Slimming down for health and wellbeing

Librahope

Librahope

Member
In the past few years, I have put on 30 (!) pounds. Writing it down in this very public of spaces is shocking and difficult, but I suppose facing up to where I am is the first step towards getting to where I want to be.

A bit of background: I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia about 2 years ago, and the combination of excrutiating pain and constant exhaustion/ fatigue made even completing daily tasks difficult. Getting my medication sorted was an arduous process, and the medications I cycled through packed on the pounds. My exercise routine also dwindled and then went out of the window entirely, to be replaced by comfort eating and (frankly) too many G & Ts! :eatdrink051::very_drunk:

Now that my medication is stable and I'm starting to feel better, I'm keen to lose the weight. I want to fit into my lovely clothes again, I want to feel more confident in my own skin, and I know that losing the weight will be really beneficial for my joints and general health and wellbeing.

So: I'm going to start this online food diary. I've tried keeping diaries on my own, but I think this will make me more accountable. I'm also going SW-solo this time, attempting to do the plan on my own, so I'd be really grateful for feedback and suggestions.

.....Here we go! :)
 
DAY 1 - 2 November, 2017 - Green Day

Breakfast:

2 eggs baked with cherry tomatoes, spinach, fry light, chilli powder and paprika
Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese - HEA1
2 slices of wholegrain toast (dry) from a 400g loaf - HEB1
2 black instant coffees

Lunch:
Syn free, homemade vegetable broth soup with carrots, celery, onion, garlic, pulses, brown rice and barley
2 eggs
28g hard cheese - HEB2

Dinner:
Spaghetti with fry light, lemon juice, cherry tomatoes, garlic and spinach
28g hard cheese - HEA2

Snacks:
Apple

Syns (14)
200ml pineapple juice - 5 syns
3 small glasses of sherry - 9 syns
 
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Well done on getting back on it.:)

I don't do Slimming World so can't offer any advise there. Just take one day at a time and once you get back into a routine it will become easier.
I'm back on healthy eating and exercising. I have had months off from it and haven't a clue how much I have put on. Hoping to still be under 9 stone but won't know until I step on those scales. :)
 
Day 2 - 3 November, 2017 - Green Day

*I’m going to a friend’s birthday celebration at a pub tonight..... wish me luck! :confused:

Breakfast:
2 eggs baked with cherry tomatoes, spinach, frylight, chilli powder and paprika
Reduced fat cheddar cheese - HEA1
2 slices of wholegrain toast (dry) from a 400g loaf - HEB1
2 black instant coffees

Lunch:
Syn Free, homemade vegetable broth soup with carrots, celery, onion, garlic, pulses, brown rice and barley
1 wholegrain pitta - HEB2

Snacks:

Dinner:
Spaghetti with frylight, mushrooms, carrots, garlic and broccoli
Reduced fat cheddar - HEA2

Syns:
175g drained mandarin segments in juice - 3 syns
Scala roasted tomato pesto - 7 Syns
Drinks - Aforementioned Pub birthday party, probably best to leave this here and start again tomorrow :(
 
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Day 3 - 4 November, 2017 - Green Day

Brunch:
2 baked eggs with plumb tomatoes, garlic, green peppers, spinach, lentils, chilli and frylight
2 slices of wholegrain toast (dry) from a 400g loaf - HEB1
Reduced fat cheddar cheese - HEA1

Dinner:
Spaghetti with olive oil (HEB2), lemon juice, garlic, and vegetables

Syns (19 Syns)
4 gin and tonics - 16 syns
1 medium dry sherry - 3 syns

*Although I went over on my syns again today, I feel OK about it because I went out to dinner with the inlaws and managed to make a healthy choice from the menu (by asking them to hold the olive oil and then adding it myself so that it could be measured).

Day 4 - 5 November, 2017 - Green Day

Brunch:
2 eggs baked with cherry tomatoes, spinach, frylight, chilli powder and paprika
Reduced fat cheddar cheese - HEA1
2 slices of wholegrain toast (dry) from a 400g loaf - HEB2
2 black instant coffees

Dinner:
Salmon - HEB2
Wilted spinach with nutmeg, brown rice and slimming world raita

Syns (17.5 syns)
homemade popcorn - 5.5 syns
4 sherries - 12 syns

*I definitely think that weekends are going to prove the most challenging for me because I tend to go out with friends, out to dinner, and have a few drinks. When we're home all day, we also end up mindlessly drinking glasses of sherry and doing the crossword (makes us sound pretty dull, I'm aware!). This coming week, I'm going to try to do "flexi syns", so I'll be attempting to limit my syns (i.e. limit my drinking) during the week therefore saving them up for the weekend. I'd also like to add in some exercise this week and am going to try to do some yoga.
 
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Day 5 - 6 November, 2017 - Green Day

Breakfast:
2 Wheetabix - HEB1
Blueberries and a banana
coffee
almond milk and small portion of cheese HEA1

Snack:
Apple

Lunch:
Homemade Slimming World Tuscan Bean soup
Wholewheat Pitta bread - HEB2

Dinner:
2 baked eggs with plumb tomatoes, garlic, green peppers, spinach, lentils, chilli and frylight
Reduced fat cheddar cheese - HEA2

Syns: (20)
Pop Chips - 5 Syns
Afterwork Drinks with Colleagues - 15 Syns
 
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Day 6- 7 November, 2017 - Green Day

Breakfast:
2 Wheetabix - HEB1
Blueberries and a banana
fat free greek yogurt
coffee
almond milk and a small portion of cheese HEA1

Snack:
Apple

Lunch:
Homemade Slimming World Tuscan Bean Soup
Wholewheat Pitta bread - HEB2

Dinner:
Homemade vegetarian chilli with chickpeas, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, chilli, onions, courgettes, leeks, spinach, sweetcorn and firelight
1 baked egg
wholegrain rice
reduced fat cheddar cheese HEA2

Syns (14)
Quinoa crips, 30g - 8 syns
honey and lemon drinks (i've been fighting off a cold) - 6 sys
 
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Day 7- 8 November, 2017 - Green Day

Breakfast:
2 slices of wholegrain toast from a 400g loaf - HEB1
Blueberries
fat free greek yogurt
coffee

Snack:
1 portion of reduced fat cheddar cheese - HEA1
1 Activia 0% blueberry yogurt

Lunch:
Wholewheat Pitta bread - HEB2

Dinner:
Homemade vegetarian chilli with chickpeas, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, chilli, onions, courgettes, leeks, spinach, sweetcorn and frylight
2 baked eggs
wholegrain rice
30g Leicester cheese - HEA2

Syns (11):
0.5 tsp butter - 1 Syn
Tesco Healthy Living Lentil and Vegetable Soup (lunch) - 6 Syns (can anyone tell me If this is right?)
1 tsp honey for lemsip - 1 syn
1 sherry - 3 Syns
 
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Day 8 - 9 November, 2017 - Green Day

Breakfast:
2 slices of wholegrain toast from a 400g loaf - HEB1
Blueberries
fat free activia 0% blueberry yogurt
coffee

Snack:
2 portions of mini baybel cheese - HEA1
Fat free yogurt
Melon
Banana

Lunch:
Homemade Slimming World Tuscan Bean Soup
Wholewheat Pitta bread - HEB2

Dinner:
Homemade vegetarian chilli with chickpeas, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, chilli, onions, courgettes, leeks, spinach, sweetcorn and frylight
2 baked egg
wholegrain rice
30g Leicester cheese - HEA2

Syns (15)
Hartleys Jam - 1 Syn
Lemon and honey drinks - 14 Syns
 
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Day 9 - 10 November, 2017 - Green Day

Breakfast:
2 slices of wholegrain toast from a 400g loaf - HEB1
Marmite
Melon
fat free activia 0% blueberry yogurt
coffee

Snack:
Reduced fat cheddar cheese - HEA1
Melon

Lunch:
Homemade Slimming World Tuscan Bean Soup
Wholewheat Pitta bread - HEB2

Dinner:
Homemade vegetarian chilli with chickpeas, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, chilli, onions, courgettes, leeks, spinach, sweetcorn and frylight
2 baked eggs
wholegrain rice
30g Red Leicester cheese - HEA2

Syns (15):
Flora - 1 Syn
Popcorn - 4 Syns
2 Sherries - 6 Syns
Lemon, honey and whiskey - 4 Syns
 
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Day 10 - 11 November, 2017 - Extra Easy Day

Brunch: 2 slices of wholewheat toast from a 400g loaf - HEB1
42g reduced cheddar cheese - HEA1
Plumb tomatoes, red bell pepper, garlic, chillis, sweetcorn
2 eggs

Dinner:
Anna Jones’ magic one pot pasta: spaghetti, lemon juice, water/ vegetable stock, garlic, spinach and chilli flakes

Syns (13):
Lemon and honey drinks (still fighting off this darn cold) - 4 Syns
3 Sherries - 9 Syns
 
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Your food looks nice and healthy.:)


Could I have your vegetarian chilli recipe please.
I want to try and eat less meat and looking for vegetarian ideas that my OH would like.
 
craftermary said:
Your food looks nice and healthy.:)


Could I have your vegetarian chilli recipe please.
I want to try and eat less meat and looking for vegetarian ideas that my OH would like.
Click to expand...

Hi there, of course you can! Although I’d hesitate to call it a recipe per say - it tends to be a “throw everything in the cupboard, fridge and freezer into one pan and cook it” kind of affair. :)

Typically, I would take an onion and, if I had it, maybe some celery, and cook it right down with frylight until it’s fragrant and the onions are mostly clear. Then I would add in several minced up cloves of garlic and some chilli (fresh, frozen or dried, whatever I have on hand) and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute over a medium heat stirring pretty regularly so that the garlic and chilli don’t burn.

Then I add in a tin or two of tomatoes (you can use chopped if you want, although if I have them I like to use plumb tomatoes and break them down by hand as they cook). A minute or so later I throw in everything else - so usually this is a chopped up bell pepper, courgettes, some spinach, maybe a sweet potato, and a couple of tins of beans (you can use any kind, I tend to use mixed beans, black, kidney, lentil or chickpea most regularly). If I’ve got stuff in the fridge that needs using or surplus in the freezer like frozen sweetcorn, then sometimes I’ll chuck in a handful of that, too. It’s all trial and error and depends on what veggies you like and need to use.

Then I season it to taste. I use smoked paprika, hot chilli powder, cayenne pepper, a very small amount of ground cumin and ground coriander, salt and pepper and, occasionally, half a teaspoon of mustard powder. Then I pop a tablespoon of water in there and put it on to simmer with the top on - stirring occasionally - for about 20 minutes to really let all the flavours mingle and develop. And that’s it!

At night, I often have it with brown rice. Sometimes for breakfast or brunch on the weekends I’ll have it with eggs poached in it - or baked - with toast. I put my cheese allowance and some hot sauce on top and, if it’s too spicy, sometimes a dollop of fat free natural yogurt.

A batch will last me several days and also freezes really well.
 
Doh! It's been awhile, because I've been on holiday (visiting my family in America). I'm just now back - and 5 pounds heavier... :eek::oops::mad:

So I'm back on the Slimming World diet with a vengeance!

Day 13 - 28 November, 2017 - Green Day

Breakfast:
2 slices of toast from a 400g loaf - HEB1
Coffee
Fat Free Activia 0% Blueberry Yogurt

Lunch
Homemade Slimming world Tuscan Bean Soup
Wholewheat pitta bread - HEB2

Snack:
Apple
Cheese - HEA1

Dinner:
Mixed Salad with beans, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, carrots, spring onions, garlic, giant israeli cous cous, lemon juice, spices

Syns (16.5)
Marmelade - 0.5 Syns
Avocado Butter Spread - 1.5 Syns
10 Almonds - 8.5 Syns
1 tblsp Olive Oil - 6 Syns
 
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