Gingerjo’s Blog

Well I’m doing it, but I can’t say I’m digging it. My personalised plan tells me to do about 40 minutes of weights followed by 30 to 45 minutes of cadio-vascular exercise. I’m finding the weights quite enjoyable and have found that I can lift more than I originally thought, but I’m struggling with the CV workout afterwards. I’m managing 30 minutes only most nights on nearly the lowest settings - there’s nothing left in the tank after that and I’m all wobbly. Still it’s early days yet and in a few weeks I’m sure it will be much less tiring.

I’m not hurting afterwards really though. I’m a bit stiff the next day sometimes and I feel tired all the time, but I’m not in any pain. I know it will get easier, I just wish it would hurry up!

This week I’ve shed 2.5lbs making an official total of half a stone. Take that tummy!

I’m so tired though, and I’m cold all the time. My body is definitely trying to hang on to those calories. I guess the time of year doesn’t help.

I’m not generally hungry though, which is great. I seem to have adjusted quite well to the new diet. Basically I’ve cut down on pasta, bread, rice and noodles (I’m having much smaller portions) and instead I’m eating vast quantities of salad, lots of fish, fruit and veg. I’ve had to cut out crisps completely though which is the hardest thing. I do love crisps. But I can still have beef jerky so it’s not all bad. I feel better for it I think.

Mark’s still being very supportive, although he’s not sure what I can eat and what I can’t or how to cook it. We’d normally share all our evening meals, but I can’t really have a lot of the meals we’d normally eat (or at least not enough of what I’d normally eat to fill my tummy) so we’re having to make a lot of adjustments. It’s taking a lot of organisation and planning but it’s worth it.

This week I’ve lost 1.5lbs. I was a bit disappointed with this until I took the margerine out of the fridge and weighed it. Actually 1.5lbs is a helluva lot.

I’ve also started going to the gym and I’m not too stiff after my exertions. I remember it hurting a lot more last time. I had my ‘one-to-one’ last night so I’ve got a personalised plan for all the bits of equipment I have to use each visit and what settings to use. I really hope I remember how to use all them all - there’s about 12 different ones I need to use and at the moment they all look the same.

I’m disturbingly feeble though. Pretty much I’ve got to use them all on the lowest setting, indeed one of them I can’t use because I’m not strong enough - I have to use the smallest dumb bells they have until I’m strong enough to use the machine. I feel so pathetic. But not for long …

I’ve officially been dieting for 1 week (although it’s 2 unofficially). I lost 3lb this week. I’m very pleased with that. Only another 51lb to go.

I seem to have got the hang of it this time. Although I’m keeping the world’s salad growers in business, I’m also eating stuff I really enjoy - potato wedges, fish pies, stir frys, pasta. I think last time when I did WW I was too heavily influenced by my time at Slimming World which was the first diet I ever really did. I’d got too used to the idea of cutting certain foods out completely that I wasn’t making the most of my points. Now I’ve discovered I can have almost anything so long as I know how much of it I can have. Obviously some things are best left untouched eg Smoked Salmon Taramasolata (which I love but it’s really high in points), but if I really wanted half a tub of it that much I could have it, so long as I was very strict the rest of the day.

Mark’s also enjoying the diet. Largely he’s eating the same as me, but with whatever extras he fancies. He can sit and munch on toast or sweeties as much as he likes, although he doesn’t do it in front of me, which is nice. He seems happy to support me, and I have a nasty feeling he’ll be packing me off to the gym regularly if he thinks I’m not going often enough. Still, I do need a good kick up the bum sometimes so perhaps it’s for the best.

Well, I’ve joined the gym at £36 per month. I was meant to have my orientation (induction) as well, but I got massively stuck in traffic (I was only going 2 miles, but it seems everyone else was as well). I’m doing it tomorrow morning instead. So I’ll have to psych myself up for it all over again…

It would be nice if fitness centres only charged you for the facilities you use - I only want to use the gym - I don’t care about the classes or the swimming pool, I’m never going to use them. But, at least I didn’t have to pay the joining fee (which would have been £100) - at last, I’ve gained some benefit from working in education.

Well, I’ve bitten the bullet and have made an appointment to join a gym and have my induction on Saturday afternoon.

I will be thin!
I will be thin!
I will be thin! Honest …

I can’t bare the thought of being fat (quite frankly) on my wedding photos. I don’t want to look like a walrus in a wedding dress. Hence a major league diet. I can’t get married until I’m ten stone. This means I have to lose nearly a third of my body weight (I can’t believe I’ve let myself go that much!!).

I’ve dug out my old Weight Watchers books and stuff and I’m now proudly munching my way through 22 points a day. So far it’s going well, but I only really started on Saturday, when I weighed in at 13.12.

I’ve set myself a number of interim targets (milestones) to make the overall scheme more manageable and to give myself an excuse for a big treat every so often. These are: 12.7; 11.4; 10.2 and 10.0. The last couple of pound are always the hardest, hence the double treat. In total I want to lose 54lb.

I will do it, honestly!! Gulp!

Ouch, I’ve just come back from having my lower legs zapped with a hair removal laser in Bolton. It was really sore, but it will be well worth it. After only another 5 treatments I’ll never have to shave my legs again. It’s pretty expensive, but not compared to spending your whole life buying venus razor blades or getting them waxed every six weeks.

I had my underarms done last year (which also really hurts) and it’s fantastic - no more shaving, no more itchy armpits, no more thinking ‘ah, can’t wear this top, I haven’t shaved’. It’s fab, I wish I could have afforded it ten years ago.

Where do I go? Well I get it done at the Laser and Cosmetic Centre in Bolton and I’ve never had any problems. You get treated by a fully trained nurse who understands your skin and the science of how the treatment works - not some muppet who’s just finished a BTEC. They are also very friendly and you can have a laugh and a good conversation while you wince with pain. Honestly, it’s worth it though.

This should be a simple question, but it isn’t. What we should eat has been clearly defined and how much energy we need is also easy to find out. However, combining these to say how many calories should come from certain types of easily identifiable foods - well that is a mission.

I’m on that mission but so far I’ve failed to find a satisfactory answer.
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It stands to reason that if you want to lose weight one of the first things you need to know is how many kcal you should consume each day.  What’s the max you can eat without putting on weight and how much less than that should you eat to start losing weight?
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