lindee's journey to rediscover her waistline!!!

hi all! well, here i go on my journey to rediscover my waistline ...... haven't seen it for a while but i do believe it's hiding around here somewhere
i bought this diet plan on feb 1st but i'm only just starting it today .... things got in the way, like my parents visiting - IMPOSSIBLE to try to start an eating plan with 'she who brings yummy cheeses' and 'he who brings copious amounts of wine' coming to stay. anyway they've gone home now. next 'thing' was convincing my partner that he needed to do this as well - after much scrutiny of the menus he agreed he would join me.
i have never been small; 5'7" and a 'well-rounded' 65kg but i did have a waist! gradually over the past 10 years the weight crept on round my middle - i remember saying 'ok, when i get to 70kg i'll do something about it' ...... 'when i get to 75kg' ...... 'there's no way i'm going over 80kg' .................... now at 83.8kg I AM FINALLY DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
i met my partner 3 years ago and we have both been extremely happy and gradually gaining weight (oh, for the stressed-out miserable days of before ... NOT!) - my partner has gone from 100kg to 124kg since meeting me. i'm 42 and he's 45 - now is the time to get our health back on track before we develop any problems!
i'd like to get back to 65kg-ish and he would like to get back to 90kg-ish - today is our first day on the diet and so far we're doing well - i'm usually really bad at 'grazing' through the day, but have followed the plan exactly and haven't felt like grazing at all, he doesn't graze but does have a problem with portion control.
so, this is the beginning of the healthy new us ............

well i REALLY thought i'd wake up starvingly hungry - and much to my surprise i didn't!
day 2 and all is still on track - i still need my cup of coffee (black, no sugar) to kickstart my day, but otherwise, all is good!

as for exercise; i was going to make the effort to get out and walk the dogs more frequently and for longer and wouldn't you know it .... after several months of no rain, it's starting raining here so i've been vacuuming vigorously (instead of half-heartedly), and decided to clean out all the cupboards, just to keep me active all day.

hope you're all doing well - i'll update both our results in a week from now - hope to read more of your results then too.

first week update; yahooo! i lost 2.3kg and 1-2cm round each of the vital statistics and my partner lost 1.5kg and 2cm ................ and this is where we 'fess up; we followed the eating plan properly but didn't do any exercise .................. i can only imagine how much better those figures would look if we had gotten off our butts!

the eating plan is so easy to follow and me, being the constant snacker didn't get hungry or pick at anything during the day, and i didn't even have to try not to eat - i just didn't feel hungry. we both got quite tired on about days 3-7 - not sure if it's the diet or the seasonal change (our temps suddenly plummeted from hot summer to cool autumn overnight!), but wasn't a major problem just went to bed earlier and had a nana nap on sunday afternoon.

possibly the most annoying thing is that i know all this stuff and should be able to work it out for myself but it's just so much easier to have someone else hand it all to me sorted and ready to go - thank you Joanne for idiot-proofing it for me!

i'll be back next monday with our next update - hopefully even better results .... till then i'd better get

oh dear .............

and we thought we were doing so well! week 2 weigh in and i only lost 900g and my partner 100g - on the plus side there was a couple more centimetres off the measurements, and a loss is still a loss even if it wasn't as much as we'd hoped for.

admittedly we did have lunch out one day last week but both tried to choose 'healthier' options - i had a chicken wrap, partner had a beef roll, both with salad and oven-baked fries. was a struggle to eat a whole restaurant lunch-size meal - our stomachs have definitely reduced in capacity!

also, not sure if this made the difference but we were given a couple of pumpkins and i made pumpkin soup with them and we have had that for our dinner every night last week - though it's just pumpkin and water which i figured couldn't be any higher in calories than a packet soup. BUT having it every night and not alternating with the protein of the chicken salad and smoothie may have affected our metabolisms i guess. ...... and yes, i did see that week 2 states "follow this eating plan religiously" ...............

thankfully week two's result hasn't put my partner off and we are setting off into week 3 with renewed enthusiasm! oh, and we did manage to get a bit more exercise in last week - hope to do the same this week too.

have a good week all, be back next monday!

*#@!@#**# easter!! *#@!@#**# easter eggs !!!

ok .... week 3
a "friend" ... and i use the term loosely! .... gave me a bag of creme eggs for easter. i carefully rationed them out to eat over three weeks .... but i have a weakness for chocolate so three days later they were all gone and i gained 100g this week
my partner, who has far more will-power than me and isn't really fussed with chocolate anyways, lost 1.5kg, so the diet definitely works when you don't get led astray!!

all together over the past 3 weeks we have both lost 3kg each and approx 10-12cms each, and that's with not doing the recommended exercise which i'm sure would make even more difference!

we're pleased with how we've been going so far and are about to do the week one kickstart diet again for week four.

the food is still very yummy, the shopping bill is still under $100 a week, and it's still very easy to follow when someone else has planned your menu for you!

see you in a week!

hi all!
week 4 weigh in; i'm down 500g and my partner is down 900g .... something's wrong with my tape measure cause some measurements were higher than last week or maybe i'm not very good at getting it in the same place each week!! (more likely!! ) BUT most importantly, our clothes are getting looser - that's the best indication!

our weight isn't falling off as fast as some people's results but slow and steady suits us fine.

we went out to dinner with friends on saturday night .... to a chinese all-you-can-eat smorgasbord !!!!!
much to our surprise we were both very restrained and kept to one plate, not stacked up high, and lots of veges - we both admitted later that we could've gone back for another round; me with my scottish background wanting to get my money's worth, and he because it tasted good, but we didn't and we're very proud of ourselves

just goes to show that you need to train your mind as much as your body!

this week we'll be mostly following the kickstart menu but adding in some of the DIY menu items; ie every second dinner will something like 85g of chicken or steak, with a small kumara, and a pile of steamed veges - keeping a careful watch on the calorie count of course!

seeya, next week!

week five and still going strong!

i lost 1.5kg and my partner lost 1.1kg so in total we have both lost 5kg in 5 weeks - average of 1kg a week is a very healthy way to lose weight - we're both very happy with our results ..... BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY ... i can fit a pair of jeans again that were a good 5cms from doing up when i tried them on at the beginning of the year (and they're s-t-r-e-t-c-h jeans ).

we've been mostly following the week one plan but alternating the dinners; soup then steak and veges then soup etc etc (my partner's been missing his red meat) and feel we have a very balanced diet nutrition wise. i also feel 'lighter', as in not so sluggish and weighed down with toxins.

some days i can get to lunch or dinner time without even realising and other days i get the mega-munchies and eat so much fruit to get me through to the next meal and on the rare occasion i have resorted to having a piece of toast with a thin smear of avocado olivani spread to tide me over. but the non-munchie days happen more than the munchie days and i try to keep myself busy - working from home doesn't help especially having to walk past the fridge! i make myself have a cup of green tea when i first get hungry to try to delay the actual eating - no wonder i feel like i've flushed the toxins with the amount of green tea i've had

seeya next week!

week six ...

i only lost 100g this week and my partner lost 800g ... but measurements are still going down so all is good! it's that time of the month for me and guess i'm 'retaining fluid' so not too worried about only losing 100g.

on the plus side ... or should that be the minus side .... my partner has just bought a new pair of jeans at size 102cm waist, down from 107cm waist, so he is very happy he also astounded me in the weekend by suggesting we went for a bike ride - the first time he has actually wanted to do some exercise i rushed round and dusted off the bikes and pumped up the tyres before he changed his mind. i have noticed a definite improvement in his health - not as tired, a bit more energy, and doesn't struggle with his breathing when walking any distance!

i ran out of cocoa chai tea the other day so decided to make my own version; one green tea bag, a smidge of cocoa powder, a dash of cayenne pepper, and a dash of all spice .... makes a very 'warming' drink, but do watch the amount of cayenne! (cayenne pepper does help with digestion and circulation).

seeya next week!

week seven ......

hmmm, i put on 200g and my partner lost 700g so in 7 weeks a total of 4.9kg and 21cms loss for me and 6.8kg and 16cms loss for my partner. plus most importantly - we feel so much healthier!

i'm guessing that my 'munchies' and choc cravings got the better of me this week!! but my jeans are noticably looser and the cms are still decreasing so i'm not too bummed out .... and i know exactly why i gained!

i've been doing the walking and the occasional bike ride - now i'm feeling more motivated to do other more specific exercises, like stomach crunches, etc.

seeya, next week!

week 8 and we're back on track!

i lost 600g and my partner lost 500g so we're still heading in the right direction.

last update i said i was feeling more motivated to do more exercise .... well, that went out the window - last week was very messy; mostly taken up with pets and vets! some planned (vaccinations) some not (abcesses) but very time consuming (and costly) and very tiring. seemed to have a lack of energy last week but think that's over now.

my partner has this week off with school holidays so we're going to redo the week one kickstart plan just to refresh our metabolisms and make sure we're keeping up the good habits!

seeya next week

week 9 ...

i lost 400g and my partner lost 900g , so in 9 weeks i've lost a total of 5.9kg and my partner has lost 8.2kg., which we are very happy with - would prefer to lose at this pace rather than too rapidly because we know it can go back on very quickly as well!

went to a friend's place for dinner during the week and we both had very conservative portions and chose our food wisely! and yes, we had desert but only a very little bit

bit worried about this cold snap we're having as i tend to turn to food to keep warm ...... hahahaha here's me trying to justify eating again!!!! guess i better vacuum vigorously and drink lots of green tea today

till next week, seeya

week 10 and still focussed!!

this must be a first for me - probably the longest i've spent following an eating plan/diet i guess it's cause this one is easy and IT WORKS .... (and it works without me following the recommended exercise as well )

anyways ... this week a 600g loss for me and 500g loss for my partner.
we think we would've done better if it wasn't so chilly this past week cause we tended to have mashed potatoes with quite a few of our night-time meals - we've decided to only have mashed spuds ONCE this week

we're still happy with our progress - seeya next week

OMG!! ..... week 11

well, i was very pleased with my 800g loss but my partner was ecstatic with his 2.1kg loss ... and we were both worried we'd only have about 200-300g losses!!!

we didn't do anything noticeably different this week (though we did cut back on the mashed potato!) maybe we're burning off more fat with the cold weather whatever it was, i hope it works again this week

the clothes are still getting looser and my partner will have to buy a new belt soon - he's on the smallest setting now of a belt that only just went round him a few months ago So far i've lost an average of 7.5cm and my partner has lost an average of 11cms around each of the vital statistics .... we're happy

seeya next week

oops ..... now how did that happen??

week 12: i gained 200g and my partner lost 300g .... hmmmmmm

i'm sure it had nothing to do with the plate of nachos (that we shared!) and the beers we had the night before weigh in ............ ............ and the fact that i had an icecream sundae as well .....
well, that'll teach us! strangely enough we're not that bummed out cause i can fit a skirt i haven't fitted for a while and my partner has now gone from a 107cm waist jeans to 102cm and as of this morning, he's wearing his 95cm jeans from a year ago!!!!

doesn't hurt to have a treat once in a while but we'll try not to do it the day before weigh in the next time!

this weekend will be a challenge - we'll be at Rotorua with my parents ...... the eating plan will be right out the window but we'll do our best to be good

have a good week all
seeya

week 13 ...

as we were going away for the long weekend we decided to weigh ourselves on the friday morning before we went; me 76.3kg 400g loss, him 108.8kgs 500g loss ................... and when we got back on the tuesday morning; me 76.8kg 500g gain, him 110.1kg 1.3kg gain ....

and we tried so hard to be good with our meals! guess the crackers and cheese, occasional biscuit, piece of cake, the wine, whiskies, etc all added up! though we did do an awful lot more walking than usual

oh well, we kinda knew it might get messy over the weekend (but we enjoyed every bite!) so we'll be back to our good habits for the rest of this week and hope that we get back to where we were!

seeya

week 14 ....

after our slightly disastrous weigh in last weekend we're sorta back on track!
me; 76.5kg so 300g down on the post-weekend-away figure but 200g up on the pre-weekend-away figure.
him; 108.1kg so 2kg down on the post and 700g down on the pre - he's happy!

my excuse for the gain (from the Big Book of Excuses for All Occasions ) is the age-old favourite - it's 'that' time of the month. so not only is there fluid retention but i get the munchies too!

never mind, i'll just have to do better this week

seeya next monday

....... what week are we up to ... oh yep, week 15

i can't believe i'm still following this diet plan this is the longest ever
and even better; i'm still losing weight

i lost 900g and he lost 400g ..... not bad going considering we had chinese takeaways and beer the night before weigh in just goes to show that we have learnt our portion control well.

we're both almost half way to our goal weights and very pleased with ourselves - clothes are needing belts, and also able to fit back into some pre-weight gain items.

feeling positive that this week is going to be a good week, so seeya next monday

the less said about week 16, the better

me up 500g, him up 1.3kg!

we know exactly where we went wrong ... he went on a pub crawl with the boys from tech , and i succumbed to chocolate!

so we shall just pretend this week doesn't exist and be back next monday with some proper results!!

i havent logged in for ages but thought i might and check on on your inspirational journey

anywho again well done and every single loss s a step closer to your goal. keep u the great work your will and committment to this is amazing

cheers Justine

hi Justine,
thanks for dropping in ... i was starting to feel a little bit alone ...

i still can't believe i'm still doing this! it helps that my partner is totally into it as well - in fact, with him i think its become a competition as to who's going to lose the most each week ... and now i can fit back into clothes that i haven't been able to get into for a while - that is probably the most motivating thing

its slow and steady for us (with a few hiccups on the way) but its working!

week 17 .....

i lost 800g - down to 75.3kg
he lost 1.2kg - down to 107.8kg

so we're basically back to where we were before we went wrong last week ...

it's all good ... onwards and downwards!

seeya next monday

ha! so much for downwards!

week 18 ..... and we're up again!

me up 500g, him up 900g. i'm putting it down to eating more cause its been so very cold lately ... and we've both been working really hard ... and, um, i'm sure i can think of some more excuses .....

of course it could all be muscle gain {cough, splutter} .... well, we both did long hours last week!

next monday will be better!

Hi again

i got caught up with work and havent been checking as often. its good to see you dont dwell on the gains and that you keep going with it, this is the secret to your sucess along with will and committment!!!

keep up the good work and i will check in again soon so you arent so lonely

hey Justine!
thanks for your support (and company!)

yeah, there's no point getting bummed out with the gains - especially when we know exactly where we went wrong - but it does make us more determined to be extra good the next week! plus its teaching us how to balance what we eat and drink when we go out or have splurges, etc.

anyway, how are you going with the diet? i'm hoping that everyone else who has signed up on here is still going well.