New RC'er

hobbesy

Full Member
Hi all,

I've introduced myself in the general section but thought I should here too. I'm a 31 yr old, married mum of two living in Kent. I've been wanting to make changes to the way I eat for a while, and after the Christmas period my body is just screaming out to be healthy for a bit.

I have PCOS and IBS, and although I'm about average build for my 5'7 frame I do look heavily pregnant when I start getting bloated, which is all the time. I used to be very slim pre two kids. When I met dh I was a kickboxing instructor, but I didn't take pregnancy well and a variety of minor health problems and lack of babysitters meant fitness fell by the wayside.

In a charity shop over christmas I came across the Rosemary Conley GI Hip and Thigh Diet book for £1, so bought it for a quick read and some ideas. I decided to give it a go, and bless my dh he has decided to join me. We're on day 3 of the fat attack fortnight, and although swapping meals around we're sticking to the calorie count and fat content.

Evening snacks is our downfall, so any advice on that would be great. I just love to chill in front of the tv with a large glass of wine and giant bag of crisps *sigh* ah well, I'll be happy if it works.

I'm enjoying looking round the forums, seeing everyone's stories.

Here's to a healthy new year :)

Keri x
 
Hi keri,

Welcome to RC. The first 2 weeks are tough, but if you're mentally ready you'll find its a breeze and goes quickly.

For the first 2 weeks they advise not to have anything other than meat and oily fish over 5% fat, so for the nibbles at night, a bottle of water helps, or even go and clean your teeth (no one likes to eat when their teeth are sparkling).

Alternatively you can try carrot, celery (yuk) or cucmber sticks or chop an apple into pieces. Or if you have the calories a slice of toast with runny honey or a very thin layer of jam.

From week3 you can have 100 calorie treat per day that is over the 5% fat rule. You can have it every day or save it up for a week (no more) and have it in one go.

HTH
 
Hi keri, I've just joined this message forum as I started the RC diet on New year's day. I did join a class a couple of years ago which I loved but its quite a way from me and what with my husband not always being in to stay with the children I couldn't always get to class. I lost over a stone and kept it off til just recently unfortunately.

So, I now have about 1.5stone to lose. Hoping it's gone by the summer.

Look forward to hearing your progress reports! ;)
x x x x x
 
Well here's the first one...

We've been really well behaved this week. Stayed within the allowances every day. Occasionally swapped both snacks for a muller light yoghurt in the evening.

The results?

I've lost 4lb
dh has lost 5lb!

It does sometimes feel like a lot of effort, and that after all that you should just be able to jump on the scales and find you've lost a stone! lol But life isn't like that, so I'm very happy with how we've done.

We've decided one afternoon over the weekend we will treat as if it were after the fat busting fortnight, ie. I get approx 200 extra calories and dh gets approx 300 (have to double check those) and treat ourselves to some crisps and a glass of wine whilst watching a film or something so we don't feel too hard done by.

The week started off fairly easy, but I've found myself more hungry since going back to work on Tuesday and using more energy. Initially it was just the cravings for junk in the evening, but now I'm coming home and finding I'm starving! I think I'll take each day as it comes next week, and maybe work better on power snacks. If I need a piece of fruit I don't suppose the 50 calories or so is going to kill me!

Hope everyone else who's been working on what they eat is doing well :)
 
Well done on your weight losses!! Thats fantastic!!! What I used to do (and still do) is the day I weigh in - I have a meal and dessert of my choice that evening. When I went to weight watchers my class was in the evening around 6pm. So I'd go and weigh in before dinner, come home and have whatever meal I fancied (often a home made curry) and whatever pudding I wanted - normally a bar of chocolate rather than a pudding though. Then I'd get straight back to it the next day. I ALWAYS lost weight every week even if my meal/dessert choice was very bad. It made me look forward to my night off and made sure I never felt too deprived of my favourite things.

Anyway, I weighed myself yesterday morning (not going to class) and I have lost 2lbs so I'm pleased with that. Especially as I've had a tough week (emotionally) and lapsed a couple of times with mince pies/wine/chocolate! Ooops! So after all that 2lbs wasn't bad! I did jog for half an hour, did 30 mins of salsacise one day and 20 mins another day so I guess that burned off what I ate/drank!

Will try to be better this week as even just 1-2lbs a week is fine by me! Anything as long as its going down and not up!

Well done again for your losses and best of luck for the week ahead! x x
 
We've decided one afternoon over the weekend we will treat as if it were after the fat busting fortnight, ie. I get approx 200 extra calories and dh gets approx 300 (have to double check those) and treat ourselves to some crisps and a glass of wine whilst watching a film or something so we don't feel too hard done by.


Wow, that's a great result for the first week, well done.

I just wanted to say that now you are starting to loose the weight, please try not to treat yourselves with food items, that's probably how the weight crept on in the first place. The whole idea of loosing weight is to change the way you eat, its got to be a life long thing not just for the duration of getting to goal. Reward yourselves with something else instead like a magazine or new bag etc. Starting to reward yourselves with food after just 1 week will be the start of the slippery slope and before you know where you are, you will be blaming the diet for not working cos the weight isn't coming off.
I understand you don't want to feel deprived, but what are you feeling deprived about, being healthy, feeling fitter, looking better? You just think you are feeling deprived of the drug called sugar! It is addictive and it will keep trying to get you back into its sweet camp, but if you are strong, after about 3 weeks you honestly won't want the sweet treats. Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh hun, but I really do want people who embark on loosing weight to succeed and reach their goals and I find it so sad when people start to sabotage themselves in this way.
Anyway, good luck for this week and hope you have another brilliant week.
 
I do appreciate the advice as we are looking at this for the long term. I did treat myself last night in the end to 125ml wine (measured - something i never do! lol) and a slice of ww carrot cake (something like 75 calories). I hadn't had my snacks, purely by being busy in the snow rather than saving them up. So overall I doubt I went very far over my limit and I was happy enough with what I had which was good for me as usually I'd happily polish off the bottle, then find the crisps, then the chocolate...

In the long-term I do think I need to be able to eat the things I enjoy, and learn to do it in moderation. I should maybe have lasted the two weeks before doing that, but it worked for me at this point. I don't intend to 'cheat' for the rest of the week, in fact I've seen the RC treat allowances after the first fortnight and think they're more than I'll need. A treat and wine every night, and I can see myself slipping back into old habits
 
Hi! No disrespect to Charlottegrace1 but I don't actually agree with her post. I think it is perfect for some people but I really think to have a life long change you need to find something that works FOR YOU! Restricting all treats could work for some people but for others it could lead to binging when you feel that you are so deprived you can't cope any more.

And Hobbesy hasn't binged or slipped into her old ways at all - just treated herself to a much deserved treat which is harmless. In the long term there is no harm in having a weekly treat - it is much much healthier than a monthly or even 3 mthly huge binge which may well happen if she deprives herself of things she enjoys.

Like I said, what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another.

Well done again Hobbesy and I think you have and are doing brilliantly! Keep it up! x
Love
Cathi x
 
P.S. I lost over 3st in total over the years (after having babies etc) but have never put on more than 1st since losing it (apart from when I was pg) and that has been over the past 15yrs so I KNOW that allowing myself a weekly treat works for me. The recent weight gain is mainly do to with my lack of exercise due to a foot injury and a change in lifestyle rather than anything else so I have first hand experience that it certainly can be done and can be kept off.

I was a size 16-18 for most of my teenage life but since the age of 18 (apart from having babies) I have not gone over a size 14. I'm 33 now.

If you want to email me directly, Hobbesy, and we can spurr each other on please send me a private message through this website and I'll email you back.
Love
Cathi x
 
Aw thank you. After I posted I did wonder if perhaps I was wrong. After all I've never dieted before (in fact thats the first time I've called it a diet, I only got dh to join me by promising it was just healthy eating), and this is only my first week, so I know there is a lot I don't know.

I have to admit dh was naughtier than me. He had a large can of beer instead of a small one, a bag of crisps and a slice of the ww carrot cake. But he also hadn't had his snacks, knows it was a little more than he should have had, but less than he'd normally have, and is back on the wagon today. We've had our measured out Special K (I'm mainly alternating between that and wheatabix) for breakfast, and I've got tin toms and low fat sausages on the go for lunch as I type.

We both only want to lose just over a stone. I think that would be ideal for me even though I'd weighed less before kids. I was 5'7 and 58kg/127 pounds, and looked scary tiny, so a bit more than that would be perfect. Besides, I have the extra skin that two kids and weight gain then loss from a round of ivf brings (i hyperstimulated and looked heavily pregnant overnight), so I do worry that my skin wouldn't keep up and look saggy. But I need to lose the weight before I worry about any of that!

I'd love to stay in touch and help each other along. In fact I was wondering where in Kent you are (we're Ashford), as we're around the same age, area, both with kids, etc. Don't think I can pm on here yet but my email is keri @ kerispring. co. uk, minus the spaces obviously, (that's just hopefully so more of the spambots don't find me, but my email's pretty much in the public domain anyway so a bit late for that).

Keri x
 
I actually do agree with Charlottegrace's post. The reason for the 2 weeks low calories part is to make optimum use of the time your body will use its stored fat as energy before it thinks your starving yourself and holds onto its fat store, which is why people losse a lot of weight in the first 2 weeks and it encourages you to stick to the diet.

From week 3 you can have a daily treat. Afterall 2 weeks isnt that long is it?

Good luck with your journey and well done to you and ur DH on ur weight loss so far
 
I thought I'd update as I'm sure its good for people starting out to hear how people just ahead of them are doing. 2nd week I lost 2lb and DH lost 3lb so we were both really please.

Tonight was end of week 3. After the initial fortnight I've actually found during the week I don't really want a drink like I used too. Even any of the 100cal treats have been low fat, with the naughtiest being low fat crisps - Walkers Baked, I actually find them quite yummy.

Its been hard to keep the exact measuring/calorie counting going as its been a very busy week. Have still generally stuck to recipes from the book though and will use this weekend to batch cook some soups to take into work for lunch

Anyway, I was worried this week as I naughtily weighed yesterday and it was looking like an sts week which got me a little down this early in the game, but tonight after my first step class in over 10 years its saying '1lb! yay. That said DH has sts and I think he's taken it quite hard, but will hopefully kick him up the bum as I think he's been sneaking the odd snack/not eating properly, ie. too busy for lunch so a bag of (low fat) crisps.

So entering week 4 and we've both lost exactly 1/2 a stone which I'm really chuffed with. Neither of us have the tape measure moving yet though which is a shame. When have others started to see a loss? We're only really worried about waist tbh at this point. It would just be nice to start to see a change in shape as I look in the mirror and don't feel any different yet.

Good luck to everyone just starting this journey. I've never dieted before, it seemed much too hard and not for me. But were getting there! :)
 
Well done, you are doing really well. I would say to measure yourself once a month as I found that doing it weekly didn't really show enough up to get excited over if you know what I mean. Keep up the good work and hope you have another good week this week.
 
Back
Top