Onwards & Downwards March 2016

[AB Editor]

Hi! Where did we get to?

Me: I'm down to 86.5 - so the "being hungry and doing exercise" thing seems to be continuing to work. Another 4KG and I'll reassess my goals.

Things I have learnt during this period of, er, decline:

* There is such a thing as a cheese hangover. I've never felt so bad as when I made a tartiflette - which was lovely - the next day it was like I'd had a bottle of whisky.
* The same goes for excessive carbs through bread - deadly. I didn't know I could dry myself out!
* Stopping drinking, for any amount of time, is bad for your future drinking habits. Avoid competitions!
* I bloodly love salads, do you want some recipes?

Right, your turn(s)!

[xstitcher]

Well I weighed in and then forgot to report it. Normality will now return to the house as the painter left at noon. Oh joy!
Now the weigh in. It was pants. No loss no gain but completely unacceptable!
No Easter eggs for this bunny!

[Old_Geezer]

Well I weighed in and then forgot to report it too.

Over the week, down 2.2 lbs: but one needs to keep in mind how unpleased I was at last Wednesday's weighing.

It's really weird, although this delay that most of us experience might be involved. Over the usual high intake 3 day weekend allegedly I go DOWN 2.6 lbs. But during the just above goal input end of last week I stayed the same (well went down then inexplicably back up really). And over the last 24 hours when I was close to goal input, UP 0.4 lbs ?!

[AB Editor]

87.1KG here - fingers crossed it's just salt and water :)

[Old_Geezer]

Always the same of late. I have said it before but, I come off a high intake weekend to find I'm down ! Then as the more controlled weekdays go by it goes up day by day.

Annoyingly I forgot to weigh Thursday and Friday; today it's gone up 1.8 lbs over 3 days and is back up above the next stone level yet again. Ok it's still down (just) from last Saturday; but I feel I may as well live on pizza and curries at this rate.

Worse: I'm out for my sister's birthday meal tonight. Going to have to find some low cal items on the Chinese menu (not raw veg nor sesame though). Will find out the damage done on Tuesday.

[xstitcher]

Enjoy your Chinese meal....what, no raw seaweed???

[Old_Geezer]

I used to like the Blue Dragon crispy stuff one used to be able to get in supermarkets but I think they may be too salty and calorific to be healthy really. Never see it now.

[xstitcher]

I've come to the conclusion OG that anything that tastes really good is unhealthy
:-((

[bednobs]

sorry for being AWOL for bit (again!)
Does anyone have any slimmig world friendly lunch ides, for those days when i don't have time to prepare anything th night before? I usually take salmon salad to work, but do not always have the time/inclination to poach the slmon or prepare the salad the night before. I need some ideas of something that i could just grab to take in to work.
In other news, i lost 2.5 pounds this week. It was my wedding anniversary, so i went out for a three course meal after weigh-in :)

[xstitcher]

I'll be thinking about ideas bedknobs. Congratulations on your loss and anniversary.

[Old_Geezer]

Does a tinned soup stay warm in a thermos ? Most of my lunches tend to be a tin of soup these days, although I confess to usually looking for a little extra afterwards.

[xstitcher]

Yes they do but warm it up with really hot water first.

[AB Editor]

Soup is good - a easy way to contain the calories.

I had a terrible weekend revelling, so will be fasting for my sins!

[xstitcher]

Good morning all,

Big smile here at this end as I've gone down 3 Ib's......lots of fish and chicken lately.

May I suggest to the person who asked about. Packed lunches that she Goggle "slimming packed lunches"

[wendilla]

Good morning all. Bit disappointed this morning having stayed the same this has been a few weeks now and although I have been reasonable good no sweets or cakes I am now putting this down to lack of walking . I have not been out much as I don't like the cold it's a case of in the car a quick shop and back .now the weather is improving I will go to town more .

Well done xstitcher .

[Old_Geezer]

Hi all.

Well done x.
Hmmm Wend, since I've been unemployed my amount of walking has dropped right off. Used to be the only exercise I got !

Well, yesterday I was heading for a drop, but I see today that the last 24 hours has changed it into a 0.6 lb gain :-(

[AB Editor]

Morning! Down to 86.5KG today. Can I make it out the other side of 86 for the first time in probably two years? Who knows!

Congrats on the loses, and the staying-the-sames to be honest. I've found it difficult to maintain over the last few weeks.

I'm back on the 900 calorie days for the time being - it's nice having fluctuations in hunger removed. I think the killer is the single carb/meat slip up - as then your body suddenly has a "gap" it needs to fill that can turn into hunger!

[Old_Geezer]

900 ?!?
You need 2500 to maintain, maybe 1500 to 2000 to lose weight ? You'd be starving yourself in 900. I'd do nothing but think of food and wonder why I was doing this to myself on 900 a day.

I'm still using the old WW system I succeeded with many decades ago. It works out as either 2142 calories and no saturated fat a day or 0 calories and 120 grams of saturated fat a day (?!?) or a practical combination in between :-) The reality is though that I am rarely under, usually a bit over, and a lot over at weekends. Thus no real progress since I dropped down into the 'overweight' category.

[AB Editor]

"You need 2500 to maintain"
No I don't - this is a guideline for men who actually do something? I just tell people off on the internet for 8 hours a day :)

"maybe 1500 to 2000 to lose weight ?"

I probably need something like 1800 to maintain.

"You'd be starving yourself in 900. I'd do nothing but think of food and wonder why I was doing this to myself on 900 a day."

That's where the willpower comes in! It's porridge for breakfast, soup for lunch and a massive salad for dinner. I don't feel starved now that I know what actually being hungry feels like.

Have a go at this and see what you come out with:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

This doesn't ask about activity levels and puts me at about 1916 cal.

This one gives something closer to your estimate:

https://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/basal-metabolic-rate

Thing is, I simply don't believe them - or the labels - or my counting - so it's better to be a bit harsher with myself.

There's nothing wrong with being a bit hungry :)

My BMI is is now 23.2, which means I am almost safe. I would like to take a little more off to improve my cycling performance up hills though.

"I'm still using the old WW system I succeeded with many decades ago. It works out as either 2142 calories and no saturated fat a day or 0 calories and 120 grams of saturated fat a day (?!?) or a practical combination in between :-) The reality is though that I am rarely under, usually a bit over, and a lot over at weekends. Thus no real progress since I dropped down into the 'overweight' category."

Maybe you need to update? :)

I've cut out fat almost entirely as well as most carbs and meat. To be honest, I feel so much better for it. Much less "processing" I feel!

[AB Editor]

(but you're partly right, it is too low for anything but short burst)

[Old_Geezer]

2282
2422.94
Not so far out. Maybe I need to exercise more and raise that up a bit. I think there's quite a bit wrong with being slightly hungry. It takes your concentration away from other things and makes you feel deprived all day. Quality of life drops.