2011 - A Fresh Start :)

[Heffalump]

Hello lovely peoples I really hope you are all ok!

After so long of this horrible eating patterns that have dictated and distroyed confidence, the wonderful Unlucky, the beautiful Choochoomama, and I have desided to band together and start the healthy eating for 2011 ... try to eat sensibly, and exercise, and support each other through it...

We were going to start on 1st Jan - fresh start for a shiny new year ...

Does anyone else want to join us? ... just support and write about how we are doing? .... the more the merrier

Love and cuddles

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[Wynter Grace]

Brilliant idea

I will join and do my best

xxxx

[choochoomama]

Here here! Well said Lumpy :wub:

[Pink stars]

Aww honeys this is a wonderful idea!

I really wish you all the best and everyone has my full support x

[CrippleAndStarfish]

...Crippie can join too??

xxxxx

[bellaboo]

Good idea wish ya luck and luv xx

[catsmother21]

This is a brilliant idea - I have already started with the exercise - although that has lapsed the last few days (blame Christmas) but will definitely get on board with the healthy eating as well xx

[Heffalump]

Yay - oh this is wonderful! Thankyou everyone for your support

hehe - of course Crippie would love you to join, - beat this eating nonsence once and for all and well done cats for starting the exercise (its christmas... almost required that exercise is slacked a bit )

Think Choochoomama has an eating plan that we could use as a template ...

But any other ideas are more then welcome

love to all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[CrippleAndStarfish]

^_^ fankoooooo!

Looking forward to seeing Choo's plan and seeing everyone's ideas, and will be sure to share my own (when i get some, lol)

xxxxxxxxx

[Dani]

great idea.i hope its a better year for you.

x

[bena.baby]

Hey guys, huge good luck with this, I'm know you'll all do great cos you're supporting each other.

My bf eats really healthily so I have some good and easy recipes if you are interested.

[Heffalump]

aw thanks again everyone

esme, that would be amazing - if you wouldnt mind any help and tips would be greatly welcome

so much love to all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[bena.baby]

Hey, was just thinking about a really easy and cheap salad that I make all the time. My friend learnt it from her in-laws, who are Sudanese.

To make enough for two people, you need two carrots, 3 or 4 tomatoes, one onion and half a cucumber. Just chop them all up into little bits (I just got a blender for xmas, so yay, this will be super quick and easy for me now!), put them in a bowl together, put some olive oil, salt, pepper and lime or lemon juice on and mix it all together. It's so yummy and filling! Me and my bf normally eat it with pitta bread.

[bellaboo]

Sometimes i make lettuce wraps. Ice burg lettuce leaf put some tuna or roast pepper in with a little lemon juice cucumber and grated beetroot. You can put what you like in i guess i dont eat meat but my boyfriend has chicken in them with mushrooms.

[unlucky]

All we need now is a plan...

[Heffalump]

Choochoomama has a diet plan from the dietian which she very kindly said she would share with us

Shall we aim for 30mins exercise a day (any kind)?

what do you guys think?

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[unlucky]

The exercise thing shouldn't be too hard seeing as all the fitness DVD's and stuff will be coming out soon, so we don't even have to leave the house. That was my plan anyway!

[Heffalump]

omgosh! yes - may i recommend Davina's DVD's .... she is amazing and i love her work outs hehe

any others you would recommend?

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[catsmother21]

I've got my exercise bike, so I shall be using that I can put it in front of the tv and peddle away for 45 mins xx

As far as the exercise DVDs go if you like dancing, there are plenty of those about. I am stuck with this sort of exercise due to hip replacement over 2 years ago but my bike works fine for me.

Housework is also very good exercise.

I used to get a taxi back from the supermarket with our weekly shop but now I walk there every 2-3 days and carry the heavy shopping back - good exercise and good for the cash flow saving on the taxi fare!!

[choochoomama]

Hola, sorry I'm late

Typically I couldn't find my leaflet from the dietician but can remember the basics. The gist of it was 1500 calories a day. The calories were like this:

* Breakfast - 300

* Snack - 100

* Dinner (or Lunch to most of you ) - 350

* Snack - 100

* Tea (or Dinner lol) - 400

* Snack - 100

leaving 150 kcals for milk and butter/spread allowance.

I was having something like whatever cereal we had in/2 slices of wholemeal toast with low fat spread and jam with a cuppa tea for breakfast, maybe a piece of fruit/low calorie cereal bar/yogurt/biscuit for morning snack, a weightwatchers meal/sandwich/jacket potato/salad for lunch, didn't always need a mid afternoon snack but if I did it was same sort of thing as in the morning and then on an evening I was having the same as my partner and children, but just a smaller portion. Sometimes we'd have homemade spag bol or chow mein or sometimes fish fingers and chips. I find I want to snack more on an evening when kids are in bed so I'd try and save extra calories for then. Like at the mo I'm having Tesco's version of Special K with semi skimmed milk for brekkie which is 175kcals, but the plan allows 300 for breakfast so thats some saved for tonight

If there's anything I haven't described very well or whatever please do ask, not that I'm a guru or anything, just thought it might be of some help as a basic plan to work from. Everyone is different so we can all adapt to suit ourselves.

Some tips/ideas I thought of were

* Swap white bread for wholemeal

* Make your own soups (I have a good recipe i got form a friend at work)

* Drink plenty liquids - I notice a big difference in my skin when I actively try to drink more water.

* Exercise - 30 mins a day sounds good to me Lumpy, I'll prob be walking or going on the Kinect we just got at Christmas, and of course the dreaded housework.

* I also find it helpful to jot down what I've been eating and the calories. It helps me to keep on track and when I get a bit unmotivated I can look back at what I ate on a good day and just eat the same or similar. I guess it gives me some structure lol.

Choo xxx

[Wynter Grace]

Well Done Choo

I saw a personal trainer at the beg of this year and she gave me these nutrition tips.

Hope they help

NUTRITION

Breakfast choices

• 2 eggs anyway but fried – 1 brown/rye toast bread butter not marg

• Fruits – seeds – nuts (pumpkin, sunflower, linseed – almonds, walnuts, brazils)

• 50g Branflakes – Fruit & Fibre – Weetabix (x2) semi skimmed milk

• Hoummus or Tzatsiki 2 tbsp & 1 x brown bread no butter

Lunches

• 30g protein (chicken, turkey, eggs, tuna, prawns, red meat – not slices processed ham/meats)

• Salad leaves – spinach, rocket, wild leaves, beetroot, peppers, cucumber toms, celery, carrot,

• Small 250g jacket pot – sweet pot – 30g brown rice, quinoa, wholemeal pasta

• Brown bread sandwich no mayo. Choose 30g protein and fill with salad. Don’t have sandwich if you had bread for breakfast.

Dinner

• Soup veg tomato or carrot not creamy – try and make your own

• Steak, pork, turkey, chicken or choose fish (grill all)

• Any vegetables unlimited or salad

• 50g of carb (brown rice, sweet potatoe, quinoa, dry roasted potato or thick cut chips(chips once week max as long as thick cut and only 50g this is fine. Place them on baking tray light sprinkle of salt and measure a tbsp olive oil and sprinkle over.

• Mince steak with any vegetables chopped finely and add a tomato and basil based sauce. Have 4 large tbsp of cooked mixture over mashed sweet potato & or broccoli, spinach, cauliflower or veg of choice.

[catsmother21]

Some great advice from Choo and Wynter - I am going to start with this on 2 January although I am still using my bike.

My husband is a vegetarian and so I can't cook meat in the house because the smell makes him feel ill - bless him. I can have cold meats in but apart from that I am mostly vegetarian myself now and wonder if anyone has any good veggie recipes that are healthy and filling?

[unlucky]

I was thinking of maybe buying Just Dance 2 for the Wii instead of/as well as a DVD, don't know which would be better or which I will get bored of faster!!

Also, I found this website;

Weight Loss for Dummies

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/health-fitness/diet-nutrition/diet/weight-loss.html

It has some useful things on there.

I'm actually getting excited about 1st Jan now!

I think we also need to agree that if we fall off the wagon so to speak, we don't punish ourselves or let ourselves feel bad, we just get straight back on and get on with it. What do you think?

[Heffalump]

Oh guys! this is awesome ... Agree - cannot wait until the first - a real fresh start and new year 2011 is going to be a great great year

I've been looking around just for some recipies, hehe, and this site seems to have some good vegetarian recipies:

http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/index.php

Deffo agree with unlucky there will be no self punishing (we dont deserve it) ... just draw a line and move on and maybe we can help each other do that ... hehe

Cuddles to everyone very exited for the 1st

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[catsmother21]

Oh guys! this is awesome ... Agree - cannot wait until the first - a real fresh start and new year 2011 is going to be a great great year

I've been looking around just for some recipies, hehe, and this site seems to have some good vegetarian recipies:

http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/index.php

Deffo agree with unlucky there will be no self punishing (we dont deserve it) ... just draw a line and move on and maybe we can help each other do that ... hehe

Cuddles to everyone very exited for the 1st

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks for the link to the veggie site - I've had a look and there's some good stuff on there :)