The 'Lets lose a few pounds for 2009' thread

[zazen999]

Portions: I stick to 120g pasta and 75g rice [before cooking] each. Because I don't eat meat I try to make sure I've got protein that takes up about a third to half of the rest and the rest is veg.

If there's too much, I save it for the next day. And I eat about 5 ready meals a year, if that...I cook everything from scratch. My weakness is the cheese, chocolate and snacks. So, trying to curb those and snack on fruit.

[jackie j]

@jackie j - portion sizes (before cooking) are often printed on the pkt (ie for pasta or rice), we were surprised when we compared the weight of pasta we were eating and the size of a 'correct' portion! That made losing some weight easy to begin with, although the 'portion control' was done gradually to begin with!

I will try and tell OH to cut back when he cooks !!! I think we always cook more than we need although sometimes I dont have huge portions and I dont do puddings except whem we have guests or I might have an activia, but I do love a choccie biscuit or two in the evenings when I have a coffee.

[janeyo]

WW recommends 60g of dried pasta as a portion. A baked potato is about the size of your fist, a portion of peas is a handful, and sweetcorn, (they are the only veg that isn't free food), a portion of cheese is the size of a matchbox, a portion of cereal is 30g porridge, 40g others, fruit and juice are not free with wW and have to be counted. A portion of fruit would be an apple, medium banana, 2 tangerines, one orange.Marmite is free so better on your toast than honey or jam.
Nuts and raisnins are quite high so to be used sparingly. Diet drinks are free, but water is better!

Skimmed milk, low fat butter instead of normal.

Portion control is hard, I weigh the amount then try and memorise where it came up to in the bowl. If I 'guestimate' I am always over!

[gemlady]

I've started the Paul McKenna idea after watching his programmes on living tv on Sky.

I've lost 3 lbs this week, seems to be working so far but there's an awfully long way to go!

[di]

Well yesterday I'd have said I wanted to lose 1/2 stone...however,having got on the scales this morning I'll make that a stone!....I knew I'd been naughty,but not that naughty!
Like Sarah before,'ll not put down what I've eaten today(not sure how long a post can be),but as of tomorrow,count me in!

[HeyWayne]

Our local council have recently started a food waste collection service - you have a little caddy in the kitchen that all food scraps go into (cooked and uncooked - including meats/bones etc). It soon hit home to us just how much food we were wasting.

[Glutton4...]

I'd simply love to lose a stone (or three). Why's it so easy to put on and so d*mned hard to lose?

I can't be faffed to weigh stuff, and I have trouble with breakfast, as I need to be up at least an hour before I can eat (perhaps I should stay in bed lol), and I can't eat fruit or juice (and I love it) as I have a problem with fruit acid or sugar and get a face like a pizza.

The only diet I tried that worked - and was easy - was the Atkins Diet, as I am a carnivore that also loves veg and cheese it suits me fine. I actually went off chocolate when I did the Atkins too, and I had always been a chocoholic.

The only trouble with diets, for me, is that as soon as I know I can't have something - I immediately want it. I guess it must be like that for smokers.

So, that's me - overweight, negative and with no willpower.

Count me in

[janeyo]

You should (in theory) only need to weigh things once, then you remember how big the portions are or use your fist, match box etc.

janeyo

A smaller plate can help, as you are less tempted to overpile it, my aunt lost 2 stone by simply switching to a teaplate size every day!

[nerobot]

Well I've made myself sign up for a 5k charity run. It's the only way that I'll get off my a*** long enough to loose the Christmas fat!

Steven

[lainey lou]

I don't especially want to lose any weight although after the xmas excesses I'm on a health drive, don't have much energy at the moment so I need to sort myself out and I would like to tone up a bit, especially my "baby bag".
So I'll join in, eat betterer and exercise more!

[shirlthegirl43]

Our local council have recently started a food waste collection service - you have a little caddy in the kitchen that all food scraps go into (cooked and uncooked - including meats/bones etc). It soon hit home to us just how much food we were wasting.

I have one of those caddies - it is called the 'chicken bucket' as it is where all the scraps go ready for the girl's mash Recycling at its very best!

[Two_Sheds]

Soup is your friend! It fills you up, and gets your five-a-day in. Tonight I'm having pumpkin & bean soup (same as last night) with one slice of wholewheat bread (no butter).

I don't feel the need to snack: my worst thing is alcofrol: if Mr Sheds opens a bottle of red, I just can't resist (that's an extra 200-300 cals that I don't need)

I was good and cycled for 30 mins, and weeded for an hour.

[Two_Sheds]

A smaller plate can help, as you are less tempted to overpile it, my aunt lost 2 stone by simply switching to a teaplate size every day!

It sounds daft, but it really works! Mr S will eat whatever I put in front of him .. he has no portion control If I put a small plate in front of him, he doesn't even notice

We can't have cheese in the fridge ... he eats the lot. I grate it and freeze it, and just add a little as a topping (one serving is matchbox size, apparently).

[Two_Sheds]

Portion control is hard!

It really is. It is surprising how little food most people actually need to eat, to live and be healthy.
As I said earlier, I haven't really pigged out over Xmas, I just stopped exercising but didn't cut my food intake (and I ate butter, cream & cheese if I wanted it) ... and I put on 11 lbs in 10 weeks.

I know I will lose it again, I just need to get my daily 30 mins of exercise in, even if it's just walking briskly round the block (ambling round the shops doesn't count), and I need to cut out the alcohol (1500 cals a week that I don't need)

[Two_Sheds]

Here's a link to the online health club ... it's got graphs and things so you can track your exercise & weight loss: The Times Health Club | Please Sign In