We are now on a countdown to Christmas, which means even more care in counting the calories so we can get to our best weight possible before the feasting season begins!
I have got three big festive events next week already, so my aim is to eat at least 200 calories below my daily target on days when I'm at home, and to be very careful what I eat on the days when I'm out!
Welcome to anyone posting for the first time, just look at what the others do and follow suit. And do please comment/ask questions or just “like” what others have written. That way we all learn something.
Well, what have you planned to eat and drink on Saturday 2nd December?
I haven’t planned my menus yet , so I will post my menu later, when I have decided what we are having.
Tell us what your calorie intake should be and the total calories that each meal contains, what exercise you have planned (if any, it's not compulsory) and if you have a tip to share, please do share it!
My tip for the day is this – Just because you had one mince pie at work, (or a handful of chocolates from the big tub in the office kitchen - substitute your own potential pitfall here), it does NOT mean you have ruined everything! You do NOT have to go back and scoff the lot. (If you dropped your new iPhone on the floor and scratched it a little bit, would you think "Oh well...." and jump up and down on it, and smash it to bits???)
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hi, trimmerteacher, what a great poster, very helpful. I need to remember all that advice over the next few weeks. Tomorrow I'll be taking my youngest and his friends to pizza hut in the afternoon. I will sit alone and bored at a table on the other side of the room, trying not to stare at the garlic bread, ready to jump up when it's time to pay the bill. Park run in the morning, which means very light breakfast beforehand and something more afterwards. If I make a plan I'm more likely to stick to it. Sunday we've got a lunch of pie and mash and Monday going out to an all you can eat Chinese. So I'm taking the idea of aiming for 1500 for the few days before and after, instead of my usual 1700.
B- Greek yoghurt with banana and seeds 200
Brunch - porridge with full fat milk and blueberries 250
L- bacon, egg, baked beans 350
D- chicken and veg casserole 300
tea and coffee 150, water
snacks - apple, carrot 50. Still 200 left to play with
Hello @Trimmerteacher and thank you for hosting. I love the poster and would like to copy it but don't know how - nothing new there....
May I ask what you taught in a former life? I did office work in different countries btw.
OMG.....slight panic stations setting in here as I type with only 3 weeks to go and all those wonderful temptations in abundance ......and everywhere....not to mention events ....eeek
Well at least for Saturday I can do a DD :-
B - bacon, beans and scrambled egg
L - soup out as with a friend we are going to our huge local street market - I shall have to take some fruit with me ....note to self
S - meat stew which I plan to prepare after breakfast and put into the slow cooker before I go out, broccoli, pudding
Snacks - fruit
Water - shall have to limit myself for when I am out and about!
Exercise - walking the length and back of a pretty long road with hoards of other people!
Tip - I find it helps to add strained veggie water to already prepared soup in the fridge rather than throw it away.
Enjoy your Saturday and don't get too stressed with shopping for C presents
Hi VDP, I have messaged you a link to the poster. Hope you can access it. In my former life, I taught Modern Foreign Languages, originally German (I lived in Hamburg for two years a long time ago!) later as German became less popular, I taught French and Latin. Where have you worked?
Great menu VDP. I love coming home to the smell of a ready cooked meal from the slow cooker. I feel I should be panicking too now. I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet but as we're going to my daughter's house I'll leave the panicking to her and do my present shopping on line.
I have decided to not panic about Christmas shopping and do it as I think of it and so far it seems to work. On Tuesday I have the mainstay of the dry food shopping coming and then I shall book a last minute delivery if I can. Once I tried to book two deliveries at three week intervals and it was a complete shambles
Good tip about the veg water villageduckpond (do you have one?). I always feel guilty pouring it down the sink. I'll try and get organised and keep it in the fridge for later.
No, I don't have a village duckpond, if that is what you mean. The story goes back many years when I first joined forums (fora) and needed a name and was looking out of the window onto a village duck pond which, in fact, had protected lizards in it!
Hi Hidden and thanks for hosting. Great poster. I could do with pinning it to my fridge door as a reminder next time I get a wobble. Good for you planning your strategy for the festive season.
I've done a big shop and have been cooking most of the day today so looking forward to getting back on track this week. I've re entered my statistics on the BMI calculator and I have a bmi of 28 and my calorie range is between 1,188 and 1,528. I'll start this week at the higher range and hope for the best. So tomorrow;
B - Porridge with mashed banana and a tsp of honey - 307 cals.
L - two scrambled eggs on a round of wholemeal bread with two tsp butter followed by fresh fruit salad and full fat Greek yoghurt - 476 cals
D - Chicken and sweetcorn soup then duck and orange pate on a slice of wholemeal toast and home made plum jelly - 733 cals
Drinks - Water and black tea
Total of 1,516 cals
Tip - Read and pay heed to @Trimmerteacher's tip.
Exercise - Running around after the grandchildren.
I like your positive attitude Morgan! Sometimes a big cook up for batches is really fun! Lunch sounds lovely, in my opinion the weekends are for eggs!
Tt i so agree with your tip, its something i need to work on as i can be an all or nothing kind of person!
My Friday has gone really well, as in to plan. I must say I was very very hungry and cranky at times of the day. But if I hold myself back and stick to plan I find my dinner so heavenly because I'm so hungry and I feel glad I didn't resist!
My Saturday is a bit unknown because I have an early morning flight to Manchester to see friends for the weekend.
I have "saved up" 6000 cals for the 3 days in England so I'm not too concerned about going over my weekly cals. But I'll have to be somewhat careful all the same. I've seen days where I hit into the late 3000s when I go mad so ... a moderate approach is needed!
Guesstimations:
B1 - Coffee, a small banana and a nut bar in the airport (200)
B2 - At my friend's house: poached egg on a muffin with butter, her favourite breakfast so I'm guessing she'll make it for us. (250)
L - something light with pals, maybe cakes and tea or maybe smoked salmon on crackers and a glass of wine. Total guesses. (500)
D - I'll guess we will get a pizza in or some other takeaway. My friend is a fellow pescetarian so I'm guessing a seafood pizza between us. Top budget 1000.
I am hoping I don't overdo it and ruin my hard hard work. I don't imagine there'll be much alcohol this weekend so I'm hoping no overdoing it is needed.
Tip - "saving up" cals has given me much more freedom this weekend to have treats with friends without major stress.
Welcome back to Blighty Hidden ! I am crossing everything for you that you will keep a tight hand on the reins, at the same time as having a great time with your friends back here. Well done for saving up the calories! Now enjoy yourself.
in reply to
Thank you 😚
Well this is a tentative plan for tomorrow, as things might change depending on whether OH is playing golf (not if there’s snow on the course!)
So breakfast will be avocado on toast with bacon and maple syrup, 375 cals.
Lunch will be cheesy coleslaw and ham, and a yogurt, 457 cals.
Dinner will be chicken Provençal a la Hairy Dieters and small fruit salad, 355 cals.
Total so far 1187 cals, not too bad, so I might allow myself a mince pie at my son’s tomorrow morning, 229 cals it’s says on MFP, but maybe homemade ones are less 🤞. Total if I do is 1416, so I will need to walk that puppy briskly!
What a great poster and very true. It is a lot more difficult to eat well in winter. When we look for food to eat that can satisfy us. After a bad week and very little exercise I will get back on the wagon, and really get some lbs of in the next 3 weeks. Good luck to everyone else this week. Breakfast will be porridge and a banana with also coffee with skimmed milk. 250 calories. Lunch Home made veg soup and a roll with peanut butter on. 350 calories. Dinner. Fish (cod) in breadcrumbs and salad. Yogurt 500 calories Orange 🍊 for a snack in the afternoon. Morning I will treat myself to a skinny latte as not had one this week. 150 calories. 1300 calories. Should have around 1600 but gone over a few days last week so eating a little less for a few days. Exercise is a walk up the high street there is a Christmas fair and for the first time it is a car free zone. Have a good day everyone z
I have no excuse now I have been able to invest in a good cooker. The one I had was old and given to me. So all good. I had to give myself a stern talking to. Not to say I will not go off again but for now I am back. Thank you to everyone on the forum for having faith in me
Had a good day today going light, back to normal tomorrow. Been planning for next week, week 4 for me as I'll be visiting family and having a Christmas meal out. So I'll be taking food with me and cooking meals for my parents and me. Tomorrow's menu...
Superfoods green juice - 35
Brekkie - chia seeds in soya milk - 270
Lunch - courgette & tomato soup - 90
Dinner - eggs, chips and homemade baked beans - 860
Afters/Supper - yikes, won't need anything after that dinner!
Drinks - Herb teas and water
Calories - 1,255
Veg serves - 5
in reply to
Sounds like great planning Hidden . Really healthy menu!
Great analogy Hidden , am off to tell my bessies carrot and cabbage not to jump on their phones ☺️
Had a completely bobbins night sleep here. Collected my husband and his friends from their golf xmas party night. One of them stayed here. They were very tipsy and I kept having bad dreams about golfers in my car!!
I hope the tiredness doesn't scupper my day:
B. Bacon sandwich
L. The plan is a kale salad but I might be in the shops !
D. Risotto with chirizo
Am off out myself tonight but am staying sober so hopefully they'll be a mince pie and a hot chocolate involved! I'm so rock and roll,!
Did treat myself to an advent calendar chocolate (2) and a mini stollen bite (89) at work yesterday (it was Friday and I had a little wriggle room at the end of the week having kept a little below my calorie goal). I was surprised to find that I didn't feel the need to scoff the box as usual (obviously couldn't scoff the whole advent calendar - that would not have been popular with my colleagues!)
Anyway... back on track. My plan for today:
B - spanish omlette (cooked by OH - he has his instructions) - 401
L - HM carrot and coriander soup 114
D - Ribeye steak, mushrooms, sweetcorn, salad leaves, tomato and half an avocado - 558
Snack - apple and drinks - 8 glasses of water, 4 tea with s/s milk - 125
Total 1198.
Need to take care today as it is son's birthday tomorrow and OH on Monday so potentially 2 meals out to be enjoyed. Hope to get out for walks and down the allotment this weekend as the weather is set to improve.
Woke up late and had to rush to work so no breakfast
Complete guess here...
lunch - M&S count on us lasagne (365)
dinner - beans on toast with a sprinkle of cheese (500?)
Snacks - tinned peaches (100)
Not sure if I will be able to fit anything else in because I am off out tonight in Soho for my friends birthday but will consuming a lot of alcohol but luckily I drink vodka so not too high in calories, and will be having some cranberry juice with that. Have no idea how many calories that would be..
Worried about my hangover food tomorrow.... but I guess Ill probably have a pizza and that will be it for the day taking up my total calorie allowance for sunday.
Love the picture! Great ideas. I managed a run/walk yesterday and a walk today. Trying to move more as well as changing diet. Diet is a bit harder but spending a few days writing everything down.
Tomorrow's DD has already been posted, so if you have any idea about what you'll be eating, why not log it there, so that you can get feedback on your choices?
Honestly, because I know I am still fooling myself a bit, so I'm committing to a week of writing down to identify my triggers and weak spots so I can plan more effectively. I will then start logging on here. Thanks for the much needed nudge!
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