Day 1 - although NHS says its week 7.

[Arthrath]

According to my e-mails I am on week 7! where did the other 6 weeks go.

Today is for me day 1.

Weighed myself this morning and have lost ...drum roll... 1.6lb. Just another 2st 4 lbs to go.

Obviously I must keep a better food diary.

I started horse riding 4 weeks ago but because I am so overweight and unfit I injured my back while attempting to canter.

I have kept riding each week but only trekking at walk with a few short trots until yesterday when I went back to a 3/4 hour lesson and the back held up well.

Although I have not lost weight I can feel my core muscles strengthening.

I will try and keep this diary and hopefully it will help me see where I am possibly 'cheating' or whether I have secret habits I am oblivious to.

Today so far:

10pt milk/week = 141cal per day

30g porridge with water = 107

50g blackberries = 15

lunch:

soup =100

slice bread/toast =100

dinner:

1 tsp oil = 32

150g trout fillet =162

kale =43

carrots = 50

sweet chilli sauce = 50

other:

apple = 75

orange = 93

grapes = 124

Which I think is 1092 cals so far and has carbs/protein/fat/dairy.

Still a few calories left over, can I squeeze in a blackberry crumble and yogurt topping? Possibly not.

Should I have an extra slice of bread or do I need more protein? Is a glass of wine calling to me?

This may be where I am going wrong, I should decide the day before what I am having for lunch and dinner.

Will post tomorrow what I actually had to eat. I am off now to have a cup of tea - using milk from my allowance and then a bit of weeding in the garden.

[returner]

Hi Arthrath,

My advice is that if you get in a " I've got a few calories left", personally I wouldn't even go there thinking about how to use it up!

Weight loss just isn't that perfectly a mathematical thing, so a couple of hundred calories one way or other on an odd day here and there, isn't probably going to change much.

Of course, a couple of hundred calories one way or another, regularly and frequently is a different matter. In fact, isn't that basically how most of us get to be overweight in the first place? Because we didn't bother about those 'extra' calories / fats / sugars, etc?

[gingernut49]

Why not use the free MyFitnessPal app - but don't use your exercise calories burned if you want to lose weight.

[xeb22]

Have a look at:

acaloriecounter.com/diet/

This is very clear to understand and works. Your will power is the key. Well done on what you have done so far. More exercise is good, less empty carbs like booze and watch the fruit as it is sugar. Plenty of protein is good.