Not Another Bloody Diet

Well its certainly getting easier that's for sure...circuit training. You know the one. 10ish exercise stations around the egde of the studio. Chest flyes and star jumps and such the like. I've only been to the work gym one, which I can imagine is more low key than being trained by ex-army instructors at David Lloyd (this statement about DL purely based on my imagination and fear). In all seriousness, it offers an all around fitness to burn calories and tone. The only problem is, the class is frequented by wannabee Olympic medallists and fitness freaks who do classes so as to avoid their spouses.

The proof is in the eating (nice pun for a diet blog). I got weighed and measured today. No weight loss, but 1cm off the waist and thigh, 1cm ON the bust (?) and 0.5 on the hips. Water retention, the weather, who knows. Nothing to worry about after only 2 weeks on an 'exercise only' programme.

As you can imagine from the lack of posts, I fell wayyyy off the wagon! Not only did I stuff the diet, I gained extra pounds!!! Not an inspiration to anyone really. I'm currently the heaviest I've ever been which is disgraceful.

The fundamental problems seem to 1. Being happy and in love with a man who loves the way I look 2. Working hard in a job where I can't seem to balance out my private life as in previous jobs 3. Loving food, loving wine and beer. How tragic is that? These are all perfectly positive things in a persons life, but my health is suffering. OK, I'm a stone and a half overweight which should not be such a struggle to lose. Also, although being overweight can seriously affect your health, I'm not in a danger zone - yet.

I guess that's the point. At what stage in your life does the weight gain stop and you maintain a healthy lifestyle. This is what I aspire to the most. Losing weight and maintaining it for the rest of my life. Our bodies will change in each decade if our lives, so its essential we cope with these changes and ensure we look after our health.

What's next for me? Well I joined the work gym with the tail between my legs. I left under a cloud due to the lack of thanks for my 3 years chairing the committee. I can be such a spoilt little brat! Dragons in Hove were a waste of time. I joined them because of the swim sauna aspect, plus it seemed like a small and intimate gym which I prefer. However, their 'so called' 30 day promise really is just 'going through the motions'. I had all the appointments, but no follow up and no on going support. As I walked through the doors of the gym at work, I was greeted with a smile. I went back to some of the classes I used to attend, the trainer and classmates remembered me. A positive and friendly atmosphere is vital to a gymphobe like me.

The programme is called 'Stick with it'. Fortnightly 'catch ups' with the trainer to weight measure and discuss progress. Weekly change in programme to keep it interesting and tailored to how much time you can spend in the gym. I started with the programme, now I'm attending circuit training more regularly. I love the friendly atmosphere of classes, plus I need 'competition' to motivate me. I'm the slowest runner in the class, but I try not to show myself up too much! First 'catch-up' on Tuesday, so lets see what my hard work has done so far. I'm watching the food slightly, but not so strict as I prefer to be tougher in the gym.

Goals? Very important for motivation. 1. to get fit for ski-ing 2. lose weight and inches 3. lose a little or at least tone for hol to New York in 6 weeks time. 4. Try very hard to form a routine for the rest of my life.

That's all for now.

Saturdays are weigh days. It helps to only weigh yourself once a week, at the same time. At least that's along the lines of some diet programme's reccommendations. Scientifically, I suppose that works, as you have a controlled starting point for your measurements. I would like to learn a bit more on how the body and metabolism works on a daily/ weekly basis though. This method of 'weighing-in', measuring weekly gains/ losses has worked for me before, so I'll stick with this plan.

I cheated a little to give myself a motivating start. I weighed myself after breakfast, but before lunch. Different from the week before. I think I wouldn't have coped if I had lost nothing. Its been a good week in some respects, but I had bad moments which could prevent me from losing.

The digital numbers flickered as madly as my stomach. I looked down. 11st 6lb. I'd lost 4lb!!!! So despite slightly cheating on the weigh-in time rules, a clear step in the right direction. Great stuff!

It took all of 30 mins for me to start 'relaxing' on the diet rules. 'I've lost 4lb', went the internal dialogue, 'I'm obviously way ahead of target'. So a desert spoon of maple syrup went on my buttermilk wholemeal pancakes and blueberries. By evening time, I'd drunk a whole bottle of wine and eaten out - again. Wagamama again, so a healthy stir fry and noodles (plenty of veg). Not as bad as pre-Christmas nut roast dinners and pints of larger but still...tut, tut, tut Missy.

I'm sure anyone reading this is thinking 'don't be so hard on yourself'. True. On one hand, I've managed to change my eating habits, cut way back on alcohol in the space of 2 weeks. However don't forget I know myself and need to control my 'state of mind'. I can sink back into denial faster than it takes Jodie Marsh to flash her chest on the red carpet (I'm obsessed with CBB - sorry). How do you think I managed to gain a stone last year in the first place?

One positive tactic, I'm remembering from previous successful diets is how it is possble to make up for bad days the rest of the week. Extra exercise, cut out snacks, double portion veggies/lower portion carbs.

Its all fixable. Onwards I go. With 4lb gone already, I feel remarkably motivated.

The theory is, if you don't have it in the house, you don't eat it! Somehow I had managed to have a bar of plain organic chocolate in the cupboard for 2 weeks without eating it. Until last night.

I was reaching for the peppermint teabags. A nice, refreshing, 'anti-hunger', devisive cup of peppermint tea. The slim green packet caught my eye in a millisecond. That's all it takes. A short sharp glimpse in the corner of the eye transforms into a lifetime of bikini weigh-ins and post-Chrimbo 'detox' programmes. I forgot I had that bar! It's not open yet though Claire. Hang on, wait there, its talking to me. Whining smoothly, seductively.....Claire, you need me. Just two squares. Go on go on go go on. You only need two squares to satisfy your sweet craving. I'm rich, far too rich to eat more than 2 squares. You're vegetarian, you need to keep up your sugar levels otherwise you will develop diabetes in later years (I had a boyfriend tell me that last year, 4 weeks and 8lb heavier I still believed him!). At least 8 squares later, I had that wonderful guilty satisfied feeling, like watching Celebrity Big Brother live feed.

Together with the large glass of house red at my late lunch in Wagamama made this a bad diet day, but a flippin good day off. How many calories does a trek up the South Downs and sex burn off?

If you break down most diets and read between the fancy tips, recipes and motivation techniques they boil down to one thing. Eat a balanced diet, control your portions and exercise daily. The G I Diet is basically all about that. What I found most comforting when reading Rick Gallops's book is it made me feel that food is *good* not evil, food is *fuel* plus can be tasty and healthy at the same time. I already tried the diet when training for the London to Brighton bike ride. Because of the high energy content, but low calories and balanced sugar intake it was perfect complement to my gruelling 4 hour bike rides on weekends. So why didn't I stick at it? That's question I can't answer yet, but intend to find out while I give it a good good go!!

This is how I have set up Success.

Background:
As I mentioned previously, I've done a number of diets. Eating and health does interest me (so does alcohol, chips, not going to the gym and cheese). So I have drawn on a number of ideas that have worked for me in the past, plus new ideas from the GI Diet Book by Rick Gallop, Anthony Worrall Thompson's GI Diet Cookbook, Weightwatchers and various articles in health magazines such as Healthy and Top Sante.

The Goal:
24lb in 24 weeks. 1lb a week should be realistic. I have done it before. I'm going on holiday to Montreal and New York at the end of August, so I also have a big goal. As it stands I don't look good in anything in my wardrobe because of puffing out, and as I can't afford a whole new wardrobe I have no choice but to shift the pounds.

The Method:
Following a GI Diet plan but including a small amount of alcohol in place of the calories they allow for some desserts and snacks. I'm not much into dessert and much more into red wine. In order to realistic, I can't cut it out altogether.

Each day I plan my food, write down the menu and change to what I really ate. Brutal honesty is rule no 1. I also record exercise and a diary of how I feel about the day or myself. I cook batches of snacks and meals ahead to prepare for times when I don't feel like cooking.

I weighed in at 11st 10lb on Saturday 7th January and will continue to weigh and record my weight around that time each week. I've set rewards at each 1/2 stone point.

The Blog:
This is to give me support, plus I can share this with other dieters. I'm going to give the address to those who are sharing in my pain and need motivation.

Let's get eating.

Welcome. This is a blog on a real life plan to shift 24lb by August. I hope to inject my own brand of humour into the blog but it will also act as a support mechanism to the task. Read on as an act of solidarity for all dieters. Plus I will write up some tips and recipes for things I find successful. Good luck!

Its January. Every magazine and television channel are filled with diet plans and tips to get rid of the Christmas over indulgence bulge. I'm no exception to following that festive tradition. Somehow I have managed to over eat myself into the heaviest weight I've ever recorded. I had received a set of scales from my Nan for Christmas. She takes interest in my eating and figure and we agreed the gift beforehand. I finally plucked up the courage to weigh in on January 7th. 13th day of Christmas - ha ha! It wasn't as bad as I thought, but as I took in the reality of it, it dawned on me what a task I have ahead.

So, as I feel sick to my stomach about how out of hand its all got (but still not sick enough to put me off reaching for the cheese board) I realise its got be done. Another bloody diet!

I've dieted many times before. Every time I put my mind to it, I achieve success. However, whatever I achieve, never seems to be enough. I haven't quite learned to be satisfied with a healthy weight and balance my lifestyle. So this time, I have designed my own diet and named it Success. Well, a bit lame but you have to start somewhere. The thought of going back to Weight Watchers and paying £5 a week to have someone weigh you, which you can do in Boots for 20p, was also sickening (but not sickening enough to put me off a large glass of red).

I designed Success just before New Year's Eve. Week one has been a mixed result. Some habits die hard. The most valuable skill you need for dieting is to be able to pick yourself up and start again if you fall off the wagon. Before things get out of control that is!

Read on if you don't want to feel alone in your quest for shifting pounds.