Wally's Got to Get it Done Exante Diary

Wallywithabrolly

Wallywithabrolly

Full Member
Hello All,

So here I am again! I guess that is a common story for many of us. I lost a lot of weight back in 2015, then got quite sick with an autoimmune disease. I did keep most of it off and was really happy. But then I moved half way across the world away from my family, had many stressful times and then......the pandemic happened and I have been in free fall ever since. I am incredibly lucky to have a great family, wonderful home and a secure living situation - but the weight crept back on (and boy did it creep!) I am now heavier than I was before I started the first time. To add pressure to my situation, I am going back Home in May 2021 (hopefully :confused:) and I need to be able to fit comfortably in the airplane seat.

So I am back on Exante Total Solution. I started on December 11th and had only 1 day off for Christmas. I have lost about 18lbs so far and have sooooo many more pounds to lose (approx 82lbs - although I am only aiming for half that before May).

I have a limited time frame of 18 weeks to lose as much as I can and this time I think I can do it!

Wish me luck.......
 
This is now day 20 for me and I am still very motivated, which makes a change. That is probably because the scales are still moving at a rate of 1lb a day, but I know the time will come when that will stop. I have 120 days more to complete (4 months).
Priorities for me have been making sure I drink my water, I have learned that it is critical to get the 2 litres of water, at least, every day, keep myself out of the kitchen and also to plan my meals ahead.
I managed about 18 weeks the first time I did this diet, but Exante have made it so much easier with all the variety they have now. I love the salted caramel bars, cinnamon shakes and spaghetti bolognese - these always seem like a treat when I have them and not a chore.
Today I am going to put together a small list of rewards to help motivate me through my goals - hopefully I can find a few nice things to buy.
I will post it here if I get it done :)
 
Day 21: Went to the grocery store today and I was overwhelmed by smells - I have to keep reminding myself that I am on a diet and not to buy anything. But I keep thinking that I have tasted most of those things before, so having a break for 18 weeks isn't going to hurt me and I am not depriving myself of anything.
My rewards list is now complete and I have decided on a reward for every 10lbs I lose. So I have added some new pen holders for my desk as my next reward. Then I am looking forward to a new Fabletics outfit, a Woodwick candle, new PJ's and maybe a new travel bag before I go home (something lovely and luxurious!)
Yesterday instead of my third Exante pack I had a Pure Protein birthday cake bar which was lovely and made a change. I love the birthday cake flavour and it made a lovely change.
Another day today, my DH has been very good and we are not having a special NYE meal or drinks tonight, so I will saunter into the New Year at least 20lbs lighter than December.
Here's to an amazing day today :)
 
Day 22 and weigh in day - I have lost 2.9lbs this week. Considering I had Christmas day off plan and ate what I wanted, that is not too bad. I am fairly happy with how the weight loss is going - it can never go fast enough, but some patience is required.
Yesterday was a busy day and I spent most of it taking Christmas decorations down and cleaning up before NYE. It was a busy day with lots to do, so I didn't get my first meal until 3pm.
I have decided I love the salted caramel bars and the sweet and sour noodles.
January is always a difficult month, so I am focusing on a 4 week challenge - today, I will be measuring my stats and writing them down in order to see how much I can drop in the next month. I am hoping for 10lbs in January - but a little more would be awesome.
As I have now lost 20lbs, I am going to reward myself with the first thing on my reward list which was some pen holders for my desk - like most of us, I work for home at the moment and am spending too long at my desk - new pen holders will help!
Here's to a great start to 2021 :classic_big_grin:
 
Day 23. Yesterday was another good day. I find cooking quite difficult on this plan, I made cheese scones yesterday for my son and the smell when they came out of the oven was glorious, but not enough to make me cave in. We are currently refitting our kitchen so we were cleaning and changing lights out yesterday, all of which kept me busy while and not thinking about food. I have 119 days left until I travel home, seems like a lot, but it going to go really fast and Covid is not helping with the situation. Time is going to pass anyway, so I may as well make it count - by losing the weight I need to.
Yesterday, I had the apple and cinnamon porridge and unfortunately was almost able to drink it - I must start reading the directions on the packet before making the meals......as I cannot seem to get it right just yet!
 
Day 24. Still 100%, although only managed to have 2 products yesterday as it was such a busy day. Being in ketosis means I dont get so hungry and often forget to have the meals - but I have set reminders on my phone now and wont make that mistake again! It is bright a sunny here which lifts the spirits a little, but my trip home is looking less and less likely, due to Covid. I dont think it will be easy to motivate myself if I dont have that goal, but if I cannot fly home then I will have to find something else to look forward to and lose the weight for. Its frightening that we are already a year on and still in a similar place, but I understand that many people have it worse than I do and I am grateful for what I have. Looking forward to porridge for breakfast and a relaxing Sunday!
 
Day 25 - still less than a month, cannot believe this! Feels like I have been on plan for about a year. Managed all three products yesterday and tried the strawberry shake,. Strawberry is a flavour I do not like very much as I always find it a bit 'fake,' but the shake was pretty good - especially mixed with ice. So then the sweet and sour noodles and a bar for dinner. We did not do much yesterday as we were relaxing before going back to work today, but we did manage a call with our son abroad, which was lovely. :classic_smile: Today, the new year starts in earnest. I booked onto a course which was called 'Achieve your goals in 2021' which is 21 days and supposed to help you kick start your motivation. I am hoping that it will give me a little extra boost when the nights are still dark and cold. That said, I am 117 days from my trip home and about 50 lbs away from being a happier weight. I had a little look around in my closet yesterday and found my '235' jeans. These are a lovely pair of levis that I have had for a few years, they only fit me when I hit 235, so I am on my way there now and will be thrilled when they fit again.........
 
Day 26: Yesterdays news was a blow to my household. I was returning home with my son to sit his A-levels exams in Summer 2021, but this doesn't look like its happening now, at least not at the time we had planned. There is a good side to the news - it means that he will have more to revise and be less stressed and I will have more time to reach my goal, but on the other hand its a pain in the ass. Anyway, today I learned that you are always making progress, just sometimes it is invisible. When I sat down and decided I was going to lose weight this time and keep it off, i didn't really think about it, rather, I knew what had to be done and I just picked the best way I could to get there. I have followed the plan for 26 days, but the scales have been up a lb this week. I know this is because of my cycle, rather than what I am eating, but its disheartening anyway. Somebody said to me today, that when I decided to lose weight it was like I set my GPS for a certain location and then I had to do everything in my power and not stop working until I get there. That was a pretty cool analogy and I thought about it. My car doesn't give up on the journey, I have a place to be and so it keeps going until I reach it.

So from now on, I am going to think about my journey like that. There are going to be times when maybe I stop to look at the view, or possibly even take a detour, but ultimately I will get to my destination. I wont necessarily stay there, but this time, I am not going back!
 
Day 28, bad day yesterday, feeling very unwell - but just went back to bed and slept it off. I only managed 2 packs yesterday, but I am back on the wagon today and looking forward to tomorrow. The scales are starting to go down again, but a year ago I bought a pair of lovely expensive electronic scales, in the hope that I would be able to get on them and they would report my weight - no shifting around, going up and down or the frustrating thing where you move slightly and they read 3lbs heavier. Well that didnt work and my scales are taking about 3 minutes to decide on my weight and if I hop on again after 5 minutes give me something completely different. Of all the frustrating things about losing weight, the scale not being able to decide what weight I am should not be one of them.

No detours today, I am really busy and looking to the future.....will be enjoying my salted caramel bar with pleasure this evening in front of the TV.
 
Day 29 and my 4th weekly weigh in. I have lost a total of 23lbs over the month, which included Christmas day. I am very happy with this and it has put me on a path towards my goal. I am trying to split the journey into monthly batches, and that seems to be working. I have 7lbs more to lose until I get my next reward which is a new outfit and I am looking forward to this so much. I am going to get some new Fabletics leggings and sweater as I love there stuff and my old leggings are started to get a bit baggy on top. My trip home is still on ice, but I may still be coming. I considered that this could be an excuse to extend my goals and maybe be more lax with myself, but I figured, the time is going to pass anyway so I might as well make it count and I have worked out that I can lose about 50lbs in the 17 weeks I have left. There is not much I wouldn't give to be 50lbs lighter and therefore, time is easy for me to give. Because of Covid I have not been out to eat, we have not had any social gatherings to go to or holidays - this is a perfect time to do this diet.
So my daily dilema today is: do I have a day off for my birthday? I am thinking that I will as it is coming up in a couple of weeks and it will give my family something to look forward to and they can make me a small cake (which they love doing.....and I love eating.) I also know that if I do, I have to get back on the wagon really quickly and not dwell on it. So I am going to rev myself up for that event and keep going full on, looking forward to my day off.
Exante Peanut butter bars are rank and I am never ordering them again. There are so many bars I like, but these ones are a no-go in my opinion. I have to put an order in within the next two weeks so I am savouring everything and will only order the products I love.

Keep on keeping on :)
 
Day 30 - very difficult day! We are running down the cupboards after Christmas and therefore my family are attempting to eat the odds and ends that are lying around, unfortunately today that included me. So I had a nibble at the Peanut butter and French's onions and I have to admit a cheeky piece of chicken from the fridge. I eventually got into a battle with the pantry and decided that I would go, where there was no food and do something else - so I picked the basement with the treadmill. I managed 40 minutes while watching TV and felt pretty good about it - not only did it take my mind off food, it also was good for me.
The problem with working from home all the time and not being able to go out much is that you are surrounded by food whenever you go in the kitchen. I can confirm that I am not hungry, this is a kind of psychological hunger that is motivating me to pick at food for no purpose at all. I guess it is an important lesson about not eating things that I really dont need or want, but it can feel a bit miserable.
Today should be a little easier as we have a family project that we have to do for the next few weekends and to motivate the kids, my husband has offered the full works for breakfast for everyone (not me, clearly) - so while I resist the bacon, sausage, hash brown, eggs and pancakes.....I will faithfully sip on my water and pretend I dont care :mad:
 
Day 31 - Great day! We had a revision day with my son, then went and did the grocery shopping. We were in one of the big bulk buy stores and I swear they were wafting the baking smells directly toward me, they weren't of course, but it felt like it. When I got home, I was so ashamed at the state of my pantry, I went full on spring cleaning mode and realized my husband has been stocking up on pasta and sauce for months (wannabe prepper maybe?) Yesterday as a treat for my son the rest of my family ordered breakfast: eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, pancakes etc. To be honest, it wasn't difficult not to eat it, so that is a win for me.
Slight mishap, although a good one, my pj pants are getting so loose they are falling down, so I need to change to smaller pair before I embarrass myself.
Today we have another revision day planned and I need to start sorting out my sons closet, as it needs tidying desperately - so there will not be any free time today to snack or feel tempted by food.
Yesterday, I did come to a decision about my birthday, if I reach the goal I have set for myself for the end of January (which is 6lbs away from where I am now) then I will treat myself to the day off and have fried chicken and cake. If I dont reach the goal, then I need to keep going without the day off. Sounds brutal, but it is for my own good :whip:
 
Day 32 - Sundays are always lazy, but not today, we had another revision day. It started with another full breakfast for the family and ended with homemade pizza for everyone but me, but I can live with that - I am fairly sure I had enough pizza when I was putting on the weight and I can cope with missing out a little now. I have upped my water intake from 2 liters to 4 liters a day. I had no idea that it depended on what weight you are - so as I have drunk more water the scales have been dropping a little more and the loo is in constant use!
It is very cold here, so trying to keep warm with so little food is tough and even ketosis doesn't help with that - so it is thermals for me all the way. Back to work today and so fewer distractions.....which mean, hopefully, less picking in the cupboards.
 
Wallywithabrolly said:
Day 32 - Sundays are always lazy, but not today, we had another revision day. It started with another full breakfast for the family and ended with homemade pizza for everyone but me, but I can live with that - I am fairly sure I had enough pizza when I was putting on the weight and I can cope with missing out a little now. I have upped my water intake from 2 liters to 4 liters a day. I had no idea that it depended on what weight you are - so as I have drunk more water the scales have been dropping a little more and the loo is in constant use!
It is very cold here, so trying to keep warm with so little food is tough and even ketosis doesn't help with that - so it is thermals for me all the way. Back to work today and so fewer distractions.....which mean, hopefully, less picking in the cupboards.
Click to expand...

Well done, sounds like you’re doing great ☺️ VLCDs are so tough! One blessing of lockdown is we won’t be invited out to anything 🤷🏻‍♀️
 
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Hi Wallywithabrolly,

You are doing so well xxx. I am back again after numerous attempts to shift this fat. I lost it all in 2008 but am now back heavier than ever like yourself. I put on loads trying to give up smoking (still smoking) I hope I can manage it this time, I am not going to say I am going to do it or determined to do it I am just saying I hope I can do it. Keep up the amazing job you are doing x
 
Thank you Debbie - you need so much resolve even to think about undertaking a diet that when you do, it messes with your mind!

I think you can do it this time 🙂
 
Day 33 - another glorious day living with Covid restrictions! Today I ran a 5k on my treadmill. Running was always something that I loved and my autoimmune disease kind of stopped me doing it - but having spoken to the doctor and taken some advice, I can start again and rack up the miles. I joined a 150 mile annual challenge and so I record all the miles toward this - if I manage all the miles, I get a medal, which is pretty cool. I have also got a few other 5ks lined up for the month, so I am going to see how I do and maybe get back to marathons at some point.
Food yesterday was a little different as I added some extra protein in the form of chicken into my meal plan, but I am not hungry and this is a blessing for me.
Today is a quieter day than yesterday, so I have already started on cleaning my sons closet, made 2 loaves of fresh bread, a batch of carrot, apple and ginger soup and am about ready for a nap!
There is no stopping me today.....
 
I just don't want to put too much pressure on myself, when I did Lipotrim back in 2008 I found it a breeze but have failed so many times since, I know I will have cheat days (hopefully not to many). I work nights and 2 of the lads I work with started dieting the same time as me but different diets and we are going to have a weekly weigh in so that should give us some motivation. Will keep you all informed. xx
 
Thanks for all the motivation!

Debbie I know what you mean, I dont even tell my family when I am dieting as I am so used to falling off the wagon. This time, I was speaking to my son and he asked me why I was drinking the shakes and I told him it was because I was fat, of course, he said all the right things (well trained by his father) about how wonderful, beautiful and clever I was, but actually saying it out loud and being honest with him and myself was so important. The pressure we put on ourselves is tremendous - but you just have to take it one day at a time and every win is a bonus! Let us know how you get on - and dont be put off by the lads weightloss - men lose weight so quickly.....I dont know where it goes 🤷‍♀️
 
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