Well - Here We Are Again!!!

[Grasshopper]

Yes, folks - Mum & me have rejoined Slimming World.
I've regained all the weight I've lost - plus a bit more!
I'm ashamed of myself!!!!

However - a new start, a new pack, and not such an ambitious target (altho my ultimate goal is the same as it was last time).
We are both going to see how much we lose by Xmas.

I know what has caused the re-gain, but I've put plans in place to try and reduce it

Everything is crossed!


Grasshopper

[aero280]

I find that the only way to lose weight is to do some exercise and avoid lunch and snacks!!

Currently I'm removing a 1930's tiled fireplace and bricking it up. Before that I decorated the room and laid the carpet tiles. Once the bricking up is done we can put the curtains up and move back in. Over the last 3 weeks I'm 5 Kg down.

[earthmaiden]

I feel for you Grassy. There's no way I'm going back to SW, I got tired of being told how to make fake junk food and enduring the scales after a while. Life's a bit different now I've retired and I'm addressing one outstanding issue at a time.

Yes aero, exercise is the key!

[TeresaFoodie]

Good luck Grassy! Although I am with what they said. SW didn't work for me, short or long term. Not only did it have a negative effect on my weight, but it also made me feel very negative about myself and food in general.

Just recently I was in hospital and, to cut a long story short, had to rethink what goes in my gob. I am thinking that after completely cutting out alcohol and pretty much living off raw foods and cereals with a smattering of dairy, the weight should be falling off, but I am not currently exercising atall really and that is the only thing that will shift it for me. Roll on our local pool opening soon!

[Suelle]

Good luck Grassy & Mum. I've gained about 4kg this year so will have to do some work on that pretty soon - before the over-eating season starts!

Just to be contrary, I don't find normal amounts of day-to-day exercise helps with weight loss at all! If you're the sort of person who lacks willpower and/or the right genes to resist hunger, exercise can lead to eating more - especially if you tell yourself you've 'earned' a snack!

Everyone is different, and you have to find what works for you.

[Seatallan]

And when all is said and done, I do truly believe that not everyone was intended to be a size 10.....

[StokeySue]

Just been reading an article from the excellent nutrition department at Monash University in Oz (the people who brought you GI) about how very difficult it is to maintain weight loss

Good luck with it Grassy and your mum

[Grasshopper]

Interesting first week!
Haven't exactly been saintly BUT I managed to lose 1.5 lbs Less than I'd hoped, but it's a good start for a second timer

Mum did slightly better - 2lbs

We each want a stone off by Xmas - we are well on track already


Grasshopper

[Suelle]

Well done both of you - you have to have realistic expectations of what is possible.

[earthmaiden]

Well done!

[icelesley]

Good luck grassy and mum. You know we are all here for you offering our support

[Seatallan]

Well done both! Slow and steady is the key...

[TeresaFoodie]

Well done, you must be chuffed! Keep up the good work!

[Gruney]

I know what has caused the re-gain, but I've put plans in place to try and reduce it

That's the idea. Well done.

[Grasshopper]

This week's result:
Mum has lost 2.5 lbs, while I lost just a lb

I wanted more because I've done loads of physical work.

Maybe next week

Grasshopper

[icelesley]

Grassy, 1lb loss is better than a gain well done to you and mum keep up the good work

[earthmaiden]

Well done Grassy - slow but sure is the way. I expect some of your clothes feel a bit looser already!

[Grasshopper]

Mum lost 1.5 lbs this week - while I MAINTAINED!!!!
I was proper beating myself up!
On Friday night, Me & Mum sat and watched a prog she had taped.
Next to the women in these videos, WE look positively skinny!
https://www.google.com/search?q=worldsb ... e&ie=UTF-8

The first one was what we watched - UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!!


Grasshopper

[earthmaiden]

I expect you're gaining muscle Grassy . Congrats to your mum.

[icelesley]

Well done mum Grassy don't be disappointed, keep going, just change one thing you do and you will probably reap the rewards

[Seatallan]

Just stick to your guns Grassy- you know you'll start losing again soon. Well done

[Grasshopper]

Not such a good result this week, for either of us.
We both GAINED half a lb!!!!!! I was NOT happy!!!!!!

I want a LOSS next week - and not a poxy half a lb either!

Did a very SW-friendly shepherd's pie for dinner today - 3 empty plates AND there's enough for tomorrow!

Grasshopper

[aero280]

I would suggest that half a pound, or even a pound either way is not too bad. It's a downward trend that you need.

When I lost weight, I looked on it as an energy balance system. Food in = Energy in. You then have to expend more energy than you put in.

My job in construction was, in theory, quite active. But in practice it was actually fairly sedentary. I drove a lot and I sat in the office a lot. With that lifestyle I found that I could only lose weight if I only had two meals a day. Breakfast of cereal (no sugar) and a cup of tea (also no sugar). That bit wasn't too difficult because I never had sugar with either anyway. I would miss lunch, or just have some fruit. Then in the evening we would have a single course supper of something cooked. If I had a sandwich for lunch I stayed the same weight. If I felt hunger pains, a glass of water was the first choice.

The biggest success in weight loss was going on a fat free diet. This was forced on me, I was not being strong minded or anything virtuous. I was waiting for a gall bladder operation. If I ate fat I was sick and in considerable pain. But the weight loss was quite dramatic. I had stalled with the slimming and this got me off the plateau.

After the gall bladder I got quite ill and over the next 18 months with other things and I put on some weight; about a half of what I had lost. It was mainly due to some hormone treatment, but also a bit of comfort eating as I was not well and got a bit depressed.

The kickstart to the whole thing was that I was given a routine check by the doctor, who found that my blood pressure was very high. I was given the option of losing weight or taking pills. I chose to try losing weight. The Health Centre organised this. The nurses ran the weight loss bit and I went along every two weeks for a short visit. The frequency of the visits also helped because you had to keep at it and couldn't fast for a couple of days before the weigh-in! Does your doctor/health centre offer this these days? It was cheaper than weight watchers or slimming world, etc.

I started at 115 Kg (18 stone) and got down to a bit less than 85 Kg inside 18 months, which is less than 1 lb/week. Then I got ill and went back up to almost 100 Kg, but I'm now down to 91 Kg (approx 14.5 stone) and I've lost 10 inches off my waist measurement - 48 in down to 38. The other trick is to donate your clothes to a charity shop once it's too big, and get smaller clothes. That way you soon know when you have put on weight, and buying bigger clothes again gets expensive.

Diet is the important bit along with exercise. If you just diet, you will lose muscle as well as fat. The exercise will help you lose the fat only. My diet nurse gave me lots of information and advice on losing weight. She had no axe to grind and no products to sell. She was a bit of a dragon though and she could be qute sarcastic if you didn't seem to be trying...

Keep at it and take a close look at everything you eat. You will probably find that most of it isn't necessary. After two weeks it gets easier. I think that the Slimming World stuff which allows you to eat certain treats is misleading. The energy balance is what you need to look at. Energy/food in = weight gain unless you burn off more than you eat.

[aero280]

Just looked at that again after it posted and it was much longer that I expected. A bit of a diatribe!! It wasn't meant that way. I was trying to be helpful and encouraging.

[Suelle]

Just looked at that again after it posted and it was much longer that I expected. A bit of a diatribe!! It wasn't meant that way. I was trying to be helpful and encouraging.

I do agree with most of what you said though - I too have managed a drastic weight loss, and managed to keep it off until this year, when I've started to gain a bit. In my case it's cutting out carbohydrates which has helped the most. Just got to find the motivation to lose a bit more now - tight clothes is a big factor!

The main thing, Grassy, is to not get discouraged if you gain a little one week, and then give up thinking you don't have the willpower. Keep at it!

[earthmaiden]

As one who knows the rules but finds it incredibly hard to get motivated I too agree with most of what you say. I belonged to SW fir a couple of years and yes, if you stick to it and have half the 'syns' they recommend, you lose weight. I do hate the way that meetings are all about how you can be devious with junk food and many recipes are not nice though. I don't think they have weight clinics at doctor's any more, they just refer you to SW or WW. I'm not sure really why dieting has become so complicated, it really is a case of cutting out the 'cr*^', checking portion sizes and getting active. It is a bit of incentive to be weighed each week but so expensive if you keep going. Probably better to save that much each week and have a treat as you reach targets!

[Grasshopper]

AMAZING result this week!!!!!!!!!

Moi - 1.5 lbs off
Mum - 2 lbs off and a half stone award!!!!

So - happy news all around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Grasshopper

[Gruney]

Great stuff Grassy - go for it!

[Busybee]

Well done Grassy and Mum

BB

[earthmaiden]

There you go! It'll fall off now!

[Suelle]

Well done both of you. It goes to show you have to look at it as a long term project, and not let small setbacks throw you off-track.

[icelesley]

Well done grassy and mum keep up the good work

[aero280]

Up and down a pound from day to day is not too significant. It's the overall trend that matters.

The reality is that two mugs of tea will add a pound to your weight, but it will only be temporary!

I find that weighing myself each day just before breakfast gives a good guide to how you are doing. It's something that's repeatable.

I do get cross with the nurses who weigh you without any checks on your encumbrances. One told me that i didn't need to take my coat off "because it wouldn't make much difference" I let her weigh me with it on, and then I asked her to weigh me again with it off. She seemed astonished that I lost nearly 3Kg by doing that. I had put all my worldly goods in the coat pockets - keys, money, wallet, phone, pen and pencil, gloves, scarf, hat, etc. It was mid-winter after all, and it was a thick coat!

[Seatallan]

Congratulations Grassy and Mum!!

[earthmaiden]

aero - that's crazy!!

[scullion]

was she a 'large' nurse? maybe the leaving on of the coat wouldn't have made much difference to her!

[aero280]

It is interesting to see how many nurses are "large"! Although the cardiac nurses are all suitably slimmer, especially the dietician!!

[scullion]

ha! i went to a friend's first group meeting with the diabetic nurse - i think the nurse was the largest person in the room.
there were some very large nurses when i had an apt with an orthopod, a couple of years ago. one had to open the other half of the double door to get through. i would really worry for my joints if i were that big

[earthmaiden]

I had lost 2.5 stone and although still overweight wasn't far from acceptable levels. I had a checkup and a very large nurse weighed me and gave me a long lecture ...

[scullion]

i wonder if hypocrisy is self blind...

[Seatallan]

had lost 2.5 stone and although still overweight wasn't far from acceptable levels. I had a checkup and a very large nurse weighed me and gave me a long lecture ...

That's most annoying.

Reminds me of the time Mr S was called to the surgery following one of those 'well men' routine check-ups. His cholesterol was a little raised (though only on the high side of normal) and he was given a lecture by the then surgery nurse about how he should be exercising, his dietary habits and the importance of recognizing hidden fats and salt in ready-meals and cook-in sauces. Mr S kept telling her that not only did he go running on a regular basis as well as climb fells whenever possible, he was also married to a foodie and only eats ready-meals/cook-in sauces once in a blue moon but it was all going in one ear and out the other. To add insult to injury she, too, was a decidedly sizeable lady. He was outraged!

[scullion]

it's sad that the clinics don't realise that compliance and behavioural change is greatly influenced by the example set by the deliverer of the information (and wrist slapping) not just the information.

[WWordsworth]

I was chatting with a pal yesterday evening.
He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 12 weeks ago and had just been for a check up.

He has lost the 10lbs he was decreed overweight by and his blood sugar is down to 6.5.
He did it through dietary changes and takes no medication.

He was lectured by one of our local GPs.
She must be 18 stone.

[Grasshopper]

Mixed results this week:
Mum lost another 1.5 lbs, (and got Slimmer Of The Week), while I maintained - AGAIN!

However, I'm trying a couple of experiments over the next couple of weeks, such as just having fruit at break-time and not having biskies for supper.

Let's see what happens.

I did an amazing shepherd's pie today, with very lean meat and an insane amount of vegetables in it - AND we had cabbage too.

Grasshopper

[TeresaFoodie]

Your dinner sounds wonderful Grassy. You can't go wrong with all those veg! Good luck with the experiments. Sounds like a good way to go! And well done to Mumma Grassy! What an achievement. Both doing so well sticking with it. I, on the other hand, had a great big bowl of honeycomb ice cream this evening and feel guilty as anything. Luckily that was the last of the tub! I just need to not buy another!

[icelesley]

Well done mum, grassy keep up the Good work, not losing anything is better than putting it on

[earthmaiden]

Onwards and upwards (or downwards!) Grassy. I'm sure little tweaks like those you suggest will help .

[Grasshopper]

Managed to wave goodbye to another 1.5 lbs last nite!!!!!!!
Mum lost less - just half a lb - BUT we've both had losses!!


Grasshopper

[Suelle]

Well done, both of you!

[earthmaiden]

Well done!