40 and slim plan in 4 stages

Hello all!

Haven't been on here for ages. Must be at least 3-4 years and unfortunately I am now the heaviest I've ever been with literaly pounds and pounds to lose... There have been two reasons for the weight piling on: quitting smoking after 20 years of 30+ a day and thyroid issues and meds slowing down metabolism to a halt.
The good news is that I am now 16 months smoke free and seem to finally be able to NOT munch every 15 minutes on yummy/sweet/salty/fatty/anything goes snacks.

I am also 40 in two years and this will be my journey to the slim non-smoking and healthy all around mini-me who will only need to maintain after 40. I split it into 4 stages:

Stage 1: 14 weeks starting last Sunday will take me to my birthday this year. Aim to lose 30lbs averaging just over 2lbs a week. This will take me to the post pregnancies weight.
Stage 2: 22 weeks to end of 2015. Aim to lose 33lbs averaging 1.5lbs a week. This will take me to my comfortable weight but BMI of 26.
Stage 3: 31 weeks to my 39th birthday next year. Aim to lose 29lbs (!) averaging under 1lb a week. This will be new territory as I have never been this weight in my adult life!
Stage 4: 52 weeks between my 39th and 40th birthdays. I plan to maintain my weight and lose no more.

I worked out my calories expenditure for each stage by taking sedentary cals and adding my 7 hours walking and 4.5 hours tennis per week. I then worked out the calorie deficit required - 3,500 for 1 pound lost and ended up with an average daily allowance of about 1,500 a day to achieve the goals in the first three stages. Of course this will need to be adjusted if we are going out, etc. to balance the weekly calories.

Phew this is already a long post so I will update again tomorrow about my eating plan, etc.

Any comments/feedback will be greatly appreciated! I need all the support to make this work...

Thank you lovely ladies

Do you work in finance? Lol
Most of the folks that do elaborate calculations like seem to work with numbers ;-)

Anyway welcome and you seem to have a good plan so fingers crossed x

Blondcat said:

Do you work in finance? Lol
Most of the folks that do elaborate calculations like seem to work with numbers ;-)

Anyway welcome and you seem to have a good plan so fingers crossed x

Click to expand...

Numbers are my passion although I'm not in finance. Maybe I should be - I do have a spreadsheet for everything!

Thanks, hope good plan will help. It's sticking to it that might be an issue... lol

4am start today! It's quite a norm for me these days, very frustrating as have not had a good night sleep in months. It must contribute to the weight gain - doesn't your body produce some sort of hormone or rather during sleep that helps break down fat?

Anyway gives me a chance for quiet self reflection before everyone else is up...

I have done really well this week so far and the weigh in is tomorrow though I have been peeking (and spreadsheet-ing...!). So following my plan I try to stick to 1500 calories a day but also cut out or reduce bread/pasta/potatoes and all kinds of sugar. This week I have been finishing up all the diet supplies that we have accumulated in the cupboards including high protein snacks (DIETI) and Jane Plan. It's nice to have something readily available if I'm hungry. Jane Plan meals are great and they claim contain all groups of foods so suits me. Dieti packs are great for sweet cravings and oh I have those a LOT.

Still trying to work out what to do after all my supplies are gone. Looking for some inspiration here, I like premade food as cooking for myself is never an option. I cook enough for kids to satisfy all of my chef moods. On the other hand I work from home so could in theory throw something together for lunch. Will have a think about this.

On top of my main meals I top up with veggies, i.e. celery sticks, cucumbers and nuts - love nuts. So for now my menu is quite chaotic however I think it usually is. And long term if I can do chaotic but within calories allowance - I'm sorted.

My problem with being out of the house 15 hours a day and getting 6 hours sleep a night (I think) is less about fat being broken down and more about the number of hours I'm physically awake and the increased opportunities to be hungry! If you wake up at 10am you've had no food. Wake up at 4-5am and you've quite possible had two meals by 10am!!

oh yes I second that. The more hours you are awake the more you have to feed your body. In theory you actually do need some extra calories for those extra hours. In practice though I end up needing another whole meal!

I am very hungry today and have gone over the 1500 already. It's the weekend though and we had a nice Italian for dinner. I shared my lever and roast potatoes with the hubby and had a bite of his steak. Was strong and didn't touch the garlic bread.. which is a bonus.

All I can think of at the moment is CHOCOLATE. Will have to buy some dark type tomorrow and have it handy for cravings like this.

Weigh in tomorrow so not a good day to splash out on calories. My only hope is that the rest of the week's work was enough to show me some good figures in the morning!

It's very hard on hungry days. I've had a super easy day today. It's so easy when it's like this - shame all days aren't the same!!

You finished eating now? Brush your teeth, pjs on, pint of water and you should be fine ;-)

Thanks I can do that. Forgot all about water... Still drinking the last cup of tea and hoping tomorrow is not a hungry day again. I have to survive a BBQ without having a burger or a drink as playing a match in the evening! Brrrrgh

Good morning to you all........

I have lost 6lbs! (Actually it's 6.4 and I will keep the .4 loss for next week) Very pleased - my goal was to lose just over 2lbs a week so this is a smashing result. If the following weeks are at target I'll finish the first leg of my journey 2 weeks early. Unless I stall for some time...

Overall I have consumed 10,628 calories - 5 over target. That's a lot of food! Feeling great today and roll on another week.

Weather is rubbish, not looking forward to walking in the rain..

Another hungry day is almost behind me. Did 90 minutes of uplanned tennis so this translated into 790 calories and I intend to use most of them up today.

I find it much more difficult to stay off food at weekends. Kids and hubby are distracting me from staying focused (does this even make sense?! lol). And there's one more day to last tomorrow. Tuesday I'll be as good as gold - promise!

Haven't logged for a couple of days as it has been a bit manic and caught up with me yesterday when I fell asleep before 8pm. That's earlier than my kids! Time is now 00:50 and I am ready for action (although there is no action in sight at this time of the night). Has got to be a record for me for the early start of the day. Might have to kip a bit on the sofa downstairs later.

Looking back at the long weekend I haven't done brilliantly well with the food but did a bit more excercise than planned (around 1,100cals). In total calories for Saturday 1,903, Sunday 2,334, Monday 2,587, and back to normal Tuesday 1,415. Need to get used to eating around 1,500. It's quite a lot of food in that and going forward should help me control the portions and snacks with ease. That's the plan anyway.

Haven't got many calories left to play with this week so not sure how to fit in the evening out on Friday. There is quite a few of us going so we prebooked a three course meal. That means dessert! How can I possibly survive that?? And drinks?? Also it's my tennis day and I'm usually ravenous around lunchtime - don't think I'd be able to cut back much. In fact there's only one non tennis day left this week and is Saturday equals weekends, kids home, cooking, eating out, takeaways, etc. It's a puzzler.

I have to give myself some credit for Monday though. We took the kids for an ice cream at the downs after the pub lunch and... drum roll please!... I didn't have one! With ease actually - the thought didn't even cross my mind. I know it's early days me being in the second week but ice cream is always so hard to resist. So pat on the back and hope this continues.

Good morning all,

I have a loss of 1.1lbs in week 2. It is a modest loss but after all the meals out and takeaways we had this week I will take anything. Glad it is moving in the right direction. I am coming up to totm so could be carrying some extra water.

This next week will be easier. We don't have so many social engagements and I will try harder for a bigger loss.

I have not been on here regularly as it seems a bit quiet (?) but am still logging daily on mfp and still sticking to the plan as above! I am determined to try harder next week. Another tennis match today to add to total calories allowance and hopefully two extra walks planned.

Well done on your weight loss to date. I like to section things off into mini goals too - it gives good motivation, especially as you achieve each mini goal.

I spasmodically work nights and I know that I am more hungry during those weeks... especially as I can't sleep the next day as I have a little one to look after. I find being prepared is my best line of defence. Have salad items prepared in the fridge to snack on. Diced chicken breast, cream cheese on cucumber and slices of apple with nut butter on for snacks too. I aim for protein rather than carb snacks so my blood sugar level doesn't dip and I will have more energy. And I drink lemon and ginger tea... it gives me a light boost to stay alert and curbs my appetite.

Keep up the good work - you'll be at goal before you know it. x

Thanks Pink your weight loss looks quite impressive - over half way there...

I too love snacking on roast chicken pieces or turkey. Never tried the apple with nut butter - do you find fruit makes you hungry? Or I suppose the butter counteracts the glucose in apple.

Thanks KatSparks. My weight loss is slowing down now but I am happy to lose it at a more leisurely pace, I am actually enjoying the journey.

I never eat fruit on it's own, so I don't have the blood sugar lifts and then crashes. Or even worse for me - the food cravings later. I have fresh fruit salad with Greek yogurt, apple or pear with nut butter, or melon cubes sprinkled with pinenuts etc. Bananas I only eat now as banana pancakes. Two eggs whisked together with one mashed banana, three drops of vanilla essence and then fried like an omelette/pancake. I then sprinkle with mixed spice - tastes very sweet and like a treat, especially if eaten with either yoghurt or cream cheese.

Yes I think the fat and protein content definitely lessen the effect of the glucose. XX

Hey Pink,
I'm on the move now so can't see you signature at the moment. From what I remember your losses slowed down to 2lbs a week? - that's a perfect pace. If I could achieve that every week I'd be done in 45 weeks...

Your pancakes sound yum, must try them although I try to steer clear of bananas. I suppose a 1cal oil spray should work with these?

I find nuts very filling and satisfying. Any type just not the salted ones. I add some to my cereal along with berries and it makes the breakfast more substantial. Also strawberries and blueberries don't seem to make me hungry when eaten on their own.

I am sailing through this week so far. Some great tennis and walks overall totalling 9 hours cardio since Sunday. And I hardly feel any side effects like stiffness at the moment. Not sure whether it's because I'm eating well and cut out sugar and wheat - it can't be due to weight loss as not enough lost yet to justify. Fingers crossed this will stay as it's so much easier to be active when nothing is aching.

Still eating a little over my goal but trying to keep to a healthy deficit each day. I would love to have a better result this Sunday 2-3lbs would be ideal. This should set me up well for next week - we are going to Royal Albert Hall to see Eric Clapton on Monday so I can't wait!! and need to factor in another meal out.

It's a weigh in day and I am 3lbs lighter! If I add up all the decimal points from the last three weeks the total loss so far is 10.6lbs. Very pleased with this result - may the losses continue..

It has been an up and down week after all. I blame totm but three days of 2K - 2.5K calories consumption in a row was perhaps a little overboard! Friday was the most calorific (can you even say that?) day. I went for a lunch at my friend's and used mfp to calculate the calories in each dish before actually eating it. The goal was to keep to a reasonable total and preferably low carb. Apparently it is impossible to keep your calories low when there is a Waitrose lemon tart in front of you with mascarpone (low fat) on the side...... and no matter how small, tiny, insignificant your slice is it still adds up to about 600cals! So....... a total of 1000 per healthy lunch out. Followed by a steak dinner... with no dessert.

It's fascinating that you can actually eat like this and still lose weight if you either a) are still well under calories spent that day - which I was as had a tennis session and walk in the morning. Or b) if you then have a strict day to counteract - I also did that and had a 1.1K Saturday.

Another revelation for me was that I can be quite happy on 1.5K to 2K calories per day. That gives me enough food to not feel deprived at all but is also below my expenditure on a typical day. In theory I could and should be thin as a stick. Or two sticks at most.......

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