Leesy's management thread..... here goes the final stage!

leesy

Full Member
Hey all,

Promised myself that I would start a thread to follow my route to management. I read a few while I was in foundation and development and they really helped me through it, so thought it would be nice to do the same - plus I think checking in here every now and again will help me stay on the straight and narrow!

So... after more than seven months in abstinence, and over 9 and half stones lost I finally ventured to my first RtM class in the rain this afternoon. I left armed with my packs for the week (now down to three a day so saved a little money) and the RtM books (lots of reading!).

I went to Tesco and bought a salmon fillet on the way to class, and it was something I was really looking forward to it.

Left class, and as I had only had one pack all day I decided to have my bar on the tube home - along with 2 litres of water!! Not quite sure how I managed that, but trust me I felt pretty bloated by the time I got back home.

Put off the cooking for a while and caught up with some TV til I felt a bit better.

I have to say - it was worth the wait. I cooked the salmon on the new George Foreman (a Christmas pressie) and patiently waited for it to cook. If you have a George Foreman - don't trust the estimated cooking times, they are way off, and I got pretty frustrated waiting for the fish to be cooked.

Eventually it was ready, at which point I was practically salivating. I dished up my husbands, along with his veg and mash - crooked thinking kicked in a little bit here when it struck me that just a little lick of mash couldn't hurt.....could it? I managed to talk myself out of that one thank goodness - first day of RtM is not the time to break the rules!!

I had asked my husband to set the table - I really wanted to enjoy this moment so wanted to do it right. I was delighted when I saw he had lit candles, and dimmed the lights - and was waiting, camera at the ready to record the first bite! Lol - seemed slightly ridiculous to pose with a forkful of salmon in my mouth but its a good pic so its a keeper (when I can figure it out I will add it to this post!)

Well, the salmon was delicious. I was careful to eat slowly, and be mindful about each bite. I wanted to enjoy it slowly, and not rush myself and end up eating too much. It was great, and I only managed to eat just over half of the fillet which is a good sign - I can know when to stop after all.

Still had another pack to have, which felt strange after eating - so I gave it an hour or so before I made it. To be honest, I probably should have gone without it, as am now sat here feeling far too bloated to even think about going to bed! Lesson learnt - space the packs out a little better in future.

So - end of day 1, and feeling ok - was a little anxious to start but now its done, I can't wait for the next taste sensation. Am thinking some prawns tomorrow, and maybe some smoked salmon for extra flavour. Will let you know tomorrow what I decide.

Night night - and goodbye abstinence for good!! :wave_cry:

Leesy
xox
 
Fantastic. :party0011:Well done you.
I'm on week 11 and wondering whether to go straight on to R. to Management after week 14, would like to loose another stone from where I am just now. Not sure if it is best to loose a bit more on development first though...to give myself a bit of a 'security' blanket.:confused:
Very interested now in what rtm entails so I'll be keen to hear what it is all about and how you get on Leesy.
Glad you had a good dinner, very thoughtful of hubby to make it that wee bit more special.
:cupid:

Well done again...and thanks for sharing.

Lisa
 
Hey Claire and Judy - thanks for reading and your encouragement!

Judy - I still have about 6 pounds to lose to get to goal, and am hoping to continue losing for a few more weeks, but I will keep you informed to help you make your decision.

Well, day two is drawing to a close, and I am feeling pretty good.

Tried to space the packs out a little better today to prevent the late night bloat of last night, it does feel a bit better, but I still feel the need to save a pack for the end of the day and after eating I am struggling with it. I guess it will get better as my stomach adjusts to the additional food.

Went shopping today to pick up my meals for the week - it felt really strange shopping for me again, I got so wrapped up in it that I nearly forgot to get stuff for hubby and step daughter lol. Lots of naughty things were singing to me in the supermarket, but I stayed strong and resisted anything off plan.

Dinner tonight was divine - I had some smoked salmon with prawns and cottage cheese. Seemed like a complete feast to be honest, when in fact it was certainly less than I would have expected for a starter portion in the old days. I took my time with it again, but if I am completely honest I ate more than I needed to - it just tasted so good!

Its amazing how different everything tastes now, almost an enhanced flavour to everything. My hubby had some salad with his, and I was drooling over it - I never thought I would drool over lettuce, but I guess this diet does change you. Not long to wait though - tomorrow I can add a leaf salad to my protein so am planning to have smoked mackerel with some spinach and rocket. Looking forward to the new taste sensations, especially as I can dress the salad with some balsamic vinegar, which I love. I bought some less than 1% fat 1000 island dressing too - it says on my list fat free or virtually fat free dressings are allowed - anyone know if this counts? Seems a little too good to be on list this early.

Ok, off to bed now. Look forward to updating again tomorrow.

Leesy
xox
 
Thanks for the day two input leesy, seems like its going well! I'll be checking everyday (if I can!) to make sure you don't get tempted by those evil choccies when ur shopping 4 ur food! hehe!!

Looking forward to future episodes of ur management journey, keep it up, it sounds like its going well!

Mmmmmm salmon :rolleyes:
 
Day three..... a good run, but a dissapointing attempt to eat out!

Good day all in all - had a lazy morning, then hubby dragged me out for a run just before lunchtime. I used to run a lot during Lighter Life, but I found it did have an effect on my weight loss each week as I was having a four mile run the day before weigh in, no doubt simply a water effect but it still put me off for a while. I hadn't done a run for a couple of months, so I was a little anxious as we set off. Turns out I needn't have worried - the last few stone really seemed to have an impact, and I found the run a lot easier on the legs and joints that I had the last time we went out. Only dissapointment was that due to my renewed smoking habit I did have to stop and walk for a little bit just over halfway round. But I kept at it, and managed to finish off the run - in fact, even with stops included, I managed it in the same time we last ran the route non-stop - so shows I am actually getting faster. Next time I won't stop, plus it has made me realise that I really need to get the smoking back under control.

Towards the end of abstinence I realised that I had achieved so much, and how much I had enjoyed having a challenge to focus on. I was thinking what I could do next, really as a way of combatting the blues I often feel after achieving something. I rather crazily decided on a marathon, as I had been enjoying running so much and as I thought training would be a great way of keeping the weight in check in the future. As there was no way I could realistically put in the training required for a marathon whilst living on four packs of dust a day the London Marathon was out for this year at least, so hubby and I decided on the New York Marathon in November this year. That gives me time to finish RtM, and be eating at the levels I need to by the time I start the serious long distances. So running is now going to be a big part of my new life, and I am excited about this. But there is no way I can continue smoking and effectively train - so the next challenge is to kick the evil weed! I know I can do it, as before I started again I had kicked the habit for nearly two years. I was so disapointed in myself, but I had a particularly stressful few weeks a couple of months ago and felt I needed a release of some kind - it wasn't going to be food or drink, so it ended up being ciggies - silly silly girl! I guess it would also be good to get it out of my system before food becomes any more a part of my life - so watch this space!

Anyway, we spent the afternoon with friends, and decided to eat out. Today is the day that salad gets introduced so I felt good that I could find something appropriate on the menu. I was excited at the prospect of eating out again for the first time in over seven months, I have been out to restaurants during abstinence, and while it was always fine, it still felt odd not joining in for the social aspect of eating out. So checked the menu, all the salads were innapropriate, but I felt the kitchen would be able to do me a green side salad if I asked. There was also a grilled herby chicken breast I could add, so felt happy that there was a good choice available. Thank god I spoke to the waiter before I ordered - turned out their 'simple grilled chicken breast' was in fact doused in olive oil before it was simply grilled! When I asked if the oil could be omitted, they said that they couldn't grill without it lol! Surely the whole point of grilling is that it is a low fat option! So made the decision not to eat at all - I could have had a green salad, but realised I would much rather have that at home later with some protein - so failed eating out! Had fun though, and everyone's food looked great, so will make sure I go back once I am done with RtM!

Has anyone managed to eat out anywhere on RtM successfully? Makes me wonder if that is another thing which will need to wait until completion? It would really be a shame, as I miss dining out with my hubby - it was the best way for us to spend focused time together and catch up, and it has affected our relationship not being able to do that.

Suggestions of RtM friendly eating out options would be most appreciated!

Had dinner when we got home - smoked mackerel on a bed of spinach and rocket with balsamic vinegar - YUM!!! I really enjoyed it, and I made sure I went easy on the portion size so I wasn't tempted to eat more than I need like last night.

Just had my last pack too - strawberry nice and thick and Angel Delight like, which is one of my favourites.

Bit disappointed with the news about bar rationing - my counsellor only let us have three cranberry bars last week - and I LOVE them and would happily have one everyday. Mind you, she had said there were manufacturing problems, and had been complaints about the taste, and I must admit they didn't taste as good as they had been from my other class so I can see where the problem is. The coating seemed really artificial and much less sweet, so maybe its no bad thing I only have three.

Oh..... another highlight... milk in tea! I wouldn't normally have skimmed milk, and was worried it would be a bit too watery, but I was not disapointed and it was lovely to have a good cup of tea in bed this morning, the perfect start to what turned out to be a pretty good Sunday!

Night night all,

Leesy
xox
 
So day four was yesterday, and I am finally getting in the swing of eating an evening meal.

I had a yoga class last night which was great, and I am hoping it will help me tone up my problem areas over the next few months. Also found a great way of getting cheap gym membership - if you sign up to Boots healthcare plan (as a smoker my premium is £43 a month for the basic cover) they will give you cheap gym membership for the first three months then if you go at least twice a week on average you get it free for as long as you have the policy. Bearing in mind my gym costs £60 a month I decided that was too good to refuse, so next week I should be a fully fledged gym member. I have already planned out my week's timetable of classes and swimming etc, so am quite excited to get the toning work in action.

Had a gorgeous dinner of tuna steak grilled with giner and garlic on a bed of rocket and spinach - yummy! Was extra careful about portion size, and felt comfortably full after eating most of it so gave the rest to hubby which I was pleased about. It still amazes me how satisfied I am with so little, and I am more than happy to continue this way in the future. When I heard stories that people could only manage a started portion I never really believed it, now I do, and I think it is definitely the way forward for me.

Watched ten years younger and had a little wobble about the state of my body - I don't think my skin is that bad, but I know that if I wanted it to be perfect I would need to think about some surgery. Watching that poor woman be sliced and diced and re-stitched brought it home that surgery is actually quite a big deal. I think society has become far to glib about cosmetic surgery, and it suddenly struck home how serious an ordeal it could be.

Anyways, I never intended to be a bikini model, and I would need to wait until I had the family thing out of the way before I even contemplated surgery, so I am going to stop worrying about it and trust that my skin will improve over the next few months. Considering what I have put it through - I was just under 23 stones at my biggest so have lost nearly 12 stones in all - I can't expect it to be perfect, and it has done me proud if I am honest with myself.

Ok, very busy day at work so must get on, just wanted to have a quick update as I didn't manage it last night.

Hope everyone else is going strong!

Leesy
xox
 
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