In my previous blog I looked at the seven steps that I took to try and get my body weight back under control and to prevent the slow slide that I was on.
I was really concerned that the efforts that I had made would be lost and that my weight would creep back up and began to consider what other marginal gains I could make which would still work in the winter. I also knew that it would become harder to exercise in the winter and January and February are the worst times for this with both the darkness and ice to contend with. Therefore, the marginal gains that I could make would be more likely to be in the kitchen rather than the gym.
- Breakfast: I changed my breakfast routine. In the summer it had been eat my cereal, walk my dog and then have toast. Instead, I swapped those for porridge to be eaten after my dog walk. I bought sachets of porridge, bananas and pears. I made porridge with a spoonful of protein power and added a banana and pear halfway through cooking. This was effective at keeping the hunger pains away for the morning.
- Lunch: I was becoming bored of salads and they were far less appetising as the days became shorter. In the back of my kitchen cupboard I found a steel hot flask. So, I began making my own soup. I recognised that increasing my protein and decreasing carbs was effective. Many of the soup recipes had potatoes in them so I swapped this for a can of butter beans.
- Afternoon snacks: I begun to yearn for chocolate and there was an increasing number of sweets in the office as Christmas drew nearer. I bought chocolate coated rice cakes which whilst being not altogether healthy, were far better than box of celebrations.
- Supper: I bought salted rice cakes to add to the other savoury snacks in the cupboard.
- Clothes: My waist size had visibly shrunk and all my work clothes were too big but I knew that I could not afford a new wardrobe so instead under the guidance of my daughter I bought four suits from eBay for less than the price of a suit in Next. I also remembered the slim fit shirts which I had given to my son were still in his wardrobe as he had left for University so I was delighted that these now fitted rather than bursting open at the navel.
I continued to track my weight on my scales and they now began to show that my weight was remaining constant and was not creeping up as the New Year approached. It remains to be seen if I continue this approach until clocks change when I find it easier to exercise in the evening. I hope so as the routines I have built are now part of my daily routines.
Main photo by Microsoft Edge on Unsplash
