General Chat

Hello Wendy, Scozz,Teresa,etc,

I belong to a weight loss club also,it's like a cheaper form of Weight Watchers called TOWN-Take Off Weight Naturally. To my shame have managed to put ON
15 kilos over the last 12 or 13 years since I joined,so need to change something drastically.I did lose weight after reading that book that Malcolm mentioned-"Fit for Life,"it was very helpful,and made a lot of sense.

Losing weight is not rocket science-wiser food choices and more exercise-but I do struggle with feeling hungry.I've been very good today,in spite of eating lunch at 3.30pm after work, which usually wrecks my good intentions.I do struggle with the daily walking as well-motivating myself to get out of bed can be difficult,but with the nicer weather coming up now,it should be easier.Weigh-in day is Tuesday,will let you know my weekly progress.

I'm going to try to write down EVERYTHING I eat-no cheating-for 2 weeks,try to walk first thing in the morning for 20-30 minutes,and have a mug of hot water with a slice of lemon in it as part of my 6-8 glasses of water a day.

Part of my inspiration to lose weight is my Group Leader's results-a loss of 18 kilos since February-and she's a lady older than me,obviously with lots of will power.My weight is creeping on slowly but steadily,it won't go away without a lot of effort from me.

I will join you in your weight loss but will not join in the 2 days eating 500 calories.
I will try to eat sensibly and healthily every day,keeping myself accountable for what I eat by writing it down.

Good luck to everyone ,

Best wishes,

Margot.
:-) :-)

Hi Malcolm, this afternoon I am going to look for the book you mentioned Fit For Life to download on to my Kindle, anyt book that has sensible info will help to inspire me.

Hi John, I am not surprised that your brothers weight went back on quickly as 27 lbs in 2 weeks is too much to lose and should only be done for medical reasons. On the subject of fasting Mormans do this once a week but they go from the middle of one day to the middle of the next.

Margot very well done to you for making the decision to try again. I have found that if I tell other people what I am doing I am more likely to stick to it. That is why I started this thread I thought if I came on here each day I would be more likely to stay committed.

Well as I said today is day 3 and my other day for 500 calories which so far is much the same as day 1. I have walked miles this morning up and down the roads of our hilly town, not by choice, I had to go to four different places all a long way apart. It is nearly impossible to find anywhere to park here so walking is easiest option.

I think one of the best aids to dieting is being motivated and encouraged by others which is what joining a weight loss club does for you. Your leader is a shining example but the important point is that she did not give up and has been doing it for 8 months now. Once we accept that the weight took a while to put on and will not disappear overnight we are on the right track. It really is necessary to get your brain into gear before operating your mouth! In just a short while someone will ask you "have you lost weight" :-D

Once again, I can't recommend too highly the book "Fit For Life".

Calorie counting diets simply don't work because they leave you feeling unsatisfied, or filling yourself with starchy food substitutes and still craving for things your body, quite rightly, needs. (no, not chips - though you can still have some!)

Fit For LIfe quickly explains how your body uses foods and gets the best from them. If you combine your foods correctly you will have more energy as your body isn't wasting power trying to unclog your innards. You will feel brighter, sleep better, your skin tone will improve and you will lose weight as your system cleans itself and starts to fire on all cylinders.

This book is NOT a Diet...it's learning to look at foods as your body would wish. Shopping and eating become a different, healthy experience.

Having said that, good luck to all of you who are trying to improve your shape and your life however you do it!

Hi everyone :-D I'm on a day off tomorrow and will do the 500 calorie day. I am in the middle of defrosting the freezer. It's empty at last except for a single certain brand ice cream bar, it was a shame to throw it out so I ate it!

I have eaten no other unhealthy things today, there is a turkey and veg casserole for tea and I had bran cereal for breakfast and marmite salad sandwich for lunch, I love marmite :-D

I have seen the book you mentioned Malcolm in the book shop. I will pop in to the library to see if they have a copy or if not treat myself to one. It's always worth looking at new ideas :-D

If I stay the same weight next week Wendy I will be happy. I feel much better for it :-D

I think this is a great thread Margot for support I think, keep popping in, I have already got some good tips and information.

I will pop in tomorrow with an update

Teresa

Good luck tomorrow, Teresa, and do make sure there are no goodies lurking in your freezer! :-D

Hope you are all doing well. I have downloaded that book to my Kindle, Malcolm. It looks very interesting and while I don't particularly need to lose weight at the moment I am lookiing for a better, healthy way of eating.

I shall be popping in to lend my support. :-D

BC XX

Hi everybody, I've found the book to download I have to buy from Amazon.com and it is nearly 10 dollars but I think I will buy it as it is more of a reference book and I would probably get my money's worth.

Have a good day tomorrow Cooper and let us know how you get on. In no time at all your clothes will be a little bit looser :-)

BC thanks for helping to keep us going. I enjoy motivating others and will keep the thread going as long as there is still interest in it.

Wendy

Just one thing about FIT FOR LIFE...you will probaly find some of the recipes difficult as they use unfamiliar names for ingredients such as "A head of Romaine" meaning lettuce, Zucchini, Cukes (cucumbers) and a lot of U.S.brand names. It can be a bit irritating but...

Just ignore these and learn the basic principles of food combining first.

My all time favourite is this sandwich: 2 slices any brown bread. Thin sliced avocado, grated or thin sliced onion, grated carrot. Use mayonnaise sparingly to moisten the bread. Deeeeeelissshhhh!

There is a product called SPIKE in the book. I bought this in Canada and it is fantastic for veggie sandwiches. Totally natural. I eventually imported a big load of it and have a good stock in my cupboards including a salt free version.

Here's Health!

What is Spike is it something similar to Marmite. When I was teaching weight management I suggested using low fat mayo, pickle mustard etc instead of butter you just need something to stop the sandwich falling apart.

Hello everyone,

It's great to participate on a thread with so much support and encouragement!

Many thanks Wendy for starting it-for the first time in a long while I feel really motivated to stop putting fattening things in my mouth,and it feels good!

I went for a 30 minute walk first thing this morning at 7am with my 2 little dogs,so that was a good start.I haven't walked for about 3-4 months, so I was happy.I also spent 3 hours in the garden,as the weather was beautiful today-30 degrees!

Thank you for jogging my memory Malcolm-I had forgotten about those AWESOME sandwiches, with everything salady that you like in them-very satisfying, and very good for you.I lost 7kilos after reading that book,juiced everything,and to this day still don't put margarine or butter on my sandwiches.
I have a copy of that book somewhere-I had better dust it off and put the principles into practice again.!

One thing that I found really helped me was listening to a weight loss CD by Paul McKenna.He's a motivational speaker-and writer-my CD was inside the back cover of his book.I listen to him a few times,and I'm motivated again.His ideas are basic,but sensible.If anyone feels that they need inspiration, or motivation, he will get you on the right track.

Good luck, everyone,

Margot.

Day 3 Thursday 4th October

Whoohooo the scales are going down and I can't wait for the final result for the first week next Monday. As you can tell it doesn't take much to make me happy. I have now had my 2 x 500 cal days so I have nothing to fall back on if I over eat so I will need a little will power. ( do you know him born 1805 in Newcastle, I can't find him on the 1851 census?) Lol.

Normally I only go out to eat once a week, sometimes not at all, but this week I am out for 5 possibly 6 meals!! Mostly due to birthday celebrations. I am going to a champagne brunch today which I know involves a lot of different home made breads. Next week I have visitors so I will be buying food that I would not usually buy ie. chocolate biscuits and there will be more eating out.

Now the easiest thing to have done would have been to say that I would start the diet after the birthdays and the visitors, BUT this would have been the worse thing I could have done as I would have eaten everything going and had a sort of last eating spree. The result would have been another half a stone on before the diet even started. As it is I can see the weight is going down, my stomach is full on less food and I do not want to undo the good I have done so far.

So if you are serious about losing weight don't make excuses for not starting today/tomorrow because tomorrow you will find another excuse, and another, or receive another invitation to go out etc.

REMEMBER.. If you cheat you are only cheating yourself. To be honest usually nobody else will care very much if you cheat or not so you need to be doing this for yourself and doing it now.

Have a good day everyone and I look forward to those who said that they will be joining me next week to be actually doing that..no excuses.

Margot, so pleased you went for the walk I think that you always feel better for it. Where are you not in the UK I guess as you said it was 30 degrees yesterday. :-D

Wendy

Hi guys,

I just Googled Paul McKenna and found that his weight loss CD is on his website.I read all the reviews and agree with nearly everyone who made a comment.If you're having a struggle getting motivated losing weight I would recommend it .I can still hear his voice saying-"Avoid sugar!!",and that's one of the first things that I want to do without after I have listened to his CD.

Best wishes,

Margot.

Margot I have this CD and nearly always fall asleep whilst listening to it but I do wake up when he say, one two three you're wide awake and like you I always remember some of what he has said. The book that goes with it is good too

Hi Wendy,

Just missed your post-good luck for the coming week,stay strong in the face of all that temptation!!If you have to,you can choose to have small amounts of what you fancy,whereas before,if it was me it would have been open slather!! Then feeling guilty afterwards..

My Group Leader Margaret has a good tip-she said that when she knows that she will be eating out,she reduces the amount of foods that she has, has smaller portions the day before the outing and the day after- and eats what she likes when she's out,without going overboard,so that she doesn't feel deprived.My sister uses the same strategy,to keep herself looking slim.(Wish I had her willpower!) I know it's a bit hard for you next week,with so many meals out,but it's something to consider in the future.

I live in Melbourne,Victoria, Australia-you may have heard about that dreadful murder of the ABC journalist in Brunswick,Jill Meagher,it was in all the papers apparently,particularly the Irish ones.We are all still reeling from the shock of that lovely,vibrant young woman being raped and murdered on a busy street in the early hours of the morning. :-0 :-0

Our weather is supposed to be horrible over the week-end,so that will be an interesting test for me.-walking wise.

Good luck everyone,

Margot.
:-) :-D

Dear Wendy,

I hope "Maggot " was a typo?? LOL...

I forgot to say "Well done" for your efforts so far-I hope that you get a lovely surprise when you face those scales on Monday.

Best wishes,

Margot :-)

Margot, I am so sorry for the typo it is a problem with my iPad. It seems to guess the word as soon as I put in the first couple of letters and more often than not it guesses wrong. If I knew how to cancel this wonderfully helpful facility I would but I don't know how to do it :-(

Thank you for all your good wishes and handy hints.

RE - Fit For Life....SPIKE is a dry mix of about 30 herbs and spices. I keep mine in a sprinkle shaker It enlivens any sort of dish....stews and soups but most of all a fresh crisp veggie sandwich.

Something fairly bland like cucumber, tomato and lettuce (Full of natural waters) is made very special with a wee sprinkle of Spike. A rare steak or Salmon served with some lightly boiled carrots and some butternut squash is flavour enhanced by just a small amount and is completely combined.

The makers of SPIKE are MODERN PRODUCTS INC. MEQUON, Wisconsin, USA. I managed to order mine online but had to get my sister in Canada to pay in USD as they don't know there's another continent over here. LOL.

Quick hint from the book about Veggie sandwiches...if you're using tomatoes, put the lettuce on the bread first as a "liner"to stop the tomatos making it soggy!

I repeat...Fit For LIfe is more about feeling great than about losing weight, but in my, and the writers experience they go hand in hand.

Hi Malcolm.. I found Spike on Amazon for £3.95.
I used to buy a similar product in the supermarket in the UK but I can't remember the name.

Hallo everyone, that sandwich sounds nice Malcolm :-)

Today I had a slice of burgeon bread toasted with marmite. I have been batch cooking with 2kilos of lean cubed beef from the butchers. For dinner tonight will be either beef and mushroom goulash, beef jalfrezi or beef bourguignon. And green veg. They have all been made in a low fat way with no added baddies. Once frozen there will be 20 portions of the above dinners to put in the now defrosted and empty freezer. I haven't been too hungry, all the cooking has stopped me thinking about eating :-)

Teresa
:-D

3.95 sounds reasonable for the small jar of standard Spike. It lasts ages though it tends to "cake" a bit so needs stirring up. It doesn't go off if kept carefully.

I have small boxes to top up the shaker. There is also a spicey version which is good for white fish and lean pork, and a salt-free for low sodium diets.

Cooper, your recipes sound marvellous. Eat healthy you guys and feel Fit for Life!

Batch cooking is a great way to go and low fat batch cooking is even better. Now you will always have something handy for dinner. I used to cook like this a lot because although I quite like to cook I don't particularly want to do it every day and needless to say my husband wanted to eat every day! To be fair he loved to cook and would often cook for me. He made wonderful lemon meringue pie and bake well tart, not the best food for dieters but wonderful all the same. He measured and weighed everything and always had great results. I am more a throw everything in to the mixer at once cake maker, and occasionally it does go wrong but usually it turns out okay. I haven't made a cake since he died last November as I would end up eating it all. I could freeze it in portions but two minutes in the microwave and it is ready to go!

Well I survived the birthday brunch today and yes I did eat a croissant with butter and jam because I just couldn't sit and watch everybody else tucking in and singing their praises. I deliberately ate slower than I normally do and other people were on to a second bread selection before I had finished my croissant. It is definitely easier to diet alone. I stopped eating as soon as I felt full where as I used to keep eating until all the food had gone. I had only had a banana in the morning to help cancel out some of the lunch which was at 12 o'clock. Luckily having a sweet wasn't an option as nobody else wanted one but even if they had I would have said no as I really did feel full.

Tomorrow I am out to lunch again, Friday lunch with the " girls" is normally my one meal out a week and where I will get to compare notes with Jo, the girl I mentioned at the beginning of this thread who lost a stone on this diet.

Wendy