Enough is enough! big fattie bum bum! greedy piggy!
After having surgery in December and having the horror of my increasing weight and BMI announced by a pre assessment nurse I made the decision that as soon as Christmas was over I would start a diet and exercise campaign.
I wanted to loose weight but also improve my over all fitness. In the last 3 years I have had a run of ill health and an accident which has lead to three elective surgeries and one emergency. No surgery or recovery from surgery is pleasant and I needed to do something to try and promote health and healing, and reduce the risk of any more surgery.
I spent time researching various diet options, the dukan, weight watchers, slimming world, the biggest looser diet. Eventually decided that the best thing for me was to stick to a less than 1500 calories a day diet with a 5 times a week exercise regime.
Personally I am not a fan of counting points or coloured days, of extreme protein based diets that result in huge weight loss only to gain even more when you start eating normally. I do however think joining a club or having a support network is essential, even an online one.
The biggest looser diet interested me, the formula of how many carbs verses protein, calorie intake compared to calorie burn and portion sizes, plus the fact that you can see it works by watching the program. I decided to adapt this and create my own diet.
so I am now on less than 1500 calories a day diet with a 5 times a week exercise regime.
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I enlisted the help of an app for my Ipad in order to calculate calories correctly and to log my progress.
When I started entering food into this app the amount of calories in foods that assumed wasn't that bad horrified me.
Its very easy to consume 4000 calories a day, sugary cereal for breakfast and some toast with butter and jam, mid morning choccie snack, bag of crisps and a sandwich for lunch, mid after noon biscuits, take away for dinner, nibbles in front of the TV and some alcohol, not doing any real exercise(that makes you sweat) ........ 4000 calories!!! sound familiar?????
When first starting the app showed me that my overall intake of food was dominated by carbs, at least 50% and that needed to be reduced. I decided to cut all bread except wholemeal pitta breads and tortillas and reduce my intake of potatoes. I also exchanged pasta for wholemeal pasta and brown rice for white. I dropped my intake of alcohol to almost non existent.
I also realised that my portion sizes needed adjusting, what I thought was an acceptable bowl of cereal was actually two portions. I looked into the diet plate, a 10 inch plate with portions of carbs, protein etc mapped out on it. I found the price of this plate a little extreme so have bought some plate decorating pens and designed my own.
I told myself that it was expectable to drop 2llb a week and not to want or expect more. This way I would be able to maintain my weight loss. After looking at my pattern of weight loss I can see that every month for one week I loose a pound or less and I am assuming as I am a woman this is water retention so it doesn't get me down or make me want to give up.
On previous diets I have struggled to maintain the diet for various reasons such as boredom, bland food, tasteless microwave meals telling me how many points they consist of, portions so small I am left hungry, sweet treats fluffed up with air, the Atkins headache and bad breath, low mood and a lack of energy, no motivation, social eating and worst of all peer pressure.
I have a very supportive partner who is also on the same mission, this makes a world of difference and instead of peer pressure I have peer support and encouragement. When I have a low day and want that take away pizza I am reminded of how much work on the treadmill it takes to get it off, how much food I could have instead and most the time told "NO! you don't!"
My partner also went and bought a treadmill so that we don't have to enter a gym. Anyone on a diet needs this support even if its a friend going through the same thing or attending a club.
Like all over weight people I make excuses to myself that I haven't time to exercise, I am too tired, it wont fit around work, I would rather sit and watch TV. Sometimes I stare at the treadmill for ages telling myself that I am going to have to get on it and feeling the dread then I force myself on it and once halfway through my mood elevates and I feel better. Once its done I am always pleased I did it and its this that motivates me.
As a teenager I used to completive swim this has left some dormant drive in my brain and I always have the urge to just push myself a little bit more, no exercise should be comfortable, just see how far I can run for or if I can beat that lactic acid build up and pain barrier and I utterly refuse to give up!!!! I will not be a looser! unless we are talking about fat!
when I first started on the treadmill I couldn't run for more than 2 minutes now 10 weeks later I can easily do fifteen, not a marathon but for me its a huge accomplishment.
Decent running shoes help and wearing the right clothes, invest in lycra shorts, you will look awful but you wont chafe or rub! they don't ride up your thighs, wear another pair of shorts over the top so you don't look so bad. Always have water on hand when exercising and I also have a wet flannel so that I can wipe away sweat and cool myself down. Good tunes with a fast beat will make you go faster.
Food wise flavour is everything so I have a constant stock of the following in my kitchen, fresh chillies, garlic, ginger, coriander, basil, parsley, mint, lemons and limes. I have a full stocked dry herb and spice cupboard and I don't buy anything that could tempt me from my path.
Essential cooking equipment I couldn't do this without ..... spice grinder, mortar and pestle, garlic crusher, decent knives, food processor, lemon reamer, scales and a grater.
So its all of the above that has after 10 weeks resulted in a loss of 26llb for me and 24llb for my partner.
I have had my wobble days, my moody days and my "oh my god all that exercise to loose half a pound!!!!!" but all in all I am enjoying the food I am making, researching healthy meals and inventing recipes and most of all I am enjoying that I feel full, am not craving things and my clothes are loose :)
There are days when I feel down and want to go out and socialise in a restaurant. This is an issue for me, I do not like to pay ?8 or more for some lettuce and the temptation of wine, chips and a pudding is to much! For me it just best to avoid it all together and it can make life boring but once I taste it I then want it more and the cravings start. I think part of dieting is understanding where you are weak and how your brain relates to food.
No diet is pleasant, there is no quick fix, some days are hell you need willpower to battle your addictions, mind over matter plays a huge part and you have to change the way you think about food and the pleasure it brings. However for me there are some things that can me you succeed and that's what I am hoping this blog does.
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