Reached my wall

[Wood05]

So this week hasnt been a good one so far- although ive increased my exercise to 20 mins daily of cycling I haven't been amazing with my food-

A couple of times ive gone over my calories and other times I've stayed within but eaten rubbish- take last night it got to 7pm and i realised Id not eaten since breakfast and although I have planned dinner I ended up getting my partner to pick up a mcdonalds on the way home, I went out tuesday for lunch and although i only ate half of my meal and took the rest away I still fell for the steak and ale pie and chips today i started eating chocolate and then though bugger! and have used up the calories which i have burnt off in my exercise (which I never do )

My portion sizes have gone down but I just feel like I've eaten rubbish this week and the whole 20 mins of exercising is getting me down- the thought of doing that long term makes me want to cry

I dont want to slip off this plan as its really helped so far but Im really lacking motivation

[Zest Healthy BMI]

Hi Wood05,

Maybe you could pre-plan a bit more, so that you don't end up missing meals and leaving yourself open to temptations. You could start with the weekend - thinking what kind of weekend you'd like to have, and how you could make it one that you feel good about.

Don't feel too disheartened and don't be hard on yourself - it can be really tough when things happen which you've not planned for, and it can throw you off balance - but try to learn from what happened and think about going forward with a fresh outlook.

It's great that you've managed 20 minutes of cycling daily too, that's really good. But the fact you said that the thought of doing that long-term makes you want to cry suggests that maybe it isn't something that you actually 'enjoy' - and maybe you need to think of something that you do enjoy - because that would be far more sustainable. I have no idea what kind of things you enjoy, but maybe think of different things you could try - and mix and match a bit till you find something that interests and inspires you.

Good luck, and hope you enjoy the weekend.

Lowcal

[Hidden in reply to Zest]

I agree with the need to plan and think ahead where meals are concerned. Each of us have different domestic arrangements and for 99% of the time I do all the cooking. If I say I don't fancy cooking for whatever reason, my wife will offer to go to the chip shop. Generally, I will say, "I don't fancy that tonight" and she will then offer to cook something. Even if it's just beans on toast, I feel so lucky that it's not all left to me.

That said, there are times when I've left things a little too late to cook what I would call something decent, or I might fancy something which more resembles "street food". For such occasions, I have a few mainstay recipes, which can go from fridge to table in 20 minutes, with very little washing up.

Example:

Put rice on to cook.

Dice a pack of breasts of chicken, an onion, a bell pepper and throw into a hot frying pan. Stir in a teaspoon of Dunnes River Jamaican Jerk seasoning (powdered variety), tip in a can of chopped tomtoes, add squirt or two of tomato and garlic puree, followed by a drained tin of pineapple chunks.

Drain the rice, allow to stand for five minutes then serve and top with Jerk mixture.

In the time it would take someone to go to the chip shop and back, I can have a far superior meal on the table/tray.

I know countless families where the cooking is left to one person only and in such cases I can fully appreciate the appeal of a take away meal.

Today I cooked a dutch oven full of Chicken and Chorizo cassoulet. I froze the three large portions we did not eat. I use a vacuum sealer, so the frozen meals can be used as boil in the bag.

Sometimes when I don't want to cook, I go to the freezer and call back to my wife "what do you fancy, cassoulet, jerk chicken, beef stew or curry?". I use a number of quick fix meals and snacks that are all far more satisfying than McDonalds. I use toasted cheese sandwich, omelettes or even beans on toast (with Parmesan sprinkled on top) as stop gaps.

Sorry for rambling on so much, I just thought that it may be useful for you to cherry pick any ideas that would suit you As for me, well I pinch any idea if it works

You've been doing so well Wood05, just keep going and all will be well.

Wishing you a lovely weekend

[Wood05 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you both so much for your replies

I tend to be quite good but this week has been a challenge- I don't know if it's cos I knew I'd be going out for a curry Saturday night so counted it out but that's silly and I've sat with my partner tonight we've looked at the menu- decided what we're going to have and I've said I'll put my portion to take away if I can't finish and that's made me feel better

I did a shop today and planned the meals for the next 2 weeks! So hopefully my blip is over and I'm back on track?

I also did my 20 minutes cycle and enjoyed it I think I've learnt a lot this week and will defo plan from now on

Just hope my Monday weigh in doesn't let me down

[Hidden]

Try to find ways to make your exercising more exciting. Can you listen to audiobooks, music, even watch telly while you do a routine? Also just changing your kit, varying routes, rotating between different activities, these can all help.

I'm also an advocate of better planning for cooking. One of the things I do to make healthy eating more exciting is I try to always get a vegetable I wouldn't normally have, which forces me to cook more creatively. So I have my usual carrots, onions, peppers etc, and then something like beetroot, squash, French beans, red cabbage, then look up new recipes to cook them in an interesting way. Good luck for your weigh in, which should give you much needed motivation, but also good luck just for getting back on track and taking more control