spyro88 Member

3 months. That was back in Spring 2020 and I have lost more since and haven't put any back on. I think it's best to do it slowly.

I think it is quite acidic. My friend is a printmaker and uses Diet Coke for etching, so there must be some acid in there!!! However, I still drink it :)

I have a few Pepsi Max's in a week, and use slimline tonic as a mixer if that counts (I think it also has aspartame) I guess it's one of those things where it could be slightly better for your health not to, but if you like them then life is less fun without. It's all about balance.

I usually eat back between 50-100% of mine. I still lose weight. If I don't eat enough then I get tired, weak and hangry! And that's not a Me that anyone wants to spend time with :D

I like slimline tonic water with a bit of elderflower cordial

What an amazing achievement. Well done! Can I ask how you have found the journey? Has it been easy, difficult, have there been any times you have relapsed or struggled to stick to your calories? How have you overcome it if so?

Maybe he knew you had the type of personality who would rise to that challenge ;)

Finding something that helps you "zone out", whatever that is, is really important. For me that is art, exercise and books/ movies. Everyone is different but you just need something that takes your mind away and gives you something else to focus on for a while.

You don't need that much protein. You should eat a maximum of 30% protein in your diet (ideally 40% carbs and 30% fat), and that's if you are overweight and want to try extra protein for satiation. A non-overweight person should have around 15% protein, 55% carbs and 30% fat. An adult woman of a healthy weight will usually…

I find it very strange what people will do for entertainment... it doesn't seem very healthy to me :( @psychod787 I agree, it's not really representative of the experience of a person who is overweight and has been for a long time. The Personal Trainer has years of experience and training of having a fit and healthy body…

I think it's different. I've lost just over 11kg (24lbs). I have an 8kg (17.6lbs) kettlebell, and if I were to pick that up and try to walk around with it all day, it would be a lot harder than simply walking around in my body when I weighed more.

I miss them too! Stopped working so long ago.

I really sympathise and don't have a huge amount of advice that common sense probably hasn't already told you :( It's really hard! But just in case you haven't already heard these... Try eating foods which are large in volume but low in calories. They take up space in your stomach and make you feel full. Also high protein…

Mmmm oh my gosh now I really want strawberries! :D

Why are you struggling to eat your calories? Do you have a poor appetite? How many calories are you trying to eat?

There are definitely things to do with bone structure and overall body shape which are genetic. But sometimes people put weight down to genes when actually it's more to do with lifestyle... they will say "I'm fat because my parents are fat" but actually their parents have passed on certain lifestyle habits to them if you…

I gave up caffeine for a while a few years ago, I got very bad headaches for a few days but it was manageable. I now have coffee but I do a 50/50 mix of real coffee and decaf, so it is a lower caffeine content. That works quite well for me.

It's very strange how you are linking cellulite to diet soda. You made lots of changes to your lifestyle, not just cutting out diet soda, you were eating better and exercising more. I really think it's a stretch to blame your cellulite just on diet soda! Anyway if it were me I would definitely cut out Monster because it is…

Thanks both - I've ordered a cheap one to see how I get on - I can always upgrade later :)

I don't think there's any evidence that decaf coffee is bad for you. I sometimes mix decaf and regular coffee 50/50 to lower the caffeine but keep the flavour.

1200 really is too low for most people, unless it's very short term. People who do 1200 calorie diets generally tend to yo-yo because it's just not sustainable over the long term. Try upping it a bit, my view is that the absolute minimum for most people is 1400 and if you're on that you should be eating back some of your…

Cafe Direct Machu Picchu. I have tried lots of decaf coffees, I had a bit of a journey with it last year to find a decent one as I'm very picky! This is the one I settled on as being close enough to real coffee and not having the horrible decaf aftertaste. Really recommend it. Only thing is I'm not sure if it's available…

I don't like it when people ask me how much I've lost (which seems to be really common!?) Like if I put a number on it it will somehow validate the achievement? Why do they need to know? When I'm cagey about it they will push it and go "oh go on, you MUST know... is it around *insert number here*?" It's pretty personal in…

You look lovely in both photos, but 41lbs is an incredible loss and there's definitely a big difference. Well done!

I understand not wanting to eat on the commute at the moment (and in some cases it's not possible anyway if you're on public transport and need to wear a mask). Can you eat a snack just before you leave work instead? Or you could have a low-calorie snack ready for the moment you get home? Another possibility is to not have…

Wow thanks everyone, some really insightful comments there. I do need to look at the behaviour more closely. I've been doing this for years and have done various things to try and work through it but obviously haven't yet succeeded on getting a grip on it! I know that occasional high-calorie foods can be fit into a plan,…

What do you think you were eating on an average day before? If it was more than 1450, then cutting down to that is going to be a step in the right direction. If you limit it too much it just becomes miserable and difficult to stick to it, so just do what you can, as long as it's going the right way from your previous…

If you're feeling hungry then don't try to stay under 2,250, just try to meet that. That's your calorie allowance so you should lose weight on that amount. There's no point in depriving yourself needlessly to try and boost it - I know it's tempting to make it go faster, but that is how people set themselves up to fail…

One more tip - If you think about it, even if you're eating just a tiny bit less than you were before, that's an improvement and you might see some loss. How many calories do you think you were having per day before you started this? Say it was 3,000 and you say you're currently set to 2,250. Try increasing it to 2,500…

Have you started recently? If so it can take a while to adjust to eating less than you're used to, especially if you were overeating before. Also though, it does depend what you're actually eating and what your calories are set to. Some people have them set too low thinking that will help them lose weight faster, but then…