Am I doing this right?

Gennacy

Hello, This is my first forum post so please be gentle with me!
I started MFP a month ago, My husband is currently away somewhere unpleasant and he is losing an incredible amount of weight (yay him) This has spurred me on to try and look better for him (and for me too) for when he returns in ... 7weeks and 5 days (not that i am counting or anything;))

I started logging back in August and i thought I was doing OK. I am goal driven so have been jumping on the scales daily (same time, same clothing etc) And it was going fairly well until last week, I have just put on .3kg, now before you jump all over me i know that it takes time etc. and it isnt the worst weight gain but i am panicking, what if i am doing this wrong?

I just want to make sure i am doing it right, and the first few weeks were not a fluke? I currently weigh 181lbs (12.12st 82Kg) and am 162cm
I have a fitbit, so my exercise is logged there (not that i do much, just row for about 1mile a day) I am trying to cycle to my kids school. but i am so unfit i find it hard
I am trying so hard to drink water, but having rejected it all my life (34) its hard, I am using nasty carbonated flavoured sweetened water and managing about 1l-2l bottles a day
So could someone take a peak at my diary, I have logged everything, every last morsel, does it look OK?

ohh another question? Green Tea, nasty nasty stuff, but i have been told i should try drinking it to help lose weight, can this be sweetened by sugar/sweetner, or is that a waste if time?

Thanks in advance

Jen

melaniecheeks

Wow you have a sweet tooth! I'd try tracking your sugar for a while, and see if you could cut the meringue nests down a bit.

Try to get more fresh fruit and veg, and more protein. Do you not eat dinner?

Oh, and there's nothing magical about green tea - if you dont like it, dont drink it.

mockchoc

I agree. More fresh fruit and veggie. Less refined carbs... too many buns and other treats but not enough lean protein.

If you don't like water try things like herbal teas, sparkling natural mineral water with or without a squeeze or lemon or lime or anything else that isn't full of empty calories from sugar to get your water intake up.

Lyra89

You're eating a lot of 'fake' foods and not nearly enough 'real' foods...examples of real foods: oatmeal, fresh fruit, salads, stir frys, unprocessed meat and fish (baked/grilled/fried in a small amount of good oil) nuts, seeds, wholegrain carbohydrates such as brown rice & wholegrain pasta, fresh vegetables in salads (LARGE quantities can be eaten for very few calories leaving the body satiated)...you seem to be eating a lot of processed sugary things that will be doing nothing for your health or hunger, wont be flushing the toxins from your body resulting in firmer skin from less water retention and toxicity etc...if you switched to 'whole, real' foods you'd see an incredible difference in yourself! Of course you can lose weight eating junk, but its much, much easier if you stick to (mostly) real, healthy foods, and allow yourself a small treat once every day or two days...I snack on Nakd bars which are made from dried fruit and nuts & oats etc crushed together, they nip my 'cake' cravings in the bud! x

Gennacy

Hah! yes I do have a sweet tooth, I think on average I have 3-4 a meringues a day! before it was a bag of mars planets so you can tell 1) why I am fat 2) I am trying :)

I do eat dinner, but last week i switched the sections from Breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack to the format that is now, so the diary messed up!
Fresh fruit isn't a strength of mine, but I am embarrassed now and will endeavour to eat more!


Thank you

Lyra89

...forgot to mention natural yoghurt and minimally processed cheeses like mozzarella etc, or dairy substitutes like soy milk (which I usually have) x

Gennacy

Thank you all for your help!

I shall definitely try to eat more salads for lunches and work on the dinner time meals whilst cutting down on the sugar

Thank you
Jen

crocal

Hi
I agree with the other responses, don't drink green tea if you don't like it, try any sugar free drinks, herbal teas, fizzy water with sugar free squash etc. you will find something you like.

You will probably find it hard to simply stop all puddings, meringues, sweet treats entirely and this will make you miserable and could lead to you giving up, so instead look at your diary and how many of these you eat each day and agree an achievable reduction. Eg only one of either per day.

If you are not a fan of fresh fruit, do you like any tinned fruit in fruit juice (not syrup) or fruit stewed without any sweetener or a little canderel - better to add after cooking. Or have you thought of fruit you might have forgotten about like melon, kiwi fruit? Any of these would be much better than syrup sponge and custard.

If you're really not a fruit fan, you seem to like salad so try replacing some of your sweet snacks with things like raw carrot sticks, cucumber, celery.

The important thing is to agree small changes that are not too extreme so that you will stick to them. Then at a later date you can agree new challenges in a step by step fashion.

One last thing, your taste buds for sweet are similar to salt and take a couple of weeks to adapt. Although canderel is calorie free it's not helping break your enjoyment of very sweet things. Try cutting down and you will find that if you persevere you might dislike it for 2-3 weeks but after that you'll find your taste buds have adapted and a cuppa with canderel in will suddenly taste awful. You'll find a lot of people that used to drink tea and coffee with sugar and give it up, will not be able to drink sweet tea/coffee after a few weeks of going without -so it is worth persevering.

My main advice would be don't try all the suggestions at once, pick one or two you think. You can mange then when you've cracked them, add a few more changes in say a months time.

Don't look for a quick win, this is a long haul and good luck!!