Wednesday Weigh-in!

I've decided that every Wednesday I will 'weigh-in'. So here it goes:

Current Weight:
73.1 kg (or 161 pounds or 11.5 stone)

Current Body fat percentage:
38.2%

Current Stomach Circumference:
101cm

Weight miles stones: Less than 70kg, less than 65kg (has not occured since my best friends weeding in May 2012), 60kg (what I weighed when I was worried I had gained too much in Summer 2010), 57kg (according to Dukan Diet my 'ideal weight', which is what I was aiming for all those years ago!)

Ultimate Goal Weight:
55 kg (or 121 pounds or 8.6 stone)

Ultimate Goal Body fat percentage:
20%

Goal Stomach Circumference:
Not sure...I know less than 80cm is recommended for women - so just slimming down to healthy will be good!

Exercise!

What I know:

• A person should walk 10,000 steps a day (this is not overachieving, but just doing the essentials!)
• Lifting weights and building muscle is essential to changing body composition and losing weight.
• Lifting heavy weights will not make me bulky like a man.
• Running at my current weight is likely to give me another stress fracture in my foot.
• Power walking with my heart rate between 120-140 bpm is the best way of melting fat off.
• Varied workouts will keep the body guessing.
• It is important to eat before and after exercise, especially enough protein on weight lifting days.
• The average person is recommended to do at least 90 minutes of moderate-intensive activity a week (i.e. not just hitting the 10,000 steps).
  

What works well:

• Exercising with a buddy.
• Taking classes, this helps with scheduling and with motivation throughout the session.
• Having a goal or event to build up to (e.g. 5k fun run etc.)
• Exercising in the morning (so that I don't have to think about it all day!)
• Incorporating little extra activities to hit my daily steps, i.e. walk up the stars at work rather than taking the lift.

What does not work well:

• Workout DVDs, I don't really have the space and don't tend to stick to the 'scheduled' workout time.
• Trying to do too much, I need to be realistic about the amount of time I have. If I fail to stick to my 'schedule' I tend to give up.
• Leaving all my steps to hit at the end of the day.
• Trying to go to a gym or gym class on my own, I'm too shy and self-concious, so I end up putting it off.

What I can do:

• Hit 10,000 steps a day.
• Do two circuit classes a week (Monday evening with my friend, Alli, and Friday morning with my friend, Nina.)
• 2 x 40min speed walks per week (heart rate between 120-140 bpm). This can count towards the 10,000 daily steps.

My plan is to carry this out for the next month, then ramp it up.

Have I made my plan too easy? Will I stick to this?

I hope so...

Nutrition/Healthy Eating

Nutrition/Healthy Eating

What I know:
Fat - There are good and bad fats. Bad - saturated (animal) fat e.g. cream, lard, fatty meats, etc. Good - omega 3 (salmon, etc.), avocado, nuts, etc.
Carbohydrates - essential part of a diet, but white flour and white rice do not have to be part of that. Cutting down on bread (especially white bread) and eating more whole foods such as quinoa, brown rice, whole-wheat tortillas (good bread substitute) and beans is much healthier and helps keep you fuller for longer.
Sugar is bad and should be eliminated whenever possible - eating fruit is ok, but must be considered as part of sugar intake.
Protein - It is important to eat enough (lean) protein when trying to build muscle. Good sources of protein are: lean turkey, lean mince meat, eggs, Greek yoghurt, low fat diary, beans, peas, lentils, etc.

What works well:

• Creating a list of meal ideas full of meals I like and will look forward to.
• Having short challenges - I have previously completed the Whole30 without cheating.
• Having some rules/guidelines.
• Making time to prepare meals.
• Making time to buy healthy food
• Limiting my options/exposure to unhealthy foods (i.e. it is very easy for me to walk to Tesco and buy exactly what I fancy e.g. frozen pizza, chocolate, cake etc.)
• Dieting with someone.
• Getting quick weight-loss results (I don't want to eat junk, as the weight-loss is exciting).
• Having treats I am allowed (e.g. buying one bar of 70%+ chocolate which has to last me for the week).
• Not drinking sugar in my tea (I have stopped entirely now!)
• Not drinking sugary drinks (cola, etc.) - easy to give up!

What does not work well:

• Restricting any type of food entirely that I really like (once I cave I wont stop overindulging on it for at least a month!)
• Having a strict meal plan, I like to eat what I fancy.
• Having strict rules/guidelines that make it difficult to eat socially (e.g. going to a restaurant, eating at a friends, etc.)
• Complex food weighing/cooking (e.g. weighing out exact protein, carbs and fat).

What I can do:

1. Buy one bar (100g) of 70% (or higher) dark chocolate on Sunday, which has to last me until the following Sunday. No other chocolate treats.
2. Create a list of food inspiration ideas, based on eating as much fruit and veg as possible, but still a list of things I would look forward to eating (e.g. chicken fajitas).
3. Drink at least 1.5 litres of water a day.
4. No sugary drinks (cordial, cola, etc.)
5. No/very little white flour and white rice.

I'm happy with what I have got for now, I'm giving myself the flexibility to make adjustments when I need to.

Have you ever done anything similar? Would you add or change anything for your own list?

Homework time!

I've been seeing my psychiatrist for a while now, she has now witnessed a full cycle of my self-sabotage behaviour : lose weight, then eat myself silly, repeat.

Last week she gave me some homework. 

I have to write down what I know about; nutrition/healthy eating, exercise and eating habits (decision process, e.g. I must eat until I am full).

Then I need to decide which things have worked well for me in the past and list the things I should avoid doing again.

It's quite a lot to write down so I will split it into categories and do a post on each.

If you think this would help you, why not give it a go? If I have missed anything really important please let me know ;-)

Wedding Dresses & being fat

I tried on my first wedding dresses with my mum last Friday. 

It was wonderful - I was surprised at how flattering some of the dresses looked. My youngest sister was with us, happily taking photos so that we could discuss the various options afterwards.

Looking at photos I had the shock of my life - I look HUGE!

How is it possible that I went from feeling like a princess whilst in the dress, but actually looking like a walrus wrapped in a too small table cloth on the photos?

I want a word for this delirious occurrence. Is there one?
I know people suffering from anorexia often think they are much larger than they are, I seem to have the exact opposite!

Mirrors seem to lie to me, however photos seem to hold the cruel truth.

I will ask my therapist about this, I am a little worried she will just say I'm kidding myself and not looking in the mirror carefully enough.

I still haven't done the homework my therapist gave me last week...I'll tell you more about that in my next post.

My first yo-yo

The first yo-yo was made popular in the 1920's but I'm pretty sure back then they would never have guessed how we would be using their fun toy name as an evil adjective in conjunction with weight loss and gain. Yo-yo dieting simple means, going on a diet, then putting weight back on, then going on a diet again, and - well putting the weight back on.

My weight gain started in 2010, it's the year I graduated, moved in with my then boyfriend (now fiancé) and it was also sadly the year my fiancé lost his mum to cancer. So all in all, I gained weight, and never really lost it again. At the time that really wasn't the largest (excuse the pun) problem.

However, it's how I dealt with the weight gain that has probably got me into this whole mess - ironically I can't quite remember how I did deal with it. I believe I started with a bit of jogging (sensible) and when that didn't work well I started my first strict diet (less sensible).

Over the years, I would informally agree with myself that I was on a diet and restrict foods which I wanted to eat, but didn't deem healthy, again seems relatively sensible to me. However I always seemed to 'cave' and ended up weighing even more than I had done before the diet.

My first 'formal' diet was the Dukan Diet which I started in 2012. I caved a couple of times before sticking to it for just under 3 months - I was the maid of honour at my best friend's wedding, and didn't want to hate looking at the wedding photos for the rest of my life. Oh the Dukan Diet worked well, until said wedding day arose, I ate lots of 'forbidden' foods and didn't stop eating for 2 months - which made me 5kg heavier than when I initially started Dukan.

Of course I knew I was eating too much, I even knew I was binging, I just couldn't stop myself...

Welcome to my blog

Hi there,

I'm Sophia and I'm a yo-yo dieter looking to finally break the cycle. I will be reporting my weight loss progress every Wednesday and post the results in my 'Weight loss Wednesday' blog posts. Alongside the current updates I will reflect on previous yo-yo dieting mishaps. I'm hoping to end my yo-yo dieting cycle. I wont be doing it on my own, I have a psychiatrist (I hate the way that sounds, either like I'm a complete nut-case or a pampered, middle class pouch - I'll leave you to draw your own conclusion...) who is helping me fight my desperate urge to loose weight fast, mainly because it resorts to a nasty binge a few months later.

If you've found this blog you may be experiencing similar problems or know someone that does - please feel free to comment or send me an email - but please be kind - I profess to not knowing what I'm doing - here's to giving it a go!