Diary of a Fat Chick

Frequent

Thanks very much guys.

Last night at the restuarant went ok, I ate quite a lot but it wasn't too carb-heavy, although I did have some ice-cream, later, after leaving the restaurant. However the scales were not angry with me this morning. I was up 0.2 lb from the previous day which is a small price to pay.

Today I ate muesli for breakfast with seeds, supplements and juice, a plum and some almonds at 11, and lunch was my mum's chunky chicken and vegetable soup with a little brown soda bread (how very Irish). I had an apple around 5pm. Dinner has not yet happened because the STUPID GUESTS ARE LATE. Guys, it is almost nine o'clock. Get here!

When they do arrive, dinner will be a small steak, some new potatoes and lots of carrots and broccoli. I am so hungry I am almost blind.

qwytre

Just wanted to say Well done and keep it going. I'll check back in a few weeks and I want to see more good news!

Smellyirishman

Frequent wrote:

However the scales were not angry with me this morning. I was up 0.2 lb from the previous day which is a small price to pay.

Try not to do this, day to day weigh-ins mean very very little.

It is tremendous the effort and commitment you are putting into this, and as you continue it will only get easier.

Frequent

Thanks so much, qwytre and smellyirishman. smellyirishman, I do understand that they don't mean anything much - I only count my Monday weigh in as legit. I think I weight myself daily just to reassure myself that this is working. I do get struck with the fear that maybe I ate more than I should have, or that this is something that will run out after a few weeks...it's irrational, I know, but it helps keep me on track.

Today I slept very late so breakfast never happened. I had soup and brown bread for lunch. The weather is HORRENDOUS, wet, gale force winds and miserable. I really wanted something comforting, so I chose the lesser of many evils and had a latte. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This evening I am being fed by the mother of my partner - she usually feeds us some kind of soup or fruit salad, followed by baked potatoes, 2-3 kinds of vegetable and a roast meat of some kind - typically lamb or beef. Then there will be dessert, which I will skip. I think I'll only have half a baked spud, as they are never new potatoes and always large.

It should be fine.

Frequent

Well today is Monday – weigh and measure day. Last week I lost another 3lb. That means my current weight is 234.6lbs, or 16 stone and 10.6lbs. My starting weight, you will remember, was 248.4lbs (0r 17 stone and 10.6lbs) so I have lost 13.8lbs now in total – just very slightly under a stone. I measured today too, and have lost 4.75 inches in total from my bust/waist/hips/thighs. This brings my total inch loss to 12. Or a foot, as my SO pointed out this morning.

My target for the coming week is to lose 1.6lbs, bringing me down to 233lbs (16 stone 9lbs). I should be able to achieve this without great agony.

Last night the dinner at my mother in law’s was fine – I probably ate a little too much potato as it was mashed, and I had a bite of cake. Quite literally a bite. There was tiramisu (did you know that means “pick me up”?) and a large cream sponge, but I ate just one bite of the sponge and had a cup of herbal tea. So not too bad a success.

I got up this morning and checked my meals for this week, and realised that I had forgotten, in the business of the weekend, to go shopping. So today is a little haphazard. For breakfast I ate the usual muesli, seeds, skimmed milk and apple juice with water. I am finding it difficult to get up in this weather and make porridge, but I must get back into it.

Before I left the house, for my lunch I made a portion of potato salad from some leftover boiled baby potatoes with some light mayonnaise and some herbs. On the way to work I stopped at the deli to pick up some meat and salad. There was no salad that wasn’t drenched in dressing or very carb heavy, so I bought a few slices of ham and some some sliced peppers. I also have a raw carrot with me so lunch shouldn’t be too bad.

My snacks today are an apple and an orange, a few pumpkin seeds and an ounce of cashew nuts.

For dinner I’m making roast chicken with baby roast potatoes and steamed broccoli and carrots. Yum. Wish me luck with a new week. I know the loss is going to start to slow dramatically soon and I need to stay motivated.

Seraphina

almost a stone in under a month, thats pretty impressive!

keep up the good work!!!

Beelzebub

Firstly let me congratulate you on your quest and on your commitment.
It is a wonderful thing you are doing!

I would be concerned about the chromium and zinc supplementation though.
I was taking 500mg chromium picolinatebut after some recent research I stopped. (http://www.dietitian.com/chromium.html)
If you feel that your diet is lacking in zinc or other minerals, you should consult a doctor or a qualified dietitian.
You may already have done this so I apoligise if this is the case.
I'm not meaning to criticise so I hope you don't think that, I am just concerned.

Keep up the good work, you have a very positive attitude, which is more than half the battle I think!

Smellyirishman

Congratulations!

Frequent

Thank you to everyone! It's a real confidence booster to get all the good wishes.

Beelzebub, thank you for the information on chromium, that's very interesting. I took it as a given that it was useful for stabilising blood sugar. It was recommended by Patrick Holford, who is also a nutritionist. Would there be a lot of debate about it, or can I take it that it is just to be avoided? I might do a bit more research on it myself.

As for zinc, I used to take zinc to help with the healing of piercings, but now I take it to help prevent stretch marks from developing. Why have you stopped taking it?

Also I will be starting gym membership soon, 45 minutes, three times a week. I am depending on my diet for fat loss, so this is for heart fitness and muscle tone. Can anyone advise me what I should do? Half cardio half weights? Or some other ratio?

Thanks y'all. How'd you all get so smart?

rubadub

Frequent wrote:

Also I will be starting gym membership soon, 45 minutes, three times a week. I am depending on my diet for fat loss, so this is for heart fitness and muscle tone. Can anyone advise me what I should do? Half cardio half weights? Or some other ratio?

Thanks y'all. How'd you all get so smart?

A mix is probably best. I would definitely recommend weights, heavy weights.

On a calorie controlled diet you risk losing muscle aswell as fat, weight training will help prevent this, and may increase your muscle mass a littlle too, if you do enough. Don't worry, you will certainly not turn into a body builder overnight, and if you did ever get too muscley you simply stop and they reduce in size. I put most of my fat loss down to weight training, I say fat and not weight since I continued to weigh the same while me waist decreased. I am not muscley either, you would not think I lifted at all, but I am 100%+ stronger than I was, and probably have an extra 10lb of muscle.

Weight training increases your metabolism a lot. While building muscle your body draws on its calorie intake for developing and maintaining your muscle, just like a pregnant woman needs more calories to "feed" the baby. It is also a low impact form of exercise so there is no undue stress on your joints due to any excess weight.

check out www.exrx.net

turbot

Congratulations!!!!

I've read up about these things rather a lot recently, so my suggestions are that:

1) You also take HCA / Citrimax (learned this from Patrick Holford) as it reduces the amount of fat you may put on

2) You detox - as one reason people put on weight, is that due to excessive toxins in their system, the toxins are bound to fat to be dealt with later, instead of being excreted

3) Get the BodyDoctor book - which contains really good workouts

4) Get Paul McKenna's book or even better CD series on weight loss, to help you get rid of cravings

5) Decide to master how to cook food that is healthy and yum

6) As well as doing sustained fat burning exercise, you should crank up your metabolism by doing short high intensity circuits that boost your heart rate to 170+ for a few minutes. If it's a full body, super intense, 5 minute workout, thats a good way to boost your metabolism

7) If you train smart and stretch and tone as you go, when you hit 11 stone, you'll be a more toned and pretty 11 stone at that.

Frequent

Thank you for the advice, guys, it's much appreciated.

It has actually transpired from a look at the budget that I may not be able to afford to join the gym after all until January or February. I will make a big effort to juggle finances but I can't really see it happening. I do have some free weights at home and there is nothing wrong with my legs, so perhaps I will begin jogging, weights and tummy crunches etc. at home. I'll need to work out a schedule.

I slept later than usual this morning and didn't have time to make breakfast (BOLD GIRL) so I ate a pot of Glenisk natural yoghurt and a banana on the journey into work. For my snacks today I've got an apple, a pear and some pumpkin seeds. For lunch, the office is going out, so I'm hoping I can take the soup option, or if that's not possible, a wrap. I find it difficult to get wholefoods when out for lunch. Dinner tonight is spicy chicken and vegetables with creole coconut rice (an experiment).

I am not feeling 100% at the moment due to some late nights and a very blocked up digestive system. It makes no sense, as I eat a very high fibre diet. But hey, that's Irritable Bowel for you.

Frequent

Lunch was difficult and I had my first proper failure. That is to say - I gave in to something for the first time, without making a proper decision in advance to do so.

I had a tomato wrap, with chicken, lettuce and a little coleslaw. Nothing much good about that. There was no wholewheat bread and no soup. After this, I was still hungry, and there was no fruit or nuts, so I had a packet of crisps, a 40g bag, with a ridiculous 272 calories.

Thankfully I didn't have many calories at breakfast so it should even out, but it really sucks. I gave in to a craving and had a poorly nourishing lunch.

dellas1979

Dont be too hard on yourself.

What would be amazing is if you realised you had a little slip up and think "so what?" and keeping going on your new regime.

Its only a little silp up. I have to agree with you though, my total down fall anyways are crisps/nachos - savory tasting things. But you are right, they are empty calories and dont fill you up. I try to control myself, but sometimes its just better to have that one packet, rather than obsessing/thinking of what they taste like.

Can I ask a few questions?

What age/height are you?

You know what I think are great (and of course savory for my savory tooth!) oatcakes. I think they are yum. Id eat them on their own. They are filling and nourishing too.

Dudess

Frequent, you've lost pretty much a stone in three weeks! Wow! That's incredible! An average of about four and a half lbs per week! Fabulous! Well done again! You are such an inspiration - especially at this time of year. I decided to call it a day on my new lifestyle until the new year because so much stuff involving food has been happening/will be happening over the next few weeks, but screw it. I'm going to stick with it as much as I possibly can. This change of heart is down to you! Well done again!

Frequent

dellas1979, I am 25 years old and 5' 11". I do eat oatcakes, but let's not kid ourselves - they're nothing on a packet of crisps.

Dudess, good for you! There will always be excuses not to keep going, but we will never lose the weight if we don't stay determined through every social occasion. I had been toying with the idea of relaxing over Christmas but have decided no - I need to learn to enjoy life without regular food indulgences. It's really hard! I do have my very miserable moments, almost every day I have a few minutes of real temptation, but every time I don't give in I pray will make it easier not to give in the next time.

Today for breakfast, I ate two boiled eggs on two thin slices of rye bread, with a mandarin, some apple juice and herbal tea. Lunch was two slices of wholemeal bread with some fruit spread, a Glenisk natural yoghurt and two raw carrots. My snacks were some hazlenuts, a pear and another mandarin. Dinner was really good - chicken fajitas made to my own recipe. I ate three mini flour tortillas, when I had intended to only eat two, but when I did my calorie-count, it was actually under 1,500 so I am not too worried.

I'm watching Lost at the moment, and eating prunes. Things still aren't moving too good down there...

Frequent

Today breakfast was porridge made with skimmed milk, water and apple juice, seeds and supplements, and a mandarin. My snacks between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner are a kiwi and a pear, with some pumpkin seeds. My menus this week have become all jumbled - I have a menu set but I have been working extra hours and still have my usual evening commitments, so for example, I had planned to make vegetarian lasagne last night, but was home so late that I just went for the fajita option, which takes about 15 minutes total to prepare and cook.

Lunch will be a trip to the salad bar for some soup and salad.

I don't know what I am making for dinner, I should get home around 6.15, but there are people coming to the house at 8pm, and I need to get the place tidied up. There are a couple of steaks in the fridge, and we like our meat rare, so I could slap them on the griddle for a minute or two and eat them with salad perhaps. I am probably overdoing the red meat recently - I shall have to take a look at increasing the vegetarian options. I do find vegetarian meals often very unsatisfying, so if anyone has any tips please let me know. I have checked out the vegetarian forum but there is never anything much happening over there.

Frequent

I am sure you will all be thrilled to learn that after ten packets of Senokot, 54 kilos of prunes and the juice of three dozen citrus fruits, my bowel made a move after five frikkin days and I am feeling much lighter. Oh the images! Such a thing of beauty am I.

Breakfast today was 2 fried eggs (cooked without oil), 2 thin slices of rye toast, a kiwi, supplements and some apple juice mixed with water. Breakfast was late and the thought of lunch in an hour is not appealing. My menu plan says that lunch is baked beans on toast but I might go crazy and have a bowl of muesli with some skimmed milk instead. Dinner tonight is listed as chilli con carne with brown rice and lots of vegetables, but I will see what the SO fancies. I think that I will continue to make these two-week meal plans but it is nice to not be afraid of flexibility at this point.

So, some friends came over last night. There was cheese (stilton with cranberries) and oatcakes, red wine, fresh coffee and biscuits, including Jaffa Cakes, which I have been known to stuff into my face one after another in the past. I sipped a small glass of red wine all evening and contented myself with that. It was a genuine effort to resist.

My clothes are beginning to hang off me. It is both good news and very irritating. I have very little that fits well right now, especially my trousers are a problem. Oh well, such are the trials of transforming into a fabulous figure.

justsomebloke

Frequent wrote:

My clothes are beginning to hang off me. It is both good news and very irritating. I have very little that fits well right now, especially my trousers are a problem. Oh well, such are the trials of transforming into a fabulous figure.

actually no, what is really irriating is the fact that you know if you buy any new clothes now to fit you, that come other month or 2 and they will probably be hanging off you aswell and then you will have to buy even more clothes

Frequent

Yeah, I know.

sunny2004

I would rather change my wardrobe slowly then go back to where you started this process if I were you...
this thread is an inspiration !

g'em

Frequent wrote:

I sipped a small glass of red wine all evening and contented myself with that. It was a genuine effort to resist.

Well done, that's a huge accomplishment! Your determination and will-power is undoubtedly an inspiration to many, many people here. So keep up the hard work, your journal is a joy to read

Frequent

Ok. I kind of blew it this weekend. I didn't snack on any junk like the old days, but I was so busy that I committed the cardinal sin of missing meals here and there and then while out eating things like pizza and nachos. I will be amazed if there is any weightloss at all tomorrow.

I am a bit ashamed.

My SO is out tonight and in a fit of madness (probably induced by my newly rediscovered taste for refined carbs) I drank a glass of Coke. I have had to tip the remainder down the sink for fear I'd drink it all.

So, I've messed up. I will start again tomorrow. It is going to be tough because I have confused my body again with the wrong kinds of foods. On the upside, the farmer's market in Temple Bar sells an incredible baked rye loaf, which is truly delicious.

Fingers crossed on the results tomorrow.

daiixi

You know what? Today I'm a tad hungover (craving foods) so I've let myself have a little bit of everything that I've craved. I've realised that some of the food has actually tasted really bad even though I used to think it tasted so good. I'm not ashamed though because I know that in the long run it's not going to make much difference to anything. It's one day and tomorrow there's going to be no chocolate to pass my lips!
Fingers crossed for you

Aoife-FM104

Congrats!

Some advice -

This diet will never work long term unless you are enjoying the food. If you are having to force yourself to eat this stuff, find other food.

START EXERCISING!! I can eat waaay more food than I should be able to because I do over an hours cardio a day. Seriously, get exercising!

Good luck with the new life

dellas1979

Do you think that it would be a good idea / might help if you ate healthily 6/7 days a week and then one day a week maybe have a "ill have what I want day" (in moderation of course).

Am not talking about a day of over eating, but just having what you want.

I do that. I eat very well during the week - if I crave something, I now think "no I wont have that now, ill have it at the weekend". I know this works for some people.

On a side-topic, you know, I went out for something to eat at the weekend. I ordered a lasagne, which normally comes with chips. I asked for a salad instead (lettuce, tomatoes, onions), no dressing (i usually just put vinegar, no oil, on it) and oh my god, the waitress made such a big deal out of it. I made a point of "im paying for it, so ill ask for what I want".

yop

Well done Frequent, your an inspiration to a lot of people. I have/am in a similar situation with what seems now to be a life long battle with the weight, but as you know now with your clothes almost falling off that is a great boost.

Well done and keep it up.

Frequent

Thanks so much to daixxi, Aoife-FM104, dellas1979 and yop for all your encouragement and input. I genuinely appreciate it.

So my ideal for the scale this morning would have been a loss of 1.6lbs, bringing me down to an even 233lbs (16 stone 9 lbs).

I woke up very early and got on the scales and it was 0.2lbs UP from last week, making it 234.8 (16 stone 10.8lbs). Naturally this is very disappointing, but utterly deserved. While I should have been eating wholefoods over Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I had dinners like pizza, nachos with cheese and sour cream, and grilled chicken burgers. Friday night was a planned treat, but Saturday and Sunday were a combination of laziness, business and giving in to easy temptations.

It turned out I was sick and I headed back to bed, and when I got up hours later, I stepped on the scales as a reflex, and it read 232.8. Ok.

Anyway, I have recorded the first weigh-in in my chart, as the Monday morning weigh-in is the only one I pay any heed to. I am disappointed, but I am also determined. I am in this for the long haul so one bad week isn't going to disrupt me. I will be strict with my food intake this week and will try to get at least 3 sessions of exercise in.

justsomebloke

Frequent I wouldn't be too hard on yourself, cause truthfully sh1t happens. the real test of character is what you do once it has happened.
Now I don't want to seem pessimist but truthfully this probably won't be the last time this happens, but once the vast moajority of what you eat is good and you are gettign soem exercise in you will keep going down the right path and you will get your target, it mightn't be as quick as you want but it will happen. Hell it took me around 2 and a half years to lose the 4 stone I wanted to lose.

Other then that I wouldn't be too worried about today's weight gain as it is probably a slight bit of water retention brought on by the crap you where eating and hopefully should come off the over the next few days

trilo

Frequent, well done on changing your eating and exercise habits.
Like you i am 5'11'', but i used to weight 15 stone. last year i made the decision to loose weight and this year i lost one stone, not much but i did it over a long period of time and am not probably just under 14 stone, i was 13 and half on my last weigh two months ago but stopped going.

My advice to you would you any little bit of esercise every day or every other day. I jog about a mile and a half every other day and i think it makes a big difference to me.

Keep up the good work! I definately be keeping an eye out on your progress.