Food For Thought's Holiday Countdown

[Foodforthought]

Hi everyone!

I've lurked for the last few weeks since I started, but today I'm feeling a bit blue about it all, so I think the time has come to start my own diary to help me be accountable and perhaps get some wonderful wisdom from you lovely people.

I've lost weight before, 7 stone on WW but I gained 6 of them back when I had post natal depression. I lost 5 with SW but I've slowly regained 3 of them back over the past couple of years. I've recently massively lost the plot with eating and gained a further stone in a month. I felt my only option was to do something drastic, so here I am. I've done nearly for weeks on Total Solution and have been 100%. It's been much easier than I though, although I know it's early days. I'm hoping to stick with Exante until my holiday on August, then have a think when I get back about how much more I need to lose and how I want to do it. That will mean 14 weeks on Exante before I go.

Tomorrow is weigh in 4. So far I've lost:

Week 1: 12lbs
Week 2: 3lbs
Week 3: 5lbs

I've been really pleased so far but as things are, I've only lost 2lbs this week which seems a bit harsh for 100% TS! It feels like an amount I could have lost on WW or SW whilst still eating lots!

I know, I may lost more. I know I have to stick with it. I know that it's still a good loss but I'm impatient and grumpy it would seem!

Good luck to all of you. I've so enjoyed reading your diaries and have been so inspired. Thank you X

 

[nattyclare78]

Hey and welcome.

It sounds like you are doing really well so far, I do know what you mean by wanting bigger losses but someone pointed out to me if you average out your losses you have lost over 5lb a week which is massive!

Are you exercising at all x

 

[Foodforthought]

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings and answer so positively. Yes, 5lb a week on average is great and I should focus on that.

I do Pilates twice a week. I used to do spin classes and BodyPump but I've cut back a bit as, as good as I feel, I don't think I'd manage that level of intensity on 600cals! I burn nearly that in a spin class!

How do you get on with exercising?

 

[Darcy15]

Hello and welcome

22 lbs in 4 weeks is fabulous!

 

[Foodforthought]

Thanks Darcy, for the welcome and the praise.

Weigh in 4 today and I lost 3lbs overall, so I should probably stop my whining! I'm hoping to be into the 15s by next week. Fingers crossed!

Day out today at a country fair so I've got my bar packed amongst an amazing picnic of delicious things for everyone else.

Hope you all have lovely bank holiday Mondays x

 

[evil weevil]

Well done on the overall weight loss, hope you have a fab day at the fair! Make sure you keep hydrated - are you still drinking enough to flush out the ketones? 1.5 stone in 4 weeks is a fantastic loss that you won't get with any other plan. Some weeks will only be 1 or 2lb, but other weeks will be higher and bring up your overall average.

I've lost almost 2 stone in 6 weeks, I do a graph of my progress and can see a clear pattern of a bigger drop every two weeks and then a steady curve downwards.

 

[Darcy15]

Have a lovely day out

 

[nattyclare78]

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings and answer so positively. Yes, 5lb a week on average is great and I should focus on that.

I do Pilates twice a week. I used to do spin classes and BodyPump but I've cut back a bit as, as good as I feel, I don't think I'd manage that level of intensity on 600cals! I burn nearly that in a spin class!

How do you get on with exercising?

That's ok, it is a very lonely diet and you need some like minded people!

I swim 3-4 times a week and try to keep active.
Exante advised me to add an extra pack on swim days because of the amount of calories I burn but I tried it and my weight stalled so I decided (after reading someones post on here who runs regularly) to add extra protein in daily, it adds between 99 and 189 kcal extra per day depending on whether I eat egg, tuna, chicken or prawns but so far it seems to be working better for me!
The extra pack was bothering me as it was adding a lot of extra carbs and I was always hungry all the time because of the swimming but the protein seems to have levelled me out!
I am, of course, not recommending it as I don't know how it will effect me long term

How are you getting on today?

 

[Foodforthought]

I had a lovely day, thanks everyone. Ate my bar while the kids had the most amazing picnic and didn't feel too hard done by! We went with friends we haven't seen for a while and my lovely friend saw me and said how amazing I looked which was a good boost!

Thanks for all the lovely comments and to everyone for taking the time to talk to me. Like someone said, it can be a lonely diet!

Well done on the overall weight loss, hope you have a fab day at the fair! Make sure you keep hydrated - are you still drinking enough to flush out the ketones? 1.5 stone in 4 weeks is a fantastic loss that you won't get with any other plan. Some weeks will only be 1 or 2lb, but other weeks will be higher and bring up your overall average.

I've lost almost 2 stone in 6 weeks, I do a graph of my progress and can see a clear pattern of a bigger drop every two weeks and then a steady curve downwards.

Thanks so much for your kind words. I am doing ok with water generally but not so much today...knowing you have a go in a portaloo is enough to stop you wanting to drink! I shall make up for it this evening.

I love the idea of a graph (am a bit geeky!) so I've found an app that will make a nice graph and record my weight. Perfect! Thanks for the suggestion X

That's ok, it is a very lonely diet and you need some like minded people!

I swim 3-4 times a week and try to keep active.
Exante advised me to add an extra pack on swim days because of the amount of calories I burn but I tried it and my weight stalled so I decided (after reading someones post on here who runs regularly) to add extra protein in daily, it adds between 99 and 189 kcal extra per day depending on whether I eat egg, tuna, chicken or prawns but so far it seems to be working better for me!
The extra pack was bothering me as it was adding a lot of extra carbs and I was always hungry all the time because of the swimming but the protein seems to have levelled me out!
I am, of course, not recommending it as I don't know how it will effect me long term

How are you getting on today?

Wow you're doing so well on the exercise! I've booked into some more intensive classes for next week and had talked today about adding more protein on those days to try to even it out without eating more carbs, which like you said, would be the case if I had another pack. I'm so nervous of eating extra stuff though so I'm glad to hear it's working for you!

Hope you've all had lovely, sunny bank holidays too x

 

[nattyclare78]

Thankyou, though I have been at it 9 weeks so have built up to this much exercise!

Hope you have a great day

 

[Foodforthought]

Thanks for the advice Natalie, I will definitely work up gently.

Weighed myself this morning and I'm now dead on 16stone so one pound until I'm into the 15s. Yay!

Lovely day today. Lemon bar for brekkie which is one of my favourites and mushroom soup for lunch.

Went out for coffee with a lovely friend this afternoon, the only one I talk to about weight and diets, and we had a really good catch up and chat about things. She says you can see a difference in me already.

Just tea to get through now and I'll have had another 100% day. (Rest of the family are having pizza though...might be a night for a bath!)

X

 

[Darcy15]

Well done!

 

[Foodforthought]

Thanks for all the encouragement. Another good day, still 100%.

Sat down to meal plan today for the next three weeks, went through the calendars, thought of everything. Put together a new order from Exante, only to find the 45% off offer is gone! Fingers crossed there's another one soon or I'm going to have to order full price

 

[Spinoza]

Hi FFT - you're doing so well - fingers crossed you see those 15s very very soon! The website is worth checking regularly - they do do some really good offers, depends how fussy you are (I'm not) but you can usually pick things up at a decent discount. Plus it's so much cheaper than some of the other VLCDs already, and considerably cheaper than real food!

And I deffo agree - the bath is your friend. I'm half mermaid at this stage.

 

[Foodforthought]

Thanks Spinoza, I will keep checking and fingers crossed another offer will appear. You're right about the cost being less than other VLCDs...I nearly choked when I looked at LL. My spends on Exante are pretty much compensated for by a reduction in my normal food bill and no longer paying £5 a week for SW.

Oh and I think I will shortly be getting my mermaid tail!

 

[Darcy15]

Exante always have an offer of some sort......just give it a few days

 

[nattyclare78]

I second Darcy, I constantly keep an eye on their offers, always get mine on the cheap!

 

[Foodforthought]

A 60 items for £60 offer came up so I've ordered...phew! I normally do three weeks at a time do 60 items is perfect.

All still going well but I had my first challenge of eating at someone else's house today, after a last minute change of plans with my in laws. Just took a pack to make there and ate that with everyone else but had to face the inevitable questions I've so far managed to avoid! Never mind, I guess it's all well meant.

Hope you're all enjoying the sun x

 

[nattyclare78]

A 60 items for £60 offer came up so I've ordered...phew! I normally do three weeks at a time do 60 items is perfect.

All still going well but I had my first challenge of eating at someone else's house today, after a last minute change of plans with my in laws. Just took a pack to make there and ate that with everyone else but had to face the inevitable questions I've so far managed to avoid! Never mind, I guess it's all well meant.

Hope you're all enjoying the sun x

Glad you managed to get a bargain!
I signed up for their emails so they email you the even cheaper deals!

I wish we had some Sun, it is cold and rainy here, has been all week. Had to have the heating on.....in June!!

 

[Foodforthought]

Noooo to heating in June! That's miserable...I'm cold enough as it is. We're obviously missing all the bad weather at the moment. Probably means it'll hit us in time for getting soaked on the school run on Monday!