Hannah's Lighter Life: The RTM Edition!

Love your new photo - you look so happy and beautiful! I'm in awe of what you have achieved on LL. You give me hope! You're so honest in the way you write your posts - especially your recent ones - and I feel I can identify with a lot of things in your journey. Just hope I end up as slim as you are - you look brilliant!

Aww thank you Spanglymum! You're message really means a lot to me. You are doing so well, and you'll be on RTM too before you know it! xxxx
 
Day 31

Hello!
Sorry have been a bit slack at updating this, am at home for a bit so don't have as much free time as I usually do at work!

This has been one of the hardest weeks on RTM, and i'm not sure why! It's just because i'm now down to 2 packs a day, so my typical daily menu is:

Breakfast: Yoghurt and berries or a scrambled egg with some smoked salmon
Lunch: LL Vegetable Soup
Dinner: Chicken Stirfry or My Mousakka or Thai Salmon etc.
Evening Snack: Sugar Free Jelly and LL Toffee Bar.

And I sometimes snack on a apple, or a yoghurt, and sometimes pieces of ham/chicken.

But I just find myself not wanting the LL packs anymore. The other day I had a LL vanilla shake for brekkie, so had French Onion soup for lunch (only 120 cals a can!) and it was so much more tasty and filling....but if I don't have the LL Veg soup for lunch, then I don't know how i'd squeeze a second lighter life pack in. Some nights I don't even want my LL toffee bar, but feel like I need to eat it! I never thought i'd say this, but I can't wait until I get down to 1 pack a day...then no packs!

I've also eaten out twice since I got home.
Went out for my FIRST MEAL! on friday with my mum, had a lovely steak with mushroom and I swapped the chips for some carrots.
IMG00426-20101022-1836.jpg

(sorry about the darkness/bluriness, blackberry camera isn't so good!)
Then last night went out for a meal with my family, and some relatives, and had another steak (the menu didn't have many options!) with mushroom, then swapped the chips for 'seasonal veg' which was carrots (again!) and red cabbage, which I had never tried before and it was DELICIOUS! So overall I think i've made sensible decisions. I will admit that I had a glass of prosecco on Friday, then a small glass of wine last night, but it's week 5 and alcohol is allowed, wahooo! Just can't go too crazy.

I am slightly apprehensive this week that i'll have put weight on. Just silly little things, like went to cinema with my brother and he got a pick'n'mix and found myself pinching some sweets, which at the end of the day I know won't kill me but I end up feeling so guilty everytime I eat something. I'm still going to the gym and I think that's making me more hungry.
I have to head back up to Manchester tomorrow evening, as i'm going into work on Wednesday morning to hand my notice in (thank god!) I then have a job interview on Thursday afternoon, so will have to stay in Manchester for another night, but will be coming back home again after the interview. So won't be having quite the relaxing week I was planning. And weds and thurs are going to be quite hectic/stressful days so need to plan my food or I know i'll end up panicking about what to eat.

Am making my mousakka for my mum and dad tonight so am off to get cooking!
xxxxxx
 
Hannah, it sounds like you are doing fabulously well - and making excellent choices with your meals out. I am sure you wont have done too much damage with a couple of sweets!

Good luck for your job interview on Thursday!
 
Am handing my notice in at work today....ahhhh!
Im half excited, half scared as I really don't know how my boss will take it, but oh well will find out in an hour!
xxxx
 
good luck honey go for it! x
 
Good luck Hannah xx
 
Good Luck Hannah.
 
Thank you all for the good luck wishes!!

Well it was a horrible day to be honest, our boss didn't come in so had to hand notice in to his wife and she didn't take it too well. They've also decided to withhold our last 2 weeks of pay unless we can prove that we did work whilst they were on holiday (they got back on Monday), so had to spend yesterday trying to finish and email over a marketing project that I started but didn't have time to complete before they got back. It's just crazy!! Haven't heard back from them yet, so who knows if i'll get paid but i'm just so happy to be out of that psycho company!

And I have a job interview today! It's not till this afternoon so have a morning to prepare myself :) Then i'm driving home for a nice relaxing weekend, before hopefully starting this new job next week!

I'll be completely honest, my eating yesterday was all over the place. Nothing completely crazy, just a bit of cake with my workmate to celebrate leaving! Then didn't have my soup pack, went to the gym and did a spinning class then worked out my anger on the machines! Had a normal RTM dinner but had a few chocolate buttons whilst watching the apprentice with my housemates...so overall calorie wise it probably equalled out to how much I would usually eat, but food wise it wasn't the best! But I think sometimes I just need to put myself first and not worry about food as much. I know once today is over and once I get into a new routine at work everything will fall in to place. Today would have been my weigh in day but am going to weigh myself tomorrow at home to make sure i'm still doing ok, then will be back to my LL meeting next Thursday.

Hope everyone is having a good week, and enjoyed 'Me Wednesday!' as much as I did!
xxxxxx
 
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Hannah, i'm so pleased you got out of that company - it sounds awful, especially threatning to withold pay - not the type of company you want to work for at all!

Fingers crossed for today's interview!

Your eating yesterday sounds perfectly fine, you didn't go overboard and you kept it in check so i think you are doing fantastic!

Let us know how the interview goes! x
 
Hannah! What a bunch of wa****s!!
Surely this is against the law!
Hopefully this is going to end soon and you'll be able to move on.
And don't worry about going off your eating plan a bit. It happens.
Remember about the 80/20 rule. It's all about balance and keeping it real.
You're still exercising and being healthy that's all that matters. :)
Enjoy your time with the fam and good luck with the interview!
 
Hello chicks!
Thank you for your supportive messages!

I've been away for a while, as I know i've haven't been the best example of how to do RTM and I feel like i've let you all down.

When I last posted on here I was a going through a bit of a tricky time and things got a bit worse, i left my job, bosses were complete idiots and refused to pay me, had an interview which didn't go quite how I expected and then I got told by my university that I was at risk of failing my whole degree. It was just one thing after another really.
I was so happy to leave the company, but when they refused to pay me, then uni who told me I was fine to leave the company, tried to tell me i'd 'walked out', it felt like I was being kicked when i'm down or whatever the saying is!

Thankfully things are on the way up. I finally got paid which was a big relief, and I have a meeting with my university to sort things out. The job interview I had was at a hotel, I thought it was more events based (I do an events management degree) but turns out it's just waitressing. So I have a trial shift there tomorrow night, but i'm really not looking forward to it. It's just not what I want to do, and I really want to get the best experience I can in the final 6 months of my placement year. But my parents keep telling me to 'just try it', I just don't want to get tied in to another 6 month contract. Especially as the company I used to work for has asked me to help out at an event mid-november, which would be great as I haven't worked for them in a while and would love to go back there. But if I accept this hotel job I might not be able to do it....ARRRRRRRGH. I just feel exhausted from thinking about everything!

BUT, me moaning about my life isn't why i started this blog! So LIGHTER LIFE. I'll be completely honest. My eating has gone completely to pot this past week. I've still been going to the gym, but i've just been so stressed out that I have been using food to cheer myself up a bit. I know this is completely wrong, and completely against everything lighter life taught me. But I was so busy worrying about everything else, that I just let myself off worrying about what I ate. I haven't eaten bread or any carbs (like rice etc.) it's just been sweet things, bloody halloween candy! Aside from the treats i've been eating normally for RTM, but that doesn't make it any better.

So i've decided to get myself back on track now my life is starting to sort itself out! I've been weighing myself on my scales, but have no idea what my LLC's scales will say and I am a bit scared. I'm fully expecting to have put weight on (it'll be a MIRACLE if i haven't!) but I just don't know how much to expect...
So i'm thinking of going back on the packs for a week. Just to take my mind off food, hopefully lose whatever i've gained, and refocus myself for the rest of RTM. Especially as i'm two weeks away from trigger food week (rice, noodles etc.) so feel I need to get myself sorted before I start adding those foods back in.
So am going back on the packs tomorrow, then will have my weigh in on Thursday and will be able to talk to my LLC about it as well.

Hope everyone is well
xxxxxxx
 
Hi Han. Just popped in to see how things are going. It's been pretty much two months since I gave up rtm after stuttering.

Put half stone on but had a cracking few months of over indulgence and I'm now back on a personal LCD to squeak off a couple lb before Christmas.

Glad to see you still going.

Keep it up
X
 
hello flex! sounds like your in control and keeping well
nice to hear from you

keep up the good work and take care x
 
Hi Han. Just popped in to see how things are going. It's been pretty much two months since I gave up rtm after stuttering.

Put half stone on but had a cracking few months of over indulgence and I'm now back on a personal LCD to squeak off a couple lb before Christmas.

Glad to see you still going.

Keep it up
X

Hi Flex!
Really great to hear from you! Sounds like your definitely on the right track with maintaining your weight!

I personally think RTM is way too long, I think it could easily be condensed into 8/9 weeks not 12, think thats one of the reasons I went a bit off the rails!

Don't be a stranger!
xx
 
Well it's weigh in day today!

Not sure what to expect, and am dreading getting on the scales. But have my fingers crossed that it will be less than a 6ibs gain.
Started back on the packs yesterday as had enough for yesterday and today. So yesterday had:
Vanilla Shake
Veg Soup
Veg Soup
Toffee Bar.

Felt funny just eating the packs again! But strangely comforting, and it is nice not having to think about what to eat again. But had to drive from my home back to Manchester and in the car there was a little voice inside my head telling me to stop at service stations and treat myself to something sweet to cheer me up! Managed to ignore it though :) Just wish that my housemate didn't have a mum who lives near Cadbury World, she has a staff discount card so in our house we have a 1kg box of loose Cadbury's buttons, a box of caramel freddo frogs, and she's just come back with a bumper box of those Mikado chocolate stick things...ARGH!
 
Just back from my meeting.
I've gained 3ibs, which isn't too bad considering how much I ate! 3ibs over 2 weeks...could have been an awful lot worse. But at least i'm back on track, have got my packs for the week and i'm determined to lose these pesky pounds!
LLC wasn't keen on me going back onto 4 packs a day, wanted me to do 2 packs and 2 meals, but right now I don't want to even have to worry about buying food. The packs are easy, controlled and will help me get back in control (i hope!)
xxx
 
Hi Hanmac,

It sounds like you are focused, im pleased your weight gain was not as bad as you thought. Good luck this next week with the packs.

Nuttyx
 
Day 42

Am a bit of an emotional wreck today!

Fell out with my dad last night which really upset me. After the trial shift at the hotel I realised it's really not what I want to do, the boss sat me down after the trial shift and explained that I needed a lot of training and that I needed to seriously think about whether or not I wanted the job. It left me with the impression that he wanted me to say no, and I just felt that my heart wasn't in it. He gave me until today to make a decision so had yesterday to think about it.

So my dad phoned me last night to see what my decision was and when I told him that it was 'no', he kept saying how much I disappointed him and that I have no 'sticking power'. I was so upset and it didn't end on a very good note. He phoned me back saying he was sorry for being nasty, but he then tried to convince me to take the job again and he wouldn't listen to anything I said. Woke up this morning feeling annoyed as I do have 'sticking power', I stayed at my old job far longer than anyone else could have managed and i've stuck at Lighter Life for over 5 months!

At the end of the day i'm 20, not 12 and I can't live my life doing things just to make other people happy any more. It was quite ironic as at my LL meeting last night we were talking about assertiveness, and it made me realise that I do need to be a lot more assertive. Before Lighter Life I always just did what other people wanted me to do, and was a 'people pleaser'. It often led to me comfort eating and feeling low. So now I need to start doing stuff for myself and being confident in my decisions!

So I am now determined to find a better job and prove my dad wrong! I phoned the boss and let him know that I was declining, so I don't have to worry about that anymore. Spent the whole morning with a huge knot in my stomach, but feel so much better now.

xxxx
 
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