Helle's Diary

helle

Member
Typical lifelong dieter here... But this time it's for real!:D

Always been a bit on the heavier side and have tried a few diets over the years - Slim Fast, poor college student, Diet Chef and Weight Watchers to name a few - with varying degrees of success. I usually have more motivation to lose weight when I am involved in a sport, but have been really struggling for the last year to recover from a broken leg and have been more sedate than I have ever been in my entire life. Of course my inability to heal is compounded by the extra 100 or so pounds I am carrying, so it's time to do something about it not only so I can walk into any shop on the high street and find jeans that fit, but so I can comfortably go about my daily life!

So. Here we go. My mother lost 50 or so pounds on Jenny Craig last year in America, and so I decided to try it for myself since we have similar body types and habits. I ordered the food and dabbled in it at the end of April before I flew off to get married (because my dress was almost too tight!) but have just now properly began again.

First week is going really well! Snuck a peek at the scale this morning and have lost 3 pounds which is super motivating. I have not been hungry yet, and am actually finding it hard to eat as often as I am supposed to. I ate out last night, but had a healthy salad that followed JC proportions perfectly, and a glass of white wine. I think the hardest bit of this is going to be saying no to cider at the pub on these sunny days we have been having!

Thanks for reading and wish me luck! First real weigh in is on Monday...
 
Welcome to the site and good luck :)
 
Heya, hope things continue to go as well as they have been :)
Best wishes.
 
Thanks for the good wishes!

I have been on a very late schedule lately (husband works 11-8ish and I am a writer!) so I have to adjust my eating habits to keep me going until around midnight. I had a wonderful day yesterday, but found myself starving at 11 and I had a small pudding just because it was there - oops.:sigh: It's difficult, because in my head I still think breakfast at 8, lunch at noon, and dinner at 6, but that won't keep me going these days! I'm really trying to use my snacks as I should be and spacing out my meals instead of skipping a piece of fruit here and a yoghurt there as I was before the wedding. Also most days I either get a sweet snack bar or sweet cereal which I think I am going to switch to my after dinner treat and move some fruit and protein to breakfast. Hopefully it gets a bit easier.

It's not hunger that is a problem, but breaking habits and cravings. When does it come naturally? :8855:
 
Yeh habits are the most difficult thing! you'll get used to it, and if you ahve to snack just pick something healthy, you'll be great, no worries.

what kind of writer are you?

Best wishes.
 
Freelance features for womens magazines mostly, but have a novel going on the side as well. :)

So... I lost a pound this week. Considering that I lost it a bit over the weekend it's not entirely surprising, but I was still disappointed. I did fairly well last week and into the weekend, but went to a BBQ on Sunday and it went downhill. Actually the beginning was not bad at all, I munched on veggies instead of crisps and had sparkling water instead of Pimms, and the tiniest burger I have ever seen with salad, but then, about five hours in, I let myself go and drank beer with everyone else for the rest of the afternoon. I think I am more annoyed that I kept it together for so long before losing it - do I have a five hour limit on behaving myself in social situations?

Anyway, the good thing is that I am really motivated for this week now! And I think after that Monday morning weigh-ins will keep me on my toes over the dangerous weekend! And I had my first PERFECT day yesterday, and it wasn't that bad! Also took a long walk to go sunning in the park with a new book. Non-food treats may be what keep me going here!

Going to stick to the diet religiously this week and see if I can pull off more than a pound!
 
Omgosh, you're my new idol, that it what I want to be doing when I graduate (I'll probably just end up being a teacher, but still). Any articles that I would have read?

Bah, it was a social situation, you're allowed to fall off the wagon at those surely, and you still had a loss, so it's all good. It's not like BBQs happen every day, or even every week, it's just a treat now and then :)

Hope you're week continues to go fabulously :)
 
Maybe ;) but going to stay anonymous here! It's fun, and nice to have my own schedule but sometimes I crave a 'real' job after being cooped up at home alone all day! And with nobody around it's harder to check my munching habits...

SO. Two perfect days! I am not going to hold myself to that standard and kick myself if I have an extra nibble or glass of wine, but up until now that has been the rule instead of the exception! Now I know it can be done.

It helped to cross off all the additions to my Jenny Craig menu that I know I won't eat (cottage cheese! :9529: ) and put in appropriate replacements off the list that I like. I really was skipping quite a bit of protein which explains why I never felt satisfied! And doing that at the beginning of my weekly menu means I can have everything I need at home which helps!


Super motivated! Wheeeeee!:woohoo:
 
Another perfect day on the Jenny Craig diet yesterday... But then I snuck a peek at my weight this morning and I gained a pound! I guess that's why you are not supposed to peek mid-week!

Even though I know that everyone fluctuates like that it's still a bit disappointing since I am watching every mouthful so closely - it feels like such a drastic change deserves drastic loss! I was unusually sedate yesterday, maybe that has something to do with it. I am definitely going on a walk today!
 
Hey, yeh mid-week peeking is never a good idea, I did the same this week and was a tad miffed.
Exercise really is the key, I've done seriously low calorie diets and it was only when I started to do semi-regular exercise that the real loss started.

Best wishes, I hope that the scales are more pleasing at the end of the week :)
 
I am sticking to this thing so well! That's four perfect days I think... Better be a noticeable difference on the scale come Monday!

I would love to be able to push it at the gym, but my leg is beyond fussy. I have a year old tibial plateau fracture (right smack in the middle of the knee) that refuses to heal, and I actually struggle to turn over in bed in the night, and have collapsed on stairs as recently as two weeks ago. I'm trying to get a second opinion and new scans, but am on a massive wait list. Good old NHS...

So anyway, I totally intend to get back on the hardcore exercise once I am able, but the big focus now has to be the diet. If I don't have a decent loss this week I plan to discuss my (temporarily!) sedentary lifestyle and see if I should go down a few calories or something.
 
Woo hoo! I am going to declare every weekend I didn't go off my diet a massive victory! Man it was hard! I had no idea how much my social life really revolves around food and drink. Barbecue here, dinner with friends there, meeting my husband for drinks, steak and red wine on a Friday night... I actually spent about an hour on Friday night looking into things to do that wouldn't involve eating out. :sigh: I know I can eat out responsibly, but I'm not ready to veer off my menu for more than a meal a week yet. I want at least another solid planned out month so it is ingrained. I did break my perfect streak, but I did it intentionally and in a carefully planned way... Two G&Ts with slimline tonic, and three cups of air popped popcorn with salt substitute and one teaspoon of real butter for an AMAZING indulgence. ;)

Anyway, on Saturday we had a walk around Greenwich, saw a show at the planetarium and had a picnic which was really nice! I should be able to schedule picnics, I just need to make sure I pick a day off my menu that has lunch I can prepare in advance and happily eat cold. Saturdays was couscous which was perfect. Also being on my feet for the better part of 8 hours didn't hurt!

I actually weighed myself throughout the week because of my worry that I might be on too many calories for my sedentary lifestyle, and realised that I have got to find a way to properly work out, and stop moaning about the fact that I was an athlete until my injury, and I can't do my old gym routine. I know that there are a lot of factors that can make your weight fluctuate, which is why weekly weigh-in is the best way to go, but I can't help but see that the only days I lost weight were after a good amount of exercise... So my plan for this week is to start aquacises! Hey, if my nan loved it... right? :D I looked into pools in my area, and there are four I can get to in about a half hour, and I could take a class every weekday! That is a bit optimistic however, so I am going to try for three per week to start and see how it goes.

Whew. Long beginning of week post. I have my Jenny Craig consultation in a half hour - I'm so glad I can tell my counselor that I have had a week to be proud of!
 
Heya.
Aquacize classes sound perfect! I hope they go well for you :)
Picnics are the perfect solution for social eating situations, i may need to steal that idea.
Best wishes.
 
Yesterday was a pretty good day. I had my consultation and felt really good about it for the first time. I also got lower calorie menus, but hopefully I won't need them if my knee can handle my new routine! I did a lot of walking (shopping!:D) and went to my first aqua aerobics class! It was intense! I was surprised at how completely knackered I was afterwards, and I slept like a baby! I did have a little bit of a food downfall though. Ate what was probably a full serving of pasta with olive oil in addition to my Jenny Craig meal of chili and cheese. It was definitely not a hunger thing either. Oh well! Today is a new day! Will be running errands all afternoon and going to another aqua aerobics class so should be pretty active again, which makes me want to stick to my diet more!

Good luck to anyone who is reading my long ramblings!:)
 
Good diet day yesterday and day two of aqua aerobics! It's surprising how easy it is to tweak my knee even during low impact exercise - I can't wait to see my orthapaedic surgeon again! I want this fixed! Still, doing as much of a class as I can and improvising when movements get painful is much better than nothing at all.

I'm really surprised at my self control. I don't think I have ever made it this long without giving in to cravings!:eek:

And in completely unrelated to diet issues, I had a dishwasher delivered this morning six months after it was promised by my landlord!:party0011:
 
Ooh, I also made myself a list of goals yesterday - I have 50! Some in stones lost, some in pounds, percentages of both my total body weight and weight to lose, BMI targets etc... I know it sounds a bit crazy, but now instead of reaching my next goal in a month or two I'm likely to reach them every week or two. Go go motivation!
 
Yay, dishwasher! Always good times.

It's bad news about your knee, but you're right, something is better than nothing. HOPe that you continue to enjoy the classes.

I like idea of having a goal to achieve every other week, are you going to reward yourself every time?

Best wishes.
 
I'm not sure about rewards! I think losing the weight and fitting into my clothes better will be a massive reward in itself! Maybe new books? I don't know, and non-food or drink related ideas?

I just fell off the wagon in the biggest way yet so far... Went out and bought a Magnum ice cream bar.:sigh: I did savour it and it was very tasty, but worth it? I don't know... I balanced it against all the non Jenny Craig snacks I am allowed for the rest of the day, and it mostly worked out except for 7g of fat. I can't go to aerobics tonight because I have a meeting during class time, but I plan to walk there and back which will be three miles round trip. And I will be able to have my Jenny Craig dark chocolate snack bar and of course my lamb hot pot dinner with extra veggies.

So worth it? Even though it seems to work out in my menu I don't think so. The guilt and scramble to fit it in to my day and still lose spoiled it a bit.

I'll actually be glad when the weather cools off a bit - then I can try my sweet tooth fix of ridiculously sweet tea with Splenda and skim milk! Usually works, but I have been too hot!
 
Books sound like a plan, could get them from second-hand shops for small goals and treat yourself to a manicure or something for the big ones?

The odd treat isn't too bad, you can let yourself really enjoy it, but if you feel rubbish afterwards then yeh, it's probably not worth it.
Strawberries and meringue are a relatively low cal sweet snack.

I feel kind of bad for totally spamming your thread, let me know if it bugs you.

Best wishes.
 
Not at all! Keep posting! Feedback is really nice, I feel like I'm sharing my little celebrations!

Today I made it to my first 10 lbs! I'm very excited. Also very nervous, because I have a friends birthday dinner at a churrascaria tonight. All you can eat buffet of sides, and barbecued meat delivered to your table and sliced right onto your plate. Dieters nightmare. I don't think I'll totally fall off the wagon, but I don't want to mess this up at all. I could see just nibbling a bit of this and that and having a drink or two and everything creeping up on me without my noticing. Thinking of living off vegetables for the entire day... Is that weird? And peeking tomorrow morning, and doing the same for another day if I went too crazy?
 
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