My route to the perfect 10

[monkeypants]

I’ve given myself just under 18 months to become the perfect dress size (size 10/12 for me) but I’m setting myself smaller goals.

My first goal is to get through the next 11 days, as I’m going to NYC on that 11th day. I’ve got a food plan given to me by my nutritionist, which is roughly 1500-1800 calories a day. And day 1 was yesterday this is how it went:

I was opening up at work so had to leave the house at 6:45- which is far too early for me to eat, so the night before I weighed out my breakfast of 40g of cornflakes and 250ml of skimmed milk, a piece of fruit and a 125g yoghurt. Carried this with me to work.

Got to work and ate this at about 8:30am- just ate the milk and cereal, was planning on keeping the yoghurt and fruit for snack time.

Had a meeting at work, then lectures which meant I was rushed off my feet from 11am – 2:30pm. When it came to 2:30pm I had my lunch that I had packed the night before off 100g of ham, 30g of quark, 1 wholewheat wrap and green salad leaves.

At the meeting, which was at a coffee shop I had a hot chocolate from starbucks- it was a cold day!! And they are around 300 calories, so the 2 yoghurts and fruit that I had packed for my snacks throughout the day were replaced by that.

Got home around 9pm and had my dinner, I was starving at this point and had a jacket potato, whole tin of tuna, 30g of quark, sweetcorn and green salad leaves - it was very yummy, colourful and filling.

I drank about 2 litres of water today too. Got a small walk in but not long enough- mission for day 2 is to get my lazy bum down to the gym and work that treadmill.

 

[MaisieMoodle]

Hi monkey

What a great start you had yesterday, hope today has gone as well?

Am V jealous about your trip to New York, it's somewhere I've always wanted to visit!

Look forward to reading about your progress

 

[RainbowRose]

hello

good luck with your weight loss. Keep posting, keep reading, keep on track...you WILL do this!

I look forward to reading your diary

 

[monkeypants]

Thanks for the support guys! Knowing someone is keeping an eye on me gives me that little bit more of a boost.
Just about to post Day 2

 

[monkeypants]

Day 2 was slightly harder today, but I still think I did a good job of managing to get through life little obstacles.

I didn't need to be at work early so I was able to eat my brekkie at home at about 9am, of 40g of cornflakes and 250ml of skimmed milk. The cereal I'm eating is less than 10g sugar per 100g, hence why I'm eating cornflakes. When I was in asda looking for a cereal that followed these rules I was finding it really hard to find one. I've got a big sweet tooth and if I ever had cornflakes before it would be covered in iceing sugar but more often than not I've had coco pops or something as chocolately and sugary. However cornflakes on their own are not that bad, you get to taste the crunch even more.

Didn't get to eat lunch at 2pm due to an event at work that I was involved with. Lunch involved 100g of ham, 30g quark, whole meal wrap and green salad leaves.

At 4pm I went to meet some friends at a restaurant, I was deliberately running late so I wouldn't have to join them for a late lunch and told them to carry on ordering without me. When I got there they had just finished dessert, so my timing was perfect, if some what anti-social.

After I meet them we went on this long trek around london, I was with a friend of mine that loves walking and walks very fast, so as we walked through the gallery at the tate modern from waterloo and then up to london bridge and then around soho I was getting a good work out- I really want to invest in a pedometre to see how many steps I can rack up each day. We also walked into the hummingbird bakery, as well as a walking freak my friends also a cake lover (hate the skinny cake lovers!!!). So we went and got a cup cake, however I made an excuse that I wasn't a big cake fan (massive lie!!!) but I do always have to buy something in every shop I go too, especially if my friend is buying (it's a horrible, money draining trait to have) so I did buy one, but got it nicely wrapped up and took it home to fatten up the skinny boyfriend.

I did pick up a drink though, as I was stupidly thirsty and I guzzled down about 1/5 of it then decided to check the calorie content. It was 54cal per 100ml-so the whole bottle was 540cal!! I don't even have that much for breakfast, I couldn't believe how something so rubbish and not even that tasty (orange and passion fruit) was sooo calorific.

When I got home I made myself 160g chicken, 40g cous cous and dry roasted peppers and sweetcorn. - this was very filling! My mum had made chicken curry, so I just put a little bit of the tomato based sauce over my steamed chicken too give it a kick.

Drank 2 litres of water today too .

 

[RainbowRose]

Sounds like a very eventful day Monkeypants

Smart thinking to arrive when your friends were almost finished their meal and bonus points for buying your boyfriend the cupcake instead of eating it..awww

forgive my stupidity, what is quark?

I am having special K as my breakfast cereal or just as an emergency hunger pang moment late at night haven't needed it late at night yet! Can be bland but okay with added banana or other fruit

In the past, when thirsty and out and about, I always grabbed a sugary drink, or lucozade Now with my new lifestyle I look in the fridge for ice cold bottled water, it really does quench your thirst for longer! Scary to read the sugar/calorie intake in some of the drinks out there.

I too had a marathon walk around the shops yesterday, well it felt like a marathon lol, it made me feel I had participated in some form of exercise

Good luck for day 3 :fingerscrossed:

 

[monkeypants]

Hey Rosie,

Quark is 'virtually fat free cheese'. It was recommended to me by a friend who's a nutritionist, (and who is really the source of all my knowledge, and the one who choose my quantities etc). It's as spreadable as Philadelphia but as soft as cottage cheese- also a really good source of calcium. Not that popular, and there is usually only one brand of it on the shelves, so if your going to get some you need to have a good look behind the other cheeses.

A walk round the shops is awesome, as well as moving those legs, I also get to marvel at all the pretty dresses in the shop window and be like one day soon I'll be in those too. Slightly too scared to get into them yet, as I can't help but feel liked I'm being judged by the people in there, "who are thinking why's she in here? she can't fit into any of this!"

I looked at special K with hope, as I quiet like the taste, but it was just above the 10g mark!

Where are you going on holiday in 7 months?

 

[RainbowRose]

Thankyou Mandy, I have learned something new today sounds nice, I like philidelphia and cottage cheese, in fact most cheese, think its my downfall, but keeping away from full fat varieties now. I have philidelphia light in my fridge, hmm might have some for lunch today.

Didn't realise about special k, oh well, only had 2 bowlfulls in 9 days, so here's hoping its okay

We are going to Disneyland Paris in 7 months

I am flying for the first time in 11 years and can't face the thought of trying to squeeze into the seat , last time I flew I was 7 stone lighter!!!! so added motivation for me

Oh I can so relate to going into the shops. yesterday I had a good look at the lovely dresses, tops etc in store but instead of sighing and walking away before anyone saw 'someone my size' looking at them, I thought hmmm...one day!!!

 

[monkeypants]

Special K is still good, just im trying to be very strict and stick to the rules, as I know if I let one rule slide by I'll let all of them go (I've been set a very strict set by my friend)

I'm just reading your diary and WOW are you an inspiration!! Your weight loss last week was amazing. I related to so many of the different comments, I had a similar story on valentines day. I was taken to a spa and I was so scared the robe wasn't going to tie up all the way around my hips.

I am super jealous about Disney Land Paris....I want to go so badly. By the time it comes around you'll have room for another person in that plane seat! I'm a little nervous about the seat belt problems to New York next week, if I have to ask for an extension I may just leave the plane with embarrassment and stay in London.

 

[RainbowRose]

You just go to New York and have a ball Mandy...so jealous :jelous: The seat belt is only on for such a short time anyway, don't worry about it! If I can't get into the seat, I'll be going nowhere :8855:

Thankyou for reading my diary. It really helps me and if I didn't have it there to write in every day, I just know I wouldn't stay on track so easily

Yep, i've been there with the bath robe feeling, not in a spa, but as a gift given to me by a family member and I was urged to try it on over my clothes it just met were it was meant to and just tied at the waist and no more, but I was so red faced thinking, this isn't going to fit!!!! OOh I've just had a memory of a friend having a jacket that was too big for her and she insisted it would look lovely on me and of course it would fit me etc etc....it didn't, it just hung there over my shoulders, didn't go over my boobs or stomach...oh the shame she too was embarrased and said, these clothes are always wrongly sized anyway! Trying to be nice

As my diary is full of stories like that and more to tell I know that those days will soon be a thing of the past!

 

[MaisieMoodle]

Sounds like all your walking would have worked off that drink so I wouldn't worry too much about that

Wow, am impressed at you bringing a cake home for your bf, that's so nice and shows such fabulous willpower.

You are flying, keep up the brilliant work!

I'd not heard of quark before, will definitely be checking out Tesco for that, I'm a cheese monster! (well, I used to be anyway!)

 

[monkeypants]

I'm a massive cheese monster, so its a nice substitute. You can also use it to make creamier sauces and cheesecake if you like.

Having a rough willpower day today. I'm craving something warm and stodgy, but just keep telling myself take one day at a time. Also every time I start craving something I just come on here and read one of your diaries or one of the success stories.

 

[RainbowRose]

Hope your craving vanished

Have a good day Mandy

( I am a cheese monster too, biggest downfall :sigh

 

[monkeypants]

So day 3 started off well with my usual 40g of cornflakes and 250ml of milk at about 9am, as was able to eat it at home too .

Got to work and immediately started looking for something to snack on. Quiet a slow day at work so was quiet bored, and boredom was often the reason I use to snack. Couldn't get off for lunch till the boss came back and she was back late so had lunch at 2pm of 100g of steamed chicken, 30g of quark, whole meal wrap, sliced beetroot and mixed salad leaves. I added beetroot this time as it really makes a difference to the salad because its quiet juicy and becomes a goood substitute for dressing, however it does turn everything pink.

The afternoon was bad too, however I did manage to meet up with skinny walking freak friend, who is visiting london for the week and we went on another london walk, but not for as long though.

When I got back to work at 4pm I just wanted to snack. Its a fairly cold day and was dying for something warm and stodgy to heat up the blubber. But instead of going to the fridge I'd just read the success stories online or look at other diaries.

Got a dinner invitation from 2 friends today, one who I haven't seen in a while and would have loved to catch up with but I refused and made a family excuse about how I was going out to my aunts for dinner (she's on lighter life at the mo, so no food around there!). And I just made my way home. Had dinner at 9:30pm of 140g of mince in a tomato sauce, 40g of whole wheat pasta, sweetcorn and mixed salad leaves. I was shocked by how much mince is in 140g- there was a lot of food there.

(Btw my measurements are all the raw/ uncooked weight)

Spent the evening looking at pretty dresses that I was to wear for the two weddings I'm going to this year. I've got one in may and one in october and I want to be feeling fab and confident at both.

 

[MaisieMoodle]

I am SO definitely adding Quark to tomorrow's shopping list

Do you have access to a mircowave or hob at work? I'm thinking homemade soup......fabulously warming and filling and you could literally have as much of it as you wanted, it's pretty much only blended vegetables after all. I made a gorgeous one at the weekend (if I do say so myself lol) and it's made for some seriously yummy and warming lunches this week Or you could take it in a flask if there's no-where to heat up at work?

 

[monkeypants]

That's a really good idea Maisie, might make some tomorrow. Got any good recipes?? I'm hopeless in the kitchen, especially with soup!

 

[MaisieMoodle]

Here's what I did on Sunday - first time making soup for me and it was easy peasy

Peel and chop 2 onions and 1 potato (quite small pieces)
Add a little fry light to a large pan, warm and add the chopped potato and onion.
Simmer gently for 10 mins.
Add chopped veg - whatever you like really...... I used 1 butternut squash, 2 red peppers and a fairly large bag of mixed chopped fresh veg (this had swede, carrots, leeks and onion)
Add teaspoon of coriander, teaspoon of paprika and a pinch of chili powder. Also salt and plenty of black pepper.
Then add 2 pints of vegetable stock.
Put lid on pan and boil gently until the veg is soft.
Blend.
Voila

This made about 8 portions (or 9, can't quite remember!).

 

[RainbowRose]

Great motivation Mandy, those weddings! How lovely, you'll be looking good no problem

I love homemade soup Loving the sound of Maisie's recipe, yum yum I make lentil and carrot pretty often.

 

[monkeypants]

Day 4 was much easier, had my usual breakfast, which I'm loving, however looking forward to my weekend brekkie of scrambled eggs and a bagel .

Lunch was the usual green leaf salad, with a whole tin of drained brine tuna, 30g quark and a whole meal wrap. - getting a little bit sick of salads at the moment, especially as it's so cold. So I've promised myself I'm going to make Maisie's thick vegetable soup over the weekend for my lunches next week.

Got some walking in today, but definitely not enough. However I did invest in the 30-day shred and brought my 1 kg weights, and a work-out mat. Didn't manage to get it done today due to lack of time and being super tired from work, but am definitely going to start it on Day 5.

I left fairly early from work (6:30pm - I usually finish at 8pm), and on my commute home I started to feel hungry. I was feel so hungry I literally felt my sugar levels drop and started to get a little bit agitated with little things. I was sooo tempted to snack, but instead I just made a super fast dinner of steamed 160g Monk Fish, tomato ratatouille, Jacket Potato and steamed sweetcorn and brocolli. I felt very very full after this, which I think was due to the jacket potato, as it's raw weight was 240g and I've been eating no more than 40g of carbs during the week. It even made me feel a bit bloated.

Had a long lovely bath as a 'treat' - it's a good substitute for chocolate.

1 more day till the weekend

 

[RainbowRose]

You are doing so well. I am really impressed that you didn't succumb to snacking when you were so hungry and waited for dinner, which sounded yummy by the way!

I know what you mean about cold meals in this weather. Think I'll get my soup pan out too and make enough for the week. So handy for lunches!

Woohoo on the exercise front, as I said on Maisie's thread, you pair are putting me to shame, oh well I'll just keep looking at my bike longingly lol

Good luck with the exercise and the rest of the day. Keep focused at the weekend, the rewards are so worth it!