Boing....boing....boing

Seriously.  It’s getting ridiculous.  I lost the holiday weight - and another ½ lb would take me into the next stone back and then, booooiiiiing, I’m back up over it by 1.5lbs.  Am I ever going to get there?  I mean, yes, presumably yes, but goodness it’s wearying. 

We were away for the weekend which meant a dinner out and a breakfast out.  I did particularly well with dinner.  I ate very small portions and gave the rest of it away.  I even ate half an éclair and stopped as I wasn’t enjoying it.  I did less well with breakfast.  Not the full English, which I really don’t like, but they wouldn’t substitute scrambled for poached egg in a Benedict and unless I’m prepared, I tend to panic and make a random choice.  In this case, a bacon sandwich – which was okay, the bacon wasn’t great (I dissected the sandwich and removed all the bacon fat – not through virtue, but through preference).  I had two freshly squeezed red grapefruit juices though, which is just liquid calories, and had a mini pain au chocolate.  So, I guess that accounts for my 1.5lbs on in two days.

I don’t have a single social thing until Friday – and that’s a party which I’m assuming has no food, so I should be able to manage that.  I’m hoping to get rid of that 1.5lb and it would be lovely to get out of this stone bracket that I’ve been in since 13 July.  OMG, I wish I hadn’t looked that up, that’s ridiculous.

It doesn’t help that work is pretty stressful at the moment (and not in a good way) AND our acting head of the team brought in a big drum of Hallowe’en sweets.  Sugar is disastrous for me – I seem incapable of eating just one or two.  Then I try and compensate when it comes to dinner.  I must stop this or we’ll get to mid-November and I STILL won’t have reached a new stone bracket.  I’m taking my shock and using it.

As I mentioned, I had a fill a couple of weeks ago and hoped it would exact a jump-start in the weight loss department.  It didn’t.  And I still don’t have any sensation of being fuller – I’m doing this entirely through calorie counting.   I need to cut the sweets and keep my resolve and self-control up, it’ll be Christmas before we know it and that is feasting season.  Even eating less and being careful, I doubt I’ll do any better than STS, so I need to do all I can to get it down before then.

Ho ho ho.

Back to life, back to reality

I’ve been back just over a week – we got back last Thursday.  It was a great holiday (British Columbia, Washington State and Oregon).  We caught up with friends in BC – and made some more friends – at the beginning and end of the 2.5 week holiday and travelled around Washington and Oregon in between – lots of wine tasting.  I was pretty good with food – I just stopped eating when the portions were big and I continually asked myself whether I was enjoying/still enjoying it.  If I wasn’t, I stopped.  Sounds soooo simple, doesn’t it?  Actually, it was quite hard.  And we pretty much drank every night (except a couple of nights when I was driving us back to whichever hotel, whereas usually I only drink one night a week (because of the calories).  Not much sweet stuff though – the desserts were generally not tempting enough and/or I was too full. 

I didn’t take the bigger pair of jeans because I weighed my case and it was WAY overweight (sigh, even my CASE is bloody overweight).  In fact, I couldn’t even pick the case up to weigh it, so I panicked and took stuff out.  The two pairs of jeans I took were absolutely fine.  I was nervous to wash them when we got home in case I then couldn’t get them on, but, well, they needed washing since I pretty much wore jeans the whole time I was there – with just a few of the hotter days in a linen skirt.  But again, it was fine.

Even so, I was dreading getting on the scales.  Well, you would, wouldn’t you.  Gloomily, I predicted 7-10lbs.  So I was VERY pleasantly surprised to have ‘only’ put on 2.5lbs from the day before we went, and a total up of 4lbs from my lightest weight (on this diet), at the beginning of that week.  Of that, I have lost a little (1.5lbs).  BUT.  (And there always is a but, unfortunately).  I have had a second fill.  That means I’ve been on fluids only for three days.  I thought this would give me a sharp loss (I’d really like to get into the next stone bracket down) but I’ve not lost so much as an ounce.  Rude.  Today I’m on soft food (and will be for three days), but will have eaten a bit over my calorie count of 1000.  The last couple of days have been c780-ish.  I’m still under when you count my exercise (which is just walking), so I’m trying not to worry about it.

Another thing I’m trying not to worry about is brunch with friends on Sunday.  We don’t get to see them much so no way was I going to pass up on the opportunity, but a) I’m still on soft food and b) calories.  I don’t like English cooked breakfasts in any case, so easy to resist that.  I have looked at the menu, intending to have yoghurt and granola or porridge.  Well, they don’t have that.  I’m going to go for an omelette with cheese, mushrooms and herbs.  I think that will be okay in terms of getting it down with no drama involved.  Not too sure about calories but I’ll just have to be careful with my other meal.  Fingers crossed I see a (downward) shift on the scales soon.

Have good weekends!