*angie*'s target maintainance diary

[*angie*]

Well, I am new to this forum, but not to SW! I reached target last month having followed SW for 10 months, and am currently staying in the +-3lb zone, in fact, last weigh in I was target +1lb. I am a regular on the MSE SW forum, and am finding that the support of others is really important in maintaining my loss - it would be so very easy for it all to go back on again

In the last month, I have found that to stay in my target range, I need to keep following the plan - I never did lose very quickly :sigh: so if I follow the plan 100% Monday to Friday, then I can be a little more relaxed at the weekend.

I have always followed a mix of all the plans. Most commonly red / green and easy, although I will also use M2M and SE when the need arises. I used FF once during my weight loss journey, so also dip into that if I need to be ultra good after a holiday for example

This is what I do: I decide what I would like for dinner, so choose the plan for that day depending on that evening meal - I then fit the rest of the day around it lol works for me

Comments and suggestions welcome - as would support and encouragement!! It will nice to 'meet' some of you on here, and hey, if no one is interested , then this will still be great tool for me to stay on track ...

I weigh in at class at 6pm every Tuesday evening.

 

[*angie*]

So, today I have had an EE day because I got a beautiful piece of pork from the butcher, some parsnips from the allotment and fancied a more trad sunday roast ..

B 0% greek yog with strawberries, blueberries and sweetner. tea (milk HA)

L sandwiches using HB bread, homemade egg mayo (1 syn) with a large salad. banana and muller light.

A tub of toffee and banana Marions rice in the fridge has dealt with any munchies through the day.

D slow roasted hand of pork (in cidervinegar and bay etc - smells fantastic at the moment) with 'roasted' parsnips, celeriac and potato mash, purple sprouting broccoli. I will use some of the pan juices as a gravy (syns).

Had too much wine last night, so no wine tonight, but will have a G&T (2.5) before tea, sparkling water with.

I may treat myself to a small chocolate brownie that a friend made for us as a thank you gift ... I have no idea of the syns, but it is the weekend after all.

 

[*angie*]

Well, I thought I was going to have a red day today, but then I had some 'marions rice' for breakfast, so if has changed to an EE day.

Funny, I never used to do Easy much when I was trying to lose weight, but as a maintainance plan it suits me more and more. It gives lots of freedom with my food and I seem to neither gain or lose I do however think it is important to aim for the 1/3 superfree as a minimum ... any less, and I just feel it isn't as healthy as I would like

Weigh in is tomorrow night, so I am always good on a monday - it is a good reminder to get firmly back on track after my relaxed weekend

B Toffee yog and fresh banana marions rice. chilled. tea (milk HA)

L Leftover roast pork sandwiches (bread HB) with salad and apple.

If I feel snacky, I have some marions rice in the fridge, or fruit of course! Just got back from Aldi where kiwi's and apples are in the monthly specials

D Chicken and bacon mash topped pie. Carrots, green beans, leftover parsnips and broccoli.

No syns in food today, so will probably have a G&T (2.5) and a glass of wine (6) this evening - I do like to have something to look forward to

 

[Mrs V]

Fantastic diary! Love the idea of the cider vinegar and bay in with the pork...will have to give that a bash!

Thank you and well done for reaching your target!

 

[*angie*]

Thanks Mrs V - it was an idea inspired from the net, but basically I put a dozen bay leaves, a tsp of peppercorns in the bottom of a roasting dish, added 150ml cider vinegar and 100ml water and slowroasted the pork at about 150 deg (topping up the water if it looks to have cooked away)- my piece took about 2 hr 15, but you could easily leave it 3 hours.

The vinegar mellows as it cooks but leaves a slightly apply taste, also it cuts through any fattiness beautifully. The pork was amazing

 

[*angie*]

Tuesday - today is weigh in day.

After weigh in I try to have a bit of a treat - just a not-off-the-rails treat ie it is something I can look forward to but it is perhaps a little more expensive, or takes a bit more time etc ... for example, if I have a steak, it is likely to be a tuesday night

I am already looking forward to tonight's dinner - a french recipe of sausages, lentils and parsnips cooked in stock with plenty of garlic yum!

So today I am following EE

B 0% greek yogurt with blueberries and banana. tea (milk HA)

L no definite plans, but quite likely to be a delicious spanish omlette - lots of onions, potatoes and peas - all served with a giant salad. No going hungry for me on weigh in day

No liquids after 4pm, weigh in at 6pm (and I *always* stay to class, its a hoot) ...

D French sausage casserole using Joes sausages, garlic, parsnips and large green lentils. Stock (proper homemade chicken stock as it is tuesday, so a few syns even though I do remove the fat)

G&T (2.5) and a glass of a french red (6)


EDIT - just realised that I haven't used a B choice today (I have to watch this on EE as I am not a cereal girl...) perhaps a piece of cheese after dinner, or I could make some crusty wholemeal rolls to mop up the juices from dinner ...

I have a feeling that today will be a lovely day

 

[weemo]

Hi Angie, just been reading through your diary ~ it's making me hungry!! I've just started keeping a weight loss diary to see if it will keep me motivated. I see you like the same tipples as me - wine and G&Ts! We do need our treats! Well done for reaching target and good luck for tonight ~ enjoy your dinner!xx ps how do you make your chicken and bacon mash topped pie? it sounds scrummy!

 

[*angie*]

Thanks for your comments, and ooooh yes, I do like to drink my syns

Chicken and bacon mash topped pie was a bit made up, but essentially I 'fried' some sliced onions and bacon (cut into squares) then set aside, cubed some chicken thighs and coloured these in the same pan, then added a few chopped mushrooms. I put everything back in the frying pan and added about 200ml bovril chicken stock, covered and let it simmer to cook through the meat.

Then I took the lid off, reduced the stock a bit and stirred in some (was it yog or fromage frais? - can't remember now) to make the sauce 'creamy'

This was all put in the bottom of individual dishes, topped with mash (made with just potatoes and milk) and then cooled til needed (in fact, I froze them!). To cook, they just need 20 mins in the oven (from room temp) at about 200 deg

 

[weemo]

:thankyou: Thanks Angie - that just sounds right up my street! I can assure you I will be making those, can't wait in fact! xx

 

[*angie*]

Thrilled to report a 1/2lb loss tonight, keeping me in the middle of my target range at target+1/2lb. If I manage to lose 1lb from this point I will be my lowest ever, and will get a shiny sticker - now there's a bit of motivation!

Class was nice tonight as there were several new faces, and several back for their second week. I like to see new faces

Also had a phonecall today from SW following up an opportunity event I attended a while back - the lady was saying that they would love to have me on board, I just need to think about nights of the week and how many classes I might want! Ooooooh ... how very exciting :happy096:arty0011:

 

[*angie*]

I am not sure I want to admit to this, but , tonight I will be having the dinner I planned for last night.

Wonderful hubby did a lovely thing you see, he popped into Waitrose to pick something up, and noticed they had yellow stickered all their special curry meals - down to 25p so, being a cost concious lad picked up a chicken korma, a chicken tikka masala, a box of pilau rice, lentil dal and a bread. All for £1.25

... and we ate it

Honestly though, we both agreed it was a 'bit bland' and really lacking in textures (oh, and not a veg in sight ) goes to show - it might be a bargain, but we really can do better making our own at home (and I make some fantastic curries even if I do say so myself)

Oh well, today is another day...

EE

B 0% yog with blueberries and a banana. tea (Milk HA)

snack satsuma and a banana - after adding onto a post about fruit intake yesterday, I am making an extra effort today - I was shamed

L wholemeal pasta with roasted butternut squash, oregano and garlic, feta cheese (HA) and chopped tomato

D (last nights tea ) Joes sausages with parsnips, lentils, garlic and bovril stock (cos its not tuesday, and I think I blew my extras for a few days lol!)

G&T (2.5) and a glass of re (6)

 

[jaylou]

Angie, what a great diary!! I'm at target so it's good to see what other target members do and what they eat. It's written so well too - great reading!!

Thank you for sharing. x

 

[*angie*]

Thank you Jaylou - I find it so helpful to keep a diary of what I am doing, its fun that you enjoy reading it too

I did really enjoy tea tonight - thankfully I managed to (finally!) have my sausage and lentil dish without getting sidetracked on route lol We had it alongside a very lovely but very simple tomato, red onion and basil salad yummmy ... I used the Joes 'garlic' sausage and an extra 6 cloves in the 'sauce' - good job we aren't expecting visitors this evening

Tomorrow morning is market, I wonder what goodies I shall come home with

 

[*angie*]

Later post for me today, as market day takes up my morning and (the joy of) after school activities takes up my afternoon. Still, I always enjoy a journey round the market on a Thursday - pulled my usual huge 'shopper' full of fruit and veg (weighs a ton! body magic!) and chatted up the butcher to see what was good this week.

From the butcher I got some chicken thighs (thinking tagine or curry) some pork chops (yummmm) and some gammon steaks which won't last longer than this evening!

So today is a green day;

B 0% greek yog with blueberries and a banana. tea (milk HA)

L Angie's Baked Bean Balti with rice (chop then soften an onion, add 1/4tsp each of garam masala, ground coriander and ground cumin, chopped fresh chilli to taste, add a tin of beans to heat through) - you would not believe how good this is

D Gammon (2xB) steak with 'fried' egg, loads of SW chips, peas and a grilled tomato. how good is that for a diet!?

Tonight I shall enjoy a G&T (2.5) while I am cooking tea and maybe a lager (rather than my usual wine) with dinner - I think the syns are the same - 6 ish, but I shall check.

 

[*angie*]

Well, it is a cold and slightly damp day today, and days like this all I want to do is eat Worse than that, is that normally Hubby works from home, so I can usually cook up an SW feast, but he is out at meetings today, so I am all on my own, so the temptation is to eat naughty, secret things ...

I [STRIKE]do that[/STRIKE] did that you see, ate in secret - bread and butter, KFC, snickers bars - and then lied about it. I don't do it anymore, but I still have to work really really hard - it is days like today when the opportunity is there, that I am working hard against my instincts.

never said that 'out loud' before ...

So, the plan for today is building itself around my next meal - lunch - to keep me from drifting off the rails

B - 0% greek yog with blueberries and strawberries. tea (milk HA)

snack - banana

L - I am going to have sw chips, eggs and spagetti hoops. Not exactly haute cuisine, but it is what I fancy and it will keep me out of KFC which is a very good thing.

D - I fancy a curry. I have lots of veg in (as it was market day yesterday) so I will probably make a vegetable balti with rice, and maybe a chicken curry as I haven't used any B choices today. rice of course.

There, it has turned into a green day. who would have thought it

The next few weeks will be fun, easter hols start today so darling daughter (6) will be at my side ... I shall check in as much as possible and try keep me on the straight and narrow. All I need to do is plan plan plan!

 

[sarahandmolly]

What a great thread Angie! Very interesting

I might try doing one...

We'll see!

 

[*angie*]

Hahaha! Today's food has changed already.

I have changed today to (another) EE day, as my lunch is then free, as is tea, but it leaves me a B choice - so I just had a wholemeal roll with lunch so I could have a chip butty - just made a good lunch better

 

[*angie*]

Saturday! and a sunny Saturday at that

...started worryingly though, I found that I had run out of 0% greek yog (which is how I start my day *almost* every day so, instead turned my hand to a 2 egg omlette and some beans. very tasty, but upset hubby (as it 'smelt too savoury and put him off his fruit' :sigh

Thankfully, I popped into town this morning and got some for tomorrow ... hurrah!

Does mean that I have to be aware to up my fruit intake through the day - normally I rely on breakfast to give me two portions...

Today is (yet) another Extra easy day. Seems to be the way forward with my maintainance, heavens it never worked for me as weight loss, but as maintainance it is just great

B 2 egg omlette and baked beans, tea (milk HA)

L rice with lentil dahl (actually it was the lentil sauce left over from a dhansak I made, so had tons of spices, chunks of potato and BNS, and the tiniest amount of chicken - one thigh shared between the three of us! lol!). Apple for afters.

This afternoon (what loely weather!) I have snacked on a banana and grapes every time I pass the fruit tower (that's quite often!)

D we are having some wonderful pork chops which I have marinated in smoked paprika and maple syrup (2 syns each) and will blacken then roast them later. This will be served with a mountain of crushed new potatoes and a heap of purple sprouting brocolli.

If I get away without using any oil on the chops (which could be my B choice) I shall have some rhubarb grabbed from the allotment this afternoon - yummy

 

[*angie*]

Another glorious day!

Spent the morning trotting around a car boot sale and came back with some quails eggs and a cook book - so fun was had

I had a *wonderful* breakfast this morning - I even took a photo (and will try to work out how to post it later!) ... syn free pancake yum yum yum

B syn free pancake with 0% greek and a heap of banana and strawberries tea (milk HA)

L tuna, sweetcorn and extra light mayo (1 syn) sandwich (bread HB) with cucumber sticks, celery stics, pepper sticks and red onion salad. Orange choc muller (they are just sooooooo good - mind you I have to feed the cherry ones to hubby as they have syns lol)

D will be a starter of homegrown asparagus (1st of the season!!!) with quails eggs and ham - then roast chicken with frylight roasties, parsnips, carrots, sugarsnaps, PSB etc etc! looking forward to it already

...right off to upload a piccy...

 

[*angie*]

Wow! Monday again

Daughter is at home due to the school holidays, and so planning food just gets a touch more complicated. She is 6 1/2 years old and a type 1 diabetic, so not only do I have to count syns for us, but with her joining us for meals, I need to carb count everything too! I cook with a calculator at my side ...

Thankfully, she is a really 'good eater' in that - she eats what we eat (with the exception of raw tomatoes , but I shall forgive her this one dislike as she will literally eat everything else!)

Another Easy day today ..

Breakfast this morning was a tub of muller light (banana and custard) with a banana and an apple. Tea (milk HA)

I then took her to a cafe to meet my friend for our weekly natter and watched as she demolished a divine looking chocolate and cashew nut cookie... I only had a pot of tea, I shall polish my halo later :innocent0002:, but it is weigh in tomorrow, so I have to be a good girl

Lunch I made a lovely vegetable chowder with leeks, sweet potato, parsnip and peas, all cooked in ckicken bovril stock and milk (2 syns for my portion). Afters was a hot cross bun 9 syns - there goes my glass of wine later :cry:

This afternoon I have been picking at grapes and raspberries while I haven't been hula hooping - my monday afternoon 1 hour class of silliness - it is huge fun, keeps me fit and is exhausting!!! Hopefully it will go someway toward a maintain or loss tomorrow on the scales ..

Dinner tonight will be leftover roast chicken with either SW chips or (more likely) bubble and squeak yum yum yum! I have enough syns for a G&T (2.5) but will have to have fizzy water with dinner tonight instead of wine.