On feeling hungry while losing weight

As an update: I've just hit the 5 kilos lost mark.  Weight Watchers gave me a little star on my online chart.  It wasn't very exciting really...  Because photographs for weight loss posts are hard to take, here's a photograph I took in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens instead:

I've realised something that I think is not commonly understood about dieting and losing weight.  Namely - you are going to feel hungry. 

Here's how I see it working:  If I have eaten "more than enough" food my body will store the extra calories as fat.  If I have eaten "enough" food my body won't store any fat, but it won't use any existing fat either.  To lose existing fat I need to eat "less than enough" so my body needs to use up some of the stored fat, thereby losing weight.  So feeling hungry is actually a good thing. 

I've also found that a meal needs to include some fat (and I don't do "fake" fat like margarine or other butter replacements) or I will feel hungry no matter how much I ate.  A little fat in a meal is essential or my body wants to keep eating until it gets that little bit of fat.

It's a reminder that I haven't eaten too much and will therefore continue to lose weight, my body using the energy from the stored fat.

I've tried diets where what you eat is exactly dictated and they really didn't work for me.  The kind of diets where they advertise "eat as much as you want and still lose weight, never feel hungry again!".The portions were always huge (and very expensive to cook) yet I was hungry all the time because of the low calories.  I could never finish those huge portions but it felt wrong to not eat them because I was feeling so hungry.  Now I've made peace with feeling hungry it seems a lot easier to continue.  If I expect to feel hungry at some points during the day it's not a huge problem any more.

Weight Watchers Day 3 - I Feel Hungry and That's OK

It's really quite strange.  I've had a massive lunch - roast beef, avocado, lettuce and carrot with an apple as well, and yet straight afterwards I feel really hungry.  Probably more hungry than I was before I ate.  I'm not tempted to cheat and have anything extra, but it's a bizarre feeling.  I know I've eaten a huge plateful of food but because it wasn't a pastry or pasty somehow it wasn't "enough".  I think my brain is playing tricks with me.

I've just been out to a group that serves morning tea and successfully resisted the quite nice looking blueberry and chocolate chip muffins and cheese sticks.  I did eat three huge strawberries, safe in the knowledge that they are 0 point foods.  I also had a hot chocolate instead of my planned latte as I'd forgotten that the coffee machine at the group isn't the best at making a decent cup of coffee.  To be honest, the hot chocolate wasn't great either, I think I'll just have water next time and make my usual latte at home.

I am still feeling quite tired, just like these guys we saw on Kangaroo Island:

Weight Watchers Day 2 - Cheating Already!

Today (and all Sundays) are always planned as a cheat day in terms of weight loss as I have dinner at my in-laws house.  So I specifically saved all my extra points to use for that meal.  Today was actually a 44 point day which is way over the rest of the week where I use 26 points a day.  It was all allowed for in the plan though, and I still end up with 29 points remaining for extras for the rest of the week.  The plan is not to use them, though I may use some at afternoon tea with my parents on Thursday depending on what food options they have.  Often they will have fresh fruit which I can have for 0 points which is the best option.

I'm actually really looking forward to next weight-in day next Saturday when I will start seeing some results.  I'm feeling quite sure that I can stick to the plan between now and then.  I do have a group tomorrow which includes morning tea, but there's always fresh fruit on offer so that will be easy.

I'm really quite tired now after a huge day catching up on all the housework and I'm feeling like this (from our recent trip to Melbourne Zoo):

Do you ever feel like that?  Some days I feel so tired I could just lie down on our hardwood floor and have a nap.

Weight Watchers Day 1 - Did I Survive?

I really tempted fate today by going on a 6 hour op-shop tour and not taking my lunch with me.  I swapped meals and took my afternoon tea on the bus with me, but with all the walking around it wasn't nearly enough.  By the time I got home at 3.30 I was very very ready for my lunch.  Using the Weight Watchers lunch recipe actually made a much nicer sandwich than I would normally have made for myself.  Usually I wouldn't bother with things like grated carrot, lettuce and other vegetables but they actually made a big difference in how it tasted.

I survived the day, but I am feeling very hungry.  The only thing I had that I hadn't planned for was a small glass of orange juice on the op-shop tour as the girls were passing around champagne and orange (I just had the orange) for the Melbourne Cup theme.  Feeling hungry isn't really a problem as I know that I've actually had enough to eat and I'm just adjusting to not over-eating.  Anyway, if my body needs any more energy it has some stored to use, that's the point of the excercise after all!

One of my objectives to find on this tour was a garment that I really liked that is in my goal size.  And I have found a beauty.  A thick houndstooth black and white pencil skirt is now waiting in my wardrobe for the day when I can slip into it easily.  It actually fits me now, but is a little too tight for comfortable walking.  It's now my inspiration piece and will serve as a reward for my hard work.

How I got Weight Watchers recipes for free

A bit more information about my weight loss plan which I am starting on Saturday:

The boys and I visited the library to borrow all the books we could find by Mem Fox for a school project my older son is doing.  He needs to do a talk about his favourite Mem Fox book.  Though we have a house full of children's books we don't have any by Mem Fox as I really don't care for Possum Magic which is her famous book.  He managed to track down four lesser known titles and is reading through them to pick his favourite.

While we were there I picked up all the Weight Watchers magazines they had in stock.  This was less than it sounds because they only had four in stock.  It ended up being only three as when I got them home I discovered that one of them was so old it had the old points system.

The purpose of borrowing the magazines was to grab the recipes and menu ideas without having to spend any extra money.  This worked great.  I was able to work out a week of breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner meals from those three magazines and a couple of recipes I downloaded from their website.

I have dinner out with family on Sunday nights so my plan is to stick strictly to the daily points allowance for 6 days and save all the 'extra' points for Sunday night so I can have anything I want (and not offend the cooks).  Of course the real test will be when I try it and see if I'm starving hungry on the bare minimum of points each day.  Look for an update on Saturday night and we'll see.

And because photographs of magazines aren't that interesting, here's a picture of my younger son looking cute:

A weightly matter

So I have a few kilos left over (well 10 if you're counting) from having children.  The thing is, my youngest has just turned 5!  It looks like they're not going away on their own then. 

Before I had children I was always able to eat whatever I wanted, packets of chips, bars of chocolate, bakery goodies and I never changed weight.  I was 57kg every time I weighed myself.  The only time I put on weight was when I spent two months in China.  It was winter and my body just wanted to eat lots and lots of rice.  I came home 63kg and promptly lost all the weight back to 57kg without making any effort at all. 

My body image is still of myself as that slender teenager and I get suprised when I look down and see a round tummy instead of a flat one.  I do wear a lot of dresses which are fitted at the waist and then have a full skirt, often with a petticoat, which disguises things pretty well.  But I'm not really wanting to have to disguise certain areas for the rest of my life.  So I've decided it's time.

I'm also going to share a personal photograph, which I haven't done before online, in the anticipation of sharing an "after" photograph in a year or so.  Should keep me honest.  The whole internet will be able to see if I don't keep it up!  You can see what I mean about the full skirts:

Last night I spent way too long (I think it was 2 hours!) working out a menu plan that I'll start on Saturday. It involves spending quite a bit more at the supermarket than I'm used to, even though I did still pick recipes that use what we have growing in the vegetable garden at the moment. My main problem time is lunch and snacks when I'm using the computer. So I planned what I was going to eat for lunch and snacks to avoid making last minute trips to the bakery when hungry. The plan is to have everything I need all ready at home.

There's also a new rule - no eating at the computer. At all. I may need to put up a little sign to remind myself. We have a house rule anyway about not eating anywhere but the kitchen table, but I've been habitually naughty in snacking when I'm along in front of the computer. This has now stopped. I have no snacks anywhere in sight as I type this!

 

Oh, I'm using the Weight Watchers online program to keep me on track.  But they haven't paid me to say that or anything :)