Time to maintain for the rest of my life

[janetelizabeth]

Gwella I think you're doing really well and hope your weigh in was progress for you.
I was impressed with how your prepared for the wedding and glad you had a lovely time.

 

[Gwella]

Don't entirely know how many syns I had today either. I ended up having two things at Nando's cos I got a bit too excited about going there (and probably my blood sugar is still a bit screwed).

Oh well. I haven't had any alcohol.

Monday
Breakfast: 2 Alpen lights (B)
Lunch: veggie stirfry with blackbean sauce (beans, vermouth, vinegar, dash of sugar), noodles
Snack: 4 chocolate fingers, papaya
Dinner: Nando's halloumi wrap (inc. A), veggie burger, chips, Fanta

Weighed in at 11st10 today, so no change. Not too bad for a 'stabilising' week with a wedding in it, I suppose. My birthday is this week, so I'm aiming to maintain again I suppose.

 

[janetelizabeth]

A Sts is certainly better than a gain... I think that was a good result for you Gwella. And now your birthday to celebrate.... you'll be fine; maybe try and cut back on some treats with some planned healthy snacks? I know how easy it is to grab stuff when the mood takes us!! Lol

 

[Gwella]

Gosh I have been away a while! Oh well back to it. After Monday, I had a meal and drinks out with friends Tuesday night, was reasonably sensible Wednesday. On my birthday I indulged in Eggs Royale with hollandaise sauce and champagne, and ate chocolate. I made a slightly more SW-friendly lasagne than I'd normally do in the evening, though. The following day I went out for dinner with the bf and had 3 courses and cocktails... Reasonably sensible the rest of the weekend, but I still didn't dare weigh myself this morning, especially as I have PMS.

Tuesday
Breakfast: slice of leftover birthday cake! (not sure how many syns - 15+?)
Lunch: risotto: onion, mushrooms, pepper, spinach, tuna, rice
Snack: strawberries, raspberries, mango, Danio yogurt (1.5)
Dinner: huevos rancheros: onion, courgette, peppers, tomatoes, beans, eggs, sweetcorn, wrap (B+3 - I know it's not really a B!)
Drink: half a bottle of white wine. Oh dear. (12)

Totals: 1B (fibre), 31.5 syns.

No A in here, but the yogurt, eggs, and mascarpone cake filling have calcium so I'm not worried.

Went to the gym after work but had a bit less energy than normal.

 

[janetelizabeth]

I'm really impressed with your whole awareness of what you were eating and drinking and how you tried to cut corners where you could.
Hope when you weigh in the morning it's OK for you. I think you said a STS would be alright?

 

[Gwella]

Yes, at the moment I'm praying for a STS! One step at a time. I'm aware I'm probably a bit bloated though, and given it was a birthday/bank holiday I will try not to beat myself up too much if it's another gain!

 

[Gwella]

Ugh, I'm feeling really down this morning. I finally remembered to weigh myself and had a 2lb gain. I'm only 1lb off being back at 12 stone.

I know exactly what's going wrong - snacks and alcohol. Most of my meals are ok (I had a bit of a binge last night though - SW chips are dangerous). And I know what to do to change it because I've done it before. I just can't seem to summon up the passion and motivation I had for it last time round. I got really excited and a little bit obsessed with the plan, maybe because it was new and exciting to me then. I have considered rejoining group to get the leaflets on the new plan, but the group I went to has a different consultant now with a bad reputation and I can't really spare the time at the moment.

I think what I need to focus on is maybe the alcohol. Things are looking up a bit in life so maybe this will come. I'm also paying a lot of attention to taking healthy snacks to work, which will hopefully pay off. I should also revisit some of the lower-syn treats like Freddos and Pombears.

I have half a bottle of beer in the fridge so will probably finish that tonight, but won't buy any more. I'm going to my boyfriend's family in Sussex for a Passover celebration this weekend. They're not big drinkers so it's unlikely I'll have much there. I have a few bottles of alcohol there from when we went to France but I think I will leave most if not all of them there for a while to keep them out of my way.

Yesterday:
Breakfast: 3 Ryvita (B), half a pot of light hummus (B+6)
Lunch: risotto: onion, mushroom, pepper, spinach, tuna, rice
Snacks: 2 slices of cake that was about to go off, and a macaroon (30?)
Dinner: loads of fish fingers, SW chips with mayo/ketchup, courgette (didn't work out syns)
Drink: Beer (12)

Totals: 2 Bs (1 fibre, 1 oil), didn't work out syns total but it was a LOT.

Completely forget my hexA. Again, there was mascarpone in the cake so I didn't go entirely without calcium.

Plan for today (no cake left at work fortunately!)
Breakfast: 3 Ryvita (B), half a pot of light hummus (B+6)
Lunch: onion, peppers, courgette, tomatoes, mushrooms, beans, sweetcorn, eggs, 1.5 wraps (??)
Snack: fruit salad, Mullerlight
Dinner: onion, peppers, celery, tomatoes, chickpeas, hummus, dried apricots (??)
Drink: Beer (12)

I should try and have an A today so will have some cheese as a snack if I'm craving/hungry - but not otherwise, I don't want to eat for the sake of it.

 

[janetelizabeth]

Hi Gwella....well in the scope of all things with your birthday etc I think you were even brave to weigh in. And that gain was certainly damage limitation which you can soon reverse.

Hope your time with the Passover celebrations are enjoyable too.

That's a shame you're not able to rejoin a group near you... But I think in fairness the plan hasn't changed that much, except there is no red or green plans now. But the meat free foods etc are classed as free foods on the new plan. If you want me to look anything up please just ask as I have the new pack but I'm still using the old green plan.
A thought occurred to me, you could look on ebay for a new pack that someone is selling? If you really want it...

 

[Gwella]

Thanks! I think I'll stick with the old one for now and try to summon up as much enthusiasm as I can.

Not a great weekend food-wise but not disastrous either. I lost 1lb this week which is probably post-PMS water loss but I won't knock it!

I chatted it through with the bf at the weekend and he says I CAN do it, there's no alien inside my brain making me eat rubbish, it's just about reviewing the motivation at moments of temptation, and finding new ways to relax. Maybe setting some firmer goals will help. I have just under 10 weeks before I go to Rome with my choir, by which time I need to fit comfortably into my summer dresses! So I want to be back at 11stone by then.

I have nothing big coming up this week so I'm going to take a deep breath and aim for 2lb off, to get things moving and my mindset better. Then if I alternate between 2lb and 1lb off, maintaining while in Cornwall, I can make that goal:

20th April - 11 st 10 (2lb off)
27th April - 11 st 9 (1lb off)
4th May - 11 st 7 (2lb off)
11th May - In Cornwall
18th May - 11 st 7 (STS)
18th May - 11 st 5 (2lb off)
25th May - 11 st 4 (1lb off)
1st June - 11 st 2 (2lb off)
8th June - 11 st 1 (1lb off)
15th June - 10 st 13 (2lb off)

The current goal is to plan one 'treat' a day in order to try and fit within my syns as that seems to be how it usually works out. Maybe it'll help me stop kidding myself. I'm going to buy some Free treaty foods with my big shop too. Fruit does get a bit boring after a bit...

Monday
Breakfast: 2 Alpen lights (B)
Lunch: leeks, mushrooms, asparagus, pasta, blue cheese (B+4.3)
Snacks: radishes, Mullerlight
Dinner: onion, artichokes, rocket, lentils, goat's cheese (A+1.4)
Drink (today's treat): can of lager (8.8)
Snacks: raspberries, Danio yogurt (1)

Totals: 2Bs (1 fibre, 1 dairy), 1A, 15.5syns.

So close to an on-plan day that I'm going to count it as such! A good start to the week.

 

[janetelizabeth]

Great plan to get to where you want to be!!
Yes you can have 45g feta/30g hard goats cheese as HexA & the blue (35g Gorgonzola/ 30g Roquefort) as HexB. The goats cheeses are on the HexB list too.

 

[Gwella]

Need to work out the syns for this lot, but just so I have a record...

Tuesday

Breakfast: 2 Alpen lights (B)
Snack (treats but I was REALLY hungry in a meeting): 3 Maryland cookies
Lunch: onion, artichokes, rocket, lentils, goat's cheese (A+1.4)
Snacks (more treats, oh dear): raspberries, can of lager, mini white wine 187ml, Mars ice cream, kitkat
Dinner: onion, peppers, squash, pomegranate, chickpeas, bulgar wheat

Wednesday

Breakfast: 2 Alpen lights (B)
Lunch: onion, peppers, squash, pomegranate, chickpeas, bulgar wheat
Coffee drink (0.6A+1.83)
Snack: kiwi fruits, Danio yogurt (1), 1 Ryvita (0.3B)
Dinner: seafood paella: onion, pepper, tomatoes, peas, seafood, rice
Treat for today (had two again): wine, chocolate
Cordial
Thursday

Breakfast: 2 Alpen lights (B)
Snack: radishes
Lunch: egg mayo sandwich on brown bread
Treat for today: chocolate sundae thing (13.9), mini sesame thing (3?)
Coffee drink
Snack: raspberries
Dinner: seafood paella: onion, pepper, tomatoes, peas, seafood, rice
Snacks: salmon (may have syns), sugarfree jelly (0.5), cordial

 

[janetelizabeth]

Looks like you mainly stayed with the plan...syns are our daily treats!

I'm just back from my trip to the I.O.W. and have a mega gain to deal with before I can weigh in at group again!

Gwella, you asked me about Cornwall... I was born in Redruth and lived in Wadebridge but by the time I was 3 I was living in Leicester. By the age of 4 I was down in Hastings!! My father was a head chef and moved us around with his work. But that was the last move because he left my mum and she brought 4 children up on her own!!

 

[Gwella]

Once again haven't worked out all my syns but just so I have a note of what I ate and how many treats (answer: a bit too many):

Friday
Breakfast: 3 Ryvita (B), cottage cheese
Lunch: onion, peppers, squash, pomegranate, chickpeas, bulgar wheat
Snack: papaya
Treats/drinks: some sweeties, Twirl bar, mini red wine, 2 mini Leffe bottles
Dinner: egg curry made with oil (B), rice

Saturday
Breakfast: Alpen light bar (1/2 B), Mullerlight
Lunch: M&S potato and pea salad, M&S Greek salad (inc. A)
Drinks: double gin and diet tonic, double rum and orange juice, can of lager
Snacks: Twirl bar
Dinner: egg curry made with oil (1/2 B), rice
Snack: tandoori salmon

Sunday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs
Lunch: pub: seabass, potato, veggies (didn't seem oily); blueberry bakewell with ice cream
Drinks at pub: glass of white wine, pint of lager
Snack: salmon
Dinner: veggie chilli lasagne with quark, cheese (A)
Extra: cordial

I can't quite be bothered to work out all the syns for those last few days, and the weekend, so I'll just get back on it!

To my amazement I was down to 11st8.25 when I weighed this morning. I weighed again to check and it said 11st9 then 11st8.75. So I'll call it 11st9 just in case I'm bitten next week! That's 3lb off. I don't feel like I 'deserve' that given what I ate but hey! I suppose I have been quite active this week, not in terms of the gym but just being up and about doing things. I hope it doesn't get to the stage where my meals are very slimming but I fill up on treats. I'd rather be having healthy things like avocado, oil and extra cheese for my syns... Also hope I don't get lulled into a false sense of security and get lax this week!

I've started reading a book on Mindfulness recommended by the therapist. I really need to learn to 'live in the moment' more and not worry so much constantly about plans and plans for the future. I hope this might help me with eating more mindfully and addressing thoughts/emotions healthily rather than always turning to food.

Monday
Breakfast: Alpen light (1/2B)
Lunch: lasagne: onion, peppers, mushrooms, courgette, tomatoes, quorn, kidney beans, quark, pasta, cheese (A)
Dinner: Pret falafel wrap: bread, falafel, yogurt, veg (1/2A + unknown syns, but it was 542 calories which is ok for a meal, though not as filling as a full meal hence the cereal bar later!)
Snacks: papaya, Danio yogurt (1), veggie crisps (10), Frappuccino (1/2A+2.1), cereal bar (B), cordial (7)

Totals: 1.5Bs (fibre), 2As, syns 20.1 plus the falafel wrap which was dinner.

I feel like even though I went over on syns, I did quite well today and ate a 'sensible/reasonable' amount. The treats had some sort of nutrition in them too. I hadn't realised before how many syns were in the cordial... but it does help me drink extra water.

 

[janetelizabeth]

Good idea to highlight the treats in 'red'....I must admit that I try not to use syns for my meals too but use them for my daily bar of choc & mugs of options hot choc...I've always done that since starting sw.
Well done for the 3lbs down this week, you are so near the just 1 stone to go!! well done!
Yes 'mindfulness' is a good way to progress. I'm quite an analytical person and it sounds like a good way for you to go.
Keep going...you're doing really well.

 

[Gwella]

No update from me for a bit. This week, househunting has completely taken over my life. I'm currently renting in London (alone since my boyfriend moved to Brighton last June). I can't afford to do so any more (my rent got put up last week just to add to the stress) and I'm in the ridiculously lucky position that my parents have some money to invest and are willing to co-buy with me if I get the mortgage. So I'm trying to find somewhere to buy in the capital. For me, a garden is absolutely essential - I've missed having one for so long, I crave one, it really helps keep me sane. But that means I need to find either a very cramped place in central London with a lodger, get a completely overpriced 1bed in central London with a bit more space and no lodger, or move much further out and no longer get the exercise I do from cycling. I knew the London market was insane but I was in for a shock at just how hard it has got!

I have made myself ill this week with the stress of it all. I'm not eating properly or sleeping properly. Yesterday I cycled 16.5 miles looking at houses on 3 Ryvita and some cheese.

I have no idea what this means for my weight, but to be honest, the main goal at the moment is to stay vaguely sane and retain some semblance of normal life.

There was a lady at my group last year who was househunting and really struggled to stick to SW as a result. Now I know her pain!

Please send me good thoughts. I know I'm very lucky to be buying at all (which makes me so angry!), but as a person who already struggles a fair bit with mental health issues, this is very, very hard.

I'm making some salad to take to choir as a tiny step towards healthy living. Just cut my finger on the peppers - thanks universe!

Gwella xxx

 

[janetelizabeth]

Oh Gwella I know London prices are a nightmare. My sister in-law is in north London and will need to move from her house. She was looking at 3 bed flats...1.250 million! Where do they get these figures from?
Thankfully you have some options to weigh up there...
Please look after yourself. :bighug:

 

[janetelizabeth]

How's life going Gwella?

 

[Gwella]

Hello there...

Things are going ok actually, thanks! Things have moved far faster than I anticipated and I've had an offer accepted on a 2bed flat I really like, with a nice big garden. Of course things could still go wrong (and sorting out the mortgage is proving a bit of a pain) but I'm hopeful...
I'm now having to get used to the unusual situation of having free time on my hands. I'm not very good at finding fun things to do!
I've just come back from a week in Cornwall with the family which was lovely - beautiful weather, and millions of flowers everywhere.

Weighed in at 12 st 1 yesterday (gulp) but back down to 11 st 12 1/4 this morning, so fingers crossed I can shift some weight now things have calmed down a bit.

Hope you're doing ok and your chest bug is shifting!

 

[janetelizabeth]

Good to hear how things have been going with you and great for finding the place you want. Hope all goes through smoothly re mortgage etc. Have you got any idea when you might move? Is it still in London, or did you consider another area?
Oh the weight will soon drop off. It's usually just bloat; especially after a visit to family and Cornwall. I had 3 days in the IOW and my weight was a huge hike when I got back...!!
Thankfully I think I'm about over the chest issue, the xray was clear but I still seem to have a little cough thing. I really don't want to go back to the doctors anytime soon...I ended up with 4 courses of antibiotics to try and clear it all.