[EleanorR]

Right, I'm back to say that after just over 4 weeks of walking everyday, the weight is now starting to go

I'm also feeling better generally and not getting so hungry in between meals. If I feel hungry I have a few walnuts and that helps me last until meal time, though I do have other snacks too such as bananas or a cereal bar But I do find that walnuts are brilliant to keep off any strong feelings of hunger.

I've been having two slices of wholemeal toast for breakfast, plus some fruit and or a small yoghurt.

Then at lunchtime I've had either some pasta or a baked potatoe, a very small amount of cheese and lots of salad and veggies. (I'm a vegetarian, so no meat for me.)

Then at tea time I've been having a bowl full of Oats So Simple (porridge), and then something small like a yoghurt or fruit. I know this seems like breakfast late in the day, but it works for me, and is quick to prepare and fills me up.

I also have a yoghurt just before I go to bed.

I've also cut out the sweeteners in my tea/coffee as I was having lots of those. I just have a very tiny amount of sugar, but feel soon I will be able to cut that out altogether.

Am also drinking lots more water.

I'm finding by having similar meals each day it helps me keep a track of what I am doing. I can vary my lunchtime meal accordingly but for now am sticking with the toast at breakfast-time and the oats at tea time. Obviously too the snacks vary as well, depending on whether I'm at work or at home.

I've not been a martyr to it, because I've still had the occasional bit of chocolate (in fact most days to be honest, just a small amount) but I am really feeling now that I can do this. I think my body had to reach a certain level of fitness before the weight started to come off. I've not lost much yet but I look so much slimmer and have had to buy some more jeans!! And other people are noticing too, which is lovely

Seems to be working

[Diva]

EleanorR,
I have decided that chocolate is very important! hehe...

I was doing the point system on Weight Watcher's and was completely suffering. So a few weeks ago did a lil' experiment and was also counting calories along with the ponts. I was eating no more than 1935 a day but was going WAY over the points, but I was still losing the 1.5 to 2 LBS a week. So, I decided to only count calories and still eat healthy, but I won't deprive myself of certain things anymore, because I was setting myself up for failure. I've lessoned the calorie intake to 1500 to 1600 a day and I am doing quite well. I bought the little Hershey's nuggets (mini's) and have 1 or 2 a day and I feel so much better; less grumpy and I never feel hungry anymore.

Good job to you and good luck!

[EleanorR]

Thanks and you are so right about the chocolate

If I can allow myself a little bit of chocolate then I'm much less likely to fail.

Sounds like you are doing really well too

[baffled111]

I have to have chocolate, usually every day. I've tried lots of the lo-cal sweets (like Skinny Cow ice creams, for example), but they don't taste good and I hate to eat food that is so artificial. After consulting with people on 3FC, I found that many people choose to eat dark chocolate, because a small amount of it satisfies the urge to eat chocolate, and because it is so intense, we're much less tempted to go overboard and eat, say, an entire bag of M&Ms.

I love dark chocolate and have decided to use my 'diet' to experiment with chocolate tasting! I went online and found a gourmet chocolate supplier and bought a bunch of different kinds of dark chocolate--different cocoa levels, from different regions, and produced by different international chocolatiers (much less expensive than I would have anticipated). I eat about an ounce a day (or a bit less) and take notes on the chocolate, the way you would with wine. I'm developing my palate, appreciating the subtelties of different chocolate, and accustoming myself to really high quality chocolate (with the hope that cheap, mass-produced chocolate like M&Ms will come to seem less appealing). It's fun! (Although, full disclosure here, I like to go wine tasting as well--I have a nerdy inclination towards connoisseurship).

[4myloves]

baffled,

which chocolate supplier are you using? How did you pick one?

[baffled111]

Originally Posted by 4myself

baffled,

which chocolate supplier are you using? How did you pick one?

I ordered from World Wide Chocolate, for no other reason than that I did some preliminary research into high-class chocolatiers and found that this company stocked most of the brands I read about. I tried to find a company shipping from the West Coast (WWC ships from NH, which is the exact opposite end of the country from me) so as to minimize potential exposure to heat, but I couldn't. Fortunately, the shipping was very reasonable and the chocolate was in perfect condition when it arrived.

Current favorites: Dolfin 88% Noir, packaged in little 1/8 oz squares. Very dark and smokey, but remarkably sweet for the cocoa content. Green & Black’s Organic Dark 70%: this one is sooooo buttery; it's delicious.

[EleanorR]

Mmmm I love Green & Black's chocolate and also Cadbury's Bourneville (also dark choccie). Marks & Spencer do a nice dark chocolate too

[emma2]

I am a chocolate addict too! If it wasn't for allowing the odd bit of chocolate I would have fell off my diet wagon weeks ago.

At the moment, I have the odd chocolate mousse from M&S or a cadbury's mousse which is 60 cals. I cannot eat actual chocolate because I'll end up scoffing the whole bar.

Eleanor are you using a pedometer for walking? I've just ordered one off Amazon...I'm hoping it will give me the incentive to walk more.

[EleanorR]

Hi Emma

I'm not using a pedometer, though I do have one somewhere. I'm timing myself that I do at least 30 mins of walking a day, either as a solid 30 mins or broken up into 10 min or 20 min chunks

I love M&S chocolate mousses

[Heather]

I've recently become a convert to "a little dark chocolate" most days. I was eating evening snacks that were bigger than I wanted and shifting to dark chocolate sometime before bed makes me feel pampered and decadent, yet I'm mostly eating less than 100 calories' worth!

baffled, I love the idea of becoming a chocolate gourmet. And somehow I have a feeling you won't love those M&Ms anymore!

I'm sure this isn't a solution for everyone. I know if this thread were about premium ice cream that I can't have just a little and keep the rest in the house, but I don't seem to have that problem with chocolate.

[EleanorR]

It's funny you should say that because this thread definitely wasn't about chocolate but somehow me mentioning it has got everyone's attention.LOL

[4myloves]

Oh, Eleanor, I'm proud of you for sticking to your walking routine for 4 weeks, too!!!!