Diet & Weight Loss Diary

Where does time fly - another week gone but this time a couple of pounds lighter - Yipeeeeeee

I've not found it a problem this last week except for my chocolate cravings. I was taught as part of my hypnosis how to use EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) tapping for food cravings which I am sure would work but I just haven't had the time to sit down and try it. There are lots of websites on success with this method, particularly in America, one such site worth looking at is http://loseweight.emofree.com/ .

I have also been searching the internet for any free weight loss sites which have a diary that you can fill in as this was something I used to do when I tried to lose weight before and found it very good. It's surprising how you forget what you have eaten and how many calories some of your foods are. There are some American sites one free one which is good is http://www.nutridiary.com/ but the trouble is its American food lists and not ours, and unfortunately I cannot find a free UK one.

I don't know why I'm looking for a diet website really as I'm not supposed to be on a diet as such, just following a weight loss regime as I'm sure most of you know that dieting does not work in the long term . To be honest with you during the last 20 years I have been dieting on and off and joined every club, been to every health farm, tried the drinks, tried the tablets but at the end of the day, even though some really worked the weight slowly but surely crept back on again and I am convinced its because as all you do is think about food all the time.

Since my hypnosis I just don't think about food like I used to but I still have cravings for chocolate. I feel sure once I have conquered my chocolate cravings and replaced it with something else I will never really have to think about it again. Soooooo keep your eyes peeled because if I can do it so can anyone else.

I've had a terrible week with my back this week which always used to be bad news for my diet as I would always comfort eat. But this time I prepared a massive fruit salad and left it in the fridge then every time I felt low and needed a pick up I went straight for the fruit salad instead of the usual chocolate so that's one trick I can pass on.

I know being slim is really a lifestyle choice or just how you were made, but if you choose not to live like a slim person, you will put weight on. One big change in my habits since my hypnosis is that I spend a lot longer at the supermarket and make sure I have my glasses with me as, unless I know the calorie value of something before I buy it I will always check to see how many calories it is first. And I tell you what, even after all my years of dieting I am still amazed at how somethings have more calories than I had thought and others much less. In particular sweet products ( chocolate, sweets, cakes etc) so now if I am on a downer and feel like a bit of a binge to pull me through I now don't stock the high calorie treats in the house at all which I am convinced helps me.

Going out for a meal is something we do a lot and is a time when I never bother trying to work out the calorie value of a meal but I get round it by just having porridge for breakfast and a large fruit salad for lunch as then I have left myself plenty of room for a few treats at night. The other option is to have two starters or no starter and the chances are you wont feel like a sweet as the main courses are often to big anyway.

I keep reading that the best way to eat fruit if you want to lose weight is to eat it before your meal or not less than 2 hours after a meal. This is something I am going to try next as I do completely the opposite to that and always eat it after a meal !!! Another tip I read about is to have a cup of tea every time you feel hungry as they say this will take away the cravings. I really thought about this and decided that I needed a different choice of tea to tempt me. So, I went out and bought loads of different flavours, but I've found one that my friend was drinking which truly does the trick and its Tetley's Earl Grey and Vanilla. I'm not sure what it is, whether its the vanilla that takes the sweet craving away or the combination of the Earl Grey and Vanilla but this truly works.

Well, thats it for this week folks, I will be back again next week to let you know how the weight loss is going (down I hope). Good luck to anyone who is joining me on this very different weight loss programme.

My weight loss diary

Well another week gone and another pound down the drain but unfortunately not off my weight !!

I wasn't at all surprised after not losing any over Christmas which just shows how long it takes for your weight gain and loss to take effect. We also went away last weekend to stay with some friends in South Wales and went out for a meal on the Saturday night.

I've been intending to go on the bike every day after my rest but since I put it in the bedroom something has come up which has meant I have only been on it twice. I did find the following day that I suffered some sciatica but it soon settled down so it's not put me off having another go.

I've been looking on line for a weight loss website that is free whereby you can keep a diary of your food intake in calories so that you can then look back and see when, and if you are going wrong and how to change it. I have always found before that keeping a food diary really helps you to see what you are actually consuming in a day but I spend so much time on the Internet that I know I would not find it a problem to fill it in.

I haven't had any luck with trying to find a free one yet as every weight loss site that says its "FREE" always has something you have to pay for even if its not for another month or so. If anyone knows of a free site then please let me know. I am seriously thinking of putting together a book or blog on all the different weight loss sites there are on the Internet and giving them a rating as there are literally hundreds of them. I would also be pleased to hear from anyone who thinks this would be worth doing as it would take me a loooooooong time I'm sure of that.

That's all for this week. I've a fairly quiet week next week so I hope to see the scales moving the other way and a pound or so going off in the right direction. Keep watching .........................

My 2008 fight to fitness and pain relief

I know its already the 12th January but I honestly think that anyone who seriously wants to get rid of some weight cannot start any form of diet or weight loss regime on January 1st as, apart from anything else, most people are suffering from a hang over on New Years Day and all you do is think about what food you can eat.

I also knew that I had my trip to the Hospital for a lumber epidural on the 7th January and at the back of my mind wanted that done before I could focus on anything else. At the beginning of last year I was on a mission to try every conceivable holistic and alternative therapy available to help with my pain relief and had convinced myself that a substantial weight loss would definitely help. Well, unfortunately it didn't help at all and I have now exhausted every type of alternative therapy without success but I am still convinced that another weight loss however small MUST do something to help with the pain relief.

I decided to just get rid of the old and bring in the new for 2008 and start afresh when all the Christmassy things were put away and all the sweets, chocolates and any other goodies were either eaten or given away. So, after putting all my Christmas decorations to bed for another year and reading through all my Christmas Cards again and promising to myself that I would definitely get in touch with some old friends who always put "we must get in touch next year" in there Christmas Card I put the last of the sweets and chocolates into one of my three ( yes, three) roses tins ready to give to my friend for her grandchildren. I then sellotaped it up so I had no way of getting into it. I was already feeling slimmer and ready for the new me..........

After having the hypnosis last year to help me lose weight I find that I definitely do not think about food all the time like I used to. Hypnosis is no miracle cure for excess weight - nor is it a fad diet, it's about changing your attitude to weight control which should ensure a steady and healthy rate of weight loss. Don't get me wrong, if someone put some chocolate in front of me I still struggle to not finish it, but I then feel so full after it that I could quite happily miss the evening meal. However, this is far from a good diet so my only option is to have very little chocolate in and just limited treats that are not high in calories.

Over the years I have collected tons and tons of diet books and magazines and been a member of every club that has ever formed but I made a conscious decision after my hypnotherapy that I would never need them again and got rid of most of them. I'd still kept quite a few of the magazines for inspiration but after looking through them I decided I would also put them on eBay and save the money for treating myself to something new as more weight drops off. It felt really really good after putting the magazines on eBay and I had quite a few emails from other dieters who obviously do not have access to diet clubs or are not confident enough to join one and thought it was great they could get the books from me. I felt I was really helping someone out and hope to keep in touch with them to see how they go on.

I hadn't been on the scales over Christmas as I really didn't see the point but knew I had to weigh myself to find out how much I had gained. What a brilliant surprise I had when I found I had gained absolutely NIL pounds over the Christmas period. It could only be the hypnosis that had helped me as when I told my husband he was not in the least bit surprised and said, "You now only eat half the amount you used to".

I still have another stone to lose and with my long standing back problems I know I can't start a keep fit regime at the gym or even a short run round the block but I had thought that after my epidural this week I might try some slow cycling on my bike at home. Its been moved into my bedroom so that I can see the TV while cycling and I decided the best time would be after my afternoon nap when I always wake up feeling good again rather than first thing as I am too stiff and uncomfortable to even think about it.

I did my first 10 mins this afternoon and felt fine but lets see how my legs feel tomorrow. I only cycled slowly for ten minutes as I'm still a bit nervous about irritating my back. I have read on numerous occasions how you are supposed to lose weight while you sleep so maybe with me cycling straight after a couple of hours sleep the weight will drop off ( dream on !!).

Conventional diets are quick to tell you to avoid this and keep off that but that's not the way forward, that just increases your obsession with food. It's not the way to permanent weight loss. Do you notice I use the words "weight loss" instead of "diet"on this blog? It was something my hypnotherapist told me to remember, she explained that, "I would never need to DIET again, as my subconscious mind would just teach me to eat when I was hungry, if you don't know if you're hungry, then you aren't,"she said.

Well that's the end of week one of my 2008 fight to fitness but watch this space for more on my "weight loss" antics.

Hoping for a Healthier 2008

Hi all,
It's been a while since I last posted any news here, but with Christmas suddenly arriving on my doorstep and with all the commuting back and forth to the Hospital to see Row I just didn't manage to find a minute to sit and type anything down. However, one of my New Year Resolutions is to keep this blog up to date and to start my diet blog. The good news since my last post is that Rowena is now in Middlesborough Rehab Hospital and is recovering very well. She can walk unaided now and does not need any more physio and her short term memory gets better everyday. Her long term memory comes in spurts but time will heal that. She still has a lot of work to do with her memory which will be done with the Occupational Therapists at the Hospital and after she has been using her brain a bit she soon gets a headache and needs to lie down. She also suffers from dizziness and nausea but we have been told this is all part and parcel of the recovery from a head injury. She looks terrific and with so much stimulation from us all on first meeting her you would not really know she had any injury at all which is just amazing.

Richard is completely dedicated to Row's recovery and goes at every chance he can to see her and stays with her Mum and Dad at weekends. She was allowed out for the first time for a few hours on Christmas Day so Richard was on his way by 8.45am to pick her up from the Hospital and take her to her Mum and Dads where he stopped to have Christmas lunch with them then left them mid-afternoon to meet us and our family for Christmas dinner in Cheshire with a fixed grin on his face after what he called a very "special" Christmas morning with Row. We are now just taking each step at a time and are just so thankful she has improved so much so quickly although we know it will be a long time before she will be any where near back to normal. Here's hoping 2008 will be a much healthier year for all Row and all the family. I was certainly glad to see the back of 2007 last night.

I hope you have all had a good Christmas and wish you all a Happy and Healthy 2008.