Jo’s 2022 (hopefully final!) plan

[Jo1989]

Still here at half way through day 4 and feeling good. I’m doing tons of work in gems of listening to fitness podcasts, habit forming stuff, psychology and writing myself scribbled notes on what I think I need to remember for maintaining that at some point I’ll form into a proper plan of attack.

My main takeaways today are getting satisfaction from maintenance as much as losing weight, and also remembering not to think of maintenance as a lifelong goal because that’s overwhelming - I just need to form habits that work day to day and just keep showing up for those.

Also strongly considering an online PT. I don’t do well being told what to do (!) but with an online PT providing me with a plan I feel like that gives me some space to think / interpret and put into practice without feeling pressured.

 

[anna.claire]

Hi @jo sounds like week 1 is going really well for you, you are so in the zone and thinking positively. Do you feel good? I know even after 3-4 days I felt better in myself.
The online PT also sounds like a good idea. I do want to incorporate exercise but I don’t think I’ve got my confidence there yet for too much.

 

[Jo1989]

Day 5 and going strong!

My husband pops out to see his friends most Thursdays and I was in the habit of stocking up on tons of crisps and chocolate, getting a subway and eating all evening while I work on admin in my home office. Very much enjoyed this ritual / routine but it was consistently breaking my diet and making me feel bad after so I’m glad to have avoided it this week. I also resisted eating bits of the chocolate and sweets C (husband) bought last night though I did glare at him a bit!

Im a daily weigher and my progress this week has been much better than any restart. That could be for a few reasons - I’m drinking around 5.5 litres of water instead of 4/4.5l, I’m not picking (before I was eating a few crackers, the odd square of chocolate etc and although it was prob 800 cals max it wasn’t strictly on plan like I am this week) and I’ve started just as my period bloat has gone. Whatever it is, it’s working. Listening to a fitness podcast yesterday and the PT mentioned he has the most success working with women starting diets if they start in their period week as from ovulation - period women are naturally hungrier as they’re preparing for possible pregnancy and it reminded me I do always seem to stick to a diet more if I time it right in my cycle - one to remember.

I’ll post later on my initial thoughts for principles for maintenance but diet time wise, I’m down around 5% which feels great.

 

[Jo1989]

Spoke too soon. I am in a FOUL mood today.
Had daughter home again as she’s potty training and wanted to balance home / nursery and I was hoping for a lazy morning in bed with the kind assistance of Peppa Pig and the tablet (don’t judge, I only usually allow it for an hour on a Saturday!) but each time I drifted off she woke me to tell me she wanted a different episode so I got 3 sets of about 6 minutes followed by half an hour when C took over and I now have a banging headache (though easing off with paracetamol), feel weak and very grumpy indeed.

It has occurred to me that the solution is food but that is clearly only an immediate buzz rather than a solution and instead I’m going to listen to music I love and hope that cheers me up. Need to find non food solutions to bad moods.

 

[Jo1989]

Mood lifted a fair bit this afternoon and had a really good conversation with one of my bosses and some good news from a client so that helped too.

Still bit headachey on and off and hoping that passes. Managed to avoid eating some very cheesy garlic bread and chocolate my husband had tonight so that’s a positive too.

Feel like I’m a countdown to two weeks when I reckon it’ll get easier.. hopefully at some point I’ll start walking / get step count up again and also be able to get through today without extra sleep.

 

[Jo1989]

End of day 6 and still on track and had burst of energy to clean the kitchen for 2.5hrs! Still quite headachey on and off but I don’t know if that’s totally diet related as my shoulders are also ridiculously tight so it may just be them releasing themselves. Already starting to feel lighter and less bloated; aware there’s a long way to go but hoping this time last week I’ll have done the hard bit of the diet stage.

 

[Jo1989]

Overall, not a case for complaint, but I feel like all I do on this diet is drink water and wee! That hasn’t really improved since the start.. however, at least I always feel full, albeit with liquid..

 

[Jo1989]

I think the initial thrill of being on plan is passing as I am GRUMPY this afternoon. However, may also be weekend boredom given we’ve stayed in, and could also be because my weekends have been so focussed on binge eating. Hoping my mood lifts!

 

[Jo1989]

So my OA is workbook and stories from others arrived yesterday. I read the first chapter of the OA stories as it relates to step 1-3 and started to fill in the workbook today. It’s quite full on and I think I’ll need to complete it over 4-6 months to give me time to reflect and complete it properly rather than just tick boxes for the sake of it but it’s interesting what’s coming out for me as I write in response to targeted questions.

One of the analogies I really liked from one of the group members is you start your computer up everyday but it’s just a blank desktop - pretty useless in itself. It’s only when you open and run programs that it becomes functional and useful. So we’re the computers and the programs are our coping strategies for binge eating ie exercise, food plans, journaling, whatever. And each day you close your computer and start again and the desktop is empty. So you have to run your programs everyday in order to function well. Made me think I really ought to follow a plan daily even in maintenance, maybe every day for the rest of my life.

 

[FlicG]

Hi Jo,

Are you a more eloquent, better realised version of me?! I relate to so much of what you're saying (and would love the link to those OA books please.)

The last two years have been so hard with covid/isolation - so much of our lives became online, which meant that people were sharing the good stuff, like sourdough and loosing weight, but not all the **** anxiety/comfort eating/weight gain which are all the things I came out of it with.

When I did a VLCD last time (2014/15 if you fancy scrolling through to read my old diary) I was focussed on getting married and had this "goal" of an event. Everything pretty much unravelled after that as there was no target date in place, and mentally I really struggled with gains for a while, until I buried my head in the sand, resurfacing over the next few years to join slimming world for a bit, before heading back into my binge eating state. This time, I have a family to think about, daughters who deserve to understand balanced eating, and don't need to have a mum that's constantly on a diet (like my own was) and the rest of my life to live. Keeping this in mind is what's driving me to think of the next steps, and much like you've put on one of your posts, thinking about how this fits into my lifestyle for maintenance, not just as a quick fix.

Sorry - i've gone off on a massive ramble. Love seeing all the mental work you're doing, it's really inspiring! x

 

[Jo1989]

Hi Jo,

Are you a more eloquent, better realised version of me?! I relate to so much of what you're saying (and would love the link to those OA books please.)

The last two years have been so hard with covid/isolation - so much of our lives became online, which meant that people were sharing the good stuff, like sourdough and loosing weight, but not all the **** anxiety/comfort eating/weight gain which are all the things I came out of it with.

When I did a VLCD last time (2014/15 if you fancy scrolling through to read my old diary) I was focussed on getting married and had this "goal" of an event. Everything pretty much unravelled after that as there was no target date in place, and mentally I really struggled with gains for a while, until I buried my head in the sand, resurfacing over the next few years to join slimming world for a bit, before heading back into my binge eating state. This time, I have a family to think about, daughters who deserve to understand balanced eating, and don't need to have a mum that's constantly on a diet (like my own was) and the rest of my life to live. Keeping this in mind is what's driving me to think of the next steps, and much like you've put on one of your posts, thinking about how this fits into my lifestyle for maintenance, not just as a quick fix.

Sorry - i've gone off on a massive ramble. Love seeing all the mental work you're doing, it's really inspiring! x

Ha I don’t know about better realised but I do know this time I have to focus on what went wrong last time to be better.

I think many of us who engage in binge behaviours probably have lots of overlapping habits / background!

 

[Jo1989]

Totally forgot to update weight loss!

Down 8.6lbs this week which I’m pretty pleased with. Little bit grumpy and hungry on and off today but need to remember the second week is hard too and it’s only after the second week I start to feel really in the swing of things.

However, I DID notice I felt much more energetic today and more focused on work so that’s definitely a good sign. Just trying not to think of the next 15 weeks of my life disappearing to a diet and instead feel I’ve chosen this and will just take a day and a week at a time.

 

[Jo1989]

Today (day 9) I dropped into the next stone bracket and for the first time, I’ve felt fully psychologically on plan ie I have no desire to cheat at all.

The Cambridge consultant came back to me to arrange a visit next week and although I’m not totally totally sure I need the accountability with a consultant (noting the Cambridge products are so much pricier than the S&S ones) I do think I’ll need it once I’m nearing maintenance for working the steps and then being weighed every month in maintenance. Maybe not, but no harm in throwing everything I can at it this time!

I can’t remember if I shared this, but I can’t be bothered to read back so I’ll share anyway - the few things I think I need to do every single day to maintain are:

- Weigh in (maybe reduced to weekly later on)
- Create a food plan I actually follow daily rather than winging it
- Get some kind of exercise in (gym, walking to and from work, Pilates, getting out and about with K & A at the weekend) that I plan into work each day
- Get 7.5 hours sleep minimum
- Stay hydrated - maybe 3.5 litres a day off plan?
- Journal each night (maybe here, but possibly in a notebook) even if it’s short and sweet ie I met my habit goals

 

[Jo1989]

Today (day 9) I dropped into the next stone bracket and for the first time, I’ve felt fully psychologically on plan ie I have no desire to cheat at all.

The Cambridge consultant came back to me to arrange a visit next week and although I’m not totally totally sure I need the accountability with a consultant (noting the Cambridge products are so much pricier than the S&S ones) I do think I’ll need it once I’m nearing maintenance for working the steps and then being weighed every month in maintenance. Maybe not, but no harm in throwing everything I can at it this time!

I can’t remember if I shared this, but I can’t be bothered to read back so I’ll share anyway - the few things I think I need to do every single day to maintain are:

- Weigh in (maybe reduced to weekly later on)
- Create a food plan I actually follow daily rather than winging it
- Get some kind of exercise in (gym, walking to and from work, Pilates, getting out and about with K & A at the weekend) that I plan into work each day
- Get 7.5 hours sleep minimum
- Stay hydrated - maybe 3.5 litres a day off plan?
- Journal each night (maybe here, but possibly in a notebook) even if it’s short and sweet ie I met my habit goals

Oh and of course give up crisps and NOT eat at my home work desk during the day or evening.

 

[FlicG]

Oh and of course give up crisps and NOT eat at my home work desk during the day or evening.

Big one for me is not buying snacks when at the petrol station/not snacking in the car. Great to start planning future steps now to get these habits secured and in place.

 

[Jo1989]

Coming to the end of Day 10 and nothing really to report except I’m still here and it’s just occurred to me that’s a double digit day!

I was so bloody cold today I had four layers and two pairs of socks on but taking that as a good sign. Pretty tired as I woke an hour early; I’m not totally sure why but it may be a sign I don’t need my extra morning nap anymore.. will see tomorrow. It’s come at just the right time because work is suddenly getting hectic and I’m feeling chaotic so an extra hour at my desk will do wonders.

Mainly posting to make sure I meet one of my habit targets - to journal in some form each day but don’t think I have anything insightful to add so I’ll leave it there.

 

[Jo1989]

Day 11 and not a massive amount to report. Feel a bit woozy and weak but I had my booster this afternoon so it may be that rather than the diet. In the past I’d have used that as an excuse to eat, thinking I ‘needed’ the food for my booster but that is of course utter nonsense. Additionally, I’m ovulating and very crampy with that which is also prime binge territory but what would that achieve?!

Getting to the stage where if I actively think of 16 weeks of diet it feels like ages, but thinking I’ve already almost done 2 of 16 relatively painlessly keeps me focussed.

 

[Jo1989]

Eurgh I’m getting food flashbacks (if that’s even a thing!) of eating yummy bingey things - given it’s 1030pm I’m clearly not going to eat, but it’s a bit of a strange sudden shock! Maybe it’s because I’ve been working at my desk this evening and then cleaning downstairs and on a Thursday when C is out I’d usually binge at my desk.

No OA workbook tonight so far and wasn’t going to do it, but now I’m typing this, I feel like I want to complete it! So off I go.

 

[FlicG]

I think it’s definitely about breaking those habits - your mind is obviously remembering the Thursday evening routine, and trying to sabotage you. Can you do something during that time that you really enjoy and becomes a new habit instead?

 

[Jo1989]

Day 12 (!) and still on track but RAVENOUS tonight after a busy day out and about (haircut, work then drive with husband). I’ve kind of shielded myself from the world til today for that reason!

C just had the most gorgeous smelling garlic bread with his dinner, and has several chocolate bars and packs of sweets in the kitchen for him to eat shortly.. I just hope he eats them quickly!!