Of course it's far too early to really claim that I feel different, but I did start to notice today that I fit my clothes a little better, where as normally I'm uncomfortably exploding out of them. They're not loose as such, but just.. you know, more comfortable. In view of this, I mentioned to my housemate that I felt like the diet was working well, so she then suggested we check with the Wii Fit.
Now I know, I know. It's not really a good idea to get in to a habit of weighing yourself every other day due to natural fluctuations in weight that can lead to you being demotivated if the scales aren't smiling at you that day - and as a rule I weigh in weekly. Saying that, I was generally curious as to how I'd done by day 3, so I jumped on the scales regardless!
So ladies and gentlemen, after 3 days I have lost.... *drumroll* 3.5kg! Indeed, almost 8lbs, gone! Not to mention the fact that when I first weighed in I was wearing silk pyjamas, whereas today I was in jeans and a shirt, so my clothing was liking a pound or so heavier today as well. Whilst I acknowledge this fabulous loss is subject to change over the next few days, clearly there is a reason I've started to feel a little more comfortable!
Not only that, but I also finally got started today with proper Slimming World eating. For example, today I had the following:
Breakfast: Mullerlight
Snack: Alpen light bar
Lunch: Jacket potato w/beans & cheese with a side salad
Dinner: Home made Slimming World paprika chips with 3 Quorn sausages and mushy peas.
A fabulous green day even if I do say so myself, could perhaps have done with a little fruit as well for breakfast to wake up my metabolism but a Mullerlight is better than nothing!
Even more good news! A friend of mine from work is joining my gym on Thursday (which is the first day of my weekend) and will hopefully be working out with me this Thursday, Friday and Saturday which will be fantastic, and another friend from work is currently following the Slimming World diet, so I've introduced her to blogging and we get to talk recipes all day. Motivation is in the air!
In fact, motivation brings me to my final point. One of the well-established bloggers I follow, The Anti-Jared, has just posted his first blog challenge, the "All Losers" challenge and he's currently looking for participants so I'm hoping to get involved.
There are no prizes or scoreboards or anything like that, it's just designed to be a little boost for those that need it and I think it would be great to spur me on, particularly as I'm still at the beginning of my journey (which in my experience is where I have found it easiest to fall off the band wagon in the past). Fingers crossed that I get accepted as I imagine it would also be a good way to make some friends within the weight-loss blogger world and should help keep me on track while I'm still finding my feet.
I'm definitely feeling a lot more confident about this journey now and I think I've already started to find the attitude and motivation I was lacking a few days ago when I made my first post, can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!
x
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Day 2: Not quite into it
Well it's the end of day 2 and I can't say I'm quite yet in the swing of Slimming World as my diet was identical to yesterdays, however I have a new excuse prepared!
Today I urgently needed to go to the bank during my lunch break to transfer money to England to repay bills and such, I was meant to transfer it 5 days ago but had forgotten about it up to now, so this was the priority of the day. Now there are only two places I can access at lunch that sell jacket potatoes, or I thought so at least - One is a 20 minute walk there and back, so with only an hour for lunch I could only really go there if I had a clear hour so there would be time to order and eat, given that I needed to go to the bank (which usually takes forever with the queues in Irish banks), this was not an option.
So, my plan was to go to the little cafe next door to work, order my jacket potato, go to the bank and then collect the potato on my way back - Disaster strikes! They no longer sell jacket potatoes.
This ended with me grabbing a tuna baguette & pack of Snack-a-Jacks again today as the shop that makes fresh sandwiches is conveniently opposite the bank.
I am pleased to report however that I did have a Mullerlight yogurt for breakfast (which is something you're allowed unlimited amounts of on Slimming World), and on returning from work I had 3 further Mullerlights for dinner, so again, although the day didn't go according to plan, it wasn't awful (I didn't go to KFC next door to the sandwich shop for example!)
Now the bank is done though it means that I have the entire lunch hour to myself in future and I know that I need to go to the cafe that's a little further if I want a jacket potato, so that little cafe is about to become my sanctuary everyday where the greatest threat will be a coleslaw attack! Oh and if you're curious as to why I appear to have a jacket potato obsession, it's because I do really well on Slimming World green days and on green days you can have (for the most part) unlimited vegetables (including baked beans), fruit, a few other random bits (like Mullerlights), pasta and potatoes! So of course, one of the easiest and tastiest lunches you can find while in this diet if you're out and about is a massive jacket potato smothered in beans with a huge side salad.
Starting to feel a little odd that I'm talking to myself in these posts with zero followers, however in fairness my posts today have been insanely boring and have only really discussed my lunch, if only life was more exciting eh? I imagine my posts will be considerably more exciting at weekends when I've had time to venture to the gym and have relevant fitness topics to discuss, like how many times on average I think about suicide during a spin class, so roll on weekend I guess!
x
Today I urgently needed to go to the bank during my lunch break to transfer money to England to repay bills and such, I was meant to transfer it 5 days ago but had forgotten about it up to now, so this was the priority of the day. Now there are only two places I can access at lunch that sell jacket potatoes, or I thought so at least - One is a 20 minute walk there and back, so with only an hour for lunch I could only really go there if I had a clear hour so there would be time to order and eat, given that I needed to go to the bank (which usually takes forever with the queues in Irish banks), this was not an option.
So, my plan was to go to the little cafe next door to work, order my jacket potato, go to the bank and then collect the potato on my way back - Disaster strikes! They no longer sell jacket potatoes.
This ended with me grabbing a tuna baguette & pack of Snack-a-Jacks again today as the shop that makes fresh sandwiches is conveniently opposite the bank.
I am pleased to report however that I did have a Mullerlight yogurt for breakfast (which is something you're allowed unlimited amounts of on Slimming World), and on returning from work I had 3 further Mullerlights for dinner, so again, although the day didn't go according to plan, it wasn't awful (I didn't go to KFC next door to the sandwich shop for example!)
Now the bank is done though it means that I have the entire lunch hour to myself in future and I know that I need to go to the cafe that's a little further if I want a jacket potato, so that little cafe is about to become my sanctuary everyday where the greatest threat will be a coleslaw attack! Oh and if you're curious as to why I appear to have a jacket potato obsession, it's because I do really well on Slimming World green days and on green days you can have (for the most part) unlimited vegetables (including baked beans), fruit, a few other random bits (like Mullerlights), pasta and potatoes! So of course, one of the easiest and tastiest lunches you can find while in this diet if you're out and about is a massive jacket potato smothered in beans with a huge side salad.
Starting to feel a little odd that I'm talking to myself in these posts with zero followers, however in fairness my posts today have been insanely boring and have only really discussed my lunch, if only life was more exciting eh? I imagine my posts will be considerably more exciting at weekends when I've had time to venture to the gym and have relevant fitness topics to discuss, like how many times on average I think about suicide during a spin class, so roll on weekend I guess!
x
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Day 1: The road looks long
It's the end of day 1 and I've decided I have to post.
The reason I have to post is that I need to install the right habits and attitude if this is going to work. I realised recently that some of the most motivational weight-loss bloggers in terms of the actual amount of weight lost to date seem to be from the bloggers who post every single day, blogs like Loretta's Journey from 460 to 199 and The Daily Diary of a Winning Loser. I believe that part of what has helped these daily bloggers to stay on the right track has been their daily posts, so that they are constantly reminded of their motivations and what they've achieved, and if I'm right then I want some of that motivation too, because I'm going to need it!
I must admit, I've not had the best day 1, you see, I have awful working hours for dieting (yes, I know you've heard that before, but it's true). I work 4 days a week doing 11 hour days, during which time it's difficult to find the time to prepare meals and I finish so late that eating dinner means eating immediately before bed (which is obviously not ideal), then I have 3 days off, where I have so much time to myself that all I can think about is raiding the fridge continuously or going out with friends to lovely restaurants or barbecues and such.
I don't intend to use my working hours as an excuse, at the end of the day if I shove 3 chocolate bars in my mouth that's my own choice and I can't claim that finishing work 3 hours earlier would have truly have prevented this catastrophe, but I just wanted you to have an idea of why you may see me occasionally skipping breakfast or dinner (I'm going to try not to, but I accept that on occasions it's going to be unavoidable).
Anyway back to today, I ended up skipping breakfast, then had a long meeting at work and by the time that was over it was 4pm, so I'd built up quite a hunger. This hunger meant I didn't quite make an ideal choice for lunch, in that I had a tuna & salad baguette (...and a pack of Snack-a-Jacks.. but they apparently have this award thing I found on Google images, so they can't be all that bad). Finally, I've just got home and found the sweet potato I had baked yesterday evening & kept sealed in the fridge has gone icky and isn't really edible after a day in the fridge, so I've instead had a couple of low-fat Mullerlight yogurts.
Now in total, the day was relatively low-fat'ish and I was well under my calorie count, if I was doing a diet like Weight Watchers for example, it would have been a perfect day - So that's why I'm not kicking myself, but I have been naughty in that the lunch I had was really nowhere near the lunch I should be having on Slimming World, which is the diet I've chosen to follow as I know it works for me.
Oh well, c'est la vie! I still started eating healthier, eating less and walked 30 minutes (as that's my walk to work and back) - which while that's nothing to write home about, it's a lot better than nothing and is a step in the right direction. I avoided my flat mates invitation to binge on the masses of alcohol we have accruing in the kitchen when I got home from work and am going to bed more-or-less guilt-free. Time to really get into it tomorrow!
x
The reason I have to post is that I need to install the right habits and attitude if this is going to work. I realised recently that some of the most motivational weight-loss bloggers in terms of the actual amount of weight lost to date seem to be from the bloggers who post every single day, blogs like Loretta's Journey from 460 to 199 and The Daily Diary of a Winning Loser. I believe that part of what has helped these daily bloggers to stay on the right track has been their daily posts, so that they are constantly reminded of their motivations and what they've achieved, and if I'm right then I want some of that motivation too, because I'm going to need it!
I must admit, I've not had the best day 1, you see, I have awful working hours for dieting (yes, I know you've heard that before, but it's true). I work 4 days a week doing 11 hour days, during which time it's difficult to find the time to prepare meals and I finish so late that eating dinner means eating immediately before bed (which is obviously not ideal), then I have 3 days off, where I have so much time to myself that all I can think about is raiding the fridge continuously or going out with friends to lovely restaurants or barbecues and such.
I don't intend to use my working hours as an excuse, at the end of the day if I shove 3 chocolate bars in my mouth that's my own choice and I can't claim that finishing work 3 hours earlier would have truly have prevented this catastrophe, but I just wanted you to have an idea of why you may see me occasionally skipping breakfast or dinner (I'm going to try not to, but I accept that on occasions it's going to be unavoidable).
Anyway back to today, I ended up skipping breakfast, then had a long meeting at work and by the time that was over it was 4pm, so I'd built up quite a hunger. This hunger meant I didn't quite make an ideal choice for lunch, in that I had a tuna & salad baguette (...and a pack of Snack-a-Jacks.. but they apparently have this award thing I found on Google images, so they can't be all that bad). Finally, I've just got home and found the sweet potato I had baked yesterday evening & kept sealed in the fridge has gone icky and isn't really edible after a day in the fridge, so I've instead had a couple of low-fat Mullerlight yogurts.
Now in total, the day was relatively low-fat'ish and I was well under my calorie count, if I was doing a diet like Weight Watchers for example, it would have been a perfect day - So that's why I'm not kicking myself, but I have been naughty in that the lunch I had was really nowhere near the lunch I should be having on Slimming World, which is the diet I've chosen to follow as I know it works for me.
Oh well, c'est la vie! I still started eating healthier, eating less and walked 30 minutes (as that's my walk to work and back) - which while that's nothing to write home about, it's a lot better than nothing and is a step in the right direction. I avoided my flat mates invitation to binge on the masses of alcohol we have accruing in the kitchen when I got home from work and am going to bed more-or-less guilt-free. Time to really get into it tomorrow!
x
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Sweat
If I was asked "What's the worst thing about being fat?" the answer would undoubtedly be sweat.
At the age of 22, with friends mostly around my age and all in much better shape than I am, I often find myself in clubs downing liquid calories faster than seems humanly possible. Initially this sounds like a great idea, I like to drink, I like socialising and I love to dance. Then, almost immediately upon entering the club, reality kicks in.
The reality is that if I so much as think about raising my arms above shoulder level while dancing, Jabba the Hut will try to escape from the bottom of my shirt, if some poor soul starts dancing with me and touches any of my skin, there's every possibility the sweat they collect from me during that short interaction will drown them, every drink I put in my mouth is decreasing my bank account whilst increasing Jabba and in fact while everyone else is having fun and scanning the crowds for their next love interest, I'm more concerned about finding the nearest air conditioning unit and wiping my forehead every five seconds without anyone noticing. Yes, being fat in your early twenties is a depressing well of new social issues and complications.
This is all the more depressing when you happen to love dance. I absolutely adore dancing, the last time I was thin I would be rocking dance floors almost every night, was doing Salsa lessons and Body Jam dance classes at the gym - It was fantastic. Every now and then I find a music video, like Kelly Rowlands new Commander Video that reminds me how much I love good choreography and shortly afterwards reminds me that I've already missed my peak clubbing years (in the UK/Ireland at least your 'peak' years are pre-22), and if I don't do something about it soon, I'll be missing the rest of them.
That leads me to this blog. I'm sick of being too fat to dance. I'll be honest, I'm not all that motivated to lose weight right now as I type and the thought of lying in bed all day, every day, forever, is a lot more attractive - but I'm confident that's just a bit of overweight depression talking and once I pump some endorphins through my veins at the gym my attitude will hopefully start adjusting.
I've only ever done one diet that was successful, that diet was Slimming World. In particular I would do green days and they worked wonders, it basically involves unlimited potato, fruit, vegetables, beans, etc. The last time I did this diet properly I went from 234lbs down to 178lbs, which was perfect at the time. I failed with the maintenance side of it, however nevertheless, the loss definitely works and that's what I need, something that works, that I know.
I anticipate it will be a lot harder this time as my main motivation when I did it previously was attending the classes every week and having the support of other people losing weight - I don't have that in Ireland as there are no groups where I live, which means it's even more important I keep up with online weight-loss communities (for example via Minimins & Blogspot).
Now for the bombshell. You know when you just forget about losing weight for a while and don't really feel like you've got that much fatter? You know you're unhealthy, but no worse than previously? Well I thought that was the case this time round, but oh no, I was wrong.
I have just weighed in using the WiiFit, and whilst I have eaten and drank this morning already (2 baguettes & a litre or so of diet sprite), I was shocked to weigh in at 132.3kg, that's 291.7lbs, or 20st, 11.7lbs.
This is a new record for me and my target is around 12st, 10lbs (that's what I was before when I was dancing and feeling good)... so that's 8 stone away... which feels impossible right now. Oh well, one day at a time and I'm sure it's possible, other people have achieved much more significant goals so why the hell can't I. It's time to dance again.
x
At the age of 22, with friends mostly around my age and all in much better shape than I am, I often find myself in clubs downing liquid calories faster than seems humanly possible. Initially this sounds like a great idea, I like to drink, I like socialising and I love to dance. Then, almost immediately upon entering the club, reality kicks in.
The reality is that if I so much as think about raising my arms above shoulder level while dancing, Jabba the Hut will try to escape from the bottom of my shirt, if some poor soul starts dancing with me and touches any of my skin, there's every possibility the sweat they collect from me during that short interaction will drown them, every drink I put in my mouth is decreasing my bank account whilst increasing Jabba and in fact while everyone else is having fun and scanning the crowds for their next love interest, I'm more concerned about finding the nearest air conditioning unit and wiping my forehead every five seconds without anyone noticing. Yes, being fat in your early twenties is a depressing well of new social issues and complications.
This is all the more depressing when you happen to love dance. I absolutely adore dancing, the last time I was thin I would be rocking dance floors almost every night, was doing Salsa lessons and Body Jam dance classes at the gym - It was fantastic. Every now and then I find a music video, like Kelly Rowlands new Commander Video that reminds me how much I love good choreography and shortly afterwards reminds me that I've already missed my peak clubbing years (in the UK/Ireland at least your 'peak' years are pre-22), and if I don't do something about it soon, I'll be missing the rest of them.
That leads me to this blog. I'm sick of being too fat to dance. I'll be honest, I'm not all that motivated to lose weight right now as I type and the thought of lying in bed all day, every day, forever, is a lot more attractive - but I'm confident that's just a bit of overweight depression talking and once I pump some endorphins through my veins at the gym my attitude will hopefully start adjusting.
I've only ever done one diet that was successful, that diet was Slimming World. In particular I would do green days and they worked wonders, it basically involves unlimited potato, fruit, vegetables, beans, etc. The last time I did this diet properly I went from 234lbs down to 178lbs, which was perfect at the time. I failed with the maintenance side of it, however nevertheless, the loss definitely works and that's what I need, something that works, that I know.
I anticipate it will be a lot harder this time as my main motivation when I did it previously was attending the classes every week and having the support of other people losing weight - I don't have that in Ireland as there are no groups where I live, which means it's even more important I keep up with online weight-loss communities (for example via Minimins & Blogspot).
Now for the bombshell. You know when you just forget about losing weight for a while and don't really feel like you've got that much fatter? You know you're unhealthy, but no worse than previously? Well I thought that was the case this time round, but oh no, I was wrong.
I have just weighed in using the WiiFit, and whilst I have eaten and drank this morning already (2 baguettes & a litre or so of diet sprite), I was shocked to weigh in at 132.3kg, that's 291.7lbs, or 20st, 11.7lbs.
This is a new record for me and my target is around 12st, 10lbs (that's what I was before when I was dancing and feeling good)... so that's 8 stone away... which feels impossible right now. Oh well, one day at a time and I'm sure it's possible, other people have achieved much more significant goals so why the hell can't I. It's time to dance again.
x
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