Weight Watchers

[Diane65]

Poor you with your achilles tendon I really feel for you as you are so in the zone.
That eating plan sounds interesting, I would love to see it. I tend to run out of ideas of what to eat and end up eating the same thing all the time ie
Breakfast: Bran Flakes or Porridge with semi skimmed milk with a glass of water and a black coffee.
Lunch: Wholemeal roll with beef/quorn beef rocket and sweet chilli sauce with 5 small tomatoes, apple/orange and weight watchers fromage frais. With black coffee and water.
Dinner: chicken with some type of tomato or yogurt sauce, veg and rice or new potatoes.
On my indulgance day I always have a cake/chocolate and a yorkshire pudding with my roast dinner.
(I have always drank black coffee so nothing to do with the diet)
If anyone has any ideas of menus or how I can improve on my meals would love to hear.
As I don't have milk in my drinks I have to have milk on my cereals and a yogurt each day for my calcium levels; I had a bone density scan at work, we all did just trying it out and mine was fine but a lot of the younger girls with the faddy diets had really low bone densitys which is quite worrying especially as one just in her 30's was showing signs of osteoporosis
Enjoy the sunshine everyone and I'm just off for my walk now!

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

For starters, Diane, split your meals into 5. Doing this raises your metabolism to burn fat...so basically eat every 2-3 hours ; ) You can make it 3 main meals, with a mid morning snack, and mid afternoon snack in between. I trust you are also counting your calories too. For fat loss make sure it is 15-20% you maintenance level. Since you are static with your weight at the moment, analyse what you are eating now and reduce it by 15-20% AND change your diet so body doesnt get use to one pattern all the time, make sure your sauces are all healthy and contain little or no saturates.

Other tips use egg whites, discard the yolk or 4 egg whites to 1 yolk. Drink skimmed milk, not even semi skimmed. Skimmed milk may taste a little more watery but not that much so, I really enjoy drinking skimmed milk. If you feel hungry between 9pm-11pm then best filler is a glass of skimmed milk. And use it for your bran flakes.

Rice cakes with cottage cheese make a great mid morning or mid afternoon meal (rice cakes are really fulling). Dont eat too much fruits as they have a lot sugar content even though they are natural but for fat loss be moderate with them. Eat as much simple carbs as you want such as green veg like broccoli, and salad.

Drinks lots of water. If water is not so appetizing sometimes, then a tea is a good substitute. Definitely when working out or on your walks, have a water bottle with you and drink plenty. Water also helps your metabolism as well as other benefits.

I'll post my menus later today.

I'm not sure what problem I have on my heel, it seems alright when I start getting about and I even ended playing my cricket match yesterday and bowling at my fullest but then when I rest, I feel it becomes tight again. Is that the achilles tendon then? Something tells me I really should give it at least a week rest in case I aggravate it and make it worse. I can always replace my cardio with rowing and even cross trainer which has lesser impact on the feet. If it doesnt heal up by next week, I'll go see a therapist. Gotta stay positive, there will always be setbacks and its all about overcoming them one way or another.

[Diane65]

I've been good and am now drinking 2 litres of water a day, my weight is still coming down at about a lb a week so not static yet and I am counting my calories. I will switch to skimmed milk and try the rice cakes as I've got some cottage cheese in, I cannot eat in between meals because of infection control etc and we get no breaks in between patients. I did 15000 steps yesterday and my feet were so tired but felt good for doing it. It's ideas for meals that I'm stuck on so would love to see what you are eating.

Re your achilles, have you tried stretching it before you get up in the morning and after exercising? You can do this by keeping your leg straight and looping a towel under the ball of your foot and pulling your foot up towards you and hold for 30 seconds just to stretch it before you exercise. I remember you saying that you had shin splints in the past which had improved with supportive footwear and now that your exercise programme is quite intense you may need orthotics to give you that extra control to prevent further injuries; it maybe worth asking your GP for a referral. If you could send your legs to Manchester I could be more helpful.

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

I've been good and am now drinking 2 litres of water a day, my weight is still coming down at about a lb a week so not static yet and I am counting my calories. I will switch to skimmed milk and try the rice cakes as I've got some cottage cheese in, I cannot eat in between meals because of infection control etc and we get no breaks in between patients. I did 15000 steps yesterday and my feet were so tired but felt good for doing it. It's ideas for meals that I'm stuck on so would love to see what you are eating.

Re your achilles, have you tried stretching it before you get up in the morning and after exercising? You can do this by keeping your leg straight and looping a towel under the ball of your foot and pulling your foot up towards you and hold for 30 seconds just to stretch it before you exercise. I remember you saying that you had shin splints in the past which had improved with supportive footwear and now that your exercise programme is quite intense you may need orthotics to give you that extra control to prevent further injuries; it maybe worth asking your GP for a referral. If you could send your legs to Manchester I could be more helpful.

OK, I'll just need to get some proper packaging and send them via DHL as I dont wont Parcelforce losing them in transit, my legs are very important to me :)

Thanks for the tips, Diane, I havent tried any of that but you bet I will do so from now. And I'll definitely go to GP and try get a referral.

I understand your restrictions now, sorry I think you did mention that before but I forgot! You doing brilliantly depsite it though I'll email you my meal progs :)

Hows everyone else doing?

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

Ouch, how did you do that MrGlass?

Sounds like you're really doing well with the weight loss though. Am very impressed!

Thanks Jmd, although I am obviously please at my considerable weight loss (or rather fat loss but I am more proud of the actual knowledge I have gained on the journey. So much so, that I contemplate on perhaps studying more on it and down the line look into becoming a fitness trainer...maybe! It would be a drastic career change if I and a hell of a lot to study but I do enjoy the subject.

I dont know how the heel injury came on...just woke up with it! But as Dr Diane suggested, my more intense activities may have caused it which makes sense.

Dont forget to give me your update stats on Tuesday btw I promise to behave this time... "he says with fingers crossed behind his back"

[jmd1983]

Up till now I've been kind of half-heartedly doing my exercise and healthy eating routine. And all of a sudden yesterday when trousers that are 'normally' huge on me were really tight I was fed up with it. Fed up with being fat and unhealthy and generally feeling awful.

So have really started in earnest again now. Did 10000 steps yesterday which was pretty good compared to my usual 5000 max. At a healthy meal, no late evening snacking. Walked to a station further away this morning, had some cereal with skimmed milk for breakfast and have already done almost 2000 steps. Going out for dinner with friends tonight so hoping to have the strength and willpower to choose a healthy option.

Bikini body here I come!!

[Diane65]

Well done jmd1983 you will be a bikini babe, I'm only up to 700 steps and now in Costa Coffee with an Americano gazing at the Lemon cake.
Thanks for the spread sheet TheyCallMeMrGlass you have a very positive and professional approach to this health regime and you would be brilliant as a personal trainer/ fitness coach as you keep me in check, if I wasn't reading this thread that cake would be mine!! Good Luck with your achilles and the Dr Diane is so funny.
Hows everyone else doing?

[jmd1983]

Agree with you Diane, MrGlass is indeed a very motivating factor! Well done for staying away from the lemon cake!

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

JMD, if you are want to wear that bikini, you will have the strength and willpower to eat healthy tonight! But you will enjoy the dinner too because after you read the following tips you will feel good about what you choose to eat and enjoy what you eat :) You can even pursuade your friends in a fun way (dont bore them though!) something like "hey try eat this, you'll get to die further ahead than fate planned, taste good too".

Do you know what restauraunt you going to? Have a look at their menu online if its available. Then follow these great tips from these links (doesnt matter if you dont know the menu yet, just apply the knowledge when you're there)

http://helpguide.org/life/fast_food_nutrition.htm

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1133.aspx?C ... goryID=165

Enjoy your evening out

[AnneJ]

Oh, Costa cakes do look the best, I usually treat myself to a skinny Cappucino on a Saturday and it takes all my willpower to keep away from the new lemon cupcakes, I’ve never had one but they look so good!!
I think I will have the worst result this week I’ve lost a pound since we last weighed!! Its my own fault though!! I stayed the same and then the easter eggs got the better of me, if I’m honest I think I had probably put on a pound or 2 (I didn’t weigh myself but felt like I could have done!) but I’ve got myself in check now and I’ve undone the damage. The exercise hasn’t been a problem, I enjoy going so I’ve kept that up, I’m trying a step class for the first time on Thursday, I’ll let you know how I get on considering I have zero co-ordination!!
I know what you mean Diane, I’ve recently started using my pedometer again and sometimes it doesn’t count the steps, I found that when I throw it on the floor it resets itself(although I wouldn’t recommend this!)