Esther Mater……

Well this is the story of Esther who has been following a healthy diet for some time and has lost a significant amount of weight already, over time, her weight loss has slowed down and now it’s stopped altogether even though she is using her food diary to religiously write everything down.

Now there is an old saying…. “There’s many a slip twixt cup and lip” Shakespeare

So this is Esther’s day……

She gets up in the morning and gets ready for work. Once downstairs, she decides to have bran flakes and a banana for breakfast. She is quite hungry so decides to have an extra few of bran flakes which is nearer 40g, rather than the 30g she usually has.

At work, her colleague has brought in some Doritos. She is tempted to have a few because once the bag is opened they smelt so good. She only has a handful.

She only works mornings and so back home it is for lunch. She has a jacket potato which is the same size as the one yesterday so, some baked beans and a small amount of cheese.

She then takes her food diary out of her bag and writes down everything that she has eaten.

During the afternoon, she has an apple and an orange and both written on her food diary. She knows it is important to record everything that she eats.

For tea she makes spaghetti bolognaise The whole pan serves 4 so she is going to freeze  2 portions for later so she has another meal prepared for another night.

Esther is feeling very proud of herself; she is such a healthy eater!!!

Settling down to watch TV for the evening with a cup of coffee she looks at her food diary and sees that she hasn’t had treats/snacks so she looks in the cupboard and has a handful of peanuts and two low calorie chocolate bars.

And so it continues for the week.

She feels she has had an exemplary week and is looking forward to being weighed at her S.L.I.M meeting, so when she stands on the scales at her next meeting what is she expecting to see?

Unfortunately she gained.  Esther is absolutely gutted, she produces her food diary to show how wonderful she’s been…..

Why do you think Esther didn’t lose weight?

The reason Esther did not lose weight – well her name says it all Miss Esther Mater

What food can we be absolutely sure was correctly portioned? Actually only the fruit as it was an individual item.

Everything else was guestimated and no milk was mentioned – so she missed the calories for that altogether!

But just a few extra calories here and there can add up to a multitude of calories in a day and week.

Output more and input less its as simple as that. these are the simple basics of losing weight In short creating a calorie deficit. It’s often those little extra bits that you aren’t so mindful too that destroy a weight loss. When you really want results it need to be really right, not nearly right, by assuming you’re not eating much isn’t necessarily the wisest choice. If you were being critical, there’s not a huge amount of protein, calcium or vegetables in that day – maybe if there was there might not have been the need to grab a snack or two!!!Time to try something different!!!!

Never assume…. It makes an “ass” out of “u” and “me”

anonymous