My Personal Weight Loss Journey

Morning my lovelies, Busy old start today, which is always good in my books as the day goes quicker. WI sat was great - 2lb down! :) Finally a bit of movement. I was 80-90% good over the weekend...I know I could have been better...the scales are seriously punishing me this morning... Another week of step 3 with no evening carbs...except last night's brown rice - possibly why the scales are having a fit this morning. Did my first week 4 run yesterday - blooming knackering! Very good though and starting to feel a real benefit. I asked OH and he says he can notice my figure starting to change - just firm up a bit I think, but all good. Done my meal plan for the week and I will remain well behaved - nothing this week until Saturday. I've got 2 weeks worth of products because on Sat, my uni friends are coming for our "second Christmas" - basically a belated Christmas celebration involving lots of food. I am hosting, but i'm just going to enjoy the meal and spending time with my friends, i've then got another week of best behaviour before seeing CDC again, so hopefully i'll be back on track and lower again...hope so. Hope you all had good weekends - i'm coming to "see" you now. xx

Well done on the 2lbs down hun xx

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Keep going!

Sorry for being such a moaner, i'm just not really feeling it today.

xx

Hi Flic,

I've just read your story from the begining, wow you've done so well! I'm on day 1 of SS.. after doing CD nearly 2 years ago now and loosing 2st5lb.. I've put on 1st after my last weigh in (as I say nearly two years ago) so not too bad.

I'm really spurred on by your story and loss.. so thought you might be able to benefit from a little inspiration from me, as you've just totally inspired me!

I want too loose in total 2st12lb by May.. Wish me luck :)
 
Good luck miss sophie! x
 
Flic,

You and I are so similar in this respect. It's like you say what I'm thinking most weeks it's a bit weird!! I am going through exactly the same which is why I've thrown myself into exercise so I can see if there is a way I can eat and maintain. I really have had enough of CWP, I still enjoy the shakes which I have hot with flavoured coffee so like a big mocha, but I just can't seem to let it go.

We have to finish this at some point so is there another way to get these last lbs off for both of us? Maybe calorie counting and exercise is the key - that's what I'm thinking and hoping!!!

xx
 
I've literally posted something so similar on your log Clare! I'm really considering "ending" my CWP journey at the end of March. (cue shocked noises!)

I've always said i'll work up the steps, but i'm almost becoming more than this diet...just this step is teaching me about where I want to go when maintenance comes. i'm not sure I want to move up to step 4 and 5 and start having bigger breakfasts/lunches as i'm finding that I can manage with what i'm getting now.

The other thing with CWP is that the sachets/bars are full of sugar and since I basically have the chocolate options, I would like to be more in control of my sugar intake - I think part of my cheating/craving is related to my reliance on the sweet ones of these, and whether I self regulated this kind of thing, I would find it easier?

I am considering going back to slimming world to get the last 1/2st off - well, 10lbs... not going carb mental, but using their syn system to include treats back into my diet rather than having the shakes/bars on a daily basis and being reliant on that sugar hit. I think I need something controlled and a bit more regimented than just my own healthy eating - something I have learned from CWP is that I stick with it much more if I am accountable once a week to someone elses scales...

Lots of thoughts going around my head at the moment and i'm just not sure where to land at the moment...

What are your thoughts on life after CWP? What would you do in my situation?

xx
 
Hi Flic,

I've just read your story from the begining, wow you've done so well! I'm on day 1 of SS.. after doing CD nearly 2 years ago now and loosing 2st5lb.. I've put on 1st after my last weigh in (as I say nearly two years ago) so not too bad.

I'm really spurred on by your story and loss.. so thought you might be able to benefit from a little inspiration from me, as you've just totally inspired me!

I want too loose in total 2st12lb by May.. Wish me luck :)

Aw, thanks Sophie! Glad my many hours of rambling are helpful to someone else! You can smash those 2st12lbs away by May, just stick with it and you'll be there before you know it!

xx
 
Not shocked in the slightest, it's tough going through the steps especially when you don't really see results - or anywhere near the original ss results. Plus let's face it it's not the cheapest!

My thoughts WERE a combination of slimming world and 5:2, taking the best out of both diets. The weigh ins and general healthy eating guidelines of sw (but with fewer carbs) with the supposed benefits of the 5:2 (with the 500 cal allowance on the fasting days I thought 3 CWP shakes would be good to get my nutrients).

I agree with you about becoming too reliant on sweet things, the only CWP products I really have and enjoy are the choc and choc mint shakes but they're making me want hot choc all the time. If I go out I would have been happy with tea or coffee with sweeteners but recently I've been having hot choc and...oh go on then might as well make it a luxury one...mmm those cakes look nice.

I have found now that I'm not bothered about eating during the day at work, I've got used to not doing. (weekends can be a different matter!) I'm defo thinking more along the lines of calorie counting and exercise now but I may feel differently tomorrow! The thing is we both know how it works - eat less exercise more but if it was that easy we'd all be skinny minnies! I personally want to incorporate exercise into my everyday life and eat a healthy diet. I think I'm going to need to be under 1000 cals a day plus at least a bit of exercise to achieve losses - we'll see at my first weigh in (after starting my new regime) on Wednesday.

Whatever you decide to do you must stay on this and tell me all about it lol! xx
 
Clare, you are SOOO on my wavelength - so glad we can "hold hands" as we go through these phases together!

Yes, completely with you and the SW/5:2 combo. I need to do a bit more thinking into my ultimate maintenance plan, but i've always thought about allowing myself two treats a week, but for the rest of the week, working with a 1000/1200cal meal plan - porridge and fruit for breakfast, homemade soup and yoghurt/something sweet for lunch, snack in the afternoon of yoghurt/nuts (rather than my current CWP bar or shake) and a low cal evening meal of approx. 500cals. Not fully thought through at the moment, but like you, I've found I don't need to eat much during the day. Weekends are my downfall massively as it tends to be enjoying spending time with OH and cooking, but I think if i'm having a more balanced/fulfilling weekday diet, this won't be so much of an issue?? (wishful thinking probably)

Whatever I do, i'll not be going anywhere for a couple of weeks at least! (i've stocked up on 2 weeks worth of products.) I need to think seriously and properly about what to do and where i'm going with it. The problem is that i'm still struggling to get back to my top target and I was hoping i'd be somewhere near my bottom one by now...I don't want to give up hope, but my body seems happy where I am here,since I can't get it lower...am I just giving up too easily?

ARGH, lots of thoughts at the moment, lots of things flipping about in my brain...

xx
 
Not shocked in the slightest, it's tough going through the steps especially when you don't really see results - or anywhere near the original ss results. Plus let's face it it's not the cheapest! My thoughts WERE a combination of slimming world and 5:2, taking the best out of both diets. The weigh ins and general healthy eating guidelines of sw (but with fewer carbs) with the supposed benefits of the 5:2 (with the 500 cal allowance on the fasting days I thought 3 CWP shakes would be good to get my nutrients). I agree with you about becoming too reliant on sweet things, the only CWP products I really have and enjoy are the choc and choc mint shakes but they're making me want hot choc all the time. If I go out I would have been happy with tea or coffee with sweeteners but recently I've been having hot choc and...oh go on then might as well make it a luxury one...mmm those cakes look nice. I have found now that I'm not bothered about eating during the day at work, I've got used to not doing. (weekends can be a different matter!) I'm defo thinking more along the lines of calorie counting and exercise now but I may feel differently tomorrow! The thing is we both know how it works - eat less exercise more but if it was that easy we'd all be skinny minnies! I personally want to incorporate exercise into my everyday life and eat a healthy diet. I think I'm going to need to be under 1000 cals a day plus at least a bit of exercise to achieve losses - we'll see at my first weigh in (after starting my new regime) on Wednesday. Whatever you decide to do you must stay on this and tell me all about it lol! xx

I agree with a awful lot of the above and both the 5:2 and slimming world are options I will consider.

Flick you do what is best for you my love. You've done amazing and it is all about maintaining / dropping the last bit.
2 further weeks on CWP could in theory be another half stone off.

What ever route you take in sure you will get where you want to be but please keep posting as no matter which route you take I'm routing for you :)
 
Thanks Angel.

I just haven't quite made my mind up yet about what to do. Like I said, part of me is tempted to hop back on the SS wagon and power through to my lower target, but I would struggle with my running, and also - as i've said before, I want to try and do this last bit without going back on myself...I don't know.

Yesterday was not a good day, and I let my heart rule last night, consequently falling spectacularly off step 3. I had cooked a lovely dinner for myself which ended up tasting horrible, so made up for it by eating about 1000cals (thanks MFP!) of fruit, dried fruit, museli, yoghurt, and pancakes. Tummy is a bit dodge this morning - i'm not sure if it's from the dodgy dinner, or from stuffing my face. Went to bed feeling very low.

Today's another day though. Running tonight and i've got all my food for today prepped and with me. This evening I'll be good. I NEED to be good. I need to just get back into my routine and it'll all be ok.

I am a human yo-yo. Up one minute, down the next....

xx
 
Morning hon,

I feel your pain! The thing with having so many calories having that sort of food is that it's not fulfilling, if you had known you would have that many calories you could have had a pizza or lasagne! MFP is defo good for realising that kind of thing but it's not a pleasant reality. I wouldn't go out for Sunday lunch last Sunday as last time I did MFP claimed I'd consumed 3000 calories just on that 3 course meal. You'll get there I know you will.

Chin up have a great day xx
 
Morning . . . . . .
Fingers crossed for a better day today Flick, so frustrating for you that you were looking forward to a lovely meal and it wasn't as nice as you anticipated.
Temptation is always there and will always be so we have to train ourselves to get straight back on it after what we perceive as a naughty day.
You can do this, you will get to goal and you will feel and look amazing on your wedding day ( the weeks are flying by )

It's a hard decision about what to do next. As you know I fell off the wagon as soon as I hit goal in 2012 and I'm praying to god I don't do that again this time, it's so blooming easy to get complacent and enjoy our new shape. The decision about which road to take is a hard one as until we try we don't know which road is the right road . . . . . .
I'm waffling now lol I guess what I'm saying is we are all on the same road at the moment, we will all face our own cross junctions and fingers crossed we will all get to our destination.
There is no right and no wrong. Your doing flipping fab with the running, which is a great addition to any diet / plan, remember all of the fab things and move on from yesterday.

YOU CAN DO IT x
 
hey there

i ve been reading through your thoughts about the what to do next. first of stop panicing, do you know what your doing right at this moment? well let me tell you its called maintaince. now before you think but im not there yet, think of this crazy ass journey that is weight loss as scaling a sheer cliff face the type that you have to put up camp in the middle and rest and there are plenty of other stops when you sit on a ledge and get your flask and sarne out and nothing much happens on the scales. what you should also be doing is admiring the view. you know the 15st 7lb girl who couldn t walk the lenght of herself what would she think of the 11st 10lb who is running and making so many good choices? she d i think be so proud. i ve come to realise that we re the ones who mentally sabotage the new lifestyle.

now choice one back on ss? this will work but you ll have to come back to these testing times sooner or later. with the wedding looming i can understand you have a set idea in your head but you ve already smashed your original goal so no failure there.

choice 2 continue on step 3. its restictive and doesn t seem to be fufilling your needs so i think so may be time to shake it up a bit. perhaps time to move up a step or 2 on step 5 its only one product a week cheaper and there is still a weigh in, you don t have to consume all the 1500 cals just saying that s what im about to do. im calorie counting but its calories of my own choosing not what they say as i work on the principle if im not hungry i don t eat. so very rarely have breakfast im much more about the evening which is when i like to comsume the majority of my cals. i know the diet gods say it bad but my body doesn t agree.

choice 3 give up cambridge and move onto fasting, slimming world. again can be the right thing for you to do but do you want long term weeks with 2 or 3 days when your body gets nothing much? i personally think our bodies can cope with this very well but it is a hardish path for our brains.

so relax and take that hare shirt off, you have achieved a great deal but your mind is trying to sabotage you its pretending to be concerned but really its just a biatch who wants to see you fail.and that is so not happening
jx
 
hey there

i ve been reading through your thoughts about the what to do next. first of stop panicing, do you know what your doing right at this moment? well let me tell you its called maintaince. now before you think but im not there yet, think of this crazy ass journey that is weight loss as scaling a sheer cliff face the type that you have to put up camp in the middle and rest and there are plenty of other stops when you sit on a ledge and get your flask and sarne out and nothing much happens on the scales. what you should also be doing is admiring the view. you know the 15st 7lb girl who couldn t walk the lenght of herself what would she think of the 11st 10lb who is running and making so many good choices? she d i think be so proud. i ve come to realise that we re the ones who mentally sabotage the new lifestyle.

now choice one back on ss? this will work but you ll have to come back to these testing times sooner or later. with the wedding looming i can understand you have a set idea in your head but you ve already smashed your original goal so no failure there.

choice 2 continue on step 3. its restictive and doesn t seem to be fufilling your needs so i think so may be time to shake it up a bit. perhaps time to move up a step or 2 on step 5 its only one product a week cheaper and there is still a weigh in, you don t have to consume all the 1500 cals just saying that s what im about to do. im calorie counting but its calories of my own choosing not what they say as i work on the principle if im not hungry i don t eat. so very rarely have breakfast im much more about the evening which is when i like to comsume the majority of my cals. i know the diet gods say it bad but my body doesn t agree.

choice 3 give up cambridge and move onto fasting, slimming world. again can be the right thing for you to do but do you want long term weeks with 2 or 3 days when your body gets nothing much? i personally think our bodies can cope with this very well but it is a hardish path for our brains.

so relax and take that hare shirt off, you have achieved a great deal but your mind is trying to sabotage you its pretending to be concerned but really its just a biatch who wants to see you fail.and that is so not happening
jx




Very well said as always :) x x x x
 
Jen,

I am soooo glad you popped up. I'm sat here grinning and nodding to myself - you seem to have a mainline into my brain and what i'm thinking, but seem to be able to make sense of it all, which is what i'm struggling with.

I know you're right, and I just have to look back at photos from last year to see the progress and the difference. I'm still catching up with people I haven't seen for ages and they notice the difference which still makes me feel great. Even my cousin, who I see quite regularly stopped this weekend and said "have you lost weight, you look great" and from a boy, it's always much more of a big deal since they never notice anything.

I think at the moment, I am putting pressure on myself, but also CDC is putting pressure on me too - I think it's all meant in the right way, but keeps on mentioning about going back a step or two to get back to my top target - I am honest with her in terms of the off plan eating and how I am struggling, but she doesn't seem to offer constructive advice like this Jen, her default is cut out carbs, stay on plan or if that doesn't work, go back to step 2...I think you're right in that restricting and staying on this step clearly isn't working for me hence the cheating...

I think the issue is that i'm still trying to work with the steps, so when I'm of plan, I go really off plan...like last night. If I was working within a calorie allowance, since I log everything anyhow, I would have a much more balanced view and probably stick with my "allowance" because I could have something off plan but include it in plan (if that makes sense?)

I'm edging towards Choice two, but also sort of choice three. I don't think CDC would be happy with my decision given our recent conversations, hence thinking of choice three with SW weighing, but sticking with my own plan for the actual food side of thing... I was working out my TDEE the other day, using this calculation as a basis for maintenance/continuing weight loss. MFP calculated at 1600, TDEE calculated at 1646, so both pretty close to each other.

Doing this diet, i've learned loads about my eating habits, but i'm not implementing my knowledge since i'm still struggling through the steps. Like you Jen, i'm not a big morning eater now - I used to out of greed, not want. I do eat in the evenings, and need more at that point in the day to keep myself satisfied and not picking. Perhaps I need to start listening to my body more, and not CWP??

If there was a world shortage of sachets and I couldn't have any more, this is what I would do:
- stick within 11200 cals for the week - so perhaps only allowing 13-1400 in the week and allowing more at weekends when I naturally seem to eat more (enjoying time with OH and friends.) so an overall daily allowance of the 1600 that would still mean losses.
- Stick with a fairly low cal breakfast - involving fruit and oats/wholegrain toast - but not eat until i'm hungry (which is usually around 10.30am)
- Lunch of something simple but low carb like salad or soup. Maybe allow occasional pasta salad/jacket potato, but try and keep carbs to a minimum. Finish lunch with yoghurt or fruit (I've found I need something sweet to finish my "meal" off properly.)
- Afternoon snack - instead of a bar, some nuts or vegetables - carrot sticks, celery
- Evening meal balanced plate of small carb portion - whole varieties, protein and lots of veggies. Sweet snack afterwards - perhaps just something like 1 square of extra dark chocolate.
Trying to minimise carb intake and sugars - as I mentioned yesterday.

I am really considering just start doing this now, instead of leading up to it with a "diet" that's not working for me at the moment...

What would your thoughts be on that??

xx
 
morning missy

i think one of the key factors is listening to you body. it will steer you pretty well once we ve got a handle on greed. i often ask myself are you hungry or is it just greed? back in the day it was amazing how many times actual hunger had nothing to do with it.

my gut is telling me that going back down the steps would not be the best solution for you i genuinely think your consultant is wrong in this case.your excercise regieme is too imortant. in the grand plan a few pounds are nothing and as the excercise increases so the pounds will shift. i would just tell her what you want to acheive. her path while right for her isn t what you want to do. i have no problem with coming back to cambridge may use it myself if things ever get out of hand but if i can keep a handle on my weight with less extreme measures then that is the ideal. from what your saying it looks like you ve got a really good food balance there. if you know there s a nice food event coming up you can always reduce through the week and then can have a more relaxed time without the full on guilt at the time. the key is to listen to yourself we can all advise, cwc included but your the one who ultimately is the boss. i was really pround of myself for not going back to ketosis after xmas, ok it took longer but i gained a little bit more for the mental game that is dieting.

what ever the plan as frank says `i did it my way`!
jxx
 
So, I'm coming to the conclusion that I have a low after running and then pick back up afterwards. Perhaps what I should do is include more exercise on the "off days" from running to get more balanced.

I was talking to OH last night about what to do moving forward. I find him a bit difficult to talk to because he just doesn't have any issues with food. He doesn't understand the need to be weighed weekly ("well, you've got scales here") or keeping accountable to something.
His opinion is that i've come so far with CWP, why am I thinking of "giving up." It took some explaining about the fact that I wasn't just giving up, and the way I managed to put it sums up really how i'm feeling.

Basically, I want to be in control of my own diet, not following a someone else's plan. I'm not going to go back and start eating chips every night, I just want to be in charge of my own food choices. At the moment, i'm still cooking two meals a night because it works that way, but OH said he would like to have a bit more of a reduced carb diet, and less cheese (made me feel like a bad wife to be, making macaroni cheese and lasagne!) and if I was doing my own thing, I could and would plan meals that would suit my diet, and his requirements too.

I'm going to power through next week and see where I end up, and then think about discussing this with CDC...potentially, step 4/5 for a bit, or no steps, but still a WI...if she's not keen on that idea, then I might go to slimming world but follow my own eating plan, just go for the weigh ins really. If I can get to target, then it's free, so perhaps starting a little away from target might work better.

Whatever I do, I'm not "giving up" - i've learned so much about my body and I am so much happier about it all. I am exercising and running, which is huge, and last night OH and I were discussing on my days off running, we will go out on our bikes for an hour or so in the evening, so i'll have a fitness buddy to do other stuff.

You know when you look at people's maintenance logs and think "yeah, well i'm never going to do exercise every night and eat this that and the other" - I used to think i'll never do that, but now i'm nearer the end of my journey, I think i'm becoming one of them. I can see my life infront of me, without CWP as my crutch, and I feel like I can cope with it, and make the right choices...

Well, that's what I feel like today - it'll probably be totally different tomorrow...the buzz of last night's run is still with me!

My little tracker told me I got a new fastest average, and longest distance too - running has really stepped up this week with less walking, and I was struggling at the start, but by the end, I was loving it - running more than the program again, and further too! I've already planned out what I will do on Thursday in the hope that I can make a 5k loop and that will be a great achievement since it'll be my furthest, but also a route that I can start practicing a 5k run on more.

Last night's dinner was chilli greens - kale and brocolli with garlic and chilli, and scrambled egg. Sounds a bit odd, but I really felt like it was superfuel, deserved after my run! It was chucking it down during last night, so I got home soaking wet and freezing - my bath was definitely earned! Haha.

Hope you're all having a good Wednesday. I'm off to get breakfast now.

xx
 
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morning missy

i think one of the key factors is listening to you body. it will steer you pretty well once we ve got a handle on greed. i often ask myself are you hungry or is it just greed? back in the day it was amazing how many times actual hunger had nothing to do with it.

my gut is telling me that going back down the steps would not be the best solution for you i genuinely think your consultant is wrong in this case.your excercise regieme is too imortant. in the grand plan a few pounds are nothing and as the excercise increases so the pounds will shift. i would just tell her what you want to acheive. her path while right for her isn t what you want to do. i have no problem with coming back to cambridge may use it myself if things ever get out of hand but if i can keep a handle on my weight with less extreme measures then that is the ideal. from what your saying it looks like you ve got a really good food balance there. if you know there s a nice food event coming up you can always reduce through the week and then can have a more relaxed time without the full on guilt at the time. the key is to listen to yourself we can all advise, cwc included but your the one who ultimately is the boss. i was really pround of myself for not going back to ketosis after xmas, ok it took longer but i gained a little bit more for the mental game that is dieting.

what ever the plan as frank says `i did it my way`!
jxx

I think I was posting as you were! We're saying pretty similar things I think, and I am with you on trying to find less extreme measures moving forward. You should be really proud that you didn't go backwards after Christmas, and it is probably indicative of your knowledge of dieting why I always find your comments so helpful.

No meeting with CDC this week, so i've got another week to think about it, but I think I have a plan...

xx
 
Morning lovelies.

So, i'm powering through. Last night I made a fab chickpea and cauliflower curry for dinner last night - all weighed and measured and within cal intake, and a sort of ratatouille thing which I am having for my lunch today. Remembered to weigh today and scales are still up from Sat's WI - slightly annoying...

I did have a little cheat last night - hot milk whizzed in my blender so it was all frothy, topped with a grated square of dark chocolate. I shouldn't watch bake off when i'm feeling hungry! haha. I did have another hungry day yesterday...

Running tonight - it's wet this morning but going to be dry by this afternoon. I'm hoping that I can extend my run tonight and not be too tired to do a 5k loop. Tonight's run will be halfway through the program, and since i'm off work tomorrow, I might treat myself to a new running top (only a cheapy, but it would be nice to have two that I could wear in rotation!)

Hope you're all having a good Thursday!

xx
 
Hey flick,

hope its still going well,
your meals always sound fab, did you have weigh in today ?



I've had a busy couple of days, day 12 at work today but off tomorrow thank goodness.
Jumped on the exercise bandwagon and managed just short of a 8 mile walk but will do further tomorrow.

I know you don't post much at weekend but couldn't resist seeing how your doing x x
 
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