Hi Felici. Have a great weekend!

Brandy: Thanks. I have a way to go, but the time is passing pretty fast. I figure if I just keep pushing the weight in the right direction it has to happen eventually.

My weight hasn't changed enough lately to warrant changing my signature, but at least it is ever so slowly going the right way.

Tom: I hope you have a great weekend too and keep enjoying your wonderful exercise.



Friday
Breakfast 7:30 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches , 1C low fat soy milk. 1 slice wholemeal toast with plum and cinnamon jam. Boiled egg . Coffee with 40 ml Hilo milk.

Snack 11:00 Watermelon. Coffee with milk.

Lunch: 1:00 Toasted sandwich with 2 slices wholemeal bread, 1 slices double smoked leg ham, 1 slice grilled eggplant, tomato, mushrooms, olives, ~ 15 gm parmesan. Diet apricot yoghurt Coffee with milk.

Snack 4:00 25 gm pack beef jerky.

Dinner 7:45 Grilled veal (100 gm) with ratatouille (eggplant, tomato, zucchini, capsicum, onion), 100 gm roast potato, asparagus, 15 gm parmesan grilled on top of veges. 4 dates. Coffee with milk.

Exercise: 32 minute walk – Warwick.

Hey Feli!! Have a great weekend and enjoy your time!! I know what you mean about not moving the ticker, mine is moving at one pace. SLOW AS SNAILS!!! But, we will fight to the bitter end won't we?? I'm not giving in anytime soon. I'm going to keep fighting it and eventually somethings got to give, RIGHT? hehehhehehe I hope you have a great time with the family.
HUGS!
Kim

I love ratatouille. I've never had veal. Is it any good? what does it taste like? I have a town in massachusetts called warwick. haha. I'm glad your weight is moving in the right direction. You are so strong willed. You never seem to eat anything you shouldn't, and you always do exercise.

No change is almost as good as loss, as long as the scales stay still you're at least not putting on weight!

Your list of foods made me hungry

Hi there!
I was reading about your contemplations regarding your appearance after weight loss. I may be younger than you, but I understand where you're coming from because I noticed that my breasts have suffered from my yo-yo weight over the past 6 or so years. I have seen the ravages of weight loss on skin. But the important thing is great health. I'm glad you look 10 years younger--I hope to retain a somewhat youthful appearance and I hope not smoking cigarettes will pay off! Either way, I hope your ankle feels better soon and I hope you get your exercise in and continue to your goal!!!!!!!
Have a great weekend!

I think your machine just gets stuck! In my case the way the scales have slowed down fits with me having a few more calories and exercising less. However, I have upped the ante and it's starting to happen again. I'm a little unsure still what will happen with my weight over the next month and a half as it's only 3 weeks now till we start this holiday and then that will last for over three weeks and be an unpredictable time. I certainly don't want to have any scale creep before then though. Also, as you say, I am fighting this to the end. I can't make this happen at a steady speed all the way to my goal but I absolutely will not stop till I get there and then I will make sure I maintain. I feel like I've wished I was able to do this my whole life. It's been too long already. I recognize the old mindset I had, that made me fat and I see it come trying to creep back in at times but I will persist in chasing it off.

Thanks for the kind words Brandy. Veal is good – similar to beef, but milder, and with less fat.

I have eaten high fat high sugar foods since I started this thing, but very rarely. That was quite a change for me. I did have them every day and more than once a day. I 'm not over the inclination but I'm over that habit. Having the sense that “that's not what I eat”, has been critical for me.

Lately though I've had a lot of weeks where there's been one or two special events that have meant I've included something I see as marginal – a bit high in fat or a bit high in sugar, though I don't go overboard with it. Also, most days I've eaten at least one extra item that I wouldn't have done when I was being very strict with myself - not an unhealthy type of food – just a bit more of it. [edit: For example, looking at the food below, Saturday looks fine to me, but Sunday the Chinese food wasn't really that satisfying. I had a bunch of leftover salad veges I could easily have eaten and which might have added enough bulk to satisfy me, or if not, I could have added a little low fat protein. Staying a bit hungry after my evening meal wouldn't be an option for me. However, although I managed to pass up the indulgent nuts I bought for the picnic during the day, that's what I ended up eating to round out the meal - a very fast extra 150-200 cals. It's not a big thing by itself, but it doesn't quite fit the idea of me pushing full bore with the weight loss.] I am managing to exercise almost every day again now, but it is always mild exercise. These are the things that I think have slowed me down.

So I don't see myself as doing as well with food and exercise as I was before the winter and before my life became more stressful. I suppose there are lots of times still when my impulse is eat something that I see as very unhealthy and my habit is to either ignore that, or to eat a better alternative even if it isn't the absolute best.

No change is almost as good as a loss – as long as it's not every week forever!!

I do think that being able to access and enjoy really wonderful food (in generally healthy ways), has been really important to me in being able to change the way I eat into something which will let me be a normal healthy weight.

Thank you! It has been a good weekend, with a lot more relaxed time than I've had lately.

Yes. Bouncing our weight around definitely has a negative pay off!! At least you are moving to control yours now and the younger the better as far as skin and healthy goes that's for sure!! I agree with you, health is still the most important thing by far. Not smoking is guaranteed to pay off for both health and skin - so keep going!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday

Breakfast 9:00 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches , 1C low fat soy milk. 1 slice fresh wholemeal bread (Vienna tin – tall) folded over a boiled egg and the lean portion of a piece of shortcut bacon. Coffee with 40 ml Hilo milk.
I had to go out early and stopped to buy the bread on the way home. It was still a little warm. I do not recommend stopping by a bakery before breakfast!!

Lunch: 2:00 1 slice wholemeal toast with leftover ratatouille, grilled mushrooms and topped with ~ 15 gm parmesan, grilled. 1 slice fresh wholemeal bread with plum and cinnamon jam. Watermelon. Coffee with milk.

Dinner 8:00 1 C Tinned white bean and autumn vegetable soup. 80 gm grilled pork. Salad veges and french onion dip: carrot, broccoli, mushroom, red and yellow capsicum. 4 dates. Coffee with milk.

Exercise: ~ 30 minute walk – Warwick.

Sunday

Breakfast 9:00 1 slice wholemeal toast with plum and cinnamon jam. 1 boiled egg. 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches , 1C low fat soy milk. Coffee with 40 ml Hilo milk.

Lunch 1:00 Wholemeal bread roll. Slice of low fat Jarlsberg cheese, slice of double smoked ham, a little grilled chicken, capsicum, Kalamata olives, tomato, lettuce. Diet ginger beer.

Dinner 7:00 Take away chinese. 1/3 C steamed rice. 1/3 C fine rice noodles. Stir fried combination seafood and meat and vegetables. ~ 15 nuts - cashews and macadamia. Tub of diet apricot yoghurt. Coffee with milk.

12:00 Diet coke.

Exercise: 2:40 40 minute walk.

I went for a picnic today because it's our Father's Day. We went to Bell's Rapids. It's on the Avon River (which is pretty much a big creek at the moment), just at the base of the hills we have outside our city. There were quite a lot of people there so we crossed the river to the less busy side and had a really lovely time near some little pools. The children caught tadpoles and little fish. It was sunny and mild. The grass was green. And the company was very pleasant. We went for a walk along a dirt path at the edge of the river. I thought I had the timing right, but it wasn't quite and I will have to drop back five minutes tomorrow.

Monday

Breakfast 9:00 1 slice wholemeal toast with plum and cinnamon jam. 1 boiled egg. 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches , 1C low fat soy milk. Coffee with 40 ml Hilo milk.

Snack 10:40 Gold Rust pear. Coffee with milk.

That pear surprised me. I don't think I've had that variety before. It tasted very sweet and rather like honey. It was almost too sweet!

Lunch 1:00 1 carrot. Toasted sandwich: 2 slices wholemeal bread with 2 slices of low fat Jarlsberg cheese, slice of double smoked ham, capsicum, zucchini, tomato, mushroom. Coffee with milk

Snack 3:30 1 slice wholemeal toast with vegemite. 1 slice ham. 1 Pink Lady apple. 1 cup coffee with milk.

This is more than I used to have, but a deliberate choice today. I was thinking today that after school, until it gets consistently warmer, or until my appetite disappears I'm best off establishing a routine snack, or set of snacks something like this. I think it has been a problem time for me because I would arrive home thinking that just fruit, or just veges couldn't be enough and yet not feel sure what was appropriate. Staying hungry at this time of the day isn't all that great just now either because I usually have shopping and meal planning and preparation to do. It's like an invitation to the evil twin to come visiting with her cattle prod. I'd rather keep my fights for the times they can't be avoided.

Dinner 8:00 120 gm lean grilled lamb. Grilled mushrooms, tomato and zucchini. 60 gm microwaved potato. Salad with 2 teaspoons low fat French onion dip: broccoli, snow peas, celery, capsicum, lettuce. 4 fresh dates. Coffee with milk.

Exercise: 6:10 30 minute walk. Warwick bush. Supposed to 35 minutes, but I'm not good at judging these things. I figured I'd best get back to the car, then walk on the verge to get my time right, but when I got back to my car I remembered about not lingering near your car, and forgot about checking my time.

The weather is changing. Today I started with a long sleeve t-shirt, then at school, kept adding clothes until I was rugged up as for midwinter by 10:00, and then by 12, I'd started back removing them until I drove home in the t-shirt after school thinking that I don't have enough summer clothes and don't have any summer trousers. Well I couldn't find any I wanted to buy anyway. I only like to wear cotton in summer and they don't have any in the shop I went to. It was mucho fun shopping though!! I love shopping at this lower weight. Though I can sit here and look down and see too much tummy (and other spots that are too much!), it is still amazing to think I can easily find sizes to fit me and that the version I see in the mirror isn't all that different to the version I imagined in my head! I lay-byed a size 10 top. It is soooo tight that it is not respectable, but I am quite convinced it will be ok once summer is really here. Actually the size 12 top that I bought last month and which I remembered as looking disreputably tight has some space around the middle now. I don't know if I've forgotten what it looked like, stretched it, or altered my standards. I haven't lost any weight to speak of.

That "Buying clothes anywhere you want" thing is the thing I really want out of my wieght loss. I still have a long way to go, but it helps being able to come here and see other people doing it just like I am going to do it.
I really need to do some catching up on these diaries!

Hi Qjay. I'm looking forward to the time you start enjoying shopping again too! It's great to hear that you are soon to need another belt notch!

Tuesday

Breakfast 9:00 1 slice wholemeal toast with plum and cinnamon jam. 1 boiled egg. 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches , 1C low fat soy milk. Coffee with 40 ml Hilo milk.

Snack 10:40 Bosc pear. Coffee with milk.

Lunch 1:00 1 carrot. Toasted sandwich: 2 slices wholemeal bread with some low fat cheese, slice of double smoked ham, capsicum, zucchini, tomato, black olives. Coffee with milk

Today I worked in a very interesting classroom set up. It's valuable learning for me. This is my second day in a row of having a 20 minute lunch break, though. I hate 20 minute lunch breaks! I only got to eat my sandwich because I wolfed it after the bell.

Snack 3:30 1 slice wholemeal toast with vegemite. Piece of a Viva crispbread (= 1/8 slice bread). 1 mandarin. 1 cup coffee with milk.

I liked the new cracker I tried out. For an equivalent amount of carbs they seem to be bigger than what I used to eat. My children liked them too, plus I dropped a serving, vegemite side down, on the kitchen floor. Therefore I haven't started having them for my afternoon snack yet! Though I think I will.

Dinner 8:00 Spaghetti carbonara: !/2 - ¾ C spaghetti. 2 egg whites, ½ the lean portion of a short cut rasher of bacon, ½ onion, garlic. Enormous chopped salad with balsimic vinegar. Lettuce, tomato, broccoli, snow peas, cucumber, grated carrot, mushroom, black olives. Diet apricot yoghurt. Coffee with milk.

Exercise: 5:45 35 minute walk. Warwick bush.

An average kind of day. Rather stressful after school with my son. Normal teenage stuff. Now I feel tired without having achieved much, but fortunately it left enough time for me to walk.

Hi Felici - sounds like you had a nice weekend. I remember the stress of those teenage years! I'm surprised I didn't gain 50 pounds during that time. Wait, I did!

i like your new avatar. (icon) whatever you call it.

Your food looks DELICIOUS. like always.

"I have eaten high fat high sugar foods since I started this thing, but very rarely. That was quite a change for me. I did have them every day and more than once a day. I 'm not over the inclination but I'm over that habit. Having the sense that “that's not what I eat”, has been critical for me."

That's also what I do, and the attitude of `I don't eat that' really helps. I also find myself standing in line at the supermarket and being horrified at what some people have in their carts. It's an interesting experience to compare the weight and appearance of people to their shopping... Sometimes I almost want to say `you really don't need five family blocks of chocolate do you?', but I wouldn't dare do it.

That makes a lot of sense!! So far this year I have definitely found that stress has made weight loss more difficult for me. Even just having less time to shop, cook, write a diary, exercise etc., has an impact, and more stress and less time seem to go hand in hand. Fortunately the boy in my life is normally very pleasant and enjoyable to be around. Having spent a heap of time doing routine things for the children, I'm inclined to find it a bit of an unpleasant surprise to find that they still require more from me. Like suddenly the homework can't be done alone, or they need new things bought for school, or they're sick. Quite often my first reaction is the thought that I'm already fully booked and they've had a fair go already. Then I remember that the extra thing they're asking for is something I'm actually supposed to give them and that it is part of being a mum!! LOL.

Thank you. I think the new avvie looks a bit more like me than the old one. You will just have to imagine a few more wrinkles because the combination of camera and computer blur them out.

I keep thinking I'm going to get new pictures soon and yet it keeps not working out. Anyway, this weekend I suddenly remembered that there was an extra camera here, but that I had just never liked any of the shots from it before. I wanted some pics where it didn't matter if I liked them or not and then I found it would do a bit more than before. Still waiting for the new and "proper" pics though. I thought I might be able to get my camera today but it turns out the one I wanted hasn't properly been released here yet, so I'm back a step in that process.

Yummy food!! Yes! I was in ecstasy about my lunch today. See below.

I'm glad you didn't do it to me when I was buying that way!!

It is a relief not to have the burden which comes with constantly doing that sort of thing while being aware that it's not appropriate.

Hi wilcko. I'm sure you'll find this is a great place for you to deal with any weight issues you might have. Have you started a diary yet?

Unfortunately (for your sales) most of the people here are not idiots and will lose weight without purchasing Amaing! Or anything else amazing you may have at the Weight Loss and Diet Center.