25 stone to 19 stone in 8 months.

Well, despite keeping to my diet very well, 1800 calories yesterday, for the third day running I am showing no weight loss.

Weighed in today at 344.6. A gain of 0.6 of a pound since yesterday.

My current fear is that the 8lb I lost was just "water weight" and I will continue to hover at around 344 to 347 for the rest of my life :cry:

So I am feeling utterly miserable about it all now.

Helena
 
You won't in the slightest love. I promise you. It all takes time and hard work.

Don't get disheartened. That's why we and lots of other people don't recommend weighing every day and logging every day. It's much easier - and better for your mental health and motivation - to weigh in once a week and log just that once. Of course you'll hop on and check progress but that's all it is. Progress. It's all fluid and it all changes.

Look at me. I still can't see any difference since I started 31st April. BUT I'm now down 4 trousers sizes so even though I can't see it (and my brain hasn't processed enough to reset to show it) it is coming off. Look at Tracy and how hard she worked to get down to the size she wanted to be. It didn't happen overnight. Yours WILL come off, you've just got to keep going and keep trudging on. It won't happen instantly and you do have to be patient but it WILL happen.
 
PrincessSparklePants said:
You won't in the slightest love. I promise you. It all takes time and hard work.

Don't get disheartened. That's why we and lots of other people don't recommend weighing every day and logging every day. It's much easier - and better for your mental health and motivation - to weigh in once a week and log just that once. Of course you'll hop on and check progress but that's all it is. Progress. It's all fluid and it all changes.

Look at me. I still can't see any difference since I started 31st April. BUT I'm now down 4 trousers sizes so even though I can't see it (and my brain hasn't processed enough to reset to show it) it is coming off. Look at Tracy and how hard she worked to get down to the size she wanted to be. It didn't happen overnight. Yours WILL come off, you've just got to keep going and keep trudging on. It won't happen instantly and you do have to be patient but it WILL happen.
Click to expand...

I do look at you, Princess. I cannot argue with a 63lb loss! LOL. Hey my lodger only weighs 84lb so you have lost almost a whole (small) person. I am so glad to have the advice and support of yourself, Tracy and all the other ladies who have shown that it CAN be done. If I am to trust anyone, then it makes sense to trust only those who have done it themselves.

OK so I will not log my weight changes more that once a week but I am allowed a "sneak peek" daily.

By leaving the scale in my office, I have reduced my weighing to once a day. Last time I owned a scale I kept it in my bedroom and I used to weigh at night, in the morning, and every single time I woke during the night. It was driving me insane, so one day I just left them outside the house and someone stole them. From that day, until 2 weeks ago, I did not own a scale. It's nice to see that I am being much less obsessive now than I was back then!

Smoked salmon sandwiches for breakfast. What's not to love about this diet?

Helena
 
Morning Helena,
Just wanted to echo sparkle pants' advice. Please draw on our support to stick to the diet, and I'm sure you will see results eventually. If you're eating less and moving more, you WILL be burning more calories, there is no doubt about that.

:gen126::gen126: Group hugs xxxx
 
You are :) and I understand entirely, I do check daily too - but I log only once and it does show the difference.

And thank you - I'll definitely never get anywhere near weighing 84lb but I'm more than happy to keep losing it ;)


Tracy and I were talking about it a while back, she still sees herself occasionally as the 'fat one' and it does take time for your brain to catch up and stop giving yourself a mental kick. When I go in a shop - be it a charity shop or a clothes shop - I gravitate towards the size 30/32's still... I even picked one up a week or so ago and held it up to check them over as I was about to purchase them... and then I sort of caught myself and thought 'what the hell am I doing? This isn't the right size!' so it definitely is your brain that fights against you.
 
Plan for this week.

I enjoyed a 470 calorie ready meal from the Co Op yesterday: spag bol. And I realised how much I love and miss spaghetti. (Because I was wheat-free and lowcarbing, I have not tasted spaghetti for about ten years!)

But I reckon I can improve on the Co Op version so I have ordered lean mince, wholewheat organic spaghetti, carrots, leeks, cabbage and mushrooms on my Tesco order and I am going to make up a batch of 10 "home-made ready-meals" for my freezer. So, yes you CAN have spaghetti, if you control the portion really strictly, and you can have the bolognese sauce IF you make it veg-heavy and use low fat mince (and drain it!) I reckon I could get a bigger portion for the 470 calories than was in that Co Op version. And no sugar, chemicals, preservatives etc or indeed white pasta.

Thoughts about wheat

I have been eating wheat every single day and at almost every meal for just over two weeks now. The only ill effects have been a little joint pain in my knees. If it gets worse I will cease the wheat instantly and eat buckwheat, soya and other breads instead, and see if it makes a difference. And if it doesn't, then substitute all grains for potatoes, and see how it goes. I was once very wheat-intolerant, and it is possible that, by avoiding it entirely for years, I have somehow "cured" my body of that intolerance. We shall see!

At the moment, having denied myself wheat for years, I am sooooo enjoying living on sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I'm loving the Warburtons wholemeal bread. I am using low fat soft cheese as a spread instead of a margarine type of spread because, being cheese, it will provide me with some calcium at the same time. I am a bit worried about my lack of calcium on this diet, as I am not having much milk, only in tea, and no cheese as it is so horrendously calorific. I really had no idea how many calories were in cheese. I weighed a little lump that is lurking in the fridge, looked it up, and it was 400 calories. Holy moly! And to think that I would usually have chomped my way through that in two or three bites whilst poking through the fridge to decide what to cook for dinner. No blooming wonder I was 26 stone 9 at one point!

It was also very sobering to read that the pizza that my boyfriend and I used to buy two of and eat at one sitting contains 1200 calories, and to make it worse we used to load them up with the addition of anchovies, extra peperoni and a heap of grated strong cheddar (about 400c worth!)

So I used to sit down and eat a 2,000- calorie pizza, and then follow that with a 700 calorie Galaxy bar. ONE meal. 2,700 calories! Gawd!

Helena
 
Thanks my darlings for the postings that came in whilst I was "fessin up" about my pizza. (I just want to add that the boyfriend didn't gain an ounce whilst we were eating like that. Grrrr!)

I see Claire has lost 10lb and I am just gobsmacked ~~~~ overjoyed for you Claire! That is a great start, a kick-start, which will show you that changing what you eat is having that DIRECT impact and that it isn't a fairy tale; we really CAN do this! You and me are chasing the heels of Princess and Tracy and all the others. We really CAN be like them! Our heroines and our guides! Well done Claire!

WILL stick with this, and forget the scale for today. My stomach feels smaller. I was squidging it with my hands this morning lying on my back in bed. And I have been standing up for MUCH longer than I could even two weeks ago. It's incredible to think that just a couple of weeks back I could only stand up for about 5 minutes and my feet hurt so much I had to sit. Yesterday I was standing for hours and hours, tidying, painting, etc.

Helena
 
Just had a little read thru your post, I have a similar amount to lose. Seems along road but at least we are on it now. Good luck xx

Sent from my C6903 using MiniMins.com mobile app
 
I know what it's like to be obsessed with weighing, Helena. When I first started calorie counting, over 30 years ago, I became really badly obsessed, and would weigh myself literally every time I ate or drank anything. I ate far too few calories, even starving myself some days, and ended up with an eating disorder. My lowest weight was 8.5 stone, and I still wanted to lose more! Fortunately I returned to university, after a year out, and started eating normally again. That started me off on 3 decades of yo-yo dieting, each time ending up bigger than before - we all know the story, lol. So now I weigh myself once a week, and would even like to get away from that eventually, because that number on a machine, which can be affected by so many things and doesn't really mean anything, just dictates my mood, for good or ill, and that's quite ridiculous! :) xx
 
I'm a self confessed weigh-in addict too, but only log every Friday, the important part is if you see a result you don't like, remember our bodies take time to adjust and even if you're not losing weight, you're getting healthier, and losing inches - I was once so disheartened with no loss after a week of intense exercise and 100% on plan, but my friend on here Lisa, reminded me to check inches, I'd lost 3 around each thigh - in a week!, that certainly got me back into gear! It's not all about numbers.

Wheatwise - though I do eat and enjoy wheat and would struggle to cut it out, there are alternatives, especially with pastas - I notice you're in Sussex, like me, theres an online shop called "healthy supplies" which should pop up on Google if you type in Brighton next to it, it's where I get pretty much my entire dry grocery shop (dried fruit, cereals, pastas, rices, nuts, seeds etc) they do a lot of really good alternatives if you fancy giving them a try, snack bars too made of fruit (vegan, gluten and diary free).

Pizza-wise, I understand the surprise, it wasn't until I sat down and worked out my Friday night meals I realised why I was putting on weight, a large dominos pizza, potato wedges, chicken dippers and a cookie - one meal was about 5000 calories, surprised I didn't get bigger!

Hope you're having a lovely day despite the rain!
 
Thanks Helena. As well as fluid and all sort of weird bodily ups and downs, I also wonder if you're building a bit of muscle now you're able to move about more? Muscle is heavier than fat, so that is yet another variable to add in to the ponderings!! But can I just say BRILLIANT that your able to do so much more activity and that you feel your tummy is smaller? OK it may not have translated into weight on scales, but what a wonderful achievement to be able to do more, and that will of course help you massively on this journey.

my 10lbs is probably mostly first week fluid dump etc. but I'm really pleased nonetheless, and it's given me good motivation to feel I'm on a calorie burning path, so feeling good about sticking to what I'm doing moving forward.

I am having similar shocking discoveries too now I'm working out what I used to eat. Discovered the traditional family oatmeal stuffing I have with roast chicken is about 480 calories for 100g !!!! Eek. So I still had a couple of teaspoons (50g) as not to deprive myself completely because I love it, but realise I little goes a long way. And plus I can afford to bump up my calories a bit.

I'm just working on the premise that if you really want something calorific you can have it, but you have to really be strict on portion size, OR you can find a low calorie version of it and have much more. I'm trying to allow myself the usual things I enjoy, but having a. Small portion bulked out with loads a veg is working for me.

yes Helena, we'll stick together, and one day that'll be us passing on our pearls of wisdom to the newbies :) xxxx
 
Bigbear said:
Thanks Helena. As well as fluid and all sort of weird bodily ups and downs, I also wonder if you're building a bit of muscle now you're able to move about more? Muscle is heavier than fat, so that is yet another variable to add in to the ponderings!! But can I just say BRILLIANT that your able to do so much more activity and that you feel your tummy is smaller? OK it may not have translated into weight on scales, but what a wonderful achievement to be able to do more, and that will of course help you massively on this journey.

my 10lbs is probably mostly first week fluid dump etc. but I'm really pleased nonetheless, and it's given me good motivation to feel I'm on a calorie burning path, so feeling good about sticking to what I'm doing moving forward.

I am having similar shocking discoveries too now I'm working out what I used to eat. Discovered the traditional family oatmeal stuffing I have with roast chicken is about 480 calories for 100g !!!! Eek. So I still had a couple of teaspoons (50g) as not to deprive myself completely because I love it, but realise I little goes a long way. And plus I can afford to bump up my calories a bit.

I'm just working on the premise that if you really want something calorific you can have it, but you have to really be strict on portion size, OR you can find a low calorie version of it and have much more. I'm trying to allow myself the usual things I enjoy, but having a. Small portion bulked out with loads a veg is working for me.

yes Helena, we'll stick together, and one day that'll be us passing on our pearls of wisdom to the newbies :) xxxx
Click to expand...

Just wanted to say well done on the 10lbs! Even if it's water weight, it's still impressive! :)
X
 
Do you have a slow cooker lovely? It sounds like it'd be perfect for you so you could wake up to a spag bol/curry/stew/ etc all cooked for you. Or even porridge for a low cal rib sticker :)
 
Thanks for all the messages. I will read them properly later and reply. Just quickly for now, cos I have to go upstairs and paint a floor, I lost 2.8lb overnight and am now at 24 stone 5.8 lb.

Total loss 10.2 lb in 16 days.

More later

Helena
 
Tracy

Thank you for sharing a bit of your story. I am impressed that, despite all that, in the end you have lost nearly 11 stone. So, you beat it all. You are victorious! Yours is an amazing story. Maybe you should write a book called "How I lost Ten Stone" or "How I lost half my body weight". Surely many morbidly obese people would buy it? Would be better than the advice they get from all those skinny doctors and nurses and dieticians.

Llama

5,000 calories in a meal? Jeepers! I think you win the prize for the most calories in one meal. Thanks for the advice re: the online shop, however, 500g of rice-based spaghetti, with the postage, will cost me £6. Tesco also sells rice-based spaghetti @ £1.40 for 500g.

Bigbear

That name isn't going to last you through this journey, is it? You will have to change it to MediumSized bear before long! That oatmeal stuffing is nothing short of EVIL and so NOT worth the calories. You could have a delicious ribeye steak for less. I think the portion controls idea is one we should explore more. Like I said about the fish and chips: if it's the taste we are wanting, well, we could get that in a half portion.

Princess

Yes, I do have a slow cooker (in store somewhere!) I think I will need it if I make stew because I shall now have to use low fat beef and, as we all know, it is pretty tough and tasteless compared with the high fat marbled stuff I was eating on Atkins.

P1030967.JPG
======================================

I successfully touched up one half of my bedroom floor this morning. I made the mistake of painting the floorboards some years ago instead of just getting it vinyled or laminated, and I have to keep on touching it up over and over and over where the furniture makes holes in the paint and also where the paint cracks and peels along the flooboard joints. It's a total pain. This may be the final touch up until I can get it vinyled. Anyway, off topic except that I am feeling so much more lively and active that I am able to bend down and do stuff like this now! Yesterday I was also bent double, filling and repainting the office floor.

=======================================


I started taking the carb blockers yesterday. Only at lunch, I forgot later. This is going to be my problem with these: remembering to take them. So I have now put them on the kitchen worktop next to where I prepare my food and drink. As they have to be taken 10mins prior to a meal this should work OK.
 
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yesterday's food

FoodsCaloriesCarbsFatProteinCholestSodiumSugarsFiber
Morning
Weightwatchers - Bread, Multigrain, 4 slices (41GRAM20036g2g12g0mg340mg0g8g
Glenryk - Pilchards In Tomato Sauce, 155 g of total product (not drained)1946g11g20g0mg1mg2g2g
Tomato - Tomato., 0.25 cup276g0g1g0mg3mg2g1g
Afternoon
Weightwatchers - Bread, Multigrain, 4 slices (41GRAM20036g2g12g0mg340mg0g8g
Cucumber - With peel, raw, 0.5 cup slices82g0g0g0mg1mg1g0g
Plums - Plum, 1 plum309g0g1g0mg0mg9g2g
Danone Activia - Intensely Creamy Raspberry, 1 pot (125 gr)12216g4g6g0mg0mg16g1g
Bernard Matthews - 10 Chicken Breast Slices (20g Per Slice), 4 slice (20g)841g2g15g0mg560mg1g1g
Vegetables - Tomatos, 100 g184g0g1g0mg0mg3g1g
Galia - Melon, 268 g - 1/4 melon10024g0g2g0mg50mg22g2g
Last meal
Bernard Matthews - 10 Chicken Breast Slices (20g Per Slice), 3 slice (20g)631g2g11g0mg420mg1g1g
Classic - Tomato, 100 g184g0g1g0mg5mg3g1g
Cucumber - With peel, raw, 0.5 cup slices82g0g0g0mg1mg1g0g
Drinks/treats
Tesco - British Whole Milk, 50 ml332g2g2g0mg20mg2g0g
Lemon juice - Raw, 2 fl oz155g0g0g0mg1mg1g0g
Twinnings - Various Fruit Tea, 5 cup100g0g0g0mg0mg0g0g
Slimfast - Chocolate Caramel Treat, 1 bar9516g3g1g0mg0mg3g0g
TOTAL:1,225170g28g85g0mg1,742mg67g28g

I WAS OVER BY 400 CALORIES ON MONDAY SO CUT BACK BY 400 YESTERDAY. AVERAGE CALORIES OVER THE 2 DAYS THEREFORE IS 1,665. HAVE DECIDED THAT PILCHARDS ON TOAST IS THE PERFECT BREAKFAST FOOD. TODAY I HAD IT WITH ONLY 2 SLICES OF BREAD INSTEAD OF 4, SAVING 100 CALORIES BUT I STILL FEEL JUST AS FULL
 
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MONDAY'S FOOD




Foods
CaloriesCarbsFatProteinCholestSodiumSugarsFiber
Morning
Homemade - Cottage Pie, 2 serving56074g20g28g0mg0mg0g0g
Afternoon
Warburtons - Wholemeal Bread 400g (Small) Loaf, 2 Slice11619g1g5g0mg192mg2g3g
Asda - Asda Light Soft Cheese, 15 g230g2g2g0mg0mg0g0g
Cucumber - With peel, raw, 0.5 cup slices82g0g0g0mg1mg1g0g
Weightwatchers - Bread, Multigrain, 2 slices (41GRAM10018g1g6g0mg170mg0g4g
Sainsbury - Smoked Salmon (100g), 100 g2200g14g23g0mg170mg0g0g
Generic - Fried Back Bacon, 2 Rasher1440g10g10g0mg1,000mg0g0g
Weightwatchers - Bread, Multigrain, 2 slices (41GRAM10018g1g6g0mg170mg0g4g
Asda - Asda Light Soft Cheese, 15 g230g2g2g0mg0mg0g0g
Warburtons - Wholemeal Bread 400g (Small) Loaf, 1 Slice5810g1g3g0mg96mg1g2g
Last meal
Finn Crisp - Original Thin Rye Crispbread With Sourdough Rye, 3 slice6015g0g2g0mg128mg0g3g
Tesco - Southern Fried Flavour Chicken, 4 slice560g1g12g0mg160mg0g0g
Drinks/treats
Twinnings - Various Fruit Tea, 4 cup80g0g0g0mg0mg0g0g
Lemon juice - Raw, 0.3 fl oz21g0g0g0mg0mg0g0g
Tesco - British Whole Milk, 50 ml332g2g2g0mg20mg2g0g
Slimfast - Chocolate Caramel Treat, 1 bar9516g3g1g0mg0mg3g0g
Weightwatchers - Toffee With Fudge Pieces Mini Pot, 1 pot7714g1g1g0mg0mg10g3g
Galia - Melon, 536 g - 1/4 melon20048g0g4g0mg100mg44g4g
Cadbury (Uk) - Fudge, 49 g (1 bar)23038g8g1g0mg80mg33g0g
TOTAL:2,113275g67g108g0mg2,287mg96g23g
 
I have developed a new meal! Yes, me, all by meself! It's 332 calories a portion, which is quite a big one. It would not even be the end of the world if I ate the whole thing ~ just 662!

I dry-fried 250g lean mince, then added a jar of Napolina - Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce. Meanwhile I steamed sprouts, raw onion and shredded cabbage. Mixed the whole lot together in a big bowl, divided into two portions. The sauce makes the greens palatable. There are probably lower calorie sauces available; I just used what I had in the cupboard.

Edited to add: just had a 332 calorie bowl and it was just fine. Could happily eat that many times Will make up a batch of 10 or 15 soon for the freezer. But I will use tinned chopped tomatoes, herbs and tomato puree, which is the ingredients in the jar. Much cheaper and of course my version will have no sugar....
 
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Sounds gorgeous - aside from the sprouts :) Napolina is good stuff but it is very very sweet :)
 
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