Weight loss/maintenance/healthy living support chat

[luvpoohandcompany]

Hoping it’s ok to join in
I had lost 13lbs from the start of the year but have been going through some health issues since then and have gained almost all back mainly due to shielding at home from covid-19 and much too easy access to the kitchen
Starting slowly but making a determined effort to avoid the junk food from now until Monday and sticking to proper meals. Using MyFitnessPal to count calories and nutrition but I know I need to get a better balance of nutrition before I even look
I weigh daily too and am trying not to have supper every night - a sneaky wee habit that stayed with lockdown and is gradually becoming a 4 th meal each day!

 

[HappyGrape]

I am fighting with that 4th supper too!

 

[HappyGrape]

I am going to see my doctor next week and ask to have some blood tests done. Last two years I have been suffering with sleep issues, tiredness, hormones part of the month and gaining weight steadily every month.

I am so disappointed I let myself get to this weight and there is progress since early this year but it is very slow and I am still not feeling that well. I will ask for blood & hormones test to see if anything comes up

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

@HappyGrape i hope all goes well at the doctors. It’s always worth getting checked out to put your mind at rest plus it will give you a baseline for things like blood sugars and cholesterol so you may see improvement in those over time following your healthier lifestyle even if the scales don’t always show it! Good luck!

 

[HappyGrape]

I was sick in January and after that in March and few times after and my doctor now said when I was sick in January it is likely I had Covid and I am experiencing same issues as many are reporting post covid - fatigue, recurring colds, easy out of breath. She looked at the symptoms at the time 0 2 doses of antibiotics, high temperature, dry cough, low oxygen. I was tested for Covid in March and it was negative but I waited 30 days for result and she said a lot of that batch would have been false negatives

Anyway - getting blood tests done today to rule out other things

She could send me to rehab clinic for Cov19 but at the minute she said - even on low energy days persist with your walks, your energy will build up. You are doing the right things

It gave me fresh motivation to focus on my weight

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

@HappyGrape sounds like you’re doing all the right things

 

[travelmomof3]

I’ve been using LoseIt! since 2010 and was lucky enough to grandfather into premium. I am an Apple user so Health pulls in everything except my food log so that is the only thing I have to integrate with LoseIt. (Can’t help if you’re an android user!). I think starting a food log is time consuming initially until you get your usual foods all recorded for the first time. It takes me seconds to log my meals because it’s so rare to eat something I’ve not had before. Give whichever you chose a couple of months before you give up on it.

I have both a calorie and grams of protein diet plan from a nutritionist. Getting a minimum of 70 grams of protein out of 1200 calories isn’t easy! I’m also only allowed to eat half my exercise calories but only if I exercise more than an hour.

Here is a picture of what it looks like integrated.

View attachment 501441View attachment 501442

I love LoseIt! We started using it a long time ago as well but don't have premium. I'm currently using it to track cals as well but would love for my Apple Watch to import the additional cals. I rarely go a day under 10,000 steps and would love for that to "count" lol!

Honestly LoseIt is the only thing that works for me. Even if I'm mindful I still think I somehow end up with excess cals. It's also motivating for working out for sure.

 

[ski_mom]

Honestly LoseIt is the only thing that works for me. Even if I'm mindful I still think I somehow end up with excess cals. It's also motivating for working out for sure.

Tracking is also the only thing that works for me. Last night, I had 700 calories left for dinner. Our church is doing VBS this week, so I was going to be gone from 5:30-7:30. I had about 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and a tomato to tide me over until I had time to eat a proper dinner after I got back home. When I got home, I thought I'd just go light and had a few "smaller" things, but when I went to track what was on my plate, it was going to put me over. The thing that was more than I would have thought was one of those Del Monte fruit cups with the oatmeal in it. I think it had 180 calories. I decided not to eat it and I was just fine without it. If I wouldn't have been tracking, I would have thought I was eating a good-for-me low calorie dinner, but instead of I would have gone over my calorie goal.

 

[HappyGrape]

I am fan of calorie counting too. I completely understand it's not for everyone but I actually like it when I do it properly

zero energy today, it's early afternoon and I feel drained and I have not moved much. In two minds to get out and push myself or give myself a day to rest. it is so unusual for me to be like this, I hate it

I was fine thins weekend, I was out and about doing walks and enjoying life!

Can you all hit me with your favourite healthy foods when you need energy and mood boost

What do you all think about treats?
Do you have them daily as part of balanced diet?
Few nights a week?
do you have them in the house?
Special occasions only
or finding best to avoid?

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

What do you all think about treats?

I struggle with treats as I find it hard to limit them to a reasonable amount. At the minute I am doing well by allowing myself a mini packet of cookies or 3/4 boiled sweets a day which is roughly 100 calories and I try to keep them for the afternoon/evening so I don’t binge all day!

 

[BadPinkTink]

Joining in from Ireland.
Over the last year I decided to just eat a bit healthier and cut out as much processed food and takeaways as possible. I'm a former chef and know about nutrition etc so I put myself on a low carb, fresh fruit and veg and home made food diet.

I don't weigh myself but in the year I have dropped a jean size.
During the year I gave myself a monthly treat, such a pizza or Chinese or Indian takeaway or Mcdonalds or Hagen Daz icecream. I still ate chocolate and potato chips such as Doritos and Pringles and I used butter on toast etc.

All good until a few weeks ago, when I was hospitalized with pancreatitis caused by gall stones! My doctor has now put me on a low fat diet until I go back to hospital to have my gall bladder removed.

This means that I have to readjust my diet again, and this I'm finding hard. As a chef I know that my diet was healthy and balanced but now I have a diet sheet and have to cut out even the good plant based fats such as avocado, nuts and seeds.

I am keeping a food diary to make sure that what I eat does not cause another attack of pancreatitis as I never want THAT pain back again!

Anyways here are some of the things I have come up with, based on my previous diet and adjusted for the low fat diet sheet from my doctor.

I drink about 2 litres of water every day.

Breakfast
Nespresso coffee made with 250 ml low fat milk
25g low fat special flakes (Supermarket own brand version of Kellogs Special K)
1/2 cup 0% fat vanilla yogurt
Fresh chopped mango
Fresh blueberries

Morning Snack
1 slice of wholemeal bread with jam, no butter

Lunch
Homemade wrap
3 teaspoons reduced fat houmous
Fresh spinach leaves
Chopped tomato
Chopped bell pepper
Chopped cucumber
200ml fresh orange juice

OR
2 slices wholemeal toast, no butter
1 200g pot baked beans

OR
200ml low fat soup
2 slices wholemeal bread, no butter

Dinner
Homemade chicken salad
Mixed lettuce leaves
Chopped tomato
Chopped bell pepper
Chopped cucumber
Steamed broccoli
1 piece of Ryvita crispbread broken into pieces
1/2 cooked chicken breast, chopped
1 tablespoon honey mustard mayo dressing
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

OR
Baked potato with the skin
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
Tinned sweetcorn
Steamed broccoli

OR
Homemade low fat chili and plain boiled rice. I haven't made this yet, but I'm planning it for today's dinner. I'm going to adjust my normal homemade chili recipe and make it low fat. I'll come back tomorrow and update with the recipe

Snacks are
Fresh melon
Marshmallows
Jelly beans
Homemade plain popcorn, no butter
Haribo Starmix

 

[HappyGrape]

hi @BadPinkTink. The world is small, I am also posting form Ireland!

Welcome to the group, you seem to have your plan made up with great detail!

 

[BadPinkTink]

hi @BadPinkTink. The world is small, I am also posting form Ireland!

Welcome to the group, you seem to have your plan made up with great detail!

oh wow, hi

thanks, well thats what you get when you give a former chef a diet sheet

I'm kinda struggling this week though, would really love a pizza or Indian takeaway. Being told I can't eat certain foods is a lot harder than choosing not to eat certain foods

 

[HappyGrape]

would something like boxty instead of pizza base, or even omelette give you pizza fix?

RE indian - what about home made? what kidn of foods you can't eat?

My husband is qualified chef but never worked as one as he went on to study other things. He HATES cooking healthy and he just doesn't bother. It's not the right way to cook according to him

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I'm kinda struggling this week though, would really love a pizza or Indian takeaway. Being told I can't eat certain foods is a lot harder than choosing not to eat certain foods

Have you checked out The Hairy Dieters cookbooks? Great section on fakeaways and they have always helped kill those cravings for me (when I actually cook them (rather than fall spectacularly off the wagon lol).
I love the korma and the sweet and sour

 

[HappyGrape]

I have them all and love them! We love the jalfarezzi

 

[BadPinkTink]

would something like boxty instead of pizza base, or even omelette give you pizza fix?

RE indian - what about home made? what kidn of foods you can't eat?

My husband is qualified chef but never worked as one as he went on to study other things. He HATES cooking healthy and he just doesn't bother. It's not the right way to cook according to him

I can't have anything fried I have to limit fat so toast with no butter, no cheese, no cooking oils, no nuts or seeds, no avocado.

I'm going to make a version of scrambled eggs this weekend, I can have eggs once a week.

I totally understand your husband and I agree cooking healthy with low fat substitutes is painful.

Have you checked out The Hairy Dieters cookbooks? Great section on fakeaways and they have always helped kill those cravings for me (when I actually cook them (rather than fall spectacularly off the wagon lol).
I love the korma and the sweet and sour

Thanks for the tip, I had a look at some of their recipes. I can't fry anything, or have cream or coconut or almonds so anything such as the chicken Korma or chicken jalafrezi is out, as the vegetables and meat have to be fried / sauted first.

I can grill or roast meat and vegetables, as long as its lean meat with no added oil or butter. I can have low fat versions of yogurt and milk but no cheese.

Its not a weight loss diet, its a reduce fat intake diet, so that my pancreas and gall bladder don't have to work too hard and get inflamed and cause intense pain. When I was in hospital they had me fasting for 4 days and on a fluid drip , to totally clear my system so that the inflammation in my pancreas healed.

 

[HappyGrape]

the uk slimming world are obsessed with low and no fat, you could have a look at buying their magazine or browsing their website for recipes. Being chef you probably don't need anyone to that for you , you can come up with things yourself but it could give you some inspiration

 

[PollyannaMom]

Hi! Started reading this thread again for a little motivation in the menu department. - I get bored too easily, and get in ruts.

Can you all hit me with your favourite healthy foods when you need energy and mood boost

Almonds are my go-to for that. The protein helps keep hunger at bay longer, and the magnesium boosts my mood.

What do you all think about treats?

Small is my motto. I believe in having a treat when I really want one, but I try to keep the portions low. The first three bites are always the best anyway!

 

[HappyGrape]

I am super motivated to make August my month.

We had lunch out today, first day of family staycation. I ask the for a swap to skip the chips for roasted vegetables and had fillet steak. I love my own air fryer chips but I don't fancy 800 calories restaurant portion enough to put them in the worth it category.

I am actually pretty proud of myself, that I picked myself up while feeling unwell and I said - right, I am doing this. If I need doctor, dietitian, counselor - whatever support I need I am going to get it. But in the end as Rumi said, whoever brought me here, will have to bring me home. It's me that need to up my game and shoot for more consistency and less excuses

happy August all