Ok it's the last day of 2007, hope you all had a great Christmas.

I weighed myself this morning, 20st 12 lbs I am useing you all as witnesses in my attempt to lose some of the spare tyres I have... If Experimental Tyres needs a full set of remoulds I'm his man.. heres to 2008 and a new skinny Mouse.....

See you all next year Happy New Year everyone..

A very Happy New Year from me too.

Here's to less of some of us in 2008! I must just have my last Mmmmmmm.

I can't remember if someone mentioned this already, but a good trick to aid weight loss is to drink a large glass of water BEFORE each meal, so you immediately feel fuller... It works...

And also, just to walk everywhere you can and use stairs in shopping centres and offices etc. rather than ever using a lift or an escalator... A step counter metre can be good to keep track of all that - you have to aim to hit about 10 000 steps a day... It all helps burn stuff off...

Good luck with it...

Looking around the forums I see there is quite a lot of support for those of us trying to lose weight, so I thought I would select some of the best tips and add them here. Then we can continue our healthy eating club in one place.

Let's start with platinumjo
'best of luck to you Mouse. Btw a friend of mine found that by turning a little bit towards vegetarianism she lost a lot of weight(that's not for everybody though)'

Jo also came up with this very useful tip in response to Mousevale's perchant for eating small animals.

'don't quote me but i think Gillian Mckeith has a recipe for a hedgehog and aduki bean smoothie if you fancy it?'

Doc Vole:
'Massive support for your efforts, Mousey - I shed three stone by cutting out bread (and ate less potatoes) - found it worked for me as long as I still had filling stuff at lunch so that there's better willpower at the end of the day (that's when the old blood sugar level drops, innit - just when you've got in from work and look at the fridge / supermarket chiller cabinet).'

Jonparov:
' I always lose weight if I quit alcohol as I am allergic to it. I have lost 3 stone twice, and gained it back twice! It is keeping it off for me. We can do it!'

Here are some of my own tips, passed down from a 25 stone friend:
If you eat standing up it doesn't count.
If you eat very quickly it doesn't count.
If you eat whilst hiding in the cupboard under the stairs it doesn't count.

Now before you all protest, I would like to point out that Doc Vole lost weight and I am convinced that he lives in the cupboard under the stairs so it must be true.

As for me, so far I have lost my keys and my way, but I am ever hopeful that chocolate flavoured lettuce will soon be available and then I will really get going.

When is your first weigh-in Mr Mouse? I will weigh in on the same day.

Best of luck to all who have vowed to be healthy and slim in 2008 - keep us posted with your progress.

I am at home in my West Country Smock (only warn due to the mysterious fact that every single piece of clothing seems to have shrunk and no longer fits me)Back to my Demis Roussos impression, I havn't though about my next weigh in I thought that maybe August?

Ok, how about the second Monday in January the 14th? then every two weeks after that, My lovely wife has taken pictures of me wearing a black vest which does not reach the belt of my trousers by a good eight inches, come to think of it my belt hasn't seen the holes for a good eight inches either, she has threatened to put them up on t'internet for the world to see if I don't lose weight and as the picture she has stuck to the fridge door is scarying the hell out of me, I have to think of the public at large and be a good boy.

So thanks for all the help advise and encouragement, from a self confessed chocoholic, it's going to be a long, lack of comfort eating year.......

Ok - the 14th it is. Once we have become shadows of our former selves, we could get all the 4laughers' dieting tips and amusing stories and write a 4laughs diet book! This is a comedy writing website after all.

I think a light-hearted diet book would be fantastic... I think a lot of books lose sight of that - it doesn't have to be a hardship or a chore, it can be a fun thing to do as well...

On the subject of 'slimming' books, Paul McKenna has a great new one out about losing weight (I think it's called 'Think Yourself Thin'??), by reprogramming the way you think about food... You don't even have to cut out any of the foods you like/love - you can even enjoy chocolate still... It's just about taking your time as you eat so you know when to stop, moderating portions, and only eating when you really need to for fuel, as opposed to constant snacking, and simple things like that... I saw it on QVC...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mousevale:


My lovely wife has threatened to put them up on t'internet for the world to see if I don't lose weight and as the picture she has stuck to the fridge door is scarying the hell out of me, I have to think of the public at large and be a good boy.

QUOTE]

Wouldn't it be better to put something positive on the fridge door/internet, rather than something negative?

How about a picture of you that you really like, or a pic of someone you aspire to? That way, you will be looking forward and feeling determined to work towards what you would like to be, rather than what you are not happy about right now.

I would think something positive to aspire to would be more motivational, yes...

I'd say buy a new pair of trousers (or whatever you prefer) that are about four or five sizes too small for now - and them aim to be in them within six months, or a year's time...

If you could see this scary picture on my fridge you would understand that It works twice as well as any other thing I could possibly put on the fridge door, I have had requests to have copies of it to put on mantel pieces to scare the kids away from the fire, it could even replace the poison stickers with skull and cross bones on, if it was used on the doors of fast food resturants, most of them would shut down over night.

It's simple I am ashamed of the fat blob in the pictures and I HOPE that is enough motivation to lose weight, if not then heart attack here I come......

I am using the opposite tactic. I have a picture of me on my 21st birthday (yes, they did have cameras then, good old Box Brownies) looking slim and happy.

I won't see 21 again but I CAN achieve my desire to get slim again.

good luck mousevale and loopey, i think i might join you and try to drift in the environs of healthy living and eating myself... it's been a very filling xmas. when i stay at my parents i always eat far too much...and drink too much as their cupboards are so well stocked. then i go home to my little house and eat toast because it's all i can prepare. i must try to be good, i must, i must.
so...never go shopping on an empty stomach, if you feel hungry it's often thirst in disguise, walk or cycle whenever you can, also i definitely agree with seth about having something to aspire to. i have a picture of noel fielding on my fridge...wouldn't want a boyfriend who weighs less than me.

I've also more or less completely cut out ready meals over the last year and half (which are full of rubbish), and don't buy salt at all now... That's no good for you... You don't really need to add it to anything and the food still tastes just as good...

I rarely buy sugar but confess to still buying salt occasionally.

Welcome aboard the healthy eating thread Jo.

The only exercise I get is eating so I may actually being doing less of that.

I like the way this thread is building - I hope we will get some more members/supporters as time goes on.

Of course Mr Mouse will lose more quickly than us, being male and a bit bigger (I am assuming that in your case) but slow and steady is the best way.

I think we all deserve a and

One week in still surviving, I appreciate all the support and advise, thanks for the water tip Seth, that works in two ways filling me up so I eat less and then giving me exercise going to the toilet.

It's not until you cut down on food that you realise how much rubbish you eat, having a few biscuits between meals, a bowl of corn flakes at 11.30 at night, then there's all the chocolate bars...(drools like Homer)I think lettuce is a much underrated food, I enjoy a nice salad, I miss a big slab of cheese though...cheeseeeeeeeee (see above for drooling)
As for my losing weight quicker due to me being male and BIGGER (thanks for that Loopey )

I don't think last week was a huge success, as I didn't want to go cold turkey, but as of today I have started a new eating way of life I just hope I can keep it up and the chocolate ghost's don't haunt me too much...Chocolateeeeeee...(ditto for the drooling)....
Oh well back to writing some thing sparkling and imaganative, Murder of a Dietician, sounds like a good plotline....mmmmmmmm...

But Mousey, 21 stone is bigger than 19 and three quarters!

Good idea to take it slowly - although just after Christmas I should think anyone would commit murder if cold turkey was mentioned.

By the way, we are showing our old age by talking about weight loss in old money. Shouldn't we be weighing ourselves in centimetres or something?
p.s. please don't show me your again until you have lost a bit more.

As an ENGLISHMAN born and proud, I will never fall into the metric system, I will always be just under six FEET tall, will always weigh just over 15 stone and will always stay that way..... until we become Americans of course, then I'll measure everything slightly larger....
Oh and I also think we should have had an ENGLISH football manager, never accept someone that can't sing the national antham, even if it is the most boring one in the world....
What do you mean grouchy.... nothing wrong with me....

ahh remember Clacton.......

If you are going to keep bringing Clacton into this I will have to rethink my involvement in this campaign. I thought it was just between us two. Now everyone knows.

Al Murray does a lot of very funny riffs on Britain staying metric and preserving the pint etc...

"Back Off Brussels!"...

quote:

Originally posted by Loopey:
If you are going to keep bringing Clacton into this I will have to rethink my involvement in this campaign. I thought it was just between us two. Now everyone knows.

Come off it with the now eveyone knows bit... you know what a gossiping bunch they are on here, EVERYONE knows about THAT weekend in Clacton...
Ahh the pickled herrings, the garlic and onion pasty, the 18 pints of Murphy's.. what a memorable weekend it was.......

Don't try and come over all macho - you know it was Babycham and cheese and pineapple on sticks for you. Now STOP IT!!! I am

quote:

Originally posted by mousevale:
...the 18 pints of Murphy's.. what a memorable weekend it was.......

Nooooo - I think you'll find it was 18 pints of Grolsch...

Never really understood why anyone wants to drink something that sounds like a belch. At least with proper beer you get value for money with the colour change! That'll be my fledgling career over then but it had to be said!