I’m a pear ? the sequel!

Good morning ?. I totally sympathise Sarahmob, I've stayed the same too. I've not been strict but not been over the top either. I hope you have a lovely week in Cornwall, it certainly looks as though the weather will be good?. I know in the past holidays have been an issue for both myself and friends for two issues. Firstly there has been a tendency to feel let off the leash and deny yourself nothing(your on holiday after all!) and to enjoy all those things you've avoided for months. The second is to never quite get back on track after the holiday. During the past few years I've aimed for damage limitation. I went on an Italian tour and spent a week eating incredible food but came back lighter. We were however walking about 6 miles a day! Unless you are planning a marathon I think it's good to enjoy what you have but try and have some healthier options or smaller treats. Every little helps! Enjoy your cream tea?

Good Morning All, after an amazing loss last week, I’ve maintained this week in spite of not breaking the diet. This week will be another matter as I’m in Cornwall visiting my niece, I fear cream teas may be my downfall ?
However, I’m determined to enjoy myself and eat if I want to then I’ll get straight back on it once I’m home!

Nikdumpling yes indeed, I dont think I'd get very far on Masterchef as probably be under seasoned.! I think a little can make a difference sometimes but feel there is often salt in so many other things such as stock cubes. I know the lady I use to support liberally sprinkled salt on everything. In some ways not a good idea as she had vascular dementia,a heart problems and issues with blood pressure. On the other hand she was quite unhappy but still had capacity to decide. She is a spirited lady, five foot nothing and about 7.5 stone. She survived the coronavirus that devastated the floor so salt maybe not a problem?

Salt brings out flavour apparently. My DM would put a little heap on the side of her plate and dip every fork full into it. She was 88 when she died (from cancer) but her last few years were pretty miserable with clogged and hardened arteries at the root of her being disabled. I do add salt to chips and sometimes roast potatoes - but eating them anyway is a treat!

Welcome back Nankate! Well done Nikdumpling. I will certainly try cutting the sugar by 25%. I think sugar is like salt,once you cut back you really notice how unpleasantly sweet things can be. A few years back I was using the Hummingbird recipes for cakes for parties etc. They do a nice variety of flavours and interesting ideas. Their savoury muffins are excellent. Their cupcakes however are eye wateringly high in sugar,especially the icing. They are a special occasion cake but after not having one for over a year I found it so sweet I couldnt eat it! I never add salt to anything (apart from chip shop chips!). My mother never added salt either so I suppose it's something I'm used to not having. I remember when the girls were young buying an own brand chocolate angel delight but when we made it up we didnt like as it tasted salty. A look at the packaging and salt was added! Why on earth you need salt in a chocolate dessert I will never understand!

Dorset, you asked if I replace sugar with Canderelle or similar when I cut the amount in cakes etc, and no I don't. As you say the texture isn't good and, especially in cakes, it alters the result too much. In a sponge cake I cut the sugar by about a quarter with no real noticeable difference. There's usually a bit of jam or icing or both to balance it. In fact, often food tastes better as I think things are often over sweetened these days. A bit like using self raising flour and adding extra raising agents.

We've just got back from a week away in our campervan - with a broken phone - and I'm quite chuffed to find my weight has stayed the same!

Morning All.

Back from a short but very pleasant hols in Wells. We ate out every night and I had a drink (just one) each night. I generally ate about 10% more than normal and already feel it has gone straight back to my hips. It’s so easy to put weight on and so difficult to lose it.

Cutting back again ?

Congratulations Cocopops ?. I think often when we lose a small amount of weight we are a bit disappointed, maybe it would always be a good idea to hold an item weighing the same,every little helps as an incentive! It's often said maintenance is the hard part,I'm sure the NHS website will have advice on maintenance calories. One of the people I know who kept the weight off never let her weight increase by more than 7lb, good idea really as small amount easier to fix.
Glad you enjoyed your holiday Shirleyw, well apart from the minor earthquake!
Whiff I was born in Wolverhampton although my parents moved to a small Staffordshire village when I was 4. All my relatives are in various bits of West Midlands. We moved down South in 1976 so I'm getting used to it now?. When we do go back it still feels like home. I get quite emotional when I hear the accent. The other day there were some lovely 96 year old twins on TV, theres a certain dry humour too that is very unique.
Both my daughters were fascinated by the area when we visit.
I'm lucky in that my Aunt has done a family tree with lots of details. Some fascinating people who mainly worked in steel industries. One of the earlier relatives walked from Bristol to the Midlands to look for work in the Industrial Revolution. Before we knew this my eldest daughter lived there when in her final year at Bath University. She felt an immediate connection with Bristol and would love to live there,strange isnt it?
Have a brilliant week everyone ?

Cocopops many congratulations. That's brilliant. Glad it is making your back feel.better. The main thing I found losing the weight was my feet and ankles didn't hurt anymore. Still not at my target weight but if it takes another year so be it.

You have a lovely shape. Don't know if you have children but the podgy middle could be the result of pregnancy.

Is there an item of clothing you have always wanted to try on but thought you where to big. Try it now and give yourself a lovely surprise. Well done again.

........5 was quite a sizeable tremor whif.....my 3.3 was a baby compared to yours ???

Yes whif apart from that was relaxing....bit of m&s food shopping after so was well happy ???

That's fantastic cocoapops.... What a lovely figure you have . Yes, when one loses a lot of weight and you weigh out and carry what one has lost its unbelievable that it's the same weight as when it was fat on ones body,

I also like the 4 seasons , even though the winter months seems to go on for longer (which I could do without) lol.

Hello everybody, I finally reached my target of 130 lbs (BMI 21.) Isn't it interesting how one's shape changes with age though. My measurments are 36-32-36 and I'm still podgy in the middle. I wanted to lose weight in the hope of easing back pain
( spinal osteoporosis and osteoarthritis like do many of us ). I very slowly lost 22lbs and it has helped . I just gathered up 22lbs of groceries in from the kitchen, held the weight and the old back did not like that!
Now to maintain the loss..... Oh heck!
Battle on gals ?

Just googled when it was September 23rd 2002 5.0 on Richer scale.

Shirleyw weight gain is a blip. Did you have a relaxing time apart from the earthquake? Many years ago when the children where young we were awake in the early hours by our bed shaking. We both shot out of bed and checked on the children who were fast asleep. It has been an earthquake can't remember what number it was so long ago. Spent all my life in the West Midlands until a year ago when I moved north. That was the one and only time we ever felt one. Seemed odd having an earthquake in this country but apparently we have them all the time.

Wish the weather would make it's mind up. Yesterday morning it was cold and then went hot on the afternoon. Supposed to be nice today , it's raining. Mine you wouldn't want to live in any other country. I need the 4 seasons.

Have a good day whatever you get up to.

Morning all....as I expected...I put on 4lbs as we went away for a long weekend to Heacham.....I went straight back on it yesterday so should soon come off....she says hopefully??....I still kept up my brisk walking/running....I'm now into week 2 lol.

Weather has been fabulous, I thought the other week was going to have to start wearing Autumn/winter clothes.

Yesterday I was at Leighton having a coffee in Costa when the earth moved ...was a tremor....was weird, the whole place shook ...was only for a few seconds but we all rushed out...we thought a Lorry went into a building or something like that till we found out it happened all around area.....3.3 on the Richter scale apparently. ...
Have a good week all.

That sounds lovely and on plus side photos can add a few pounds?. I find it difficult to see the difference. It can ,I think ,take a bit of trial and error with different clothes. I think Gok ,bless him makes a good point in that even though have lost weight there is a tendency to wear same style of clothes,including quite loose ones that make people look bigger than are.!
Years ago there was a study about body image and when having to choose a body shape people looked like theirs most people chose one that was bigger.!

My daughter and grandson came today. After playing inside. We went into the garden. Unbeknownst to me my daughter took a photo of the pair of us. She sent it to me. I was wearing long sleeved tee shirt and a skirt. Had a pleasant shock how I look . Still got the fat woman mentality so I think I am bigger than I really am. Does anyone else not see the real them or is it just me?

Your poor nephew Whiff. I think the furlough scheme was a brilliant idea,I just dont think anyone could have predicted how this virus would pan out. It may be good that hes looking for work now before the furlough scheme ends and what's left of job market is flooded. He sounds a little like my future son in law. He left school at 16 and did an apprenticeship as a shop fitter. He enjoys the work but wasnt happy where he worked so decided to go self employed at the end of January. Oops! He missed out on furlough and schemes for self employed so for a few weeks was very worrying. Hes now working at a test centre,hes happy enough there and it's safer than most working environments. Money good to! If he had have been furloughed I think he would have been made redundant in October. My daughter combines working in care with starting her own baking business! I think in a year or so things will calm down and they can go in the direction they want. There is work if people want it. I'm hoping to lie low until Spring. I must admit since leaving a very secure job I was expecting to find it difficult to get back into job market. Admittedly the jobs I've had havent had same terms and conditions but I've enjoyed them, well until Covid! Something will turn up?.

Dorsetcupcake61 rant all want you are right. My nephew quit his job last week . He is a very moral person. He found out his boss had been claiming furlough payments since March and yet they never closed down as he works in the food industry. It's a small company 10 employees. He has friends who have lost their jobs and friends who have relied on the payment. He has reported him and hopefully he gets prosecuted. My nephew had always worked and never claimed benefits. He is busy applying for jobs doesn't care what it is he just wants to work.

Thankyou Whiff. Unfortunately in the private sector fairness rarely comes into it☹. I'm really just waiting to either be sacked or resign. There are others much worse off. I'm on a diabetic forum and early in the summer a teaching assistant started a thread about the safety of returning to work. Much debate over the past few months,very much along the lines you find here on gransnet. I think there was the hope that work environments would be covid safe and vulnerable employees would have as safe a role as possible. Some are relatively safe. Schools on the whole not. This teaching assistants GP admitted it was very high risk for him but then they just shrug their shoulders and more or less say off you go then. Unions are the same,pretty toothless. I think for me Diabetes UK said all we need to know. They have petitioned parliament who have acknowledged the concerns of high risk employees but have no plans to offer any further protection. Yes you can demand individual risk assessments,alternative roles, work from home but if your employer doesn't play nicely you are pretty much on your own. You can report to HSE but they are understaffed and massively underfunded.
They wheeled out Matt Hancock yesterday to reprimand those not socially distancing etc. Hmm. I think they are worried if this starts affecting high risk groups we will clog up hospitals.
It all seems so stupid and unnecessary and so cruel. This poor teaching assistant faces another day of trying to socially distance, constant handwashing. He works with autistic childeren so class sizes smaller but behaviour unpredictable. The majority of his colleagues are not at risk and on a training day last week were acting as pre covid. I dont know how long he will be able to keep working. Knowing you are high risk but in a potentially high risk environment is mentally exhausting. I've only done one 12 hour shift under such conditions and vowed never to do it again. It's not just the time at work it's when you get home everything you have had with you has to be viewed as potentially contaminated and cleaned as are surfaces you've touched such as door handles. As I stood in the shower I felt vaguely ridiculous and very OCD. Shortly after the deaths started ☹.
I find it infuriating that apparently billions have been fraudulently spent on furlough not to mention quite a few world beating apps but protecting the health of vulnerable and childeren (we dont really know how covid will affect them long term) is not even on governments radar. Ok. Rant over. Stay safe everyone ?

MiniMoon well done. I weight my self every day but only count Sundays weight.
Beechnut it's a new week. That's what has kept me going for years. Spent to many decades beating myself up over weight gain. Age does bring wisdom.

No way did Adele's skin pop back she had been overweight for years plus she had a child.

Sorry Dorsetcupcake61 your work situation still hasn't been sorted. They are being very unfair to you.

Monday morning weigh in.
With being careful and strict with myself over this last week, I have managed to lose the pound and a half that I put on the week before.
Back to ten stone four pounds.

Yes Dorset I weigh every morning and like you said if there is a loss it encourages me. I think if I only did it once a week and there was no loss I would feel as if I had not made an effort all week, when I know by weighing every day that’s not true.
This mornings weigh in was 1lb on from my last recorded weigh. I’m ok about that as I had a birthday nearly two weeks ago and indulged a lot.
I eat a lot of mackerel.

Good morning all?. I leapt (okay maybe more of a cautious step) on the scales this morning and had lost nearly 2lb,which means I've stayed same! I will take it from yesterday's weight though. Beechnut I know you mentioned you weigh frequently. I must admit it's something I do, I find if it's gone down slightly it cheers me up and motivates me if it's up a bit I make sure stay firmly on track!
I forgot to mention your post about excess skin Whiff. Adele certainly has lost an incredible amount of weight, she looks like a different person. Hopefully shes young enough for her skin to spring back! I think the biggest shock I had was when I lost a couple of stone a few years ago. It was lovely to feel slimmer but suddenly wrinkles seemed more pronounced, especially on the neck area. I'm frustrated that I've put a stone on but those areas have definitely filled out.! I read somewhere that when you reach a certain age it's either your face or figure,certainly case with me! So I suppose I have two choices,grow 6 inches overnight or dig out the scarves?. Even if I could afford it I would never have botox or fillers,I love my two cats but not enough to look like them!
I hope you had a lovely roast Fourormore ?. Carbs are a minefield. Certainly when I've adopted a low carb diet it has lead to weight loss,reduced bloating and being stringent about sugar has led to a reduction in inflammation in joints and a mild facial eczema I occasionally get. I think for me the latter was a bit of a game changer. It's become very obvious now that if I have a bit of a sugary treat or eat too many carbs that rash reappears☹.
For me bread can definitely be an issue. I love toast. My favourite would be white crusty bread but I have to save it for a special treat as just feel myself expanding! There are better lower carb alternatives. Rye bread is an interesting one,its a very dense texture but not bad. I think my favourite is a sourdough type polish bread I found at Asda. Its half the price of other sour doughs and as long as I only eat occasionally it's fine. I also like oatcakes which are very filling. At the moment my go to lunch is oatcakes and tinned mackerel. I'm not sure why I'm loving tinned mackerel so much,its something I would probably only eat once a year before. At the moment its absolute nectar. By the end of the year I will probably have gills and be avoiding fishing boats!
Potatoes dont seem to be so problematical for me. I rarely have mashed,probably due to hate washing pan afterwards. I now,whether its roast or wedges parboil,shake to rough up a bit and roast with spray oil. On the occasions I've done them the traditional way I really havent enjoyed them.
There are lots of low carb plans out there but they often seem to restrictive for me. Any plan where a carrot seems to be as much of a treat as an icecream sundae makes me feel rather sad!
I hope today's a better day Whiff. Life can hit you when least expect it. Nearly 25years after an unpleasant divorce my ex raised his ugly head. The issue was resolved very quickly. I was stunned by how despite being a very different person now emotionally I was suddenly back in time,horrid and draining.
Currently I'm waiting for a work situation to be resolved. It's annoying and frustrating. Both my manager and Union rep are on holiday. I suspect my Union Rep needed one after my response to his " I appreciate your lived experience " whilst he continues to work safely from home!
Still the suns shining and it's a lovely early autumn day. Have a peaceful week everyone ?

Dorsetcupcake61 our posts must have crossed. Today is the start of a new week.love your posts to. Well fourormore that's a brilliant loss. Well had a lie down for hour couldn't sleep. Just had calorie counted toast and my lime and lemon marmalade. Having a low cal hot chocolate. To. Then must finish what I started yesterday. But don't want to be have to.