means just going into a different room).
5. Come back to using minimins (I always do better when I post regularly).

So that's my plan and i'm sticking to it.

My rough meal plan for the week. Note: I like to 'save' my syns. It's worked for me in the past so unless it stops working i'll probably keep doing it.

Monday

Breakfast: porridge with nut butter and fruit
Lunch: omelette and fruit
Dinner: spaghetti bolognese
Snacks: fruit, yogurt
Syns: 5-7 syns

Tuesday

Breakfast: Cheese toastie with tomatoes
Lunch: leftover bolognese with pasta
Dinner: baked potato, cottage cheese and salad
Snacks: fruit yogurt
Syns: 0 syns (making up for overeating at the weekend)

Wednesday

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, toast, veggie bacon and mushrooms
Lunch: salad with cheddar
Dinner: chilli with rice
Snacks: fruit, yogurt, chocolate bar
Syns: 6-15 syns

Thursday

Breakfast: homemade veggie soup with toast
Lunch: leftover chilli
Dinner: leftover soup
Snacks: hot chocolate, fruit, yogurt
Syns: 3 syns

Friday

Breakfast: porridge with nut butter and fruit
Lunch: halloumi, uncle bens rice, grilled vegetables
Dinner: Roasted veggies, sw wedges, natural yogurt and quorn fillets
Snacks: fruit, yogurt, mixed seeds
Syns: 7 syns

Saturday

Breakfast: poached eggs, toast
Lunch: homemade carrot and rosemary soup
Dinner: roast carrots, parsnips and brussels, quorn fillets, sw roast potatoes
Snacks: fruit, yogurt
Syns: 0 syns

Sunday

Breakfast: banana, yogurt
Lunch: leftover carrot and rosemary soup with toast
Dinner: sw chips, veggie sausage, mushrooms, onions, ketchup and mustard (3 syns), wholemeal bread
Snacks: costa hot chocolate, brownie, fruit
Syns: 40ish

Monday

Breakfast/Lunch: 35g porridge oats (hexB) with 125ml ss milk (half hexA), 1 tbsp chocolate peanut butter (4 syns) and handful blueberries
Dinner: stir-fry with quorn steak pieces, beansprouts, carrot, cabbage, mushrooms, onion and soy sauce with egg noodles
Snacks: banana, apple, 35g houmous (hexB) with peppers, cucumber and tomatoes, fat free blackberry yogurt
Drinks: 3.5 litres water with nas squash, 250ml sugar free 7up, 125ml ss milk (half hexA)
Syns: 4 syns

Pretty pleased that I managed to stay on plan today, I don't think I've had a fully on plan day in ages so it feels like a step in the right direction. Pity dinner plan has changed as now my lunch tomorrow has gone out of the window, I shall probably have some sort of eggs instead. And I'm definitely hungrier than the food I set aside for today, so I'll pick up some extra bits to snack on like quorn slices and cottage cheese and beans etc.

Tuesday

Breakfast/lunch: x2 wholemeal bread from 400g (hexB) with 45g mozzarella (hexA) and tomatoes
Dinner: spaghetti with quorn bolognese (quorn mince, passata, chopped tomatoes, herbs, garlic, courgette, carrot, mushrooms) with 30g cheddar (hexA)
Snacks: apple, apple, banana, x 2 wholemeal toast from 400g (hexB), dash of milk (1ish syns), cinnamon and sweetener, fry light
Drinks: 3 litres water with nas squash
Syns: 1ish (making up for over doing the syns at the weekend)

Here to follow your diary

Hi, good luck with your journey

At least you made a plan even if you haven't stuck to it
I'm always on the hunt for low syn/free snacks for those hungry moments

Wednesday

Breakfast/lunch: leftover bolognese and spaghetti and a banana
Dinner: roast tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms, courgette, peppers and carrots and x2 quorn fillets
Snacks: dark chocolate kitkat (12 syns), Grapes, alpen light bar (hexB)
Drinks: 3 litres water with nas squash, 250ml ss milk

Pretty good day today despite feeling poorly. Feel like I have my motivation back and WI went quite well considering only 3 days were on plan, I lost 1.5lbs. Asked for an SAS log so I can keep track of where I'm going wrong during the week which should hopefully help, determined to get my 3.5 st award next week, only 1lb away but I want a big loss next week!

thanks for following honey_bee. Thanks Denise! I'm always looking for low syn snacks too, I'm always having the same old ones myself.

I just had a Mullerlight Orange yoghurt with choc sprinkles and it was syn free. Felt like it shouldn't be!! Here to follow x

Well done on the loss!
Never used an SAS log before...is it difficult?

Thanks for following kbqueen. Ooh that sounds really nice! Wish muller lights were veggie coz I love me some chocolate orange and I definitely can't buy a Terry's chocolate orange because I will demolish it

Thanks Denise, and it's actually really easy, I hadn't filled one out before today either. It has 2 sections, a bit for all your aims for the day and a food diary. The aims section has how many syns you want to aim for and a lot of tick boxes so you can choose some goals for the day, like planning the days food or eating more speed food etc. Then there's a danger areas checklist with tick boxes for stuff that might make you overeat like shopping (guilty!) or petrol stations. The food diary bit also has tick boxes for if you've measured the quantity, how many syns and if it was free food etc etc. It's really handy seeing it all down on paper and a lot of people in group have said it helps them focus if they're going off track.

Hmmm, well I was going to have chilli today but then I discovered we are out of rice. Trying to think up something vegetarian that my mum will also eat and is also super easy as I'm still feeling poorly. Might move forward Saturday's dinner and have a roast as it's got minimal work really. Also trying to have minimal syns until the weekend as I might be eating out Sunday and not sure where yet.

Thursday

Breakfast/lunch: half tin baked beans with x2 wholemeal toast from 400g (hexB) and an apple
Dinner: baked potato, cottage cheese, spinach, cucumber, tomatoes and peppers
Snacks: apple, banana, 17g mixed seeds (4-5 syns), alpen light bar (hexB), baked potato
Drinks: 4.5 litres water with nas squash, 250ml ss milk (hexA)
Syns: 4-5 syns

Reander said:

Hmmm, well I was going to have chilli today but then I discovered we are out of rice. Trying to think up something vegetarian that my mum will also eat and is also super easy as I'm still feeling poorly. Might move forward Saturday's dinner and have a roast as it's got minimal work really. Also trying to have minimal syns until the weekend as I might be eating out Sunday and not sure where yet.

Thursday

Breakfast/lunch: half tin baked beans with x2 wholemeal toast from 400g (hexB) and an apple
Dinner: x2 quorn fillets, roast carrots, parsnips and brussels sprouts and garlic roast potatoes all done in fry light
Snacks: yogurt, banana, grapes, alpen light bar (hexB)
Drinks: 3 litres water with nas squash, 250ml ss milk (hexA) with 3 tsp Cadbury drinking chocolate (3 syns)
Syns: 3 syns

Click to expand...

wow!
You can drink 3 litres of water?
I struggle to drink a lot unless i'm thirsty or unless it's coffee

Haha yeah, 3 litres is only a little bit for me! The other day I drank 6 litres, I've been a thirsty person since I was a kid though!

Reander said:

Haha yeah, 3 litres is only a little bit for me! The other day I drank 6 litres, I've been a thirsty person since I was a kid though!

Click to expand...

LOL, don't think i could ever drink that much

Well had a bad couple of days because i've been so unwell. I've had a pounding headache that just won't go away and is making me nauseous so I haven't eaten as much as normal. Now my head seems to be on the mend BUT we're having our kitchen fixed this week so making meals will be interesting. I'm planning on porridge/toast for breakfast, anything that can be microwaved or toasted basically. Lunch is going to have to be salad or again microwave stuff. Dinner shouldn't be too bad apart from having no utensils to cook with, so hopefully staying on plan won't be too hard...

Monday

Breakfast: Baked beans, x2 wholemeal toast (hex B)
Lunch: salad with 30g cheddar (hex A) (estimated as I can't find the scales) and quorn pieces
Dinner: quorn chilli with baked potato
Snacks: apple, banana, special k chewy delight bar (hex B)
Drinks:

Good luck with the kitchen!

Thank you!

Kitchen is all done now, which is nice because it's been half done for over a year. Still don't have anything back in the cupboards so cooking is quite difficult, not to mention i'm low on everything but apple and cucumber, but hopefully I can spare some time today to get the basics back in! Also finally getting over a sinus infection, gosh they're horrible. Had 2 more days where I didn't eat as much as usual because I felt so bad. Lost 1lb at WI though and got my 3.5 st award! Yippee! It's been too long coming, I want the 4st award much quicker! Before xmas would be nice but maybe that's wishful thinking lol.

My mood is definitely a bit better now I'm on the mend but also because I've got a new rabbit hutch on the way so I can get some bunnies for christmas, felt very lonely without a bunny, I miss my little guy terribly, but hopefully I can re-home a pair anyway Might have a drive to the RSPCA on Sunday.

So rough meal plan for the week, all dependent on when I get some shopping in:

Friday

breakfast: chocolate nut butter porridge (hex A & B & 8 syns) with blueberries
Lunch: mushroom omelette and apple
Dinner: Roast veggies, sw wedges, quorn low fat sausage
Snacks: banana, apple, yogurt

Saturday

Breakfast/Lunch: ww pitta, halloumi, uncle bens rice and mushrooms (hex A & B)
Dinner: mash potato with Philadelphia light (hex A), quorn low fat sausages, onions, mushrooms and onion gravy (1 syn)
Snacks: x2 wholemeal toast (hex B), apple, yogurt

Sunday

Breakfast: plain porridge made with water and with blueberries and raspberries (hexB)
Lunch: on the go so idk
Dinner: cheesy canneloni from sw 50 free green book
Snacks: apple, banana, yogurt, possible something from costa

Monday

Out all day so will probably be banana and special k bar for breakfast
nandos for lunch
not sure if i'll eat out or at home, but it will be very quick meal no matter what
snacks will probably be a cake and a drink from costa, maybe something else

Tuesday

Breakfast/lunch: mushroom omelette, grapefruit with splenda
Dinner: quorn vegetable chilli with rice and homemade tzatziki
Snacks: apple, yogurt, special k bar (hex B), milk (hexA)

Wednesday

Breakfast/lunch: soft boiled eggs and soldiers (hex B) with flora buttery (2 syns)
Dinner: leftover chilli and baked potato with homemade tzatziki
Snacks: apple, banana, special k bar (hex B), wensleydale (hex A), crackers (syns) and syn free chutney

Thursday

Breakfast/lunch: cheese and tomato toastie (hex B) and an apple
Dinner: spaghetti bolognese with 30g cheddar (hexA)
Snacks: yogurt, special k bar, apple

Well done on the loss & award!
Meal plan looks good too

Well done on your loss