aemsley05 Member

Half price Halo Top? OMG, there isn't enough room in my freezer... This has just made my day - thanks for the heads up! Had cinnamon the other week so time to try ALL the other flavours!

Wow, that is quite the transformation! You look so strong and so happy - well done! :D

I've always had dinner as my biggest meal and haven't had any problems with losing. During the week I eat my breakfast and lunch at work, so dinner is the only meal I get to properly sit down and enjoy - it makes sense for me to make the most of it! I also snack in the evening after dinner (and I don't even go to bed late)…

Check out the low calorie protein cheesecake thread - cheesecake for breakfast is awesome! The recipe is super-customisable so you can add whatever you like to suit your tastes - fruit, nuts, chocolate, spices etc. Chia puddings are also good as they have lots of fibre to help fill you up too. There's loads of recipes…

The scale isn't the only measure of success - how about taking measurements instead? Many people track waist and hip measurements as well as or instead of tracking weight. This could be one way to check progress without risking being derailed by the scale. Alternatively, if measurements may have the same affect on you as…

What you are eating now may be enough - and may not be under your calories. Are you weighing your food? Are you using generic database entries? When I started out, I was pretty terrible at logging so who knows what I was actually eating... Get a food scale, check for green ticks against database entries, scan what you can…

It's a good idea to try out different things and see what you enjoy. The best programme is one that you'll stick with, and if you hate it you're much less likely to do it! If your gym offers fitness classes, you could try out a couple and see if you like them. You could also try out local sports clubs and activities -…

You're definitely not alone - we all compare ourselves to others and it's so easy to get discouraged and feel like you're not good enough. If these fitness gurus aren't inspiring you then maybe it's time to stop following them? That way you won't see the pictures and feel the need to constantly compare yourself to others.…

Hello and welcome :) Unless you are very short, old and/or sedentary, you can probably lose weight on a lot more than 1200 calories and may find that a lower rate of loss (meaning more calories to eat per day) makes this journey more pleasant and sustainable - and, after all, you'll lose a lot more by sticking to a lower…

When I started out I used to remind myself that 0 multiplied by anything was still 0, so as long as you do something (however little) you are doing infinitely more than nothing! I second the idea to do more walking - you'd be surprised how good a burn you can get, as well as getting to take in some scenery (depending on…

If you can look up their menu in advance you can find equivalent "matches" to log instead. You can break dishes right down to log the seafood, veggies and other sides separately to help with accuracy. I love numbers and spreadsheets so I usually make a spreadsheet listing all my options and approximate calories so I can…

As others have said, rather than try to change everything at once and risk running out of steam after two days, why not take it slow and steady and make small, manageable changes? How about for the first week you don't make any changes at all - you just start off by logging what you're eating now? That will get you into…

I normally eat a ton at Christmas but this year I've worked so hard to achieve a healthy weight and I'm not going to let that all go to waste. So last month I sat down and thought about all the food and flavours that I love at Christmas and how I can have those without blowing my calorie goal every day. So I've been having…

I used to feel really self conscious when I was out running at first - especially as it was just after New Year so everyone must have been thinking "there's another New Year's resolution that she's not going to keep up." But do you know the only comments I've ever got while running? First there's the old man I've passed a…

When my ex-husband and I separated I found that exercise was a real lifesaver - it gave me something else to focus on and a reason to feel good about myself. Exercise and tracking your food can also give you a sense of control, which can be really important when everything else feels like it's falling apart around you.…

Developing habits - I don't need to be motivated to go to the gym now that it's just "what I do" every lunch time.

Yeah, I work in an open-plan office as well and am not comfortable doing squats at my desk either! Our company is very male-dominated though so you almost never bump into anyone in the ladies' toilets, so I often do a quick set of squats or lunges when I go for a bathroom break! It helps that there's double doors leading…

That sounds like a really difficult situation, but at least you know that it's only temporary and there is an end in sight. Life happens and sometimes we have to change plans because everything doesn't revolve around our health and fitness plans unfortunately! I totally sympathise with craving the gym and missing it when…

Mine are: To enter at least one race (5k or 10k) To actually do things instead of just thinking about them - like getting the ladies in my family to run one of the women's cancer research 5ks together To volunteer more frequently at my local parkrun To finally make my goals of 50 parkruns and get a tshirt And I'd really…

Don't worry - lots of people aren't totally happy when they hit goal. What was your goal based on? My original goal was the top end of a healthy BMI but when I got there I wasn't happy so I changed my goal to the middle of my healthy BMI range, which was around 20lb lower. Even after hitting this goal, I don't look in the…

Well done - you look amazing and so, so happy! I'm a gamer as well (World of Warcraft nut) so I know how easy it is to lose hours and hours in front of your computer screen while mindlessly snacking. Good luck with going to the gym and the next part of your journey. You've come so far already I have no doubt you can…

You can absolutely see a difference - just look at how much bigger that smile is! You're doing great! :)

Great job and well done on having the mental strength to walk away from temptations and just say no. Amazing results!

Again, thanks for all the great suggestions everyone - I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! Really looking forward to trying all kinds of different food - and now it looks like I'll have to plan trips all round the rest of the US to try regional specialties everywhere else! So I guess that's my vacations sorted for…

Thanks everyone for your suggestions - I love the idea of living off nothing but tacos! :D Will check out In 'n Out Burger for sure, and will definitely get some Mexican and BBQ. I'm going with my boyfriend who is totally not adventurous when it comes to food, but fortunately he loves Mexican and all things meat so that…

Sounds like you've probably seen more of Scotland than I have, lol! I grew up on one of the Scottish islands (the Isle of Arran, which is the most southerly major Scottish island) and now live over on the other coast near Aberdeen. Hope you tried some haggis while you were over here! Some people are grossed out by it but I…

Nope - currently there are pumpkins in the supermarkets purely for the kiddies to carve for Hallowe'en. I did buy one and roast and puree it to make my own pumpkin-based goodies, but otherwise we have nothing. Well, we do get Pumpkin Spice Lattes now but even that's a relatively new thing.

It's really common to feel a bit at a loss when you're nearing your goal, especially if you've been losing weight for a long time and are used to the 'losing' mindset where there's a clearly defined goal and an 'end' in sight. What can help is to set yourself other, non-scale related goals, for example fitness goals (like…

I'd have to travel halfway across the country to my nearest Waitrose... :( Another option (again, slightly higher in calories) is Perfect World dairy-free no added sugar ice cream (http://www.perfectworldicecream.co.uk/), which they stock in Tesco (in the free-from freezer section, NOT with the other ice creams). The…

My boyfriend loves fast food so we eat McDonald's, KFC, Subway, Domino's etc several times a week - hasn't stopped me losing or maintaining weight! One great thing about fast food places is they typically have nutritional information readily available so you can look things up in advance and make informed decisions about…