Sunday 17 February 2008

30% is the new black

As part of my weight loss "journey" (pretentious, moi?) I've made a list of mini targets to break up the 199lb into smaller goals and today I crossed off another one. I lost 4.75lb this week so I'm over 30% of the way to target - another 4.5lb and I'll be a third of the way there. If I can lose that by the 3rd March, I'll have done it in six months which is ahead of target. I know the remaining two-thirds won't come off as quickly as this so it's good that I'm ahead of myself in case the weight loss slows. I really hope I can get to halfway there by 13th August, which will give me a full year until my sister's wedding to lose the second half. But I'm loathe to set myself date-related targets as you're setting yourself up for failure and bodies aren't machines that'll lose weight at a consistent rate as I've found out over the last few weeks.

My calories have dropped to 1596 a day so I'm going to try to do at least a 45-minute walk each day for the extra calories. I know 1596 probably seems like a hell of a lot to those people on 1100 a day - the minimum WLR lets you go down to, but it's 300 less than I started on five and a half months ago. I'm going to try eating just half of my exercise calories as I don't really need the full 235 that a walk will give me and gradually eat a higher percentage as my calorie allowance drops. At least I'll be walking to and from work soon - when they finally do their checks and give me a start date - so that'll be an hour a day, maybe a little more. The way there isn't too bad as it's downhill but coming home will be tough as the first part of the journey is up a street called Christmas Steps which, as it's name suggests is, well, steps! Two sets, in fact, with a steep slope in between. And then another hill follows that so it's hard work for a fat, unfit lass like me. But I'm determined to do it rather than get the bus home as it'll be good for me. Remind me of that when I have a heart attack halfway up!

I'm trying to think of good portable diet-friendly lunches to take to work. I hope there's a microwave so I can do soup and maybe the odd jacket potato. I'm not a big fan of sandwiches, unless they're made on the spot so I might try some variations on pasta and couscous salads. Bill Granger has a recipe for a puy lentil salad with feta in one of his books so I might give that a go and add some lean chicken for protein. I think I'll be doing a lot of things with roast vegetables.

2 comments:

Pam said...

Good for you on all counts, eg weight and job. So pleased for you. (£200 for beauty products??? Wow. That's a good husband you have there...)

Stephen said...

If there isn't a microwave at the new place, maybe someone there will so splits with you? They start at less than £30 nowadays, and make such a difference to being able to have a varied and tasty lunch.