Eating Less

So, I am back on here for the meantime. So please update your rss feeds! I will be back on my domain very soon though so might be an idea to keep both feeds.

I am so poorly!!!!! I think it is hayfever rather than a cold because I just had Lemsip and it hasn’t done a thing. You hear the word ‘hayfever’ and think it’s something not real but believe me it is horrible, you feel really ill. I keep being determined to go to the gym but when it comes to it I just don’t have the energy. I am so scared of getting out of it again but I have to rest while I am not well, I just hope the pollen count goes down soon!

My eating has been getting so much better lately. Not only in amounts but in quality of food too. I am still struggling at night at the moment, last night I had 2 large bowls of cereal through the night but at least it is not sandwich after sandwich as I don’t have any bread in the house now we’re on school holidays. I am thinking of downloading the Paul McKenna Think Yourself Thin hypnosis audio, as I have heard good things about it and I think hypnosis may help with this night time problem. Has anyone used this? What do you think?

I have just ordered Eating Less: Say Goodbye to Overeating by Gillian Riley as I have heard a lot of good stuff about this book around the web. She also has a stop smoking book and people are saying her methods and theories are in a class of their own. And frankly if it can help me to over come my overeating then it will be worth every penny of the £5.99. I am a bit worried that reading about food will cause me to want to overeat through thinking about it but I am hoping this will not be the case and I will find the book thereputic. I will let you know.

Starting Again…

I was doing really well with my weightloss and then I developed a really bad infection that put paid to my efforts. However, today is the first day where I feel more healthy (despite feeling a bit fluy) and so here I am with my attempt at yet another fresh start.

I have been really quite bad this past week with food. You don’t want to know the amount of ice cream I consumed yesterday (I blame the sun!). But I *have* been doing a lot of walking again, which seems to off-set too much damage. I think I was about 14.6 when I got ill and last week I was 14.10. Getting on the scales today I convinced myself that I would be out of the 14’s and into the dreaded 15-era again but I was pleased to see I have stagnated at 14.10.

I almost went and joined weightwatchers classes yesterday but didn’t because I really can’t afford to at the moment. I was hoping to go to the gym again today but feeling fluy, and my insomnia being rife, stopped me. I will take my son for a walk down the waterfront later though.

I bought a new pad the other day and I am writing everything down in there. It has tabs on each page so I am writing my weight down in there. So by the time I have used the pad up you will see my weight dwindling down.

Not Great

Hello everyone. Just wanted to say hi and say I have not forgotten about groovybabe or my weightloss. The reason I have been awol all week is I have been really ill. At the tail end of last weekend I developed a urinary tract infection and it really doesn’t want to go away. At first I was diagnosed with thrush and sent away with cream, then the next day I was back and it was a urine infection and was sent away with antibiotic. When 3 days later the pain was still not subsiding I went to the out of hours clinic and they changed my antibiotics. I am now on day 2 of them and there doesnt seem to be any let up of the pain still so I am going to have to go back again tomorrow I think and change my meds again.

I just want to be better. I have been having so much pain passing urine for a week now, it is like passing razor blades. I did also have a fever, blotchy eye sight, felt like I was going to faint and was weeing pure blood at one point. That has all gone now thankfully but I am somehow resistant to the meds and the infection does not want to clear up.

I went out last night, mainly because I’d been in all week and was going mad, but didn’t drink. It was my first weekend off from drinking in maybe 6 months. It feels good this morning not to feel like death warmed up! But the night was rubbish without drink. Even the DJ shouted over the tannoy that I am not the same on water!! But to be fair to myself, I think it is more because I am worn down from the pain of this infection than any ill-effect water-only has on me. Anyway, I ended up coming home at 1am because I was just not feeling the night.

Weightloss this week has been a bit of a bugger. I havent been paying attention at all. I just weighed myself (tomorrow is my official weigh in) and I am 201/14.5, which is what I was at my last weigh in, so being ill has not done me any great good weightloss wise…

Oh, in case you would like to hear more from groovybabe in her day to day life, I have started a blog up called ‘groovybabe: life’ its hosted over at my old groovybabe site on wordpress, which you can find here. Please add it to your feeds.

Yo-Yo

I am in such a fowl mood today, and lately actually, I don’t know what is wrong with me. I am fast losing what I consider myself to have, a laid-back nature. I feel like a yo-yo; one minute down, then up, then down… I guess I will get over it.

I have not let it affect my weightloss plan though. I am well on track. 14.6/202 again today; I was hoping to be down another pound but I can’t expect a loss everyday! I am already half way through this weeks goal of a 2lb loss and I have another 5 days to go until weigh in. My water consumption has reduced the last few days but I have just been shopping and bought some squash so I should be okay now.. (don’t worry, it is sugar free)

My exercise has taken a dramatic drop of late due to the anaemia issue. I am feeling more energetic but am not back to normal just yet. I suspect this will not happen until I get back into the gym though. However, my sleep is knocked out of whack at the moment too, but I picked up some Nytol today so am going to try to get that back on track tonight, and if I am up to it, the gym tomorrow.

I am cooking a lovely stir-fry at the moment. Turkey pieces, thin noodles and lots of veggies in a soy sauce. With lots of herbs and spices. Yummi. Then we will go for a walk on the waterfront as the weather is gorgeous this afternoon.

Recommendations
http://www.physicsdiet.com/FitnessLog.aspx – log your weight every day and it gives you averages of weight, bmi, rate you burn calories etc… it’s a fun tool!

Not So Bad For Us

I am sitting here with a glass of water revelling, nay, basking in the glory that I have the loss of weight under control again. I woke up to another pound down today – 14.6, or 202lbs. I am so happy with this. My stomach is so much flatter but I think that is in part because I came on yesterday. I am so excited for the time when I have lost enough that it becomes noticable. I think the first time around it was at about 20lbs loss but hopefully as I have less to lose now it will be more dramatic sooner. Maybe wishful thinking, though!

This time starting dieting is such a different experience for me. I was morbidly obese, very alone, agoraphobic, living at my mums in a very stressful situation and having about 20 panic attacks a day. If I can manage to lose weight in that environment then frankly there is loads of hope for me now. I live in my own place, don’t have panic attacks or agoraphobia, have a very hectic weekend social life and am only just classed as ‘obese’ (3bmi away from overweight) and I have lots of friends. There is no reason whatsoever for me not to manage it now. Weightloss is not easy, as we all know, and it is a complete battle of the mind, but we also know how rewarding the results can be. THIS is what excites me.

For the record, not that this matters to me one way or the other but is good to have a record of, I am not using Xenical this time. This weightloss is completely natural. I mean it was natural last time, it bugs me when people assume it is not because of the pills, but you just have a helping hand kicking your habits into place. Critics of weightloss pills say the weight will all go back on afterwards or you’ll always rely on the tablets or you don’t learn proper eating habits and while I would agree this is the case with Reductil (which I did try once), it certainly is not the case with Xenical. Xenical is ALL about teaching good eating habits. But even so I am not going to use it just because I can. It was there and very beneficial to me at a time when all other avenues had failed me. I am not in the desperate situation now that I was in then and in some ways that will make weightloss harder but in other ways, easier.

Some people struggle to exercise when trying to lose weight and that holds them back but with me it is food I struggle with. I love food. I am a ganit. I am not fussy, will eat almost anything and in large portions too. Portion size has been the struggler for me. But cutting out bad foods too. Cheese, bread, ice cream, cakes, crisps, chocolate… you name it! I do find it easier to cut out than have in moderation though, and I feel healthier too. So this slightly unorthodox article by Amanda Ursell informing us of bad-foods-that-can-be-good really caught my eye. She tells us the nutritional benefits of red meat, white bread, kebabs, ice cream and butter! Articles like this should come with a warning to be taken with care. It’s all good knowing these can occassionally be ‘not so bad’ for us, but I do worry that some people will take the article literally and use it as an excuse to live on those foods, which would obviously not be sound health advice. But if you read between the lines, Amanda does make this very clear. Personally, I like the idea of ice cream for dessert every night (I actually started losing weight doing this last year!) and do eat red meat for the iron, but I am going to steer clear of white bread I think…

Weightloss Is A Good Thing

I think I mentioned a few days ago that I was doing WLR again. I have tried other programmes including fitday, sparkpeople, mynetdiarty, weightwatchers etc but WLR is by far the best. It has a simple interface and most importantly has a database of English foods. It is not the most extensive programme but it has everything you need for weightloss. It also has a supportive forum and lots of articles of interest. The one thing that has impressed me most though is the package they send you when you join up. You get a book about weightloss and a booklet to write down what you eat. These are things I have received in the past but now they add this spoon collection so you can measure out 1/4. 1/2, 3/4 of a teaspoon and a tablespoon. How handy is that?! It also supplied a measuring tape. Good stuff.

I went to the doctors yesterday and once she got over the idea that I was just wasting her time she did order me a blood test for anaemia. She told me she thought it was nothing to worry about though and if my body is telling me to give up working out then that is what I should do! She asked if I had lost any weight and when I told her 5 stone she looked flabberghasted. I went on to explain that this was a very conscious effort and she just continued to look disapprovingly at me! Oh well, I am happy and that is the main thing!

I did well with food yesterday. I had about 1700 calories but I did eat in the night, oddly. I had an apple and a bowl of Frosties plus a few little cheese triangles. Probably came to about 2100 in total. I need 2500 to maintain so its not a total disaster. I just weighed in and weighed the same as yesterday so it is cool. The thing that is most horrible though is waking up and feeling rubbish because you body has undigested food in it. Won’t be doing that again in a hurry.

It is 2pm and I have just realised I havent eaten today!!!!! I woke up at like 11am anyway but then I got to chatting to my friends and before I realised it, it was this time. I am just cooking a chicken fillet to have in a salad before I get on with some work.

I’m On Fire!

Day two of success! 1460 calories, 1.2 litres of water (my bad!), an hour of walking and this morning a loss of another two pounds, bringing me from 14.12 on monday to 14.9 today!

I knew that it was a matter of getting into it again and once I did then it would all be good, but it was just the hurdle of that first initial day. I remember when I started the first time around, I had similar problems. I just could not get into the dieting so I joined the gym knowing that the more I exercised the less I would eat and within a week I was eating less and less. Then I had a good day and I told myself, ‘right, you did yesterday without any problems, there is nothing to stop you doing today in the same manner’. The more successful days I had the easier it got, and the same is happening this time.

I know they say that we should not put emphasis on the scales but I do and that spurs me on. Granted, it fustrated me when they were not going down and – God forbid – when they were going up, but I knew that was because I was overeating. It is about being honest with yourself. If you restrict your calories and work out, there is no reason (unless medical) for the scales not to work in your favour. Sorry, you’ve got self-rightous Groovybabe back!

I have a doctor’s appointment in less than an hour to get to the bottom of my lethergy. I am a bit nervous as I have not been to the doctor’s in ages, but will be pleased to try and get to the bottom of it. I am really really missing being so active. That said, I have been taking more walks down the seafront near my house in order to get any exercise in, which is better mentally for me than looking at a wall inside a badly-lit gym!

Success

I feel so accomplished! I went back to WLR yesterday and had a successful day. I ate 1761 calories, 1.7 litres of water (plus 2 cups of tea and 2 pints of jelly!) and 11.9 portions of fruit and veg. And I did not eat in the night at all! Not a single morsel past my lips! I don’t think I even woke up wanting to eat!

I woke up with my stomach feeling solid and sore but that was not too bad once I went to toilet. I am not feeling full of energy today but I am going to go to the gym and see how far I get with it. I am also going to make a doctors appointment today. No, really. I am.

I was feeling really down yesterday so it makes it all the more special that I had a good day and night. Now I am just going to think, I did it yesterday, I can do it today. And take one day at a time. I am determined to see the scales fall down again. I just want to get to 13.0, well 12.13, at the moment, which is less than 2 stone so I do not see why I cannot do this.

Confidence

I widgetized my sidebar and it messed up the background and looked funny and I couldn’t work out how to fix it so I have taken off my colourful background image. :’( At least it looks clean, I guess.

I went out last night and have vague memories of tequila shots and am feeling rather delicate so the fact that I am writing in here today now is testiment to just how serious I am about wanting to get back on track with losing.

I weighed myself just now and am still 14.9. It is starting to fustrate me a little bit now. I always always lose weight after a big night but I haven’t this week. Probably something to do with the lovely big burger I ate last night (before I went out) but it was delicious! I didn’t dance last night really so did not burn off calories but I did end up walking across the city at 4am on my own to get to my mums house because I lost my friends and had no money on me. I know! I was very scared but luckily nothing happened to me. Actually I ran for a quite a while too. W00t.

When I lost all that weight I felt so confident, I was untouchable. I really felt on top of the world. But the last few months I have started dating again and due to bad choices (when will I learn!?) my confidence has slowly been eroding. It hasn’t helped that due to boy-stress I ended up putting 10lbs on so when I looked in the mirror lately and could visably see those 10lbs around my waistline, my confidence has plummeted further. The last few weeks I have got my mojo back, and my sense of equilibrium, so I have slowly been re-gaining control of what I eat. But the thoughts I have when I look in the mirror these last few days are quite worrying. I haven’t felt this bad about myself (well, my look) since I weighed 19 stone. I really don’t know what I can do about it other than to start losing weight again (don’t bother telling me weightloss on its own won’t bring confidence – it does!) so I need to get really serious about this. REALLY SERIOUS.

Here are my intentions:

• Stick to 1600 calories, or less.
• Do NOT eat during the night. Ever.
• Drink 2-3 litres of fluids every day.
• Some form of exercise every day.
• Gym 3x a week.
• Weigh myself daily.
• Write in my blog daily.
• Keep my food diary updated.

I am also going to the doctors tomorrow for a blood test. I have been feeling wiped out for weeks now and it is not only intefering with my exercise plan but my life in general. I don’t think it can be anything too serious as I have not had it affect my weight but I think it is a good idea to get these things checked out.

More Successful

I ate really badly last night throughout the night but when I woke up this morning I felt nauseous, I had the pre-sick water thing in my mouth, so I didn’t eat a thing until 2pm. I have just logged up my calories on this fantastic new site: www.mynetdiary.com and it has come up at 1600 calories. I also did an hour of walking today as well, so if I manage to not have a midnight binge, I should stay on track with weightloss.

I think I will be alright about not binging tonight. I seem to have begun to lose my appitite today. I guess that is down to feeling sick. I hope I am not feeling wiped out tomorrow and that I can enjoy a workout. Have decided that if my health is still affecting me come Monday I will go have some blood tests (its the panic anxiety sufferer in me worrying – I dont suffer now but the thought processes are still nagging at me).

In non-health related news, this morning I was locked in my apartment! I went to open the Yale lock and the door was jammed. I tried everything to open it and was about to ring the landlord to come out and sort it out when my Daddy arrived randomly and managed to fiddle it open! Phew!

I have updated the site again, it is very colourful. I still need to play around with it and touch it up, and sort out the sidebar but it looks different!