Louisa's Weight Loss Blog

How did time go so fast? It doesn’t feel like that long ago I was blogging for Total Chunk every day!

In the last six month I have started a new job, had some b****** crash into my car and Jonny and I bought our first house! It’s been a stressful time and in October/November 2010 I went on a popular low calorie diet with disastrous results. It’s all very well reducing your calorie intake but you need to eat enough of the right foods to allow your brain to function. I could barely concentrate, I was dizzy and felt nauseous most of the day. I was grumpy and struggling to sleep. This was no way to live – I’d be a crap anorexic!

So I lost half a stone in a month which was great… except I couldn’t keep my diet up and keep my job. It’s generally accepted that you need to be of use or ornament for someone to pay you to turn up to the office everyday and unfortunately, I was neither.

I was also stressed about purchasing our house and to keep our home running, my job ticking along and get everything in place for the mortgage company and the solicitors then adding on diet and exercise was too much and I admit that myself.

We finally moved in to the house just before Christmas and in January I started yoga classes (new post coming soon!)

For me, 2011 is about exercise.

The 7 deadly weight loss sins

Today I am going talk about the Seven Deadly Sins of Dieting. Deeply rooted in Catholic literature, the original seven deadly sins were gluttony, fornication, avarice, sorrow, wrath, acedia (restlessness), vanity and pride.

Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’ remains on my must-read list but I have a few more books to read but I think it’s a group task, I feel as though I won’t appreciate it alone or without guidance!!

Anyway, Dante’s epic poem (written between 1308 and 1321) updated the original sins to what we are more familiar with today: gluttony, avarice, luxuria, acedia, wrath, envy and pride. However the Catholic church did away with luxuria (extravagance) and we now know (officially) the sins are: pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth/acedia.

As dieters, we all are guilty of these sins but let’s remember that these ‘sins’ do not mark the end of our quest for a slim and healthy figure. You don’t need to do a penance or repent and feel guilty. All we need to do is recognise that we have made a mistake and try and not do the same thing again. I’m also going to write about the 7 Heavenly virtues so look out for that.

Happy reading! (more…)

Researchers have pinpointed the day that thousands of people across the nation will start their diets – today! Just in time for Christmas.

There are two reasons for this:

1. People want to look amazing over the Christmas period as lots of photographs will be taken

2. Others will want to lose weight in anticipation of the weight they expect to gain over the gluttonous Christmas period.

Either way, get behind the 60% of women who are dieting for the Christmas period and bring fruit into the office instead of mince pies!

Marshmallows contain virtually no fat

These are marshmallows. Scouts impale them on sticks and toast them on a roaring camp fire. I shove them on a kebab stick at BBQs and enjoy the melted goo. Jonny isn’t the biggest marshmallow fan which means more for me, yay!

What do marshmallows have to do with dieting? They’re made from sugar and gelatine so they must be sent from Satan to keep us fat.

Anyone who has successfully lost weight and kept the weight off will tell you that you must not feel like you are being denied the foods you enjoy otherwise you will resent your diet and are less likely to stick to it. The answer is to factor in up to 200cals a day out of your daily allowance for treats a few times a week.

• A two finger kit kat has 106 calories
• A small glass of red wine has about 100 calories
• Marshmallows are 157 cals per 50 grams and contain very little fat. 50g is roughly 7 or 8 marshmallows.

Total Chunk Top Tip: Do not deny yourself a regular small treat, factor in little things like a 2 finger kit kat or a few marshmallows into your calorie allowance. You will feel in control by being able to say no to eating most of the packet and you won’t feel as though your diet is stopping you from having the things you like. If you don’t feel like you can only eat a couple of marshmallows from a packet, ask a friend or your partner to help ration them until you get used to eating smaller amounts. It’s all about portion control and there is no shame in asking for help!

Dear dieter friends,

I have reached that stage, middle of the second week of my diet where I am tired, fed up and ready to ditch the diet. It happens to everyone so I don’t feel like I’ve failed or anything because I know I can work through the apathy.

When someone is trying to sell you something relating to a diet, they will always try and market their product as the easy way out of doing hard work. I will never spin anyone a line like that because I truly believe that nothing worth having ever comes easily. Losing weight isn’t easy like clicking your fingers, blowing a whistle or putting your underwear on in the morning (excluding bras… I still struggle some days). I have found the Proactol slimming aid I have been taking after every meal helpful as I believe it  has helped to lessen my appetite but the food that I eat is still my choice and slimming pills that would help you lose weight despite doing no exercise and eating crap do not exist! If you read the leaflet, they all will tell you that they won’t work unless they are combined with a good diet and exercise. This is why they are referred to more accurately as slimming aids.

Without wishing to sound like I’m placing a gypsy curse on you because I am being very honest here: you will lose motivation at some point early on into your diet. You might even gain weight for a while but hang in there! Your body has probably gone into a mild shock and is trying to regulate itself. So many dieters have a good first week and then gain the second so they give up trying and resign themselves to being fatties for life. The trick is keeping your motivation up and you can only really do that with support. Tell your family, tell your friends and tell your colleagues that you are on a diet and you need their support. There is no shame in asking for help and people will be pleased that you have confided in them and trust them to be of assistance in your moments of weakness. Being honest about your intentions and your lack of motivation will allow others to support you when you’re not feeling strong enough to do it yourself. Willpower and determination are not always enough on their own.

Wednesday’s food diary:

Breakfast: Large bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes with 1% fat milk

Lunch: Two seeded bagels and cream cheese

Dinner: Chicken hoi sin sauce stir fry with noodles.

Snack: Cheese roll… I became rather peckish because I hadn’t eaten all my veggies. Doh!

Proactol: 5, one after each meal and two after my fatty cheese roll.

Exercise: 40 mins of walking

The relationships that we have with other women are more vital than you may think. Could Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte have got through their lives on SATC without each other? I doubt it! The support your friends can offer is invaluable when you’re on a diet. Why? Because women are so good at supporting each other. When I have been on a diet, my friends have helped me avoid ‘naughty’ foods, they have taken my mind off eating and they will always compliment me on losing just a tiny bit of weight because other women notice these things. Your male friends will only notice your appearance if you’re wearing a low cut top!

Your girlfriends may even go on your new diet with you for moral support. Dieting can be the most isolating and lonely experience of your adult life but a friend’s love, support and guidance changes the experience from a negative one to a positive one. Women are usually happy to discuss most things openly with each other. If you have a friend who you’re dieting with, you can discuss your meal plans, how much weight you hope to lose, your fears about losing weight and of course, all of the sexy clothes you’ll be able to wear once you’re slim! Did you know that cravings usually last 20 mins before they pass? That is just a short telephone (or text!) conversation with your friend that will get you through those darker moments. Losing weight isn’t easy and nobody expects you to do it completely on your own.. and why would you if you have good friends?

Louisa’s Top Tip: Tell your friends you’re on a diet. Good friends will help you stick to the diet and they will remove temptation from your path. They will take your mind off your cravings and might even exercise with you if you ask nicely!