h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi

Not sure if there is already something similar on here and I apologise if there is but I like many others have over indulged over the winter months and would like some support and banter from others to keep me motivated.

I thought we could use this thread to discuss our healthy eating, exercise plans etc.

I am following the Cambridge diet for 8 weeks as I know it does work well at detoxing and getting rid of the bad habits. I will then change to a Low Carb plan or GI plan that my mum is following (although she has never been more than a pound overweight in her life)

I am hoping to be streamlined by September as there are 2 family partys planned. One my sons 18th and the other my sister in laws 40th so we will be meeting up with relatives and friends we havent seen in a while. The majority of them last saw me as a size 10 so now I am creeping up to a 18 again I want to get my life back again.

What are your healthy eating tips for 2007

I will also be joining the Gym (mainly for swimmming) and walking to and from work (except in torrential weather or if I am very late)

I am 41 and a mother of 3 teenagers, I have clothes in my wardrobe ranging from size 8 to size 24. I am very much an emotional eater and if I wasnt addicted to food I think I would either be an alcoholic or a very heavy smoker (I am neither)..seriously though I think some people have obsessional personalitys and tend to do whatever they are currently into to excess...Hence me following the cambridge diet as I need counselling and advice before re introducing 'food' to discover my triggers.

I also have IBS when I am over a certain amount of weight and find the CD plan rids me of my symptoms within a week of following it. I am guilty of not drinking enough plain water too..so that is going to have to change as well.

I am lucky enough to be healthy (touching lots of wood) I dont suffer with high blood pressure, diabetes or any other weight related illness but I am not so stupid as to think I am immune and want to stop it before I end up that way.

One of the ways that helps is a diary - so I will chat on here daily to let you know my feelings along the way.

This morning is day one and I started off with a strawberry shake and 2 large glasses of water. I am working 8am - 6pm so have packed a chocolate and a banana shake for whilst I am here....some people following this also allow black coffee and tea with sweetners and also the odd zero coke but I want to get into ketosis before adding anything.

It wont be until day 5 or beyond that I feel able to cope and no longer have hunger pangs so please excuse any funny comments I make up to then.

Hope at least one other person will join me

Love

Jennyxx

Oh yes, another motivation for me - I am planning a holiday for next year...dont want people calling the RSPCA when I lie on the beach to rescue a beached whale...

Any suggestions on where to take my holidays appreciated

The people going will be

aged - 12, 14, 16, 18 , 42 and 44

We went to Paphos last year, managed to get a good deal on a 5 star half board...we want ideally all inclusive this time though

Any people that can recommend somewhere..

I'll join ya! Although I'm steering clear of anything vaguely "faddy" like the Cambridge (sorry!) Can't be doing with shakes and the like, so will stick to:


1. No alcohol during the week. This is my major downfall, and I know it's a huge source of empty calories. Herbal tea instead.

2. Take my own lunch to work - chicken salad, added fruit.

3. Drink lots of water. Easy peasy - I quite like hot water instead of tea.

Really should try to build some exercise in too, but very pushed for time these days

Back in September 1999, I posted a Journal Entry on my personal space, saying I wanted to lose 3 stone 8lb in a year. More than 6 years on, I've only lost 1 stone 2lb. So that still leaves me with around 2.5 stone to lose.

I don't follow any diet plans as I find that they focus me too much on food - what I can and can't eat, have I eaten too much/over-indulged, that kind of thing. I've also developed an unwanted problem since I posted my Journal Entry. I have MS, one symptom of which is that I tire easily, which in turn makes exercise more difficult. So my aim is to eat more healthily and to get what exercise I can. Hubby and I have already agreed to cut out 'naughties' - cakes, biscuits, crisps, that kind of thing. I know that cutting out can make these items more desirable, but hubby finds that cutting back doesn't work for him, so they've got to go. I only drink at weekends (a glass or two of wine) and we don't touch soft drinks. As for drinking more 'plain water', it doesn't have to be plain, just not tea or coffee. Herbal teas and 'fruit infusions' are fine, and even squash is OK.

I don't have any time targets on my weight loss this time. I just want to lose that 2.5 stone. Having said that, if I can lose 1lb per week I can get rid of that weight in about 7 months. I'll be happy if I end 2007 weighing less than I weigh now.

As for tips, these are the ones I've used in the past and will continue to use:

1. Don't worry if you over-indulge one day. Eat more healthily the next few days. A diet should be regarded as a long-term thing, not calorie-counting day-to-day. Instead of thinking in terms of '1,700 calories per day', think in terms of '12,000 calories per week'. This allows you to average things out.

2. Don't focus on the long-term target, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose. Think in terms of losing x pounds. Right now I weigh 12stone 4lb. My next milestone is 12 stone. After that it's 11 stone 7lb, and so on. A few pounds sounds easy, 2.5 stone sounds horrendous.

3. Getting exercise is easier if you build it into your day. If you live within 2-3 miles of where you work, walk to and from work on at least a couple of days a week. If the building has stairs, use them instead of taking the lift. If you work in a pleasant area, go for a walk at lunchtime. I used to walk to work every day and my weight plummeted when I was doing it.

4. Don't weigh yourself too often. This is where I reckon WeightWatchers have got it wrong. They have weekly meetings where they weigh the participants. That's too often in my book. Your weight can fluctuate on a daily basis, not to mention women suffering water retention at certain times. Weigh yourself once every two weeks at the most, or once a month.

5. Give yourself a non-food reward for hitting your milestones or target. I've promised myself £10 for every pound I lose. I have £160 put aside from the weight I've lost so far. When I hit my target, I'll have £500 to spend on myself!

There's a guide entry on How to Lose and Control Weight. You'll find it here: A500293 My tips are there as 'A Gentle Eight-Point Plan', about 2/3 of the way down. Good luck to all dieters. May you reach your target weight with ease.

Some great ideas there...thank you for sharing them with us.

I particularly like the money saving one. I will make an effort to do the same.

I lost 5 stone 2 years ago in 4 months. I know it sounds drastic but losing it was the easy part....keeping it off was the problem. I actualy found I went too far..I weighed 8 stone and at 5 ft 4 and a size 8 I looked skeletal...so I must remember not to get obsessed with losing it this time.

I followed the 100 day plan on the Cambridge and lost on average 5 pounds a week but you are promised a loss of at least a stone a month. I joined a VLCD support group and found comfort there but as it was solely for dieters it didnt really deal with eating normaly to stay the same...more just advice on losing etc...

I felt like a different person at the end of it. I was treated differently too...chatted up at work, people talked to me as if my opinion mattered and as if I had suddenly gained a higher IQ...in fact I realise how biassed society is towards slim people. Equating being overweight with being stupid. Funnily enough eating disorders are more often suffered by people with a higher than average intelligence. If you take Anorexia and Bulimia as an example, many university students have been affected by these conditions.
The media portrays fat people as stupid though and needs to accept some of the blame for the publics perception. Emmerdales larger sized dingle family and the plump battersby daughter all seem to be considered dim..(maybe I am just over sensitive)

Anyway I have regained about 3 stone of my loss over the last 18 months and although I know I can lose it again...I really need support afterwards keeping it off for the long run.

So far today, not felt particularly hungry but I have been very busy at work which helps.

Jennyxx

Just to note my starting point and aims:

Current weight 11st 1 3/4
Current BMI 28.5

Aiming to be down to 10st in 3 months (BMI will STILL be over 25 and therefore technically overweight, but will see how I feel about continuing...)

BMIs hmmm. Apparently I'd need to be down to 7st before I'd be underweight

How tall are you beatrice?

5 foot 2, eyes of...er...brown.

5lb a week! That's way too much. Doctors reckon that anything over 2lb a week is unhealthy. That's why I'll be happy with losing 1lb a week.

My late mother-in-law had a book called 'Dieting Makes You Fat', which looks at the way your body reacts to dieting. Any change from a healthy eating pattern will send your body into 'famine' mode. Your metabolism will slow down, making weight loss harder. When you return to a 'normal' eating pattern, your body takes time to re-adjust, which is why the weight goes back on. The best book on weight loss I've ever read was by an American talk-show hostess. Her advice was to gradually decrease your calorie intake, rather than going straight to 1500 calories (or whatever). This gives your body time to adjust to less food going in. When you reach your target weight, gradually increase the calories. She also recommended walking as a means of exercise - low impact, no special equipment needed, can be done by anybody, anywhere, any time. Exercise while dieting is essential. It helps to keep the metabolism at a reasonable level.

We've inherited mum-in-law's dog, and I'm hoping to be able to walk him at least once a day. We also have to clear her (now our!, but also ) house, which will take some time. That's more 'exercise'. And we've inherited her (seldom used) exercise equipment. It's fairly basic stuff, but it includes a cycle-thingy (don't know the proper name) that you can use while sitting in an armchair. There's also some wrist and ankle weights and (I think) one of those cross-country skiing machines. If I can't get some exercise every day out of that lot, there's no hope for me.

Oh, and the lightest I've ever been was 9 stone 6lb. You could see my collar bones, so I reckon that's as light as I can reasonably go. According to the height/weight charts I saw at the hospital on Tuesday, the maximum for my height (5ft 4in) is 10 stone 1lb. My target weight is 9 stone 12lb.

I tend to be wary of the height/weight charts you see online. I've seen some that put my 'ideal weight' so low that I'd have to be anorexic to get there. The best place to see height/weight chart is at your GP. There should be one in the nurse's room, and she should be happy enough to let you look at it. Make a note of the weights on that and work to those weights.

For anybody who says, "I'm not fat, I have a large frame", measure your wrists. That's one part of your body that doesn't put on fat. I've found one website that reckons a 6" wrist indicates a medium frame for a woman, a 7" wrist indicates a medium frame for a man. Based on this, I *do* have a large frame. (I was once told "You may be overweight, but you have the bones to carry it without looking bad." I was about 1 stone lighter, back then.)

I would like to pop in from time to time and see how you are getting on. I am so overweight that my Arthur Ritis is very painful and therefore excersise is awkward.

My husband has just been diagnosed with diabetes so we are looking at the GI diet which seems to be working well.

I have to say the Cambridge Diet sounds alright but everyone I know who has been on it has gained all the weight back in no time.I even know a bloke who was a slimmer of the year and he is heavy again.

We both lost a lot of weight on the Atkins diet especially my hubby who enjoyed the large amounts of meat.

My weight has been a problem to me all my life and I have yo yo'd just like you I had size 14-24 clothes. I agree with the water, you don't have to drink plain water it can be sugar free squash, I quite like that and fruit tea.

The way I have to deal with food is just not to buy the stuff that is a no no otherwise I am like an alcoholic eating and eating until it has gone.

Exercise is the king and you can fit it in, walk to work, walk upstairs, get a bike and ride it with the children, I lost loads of weight like that. Now I can't get around this makes me very depressed and I suppose I don't bother too much about the amount I eat when I have a particularly bad day.

Hearing from you will cheer me up and put something positive back hopefully.

You sound very focused and in control Cheerful Dragon (love the name btw)

I know my way sounds drastic but it has been approved by my GP and because of the way this works it dosnt make the body go into famine mode. You actualy dont feel hungry and go into something called Ketosis. At first your body uses up its Glycogen stores and then your fat stores whilst receiving the correct daily amount of protein, nutrients etc to maintain optimum health. Apparently its inventor was also involved in the space food that was eaten by astronauts. This isnt a new diet, the original one was withdrawn after initial health concerns about one of the ingredients. This ingredient has since been replaced with a safe alternative. Lighter life, Lipotrim are the same product. Lighter life is much more expensive at £60+ a week but you get a counselling session with your own select group who all started the programme with you and your own counsellor is always available for advice. The cheaper option is Lipotrim which is £21 a week through your chemist or even cheaper prescribed by your gp. I have gone for the middle option. I have a counsellor I can contact if I have concerns but not a regular session and the cost is £30 - £35 a week including all foods and a fibre filla to stop constipation! With all of these programmes you need your GPs aggreement that its right for you. For Lighter Life and Lipotrim you have to have over 3 stone to lose and commit to 100 days on the programme. For CD you have 3 weeks on Sole source and 1 week add a meal and then continue in that light until the weight is all gone.

It does work and many of my friends who I made whilst following the programme have maintained their weight loss to this day. I am just someone that needs to be more focused on the maintenance side. There is a 6 week slow introduction to eating again...I followed this ok..and was alright for 4 months...then christmas came then an all inclusive holiday in Cyprus ...followed by another christmas and here I am again!

Basically I am a greedy pig!

Hello Cookiecate (another yummy name!)

I didnt see your post when I did mine just now but wanted to acknowledge your post and say hi

Hopefully we can spur each other on and be on hand for if we slide as sometimes happens.

Jenxx

I wish it was tomorrow already then I would have completed day one!

One thing on this diet, I have a cold and feel I would benefit from a Beechams drink but suspect I am not allowed one

Probably my last post till morning...wish me luck at being good overnight and I will keep my fingers crossed for you lot too

xxxxxxxxx

I'll look in every day, or whenever somebody posts. I don't plan to post much, except tips when requested, or encouragement/congratulations when appropriate. I'll post my progress every 4 weeks or so. That's how often I plan to weigh myself.

Yes good luck everybody with getting through day 1!

11st and 1/2 a lb this morning

Plus I've gone 4 whole days without booze and, consequently, cigarettes. I'm not specifically aiming to stop smoking, but cutting down is no bad thing.

Will try to get a couple of morning jogs in this weekend - good for the metabolism.

Well done Beatrice, you have done very well to give up all that.

I have never smoked but from watching others struggling to give up I can appreciate that its not an easy thing to achieve...and to give up booze and lose weight at the same time is wonderful..makes me feel ashamed of my struggling and moaning about just doing one thing.(as the Boots advert states...lol)

I have had a medium day today..feel fat and tired but no its early days and the christmas indulgence wont dissappear overnight.

I am looking forward to the weekend as I am so much more in control at home that at work.

Been very busy this morning, hence my first post of the day on this thread (my lunch break now!)

Ive been arranging interviews and work experience timetables for students...quite hard juggling different departments requests (they either want them at the same time or not at all!)

Hows everyone elses day going?

jxxxx

Have to give a big thank you to my best friend, who gave me a gorgeous jokey bar of chocolate as part of my Christmas present. It's called Bochox, and is cleverly designed to look medical, explaining that a few squares of chocolate will release endorphins to make you feel good and so remove those frown lines.

The really nice bit is, a couple of squares of it are so good and satisfying that they're enough to quell any cravings. Yum !

Other half is taking me out to dinner tonight, so I'm looking forward to a couple of glasses of wine along with some grilled fish and salad.

We finished off all our Christmassy biscuits yesterday, so I was planning to start in earnest today. However, hubby's going out with an old friend tonight and I know they'll end up at a decent restaurant. (Yes, the friend is female, but she's also happily married. They'll just be chatting, catching up on old times. Honest!) As hubby will be having a good meal, I decided I deserved one, too. Unfortunately, that includes a single piece of raspberry cheesecake. I know, it's naughty.

On the other hand, I've walked the dog twice today. This morning I walked him for 40 minutes, this evening I walked him for 45 minutes. That has to go some way to walking off that cheesecake. I also did some clearing out at my late mum-in-law's house. While I was there, I tried her floor cycle-thingy. It slid all over the place, so that will have to be dealt with. I did find I could 'hand cycle', though. I occasionally use a wheelchair, so 'hand cycling' will help tone my arm muscles.

Good luck, Beatrice, with cutting back on cigarettes and alcohol. My mum gave up nearly 30 years ago, in the days when there were no nicotine patches or gum. She found the best way was to take it one day at a time. Anybody can quit smoking for a day, it's regarding it as a lifetime thing that's a problem. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to *try* to take the same approach to cutting out 'naughties'. "I won't have any today." If I can do that for the next 7 months, I should be closer to my target weight. I might allow myself a piece of cake on my birthday and hubby's birthday, but that's it.

We're hoping to be going on a cruise in June. The start date is 24 weeks away. I'd *love* to be down to 11 stone by then, if not less. That's 18lb less than I weigh at the moment. All I have to do is avoid 'naughties', walk the dog at least once a day, and get whatever other exercise I can cope with. *All*!