Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Week 74

1lb gain!

Yes folks, I'm back from 2 weeks in France, eating baguettes and croissants and drinking French wine and I've only put on 1 pound!

Woohoo!

Who's the Daddy?

Woohoo again!

Post holiday analysis reveals that although we ate far more white bread and cheese, it wasn't on top of anything else.

The simple fact is, that my standard healthy eating patterns mean that I can lose between one and two pounds a week, especially if I don't cheat and I'm a bit more active. So I can actually increase my food/calorie intake by up to 30 - 40% and stay at the same weight. Obviously in the long term I don't wish to stay at the same weight, but it does give me a bit more built-in flexibility on a 2 week holiday.

And it was all about damage limitation again.

We might have had a day where we had large croissants for breakfast and a large hunk of baguette & cheese for lunch, but then we'd have a good vegetable based dinner and we managed to avoid getting back into the habit of evening snacking, which was always the killer.

It also helps that, as Fatmammycat pointed out would probably be the case before I left, we were inevitably more active. OK, we weren't surfboarding or mountain climbing, but walking round towns, strolling along beaches and visiting ruined castles is more active than the usual pastime of sitting in front of the computer or the TV.

So by continuing to eat healthily when we could, we had enough leeway to have some real treats, often on a daily basis.

We are feeling so pleased with ourselves, and it reinforces the idea that we have genuinely found the route that works for us.

I think I will allow myself a wee *smug* moment :)


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 4lb – 186lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 24lb
Total Weight Loss: 89lbs

12 comments:

fatmammycat said...

Well done.
I have just returned from a week of eating hotel food late at night, drinking, eating snatched sambos and no access to any form of gym and am a delightful five pounds heavier, well actually it's only four today so some of it was pure bloat. Disgusting to think what I've put my poor old body through. I'm eating fish soup right this minute and thanking heavens I don't have to travel for work very often.

ReallyTooBig said...

I think it's great to be able to vacation and not gain - you are an inspiration as I am just now trying to plan how I will eat during my vacation in Oct. So far, I have never been able to figure out how to eat healthy in a restaurant! I will be getting in a lot of walking though so maybe that will help. It looks like you have a great blog here, will be looking around over the next day or so. Thanks for stopping by my place
Bob

Kim Ayres said...

FMC - I'm sure a few days at the gym and your finely honed body will be back in shape. Not that I can imagine that 5 pounds makes that much difference when you're already at an ideal weight. However, nipping it in the bud has got to be the way.

ReallyTooBig - welcome to Losing a Hundredweight! Restaurants are always a tricky one. Quite apart from the fact that they rarely offer healthy options at reasonable portion sizes, there's always the feeling that because I'm paying so much for the food I don't want to leave anything on the plate

BornSquishy said...

Congrats on your success. Its nice to have you back.

Kim Ayres said...

Thanks Sir Squishy! And I felt quite humbled by your your post devoted to my return.

Jacqueline Smith said...

Oh well done Mate! I lost a kilogram in Tehran as well. I just bought a copy of "Why French Women Don't Get Fat" and it was a truly amazing philosophy. Every diet book I've been on has been based on deprivation whereas TFWB (the French Woman's Book) is on... get this.. enjoying food. The French seem obsessed on it!

Your comment on making up for over eating at a later day is exactly what she recommends!

Kim Ayres said...

Thanks Jacqueline. I think it has to be about balance.

My wife and I have talked before about the feeling that once you blow it, the temptation is to keep on going. But if you can nip it in the bud and your very next meal is healthy again, then you can often limit any damage considerably.

Anonymous said...

found you through weight loss. i am currently at 200 lbs. i am 5'3.5" tall. guess that makes my BMI way out of wak. i recently joined 'curves' and start tomorrow, monday. i am looking forward to losing this weight safely and with exercise. my bestus, k is my #1 fan and source of encouragement. it also helps to read stories like yours. thank you for the inspiration. poet

Kim Ayres said...

Hi Poet, and welcome to Losing a Hundredweight!

I'm really if pleased you can find inspiration from anything here. Will you be creating a new blog to track your changes, are you going to post on your main blog, or are you going to keep it a well guarded secret?

Sancho Pawnza said...

Tell us about your vacation.
Did you catch any segments of the Tour in person?
A month long festival centered around a bicycle race. The French know how to party!

Kim Ayres said...

Blogging about the vacation is happening over on the main blog at Ramblings of the Bearded One

So far I have posted:
Taking a Siesta
Day 4 and I've Conquered the Boulangerie
Mosquito Coil and
Standing Stones

I'm afraid that while we saw a few posters about, we didn't actually see any of the Tour de France

ArleneWKW said...

Back from a 10 day kick-back-and-veg-and-eat RV vacation + 5 days at home, I've been wildly out of control. My current weight reflects this. In less than a month, I'll be heading to the desert for a week-long festival called Burning Man. I'll be re-reading this this post and the comments to ebb up my fragmented self discipline.